An Ace x Luffy romance fic! I haven't done one, and they aren't brothers. It's a real world AU with a small hint of supernatural. Also, the ending is pretty sad. BE WARNED. A longer one-shot. Enjoy~
Song: A Thousand Years- Christina Perri
The first time Ace met Luffy, it had been under embarrassing circumstances. He'd seen the young man walk to the bus stop some days after Ace got coffee to try and keep him awake through the daylight hours. He couldn't help that he was supposed to be a creature of the night. He just didn't want to, so he fought it.
When it was raining, one side of the street leading to the coffee shop had been completely flooded. It was late morning, and he didn't have an umbrella. He didn't really care much, but his clothes got soaking wet quickly. And he was much more tired that day than usual, practically sleepwalking to his destination.
He didn't really think about the fact that teen walked this way every day. He'd never spoken to him, but Ace thought he was pretty cute looking. Shorter, with messy black hair and big brown eyes. He always seemed to have earbuds in, and would tap his shoes to whatever he was listening to while he waited at the bus stop.
Ace had sometimes watched him briefly as he walked away, almost always getting to the shop when the boy was waiting for his bus. Ace didn't really know if he did it on purpose or not. It just seemed to be what always happened.
The embarrassing situation with meeting Luffy was that he face planted and passed out after falling against him, knocking the kid into the muddy grass. Ace didn't see his reaction, but Luffy just looked worried, not angry. He was concerned with why the guy he always saw on the other side of the street had fallen on top of him.
He had shook Ace awake, covered in mud, his backpack caked in it and his project folder laying in a puddle. But he wasn't angry. Ace had opened his eyes blearily, his exhausted bags under them making him look sick.
"Hey, are you okay?" Luffy had asked. Ace was slowly coming to and looked up at the kid. Ace's face turned bright red. He pieced the pictures together and realized he'd not only passed out, but landed against someone and ruined their things.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ace exclaimed standing up awkwardly, his long black sleeves covered in mud as well. What had he done… "I'll pay to fix your things. I only have ten dollars with me right now… Oh I'm so sorry. Ugh… this is embarrassing," Ace said awkwardly.
Luffy just stood up and smiled at him. He was feeling sorry for him. For how uncomfortable Ace looked. "It's not a big deal. My folder has a zipper, so no water got in, and my backpack was dirty before that. Besides, I don't mind bad math test scores getting wet and muddy. Dont worry about it!"
Ace had stared at him in shock. He wasn't angry at all, and was just acting like there was nothing weird about the whole thing. "You should definitely go buy your coffee. Seems like you need it," Luffy said with a smile. His bus pulled up to the stop, and he picked his umbrella up, and closed it, grabbing his project folder as well. Then he got into the bus, greeting the driver, and waved goodbye to Ace.
The vampire had just stood there in awe. No one had ever been so polite about him passing out like that. Not only did Luffy not laugh, but he acted like nothing was wrong or unordinary about it at all. Ace had smiled to himself, a light blush on his cheeks. He crossed the street to go to his coffee shop, looking forward to maybe talking to Luffy again some time.
Only a couple weeks after the meeting did Ace finally get the courage to go speak to him again, already drinking his black coffee, waiting at the bus stop as if he were going to ride the bus as well. Luffy had turned the corner and saw Ace, holding an umbrella since it was raining again, and greeted him.
"Hey, sleepy coffee guy!" he greeted, causing Ace to blush slightly at the embarrassing nickname.
"My name is Ace," the vampire said. Luffy just laughed, introducing himself as well.
"Are you going on this bus, too? Did you enroll?" Luffy asked. Ace just looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Luffy smiled in a knowing way.
"Well, the bus I take brings me to my college. It's not the city bus," he explained patiently. Ace's face turned bright red in embarrassment. But Luffy saved him from saying anything more humiliating. "I get dropped off at four, do you wanna go to your coffee shop with me afterwards? It's a Wednesday, so I have a later bus tomorrow."
Ace sighed out and smiled. "Yeah. I'll be there," he said. Luffy grinned back, and waved goodbye from the front seat he always took, and said, "See ya later!" through the open window as the bus rolled away.
Ace felt like a complete idiot for not noticing before that the bus said a college name on it. So embarrassing, but Luffy made sure Ace didn't feel too stupid. Ace waited for the rest of the day in the shop, saving his five dollars left so he could buy something for himself when Luffy showed up.
He had been sad, staring at the table, when Luffy didn't come. It was four twenty, and he was about to leave when the door burst open, the bell ringing loudly. Ace looked up to see Luffy hurrying over.
"Sorry I'm late! There was a car crash on the freeway and it caused pretty bad traffic. I'm glad you didnt leave!" Luffy said out of breath. He'd run across the street to get there as soon as possible.
"Oh, it's cool." Relief was very clear in the vampire's voice. He was glad Luffy hadnt stood him up, not that it was a date.
The two talked like old friends. It was so easy for Ace to talk to this near stranger than even some of his own brothers. Ace was not a social person, and prefered being by himself. Even if he werent a vampire who hated being one, he would probably be an introvert anyways, but Luffy seemed like the exact opposite.
He talked about his friends, school life, and everything else. Sometimes, in between topics, he'd just come up with a random question. The one that caught Ace most out of the blue was Luffy asking what type of dragon would he want to be.
It seemed afterwards that it was more of an introduction to their next topic, which was Luffy talking excitedly about a video game he liked to play.
"Maybe you can play with me sometime," the college student said in a bright voice. Luffy talked most of the time, and Ace gladly listened. He answered questions about himself awkwardly. He wasn't asked any questions he'd need to lie about, so it was nice he didn't need to come up with something false to say suddenly.
It was 7:30 by the time they realized it was getting late. Luffy had already had four hot chocolates and three muffins. Ace wondered how he wasn't fat from eating like that all of the time, which he told Ace.
Ace could eat, but it wasn't very filling, so he had no trouble eating half of a cookie Luffy offered him. "It's getting pretty late, and I still have to walk home," Luffy said absentmindedly. "Damn, it's dark out." He shrugged and said, "Well, whatever."
"Do you want me to walk you home? It'll get even darker soon," Ace offered with pink cheeks. Luffy grinned, and exclaimed, "Sure!"
The walk to Luffy's house was surprisingly long. At least two miles. Luckily, it wasn't raining. Luffy chatted some more as they both walked quickly. Luffy seemed to have to do everything at full speed, and Ace was surprised they werent sprinting.
When they reached Luffy's little house he shared with his best friend Zoro, he demanded Ace's phone with a smile and added himself as a contact with a smiley face at the end. Then he abruptly waved and ran off and to his front door, pulling out a key ring Ace could see had an anime keychain on it.
"Bye, Ace! Prolly see you tomorrow!" And the door shut with Ace slowly waving his hand back. He looked down at his phone; Luffy :D
Ace walked back home leisurely. His home he shared with fifteen "siblings" was really an apartment building that their wealthy adoptive father had purchased for his family to use. Ace was thankful for this since he had trouble getting and keeping jobs.
He had anxiety problems around other people, people he didn't know. So working in retail was difficult, always worrying if someone could see anything different about him. Ace frowned sadly. He wished he was a normal person.
Just because he was half human didn't mean he was human. He hated his father. He was a vampire, and his mother had to deal with a vampire baby with no help from her "husband". Rouge had been loving, but Ace knew it must have been difficult to raise a child vampire alone, not being a vampire herself.
When she died in a car accident, Ace ran away and was picked up at seven after being unable to resist biting a human in broad daylight. A vampire named Marco with a cloak on had seen and ran to him, scooping him up and running off with him before he was seen too clearly. Ace had been crying while it had happened.
He never liked being part vampire. He always had left over blood bags, never going hunting with his adoptive vampire family. He wasn't a very good one. He'd never mastered, or tried to learn, any vampiric abilities. He did his best to ignore everything having to do with his non-human half.
When he got home, he was exhausted, but content and happy. It had been a good day. He went to his unit and entered, saying nothing to anybody. He headed straight for his bed, collapsing on it onto his back and turning his phone screen back on, looking at Luffy's contact. He'd be brave and text him sometime tomorrow. After he got back from school, since the talkative young man had told him his school schedule.
Ace changed out of his pants and into sweats, leaving his long sleeved shirt on and relaxing under the covers, falling asleep easily. None of the other vampires could sleep, and Ace was very glad he could.
The next morning, it was like it always was where Luffy and Ace saw each other from across the street. Luffy grinned at Ace, who smiled back sheepishly, waving as Luffy cheerfully got on his bus. Ace went to get his coffee and sit in his usual comfy chair. He'd brought a book this time since he wanted to see Luffy when he got back off the bus, and didn't really want to just sit and do nothing or just be on his phone.
He finished the book he brought, and the back up second one, very early compared to Luffy getting back on the 5:00 bus. Ace wanted to walk him home again. Then they could talk or just be comfortable in silence. If Luffy was capable of that, he thought with a smile.
He couldn't tell his family about Luffy. And he couldn't tell Luffy about his family. He didn't want his family to tease him or insist on meeting Luffy, and he definitely didn't want Luffy finding out about Ace's other side. Vampires were feared by most humans. He didn't want Luffy to hate or be afraid of him.
When the bus dropped Luffy off, he practically bounced to the coffee shop, seeing Ace's black hair through the window. The door jingled and Ace looked up, like he had for every person that entered. Luffy grinned and walked over to him, sitting across from Ace. Ace hadnt even said anything before he asked Ace if he knew how to graph parabolas.
Ace sadly shook his head. He felt dumb suddenly. He hadnt gone to school. Not since elementary school. He did online school, but it wasn't the same. Maybe that was part of why he was so awkward around other people. He'd never made friends his own age, or spent time around them.
"Sorry," he apologized. Luffy just waved his hand, saying it wasn't a big deal.
"I've never been good at math. I asked my teacher a question today and he said it was an easy question I shouldn't'a had to ask. I just laughed and said, 'Maybe, but you're the teacher'. I don't think he liked that, but I only have a few more weeks until summer! Zoro is having to take a summer class 'cause he failed his math class. I keep telling him to get a tutor, but then he says I should and then we argue but it never lasts long. I don't need a tutor, though. I'll pass with a C. C's get degrees!" Luffy rambled.
Ace listened with a small smile, his freckles on his cheeks scrunching up a bit from the raised corners of his smile. Then Luffy suddenly asked if Ace wanted to walk him home again. Ace gladly accepted, and both of them walked to Luffy's place. Seeing the little house in the light made it much easier for Ace to see all the details.
The fence at the lawn that wrapped around the little front yard was sloppily painted white. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't trashy either. And they kept the lawn relatively neat and orderly. The house's color was light blue, and had a chimney at the side. It was two stories and very narrow. It looked like it'd be cozy on the inside.
"Make sure you text me so I have your number, too," Luffy said, bringing Ace back to the present.
"O-oh, yeah, okay," Ace said awkwardly. Luffy grinned at him and turned to hurry into his house. Ace took a shaky breath and called, "Do you maybe wanna-?"
"Sure! Where do you wanna go?" Luffy asked with a bright smile. Ace returned it with a genuine smile himself.
"You pick," Ace replied. Luffy put his finger on his chin for a moment, thinking. Ace hoped it wasn't somewhere with a lot of people.
Luffy furrowed his brows slightly while he thought. What he said was not what Ace was expecting. "Best Buy!" Ace blinked. The electronics store?
"Best Buy?" Ace asked, surprised and curious as to why Luffy picked that place.
"Yeah! I love going there. You can play free games and take pictures on the laptops and pretend you can afford all of the stuff and are rich! Plus, it's next to Baskin Robbins. We can get ice cream afterwards. Sound good?" Luffy finished with a grin. Ace nodded his head with a small smile.
"What time?" Ace asked.
"What time do you want? It's the weekend for me, so I dont have much going on and I usually leave all my homework till the last minute," Luffy said casually. Ace didn't want to say he didn't do anything, too. He'd feel stupid.
"We could do it at lunch time," Ace offered.
"Ice cream for lunch sounds good! I'll see you tomorrow at 12:00!" Luffy cheered and ran inside. Ace smiled at the ground sheepishly, before walking back the way they came. Was this a date? Neither had said the word, and Ace didn't know what Luffy thought of him.
Ace knew he had a crush on Luffy. He'd never had a crush on anyone before. What would Luffy think if he knew what Ace was? No, Ace would never let him find out.
When Ace got back home, it was dark out and raining. He hadnt brought an umbrella, but didn't really care. The rain felt nice, and he was glad he hadnt brought anything else with him besides his phone and wallet, with were both safe in his pockets. He could hear the other vampires laughing and talking. They'd probably all just woken up.
Ace passed some of them and told them good night, not looking at any of them too long. He was clearly the youngest by decades, and he knew the others felt sorry for him. Especially when they had to force him to feed from blood bags. It was hard to watch Ace when he had to drink blood. Yes, it tasted okay to him, and he didn't hurt anyone from drinking from them, but it was still human blood. And it made him sick that he had to do it.
Once he got to his unit, he closed the curtains and went to the kitchen to eat a sandwich, not wanting any blood yet. He was glad he didn't need to drink every day. Maybe twice a week was fine, and Pops always had bags for him when he needed them.
The half-vampire brought his food to the living room and picked a book from his large bookshelf. He wondered if Luffy liked reading. He seemed pretty nerdy. Ace was looking forward to tomorrow. He hoped he and Luffy had a good time.
-x-
Ace woke up at 9:00, immediately remembering his plans for the day, and grew nervous. He checked the clock to make sure he hadnt overslept, which he panicked about a few seconds after waking up.
The half-vampire sat up quickly, and realized he'd never texted Luffy to give him his number. What if Luffy had to cancel and didnt have Ace's number so he just wouldn't show up? He hurriedly grabbed his charged phone and messaged Luffy:
This is Ace's number. See you later.
A few seconds passed before Ace's phone chimed and he saw Luffy responded:
Thanks! Two scoops is a dollar more than usual!
Ace smiled. Luffy was still going. Ace relaxed from knowing this. He'd bring lots of cash. He had inheritance from his mother and father, not that he liked to use his father's left over wealth from however he had died after ditching.
Ace took into more consideration what he was going to wear. He didn't really think Luffy would care about what Ace wore, since Luffy had just had plain shorts or jeans and some t-shirts with black lace up boots. So Ace chose a red a shirt with a black leather jacket and some faded jeans with old converse shoes.
When he had showered, he'd washed his hair especially well.
Ace sat outside of Best Buy awkwardly. People looked at him curiously, which he hated. Not many people just wait outside of the store for a date. That's what he had finally assumed this was. Thankfully, there was a bench, and he didn't have to just stand outside of the entrance.
Almost exactly at noon, Luffy exited Zoro's truck and ran across the parking lot and to Ace. Ace looked up with a soft smile when Luffy came hurrying over. "Sorry it's kind of a weird spot to have a date," Luffy said with a grin, causing Ace to blush and also sigh in relief.
"It's fine. Very original," Ace replied. Luffy grinned and lead them inside. The college student's eyes practically lit up as they entered the store. Ace wanted to chuckle at it, but he didn't. "Where do you want to go first?" the half-vampire asked.
"The computers!" Luffy said. They quickly headed to the laptop section, Luffy leading, and went to the nearest Apple computer. As if Luffy did this on a regular basis, he opened the camera app and pulled Ace closer to him. "Make a silly face," Luffy commanded. Ace couldn't bring himself to, so he just made an uncomfortable smile.
He didn't need to make a silly face, for Luffy had it warping the image. It was ridiculous, but made Ace laugh quietly. He smiled, rarely laughing. The two did multiple pictures on each laptop, leaving "goodies" as Luffy called them.
The next place they went to was the cameras, and took pictures of each other. They were leaving pictures for the next person to open to see. Luffy tried to make them as entertaining as possible, and to Ace, they were.
A little while after that, Luffy lead Ace to the video game section, and they played Mario Kart for over an hour, making a few children angry. But Luffy never got up to share, and none of the staff made him leave, since they saw him at a regular basis and he bought many things from the store.
Ace was embarrassingly terrible at first, but with Luffy's encouragements and cheerful reactions, Ace got better little by little. He still lost every time, but he had fun anyways. After their twenty fourth round, the young men left the game section, and Luffy walked to the appliance section.
Ace never thought looking at ovens and refrigerators would be fun. As Luffy looked at a fancy refrigerator, he asked in all seriousness, "Do you think robots will take over in the future? That the fridge camera thingy recording you is just gathering information about what foods you can and can't eat so it will poison you once AI conquers the world?"
Ace chuckled. "If that happens, I'd think phones would be the first spies. Phones and web browsing history."
"Ooh, probably. Use porn searches to know how to seduce you," Luffy replied in all seriousness, making Ace blush. "My friend Sanji never closes his porn tabs, so when I go on his computer, it's always open. And he doesn't even care about it." Luffy shivered. "Gross." Ace nodded his head in agreement. "Wanna go get ice cream now?"
"Sure. I had a good time. Never thought Best Buy would be a fun place to go on a date," Ace said. Both of them walked out of the store, Luffy saying goodbye to one of the clerks by name, and headed across the street to the ice cream parlor.
Luffy pressed his face into the glass divider, trying to decide which flavors to get. Ace chose one scoop of the orange sherbet with chocolate chips on the top, which Luffy finally decided to get two scoops of different types of chocolate in a waffle bowl with caramel drizzled on top. Ace couldn't dream of eating that much sugar at once.
While they ate, Luffy wasn't exactly the neatest ice cream eater. He got chocolate around his mouth, and his waffle bowl was a mess afterwards from his mixing together both scoops once they melted slightly. But Ace didn't think it was disgusting. He took the offered half of the slightly soggy waffle bowl.
They spoke about random and light topics. Pets they've had, favorite movies and books, Luffy's favorite video games. When Ace said he'd never really played video games, Luffy looked absolutely horrified.
"WHAT?!" he'd exclaimed, gaining attention from some others in the room. "That needs to be fixed. You gotta come to my house and play. We can play together or even with Zoro! It'll be fun," Luffy insisted.
"O-Okay," Ace said, slightly blushing about going to his crush's house, but they were both adults, so he felt he shouldn't be feeling so flustered. "Tomorrow is good for me," Ace told Luffy.
"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed happily. They hung out a while after finishing the ice cream, Luffy going back to get a smoothie, until it got darker outside. They'd been hanging out for seven hours. It shocked Ace why someone would want to spend so much time with him in one sitting. Luffy really made him feel like an important person.
"I should probably call Zoro to come pick me up. Do you have a way to get back to your place? We could drop you off," Luffy offered. Ace shook his head and told him he'd get a ride from one of his brothers. Though he'd probably just walk home. He was tired. He needed coffee, even though he'd made some this morning.
Luffy got up and threw his trash away, making sure to lick the spoons and straw once more just in case there was any flavor left, and went outside to call his best friend and ride. Ace shyly stared at his feet, thinking about how much fun Luffy made today. A date at a store? Not just anyone could pull off making that work. Well, Ace thought so.
"Okay, Zoro will be here in a few minutes," Luffy said and sat down at the little outdoor table. When Ace followed and sat down across from him, Luffy cheered, "I had a lot of fun today!"
"M-Me, too," Ace replied shyly. Luffy smiled at him. He probably thought Ace's blushing and shyness was cute or something else embarrassing for the older. Zoro came quicker than they both expected, and pulled up to the driveway and honked the horn of his jeep once.
"Oh, gotta go," Luffy said, before leaning over and kissing Ace on the cheek quickly, like it was nothing. Ace's face turned bright red, as Luffy turned and ran to the car, calling out that he'd see him tomorrow and he'd text in the morning. Ace waved goodbye, a smile on his face. Luffy's kiss had tickled.
Ace walked home in a daze. Luffy had kissed him on the cheek! Ace had never really had physical contact with anyone else. He hadnt ever held the hand of his brothers, or accepted a hug. He hadn't really touched with anyone since his mother died.
But Ace wasn't bothered at all that Luffy kissed him. They hadnt really known each other very well for very long, but despite that, Ace wasn't bothered. He was still smiling softly when he got home. He did his best to hide the smile since his siblings would ask about it, and Ace wasn't the best liar, especially to those who knew him.
He pulled up his hood and shadowed his face, saying hi to those who greeted him first. The half-vampire hurried to his unit and quickly walked in, locking the door and closing all the curtains, before he let loose the grin he'd been hiding out in public.
He flopped down on the couch and looked at his phone contact list. He had trouble sleeping, looking forward to another day, something he hadnt felt in a very long time. He'd be going to Luffy's house tomorrow. He got to see how Luffy lived. How someone so happy like Luffy lives. He was nervous about Luffy's friend, though.
Would Zoro think he was stupid? Did he not approve of Ace and Luffy? He had driven and picked Luffy up from the date, so surely he couldn't dislike Ace. Not that they'd ever met before. Ace hoped Luffy wasn't talking about Ace a lot at his home. Did he tell Zoro everything he and Ace talked about? He really hoped not.
His worrying ended when he got a text from Luffy. He eagerly opened the message.
Sorry, I couldn't wait to text till morning! I had lots of fun! You can come over anytime you want. I have so much stuff to show you! Anyways, sweet dreams! Night~ :)
Even over text, Luffy was blindingly bright. Ace texted back, I had fun, too. I'll come over in the morning. I'm looking forward to it. Goodnight.
Ace grinned and fell asleep on the couch in his day clothes, phone resting on his chest.
-x-
The next day, he stood at the sidewalk of Luffy's house. His heart was beating quickly, as he tried to build up the courage to go to the front door. What if Luffy didn't really like him after being someplace more private? He didn't get much time to worry before the curtain of the big window on the second story opened. There was Luffy.
His face lit up as he hurried out of his room and downstairs, opening the front door at lightning speed. He ran down the walkway and to Ace, asking what he was waiting for. They were going to have fun, even if Ace didnt want to. But he did. So much.
Ace did his best to not look overly interested as he entered the small house. He was right about his first opinion from the outside. It was cozy. The walls were blue colors and the carpet was gray. The kitchen was small and had a breakfast nook with not dinner table, just a desk with a rolly chair put against the window.
Zoro sat at the desk, a huge cup of soda next to him. He had headphones on, but gave Ace a short wave as the vampire walked past. The living room was very small with an old but clearly loved couch with a huge TV. Probably the most expensive looking thing in the whole living room was the TV. It hung off the wall above the fireplace.
There were no framed pictures on the walls, just posters or drawings Luffy had done pinned at random places. "Do you wanna see my room, too?" Luffy asked excitedly. Ace blushed but nodded and followed Luffy as he lead him up the narrow staircase.
At the top, there were three doors. One was a bathroom and the other two were clearly Luffy and Zoro's rooms. Zoro's door had a picture of a shark on it, saying "Don't go I my room dipshit", clearly aimed at Luffy, who's door said, "Boo" with a pouty face in response.
Ace had thought Luffy's room would have a lot of personality and he was right. It was pleasantly messy. There was no one theme in it. Posters were pinned everywhere, not very neatly. He had a bookshelf with a lot of books all stacked in uneven ways. A lot of them were manga volumes. Ace recognized many of them, though he'd never read them.
Unlike Ace's bookshelf, Luffy's had series that werent in order or even near each other. Christmas lights hung off of the shelf and his bed had an assortment of random blankets and pillows, not made up at all.
It was perfect, and Ace was jealous that his place didn't have this much personality. "What do you think?" Luffy asked with a grin.
"It's very you. I- I'm glad you like books. I have a lot of books at home," Ace said, face a bit pink from the grin he was being given.
"You dont think it's messy?" Luffy asked curiously. Ace shook his head.
"It's pleasantly disheveled," he replied. Luffy laughed.
"Phew, that's good! I was worried you would think it's stupid! I spend most of the time in here when I'm not gaming or forcing myself to do homework downstairs. I never make the bed, cause I'm just gonna mess it up once I go to sleep, y'know?"
"I like your place more than mine," Ace said truthfully. He worried for a moment that Luffy was gonna ask to see his place, but he didn't. Despite how open he was, the young man didn't seem to ask much about you.
"I'm gonna show you how to play games now," Luffy announced and bounced out of his room and down the stairs. He heard Zoro shouting that Luffy had better not gone in his room again. Luffy laughed but didn't answer, getting a growl from Zoro.
"We didn't go in your room, I swear!" Luffy shouted with a laugh as he went into the kitchen and got two water bottles out of the refrigerator. "Do you wanna play with us, Zoro?" the kid asked as he handed Ace a water bottle and moved him to the couch.
"Nah, he's your boyfriend. Spend alone time with him," Zoro said flatly. Luffy giggled and Ace's face turned bright red.
"But you're still in the room," the bouncy young man replied.
"Not with headphones in. Bye," and Zoro was out. Luffy grinned at his guest.
"He's grumpy sometimes, but really cool. We've been friends for forever. He's a good guy. Okay, what do you want to play first?" Luffy asked, turning on the consol he had and thrusting a blue controller into Ace's hands, while he had a red one, which was clearly well-used.
"Whatever is easiest to begin with," Ace said in a joking way, though it was true. He didn't want to dive right into something and look like a total idiot. Luffy smiled and picked the first game on the shelf, which was a racing game.
If Ace drove like Luffy, everyone in the vicinity would be dead. Ace was glad the young man didn't have a car based on how he drove in the video game. He was very vocal with his actions, and laughed so much, even after Ace beat him over and over. He just had fun and really didn't care who was winning.
After an hour of racing and then trying to see whose car would blow up first, Luffy went to the kitchen and made them both peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sitting with Luffy as they ate and he talked made it the tastiest meal Ace had ever had.
They had switched to an adventure game next, and Luffy really didn't mind that Ace was getting them killed almost immediately. He somehow was able to make Ace's failures meaningless. They were having fun, whether they succeeded in whatever they were doing or not.
An hour into the second game, Zoro took a break from his writing, which apparently was a hobby he didn't like to talk about, and played with them. He ended up winning by himself since Luffy was paired with Ace. Zoro didn't make fun of Ace as he did poorly. Luffy and Zoro were just fun people to be around. Even when Luffy and Zoro were joking about something Ace didn't know about, Ace never felt excluded.
It was wonderful.
Ace literally spent the entire day there. They even had dinner, too. Luffy and Zoro pooled their money to get pizza for them. Ace offered to help pay since Zoro was fishing out change from his wallet, but both men just brushed him off. He was the guest, and they didn't mind paying. Especially since four pizza boxes were ordered. One for each with an extra for Luffy.
It was unreal how much Luffy and Zoro could eat and not be horribly overweight. They were bottomless pits. Ace felt slightly awkward eating like a normal person would. He chuckled when Luffy and Zoro had a contest on who could finish their meal quickest. Ace wasn't surprised Luffy won, though he had hiccups through the last four pieces.
Zoro downed a whole liter of coke and promptly passed out on the floor in front of the couch. Ace looked surprised. Luffy saw the surprised look, and said, "Zoro tires himself out easily."
"He doesn't have narcolepsy?" Ace wondered, then blushed. Now he would probably have to explain why he asked. Luffy cocked his head.
"Narcopepsi?" Ace chuckled.
"Narcolepsy. It makes you fall asleep suddenly."
"Oh! Like when you fell asleep against me that one day?" Luffy asked, tracing shapes on Ace's leg as they were sitting across from each other with their legs overlapping.
"Uh, no. That day was just cause I slept poorly," Ace answered uncomfortably. "Sorry, again." Luffy pat his leg.
"Hey, if you didn't fall asleep on me, we wouldn't be here would we? You'd probably be watching me as some stranger get on a bus every morning. So, why did you know about narcolepsy?" Luffy wondered.
"I do have it, and that's part of why I drink so much coffee. I hate waking up suddenly. It's scary, knowing you could fall and hit your head, or some guy would come and kidnap you once you're passed out. It doesn't happen often anymore. Coffee doesn't help, really, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something to try and stop it," Ace explained, realizing that was probably the most he'd ever said to anyone in one conversation.
"Hmm, and coffee is yummy, too," Luffy added, once again making Ace feel comfortable. Luffy didn't judge him about his condition, or think it was funny. To just suddenly fall asleep. Ace smiled softly.
"Hey… thank you for not making me feel awkward a lot," Ace said quietly. Luffy just giggled.
"I don't try to not make you feel awkward. It's just how I see things. Life is nice, right? So much to do and you should enjoy it every moment, not feel awkward about what someone else thinks of you or what you do. Don't you think so, too?" Luffy asked quietly, stunning Ace with his perfect smile.
"...Yeah."
"I really like you, Ace," Luffy said. Ace blushed. "Will you be my boyfriend? It'll be fun!"
"I l-like you, too. Yeah… I'll be your boyfriend," Ace said with a sheepish smile, though he was so relieved Luffy felt the same. Ace was sure it would be fun. Luffy seemed to make everything fun. The vampire wondered how he did it. When he was around Luffy, he didn't hate himself, or what he was. Though afterwards, there was the brief crippling fear about him finding out. But that was going to be there no matter what.
"Yay!" Luffy exclaimed. "Can we kiss?" he asked with a smile. Ace turned impossibly red and nodded. He wondered fi Luffy knew how to kiss, because Ace surely didn't. Luffy leaned forwards, adjusting their position so he was next to Ace.
The human put his hand on Ace's cheek softly and pressed his lips against Ace's. When his lips touched Luffy's, it was like the whole world fell away and all there was was him and Luffy. Ace didn't even think about the fact that Zoro was right next to them, though he was still asleep.
Luffy didn't kiss him roughly or open his mouth. It was just a press of their lips, and they stayed there for a few long seconds before Luffy pulled away. Ace wanted to grin at Luffy's red cheeks, though his were the same shade, maybe even brighter.
"That was my first kiss," Luffy said simply, but with a smile.
"Mine, too. It was a good first kiss," Ace replied, earning a heartfelt and soft smile from his boyfriend. He agreed. It was a good, romantic moment and neither could have asked for a better one.
-x-
Ace kissed Luffy's cheek before he got on his bus, as he did every morning now. He would then go to the coffee shop and wait. He had nothing else to do and nothing better than waiting for his boyfriend to come back and walk to his home together.
The vampire had never been happier in all of his life, and thought he might never be. Every night, he came home with a smile, and was always asked what had happened that was so good. It was strange to Ace's siblings seeing him with a happy expression. They wanted to know what was happening, but were considerate enough to not snoop. No one wanted to ruin Ace's happiness. And it was nice seeing him smile.
Being with Luffy was… easy. Ace didn't need to explain all about his personal life that he didn't want to, and they rarely had any intense physical contact. They kissed, but they were soft and meaningful, not passionate and hurried. Luffy liked cuddling with Ace on the couch when he was over and they were watching movies or Luffy's favorite anime.
The first time Luffy said he loved Ace was the happiest moment of his life.
"Zoro's gone, so you can come over and we can do stuff we wouldnt with him over," Luffy said as he and Ace walked to Luffy's house. Ace grew nervous about it, not knowing what Luffy meant. Physical stuff? ...Intimate stuff? Ace was worried.
When they got to the front door, Ace stayed in the doorway for a bit as Luffy ran around collecting stuff and moving the couch. The vampire grew pink in the face, but honestly should have known better.
"I want to dance with you but Zoro would probably laugh if he were here. So we can dance and it'll be private and fun!" Luffy said as he set up speakers and his phone. "Do you wanna dance? It's kinda out of the blue."
Ace let out a breath. "Let's dance. I'm not good at it, though," Ace confessed, a little pink in the face, but Luffy laughed and said it would be fun.
The vampire was surprised when it was a slow song. He was glad he didn't have to do real dancing. Luffy stepped to him slowly and Ace wrapped his arms around Luffy's lower back while the human stepped onto Ace's boots and they just swayed back and forth to the music, both having their eyes closed, completely relaxed.
"I love you, Ace," Luffy said quietly, a soft smile on his lips while the side of his head was pressed to Ace's collarbone. Ace's breath caught, and didn't hesitate to say, "I love you, too, Luffy."
Neither knew how long they swayed to the same song on repeat, and Ace never ceased smiling. Ace didn't say how he thought he might have loved Luffy the moment he woke up to him being kind and caring after the vampire knocked him down.
-x-
Ace laid on Luffy's bed with him, the younger having fallen asleep on his after they were laying together, listening to an audiobook, one of the most relaxing activities they'd done together. Even though it was getting late, Ace didn't wake his boyfriend up. Luffy was adorable when he slept. His childlike face completely relaxed and he looked so content.
When it was dinner time, Zoro had gently knocked on the semi-open door and then pushed it the rest of the way open. "Dinner's ready," Zoro said, since he'd decided he wanted to try cooking something.
Predictably, Luffy woke up to those words and yawned. His hair was a mess of bed head, but Ace thought it was cute. "Dinner?" he asked excitedly. Zoro just laughed quietly.
"It's nothing special. Feel free to have cereal if it sucks," he said as he lead them down the stairs. It really wasn't something special. He'd made pasta, but it was cooked fine, and Luffy loudly congratulated him. Zoro had been thoughtful and cooked two servings at the same time so Luffy could have his normal amount of food.
Ace spent a lot of dinners there, though most of them were things like cereal or ramen. Or take out that either he and Luffy walked to or Zoro drove to pick up. It was nice that school was over for Luffy. Ace could spend more time with him. They went to Best Buy again multiple times, and it was enjoyable each time.
After dinner, Ace kissed Luffy goodbye and left to walk home. Luffy waved goodbye and called that he loved him from the front door. Ace had turned bright red and looked around to see if anyone heard, but no one was there. He sheepishly called back that he loved too.
"Love you more!" Luffy said and went inside so he had the last word and Ace couldn't counter that he loved Luffy more.
When Ace got home, he went straight to the kitchen to drink a blood bag. Since he'd started dating Luffy, he tolerated himself more. He didn't like it, but he drank the blood bag without hesitation. He hadn't once been attracted to Luffy for the smell of his blood, and he wanted to keep it that way, so he drank when he needed to. He didn't hesitate to possibly put Luffy or Zoro in danger.
He walked to the couch and picked up the manga volume Luffy had loaned him. Well, forced him to read, though Ace had no problem with it.
-x-
It was early morning one day that Ace got a knock on his front door. He wondered which sibling it was and what they wanted. He was just about to call Luffy to see if he wanted to go to the movies.
He got out of bed and walked to the front door, his eyes widening when he saw Luffy there with two cups of coffee from Starbucks and not Ace's usual coffee shop. Ace hurriedly pulled him inside. He looked around to see if anyone was near before he quickly closed the door and locked it.
"Luffy, what are you doing here?" Ace asked harshly. Luffy looked surprised at the tone of voice.
"Zoro said he saw you walking here when he was driving back from the store last night. I came to surprise you! They have a new caramel coffee I saw at Starbucks that tasted good so I brought you one," Luffy explained. Then he frowned at Ace's tense expression. "Do you not want me to be here?"
Ace cringed at the hurt tone of voice. "It's just, my family lives here and they don't know about you," the vampire said. Luffy looked like he'd been slapped.
"Why not?" he asked, his eyes shining with hurt tears. Ace cursed himself for saying it like that. Ace didn't know what to answer. "I… I should go. I don't want you to get in trouble or anything for me being here," Luffy said, not looking at Ace's face. He just set the coffee down on the end table and walked to the door, biting his lip.
Ace gently grabbed Luffy's upper arm. "It's not like that. I'm not embarrassed of you or anything. It's just, it's hard to explain," Ace said miserably. "I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you."
"They why don't they know about us? I've told all of my family and friends. I thought you did, too. I didn't mean to assume," Luffy said, still not looking Ace in the eyes, wearing that hurt look, still. It hurt Ace to see that expression was made by him.
"I don't want them to," Ace said truthfully. He blanched when he saw the red rimmed eyes and tears welling up in them. Ace had never seen Luffy cry. Never, and here Ace was the reason. "It sounds wrong, but it's a good reason, I promise!" Ace tried to explain.
"Okay," Luffy said and turned back towards the door, slowly walking back to leave. When Luffy grabbed the handle, Ace took his hand, and now it was Ace who had tears down his face. He had to tell Luffy the real reason. He didn't want him to be hurt because Ace hadnt told his family. He didn't want to be the reason to wipe away Luffy's smile.
Would he hate him? Ace wasn't sure. Luffy's pain turned to concern as he wiped away Ace's tears. "What's wrong?" It was like Luffy had forgotten his own hurt as he saw Ace's. Ace sniffled. "You can tell me."
Ace looked at Luffy in the eyes, a begging expression on his face. "Please don't hate me," Ace began. He lowered his head until his bangs were covering his eyes. "I don't want my family to know because I'm afraid of what they might do to you." Before Luffy could ask for clarification, what the might do to him, Ace said, "They're vampires.
"I'm a vampire."
Luffy's eyes widened and his eyebrows raised in surprise. Ace started sobbing and turned away from him, not wanting to see the fear or hate in his love's eyes. Luffy hurried to be in front of Ace again and hugged him in a warm embrace. Ace was shocked out of his sobs and just stood there.
"Did you think I would hate you?" Luffy asked as he looked up at Ace, whose tears had stopped. Ace nodded his head numbly. "Silly Ace. I love you, no matter what. Can I ask how, though? You eat and sleep and go out in the sun. How?"
"My father was a vampire, my mom was a human," Ace said quietly. "You... dont care?" he asked in shock. Luffy shook his head with a soft and reassuring smile.
"I'll love you no matter what."
Ace broke down into relieved sobs, and Luffy lead him to the couch and directed Ace's head onto Luffy's lap so he could sit with Ace laying down. Luffy played with Ace's soft hair while he tried to collect himself again.
"No matter who your parents are or were, you're perfect to me. I wouldn't want anyone else." Ace's tears slowed as he looked up at Luffy with such love. "Thank you for telling me your secret."
"I wish I'd done it sooner… I'm sorry for keeping it from you," Ace said quietly. Luffy suddenly wore a very sad expression. Guilt was apparent as well. Ace reached up to Luffy's face, and this time was the one to ask what was wrong.
"I have a secret, too. I wasn't gonna tell you yet, but you told me yours. Just, please dont treat me any different after you know," Luffy said quietly. Ace nodded his head, concerned. Very concerned over what Luffy's secret was. It couldn't be worse than Ace's.
"I'm going to die sometime next month," Luffy said quietly. Before Ace asked if it was some joke, Luffy continued. "I have a terminal brain tumor. Seven months ago, I was told I had eight left to live. At maximum. I wanted to continue living like a normal person would. That's why I went to college, and still live at home.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted things to be normal. It was selfish, but I didn't want to ruin us. What we have. You've made my last months very special."
Ace was shocked, but tears still fell from his eyes. Luffy was going to die? His Luffy? The most important person in the world to him?
"No… please, please tell me you're lying," Ace choked out. Luffy gave him a sad smile and told him he was telling the truth. Ace sat up and swallowed Luffy in a big hug, sobs wracking his body. Tears fell from Luffy's eyes as well.
"I'm going to be reborn as a tree. You can always come visit me. If there's an afterlife, I'll always be there to talk to. No matter what. I'm sure Zoro will still be your friend. He likes you, since you make me so happy. I know if it werent for you, I'd be sad more. Thank you for making my time wonderful and special," Luffy whispered into Ace's shoulder. "I love you, forever."
"Forever," Ace repeated through his tears.
-x-
Ace did his best to keep things normal, and he did well, considering he was concerned over Luffy all the time, especially when he wasn't with him. But Ace did as Luffy wished. Things stayed the same.
They were even closer, really. With Luffy knowing what Ace was, he had never felt more free. Even if Luffy's days were numbers, they were the best days of Ace's life. The vampire didn't want to think about what would happen after Luffy was gone. The thought was agony. It physically made him hurt, like he was stabbed through the heart.
Luffy did as Ace wished and did not push to meet his family, even if he was curious to meet them. Ace still hadnt told any of them about Luffy. He'd tell them after it was over. After all, his depression would skyrocket in intensity and they might be able to help.
Too soon, Luffy stopped going out with Ace, and they spent most of the time at Luffy's house, where he napped a lot. Ace could see Zoro biting his lip every time he saw Luffy fall asleep. Ace thought the man was an incredible friend to put himself through this to keep Luffy's life as normal as possible. Zoro would most likely be the one to find Luffy had passed, either in his sleep or suddenly doing something else. Luffy had a very dedicated and loving best friend.
"I'm sleepy again. I'm sorry I sleep all the time," Luffy said with a yawn to Ace and Zoro as they were playing video games.
"It's okay, Luffy. Take a nap," Zoro said gently. Luffy smiled.
"Thanks Zoro. I love you guys," Luffy mumbled as he relaxed against Ace's shoulder and fell asleep.
Zoro sat on the floor, unable to help the tears from welling up in his eyes. He hid his face in his hands, trying to be quiet with his sniffling. Ace reached down and put his hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Luffy couldn't ask for a better friend, Zoro," Ace said kindly and sincerely. "I can start staying over with you. I know you don't want to… um, b-be alone when he... p-passes."
"Thank you Ace. I'd like that. Thank you, for making his time special. I just wish you two had had more time together," Zoro replied, getting his emotions under control.
"Better late than never," Ace whispered.
When Luffy woke up, he was ecstatic that Ace would be staying over now. He apologized to both of them for being boring and just sleeping even though he didn't have much time left. Ace was amazed that he had accepted his fate so well and could talk about it like small talk. But then again, he'd known for a long time what was going to happen.
"At least if you're asleep, you can't steal all my meat," Zoro joked, getting a laugh from his best friend. Ace did his best to act normal as well, and felt he was doing well. Luffy's last wish was to have them act normal, and so they would. Even though sleeping with Luffy at night was extremely hard. He was sure, each night, that he'd wake up to a still and silent Luffy, but every day, when Luffy woke up, Ace felt like there really was a god somewhere, gifting him with more time with his love.
-x-
Ace and Zoro sat on the couch, both of them having no more tears to shed. Not since that morning, when Ace finally woke up to Luffy not. He looked so peaceful, even smiling, as he laid next to Ace. Zoro had woken up to the vampire's sobs as he cradled Luffy's body in his lap. When Zoro busted the door open, he fell to his knees, breaking into sobs as well. They couldn't bring themselves to call 911 to take Luffy's body away and just sat with him for awhile. They were both glad he passed in his sleep, peacefully and hopefully dreaming of something nice.
For the time being, Ace moved in with Zoro until they were able to get Luffy's belongings to the right places. He had written a will, gifting everything he had to his friends and Ace. Ace slept on the couch, leaving Luffy's colorful room untouched. They couldn't bring themselves to go in for a couple days.
Luffy was made into a maple tree, the type he chose. He liked maple syrup, so to him it made complete sense. He was planted in a spot he had always like going to at the park.
Ace visited everyday as the tree grew slowly. His family was there for him when he finally confessed what happened and why he'd stopped coming home for awhile. The paid their respects to Luffy's tree, bringing flowers and thanking him for making Ace so happy.
Even though it ended tragically, the months with Luffy were the best times of Ace's life. He tried to look at life the way Luffy had. Every day was a gift. Luffy had known that better than anyone. Ace wouldn't waste his life. He knew Luffy wouldn't like that.
The End-
So sad! I totally cried writing this. It wasn't supposed to be sad when I started it, but I felt like it was a good idea to make it a tragedy. I hope the romance was cute.
Review!