A/N: Okay, wow, your response was... overwhelming. (In an awesome way that makes me want to hug all of you.) Thanks, guys.
"I want you to live."
Luffy made it sound so simple... his voice was blunt and cool, despite Ace trying to kill him so many times.
Ace's fingers curled into a fist. "You're lying." He whispered. "You couldn't want me to live."
Sabo bowed his head and eyed the ground unhappily. Why not? He wanted to shout. What's wrong with you being alive? But this was a problem that Ace and Luffy needed to sort out themselves. He couldn't intrude, no matter how much he wanted to grab his shoulders and shake all this stupidity out of him.
"It doesn't matter." Luffy's voice was firm in an oddly childish fashion. "Because being lonely is worse than death."
Sabo's head snapped up, surprise fluttering over his features at how this stupid, random kid could understand that... and phrase it so simply, as though it were something that everyone ought to have known. "You think that with Ace around, you won't be lonely?" His voice sounded scratchy and rough, and he idly wondered when he had started to talk like the people of the Gray Terminal. Not that it's a bad thing. He mentally corrected himself. In fact, I ought to be proud.
Luffy turned to stare at Ace, his features even and smooth as he replied calmly, "He's lonely, too, so he understands."
Ace jerked slightly, as though he had been tied to a string that Luffy had just jerked, and he demanded roughly, "What makes you think that?"
Luffy shrugged. "I just know." He replied, simply, confused, as though everyone could tell when somebody else was feeling lonely.
Sabo stood up. "I'm not enough." He conceded.
Ace's eyes flickered over to him, confused. "What do you mean, you're not enough?" He demanded. "You're more than enough, Sabo."
"I'm not." Sabo replied. "Just look at yourself. Do you really think that I'm enough, if I couldn't stop you from..." He trailed off as he glanced at Luffy, and swallowed. "I'm not enough." He repeated regretfully.
"If you're not enough, then there's no such thing as enough!" Ace snarled forcefully.
"There is an 'enough', but I'm not it, and we both know that!" Sabo snapped. "You can't stay like this any longer, pretending that you're okay! I'm sick and tired of watching you mess yourself up, isn't the whole world doing that already?"
"I'm not messing myself up." Ace insisted, scowling.
"Yeah, right." Sabo laughed humorlessly. "Look at yourself, Ace."
They both fell silent, glaring at each other, before Luffy cut in with the innocent question of, "Why can't Ace let people help him?"
Ace's eyes flickered over to Luffy and he replied testily, "Because Ace doesn't need help."
"Everyone needs help." Luffy replied. "That's what Makino says, at least."
"Makino?" Ace echoed.
"Sounds like good advice." Sabo agreed as he shot Ace a pointed look. "Doesn't that sound like good advice, Ace?"
"I don't need help." Ace insisted. "Especially not Luffy's. Look at this guy! He's an idiot, and a kid. What could he do to help me?"
"He told you that he wanted you to live." Sabo replied. "Isn't that enough?"
"How is that supposed to help, then?" Ace demanded.
"It reminds you that there are people who care."
Ace glowered at the ground. "I don't deserve to have people care about me." He replied quietly.
"You do." Sabo replied angrily.
"I don't." Ace snarled.
Luffy wrapped his hand around Ace's. "Why doesn't Ace deserve to have people care about him?" He asked, childish confusion lining his voice.
"He does." Sabo replied harshly. "He's just an idiot."
Luffy frowned. "Ace, stop being an idiot." He said.
"I'm not an idiot, you idiot!" Ace snapped.
"If you're not an idiot, then why don't you understand how much we care about you and how much you deserve it?" Sabo retorted.
"Because I don't deserve it!" Ace replied angrily.
"Stop!" Luffy cut in, his voice shaking slightly as his hand tightened around Ace's. "Ace, you're important to me. I want you to live, and Sabo really wants you to know that he cares about you. So if you care about Sabo and me, say okay."
Ace opened his mouth to argue, but at Sabo's pointed scowl, cast a defeated look to the ground. "...Okay." He finally mumbled, his voice barely over a whisper.
Sabo smiled in satisfaction, as Luffy gave a laugh of relief.
And suddenly, the scars on Ace's arms almost didn't seem to matter.
A/N: Quick clear up, this is right after the Bluejam incident (the first one, I mean), and Luffy still doesn't know that Ace is a cutter. That'll take place later. Sorry these chapters are short... (and bad, but you guys are still here so I'm assuming that you're okay with bad writing?).