Warnings/Notes: Hello~ Here is chapter 9 uwu. I don't have much to say this time... I don't like this chapter that much...

Oh, but I did start a new story called 'Reset' recently! You should check it out if you can ;)!

Ace - 23 / Luffy - 19

CHAPTER 9: Thunder

Ace is at work when a loud crash of thunder cuts him off.

The lights had flickered for a second and the only thing one could hear in the sudden silence was the heavy pounding of raindrops before his coworkers continued doing what they had been doing before. Ace, however doesn't return to his conversation, staring of into space.

"Ace?" His boss, Edward Newgate otherwise know as Whitebeard, says. He successfully catches Ace's attention. "What's wrong, son?"

The twenty-two year olds ears flush and he sheepishly scratches the back of his head. "Sorry, nothings really wrong, the thing is though is that it's thundering."

"Is ol'Ace-y afraid of thunder?" Thatch cuts in, throwing an arm over Ace's shoulder and leaning on him heavily.

"NO!" Ace nearly yells, pushing the older man off of his shoulders. "No. My boyfriend is terrified of thunder."

"Oh, the infamous boyfriend, you say?" Thatch leers, looking more interested than he should be.

Ace rolls his eyes. "Yeah, he's never liked thunder much, ever since we were kids it always freaked him out. He had the day off today, so he's probably still home alone..."

Whitebeard hums to himself, seeing the worried expression on Ace's face and the sudden coaxing expression on Thatch's.

"You can have the rest of day off, Ace. Take a long weekend." Whitebeard says, after a moment.

"Eh? Really?! There's still half a day left!"

Whitebeard waves his hand. "It's a slow day. Plus, you worked overtime last week."

Thatch throws an arm around Ace's shoulder once again. "C'mon, Acey! You work too much, take a little break! You said the thunder scares your boyfriend right? Go be with the kid! Me and Marco were about to go out to lunch; we can take you to your apartment!"

Ace narrows his eyes. "Whose driving?"

Thatch rolls his eyes in exaggeration. "I am, you know Marco is almost as hopeless as you are in the rain."

"YOU SHUT UP!"

Whitebeard laughs in mirth as he watches the two bicker playfully.

"This is it." Ace says as the red beaten down car approaches his apartment complex.

"Nice place." Marco says, looking up at the large building.

"Yep. Thanks for taking me home guys, I'll see you later." Ace replies once the car comes to a stop across the street from the complex, unbuckling his seat belt.

"You gotta introduce us to this boyfriend soon, okay Acey?" Thatch pouts childishly.

Ace laughs and opens the door. "Yeah, I'll introduce you guys soon. See ya!" He hops out of the car and enters the rain.

As the old car drives away, Ace runs to his apartment to avoid the rain as much as possible.

Soon enough, he's at the door of his penthouse apartment that Garp had recently insisted they rent. (The old man was even helping them pay it, even if both Ace and Luffy made some money. Something they never really expected from the old man.) Another loud crash of thunder hits when Ace turns the doorknob. If his ears didn't deceive him, a small squeak reaches his ears.

He shrugs his jacket off, going straight into the front room, where low and behold, a figure is rolled up into a little ball on the couch, covered up by a blanket. Sure enough, it's shaking slightly.

"Lu?" Ace says approaching the couch.

Luffy jumps and quickly tries to pull the blanket off. Ace assists and when the blanket is off, another crash of thunder strikes and Luffy jumps up, causing Luffy to yelp and jump up, clinging to Ace.

"Shhh, Lu, c'mon, calm down. It'll all be okay. I'm right here." Ace scoops Luffy up bridal style and begins to walk to their room. Luffy burries his nose into Ace's shoulders, his arms wrapped tight around his neck.

Gently, Ace places Luffy on their bed and presses a soft kiss to his lips.

When Ace pulls away and opens his eyes, Luffy's eyes are shining with relief and trust.

"You're wet." Luffy says smiling, reaching over for Ace's hand.

The newly twenty three year old lays down beside Luffy, squeezing the hand in his.

"Got more important things to care about right now." With his free hand Ace cups Luffy's cheek.

When he leans in to connect their lips once more, another wave of loud thunder passes, causing Luffy's breath to hitch in his throat and the grip on Ace's hand to tighten.

"Shhh Lu, c'mon." He presses a quick kiss to Luffy's lips. "Just focus on me, okay?"

Since they were kids, Ace had been one of the few people able to calm Luffy down during a thunder storm. However, as the years passed, the methods of helping changed.

As children and teens, hugging Luffy and talking to him had been successful. But when they started dating, kisses were quickly added into the fray.

"I'm never gonna let the stupid thunder get you, got that Lu?"

Luffy nods his head quickly connecting their lips once more.

Nothing was or would ever as great as Ace, Luffy was sure of it. The younger male scoots closer to Ace so their bodies were pressed against each other.

Ace's lips leave his, but quickly move to his jaw. Luffy sighs and extends his neck to give his boyfriend more access.

Soft, tiny moans leave Luffy's lips as Ace sucks and kisses his neck.

Soon, Ace shifts his weight to his legs and hovers over Luffy. The slightly flushed male underneath him blinks and looks confused. "Ace?" The freckled man was now sporting a mischievous grin.

Before Luffy knows it, Ace's hands are at his sides, tickling him furiously. The nineteen year old squeals in laughter and tries to stop the hands tickling him by rolling up into a ball.

"Nooo! Ace!" Luffy says in between laughs, his attempts at wriggling away unsuccessful. Ace laughs along with his boyfriend, his hands unrelenting.

The only thing that can stop Ace tickling Luffy is the monstrous growls that come from both of their stomachs at nearly the same time.

Both men look at each other for a second before breaking out into more laughter.

Quickly, Ace stands up and decides to scoop Luffy back into his arms bridal style.

"Lets find something to eat, Lu." Ace says, feeling Luffy's arms settle around his neck, a lot less tense than they had been.

Luffy nods, his cheeks still flushed from laughing.

"Hey Lu, did you notice?" Ace says walking out of their room.

"What?"

"No thunder anymore."

The way Luffy's face lights up leaves a warm feeling in Ace's stomach.

"Yay!" Luffy calls out, hugging Ace's neck tightly.

Ace laughs and grins as Luffy's grip refuses to lessen; he had always been rather clingy after all.

"You're such a dork."

He carries Luffy to the kitchen, already enjoying his long weekend.