Tears From The Fire
Party Hardy My Friend

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"Ace…?"

The addressed man gave a shaky smile as he stood there in silence. Marco landed on the boat, his eyes wide with surprise. If he was having another hallucination this was the most vivid one he's had in over two years. But he couldn't be imagining things, especially with the detail this Ace had. Like that faint scar on his chest from Marin Ford, or the utterly confused yet fearful look in his eyes. These were things Marco couldn't imagine right? He had to make sure this was real, that he didn't finally snap and lose his mind. He ran to the freckled male before anything could be said or done and threw his arms around him in a tight embrace. The person went rigid at the contact as if expecting something else, like a punch or kick. But the main thing was that Ace was solid, not a ghost, but a real human being.

Marco couldn't believe his friend was alive.

He buried his face into the crook of Ace's neck and trembled lightly, holding back tears that threatened to fall. His best friend was alive. Not dead and buried in the ground, but alive and well. He felt the person beneath him hesitate to hug back but finally found a pair of strong, comforting arms around him. "Marco…"

"You're alive!" Marco laughed, he didn't know why exactly. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that his friend had just come back from the dead. Had to be, right? Here he was, stressed and ready to kill someone not three minutes ago, and all of a sudden he was laughing in the arms of his zombie friend. Yeah, maybe he did lose his mind. He thought of going back to the ship and having one of the nurses check his mental health. "This isn't a dream is it?"

"No, it's not. I'm here right now, all flesh and blood." The blond pulled back to look at the male who spoke in such a quiet melancholy voice and frowned.

"Then why the long face?" Ace's eyes fell to the deck of the ship and Marco figured it was something the male would talk about when he was ready. Until then, Marco had to share the news. He couldn't keep a secret like this to himself. Not when it was this important! Turning back into his phoenix mode, he exposed his back to the male who looked at the bird with a tilt of the head. "Hurry up and get on. The crew's waiting for me to return. And besides, the sky's been lonely lately." A smile crept up onto that freckled face and Marco couldn't help but grin as he felt that presence slide onto his back. "Hold on."

Flying had never felt better before.

He couldn't resist the chuckle that escaped his beak when Ace had a narcoleptic moment, finding how easy this reunion was going. Honestly, Marco almost expected himself to break into tears of happiness to find this wasn't a dream. But instead, he found himself laughing like nothing was wrong. He wondered how the rest of the crew would take this. Hell he was wondering how the hell this was even possible! It wasn't everyday your best friend returns from the grave two years later! He approached the ship carefully, not wanting to land smack-dab in the middle of the deck. He had to break the news softly, otherwise people might drop dead from heart attacks.

He felt the body on his back suddenly slide to the side and fall off his back. He forgot Ace had fallen asleep. He dived down and easily caught his friend's arms with his talons but as he looked back to the ship, he saw Haruta- who was on deck no doubt awaiting his return- drop the telescope in his(?) (what the hell is Haruta?) hands before grabbing a passing Vista's arm.

Well, so much for breaking the news softly.

By the time Marco descended to land on the deck most of the crew was already crowded at the railing, all slack-jawed and bug-eyed. It looked like one or two might even faint. The phoenix gently laid Ace's limp body carefully onto the deck before transforming back to human form and looking around at his family. Izo looked from the sprawled out snoring body to his leader with a look that demanded an explanation. The blond opened his mouth to explain the situation when he found that he couldn't, especially when he himself had no idea what was going on. The limp body suddenly came back to life as it jolted into a sitting position and looked around with tired eyes.

"Uh… Hi?" Ace found himself back on the ground when Haruta tackled him in a hug.

"Ace!" He was then tackled- he found it more like dog-piled- by the rest of his family who all laughed and cried tears of joy at his return. After the sentimental reunion, he was bombarded with literally hundreds of questions.

"How are you alive?" "When did you come back to life?" "Are you okay?" "How you feeling?" "You're not a ghost are you?" "Why the hell did you scare us like that?" "You're not gonna die on us again are you?" "What was the other side like?" "What the hell happened?" The list went on and on.

"I have no idea how it happened. I just woke up buried in the ground all of a sudden. No, Namur, I don't think I'm gonna fall down dead in a few seconds. No, I do not remember if I even went to the other side. I've only been alive for a week, I…" That last sentence caught Ace's attention. He's been dead for over two years.

It was finally sinking in.

He pushed his way through the crowed and leaned against the railing. Being dead for two years, just thought made him feel empty inside. It was like a part of him was missing. He wasn't there for his comrades, he wasn't there for his brother, he wasn't there to help anyone. Instead he was laying in the ground doing absolutely nothing. He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't believe it's been two years." The crowed went quiet.

"Ace, you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I just can't believe it. It doesn't seem real."

"How do you think we feel?" One joked, but Ace still flinched at the question. He had put his family through so much pain and loss.

"I'm sorr–" But before he could even finish his sentence, someone cut him off.

"This calls for a celebration!" And everyone broke out drinks, chefs began cooking and a few even made a banner and hung it on a wall. 'WELCOME BACK ACE!' Before long the whole crew was partying and laughing, teasing each other on their reactions when they first saw Ace. And to the revived male, every time he tried to apologize to someone, they cut him off so he excused himself from the party and ended up standing at the end of ship in silence. He watched the stars blink and shine for a while until he realized Marco was beside him.

"Marco! How long have you been standing there?"

"Ten minutes."

"Oh…" Ace stared at the ocean in silence. "Marco, do the others… you know, hate me for what–" The blond released a thick sigh that quickly shut the other male up.

"Ace, the reason everyone has been cutting you off midway through your apologies is because they don't blame you for anything. It was our choice to come and save you and the only thing we regret was the fact that we couldn't save you. We don't blame you for anything, not even Oyaji's death. So stop acting like it is your fault and get over it. What's done is done and there's nothing that change the past." He shoved a pieces of cooked meat at Ace who nimbly caught it. "Now eat. We can't have any food go to waste and you have officially been named the ship's human vacuum cleaner." Marco left the freckled man standing to himself but not before looking over his shoulder to say one last thing. "Oh and I've already told the navigator to change course. We'll be meeting Strawhat in a few days." And then he left.

"Luffy…" The name brought a smile to his face as he took a bite of the tender meat. "Damn this meat is good. Guess my taste-buds haven't changed even after death." Looking back to the blond who stood on the side and watch the party go on, Ace gave a gentle smile. Even though Marco hid it well, he could see that the male was flooded with stress. It was probably because of the fact they were losing islands almost monthly now. "You were always one step ahead of me weren't you, Marco... The least I can do is help you run the ship." With that in mind Ace snuck into his friends room, stole most of the stacks of paperwork, and headed to his untouched room. As much as he hated paperwork, he knew Marco needed a break. And this would give a big break, no doubt about it. In fact, knowing this would help his friend out, Ace didn't mind the six stacks sitting on his desk. So he sat himself down and got to work. Six stacks of paperwork? Pf, Ace would get it done in no time! He's done paperwork before, how much could have changed in two years?

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*Sips pomegranate drink* Sorry for the late update, things have been sort of hectic around here. And sorry for the rushed and sucky chapter. I wasn't exactly quite sure how to write this one. But not to worry! The next one will be better! I promise! Now, about Haruta, I have no idea if he/she is a boy/girl. So in this particular fic, I put Haruta as a guy. But if I ever do something else that involves humor, I'll change him to her. (That way she has fifteen older brothers looking after her. XD)

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE COMMENTS! *cries* You guys rock so much! Your reviews always cheer me up! Seriously, you guys deserve tons of hugs! Now, some of you wanted Ace and Law, but I'm not quite sure how to do that... Maybe you guys can kidnap them? XD (Yes, I have finally fallen victim to Law's sexiness... Dammit! XD)

~roo the psycho