I will save all my rants and crying for the end. All I want to say is…I really wanted my next One Piece fic to be a LuffyxHancock.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. If I did, I'm sure you can guess what wouldn't have happened!

"Ace!" Ace stopped walking and looked back as Luffy ran up to him. "Wait for me!"

Ace shook his head before he continued walking. Luffy pouted as he stopped running. He stretched his arm forward and grabbed Ace's arm. Ace grabbed Luffy's wrist before he began to spin Luffy around in the air. Luffy screamed his head off and Ace let go of Luffy who flew into a tree.

Ace walked off again. Luffy stared at Ace's retreating back before he began to sob. He didn't understand it. Why didn't Ace like him? He hadn't done anything wrong, right?

"What a fool," Ace muttered. He didn't understand why Luffy always wanted to hang around him. Ace didn't want an annoying brat like that around him. Ace scoffed, "I can't believe he's the old man's grandkid, a weakling like that."

Oh, well, Ace had an easy way to forget him. He finally reached his destination, the seediest part of the island. There was always one reason Ace bludgeoned someone here.

"I'm telling ya. If Roger had a kid, he should be skewered alive."

That was it.

Ace walked in the direction of that comment and came across five large men who were laughing their brains out. They stopped and looked at Ace.

"What do you want, brat?" one man spat.

Ace just stared at him, eyes cold and filled with hatred. The men all surrounded Ace, weapons drawn.

"You must want to say something," another one said, licking his knife.

"…If Gold Roger had a son…should he have been born?" was Ace's reply.

All the men laughed hardily.

"Of course not!"

"He should have been killed in the womb! Dead, him and his bastard mother!"

"That would make even Roger cry in the afterlife!"

Ace's fists shook and he chuckled darkly to himself. "Yeah, Roger's child has no right to live." Ace cracked his knuckles and screamed, "And neither do you!"

Suddenly, one of the men was knocked out by a fist but it wasn't Ace's. Ace stood on the sidelines and watched in shock. Luffy's small and rubbery body was being used to beat down men who should have been ten times stronger than him.

Luffy finished the last guy off with a Gum-Gum Pistol to the man's gut. He fell to the ground to finish off the unconscious heap. Ace couldn't believe it. He had always beaten Luffy so effortlessly so he never thought Luffy could be…powerful.

Luffy looked at Ace, angrily, before he stomped off. As he did, Ace clearly heard Luffy say, "You're the one who doesn't deserve to live."

Ace just stood there as he repeated the sentence in his head, over and over again. He didn't understand it. He thought Luffy didn't know. If he did, was he just pretending to try and be Ace's friend? Ace growled before he chased after Luffy.

"You freak!" Ace tackled Luffy to the ground and began to thrash on him. "You're a monster! Not even the sea wants you! Who are you to tell me I don't deserve to live?!"

Luffy glared at Ace through all of his punching before screaming, "Who are you to say that Gold Roger's son deserved to die?!"

Ace stopped right before his next punch hit Luffy. Ace looked down at the rubber boy, shock written all over his face. His arms fell to his sides but Luffy continued to glare at him.

"…What?"

Luffy pushed Ace off of him and Ace fell to the ground. Luffy rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand.

"I may be a monster but you're even worse." Luffy stood up and stomped his foot on the ground. "Gold Roger is my hero! He didn't do anything but live his life the way he wanted it! People are mad at him for that!" He pointed at Ace, who never got off of the ground. "And people like you think that his child deserved to die after doing nothing and it's not fair!"

Luffy took in a deep breath before he screamed to the skies, "I want to meet Gold Roger's son!! I want to tell him that he deserves to live!! I want him to live!!" And with that, Luffy ran off.

Ace didn't get off of the ground. His only movement was his body shaking as he cried.

-

Luffy watched the sun as it set beneath the horizon. His stomach was growling but he refused to go inside and eat. As important and sacred as food was, he didn't want to share it with Ace. Luffy heard the sound of feet in the grass. He assumed it was Dadan.

"Luffy?"

He pulled down on his straw hat so he wouldn't have to look at Ace. Ace took a seat beside Luffy and Luffy moved away from him.

"I'm not talking to you," Luffy huffed.

Ace looked at Luffy, not knowing what to say. He sighed through his nose.

"Did you mean that? About Roger's son?" he asked.

Luffy pouted before sticking his tongue out at Ace. "Well, if I was talking to you, which I'm not, I'd say yes." He turned away.

"But Roger was a demon!" Luffy heard Ace shouted and Luffy's eye twitched.

He turned back around and his jaw slacked. Luffy couldn't believe it. Ace was crying. Ace was the toughest person Luffy knew. Why was he crying? Ace brought his face into his hands as he continued to cry.

"I don't understand. Why don't you hate him? Why don't you hate his child?" Ace cried harder. He didn't understand. This kid made no sense.

"I have no reason to hate either one. Gold Roger was the King of the Pirates! He was incredible and his son would be just as incredible as—"

Ace's head shot up and he screamed at Luffy, "But I'm not! I don't deserve to live and it's all his fault! That bastard didn't even stay around to protect his lover and child! He knew this would happen and he allowed me to be born anyway! He deserved to die!"

Ace screamed and banged on the ground, crying his heart out and cursing his father to hell. Luffy just watched as the usual calm and strong Ace broke down in front of him. Luffy took off his hat then put it on Ace's head.

Ace stopped screaming and looked up at Luffy, tears still streaming down his face. Luffy smiled at him before he chuckled.

"So, you're Roger's son. Well, I've always wanted to tell you something." Luffy hugged Ace, saying, "I want you to live."

Ace's lip trembled before he grabbed a hold of Luffy and cried loudly.

Ace chuckled to himself. So it was true. Right before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Thankfully, it was one of the only parts that mattered. He held his brother even tighter as more and more tears fell.

Luffy was screaming at him, upset that Ace would dare die on him. Ace couldn't blame him for being mad. He had promised that he would live and not leave his weak little brother alone. After all Luffy had done to make sure Ace would keep going, Ace had screwed it all up.

He wanted to live. He wanted to live and see Luffy grow up. It was no use though. He didn't understand how but magma burned fire. All of his major organs had melted, hadn't they? Even if that wasn't true, he knew he lost too much blood. No one could save him.

Ace used the last of his energy and shouted as loudly as he could:

"Old man! All of you guys!" His voice softened as he said, "And…Luffy…" He raised his voice again. "Even though I've been good for nothing my whole life…even though I carry the blood of a demon within me…you guys still love me! Thank you so much!"

He felt it. There was no more warmth. The sound was all going. He couldn't even feel Luffy anymore. He sniffled before he smiled. He closed his eyes and released his brother. He didn't even make it to feel himself hit the ground.

Ace knew many things about how he would die. He knew that when he died, he had a lot he wanted to say to his mom and dad. He knew that when he died, he would have been killed by someone who hated him and his father. What he didn't know was that when he died…his last thoughts would be dedicated to his little brother.

'It's okay, Luffy. It'll all be okay.'

There will be one more chapter.