•Hey guys! I really enjoy writing this story, and it has a long way to go, but I know you'll like it! For those waiting for Lawlu, please be patient, since I will need some buildup before I introduce him. Please enjoy the romance along the way ;) Anyway, won't keep you long, here's ch 2!•

—The clear, crystal lake sparkles in the bright rays of the sun. In the vast, lush, green forest that surrounds it, life chirps and barks and squeaks happily. The grass swishes and sways. From the sky, a single drop of rain falls, creating a ripple in the tranquil.—

2. Missing

Three days have passed.

It is March 1st. A Wednesday.

Luffy is at school, chin resting on his palm, elbows on table. Although it may not seem like it to his classmates, he listens intently at the lecture of his least favorite teacher, Mr. Smoker, who teaches art. It's weird, how the man got involved in the elective, as no one knew exactly how this came to be. But all of the students knew that he hated his job, and hated it with a strong, bright, burning passion. Maybe for the money he stayed, or maybe to get the joy out of assigning the students with difficult projects every other day, who knew? Because Luffy sure as hell didn't.

All of the classrooms didn't have desks and chairs for seats, oh no, the school has too many funds to spend for such low quality trash. Instead, Grand Line High School invested in large stairs for every classroom, and each row having a large, wide, smooth wooden table for students to work at, with benches behind these. There were cases of stairs in the middle and on either side of these new 'desks'. About three could sit in each. Luffy, wanting to be as far as possible from the teacher in front of him, sits at the highest row in the back.

Smoker did not care that the boy didn't seem to be paying attention, and would probably give him another C for whatever crap project the boy had to turn in. He droned on and on, knowing he was simply milking the subject for all its worth at the point, but he didn't care because it would end in a project. A big one. The white haired instructor would assign it right before spring break, one due the Monday they came back. He turns his back on the few students to smile as he drew an example on the whiteboard.

It was his last hour, the final class before freedom and Ace, and it took everything in his being to adequately listen to the long, boring lecture about shading and lighting. Soon, against Luffy's will, his eyes started to roll around the small class, taking in everyone's features as best he could from his lonesome seat in the top right corner.

There was a green haired man, one with a tense back and square, built shoulders. He was intently looking at a book about swords five rows down and on the left side. Black orbs switch to another. A black haired woman with wide, shining eyes and a pale face was staring at him with a light blush on her face from three rows down. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Another female with dark blue hair, styled in a top knot, her large eyes framed with red rimmed glasses, was listening intently at the teacher's dronings. She was the only student in the class, and, mostly likely school, that Mr. Smoker honestly liked. Refraining from a loud snort as she jots down notes in the front of the classroom on the left, his wide eyes move yet again. Some man with large, curly locks and skinny, long limbs sat two rows down, staring at some magazine and holding a bloody tissue to his nose. Crinkling his nose in disgust, Luffy looks away to the final female in the classroom. Long, obsidian colored haired and reserved, tall and pale, this teen was the only one Luffy didn't mind being there. Her wise, dark blue eyes and small smiles told everyone that she was much more mature than she looked. She only half listened to the words gushing out of their teacher's mouth like a roaring river, instead focusing her attention on some strange notebook in front of her. She sat near no one in particular, and occupied the seat directly opposite of Luffy— the one at the top left.

She didn't bother him, so he didn't bother her.

The school day had been long and boring, completely devoid of anything interesting or exciting. It was excruciatingly dull, the kind of school day that as soon as Luffy walks into school, he wants to walk out. His only motivation was Ace. And he was going to see him again, very soon.

It was enough to drive him insane. Just when Luffy was about to snap, pull his teeth out, and try a hand at igniting desks as his brother would've done, the bell rang. That sweet, joyous sound that ringed throughout the school that screamed free at last, and made Luffy jump from his seat, his eyes, once dead, now alive.

Ace! He finally, finally, finally gets to see Ace!

He runs out the classroom before everyone else, as he does everyday, but no one pays attention to the rushing teen. Inside of the hallway is a mess, boisterous teens crowding everywhere, pushing and shoving to get to their lockers, but it was okay.

It was alright.

He'd be okay.

They'd be alright.

And it was when Luffy finally reached his locker in the second floor that he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He would finally see his brother! It was only seven hours, but he missed the freckled older.

Ace was his sunlight, illuminating his dark world. This crap school, the crap students, the crap teachers, the crap rooms, the crap studies, the everything— in comparison to his brother they were little to nothing. The only reason they were given even an iota of thought in his world was due to the dedication Ace gave to his education. Gritting his teeth, the dark haired senior closes his locker forcefully. It was like education meant nothing to him, he realized. Luffy didn't really care about what he was to become. It was Ace who did, and because he loved his brother, he would live up to his expectations as best he could.

He wanted him to be happy.

If getting an education would accomplish the feat, then he would get one, no questions asked.

So why was he doubting himself?

Soon, the feeling of anger and doubtfulness left him, and with every step to the stairs, to the exit, his heart beat louder. His steps, lighter. His eyes, wider. His hands, shaking from joy. Clenched hands grip his backpack painfully.

Ace.

Ace.

Ace!

Joining the crowd which walked briskly towards the parking lot, Luffy breaks into a wide smile. Bright yellow blinds him and he finally leaves the darkness behind, stepping into the light, towards Ace. He would be standing near the bottom of the steps, to the left, where the girls would droll as they walked by, some even taking pictures. Grinning at them, winking sometimes. Where he would grip the hat he wore sometimes, or nervously run a hand through his hair at the massive crowd. Where he would either be leaning on the column, searching for me, or his eyes looking far into the distance. He would be there—

He is not.

It was as if time slowed down and ceased to be. The speed of the students reduced to none, and it was only Luffy and the empty space, devoid of his brother. Everyone else was blacked out, unseeable, untouchable, irrelevant, undeniably insignificant against the absence of his older brother. His eyes were wide and confused. Ace had never, ever, ever missed coming to pick him up. He had it infused into Luffy that being late was inexcusable, something not accepted in today's society. To be late means to fail.

And here Ace was, not here. His heart raced, and something crashed into him from behind, causing him to fall down the busy stairs. Immediately he stood, coal eyes flashing angrily, looking left and right from the culprit. It was useless, for the gush of students made it impossible to locate one of the hundreds. Grunting as he got himself together, the teen rushed to the side to avoid being trampled over, and told himself over and over to regather his thoughts.

His brother wasn't here. That fact alone set off alarm bells in his head. Fighting the urge to call the police, the teen's eyes moved to the usual spot Ace always managed to get, the one to the far left of the parking lot. Widening his eyes, Luffy gulped.

It wasn't his car.

Ace wasn't even here.

Shakily, Luffy tried one last resort— searching the large parking lot. Worried and hurried eyes searched the parking lot carefully, picking his way through the streams of moving cars and people. Nothing, nothing, nothing. He wasn't at the bottom of the stairs, he wasn't his spot, he wasn't in the parking lot.

There would be a lot to update his Calendar on today.

Backing up fearfully, the dazed teen takes off in a dead sprint to New World College. Surely, Ace was there at least. It would make no sense for him no to be anywhere else besides home. Cursing at the wetness on his cheeks, Luffy flew past cars and people to get to the designated building about ten minutes away.

—•—

"Ace?" asked the blonde incredulously.

Luffy had searched the school top to bottom, its hidden hallways and doors stalling the worried for another ten minutes. He honestly thought of simply giving up and leaving to search his home when he finally got sight of his brother's closest friend in the library.

Smiling in relief, the black haired asked Marco for information regarding the location of his brother, as it was practically his job to ensure Ace didn't "accidentally" light something he found frustrating. Luffy was grateful. Now however, was a completely different situation, one the teen prays never happens again in his lifetime.

Glancing at the hopeful ball of sunshine, the man sighs. "The man didn't even come to school today. I honestly have no idea where he is, he never left a text."

The face Luffy made the blonde very, very nervous. Scratching the back of his head cautiously and shifting his narrow eyes to the aisle of books, the man continued. "What, has anything happened?"

Emotions swelled within the younger, threatening to tear him apart from the sheer intensity. His breath came out in small bursts of hot air, his eyes shadowed, his fists clenching and unclenching. Where is he? It wasn't a joke anymore, and if it is, it's some sick, twisted one that Luffy was sure not to forgive easily. It hurt, his heart, it yearned for the sight of his brother again. Seven simple hours turned into eight, and the darkness from school took over him again. Without responding, the teen turned on his heel and left the prying gaze of the taller man.

Marco watched the young man leave, exiting the library, and soon the school. He went to a nearby window to see his small frame running across the parking lot, undeniably in the direction of their apartment. A sorrowful countenance. A turn of the head and a nod to the shadows. "He's gone."

A sneeze, a cough, a wheeze. Sighing, the blonde comes over and grabs a tissue from one of the five boxes his companion kept near him. A sharp nod with his chin, and a blowed nose later, the ruined tissue was thrown aside. A broken, raspy voice comes from the weak man. "Thanks...Marco."

Folding his arms and meaning against the smooth wood of the bookcase, Marco tilts his head back and tightly closes his eyes. "Goodness, Ace. Why not go to your suffering brother?"

A shaky smile spreads across the pale face of the dark haired man. "What do you think Luffy's initial reaction would be if he saw me like this?"

Lost in thought, the blonde placed delicate fingers on his chin. "Well, he'd be devastated."

Grunting softly in agreement, the freckled man looks downward. He couldn't let Luffy get caught up in his mess. Ace would rather Luffy deem him missing than him knowing his elder brother was sick. That, more than the latter, would definitely send Luffy over the edge.

Ace coughs fiercely into a shaking fist, and just the smallest amount of blood is present as he does so. Cursing softly, the man sighs. He had messed around with the wrong crowd. He had just wanted to make some quick cash, to help support Luffy, for his education, for their house, for their food. It was scary, running out of money, and Ace did not want to let that happen, under any circumstances.

He had ended up in jail.

It happened so fast— one minute he was simply standing in a store, buying a few groceries, then the next, all the civilians within the store were on the floor, under the threat of a gun. Police swarmed around the small convince store, asking the captors their demands. The very people who asked him to buy the things were there. Covered in black. Waving guns around. Firing warning shots. Ace being the only one left alone, standing. The people on the floor, forced to remain silent, were begging him with their eyes to save them.

It all happened so fast.

The next thing he knew, windows were being crashed into, guns were going off, crowds screaming, police storming, and Ace was put in cuffs. One long ride to Impel Down Police Station and an hour later, Ace was fitted in a prison uniform and thrown in a cell with other ruffians, much bigger and buffer than he. There, he was given murderous, blood lusting glares, which Ace subtly ignored. He sat, alone, wishing to be kept to himself. Because he knew that if he got off on the wrong foot with these guys, it could mean trouble. At the worse, more jail time.

He couldn't do that to Luffy.

So he sat, wishing for his innocence to be proven, if it would ever be proven. Now that Ace thought about it, he was doubtful. He was later told the costly admission to freedom. $100,000 was the bail money. Either that, or 5 years. Wide eyes. Why? Apparently, the officer told him, one of his 'comrades' killed someone, resulting in death, the family had pressed serious charges. Cursing his bad luck, and sending his regards to the family, Ace walks away with a hand to his forehead, trying to reduce his quickly growing headache.

What would become of Luffy? Forget financially, what could his poor brother do physically? Without him by his side?

Ace couldn't stand the thought. Luffy, oh Luffy, the boy would be so lost without him. So afraid, alone. It brought tears to his eyes. How could such an incompetent brother like him leave his poor younger brother?

He cried silently, making sure his roommates couldn't hear, couldn't see, lest he get dragged into a brawl. He was helpless. Completely and utterly helpless. How did it come to this? He thought of Luffy, his face, his tears, his sadness, his happiness. It all depended on Ace, and vice versa. To think that he put himself in this stupid situation made the freckled man sick. His worries of Luffy kept him up, and he sat in a dark corner, thinking.

It was now about three in the afternoon, he could tell by the sunlight, and the man scowled. By now, he would've been at Grand Line High, waiting for his brother to see him so he could drive home. Instead, he sat in the stuffy room for hours on end, alone and afraid. What had become of his 'buddies', he had no clue. The pale man took a shuddering breath before the creaking of the cell door could be heard, and all of the prisoners looked up with nervous glee, some even running towards the gate. There stood a man which Ace had never seen before, with styled dark hair. Caramel skin was decorated with swirling, artistic tattoos, which creeped out from beneath his crisp, white dress shirt. He stood in dark slacks and similarly colored dress shoes. Ace raised an eyebrow at the formality before looking away. What was someone of such a caliber that he dressed up to visit a jail doing here?

"Ace-ya, I presume?"

Stunned, Ace glance at the man again, who was looking in his direction with a blank expression. What did this stranger need with Ace? "I am he," came the response from Ace, standing up. His heart beat loudly against his chest. What was happening, what was happening, what was—

"You're free to go," says the stranger, nodding towards the door.

The prisoners went ballistic.

"Oi, oi, are you fucking kidding me?!"

"He just got here! What the hell, I've been here since '98!"

"Don't give me that bullshit. Like hell we're just gonna let him walk away!"

And the swarm attacked both him and the stranger, and it was like time slowed down, and everyone was still coming towards him, and that man who came for him moved so damn fast.

All of the prisoners were suddenly on the floor, cringing in agony, and Ace blinked, and the man was in front of him. Three seconds have passed.

"Come with me. You're free."

Not wanting to stay in the suddenly claustrophobic room any longer, the pale man followed his hero into the light.

The paperwork was done in a smooth five minutes, it's scary how fast and smoothly it went, nothing a good sweet talking could handle. Ace poured gratitude onto the humble adult, thanking him dearly and in abundance. As they exited the jail, Ace with a smile plastered on his face, and the tanned man with the same expressionless countenance, the wavy haired suddenly remembered something. "Oh, sorry, I don't think I caught your name, good sir."

The well dressed man contemplated for a bit before quietly responding. "Law." Turning on his heel, he says no more and quickly walks away.

Beaming, the freckled man waved at the serious male leaving his side. "I'll never forget this, Law! Honestly! Thank you!"

A hand went up, acknowledging the words, before he was out of sight forever. The reason for his bailing out, Ace never asked. He didn't really care. It was Luffy who he cared about. He couldn't wait to tell him about the crazy events he endured, so that they could add it to the Calendar. Just as he was on his way to Grand Line in a hurry, a shot rang out, hitting him straight in the chest. Doubling over, the wavy haired man grit his teeth at the intense, burning pain, coming so suddenly and blighting him. The pain then moved from his upper body to inside his chest, the burning bordering on unbearable and soon crossing it, and without a doubt, then, Ace realized.

He was going to die.

Frowning at his immense agony, the man decided against the going of to Luffy. There was no way in hell he would let his little brother see him in such a state. The only other option was his college, to see Marco, and maybe he'd know what to do about this. Walking hurt, breathing hurt, but thinking about Luffy hurt more, so he pushed on regardless. Thankfully, the school was not too far away, and he made it there in one piece. It was there where he meet Marco, who immediately got him sedated and settled in the far back of their school library, and the sickly had, somehow, managed to tell Marco his eventful day.

It scared Marco, honestly, his friend's condition and situation. He had Ace covered up in a light orange blanket, decorated with dots of its darker shade. The only thing visible was his face, which was undoubtedly pale, only the smallest of color on his cheeks due to his slowly rising temperature. Upon his dark locks laid a white rag, cold, to calm his fever. He had begged the school nurse for some Ibuprofen, which he then gave to Ace, hopefully to soothe some of the pain.

There was no way that his best friend was going to die. No possible way in heaven nor hell, nor in the stars, the ground, the planets, the galaxy. It was just not possible.

"Luffy would be very devastated," Ace agrees after a spell. "That's why I want to make..." Another round of hacking coughs. A deep set frown tugs at the ends of the blonde's lips. He could see where this was going.

"Ace." His voice broke, unable to contain his emotion. It took everything in his being to keep the tears from flowing.

Lowering his eyes, the sickly man quietly speaks. "I'm sorry that I just appeared out of the blue and told you my circumstances and asked you to lie to Luffy and I'm so sorry—"

He was silenced by a crushing hug from his friend, his soft hair tickling Ace's ear. "Damn you," Marco says, holding Ace fiercely, protectively. "Damn you to hell. When you didn't come to school today, do you know how worried I felt? When you finally appeared I was so happy, you have no idea. Idiot, do you think I'd be mad?"

Marco pulls back with a sigh and looks at the freckled man with tears in his eyes, his hands firmly holding his shoulders. "I'd notice the disease from anywhere. You've caught Akainu, the non-contagious disease that slowly burns your organs from the inside out. It's...its incurable, Ace. I want to help you. I don't know how, but I want to. If lying to your brother is how I can help, then I'll do it happily."

The blanket covering the man slides off, and Marco's shaking hand finds the warm man's. "Ace, you're the world to me. Whatever you need, don't worry, I'm here. I'll be with you, so please..." Golden strands of hair move forward as he bends his head onto the Ace's lap. He was losing it, his control on his emotions. It was killing him, that he could do nothing. All he could do were his last requests. It was so maddeningly frustrating, the fact that Marco was helpless. He promised not to cry, to keep his emotions in check, no matter what happens. It wasn't working, it wasn't working, it wasn't fucking working, and the tears were sliding down his face and nothing could stop the force of gravity, nor the force of his sadness.

"So please," Marco begins, his voice cracking, "don't die."

His shaking, heaving sobs fill the empty library, the tears he kept back over the past half hour finally becoming lose. It hurt. It was as if his heart was just done with the world upon learning the fated news of his comrade. His friend. His—

With tear stricken eyes and contorted features, the man raises his head slowly. "I love you," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't leave me alone."

Ace was speechless as Marco wept loudly onto his lap, releasing the frustration and grief he had pent up within him, the very sound of his heart breaking being released into the air. The sickly man closed his eyes tiredly as the blonde's melancholy wails reach him. He strokes the back of his daffodil colored head, trying his best to comfort him, knowing that whether he did or not was irrelevant. He couldn't stop the wheels of time, and his death was inevitable, and that it would be sooner rather than later, and he just wanted more time, but it was cruelly taken from him, and to think he was the one causing Marco's breakdown. It angered him, that he was helpless, every bit as the older, and that they both had to suffer because of Akainu, hindering not only the people around him, but himself and Luffy.

Aces dark eyes become glassy as another heart wrenching sob shook the man on his lap. The sounds are gut wrenching, and his stomach twists when Marco grabs onto his shirt tighter. Unable to stand the unhappiness in the air, he places a hand on the crying man's. Tilting his chin up, salty with tears, with the other, Ace looks deep into his eyes, raw with conflicting emotion. Tears flow down his own pale face. "I'm sorry," the dark haired adult whispers. Fresh tears emerge from the both of them. It was the sickly man who closed the distance between them, brushing their lips together in a bittersweet fashion, the soft kiss saying the things both left unsaid. It was short and sweet, the kind which one gave after a date, promising to see the other again soon.

Ace didn't have that kind of time.

Marco ignored the searing pain in his heart as he returned the kiss with fervor. He had been waiting, waiting so long for Ace to return his feelings. But now, the realization had come much too late, and it hurt to realize the undeniable fact. Only their lips touched, as they held each other passionately. Not only for love, but for support, for their own safety and sanity, in hopes they don't get lost in the whirlpool of emotions sucking them down into the deep abyss of depression.

After the short ten or so seconds, the two break apart, synchronizing in quiet breaths. A large smile spreads across Ace's face, his cheeks even redder, happiness in his eyes. "I've wanted to do that for such a long time," he admits sleepily. The bluntness of the statement causes surprise to flicker in the eyes of the older, and opens his mouth to agree, when he suddenly finds the freckled man asleep. Smiling, Marco begins to run his nimble fingers through the thick, wavy locks.

A moan, a groan. Turn right, turn left, stay. Furrowed eyebrows and a disgruntled sound. Discomfort written on his face.

Right, Marco thinks. His firelight. He had mentioned it to him once, how it had mysteriously turned up on his doorstep one day, and ever since, had used it to sleep at night. Without it, he couldn't sleep peacefully.

How was he to get it if Luffy was home? He did not want the younger brother to realize Ace was with him. Sighing, the blonde carried the sick man bridal style and, without another word, proceeded to carry the man towards his own home. He would go back to his light later, and maybe feed Luffy another lie. It would help Ace, right?

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Believe.

Ace was going to be alright, no matter what, all he had to do was believe.

Marco says that, yet curses himself for doubting.

•That was the longest chapter I have ever written in my history of fanfiction, ever, and no, that's not the reason it took so long to update. It was writer's block and being a busy bee. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, bye lovelies!•