Chapter Text
Weeks later, most of the Whitebeard pirates were sleeping peacefully after a long day of celebrations. The lookouts stayed awake, faithfully hoping that it would be a dawn like any other. All was going well... until one of the lookouts shouted from the top of the mast.
-UNKNOWN SHIP IN SIGHT, COMING FAST!
The alarm echoed throughout the Moby Dick. The commanders emerged from their cabins half-dressed, some still sleepy. Marco appeared first, rubbing his eyes.
-What the hell is going on?
Jozu grunted, still yawning. -Who the hell is attacking at this hour?
The lookout continued shouting, visibly nervous.
-IT'S A STRANGE SHIP WITH A LION'S HEAD... AND SOMETHING... SOMETHING IS FLYING TOWARDS US!
Marco frowned. -Flying?
Before he could process it, a figure descended from the sky like a meteorite. -WOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH!!!! The impact was brutal. The deck shook and a huge hole formed in the center of the ship, kicking up dust and splinters everywhere. The crew panicked.
-WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! -
FENDERS, FENDERS!
Through the cloud of dust and debris, a silhouette slowly emerged....
-Aceeeee! -A familiar, unconcerned voice echoed across the deck. I came to see you!
Silence fell over the crew as the dust cleared. Ace, who had rushed out of his cabin after the impact, froze.
-...It couldn't be.
When the dust finally cleared, there he was: Monkey D. Luffy, wearing a big grin and covered in dust.
-Hey, Ace!
-...LUFFY, YOU FUCKING IDIOT, YOU BLEW THE COVER!
-HAHAHAHA, THAT WAS FUN!
The whitebeards were speechless, going up like that on the world's strongest man's boat, was that kid crazy?
Before Ace could shout any more, another figure landed much more gracefully beside him. Sabo landed gracefully, though his expression was much less friendly than Luffy's.
-Good morning, Ace,” he greeted in a calm voice, but his sharp eyes scanned the deck and the crew with distrust.
-S-Sabo? What are you doing here? and WHAT A DAMN GOOD MORNING ARE THESE? Sabo sighed, crossing his arms.
-We came because someone doesn't know how to tell us from den den mushi how it really is. So we decided to come and see for ourselves. Ace put a hand to his face.
-"Decided? Was this your idea or Luffy's?
-“Mine!” said Luffy cheerfully, “Sabo just said it was crazy, but he wanted to come anyway. Sabo growled, clearly irritated.
-I couldn't let him come alone, he was going to get lost or end up fighting half the sea,” he tried to excuse himself from Ace's clear sharp stare.
-That's not true!
-Yes it is,” said Ace and Sabo at the same time.
The crew of whitebeard's watched the scene in complete bewilderment. Even the captain watched silently. Marco finally spoke, scratching his head.
-Hey, Ace... Who are these brats?
Ace sighed, feeling his patience wearing thin and he had only just woken up. I HADN'T EVEN HAD BREAKFAST,he thought
-They are my younger brothers. Luffy and Sabo.
The crew was silent for a few seconds. Then Thatch whistled.
-Little brothers, eh? Well, that explains a lot.
-- What the hell do you mean by that -- the three brothers shouted at the same time.
Whitebeard chose at that moment to speak. -What is it now? -He growled in his deep voice, because of the commotion on deck, he could not hear or understand the situation well.
From one moment to the next Luffy's attention was directed to the great captain and his expression changed instantly. -YOU'RE BARBABLANCA?! -He pointed directly at the emperor. LOOK, OLD GIANT! IF YOU DON'T TAKE GOOD CARE OF ACE, I'M GOING TO HIT YOU!
The crew held their breath. Ace felt his colors rise.
-LUFFY, SHUT UP!
But Whitebeard did not get angry. Instead, he let out a loud, thunderous laugh.
-Gurararara! So this is your brother, Ace. He's got guts, I like him.
Luffy smiled proudly. -Of course he does!
As Ace put his hands to his face, muttering that he wanted to die, Sabo stepped forward, putting himself between Ace and Whitebeard. His expression was serious, almost dangerous.
-I don't care how powerful you are, Whitebeard,” he said in a firm voice, ”If Ace ever feels like he did before, if he ever thinks he doesn't deserve to be here again... I'll come and take him away, no matter how many ships I have to sink to do it.
The crew immediately tensed up. Ace looked at him, surprised. What the hell was wrong with him to talk to him like that?
- Sabo... stop hanging out with Lu so much, please. How are you going to say thatoo?!
The captain stared at him for a moment... and smiled, more softly this time. -You have good brothers, Ace.
Luffy smiled and threw himself on him, hugging him tightly.
-I missed you, Aceeeeeeee! Ace grunted, but didn't push his brother away.
-Me too, Luffy. Marco looked at the scene with a lopsided grin.
-What do we do with them, Oyaji?
He let out another laugh.
-Let them stay for the day. With that hole in the deck, they owe us at least that much. The crew laughed, and Ace felt, for the first time in days, completely at peace. With his brothers by his side and his pirate family around him....
-Lu and your crew?
- AAAAAH WAIT I'M GOING TO TELL THEM WE'RE STAYING - He automatically stretched and jumped into his ship getting yelled at by his crew.
After a chaotic breakfast, many introductions between the different pirates, whitebeards and muguiwaras, stolen and devoured food the crew had returned to their normal duties, while Ace, Sabo and Luffy were sitting together on deck, enjoying the sun. Luffy was lying on his belly, playing with his straw hat. Sabo had settled in with a book in his hands, and Ace was simply enjoying the calm.
-Hey, Ace,” Luffy suddenly blurted out, ”remember when you tried to kill me?
The deck was silent. Several passing pirates stopped in their tracks. Marco, who was nearby, turned slowly towards them with a raised eyebrow. Ace almost choked on his own saliva.
-LUFFY! Don't say such things so casually.
Sabo, for his part, chuckled under his breath, not looking up from his book. -Well, technically we both tried to kill you. Ace nudged him.
-Don't help!
Luffy laughed out loud, rolling on the deck. -It's true! Ace didn't want me to join you guys, so he was always beating me and making me fall down ravines or leaving me in the woods with wild animals.
-It's not what it looks like! -Ace protested, waving his hands. Luffy was an annoying brat and followed us everywhere. We wanted him to leave us alone.
-But I didn't give up! -said Luffy proudly. Sabo closed the book, resting his chin on his hand with a nostalgic smile.
-No, he didn't give up. Ace tried to scare him away for weeks. He threw him into a river, left him hanging from a branch, even threw snakes on him once. Luffy laughed as if that was the funniest thing in the world. -And then they tried to kill me for real with spears!
Whitebeard's crew dropped what they were doing. Marco let out a whistle, impressed.
-And to think we only beat you up to welcome you to the ship. You guys were pretty serious about the brotherhood, huh?
-It was to scare it away, not to kill it! -Ace protested, red as a tomato. Luffy never gave up, no matter what we did to him. Luffy smiled broadly.
-Because I wanted to be your brother! Ace was silent, feeling something tighten in his chest. Sabo sighed with a soft smile.
-In the end, Ace gave in. I had given in before because... well, Luffy was more stubborn than the two of us combined.
At that moment, the little straw-hatted doctor decided to ask how he was doing. At that moment, the little straw-hatted doctor decided to ask what Luffy was like as a child, which caused everyone to want to know anecdotes about this crazy trio. The conversation became more relaxed, and little by little, the brothers began to tell stories of when they were little. Luffy had his mouth full, no one could explain where he had gotten food from, but he spoke anyway.
-“Ace always took care of us, obviously after they stopped trying to finish me off,” he said, crumbs falling from his face, “When someone picked on me, Ace would beat them until they never did it again! Ace blushed, scratching the back of his neck.
-You're exaggerating...
Sabo smiled, but his eyes shone with that protective fondness. -It's no lie. I remember one time Luffy got lost in the forest. It was night and it had started to rain. I was sure we weren't going to find him, but Ace...” he paused, looking at him with a soft smile, ”Ace went into the forest alone, under the storm, and didn't come back until he found him. Luffy nodded vigorously.
-Yes! I was freezing, but Ace gave me his shirt so I wouldn't get cold.
The crew was silent for a moment, listening. Jozu smiled, leaning his elbow on the table.
-Wow, brat. We didn't know you were such a good brother.
Ace looked down, embarrassed. Sabo noticed and decided to intervene before Ace started to minimize his actions.
-He was always there for me too,” Sabo added, his tone softer this time. When we were little, I was always talking about my ideas...how I wanted to change the world, how I wanted to be free. Most people made fun of me.
They said it was a silly dream for a garbage kid like me. Ace raised his head, his eyes shining with a hint of restrained fury. Sabo smiled at that reaction.
-But Ace never laughed. He never told me I was crazy. He just listened to me, even when I didn't understand anything he said. The crew listened in silence. -I remember one time I kept talking until I fell asleep. When I woke up, Ace was there, asleep next to me. He had been listening to me all night. Ace smiled wistfully.
-Your talks were long. Sometimes I didn't even understand what you were saying, but I liked listening to you. Sabo chuckled.
-I know.
Luffy, who had been miraculously silent, raised his voice again. -Ace loves hugs too!”
Silence once again swept the moby. Ace choked on his own saliva.
-Luffy! LIAR.
-It's true! When we were little, whenever we were sad or in pain, Ace would hug us really tight until we felt better. He liked it too, even though he said he didn't.
The crew burst out laughing. It was funny to see a trio of monsters act like little kids.
-The dreaded Ace? A fan of hugs? -Thatch scoffed, laughing so hard he almost fell out of his chair.
Ace covered his face with his hands in embarrassment. It did little good, though, as his shoulders had a little fire in them as he couldn't control his embarrassment.
-I'm going to kill them.
The crew watched the scene with smiles. Even Whitebeard, from her seat, watched silently with a fatherly look. Finally, Marco broke the moment of silence with a soft laugh, patting her on the shoulder, nullifying the flames with his own power. -Don't worry, Ace. Having little brothers means your dignity went down the drain a long time ago. Ace sighed heavily. And for the first time in a long time, Ace felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
With his family.