"You haven't changed at all…"
Lucas blinked in confusion, a faint frown forming as his ears caught an indistinct whisper slipping past his hearing. He glanced around, but found nothing unusual.
His gaze landed on Luffy, yet there was nothing strange about his twin brother. Lucas shook his head—he must be hallucinating again. Incidents like that had become almost normal for him.
Not wanting to dwell on it, Lucas continued walking, taking Luffy by the hand and leading him toward their room to tend to his wound. No matter how angry he got at his brother, it doesn't took long for him to soften in the face of Luffy's tears.
Lucas opened the door and guided Luffy inside, seating him on a chair before rummaging through the cabinet to find the medical box Makino had kept for them.
Though he wasn't professionally trained to tend a wounds, Lucas had watched and learned a few methods directly from Makino how to do it. And coupled with their grandfather's relentless training whenever he returned from the Marine Headquarter, it wasn't surprising that the two of them often got injured.
Still, their usual injuries were bruises—from Garp's punches or from tripping and falling due to their own carelessness—or more accurately, Luffy's carelessness, since Lucas often suffered the consequences alongside him because that's what twins do as his Grandfather said.
Sometimes Lucas didn't know whether they were lucky or not. Whenever they were in danger, something or someone would always save them—and yet, whenever they thought they were lucky, something bad would inevitably happen that made Lucas who always try keeping both of them out of trouble feel exasperated.
"Sit. Face me, and don't move."
Lucas ordered in a tone that left no room for argument. He sat on another chair, placing the medical kit on the table. Luffy comply to his brother command and sat on the chair in front of Lucas, he will do anything as long as Lucas didn't shut him out.
Lucas took out some gauze, poured antiseptic onto it, and gently reached out to clean the blood around Luffy's cut, his movements careful and silent.
Luffy let himself be treated, trying to keep still despite the sting. The pain from his own foolish act had faded, replaced by the uneasy way his eyes darted around.
He wanted to say something—seeing Lucas had finally softened—but the words died on his lips. His tongue felt heavy when Lucas's ruby eyes stared at him expressionlessly, and the silence between them made it even harder to speak as his voice get catches in his throat.
"You're an idiot." Lucas broke the silence with a scoff.
Luffy choked slightly on his own breath at the insult. He wanted to respond and argue, but seeing Lucas finally speaking, he swallowed his retort.
"What were you thinking, trying to stab yourself with a knife, huh?" Lucas asked, his voice low, edged with anger. "—Trying to prove your resolve to Shanks? That you're not weak and can sail with them?!" his voice now rising steadily as each question flow out of his mouth.
"Are you insane?! I know you're strong, but comparing our strength to adults is like comparing a fish pond to the ocean!"
Lucas continued, his tone keep rising.
"You know how strong Grandpa is. If there are countless people out there as strong as him, do you really think we'd survive?! Even if Shanks agreed to take you, the chances of us being in danger all the time are almost one hundred percent—unless we rely on him and his crew to protect us!" He pressed the gauze harder against Luffy's wound as a warning.
Luffy winced but didn't dare to complain, knowing it would only make Lucas angrier. It was also the first time he had heard Lucas speak so much. If listening to a scolding meant hearing his brother's voice longer, then he didn't mind. But he didn't voiced that out, because Lucas would smack him for not listening. Though maybe he really did only half listen to Lucas rant.
Lucas paused, taking a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "And even then, there's a high chance that there are people out there stronger than Shanks. If that happens… what will become of us?" He questioned, his voice lowering slightly.
"In the worst case scenario, we'll both die. Or if we're lucky, one of us might survive—but there's also the possibility of being sold as slaves." Lucas finished placing a bandage over Luffy's cleaned wound.
Hearing Lucas words, Luffy twitched, the displeasure on his expression is clear as his face darkened with anger. He feels furious that Lucas even thought about that stupid idea inside their mind.
"I won't let that happen!" Luffy declared fiercely and unwavering, his eyes sharp with a fleeting, unfamiliar intensity, crimson ring burned within his irises—something ancient and unyielding.
Lucas froze for a moment under that gaze, the look that always made it clear that Luffy was serious—He meant it. And despite all the logic that he's always used before believing, there's something about Luffy's words felt like an undeniable truth—as strange as it was to believe in something unproven.
Lucas's lips twitched. Unsure how to feel, he wanted to believe, and he does even if it defied the logic, even if it now only a words from a child the same age as him, even if there no action to prove, but because, his brother said it; it's Luffy.
And because of it, Lucas decided to believe it. He let out a small breath and offered a faint smile, his gaze soften, the affection hidden behind his eyes seems strained against its confines, aching to break free.
"I know."
Luffy's eyes lit up, his expression brightening instantly. His grin stretched wide into that familiar D-shaped smile as his laughter rang out after getting the acknowledgement from his brother.
"Shishishishishi~!"
"I won't let anyone take you away from me! Not now, not ever! I'll always protect you, Cas! You have to believe me, okay?" Luffy gaze hardened with resolve, the intensity of it made Lucas heart trembled.
Lucas studied him for a moment… then nodded. He could see that there something else lay beneath that determination, something that hard to put it into word.
"In that case, I'll place myself in your care, Luf...." He replied softly, a gentle smile forming as his ruby eyes revealed a long-hidden dependence.
"Of course! Shishishishishi~!" Luffy wrapped an arm around Lucas's shoulder, pulling him into a tight embrace while gently stroking his long hair.
Lucas rested his head against Luffy's chest, closing his eyes. A warmth spread through him, along with a sense of safety that only his twin could provide. For once, his mind was quiet—free from haunting thoughts and those untraceable whispers.
The wide grin on Luffy's face never faded as he feels Lucas body relaxed against him. His dark irises gleamed, a faint red ring circling within them seemed to shine with devil light.
"Besides… Lucas is mine." He whispered softly into Lucas's ear. The red ring burned brighter the moment the words left his lips.
Lucas nodded in agreement without thinking too much into it, already used with Luffy always saying something along that lines.
A simple nod, that was all it took for the crimson ring to disappear, leaving only clear dark irises behind. Luffy laughed again, the sound rang out inside the room, pleased with the answer.
His little brother was precious—too precious to let go and slip from his grasp.
"Mine… mine alone. I will never let you go. Anyone who tries to take you away—" Luffy paused, crimson light flashes in his once more before he fluttered his eyes closed to hide them from Lucas.
"Let them burn to ashes beneath the blazing sun."