So many senpai reviewed my story! I feel honored Thankyouthankyouthankyou!

Anyway, here you have the Modern AU :D

Ace gazed at the swirling water, 300 feet below where he was currently sitting on the railing of a bridge. It splashed against the rocks, leaving them soaked and slippery.

This is it.

Ace took a deep breath and prepared to push off of the railing.

"You're going to jump?" He turned in the direction of the voice.

There was a man standing a few feet away to his left. Ace hadn't heard him coming. His blond hair was ruffled slightly by the wind, and his piercing blue eyes shone brightly in the moonlight. Ace met that gaze with a blank one of his own. No, blank wasn't the right word. His eyes were dead. Bottomless, emotionless pools of grey.

"What's it to you if I am?" He asked in a calm tone. The man shrugged, walked up to the railing, and leaned on it.

"Nothing, I guess. Don't you have someone to go home to?" Ace turned away, and looked back at the water.

"That's none of your business," he retorted. The blond hummed.

"No, I guess it isn't, is it?" The man looked up, gaze leaving Ace. "I like to come here to watch the stars sometimes," he said in a quiet voice. Indeed, Ace had to admit that the stars stood out. Pale, bright lights against the pitch-black fabric of the sky. In the distance, he could see blinking lights sent out by airplanes, and outlines of skyscrapers. The quiet of the night was only disturbed by the occasional sound of a car engine. "My name's Marco, by the way." Ace glanced at him again. The man had turned his head to look at him.

"Ace," he answered reluctantly. It couldn't hurt to give this man his name, after all, could it?

"Nice to meet you, Ace." Said boy clenched his fists on the railing so tightly, that the bones of his knuckles stood out against moonlight-bathed skin. "So, why do you want to jump?" Ace stayed silent for a few moments.

"Why do you want to know?" he countered. Once more, the man- no, Marco- shrugged.

"I just thought that maybe there's a story behind it." Ace didn't answer right away, wondering what he could possibly say.

"My brother, Luffy, moved to the other side of the country. We don't really keep in touch any more. It kind of feel as though I've lost him. My adopted grandfather, Luffy's biological grandfather, wants me to enlist in the Marines, and what I say completely doesn't matter. 10 years ago, my brother Sabo died, and I was partly responsible. My father was a despised criminal. My mom died right after my birth. I just feel that, whatever I do, I can never live up to anyone's expectations. That I can never be good enough." Ace chuckled wearily. There was more, of course, but he wouldn't just go spilling his whole life's story to a total stranger. "Stupid, right? They're such little things… but I don't really feel like I have a reason to live anymore…" he broke off. Marco shook his head.

"It's not stupid. Sometimes, it's the little things that hurt the most." Their eyes met. Marco's- a vibrant blue that resembled the daytime sky, and Ace's- grey like the pavement Marco was standing on. "I don't think you should jump, though." Ace turned his face away to look at the water again. If it had been peaceful before, it certainly wasn't anymore. The water had started churning, and Ace could no longer see the jagged rocks below. Each oncoming wave was slightly bigger than the last. It looked as though a storm was coming.

"Why?" It was all he said. A simple question that conveyed all of his current thoughts.

"Because you're human. You deserve a chance at happiness." Ace's jaw clenched so hard, that he heard bones creak.

"You don't even know me…" he muttered. Marco hummed.

"Have you ever been to Hawaii? I heard it's amazing. There are lots of tropical plants you can't see in many other places. Or Europe? I, personally, want to go to Italy. I know people who lived there, and they say that the pizza and spaghetti…" Ace tuned out what Marco was saying as tears started gathering in his eyes. He was a complete stranger. He knew next to nothing about him, but he still tried to convince him not to end his life, when most people wouldn't have spared him a second glance. The first tears slipped from his eyes and dropped down into the river below.

"How would you like to come to my house tonight? I heard they're going to be playing all of the parts of 'Die Hard' throughout the night. If you still want to kill yourself in the morning, I won't stop you." And, for the first time in a long time, Ace smiled sincerely. He let go of the metal his fingers were wrapped around and turned to get off of the railing. The moment his feet touched the ground, he felt… free. Cared about, for the first time in a long time. It was a feeling had didn't remember experiencing ever before. He gazed into those vibrant eyes for a minute or two.

"…Yeah. I think I'd like that."

Why, oh why can I not seem to write anything happy?