"Ace! Ace! Please, stop running! We can barely keep up! C'mon, slow down!" Sabo called out to him as they ran through the forest.
He couldn't slow down though, no, he couldn't! They'd find out if he did. His tongue would slip and then his secret would be out. They'd hate him.
They'd hate him.
They'd HATE him.
They'd HATE HIM!
THEY'D HATE HIM!
He knew they would! Everyone else did! Everyone, even Dadan, spoke about him behind his back! They would too once they knew just how filthy he was!
He was a demon's child! He wasn't worth anything! They'd leave him alone when they finally found out!
He didn't want to be alone.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE ALONE!
His brothers were his world! They were his reasons to live! He existed because of them! He wouldn't be alive if he'd never met them! He would have given up if he hadn't met Sabo! He would have been angry forever if Luffy hadn't come along!
Everything around him was getting blurry, unrecognizable, and his eyes were burning. Why were his eyes burning? That had never happened before! Where even was he at this point? He had lost track and Sabo's voice had gotten so far away not too long ago...
His lungs were burning too... Had he really been going so fast?
"Ace! Thank goodness you're here! Why'd you run off?" Sabo's normally soothing calm voice grated on his ears.
He flinched, something Sabo evidently saw because he moved closer. He moved further from the blond however, pulling away from the warm hands and comforting arms he didn't deserve.
"Yeah! You never run, Ace! What did Mr. Fox say?"
He winced now, grimacing, because wasn't that the truth? He always said to stand and fight because he didn't want to lose them, but what did he just do? Ran away with his tail between his legs like a beaten dog...
He sniffled, his throat aching terribly, trying and failing to say something, anything at all. He felt smaller hands grab at him, but he ripped them off his person. He'd only taint Luffy more if the other touched him!
"Ace?" Luffy sounded hurt now.
"Don't touch me!"
His voice was scratchy, hoarse from all the running he'd done, and barely above a whisper.
"Ace, what's wrong?"
What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?! EVERYTHING IS WRONG! His existence! His life! His attitude! Everything about him was wrong!
The burning in his eyes grew, to the point he rubbed at them furiously, thinking they were on fire. Quite the opposite, his face was wet. Tears? He was crying?
But, but...That was Luffy's thing! Luffy was the crybaby! ...Not him...
He couldn't deal anymore. He backed away from them, not wanting them to see him cry. His foot hit one of their beds and he flung himself onto it. He curled up as he lost control, lost the composure he kept over himself as everything welled up inside him.
He couldn't stop the tears or the sobs from escaping him. His ribs ached, trembling with shallow breaths he struggled to calm. The rest of his body shook like a leaf in autumn winds in spite of the warm breezes drifting through the open windows.
He froze when rubbery arms enveloped him from behind, but then struggled to break free. He just couldn't seem to manage to muster up the strength though and gave in.
He gave in to the warm arms surrounding him. He gave in to the nuzzles Luffy was nosing against his spine. He gave in to Sabo's concerned words and nodded when he asked for permission to touch. He gave in to the worried embrace the blond pulled him into as soon as Luffy loosened his arms to include the other as well. He gave in to THEM.
He wound his arms around Sabo, burying his face in the crook of the blond's neck, and let his walls fall.