Okay, so it appears as though the plot bunny in my head is being pretty active as of late. Which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. New content is great, but kinda delays the one already in progress, you know? But I just needed to write this one down, like you don't even know! Anyway I kinda proofread it, though not to too much extent, forgive my errors.
Anyway, same disclaimer, I own nothing in One Piece! Enjoy!~
Summer.
That was the season Luffy had always loved the most, and it wasn't only because it was the time he got to goof around and play all day. Nor was it because of the awesome weather and their convenient location next to the beach. Luffy got to play in the waves and sand whether it was summer or not. Wind rain, or sun Luffy had always loved the sea, and he thanked the gods every day he got to play next to it, and when he was able to swim within it.
But it wasn't because of these things that Luffy had once loved summer. No, it was because of a certain person that Luffy had come to associate the season to.
Luffy loved the warmth, he loved the the reassuring presence that always managed to accompany the scent of a sweet spice. This scent of summer, it was the only way he could describe the smell, this person always carried the smell of summer with him. Even in the midst of winter when the rain pored heavily and discouraged him from going outside, Summer was always with Luffy.
And he thanked all the deities who would hear him of it everyday.
No matter what the other did, he always managed to make Luffy's world brighter and gods he loved him for that even more. Luffy could always allow himself to be his goofy adorable self around this man, the one he admired the most in the world. And Luffy knew that the older man loved his each and every antic, even if they managed to get on his nerves from time to time.
And just as the older of them forgave Luffy of his oddness, Luffy always forgave him of his own odd tendencies, such as why he felt the need parade around the halls with his shirt open entirely to reveal the tanned freckles flesh underneath the one layer of clothes, but he had grown accustomed to now walk around shirtless.
The older man now chose not to wear one most of the year. It was funny actually, even in the lowest of temperatures Luffy's summer love was completely content with leaving his well muscled chest completely exposed to the forces of nature and to those around him.
Luffy would never wish it any other way. Not this nor the way the other fell asleep suddenly and without rhyme or reason. His appetite too was huge, just like his own, and Luffy was further enamored by the thought.
Luffy loved everything he could relate to his older brother. To his Ace.
It had been strange at first, when he was younger, he had found himself staring more and more at the other's bare flesh, his face, his hair, his eyes. Luffy had been unable to say why he was so enthralled by just the mere presence of his brother. Hell he couldn't even explain even why he was captivated by just the sight of the older teen. Eventually, even Ace as dense as he was at times began to notice Luffy's not so subtle glances, his large coal eyes that seemed to follow him everywhere even if Ace was looking directly at him. Needless to say, Ace had grown exasperated after a while and threatened to poke his eyes out whenever he caught him doing that.
But Luffy had only laughed and continued on the road he wished to be on. The one that lead to his beloved Summer.
As time passed, he found himself more and more attracted to the older man. No one could imagine the absolute pure joy that had overtaken his heart the moment he had learned his feelings had been returned. When Luffy had turned exactly thirteen, and now an official teen a man near grown, he had decided he should tell his older brother of the feelings that had grown within him over time.
That day, Luffy's heart had sung. The butterflies that had accumulated in his heart and stomach from waiting had been set free, and his eternal summer had begun.
Ace felt the same! Ace loved him in turn!
If people had thought them inseparable before the two had confessed their feelings, now it seemed they were joined at the hip. Wherever Luffy went, Ace made sure he followed. And vise versa.
It had been a blissful one and a half years for the two teens as they reveled in every moment they got to be with one another, even in the Academy where they studied and lived, they were able to endure the staff and Head Mistress Dadan for one reason only.
They had each other.
And now it was their time to say goodbye, for a while. The older of the two was moving away.
With sadness in those warm eyes he he come to Luffy's room in the middle of the night and taken a seat on the bed where Luffy had been sleeping. A sad smile was on his lips as he reached a tender hand out to gently caress the dark onyx strands from his forehead.
Luffy was a cute sleeper, he had always told him so, much to the younger's dismay. However, the pout Luffy put on always broke into the most addictive of smiles. Ace loved Luffy's smiles, no Ace lived for Luffy's smiles.
God, how was he supposed to survive the outside world without those smiles? Without his adorable younger brother by his side. Frustration grew within the teen as he hung his head.
But he had not been given a choice in the matter, his time at the Academy was over. At the age of seventeen the boy's were dismissed from the Academy, they were no longer to be taken care of there. And as the fates would have it. Ace was to turn seventeen tomorrow, January first.
Earlier that day he had been told that he was invited to join Whitebeard's Program for gifted young men. A fancy title that meant nothing more but that he was going to join the military.
Ace wouldn't have minded so much, the military made decent money, and he had always liked what they stood for. To defend those who were unable to help themselves, like he and Luffy.
They weren't real brothers, not by blood really. But something much deeper than that, they were two souls who were forever bound to one another. Ace had lost his mother at birth, he had never gotten a chance to know her, and his father? That dead beat bastard abandoned him the moment his mother had died. After that, Ace had been turned over to Dadan's Academy where he was the youngest to be admitted. It was a worse title than it sounded.
Ace had grown up there, at the Academy. Never had he had known any other place than the one he was spending his measly existence in. He was forced to see the same walls every day, every night he had traveled the halls and the nearby beach alone never caring to learn the names of the other boys that lived them.
That is, until Luffy came to live with them too.
Luffy had been sent to the Academy at the age of eight, his grandfather had given up on raising the poor kid. What happened to his parents? Ace could never say, and neither could the younger, he had never met his parents.
Needless to say that Ace thought of this crying boy much like he thought of everyone else, a nuisance that wasn't worth his time.
Ace had to chuckle at this thought.
Who would have even guessed that he would soon come to love the cry baby? He was Ace's one true treasure, and now he had to say goodbye for just a while.
Ace hated the thought, but they had already talked about it extensively.
Ace would leave and join this Whitebeards Program, then he would be in the military and get a job. He would be stationed as a National Guard get a side job if he must. But they could use this to their advantage. Ace would go out and make some money, he would start to place the building blocks down so that when Luffy came of age, he would join him after that and they would live together once more.
They had sulked quite a bit, but the situation had been out of their hands.
Now with a heavy heart, Ace was here. His final night at the Academy, and curfew be damned, he was going to spend the night with his loving younger brother.
Luffy smiled in his sleep, the scent of spice filling his nose and with it bringing the images that he loved the most. Ace was with him. He was hovering over him with one of the saddest most loving looks that wanted to tear his heart into two.
That sadness had no place to be in his eyes, he wanted to push that sadness out of those captivating eyes, to completely extinguish any trace of it and replace it with happiness.
Yes, that is what Luffy wanted, his sleepy self reached out to wrap his arms slowly around the neck of his older brother and while he tipped his head up. His lips met the others. It was a tender kiss, one that Ace had clearly not been expecting by the way he tensed up against Luffy. But soon the surprise melted away as the warmth of summer spread within Luffy. The small thin fingers of the sensational feeling spread from his heart quickly reaching every inch of his body and enveloping in the most intoxicating feeling of love he had ever known.
Luffy could feel himself smiling as he held onto the warm person pressed flush against his own skin. Only a single layer of clothing separated the two, from being pressed skin to skin and it frustrated the younger teen beyond reason. Small hands began to trail their way down Ace's bare back not missing the chance to trace along the rise and dip of the well defined muscles. Were it nor for the rising need of ridding himself of his own clothing, Luffy would have spent hours tracing patterns along the unmarred flesh.
But he had to mind his time, for this time he had to. Pulling away to catch his breath, Luffy could acutely feel the heat that had risen to his cheeks and tinted them a rosey pink. But he didn't care, he just wanted to get his shirt off. His hands pulled away from his brother, clumsy fingers grabbing the edges of his oversized shirt and started to pull it up before two strong palms were placed on his own, quickly reminding Luffy that it wasn't time yet. Not even on their last day.
Ace's soft lips pressed against his in a tender reminder that Luffy was all he needed, that he could express his love for him without having to remove his clothing and taking Luffy's precious innocence.
Their kiss deepened gradually, and Luffy soon found himself overpowered by Ace within it, the older teen began to press him back onto his bed while maintaining the kiss. And just like that, Luffy was content, previous thoughts of bearing himself for his brother forgotten.
It hadn't been the first time his offer had been denied in the most gentle of ways. Luffy knew how much Ace loved him, but when he was questioned about it, Ace would smile and kiss his cheek, his lips, his forehead and finally the crown of his head. "You're too young Luffy, besides we have all the time in the world."
That warm loving voice whispered against his lips, alongside his ear and against his soft obsidian hair, "Lu, you know you mean the world to me, but I... I can't do that to you. Not until you are older and are positive that it is what you want." Ace whispered as he curled Luffy around him. The two were now sharing Luffy's twin sized bed. It was a snug fit but they made it work, they were content with the closeness it brought them.
Luffy couldn't be mad though, Ace was doing what he thought was right, even though Luffy thought that it was being pretty silly. He loved Ace, he wanted to be as close to him as possible and Luffy knew that he was ready. But even then, his pleas weren't entirely heard. Luffy had, however, once in a blue moon worn Ace's resolve just the tiniest bit in which he was granted a lesson in which they both learned.
Ace had known about as much as Luffy about kisses, and affection in general. So together they learned of other things. It took long, and a lot of consideration but Luffy had actually managed to wear him down to oral after finding out that Ace had increasing needs that needed to be fulfilled. As expected Ace had been reluctant in the beginning when a red faced Luffy offered to help. But even Ace couldn't stave off his desires and in time agreed with the condition that he would consent so long as it didn't go beyond that.
But, sadly they had no time for even that this time, the teen was reminded as his lover pulled him closer to his bare chest. His soft lips kissing the top of Luffy's dark locks once more.
"What are you thinking Lu?" the warm voice asked in the darkness.
Luffy had resolved earlier that day that he would be string for his older brother, he would not pout, cry, or be angry at the situation. If Ace had said it was going to be okay, then Luffy believed him.
"That these next tree years will go by so fast, and very soon I'll be with you again." the teen replied in the same softness within their currently shared room.
Luffy could feel the relief that rushed out of the older teen, and the smile that was pressed against the back of his head.
The two didn't fall asleep that night, save for Ace's one hit of narcolepsy. They spoke in hushed whispers, talking of their future after all this mess was over and of sweet nothings.
The night disappeared soon and the two were still wrapped up in eachother's embrace.
That had been five years ago. This loving scene between two brothers, two lovers.
Luffy can still remember the sight of his brother that morning, he can recall every detail he saw that morning as the small tendrils of light began to sneak their way into Luffy's room. The pale rays of winter sunlight peeked through the thin layer of curtains directly behind Ace, bathing the older teen in a soft yellow. It had seemed at that moment that Ace had received a halo around not only his head, but the rest of him as well. Luffy's eyes had traveled everywhere committing everything to memory before settling on his alluring chocolate eyes where they always sat so open, so caring, and were solely his. No one would ever know the deep love that those eyes were capable of, no one but Luffy.
Luffy's heart had swelled with pride at that moment as his eyes took in the final image of his older brother. Small hands had pulled him down once again and crashed their lips in a kiss. The kiss, Luffy can remember, had been desperate, hungry and so full of passion. It had taken the breath from both their lungs.
Luffy had almost cried at that point, he didn't want Ace to leave him. He wanted Ace to stay with him, Dadan's Acedemy be damned. But even that kiss couldn't delay the events that followed.
Ace left the Academy that day, and Luffy had remained.
For two years Luffy had stayed at that Academy, and he even got a letter here and therefrom Ace, telling him how well he was doing, and that he met these wonderful people. Thatch, Marco, Izo, there were others too. And there was also Pops, Whitebeard himself had taken Ace under his wing and he was going up in rank.
Luffy was happy for Ace, he was having a great time.
But then the letters stopped coming in, that was the moment Luffy got a sickening feeling in his stomach. He had tried to ignore it though, Ace might have just forgotten, maybe. Or he was busy. A number of excuses had risen up to his mind, and Luffy had entertained all of them expect one.
A month later, there had been a knock at the Acedemy doors. Luffy was summoned to Dadan's office. That was nothing that hadn't occurred before, Luffy was a trouble making child. But when he had been waiting for a scolding he received something much worse.
"You must be Luffy-yoi" a man leaning back on Dadan's desk had said.
Luffy had looked him over, this stranger that knew his name, he was tall, taller than Ace by a few good inches. His eyes were a nice shade of blue, but what stood out the most to Luffy was the tuft of blonde hair that decorated the man's head. Luffy would have laughed at the pineapple cut hairdo if it wasnt for the serious aura that enveloped the older man.
Luffy had nodded, "Who are you?"
The older man had pressed his lips together in a thin line and had debated his words, almost as if he didn't want to reveal his identity. "My name is Marco-yoi.." a pause. "I am Ace's friend-yoi"
The name had brought so much joy to the young teen as he had brightened just by hearing his voice. "You know Ace! Where is he? Is he okay? Do you know why he hasn't written?" the questions had spilled from his mouth so quickly he had left the older man dumbfounded.
"Luffy, you might want to take a seat-yoi"
That had definitely not been the words Luffy had been expecting from the man that had been Ace's friend for over two years. "Why would I want to take a seat? Is Ace okay? Where is he, how come you're here?"
Dread had creeped its way into Luffy's soul, he can remember that desperation, the absolute fear that began to consume him the moment he saw the pain flash in Marco's gaze.
"Luffy, Ace... died in the line of duty." the blonde had said, pained grief filling every word.
For the teen, Summer had ended that day. And Fall had begun.
The events that had followed that day, Luffy can only remember red, an anger so primitive it had torn his heart, his soul in two and left him raw and sore for months.
Luffy had Left the Academy at seventeen and for years, he wondered the world broken and alone. Never once knowing summer again.
Instead Luffy met Winter.
This chapter is actually a little prologue-ish but I assure you the AceLu is far from finished and I don't know it was more descriptive than my usual chapters I think what with the lack of dialogue, let me know what you think! Should I continue on this one or get back to the others?
Can anyone tell me who Winter is :3
