Reply to Guest: Great to know that you think that Sabo should find out, because I'd already made up my mind and was a bit worried that you guys wouldn't approve. Thanks for taking the time to read and review!
Reply to Guest: Alright, thanks. I'm going to get him to tell Sabo (as you can tell from this chapter), or maybe Luffy will tell him.
Reply to Unknown 3: Nice to hear from you again! I'd rather not deal with Luffy seeing Sabo doing it, since I'm not into drama. But yeah, Sabo's definitely going to find out. I think that Luffy's going to tattle on Ace.
Reply to Guest: I'm sorry that you're sad, and I understand that sadness. However, I wanted to express how in real life, this would happen.

"We have to tell Sabo." Luffy's voice was firm, oddly stubborn about doing what he had been told to do.

"No, no, no." Ace paced worriedly, head in his hands, eyes glued to the floor. "Lu, don't tell Sabo, you can't tell Sabo, we're not going to..."

He stopped pacing as Luffy placed a small hand on his elbow, eyebrows drawing together... whether in fear or worry, Ace wasn't quite sure. It was a bit odd, seeing that expression on Luffy's features, when he was usually so carefree. "But you're hurting yourself, and I can't fix you alone." Luffy's voice was painfully childish, honestly bleeding into it like water on a shirt. "I need help, Ace."

You need help. Ace almost wanted to laugh at that, at the mere ridiculousness that it was Luffy, not him, that was messed up.

Instantly, he tried to get rid of the thought, tried to focus. "You're doing a fantastic job of being a little brother, Lu." Ace whispered, hating how his heart was clenching in his chest, how his brain felt like it was about to burst. "You're amazing."

"I'm not," Luffy's childish voice sounded so oddly serious, so different from his usual self. Ace cast a glance at Luffy, who was staring at his scars. "Would you have ever told me? If I hadn't caught you, if I hadn't seen you trying to clean the knife... would you have..."

"Of course," Ace lied, hating how his throat was tightening, the little whisper of Liar liar, pants on fire singing in his head.

Luffy stared at him, a long, hard look that didn't quite fit on his face, and then he shook his head, eyes wide and lips tight, "You wouldn't have." He wrapped his arms around Ace, fingers tightening into fists around Ace's shirt, face burying itself into his shoulder. "Why are you so stupid, Ace? Why didn't you tell us? Why did you do this, why are you doing this, are you going to do this again, why would you..."

The rest of his words shattered into incoherent sobs as Luffy's grip around Ace tightened, as though he could hold him in that moment and make Ace stop.

"I'm sorry." Ace closed his eyes, wishing that he really felt that way, wishing that, for Luffy, just this once, he could be honest and truthful and Luffy would just know that everything would be perfect. I'm such an awful brother. "I won't do it again, I swear."

"That's what you told me." Stepping through the foliage, Sabo fixed Ace with a dark scowl. "I've been looking for you two. Dadan said that you've been missing all day, so I thought you were hunting, but this is what you've been doing?"

Ace shook his head, trying to ignore the way that his head was screaming nonono, "Sabo, this isn't..."

"What it looks like?" He'd never heard Sabo's voice so angry and cold before. "Then, pray tell, what are you doing?"

Ace shook his head, mute and too tired to lie. "I'm sorry," He repeated, wishing that for a single minute, that it would be true.

"You're never sorry." Sabo shook his head, bowing his head down to his hands, chewing on the inside of his cheek, nervous and unsure. "How do I make you stop, Ace?"

Ace lowered his chin to rest it on Luffy's shoulder, and tightened his grip on Luffy, wanting the world to just fade away as he pressed his forehead into Luffy's neck. "I don't know." He whispered, honest and wanting to lie but still tired, and a little bit sick of playing this game of cat and mouse. "I don't know if I can stop."

"You will!" Sabo thundered, before he shrank back, eyes closed, features tight and weary. "You will." He repeated, voice small and forced, as though he thought that saying it enough might make it true. "You have to."

"Alright." Ace tipped his head back and closed his eyes, feeling oddly trapped but still comforted when Luffy's grip tightened again. "I will."

He wished that it would feel true.

Liar, liar, his head sang, and, really, how could he argue?

A/N: I'm baaack. Kinda. Maybe. (As you can see from my new fics.) Um, I'm sort of just dipping my feet into the fanfiction ocean, so I don't know if I'll dive back into it fully. But for now, update?