A/N: Hey, all! This story was originally supposed to be for OPBigBang, but I never really ended up motivated to finish it on time. Finally, it's here! I wanted to get this out before I started college, so I really steamrolled out the ending. Unfortunately, it's unbetaed, but maybe I can fix it in the future. I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment! Art was done by my wonderful partner ezaria-umiko-art on tumblr!

Full Summary: Despite growing up without memories, Ace thinks life is going pretty good for him. He's a commander in his father's army and he has someone to anchor him to the joys of life. Too bad that the anchor himself makes his heart race- not that Marco would ever return Ace's feelings when he's searching so hard for a suitor. Thinking about that makes his heart hurt, and he just wants to get away from it all. So when two guys show up claiming to be his brothers, does he take the risk to run away from his feelings?

Ace couldn't help questioning whatever higher powers that decided fate. Sure, he wasn't always the most behaved kid, especially when one considered his position, but he knew that he didn't deserve this. Maybe if he was Sabo, he would be trying to think a way out of this situation, or if he was Luffy, Ace and Sabo would come to his rescue, but all he could focus on was not letting go of the rock he was desperately clinging to as water beat against his fingers to make things more slippery for him.

That and question how things ended up this way.

If Ace could describe how he felt about his life (well before this point at least), he would say that he was content. Some people would tell him that he wasn't being grateful enough because he was a prince (and a prince should be spoiled and happy, right?), but he was just being honest. Despite the fact that his father was a complete buffoon, Ace had quite possibly the best mother in the entire world and two of the greatest younger brothers ever. He wouldn't ask for anything more or anything less.

Many would consider their family strange- not that they knew much about them (people liked to think they know everything about anything just so they had something to talk about). The royal family was rather secretive, which caused much gossip among commoners and nobles alike. They couldn't help themselves since it wasn't very common for kings and queens to hide their children from the public. Royals from other kingdoms loved to show off their children as their pride and joy, the symbols of the future of a kingdom. Not Roger and Rouge. Raftel was too big a target not to keep the children safe. Besides, if anyone actually found out about them, the kingdom would be in uproar.

Ace was the only blood prince after all, but that didn't change the fact that Sabo and Luffy were his brothers. Their bond was unbreakable. The people in the town actually knew of them- just not as the princes of the kingdom. Whenever they would sneak off (though he was sure that Roger and Rouge knew of their excursions), Ace would hear commoners muttering about "those three troublemaking brothers again". He couldn't really argue with that statement. The three of them were trouble magnets.

They weren't trouble magnets any less the day of Ace's thirteenth birthday.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled, jumping up and down on the plush bed. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Ace groaned as he rolled over in his bed, Sabo doing the same. The three of them shared a room and a bed because there was so much room. Usually, Sabo would be the one to wake them all up, but if there was a celebration that day, Luffy would be up as soon as possible.

"It's your birthday, Ace! Wake up!"

He flopped his whole body down onto Ace, who grunted in protest at Luffy's sudden weight. "Get off me, Luffy!"

"But there are presents!"

"And it would be a present if you left me alone to sleep." It wasn't often that they got to sleep in since they were usually busy with their lessons with Miss Makino. Their birthdays were a special exception. 'My boys deserve it on their special day!' their mother would say.

"Might as well, Ace," Sabo sighed. He sat up, tugging at Luffy's arm so he would get off of Ace. "We're already awake."

"Speak for yourself."

The door burst open, and Ace grabbed a pillow to muffle the noise about to ensue. He knew it was coming since birthdays were the only days that servants did not come to wake them. "Happy Birthday!" Roger shouted as he scattered a handful of confetti into the air.

"I told you not to do that, Roger," Rouge said, shuffling past him into the room. "You're making more work for the servants."

He merely grinned. "They understand."

"Then I'm sure you understand that you'll be the one cleaning this up later."

"Yes, dear."

Luffy laughed, singing aloud, "Dad's in trouble!"

"Idiot," Ace muttered. He finally sat up, knowing that there was no way he would be going back to sleep now. "Hey, Ma."

Rouge smiled, holding her arms out as she walked to his bedside. "Happy Birthday, Ace!" she exclaimed before pressing a kiss onto his forehead and pulling him into a hug. Rouge gave the best hugs, gentle and warm. "You're growing up so fast, my little fireball!"

"I'm only thirteen, Ma." He blushed at the nickname, but she was never going to stop.

"And so?" she said. "I already know you're going to be a strapping young man! It's never too early to be proud."

"Give the boy some room, Rouge." Roger had done quick work of picking up the messy confetti, which he had left as a heap on one of the desks in the room. "Happy Birthday, my boy."

Ace muttered a "thank you" in acknowledgement. For the most part, he ignored him. 'Ignore him and maybe he'll stop being annoying,' Ace often told himself- not that it made much of a difference.

"Now there's no need to act like that on your birthday," Rouge scolded, and Ace couldn't contain a roll of his eyes. "There's a feast of a breakfast waiting for you in the dining room."

"Food!" Luffy cheered, and with that, he raced out the door with Roger, tugging along Sabo, who yelled at him to slow down.

Rouge giggled at their enthusiasm. "My, so quick."

"You know how they are," Ace said as he hopped to the ground, actually remembering to put shoes on his feet so that they weren't cold against the stone floors. "Let's go, Ma, or else they'll eat everything."

"Hm, wait just a moment, Ace." Ace froze.

'Wait a moment' hardly ever meant something good. He tried cycling through options of what she might say, trying to come up with a possible response to any of them. It failed, and he stupidly blurted out, "I didn't do it."

A could've sworn he felt a layer of sweat forming on his forehead when he saw Rouge raise her eyebrow. "You're not in trouble, but if you have anything to say…"

Ace laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Er- it's nothing, Ma."

"I guess I can let it slide today, young man."

"Really, Ma. I promise."

He sighed in relief when her suspicious glare was replaced with a gentle smile. "Well if you're really being honest, then I guess I can hand over your present then."

"Present?" Ace asked. Sure, it was tradition to receive presents, but his mother had never pulled him off alone before. "What about the others?"

"Well, Roger was supposed to stay up here to give it to you too, but he was eager to eat to say the least," Rouge said. "Now put this on and let's get downstairs before all the food is gone!" Ace's vision was suddenly obscured by whatever Rouge had put atop his head, but she had vanished before Ace could ask about it (she liked food just as much as the rest of the family and she wanted her fill of the breakfast feast).

After standing in place for a few moments out of sheer astonishment, he finally took his present off of his head to get a good look at it, and once he did, he couldn't control his grin.

After all, what kind of prince wore an orange cowboy hat?

He remembered making a comment about it when he had been passing a costume shop with Sabo and Luffy one day, but he didn't think that either of them would remember it to mention it to their parents. He had been feeling lonely, being the only one without a hat, but that feeling was no longer, especially seeing how much spirit had been poured into this hat.

Obviously, his family had taken some creative liberties with the once blank canvas. He was guessing that the two exaggerated faces had been Roger's contribution, while the sleek and shiny red beads had been Sabo's. The skull dangling off the string of the hat was obviously Luffy's because "Skulls are cool!" and nothing screamed his mother more than the red hibiscus pinned securely into the rim of the hat.

Ace smiled, holding the hat close to his chest before he returned it to its rightful place on his head and made his way downstairs.

"Hppffy Bifrdy!" Luffy's mouth had been full of food when he said that. He splattered crumbs everywhere, making Ace duck away to keep his hat clean.

"Oi, watch it, Lu," he muttered, but he still smiled to himself.

"How are you liking that hat?" Sabo asked, before taking another bite of some scrambled eggs.

"You told Mom and Dad, didn't you?"

Roger laughed when Ace asked that. "Well, it's not as if you were going to, my boy! You need to open up more."

"Yeah, yeah," Ace sighed as he rolled his eyes, clambering into his seat at the table. Thankfully, the platters in front of his plates remained piled with food (something that would only happen on his birthday surely). Without wasting another second- because he knew that Luffy and Sabo would steal the food eventually- he heaped eggs and bacon onto his plate and began scarfing down.

"So, boys," Rouge said to get their attention, though Ace didn't stop eating. "Were you planning to go out today?"

"Yep!" Luffy answered enthusiastically.

"We won't be gone long, Ma," Sabo reassured her. "We already know that we have to be back early."

"You better. Don't want to be late for the celebration, do we?"

"Really, Ma. We'll be fine," Ace said. Besides, there was no way that he was going to miss his birthday dinner. Of course, they never had big public celebrations, but the servants of the castle were like family and they too enjoyed a celebration.

"I know you will, boys." Rouge smiled at them proudly. "Anything you want to say before they leave, Roger?"

He merely grinned. "Bring back a bear or a crocodile!"

All Ace could do was scoff as he finished up his breakfast.

They were just supposed to carry on like normal until the feast, but that's when everything began.

"So any actual idea of what we're going to do?" Sabo asked, swinging his feet back and forth as he sat atop a log.

Ace shrugged. "Same thing we always do, right? We'll just do our rounds and go home." It was pretty important for them to train. Princes needed to be strong to protect their kingdom after all, though Ace really just wanted to become stronger for his own sake. "Why do you ask?"

"Ace is boring!" Luffy whined.

"What's wrong with doing what we usually do when we come out here?"

"I know we don't come out here every day to train. That's too much, but we don't have to fight every time," Sabo said. "Why don't we go explore like we used to?"

"It's not like there's anything else to explore."

"That's a lie and you know it."

Ace wouldn't admit it, but Sabo was right. The wilderness here was so expansive that there was no way to have explored it all at their age. Surely, there was something he wanted to see, right? Yet that wasn't the case. He was content for now.

Sabo and Luffy didn't seem to agree with him after their first few rounds.

It had been Ace and Luffy who were fighting at the time when Ace knocked Luffy flat once more.

"I'm bored!" Luffy whined, rolling along the ground.

"You've never complained before," Ace said. "Aren't you the one who's usually asking for more rounds?"

"But Sabo said we were gonna explore!"

Ace turned to said brother, glaring at him. He smiled guiltily, fiddling with his top hat. "I may or may not have found a cool cave last time we were hunting, and I may or may not have told Luffy that were were going to bring you there."

"I wanna see the cave!"

"We're not going," Ace answered. He crossed his arms. "It's just some stupid little cave."

"Ace, it's not stupid."

"There might be treasure!" Luffy exclaimed, and he bounded away before either Sabo or Ace could stop him.

"Luffy, come back!" Ace yelled, but Luffy wasn't going to listen to him. "Great."

"He wouldn't want to wander off on his own if you let him explore in the first place," Sabo said, but naturally, they continued on after their little brother. "We're just trying to make you happy, you know. You've been way too angry lately."

Ace grit his teeth as he continued to run. He wouldn't deny that his change in mood had been noticeable, but Sabo and Luffy couldn't do a thing about it. He wished they would just leave it alone- they would find out about it eventually.

The sound of rushing water hit his ears when they approached the edge of the forest, and Ace and Sabo skidded to a stop. Water. Luffy had come this way, and Luffy- Luffy couldn't swim. Ace swore that his heart would've stopped and he would've passed out right there if not for the sheer adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Luffy!" He ran alongside the riverbank, following the flow of the rapids. "Luffy!"

When he saw their little brother barely keeping his head above the water by clinging to a no doubt slippery rock, Ace's first thought was to jump right in and save him. Before he could dive in though, Sabo grabbed the back of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Ace growled. "We have to save Lu!" He tugged against Sabo's grip, but his brother being of equal strength made things difficult.

"You can't just jump right in! Y-you'll get swept away too!" The way Sabo's voice broke in the middle of his words made Ace snap his gaze towards him. His eyes were wide as he looked between Ace and Luffy, and his grip was tight, but shaky. Ace knew Sabo, and he knew that Sabo's feelings were more intense than Ace's right now.

"Sab', just think right now! We need to save Lu!"

Sabo nodded, but Luffy's cries weren't helping either of them to stay calm. Suddenly, Sabo took his jacket off, tying one of his sleeves to his staff. As if reading Sabo's mind, Ace grabbed the other sleeve, gripping it tight as he jumped into the river. It would be hard for Sabo to hold on for long, so he knew he had to move quickly.

"Luffy!" Ace extended his arm, fingers scrabbling at the rock that Luffy was holding onto. "Grab onto the jacket!"

"But I'll slip!"

"Trust me!" With the water splashing in their faces , Ace could barely see Luffy's lip shaking, but in the next instant, Luffy lunged for the jacket's sleeve, successfully clutching it.

Ace was about to shout for Sabo to pull them back, but that's when he noticed something that made his heart sink: Sabo's jacket was tearing. They were too heavy to both hold on, and with the force of the river against Sabo pulling them back, there was no way their makeshift rescue device would survive.

Unless...

If he could slow time to think, he would, but it was impossible to even imagine with how fast the water was moving around them. Time was running out, and Luffy's naïve cries of how they were both alright broke his heart, but the only thing on his mind right now was ensuring Luffy's safety.

Ace's body acted on its own as he called out to Sabo, and right as he began to feel the tug on the jacket, he let go.

"Ace!"

Ace could've laughed at how ironic this was. It was his birthday, yet he was the one who wasn't going to make it out alive. As cruel as the world was, at least Sabo and Luffy were safe.

Hours, minutes, or mere seconds could have passed, but Ace wouldn't have known. Slowly, his world turned dark and his grip slackened, and in the next instant, he was swept away.

'Thank you for loving me. Say sorry to Ma for me, will you?'

"...ly inju... lucky… ve"

"Just... ere?"

The voices around him kept fading in and out, and he wasn't quite sure what they were trying to say. Were they talking about him? He struggled to open his eyes.

"...king up!"

"Get… urse!"

He didn't realize how sore he was, but it was easy to realize that now when he saw that there were bandages on his hands (his body felt rather heavy as well). Just what had happened?

"I'm so glad you're awake, yoi," someone said, and he turned his attention to the boy sitting next to him. He smiled down at him, and somehow, his half-lidded eyes filled him with a sense of sincerity. "I don't know what I would've done if we weren't able to save you."

"Wh-what happened?" He barely managed to get his words out, still disoriented at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"I found you out on the water, just floating next to our ship. I'm honestly surprised that you were staying afloat," the blond said. "You're very lucky."

Before he could say anything to agree- because it was a miracle that he was alive- a woman in a nurse's uniform entered the room.

"I heard the boy is awake?" she asked.

He nodded, attempting to sit up, but the nurse stopped him. "I don't think so," she said. "You're due for a checkup, boy."

He would have protested, but he had a feeling that that wouldn't have stopped her anyways, so he shut his mouth. It was probably for the best that he had done so, since he hadn't realized the extent of his injuries. His legs were bandaged as well, and pain shot through them when he tried to move them.

"We think you broke them from falling from high up," the nurse explained. "You probably got caught in some sort of waterfall. Just what the hell were you doing out there?"

A waterfall? He didn't remember anything like that. "I don't know," he answered, feeling rather stupid as he did so.

"I think we should start with the easier stuff then," the blond next to him said. He still hadn't left the room even during his examination. "My name is Marco, yoi."

"Ace," he said back, answer rolling off his tongue naturally. His hand twitched to reach over and shake Marco's out of politeness, but the stopped himself, realizing that it was a bad idea with his hand bandaged.

"So, Ace, where are you from?" Marco asked.

Ace opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

It was no wonder that he couldn't remember why he fell. He couldn't remember anything else at all.

He closed his eyes in an attempt to think, to search his mind for the answer, but all he could manage was, "I- I don't know. I can only remember my name."

Ace opened his eyes, immediately wishing that he hadn't. He couldn't take their pitying stares. "I'm sorry," the nurse said.

Marco turned to the bedside table, picking something up and handing it to Ace. "If it's any reassurance, we found this with you."

The object Marco handed him was an obnoxiously orange hat, adorned with ridiculous accessories. This was his? What kind of life had he been living if he owned this. Definitely not a normal one considering that the most normal thing about the hat was the bright red hibiscus.

Ace remained silent, and no one else spoke for the next few minutes until the nurse asked Marco to come out into the hall with her. Now that he was alone, all he could do was think, but about what? His mind was a mere blank slate. He had nothing to think about. It felt as if a long time had passed when the door opened once more, and Ace was surprised when Marco and a nurse weren't alone.

The size of the man was rather intimidating, but the his smile and gentle eyes made Ace relax. "It's nice to meet you, son," he said. Son? Why was he calling him son?

"You're not my dad, are you?"

The man let out a booming laugh. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." His words only confused Ace more. "I am Marco's father, Whitebeard. Your name is Ace?"

Ace nodded.

"I assure you that we'll do everything we can to help you."

"I don't think you can help," he answered. "There's nothing I can tell you."

When Whitebeard didn't respond right away, Ace knew his words hit the mark. His situation was hopeless, and he had no doubt that Marco and Whitebeard would drop him off at the first port this ship came across.

He suddenly felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Marco, who offered him a smile. "It'll be fine, yoi," he reassured, "so please don't frown like that."

"It seems that Marco was thinking the same thing as me," Whitebeard mused.

"I don't understand."

"Ace, would you like to become my son?"

With nowhere else to go, Ace ended up accepting their offer, even if it did take him a few days to think over his decision. He had wanted to see if that would be long enough to let at least some of his memories return, but still, nothing. He only remembered basic things, general knowledge, yet his mind was no longer blank.

Marco wasn't overly talkative, but he would come in every day on the journey back to Marco and Whitebeard's homeland and sit by Ace's bedside to keep him company. Sometimes they would talk, and other times, Marco would sit and read while Ace napped. It was nice to know that he wasn't alone. Whitebeard would come in with Marco sometimes too, and they would tell him about their family.

Ace had a feeling things were going to be crazy judging from what he heard of their words. How could someone even support that many children anyways? Their stories were still entertaining though, and the definitely got a laugh out of Ace.

Other than that, the only other visitors Ace got were nurses, who would check on his condition. He was well, according to them, but a Healer would have greatly helped to speed the process. Marco told him that there were others on the ship, but the crew was told to steer clear for the time being in order to allow Ace to heal- though he also said they he could meet them later if he so wished.

Ace didn't question how long it had taken them to arrive when he finally heard the shouts that they were approaching port. It had felt like an eternity since he had been outside. The sun was almost foreign to him, as he had to shield his eyes from the sudden influx of light. His legs still hadn't healed completely too, so Marco had to support his weight as they made their way to land.

When everything adjusted for him, the first thing Ace noticed was how many people there were, and they were definitely watching the three of them- and cheering.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty!"

"Your Highness! Look over here!"

Your Majesty? Your Highness? Ace knew what those words meant, and it didn't take him long to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Convenient that neither Marco nor Whitebeard ever mentioned it.

Ace stared at Marco with wide eyes. "You never said that you were a king and prince."

"It never seemed important," Marco replied, smirking. "And you're one now too, yoi."

Ace was speechless as he boarded the horse-drawn carriage ride to his new home- which was apparently the castle. Whitebeard, however, laughed as they boarded- probably because of the way Marco had to keep closing Ace's mouth for him.

After swatting Marco's hands away a couple of times (because having him do that for him was seriously embarrassing), Ace turned to the open window. There were still crowds lined along the streets to watch the carriage, but that's not what Ace was interested in: there were so many different shops and buildings- he lost count as they went by- and he could definitely smell the delicious scent of a cooked meal. They must have been passing a restaurant. His stomach growled, the sound filling the entire carriage, and he blushed.

"Hungry, yoi?" Marco asked. "Don't worry. We'll have a feast tonight."

"Good idea, son," Whitebeard said. "To celebrate our new family member."

"You would really do that for me?"

"We won't be able to avoid it when everyone else meets you," Marco said. "It'll be loud."

"You missed them though, son. They're all very close."

"Really?" Ace glanced at Marco next to him. He was closing his eyes. "Is something wrong, Marco?"

"He's just going to miss the peace and quiet of just being alone with you, son."

"P-pops!"

For once, Ace could see Marco blush, and the sight made him grin wide. "I'll still be here, Marco."

"Oi, don't get the wrong idea."

Ace moved closer, nuding Marco with his elbow. Marco nudged back, unable to resist cracking even a small smile as well.

They walked off of the carriage together as well- right into the crowd of Marco's other siblings.

"Marco!" The smallest looking one of the bunch broke away, hugging Marco and throwing them off balance. Ace yelped as he gripped Marco's shoulder. The kid stared at Ace blankly. "Who is he?"

Marco was about to answer when a teen with strange curved hair started to chatter. "Someone brought us a new brother!" he sang.

"Calm down," another one sighed. "You'll scare him."

"Er- he's not really scaring me," Ace said, but it seemed as if he wasn't loud enough over everyone else talking.

Whitebeard cleared his throat from behind them, and everyone quieted down. "It's good to be home, my children. Now, we have a son to welcome!"

The feast was hectic, but delicious, and Ace already felt like he was a part of the family.