It's May 5 - It's Luffy's birthday!
Happy birthday Luffy :D
So this little fic is for the birthday of our favourite captain. There's nothing much to say aside from that I'm still in denial about Ace's death. And it seems, so is Sabo.
Please enjoy.
I don't own One Piece nor any of the characters.
Luffy
Today is an extraordinarily boring day. Nothing exciting has happened, the day has been as average and dull as can be and Luffy pouts, his gaze somewhere lost in the sea.
Shanks never mentioned how boring the pirate life could be at times.
Brook is sitting on the lawn, tuning his guitar. Chopper sits next to him, he grinds funny smelling herbs into a fine powder which he prohibits anyone to breathe in directly, Nami is nowhere to be seen, but Zoro is sleeping next to the railing on the main deck.
Luffy's pout gets a tone sadder. He doesn't even know why – he just had a great lunch with lots and lots of meat and fish, he ate until he was completely round and full, he also had a great breakfast earlier …the weather is nice, it's warm, the wind is not too strong, there is no storm in sight. Everything is…
Is perfect. And that bothers Luffy.
He doesn't like that it is all so quiet…so quiet his skin starts tingling, although the only tension he can find in the air is his own. Damn, just what is the matter with him?!
He slouches forward on his favourite spot on the figurehead of the Sunny, and although he is exactly where he should be, travelling, with his nakama, on the Grand Line, he feels…off.
Like something isn't right.
"-fy. Luffy?"
He startles and turns around. Robin is standing at the stairs up to the figurehead, as usual with a book – how can she read so many books, Luffy doesn't understand – under her arm.
Luffy quickly pulls a smile on his face. "Hey Robin! What's up?"
"I wanted to take care of the orange trees. Do you want to help me? You look a little bored."
Luffy blinks. He's the worst at gardening – but it's better than staying here and sulking, right?
"Yeah sure!"
"Perfect. How about you grab the watering pots and we meet in five?"
"Sure thing!"
She smiles again and Luffy sighs one more time, before he nods, like to himself, there is no space on this ship for stupid thoughts like his… He jumps down and hurries to retrieve the requested items – but where the hell are they?!
Later, he finds Robin already waiting for him, like always with that mysterious smile on her face, and Luffy, slightly sweating from his violent search fo the watering pots, places two in front of her.
"Thank you," she chuckles and Luffy grins, taking off his hat to wipe the sweat from his face. Well now he definitely isn't bored anymore.
"So…How about we start with the ones on the left and work our way around them all? And if you see weeds, just pull them out?"
"Yep, will do!"
"Very good."
It smells so strongly of oranges up here, Luffy starts getting hungry again. The strong odour is hypnotising and he sticks his nose into one of the bushes to inhale deeply. They start chatting; Robin asks him if he has had any luck fishing today and if he has heard of Sabo and Law.
Luffy flinches a little as hears his brother's name. He hasn't seen Sabo for a few months now. And he misses him terribly. But reading about the revolutionary stuff in the paper – the only reason why he actually bothers reading it – makes his head hurt. He knows Sabo is strong, he has the powers of the mera mera no mi and he has strong friends, but…
That's exactly what he thought, before Ace…
"Luffy?"
"Eh, no, I haven't heard of either," he smiles with a shrug, and yet the watering pot almost slips from his hand.
"Luffy? Are you ok?"
"Ye-yes! Yes, I'm totally fine," he grins brightly, but she doesn't smile back.
"Are you sure you are ok?"
And he blinks again, wondering what gave it away. He shrugs. "I don't know. I feel…weird…"
"Although your birthday is in ten days, right? Shouldn't you be happy?"
Luffy halts.
He…he has thought about that. But since…a few years, he isn't excited for his birthday anymore. At all.
The older he gets…the older his memories of Ace become…and he feels that they are slowly…kind of…fading…sometimes he lies awake and he has forgotten…how Ace looked like, before he was beaten up badly in Impel Down and - and in Marineford…
He used to know how many stupid freckles are scattered on his face, but he has forgotten… Was is twenty-one? Was it seventeen? And he can't tell and he doesn't dare looking at the only picture he has of him, which is the article from two, nearly three years ago.
And sometimes, Luffy talks to himself and wonders…has he…forgotten how Ace's voice sounded like? And then he tries to remember and he gets so, so afraid that he might make it up, that he can't actually remember and the thought of slowly forgetting his brother…is so frightening, it's eating him up inside, but there is…
There is nothing he can do to stop it.
"Uhm, yes sure, we'll have a huge party and a crazy feast," he grins and he hopes his grin doesn't look the way he feels, all strange and weak and cheerless because he is so damn stupid and can't even remember…
His own brother… Ace's face…o-or his voice… Or the way he looked, b-before…
"Luffy, tell me, what is going on?" Robin asks gently.
He sighs, before he sits down, placing the watering can next to him. He fumbles with the hem of his shirt. He feels so silly. "I'm…turning twenty a-and…I'll be as old…as Ace is…," he says so quietly he can hardly hear himself. "I won't be his little brother anymore, shishi…"
He grits his teeth as his heart is aching even worse and he wishes he could beat these stupid thoughts out of his own head, but he can't –
Suddenly, there is a hand on his shoulder and he looks up and sees that Robin has kneeled down next to him.
"Luffy. Don't think that way. Ace will…he will always be your brother, no matter how old you are – "
"Tha…that's the thing, Robin, I…" He swallows hard and then he shakes his head strongly and he manages to put a smile back on his face. "I'm good, really, Robin, I'm just being silly, as soon as I had dinner I'll be fine."
She looks at him, with her eyes as gentle as before, but her smile has gotten a lot thiner.
Luffy clears his throat. "Ah man, you know what, I'll just finish these and then I'll grab something to eat, I'm so hungry…"
But to be honest, the thought of food right now… is almost too much.
Haha, seems like…meat…can't cure everything…
Sabo
"Sabo! Call for you, I'll put it on your line!" Hack calls from the hallway and Sabo blinks, putting down the pen. He's writing the report of his latest mission, and he gladly welcomes the distraction – he's bord to tears with the paperwork he has to do. Damn, no one told him that crap when he joined… He grabs the telesnail.
"Sabo here," he says, wondering who it'll be.
"Sabo? This is Robin, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
He delightedly leans forward in his chair as he hears the familiar voice of Nico Robin, archaeologist and "Light of the Revolution". And the best thing is, she is his brother's nakama and immediately, worry starts gnawing at him.
"Hey Robin! Is everything ok with you guys? Is Luffy alright!?"
"Yes, yes, we are all good and healthy," she replies with a giggle and he sighs in relief.
"Ok, thanks, yeah… So why are you calling?"
"So… I talked to Luffy today, and he seems…off. In a way I haven't seen till now."
"What do you mean?"
"He… He doesn't want to tell me what exactly is going on with him, but I think he, once again, mourns Ace's death. And he's turning twenty, the same –"
"The same age Ace was when he died," Sabo interrupts her, deep in thought.
"Exactly. I'm worried about him. I thought you might want to hear about that, since you are the only one who completely understands his pain. Maybe talking to you would help him."
"…Yeah, thanks for telling me, Robin…"
"Are you planning to come visit on is birthday?"
"Yes, definitely, I'm not gonna miss that. But what you said has me worried. Are you sure he will be ok?"
"He always has these periods where he is worryingly quiet. Just this time was…more intense, I think is the right word. We all try to cheer him up, but it's hard to say if it works. He can be unreadable at times, our capain."
Sabo breathes deeply, although his heart clenches painfully. He...he should've known this would happen, of course, Luffy turns twenty, of course he would think about Ace's death again…
"I'll see what I can do. Just please look out for him."
"We will, no worries."
"Alright. And thanks for telling me."
"Sure. He's your brother after all."
He smiles at that: "Yeah. Alright, gotta go. See you in a few days, Robin."
"Have a nice evening, Sabo."
He scratches his neck, his brows furrowing. Damn it, he wishes he could just up and leave, fly to Luffy immediately. But now, these damn duties have him tied here in Baltigo and although he requested a few days off around May 5, he can't leave right now.
He grits his teeth, standing up from his desk in agitation. Damn it, but how could he help Luffy? Being there would definitely cheer him up, but he can't…
He can't bring Ace back… But he could take Luffy to Ace's grave, perhaps...? With one of the ravens?
But wouldn't that be kinda morbid, to visit their brother's grave on Luffy's birthday…? Sabo sighs. Yeah, it's not a good idea, that would make Luffy cry and he really shouldn't cry on his own birthday.
Well, they could…visit Shanks…? Shanks's crew were the ones who made the graves in the first place and Luffy looks up to Shanks in a way Sabo is almost jealous off… Yeah, that's actually –
He halts in the middle of walking. And then his heart starts beating so hard black spots dance in front of his eyes and he slumps back against the desk, as all air is pressed from his lungs in shock and he pants, trying to breathe, but the weight of this idea presses him down and he sinks to the ground and he already hears knocks on his door, asking if he was ok…
Oh my god…
Why have I never thought of it?!
"Koala!" he barks, stumbling back to his feet.
"Koala, where are you?!" he bellows and runs down the hallway.
"Sabo, what the hell?" Hack asks, running after him.
"I need to have the reports from the Summit War! Now!"
The following days are the most stressful he has ever had in his life, he believes. Not stressful in physical terms, but mentally. Because if he's right with his assumptions…oh god, he doesn't know what he would do. Probably throw a tantrum and make a volcano erupt or something. That's how freaking troubled he is. He's literally two seconds from snapping.
He lifts his arms in a silent gesture of coming unarmed and without evil intent as soon as he notices the rifle pointing at him in the darkness of this forest. He can hear voices not too far away, down the hill. He can even see the flickers of a large bonfire.
"Who are you?" a dark voice asks and he swallows thickly. This is a yonko's pirate crew. No matter how strong he is – these guys are something else.
"Sabo. Of the revolutionaries. "
"What do you want?"
"I – I need to talk to Red-Haired Shanks."
"Why?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy's brother and…I need to ask what happened at the Summit War."
"Monkey D. Luffy's brother is dead. And all you need to know was in the papers."
Sabo blinks. "I'm –"
"Yo, Yasopp, what's going on?" a cheerful voice suddenly asks and suddenly a figure appears in the darkness suddenly Sabo holds his breath at the sheer presence of the man.
So that is Shanks.
The man holds a torch in his hand, enlightening the small clearing where Sabo has landed with his raven. Now he can finally see the sniper, Yasopp, standing about twenty meters away.
The pirate captain…looks nothing like a captain, but god, his aura is strong, much like Dragon's… Sabo slowly lets his hands sink.
"So, you want to talk to me?" the captain asks friendly, although there is slight mock in his tone.
"Yes. I'm Sabo, of the revolutionaries. Luffy's…other brother."
Shanks blinks at that, before he raises one brow. "Another brother? Really? Prove it."
He breathes shallowly. "Luffy got his scar because he wanted to gauge his eye out so he could wear an eye-patch. You lost your arm because you saved him from a sea king. And… Luffy got the hat from you. But you also told him to give it back, once he became a great pirate, isn't that right?"
Shanks stares at him for the moment, before he starts grinning again.
"Alright, fine, I'll just accept the fact then that he has another brother, although I'm curious now. So what do you want?"
Yasopp has lowered his rifle, but he doesn't look too convinced. To be fair, Sabo can't blame him.
"I…I looked at our records. And…I know you were the ones who set up the graves for Whitebeard and Ace. But…the thing is…"
"What?" And Shanks sounds cautious now.
"We had spies and eye witnesses everywhere. But the thing is: Ace's corpse is missing."
The grin has vanished from his face and the atmosphere suddenly turns icy. Sabo feels the menacing aura of the man thinning out the air, the weight of the Emperor's haki weighs heavily down on him, but it takes more than that to make Sabo kneel.
"Get to the point," Shanks demands.
"Is Ace's grave empty?"
Hours later, Sabo is on his way again, still recovering from the latest panic attack. Oh god, oh god, how, just how could he miss that, for nearly three years, why did he never question..?!
He never would've thought…that…
He grits his teeth. He had made his peace with the fact that he will never see Ace again. And now…
Luffy
"Usopp, do you have paper and pencils or so?" Luffy asks his crewmate a few days later, after breakfast.
Suddenly, the whole room falls silent and his nakama stare at him with wide eyes.
"What?" Luffy asks nervously.
Even Usopp stares at him, his mouth agape. "Uhm, sure, I'll give them to you later."
"Luffy? Drawing?" comes from Brook, utterly surprised.
"Well, at least he won't be bored," Nami says with a shrug, but still looking uneasy.
"Leave him," Zoro says, grumpy as usual.
Luffy laughs at his friends' surprised reactions, although more forced than anything. Yeah, ok, he doesn't do that stuff often and he's really not good at it… But maybe it'll help him forget his stupid thoughts and it'll…it'll help with that constant ache in his chest.
"Luffy, you alright?" Sanji suddenly asks and he whips his head around to look at the cook, who stares at him intently.
"Yeah sure, why are you asking?" Luffy grins back.
Sanji just scoffs at that and resumes washing the dished. "Then come help before you play."
And Luffy nods, without protest. He'll literally do anything that helps distracting himself from his own thoughts. And this time, he doesn't notice the surprised and concerned looks his friends give him as he shuffles over to the sink.
"By the way, what do you want to eat on your birthday?" Sanji asks him casually as he grabs a towel to start drying the plates.
"Anything you make is fine," Luffy smiles.
Later that day, Luffy lies on his front on the lawn, by himself, with paper and crayons scattered around him.
He tries to draw a picture of…of Ace and Sabo and himself. Because…because he doesn't have a picture from all three of them and that makes him sad. Be-because maybe having a picture would make him feel a bit better and…and it would help him not forget.
Because he's been terrified of forgetting Ace's face for good, so in sheer despair he has decided to draw him, although he is shit at drawing and Ace would laugh at him for his terrible attempt, but Luffy doesn't know what else to do.
So his pencil scratches across the fresh sheet of paper, in the umpteenth attempt to give Ace his exact features and amount of freckles.
Lufy can't even believe himself. He has seen Ace's face for seven years, every day, when they lived on Goa, until the day Ace left when he was seventeen and Luffy was fourteen. And yet, he can't seem to get his nose right…
O-or his smile…
His hand is clenched around the pencil as he tries to get Ace's jaw right, but still, one side is longer than the other – that isn't right! Stupid idiot, you know his face, why can't you – and suddenly he rips the entire paper. He stares at the ruined face of his brother. Fucking shit!
He lets out a frustrated growl and sits up angrily. Why is he so goddamn bad at this?! He knows Ace's face! And he knows Sabo's face! Why the hell is it so difficult to capture that on a stupid piece of paper?! Is it because he is so dumb?!
He feels like crying as he looks at all his terrible, failed attempts. Ace would laugh his guts out. Or maybe he would be disappointed that Luffy, his stupid little brother, is so…so…useless…
"Haha…I couldn't save him…a-and now…I can't even draw him," he mumbles to himself and he feels hot tears burning in the corners of his eyes.
Why…why does it only take three years to forget a person you've known all your life… Just three years and Luffy has forgotten his voice, his smile…
His hug…
He lies back down on his front as the tears fall onto the ruined paper. Damnit…
Why…even now…Luffy still fails him again and again…
Sabo
Damnit… And here he thought he was the best researcher of the Revolutionary Army. But finding a person the world thinks is dead, is a tough job, even for him.
He has lost count of the houses he has barged in, of all the lose traces and clues he's followed, only to once again get to a dead end. But he can't stop looking; he has to push himself, until he can't walk anymore and even further. It's what he owes Ace – and Luffy.
Shanks's voice is still ringing in his ears. Damn, he wonders what Luffy would say when he would learn that his idol kept the biggest secret ever from him…
Sabo straightens the coat that definitely looks the strains of the past week. He has cuts and bruises everywhere and his coat is more brown-greyish than blue. He pats the raven – bless his heart , he's taken him across the Grand Line – and then walks up to the hospital in this fairly large town on an island in the South Blue. It's so far away from Marineford, it's nearly impossible he's here, but… he has to try anyways…
"Hey, I'm sorry, I'm looking for this man," Sabo says at the counter. The waiting area is full of people, it's busy, children are crying somewhere and it smells heavily of disinfectant.
The woman frowns. It's the picture from the papers from three years ago. But without the article, Sabo doesn't want people to freak out.
"Who's this?"
"A friend of mine. And I learned that he might be here."
She shrugs and impatiently waves him off: "I've never seen him. Next please!"
"Please, looks closely, are you sure you've never seen him?" Sabo asks and he can't help sounding desperate now.
"No, Sir, I have never seen this man and would you please move now – "
"Wait – I know him!" suddenly a voice says next to Sabo and he looks up to see a young nurse standing next to him.
"He's working here, but in the psychological department. I've only seen him a few times."
Sabo's eyes widen and he stares at her. Is she…is she joking…?!
"Say that again!" he demands.
"Uhm, yeah, I think he works part-time. Come with me, I'll take you to the head of department."
And Sabo's blood is boiling now, oh god, if it's him, if it's really him….?!
"They all just call him Freckles, I really have no idea what his real name is…"
"O-ok," Sabo says like through water, his heart is pounding loudly in his ears and his whole body is practically vibrating as they stand in front of the office of the head of department.
"Here you go. Good luck!"
"Thanks!" he replies weakly.
Luffy
"Luffy, wanna hear a song?" Brook asks him later.
"Hm?"
"I thought you might want to hear a song when you are drawing," the skeleton says cheerful and Luffy smiles shakily as he sits up and nods. Brook sits down next to him.
"Yes sure! What you got?"
"So I wrote this new song, it's called 'Song for the Nakama' and I bet you will like it! It's a happy song!" Brook says and strums playfully on his guitar.
"Ok! Sounds great!" Luffy laughs and claps his hands.
"Alright, listen~"
It is a great song, Luffy loves it, and even Nami and Chopper join to listen to him, they even try a bit of karaoke…
But the sadness never really leaves Luffy's heart, even as he laughs and jokes around alongside his nakama. It's no good… He can help but feel desperate with every passing minute. How…just how is he supposed to be ok again…he has tried everything, really everything, but there…there doesn't seem to be a cure for him…
At all.
Sabo
His heart clenches painfully as he hears the knock on the door.
"Ah, here he is. Come on in!" the head of department says. There's still doubt in her face, and Sabo, to be honest, he doesn't even dare hoping…it's him after all…
The door opens and…
"Oh my god…" Sabo breathes as he loses all strength and he falls back against the chair on front of the woman's desk.
It's…it's really…
"Easy there!" she says concerned.
The man looks at him, mildly worried, but there's no recognition in his face, of course not, he doesn't know who he is…
"A-Ace," Sabo says weakly, all the while whilst black spots dance in frnt of his eyes, his blood is rushing through him and his head is spinning. "Ace, it's me – Sabo."
And his brother just frowns: "Ace? Who's that? And who are you?"
Luffy
"Happy birthday!" his nakama shout in unison on the morning of May 5, his birthday. And Luffy laughs as he see them all standing in a circle around his bed, and Franky is balancing a huge cake in his arms.
"Happy birthday Luffy!" Nami squeals and pulls him into a tight hug.
"Ah, thank you, thank you, guys," Luffy says a little shyly as he returns all the hugs and birthday wishes.
"You're twenty now, how does that feel?" Chopper asks cheerfully and Luffy blinks, feeling like he just received a kick to the stomach.
"Feels great, really, I'm not a teenager anymore, haha!" he grins back.
"Alright, I made all your favourite foods, Luffy, let's all move to the kitchen?" Sanji says good-naturedly and Luffy sighs internally. Alright, it's just 24 hours…and…and he'll be good…
"Luffy, is Sabo coming to visit?" Usopp asks him later.
"I-I don't know, he told me he would, but I haven't heard from him," Luffy says as he fills his tenth plate with meat. He doesn't even eat anymore because he is hungry. He just doesn't want to disappoint Sanji, who made all the food just for him…and he doesn't want his nakama to see just how miserable he is inside.
"I'm sure he'll show up this afternoon," Robin smiles and ruffles his hair.
"Anyways, how about a few games later? We play whatever you want, Luffy," Nami grins at him.
"I even have a few super cool inventions we could try!" Franky says cheerfully.
Luffy looks at his friends. They're all…so nice to him, and he's here, sitting like today was his death day… Oh fucking shit he should stop thinking that!
"Hell yeah, sounds awesome!" he says happily.
"And later you can open your presents," Zoro says and nods towards the large pile of presents sitting in the corner of the dining room.
"Can't wait," Luffy lies with a smile on his face.
So he practically forces himself through the day, he is happy, cheerful, he laughs and shouts and celebrates with his friends – but actually, he just wants his birthday to be over. He already hates being twenty; he already hates it so much he wants…he wants to skip the entire year…
And that Sabo isn't here hurts even more. Where is he? Seeing him was the only thing that has made Luffy get up this morning. He wants to see him… He wants to see his brother and have a nice, long hug… He wants to hear his stories and then he wants another hug and he wants Sabo to stay a few days, not disappear again after a few hours…
He wants…he wants his brother here, now…
Please…
He is on his way back from the bathroom as he hears yelling outside and then Usopp cries: "Luffy, come here, it's Sabo!" and he bolts outside to see Sabo, as usual travelling on a raven's back, circling in the sky above the Sunny.
The first real smile of the day lights up Luffy's face as he looks up at him and he takes his hat off to wave him: "Come land, Sabo! Hey!"
And then the gigantic raven lands on the lawn and Sabo jumps down and opens his arms and in a heartbeat Luffy is there, hugging him like his life depended on it.
"Happy birthday little brother," Sabo whispers into his ear and Luffy fights back a sob, oh god how he has missed him, how he missed this, it's like he can breathe again, smile again…
"Sabo…"
"And…I didn't get you a present, but there's someone you should see…"
"What?"
And Sabo steps back and nods toward the raven.
"He had amnesia, just like me…and just like me, he needed a familiar face to wake up the memories…"
And Luffy freezes when he sees how another figure jumps down from the raven's back and then…
"Oh my…god…"
And he hears how Nami gasps and his friends step backwards in surprise and he just…
"This is…not real…," Luffy whispers with a broken voice.
And the familiar freckled face comes into view and he smiles… Ace…smiles at him: "Hey Luffy. I'm sorry I'm late."
And the tears stream down his face as he starts screaming and crying so hard and then two strong arms wrap around him and he feels the familiar heat, the strong body, the same smile and it's too much, no, why, where, how…?
"Ace…is this…really you?" he sobs and he hesitantly hugs the man who looks and sounds and smells just like his brother did…
"Yeah, it's me, I'm sorry I…I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long," Ace whispers and suddenly he sounds as hoarse as Luffy and Luffy's tears only get stronger as he feels the large scar on Ace's back. "Sabo…made me remember."
"You punched me in the face and I punched you back," Sabo grins behind them, even he looks teary-eyed and Luffy doesn't even know if he should laugh or cry or both…
"I…you…"
"No you got us both back, Luffy. That's what I call a good birthday, huh?" Sabo asks as he comes to join the hug and this time, Luffy's smile is real, so real, it's the happiest he has ever been, this is...
He never would've dreamed that this was possible. He first lost Sabo, then Ace. And now he has both of them back in his life.
"Thank you," he says quietly and Sabo and Ace change a glance, before they both ruffle is hair.
"Stop looking so sad, silly. We're here to celebrate someone's birthday," Ace says gently.
"I'll give you two a minute. I'll say hi to your crew and explain a few things," Sabo says and moves toward Luffy's nakama who still stare at the whole scene like they were seeing a ghost.
Luffy looks up at Ace and Ace meets his gaze with a smile and so much love in his eyes Luffy feels like crying again.
"You're real, right?" he asks, just to make sure.
And Ace laughs: "Sure I am. I mean… I guess I was dead, because Sabo has my devil fruit powers now. But looks like something or someone brought me back. Although with amnesia. Sabo helped me remember, yeah."
"And now…?"
"Now I need a new crew." And he winks at him. "How about I join?"
And Luffy laughs and he falls right back into his arms and his hug is solid, it's real, and very much alive and breathing.
"I missed you, Ace," he whispers into the chest where he can feel so clearly a strong, steady heartbeat.
And Ace laughs in a low voice, his arms wrapped tightly around his back.
"Now you have me back. And I'm not leaving, little brother."
Luffy smiles happily and they stand like that, for what feels like hours.
At some point, Luffy looks up and that smile…the smile he has nearly forgotten…
"Oh, and Luffy?" Ace suddenly says.
"Hm?"
"Happy birthday."
Thank you for reading.