Snippet of Chapter 34 - Luffy & Ace
I just saw on twitter a video of Aceās released and it filled me with such grief, it reminded me of this scene from Who Were Meant To Be. If you donāt know WWW, itās my baby, an alternate universe described as a world whereĀ Ace's skyrocketing to the Pirate Summit at 17 has consequences for the little brother he left behind. Itās completed and has a other five works relating to it, including a completed spin-off and one shot, and a prequel and epilogue collection in progress.
The next passge contains HUGE SPOILERS for it, so I recommend checking out the link first if you havenāt read it <3
"Whitebeard is looking forward to meeting you. All of the crew is, really." Damn it;Ā this is notĀ what Ace needs to say.
"I never thought I'd meet Whitebeard," Luffy responds, willing to go along with the chosen topic of conversation. "At least, not outside of a fight shishishishi." Silence engulfs them, and for the first time, his brother is apparently okay with waiting.
"Luffy, I'm s-" Luffy throws his blanket up in the air.
"Yosh, it's time for food." He's sitting up slowly, and pain creases his brow, but Ace can see he's determined.
"Where the hell do you think you're going, you idiot?" Ace says, trying to push Luffy back without accidentally pushing on a wound. Luffy evades him but stays still. He looks up at Ace, pouting.
"I'm hungry!" He whines, and Ace can believe it on principle, Luffy is always hungry, but he's also as subtle as a rock.
"Your food can wait for a minute." He tries to placate him, but it's for naught.
"No, it can't!" Luffy yells. "I'm hungry now, Sanj-!" Ace presses his hand to Luffy's mouth because the last thing he needs is his fan club to show up right now. Ace knows they're worried, and he knows it's selfish, but he needs some minutes alone with his little brother.
"Now, look here, Luffy, I'm s- what the fuck! Are you five?!" Spit is slowly coating his palm, and the little shit takes advantage of the confusion toĀ bite him.
"I want foooood!" The younger man demands. "I haven't had a proper meal in more than a week!" Ace does feel a little bad at that. Luffy had been incarcerated for a week before ever reaching the battle, and he's been out for days.
"And you'll get it, but, fuck, Luffy. Luffy, I'm trying to apologize, for fuck's sake, stop biting me!"
"Ace is being stupid." His brother, the former marine Vice-Admiral, the center figure of the Paramount War, and self-proclaimed future King of PiratesĀ pouts.Ā Ace wants to laugh; he does, but he's just remembered how young his little brother is, making him feel more defeated than ever.
"Luffy, can you just..." He starts eyes on the ceiling to reign in tears. He feels so tired. "Can you just listen... please?" His brother's eyes lose some of the amusement, and he can tell Luffy's going to hear him. "I should've known, the second I saw you with a white coat in Alabasta, that something wasn't right. Wait, please, I need... I need to say this. You've always been like that Luffy, never listening to anyone, always doing whatever you wanted... I am your big brother, and I thought that if you were a marine, it was because you wanted to be one, it had to be because... nothing could ever put you down. Not for long, not for what mattered." Silence is the only thing that greets him, and that's okay because Ace isn't done.
"I've always struggled with the question... of whether I should've been born. The son of a man despised by the world, doomed to be treated as a criminal no matter what I did. I never related it to you because you were always so cheerful and careless. I didn't realize that the only difference between us was how we thought about ourselves regarding our parents. When Nami told me what you'd done, I didn't believe her, though now I think it's more that I didn't want to believeĀ her, though now I think it's more that I didn't want to believe her. It was easy. It was easy because it madeĀ so much sense."Ā A bitter bark of a laugh escapes him.
"You've always been there when it counts, never letting me drift too far into the dark... You've..."Ā always been the strongest out of us; AceĀ cannot shape his mouth around the words and so much for not crying."Oi, Ace..." Luffy's voice is worried for him even now."I entered Marineford, and at first I thought to myself: I'll die here if I have to, anything as long as you came home, free. It was soĀ selfish.Ā Here you've been enslaving away for me to get a life, and there I was, ready to throw it away, first opportunity. I told Marco I was Gol D. Roger's son, and more people know now than ever, and I couldn- can't even care about it. It seems so small compared to everything else. And, that still goes back to you. Every good thing in my life, before I met Pops, goes back to you.ā
"Ace, I don't want your apology. That's not... That's not why I did it."
"I know. The apology's for me." Ace chuckles wryly, his voice is small, shaky, but he can't possibly stop now. "For you, I have a promise. I've always been a bit blasĆ© about it all, you know? Just, not looking for... for it to end, but certainly not very against going out on a blaze of glory, but... this life I'm living, it's not really just mine anymore, is it? It wouldn't exist without you -or,Ā or GrampsĀ and, I want you to know it's in good hands." Ace meets Luffy's eyes, wide open in complete surprise. "I'm going to take care of it, I promise, so that nothing you've ever done for me is wasted."
For a minute, Luffy just sits there, stunned, then lowers his head, and his raven locks aren't quite enough to cover his tearful eyes. His smile is soft.Ā Ā Ā
