Note/Warnings: Hello! I've been organizing AceLu week for a while now and its finally starting!

Today's prompt is 'Starlight'!

This is set in our world, but no specific era. I wasn't thinking about any specific war era while writing it, so its set in a fictional war era.

I listed this fic as friendship, but if you want pre-romance then its not hard to find at all. I just really didn't know what to list this fic as, oops.

Also its a bit vague. And cheesy. Also a few errors in Luffy's letters on purpose.

Correspondence

'What do the stars look like over their? Can you see the ocean?' Ace reads carefully, decoding the chicken scratch. The teenager arches his back to look outside of his window. No stars, only clouds. And no ocean either, just grassland for miles.

'It's really cloudy all of the time this time of the year, so we don't get to see stars a lot.' Ace writes, absent-mindedly scratching at a freckle. 'But when we do, they're really bright and pretty. They look like gems. I wish they were like that all of the time and I could figure out a way to show you them. I wish we had an ocean. It's just grass and trees here, a few streams too, but nothin fancy. What about you? Do you live by the ocean?'

Ace writes down a few more things carefully, making sure his handwriting was neat enough so it could be read. He mentions how lessons were going and how Dadan was still a miserable old hag. He signs it and places a small candy in the envelope, knowing very well that the younger teen he was sending the letter to would probably be delighted, the reason why he had saved the candy in the first place.

The sixteen year old seals the letter and digs out a stamp, placing the letter under his pillow for when the postage man comes to collect and deliver mail again.

The next time he gets a letter from things are getting better, but also worse.

The war has officially been declared over and their side had been declared the victors, which is fantastic. Everyone in their household had been dancing, banging pots and pans until night had fallen, getting drunk off of the most expensive ale they could afford. A few people from the houses down the road come over to celebrate, one of the wives kissing a few of the children and Ace on the cheek in drunken celebration, but Ace can't say he's flattered.

But worse, because the majority of the world has been torn apart and millions of people were dead or missing and it was unlikely that Ace would be returning to his home country anytime soon, not that he had anyone waiting for him. After all, an air raid had ripped his mother out of his life in a violent manner.

So really, Luffy's letter was a solace. Luffy is a sweet boy; younger than Ace by three years, just barely a teen. He lives in the States, but had been born in Brazil. A small world it was, considering that Ace's biological father had been born there as well before he set sail and explored the seas, becoming notorious and meeting Ace's mother in Hawaii. Ace's father, Roger, had taken Ace's mother Rouge aboard and had no choice but to leave her in England shortly before his execution. The only reason Ace was even in France right now was because his mother arranged for him to live in the countryside, away from the warfare that was mainly targeting the British Isles.

Ace can't wait to rip open the letter and watch the contents spill out, surprised when not only one but two candies fall into his palm.

'Hi Ace!' The letter reads. 'Thank you for the candy! They were tasty! I told Makino and she gav me two to give you! She never gives me two! It's really weird that you don't see stars a lot. We get a lot of stars all of the time! Shanks told me that when he went there it was pretty! We live at the ocean! It gets really cold in winter, but I love the ocean so much! I really wanna show you it! It would be so much more fun with you around!'

Ace cannot help the smile that makes his lips curve softly or the sweet flip in his stomach that has nothing to do with the candy resting in his palm.

He plops a candy on his tongue and savors it, the strawberry flavor just right. Placing his paper and pen on his desk, he considers what to write. After reading Luffy's letters, he always feels so light and excited that sometimes it was hard to even think about what to write back.

'I'd love to see the stars in New York and the ocean, too. I've heard the States are nice, I'd love to visit one day and see you and the stars.' He scribbles. 'Maybe that can happen someday, after all the war is finally over. It's a big relief, really.'

'I'd love to meet you too!' Luffy's next letter reads. 'I think you would like it a lot here. You should come over here when you can! I can show you a lot of stuff and I'll take you to the Statue of Liberty! You can see everything from there, it's really pretty! And I know this really cool place where we can watch the stars! It's near the ocean too, so I think you'll like it! I love it! I got a letter from Grandpa the other day, he was really happy about the war ending! I couldn't understand everything he said, but Makino said that he would be coming home soon!'

Ace smiles as he reads the rest of the letter his fingers twitching.

New York didn't sound too bad.

Ace starts getting odd jobs, hiding his pay in a little shoebox that he hides underneath the floorboards. With that, he'll be able to sail to New York, to Luffy, after he's eighteen. It's a challenge at times, especially when it comes to hiding the money, but the thought of finally meeting Luffy is enough of a motivator on its own.

The letters continue and Ace gets a particularly excited letter when he tells Luffy that he's raising money to go to New York. And, somehow, the letters seem to grow deeper and the urge to visit Luffy only grows and bubbles within him until he's holding his suitcase in one hand and his ticket in the other two months after his eighteenth birthday.

On the ship, he can barely stop smiling, excitement coursing through his veins. He couldn't believe that this was it, he was finally going to meet Luffy. It was going to take some time to sail from France to New York, but Ace didn't mind. He had been waiting for over a year now to visit Luffy, he could wait a little while longer.

Ace can't help but think it strange. He has only talked to Luffy in letters, but he feels like he knew the younger boy well and that the younger boy knew him better than any of the people back in Europe. He absolutely can not wait to finally meet him in the flesh.

He finds himself looking at the picture that Luffy had sent him so he could identify the younger once he landed often. It's a bit outdated Luffy had said and a little torn, but Ace can't stop looking at it. Luffy's rather cute in the picture, childish chubby cheeks and a scar under one of his eyes are the things that stick out the most, but by the time the Statue of Liberty comes into view, Ace has recognized Luffy's face.

When he gets off of the ship, it's already night and its a little overwhelming. It's not the bad and it's not the first time he's been to a different country, but just having landed he can see what seems to be hundreds of people and he realizes that this is it. He's finally going to get the completely new start he's wanted ever since his mother died.

Because, here, no one could possibly know of his ties to a well known criminal named Gol D. Roger. After all, he had been told that Europe and the Americas were a completely different place.

He's snapped out of his thoughts when he hears a name calling his name.

"Ace!" A loud, high-pitched voice calls out and he can see the crowd in front of the ship being forced apart before the owner of the voice can get through.

He sees a teenager that closely resembles the picture that had been enclosed in the last letter, just a little older looking. But really, the picture didn't do the teen any justice at all, didn't capture how honestly pretty he was.

Luffy's hair is wild and black, a straw hat that Ace has heard about countless of times hanging from his neck. Even from where he is, Ace can see that Luffy's eyes are a brilliant dark blue and the smile that was so bright that almost made him want to cover his eyes. The fifteen comes running at Ace and in the blink of an eye, Ace starts running in order to meet Luffy halfway. The eighteen year old can feel the muscles in his face strain because of how large he' smiling.

His arms wrap around Luffy's waist once they meet in the middle and picks Luffy up with ease before he knows it. Ace is well aware of people looking at them, but when he feels thin arms around his neck and hears delighted laughter ring in his ear he decides he doesn't care and he finds himself laughing too.

The stars shine overhead in the summer night sky, but neither Ace or Luffy notice until they part. When they do notice, Luffy quickly drags Ace away by the hand wearing a radiant smile. They were dimmer than the ones in the countryside, but still pretty. However, Ace already knew that the teenager next to him gave them a run for their money.