Warnings: Mentions of abuse, fluff. Ace and Luffy aren't in an established relationship Yet, but they have strong feelings for one another. Notes at the bottom.
Rainy Nights
It late on a rainy Friday night when Ace hears a knock on the front door.
The twenty-one year old hadn't been expecting anybody, especially in this downpour.
'Who the hell is here at this hour,' Ace thinks, rather sleepy and ready to ignore the person knocking. Ace, however, is glad that he did open it.
Standing in the doorway is his friend Luffy.
Wait, let him rephrase that.
Standing in the doorway is his best friend Luffy, soaking wet, shivering, and clearly upset.
Ace can't find words to say yet, but Luffy beats him to the punch as usual.
"Can I stay here tonight?" Luffy asks, his voice trembling just a little bit - from the cold or something else Ace can't tell.
The situation finally clicks in Ace's mind.
"Holy shit, Lu! Yeah, come in! Why are you outside in the rain after midnight?" Ace opens the door wider to let Luffy in.
He doesn't care if his floor gets wet as Luffy walks in, he's more concerned about why Luffy was out this late in a storm, why the younger teens eyes were rimmed red - like he had been crying - and why his cheek was swollen and bruised. His soaking wet clothes stick to his frame, reminding Ace of how small and skinny Luffy really is.
Luffy had snuck out in the rain plenty of times before; sometimes with Ace, so that wasn't really a problem.
But things weren't always simple.
Ace didn't even had to be told that it had something to do with Luffy's insane grandfather.
He knew first hand that the old man didn't exactly have all of his screws tightened from living with the old man and his grandson for a year or two in the past. Luffy and Garp getting into arguments was unpleasant but nothing new. Luffy supposedly running away, having rimmed red eyes, and an overly swollen cheek was.
"I had a fight with gramps," Luffy says, confirming what Ace already knew. His voice sounds choked up and un-Luffy-like.
Ace closes the door and goes up to Luffy, brushing his fingertips lightly against the swollen cheek, getting a flinch in response. "Shit, sorry! Did you put anything on it?"
The seventeen year old shakes his head. "No... I hopped out my window the first chance I got. I don't think he knows I'm gone yet."
"Okay, let's get this taken care of. You should take a shower first or you'll catch a cold."
"I don't have anything to wear though..." Luffy says, looking down at this feet. It's true; the only things the dark haired boy has with him are the soaking wet clothes on his body and the equally soaked straw hat hanging from his neck.
"Lu, you know can borrow some of my clothes, c'mon." Ace takes a much smaller hand in his and guides Luffy into his room, despite knowing that the teenager knows where he's going.
This wasn't the first time Luffy had stayed over, after all.
Reluctantly, Luffy lets go of Ace's hand as the twenty year old pulls out some clothes for the teen. He notices how the teens grip tightens slightly before going slack. The freckled male wishes that Luffy didn't have to let go either.
"Same as last time, Lu." He says handing Luffy the clothes. "I'll be in the living room when you're done."
Luffy nods his head and takes a single step before stopping briefly and looking quickly at the older man, smiling softly. "Thanks for having me Ace. I really appreciate it."
Ace cheeks flush lightly as he looks to the side in poorly concealed embarrassment. "I'm not gonna leave you of all people out in the rain, idiot."
Luffy's soft, fond chuckle is like music to his ears. "I...I know."
The seventeen year old has a soft look in his eye as he enters the attached bathroom without another words.
Ace scratches the back of his head when the door clicks shut before leaving the room.
Luffy always knew how to get to him, that was for sure.
The freckled adult gets out a first aid kit just in case and smokes a cigarette. Luffy reappears when Ace is distributing hot chocolate into two mugs.
The seventeen year old is wearing a baggy shirt that goes down to his thighs and a pair of boxers that go down past his knees. He has a big, white fluffy towel thrown over his head, covering a large amount of his upper body successfully. Ace can't help but think the teen looks adorable.
"I wanna check your cheek, Lu." Ace says passing a mug to the younger male.
"Mm, you make the best hot cocoa." Luffy praises after taking a long drink of hot cocoa. "Go ahead."
Luffy lowers the towel, revealing his still swollen cheek. Ace inspects the bruised skin, very carefully brushing his fingers over it. Luffy flinches just ever so slightly.
"It's probably gonna hurt for a few more days." Ace says, sitting back in his chair. "The swelling should go down by tomorrow, but it'll stay bruised... Garp punched you pretty hard, huh?"
"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting it. We were yelling at each other cause I don't wanna be a marine and then he punched me. He sent me to my room right after. Then I climbed out the window. He shouldn't figure out I'm here though."
Luffy always went to Ace's after a fight and Garp hadn't shown up at Ace's door yet, despite the man knowing where the younger man lived.
In fact, Luffy would often stay at Ace's when his grandfather was away for work.
"It's too lonely over there; you know I don't like being alone." Luffy had explained. "Besides, I like Ace the best!"
"What did you guys fight about?" Ace asks, looking up at Luffy from his own cup of hot chocolate.
"The usual, really." Luffy says, fiddling with his cup.
'The usual' was Garp wanting Luffy to follow in his footsteps, Luffy disagreeing, then Garp insulting Shanks - Luffy idol and a really nice guy -, and it always escalates from there.
"But, this time he said that I was enlisting as soon as I was 18. We yelled at each other and then he hit me."
"Shit, Lu. I'm glad you got away though. You know you can stay here whenever yeah?"
Luffy chuckles and smiles, making a weight lift off of Ace's shoulders. A happy Luffy was always better than a sad Luffy.
"Yep! I know!"
"Even if you don't have any clothes here, you practically live here." Ace teases, finishing off the last of his cocoa. Honestly, though, he would prefer it if Luffy did live here with him.
Luffy seemed to have a similar thought.
The black haired seventeen year old pouts. "I wish I could just move in! I like Ace much more than gramps!"
Said man blushes, but he doesn't try to deny it, knowing that Luffy's words are sincere from his tone. He doesn't bother denying the satisfaction that wells up inside of him either.
"Well, Lu, as soon as you turn 18 you know you could move in here if you want to."
Luffy bounces in his seat from excitement, reminding Ace of an adorable puppy. "Eh?! Really Ace?! I would love that!"
Ace grins at the teen. "I'd love it too!"
Luffy, however, deflates. "Gramps would probably find out though and drag me back."
The freckled man had thought about this before however. After all, the idea of Luffy moving in with him wasn't a new one.
"Well, I won't let him take you, because you're an adult. But, if you wanna make sure that doesn't happen... Uh, we could always look for another apartment?"
Owlish eyes blink at Ace and Luffy's lips are parted slightly. "But Ace, don't you like this apartment? I dont wanna make you leave it!"
Ace looks down almost shyly and is hesitant, but he reaches over and grabs one of Luffy's smaller hands, intertwining their fingers and rubbing slow circles in the back of Luffy's palm. His brown eyes meet Luffy's eventually.
"I... I'd rather be with you... Happy and, y'know away from that old man. That's all I really want, Lu."
Luffy's cheeks flush softly at the sincerity in Ace's voice and the intense look in his eyes, but he doesn't look away. In fact, he squeezes the hand in his. Luffy may not be the smartest guy around, but he can understand Ace's words perfectly; probably because he feels similar.
"As long as I'm with you... I'm happier than ever, stupid Ace. I don't care where we live... As long as you're their."
Ace chuckles and breaks eye contact, instead looking at their hands.
"I'll start looking for apartments tomorrow, then. You're probably tired, huh?" Ace sure knew that he was.
Luffy nods his head back and forth and hums softly. A cute little yawn escapes from his lips right on time. Ace stands up and lets go of Luffy's hands reluctantly, ruffling the younger males head instead. "C'mon let's get you to bed."
"Ace!" Luffy whines in protest, standing up anyways.
The teenager isn't expecting Ace's strong arms to scoop him up bridal style and squeals softly.
Ace laughs fondly, holding the surprisingly light teen closer to him. "You're so cute."
Luffy blushes and wraps his arms around Ace's neck, pulling himself closer. "No, I'm not."
"Sorry to break it to you Lu, you're easily the most adorable thing I've ever seen."
Luffy flushes and buries the side of his face that isn't bruised into Ace's neck, whining Ace's name softly, almost as if he were embarrassed.
Ace, personally, loved seeing this side to Luffy. It further proved that Luffy was indeed incredibly adorable.
He walks Luffy back to his bedroom and lays him down on the bed.
"I'll be right back." He whispers and leaves the room to lock the front door, knowing his roommate won't be back until late the next day and turning off all of the lights.
When Ace gets back to the room and changes into his pajamas - just a pair of sleeping pants due to the fact that he hated sleeping with shirts on no matter how cold it got -, Luffy is already under the covers and nearly asleep
The seventeen year old hums with a small smile as Ace crawls in next to Luffy. Luffy doesn't even hesitate to wrap his arms around Ace's bear torso, sighing in sleepy content.
"You're always so warm," he mumbles sleepily, still careful around his swollen cheek.
Ace chuckles and wraps his arms around Luffy's much smaller frame. He presses a kiss to the teens forehead. "Good night, Lu."
Luffy barely manages to mumble his own good night to Ace, but he does, even managing to leave a kiss on Ace's neck, where his face is once again buried. The younger man falls asleep instantly after that.
Ace smiles softly and falls asleep to the sound of the pouring rain and to the feeling of Luffy in his arms.
Note: And then Ace looks for apartments and finds a place about two cities away and the two move in with a man named Sabo, who they quickly become close friends with. Here Luffy meets his nakama and Ace meets his.
It's done. I finished it. It's done! I really enjoyed writing this fic! It was pretty fun to write! There might be a few mistakes in this that I haven't caught, so if you could leave a review and lemme know, that'd be cool!