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Surprise, surprise, another story! Once school starts again in 22 days, I won't be writing up a storm anymore :(

This is the longest story I have ever written, with 31 chapters and 105,000+ words. It is in four parts, and as of now I'm not sure whether to separate them into different uploads since the rating will go from T to M after part one is over. Part one is the childhood, and much fluffier than the rest, which has a lot of angst and drama in it. I'm gonna post a chapter every two weeks, as of right now. I want to see if I will get more feedback if I stagger the chapters longer.

Update 10 minutes later: Will be separating part 1 from 2-4 after all. The story lines are just way too different, and I can't summarize effectively when the story changes so drastically. So, think of part 1 as a prequel!

P.S.: I might make some art for the fic and insert it because that's super cool you can do it on ao3.

Update: Not having the best drawings right now, but I did my best to show how Luffy looks.

Song: What About Us, p!nk.

Enjoy~

"What's with the rock he's so obsessed with?" Dadan asked the man who was dumping a baby on her and her bandits. No one wanted a baby here! But they weren't stupid -or brave- enough to refuse completely. Garp would no doubt put them in jail if they didn't comply, and surely raising a brat would be better than jail. It's just a baby, right? Just feed it and keep it in a pen or something simple like that. The baby cooed in the basket with the black and slightly translucent rock snuggled into his side.

The little one had freckled cheeks and black hair. His name was Ace, and that's all the information she was given about the brat.

"Just leave it with him. Don't take it away," Garp said nonchalantly as he shoved the basket into her arms. "Take good care of him and turn him into a good Marine!" and the man left. The baby looked up at Dadan, and she couldn't help but think he was cute. But still, she didn't want to raise him, and would just make sure to take care of him with the bare minimum except teaching him how to cook and clean and do chores. And maybe some criminal activities, too.

A bandit came over to see with the small crowd around the big woman and the child they had to look after. When he touched the egg, Ace started wailing and crying, throwing his hands at the bandit's to get him away from the egg. The bandit pulled his hand back, fingers throbbing from the kid's unnaturally strong blows.

Seems like this kid would be a handful already.

-x-

Ace made his first trip through the forest, tired of the bandits and them constantly trying to make him do boring tasks. Dadan had told him that if he were to continue living with them, he had to be useful. So he would hunt for food. Plus, it sounded fun.

He was five but could already punch holes into the walls, not that it was saying much. The hut was a piece of crap. He had a stick he'd managed to sharpen into a crude weapon against the big animals he'd seen sometimes from the front yard or the lookout on the roof.

The first animal he saw was a large rabbit. He clumsily tried to stab it, but it quickly got away. But, Ace wasn't discouraged. He chased after it through the forest, eventually stabbing its leg down so he could catch it and kill it. He carried it in his arm as he tried to find his way back to the hut to show what he'd caught. It was good for a first try!

He was able to retrace his steps, which he was impressed with. He was also glad he kept his brother safe. He felt it was safer for him to stay with Ace at all times so he wasn't sold by a stingy and evil bandit. So he carried the egg in a backpack wherever he went. He kept it safe and put clothes around it as cushions in case it fell or was dropped. Ace wouldn't let him get hurt.

When he showed the bandits what he'd caught, they just told him it wasn't big enough for them all to eat. He glared at them and left to get something bigger to prove them wrong. He was strong. They were all weak, and couldn't even hunt their own food. And when they did, someone was always injured afterwards.

The young boy didn't manage to catch anything bigger than a deer, but that was enough for him to eat, so that was all that mattered to him at the moment. Well, from that moment on. They could eat what they caught, those lazy asses.

-x-

As a five year old, Ace was still a young child, and sometimes tried feeding the egg. It never worked, but he could hear his brother rumble sometimes, like he was hungry. The other bandits laughed at him sometimes, but he just threw something at their heads. They never understood why Ace took so much care of the egg that had always been with him.

Whatever was in the egg had been with Ace since the very beginning. He remembered having it for as long as he could. Sometimes he talked to him. Ace could hear it in his head. Sometimes it had the vocabulary of a baby, but other times, it spoke to him clearly. Ace loved him and he hadn't even hatched yet.

Ace thought he was a dinosaur, which would be so amazing! He took care of the egg, making sure it would hatch someday. He wished it would be soon. He felt lonely. Especially at night, all alone in an empty room with a cheap pad and thin blankets.

-x-

The next day, he left before any of the others woke up, eating some of the little food they had in the cupboards. They were all going to be doing useless stuff probably. Ace needed the food more than they did.

He hadn't explored much of the jungle or beyond, since he was too young before. He wandered out of the house, backpack secure with his brother in a comfy position. He walked through the large trees and assortment of plants. Ace stuck to the trees whenever he saw any big animal. And they didn't bother him if they couldn't reach.

He was able to catch a squirrel, and hang it onto a rope he'd tied around his waist for small critters. He walked for a couple hours before he encountered a bad smell. He followed it, and soon got used to it. The bandit's hut always smelled bad, too, and he didn't notice it anymore.

He came across a small city of trash piles. It had trails in it, like people walked in it often. He was proven right when he saw a haggard looking man walk through the towers and started digging, looking for something in the trash.

Ace's curiosity got the best of him and he cautiously walked into the dump. He held his spear at the ready, making sure to be ready for anything and to do his best to use his senses. He was good with sound the best.

He saw many people, and some living in little trash huts or just a small space with a tarp held over it. Ace suddenly thought he was living pretty well off at the bandit's hut. He grew uninterested quickly, and left, walking back into the forest to explore some more. He didn't notice the other little boy who saw him.

-x-

Ace went back to the trash heap the next day, and this time saw a robbery and a murder. He was surprised at it, and hurried away from that part. Some people bugged him and asked about his backpack, which he gave them the most demonic snarl at them that had them hurrying away. Nobody touches or even thinks about his brother.

He did notice the blonde kid this time. He walked over to Ace, but the freckled child just hurried away and back to the forest. He didn't know how to communicate with others, and the kid could be a bad guy in disguise. He might want to steal the egg. Ace wouldn't let him get the chance, and ran away, losing the blonde boy in the woods.

-x-

After that day, Ace couldn't help but watch the blonde boy from behind trees in the forest, looking over the trash heap. The kid would talk to the other residents of the junk city. Ace still hadn't known what it was called.

Ace saw the kid stole some money from a haggard looking man, hitting him with a pipe and running off with the money. Ace looked at the pipe and then back at his stick. A pipe would be much more effective.

The freckled boy followed curiously, finding the kid running to a tree with a hollow trunk high up on a thick branch. The blonde looked side to side before crawling in and hiding his money. Ace wondered how much he had and what he was saving for.

"Hey. I know you've been following me," he called with a grin, looking in Ace's direction. Ace turned tail and hurried away. But he was followed, the roles reversed. "Hey, wait! I'm not mad. I see you a lot, what's your name?" the blonde asked as he ran after Ace. "My name is Sabo!"

He caught up to Ace and grabbed for his hand, but Ace yanked it away, turning too fast and falling down onto his back. On top of the egg.

Sabo looked shocked as Ace screamed in horror and twisted back onto his front, pulling the backpack off in light speed and looking inside. Sabo thought it had broken based on Ace's tears as he looked at whatever was in the bag.

Ace hugged it, so relieved it didn't break or crack at all, though he heard an uncomfortable sound come from it in his head. "I'm sorry," he said to the egg. Sabo watched curiously, but didn't see what was inside. Ace turned to him with a furious glare on his face. He stomped away, and Sabo didn't follow, feeling guilty even though Ace was the one to pull away. What was so special in the bag?

-x-

Ace didn't go to the trash city for a week, not wanting to see that Sabo again. Ace's brother could have broken! If he had cracked, Ace didn't know what he would have done. He was waiting so long, he couldn't break him now. He kept an eye on the egg for the week he mostly stayed inside. He only went hunting in the nearby area, but was catching on quickly. He had found a metal pole in the shack of tools at the back of the hut, and was using that instead of the stick.

He had contemplated leaving the egg at home, but he just couldn't bring himself to part with it. He just had to be a lot more careful.

When Ace had gotten home, eyes still watery, he'd heard in his head, I okay. He had cried a bit more, hugging the big egg to his chest, locking himself in his room.

When Ace finally did go back, he wanted to look for something thicker than the metal pipe that was hollow, so it dented easily. He had come across some big animals he'd only seen in passing, and was able to land a solid hit on a bear's head, but the pole dented. Ace was able to escape, though, and not fall or hurt his brother.

Sabo ran over to him before Ace could run away, and apologized profusely about almost causing whatever was in Ace's bag harm. "I promise it was an accident," Sabo had said sincerely. "My name is Sabo."

He had already told Ace, but Sabo's sincerity looked genuine, so he said, "...I'm Ace."

That was the beginning of a close friendship of stealing money, hunting and exploring together. Laughing, building, working as a team to take down people in Gray Terminal, the name of the trash dump Sabo had lived next to.

Ace never told or showed Sabo what was inside his ever-present backpack. And Sabo didn't ask, not wanting to upset Ace, though he was painfully curious about what was so incredibly important to Ace in there.

Once, someone in the trash city had tried to grab it, and Ace had beaten his face in so hard with the cement pipe that he didn't get up. Neither boy knew if the man had died, for they both ran away before the guy's friends found him.

It had been the one moment Sabo was afraid of his best friend.

Ace had noticed the egg was getting bigger and thicker, so it was no longer translucent. He was so excited about it, since somehow, he knew that the egg was getting closer to hatching. He had stopped going to Gray Terminal, and mostly stayed home in his room, waiting for the egg to hatch someplace safe.

He had even forgotten about what Sabo would think when Ace didn't show up. He was just so focused on his brother. He also heard giggling from the inside of the egg. His brother was happy for some reason.

When the egg started rolling over a bit, Ace grinned and laughed happily. Was he finally gonna hatch? He wondered what was inside. What he looked like. Ace spent six years with the egg, so what would it be like when Ace didn't have to be so protective of such a vulnerable thing?

What would the bandits think? Ace had a feeling they thought the egg was fake, or that Ace was just weird with it or even had some sort of mental illness. He would be angry if they scared his brother in any way. It was too bad he didn't have a place of his own.

He jumped and gave a startled yelp when there was a knocking on the window in his little room. It was Sabo! He looked both angry and concerned. Ace hurried to the window and opened it, looking sheepish and guilty. Sabo immediately climbed in and glared at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sabo demanded.

"Sorry. I forgot," Ace said, but then winced. That sounded heartless. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just… he's gonna hatch!" Ace exclaimed, surprising Sabo with his 180 turn from somber to the happiest Sabo had ever seen Ace for the months and almost a year they'd been best friends.

Sabo looked confused, and Ace pointed to a large black egg moving around a little bit. It was huge for an egg. Even the giant birds in the forest didnt have eggs this big. It was the size of Ace's whole torso. And how did Ace know it was a he? And what was it?

"Is this what you've been carrying all this time?" Sabo asked. Ace nodded. "What is it?" Ace shrugged happily. Sabo gave an amused smile. "So, what's the story behind it?"

Ace seemed more than happy to explain about having it since he was a baby, and that it can talk to him. That part surprised Sabo, but Ace never lied. Even when it was tactful to lie or fib, Ace didn't. So Sabo had no choice but to believe the words were true, or there was something wrong with Ace in the head. Of course, he'd never say such a thing.

Sabo and Ace sat in comfortable silence and just watched the egg roll back and forth of its own volition. Ace was grinning the whole time. It was an hour after waiting that a little tap was sounded. Ace crawled closer until he was laying on his stomach right in front of it.

A little crack appeared, and a piece of the egg fell off. Liquid came out that slightly disgusted Sabo, but Ace didn't seem to care. He somehow managed to not help it out of the egg, wanting to meet him already. A little hand came out, with three fingers and a small thumb. It scraped at the edge of the shell, trying to get out faster. The hand was damp with the liquid inside that was dripping down the shell and onto the wood floor.

A foot popped out of the bottom, kicking slowly. It had shorter toes than fingers, but no thumb on it. The egg rolled on its side again, cracking one side, with little fissures spreading out, like a crack in ice would. Then the whole thing cracked open and a little wet creature came out, its eyes closed.

Ace looked at it in awe as Sabo looked at it in shock. Ace had no idea what it was, but Sabo did. Well, based on books and picture books he'd read for free time in secret back at "home". Ace touched its finger and it automatically gripped onto his finger, making a whining noise.

The freckled child got a blanket and began gently wiping the goo off of its body. "Hey, little guy. It's Ace," he said quietly. The baby gripped his finger tighter and moved his arm around jerkily, swinging Ace's hand. "I wonder what you are?"

"Ace, it's a dragon," Sabo said quietly. Ace looked at him in confusion. "It's supposed to be a mythical creature that breathes fire. It's said to fly and have big teeth and be violent. It's supposed to be fictional, though," the six year old said in confusion. He wondered how accurate everything he'd ever known was if dragons really existed.

"Hmmm," was all Ace said as he lifted the now dry baby dragon and into his arms. Ace! "Yeah, it's me," the boy said with a fond grin. "Been waiting for you for a while." The baby made a chuffing giggle. Ace hugged it close.

Sabo watched with shock. Ace had never acted like this. So happy and open. Then again, he'd been waiting for this dragon to hatch for his whole life. Sabo was happy for him, but was curious about how they'd raise it. Sabo would help, Ace was his best friend after all.

"What's your name?" Ace asked. The baby cocked its head at the words. His eyes were still closed. "No name? Okay, I'll name you then. Hmmm." Ace was silent for a good five minutes, thinking hard about what to name him. "Lu?"

Sabo looked surprised. "Where'd you come up with that?" Ace shrugged. "Don't you think Lu is kinda boring? Why not add something at the end?" Sabo suggested.

"Luka? Lumy? Lu-?"

"Okay, stop. Those are all horrible," Sabo said, only slightly joking. "How about Luffy? Sounds catchy. Then you can nickname him Lu if you want," the blonde explained. Ace turned to the dragon, asking if he liked that name.

Yeah!

"Great! This is Sabo. My best friend," Ace said. Luffy's eyelids twitched and slowly opened and looked at Sabo. He had big green eyes with round pupils. Sabo waved at him. Then the dragon looked up at Ace with a wondering expression. He'd never seen Ace before, even though he'd been with him for six years.

"Welcome to the world," Ace told him in a loving voice. It made Sabo soften his eyes. He hoped his friend wouldn't forget all about him. Luffy let out a happy sounding coo, popping his tongue out of his mouth and chewing on it with his small teeth. Both boys chuckled.

"Is he hungry?" Sabo asked. "What should we feed him?"

"I don't know… What food do you want to eat?" Ace asked Luffy.

Food?

"Yeah, you eat it. You put it in your mouth and then it gives you energy and keeps you alive," Ace explained patiently. Sabo thought it was very interesting that Ace was somehow communicating with him. Luffy wasn't sure.

"Can you open your mouth, Luffy?" Sabo asked kindly as he got closer. Ace looked at his friend strangely, but Luffy did as he was asked. Sabo looked at his teeth shapes, even if they were small. "Hmmm. Luffy is an omnivore," Sabo said in surprise. He had always thought dragons were meant to be carnivores with their extremely sharp teeth. While Luffy did have sharp canines and a few back teeth, most of his teeth were flat molars, like humans or deer.

"What's an omnivore?" Ace questioned. Luffy cocked his head as well.

"Creatures that can eat both plants and meat. Like humans. So Luffy can eat meat or plants if he wants. Let's try something easy first. Do you have any produce? Like fruits and vegetables?" Sabo questioned. Ace shook his head. They really only ate meat, which actually wasn't healthy. Sabo frowned. "Not at all?"

"Nope." Sabo sighed. He'd make sure ate Ace produce on their hunts and time together. That brought up the question of where Luffy was going to go when Ace and Sabo were out hunting. He was a baby, so it would be very dangerous for him.

"We can go out and find some," Ace offered. He looked down at Luffy, who was completely on his back now in Ace's lap. He'd started chewing on Ace's fingers with his blunt teeth. Slobber was all over Ace's hands now. He pulled them away gently, making Luffy's fingers make grasping moments, wanting the fingers back. Ace just smiled at him.

"Do you want to go outside?" he asked. He stood up with Luffy in his arms and walked to the window, showing him the front yard. Luffy sniffed the air loudly, and nodded.

Fun!

"It is fun. More than in here." Luffy wriggled. Down, down, the voice in Ace's head said. Luffy had no sound of voice, though he could somehow hear emotion in it. Ace just knew the words he wanted. It was strange. But Ace did as the dragon wanted and set him down on the ground.

Luffy laid on his stomach, trying to pick himself up. He couldn't do it for a few minutes, and Ace was about to pick him back up, but Luffy pressed his face against the wood and lifted his neck and back up, pushing his arms out ahead of him and shakily stood up, awkwardly pulling his back legs up as well until he was standing.

The dragon looked up at Ace, who grinned and congratulated him. He shakily walked to Ace's feet and pressed his own onto Ace's shoes. With him up and not scrunched in a ball, both boys could see what he really looked like.

His body was the size of a bear cub, and had smooth black skin that wasn't scaly, but was still thick and strong. He had long toes on his front feet and shorter toes on his back. His tail was longer than his whole body, and had been curled around himself before. He had a shorter snout with some frills going down his neck and chest area. The wings were small, too small for him to fly now, and furled into his sides starting from the top of his shoulder blades. The big green eyes were what made him look like a baby the most.

He was very pretty. The body frame could be compared to a tiger. Like a smaller version of the Tiger Lord in the forest.

"He sure is progressing quickly. Can already walk!" Sabo said in amazement. "Well, he was in an egg for six years, so maybe he should mature quickly now that he's out." Ace was crouched down and running his hand over Luffy's smooth skin. He made a purring sound.

"Wanna go outside?" Ace asked with a smile. Luffy stepped off of his brother's feet and turned towards the bedroom door, walking slowly and carefully. He seemed hesitant to step on the blankets, carefully walking around them. "Bet Dadan is gonna be thrilled to have a dragon in the house," Ace said sarcastically.

Sabo thought about that for a moment. "We could build our own place," Sabo suggested. Ace looked at him like he was crazy. They were only six. "What? We basically live by ourselves anyways. You just sleep here and then leave all day," the blonde pointed out.

Luffy pawed at the closed door. Ace put his hand on the doorknob and twisted, opening the room. The bandits didn't notice the extra boy and a new creature in the doorway at first, until Dogra saw and screamed about having a monster in the house. Everyone turned around and started freaking out.

Luffy didn't like the noise and hid behind one of Ace's legs. "Oi! Shut it! You all thought it was a rock. I told you it was an egg!" Ace shouted. Luffy wasn't afraid of Ace's shouting. He'd heard him shout before, it was just through a shell.

"And I'm Sabo, Ace's friend. Nice to meet you," he said politely.

Dadan came storming out of the bathroom, shouting about the noise, when she stopped after seeing Ace, Sabo and the thing behind his legs. Dadan blanched, but said nothing. Until, "OUT!" Ace and Sabo didn't know who she was talking to since she wasn't looking at either.

They both shrugged and only left because Luffy didn't like the yelling. And they did it at a slow pace as the newborn dragon cautiously walked to the door, sniffing everything, nervous about the big world outside of his shell. He was assaulted with new scents and sounds from all sides.

When the three reached the front door, they opened it and Luffy cautiously sniffed the grass before slowly putting his front foot down on it. He was a like a cat checking out a new place.

Once they were out of the house, Luffy became much more adventurous. He sniffed the house and all of the plants. He heard some sounds from the forest since his eyes stared that way and he raised his head. His eyes were wide, but not in fear. Ace followed him closely as the dragon walked to the edge of the lawn and looked at a flower.

Both boys watched in interest as Luffy ate it. He seemed to like it as he followed the vines to a bush and then ate all of those flowers. After that, he hurried back to Ace, trotting slowly. Ace carried Luffy as the three walked through the forest, going down familiar trails to both boys. They kept away from places they knew were infested with predators, like the ponds full of alligators, or the trees with the violent birds.

They didn't want Luffy to be afraid of the outside on his first outing. Sabo had his pipe ready to protect Ace and the baby. Luffy was interested in everything, but still cautious as well. He didn't leave Ace's arms the whole way.

Is big.

"Yeah, it's very big. There's a ton more places on this island, but we're only going through the forest right now," Ace replied. Luffy's tail was wrapped around Ace's back. They arrived at the treasure tree, a very big and tall one with an extremely thick trunk. One of the biggest trees on the island. "We go up there sometimes," he said and pointed up at the highest branch.

Wow! Luffy "said" as he looked up at the impossibly tall tree.

"You can't go up there yet. When you can fly you can," Ace told him, as he turned back to looking at his brother. Luffy cocked his head. "You use your wings so you can go up in the air. See, look at that bird. That is flying," Ace explained. His patience was something new to Sabo.

I can do that?!

"Eventually, yes. I'm sure it will be fun," Ace said enthusiastically. The three explored the forest some more, Luffy looking at everything in wonder. Eventually, like the baby he was, he became tired, and fell asleep in Ace's arm as they walked back to the hut. Ace and Sabo snuck into Ace's room through the still open window, and Ace laid the dragon down on his mat, convering him in a clean blanket, not the one still wet with the fluids Ace had cleaned off of his brother.

Sabo had left to go hunting for him, Ace and Luffy, while Ace stayed in the room with the dragon. He'd locked the door so none of the bandits could barge in and wake Luffy up.

The dragon twitched in his sleep. Ace had to admit that Luffy was very cute, not that he'd ever say that word out loud. Men don't say "cute"! When Sabo returned, he had a dead deer. He managed to contort the body in through the window.

"We have no way to cook it," Sabo said. Suddenly Ace's hands caught on fire, and he shouted in shock and surprise. Sabo immediately backed away from Ace, eyes wide. Ace began to breathe quickly, panicking as the fire spread up his arms. Sabo slammed the door open and ran to the bathroom to get a bucket of water from the bath, ignoring the startled bandits, and ran back into the bedroom, dousing Ace in water, extinguishing the flames.

"Are you okay?" Sabo asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Uh, yeah. The deer is cooked," Ace said in a shaking voice. Luffy was awake and hiding under the blanket, scared from the sudden loud noises. He hadn't seen Ace on fire, since he'd immediately hid under the sheets.

Ace had no burns on him. His clothes weren't even burned. Sabo looked thoroughly confused. Ace didn't eat any devil fruit, and Sabo wasn't even sure if those actually existed. Then a thought came into his head.

"Hey Ace. Do you think you're a human?" Sabo asked slowly. Ace looked up at him in confusion. "I mean, you can talk telepathically with a dragon you seemed to be born with. And now you have a power or powers. Do you have any family that could tell you why?" Ace furrowed his brows, picking up the baby dragon and comforting him, apologizing for waking him up with yell.

Luffy just looked at him with big eyes and hugged him, his arms actually able to encircle him. Ace smiled and hugged him back. He set him back on the mat and covered him again. "Don't be scared if there's more yelling. The people here like to scream a lot," Ace said kindly.

The dragon didn't seem to be able to sleep again, and just rolled back and forth on his back, trying to scratch an itch. Sabo and Ace smiled at him. Sabo had to agree that Luffy was cute, though men don't say that. Ace would probably tease him for thinking that.

"Are you hungry for your first meal?" Ace asked, pulling a piece of charred meat off of the crispy deer. "It's a little burnt," the boy apologized. He handed Luffy the meat, who sniffed it thoroughly before taking it in his mouth and chewing it. It really was crisp since the boys could hear it crunching in the baby's mouth.

"I'm sorry it's crappy," Ace apologized, wishing he could have fed Luffy something good for his first meal.

Is yummy.

Ace grinned. "Good, I'm glad." He and Sabo helped themselves to the meat, making sure to not eat all of it so Luffy could have more if he was still hungry. And, despite him having a little belly, he ate a lot of meat.

Ace had told Dadan to "fuck off" when she told them they needed to go hunt, and then yelled about getting "that thing" out of the house. It took everything Ace had to not deck her in the face for talking about his brother like that.

Despite how loud and big Dadan was, Luffy wasn't scared of her, and Ace even had to pick the dragon up so he didn't wander over to the manly woman. Instead, Dadan had been slightly frightened of Luffy. The helpless baby scared her. Ace could only imagine how quickly he'd be kicked out if it was revealed he could light himself on fire.

They would need to work on controlling it. It could be very dangerous if he burned someone or started a fire that would burn down the house or even the forest. It frightened Ace. And when it was bedtime, he had trouble sleeping. Was he a monster? Sure, it would be cool to control fire, but he was a human, damnit! And it had never really clicked that it was strange that he'd grown up with an egg.

A big one. And he'd never really noticed that it was a big egg. He was just so used to it that nothing really seemed strange about it until it was pointed out. The freckled boy looked to the side to see Sabo sleeping on the floor with another blanket on him. Ace and Luffy were sharing the mat and blanket. Luffy was pretty small, after all. So was Ace, since he was a six year old.

He did fall asleep when he put his arm around the little dragon and he started to purr. The sound put him to sleep quickly.

I'm really into writing dragon stories right now, and just finished posting  Ace and the Dragon.  I'm glad people seemed to enjoy that one. The Whitebeards play a big part in parts 2-4. For part one, it's reserved for ASL. Anyways, hope the chapter hooked you, there's a lot more content to come! Review please.

Chapter Text

weebttrashtbh: Thank you! And I think your username is awesome. lol.

nessa11997: Thanks! Hope you continue to do so!

imacchi11229: Thank you! The fluff will continue for a couple more chapters. There are only eight of ASL childhood. Then the rating gets bumped up for the next three parts. Hope you stick with it even then. <3

Bailey: Sanji isn't in this, only ASL and Garp later on, before a certain giant crew comes into play for parts 2-4. If you accidentally meant to type Sabo (I have done so myself. Or mixed up Luffy's name with another OC's name), no he's a Regular Joe. There's more to do with that later! 

Sillyrama: Unfortunately (for some), the fluff will not be throughout the entire story. This part is only four-five chapters I think (wrote it awhile ago!) so it will not take too long for it to come out. And I will post the next parts immediately after the childhood "arc" is finished, no long break. I wouldn't do that to my readers! The pace so far worked in my plan (MWAHAHAHA) to have more feedback by staggering the chapters. Though, this one is shorter than the last so I will update sooner. 

Kireeeshima: <3 

Kurosaki Shiro: I'm so happy having regular readers! Thank you! Below, I will explain Luffy's anatomy more. Sorry if it was confusing. When I was drawing him out, I realized how dang boring he looks, so I added little ears. I inserted a (poorly) drawn picture of baby dragon Luffy in the previous chapter.   

My plan worked! I got a lot more comments on here for it! I added a picture I drew of Luffy to the previous chapter (so cool, I didn't know you could do that until I read a MarcoxAce one with really good drawings!)

It's not that great as I haven't drawn in awhile. Some were confused about Luffy's anatomy, so I'll explain it a bit more. No horns on him, no spikes except small ones on his tail, which will grow bigger. His wings are too small to fly now, as he is a baby. His arms can work like humans in that fact he can wrap them around Ace in a hug, and can use his fingers and little thumbs, though it's not really needed yet and unnecessary to use most of the time. He has a very long tail. When he grows bigger, he will be around the same size as Toothless from HTTYD. He has big eyes with round pupils, like a human's. Since this chapter is shorter than the last, I'll update sooner in compensation than last time. And I loved all of your comments! Enjoy~

The moment Ace woke up, he immediately looked around for the egg, forgetting he had hatched in his hazy sleep state. But then he felt the little creature next to him under the blanket, and grinned. That's right, his brother had hatched yesterday. He was so happy.

Ace then noticed Sabo was gone. He sat up slowly, not wanting to disturb Luffy, and looked around. Sabo had folded his blanket and the window was open when it had been closed last night. Where did he go? His pipe was gone, so meaning he went hunting.

How would they hunt with Luffy? He could probably still fit in the backpack if he scrunched up. Ace didn't want him walking around in the forest, even if he was right next to Ace or Sabo. Not yet. They knew nothing about how fast he would grow. Did he count as six years old, or one day old?

At least he didn't need milk or anything hard to get. Ace would just take care of him, and maybe ask Garp about it next time he saw him. Next time he wasn't being beaten up. It had been over a year since he'd visited, and Ace didn't know how to feel about it.

One one hand, at least he hadn't been beaten in awhile. But on the other, Garp was his only family, since he didn't think of the bandits as family. And him not visiting made Ace feel extremely unimportant.

He was lost in his thoughts until the little dragon stood up and put his front feet on Ace's lap.

Sad? He asked in concern. Ace shook his head, not wanting to worry the baby. "I'm fine. Just thinking," he replied. Luffy cocked his head, wanting to know what Ace was thinking about. The boy confessed his thoughts. "Grandpa doesn't visit me much, and sometimes it makes me sad. He's my only family, except you."

The mean one who hit you? Luffy asked, having a visible frown on his face. Ace looked surprised.

"How much do you remember from being in the egg?" Ace wondered, stroking Luffy's smooth skin.

Lots! Ace cry a lot when baby. And eat a lot, too. We go on adventures in the backpack. Ace sleep with me at night, and yell a lot. Ace protect me!

Ace's eyes were wide. Luffy remembered even back to when Ace was a baby? Well, at least he wasn't completely bored in the egg. "What was it like being in the egg?" the boy asked curiously.

Was warm and soft.

"Do you miss it?" Ace asked quietly.

No. I get to meet Ace. Waiting for long time.

Ace swallowed, trying to conceal his tears. "Do you love me?"

Lots!

Ace bit his lip, trying his best not to cry. Luffy loved him, even when he couldn't see or touch him. No one loved Ace. No one ever had, as long as he remembered. Garp had never once said he loved his grandson. "Thank you. I love you, too," Ace said quietly, picking up his brother and hugging him close. "I promise I'll protect you with my life."

Ace didn't know Sabo was waiting outside the window the whole time, though he was only able to hear half of the conversation. He had a sad smile on his face the whole time. Luffy would be good for his friend. Sabo just knew it.

The blonde waited a few minutes before he appeared in the window. "Ace, help me with this," Sabo said as he tried to shove a boar through the window. They wouldn't be sharing with the bandits. Not now that they had an extra child and growing baby dragon. This food was for them. There was only a matter of time before they Ace was kicked out, along with Luffy and Sabo. Then Sabo's idea would probably become a reality.

They could do it. A safe place for them. From Garp, the bandits. Where would it be? A treehouse would be cool, but how would they get Luffy up and down? Until he could fly. Ace was looking forward to that. Depending on how big Luffy got, maybe Ace could fly on him, too. That would be amazing.

Sabo had brought in some sticks to make a campfire. He asked Ace to light it. In hindsight, maybe making a campfire inside a small house with a wooden floor wasn't the best idea. Sabo brought some spears in and cut little pieces off of the boar with a knife he took from the storage shed with the weapons the bandits used and always wanted Ace to clean.

They shoved chunks of meat onto the sticks and held them over the fire. Luffy approached the flames, curious as to what they were, since he hadn't seen the flames last night. He was about to touch them when Ace gently pushed the little hand away, telling him fire was dangerous and not to touch it. Luffy sat down and watched the flames, only looking away when he was given a small chunk of cooked meat.

Once most of the boar was gone, filling all three's tummies, Sabo attempted to put the fire out, but blowing it had been the wrong move, for an ember flew across the room and landed on the blanket. It quickly went up in flames, and Ace and Sabo were shouting about how to put it out when the door burst open from the main room.

Dadan didn't even have time to shout at them when she started screaming for water to put it out. Magra ran to the bathroom to get the whole bathtub since the room had lit on fire as well, with the boys and the dragon all trying to climb out of the window, but the ground was lighting on fire as well.

Just as Magra was getting to the door, the large woman turned and ran from the fire, only to knock into Magra and spill all of the water. There was silence before the real screaming began, and the boys were calling for help while Luffy screeched in cries of fear.

The moment Ace saw the fire reach the dragon's tail, something kicked in and he shouted as all of the fire from the room was sucked away into Ace's hands. The room was left in smoke that was billowing out of the window and the walls and floor were scorched with black.

Ace bent down and snatched Luffy up into his arms tightly, staring at the room in shock. It hadn't even tingled. The fire felt… soft. What the hell was wrong with him? He began to hyperventilate. Sabo was about to intervene and help when Luffy reached up a little hand to Ace's face. Ace looked down, and looking into the dragon's eyes, he calmed on his own. It was like looking at Luffy put a warm and soft blanket over him, and he was quickly calm again. He took a few deep breaths and was okay.

Dadan and the bandits looking through the doorway stared at Ace in shock and fear. Ace hugged Luffy tighter, Sabo moving to grip his arm gently in comfort. Despite Ace's outward defiant look, he was terrified. Sabo would be too, to be honest. Suddenly, Ace had to question whether he was human. Surely normal humans can't have powers like this without eating a devil fruit.

Dadan looked at him hard for a moment, but suddenly her expression softened for just a second before she commanded them to wash the room and keep the creature inside. It was not to leave this room. Ace glared at her wording.

Luffy just looked at her with wide eyes, his emotion was hard to tell. Dadan faltered for a moment before she slammed the door shut, which promptly crashed down off its damaged hinges. Luffy startled in Ace's arms. Dadan sighed, telling them to clean it up again while she went and opened every window and door to the outside. The room reeked of smoke, and the boys finally start coughing in it.

Luffy didn't know what to do as Ace and Sabo tried scrubbing the walls with the little water that was left in the bath once it had fallen over. The walls remained damaged, but the dark spots faded a bit. Luffy sat in one corner, the blankets and matt burned to ash.

Once Luffy sees his footprints on the ashy floor, he began to doodle with his long fingers, moving them across the floor in straight lines and circles.

"I gotta say, making a campfire inside wasn't the best decision," Sabo said as he scrubbed. "But this just means we have to move out. There's no way we can keep living here. At least not till the walls and floor are fixed."

Ace shook his head. "The bandits won't replace this room. Especially since it was our fault the fire started," he grumbled. At least he was able to protect Luffy and Sabo at the last moment. He could start fire, as well as putting it out. If he was able to master it, Ace would become quite powerful. He could fully protect his baby brother. Did this mean Luffy could use fire as well? Ace only got the power after Luffy hatched.

He wanted to see Garp already. He wanted - needed - answers. What was he? Where did Luffy come from? Where did both of them come from? What made them so special? He had so many questions that would eat away at him until he had answers.

The two boys took a break to see that all of the bandits had left the hut. They couldn't blame them this time. It was Ace and sabo's fault. They took responsibility. For now. Once the room was somewhat acceptable, they were outta there. Ace wondered if Garp would even care, or would try and find him. Probably to "train him" to be a good Marine.

How would Luffy be treated if Garp popped up? Ace wouldn't let the man touch him. No, Ace could take a beating, not that he liked it, but Luffy was a baby, and would be for awhile. And Ace would not let anyone touch him. He'd protect his brother over himself. He'd been waiting for six years, and he wasn't about to lose him just after he was brought into the big world.

It took many hours before the boys, Ace holding Luffy, left the hut and went to the bandits who were outside to tell them the job was done as best as it could be.

"We're going to move out. We started the fire, and we aren't getting rid of Luffy, so we are no longer welcome here. But, while we build a new place, please let us sleep on the property, maybe in the shed."

The bandits looked at them like they were crazy. "Ace, you're six," Magra said. "You can't go live by yourself."

Ace frowned at him. "The bedroom is not good for sleeping in anymore, and I'm sure you won't welcome Luffy," Ace replied. Magra frowned, and then turned to Dadan for an answer to Ace's words.

"You can sleep in the shed for now. Then you can go back to build a new house, if you can. Even though your six," Dadan grumbled. Sabo looked confused. Why did the woman sound concerned? From what Sabo had seen so far, she wasn't a welcoming woman. And both boys had expected her to be screaming at them for lighting the room on fire, keeping a baby thing in there while not telling anyone.

She didn't say a thing about Ace putting out the fire by absorbing it. Was she in on something? But he wouldn't ask. He didn't want to hear the answers from her. He didn't know why, but he would only listen to Garp. he was the one who brought him there as a baby, after all. There had to be a reason he was dumped on bandits in the middle of nowhere instead of living with Garp or being adopted into a nice family. There had better be a good reason.

"Thank you," Ace said before walking into the forest with Sabo, carrying Luffy in his arms. He peeked over Ace's shoulder, watching the bandits until they were out of view.

Where we going? Luffy questioned.

"Well, we can't live with the bandits anymore. And we don't want to, honestly. So we're going to build our own place, somewhere. It'll be super cool, I promise," Ace said to the dragon, who seemed to be kneading on Ace's shoulder, but without any claws. Sabo smiled at the cute scene.

"Are you happy, Luffy?" Sabo asked. Luffy nodded. "We're going to try and find a good place to build a new home," Sabo explained with a light and cheery voice.

Ace hiked Luffy up a bit to have a more secure grip on him, while he said, "A treehouse seems cool. Maybe in one of the big trees. Should we search for the biggest?" he asked his friend. Sabo agreed and they went hunting for the biggest tree.

They went to the one holding their treasure and Sabo climbed up, Ace staying below with Luffy in his arms, pipe tied behind his back. Sabo looked around to find the tallest tree, and saw one that was absolutely massive, higher than any other tree. He was sure it would have a beautiful view.

"I found it!" Sabo called as he scurried back down the tree. Luffy perked up and turned his neck around to see Sabo. "It's super tall and would probably have a great view." Ace grinned.

"Now we just gotta draw some blueprints," the freckled child said.

Blueprints? Wha's that?

"It's a drawing of something we are going to build. A treehouse high in the tree. You'll get to see the whole island," Ace replied. Luffy was still kneading Ace's shoulder. Sabo and Ace walked to a patch of dirt with a stick and the blonde started to design a new house. He erased multiple ones until he came up with a design he felt would be both cool and they would be able to make it.

"It's probably gonna take a long time, so we have to find somewhere to put Luffy to keep him safe while we build," Sabo said as he lead Ace through the forest in the direction he'd seen the massive plant. "We also have to do something about bringing him to Gray Terminal to get supplies. It's very dangerous there."

"The backpack burned in the damn fire," Ace grumbled irritably. "And I don't trust him to be babysat by the bandits. He's too vulnerable. And trusting, since he accepted you with only a few words."

"Or he just knows who is good and who is bad?" Sabo offered. Then he thought about Luffy's calm reaction to Dadan. Maybe Ace was right; Luffy might be too trusting. But, he is a baby after all. He hadn't been exposed to anyone or anything bad.

They came across a deer, with Luffy turned around to look at it.

Wha's that? Luffy asked curiously before the deer noticed them and bolted. Neither boy caught her because they weren't hunting. "It's called a deer. It's frightened very easily," Ace said, not telling Luffy that they had eaten one not long ago. Luffy looked around in wonder again.

Other than that, they came across no animals besides birds and squirrels. When they reached the tree, Luffy's eyes widened in amazement. That was big! Ace looked at his big eyes and slightly open mouth in fondness. "Big, isn't it?" he asked softly.

Yeah! I wanna go up on it.

"Not until you're much bigger, Luffy," Ace said seriously. Luffy looked sad at that. "We don't want you falling off and hurting yourself. It's much too high for someone, even a dragon, to fall from and survive. You're too little right now."

"I'll go up and inspect it," Sabo said, already climbing up. The boys were like monkeys. It was so easy for them to climb up trees or cliffs. Ace did wish he could go up, but he'd just have Sabo hold Luffy so he could go up and check it out also.

Ace trusted Sabo with Luffy. He'd been a great friend, who protected Ace when he needed to, like Ace did for him. He had no doubt that Sabo wouldn't do anything to hurt the baby dragon. Ace walked around the trunk to see how thick it was. It was probably as thick around as the bandits' hut!

The brothers could distantly hear Sabo calling Ace's name. He walked back to where Sabo would see him, and could barely see him beaming. Looks like the tree was a good choice. "Come hold Luffy! I wanna see!" Ace called down.

Luffy looked at the ground and started squirming. Down, down. Ace looked at the ground and saw a stag beetle walking past them slowly. Ace smiled and set the dragon down, who immediately pounced on it, covering it with his front feet. The beetle did its best to escape, and made it out of Luffy's fingers, but the dragon was soon on it again, batting it around like a cat would.

He sniffed it thoroughly, but didn't eat it. It was moving, so was it not food? What is it?!

"It's a bug. There's tons of them. They can fly or be underground. They're everywhere. This one is called a beetle. See, this one can fly," Ace said as it finally escaped, flying away, though it was injured. Luffy made a whine and chased it until it was too high for him to get. He went trotting back to Ace.

Got away, he mumbled sadly. Ace crouched down and put his hand on Luffy's small head.

"Don't worry, you'll have many more chances to catch a bug. Now I'm going to go up and Sabo will stay down with you. Okay?" Ace asked as Sabo hurried over, still beaming about the perfect location to build a treehouse. "Switch, Sabo," Ace said and hurried off to the place Sabo had just come from.

Sabo sat down next to Luffy, who was watching Ace climb. "We're gonna take good care of you. Promise, and I'll help. You can trust me," Sabo said kindly. Luffy cocked his head at him and walked closer. Then he sat down right next to him and watched where Ace had gone. Sabo hesitantly ran his hand down Luffy's smooth back, ready to pull back immediately if Luffy didn't like that.

But he heard faint purring noises. God, he was cute.

Luffy stood up and hurried to the place Ace was going to come down on as the boy climbed down the tree, sporting the same grin Sabo had. "It's huge up there! We're gonna make the best treehouse ever!" Ace shouted excitedly. Luffy put his toes on Ace's, wanting to be picked up again.

When can I see?

"Once it's safe enough for us to be up there, you'll see the best view ever." Luffy's eyes widened even more, and he slightly bounced on his front toes. Luffy clearly couldn't wait to be up there.

So Ace has powers now! Not surprising he has the power of fire, as in cannon he has the flame flame devil fruit. I think it's next chapter that things get explained in more detail, but you'll just have to speculate for now! Review, please!

Chapter Text

Leska: Luffy is too sweet and innocent to behave or look like Drogon. I'm glad you're enjoying it. 

YJV: Sabo is a regular human. That is an important part of the story later. But, he's still strong like in the anime when he was this age. Well, as strong as he was as a ten year old, but is younger in this. 

nessa11997: Things will get darker, but enjoy the fluff for now! part 2-4 is very different than part 1. Thank you for the review. 

School started yesterday and I don't want to jinx it but so far I really like my teachers! I really appreciate all of the kudos and reviews! 

Finally getting an explanation in this chapter as to Ace and Luffy's family. Some cute fluff and important information. Enjoy~

The building of the tree house was difficult. Not because it was labor intensive. No, that part was relatively easy since both boys were fit from their training and constant exploration and fighting. It was keeping Luffy safe that was the hard part. And the dragon wasn't doing them much favor as he wandered off multiple times, trying to catch bugs.

Luffy was never taken the Gray Terminal. It was assumed that Luffy could easily be stolen from the six year olds as they carried supplies. Luffy, as something that wasn't supposed to exist, would probably sell for a high price.

So Ace and Sabo took turns going to get supplies that others saw as junk. They had hollowed out a part of the trunk, which was extremely difficult, and then put makeshift wooden bars across the entrance so Luffy would stop wandering off.

But the baby dragon got bored easily in there, and would keep calling Ace's name to come and let him out. Ace told him, kindly, that it was for his own safety and protection, and once the boys were done for the day, they would join him or take him exploring some more.

After the third week after Luffy's hatching, Ace let him explore by his side instead of in his arms. Of course both boys were on either side and holding out their weapons to fight at a moments notice.

They went bug hunting many times for breaks during building. It was Luffy's favorite thing to do, since he hadn't been allowed to chase after bugs by himself, which was why he was kept in the little pen, like a human child would need.

Through the weeks after Luffy's hatching, Ace was happier than Sabo had ever seen. He grinned a lot, and played with Luffy often, sometimes zoning out so much Sabo had to touch him to get his attention. Sabo was happy for him, but it also made him sad he couldn't talk with Luffy like Ace could, and only heard half of the conversations with the dragon, so Ace would need to narrate what Luffy was saying.

But, the good thing was that Luffy liked Sabo. Not as much as Ace, but enough that Sabo considered Luffy as a baby brother as well.

The boys had fixed up the weapons shed outside of the bandit's hut but still on the property, and had to clean out many bugs, which Luffy enjoyed. He was allowed to chase them around the yard, but not to go near the bushes leading to the forest. None of the bandits had touched him or even gotten close, due to fear. Which was just ridiculous. Luffy looked less harmless than a damn rabbit.

When the day finally came that the three could move out of the bandit's property completely, Sabo gathered his things from his old home and hurried the the treehouse that Ace and Luffy were waiting at. Luffy was pacing back and forth in excitement.

Both boys were needed to get Luffy up the rope ladder to the top of the tree where their house was nestled. Sabo tied a rope as a harness securely around Ace. The dragon wasn't afraid of the heights as he looked down from tied to Ace's back. And thankfully, Luffy didn't move at all.

The tree house was all decked out, feeling very homey. There were bags of supplies and tools tied to the ceiling wood, and there were blankets folded in the corner for sleeping on. Luffy had to be explained what the pirate wheel was since the boys had both decided they wanted to be pirates. Then there was a ladder up to the little crow's nest that Luffy wasn't allowed to go on yet. The dragon loved it.

And, for his safety, a retractable railing was around the open parts of the treehouse so Luffy couldn't fall off and hit the ground, surely going to die. He ran around the little space, sniffing things he didn't recognize. He hurried to the side, sticking his head over the side to look at how high they were.

So high! he said in wonder, with not a trace of fear.

"It is, and it's very dangerous. So we have to be careful to not fall off. We can make a campfire down below the tree for eating, and the hollow part of the tree can be some sort of storage," Ace said with a grin. Everything was coming together.

-x-

It had been three days after their first night in their new home that Luffy had a nightmare. He had started making a wailing noise when he woke up, awakening both boys in a panic. Luffy had his hands over his eyes while lying on his stomach. Ace immediately scooped him up in a tight embrace.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream?" Ace asked in concern, rubbing Luffy's smooth back. He nodded. "Do you wanna talk about it? I've had some pretty bad ones myself. Sabo has, too."

I was trapped in the egg and it was cold and Ace and Sabo wasn't there. Were loud noises a lot and I can't see anything. It's scary! and he cried some more, big tears coming from his closed green eyes.

Ace shushed him, wiping away the tears. "You'll never be inside the egg again, and we'll never not be there. Don't worry, I will always protect you, and never leave you alone. Promise," the freckled child reassured his brother. Sabo sat awkwardly, having no idea what was going on since he couldn't hear what Luffy was saying.

"Do you want to go back to sleep while cuddling? I'll keep you warm, since it's kinda chilly without any walls." Luffy nodded and crawled under the covers and was situated under Ace's arm on his side. Ace would protect him, even from bad dreams. He wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt his baby brother. Never.

-x-

Luffy laid down on his tummy, front legs curled and tucked under him, watching multiple bugs fly around a somewhat dirty tank they'd secured and sloppily patched up for Luffy to watch. He was completely distracted, and wanted to catch the bugs, but not hurt the thing they were inside. Ace and Sabo spent a long time on it.

He was down on the ground with Ace and Sabo, who were trying to help Ace control his newfound power. It was difficult for the boy. Ace was trying to light a bonfire, but either little sparks, massive bursts of flames, did nothing, or completely incinerated the wood. Luffy had grown tired of it after three hours, so they set up the little bug box for his entertainment.

It kept him still and quiet, completely distracted. They all were, and that was why they didn't notice the big man until he was in hearing distance.

"Well, looks like he finally hatched," a gruff voice said from the edge of the forest. Everyone jumped, Ace accidentally jumping up too high and falling on his butt, with his flame propelling him up without trying.

There was Garp, who hadn't visited in over a year. Was he here to attack Ace, or kidnap Luffy for the Marines? Ace sprinted forward and snatched Luffy up, retreating to behind the bonfire. Sabo looked confused as to who the man was.

"Long time, no see, Ace!" the man guffawed. Ace shook slightly, in fear but also anger. He comes back after all this time and acts like nothing is wrong? It pissed the freckled child off. He just glared at him. But, then Ace was relieved he was here. He could finally get some damn answers.

Keeping Luffy securely in his grip, who was watching with confusion, Ace said, "What am I?" in an angry tone. Garp sighed and sat down with his legs crossed. Ace felt no hostility, and neither did Luffy or Sabo, though the boys didn't want the baby dragon near the man who repeatedly beat his five year old grandson.

Ace handed Luffy to Sabo, and then approached the man, though not too close. "What have you been keeping from me?" he growled. Then he asked quietly, "Am I human?"

"Part human." Ace looked shocked, and demanded for his to explain more. Garp, for once, didn't berate him for raising his voice or sounding disrespectful. He could see what Ace must have been feeling since the egg hatched.

"Your father was the pirate king, Gol D. Roger. And your mother's name was Portgas D. Rouge. She birthed you and Luffy. She was part dragon." Ace and Sabo had their jaws drop, and exchanged a bewildered glance. But Garp continued. "Roger fell in love with Rouge after meeting her on a mountain, where she lived. She was in her human form when they first met, and he became even more intrigued when she told him what she was after a few days of spending time together.

"When they fell in love, she got pregnant with Roger's children. Twins, though very different. You were born in Rouge's human form, while the dragon-" Ace supplied Luffy - "Luffy, was in her dragon form. You are three fourths human, while Luffy is almost all dragon, but a small part human.

"Rouge explained to me what might happen to you. On her deathbed, she handed me you as an infant, and Luffy as a small egg. She died from a very poisonous plant that could kill a dragon and almost complicated her birth."

"What's going to happen to me?" Ace asked slowly, almost not wanting the answer. What if it was something bad? Sabo couldn't help but inch closer to hear better what Ace was. What made him different. He kept Luffy secure in his lap, so he couldn't get any closer the the large grandfather.

"I can remember most of what she said. Being mostly human, you will never be able to turn into a dragon. But, you do have the fire abilities, as I have seen. Your body will also begin to age very slowly. Once you reach middle adulthood, you will almost cease aging entirely. Dragons live for thousands of years. You might live for hundreds. But that's all mostly speculation. Anything could happen."

Ace was listening in slight horror. He was going to outlive Sabo? And Luffy was going to outlive him? He bit his lip and quietly told Garp to continue, clenching his fists. He needed to hear all of it.

"I will no longer be able to train you. Shame," Garp said in a sad voice. Ace was not sad about the fact he'd no longer be abused. "With the powers you have, you will have to say they are from a devil fruit. Scientists and greedy humans would love to get their hands on you and Luffy. You must protect each other."

"Why did you leave us with the bandits? Why them? They were horrible! Why did you let us get adopted by some nice family?! That cares about us? Why didn't you just keep us? You abandoned us to live with people who never liked me. They never wanted me. I heard them say they only kept me 'cause you told them they'd go to jail if they didn't!" Ace shouted. It had hurt more than he thought to be raised by people who didn't give a shit about him.

Garp sighed, closing his eyes. "It was for your own safety. If the government knew that Roger had a child, they'd hunt him or her down and kill them. And, if they caught you or Luffy, you would no doubt become test subjects. It was for your best interest to be raised out here. They didn't do as well as I had hoped, but they are bandits after all," Garp said, as if that excuse was acceptable.

Ace was quiet, rubbing his tears away with a red face of embarrassment. And for once, Garp didn't call him weak for being emotional. But the man didn't apologize. That's what Ace wanted to hear. That he was sorry that it was his fault Ace thought no one loved him.

Garp looked up and craned his neck to see the little dragon. "Can I see him?" Garp asked seriously. He had known that Ace would be terribly protective over his new brother, since he had been with his egg for years. Garp had never seen a dragon, as Rouge had been near death when she had met her. It was a miracle she'd told him all of these things Ace would need to know some day.

Ace frowned, but nodded. He stood up and picked Luffy up into his arms tightly.

Why? He hurt Ace! Luffy protested getting closer, squirming in Ace's hold.

"He's not gonna hurt you. I'll burn him alive if he tries," Ace said, loud enough for Garp to hear clearly. Luffy relaxed, trusting Ace's words. The boy sat a few feet across from Garp, who looked as non-threatening as he was able.

"Hello, Luffy," Garp said, in the kindest voice Ace had ever remembered hearing. It shocked him slightly. "My name is Garp. You can call me grandpa, but you don't need to." The man hesitantly reached his hand forward, making Luffy squirm a little, wanting away from the huge hand. He could squish Luffy in both if he got a hold on him.

No, Ace! He hit Ace, I don't wanna! Luffy protested. So, Ace released the dragon before Garp touched him, and Luffy ran behind Sabo.

"He knows what you treated me like while he was in the egg. He knows you abused me, so he doesn't want to go anywhere near you. And you can't blame him," Ace said in a growl. Garp sighed again.

"Fair enough. I don't want either of you leaving this island. If you do, it is because you want to be Marines," he said sternly.

Nu-uh, we gonna be pirates! Luffy shouted, making Ace chuckle. He turned to Luffy, and said, "Shh. That's a secret."

"I heard about the house fire. It is a good thing you've come somewhere out in the open. I trust that treehouse of yours is safe?" the man asked seriously. Like he was almost worried Ace would get hurt. Ace grumbled that it was safe, and Sabo nodded. He hadn't been introduced to Garp, and really didn't want to be.

What he'd heard of this man from his best friend was alarming. "What's your name, squirt?" Garp asked the blonde, who flinched at being addressed.

"Sabo, sir. I'm Ace's friend. Nice to meet you," he replied politely. Garp startled them by his loud, barking laughter.

"Squirt, you should teach Ace some of those manners of yours!" and he laughed again. Ace sighed, and his face turned a bit pink. Garp looked slightly to the side of Sabo, to see the little dragon looking at him in clear anger and suspicion. The man almost chuckled. Looks like Luffy and Ace were closer than he thought they'd be.

But he had to admit the little monster was a cutie. Then he left, leaving Ace sitting on the ground, processing everything he was told. It had been quite a lot. He almost felt bad for the boy.

"I'll make sure to visit sooner this time," he swore in a solemn voice. Ace made a non committed grunt as acknowledgement and goodbye.

Once Garp was out of view, Luffy ran up to Ace. Ace okay? he asked. Both he and Sabo noticed Ace seemed lost in his thoughts. And not good ones. Ace nodded his head, hair shadowing his eyes. Luffy clearly wasn't convinced, but chose to comfort him with his presence. He crawled into Ace's lap and kneaded his calf with his still claw-less fingers. Ace automatically put his hand on Luffy's side.

Though he was more comforted, he was still having trouble processing what he'd just heard. He was a monster. Not only did he have an evil father, one he'd heard talk of in town in passing, but he wasn't even human. He wasn't a dragon either. He was just a mut. There was nothing else like him in the world. And he didn't like that.

He didn't want to live for hundreds of years. He wanted to grow up with his best friend. But now, he'd still be young and Sabo would grow older, have more of a future. Ace wouldn't meet either of his companions' eyes.

Sabo seemed to have a feeling of what was troubling Ace. He sat down next to his friend and touched his arm gently. "You're no monster, Ace." Ace froze and then lifted his gaze to Sabo, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You're still Ace, my best friend. Luffy's brother. Nothing's changed, and who cares what the rest of the world thinks, even if anyone learns the truth. No one's opinions matter. Who your parents are doesn't matter." Sabo sounded like a wise person, someone who had lived through a lot. Not a six year old.

Sabo was truly and old soul. "...Me and Luffy will outlive you," Ace said quietly. "We'll end up leaving you to die. I- I don't want that! I don't want to be special, or different, or unique! I just want to be normal, not raised by criminals, or born from two different types of monsters. I don't want special powers!"

Does Ace not want me? Luffy asked, tears in his eyes. Ace's eyes widened. If Ace wasn't special, or unique or different, Luffy wouldn't be there.

"No, Luffy. I didn't mean anything like that. I want you, I just wish that I was normal. I don't want to never grow up. I don't want to watch Sabo grow old and die while we stay youthful." Then he turned to Sabo. "I'm sorry you couldn't have a normal best friend," Ace said, choking up.

"Hey, at least this way, you won't die before me. I don't need to see my two best friends pass away before me. I'm sorry you have to, but I'm not angry or think either of you are monsters. I promise, nothing has changed in what I think of you, Ace. I swear."

Ace gave Sabo a grateful, though still sad, smile. "Thank you, Sabo."

Sabo gave him a grin. "Besides, I think the most ridiculous thing Garp said was for you to stay here unless you wanted to be a Marine. I thought we wanted to be pirates?" Luffy kneaded Ace's leg harder, happy with what Ace and Sabo were saying. Ace gave a big smile himself.

"Of course I'm not gonna be a Marine!" Ace laughed, the unshed tears gone.

"Well, then we better get on with the training. Mastering the power of fire will be quite in our favor," Sabo said with a grin, standing up for them to continue the training, where this time Luffy watched, encouraging Ace as he practiced.

-x-

A week had passed since Garp's visit, and Ace had come up with an idea. He had a bottle of sake with him, having stolen it from Dadan's place while they were asleep, as they couldnt exactly go into town and buy alcohol at their age.

"Me and Luffy are already brothers, but we both think that Sabo should be our brother, too. Right Luffy?" Ace asked with a grin. Luffy nodded his head in excited agreement. Ace poured the sake into three red cups. He wasn't allowing Luffy to drink it, just taste it.

"When you share sake with someone, you become brothers," Ace declared. He picked up his sake cup and put Luffy's on the ground so he could reach it. "From now on all three of us are brothers!"

The boys drank the bitter sake, while Luffy hesitantly licked his, spitting it out and runnin around, trying to get the gross taste off his tongue. The boys laughed, feeling better than they had since their baby brother came into this world.

Review!

Chapter Text

YJV: Thanks! You will just have to wait and see. I don't want to give out any spoilers!

nessa11997: The ending of this first part kick starts the entire second-fourth part. Sad or not, it must happen! So enjoy the fluff while you can. ;) 

Kyotokiki: Luffy will never turn into a human, and Ace will never turn into a dragon. There are mentions of their bodies' similarities in the later parts, though. 

Maddie_Madson: Enjoy the fluff while you can! 

Hey everyone. In a bad place at the moment, so some reviews would really brighten up my days. Having trouble writing any more stories at the moment, but I hope to get back into the swing of things. But, if you're not a regular reader, then I'll tell you I won't stop submitting this story as it's finished. I just might not be posting a new one soon. I really tried very hard to write a story from another fandom, but it just wasn't happening. I love Komugi and Meruem but I guess I can only write OP for the present. T-T

This is a more leisurely chapter, though there are important parts regarding Sabo and how he feels about the situation. Plus, a cameo of someone who NO one could ever not like! And I'm sorry it's such a short chapter after over a week of waiting. The second part I think has longer chapters. Enjoy~

Luffy watched from the sidelines as Ace let out the biggest and most controlled fire tornado he'd been able to do, lighting the leaves and branches of the forest above them on fire, but sucked the flames right back after they burnt for only a second.

Sabo cheered for him, tossing him a water bottle. Luffy stood up and trotted over. That was cool! The three year old dragon said. It had been a couple years since Luffy hatched, and he was now the size of a medium sized dog.

The two really shouldn't have been surprised by Luffy's slow development. Despite him being a full dragon, he still had human blood in him. So he aged like one. As he grew, he lost the cute, baby look. Slowly, he was looking more like one of the dragons in children's books. His snout was becoming more angular than rounded, and his eyes were getting more proportional to his face, instead of the wide eyes he'd had for so long.

The wings were now big enough to start learning to fly, but he had a lot of trouble with that. They tried their best to help him learn, but it just wasn't happening. Ace and Sabo made sure not to convey disappointment to his slow progress.

Ace and Sabo were now nine, Ace turning ten soon. The freckled boy had grown exceptionally with his fire ability. After Garp had dropped the bombs on him, telling Ace not to leave the island unless he was a Marine, he was filled with determination. He would not do what the man said to do. Ace would leave the island. With his brothers. They had agreed to be co-captains. Ace and Sabo did. Luffy had no interest in being in charge of anything. He just wanted to be able to see the world with his brothers.

Sabo was considered a brother, too, now. Though he still couldn't communicate with Luffy like Ace could, they all were equal in their affections for each other.

"Thanks, Luffy," Ace said, slightly out of breath. It was still difficult for him to make long lasting attacks while still being in control. Ace had burned many places in the forest due to lack of control over the years. "Phew. Now it's your turn," Ace said.

Ace and Luffy trained specifically with their dragon powers. Ace's flames and Luffy's flight. Though Ace was making steady progress with his powers, Luffy was not. Even though they thought his wings could carry him now, he still was having difficulties.

The two children were afraid to take him up high to practice, since he was getting too big to catch below if he fell. Just jumping off of a branch was nerve-wracking. He had fallen before and hurt his front wrist, and it reminded the boys of how young Luffy was, dragon or not.

He was still a young child, and exposing him to any sort of danger made them uncomfortable. Luckily, Luffy still listened to both boys as they were older. So when they told Luffy he needed a break, he trusted their decisions and opinions.

Luffy stood on the edge of a cliff face, where they'd been practicing lately, because it was over a large pond. The only water source in the forest that wasn't infested with crocodiles. The dragon looked down at the water below him. He shook, afraid of falling. He didn't want the other two to know he was afraid of heights, and that's why he probably wasn't doing very well because of the fear.

The young dragon took a deep breath through his nostrils and spread his wings. He closed his eyes and then jumped, making a high-pitched squeal as he flapped once but then hit the water with a big splash. He didn't surface for a few long seconds, alarming the children.

Luffy stayed under the water, trying to not cry. He didn't want his brothers to see him cry, though they would make him feel better. Why was he afraid of heights? Surely something with wings shouldn't be. What was wrong with him? Were birds afraid of heights, too? He wished they could tell him their secrets.

Ace and Sabo weren't dragons. They didnt know how to teach Luffy perfectly. They were just winging it and going along the way.

Luffy surfaced next to Ace and Sabo, who'd gone diving in. The dragon didn't look at either of them in the eyes, just swimming to the shore and laying down, putting his hands over his eyes in shame and embarrassment.

Ace came up beside him and sat down, rubbing Luffy's back. "We'll get there, Luffy," the nine year old said kindly. Luffy made a low moaning sound. "Don't worry. Do you wanna try again?"

No more today.

"Alright. Why don't we go get something to eat, then?" Ace asked, standing up, waiting with Sabo for Luffy to collect himself and get up. He nodded sadly, falling back to walk behind his brothers. They walked to the only part of the forest that really had any edible produce. Luffy liked eating fruits and vegetables more than meat, but meat was easier to come by. They mostly took Luffy to this area either because he had a good day, or a really bad one. They were a treat.

Luffy was still feeling down as he ate from his pile of bananas and oranges. When he looked up to see Ace and Sabo talking lightly, Luffy looked back down. Should he tell them? They might think he was weak.

He knew he was the baby in the family. He knew he was young, and Ace and Sabo were a lot older than he was and more experienced in the world. The dragon didn't want to disappoint his brothers. But, Ace and Sabo valued honesty, and rarely lied. The exception for that was lying to Luffy about things that might scare or hurt his feelings. He just thought they told the truth to him.

He should tell them. They were his family, maybe it could help him in some way.

Ace?

"Yeah? What's up?" Ace asked, noticing Luffy's tone of voice. Luffy flicked his eyes up to Ace's only to look back down. "What's wrong, Luffy?" Ace walked closer and kneeled in front of him so they were eye to eye.

I'm afraid of high places. The treehouse is okay cause I been there a long time, Luffy finally confessed. Ace didn't look disappointed in him, or think he was weak. He was concerned, and a bit sad that Luffy hadn't confided in him with this. But he must've had a reason, and Ace wasn't about to guilt his baby brother.

"Now that I know, we can work on that together," Ace said with a soft smile. "There's no reason to be ashamed of something scary. I used to be scared of swimming until Sabo finally taught me." He looked to Sabo pointedly. "What is something you have been afraid of?" Ace asked.

Sabo knew Ace would fill him in soon to what Luffy was saying, but Sabo knew the gist of what he needed to say. "I was deathly afraid of the dark, even when I started living in the woods near Gray Terminal. I'd have a lantern lit while I slept, even if it could have given away my position."

"See? Everyone is afraid of something. Many things, probably. I have many more fears than drowning. I'm sure Sabo does, too. Being scared is a normal part of life. Being a human or not, everyone and everything is afraid of something."

Luffy felt very reassured and moved to get on his back legs and hug Ace. Ace rubbed his hand down Luffy's back as he hugged the little dragon as well. Luffy let out his quiet purring noise, something that never failed to make Ace grin.

"Why don't you finish your food and we can go to the beach?" Ace offered. Luffy perked up. He liked going to the beach. It was a special thing to do since they had to go the long way to get to the only beach part of the island, which was pretty close to a little village by the sea away from the forest. They didn't want any humans seeing Luffy, so they were always very careful getting there.

Yeah! Luffy cheered and scarfed down his food. They walked parallel to Gray Terminal in the forest until they met the shore, which wasn't the beach, but low cliffs overlooking the sea. It took only an hour to get from Gary Terminal to Foosha Village's beach.

Luffy hid behind a rock while Ace and Sabo scoped out the area, not seeing or hearing anyone nearby. Ace gave the okay and Luffy came barreling onto the sand, rolling around in it before he ran into the surf and played with the wet sand. Then he went in deep enough to meet the waves as they rose before crashing.

Ace took off his clothes, except his underwear, as did Sabo, and they went running into the water as well, laughing and splashing. Ace was glad he was able to swim, unlike real devil fruit users. If he was going to have fire powers, he liked having them this way.

Ace, as he was now, was almost invincible physically. He had been shot at by angry guards in high town when he and Sabo would go and steal things for themselves or Luffy. They once raided a small pet store and stole a tank and a turtle in it, running off and into the forest, with Ace getting shot in the back. The bullet went straight through him and hit the glass tank.

The freckled boy had barely caught the turtle before it hit the ground, and ended up setting it free since they couldn't save the tank or go back soon. They hadn't told Luffy about that, and instead just brought him a fruit smoothie they bought with some coins. They spent money on little things for Luffy.

The boys splashed and played, laughing and cheering, as Luffy swam deeper. The two didn't call him back, but swam after him, until they couldn't touch the bottom anymore, and then told Luffy he couldn't go any further. He knew they knew what was best, so he didn't go any further.

Ace, there's a lady over there.

Ace's head snapped to the side to see a woman standing at the shore watching them. She had long green hair and was carrying a straw basket. She waved at them, wearing a smile. Well, great. They couldn't get out now without exposing Luffy. And who knew how this woman would react?

Ace narrowed his eyes at her and adjusted his position so he was in front of Luffy. What's wrong?

Ace didn't want to reply to someone who hadn't spoken out loud. The lady might get more curious or think he was crazy. We don't want her to see you. Luffy looked at Ace with wide eyes. Ace shared the look. He'd just talked to Luffy in his head. He looked behind him and stared at Luffy in shock.

Cool! Luffy said excitedly. Ace grinned, and Sabo wondered what happened.

The woman seemed to get the mood the boys were giving off and waved goodbye, telling them to have a nice day. The boys and dragon waited a few minutes until the boys knew she was gone, and Luffy couldn't hear her. Her smell lingered though, and he was still having trouble differentiating smells that linger and smells from what it originated from.

The three hurried out of the waves, dressing quickly and hurrying back the way they'd come. That was fun!

"It sure was fun," Ace replied, wording it so Sabo knew what they were saying. "Sabo, so something happened. I talked to Luffy. In my head," Ace said in an excited voice. But Sabo frowned slightly before he put up an amazed expression.

He suddenly felt very excluded. He knew Ace and Luffy were connected in ways more than Sabo was with both of them, brother or not. And he nor the other two could exactly do anything about it, not that they should.

As of now, Ace still was growing up with Sabo. Sabo was better at fighting with his pipe, while Ace was better with hand to hand and his fire powers, though the freckled boy still did use his pipe sometimes. So Sabo was better at some things than Ace, which wasn't much of a big deal. But, as Ace got better with his amazing power, Sabo felt like he was falling behind.

He would never say these feelings to Ace, for he would feel guilty, but would not be able to stop it. But despite the difference between Ace and Luffy's relationship to Ace and Sabo, they were both his brothers and he loved them. It may only have been four years since he met Ace, and three years since he'd met Luffy, it felt like they'd been together for a lifetime. And no matter that Ace will age slower and then mostly stop, they'd still be friends forever.

Review please!

Chapter Text

The_BookDragon: I'm sure they would all appreciate some meat. Luffy would probably be the only one who would accept a hug. 

Nihl: Thank you, that comment was beautiful! I'm so glad you enjoy my stories. <3

SleepyMorning: Thanks! The Whitebeards do play a big role in the next parts. A very big role.

Maria: Thank you for the detailed comment! More will be said about Sabo's self-esteem in a few chapters. You'll have to wait to see about Shanks until part 2 ;) 

3 more chapters after this one and part one is over. Part 2-4 (which will all be one story, just in different chunks) has a completely different feel. Hope you look forward to it! Enjoy~

"Luffy, you have to stay here, okay? We won't be gone long, promise. We're both going to go. You have to stay up here," Ace said kindly as Sabo climbed down the rope ladder. Luffy was only four, Ace and Sabo ten, and they still didn't want him to meet with other humans. Especially those in high town, which was where they were going after selling the crocodile skin. They rarely used their treasure stash to buy things. That was for their pirate ship and supplies.

They had agreed not to long ago that they'd set off at seventeen, though Luffy would be eleven. So they had seven more years to collect more treasure and riches. They'd move the stash multiple times for safety if someone followed them to the tree. They caused a lot of trouble down in Gray Terminal, beating up the residents for money.

Ace had gotten so good at his fire powers that he could summon fire walls, something he'd been working on for months. So, when guards or angry citizens chased after them, they got trapped behind a firewall that didn't disappear until they put it out with a large amount of water.

He hadn't burned Gray Terminal to the ground from his fire, since it could happen easily. Once he made his point to not be messed with, he made the fire not burn its surroundings. Everyone began to fear the boy. Which was convenient for the brothers.

They were going into town to get a thick blanket for Luffy, for he had complained about being cold all the time, even though it wasn't cold yet. It had concerned both boys, but they couldn't exactly take Luffy to the doctor's. So they did their best to warm him up, giving him warm drinks and trying to give him body heat during the night. His thick skin was also getting cold.

When Ace and Sabo left, Luffy laid down on the floor of their home, pouting for awhile. Time was going slow for him. He didn't like being separated from his brothers. It made him uneasy. And he was cold again, shivering even in the warm sunlight streaming through the treehouse gaps between walls.

The dragon was shivering stronger than he ever had. Puffs of white were coming out of his nostrils when he breathed, making his nose tingle. Was this normal? It was tickling his nose badly, and he tried holding in a sneeze, but he couldn't and sneezed, and suddenly trees across the clearing were impaled with ice from his mouth.

One tree fell over completely, severed in half by the cold spikes. Luffy just stared at it blankly for a moment, not sure as to what happened. But when he sneezed a second time, more spikes riddled the ground against the treeline. He shrieked loudly, birds flying from the trees that hadn't been impaled. He began to run around the treehouse, thoroughly unnerved by what happened.

ACE! ACE, SABO!

-x-

Ace and Sabo hurried back to the entrance of Edge Town, Ace thoroughly confused with Sabo's reaction to a pompous looking man that had seemed to recognize the blonde. They had the quilt, which was a lot of money. But, then again, the store owner might just be afraid of Ace burning the shop down. So they got a good discount.

No one followed them, not the man or any guards or police. The people of Edge Town left them alone as well. They maneuvered their way through the trash mountains and ran back to their treehouse. Neither was comfortable with leaving Luffy alone too long.

Ace was about to ask Sabo what was up with the noble man, before there was a loud shriek, followed by birds fleeing into the sky. Then Ace heard screaming in his head, and gasped, now sprinting as fast as he possibly could.

But what the boys saw stopped them in their tracks. Part of the training area was decimated with spikes of crystal it seemed. Though Sabo felt it was cold when he hurried over to inspect. "It's ice!"

The freckled boy wasn't paying attention to the shocking scene and climbed up the rope ladder at lightning speed, the blanket tied around his neck. He heard loud thumping as Luffy ran around the small space.

"Luffy! Luffy, calm down," Ace said, trying to get the dragon under control. He stopped running and tackled Ace.

What happened?! The spikeys! Luffy shouted fearfully. I sneezed! He added. Ace wrapped his arms around his brother.

"Shhh, it's okay. No one got hurt. Only some trees. Calm down so you can think straight," Ace told him softly, running his hand down Luffy's smooth spine. "You're okay, we're okay." The child then noticed Luffy wasn't cold anymore, and was warm like he used to be.

Ace wondered if Luffy had developed some powers. Though, if he had, Ace and Sabo expected him to control fire, like Ace and most dragons (fictional dragons, that is). Ace carried Luffy in his arms, Luffy looking over his shoulder, to the edge of the treehouse.

Ace called for Sabo to come up and help him get Luffy down. Sabo left the spikes of ice and went up the ladder to help tie Luffy to Ace's back. It wasn't difficult to carry Luffy down anymore. Ace was strong, and Luffy wasn't too heavy despite looking so.

Sabo followed them down once they were on the ground, and untied Luffy from Ace's back. They all approached the shards of ice. They were needle sharp at the end. Ace put his hand on the side and summoned his fire power, melting the ice quickly.

Sabo attempted to break it, wondering how strong it was. It didnt crack from even the hardest swings of his pipe. He looked to Luffy behind them, who had scared, wide eyes. Sabo looked at him in sympathy.

Ace turned around to look at Luffy. He crouched in front of the dragon, and put his warm hand on Luffy's head gently. "Luffy, I know how you feel. You weren't awake, but I was lit on fire, and almost burned you when I first got my power after you hatched. I was so scared I'd hurt you or Sabo.

"But, look at me now? I can completely control the flames," Ace said reassuringly, and lit his hand on fire, then spreading it onto the dirt. Before it spread too much, Ace sucked it back into his hand.

But… I can't even fly! Why I be able to control this? Luffy asked uncertainly. Ace gave him a warm smile, which calmed Luffy's fear a bit.

"We'll figure it out. And, since you're having trouble flying, we can now work on this power. We'll help you through it like you and Sabo did for me." Luffy looked down for a moment, and then nodded. "Now, I'm going to go melt those spikes."

The dragon and other human watched as Ace melted the ice into steam before in water form. Giant holes were left in the tunks of some of the trees. Ace and Sabo had to move the fallen tree away from their training area.

-x-

It was getting to be time to go to bed, about to put the fire out, before Ace told Sabo to "hold it." Sabo looked at him in confusion, but then nervousness. He had a feeling of what Ace wanted to talk about. Luffy looked at Ace in curiosity. Wasn't it bedtime? And Luffy was excited to sleep with the thick blanket bought for him as a surprise.

Sabo sat back down on the second log across from Ace and Luffy, who was laying at Ace's feet. "Who was the man in high town?" the freckled ten year old asked seriously. Sabo looked down, but knew Ace had a "bullshit detector" as he liked to call it. He could see through any lie Sabo told easily.

He looked up at Ace in a pleading way, but Ace didn't waver. Luffy asked what they were talking about. Ace looked down and said, "There was a suspicious noble - a bad guy - who knew him. And I've never seen him before." Luffy said Oh and looked at Sabo curiously.

"I… That man was my father."

And Sabo told his brothers all about his wretched childhood before he ran away and then met Ace. That he hated being a noble. That his parents only wanted him to have an heir and marry a princess. All he did was study and read and learn things he wasn't interested in. And finally, he'd had enough and run away, after visiting Gray Terminal in secret multiple times. He liked the people of the trash city more than his family.

Through the whole thing, Ace had a blank face. Luffy was just wondering what they were talking about with the whole "noble" things. Were nobles bad guys? Ace said so. What made them bad? But, Luffy was happy that Sabo was with them.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," Sabo finished. Ace just stared at him, and when Sabo looked up, he saw an unimpressed look on Ace's face.

"So?" was his reply.

"You're the one that wanted me to tell you!" but then Sabo laughed, and declared that they would all become pirates. The freest souls in the world.

"And Ace, I'm sorry I kept this secret so long after you had all of yours spilled out in front of me. It was unfair." Ace just waved it off, and they resumed the night like usual, as if Sabo hadn't said such an important and hurtful story.

The three laid under Luffy's new quilt, who didn't become cold again during the night. Both of them were on either side of their baby brother. Tomorrow, they'd start Luffy's new training.

-x-

"Ground!" Ace commanded, making Luffy freeze the ground around them with his feet. "Tree!" Soon the nearest tree was impaled with dozens of ice needled. "Body!" Luffy covered his body in thin, but solid ice. "Air!" The dragon blew frost into the air, making snow and sleet fall on them. "Me!" And Ace was soon trapped in a block of ice.

"Nice, Luffy!" Sabo called as Ace melted his way out of the ice. "Now take it all back," Sabo said with a grin at Luffy's success. The ground was back to normal as the ice dissipated and the trees were now patterned with deep holes, though not deep enough that the tree was cut down.

Ace ran forward and picked the dog sized dragon up, spinning him around. "You did it!" Ace said, Luffy making high pitched, chuffing giggles. "We're so proud of you!"

It had been a month since Luffy had discovered the ice powers. Unlike his flying, Luffy picked up on his ability faster than Ace had with his. And, now that Luffy could do these things on command, he was finally going to be allowed to walk around with them in Gray Terminal, though not in the city yet. Not until he could fly so he could retreat if necessary.

The dragon wanted the boys to go faster on their way to the junkyard, very excited to see where his brothers went often. He didn't want to be left behind anymore. When they finally saw the towers of trash, Luffy went running to the edge of the forest. Then he wrinkled his nose.

Smells bad, Ace.

"Yeah, it does. You'll get used to it soon. Probably worse for you since you have a sensitive sense of smell," Ace replied, wording it so Sabo could get the jist of what Luffy said. "You have to stay close to me and Sabo, okay? If anything happens. I want you to hide first. Second, use your ice powers. We want to avoid confrontation, okay? We're here for some more wood planks," Ace explained seriously. He didn't want Luffy getting ahead of himself and too excited. It was going to be a casual trip. They wouldn't be stealing any money this time.

Luffy nodded his head vigorously, looking back and forth to Ace and the junkyard. He really wanted to get there faster. "So impatient," Ace mumbled fondly. The three walked down the hill, keeping their senses as sharp as they were able. Despite Luffy's advanced senses of sound and smell, they knew he'd be distracted from the new place, and might not notice someone coming near.

The boys wondered how other humans would feel when they saw the dragon. Luffy wasn't scary, with spikes or fangs sticking out of his mouth, but he was a bigger, heavy set creature that the people would never had seen before. Plus, they tended to avoid the boys in general. It might make them ever more scared of them now that they had a dragon with them. Luffy did have the sharp claws now, though they weren't long and deadly yet. But they could still kill animals in a hunt.

They walked down the slope, Ace in front of his brother and Ace behind. Luffy sniffed everything, like he always did in new environments. Ace was right, for Luffy quickly got used to the smell. His head moved up as he heard the voices of others. Many of them sounded angry or tired.

Luffy hadn't been around other people in years, since they'd moved away from the bandits, and Luffy always hid when he heard Garp. Ace was invincible to attacks now, but Luffy was technically Garp's grandson as well, and did not want to be hit. Not that Ace or Sabo would ever allow that, but Garp was still scary.

Ace and Sabo avoided voices, turning away to different trails through the trash. One of them always paid close attention to Luffy while the other searched for building supplies. One man did come up from behind them, but Ace noticed him quickly, about to scare him off before he saw the man's expression.

He was utterly terrified, shaking. When Luffy turned his head to look behind him, the man bolted, too scared to even scream. Ace smirked. At least he wasn't overly interested with the black, unfamiliar creature.

The people of Gray Terminal avoided the boys at all cost, but they did fight back when one of them tried and succeeded to swipe their riches. The people needed that money, but Ace and Sabo wanted it, and it was going to fund their futures. So, they felt no remorse for taking the riches for themselves.

Sabo collected some planks of wood after knocking down a whole trash pile by accident. It had tons of wood in it, a jackpot for the three. He carried seven planks above his head, still being the one behind Luffy.

The trip was short, like they'd told the dragon, and they soon made it home. The tools for building were in the little storage carved into the tree trunk. The rope was also there to tie them securely to the treehouse so they could work on the side with support to not fall to their deaths.

Luffy stayed on the ground, playing with a ball of ice he'd made. He was like a cat in a lot of aspects. The way he reacted to new things, the kneading that he could only do on Ace since sharp objects don't hurt him like Luffy's claws. The way, if he got something messy on him, he'd lick it clean, no matter how much Ace and Sabo tried to get him to stop licking mud. The purring as well reminded them of a cat.

The ice was a good distraction for the dragon, since he got bored easily when being by himself. The repairs took only a couple hours, and soon they were in the forest, hunting for some lunch. Luffy had tapped into what they assumed were dragon instincts, as he was good at stalking prey, and got crocodiles quicker himself than Ace and Sabo.

And, though he was still a bit small, Luffy was strong and could carry the dead crocodiles all the way back home. And Ace had learned just the right temperature to cook something easily. Sabo felt left out again with these things, but he didn't dwell on it.

They were now able to save meat for later with Luffy being able to freeze them to last longer. It was very convenient.

Ace! Can I make a way up to the treehouse? Luffy suddenly asked before he was being tied to Ace's back to go up the ladder for bed time. Ace paused and put him back down. "Go ahead," the boy said with a smile, wondering what Luffy was going to do.

Luffy had seen and chased many squirrels, and always saw them running across branches to get to other trees. He started at one end of the clearing and slowly started constructing a ramp that ran around the outskirts of the clearing, gradually sloping so Luffy could easily walk on it. They had known the pads on Luffy's feet were textured roughly, now knowing it was for him to walk on slippery ice.

When he finally reached the side of the treehouse, a long and even ramp was now attached to their little home. Luffy seemed to grin, shouting down to Ace that "he did it!" Ace and Sabo both cheered for him, quickly climbing up the rope ladder to meet the dragon, who was running around the house in circles in excitement.

I did it! Did you see it?! he shouted to Ace.

"I did see it! Great job, now you can come up and down when you want to!" Ace said enthusiastically. Sabo ran over and tackled Luffy to the ground, maneuvering him onto his back and attacking his tummy. Luffy shrieked, though not in a bad way, and wriggles around, pushing the tickling and rubbing hands away with his feet.

Luffy had trouble sleeping, so excited and proud of himself. He may not be able to fly, but at least now he won't be the weak one. He wanted to protect his brothers, too! Ace had protected him ever since he was a little egg, and Luffy wanted to repay him.

He fell asleep once Ace noticed he wasn't and rubbed little circles on his skin. Ace fell asleep again to Luffy's quiet purring.

-x-

Luffy continued to improve his ice powers, though at a more steady rate now. They found that the ice hadn't melted overnight. At all. It had still been cold like it was the night before. Once again, Sabo tried breaking it was a blow from his pipe, to see how strong it was. There wasn't even an indent from the hash blow.

Then, the boys lit a fire not using Ace's flames, and attempted to melt it with regular fire. Nothing changed. It stayed as cold and solid as before. But Ace's flames melted it easily. It was very curious, but they all just assumed it was some dragon bond "or something". This made Sabo frown momentarily.

Neither biological brothers caught on to Sabo's well-hidden insecurities. And he was glad of that. He didn't want to guilt either of them, mostly Ace. Luffy was still only four, turning five soon. He probably wouldn't understand what was wrong with and Ace being related and Sabo not. It might just confuse him why Sabo would feel left out or less important.

The three brothers ventured to the beach that day, wondering if Luffy could freeze sea water. They had fun with the trip because Luffy made a slide the whole way from the forest to the beach. They could all be heard laughing and screaming at sharp turns. It took much less time to get down, with Luffy in front making the slide as they went along with it.

They were shot sprawling onto the sand, boys laughing and Luffy chuffing. That was fun!

Ace laughed and agreed that it was quite fun, and they'd have to do it again sometime. They slipped and slid on the now frozen waves, able to stand above and watch fish in the bright water swim below them. Luffy pounced on each one, though he knew he wouldn't catch them. A couple times he shoved his hand in, grasping at a fish that had just been there, but had quickly swam away.

They spent a considerable amount of time at the beach, melting the ice until Ace's flames made the water around him warm and relaxing. They just floated for a bit, watching the fluffy clouds pass high above them.

They left once Luffy's stomach rumbled, signaling to the others that they'd stayed in the water past lunch. The climb back up the coast was much, much slower than their little ride down to the shore. Luffy tried to pass both of them, but wasn't quicker than Ace was, and mostly stayed near Sabo, both behind the freckled kid.

Ace caught the danpa for lunch and dinner. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small. It was enough for the boys, since they weren't too hungry. The rest of the day was a joy. The childish fun, something they rarely had, of sliding down that ice slide and playing in the surf was a nice treat. They decided they would probably do it again some time. Plus, the slide may just stay there on its own. They wondered how the citizens of Foosha Village would think of never-melting ice. It would be interesting to see.

Chapter Text

YJV: Maybe.... Just be prepared for it. 

Maria: Aw, thank you! Just be prepared for whatever happens. It won't be pretty, but very important. 

Only two more chapters for part 1. Time skip will happen soon, after a sad event. Enjoy the fluff while you can everyone! Enjoy~

The second visit to Gray Terminal with the dragon was not uneventful, like the last one. It was bad.

The three were sifting through piles of junk, because Luffy sincerely wanted to see the stars better, and when he was informed of the existence of telescopes, he wanted one so bad he moped and even cried a bit when he was told they'd probably never get one.

Luffy was five, and had never had a tantrum before, so him crying over something like this just made the boys desperately want to find a telescope for him to enjoy, even though one would have to hold it in front of the dragon's eye.

They'd had no luck, while Luffy stuck close and poked and prodded at new things in the junk. The place was fascinating for him, and he was curious as to what the people were like, but they stayed away from the boys on a regular day, and especially on a day where the demon children had a monster with them.

Sabo was at one trash pile when a guard from the city came up to him, along with the resident pirates that Ace and Sabo secretly looked down upon. He was no pirate, just staying in one place and killing your own men. But, why was a guard with him and why were they both approaching Sabo.

Ace hurried over, and told Luffy to stay behind the trash pile, and to coat himself in ice just for safety. Luffy nodded and covered himself in ice, wondering what was happening and why Ace and Sabo seemed tense. But he did as Ace said, and hid.

"This him?" the guard asked, and suddenly Sabo's dad was there. The man they'd run into a couple months back while in high town. Sabo blanched in the sight of his hateful father. He backed away a step, desperately wanting to get away. He didn't want to be reminded of his old life, and especially didn't want to see the man who made it so horrible.

"Yes. Sabo, we are going home, now." And he was grabbed by the hand, being pulled.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Ace shouted angrily, approaching Sabo and his father, ready to yank his brother away from the noble. When he got closer, a gun was pointed at his head. So it was going to be this kind of confrontation. "No, I don't think so," Ace snapped, yanking the gun to the side. It surprised the pirate, who had assumed Ace would stay still with a gun pointed at his head.

"Ace, don't!" Sabo said, putting his hand out to stop Ace from going on a rampage. "I'll be fine," he lied, his voice shaking.

"I'm not gonna let you be so selfish and just leave your good life. We can take these guys!" Ace insisted, ignoring the warning shot from the confused and flustered pirate. Ace turned and spit on him. He wasn't afraid of this man. Afraid of any of them. Ace was practically invincible, so he was not worried. Even when the man shot Ace in the head. Of course it went right through, but someone didn't like that at all.

The man was suddenly impaled with shards of ice, killing him quickly. Ace turned in horror to see Luffy stalking over, radiating fury, something neither brother had ever seen or expected. You won't hurt Ace!

"Luffy, calm down," Ace said sternly. Luffy just glared at him, and, instead of killing the others, he froze them in ice. No one hurts Ace and Sabo!

Others had gathered from the gunshot, making sure to be a ways away but still able to see. But when they saw a man suddenly impaled with ice that had just materialized out of nowhere, they promptly left in a hurry.

"What the hell is that?! Shoot it!" Sabo's father shouted, but the guard was petrified. He had no clue what this thing was, and it just killed that pirate, so easily. "Come, Sabo!"

Sabo was breathing heavily. He didn't want to be taken away. But he didn't want his brothers hurt. What was he supposed to do? When he was pulled at, and he didnt move, he made a decision.

Just because Ace and Luffy shared some closer bond didn't mean Sabo was apart. And now, even Luffy was upset with what was happening. Ace and Luffy may not need him to fight, but they needed him as a brother. He had a younger brother he needed to help raise. And he wouldn't cause that little baby brother to cry. He would never be the source of Luffy's rare tears.

Sabo pulled his hand out of the noble's grip. "No! I won't be going with you. I'm not gonna be your - your tool!" The moment the guard pulled his gun on Sabo for speaking to his benefactor in such a way, Luffy struck and the noble and his guard were trapped in ice. They'd never get out besides if Luffy wills it or Ace melts it.

Luffy and Ace looked at Sabo, wondering if they'd done the wrong thing. But, he turned around and gave a grateful smile, mouth wobbling, with tears in his eyes. Ace grinned, and Luffy ran up, hugging Sabo and knocking him to the ground.

"I know you guys won't be harmed, but won't they come after us?" Sabo asked from under Luffy, who seemed to be crying against Sabo's fancy clothes. Ace let lose an aura that would make grown men tremble.

"Not if no one knows what happened here. Give me a sec," Ace said and ran after the pirates, who had been part of what was supposed to be Sabo's kidnapping, and unleashed a blaze that reached heights above the trees. The pirates screamed in fear, trapped from the rest of the Gray Terminal in between the fire and the sea behind them. Ace looked like a demon, covered in flames with a vindictive smile on his face.

"You guys are an insult to real pirates," Ace spat, as their crappy ship burned, them inside. Once they were gone, and the ship was gone, Ace sucked the fire back. He ran back to Luffy and Sabo. "Are you okay?" he asked both of them.

"You guys just killed people," Sabo said numbly. "For me?" Luffy cocked his head, clearly not understanding why Sabo was shocked over it. Ace walked up to him and bopped him on the head.

"Of course, you idiot. We're your brothers. What did you expect? For us to just let you be taken back to a life you ran away from?" Ace sounded slightly insulted by the insinuation that he wouldn't do something like this for his brother. Sabo sighed, his face turning red. As he stood up, he pulled the rim of his hat over his eyes.

"I just, I always felt like I'm not keeping up with you guys. You're both so cool, and powerful, and can talk to each other in your heads. I just felt like I was the odd one out. Kind of excluded," Sabo confessed. He didn't see Ace's look of utter confusion, and then anger.

"That's stupid!" Ace yelled harshly, causing Sabo to stare at him in surprise. "You think just because you're human and we aren't, that you're not one of us? You think that you're not good enough for us? Don't put us on a damn pedestal we don't want or deserve! You're out brother! It's not possible for you to do something we can, but we'd be lost without you, you dumbshit! Don't think you're ever below me or Luffy or both of us ever again!" Ace shouted. He did not want his brother feeling so unimportant. He knew what that felt like. And he'd never let anyone he cared about feel the way he had before meeting Sabo and then Luffy.

Sabo looked shocked. Ace truly felt he was no different than he and Luffy were. To him - both of them - Sabo was an equal, and one of them. He tried to hide the tears, but couldn't. Ace looked awkward, not really knowing what to do. He was never around people crying, besides Luffy sometimes.

With Ace's silence and uneasiness, Luffy took the comfort into his own hands and nuzzled Sabo's leg and side, looking up at him with big eyes, and clearly wearing a smile. Sabo knew what Luffy's look meant. It was just reinforcing what Ace had said, only this time, it was sweet, his baby brother giving him the fondest look. He was looking up at one of the most important things in his life.

He gave Sabo's leg a lick, and then rub with his smooth head. Sabo sniffled, banishing the tears and his weakness, before he leaned down to hug Luffy, picking him up against his chest. "Let's get outta here," he said, and Ace could not agree more.

The three left a mess of ash and bodies behind them. Two men in forever-frozen blocks of ice, a man impaled by ice spikes and ash of bodies easily burned. Sabo left behind the last thing that could have taken him to that wretched and lonely life.

Ace stopped at the tree line and shouted, loud enough for a lot of the hiding residents to hear, "Anyone pass on what happened here, and I will burn this junkyard to the ground!" It sounded threatening enough, but Ace wouldn't really burn it down. Lots of people lived there, many of them innocent and just unfortunate. Plus, the brothers got many of their belongings from the trash heap. It would be pointless to burn everything down.

Luffy kneaded Sabo's back as he could from being over his shoulder. Sabo said nothing to the little pricks he kept getting from Luffy's nails. It wasn't anything painful enough to make something out of. Plus, it was a way of Luffy telling Sabo he loved him.

-x-

Four days after the whole showdown, it was made clear that someone had spilled the beans on what had happened, for the boys noticed presences searching the forest. They both looked at each other in concern. Leaving Luffy napping up in the tree, both boys quietly left and headed out to take care of the pursuers before they discovered the treehouse. It was easy for Ace and Sabo swiftly hit them on the head with the pipe hard enough to knock them out or kill.

"Will this be a problem?" Ace wondered as he burned the bodies. He had come accustomed to killing to protect his brothers. He knew he would never just up and kill someone innocent, but people who would harm his brothers were already dead to him, and he'd do what he could to stop them in their tracks. Make them think twice about going after them.

"It might, yeah," Sabo sighed as he and Ace walked back to the treehouse, at a quick pace so Luffy didn't wake up alone. "Stupid father. Ruined everything!" the blonde ranted.

"Maybe if we scare them bad enough, they'll leave us alone," Ace offered. Then Ace heard Luffy screaming bloody murder both in Ace's head and shreiking loud enough for birds to leave the trees. Ace and Sabo's eyes widened and they sprinted back to the treehouse.

The guards had found it. And Luffy was stuck at the top, unable to get down. He threw spikes at them, but no one was impaled. He was scared, and his aim was off, which he still didn't have full control of.

"Hey! Get away from there!" Ace bellowed, fire erupting from his body as he charged the men harassing their baby brother. The men shouted, like they hadn't known about Ace's abilities before they picked a fight with them. Idiots.

"Luffy! Luffy, are you okay?!" Ace called from below. All he heard was sobbing from inside. Both boys hurried up the ladder at light speed, coming across Luffy hiding in a corner. When both boys were up, Luffy ran over and curled into a ball in between them. They got the message and kneeled to the floor, both holding him close.

"You're okay, Luffy," Sabo said, rubbing Luffy's back softly while Ace rubbed down his neck. He looked at Ace. "They found our home. Who's to say they won't again? Ace, this is bad," Sabo whispered. Luffy tensed, sniffling through his tears.

"We're not supposed to leave for another seven years, Sabo. I know we're not ready," Ace replied, pointedly looking down at Luffy. He was in no condition to go out into the dangerous world. He was four for heaven's sake. There was no way he could survive out there, even with his brothers. He still couldn't fly, and they had agreed to not leave until he could, even if it extended the time they left.

"Ace, we don't have much of a choice. Even if we go to the bandit's, who knows how fast they'll find us there. We killed a noble. No one is going to forgive that, even though it was the right thing to do at the time for us," Sabo pointed out. Ace knew he was correct.

Maybe they could make it to another island after stealing a small ship. "Sabo, where could we even get a ship, to go anywhere?" Ace questioned. A plan was forming, but it was still unwanted. They were supposed to grow up on this island, and depart from it to fulfill their dreams.

It was a good place to train and learn, giant monsters to hunt, terrain to train on, and their precious home. Now contaminated with the presence of enemies. Luffy cried some more, desperately not wanting to leave.

"One of us might be able to sneak into the harbor, but that sounds like a long shot. We could take one from the little village, in the middle of the night. I'm sure we could sneak one away. And from there, the nobles won't see us easily," Sabo brainstormed, thinking hard about what they needed to do to stay alive. To keep Luffy alive, the most vulnerable of them. Even if he could dish out attacks now, he was still uncoordinated and just not ready to step out into the rest of the harsh, and cruel world.

"And hopefully no one will follow us," Ace replied.

"Luffy has long distance attacks, I'm sure he'd be able to destroy a boat chasing us. Luffy's stronger now," Sabo said kindly, making Luffy feel just a tad bit better. "And no one is gonna hurt him." Luffy nodded his head, but was still upset. The men were shouting about taking down the treehouse, that the monster children lived there.

Ace sighed. "We should leave while we can. It's only a matter of time before they come to destroy this place. Again, if they found it once already, they'll find it again." All three looked very upset that they had to leave their home. The place Luffy grew up in. Their loved home built by their own hands.

Their lives were more important than their home.

Finally, the story starts to become serious and sad.

Chapter Text

Maria: Thank you! I' mglad you've enojoyed it. Garp is not a main focus at all in part 2.

Last chapter of their childhood. Hang in there until the end everyone. I'll be posting another chapter that explains what is the future for this fic. Enjoy the last chapter.

Sabo had successfully stolen the largest fishing boat he could, and maneuvered the ship out of the harbor quietly, grateful he'd studied up on how to sail as a young kid. He'd been taught to read quite early, since studying was all he did, even as a young child. It was a miracle he remembered everything he'd read.

Ace and Luffy stood at the shore in the very early morning, the sun was just starting to rise. They had waited too long. Hadn't counted on how long it took to pack up and say goodbye to their sanctuary. Luffy continued to have tears down his face, even while Ace held him closely.

When Sabo finally came up to the part of the shore away from the village's eyes, Ace and Luffy quickly boarded, wanting to get away as fast as they could. All the brothers had was a compass. No map. They did have a lot of provisions, having gone hunting the day before, along with collecting all of the produce they could, taking more of the fruit off the trees. The ice boxes kept them fresh for as long as possible.

They had fishing poles they'd made and one they'd stolen from high town. Fishing should be easy food. Sabo steered them away from the shore. They had taken their stash of money, with it in a tight bag tied securely to Ace's waistband of his shorts. Ace didn't watch the island get more distant by the second, as Luffy did. Sabo didn't look either.

They were coming around the corner of the cliff and came across a huge ship. It looked extremely fancy and expensive. It dwarfed their little boat, and was intimidatingly big. They did their best to steer away from it, wondering why it was coming to this island. Luffy looked at it in awe. So big!

"I wonder who it is," Sabo said curiously. Ace shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to us now. We're leaving anyways. Ugh, the guards are at the shore. Got out just on time. They're too far for any weapons to reach us, thankfully," Ace observed. All three brothers looked up at the giant ship, to see a man with a strange get-up looking down at them. He had some sort of bubble over his head.

He glared at them with a disgusted look, and it didn't make the boys happy. How rude. But then, Ace and Sabo shouted for Luffy to get down as they saw a gun pointed at them. They didn't have time to jump overboard before the cannon hit, and the boat exploded into flames and debris.

All three brothers sank into the sea, only Ace being conscious. He opened his eyes and swam deeper, getting a tight grip on Luffy's arm, as well as Sabo's shirt scruff. The current threw Ace around, but he was able to keep hold of his brothers.

He couldn't hold his breath any longer and finally surfaced, out of view from anyone who was looking at their boat, which was now in burning pieces. He yanked his brothers up above the water, and Luffy took in a deep breath.

Sabo, however did not. Ace swam to the shore as best as he could, at the little beach the three had visited multiple times. He dragged both of them onto the sand, and Luffy was able to cough out some water and open his eyes.

Ace gave a relieved sigh of Luffy being okay, but immediately turned his attention to Sabo. He was covered in horrible burns, and wasn't breathing. "Sabo, Sabo!" Ace shouted, shaking him hard. Ace didn't know anything medical that could save him. So he continued to shake him, and slap his face.

Three minutes had passed since they'd surfaced, and no matter how much Ace shook, hit, or yelled at him, he didn't wake. Luffy was sobbing next to him, nuzzling Sabo's limp hand. Ace couldn't hold in his tears. He couldn't, even though he wanted to seem strong for Luffy.

"No, Sabo…" Ace cried, turning to his last brother, pulling him to his chest, both of them sobbing uncontrollably. Ace held Luffy tight against him. He could never lose him. He would never lose his baby brother. Neither of them could look at Sabo's burned and still body.

Who was the man who shot them, and why?! They weren't doing anything! And they lost Sabo because of it. Sabo was dead, gone forever. Ace would never be scolded or congratulated by him. Luffy would never get another hug or such reassuring and kind words that made even Ace feel warm. Sabo wouldn't grow old next to them. He'd never have true freedom. And what a horrible way to die. Just shot randomly, helpless and unaware of what was about to happen.

The world was a cruel place.

Ace carried Sabo's body back with him, Luffy slightly limping beside him. Ace would check out the wound once they got Sabo someplace acceptable. Ace didn't think it would be safe to return to the treehouse so soon after they fled.

He had a feeling they wouldn't be hunted by the guards anymore. After all, it looked like they were all killed in the explosion. If the brothers didn't return to Gray Terminal or high town, they should be safe.

There was only one place they could go. They were going to be screwed if they weren't welcomed back.

After searching for a time, going up a trail to the forest, the two found a cliff, looking over the ocean in a beautiful scene. This was as good a place as ever. A place Sabo could always see the life he'd dreamed of.

Ace had to dig with his hands, getting dirt caked under his nails. Luffy helped as well after Ace was having trouble, and it took an hour to dig a hole suitable for the boy. Neither brother said anything about him. No funeral words, or last wishes. No memories told about better times. They were silent.

They were also doing their best to keep the sobbing at bay, even though Luffy still had tears leaking from his green eyes.

As they finally left the scene, after putting a headstone out of indestructible ice over the head of the grave, Ace said, "Luffy. Before we are pirates, we will avenge Sabo. Whoever that person was, we will kill him, and anyone associated with him. Then, we'll live out our dream, and carry Sabo with us in our hearts. We'll be free, like he never was. We'll be the freest people in the world. That sound good to you?" Luffy nodded his head solemnly.

Yeah. I'll get stronger. And never lose anyone ever again! Luffy said in a serious voice, more serious than Ace had ever heard. They had nothing anymore. Their precious sake cups from when they became brothers were gone, along with anything having to do with Sabo. They'd only be able to know Sabo existed from their own memories. At least Ace still had the large bag of treasure hooked to his shorts.

Though he and Sabo worked on much of that, he knew Sabo would want them to use it to better their future. The future Sabo would never have.

-x-

The moment Dadan opened the door to see the brat she'd raised until six and the larger creature that Ace and Sabo had left with, she was about to yell at them and ask what the hell they were doing there. But she saw the red rimmed eyes of Ace, and the shiny eyes of Luffy.

Something happened.

"What are you doing here, Ace?" Dadan asked quietly. Ace shuffled his feet.

"Sabo's gone, and the treehouse is no longer safe. C-can we come back and live here again? We'll get food everyday, and Luffy can make refrigeration for the food. All we ask for is a place to sleep," Ace said in an even voice, despite the tremor of his lips after saying Sabo was gone.

Dadan just couldn't help it, and agreed to let both of them back. As she looked at Luffy, she saw the eyes of a young, innocent creature. Sure that it wouldn't hurt the bandits, she let them both in. The other bandits all looked at the brothers and Dadan in confusion and shock. Magra and Dogra came up, asking what happened and why Ace and his creature were there. They both still had nervous eyes while looking at the dragon.

Magra and Dogra looked to Ace sadly. And then to the dragon. "He won't hurt anyone or cause any trouble. Promise," Ace said, with Luffy nodding his head. The others looked wary of him, but they didn't freak out. The other bandits still looked uneasy, but that was to be expected. At least they weren't screaming their heads off.

Ace and Luffy walked to their room, and found it was in good condition. The brothers had lost the fluffy quilt, and now only had the hard ground, and some extra blankets. But at least it wouldn't be too hot or too cold inside walls. Then again, Ace could warm Luffy, and Luffy could cool Ace. It was quite convenient.

-x-

Luffy and Ace trained every day, and considered the hunting of large predators every day training as well. They had not returned to the treehouse, even two years later, as well as not returning to Gray Terminal. Nether knew whether anyone would remember them, but they didn't want to risk bringing attention and then them following the boys to their current home. If this one was lost, they had no place to go.

It was when Luffy was five, almost six, when he finally took flight. They were at the cliff that the two had trained at with Sabo and now just the two of them. Luffy's new motivation was to be ready to leave and avenge Sabo, and slay all the Celestial Dragons. Dadan had filled them in on who that cruel murderer was. The Celestial Dragons sounded like the worst people alive.

Ace and Luffy looked forward to avenging Sabo. Ace more than Luffy. Ace was glad Luffy still acted young, despite what he'd been through. The attack had scared him, and he still had nightmares about it. He had sprained his wrist during the explosion somehow, but healed extremely quickly. As in a few hours.

When he jumped off the cliff, and spread his wings with some actual confidence, he caught the wind and glided a few yards before he fell to the water. But both were cheering at the sudden progress.

After that, things progressed quickly, like learning his ice powers had. He had hope, finally, that he could actually do it. It took seven months of vigorous training until Luffy finally mastered flight and was able to fly around the island.

But he was still too small to have Ace on his back. Luffy was growing at a steady rate, though Ace was doubting, even though they had many years left, that Luffy would be big enough to carry Ace around long distances.

After all, he'd only be eleven at the time of departure. They had both agreed to have Luffy fly them to wherever the Celestial Dragons lived, since taking a ship would be time consuming and more easy to get caught or trapped.

Plus, they didn't want a crew to put at risk while pulling off their revenge. They'd have to buy maps and compases to get to the Grand Line from East Blue. They had more than enough money to do so, so that was a good thing that made their future departure feel less difficult.

They'd be ready for the world outside the forest, and they'd live on for Sabo, carrying his dream with them, forever.

I had to. Sabo's death kickstarts the rest of the story. Those who read it here are lucky to have been prepared, I didn't say that there was major character  death on ff.net. Stay tuned for next chapter.

Chapter Text

Purely A/N: So, due to the content of the remainder of the story, which is around 70,000-80,000 words (off the top of my head) it will be a separate submission, but still the same story. I just can't have genocide in a T rated story. Plus, it's after a long time skip, and it would make sense to separate them. Sorry for any inconvenience, this is just convenient for me as the writer/poster. I'm sorry about Sabo's death, but it is very important to the rest of the story. And the Whitebeards arrive! They play a HUGE role in the rest of the story, though there are a few chapters before the brothers run into them. Hope you stay tuned and follow part 2, even if you're mad that I killed precious Sabo. Thanks for reading my story!

And, if you really don't want to continue to a darker sequel, then this could just be the end of the story and it would be a cliffhanger of sorts.