First Fanfic: Modern AU. please R&R
Ace loved Luffy.
Except that she was his sister. His stepsister, to be exact - not that anyone could tell anyway. Ace's father had died when he was three and while his mother had tried in the beginning, she was too sad to take care of him or anything else for that matter. They were forced to move to a cramped apartment in the shady part of town. It did not take long for his mother to spiral down into a life of drugs and alcohol. Forced to survive on his own, he would steal and scavenge in the dumpsters in his desperate need to eat. He learned to fight to prevent being beaten up or worse. Not able to trust anyone, he always had an eye open, ready to run or fight at a second's notice. He lived in constant fear of his mother's bad days when she would beat him because he reminded her too much about his father. But then she disappeared five years later when he was eight.
In order to evade the notice of the social workers, he pretended that she was still there and that she was able to take care of him. He cleaned the one-room apartment and convinced a shop owner to claim that his mother worked there. One day, though, a business associate of his father caught him going through a dumpster. That man was Luffy's grandfather. He had promised Ace's father that he would take care of Ace, if Ace's father were to die. The next minute, Ace was flung into a black car, and before he could protest, Luffy's grandfather had already set off with squealing tires. Unable to comprehend what happened, Ace stared blankly at the back of the stained black seat. In what seemed to be but a moment, he was pulled gently out of the car. He was greeted with the sight of a young girl in a white sundress holding out flowers. That was his first meeting with Luffy. She was three years younger then him. He knocked the flowers out of her hand and stalked away into the dark forest he saw over the hilltops. When Luffy's grandfather caught up to him later, Ace learned that he was to live with Luffy and other people in a small mountain cottage. Quickly learning his way through the forest, Ace resisted Luffy's attempts to befriend him. He deliberately followed the most obscure paths, leaving early in the morning and returning late in the night so he would not have to see her. He felt that someone like him was not worthy to associate with such innocence until the day that Luffy was beaten up by the local gang. They had been beaten up by Ace, in a fit of frustration, and they wanted to get revenge. They had figured out that Luffy lived with Ace and tried to find out where she and Ace lived. She had refused to tell them and the gang beat up her up. Seeing her, covered with bruises and cuts, beaming up at him because he was safe made him fall in love with her. Soon after that her grandfather adopted him and they became brother and sister.
Except that she was engaged to Zoro, her boyfriend of ten years. Of course, Ace didn't realize that they were dating until they were almost out of high school, and like the idiot he was, he was pretty close with Zoro. Normally, Ace would have hated him, but he could not do that. It would hurt Luffy and himself for even thinking such things. Anyway, he had seen them together and Luffy was so happy, bubbling with joy around Zoran. He had seen the way she glowed when Zoro approached. The way he put his hand on her back when she stumbled. The way she laid on the grass beside Zoro listening to music. The way Zoro looked only at her. But it still hurt knowing that he could not bring that smile to her face. He could only be her older brother.
Years passed since the incident when Leila was beaten up. Sitting in the park, Ace was thinking about Luffy, and did not notice a woman coming out of the shadows. She watched him curiously for a moment until he sighed deeply, causing her to laugh. Clicking over to him in her high heels with a slight smile, she wondered whether her decision was right.
Startled out of his reverie, Ace looked up to see a beautiful woman staring at him. Wondering what she wanted, he cocked his head to the side and opened his mouth to tell her that it was rude to stare at people and that she should leave him alone. It was then that he had a vague sense of having seen her at one of Luffy's birthday parties. He could not be sure if it was she because he had been sitting off to the side watching Luffy. Unconsciously scrunching up his face and mumbling to himself, he tried to remember. Watching him, the woman could not help but chuckle at his openness, just like his sister. Feeling a lightning bolt shoot through his brain, Ace suddenly remembered that, yes, she was Luffy's friend, and that she had scared him with her remarks about his and Luffy's relationship. Vaguely remembering that her name started with an R, he opened his mouth to ask her when she cut him off.
"Robin. My name is Robin and you love her, don't you? Luffy, I mean." She chirped obviously enjoying herself. Almost choking, Ace felt his mind go blank as he spluttered out desperately that she was wrong, that she was mistaken. He opened his mouth a second time to deny her, when again, he was cut off.
"Don't deny it. You love her. You stare at her when you don't think anyone's looking. You don't know what to do now that she is getting married. I suggest you talk to Zoro. He might help bring you some peace of mind" Smiling mysteriously, Robin abruptly turned and walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Ace staring at her retreating back. He remained there for a while, trying to figure what exactly happened. Unable to sit still, Ace started running in the direction of Zoro's apartment.
Standing at the door after ringing the bell, Ace began to regret his impulse to talk with Zoro. What was he going to do? Tell Zoro he loved Luffy? Make Zoro cancel the marriage? Just the thought of doing that made his heart clench. Luffy would hate him for that and would never speak with him again. He didn't want to destroy Luffy's happiness in an attempt to satisfy his own desires. Reluctantly shuffling his feet, Ace turned to run away shamefully when the door opened.
Turning slowly, Ace turned to face the door. Leaning against the door with his arms crossed was Zoro. A face etched with a semi-permanent scowl shifted to surprise when he saw who came. Looking at him, Ace could not help but be startled by Zoro's eccentric appearance even though he had seen him like this many times. Zoro's white shirt and black pants were frighteningly normal as were his black loafers. Even his green hair - caused by a spontaneous mutation - did not seem strange either. His green stomach band, on the other hand, made Ace wonder whether he was from another planet. The tube shaped, green piece of fabric that went around Zoro's stomach was not fashionable at all, not that Ace really knew anything about fashion.
"Why are you here? No, let me guess, you're here to kill me to protect Luffy from being 'corrupted' or something like that. She'll never speak to you again if you do that. Or you're here to threaten me that if I hurt her or whatever, you'll maim me or something" he drawled.
Sighing in relief, Ace looked down and bit his lip. Of course, Zoro would think he was here to be overprotective. He had done nothing that said anything else. Letting out a slight sigh, Ace reached out and grabbed Zoro's shirt collar and hissed, " What else did you think I was here for? If you hurt her, or she cries because of you, I will kill you. She's my little sister and I'll be cursed if she isn't grinning like a little monkey. I want to talk to you about some ground rules, if you don't mind, because my little sister is the most innocent and cutest person on this planet. She wouldn't hurt a fly and she deserves the best and... "
As Ace continued to rant on about Luffy's perfection, Zoro stared at him with confusion apparent in his eye. Ace's ranting of a biased account about Luffy was a common occurrence, but his threats had lacked their usual fire. Zoro had experienced Ace's threats before but those had involved many curses and much destruction to the environment and him. Zoro spat on the ground, hating the fact that Robin had been right. She had called to say that Ace was coming and that he wouldn't be his usual self, so he should cheer him up. Zoro didn't really mind because he had nothing against Ace. He was his girlfriend's brother, after all.
"Just shut up and come in, okay? Did you really have to come dressed like that? This isn't some random place in the desert," interrupted Zoro, sighing a little at Ace's antics. Looking down at his clothing, Ace blushed. Walking around without a shirt wasn't such a good idea. But he was wearing belted black shorts, so that had to count for something. On top of that, he was wearing an orange cowboy hat with a smile and frown on it. The red bead necklace made him look like some religious spokesman.
Not wanting to attract unnecessary attention, Ace pushed Zoro inside. As Ace entered the door, he shuddered at the thought of Luffy's reaction if she found out about his visit. She tended to be a tad violent when she was mad at him. Luffy made friends as easily as monkeys ate bananas, so she had a huge group of friends who could make his life miserable if they put their minds to it. Her friends were rather possessive and were usually willing to go along with one of her crazy plans.
Once in the apartment, Zoro went to make tea in the kitchen while Ace sat at the table looking around at the frightfully bare apartment. There was the table and two chairs along with a small bookshelf with some kendo books. There was nothing else in the main room. Picturing Luffy's room with its myriads of colors, and the pile of clothes and stuffed animals on the floor, Ace found it hard to believe why Luffy would like someone like Zoro. Stretching out his arms, Ace got up to pace around the room. Heading toward the window, he noticed a picture frame on the ledge. Curious, he went and picked it up. In the picture, there were two grinning girls. One was wearing blue pants with a jacket with faux fur at the collar. The other was wearing a gray tank top with black pants. Both had a stubborn, "don't mess with me" smirk. Ace stared at the picture puzzled because he did not recall Zoro having any family. As he tried to find an explanation, a tanned hand came down and tipped the picture down. Feeling a chill run down his back, Ace slowly looked back to see Zoro. He stared back at Ace, but his expression was unreadable. Feeling shame well up inside him, Ace started to go back to the table. Zoro's next words made Ace's world turn upside down.
"That's Kuina and Tashigi, my sisters. They died 14 years ago. They fell down the stairs. They were seven. I was ten. We had a fight about something stupid. I told them to disappear. They ran out of the house. They were hit by a car and died. That's when we moved to this town. My parents died in a car crash as soon as we moved here. That's when I met Luffy."
Listening in amazement to Zoro's story, told in an emotionless and clipped tone, Ace began to realize that he had more things in common with Zoro then he thought he had. Remembering a blonde child with a black hat, Ace began to question his hastiness to judge Zoro because of his love for Luffy. It was so like Luffy to be gravitated to tragedy and to try to ease it. Fiddling with the strings of his hat, Ace tried desperately to think of a response. When he was able to figure out an appropriate reply, he opened his mouth, which blurted out something completely different.
" I love Luffy. Not as a brother but as a woman. But she's marrying you, and I can't hate you, and I don't know what to do. We aren't related and I thought you could help me because I don't know what to do anymore." When Ace was finally able to stop his running mouth, he turned bright red, wishing he could be anywhere but here. What was he thinking anyway babbling about his feelings to Zoro, of all people? He couldn't show compassion if it cost him his life. Unconsciously twiddling his fingers, Ace continued to look nervously up at Zoro. Not knowing how much time had passed, Ace began to consider whether he should say anything, something, to break the heavy silence when Zoro opened his mouth.
"Do you really love her?" he asked quietly
Unable to accept the surprising answer, Ace began to sputter a heated objection when Zoro interrupted him. " I'm not saying that you don't love her. Its pretty obvious and even Luffy knows and she's really dense about love. I was just wondering if you're confusing family love for romantic love. You've been with her for a long time in unusual circumstances that you could have labeled your feelings wrong. What do you want to do?"
Ace stood shell-shocked, staring at Zoro. The next instant, Ace's knees gave out as he came to a revelation. He had finally figured out what he always wanted. Feeling as though he had just been hit with a wave, Ace began to laugh and laugh at his idiocy. Zoro, looking worried at Ace's sudden hysteria, stepped hesitantly forward when Ace stopped laughing and stood up. "Thank you. For everything." Ace grinned at Zoro and bowed. Stopping briefly to turn up the picture frame, Ace prepared to leave feeling like he could fly.
Ace stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. The setting sun stained the sea a vibrant mix of red, yellow, and orange and the rippling waves created a mosaic of stone. A white, bright path cut thorough the middle in an impression of a church aisle or a new beginning. Seagulls cried overhead, dancing among the clouds higher and higher with their white wings. Feeling the gentle salt breeze hit his face, Ace breathed in, filling himself with peace. Thinking about what Zoro had said, thinking about his memories of his sister, Ace came to an understanding of what he had always wanted. He just wanted her to be happy, to love who she wanted, to be free and fly toward her dreams. He had forgotten in his web of conflicting feelings that he was her older brother who supported her through trouble. Even though he could never be what Zoro was to her, he could still hold a special place in her heart. Looking at the scenery before him, Ace could not help but chuckle because it looked like one of the pictures from Luffy's old picture books. Speaking of Luffy, Ace reached into his pocket to take out a folded piece of paper. Ace opened it up and sighed at what was written. When Luffy announced she was getting married and said she wouldn't send out formal wedding invitations, Ace had vehemently protested, claiming that Luffy was too young to be married and that she should plan her marriage better. To shut him up, Luffy hastily scrawled out the details of the wedding and gave it to him. Now after his talk with Zoro, Ace felt he could maybe trust Zoro with taking care of Luffy. Taking the paper, Ace folded it into a paper airplane. He sent it flying towards the sun.