Chapter Text
“Hey, Ace?”
Ace hummed, “Yeah?” not looking away from the animal he was currently skinning.
He heard the beginning of fire crackle by Luffy, and he had also heard the hesitance in his brother’s voice. Luffy asking when the food was ready was a regular occurrence when they hadn’t even started to cook it, so Ace figured it was just another question about their meal. He understood Luffy’s excitement, though, they managed to get a lion for their dinner today, and the lions in the forest taste amazing when cooked just right.
“I don’t feel like a boy sometimes,” Luffy said softly, and Ace paused.
“What do you mean?” He asked turning to look at his brother.
Luffy messed with the hem of his shirt, eyes strictly on the fire and a frown was on his lips. Ace knew that his brother was a boy, and he was strong, so he didn’t really see the issue. But his baby brother was upset about this, was visibly nervous when he was known for saying what was on his mind without thought, so Ace would listen and try to understand.
“Well,” Luffy said nervously, “Sometimes I feel like a girl.”
“Don’t worry,” Ace reassured, grinning, “You can be a whimp but you’re my brother.”
“No,” Luffy said, face contorted in determination, “Ace, I don’t want to be a boy sometimes.”
Ace blinked once, twice, thrice. “Oh. Okay. That’s fine.”
Luffy blinked at him, “I heard someone say it was gross.” He muttered, turning away.
“Oi, who said that?” Ace demanded, “I’ll kick the shit out of them.”
Luffy bit his lip, “It was one of the nobles from High Town.”
Of course, Ace thought bitterly. Those people weren’t open minded in the littlest sense, and Luffy really shouldn’t be listening to them, let alone go to High Town without Ace around. They rarely went to High Town since Sabo…
“Hey, it’s not gross.” Ace said, sliding over to sit next to his brother. He nudged their shoulders together, not wanting to get anything into Luffy’s hair, “You’re always my brother, or, well, sister too.”
Luffy beamed at him, and Ace grinned, pointing to the game he was in the middle of skinning, “Now let’s start cooking!”
“Yay!”
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Ace developed a system with the help of Makino. When Luffy decided that he wanted to be a girl, she would place a clip on her shirt so they would all know. Ace always had to be vigilant of this because Luffy’s mind could change within minutes, hours, or days. But it always made Luffy beam so brightly when Ace called him brother or sister, or on occasion, just sibling.
Luffy was happier than ever, but Ace still noticed the awed and longing looks his younger sibling would send at Makino’s skirts or the dresses noble women wore. So one morning, Ace slipped down the mountain, leaving Luffy with some task for hunting boars to keep her busy, and made his way to Makino’s bar. Ace only had two years left here, and he was going to make the most of every second and every smile he could get from Luffy.
“Makino-san?” Ace asked, determined, and not taking no for an answer, “I want to get Luffy a skirt.”
Makino smiled brightly, “Wonderful idea, Ace!”
Ace has never seen Luffy smile wider than he did when he unwrapped the sunflower skirt him and Makino (mostly him with the help of Makino) made.
“Thank you, Ace! I love it!”
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Ace walked towards the docks, listening to what one of his crewmates spoke of as he looked around. He’s been a part of the Whitebeard Pirates for a few months now, and he can’t say that he’s ever felt so welcomed before. It was nice, it reminded him of home with Luffy – the only responsibility being looking out for his kid sibling to make sure they didn’t get eaten by the animals up there. The Moby Dick had more responsibilities, of course, but they still gave him the same feeling of home.
The sea was home, and this crew was becoming home.
But Ace missed his sibling. He’s sent letters, yes, and he’s even added in some gifts when he found something he just knew Luffy would love, but it didn’t feel enough. He hasn’t sent a letter back to Dawn since he first joined the Whitebeard Pirates, either.
He felt like he was betraying Luffy by accepting this family, but he knew it was stupid. Luffy would be happy for him, not upset in the slightest – they’d go as far as call Ace an idiot for even thinking something like that.
“Hey, Ace, is something wrong?” Thatch asked, pausing his walk just as Ace’s gaze landed onto something that screamed Luffy.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you guys back at the ship.” Ace said, grinning and waving as he turned back to the shop.
“We’re leaving soon, make it quick!” Marco yelled, and Ace waved his hand back.
Luffy has always loved red. The second skirt Ace ever got him was red because he knew how much Luffy adored the color. He had to wrestle it off of Luffy when they needed to wash it for the first time (his first skirt being mended by Makino at the time), and he didn’t come out unscathed – bite marks on his arm showing that. But it had made Ace feel warm because Luffy loved something Ace had given him that much that even when he didn’t feel like a girl in that moment, he still wore it with a bright smile.
Ace had a feeling his brother would love this red skirt even more than the other one because this one was expensive and felt so soft.
Ace turned back towards the Moby Dick, bag in hand, and grinned. He had a letter to write.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
“So~ You have a girlfriend?” Thatch asked teasingly.
“Huh?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We got a letter today, didn’t know it was for you until we opened it,” Haruta explained, “Sorry.”
Ace frowned and took the envelope. There were two letters, one written in Makino’s nice cursive and the other in Luffy’s chicken scratch, and a photo. Ace blinked when he pulled the photo out, his eyes widening and a smile working at his lips.
Luffy was wearing the red skirt he bought him, straw hat on her head and her hair braided – it must’ve been difficult with her shorter hair, Ace remembered having to pull her rubber hair longer so he could make the braids stay and that had been a huge task. Ace noticed the blue clip on her black shirt, and how it seemed to be a newer one. Luffy looked so much older now, and it just made Ace realize just how homesick he was. He missed his sister.
“So?” Thatch cooed, grinning as Haruta jabbed his side, muttering about how ‘it was just getting good’, “Is that your girlfriend? She’s pretty~!”
“This is my sister,” Ace said, beaming as he turned the picture around so his new crew could see it. “I got her that on the last island! She looks so much bigger now, can you believe she’s going to set sail in seven months!?”
“Woah, sister?” Thatch said, sounding hurt, “Why didn’t you tell us we had another sibling!”
“Oh, Luffy won’t join the Whitebeards,” Ace said, laughing as he looked back at the photo. His voice was thick with pride as he said, “She’s going to be the Pirate King.”