Merr, I'm back again! I think that one day I might come back and edit/rewrite this story once I'm a better writer but until then, I hope that this isn't terrible!

Chapter Summary: He never wanted this to happen. . . .

". . . an alpha's mating bite is significant in how it can bind two mates together. During intercourse, they will sink their canines into their mates levator scapulae muscle, which then releases a unique chemical that forever connects the pair. Once the bite is given, the two can never be unmated and if an omega or beta were to receive a mating bite from another alpha, it would be ineffective."

One week or rather, one hundred and sixty-eight hours of hell alone on the north most side of Mount Colubo. It was during this agonizingly long period that Ace's sanity wavered under the stress of a maddening arousal and intense agitation, all thanks to his rut.

To say that it was hard to endure, especially when he knew that relief was only a few miles away, would be a gross understatement. Nevertheless, as much as he would have loved to run back home, he knew that help could only come from one person, Luffy.

Still, as determined as he was to not harm his little brother, Ace had allowed himself to envision what it would have been like to mate Luffy; to pull him into his arms and dominate him, ravage him until his small body displayed all of Ace's pent up desires. . . .

However, he was resolved to deal with his rut by himself and thus, Ace had simply hunkered down and let nature take it's course until seven days passed and it finally subsided.

When all his frustration had melted away, Ace was struck by the relief of simply feeling like himself again after all those hours feeling like a disgusting monster who wanted nothing more than to ruin his relationship with the one person he couldn't live without.

That being said, no one could blame him for being naive enough to think that this beast wouldn't resurface again within two months time, but as much as he wished he didn't have to deal with the dreaded rut, Ace didn't get a say in the matter.

Nature and genetics could not be ignored.

As such, Ace continued to deal with his rut (alone) before like a bad nightmare, it would fade, leaving only the remnants of distorted feelings behind him. After which he would trudge back to Dadan's, thoroughly spent and in serious need of a proper bath.

Back at home, Ace was welcomed every time by Luffy, all smiles and rubber skin, who would promptly tackled him to the ground in a fierce, octopus like hug before releasing him.

After that, Luffy would ask Ace if he was finally feeling better (Ace doubted Luffy actually knew what he was dealing with every two months) and if he had caught anything interesting during his time away.

His responses were usually kept short and simple until he could direct the conversation elsewhere and this quickly became the routine Ace would deal with, with each passing month.

The only thing that could have possibly thrown a wrench into Ace's slowly stabilizing world would have been the appearance of Garp. However, as days blend into months, his grandfather continued to remain a no show. Honestly, it was like he didn't care about Ace or Luffy at all.

As such, Ace probably shouldn't have been so thrilled that he got to avoid dealing with the bull-headed marine but he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't.

Now a year later, with Ace having his status almost completely in control, life had basically returned to how it had been before his transition, which meant sparring session with Luffy.

Like today for instance, the pair of them were enjoying one such, worry free, alone time as they battled for the tenth time that sunny afternoon.

Covered in a thin layer of sweat, the two of them continued to compete in the old clearing that they and their late brother, Sabo, had used to train in.

Over the long years without him, the area hadn't changed all too much: the trees that encircled the area still stood as tall as they had six years before and the ground, covered in patches of dirt and grass, was for the most part, unchanged.

Hell, even their old wooden score board was still standing over to the side, a little more weather worn sure, but it still looked like it had when Sabo used it to keep score. Not that this came as a huge surprise for the remaining two brothers, because keeping score this way had always been more of Sabo's thing.

That and the fact that they didn't want to remove the faded numbers that were in their brother's familiar handwriting.

To be honest, Ace at one point had wanted to take it down that that they could store it somewhere safe, that way rain and wind wouldn't wipe away the last remaining mark of Sabo but Luffy wouldn't hear of it.

"We have to keep it up," Luffy had said, standing resolute with his arms spread wide in front of the scoreboard. "So Sabo can keep taking score!"

After that, Ace never tried to remove it again so thus it stayed to keep the area as it was when they had first found it. All in all, it appeared that the only things that had changed were Ace and Luffy themselves.

Of course, that was only natural as they continued to age and mature throughout the years. Although, Ace had changed a lot more than Luffy since they were children.

After going through puberty and his transition into an alpha, Ace had grown both in body and in strength. At sixteen, he now stood proudly at five feet eleven, but from the familiar pain in his muscles, Ace knew he hadn't finished growing and was positive that in a few years time, he would be well over six feet.

Thanks to his intense training and physical fitness, Ace's muscles became steadily more defined until he could proudly show the six pack he now sported. However, unlike his brother, Luffy hadn't really changed all that much since he was seven years old.

Sure, he had grown taller and had (admittedly) gotten stronger, but he was still the scrawny brat that Ace had first met all those years ago, back when his heart was full of bitter hatred and unaware of the love that could exist there.

Although, if Ace were being honest, he thought Luffy's short stature and skinny limbs suited him far better than the tall, muscled body he continued to strive towards. So he wasn't all too concerned about Luffy's lack of change since he was still basically a child.

After all, Luffy was only thirteen, he still had many years to grow so Ace wasn't all too worried about it.

What he was worried about was Luffy's sudden lack of energy.

They hadn't been sparring for more than a good, fifteen minutes and yet, Luffy was even more sluggish than he was when they finished their little competition. Not only that, but he was flushed and coming down with a fierce sweat: his whole body dripping in the salty liquid.

Frowning at the worrying sight, Ace slowly relaxed his body before lowering his fighting stance. "Lu, let's stop for today," he said, hoping that by using Luffy's nickname he would be more willing to cooperate.

However, with Luffy's resounding whine, he knew that it hadn't worked. "But Ace, I was so close to beating you today!" Giving another halfhearted groan, Luffy slumped to the ground before resting his flushed body against the thick tree behind him.

"Sure you were," Ace humored back, shaking his head at him. "Now let's head back to Dadan's so Dogra can check you over." Taking a step forward, Ace began walking over to Luffy who let out another pain-filled groan.

"A-Ace, I t-think that you're right. My body feels really hot," Luffy whimpered, lifting his large and slightly dazed brown eyes to look up at Ace who frowned in return.

"See, I knew you were getting sick. Now come one, let's go—"

Ace's voice cut off as he stopped dead in his tracks. Coating the warm air of May was an intoxicating smell that made Ace's body tingle all over in pleasure. It was pleasantly sweet, yet something so much more than that and it was calling to Ace.

Dropping to his knees, Ace crawled towards the scent until he was pressed against something smooth, almost rubbery in texture, and slightly damp.

"Nghh, Ace? What are you doin'?"

What was he doing?

Shaking himself out of the daze he was quickly following Luffy into, Ace pushed himself away from Luffy's neck, clenching his fists tightly.

That familiar fire in him seemed to have sparked itself anew but was burning brighter than ever and all he knew was that the sweet smell was coming from his little brother and it encompassed him entirely, almost as though it were replacing the blood in his veins and he was drawn to it and he was definitely losing this fight.

He looked at his brother on the ground then, the flushed form of his body twitching and writhing in pain and he felt helpless, because he didn't know how to help Luffy when he wasn't sure what this new part of him intended to do.

He gripped his fist, determined to help Luffy, but just taking one step closer had him incapacitated with the scent. His teeth ground together and he squinted, trying to see through the haze because what was this? Why was his body so uncontrollable?

Even his unbearable ruts had never been this ferocious!

"A-Ace!" Luffy choked out, reaching out to him. Ace's heart broke because Luffy was dying wasn't he? He got sick somehow, some sort of bug, and now he was actually dying and Ace couldn't even do anything?

Like hell!

Ace growled, something wrecked and feral, and crawled back to Luffy, wrapping his arms around him as he intended to pull him up off the ground, when suddenly his vision was red and there was a painful (yet, familiar) throbbing in his pants that he was vaguely aware of.

He couldn't think, and all rational thought was pushed to the back of his mind as he was forced to give the reins over to the entity that dwelled deep within.

"L-Luffy," he croaked, pressing his face into Luffy's neck, unable to stop himself. The scent was calling to him, and he was a slave to it. This was the way it was supposed to be.

He was going to save Luffy.

"Ace . . . Ace w-what are you—"

"Don't worry, Luffy," Ace said reassuringly, whispering into Luffy's ear. "I'll take care of you."

"A-Ace. . . ." Luffy whispered, voice filled with lust as he pressed back into Ace who had no idea whether it was intentional or not, but either way, he somehow knew what it meant.

He didn't waste any time ripping their shorts off and getting their skin back into contact with each other, even though he didn't really know why this needed to happen, but it did, and his cock was absolutely throbbing, but he knew this was somehow what Luffy needed.

The boy's ass was dripping with some sort of viscous substance that was the source of the sweet smell, and Ace buckled under the onslaught of it all; his senses overloaded, and just like that what was left of his rational thought seemed to leave him.

He pulled Luffy back against him by the arms after flipping him onto his stomach, not quite sure why, but he needed to be closer.

Direct skin contact wasn't enough either.

Ace panted, delirious with the intoxicating smell and he collapsed over Luffy's body, rutting against his ass, and it felt so good, so good, but it wasn't enough. Luffy was still in pain and, at this point, Ace was too.

He felt his dick catch on something, and it sparked something in his mind from an obscure place, and he tried to recreate it.

He rubbed a certain way and it caught more this time. He growled and pushed, his instincts telling him to do so, and it wasn't long before he was encased in a tight heat, slick and sucking and he gripped Luffy's hips tightly, vaguely aware of the labored breaths coming from the younger boy, a distant mantra of his name just missing the barely lit flame of his consciousness mind.

The moaning, however, rang loud and clear. It told Ace that, whatever he was doing, this was correct.

Ace thrust into that heat, the heat of Luffy's body, over and over again; harder and harder. It was a dizzying sensation as the smell only grew and he couldn't think, he couldn't even see through the haze of red euphoria.

The throbbing in his dick grew and it felt good. It felt right. Luffy was going to be okay. Ace was going to protect him, was going to make him his.

He could vaguely feel Luffy slump onto the ground, and he held him from behind, pressing his face into the back of his neck.

It was everything it was supposed to be and he couldn't help but sink his teeth into the rubbery skin there as he thrust harder, giving Luffy everything he needed. The boy pressed back into him, a deep moan erupting from his throat. He could feel that tight heat clench around him and it was perfect.

"L-Luffy." He could feel the words come out of his mouth as suddenly everything was so much tighter, so much harder, and his movement was impeded.

He was losing it. Something was happening and It was filling his mind with sparks. He was locked inside of Luffy by something, but that was fine.

This was how it was always meant to be.

As he started to come, the haze in his mind cleared and he was vaguely aware of what was happening. He bucked and rutted into Luffy as he came, unable to fight the instinct. It was overwhelming and it lasted for what seemed like ages before he was level headed enough to realize what he'd just done.

He tried in vain to pull away, but he was effectively locked with his damn knot stuck inside of Luffy.

Said preteen was slumped to the ground, chest rising and falling, but he didn't seem to be doing that awful twitching anymore, which was good. Ace looked around, noticing just how open this place was, and everything in him was telling him to fucking move already!

He tried to shake Luffy awake, but the boy was fucking napping of all things!

He felt another spasm overtake him, and it was a moment of another very intense orgasm hitting him like a ton of bricks and he filled Luffy up impossibly more. Luffy merely sighed beneath him, a snot bubble growing disgustingly and Ace's eye twitched.

"S-Shit!" When it died down, Ace wrapped his arms around Luffy's middle and picked him up, looking around warily as he hobbled away to find cover within the trees.

Protect Luffy, protect Luffy. The mantra continued in Ace's head as he stumbled awkwardly through the dense growth of trees, looking for a safe place to continue whatever this was.

If Ace hadn't been so worried about keeping Luffy safe, maybe it would have registered that he was walking butt-naked through the forest with his little brother strapped to his penis. But as of now, he was only worried about finding a suitable place to take care of Luffy.

Glancing around with desperate eyes, Ace realized with a start that this part of the jungle was vaguely familiar to him. The moss covered trees looked exactly the same as the thousands of others throughout the forest but the one in front of him was much larger than the rest.

Looking up from his spot on the ground, Ace finally saw what made this place so familiar; the old wooden tree fort that Ace and his two brothers had made many years ago, which had somehow survived years of neglect.

It would be a perfect place to keep Luffy safe, but how the hell was he supposed to get them up there?!

His knot still hadn't receded so pulling out of Luffy to climb the huge fucking tree was a pipe dream, but they weren't safe in their current state. Growling in frustration, Ace pulled at his hair while his other hand tightened his grip on Luffy who was still fast asleep.

How in the hell was he supposed to do this!?

If Luffy were awake, then he could hold onto Ace while he made the climb up the tree. Seeing as how Luffy was still unconscious then that plan wouldn't work. Or maybe, it would.

Slowly lowering himself onto the ground, Ace grabbed onto both of Luffy's limp arms and pulled them around his waist before tying them together, thankful for the first time in his life that Luffy was a rubber man.

Satisfied with the strange bow of limbs, Ace stood, ready to get Luffy to safety. Kicking off his shoes, Ace grabbed onto one of the many dark-green vines that were wrapped around the large girth of the tree and began his climb.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ace finally made it to the top and to the long abandoned tree house.

Inside the familiar fort, a fine layer of dust and dirt covered the wooden floor and a few vines covered the exterior. Nature always seemed to find a way of taking back the land if left alone.

Stepping inside and sitting down, Ace was relieved that there were at least some blankets that he and Luffy had left when they went to live with Dadan again. Sure, they weren't in the best condition after being exposed to the elements for so long, but they would do.

All they needed now was some food and water and they'd be set. But Ace would worry about that later, right now he just wanted to rest and figure out what the hell just happened.

"Nhgg. . . ." Luffy groaned, finally stirring himself awake from the slumber he had fallen into upon his climax.

Seeing this, Ace couldn't help but let out a breath of relief that Luffy was finally awake, because it meant that what he did to his little brother had helped him instead of possibly killing the small thirteen year old. Said teen was still unaware of Ace as he stared dully at his new surroundings, not quite awake enough to comprehend the change in scenery.

As Luffy glanced around himself at the rundown room, something finally seeming to click in his sleep-fogged brain that this was not where he remembered being last.

"Wha—where am I?" Luffy asked, leaning against the warm, muscled wall of flesh behind him only to try and jump away from it in surprise before relaxing at the familiar sight before him. "Ace? What's going on, where are we?" Luffy questioned, staring up at Ace with his large brown eyes.

"We're in our old fort—you know, the one we made together with Sabo?" Ace said, gesturing to the rather small, shabby looking tree house that they were in.

Luffy hummed to himself for a minute before something finally seemed to click in his head. "Ah, I remember!" Luffy exclaimed, smiling happily before confusion spread across his face. "But . . . why are we here?"

"Cause we needed to be somewhere safe."

"Why?" Ace's right eye twitched, trying his best to keep his irritation from rising.

"Because I wasn't in the best state to protect you." Luffy tilted his head to the side, the need to ask more questions practically written all over his face.

"Wh—"

"JUST BECAUSE, OKAY! Now please just stop with the questions already," Ace pleaded, pressing his forehead to Luffy's, which was suddenly very warm, too warm in fact.

Ace, worried about Luffy possibly being sick again, pulled away from him and starred in a transfixed horror as he realized that what happened earlier during their sparring session was happening again.

Luffy's small frame was already flushed entirely in a varying shades of crimson, staining his cheeks bright red and his body in a pink hue. Dammit, that god awful twitching was back and Luffy's eyes were quickly glazing over as what seemed like an intense heat fogged his mind.

Taking in a large whiff of the air, Ace too could feel his mind numbing as he continued to smell that intoxicating scent from before. It was filling the entire room and Ace was barely aware that this was probably a bad thing.

No. It was most certainly a bad thing.

Whatever this thing was, it was hurting Luffy and causing Ace to do something to him, his precious baby brother, that he hadn't wanted to do since Ace had first transitioned into an alpha.

Ace wanted—no, he needed to fuck Luffy but there was no way he was going to let his primal urges control him again. Once was already too much and he would never be able to forgive himself if he took advantage of Luffy any more than he already had.

Of course, that meant that he had to hurry and get out of Luffy before what was remaining of his conscious mind left him. Knowing this, Ace scrambled to try and quickly untie Luffy's rubbery arms which were still securely tied around his waist. Tugging at the strange bow that he had made, Luffy's arms came free and zipped back into their normal, human-sized, lengths.

With his arms free, Ace's trembling hands gripped onto Luffy's slim hips, disregarding the fact that mere minutes ago, his stupid knot had been keeping him from removing himself from his little brothers ass, and pulled.

Instead of merely jerking Luffy, his warm body slid up Ace's cock, no longer impeded by the fleshy ring because apparently, Ace's knot had receded a long time ago. Not expecting the sudden, antagonizing, squeeze on his overly-sensitive penis, Ace only did what his body felt right: he slammed Luffy down, plunging his dick back into that deliciously warm, wet heat.

"NGAH!" Luffy screamed, his voice a mixture of surprise and arousal, as his shaky hands gripped tightly at Ace's muscled thighs before he turned his body to fully face the older teen. Pink lips quivering as he tried his best to form words, Luffy looked up with big, uncertain eyes. "A-Ace, wha did you jus' do?" he asked, lifting one hand to weakly tug onto Ace's arm.

Flushing in shame, Ace refused to meet Luffy's eyes. He knew what he had just done and he was perfectly aware that what he was doing, regardless of the fact that doing this had helped Luffy last time, was wrong.

Placing his head against the back of Luffy's flushed neck, Ace could feel salty tears prickle at the corners of his eyes as a deep, conflicted frustration churned inside him.

While fucking Luffy had so far proven successful in helping the thirteen year old fight whatever he was sick with, it didn't change the fact that Ace was basically raping him. Ace knew just by looking at Luffy's dazed, chocolate brown eyes, that the small boy could barely think, let alone consent to having sex with Ace, his sixteen year old brother.

However, Luffy was getting worse and if Ace didn't do something, Luffy might actually die. How could he not? It looked like his small body was going to destroy itself if Ace didn't help.

Tightening his grip on Luffy's hips, Ace finally raised his head, a fierce, determined glint in his eyes. There was no way he was just going to sit around and let Luffy deteriorate when he could help him.

"Luffy, you can hate me when this is over, but until then, I promise, I will take care of you."

Ace wasted no time in keeping that promise.

Lifting Luffy's round hips, Ace slowly brought them up again before bringing them back down; the wet, squelching sound caused by Luffy's slick bouncing across the thin wooden walls of the fort as he did.

Slowly setting a faster pace, wanting to quickly get this over with, Ace's nails dug into the soft, warm skin of Luffy's hips, desperate to keep his grip on the much smaller males sweaty body.

"Ah! Ace, please! " Luffy begged, large and wet salty tears spilling freely from his eyes as he continued to bounce on Ace's hard cock.

"What Luffy?" Ace asked by Luffy's ear, his voice almost husky, causing a shiver to run down Luffy's spine. "What do you need?"

"I NEED ACE!" Luffy said, his sweet voice breaking. Ace growled at Luffy's pathetic plea and quickened his already rough pace, baring no mind to the pain that Luffy would feel once this was finally over.

"God Luffy! You're so tight!" Ace groaned, slamming his own hips up to meet Luffy's.

"Mmm, AH! Ace— something's happening." Another moan spilling past his lips, Luffy's blunt nails clawed at Ace's thighs as he felt a pressure quickly build in his lower belly.

"Shit, I know! I'm so close, " Ace hissed, his grip on Luffy tightening painfully more. He was barely aware that him doing this would end up leaving dark bruises on Luffy's, until now, unblemished tan skin.

As Ace hastily neared his peak, his until now, rough and fast pace, became erratic as the pleasure pooled into his stomach and hummed from underneath his heated skin. Giving a few more sloppy thrusts, Ace found his teeth seeking the spot on Luffy's neck that he had marked before and felt them sink in as he came.

Luffy let out a choked scream when Ace's sharp canines pierced his sensitive flesh, coming immediately after; spurts of pearly white cum shooting from the tip of his neglected length. Thoroughly spent, the rubber teen let his body slump back against Ace, the twitching gone and the heat finally receding. It appeared that for now at least, he was okay.

Ace let out a sigh of relief as the realization of this settled in as his own exhausted body fell back onto the scattered pile of blankets, pulling Luffy with him.

"Ace m' tired," Luffy said quietly, rubbing his sleepy brown eyes.

"I know Lu," Ace replied, turning them so that they were both laying on their sides before he placed his right arm under Luffy's head, his left arm wrapping itself securely around Luffy's waist. "Let's go to sleep."

"Mmm . . . okay." Eyes fluttering close, Luffy fell into a blissful sleep, Ace following almost immediately after.

They continued sleeping until the sun began to dip down, casting a warm-orange glow across the island and a small fort built in a tree. Ace awoke first, his body sore from laying in one position for so long and sticky from all the strenuous activities he had taken part in with Luffy.

Gingerly sitting up so that he could stretch his aching muscles, Ace's sudden movement caused a whimper to escape from Luffy's mouth as he slightly moved away from him.

Ace felt bad for causing Luffy any added discomfort but dammit, he needed to take a piss.

Standing, he wobbled a few times until the feeling finally returned to his legs and walked outside and over to the edge of the fort. After relieving himself, Ace walked back inside and waited for Luffy to wake up.

He thankfully didn't have to wait too long before Luffy awoke, grumbling as he did. Ace helped Luffy sit up since the small teen looked far too sore to do it on his own.

"Hey Lu, how you feeling?" Ace asked gently, his hand rubbing up and down on Luffy's back, trying to ease whatever discomfort that he may have caused. Luffy let his worn-out body lean against the strong body of his brother, his exhaustion still present in his movements.

"I'm sore," Luffy began, licking his lips, "and thirsty."

"How about I go and get us some food and water, how does that sound?" Ace offered, giving Luffy a small smile.

Luffy nodded in reply before he turned and wrapped his thin arms around Ace, tucking his head under Ace's chin as he did. Ace returned the hug and then tried to stand but Luffy's grip held surprisingly strong, considering how tired the small teenager was.

"Come on Luffy. I can't go and get the stuff until you let go," Ace said as he tried in vain to pull away from him.

"But," Luffy began, his large brown eyes looking up towards Ace, "I don't want you to leave." Ace felt his heart nearly stop by just how cute that was. His cheeks growing hot, he buried his face into Luffy's neck, unwilling to let go even if it meant they would starve to death.

No!

Ace was supposed to be the responsible, older brother and he had made a promise to himself, not to mention Sabo, that he would protect Luffy. Right now, Ace needed to go get food and water, even if that meant leaving Luffy alone whilst he did.

Ripping himself away from his ridiculously cute younger brother, Ace ran towards the door of the fort, yelling that he would be back soon as he did.

Scrambling down the tree, it wasn't until Ace finally reached the bottom that he noticed something crucial to his health as well as his dignity.

He wasn't wearing any pants.

Ace felt his face warm as a deep scarlet blush covered the upper part of his body as he took in his unclothed form. He had never felt so . . . exposed in the entirety of his sixteen years. Not to mention, him lacking pants hadn't occurred only once today, but twice.

God, embarrassment didn't even begin to cover how he was currently feeling.

However, he didn't have the luxury to worry about his lack of undergarments right now. The sun was setting and if Ace didn't hurry and procure some food and water fast then he would have to wait until tomorrow morning. Knowing Luffy's ridiculous appetite, not to mention his own, neither brother would survive if they had to wait.

So, as much as Ace wanted to go and retrieve his and Luffy's discarded shorts from earlier, he simply didn't have the time.

Hunting while butt-naked was an experience Ace knew that he would never forget, but it thankfully ended in success with Ace killing a large bear and having found some water for him and Luffy to drink.

By the time Ace finally made it back to the tree fort with his kill and the makeshift water bottles he had made out of leaves, the sun had disappeared. In it's place stood a full moon and a black, star-filled sky, which gave Ace a small amount of light that would help him make the climb back up the tree.

Not surprisingly, carrying Luffy was much easier than carrying the black bear but Ace still made it back up towards the fort.

Stepping inside their makeshift home, Ace had time to set down their meal and the water before the scent from before punched him in the face.

"ACE!" Luffy called, his flushed body spread out on top of their makeshift bed, waiting to be filled.

It looked like eating would have to wait.

As the hours passed, a pattern in their activities emerged. They would have sex, pass out, wake up and have sex again, take short breaks to try eat and drink something (not much though), and then finally get right back to fucking.

At one point they had even made their way down towards the river for a much needed bath after both of them started to chafe from their dried cum. Now that had been an interesting experience.

By the evening of the second day, after almost non-stop sex, Ace was exhausted. He had never known he could feel this tired and worn out and was weak enough to admit that he wished he had never learned in the first place.

Honestly, Ace seriously felt bad for the people who had sex for a living, because it hadn't even been two full days yet and he was already nearing the end of his rope. Despite that, it appeared that Luffy was basically unaffected and was ready to continue for another two days.

Ace almost wanted to cry.

Thankfully, right now Luffy was asleep, the small male having passed out a minute after he came, screaming Ace's name. Which meant that for a short while at least, Ace had some much needed reprieve.

Climbing down from the fort, thankfully this time with shorts on, Ace stretched his arms and gave a relieved sigh. It was a nice change to get out of that stuffy tree house for a bit and with the weather today being so nice, he decided that a walk would do him some good.

Walking away from the fort, not really caring where his feet led him, Ace let himself enjoy the peace and quiet for a moment, not sparing a single thought that maybe, he shouldn't have left Luffy behind.