[OP] Of the Good and Bad / AceLu One shots and Drabbles

Believe

"Where do dead people go?" Luffy asked Makino as they watched a group of people in black, standing in front of a headstone.

Making gave him a soft smile, "Well, to be honest, no one knows. People who have passed certainly can't come back to tell us that."

"But.. they have to go somewhere, right? They don't just disappear out of the world and be gone forever!" Luffy remarked. He paused to think about his words. He was unsure, himself, because even Makino didn't know, "Right..?"

Makino nodded slightly with a small laugh, "Right, Luffy. There's a common belief that when a person passes away, they become angels if they're good, and demons if they're bad." The statement piqued Luffy's interest as the little boy's eyes widened.

"Really?" He stared at Makino as the young woman giggled.

"Yes! No one is certain, but it's nice to comfort ourselves with the thought that they're in a better place."

"Better place? But why can't they stay with us? The world is amazing! They can't just leave without exploring the entire world!!!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Heaven." Makino said. Luffy raised an eyebrow. He'd never heard of the term before. Makino could see the little boy's confusion, "That's where all angels are said to be going." She explained helpfully.

"Heaven?" Luffy repeated, Makino nodded her head, "Do they have food? Treasure?"

Makino held her hand up to cover her mouth as she laughed, "Yes, Luffy. They have everything you can imagine. Tons of it."

"Tons??? Are there..." Luffy scanned around, hoping to name something that this 'heaven' didn't have, "Oh! How about the seas?? Pirates?? Marines?? You?? Me??"

Luffy felt a hand patting his head gently, "Luffy, you and me are currently alive. So we aren't in heaven." The pout and 'awww' of Luffy's made Makino roll her eyes with a smile.

"Can we see it, though? Even if we're not dead?"

"It's just a myth: a made-up story that people like to believe in," Makino called out as she put away a bottle of beer, "But never stop believing, Luffy. Anything's possible in this world and beyond." She whispers, a determined look on her face.

"Okay!!" Luffy nodded and smiled.

Believe was what he did the best.

And if anything was possible when he believed, Luffy would like to believe that Ace hadn't left him.

"Makino told me about heaven before I met you." Luffy stated as he stared at the green grass below him. It was a great place to be buried. Spring for all four seasons. Happiness and security for all emotions.

"You're in heaven, Ace." Luffy clenched his fists, "Because you are good. You're more than just good!! You're the best, Ace. You must be the most beautiful and strongest angel there!"

Luffy then realized he had been shouting the words when he stopped to think about what he said. His words echoed back to him, but there were no signs of any other voices.

He felt himself crying. He didn't even try to stop it.

"Why am I crying? You're in a better place, a place without the world government, marines, and pirates!" Luffy muttered, wiping away his tears, "You're free."

The emptiness was killing him. The absence of a tall, muscular man with an easy smile and freckles.. his warmth, his voice, him.

"I'm really trying to believe!!" Luffy sobbed as he refused to look at the gravestone in front of him, "I'm trying to believe that you're in a better place!! I'm trying to believe that you're no longer in pain! I'm trying to believe that you're okay!!"

Luffy panted heavily at his own outburst. He then noticed that he was face to face with the gravestone he had been avoiding for the past 4 years.

He felt his tears trickle down his face as he saw his name, carved thickly into the stone. A reminder of the day he lost everything.

"I just.. wish I can be there.... to see it."