Author Note: Ever thought about accidentally falling into a body of water and been terrified no one would pull you out? No? Just me then!

Beta'd by AuthenticAussie way back when I was in the midst of Same Difference. Finally got around to editing!

A big shout out to Houkiboshi59 for helping me with my new fics which you can expect to see in the coming weeks. She's awesome and I encourage you to go check out her fics ;)

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Learning Curve

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"I win again!"

"You had a head start, Ace!"

Luffy panted heavily, pushing hard through the thick forest undergrowth before bursting free onto the river bank. He toddled to a stop as Ace crowed his victory to Sabo.

"Luffy's last. Now why doesn't that surprise me?" said Ace, but the sharp bite to his words was dampened by the friendly punch to the shoulder, though it was still hard enough to send Luffy toppling sideways.

"I'm gonna beat you both one day, just wait!" Luffy declared, but he made no effort to move from his spot.

Sabo grinned. "I'm sure you will," he said, offering his little brother a hand up. "Come on, we need to find a shallow part of the river to bathe in."

Nearly two weeks had passed since Garp's unexpected visit and their declaration of independence. They had made some excellent progress on their new secret base and had still found time to loot a few old men in Gray Terminal whilst searching for supplies, bolstering their pirate fund. However, after so many summer days working in the heat of the sun and grime of the trash heaps, they were in desperate need of a proper wash. They were all starting to smell a bit ripe and they would no doubt start chasing off any prey they attempted to hunt if they allowed it to continue much longer.

So a bath was in order…

Which lead to one small problem.

Previously they would use the tub at Dadan's hut for bathing, but none of them felt like sneaking into the bandit's territory. Ace had been adamant he had heard Magra and Dogra calling for them several times the last few days and he certainly didn't want them to run the risk of getting caught and being made to return.

Which left them only one option; the river.

It wasn't a particularly deep river, nor was it one populated by crocodiles, so it would have been safe, except for the simple fact it was a river and their little brother was a Devil Fruit user. Not a brilliant combination, but they had no other choice.

It took them a little while until Sabo found a spot that he deemed shallow enough. It was a quiet stretch of water blocked off by several rocky outcrops, sheltering them from the faster flowing current in the middle of the river as long as they didn't venture outside the natural blockade.

"I mean it, Luffy," said Sabo as they stripped down to their shorts at the river's edge, the soothing sound of trickling water behind them. "Stay close to Ace and me at all times."

Luffy nodded absently, carefully hooking his straw hat on a tree branch so it wouldn't blow away before dipping a foot into the water. He shivered violently.

"It's cold!" he complained loudly.

"Just get in here already," Ace growled from where he already sat waist deep about three feet from the river's edge.

Luffy grumbled to himself as he waded in. He carefully sat himself down next to Ace, mindful of Sabo's earlier warnings. The water just reached his navel, but it was still just enough to weaken him. Ace shifted slightly until his body sat directly in the line of the flowing water, breaking it before it could reach Luffy. He didn't think there was any danger of an unexpected surge considering how dry the weather had been recently but he didn't want to leave it to chance.

Sabo sat behind Luffy and carefully began pouring water over Luffy's head. Luffy shuddered as the cold water ran down his neck and over his chest, but it was a nice contrast to the hot sun beating down on them.

"You okay here for a sec, Luffy?" Ace asked as Sabo waded past the two dark haired boys to a slightly deeper area, ducking under the water and resurfacing with a gasp a minute later.

Luffy nodded and Ace wandered out to join Sabo ducking his head under to wet his hair.

Luffy watched his brothers for a couple of minutes, absently washing himself before grinning mischievously and standing up. He waded out as quietly as he could, disregarding the dangers of deeper water. He scooped up a handful of water and threw it in Ace's face, laughing loudly as Ace spluttered and shook his head like a dog.

Luffy balked as he was leveled with twin glares that could scare most grown men.

"Luffy! What did I tell you about play fighting in the river?" Sabo demanded, reaching out to grab Luffy's arm and pull him back to the bank. "We're not in a tub, you could get washed away and drown."

"Sorry, Sabo," Luffy whispered as he clambered out of the water and stood shivering despite the heat on the river bank.

Sabo shook his head with a disappointed sigh.

"As punishment Luffy, you can stand at the finish line while we have a race," Ace said, pushing further into the river until actual swimming was required.

"Race?" Sabo asked, immediately forgetting to lecture Luffy.

"Yeah, race. From that side of the pool to the other. Or you scared I'll beat you at swimming too?" Ace taunted with a grin.

Sabo's eyes narrowed. "You're on." He quickly swam out to join Ace, leaving Luffy to struggle into his clothes by the riverside.

Luffy huffed, not liking this activity at all as he was ordered to stand at the appointed finish line. It was boring when he couldn't join in. He quickly lost all interest in declaring a winner after the sixth race resulted in yet another draw.

Luffy looked around up and down the river bank. He tried skipping a few stones like he had seen Sabo do the other day when they were gathering drinking water, but they sank almost immediately.

He wandered a little further down, keeping an ear out for his brother's reprimands, but they were engrossed in their own battle of wills over who could hold their breath the longest and didn't notice as he wandered away.

Luffy grinned in delight when he realised he'd found an outcrop of rocks that created a natural bridge into the river. He clambered up and gleefully started jumping from one to the next, checking out the little rock pools nestled in the crevasses as he went.

Luffy loved examining tide pools down by the ocean. Shanks had been the one to show him all the little creatures that could live in them. His favourite find had been a small bright blue starfish which had tickled his hands when Shanks had let him hold it.

Luffy wondered idly if there were any little critters he could show off to Ace and Sabo. He was sure they would be impressed with his knowledge, although he wasn't certain that the river's rock pools would contain as much as the tide pools. Mind made up, he quickly began his hunt, using the rocks as stepping stones and never noticing that he was slowly making his way towards the deeper and faster flowing parts of the river.

A sudden glint caught his eye as he hoped onto the next rock. He tottered around dangerously before finding his balance on the slippery water-sprayed rock. Luffy crouched down and eagerly bent to stare eye to eye with a little black snake - only it was underwater and swimming fast against the current! Luffy laughed. He had never known snakes could swim.

"Hey, Ace! Sabo! Look what I found!" Luffy shouted gleefully, but there was no response to his call. Luffy frowned, thinking maybe the pair hadn't heard him over the noise of the water. Hoping the mystery snake wouldn't disappear if he took his eye off it, he spun quickly, making to shout loudly for his brothers he could see a little further upstream.

"Ac- whoa!" Luffy wobbled as the rock beneath him shifted under his weight. His wet sandals scrambled to find a stable grip. Desperately, Luffy shot out an arm to try and grip another rock, but his hands were wet from his inspections of the pools and he failed to find a hold. He yelped as he tumbled backwards into the water.

The Devil Fruit user felt the effects immediately as he was fully submerged in the river, the current quickly grasping and pulling him unwillingly further down.

Luffy tried desperately to hold his breath, but the ice cold water that had felt so good on his baking skin only half an hour ago now aimed to steal the air from his lungs. He feebly scrambled to clutch at anything he could reach, but his arms wouldn't stretch and his energy was quickly being drained.

If he had been able, Luffy would've been crying. He should have listened to his brother and stayed further away from the edge. Sabo was the smart big brother, he was always right. Luffy was the one who should have heeded his warning.

Luffy feebly tried kicking up, hoping that if he could just get his head above the surface he could yell for help, but it was hopeless. His limbs felt limp and heavy. Dark spots were quickly clouding his vision. Unwittingly, he opened his mouth in a silent scream and water gushed in.

Luffy spluttered, a stream of bubbles escaping him. He blinked hard but there was nothing but darkness surrounding him.

I don't want to drown, Luffy thought pitifully, I want to grow up and become Pirate King!

Fingers suddenly wrapped around his arm and Luffy was wrenched upwards sharply, the sudden jolt of movement causing more bubbles to escape him. He broke the surface with a splutter and choked, gasping for air. He began coughing almost immediately as his lungs burned. He was quickly dragged through the water and Luffy forced his eyes open to see Ace's pale face next to him, his dark hair plastered to his head.

A second pair of hands grabbed him and lifted him straight up and out onto the safety of the river bank. Luffy seized onto Sabo's arms in a painfully tight grip as the blond dragged him on his knees further up the shore.

"What the hell were you doing?" Ace screamed at him, quickly hauling himself out of the current. "You nearly drowned! You're damn lucky we saw you fall or you'd be half way out to sea by now!"

Luffy could only cough, salty tears quickly joining the water running in rivets off of him. He choked as a mixture of bile and river water rose in his throat and splattered to the ground. He whimpered weakly.

A weary sigh sound above his head and a warm and comforting hand came to rest at the base of his neck, massaging gently. "Let it out, Luffy," Sabo told him kindly. Luffy wasn't sure whether he was talking about his stomach contents or the tears so he continued to do both.

He sensed Ace hovering uncertainly in his peripheral vision before kneeling down next him. "You dummy," he said quietly. "What were you thinking?"

Luffy flinched, the quiet reprimand sounding much worse to him than if Ace had shouted.

"I didn't want to bother your game so I was looking at rock pools and I found a mystery snake and then I fell!" Luffy stumbled over words in his rush to explain himself before his brothers got angry again. "That was so scary! I didn't think you'd find me!" he wailed, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks.

Sabo shook his head and gently cleaned up Luffy's face as best he could. "Stupid little brother," he scolded softly, "don't you know by now we'll always find you?"

Luffy sniffed loudly.

Ace huffed impatiently. "Stop crying already," he ordered, but it lacked the usual anger.

Luffy nodded quickly and clamped his lips tight shut, though the bottom one still wobbled dangerously. Ace rolled his eyes as he stood up.

"Come on, let's head back upstream." He assisted Sabo in lifting Luffy to his feet and together they pulled their weary brother back up towards where they had left their clothes. Luffy was slightly shocked at how long it took them to get back. He had been washed a surprisingly long way down.

Luffy looked from the two pairs of hands, which were clamped tightly on his shoulders guiding him onwards, to the two rather pale and taunt faces of his brothers, and then dropped his head.

"Sorry for not listening and for worrying you," he mumbled, teeth chattering despite the warm air now enveloping him.

"You didn't worry me," Ace denied immediately, which caused Sabo to snort with disbelief. Ace glared at him darkly.

"What were you even looking at?" Sabo asked.

"Shanks taught me how to look in the rock pools and I found a mystery snake swimming that I wanted to show you. It's probably gone now though," Luffy explained sadly, wrapping his arms around his torso in an attempt to warm himself up.

"Snakes can swim?" Ace asked, slightly surprised.

"Some can but it was probably an eel," Sabo explained as they finally reached their clothes. Sabo gently tugged at Luffy's drenched shirt and attempted to peel it over his head.

"I'm cold," Luffy stuttered, wanting to keep his shirt on.

"You'll feel even colder if you don't get dry," said Sabo as he finally yanked the shirt over Luffy's head.

"How can you feel cold in this heat?" Ace asked in disbelief.

"I think he's in shock," the blond explained as they both watched Luffy tremble violently as he attempted to get out of his wet shorts. "Ace, you go grab some wood and we'll make a fire."

It was a testament to how concerned Ace was that he didn't argue about being ordered around and simply plunged into the undergrowth.

Sabo quickly patted Luffy dry as best he could with his own shirt, none of them having thought to bring towels. He threw his sopping shirt together with Luffy's clothes over a low hanging branch to dry just as Ace returned with an armful of logs.

"Here," Ace snagged his own t-shirt from a rock and threw at Luffy, "put that on until your clothes are dry," he ordered as he set about making a small fire.

Luffy's fingers felt like lead as he struggled into Ace's t-shirt. It fell almost to his knees, being several sizes too big, but it would do for the time being.

"Come here, Luffy," said Sabo as he sat down by the fire. Luffy staggered towards his brother and let Sabo sit him in his lap. The blond's blue jacket was flung over his bare legs and a pair of warm arms were wrapped around his waist. Luffy sighed contentedly and his head dropped onto Sabo's chest. Luffy felt instantly better being surrounded by the scent of his brothers and his trembling gradually subsided.

Luffy could feel Ace's heavy gaze even as the freckled boy tried to make it look like he wasn't watching him like a hawk. Luffy tried desperately to avoid catching his eye.

"Luffy." The youngster cringed, fully expecting a lecture on his stupid behaviour. He didn't expect to see Ace looking so hesitant, tugging absently on a loose thread of his shorts. "What did you mean when you said you didn't want to bother Sabo and me? You don't usually worry about that," said Ace.

Luffy bit his lip. "You guys looked like you were having fun but I can't have fun in the water so I didn't want to ruin it. I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Luffy, you don't need to be sorry. We're sorry. We forget sometimes you can't do everything we can," Sabo said, giving him a small squeeze. "Yell at us next time. It's just been the two of us for so long we're going to need reminding occasionally, we're not perfect."

"Yes you are!" Luffy exclaimed, nearly falling off Sabo's lap as he sat up quickly. "You're my brothers so that makes you're perfect!" he grinned.

Luffy could sense Ace and Sabo sharing a look over his head. Luffy laughed at Ace's downright shocked expression, which he was sure was mirrored on Sabo's face. He relaxed back against Sabo's chest again and tucked his head under the blond's chin.

"Next time we play, we'll do something we can all do, okay?" Ace promised. "Just no more wandering off by yourself."

Luffy had a brief thought in the days that followed that he should wander off more often if the attention he received from his brothers was going to be lavished on him every time he did so, but he quickly discarded the idea. He loved how one or both always had him within arm's reach and how Ace didn't complain when Sabo gave him the best slice of meat nor did he hit him when he did something silly during training. But he'd hated how scared both of them had looked as they'd dragged him from the water. Luffy didn't want to be the one responsible for putting that look on their faces again and so tried to be the best little brother he could be.

Luffy realised it wouldn't last. Ace and Sabo quickly relaxed as he stayed out of trouble and left him to his own devices for a couple of hours a day as they worked on something they said was for the secret base but wouldn't let him take a peek at.

"Where are we going?" Luffy asked as he followed in Ace's steps, Sabo already having gone ahead of them.

"The river," Ace said, surprising Luffy. He hadn't thought they would be returning anytime soon since Ace had found an old barrel which he had declared their new bath tub a few days ago.

Considering how hot the last few days had been, though, Luffy couldn't really blame his brothers for wanting to cool off. He quietly resigned himself to an afternoon of boredom on the river bank. If his brothers let him get even that close of course - he wouldn't put it past them to tie him to a tree.

"Here we are," Ace said, pulling back a branch and gesturing Luffy forward.

Luffy frowned as he past, half expecting Ace to let the branch snap back and hit him, but he passed by unscathed and emerged onto the river bank, the water even lower than it had been a couple of weeks ago thanks to the current heat wave.

Luffy paused as he spotted Sabo standing proudly by the river edge, a short rope in hand leading to a small round raft that floated lazily on the water. Luffy ambled forward curiously.

"What do you think?" Sabo asked with a cheeky grin. "Your very own raft! Now you can join us in the river without half drowning yourself," he teased, ruffling Luffy's hair.

Luffy laughed in delight, realising what the raft was for. "I love it! Thank you!" he cried, jumping up and down excitedly.

"You can thank Ace, it was his idea," said Sabo, thumping the self-conscious boy on his back.

"You built it," Ace quickly shot back. He stumbled back a few feet as Luffy launched himself at his brother.

"Thank you, Ace!" Luffy giggled, limbs wrapping around Ace's body and squeezing.

"Get off me," Ace grumbled, trying to push Luffy away, but the small boy had an amazingly tight grip.

"Want to give it a try?" Sabo asked, finally taking pity on his brother and distracting Luffy.

"We need to give it a name!" Luffy shouted, flinging aside his sandals and making a lunge for the small raft.

Ace and Sabo quickly dived after their little brother, both hollering at him to be careful. It could still tip over if he was too rough and Ace wasn't going to rescue him again!

Luffy simply laughed as they both grabbed and tossed him carefully onto the small vessel and began to tickle him mercilessly. His brothers really were the best.

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This didn't come out at all like I expected but I'm satisfied! Please remember to review ;)