Title: Little Brother
Word Count: 628
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Angst,
Characters: Ace, Sabo, Luffy
Author: The Dark Crimson Blood
Summary: Sabo had always wondered about the picture of the little boy in his best friend's house that Ace never talked about, until now. Now he wonders if he should've ever asked in the first place. AU! Brotherly ASL. Oneshot, could become a twoshot.

Gone, But Not Forgotten.

...

"I had a little brother once."

A boy with shaggy brown hair and dark freckles contemplates one night on his way home from school; a small bag slung over his shoulder and his best friend by his side. It's peaceful tonight; there's not a single cloud in the sky and the stars are shining brighter than ever.

They took the long way home today; for no reason, just beacuse. The blond haired boy cocks his head slightly to the side at the sudden mention of the family member his best friend never seemed to talk about, a slight breeze blows his hair into his face.

He chooses to remain silent, as if to prompt his friend into continuing on with the chosen subejct. "He was a couple of years younger than me; Yknow, I really hated him when he was born."

"Why?"

The freckled boy shrugs. "I think it was jealousy, but it didn't last long. I think I loved him more than my mom when he said my name for the first time; we were best friends. I wanted to do everything with him."

There's a slight curve in his lips as he talks about the past; a small sparkle in his eyes as he loos far off into the distance. "He was really adoreale; messy black hair, big stupid eyes, and his smile made me so happy."

"I've seen a picture or two." The blond interjects as he recalls the boy in the picture who smiled bright enough to outshine the sun, hung up in Ace's living room and hastily covered in his bedroom. "What was he like, Ace?"

Ace takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. "I think that he was a lot like me; a free spirit, he did anything he wanted and always had his own opinions, even if they were stupid. He was kind of an airhead too, to be honest. He was always getting himself into trouble."

"That definately sounds like the way I would describe you."

The two share a brief smile. "Yeah, we were definately brothers. I really think that I should've spent more time with him; instead of brushing him off to go hang out with friends or locking him out of my room when I got annoyed. If I had known..."

He shakes his head violently enough to void the thought from his head; it seems to work, but his eyebrows furrow and his face reflects the pain in his heart. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Ace's steps don't falter as he responds in a deadpan voice; his eyes are hardened and his shoulders look stiff. It's hard for him to talk about this; a part of him still doesn't want to, but he's been holding it in for so long that it's physically weighing on him. "I killed him. I killed Luffy."

"I'm sorry." Sabo decdies not to ask anymore questions.

Ace decides not to talk about it again.

A/N: Don't know what depressed me enough to want to make something like this but hey, here we are. Let's just roll with in/go with the flow/etc. Thanks for reading and please a review of what you thought. I want to know!

~CrimsonBlood