THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS! WARNING! THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS!

For people who don't know, italics are flashbacks and normal font is the present.

RIP ポトガスDエズ　Ch. 154-574 :(

Somewhere

"Ace, " Luffy tugged at his brother's blanket. The elder sibling groaned and peeked his face out from under the covers.

"What is it Luffy?" The younger one responded by shifting his eyes uncomfortably with his head hung. Ace narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Can't sleep AGAIN?"

Luffy nodded. "Okay," Ace said, pulling him onto the bed, "Get under the covers." Luffy obliged and Ace went back to sleep, Luffy clinging to him. After a few hours Luffy awoke again, tugging on Ace's shirt.

"Luffy! You're ten years old! You're grown up enough for me not to coddle you! Go back to sleep. I'm tired."

"But Ace," Luffy whined, "I can't sleep…"

"What am I supposed to do about that?"

Luffy frowned, "Sing me a lullaby…"

"Luffy…just go to sleep…" Ace went back under the covers.

Luffy pulled the covers off, "…the one from the play we watched last week."

"Luffy, that's not a lullaby that's a real song."

"Can you sing it anyway?" Luffy made a puppy face, which was enough to make Ace give in. Ace stared groggily at his brother.

"You really like that one, don't you?"

"Yeah! It makes me feel happy." Luffy replied with a grin.

Ace smiled for the first time that night, "Okay, fine."

-x-x-x-

"Ace! No! You can't! You promised me we'd always be together!" Luffy held his bleeding brother in his arms.

"Luffy, listen to me…"

"But Ace! You said you wouldn't die!" Luffy started to cry.

"Lil' Bro…I always thought it was a sin for me to be born…so it's no big deal if I died anyway."

Luffy sobbed into his brother. "Ace that's not true! Y-you've always had me to look out for! And I had you to be my nii-chan! I looked after you and you looked after me! Remember Ace? Remember how you would always save me from bullies and never forgive jii-chan after he hit me? And remember that song you'd always sing to me? Remember?!"

"Oh yeah…" Ace responded with a smile. "It always made you happy…"

-x-x-x-

"There's a place for us…somewhere a place for us," Ace's voice rang softly, "Peace and quiet and open air, wait for us...somewhere." He stopped. "That's enough. Go to sleep."

"But Acceeeee," Luffy whined, "it's so pretty…sing more for me please?"

Ace rolled his eyes, "Fine…" He paused for a few moments to remember the lyrics, then began again, "There's a time for us…someday a time for us…"

-x-x-x-

"H-hold my hand and we're half way there…h-hold m-my h-hand and I'll take you there!" Luffy sobbed as he grasped his brother's hand. "Somehow…" he saw the life fading from his brother's eyes.

"Luffy," Ace started to cry as well, "T-tell that idiot Dadan goodbye for me…since I'm about to die…"

"Ace! Stop saying that!"

"I have just one regret however…it's not living to see you dream come true…but I know you'll do it, because you're my brother. You'll pull it off…someday…"

"Nii-chan!"

"And tell everyone else one last thing for me…"

He took a deep breath, "Even though I carry the blood of a demon in my veins…everyone…YOU GUYS STILL LOVED ME! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" And with a smile on his face, he dropped from his brother's arms.

"Ace…?"

-x-x-x-

"Luffy…you're supposed to be asleep."

"But that song was so pretty." Luffy grinned.

"Why do you like that song so much anyway?" Ace inquired.

Luffy's eyes brightened while kept that big grin he had on his face, "Because, it gives me hope!"

"What do you mean?" Ace asked.

"I mean, it makes me feel like there's a better place for us to go, away from people like the bullies and Jii-chan. And a place where people won't be mean to you just because of who your dad was and a place for me to be Pirate King! And it's also a place where we can still be together. Because I mean, we're brothers after all. And brothers should always stick together!" Luffy grinned.

"Really now…?" Ace smirked, "A place without the old man? That would be nice."

"But we'd also get to be together!" Luffy insisted.

"You mean I'd have to be together with you?" Ace teased, "with a ten-year-old who can't even go to sleep on his own? I don't think I'd like that place at all…"

"Ace! You're mean!" Luffy stuck out his bottom lip.

Ace laughed, "I'm joking, I'm joking…now go to sleep."

"Fine." Luffy turned his back to Ace and pulled the covers over him.

After a few moments of silence, Luffy spoke up again.

"Ace…?"

"Yeah Lu?"

"We'll always be together right?"

"Yes Luffy."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Love you nii-chan."

"Love you too, Luffy."

-x-x-x-

Luffy thrusted his head back and yelled,

"ACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

WAHHHHH I hated the new chapter. I'm such a big Ace fan, that I was about to stop reading One Piece. But something inside me forced me to stick with it, and instead I shall mourn Ace properly. The little idea of using "Somewhere" popped up when I was thinking of a possible funeral story for Ace. The song is angsty enough, except it was too romantic. So I attempted to find a way to make it more "brotherly" rather than RomeoXJuliet ish. I hope you enjoyed and RIP Portgas D. Ace…