"What if... what if I'm not good enough?" Ace asked softly, lowering his eyes to the ground. "What if I'll never be good enough. I'm always going to be this, I'll never be what you want me to be, I'll never..."
"Ace." Whitebeard cut in, pressing his hand onto Ace's back and rubbing it gently. "Son, don't worry about it."
"How can I not?" Ace whispered, voice hoarse as he pressed his forehead against Whitebeard's. "I'm supposed to be your son, when people look at me, they're supposed to know that this is a pirate belonging to Whitebeard, the strongest, the best, the greatest, I'm supposed to..."
"Ace." Whitebeard repeated, gently wrapping his hands around Ace's. "You don't have to be all those things."
Ace looked away, silent.
"Ace?" Whitebeard asked quietly. "You know that, right?"
Ace remained silent, tucking his knees into his chest and wrapping his arms around them as his shoulders lifted into a halfhearted shrug.
"Well, you don't." Whitebeard declared firmly. "And even if you did have to be," He continued, glancing down at Ace and taking Ace's hands into his own. "You're already all those things in your own way. Maybe you can't beat an admiral in a fight or maybe you're not the absolute best fighter, maybe you're not the greatest pirate of all, but so what? I love you, either way, you're my son, either way. Isn't that all that matters?"
"Yeah, but..." Ace bit his lower lip, and tightened his grip on Whitebeard's hands. "I'm not good enough for that. To be your son, I mean. I'm not..."
"You'll always be good enough." Whitebeard chuckled, amusement lining his tone. "There's no such thing as not good enough, Ace. You ought to know that good enough doesn't mean the best, and even if it did, you're still growing. You're still young, you always have the opportunity to grow."
"Right." Ace agreed, leaning in to Whitebeard's chest. "Thanks, Oyaji."
Whitebeard smiled, pulling Ace in. "No problem, son."
A/N: So, some fluff while I procrastinate... sorry about it being so short and stuff. As usual, I'm writing off of my rampant emotions. For all you readers who have the same issues as Ace, you ought to listen to Whitebeard's advice.