Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from One Piece, Oda-sensei does, the lucky guy.

The Beat of the Rain

Luffy awoke to the loud crash of thunder that sounded outside. The rain was pouring down on the roof. Most fall asleep to its steady beat, and Luffy would have, had it not been for the thunder that rumbled again from above.

Frightened the little boy hid behind his hands before burying his head under the covers. As another roar of thunder sounded, he squeaked surprised before hurrying out of the dark room. He padded down the hall as fast as his little feet could carry him. He quickly found himself in the next room, down the hall, by the side of another bed.

He quietly prodded the bed's occupant, wanting to ask permission to join him, but did not wait for a reply. The thunder crashed again outside, seemingly closer to the house and had made the boy jump into the bed as fast as possible. As he hid himself against the occupant's back in fear of the loud noise, it grunted slightly. Turning, Luffy was surveyed by tired eyes.

"What's the matter, bro?" Ace mumbled, yawning.

Luffy opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by yet another thundering roar from outside. What came out of his mouth instead was another squeak and he hid again.

"Hey, hey…it's okay," Ace comforted his little brother with a hug. "It's just a storm, nothing to worry about."

He pulled Luffy in close acting as a shield to the invisible enemy.

"Let's go back to sleep, you can stay with me tonight."

Luffy just snuggled into his brother's chest comforted by the familiar heartbeat. He fell asleep quickly to the sound of Ace's steady breathing and hugged his protector close.

Ace let himself grin a bit before shifting the now sleeping Luffy into a better position, making himself more comfortable. The rain was still pouring down steadily onto the roof and its continuous beat lulled him into a deep sleep. Or it might have been another narcoleptic episode that kicked in, Ace wasn't sure…

End...

Heh, I couldn't help but write this…it's been raining all day and it was a possibility of storms so yeah, I couldn't help it. Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review!! Thanks.

Ace and Luffy's brother-ship (not sure that's a word…) is so cute!!

Love ya all,

Blaze