Just wanted a little moment between Ace and Luffy. Nothing special. Don't like, don't read. Easy as that.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. It all belongs to Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation.

A brother's tribute

Death.

It was feared by many, including most pirates.

But not the carriers of the Will of D. They weren't afraid at all. Some called them monsters because of it, or freaks.

So naturally, Ace had faced his death head-on and simply accepted it the moment Akainu had pierced him with his molten fist of magma. And he didn't regret it. Even as the darkness swallowed him whole, as he woke up in the Afterlife and met his biological parents (more like got to know his mother and ignored his father, sending the man into crying a waterfall yelling: "My son hates me!"). So yeah, he did not regret it.

Not one bit.

Alright, maybe a little when he saw what Luffy had done during his rampage on Amazon Lily after the cry-baby had woken up.

But for the rest; nope. Not a bit.

The world was full of irony, wasn't it? The moment he accepted the fact that he was alive, he had to die. Fate must've been joking.

"So he finally accepted life, eh? Alright, let's kill him!"

Fate was very ironic and cruel indeed…

Anyway, during the 2 years that Luffy had been training, Ace had been watching from the shadows. Sometimes Pops would join him too. "Just wanted to see how that bastard Rayleigh was doin'," he always replied when Ace had asked him why he came along so every now and then. Fire Fist would just shrug, and then dodge as Luffy came flying into a nearby tree. It was pretty funny to watch as the young man got chased around by many different gaint animals and smashed into trees by the Dark King himself.

It had been a week after Rayleigh had left that Luffy really took Ace by surprise. One morning, while Ace was goofing off in the Afterlife (and avoid Roger at all costs), he came across a very particular rumor.

A rumor about Luffy.

Ghosts going to the real world in order to check up on relatives was nothing new for Ace. After all, he had done it himself. A lot. But ghosts visiting other people out of curiosity? That didn't happen often. But yeah, Luffy had not even managed to only turn the real world upside down, but also the Afterlife. Not kidding, there. He had become a true celebrity amongst all the dead pirates around here.

"I heard that Straw Hat made a new attack."

"So? He frequently makes new ones up out of his idiotic head."

"Yeah, but this one apparently serves as a tribute."

He heard it the moment he passed the two strangers. The conversation drew his entire interest for some reason. The strangers, obviously pirates, continued to discuss how Luffy had supposedly made a tribute to the recently deceased yours truly (in other words, Ace himself). Normally, Ace was content with knowing just that, but this wasn't what totally drew his attention. So instead of just ignoring it and continuing to goof off, Ace had started to mingle with the two.

He had learned a few things about this tribute:

- It was an attack.

- It was a combination of Luffy's newly learned Armament Haki and Gear Second (which Ace still found creepy and steamy. His brother looked like he had a fever in that state!).

The last one, Ace found pretty awesome. And it raised only raised his curiosity. What was this new attack? He needed to know.

That was how he had gotten here in the real world, watching Luffy's struggle with this new attack. And he had to admit, it looked strongly reminiscent to his own Fire Fist. Luffy cursed as he smashed his fiery fist into a nearby tree. "Damn it!" Ace raised his eyebrows. What was up with him? Wasn't the attack completely under his control yet? Or was it something else? Either way, it looked incredibly familiar. He watched in amazement as his younger brother stretched his arm again, activated his Gear Second and Armament Haki, and blew another fiery hole in a not yet heavily damaged tree.

It was truly a sight to see. How the flames encoated Luffy's arm. It really was a copy of his Fire Fist, just with a few differences. The flames felt sorta familiar too. Did Ace leave a spark inside his brother's heart when he died? The recently 22-year old shook his head (and yes, he still aged.)

It was then that it brought an idea in his head. Sure, it was risky, but wasn't his whole life full of risks? His existence of a spirit would be no different, if that was the case. Just the word 'risky' brought a grin of Fire Fist Ace's face.

Time to bring Luffy another visit. In his dreams, that is.

Ace had expected Luffy's dream to be a bit more... Full of meat, so to say.

He certainly did not expect it to be on the one place he'd always remember: the cliff were they made their promise; the promise he broke because he sacrificed himself. The sight was still as breathtaking as back then. He inhaled the fresh air, and exhaled it all out again. If this weren't a dream, he would be really content right now...

"Ace?"

The voice of Luffy shook him out of his thoughts. It was just as high as he remembered. With a smirk, he slightly turned to his brother, tipping his hat a tad over his eyes.

"What's up, Luffy?"

The hug followed as soon as he finished his greeting. Luffy's eyes were filled to the brim with supressed tears. It almost made Ace cry too. All the sadness the younger boy had been hiding was deeply engraved within those tears. It felt like he was pierced through the heart all over again. And just thinking about that wound made shivers run down his spine. Ace held his little brother close, afraid of what would happen if he woke up. Besides, he had a message to give to his younger brother.

"Luffy," he said, his voice all serious, "I don't have much time, so I'll have to make it quick."

Luffy took him by surprise by pushing him away, standing up, and holding out his hand. A smile decorated his face. His eyes were grim, but Ace knew; his younger brother understood what he was saying. Both pride and regret bubbled to the surface. Pride, because Luffy had grown so much stronger, and regret because he couldn't be there to see his strength grow even higher in level.

He took a deep breath. "First off," he began, "I saw your newest attack. I was wondering about it."

Luffy chuckled. "It's called Gomu Gomu no Red Hawk! It's a tribute to you!"

"Yeah, I heard. But really, you've grown strong, Lu."

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed, "still not as strong as you, Ace."

Ace grinned, before looking serious again. "Second; Luffy, I'm gonna make this quick. It's just..."

Luffy stopped him before he could continue. His eyes were sad, but his smile didn't fade. It made the ache in Ace's chest even bigger.

"I get it, Ace. You don't have much time. I really get it." He then looked up at the sky.

"I will become Pirate King. I swear."

Ace smirked.

"Oh really? Aren't you stuck for 6 more months?"

"It's to make sure that I will become strong enough! Jeez!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ace laughed. He forced himself to stand up. "Anyway, Lu, it was nice to see you again."

Luffy nodded.

"And," Ace began, "I'm sure that you'll reach your goal. Your my little brother after all."

As he dissapeared back to the Afterlife, he and his brother shared one more grin, before everything went white...

"Ace!"

Said pirate went pale. Oh no...!

He tried to turn around and scram, when an arm locked itsellf around his middle.

"Wait up, son!"

Ace growled. "Let me go, you bastard!"

"That is no way to greet your biological father, Gol D. Ace!"

"My. Name. Is. Portgas D. Ace. How many times do I have to tell you that?!"

Roger pouted. Ace pushed him off.

"Rouge, our son is being mean to me again! He refuses to call himself Gol D. Ace!"

Portgas D. Rouge sighed with an amused smile. "He's just not that fond of you, Roger. I'm sure he'll come around."

Off in the distance, a large figure and a certain 4th Division Commander stared at the little family. Edward Newgate, or known to others as Whitebeard, grinned.

"Even though Roger's his father, he'll always be my son."

Thatch nodded. "And I'm his brother."

As they turned around, they were pretty sure they heard Roger scream as Ace kicked him between the legs...

Yeah. I get it. This story's lame. No need to tell me. I suck at long stories. And I'm suffering of a low self-esteem. Don't ask why. Still, I hope you liked it somewhat.

R&R

~Winter Chase