Best read while listening to the "One Family" score in my opinion (probably because that's what I listened to while writing but whatever floats your boat)

Desire for Comfort

He was crying again, quietly this time.

Ace knew that Luffy was most likely hiding his face in his pillow to muffle any sound, but it failed to hide any high pitched whimpers and loud gasps for air. His back faced Luffy's, but he was positive he didn't need to glance over his shoulder to confirm. Besides, Luffy was right next to him, so how could he not hear anything? Ace didn't try to comfort him, though; Luffy was obviously trying to be strong and not cry, but he was just a kid and they just lost someone they both loved very much.

Luffy accidentally let out a sob—he couldn't contain this one. Ace thought their sorrows would cease soon and they would look more towards their adventures, but mourning the death of someone so dear wasn't a get-over-it-in-a-couple-days type thing.

"Sabo…" Luffy whimpered. He must have figured that Ace was in a deep sleep and couldn't hear him. Ace bit his bottom lip, choking back a sob himself. He figured it was a great time to show Luffy that crying wasn't necessary, but at this moment, he felt a big part of him missing and it hurt him more than anything.

Ace was definitely wide awake now, hoping Luffy would just fall asleep from wearing himself out with crying but he wasn't stopping. Ace tucked his arms into his chest, attempting to stop his heart pains grow from every small cry that pierced its way through Luffy's pillow he heard.

At that moment, he remembered when Luffy got hurt after claiming he could do everything on his own and not needing Ace's help; remembering that Luffy had finally cried out for help and he didn't until Luffy was hurt. Luffy was almost taken from him too that day, and it would have been all his fault. Ace bit his lip harder. Losing Luffy would be the worst thing possible, especially now.

Ace couldn't help it. As a good big brother, he was supposed to take care of Luffy just like Sabo told him to do, and he should especially help him now. Ace turned over to offer a shoulder to cry on, finding Luffy already facing him with his small hand in mid-reach. He wanted Ace to comfort him.

Luffy went quiet for a moment, unsure if Ace was either going to hug him, or hit him. Given that he wasn't being yelled at just yet, Luffy figured it was the first thing. Ace froze; almost embarrassed that he was caught being empathetic.

"Luffy—" Ace started, but Luffy instantly started sobbing, openly this time, and hugged Ace. He wept into his chest, clutching the back of his shirt in his fists. Ace felt his bottom lip quiver and tears form in his eyes, but he held them back enough to hug Luffy back. "Shh, it's okay," Ace whispered in his ear; he hoped Luffy couldn't hear his voice crack. "I'm right here, don't worry," he hugged Luffy tighter.

Luffy's sobs slowly turned into whimpers, his grip on Ace's shirt loosening. He settled for hugging Ace securely, just in case he decided to leave him too. He couldn't bear the thought of Ace leaving him behind like this—he's had one scare about that already.

"Are you going to be alright, Luffy?" Ace murmured by Luffy's ear while petting his hair.

"Yeah. Are you?" Luffy looked up at Ace. His eyes and cheeks were slightly puffy. "You gotta be, you're strong."

Ace couldn't help but smile and chuckle, shocked that Luffy still found him strong even though he was now crying too.

"Don't worry about me, idiot," Ace laughed as he ruffled Luffy's hair, "you were the one being a big cry-baby."

Instead of taking the playful insult to heart, Luffy broke into a wide grin and giggled. Ace felt an instant calm wash over him when seeing Luffy smile like that—maybe he should smile during bad times too.

Luffy talked Ace into telling him a bed time story, about pirates of course. Luffy slowly drifted to sleep once the pirate in Ace's tale accomplished his dream.

Thanks for reading and junk.

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda