Notes: English is not my native language, so it may contain errors. :c

disclaimer: One Piece is not mine, it belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Sabo asked to the younger by his side, worry clear in his voice.

"Yeah." Luffy said firmly. He seemed pretty calm, but he was not able to smile like he usually does. No, not in that place. "I don't let myself cry for it anymore."

Sabo raised an eyebrow to that, slightly impressed. "You really grew up, Lu."

"Well, that's obvious. I'm much taller now." Luffy replied simply, and that makes Sabo chuckle a little. His younger brother was still so silly…and that was a relief. Even having gone through horrible experiences, the life on the sea didn't was capable to take away Luffy's innocence. In a certain way, the elder felt a little jealous of him.

"I didn't mean like that. I mean you grew psychologically."

"phy-gi-what?"

"Your mind grew up."

"Oh."

They stood in silence for a while, contemplating the two graves before them. It was amazing how the graves were clean despite its age, the stones bright-white and without many signs of slime or dirt. The Whitebeard former crew does a great job in keeping that place.

Suddenly, a question crossed Sabo's mind. He remembered the ship that was anchored on the beach, and then asked "Did you talk about him or about what happened on the war to your crew?"

"No." Luffy replied casually. "It's not because I don't want to talk about Ace, but I never had the chance." He scratched the back of his neck "There are moments when the guys are talking about the adventures they had when we were apart, but then they all look at me and the conversation suddenly ends, all of them with odd stares. I really don't understand why, but I don't ask and I don't mind either."

"…I understand them."

"You do?"

"I mean, maybe they feel…shame." Sabo lowered his head, causing his hat shading his sad look.

"And why do they feel ashamed? That makes no sense, Sabo."

"Maybe they feel ashamed by the fact they don't were there when you needed them." The elder began, never lifting his eyes. "Perhaps they think that if they were there, things could have ended differently. Maybe, when they look at you sometimes, they feel guilty." He concluded, wondering if at that point he was talking about the companions of his brother or about himself.

"That's ridiculous!" Luffy exploded "That bear-guy sent them to too far away! There was no way they get there in time!" and then he calmed down, taking a short break and then he sighed. "Even if it were possible, I would not like it if they were there. I was not able to save Ace, then if I also couldn't protect them... I don't know what I would do."

"I'm sorry." Sabo apologized, noticing his younger sibling's voice cracked. "You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to"

"No." Luffy shook his head. "I'm fine."

"…When you died," The younger started, and Sabo flinched at the words. It was very weird to think he was dead to his brothers all these years. "I was very sad, and one day Ace said to me that we should live a life without regrets." Luffy looked at the sky, smiling for the first time since they arrived. "I do not remember many things that happened at Marineford, but I remember that before he died, he said he lived a life without regrets. He died happy."

Sabo placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and looked at the sky too, a fond smile on his face. "I'm really sure he is watching over us now and is very happy."

"Me too." Luffy's smile widened and, without taking off his gaze from the sky, said "It's a shame Ace didn't know while alive you survived that day, but he knows now." Then he looked directly at his sibling, the same wide grin glowing on his face "I'm really happy you're alive, Sabo."

Sabo's eyes went wide at that, but soon he smiled softly "I'm happy you're alive too, Luffy."