A/N: A little Ace x Luffy fluff for ya! You don't like it, don't read. I have a certain soft spot for these two, and I really just wanted to write something kinda cute.

– Oh yeah, I'm not really sure when this takes places or how old they are or whatever. Just ignore it and enjoy the read.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

Rated: T for brotherly love and other things, I suppose.

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Jealousy

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Ace had always been the most popular boy in the village. Grownups thought he was "such a sweet boy," parents wished their teenaged boys could be more like him, and girls wished for Ace to look their way and flash his debonair smile. Even boys looked to Ace whether for his talents, his natural likeable ability, or, rather, because they had certain "feelings" for him as well.

And Ace knew all this. So, to keep up appearances, he acted certain ways in front of certain people. But no matter how impressed people were with him, there was always one person he didn't have to try to impress. And that person was Ace's little brother, Luffy.

Luffy was in awe of his brother. He would follow him everywhere and do all the things that Ace did. Or try anyway. And, of course, being the good big brother that he was, Ace let Luffy tag along with him. Whether he was flirting with girls or taking an afternoon nap on the grass, Luffy was there and always in awe.

One day, however, that all changed. A pirate ship had docked in their small town. Upon arriving, the whole town gathered to see what sort of figure would descend. Ace, curious like everyone else, made his way down to the docks with Luffy on his shoulders. "What is it, Ace?! Tell me!"

"It's a pirate ship, Luffy," Ace responded, shifting Luffy higher on his shoulders.

"A pirate ship? Why's a pirate ship here?"

"Well, when we can get down there, you can ask them."

"What! What if they make me walk the plank!"

"Then you'll sink," Ace finished with a laugh.

Luffy wasn't laughing and clutched onto Ace tighter. Ace shifted Luffy a little more comfortably and continued to make his way down to the dock.

No one had come out of the mystery ship when they reached it. Pushing through the taller crowd, Ace broke through the front and came to rest next to Makino. Setting Luffy down, Ace asked, "Have they come out yet?"

"Not yet," Makino answered, "But we've been hearing voices, so ... it shouldn't be long now."

"I hope they're nice," Luffy whispered softly.

Ace smiled down at his brother, ruffled his hair, and taunted, "Aw, ya scared Luffy?"

"No!" Luffy yelled, flinging Ace's hand away. Ace only laughed, but was suddenly cut short with hushed murmurs of the town.

All eyes went to the pirate ship and the inhabitants coming out. The captain, which was only assumed since he was being followed by other men, was a tall red haired man. He has a series of three scars over one eye, but looked maddeningly happy all the same. The men behind him, interestingly, all looked just as happy, if not happier, then their captain.

"This town is great!" exclaimed the red-haired captain.

—

The mystery man had introduced himself as Shanks. He and his crew had quickly gained the town's respect after they all found out what a happy, laid back bunch of pirates they were. And, for a long time, Shanks and his crew stayed in the village to stock up and use as their port.

Everyone enjoyed their company immensely, but there was one person among the rest who found exceptional admiration for the captain. And that was Luffy.

Ace began to notice a change in his brother's behavior a few weeks after the pirates had docked. Luffy was leaving the house more and wasn't constantly nagging Ace to play with him or engage in some other pointless activity. And, when he was at home, all he talked about was Shanks and about becoming a pirate.

Now, Ace wasn't one to get jealous or anything, but the constant lack of one bright eyed young boy constantly in admiration of him not being around had started wearing on him.

Everyone in town still treated him like they always had, but whenever he was flirting with a girl or showing off to a group of boys, his mind would always wander back to Luffy and he'd think, "I bet Luffy would be impressed."

—

"Wai! Shanks! That's awesome!"

Shanks had been telling the bar a story of one of his crew's great escapades, and, of course, Luffy was just as impressed as ever. "What happened next?!"

"Well, Luffy m'boy, I walked up to the leader and was all, "You talkin' to me?" and the guy was all, "I sure was, pretty boy," so I turned around, chuckled a little, and then sliced his head clean off!"

"Wow, Shanks! That's so cool!"

"It's not that cool," Ace murmured as the bar bursted into joyous laughter and screaming.

"Oh, what's wrong Ace?" Makino asked, pouring him some more juice.

Ace, who was giving Shanks quite the glare, hadn't noticed Makino standing there. He merely continued to fume and he slumped down more onto the counter.

"Aw, a handsome boy like you shouldn't be so angry. It wrinkles your features," Makino smiled.

Startled, Ace jumped a little and turned toward Makino. He just stared at her for a few seconds before he dismissed her with a "Hmf!" and looked back to Shanks who was currently lifting Luffy on his shoulders and singing. "Hm, traitor."

Makino laughed and placed a hand on Ace's shoulder, "You know, Luffy really looks up to you."

Still glaring, Ace responded lazily, "Sure doesn't seem like it. I mean – !" Ace retracted, covering his mouth. He looked at Makino who merely smiled. "I don't care about who Luffy likes or doesn't like, and I don't care who he hangs out with or whatever. In fact, I'm glad he's not following me around all the time. He was always in my way and stuff; plus, he's way younger than me and was totally cramping my style."

Makino just continued to look at him and, finally, stated, "I didn't say anything. No need to defend yourself."

Angry, Ace jumped out of the stool, locked eyes with the her, shouted, "He can do whatever the Hell he wants, ok?! I don't care!" and ran out of the bar.

The whole bar was completely silent. A few men had their mouths half open from their halted singing, Shanks looked throughly confused, and a piece of meat hung from Luffy's mouth. Makino, laughing, said, "Oh, don't worry about him. Luffy, would you come here a moment?"

—

The sun was setting. When Ace had run out of the bar, he was so angry, he just wanted to get away from people. So, currently, he was sitting under a tree down by a stream. He had been thinking of all those times he saw Luffy with Shanks. How he smiled when Shanks ruffled his hair, how he laughed when Shanks told him a joke, or how, when Shanks just sat there, Luffy urged to get the closet seat to him as possible.

And maybe Makino was right, maybe Luffy did look up to him, but he wasn't doing that currently. But all this thinking was getting him angrier. At himself. Why was he caring so much about what Luffy was doing? Why did he care?! Other siblings didn't care this much, he was sure. But other siblings didn't have brothers like Luffy. Why? Why did Luffy have to like him so annoyingly much? Why couldn't he be like other brothers' who had their own friends and hated their older brother? Why couldn't he be like other brothers and get annoyed by his younger brother?

All this thinking was just bothering Ace all the more. So, angry and far from content, he closed his eyes and tried to rid those thoughts of Luffy with sleep.

—

"Ace."

He heard his name but didn't want to wake up. Couldn't whoever it was see that he was pissed off?

"Ace!" The voice demanded more clearly.

Ace blinked his eyes lazily, ready to kill whoever it was that was trying to wake him up. But, suddenly, a little weight landed on his chest. "Ace! Wake up!"

Opening his eyes, he came face to face with Luffy. Startled, Ace hastily sat up in surprise, sending Luffy toppling over in the grass. "Lu-Luffy?"

Righting himself, Luffy brushed the grass off his clothes and looked at Ace. "Well, duh!" he said annoyed, plopping down beside Ace. "Why are you angry?"

"Huh?" Ace gazed at Luffy, not sure what to say. How could he admit all those thoughts he'd had over the past few weeks? Luffy would just laugh at him or not admire him as much, he was sure of it. And he really didn't want that. Of course, he was sure this brooding wasn't helping either. Ace sighed, "I'm not angry, Luffy."

"Well, Makino says you are."

"She's wrong."

"She wanted me to cheer you up."

"Go cheer up someone who needs it."

Crossing his arms in a pout, Luffy looked into the face of his brother. Why was he being such a butt head? Luffy was sure it was nothing he'd done, but, on the off chance it was, he wanted to cheer Ace up. He wanted nothing more than for Ace to be happy, but he was becoming so cold and distant over the past few weeks. "Do you not like me anymore?"

Ace was startled by the question. Turning to Luffy quickly, mouth agape, he stared right into Luffy's eyes. "What kind of question is that?"

Ignoring Ace's question, Luffy pressed on with his own, determined to receive the answer. "Ace, you don't like me, do you?"

Turning to face Luffy, Ace grabbed his shoulders and protested, "Luffy! How can you even say that?! Of course I like you!"

"Then why are you so angry with me?"

"I'm not angry with you!"

"Yes you are!"

"No, I'm not, Luffy!"

"Yes huh!"

"I'M NOT MAD AT YOU! I'M MAD AT SHANKS FOR TAKING YOU AWAY FROM ME!"

Finally the truth came out. Ace covered his mouth suddenly, a blush creeping onto his face which he angrily tried to suppress, but couldn't. Luffy just stared at his brother with wide eyes.

Turning his face violently away from Luffy's, Ace pressed on, "You used to always hang around me and want to be like me. You were always there, in awe, and I got used to it. In fact, I liked you there, even if I didn't show it. And now, Shanks enters town for a few weeks, and he's already got your full attention. Now, you admire him, and laugh with him, and worship him! And where does that leave me? He took you away, Luffy," Ace finished lamely. He dared not look over, for fear of Luffy either looking at him with disappointment or otherwise.

Suddenly, Ace felt warm, tiny hands on his face. Turning his head with his hands, Luffy brought Ace's face in level with his. Sitting on his Ace's lap to get closer, Luffy pressed his lips softly into Ace's.

Shock. Embarrassment. Happiness. All these emotions and more poured into Ace. His mind was slightly numb, and he was sure this wasn't happening. Luffy was not kissing him. Truth was, however, that Luffy was kissing him and this was reality.

When Luffy pulled away, he had a blush on his face that he was sure matched his own. "Ace," Luffy began quietly, "I love you, Ace."

"I lo-love you to-too, Luffy," Ace stuttered, still shaky from the kiss.

"Good!" Luffy exclaimed brightly, jumping from Ace's lap, "Ace, Shanks may be totally cool, but he's no where near as cool as my brother! And I don't love him near as much as I love you!"

Ace smiled. A genuinely happy smile. Leave it to Luffy to cheer him up. "Thanks, bro," Ace whispered, ruffling Luffy's hair. And, like he always had, Luffy smiled his huge smile. Nothing could have made Ace happier.

"I'm gonna go back. You wanna come?" Ace declined, but, this time, he wasn't near as jealous as he would have been a few minutes ago. Shanks may be Luffy's idol, but Ace was Luffy's brother. And he knew the words Luffy spoke were true. "Ok, see you later, Ace!"

Smiling again, Ace watched Luffy's little body make his way excitedly back to the bar. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in the grass and stared up at the approaching night sky.

No one else had a brother like Luffy. And he was glad because there was no one in the world like his little brother.

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-The End-

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A/N: That's it! Hope you liked it. Reviews are great! I'd love to know what you think.