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Ace had survived the Marineford. He survived, he made it out, Luffy had succeeded in his rescue mission, he would heal from his wounds, even if it took a while.
Ace survived.
Torao seemed to disagree.
“He has no internal organs,” he was telling Luffy, once again, on the third day they spent in the submarine. They were docked at the Amazon Lily, but Ace wasn’t able to leave the ship, so neither did Luffy. “There’s nothing I can do to fix him, all I’m doing is prolonging his death from an hour to a week!”
“Ace will get better,” Luffy declared, holding on to Ace’s hand from his seat by his bedside. Torao had categorically forbidden him from climbing into the bed with Ace, but he wouldn’t leave. “He always does.”
Torao sighed at that, clutching at the bridge of his nose.
The machines beeped weakly in the background.
“You have to let him go, Strawhat-ya,” his voice was softer now. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but he’s already dead.”
Luffy squeezed the hand in his grasp. It wasn’t as hot as it used to be, anymore, but it was still warm. He could still feel the pulse, weak as it was.
It was still alive.
“I can wake him up,” Torao continued. “It… won’t be pleasant, to say the least, neither for him nor for you, but… You’ll be able to say goodbye.”
Luffy wasn’t very good at those.
***
Torao had waited until early next morning to do it, enveloping Ace in his Devil Fruit power as he attached new bags to the drip.
“Anaesthesia,” he explained. “As much as I can safely give him, so he won’t be in pain. And adrenaline, to keep him awake. You won’t have long, Strawhat-ya. Speak quickly.”
Ace didn’t take long to react. The beeping grew faster and he wheezed sharply, breaking into a cough.
“Ace!” Luffy cheered, throwing himself at his brother.
Torao didn’t bother stopping him. Luffy chose to pretend it was a good thing.
“What-” Ace blinked, staring around the room before his gaze landed on Luffy’s face, expression softening. “Luffy.”
He raised a hand to cup Luffy’s cheek and he leaned into it eagerly, hungrily, even as Ace’s attention was stolen by the wires in the crook of his elbow.
“How am I- alive?” He asked, baffled.
“Torao-!” Luffy started, only to get cut off by the man himself.
“You’re not,” Torao said, and Luffy scowled up at him. “I can’t fix you, Firefist-ya, not even with my fruit. Best I can do is give you and your brother a proper goodbye.”
“Don’t listen to hi-oomph!” Luffy trailed off when Ace pressed him against his chest, arms wrapped around his shoulders and face dropping to press kisses against Luffy’s hair.
“Thank you,” he directed at Torao, before focusing fully on Luffy. “I’m sorry, you went through all this effort-”
As much as Luffy liked to be in Ace’s embrace, this was more important. “It’s okay! Ace made it out!” He repeated stubbornly. It was true. Ace was there, in front of him, perfectly fine. “Torao is just being silly, you can heal-”
“You have next to none internal organs,” Torao supplied. “I assume you realize what that means slightly better than your brother does.”
“Luffy.”
This was a tone of voice Luffy knew very well. The no-nonsense, this-is-how-it-is tone that Ace used very, very rarely.
It broke the news more effectively than any of Torao’s explanations ever would.
“I don’t want you to go,” tears welled in his eyes, but Luffy fought to stop them. He didn’t want Ace to call him a crybaby with his last words. “You said you’d never die-!”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. You know I’d do anything for you-”
“THEN LIVE FOR ME!”
The silence rang in the small room.
Luffy wasn’t sure when he had closed his eyes, but he forced them to open, unwilling to waste even a second of their time together-
Oh. Ace was crying, too.
“I know it’s not worth much,” he choked out, pulling Luffy closer against himself. “I know, but I need to say it. I love you so much, Luffy.”
He didn’t bother to stop his tears anymore.
“Stupid Ace,” he slapped weakly against his shoulder. “It means everything.”
They had a moment. A minute, maybe two. And then-
“His vitals are dropping,” Torao warned.
“You need to let me go, Luffy,” Ace whispered into his hair.
“Please-”
“I don’t want to go, either.”
“Liar,” Luffy mumbled. “Ace is going to meet Sabo again.”
Ace didn’t have a response to that. Luffy didn’t expect one.
“We’re going to keep- Keep watching you, okay?” His breathing was getting shorter, more laboured. “So just… Become the king. With your crew. We’ll be there, with you, in spirit-”
It was too little. It was all Luffy would get.
It was all Ace could give him.
“I’ll miss Ace,” he sobbed.
“I’ll miss you too, baby.” Ace didn’t sound to be faring any better. “I really wanted to be there for you, I swear, I-”
When he coughed, he stained his bandage with red.
“I have-” Torao stepped closer, a syringe in his hand. “If you’d prefer not to drag it out.”
There was naked longing on Ace’s face as he looked at the syringe.
He would sacrifice himself for Luffy, but Luffy would do just as much for Ace, too.
“Can I do it?” He asked, holding his hand out for the syringe.
Torao guided him to pick the best spot, pushing the needle as deep as it needed to go. All that was left was to push the plunger.
“Thank you for loving me,” Luffy said, echoing Ace’s words from Marineford. Judging by his expression, it was only now that he realized how painful they really were to hear. “Tell Sabo too, when you see him.”
“I will,” Ace promised.
Luffy hoped he’d keep at least that promise.
They kept looking into each other’s faces as Luffy pushed the plunger. Ace fought to keep his eyes open for as long as possible, Luffy’s face the last thing he saw.
His body was still warm when Luffy pressed against it, sobbing harder than he had in years.
There was a commotion outside of the doors to the infirmary, but he didn’t care about that.
Not until-
“Let me see them!” Someone yelled, slamming the doors open.
When Luffy looked over, the stranger was struggling to enter the room, being held back by Torao’s crewmates.
The stranger. Stranger wearing a noble’s outfit, a top hat, an ascot. A stranger with a burn scar covering half his face, a pipe on his back-
A stranger who, upon seeing them, broke into a relieved smile.
“Luffy!” He gasped. Then, taking in the syringe, the silent machines, Ace’s peaceful expression- “Ace…”
Guess Ace wouldn’t be keeping that last promise, either.
