A/N: Hey, guys! Welcome to my first submission for MarcoAce week 2016! I'm actually one of the moderators for the event and it's exciting that it's finally happening. These will mostly be short things though due to lack of time on my part, but I hope you enjoy! If you want to participate, you can check it out at marcoaceweek .tumblr .com (remove the spaces).

Ace wonders what freedom is like, especially after an encounter with an injured bird.

Ace held the seemingly tiny bird in his hands, smiling down at her: Piper, Ace had called her, also known as "the wiggly pile of feathers and joy". The precious little thing had injured her wings, and thanks to Marco's childhood interest in birds and his expertise, they had nursed her back to health. Of course, waiting for her to recover delayed their return to the ship, but Ace couldn't just leave her! And he was pretty sure Marco's mama bird instincts had kicked in as well (not that he would ever tell Marco he had thought that).

"Are you sure about this?" Marco had asked him when Ace found Piper. The poor little thing had injured a wing. Left flightless, she chirped and hopped around sadly. Ace had offered her a tiny bug he had grabbed off the ground, which she gobbled up gratefully, hopping into Ace's hands soon afterwards.

"Of course!" Ace exclaimed, cupping his hands around the bird like Marco had shown him and beaming wide.

Marco chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Ace's raven locks. "Alright then, yoi. If you insist. I'll call Pops and let him know that we'll be delayed."

Pops didn't mind of course- his enthusiastic laugh was a dead giveaway.

Marco refused to let Ace do anything besides hold Piper before Ace knew exactly what to do. Though Ace could have sworn that Piper chirped for his attention more than Marco's (a fact Ace loved to tease him about).

Every day, Ace had cared for Piper as her wing healed. She was an adorable companion, sitting in Ace's hair whenever they had to go somewhere. Sometimes he would settle in Marco's fluffy, blond locks, and Ace missed feeling the slight pressure atop his own head (but Marco's head looking like a pineapple bird's nest was quite the giggle-worthy sight).

But as happy as Ace was to have her around, little Piper had finally healed. She needed to fly and be free now.

There was a patch of woods on the island they were staying on and that's where they took her to release her from their care.

"You're alright now, Piper," Ace said with a smile as he set her on the grassy forest floor. She chirped, nipping at his fingers on final time. He was trying not to sound sad, but it was difficult. "Go on. Be free."

Piper chirped happily and hopped, and with that, she soared away into the trees.

"I wonder what it's like to fly," he whispered to himself.

He suddenly felt Marco kneel beside him, kissing him on the cheek. He had almost forgotten that Marco had come with him. "I can show you, yoi."

"Really? You've never taken anyone flying before though?"

"Anything to see you smile again. Piper's happy now, and you should be too."

The wind rushing through his hair was an amazing feeling, and now that Marco had shown him the secret to his freedom, there's no way Ace would let him keep it to himself.

Please remember to review and tell me what you think!