Reply to Anon (Guest): Actually, I'm planning on writing him with the Whitebeards... but I don't know if I'll actually get that far, since this is just a side story.
When morning came, Ace had long since given up on trying to hide his scars.
"What's he going to think?" He repeated miserably. "It's not that important..."
"Too late." Sabo's voice was sharp as he pulled Ace back from the exit of the treehouse. "He's waking up."
"...Ace?" Luffy's voice was faint as his eyes flickered over to Ace's arms. "Wha-"
Ace's breathing hitched. "I can't do this." He muttered. "Sabo..."
"Who did this to you?" Luffy demanded, already racing forwards and tracing his fingers angrily over Ace's arms.
"Lu..." Ace pulled Luffy's hands away from his arms. "...nobody did this to me."
"Oh." Luffy frowned. "Then they're mystery scars?"
Sabo let out a choked laugh, and replied unhappily, "No, Lu, Ace did this to himself."
Luffy laughed at that. "Why would Ace hurt himself?" He asked, "There's no way that he would do that."
Ace's features twisted in worry, and he pulled away. "Sorry, Lu." He mumbled. "It's true."
Luffy's laugh sounded a little fainter as he pulled Ace closer to himself, and repeated, "Why would you hurt yourself?"
"I didn't know that there were people who cared." Ace replied quietly.
"But you know now, right?" Luffy's voice darkened as he pressed Ace's arm against his chest. "You get it now, right?"
Ace looked away, and repeated the same promise that the had told Sabo, "I won't do it anymore... I promise."
"But you get that we care about you, right?" Luffy persisted, his voice deepening to a growl. At Ace's silence, he pressed on, "You get it, right?"
Ace bit his lower lip. "I'm learning to." He replied softly. "Just... just give me some time, and I'll get it right."
Luffy's eyes swept over Ace's features, as though searching for any trace of a lie, and then he asked, "Promise?"
"Promise." Ace replied.
"Because now you have brothers." Luffy smiled.
"Yes," Ace returned the smile. "Now, I have brothers."
A/N: So... life still hasn't gone away. (cue general unhappiness) Sorry these chapters keep getting shorter and shorter... thanks for reading!