1.) Lilo
This is a bit different than normal. You see a bunch of stories where Ace takes a younger Luffy with him when he sets sail, or they set sail together, but nothing like this. So hope you enjoy, and please keep an open mind. Sabo still 'dies' but I won't go over it because that is just painful for me. So this is all that will be touched on in their childhood. Hope you like it. Also check out Stormy1x2 story Ten Years Difference it is amazing, and helped spark inspiration for this story. Thank you!!
—(xXx)—
Luffy sucked on his lips as he stared.
He wasn't sure how to react. He had been living with the Mountain Bandits for two years, utterly bored and lonely.
He had often wandered around in the forest getting stronger so he wouldn't be eaten by the other animals in the forest. But he was alone. He hated the bandits, so he stayed away from them.
Unfortunately leaving him alone.
But now he wasn't alone! Gramps had brung another boy to the bandits!...But...But he was so little.
Luffy didn't know a human could get that little.
Gramps had said his name was Ace and that he was two years old. And that Luffy was his new brother.
He loved the idea of someone else to be around, but, Ace was so tiny.
After Gramps had left the bandits had turned a tables on its side and slid it against the wall, before plopping Ace down behind it.
Luffy had stared.
And then a while later, Luffy heard it. The whimpers. Luffy had gotten up curiously before hefting himself up to pear over the edge.
The little baby was rubbing his eyes as he sat in the corner, and quietly crying.
Luffy's eyes had widened a bit before he pushed himself over the table, landing in a haphazard pile on the other side with a thump that made the baby look up.
Luffy had quickly untangled himself before darting over and leaning on his hands and knees to see the little boy's face better. The little baby looked startled and he still sniffles every few seconds.
"Hi! I'm Luffy. Don't be sad! I'm here now so you won't be alone anymore." He smiled wide and a laugh bubbled up in his throat.
Ace blinked at him before a one syllable word came out of him mouth. "Ah." He lifted his hand and set it on Luffy's head.
Luffy laughed.
He may be little and smaller than Luffy but Ace was the only other person here. There was no one else.
Luffy would protect him. Ace would be his friend.
It took Luffy a week to notice that Ace didn't eat meat like he did. Didn't really eat much of the food he did.
He had thought Ace was starving. Because there was nothing else there to eat.
Only after watching Dadan take several of the food and mash them up into a disgusting looking mush and give it to Ace, who seemed to grimace before digging in did he realize that no Ace wasn't starving.
It was also at that point that he realized Ace didn't like what he was eating.
So Luffy decided to do something about it.
Next time Dadan made the mush he watched very closely while he gorged himself on his own food.
Dadan seemed to grab a variety of everything, mushed it, then threw it all in a bowl.
The next time Luffy started doing it before he ate his own food. He grabbed a little of everything, mushed it up, and separated it in the bowl.
When he had gone over to Ace and given it to him, the smile that Luffy had started to be able to make Ace show just by being around him appeared on Ace's face, before the small baby looked down at the bowl he was usually fed out of.
Luffy watched him as Ace titled his head before hesitantly tasting it. Once a bit of it was in the little one's mouth a grin appeared on his face and the baby started to eat with a gusto and smile he never had before.
Luffy's own smile stretched on his face and he laughed.
Ace's happiness while eating, which was important, was totally worth the small bowl of rice as the only food he was able to grab that night.
Luffy glanced over at Ace who, noticing Luffy's attention, smiled wide with a small tilt of his head.
Yea. Totally worth it.
—(xXx)—
Ace smelled.
Luffy didn't know what to do about it.
Ace also started to have patches on his skin covered in dirt and his hair looked really shiny. Usually when Luffy got like that he used a puddle to wash it off but Ace hadn't gone outside and there were no puddles inside.
So how was Ace supposed to get the dirt off?
An idea popped into Luffy's head and he jumped up. He ran to the little kitchen area in Dadan's hut and grabbed a rag off the table.
He then ran outside, hearing Ace's confused babbling behind him, and kept running until he got to the river. Dadan didn't like Luffy using the water the Bandits hauled in buckets from the river. So this would have to work.
He ran back, careful not to drop the rag, before going behind Ace's table again.
The baby's face lit up at seeing Luffy again and Luffy smiled back before holding out the rag to Ace, who looked at it confused.
"It's for the dirt. To wash it off." Luffy said as he set it in the baby's lap. Ace it picked it up and looked at Luffy, tilting his head.
Maybe he needed a demonstration? "Like this." Luffy spoke as he rubbed his hand as if it was a rag on his face.
Ace blinked before bringing his hand up and copying Luffy by rubbing it on his own face. Luffy stopped. "Uh..." He looked down at the rag and picked it up again before putting it in Ace's hand and making it connect to Ace's cheek.
Ace blinked again before giggling as Luffy made the rag move up and down on his cheek.
Luffy smiled and retreated his hand as he watched Ace continue to rub his own cheek.
Luffy then helped Ace after each patch of dirt was cleaned off, to clean the next.
Luffy smiled at Ace as the little one giggled.
Dadan found them both asleep curled close to each other still behind the table.
She rolled her eyes exasperatedly before going to catch some sleep.
"I'm putting you in charge of Ace." Luffy stared at Dadan as she spoke. For once paying attention. She was talking about Ace after all.
"What?" Luffy was confused though. He wouldn't mind being in charge of Ace, but he honestly didn't know what to do.
Dadan didn't seem to hear him, or just ignored him. "Of course I'll have to supervise for a day or two. Plus you'll need to be told of how to take care of a two year old though you kind of do it already.."
She wasn't lying really. Luffy had taken to feeding Ace at every meal, helping him clean himself when he was dirty, and constantly played with him. Though the kid still had to learn a few more things.
"Huh?" Came Luffy's oh so intelligent response.
Dadan sighed. She had a long way to go.
—(xXx)—
Later on that night Luffy laid on his stomach as he stared at Ace, who played with a rag and a stick. Smiling occasionally over at him.
"It takes a lot to take of you." Luffy mumbled, but he then sat up and crawled over to Ace sitting beside him as Ace smiled at him.
Luffy smiled back. "But if it's for Ace I don't mind." He hugged the little one to him, who made a sound of surprise and disapproval and tried to squirm away. "You're my little brother, after all." Gramps had said so.
Ace looked up at Luffy's smiling face and stopped squirming before sinking into Luffy's side.
Yes. Ace was Luffy's brother. Luffy would make sure Ace knew that forever. And he would take care of his little brother.
—(xXx)—
Ace was three and Luffy found out that Ace would grow too. Just like him.
It was awesome.
What wasn't awesome was that Ace hadn't spoke yet.
Luffy had taken Ace out into the woods not too far away from Dadan's and started pointing at everything he could and telling Ace what it all was. Ace held onto his hand, listening to Luffy with a calm and blank face on.
Luffy pulled the three year old into a clearing and had plopped down in front of Ace facing the little one. Frustrated and a little hopeless.
Dadan said it was bad if Ace wouldn't speak. She said it could hurt Ace. He didn't want Ace hurt.
Ace sat down in front of him and titled his head a little to be able to see his older brother's slightly downturned face.
"I don't get it Ace. Why won't you talk? I tried everything I could. I don't want you to be hurt." Luffy spoke and sighed.
Ace blinked up at his brother's face, before moving. Slowly crawling into Luffy's lap and looking straight into Luffy's eyes, who watched curious as to what the younger was doing.
Ace raised his hands and placed one on each of Luffy's cheeks and opened his mouth. Luffy's eyes widened a little. "'uffy." Ace nodded to him like he was telling Luffy what his name was, just like Luffy had been doing with everything they had come across for the past two hours.
Ace then let go of one of his cheeks and grabbed Luffy's hand instead, raising it to Ace's chest. "Bro'dur."
Luffy stared for a moment before smiling so wide he started to laugh. He felt a prickling at the edge of his eyes, but he ignored it. Ace made a slightly confused and worried sound at Luffy's tears. Why was his big brother crying when he was laughing?
Ace let go of Luffy's cheek and poked the other where his hand was instead. "Sad?"
Luffy looked at Ace with a huge smile, "No I'm not sad Ace! I'm happy! You said my name! You called me your brother!"
Ace smiled a little and nodded. "Bro'dur!"
Luffy copies him. Nodding and saying the one word that meant the most to him at the moment. "Brother."
—(xXx)—
Luffy learned quickly that Ace loved being outside.
After he learned that he barely made Ace stay inside.
When Ace was close to turning four Luffy started showing him how to hunt and protect himself in the woods.
An eleven year old Luffy and a four year old Ace soon dominated the forest. They still couldn't defeat the king beasts but every other creature was fair game.
A couple months ago Ace and Luffy had decided to wander into the forest as far as they could. They didn't regret it because they found a new place to explore. The Gray Terminal.
They started going there everyday. Getting more used to the hike every time.
Then they met Sabo. He looked to be a little older than Luffy but was actually the same age.
Luffy had latched into him, even if Ace was a little skeptic, and jealous even if that was quickly gotten over when Sabo started to become both of their friends.
Growing up around Luffy had made Ace want to be a Pirate.
So both ravens attached themselves to Sabo when they found out Sabo wanted to be a pirate as well.
They started saving a pirate fund, from pickpocketing, which they soon found out Ace was pretty good at But Luffy was terrible. They had gotten into one or two situations because of him.
—(xXx)—
Ace had wandered off on his own. Something was nagging at him. Garp had visited and told him about who his father was.
Don't get him wrong he loved Luffy and he knew Luffy loved him, the rubber idiot told him so several times a day, but it kept nagging at him in the back of his mind, what it meant to be Gol D. Roger's son.
So he left on his own and went to the Gray Terminal and he asked the men there. Someone who could tell him, since neither Sabo nor Luffy would be able to.
He had asked the simple question that 'What if Gol D. Roger had a son?'
They had laughed. Inadvertently called him a monster, a demon, someone who should never have been born.
He had felt so angry. More angry than he had ever felt before. So he punched them. He fought until he knocked them all out and ran.
He ran and ran and ran. He didn't stop until he crashed into someone. Glancing up in surprise for a moment before seeing it was Sabo, and burying his face into Sabo's chest.
"Hey. Hey little guy what wrong? We've been looking for you." Came the blonde's voice and he clutched Sabo's clothes tighter. His throat and eyes were burning.
Sabo felt a wetness on his chest and the quiet tremors running through Ace's body. He was so confused and worried but he wrapped his arms around the four year old tightly and let the younger clutch onto him.
After a moment had passed and Ace had started to calm a little, he spoke up. "Ace what's wrong? What's got you so upset?"
Ace didn't lift his head, but his words came out in a slightly choked and rushed stream. "Is it good I was born? Should I have never have been born?"
Sabo's breath left his lungs and he struggled to make them inhale. His eyes went wide. "Yes of course it's good!! What made you think it wouldn't be!?"
Ace sniffles and curled further into Sabo. "Garp said I'm a bad man's son. I wondered what it meant to be his son so I asked someone. They said I should never have been. They called me a demon! I'm a demon!" He was starting to become a little hysterical. Sabo wrapped his arms around the little boy tighter, with wide eyes and an open mouth.
He honestly didn't know what to do or say. He loved the little one, but how could he convince him of something the boy thought with so much conviction was the truth?
There was a snap from a twig and Sabo's eyes darted up to the source.
Luffy was standing there rigid, his face shadowed with his ever-present Strawhat, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
Luffy slowly looked up and met Sabo's eyes. Sabo was briefly startled at the righteous blinding hot anger in those eyes, but he understood. He was equally as angry. Angry at the ones who dared to call their youngest in their little group a demon. Even if it was a possibility that they did it unknowingly, they were still at fault.
But Ace needed them. Sabo's eyes forcefully softened and he glanced down at the crying four year old in his arms before looking back up at Luffy meaningly.
Luffy understood and his eyes softened to worry before he crossed the distance between them. Once he had sat beside Sabo the two worked the small boy into Luffy's lap. Ace let them move him and buried his face into his big brother's neck.
Luffy leaned his cheek against Ace's head and started rocking back and forth, almost unconsciously. "Ace we love you. We love that you were born. We love every part of you. Your Ace not whoever you dad is, or your Mom, or Gramps, or Dadan, or the other bandits, or Sabo, or me. You're Ace and we love Ace. If you're a demon then I am too because Ace grew up here and hasn't done anything else, just like me, Sabo would be too, we are all the same. Besides we'd love you if you were a demon, a bandit, a pirate, a marine, a noble, a tiger, a bear, a dog, a cat, a baby, or an adult. We love you. No matter who you are or what you are."
Sabo watched Luffy murmur words of comfort to their youngest. Ace had slowly started to unclench his hands from Luffy's clothes holding them instead in a loose grip. The tremors running through Ace's frame started to slow, and his breathing started to become less erratic.
Sabo decided to speak up. "Yea. Luffy's right. You Ace we love you regardless of where you came from."
Ace's breath hitched and he looked up at his brother and best friend.
His arms wrapped around Luffy's neck, who squeezed him back as hard as he could. Desperate to show that he loved the boy in his lap.
Ace let go before leaning over and dragging his best friend into another hug as well. Sabo closed his eyes and rested his head on Ace's, before he wrapped one arm around the boy and squeezed him back as well.
Ace let go and leaned his side back onto Luffy's chest, facing Sabo.
"Thank you two. I love you two so much."
Luffy and Sabo smiled.
"We love you too Ace."
—(xXx)—
Ace sat in Luffy's lap as they waited for Sabo, who had dragged them from their beds at dawn, to the clearing they were currently sitting in, before running off. Only telling them to wait there and that he'd be back.
Luffy had plopped down onto the ground leaning against a stump. Ace had rubbed his eyes before curling up in Luffy's lap and closing his eyes.
Luffy wrapped his arms around the small boy before leaning back to watch the sky slowly turn lighter and the stars slowly disappear with the night.
It wasn't long before Luffy heard footsteps and turned to watch Sabo reenter the clearing. Three red stacked cups in one hand and a bottle in the other. Sabo looked at their positions before smiling and continuing to walk forward. Setting the cups and bottle down on the stump, and starting to set them up.
Luffy turned to Ace and shook him awake, which he earned a grumble for, and stood up once Ace didn't look like he'd fall over his feet because he was tired, Luffy looked to Sabo curiously.
Sabo started speaking before he could ask. "I heard some pirates say once that if a bottle of sake is shared between each other, they become brothers." Sabo looked up at the two who where watching him with wide eyes. "That..is..if you want all of us to be brothers-"
Luffy cut him off. "COOL! This is awesome we can all be brothers forever no matter where we are!" He whirled around to face the other he already called a little brother. "Right Ace!"
Ace had a small smile and nodded slightly.
All three of them smiled and Sabo poured the sake into the three cups. They each took one and held it up. "To Brothers!"
They downed it in one gulp then proceeded to gag in disgust before Luffy started to laugh. Ace and Sabo soon joining him.
They were brothers now.