Author's Note: This is a fic I wrote back for ASL week. It was for the theme on Day 6: Protect. I wanted to have it on here too instead of just my Tumblr seeing as it's a pain to look through my archive. Don't mind me, I'll be posting old fics as well from time to time. This is an Alternate Universe setting and has some romance in it TOO, so if romantic ASL bothers you, please don't continue to read this. Good day all.

Ace couldn't do it anymore. He was exhausted, starving, hurt, but most of all, he was afraid. Not really for himself, he honestly didn't care what happened to him. He was afraid of something happening to Luffy. None of this seemed to have been going as smoothly as he had hoped. He didn't know what could happen to them if they didn't give themselves up. It was useless to keep running when they were right behind them, chasing them and hunting them down like wild animals. However, he also knew that if they stopped running, if they gave up and turned themselves in, they would only meet a tragic end. If they wanted to stay alive, they had to keep running and Luffy never was one to give up. Either way, Ace did not want to go back to rot in that boring shit hole. So he practically relied on Sabo for this to work blond had a plan to make this all work. He split up from them, leaving Ace in charge of Luffy. Sabo had hoped for that to distract the cops that were still on their tails, but it didn't seem to faze them at all.

They weren't sure how much time had passed since they had split from their brother. Ace and Luffy were still running for their lives. Ace was the one leading, holding on to his hand so that he wouldn't lose him. He was the one that was pulling him forward despite his stiff legs and feet. Ace probably had no idea where he was running to, but it seemed clear that he just wanted to get away from them. He hoped Sabo was able to make it to whatever destination he planned.

'Sabo can take care of himself, he'll be fine on his own' is what he kept telling himself. He wanted to get away from the police and their rabid dogs. Luffy on the other hand seemed pretty excited. Typical Luffy, finding excitement in everything, but that's what he liked most about him. Even in the worst of situations Luffy was still himself. Honestly the boy was tired of being stuck in dull looking cells and going through the same mundane routines. If it wasn't for his brothers, he would have probably broken out himself. Whether he would have succeeded was something they would never find out. So, when Sabo had come up with this plan, he was the first to jump at the opportunity. They of course, dragged Ace into it. They were not going to leave him behind, despite him thinking he deserved a tragic end. Freedom did sound great to Ace and he did want to keep living life with Sabo and Luffy, but he told himself he would protect them both if the situation ever called for it. Sabo warned them it wasn't going to be easy, but why go on living life without taking risks? They would never get the life they yearned for with an attitude like that.

It wasn't long before the police sirens were heard. They were running out of places to go. They were slowly being cornered. Still, Ace didn't stop until they were underneath a car bridge. He finally let go of Luffy's hand and tried to catch his breath. It was obvious that he was probably just as tired as he was.

"Hmmm, where'd Sabo go? I'm hungry." Luffy asked.

Ace's chest was starting to hurt and there was an intense pain forming in his stomach. They had been running all day with no food and in the end, everything seemed like it had been a total failure. "I dunno Lu, but I don't think he'll be catching up to us anytime soon. As for food you just gotta tough it out some more."

Luffy looked like he was deep in thought, though his stomach wasn't helping. Really, this was no time to be worried about Sabo when they were cornered. "Why?" the boy asked.

He didn't want to think of it as the end, but now he started wondering too, where was Sabo? Ace wasn't answering Luffy anymore, which just made the boy's curiosity go higher. As anger and fear continued to boil up, Ace heard the police sirens getting closer. There was really nothing they could do.

"I'm sorry." Ace suddenly replied as he stood up straight with drops of sweat dripping down his forehead. He went over to Luffy and looked him in the eyes. He had already reached his limit. How clueless Luffy seemed was beyond him. He probably wasn't clueless at all, he was probably just fearless. The guy was practically thinking about Sabo and food. Ace felt like a failure, Sabo left Luffy under his care and he couldn't even protect him. No, it wasn't too late just yet. "This is all my fault. I should have asked Sabo to go over the plan again. Maybe I missed something important and maybe he's waiting for us somewhere else. Maybe we went the wrong direction. I don't know what's gonna happen but I won't let anything bad happen to you. It won't be long before they find where we are."

A few minutes passed when a flash of light was suddenly pointed in their direction. Ace quickly pushed his brother back, trying to avoid the light hitting them. Luffy was looking at Ace with a baffled expression. They had found them a lot quicker than Ace had expected, but then again, there weren't many places to run to. That's why Ace wondered just where in the hell his other brother was at. Cursing under his breath, Ace desperately clutched his hands into fists. He probably didn't want to admit that they were really doomed.

An officer spoke to them through a speaker, telling them to turn themselves in and that they were completely surrounded. Ace smirked at this and instead of listening, he pulled a gun out from underneath his shirt. Luffy's eyes widened, but before he had a chance to say anything, Ace pushed him back again, hiding him in the shadows. Luffy was getting tired of all the mystery. He thought Ace was being really weird, and he demanded to know what the hell was going on.

"Listen to me, Luffy." He began with a serious face. It was drizzling by that point, making the night colder and harsher. The boy was starting to get a bad feeling off his brother.

"Those guys aren't going to let us live. Once we come out from under here, they're gonna shoot us to death. I'm sure they're running out of patience by now. They're probably itching to come at us, but this is their strategy. They want to kill us with a purpose." He silently laughed at his own words, but he was probably just trying to hide the fear that had been piling up since they started endlessly running. Ace then stayed silent as the drizzling turned to hard pouring rain. He lifted one of his hands and grabbed Luffy's. He intertwined his fingers with the boy's like he never wanted to let go. He wasn't one for doing this sort of crap. He believed it to be more of Luffy's thing since he did it whenever he randomly felt like it, but Ace really needed this right now.

"I'm going to distract them somehow." He suddenly blurted out, lowering his head enough so that his hair would cover his eyes. "When I step out there, I want you to make a run for it. You don't deserve any of this Lu and they won't spare either of us any way. So better me than you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to you and I'm sure Sabo would agree."

Luffy couldn't believe what his brother was saying to him. Did he really think he would abandon him? Luffy hid his face under his dark bangs and pushed Ace's hand away. He then took a swing at him hoping his brother would feel his rage. "ACE IS BEING STUPID!"

Ace felt like shit. He was only trying to protect Luffy. He rubbed the part of his face that was now aching and possibly bleeding, thanks to his little brother. Ace glared at the angry boy. He hardly ever saw him enraged and he couldn't help but feel like he fucked up somehow.

"YOU'RE THE IDIOT! Stop being stubborn and listen to me for once! Please…I'm telling you that they'll kill you!" Ace grabbed Luffy's shirt with rage and pulled him even closer. Luffy was still pissed off and he didn't want to even talk anymore, but he wanted to snap his stupid brother out of it.

"Luffy, I want you to run without me. You'll make it if I distract them well enough. Do it." He hoped his brother would truly listen this time around, despite how pissed off he seemed.

"Shut up. I'm not running. SABO WOULDN'T WANT THIS EITHER!" Luffy yelled at him with his mouth going dry. He couldn't comprehend why his older brother was being such an idiot. "I'm not running away. Sabo and Ace escaped with me! It only makes sense if we runaway together!" Luffy was trying his hardest to get Ace to understand that he did not have to take this route. Somehow, someway, things would work out. He truly believed that because he believed in Sabo.

"We're different, and if you stopped being so damn childish, you might be able to see that!" he exclaimed. "Nobody would care if I were gone. I have no one. But Luffy, you have people who love you and who would truly be sad if you were gone. I wasn't meant to be born. I'm following the same footsteps as my father, despite not knowing the bastard. I deserve all of this."

There was a pause and it was by that point that their faces were only centimeters apart. Luffy wanted to sock him again, he really did, but when he looked at Ace, he saw how broken he was. Then, out of nowhere, Luffy placed his hand over Ace's cheek and caressed it softly. Ace closed his eyes, letting Luffy's soft hand soothe his fears. Tears started to roll down his cheeks, but Luffy would wipe each one away with his lips. "Ace really is stupid. Sabo and I love him. We wouldn't want a life without him. We need Ace, he's just as important and Ace deserves to live like everyone else."

The older male was overwhelmed with a mixture of happiness and sorrow. "I'm not a good person, Luffy." He told him, averting his gaze away. The boy laughed at Ace's comment. "Ace can be a jerk but he's not evil." Whatever the older male said, the boy would always have a response for him. The policemen gave them a second warning. Ace knew that by the third one, it'd be their last. "Please…just go, Luffy. That's what this is all for!"

The boy looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "No", he said sternly.

"I'm determined to not let you die. You and Sabo are the reason why I even decided to go through with this, but now I don't know what happened to him. I really do hope he's safe." He sighed and continued on. "If it weren't for you both, I probably would have died in that jail cell. My life was pretty meaningless and there was nothing to look forward to. I just hoped I didn't die from boredom. But then, you and Sabo became my cellmates and ironically on the same day." He chuckled. "You wouldn't shut up about being hungry and you were driving me insane. Sabo just seemed to tune you out. But as the days passed I got more used to you both. You guys made me feel better. You both wormed your ways into my life."

With this, Luffy leaned in and gave Ace a kiss on the lips. Ace, unsure on how to react, but slowly closed his eyes and let Luffy have his way. He knew he was in love with Luffy, he knew that's why he agreed to this whole thing. Sabo probably loved Luffy too. He found humor in the fact they called each other brothers, yet here he was, thinking he was in love with the boy. As for him loving Sabo, he wouldn't admit to that one just yet. The guy teased him enough. He truly wished he could runaway together with them both. As Ace thought this, Luffy pushed his tongue through, catching the older male completely off guard. By the time they pulled apart, he was completely out of breath. "R-run…a-away" Ace said to the boy. As he tried to walk away, a hand from below the ground pulled his leg and he fell flat on his face.

Luffy couldn't help but laugh. "Shishishi~ Saboooooooo!"

There he was, Sabo, the guy they had been worried about this whole time. He popped out from under a sewer hole. "Hey Luffy. Glad to see you guys are still intact. You're such a damn idiot, Ace. I can't believe you were going to turn yourself in. I told you already, I had this covered."

Ace groaned from the floor and glared at the blond. "Where the fuck were you all this time!? We were being chased like damn dogs!"

"Uh well there were only two ways to go, it was either the way I took or the way you guys ran towards. You forget? I had a map. I told you to leave it me and for you guys to just keep running straight ahead." Sabo looked completely unamused at his brother still on the floor.

"And how were you so damn sure we'd get under this bridge?" Ace was starting to get pissed. It was like he was hearing all this for the first time.

"Because I figured you'd look for the safest place since you had Luffy with you. The sewer is connected to the other side of town. I got connections over there. But we have to go now!" Sabo quickly pulled Luffy down as the boy pinched his own nose due to the terrible smell of the sewer. The boy leaned in and gave Sabo a gentle kiss on the lips followed by a playful lick. Luffy then laughed and told Sabo to stop making that funny face. The blond couldn't help it, he dazed out a bit and blushed but quickly turned to look at Ace.

Ace smirked at Sabo. "Hm, so even you can get flustered?"

"I could leave you here you know." Sabo smirked back.

"You jerk! You're smarter than you let on." Ace leaned in closer to the hole.

"Nah, you're just too stupid to notice." Sabo extended his arm to the other male.

"Shut up." He took Sabo's arm and crawled into the sewer hole. As Ace made his way down, he was sure someone died or better yet, took a shit because it smelled like it.

"By the way Ace, don't ever say that no one gives a damn about you. I didn't leave Luffy in your hands so you could protect him. I did it so he could protect you. We're your brothers, remember that." Sabo said the words as softly as possible. He tightly closed the lid to the hole shortly afterward. As they walked through the underground passage Luffy grinned and pulled Sabo and Ace by their arms, giving them both kisses on their cheeks. Both males simply smiled at how cheery the younger male looked. Luffy talked about how cool and smart Sabo was back there. If Ace was actually paying attention he would have totally denied it, but he felt the safest he'd ever felt before and didn't mind letting the blond get the spotlight. He thought he was the one protecting them, but they were the ones who ended up protecting him. They knew it'd be a long while until they'd reach their destination and for the first time ever, Ace didn't care where he'd end up as long as he was with these two.