(A/N) Enjoy

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, I'm not Oda

P.S. It was my golden Labrador puppy's 12 week birthday today. :3
His name is Ace...
(I think I just heard you all role your eyes Hahahaha)

Candle Heart

Chapter 3- The Mini Trio

The morning suns rays shone around the boy looking over him. The light was tinted an array of greens and mottled browns by the canopy above. But although the site was beautiful nothing could compare to the joy Luffy felt at seeing the figure above him.

"Ace?" Luffy asked in a whisper.

"Who the hell are you?" The kid asked rudely, an angry scowl on his face. "How do you know my name?" The boy stepped back a few steps and took a fighting stance, turning side on by shifting his feet apart whilst bending his knees and lowering his weight, lifting his arms, hands in clenched fists.

Luffy sat up.

It was Ace alright, before Makino had taught him manners. The dark mop of hair and brooding eyes, the way he talked and stood, the different shades of freckles under his eyes, the smell of sweat and of the forest all over him, although the smell of the ocean and smoke were not there, it still all seemed so familiar to Luffy like hearing an old song you'd forgotten. It had been too long.

There was something different about him though... He was mini...

Luffy didn't hesitate though; he wrapped his arms around his brother and pulled him to his chest, holding him tightly never wanting to let go. "Shishishishi, small mystery Ace." He said, a smile lighting up his face. "I missed you."

Ace however was not so happy.

"Oi! You weirdo! Let go of me baka!" he struggled in Luffy's arms pointlessly; The Pirate King had a strong grip on him. This went on for a few minutes until Luffy heard a sudden battle cry and felt something hit him on the back of the head.

He turned his head and saw a mini Sabo and some other mini brat that, wait... he thought, that was... him?

His eyes widened, and he let go of Ace for a mere millisecond so he could grab mini Sabo and mini him. He pulled all three of them into a tight embrace now, squishing them together.

He laughed in utter delight not even caring that all the boys were yelling. Mini him was chomping on his arm, his small arms were stretched out and wiggling every where like a knot of snakes; mini Sabo was hitting him over the head with some sort of pipe, and mini Ace had taken a brief pause in his attack for now and was pouting whilst scratching his head, trying to think of a way out. Unfortunately for Ace, thinking up complicated tactical plans wasn't his strong point at this age. Luffy laughed and just held them tighter, tears running down his face, everything was right for a mere few minutes.
He had his brother back, even if it was just a dream, it was better then the others he'd had, he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up. The love he felt for his brothers was still so strong. He remembered, the loneliness he felt when he was this young, how being with Ace and Sabo made it go away. How it returned after he lost his brother. No matter what pain he went through nothing was worse than the loneliness he felt that day at marine ford. The empty dark pit of depression seemed to always oppress him and pull him down, holding him back from his freedom. His Nakama were always there, his loyal crew, but his brother could never be replaced.

But now he was here and for once he felt truly free.

He finally released the boys. As soon as he did they all jumped away and took their fighting stances Ace and Sabo unconsciously moving slightly in front of mini him, in a protective manner. All three of them looked at Luffy like he'd just stolen their meat; Luffy found this hilarious. He couldn't stop laughing, he was so happy, his vision seemed to be tinted a bright joyful yellow. The three boys circled him like vultures grumpy as all hell, and wanting to get revenge for the involuntary hug.

"You alright?" Sabo asked Ace.

"Yeah." He grumbled

"Who is he?" asked mini Luffy.

"I don't know, the piece of crap just popped out of no where and grabbed me."

"I don't like him." Luffy stated, earning him a whack over the head from his older self. Luffy wailed grabbing at his head.

"That hurt." He whined.

"Hey!" yelled Ace, don't touch my little brother! He ran at Luffy fists raised in challenge. Luffy merely grabbed his collar and lifted him into the air.

"Shishishishi, I remember you being stronger Ace." He chuckled. Ace was dangling from his arms trying to remove himself from Luffy's grasp.

That's when Luffy realized something, he remembered this, he remembered seeing a strange man holding Ace in the woods near the tree house, he remembered attacking him to free Ace. He remembered the man's laugh and tears. He remembered feeling hungry from all the chomping, wiggling and yelling he'd done, he remembered... He dropped Ace quickly, "Eh Oh..."

Luffy suddenly went flying into the nearest tree. He'd been distracted by Ace and didn't realise.

His Grandpa was nearby...

Luffy hadn't really seen much of Garp since the day at marine ford, not because Luffy blamed him, he knew Garp could've stopped him if he really wanted too. He believed Garp blamed himself. So hadn't made the time to see Luffy yet.

The younger Garp looked over at Luffy, a mix of curiosity and anger, evident on his face. He must've come to visit the boys, and heard their yells. Garp didn't appear to recognize Luffy. But Luffy new from past experience that Garp always let him and his brothers fight their own battles. So he must've seen Luffy as a deadly threat, probably due to his level of haki.

"Oi, you idiot brats, step back!" Garp demanded.

"No way!" They all replied in unison.

Time to go Luffy thought.

He stood up and ran off upset to leave Ace but he'd come back. After all even he wasn't stupid enough to mess with an angry Garp, even if Luffy was The Pirate King.

Luffy ran out of the forest and down the mountain heading towards the windmill village, everything looked so peaceful and almost exactly the same. He ran as fast as he could admiring the green rolling hills and the lazy wind mills that reminded him of Nami's pin wheels, along the way.

His brain hurt... He began to wonder if everything that happened, actually happened.

Then he heard it... The yells of the boys in pain, he remembered Garp hitting them for no reason. He then heard the sound of a bat shit crazy Garp thundering after him.

Stupid Grandpa, he pouted, he just wanted to talk to Ace.

He started running backwards along the road, trying to see if he could spot Garp. Then he hit something behind him, he turned around, and for the second time in one day he saw his old friend.

"Shanks!" he yelled. He then heard Garp yell again so he took cover behind the red haired man. "Don't let him find me." Luffy chuckled. Shanks looked at Luffy lost as to who this stranger was. Luffy grabbed Shanks's arm and pulled him inside the house Shanks had just walked out of. Seconds before what looked like a raging bull, thundered past.

The inside of the wooden house was small and cosy, with a crackling fireplace on one wall, and an occupied table in a corner. It smelled of roasted meat and smoke.

"Feeeewf, ahhh that was close." Luffy sighed as he slid to the ground against the wall. He really didn't want to get into a fight with the old man.

"Dahahahaha, what did you do to piss him off, stranger?" he asked Luffy.
Luffy tilted his head confused for a second till he remembered the conclusion he'd come to just before he got launched at a tree. He was in the past. Shanks thought Luffy was a kid. He didn't recognize adult Luffy, especially considering his hat was hidden under his jacket on his back. For now Luffy decided, maybe it would be better to keep it a secret.

"Shishishishi, long story." He replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What's your name?" asked Shanks. Luffy thought about it for a minute.

"Lucy!" he said with a grin.

"Dahahahaha, I like you Lucy, it's nice to meet you, want to explain your story over a drink?" He asked.

Before Luffy could reply, he heard the thundering again, and it was getting closer.

"Shit!" yelled Shanks, over reacting to the situation. "Hey Lucy, I have a quick errand to run to a nearby island, I was about to leave anyway, want to come? It'll only be for a few days, and by the time you get back, that Vice Admiral will have calmed down." Luffy thought about it for a second, he really just wanted to go see Ace again. But he couldn't get close to him with Garp nearby, unless he wanted to beat him up.

"Shishishishi, sounds good, let's go!" Shanks smirked, nodded and led Luffy and his few crew mates he had with him out a back door.

That is how Luffy found himself aboard the Red Haired pirate's ship, sailing to some island close by. Luffy didn't mind at all, he loved being on the ocean again, being on the sea made Luffy feel free, he loved the salty breeze and the sound of the waves lapping up against the side of the boat. He also enjoyed Shanks's company he was always so laid back; they spent a lot of time talking together. The crew was also always friendly and partying; they had a constant supply of meat and sake, Luffy felt right at home. It wasn't dissimilar to the Sunny in some ways.

After quite a bit of partying Luffy fell asleep on the figure head for a while. His limbs hanging over either edge of the dragon head. Seeing Ace again was like a dream, the feelings were familiar, he felt the same way, as when he saw Sabo again in Dressrosa. He frowned, this was only temporary though, as much as he loved Ace he couldn't stay with him in the past; he was The Pirate King, his crew needed him. Plus he'd agreed to help Sabo with something to do with the revolutionary army. Luffy stuck one finger up his nose and the other rubbed the back of his head... How could he have both...? He thought for a while, different scenarios running through his mind... Eh... He was no good at this...

After a few hours a thought finally popped into his head. Luffy smiled in a way that used to worry Ace and Sabo, worried his crew now, and sent all his enemies running; he was up to something, something crazy, he had a plan, it would involve a certain red head and a freckled man.

But for the time being, he wanted sleep.

Shanks watched Luffy sleep on his dragon figure head, his black open coat, red shirt and dark hair blowing in the breeze; he had been with them for two days now, Shanks didn't know why Luffy was here at the age he was, or even how he had gotten here. But it hadn't taken Shanks long to realize it was him.

Lucy, really Luffy? He thought. He was honestly not surprised though it was Luffy after all. What did surprise him was the kids level of Haki, it was radiating off of him like heat. And the boy was holding it back significantly. It was terrifying, Luffy had truly at some point in the future, overtaken him, and lived up to his promise. No wonder Garp had gone after him. He was almost impossible to recognize, Shanks reckoned he was a few years younger than he himself was at the moment, which would make him around 15 years older than this time's Luffy. In those years, he hadn't changed too much except for the width of his shoulders, the strength of his jaw line, his stubble, his height, his power, and maybe he had matured a little, that was a bit of a stretch though, Shanks chucked to himself. There was definitely something different in his personality though, it was more developed, something had happened.

"Where are we headed?" Luffy suddenly asked, interrupting Shanks's train of thought.

"One of my crew members wanted a new sword; we're going to go pick one up." Shanks replied.

"Ahhhhhh ok." Luffy said before leaning back down, looking like he was going back to sleep, apparently not finding the topic all that interesting.

Geez that boy, thought Shanks, he had the simplest mind out of anyone he knew. But he couldn't help, but be fond of him, and proud of what he would become.

"Shanks?" Luffy began, looking up. "Can you do a favour for me?"

"Sure, what is it?" he replied puzzled, Luffy sounded different, serious almost.

"Could you help me, save my brother...?"

(A/N) There it is, I hope you enjoyed.

I replied to all the reviews except the guest review via private messaging.

Guest reviewer: I don't want to rush this too much, I'm estimating the Ace revival part will be within the next 5 chapters. Sound good? Thanks for your review and support.

I actually woke up after writing the last chapter and saw all the Reviews and Follows and Favourites and got so excited Thank you all!

Thank you again, so so much!

TATA!

UmbraAurumDragon Out!