Pretty Fish People (The Luffy Effect)

The Friendship

Sabo realizes, distantly, that staring at the burn on the back of his hand was inevitably going to make him think about it. It, being how the scars got him disowned, both as a siren and a son. He wasn't devastated by these facts themselves, only that it has almost meant Ace could've never seen him again. He would essentially be banished from the life he knew. Siren beauty standards are absurd, he knows. He's still perfectly capable of entrancing a human, perfect skin or not.

Of course, though, Ace wasn't gonna let that slide. Ace had decided that if one of them was leaving, both of them were leaving. Sabo, looking back, supposed he should've seen that coming. Ace, for all his hard-headedness, got inexplicably attached to people who show him persistent kindness and untaxed friendship. He supposed the same applies to himself, as he'd also run away with Ace if the other was going to be shunned.

He absentmindedly begins to pick at the scarring on his chest, flashes of an explosion fluttering across his mind and leaving just as quickly. A hand slapped his clawed fingers away from the aforementioned scar, causing the blonde to blink into focus as he hummed in question, turning towards his best friend.

Ace gives him a dirty look, shoving a rather large eel into his arms as he grabs the tail of another one. Sabo assumes this is his black-haired friend's way of distracting him. It didn't work, but it's nice Ace thought about his favorite food when he went out. He had wondered why the other wanted to go out alone earlier, but if was looking for eels, it made sense. They tended to populate more around Goa, which, as previously mentioned, wasn't somewhere Sabo could be spotted in.

The blonde stops thinking again as he uses a clawed finger to dig out a chunk of the eel, then decides to forgo that method and just use his teeth to chomp down on the dead creature instead. Ace follows his lead, already halfway finished.

They're both by Dawn Island again, though they're far enough underwater to not worry about being spotted by humans. After the incident a few days ago, they've been hanging around to see if the young boy that saw them either blabbed about,

1. The treasure pit, where all of their hard earned shiny pleasures are.

2. Being manhandled by two sirens, while being threatened with death. Ace will not lie and say they thought about drowning the boy, because they didn't. For all people say, he and Sabo were not actually monsters.

3. Ace and Sabo visiting in general. Two sirens lounging by a small island would send anyone into a panic, expecting to be picked off if they go near the water.

However, no news about their discovery had reached them. They'd expected a young child to run their mouth about seeing sirens or almost dying, and were pleasantly surprised the child actually listened to Sabo.

Ace gnaws on the bones of his finished meal, the water around him and Sabo colored a murky red. Ace crunches down on a rib bone, splitting it off from the rest of the skeleton. He grins in triumph, suckling on the revealed bone marrow. Sabo grimaces at his feral behavior.

Suddenly, they hear muffled shouting. Ace pauses his assault on the exposed marrow, him and Sabo listening closely. Ace and Sabo hear it again, the fins of their ears straining to listen.

"Is it coming from the surface?" Ace questions, raising a thick eyebrow. Sabo shrugs, clueless. Sabo unfurls his long tail, beginning to swim up to check it out. Ace follows shortly, disposing what's left of his meal as he does.

Only when their heads breach the surface of the water do they determine that yep, it's definitely from over here. Squinting his eyes, Ace sees a small figure of the boy from a few days ago. His yelling has more clarity, but he's unable to make out what he's saying.

Cautiously, the teens swam closer to the boy. The kid was in the same place they met at a few days ago, where their treasure pit is. It makes their fins stand on end, anxiety settling in their guts, but not curbing their curiosity.

Now that they're closer, they can hear what the boy is yelling. It instantly makes their anxiety melt away, replaced with irritation.

"PRETTY FISH PEOPLE! PRETTY FISH PEOPLE! HEY, ARE YOU IN THE WATER?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

They're pretty sure everyone can hear him, so they quickly pop their heads out of the water so the boy stops announcing he saw 'pretty fish people'. They send matching scowls at him when the boy snaps his head towards them.

The boy beams in delight, convincing the other two that he completely forgot they had tried to kill him. His grin was in a giant 'D' shape, his eyes squinting closed with the force. It was blinding the teens, how was this boy so happy to see his attempted murderers?

"Shishishi!" He giggles, skipping over to the two submerged teens, "Hi again!" He greets them, sitting in the sand.

Ace and Sabo give each other a look, moving towards the sand and fully surfacing. Sabo doesn't move too far from the water, laying on his stomach with part of his tail submerged. Ace is leaning on a rock some distance away, but still close to the water.

"Hey," Ace greets back, suspicious. Sabo doesn't speak, but he does not in acknowledgement.

Apparently it's enough for the boy, who giggles again. It doesn't reassure the teens.

The boy bunches his hands into fists, giving his 'D' grin again as he says, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" and sticks his hands out in their general direction, possibly for a handshake.

This boy, Luffy, completely disregarded the fact that they tried to kill him, did the teens mention that?

"Sabo," the blonde replies, unnerved. He grabs Luffy's hand, completely dwarfing it, and gives it a single shake. His hand is soft and tiny, and the fact is imprinted in his brain now.

Another blinding smile and Luffy is now at Ace's side, hand still outstretched. He rolls his eyes, "Ace," he responds. Ace notes Sabo's awestruck look after grabbing the offered hand, which he harshly grips and shakes.

He instantly recoils his grip after the first shake, panicking about hurting Luffy after noting the fact his hand is tiny compared to his, and oh so very soft. The baby fat clinging to his fingers probably cushioned the bruising grip.

His panic deteriorated immediately after, embarrassment causing his cheeks to warm up as Luffy laughed and backed up, facing both of them.

Turning towards his blonde friend, the pupil of Sabo's seeing eye is completely dilated now, taking over a majority of his eye. His attention is solely on Luffy, and Ace feels like if he does something he'll be in danger.

"Shishishi!" He cackles, and Sabo's tail swishes, "Let's be friends!" The boy offers, beaming at the teens. Said teens feel a pang in their hearts, inclining them to agree to the small boy.

"Okay," Sabo easily agrees for the both of them, an utterly soft look that looks terrifying on his face. His eyes are hooded, like he's about to blink, and the grin on his face would look more friendly if the rows of razor sharp teeth weren't there.

All in all, Ace can tell that Luffy had immediately won Sabo over. All it had taken was being tiny, a soft handshake, and a declaration of friendship.

Ace isn't gonna fall that easily, he swears. He just has to ask Sabo to look less terrifying when being soft.