Prompt #40 "A package arrived for you, but there's no return address and the box looks really old." One-shot.

I put this in a Modern world setting, and my sister gets a lot of credit for beta-ing late at night and fixing errors for me.

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine, im simply playing around with Oda's characters.

… … … … …

A harsh knocking at the door to the Monkey D. household distracts a dark, mop headed boy from his homework, jumping up with a grin at the chance to take a break.

"I'll get the door. You finish your homework, brat." Garp's heavy hand on Luffy's shoulder gently pushing him back into his warm spot on the old brown couch, his voice final.

"Ohhh, but Gramps…" the teen grumbles, feet kicking the underside of the coffee table, causing the pens on top to jump slightly, one rolling across the surface of the tossed-around pages of homework.

Outside the lounge, Luffy can hear the indistinct murmur of Garp and the visitor talking; Garp's voice quickly getting louder and more upset. Frowning, Luffy tosses down the pen he had picked up when his grandfather left the room, sneaking over to the hallway and peaking around the corner.

There, he sees his grandfather and an incredibly tall stranger talking. The stranger has a strange, upturned white mustache and speaks in a sad tone, conversing with Garp, who has an expression of anger and sounds more upset than Luffy had heard him sound in a while.

"Gramps? What's going on?" Luffy finally speaks up, coming into the hallway and gripping his hat between his hands.

"Luffy?! I told you to- heh, nevermind, you never listen to me anyway. This man… this is the man who Ace travelled the world with."

"Your Whitebeard?" Eyes wide, surprise filling Luffy's voice as he takes a few jerky steps forward, coming to a stop beside Garp.

"Yes." the stranger speaks up, and his voice is strong and warm, if a little stained by sadness. "My name is Edward Newgate. Though it sounds like my son referred to me by my nickname."

Garp takes in a sharp breath at the words 'my son' but says nothing about it, instead telling the boy beside him "Mr. Newgate has a package for you, Luffy." He does not look at either person standing there, preferring to look out the still open front door at the darkening skies, a clear blue except for the encroaching grey from the north.

Looking from his grandfather to the tall man who took Ace across the world, Luffy steps forwards and is handed a box, the edges all taped up to keep it waterproof and, from the beaten-up appearance, to keep in in one piece.

"What's inside?" Luffy asks, putting his hat on his head with one hand as he lifts the somewhat weighty cardboard box in the other. Shaking it gently beside his ear, he listens to the sound of paper bop the sides before looking up at Whitebeard with a questioning look.

"It's not my place to tell you." Comes the gruff reply.

Now very interested to find out what is inside the mysterious box, Luffy politely thanks the mustachioed traveller and excuses himself. Bounding up up the stairs two at a time and running into his room, he leaves the door open in his rush to sit down.

Thumping down on his rumpled bed, Luffy reaches under his pillow to grab Ace's spare knife, taking a moment to look at the old cowhide sheath and worn-smooth leather-wrapped handle.

… … …

[Flashback]

"Ace, why do you keep a knife under your pillow?" A much younger Luffy asked, head tilted to the side like a curious puppy.

"Why do I- Luffy! You were looking through my stuff again?" Ace stood on his bed, annoyed but not entirely surprised.

"You should respect other people's privacy, Luffy." Sabo said, sitting in the wheeled desk-chair, a book held open on his lap.

"Sorry… I got bored." The boy looked down, ashamed but still awaiting an answer to his question.

With a huff, the 10 year old Ace looked at his blond haired brother, who simply shrugged and went back to reading his book. "Helpful." Looking back at the younger boy, Ace relented and answered. "Because if anything happens, I need to be able to protect you and Sabo."

"Oi." Sabo interjected, not looking up, but annoyed at the prospect.

"Hmmm… ok!" Understanding filled the 7 year old's face and he grinned. "Thanks, Ace."

… … …

[Flash forward 3 years]

"Luffy, I'm going to go travel the world." A cowboy hat sat on Ace's head, one hand on the orange brim. "Sabo… Sabo isn't here to protect you, so I'm leaving you this - keep it safe for me." In the other hand is his second favourite knife, which he passes over to Luffy and he reminds the boy to keep it hidden under his pillow.

… … …

[End flashback]

Looking down at the old silver blade, Luffy can see the scratches in the light where he had first tried to keep it sharp with a whetstone, fingers toying with the dull metal pommel on the end. Smiling warmly, he turns his attention back to the worn box sitting atop his crossed legs.

Gripping the handle firmly, Luffy slides the sharp edge of the blade through the layers of old brown tape, freeing the lid. Pulling it up to uncover the mystery inside, Luffy's rising excitement vanishes in a flash.

Inside the box are photos. Dozens and dozens of photos, and scrunched up balls of paper that, when carefully unwrapped, reveal letters written by his now gone dark-haired brother.

Unrolling one of the carelessly rumpled balls from the top of the pile, Luffy begins to read; the clear but scribbled writing unmistakably belonging to Ace.

"May 12

We have arrived in Rome and wow! Everything is so old but it's still intact and strong - it's amazing! We're only staying a few days, then Marco says we're off to Vienna and then Spain. I really wish I could share this experience with Sabo - He'd love all these old buildings.

I learned a new fire dancing trick from the local people who watched my fire dancing show - I can't wait to show Luffy what I've learned when I get back in December."

Very, very carefully, Luffy lies the crumpled paper to the side and picks up another one, a picture taped to the top, the note short and even more scribbled than the last, like it was done in a rush.

"August 29:

A few of us went to a festival in Murmansk and had a great time in a bar here, called the Angry Bear. Marco and Thatch had to keep Marshall from starting a fight over a pie - but we all had fun, dancing and singing and eating really nice food!

I really miss my brothers; can't wait to see them again!"

The photo showed a group of teenage boys, arms around shoulders and huge grins on every face. Ace is in the middle of the group, and Luffy recognises a blond haired man to his right as Marco. In the background a blue bar sign is visible, the text in Russian, but Luffy is sure it's the 'Angry Bear' bar Ace talked about in the note.

Tears threaten to fall from Luffy's eyes as he continues to look through the box, staring sadly at the happy grin of his brother that is featured in almost every photo.

Moving aside another stack of photos, Luffy finds a brown paper bundle, old yellowed string wrapped around it tightly.

Pulling at the ends of the string, the rough knots come undone and Luffy unwinds the string from around the wide flat package.

The tears that had been kept at bay until now begin to stream down his cheeks, running over his quivering lips and falling off his chin onto the item now uncovered in his hands.

A sob leaves Luffy, the old wound ripped back open as he stares at the blue and black goggles in his grasp.

"You found them. Ace... You found Sabo's goggles." Luffy's sobs now turn into all-out crying, gasping for air as he tries not to remember that day.

… … …

[Flashback]

"What do you mean 'Sabo's not coming home'?" Luffy asked, fear for his older brother shaking his voice.

"Luffy, We don't know where he's gone, but he called me to say things came up with his folks and he's going to go travel the world ahead of us. He also said that you're a weak crybaby" Ace said with a sly grin, the twist of his lips melting into an unsure expression. " But... I think we should trust him to be okay, Luffy."

… … …

[Flash forward 3 years]

The shifting orange glow of Garp's office fireplace flickers through the open gap of the door, luring Luffy to it.

"...We haven't heard from Sabo in over 2 years, we have to accept that we might never see him again." Garp's voice was very quiet, but an eavesdropping Luffy listening at the open gap could just hear him speak.

"Where was the last place he called from? The last place we knew he went?" Ace's voice was a little louder, determined, quietly hatching a plan in his mind.

"England, Chichester."

"Then I"ll start there." Ace stated, turning to look at the door, where Luffy ducked out of sight and scurried down the hall back to bed.

… … …

[End flashback]

After a while, Luffy's tears slow and he grows quiet, occasionally letting out a small whimper but mostly just lies still, curled around the most precious items in his life.

… … …

When Garp goes upstairs to check on him later, seeing as he had missed dinner, he finds the boy curled up in a ball on his bed; a knife, a pair of beat-up goggles and his straw hat held tight in his arms as he slept soundly, dried tear tracks visible on his cheeks.

Pulling a blanket up over the little ball as he sleeps, Garp puts a large plate of food on the bedside table for when his grandson wakes up. He picks up a stack of photos and letters to look at before he too retires for the night.

… … … … …

AN:

Yes, i know. I wrote something new instead of updating things i already started. Dont worry: i will be updating The Pinwheel soon. I might put Wanted Posters on hiatus for awhile, so that i can work on other things first.

Thank you to everyone who reviews this - I really am sorry its so sad (I had no idea it would end like this - Sabo wiggled his way in, making it sweet but sad)