It's been... forever. I know. And I'm sorry. Originally I took a break from this story to rewatch Alabasta with my friend, which went slow since we only watched a bit a week, but then some personal stuff happened and I slowed with updates all around. But here is the long-awaited next chapter! ...Forgive me? :,D

ALSO!

I started a collab with Kitsune Foxfire/Bedlamwolf over on our new joint account, BedlamAnjelle. (I know, so original right?) It's called Immortality is What We Leave Behind and is a fantasy AU with no main pairings, if you're interested. I'm having A LOT of fun with that story and it's been a ridiculously amazing experience, so I would really appreciate it if you could go take a look. Only if you want to, of course, but I'd love to hear your opinions on it and Kitsune is an AMAZING writer and partner so I think it'll be worth your time.

Ace stared down at the sleeping marine, a grin on his face as he put on the thick robes he'd bought for traversing the desert. Really he didn't need them—worrying about getting sunburnt was pointless for a fire man, and pretty much all other negative effects dwindled to nothing because of the very same reason—but Luffy was bothered by him the night before when he opted to sit in the cold wearing nothing but his shorts, so he decided to humour him.

Throwing the teen's backpack onto his stomach, the pirate watched as he stirred and woke to glare at his big brother. Well, it wasn't like the smile he used to be met with when they were little but he would take it—seemed to be the best he was gonna get out of the grumpy marine.

"Rise 'n shine," he greeted mockingly as he observed the dark rings beneath his brother's eyes. "We're burning daylight."

Pulling his mouth into a taut line, Luffy scowled. Seemed that version of him wasn't much of a morning person—or it was exhaustion, as the boy kept waking up during the night. Maybe he thought Ace didn't notice, but he hadn't slept well himself. After all, his little brother was right there; he was too excited to sleep.

Luffy sat up, dusting off the sand that blew onto him while he was resting. He was tossed a canteen, which he quickly opened and chugged, the water less refreshing now that it was warm, Ace assumed. Well, it was something at least. If the brat complained he'd just hit him again.

It was weird to see his brother wake up without whining for more sleep, or wondering why they had to rise at the break of dawn. As a boy he was always complaining. He supposed things were different. He didn't dwell on it, though, and the brothers quickly went about repacking in wordless concentration.

"Rainbase, right?" he questioned as they finished, prepared to continue they're endless traversing of the harsh desert climate. At the back of his mind he wondered if, being rubber, it was possible for his brother to melt from extreme heat. The thought was dismissed quickly with a shrug. Well, they would find out sooner or later.

"Hm?" the boy noised, blinking up at the pirate as he slung his belongings over his shoulder.

"That's where you're going—Rainbase. That's where Crocodile is."

Luffy looked into the sky, seemingly deep in thought. That look was still foreign to Ace, something that was taking more than just a while to get used to. "That's what it's called?"

…On second thought, he was just as much of an idiot as always.

Wack!

"Ow! Stop that—you used haki!"

"You should know what your damn destination is! How the hell do you operate as a fucking marine?" he questioned in irritation as he stomped forward across the sand.

The marine snorted as he secured his hat against a sudden breeze, following the elder's example. "I do well at my job!"

"Bullshit!"

"It's true! What the hell would a criminal know?"

Ace glanced back at the smaller boy, narrowing his eyes as he continued forward. There was nothing for miles except sand, sand, more sand and cactuses. The scenery didn't leave much to the imagination. "Even pirates have duties," he stated flatly, adjusting the strap of his bag that hung from his shoulder. "As a commander I'm in charge of my division. They're my responsibility, and I have to look after them just as a marine captain would."

Luffy hummed in thought, picking up his pace until he was walking alongside his sibling. "That so?" he wondered, coughing as sand lodged in his throat. It wasn't long before he settled, muttering curses under his breath and snatching the canteen one more from his brother.

"Oi, oi, don't waste it!" Ace scolded, raising his fist for another solid punch to the teen's head.

"Then why are you here?"

"Hm?" The question had him stopping his attack to blink, watching as large eyes turned his way.

"Why aren't you with them?"

The fire user slowed to a halt, lowering his head to stare at the ground. Luffy did the same, staring at him curiously. He didn't really want to mention it, knowing that his kid brother knew the victim he set out to avenge, even if it was only for a short time. Maybe he didn't want his mood to be sullied by thoughts of that bastard who dared to betray their father's trust. But, being watched as he was, he decided not to ignore it. "Thatch is dead."

He chanced a glance at Luffy's face, just a brief few seconds. He went from confusion to shock to furrowed brows as his expression settled, growing cold. "The cook?"

"Yeah."

He swallowed. "…The one who came to feed me?" A nod. "How?"

Ace lifted a hand to his hat and brought the rim down over his eyes, hiding his anger from his brother, not wanting him to see how affected he was by it. He managed to keep a calm, even voice as he explained, "He was killed by a crewmate. For a devil fruit."

The pirate didn't really know how he expected him to react. It wasn't as though he was close to Thatch, but they weren't strangers either. He was in the hazy grey area between the two, not quite one or the other, and being in the line of field that he was… Luffy wasn't stranger to death. He couldn't be.

"Pirates turning on one another," the boy started with a scoff, "typical."

Ace's eyes shot up to glare at the boy but stayed silent when met with the slight tremble of the younger's bottom lip. The sight was brief as Luffy was quick to turn and continue walking, tugging down on the front of his hat. Ace followed in silence, inwardly smiling at how a marine captain could mourn the death of a pirate.

The kid wasn't so bad.

After the quiet became too much he decided to add more, to fully answer the question he was asked earlier. "After killing him the bastard fled, so I left to deal with him." A grin split his face. "And then I found you. Couldn't leave my cute baby brother to fight a Shichibukai alone, could I?"

"Would you shut up about that? I'm not cute!"

As amusing as it was to tease him, Ace allowed the subject to drop there, basking in the internal satisfaction of knowing that Luffy wasn't bothered by the 'brother' part.

Could they be siblings again? Together, like in the past?

"Lu," Ace whined, dragging his boot-covered feet through the sand as he shook the canteen. Dry as a bone. "Goddamn it, Lu, I can't believe you drank it all! I didn't get a drop!"

He huffed as he continued on, feeling dehydration setting in. It was a horrible feeling, one he hoped not to experience again; as much as he was comfortable with the heat, he still was human and still had needs. And right now, he needed water. But he didn't have any because his stupid fucking marine brother was goddamn irresponsible. He thought the brat's superiors would've done something about that. Apparently he gave them too much credit.

"Oi, Luffy, you listening? If I pass out on the way then you're—OI! The hell are you doing?!" As he turned his head he saw that the teen fell behind, a broken piece of cactus cupped in his hands. Immediately the commander stormed over, snatching it away from the idiot whose eyes were glazed and red. "You drank it, didn't you? Just couldn't listen to a pirate—had to find out the hard way."

The blank look he received had Ace growling under his breath. Stupid fucking marine. But admittedly, it was something that little boy he left on the island would do. The kid had an allergy to following directions or something. But the way he wasn't responding was worrying, and Ace found his anger diminishing into concern, his posture relaxed as he reached out to gently grab his brother's shoulders.

"O-oi… Are you okay, Lu? Do you feel alright?"

"…Ace?" As soon as the name left his lips his muscle control vanished and he fell into the elder's grip, eyes still as blank as before. "You're all… tall 'n stuff."

He raised an eyebrow, staring incredulously down at the sibling being held up only by his own strength. "No offense, Lu, but you're tiny."

"But you weren't so… big."

Blinking curiously as he assessed the situation, the pirate sighed. The marine wasn't talking as he usually did, his tone light and airy and somewhat amused. He didn't look tired just… drugged. And Ace knew that would happen. A shopkeeper had warned him before they set out that the water within the cacti in the Alabastian desert could cause delusions and hallucinations and he told Luffy that damn near half a dozen times. He lectured the little brat about drinking from them. But what did he say? "I'm not taking orders from a pirate." And look what happened, he was right. What a shock.

Even as he continued his mental complaints he turned, hefting the smaller youth onto his back.

"…Ace?"

He grabbed Luffy's bag—the boy put it down when he took a drink from the cactus—and trudged forward, continuing down the seemingly endless stretch of sand. "Can't really let you walk around like this, can I?"

"No, put me down," he mumbled yet proceeded to bury his face in the crook of his brother's neck, leading the latter to roll his eyes. What a stubborn brat. But… Ace kinda liked it, a flash from his childhood making it all worthwhile. He could tolerate it. "I want Sabo to carry me."

He froze. "…What?"

"Sabo," the boy slurred. "He's over there… Says you need to listen."

…Hallucinations, huh? "Lu, he's not… he's gone, Lu."

"He's here," Luffy countered. "Hey, Ace, I miss the forest. I wanna go home."

The pirate bit his lip. Just what the hell had that water done to him?

"'M hungry. 'N thirsty."

"I know. Just try to relax; next stop I'll get you something to drink, okay?"

"…Thanks, Ace."

Luffy had been scowling since he first became coherent again, refusing to look at Fire Fist or even utter his name. His thoughts from before the effects of… whatever it was he drank wore off were scattered and hazed, leaving blotches of memories just empty in his mind. Ace, that bastard, kept teasing him about it. Then scolding. Then more teasing. It was maddening and didn't fail to cement that scowl to his face. But the real reason he wasn't talking was because his thoughts were lingering on the blond he imagined walking alongside them. It may have been a hallucination, it may have all been fake, but he couldn't pull his thoughts away from it. That kid… Sabo, was it? That was what Ace called him. Sabo. Sabo. So he finally had a name for him.

Sabo was dead. Sabo was gone. Yet in his hallucination there he was, so tall, so grown, so mature. When had he died? Did Luffy see him grow up? The whole thing was… weird. Being carried by Ace, by that damned criminal, he felt… small again. He felt like a child and it was somewhat… nostalgic.

"Oi, brat," Ace called from ahead, leading the marine to scowl. He'd stopped pestering him a while back and Luffy had hoped it would remain that way. "Hurry it up."

Climbing to the top of the sand dune, Luffy gaped. Beyond it were ruins, buildings eroded by the dry sands surrounding them, the winds passing through. No one was there. No one remained.

"You'll have to wait for that food. And water. This place is dry."

"…I noticed."

Seeing what Vivi talked about back on Sunny first hand was sickening. How long had the people lived like that, with water so scarce and food unable to grow? How maybe reservoirs dried up? It would end. He'd kick that stupid Croc's ass! And then…

Ace had already started into the ruins, Luffy's feet planted firmly as he watched his advancement with a dry throat, clenching his fist. And then… could he just let a commander leave like that? Could they go their separate ways, pretend that nothing happened?

When the time came, could he choose family over duty?

And there we go! More plot next chapter I'm thinking we'll get right into the Rainbase stuff but we'll see how it goes. Hope you enjoyed!

To my lovelies~

Okinawa Angel: You're welcome~

xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Yep, slowly!

94Insane: Isn't he? XD

TheAnalei: Yep, he's starting to like Ace and he's hating it XD

kickassdani: You're welcome~

Yueres De Leo: Sorry for making you cry :,D

Kamikashi: Glad you like!

MeikoKuran999: I'm happy you enjoyed it :)

3kitttens: Awe, you're sweet~

CrazySarahify: Yes, yes he is! Awe, thank you hun 3

MysticMaiden 18: I make no promises on character death.

AsakuraTwinXcest: I don't change my stories based on what happens in canon.

teengens: I'm sorry QAQ it's just things happen and it takes me away from writing...

Wolf and MR Lover: Well I like both brotherly and pairing so... ^^; Here ya go.

Son Goshen: Yep, they're spending quality time together :D

Onuard: Interesting theories but you'll have to wait to see XD

Yvonne Park: Here's an update~

LostFairyMantic: Awe, you're so sweet XD Well Ace certainly likes Lu, even though he's different. So progress!

azab: Glad you like!

Semitura: He didn't remember he died, just that he was there.

WaylandJackson: Here.

Guest: First, please DO NOT post spoilers in reviews. What if someone was reading the reviews and hadn't caught up? Or what if I wasn't caught up? Second, regardless of what happens in this fic, it's not affected by canon. I plotted this entire think a year ago and whatever happens in the manga won't change the outcome.

Lottiekoda: Yeah, I don't like retelling things we already know so I try to skip as much of it as I can. All of your questions will be answered, my friend. You're welcome~

popian3: Glad you like!

JoojooBrother: Well so far no one's dead, but we'll have to see :,D

Thank you all for the reviews and I hope you enjoyed~

Adieu~