A Black Heart Does Not Always Stay Black

A Solution?

Luffy was distracted all morning. He didn't want to go back to the room he'd destroyed. He'd killed all of his toys, too. His stuffed animals were torn to bits, and his other toys were in pieces as well. He'd never lost control like that. Sure, he'd been unintentionally using his abilities at night ever since the attack, but never had he almost harmed -killed- his beloved brothers.

While the boys were helping Thatch make breakfast, it didn't help that Luffy kept breaking eggs or dropping things with his shaking hands. He was trying to be distracted but he just came away as clumsy and inept. It made him feel like even more a nuisance before Ace and Sabo decided to stop and take him outside to talk with.

"Luffy, what was your dream?" Sabo asked bluntly. Ace shot him a glare, but Luffy had to tell someone what had terrified him so much that he'd destroyed the bedroom and furniture around him. Luffy curled into a ball automatically before wincing as it aggravated his stomach. He grimaced, wishing that the ordeal had never happened. He didn't wish he'd not met the Whitebeards, but he wished Teach had never attacked him.

"E-everyone was g-gone... All around the ship, no one was there. I looked everywhere, but no one was there. Th-then he was there, and I hid under the covers and then he stabbed me over and over and over again. B-but, it was a big knife. It went through me into the bed. It h-hurt really bad," Luffy confessed, wanting to let his brother's know he'd only lash out like that with a horrible dream, not the usual short nightmare that they wake him up from.

"I'm so sorry," Luffy sobbed. The three were on the whale figurehead. Ace and Sabo hugged him, Ace gently taking him onto his lap and rocking the younger side to side slowly.

"He'll never come back and we'll never ever leave you alone like that," Sabo said softly but also sternly. "Teach is dead and long gone. He died and then was eaten by a sea king, he's never coming back." Tears were coming out of Luffy's shut eyes, and the blonde wiped a few away before more came.

"I broke the room. My toys are broken, too. Everything. Sabo's story is probably ruined, and our clothes are all ripped up," Luffy muttered against Ace's chest. Sabo didn't react to hearing his story was ruined, he already knew. Had seen the pieces of paper. But, he didn't really get far and could rewrite everything easily. Besides, even if the papers were destroyed, the bits were still readable.

"Don't worry about my story, Lu. It was just notes, and nothing I can't rewrite. Maybe Izo can fix your stuffed animals. Or get new ones at the next island," Sabo said.

"I almost killed you and Ace," he said flatly, finally voicing the most worrying part about the incident. "That's never happened before. I've n-never hurt you."

Sabo rubbed his back while Ace continued to rock him. He may only be four years younger than them, but he was still their little brother. The older siblings take care of the younger, even if they're not blood related. They are family. "But you didn't."

"Only cause you were lucky," Luffy said against Ace's shirt, getting it wet with tears and snot.

"Maybe, but at least we made it so we can figure out how to fix this from the get-go," Ace said, fairly bluntly. "We don't blame you, Thatch doesn't blame you, Marco and Whitebeard don't blame you, so stop blaming yourself. If you had lashed out on purpose then we would be upset and that would be wrong, but you were trapped in a horrific nightmare and your powers were only trying to protect you. We were just in the crosshairs, on accident." He pet Luffy's hair softly. "Now, why don't we ask if anyone has any plans on what to do? The Whitebeards are smart guys, and Whiskey is a very knowledgeable nurse. She's figured out how to treat you in many ways, on the spot, too. If she can plan, then we might be alright."