We Dreamed of Life (Completed/Closed)
Characters: Ace, a whole lotta ghosts.
Setting: Shelter Room
Time: Day 15, Dusk
Summary: How do you say goodbye?
Warnings: TL;DR OP and lots of sad.
Night was coming.
It could almost be felt in the air; a solid, tangible thing. Like the hangman's rope at the end of the execution platform. They all knew it was coming, they could all see it on the horizon. Ace could feel it in his bones; vibrating in his skull like the after effects of an explosion. Pressing down on him like the inescapable grip of seawater, draining him and leaving him helpless. All he could do was watch the light fade away.
Only this time, none of his crew would be there to fish him out.
The curtains had been thrown open at some point, letting as much sunlight fill the room as possible. Holding onto the last bit of dying light with all the force they could muster.
It was very quiet in the room.
Almost depressingly so, after the weeks of almost constant chatter.
He had Aiden and Allison on his lap, speaking softly and soothingly to them. Trying as best he could to keep them focused somewhere else, not on the slowly dying light. "Hey." He kept his voice soft, trying not to disturb the others. Night was coming, and just in case, many were saying goodbye. "You know you're both important to me, right?"
And they were, terribly so. Only a few weeks, and he was already attached. If something appeared out of nowhere and whisked them away he was fairly certain a little piece of his sanity was going to crumble, even as desperate as he felt the need to hold it all together.
The promises he'd made hung like a noose around his neck, waiting to draw tight and snap him to a stop. He couldn't fight this. If night fell and they turned back into monsters, he couldn't fight it. The thought made his throat thick, made words hard to say.
It made further promises roil in his stomach and stick to the back of his throat.
Machi and Anna. Fletcher. Marchmarchmarchmarchandlilia. Rose. Hovering in the back somewhere, the unspoken promises to Yukimi. Allegiance, brotherhood, you-watch-mine-and-I'll-watch-yours, friendship, debt. All tangled together in a Gordian knot not even a sword swing could undo.
His brother sprang almost unbidden to his mind, as clear as though he was standing right in the middle of the room, asking what was taking him so long. He closed his eyes, heart aching with something that might have been, for a brief moment, home sickness. Sorry Luffy, can't come home. Too much to do. Too many people to protect. Too many promises I need to keep. You look after pops for me, alright...I can't leave them.
What would he see if he looked in the mirror now?
Home? Or here? March and Lilia holding their baby, Yukimi with both his real arms, Anna and Machi together, Allison and Aiden smiling freely and without fear.
What was home?
His arms tightened around the kids, voice still soft, just for them. "No matter what happens when night falls, I will get you out. I find a way." And then, ringing and painful and gut-wrenching, wringing him for last every drop of hope and sanity. Breaking something, though he wasn't sure what, or if he'd needed it. It really didn't matter now, after all. It was done and broken. "I promise."
Setting: Shelter Room
Time: Day 15, Dusk
Summary: How do you say goodbye?
Warnings: TL;DR OP and lots of sad.
Night was coming.
It could almost be felt in the air; a solid, tangible thing. Like the hangman's rope at the end of the execution platform. They all knew it was coming, they could all see it on the horizon. Ace could feel it in his bones; vibrating in his skull like the after effects of an explosion. Pressing down on him like the inescapable grip of seawater, draining him and leaving him helpless. All he could do was watch the light fade away.
Only this time, none of his crew would be there to fish him out.
The curtains had been thrown open at some point, letting as much sunlight fill the room as possible. Holding onto the last bit of dying light with all the force they could muster.
It was very quiet in the room.
Almost depressingly so, after the weeks of almost constant chatter.
He had Aiden and Allison on his lap, speaking softly and soothingly to them. Trying as best he could to keep them focused somewhere else, not on the slowly dying light. "Hey." He kept his voice soft, trying not to disturb the others. Night was coming, and just in case, many were saying goodbye. "You know you're both important to me, right?"
And they were, terribly so. Only a few weeks, and he was already attached. If something appeared out of nowhere and whisked them away he was fairly certain a little piece of his sanity was going to crumble, even as desperate as he felt the need to hold it all together.
The promises he'd made hung like a noose around his neck, waiting to draw tight and snap him to a stop. He couldn't fight this. If night fell and they turned back into monsters, he couldn't fight it. The thought made his throat thick, made words hard to say.
It made further promises roil in his stomach and stick to the back of his throat.
Machi and Anna. Fletcher. Marchmarchmarchmarchandlilia. Rose. Hovering in the back somewhere, the unspoken promises to Yukimi. Allegiance, brotherhood, you-watch-mine-and-I'll-watch-yours, friendship, debt. All tangled together in a Gordian knot not even a sword swing could undo.
His brother sprang almost unbidden to his mind, as clear as though he was standing right in the middle of the room, asking what was taking him so long. He closed his eyes, heart aching with something that might have been, for a brief moment, home sickness. Sorry Luffy, can't come home. Too much to do. Too many people to protect. Too many promises I need to keep. You look after pops for me, alright...I can't leave them.
What would he see if he looked in the mirror now?
Home? Or here? March and Lilia holding their baby, Yukimi with both his real arms, Anna and Machi together, Allison and Aiden smiling freely and without fear.
What was home?
His arms tightened around the kids, voice still soft, just for them. "No matter what happens when night falls, I will get you out. I find a way." And then, ringing and painful and gut-wrenching, wringing him for last every drop of hope and sanity. Breaking something, though he wasn't sure what, or if he'd needed it. It really didn't matter now, after all. It was done and broken. "I promise."