It's been a while. I know. I was taking a break from writing my new multi-chapter story that will soon be up when this hit me. I had to write it. So, here it is! Enjoy!

Luffy used to smile a lot more, Ace noticed.

It was just weeks after the brothers had been told the life changing news and both were coping in different ways.

Ace wasn't sure why, but he had started to distance himself from Luffy. There wasn't really a reason, he just felt uncomfortable since Sabo wasn't there to play the middle man anymore. Oh. Maybe that was a reason. Well, whatever that reason really was, he had started pushing his little brother away.

He hadn't noticed he was doing it at first, but when he realized it had been days since he had seen Luffy's smile—a real one, not those pathetic attempts to pretend he was happy—Ace finally took some time to ponder the problem.

It turned out the problem was him. It was Ace.

"Ace?" Luffy called, startling the elder brother. He had been so caught up in his thoughts about his little brother he hadn't even noticed Luffy climb up to the tree house. "Are you still mad?"

Earlier that morning, when the brothers had been eating breakfast with the bandits, Ace had gotten angry at Luffy for some trivial reason that he couldn't be bothered to remember. It had been stupid, so there wasn't any need to remember it. It was time to forgive and forget, a lesson Ace would never forget.

"Nah," Ace said coolly, bringing his hands to rest behind his neck, gazing at the never ending greenery that lay below him. "It was a stupid fight, so let's just forget about it."

Luffy didn't say anything for the longest time. Seconds ticked by and the rubber seven year old kept his mouth shut, just staring at the floor glumly, biting his bottom lip. Ace was almost tempted to ask what was bothering him, but he didn't. He wasn't sure how to do so.

Ever since Sabo had died, Ace had had to step up and be the level-headed, rational one of the brothers. It was a hard job and made Ace see the world a lot differently. Everything was always tense between the two, though, because Luffy didn't know how to respond to this new Ace. Ace wasn't sure if he was doing this "caring big brother" thing right. He tried not to think about it took much.

So, despite wanting to be protective of Luffy and keep his promise to Sabo, he just didn't know how to go about it. The two were just too different and fought too often. Ace and Luffy clashed often, and most times, it was up to Ace to make sure the two made up.

As of late, the arguments had gotten extremely petty, to the point where even Luffy acknowledged his wrongdoings. So Ace had come up with this forgive and forget policy, where he tried to let nothing come in between them anymore. It wasn't perfect since Ace always had to cool off before he could even think about his policy. Sometimes he just got so caught up in the arguments.

"You always do that," Luffy croaked.

Ace looked over at his brother questioningly, only to find Luffy with tears pooled up in his eyes. Ace faltered, unsure of what to do in this kind of situation. Luffy never really cried unless he was scared or physically hurt—which was admittedly a lot. Never had Luffy started crying because of Ace forgiving him. This was completely new territory for the elder brother.

"Always do what?"

"See!" Luffy sobbed, rubbing his fist against his face to stem the tears of what Ace had just realized was anger. Luffy was angry. "You're doing it again! It's always the same!"

"What's the same?" Ace asked, feeling himself growing short with the younger boy. Luffy was never very good with getting to the point.

"You! You're always forgetting!"

"Are you talking about today?" Ace asked wonderingly. Why would Luffy care about whether or not Ace forgot about their petty arguments?

"Not just today!" Luffy fumed. "It's all the time now! The old Ace would make fun of me and beat me up when I annoyed him! But all you're doing now is not being Ace! You're not my brother!"

Ace idly wondered how he couldn't be himself. He most definitely was Portgas D. Ace and just because he had changed a little didn't mean that he wasn't Luffy's brother.

"What are you talking about, Luffy?" Ace asked. "Of course I'm your brother. We made a-"

"No!" Luffy covered his ears and screwed his eyes shut in denial. Ace didn't know why Luffy was so upset, but this was getting ridiculous. They needed to resolve this right now, before the boy pissed Ace off further.

"Luffy!" Ace punched the boy atop of his head, Luffy's straw hat falling to hang around his neck. The elder brother was finally getting fed up. "Stop being such a crybaby and tell me what the hell is wrong with you!"

Luffy sniffed, nursing his new bump. "Ace is always trying to act like...like Sabo," Luffy admitted. "But I don't want Ace to be Sabo. I want Ace to be Ace."

Ace felt his anger fade into nothing as those words settled heavily on his shoulders, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. It had been true that the freckled boy had tried his best to do what he thought Sabo would do, but he hadn't realized that Luffy would be so affected.

It did make sense, though, now that he thought about it. Sabo had died less than a month ago and here Ace was, trying to fill Sabo's shoes. Of course Luffy would feel confused and maybe even a little betrayed. And Ace knew Sabo wouldn't be able to rest in peace unless Luffy was absolutely and completely happy and free.

So that didn't really leave much room for question. Sabo had told him to protect their younger brother, but all Ace had been doing was confusing him and leaving Luffy to loneliness. Luffy wouldn't be happy that way, even if he was safe.

So all that meant was that Ace had to go back to being Ace. Protect Luffy, but be Ace at the same time. Because if he couldn't respect the wishes of the two people he cared for most, hat kind of brother would he be?

It was a couple months later when Ace would come to regret that decision, or at least, regret that he had completely reverted back into his easily annoyed self. There was no forgive and forget—though there was an occasional forgive—and that led to an incident that would leave him drowning in guilt for years, no matter if Luffy blamed him or not.

He had been sitting there, just sitting there doing nothing, when it had happened.

Luffy had called for some help to defeat the giant bear, but Ace had refused. He hadn't let go of the previous stupid argument yet, and therefore hadn't felt very generous toward the younger brother. Against his better judgment, he hadn't responded to the rubber boy's calls until it was far, far too late.

"LUFFY!"

By the time he had gotten down form the tree branch and fought off the giant bear, there was blood everywhere. Luffy had probably screamed right before it happened, but right now, he was much too still. As he knelt next to the boy, Ace was relieved to see the shallow, yet altogether present breaths that escaped past Luffy's lips.

Ace had to get Luffy back to Dadan's. That was the only safe place they could go for treatment right now, since Luffy's home village was much too far away. Carefully, and with lots of difficulty, Ace situated Luffy onto his back, grabbed the blood stained Luffy onto his back, grabbed the blood stained straw hat that had flown off, and began the journey back to the bandits'.

The walk—no way Ace was running with Luffy strewn on his back—seemed to take forever, but just when all looked hopeless, the rain cleared up a bit (when had it started raining?) and he was able to make out the outline of the bandits' hut.

"Let him sleep," Magra warned before leaving the room.

Ace nodded, the guilt trying to drown him within its depths. This was all his fault.

When Luffy groaned awake from his fever ridden sleep, the boy was sort of incoherent. That was to be expected after such a trauma, Ace guessed. Somehow Ace found himself right back next to Luffy, despite Magra's words. Technically he wasn't disobeying, seeing as Luffy had woken up on his own.

"Luffy?" Ace asked quietly. The rubber boy blinked blearily at Ace, but it didn't really look like he had registered anything yet. "How are you feeling?"

"Ace?" Luffy asked, his voice thick with sleep. "Wha...What happened?"

Ace pulled his knees up to his chest, tears pricking his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Lu! It was all my fault! I thought I had learned that fighting alone didn't prove anything. I let you fight by yourself just because I was angry with you. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Sabo wouldn't have done that. I'm so, so sorry, Luffy!" Ace sobbed, eventually hiding his face so the younger boy couldn't see the tears that cascaded down his cheeks.

Luffy scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. "I don't want Ace to be Sabo. I want Ace to be Ace."

Ace froze. That was something he hadn't heard in quite a while.

"It's not bad," Luffy continued feverishly, probably only rambling because of his sickness. "But it makes me confused. I like nice Ace, but I want Ace to be my brother. If Ace is nice, then he has to be my brother, too. I'd rather have a mean Ace and have a brother than a nice Ace and no brother."

Ace lifted his eyes to stare at Luffy incredulously. Was that what was going through his younger brother's head? That when Ace acted nice, it was like they weren't brothers?

No, Ace thought firmly. He had pushed Luffy away for too long. He wouldn't do this any longer. It had been months since Sabo had died, but the hole he had left was still there, gaping and empty, affecting both brothers deeply. Someone needed to patch up this hole.

Ace would grant both Sabo and Luffy their wishes.

For Sabo, he would protect Luffy to the best of his abilities. He would even go so far as to sacrifice his life to protect his precious little brother. Ace couldn't bear to lose another brother. That just couldn't happen.

For Luffy, he would simply be a brother. A true brother. He would care for him and look out for him, all of the things Sabo had done before, but he wouldn't take Sabo's place. He would fill Luffy's heart with love, so that when he was reunited with Sabo he could face the blond with a grin and his head held high. They would be true brothers, with an unbreakable bond.

He would do as he vowed and live without regrets, living for freedom and his two amazing brothers.

This he promised.

It wouldn't be until ten years later that he would realize just what exactly he needed to do to keep his promises. And when that time came, he would smile, and he wouldn't regret a single moment of his life.

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