it's okay, it's okay (if you're lost)
"Hi! I'm home!"
The door falling shut behind him, Ace quickly toed off his shoes, making his way into the kitchen where he could hear the welcome sound of Sabo preparing dinner.
"Luffy not home yet?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe and noting the curious absence of a salivating little boy.
Sabo looked up from where he was expertly cubing onions and the expression on his face immediately let Ace stand up straight. "What's wrong?" he asked, worry pooling in his stomach.
His blonde brother quickly made shushing movements and motioned for him to come further into the kitchen. "Luffy had a fight at school," he quietly told Ace, once the other had settled down on the small table opposite him. "Apparently Usopp doesn't want to be part of his friend group anymore. Something about Luffy wanting to abandon the Going Merry."
Ace frowned. The Going Merry was the very old and dilapidated treehouse at the back of Luffy's school that his little brother and his friends had declared their hide-out during the first term of primary school nearly two years ago. Not a day went by without some tale of the adventures the group had up there. Ace and Sabo sometimes worried whether their little brother spent more time in the treehouse than in his classroom.
"That can't be right," Ace said, a disbelieving look on his face, but Sabo shrugged.
"Apparently the Merry took quite some damage in the storm last night. Luffy's teacher forbade them from climbing up today. I haven't been round myself yet to look at it - but from what Luffy says, it sounds bad."
Ace frowned in sympathy for his little brother. "There has to be some way of fixing her up. I'll go check it out on the weekend."
"I'll come with you," Sabo agreed. "But we shouldn't get our hopes up. There's talk of tearing her down entirely and just building a new treehouse. That's what's got Usopp so upset. It was his best friend's favourite place before she had to move away to get treatment in Canada last year."
Ace sighed. "Okay, we'll see about that. So where's Luffy?"
"In his room," Sabo said, the unhappy expression on his face likely rivalling Luffy's. "I tried coaxing him out and making him sit with me, but there was just no way. I'm making his favourite now." He nodded to the pieces of steak lying in wait to be fried on the kitchen counter.
Smiling at Sabo, Ace stood up. "That'll cheer him up for sure. I'll see what I can do in the meantime. Thanks Sabo."
And clapping the blonde on the shoulder, Ace left the kitchen in search of their youngest sibling.
When Ace entered Luffy's room, the sight that greeted him was so far from Luffy's usual, boisterous self that he wondered whether his little brother had fallen ill on top of everything. His careful knock going entirely ignored, Ace picked his way through the various toys strewn all over the floor, finally settling down on the edge of Luffy's mattress. Gently, he placed his hand on the back of the little boy who was currently lying face-down on his coverlet, still completely unresponsive.
"Luffy," Ace called quietly, rubbing his hand in a tiny circle. "Hey."
Worry getting the better of him, he reached out with his other hand and felt for Luffy's forehead when the boy finally turned his head sideways to look at Ace, a completely blank look on his face.
"Ace …," he murmured and it was with no small amount of relief that Ace saw the beginnings of a tiny frown appearing on Luffy's face. Anything was better than the catatonic state Luffy tended to enter when he was depressed.
He smiled sadly down at his little brother. "Hey, what's going on? I heard something happened at school?"
Once again, the response was slow in coming, but eventually Luffy was biting his lower lip, his eyes filling up with tears as he looked up at Ace. It was impossible not to pick him up, the heaving sobs starting in earnest once Ace had settled the two of them against the headboard.
"U-u-usopp," Luffy eventually hiccuped, clutching his brother's shirt between his fists and stretching the material, "h-he d-doesn't w-want to be my f-friend anym-more …"
The big sobs almost seemed to choke him for a moment, resulting in no small amount of panic and a desperate wish for Sabo on Ace's part. What on earth had come over him, thinking that he could handle this on his own?
Rubbing Luffy's back, Ace started to make shushing noises, rocking Luffy slightly as he tried to calm him down. "It's alright, you've still got us, everything'll be alright …"
Eventually, the sobs turned into sniffles, their sound succeeding no less at tugging at Ace's heartstrings.
"Horrible day, huh?" he eventually murmured.
There was a tiny nod. "Iceburg-sensei told us we c-can't go back on the M-merry because she is too damaged and that there is n-no way to make her b-better," Luffy's voice wobbled dangerously on the last word. "H-He says we'll get h-hurt if we try climbing her again - b-but Usopp didn't want to l-listen."
Ace leaned his cheek against the top of Luffy's head. "Okay," he muttered, signalling for Luffy to continue.
"H-he thinks it's his fault the M-merry can't be fixed, because l-last week our class m-money got nicked when he was supposed to be w-watching. B-but Iceburg-sensei told me and Nami that Merry can't get better no m-matter what."
"So you told Usopp you wanted to switch to a new hide-out anyway?" It all made sense now. Never one to be able to stand the pain of people close to him, Luffy had tried shifting the blame for the fate of the Merry onto himself. "Oh, Luffy …"
Bursting into fresh tears, Luffy once again buried his face against Ace's chest. "And now Usopp wants to l-leaaave …"
Ace spent another couple of minutes trying to calm down his inconsolable little brother, tightening his arms as heartbroken little sobs racked the tiny body.
"It'll be okay," he eventually said, when the sobs had subsided enough for Ace to be heard again. "I promise you. Usopp will understand. He's probably had quite a nasty shock, but he's not stupid, he'll see what you did."
Ace carded his hand through Luffy's hair, as the little boy sat up on his stomach, still sniffling. "He's sad because of Kaya."
Ace gave a sad smile. For all his seeming simplicity his little brother was surprisingly insightful when it came to the feelings of his friends and family. "Yes," he agreed. "But he'll see that he doesn't need the Merry to remember her. What you tried to do for Usopp was incredibly kind, Luffy, he's lucky to have a friend like you."
Luffy still looked crestfallen, avoiding Ace's gaze and staring at his hands which were still clenched in his brother's shirt. "He doesn't think so anymore."
Gently, Ace stroked back the black fringe from Luffy's forehead. "He will," he said and the absolute certainty in his voice finally appeared to spark a little bit of hope in Luffy's eyes.
There was a quiet knock on the door and Sabo peeked around the doorframe. "Dinner's ready - if you are."
Smiling at the beginning excitement on Luffy's face, even if still subdued, Ace nodded and carefully got up, shifting Luffy to his hip in the process. "Come on. Everything'll look better after food."
And it did.
we're all a little lost (and it's alright)
Author's Note: I was feeling slightly blue - and this came out of it. Hope you enjoyed!
Ace and Sabo are around 17, Luffy is around 7. Title of the story is taken from Nightbirde's "It's OK" - go check it out if you have the time, it's absolutely beautiful.
