A short fic for my friend. Originally it was supposed to be a motivator for her finals, but…yeah. This isn't exactly good motivation. So, it became a Christmas gift instead. Still, Merry Christmas, Kitty! Hope you like it!
"Ugh…." Ace flopped face first onto the couch, burying his face into the pillow. He hated this time of the semester… It was the holidays, dang it! What messed up system wanted you to have this much work when you could be drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows? Finals just sucked the joy out of everything.
Something started poking him in the side, and he immediately started swatting at it, grumbling under his breath. There was a chuckle near his ear, and the prodding increased in pressure. Ace gave a growl, but the source of his irritation just would not be deterred until he rolled off his safe haven of comfiness.
"Remind me why I thought having my brother for a roommate was a good idea," he grouched. Sabo, of course, looked utterly unremorseful, instead giving him one more jolt to the side.
"Because I make sure you get your work done in time. Like right now. You need to finish your paper by tomorrow, remember? Your finals are this week! And you're not Luffy, so you can't get away with convincing me to write it for you."
"All right, all right! Fine, you win. When's he coming over, anyways?" Usopp had no problems staying with Luffy, but his father was going to be home for Christmas, and it wasn't like they weren't looking for an excuse for their brother to come to campus anyway. Life was just more interesting when the boy with the straw hat was around.
Before Sabo could so much as open his mouth, there was a loud bang from the doorway, and a cheer. "ACE! SABO!" Both immediately braced, but still ended up sprawled on the ground, a wiggly armful of brother between them. "I missed you so much! Are we going to eat? We're going to have meat, right? Cause I like meat."
Ace gave out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Yes, we know you like meat, Luffy. That hasn't changed in the past few months, I'm sure." Their precious little brother was a menace at the dinner table, meat or no. People always gawked whenever Sabo or he ate at the cafeteria, but Luffy could out-eat them both put together. Blood related or no, black holes substituting stomachs seemed to be a family trait.
Sabo managed to free one of his arms, reaching up to ruffle Luffy's hair. "Were you good for Usopp? Cause if you were…" In an instant, Luffy's head was a blur of motion, nodding so fast his neck must have been made of rubber. Both college students exchanged a look, before bursting into laughter. Sabo mocked wiping away a tear, before giving in. "Good, let's get your reward then."
The three of them spent the next hour making (or, in Luffy's case, prevented from eating) as much meat as their freezer could hold. Neither Ace nor Sabo had great skills in cooking, that was Sanji or Thatch's job, but they were able to get by. Luffy was as far from a picky eater as you could get, and once given the all clear, he pounced on the food with a howl of joy.
It was like they had never been apart. They fell right back into routine, tearing into the food, jabbing each other with forks whenever a hand wandered too close to someone else's plate. Stories were told, and laughter danced through the air throughout dinner. Then, once the sink was overflowing with dishes and their stomachs were filled, it was straight on to the next task.
Ace started pulling out the boxes of decorations, while Sabo set to work on the tree. Luffy, who wasn't allowed anywhere near the ornaments after the fiasco last year, immediately started digging through the Christmas movies. After Sabo finished setting up the groundwork, they immediately started with the lights and the garland.
"You know I could've helped with the tree, right?" Ace questioned. Sabo was a hard worker, but he wasn't one to beat others away from helping him.
Sabo just laughed, shaking his head. "And have a repeat of three years ago? We don't really need to call the fire department again, they deal with you enough as is."
"Oi! They do not! I'm not going to set the stupid tree on fire!"
"No, you're not. Because I'm not letting you put it up."
"Tch. Jerk." Ace gave the other a playful shove, before catching Luffy's body launch. Seeing a case in hand, he grinned. "Die Hard, huh? Good pick!"
Luffy grinned, the way they loved best; where it looked like his face could split in two from how happy he was. "Yeah! Nami said it's not a Christmas movie, but I knew you guys would remember it!"
"Of course! Best Christmas movie ever, right Sabo?" Ace shot a smirk his brothers' way, letting it turn into a grin at Sabo's eye roll.
"I don't know about the best one, but it's definitely a Christmas movie."
"Shishishi! Ace and Sabo are so smart!"
After the tree was decorated (and no fires, so Marco wouldn't be ticked he had to see them while working), they settled in to watch the movie. Luffy fell asleep almost immediately, though, snuggled between the two of them. The movie was accompanied by snoring and mumbling for meat throughout, and muffled laughter from his human pillows.
Ace must have fallen asleep at some point too, because the next thing he was aware of, was waking up with Luffy draped over his face, and scratching sounds coming from the left. After lots of wiggling and maneuvering, he managed to get enough of his head free to see Sabo, writing in his journal.
His best friend turned, a soft smile on his face. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to pry him off of you, for you to wake up."
Ace chuckled. Luffy did have a tendency to accidentally suffocate whoever he was cuddling with. "Nah, I'm fine. It's good he could come."
"I agree. Though, his timing could have been better. Your paper's due in two hours, now."
"WHAT?!"
"…meat….."
See what I mean? Not exactly motivating, considering Ace didn't do squat with his :D Also, the Die Hard discussion is something I pulled from my family. My dad says it's not a Christmas movie, but my mom does :) I hope you all have a wonderful holidays!