Title: Once More
In my case its a reincarnation AU that sparked a minor series, yay me. But I hope you enjoy, and maybe a little out of character again, but this time its justified for the plot! Sorry for the length! Set in the Flame Lit verse, future.
About the others in the series, I know what one pairing will be, not sure about any of the others, there are some hints in this one, but we'll see how that goes. They'll all start around the same time, so this is kind of a prequel, and when I do upload it, the name will be cycle, but I won't work on it until I've finished Marcoace week, and another chapter of Blind!Ace.
Another thing! Tomorrow will not have a fic, it'll be a gif set on my blog, and the link is on my profile!
DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
There was fire and chaos and noise, then suddenly there was nothing.
Ace shot straight up in bed, the confusion from his dream still clinging to him. He knew that it was from his past life, as strange as that sounded but he had known that this was not the only life he's lived. Previously, he had been a pirate, the second division commander for the Whitebeard Pirates, though some of the meanings of things hadn't been fully translated into this life... or he hadn't seen them all. On the bright side, he wasn't the only one this was happening to, Luffy and Sabo both knew of their past lives. There were a few others, but not many, at least not that they've encountered.
He shook his head, this was nothing new, the dream wasn't new he had it before, but it was still cryptic since he had never seen anything just feelings and partial images. He thought he saw Luffy.
His sudden movement must've woken Sabo up as the blond was across from him rubbing at his eyes. "Ace?"
"Just one of those dreams." He replied with a shrug.
"Oh. What was it this time?"
"The one that's just chaos."
Sabo frowned. "Nothing has changed with it yet?"
Ace shook his head. He knew that it was strange, considering each time they had gotten a part of their life in a dream it had only taken a few times to understand what had happened, Ace had been having that dream since he was little.
"It's like three in the morning. I'm going back to bed." Sabo said immediately flopping to his side.
Ace settled back down but he was too awake to go back to sleep. He wondered if this was something important to his last life, he hadn't ever seen anything past the point of him being in his early twenties. There was also something Luffy and Sabo were keeping from him, which pissed him off, since they told each other everything, but he long decided not to ask because it caused Luffy of all people to become withdrawn and depressed and Sabo just got really protective. It was strange.
But, it didn't matter if he couldn't remember all of his past life. He had seen enough to know that there were people he would have to meet again, regardless of them remembering him. It was nearing the end of his last year in school and he'd spend the summer and the next school year (Sabo and him were waiting for Luffy to graduate before going to an university) trying to find these people. They couldn't be that spread out, and somehow it seemed that the people they shared their last life with didn't go far from them. Luffy's first mate, Zoro, had moved here when he was young and had practically been inseparable since then and the rest of the crew had shown up periodically, like they were drawn to him or something. Sabo on the other hand had only just met Koala this year. Ace, he hadn't met anyone even though he had been part of a crew that was almost 1600 people. At some point he noticed his eyes growing heavy and his narcolepsy had kicked in.
He fell asleep this time to a dream where a man with a pineapple looking hair cut was talking to him with a smile and a warm glint in his eyes.
"Oi! You brats! Time to get up!" Their grandfather's voice carried through the house.
Well technically only Luffy was related to him by blood, Sabo and himself were adopted.
"If you don't hurry you'll be late! And you won't be able to eat!"
That got the three teens moving at impossible speeds, Luffy fell out of his top bunk and after Ace helped him up it was a race to the bathroom for a shower and teeth brushing. It was their usual routine, he could almost hear Garp groan at the thuds and crashes that echoed through the house.
Honestly, he should've expected this with three teenage boys. Ace thought as he triumphantly grabbed the handle of the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later and the entire household was shoveling food into their mouths at an impressive rate. Breakfast was messy, and Ace knew Garp had long since stopped trying to have a peaceful clean meal.
By the time the clock struck eight they were walking to school. It was late spring so it was a pleasant morning, which made Luffy jump around happily. Sabo slowed his pace down watching Luffy carefully.
"You alright?"
"Yeah. Its just a weird dream, I fell back asleep." Ace answered.
Luffy tripped, and he was about to move forward when Zoro, who joined them on their walk to school most days, caught him.
"Shishishi, thanks Zoro!"
The other teen grunted, and waved his hand in greeting.
Now that Luffy wasn't in much danger Sabo continued talking. "Its not just a dream."
"Doesn't matter anymore, it's in the past. If I find out what it's showing me then that's fine, but I already know enough to know what I need to do."
"You're really going to look for them?"
Ace sighed. "Of course, at one point they were my family, they were important to my past self. I have to see them, if to make sure that they're okay."
Sabo frowned. "Are you sure its just for that reason? You're not looking for that guy?"
"The pineapple dude?" Ace arched a brow. "We were together once, but I doubt it'll happen again, he won't remember me."
"Ace, he'll remember once he sees you, if he doesn't already. For whatever reason people we know, that were important to us remember who we were. Look at Luffy's friends."
He tried to not roll his eyes, Ace was familiar with this speech. Sabo gave it to him almost every time he talked about finding the Whitebeards, he knew his brother was just trying to protect him, but he needed to do this. His brother had grown more worried when he had told them about a lover he had.
"You there?" Sabo asked waving a hand in his face.
"Yeah, sorry." Ace shook his head clearing his thoughts.
"We have two more weeks and then we're out of highschool, let's just worry about that."
Ace nodded, and then joined Sabo in yelling at Zoro who had gotten a little too close to their younger brother while aforementioned brother doubled over in laughter.
He was free from high school finally. Garp had thrown a big graduation party for them, which had resulted in several events that would live in infamy. Such as the teasing kiss Koala had given Sabo as a graduation present which had made the blond sputter and slam his drink on the table spilling it everywhere and then shrieking about how it wasn't decent to do that suddenly and to a person you're not romantically involved with. Thankfully Sanji had been willing enough to cook for the party, but he insisted on serving the ladies first, and not the people who the party was for.
It was fun. Ace didn't think he'd have this much fun until it was Luffy and the "Straw Hat's" turn to graduate, now that would be a fun party. For the next year he'd be working as well as starting his search for his former family.
It was about a month into the summer that he got his first clue. It was a news article talking about a company that had started funding multiple orphanages, the company was named after its founder, Newgate Inc..
Ace was at work at the time so he couldn't look it up so he filed it away for future research. Besides it could be another person with the name Newgate, but the donating to orphanages definitely made him believe that it could be his father, or at least a clue to his whereabouts.
That night at dinner, Garp was out of town on some government business Ace brought it up.
"So I have a clue on finding the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Really?" Luffy asked, grinning.
"Yeah, a company by the name of Newgate." Ace replied grinning as equally wide.
Sabo walked into the dining room carrying food and successfully fending Luffy off until he set it down; then it was a quick dash to get as much onto their plate as they could before it ran out. Luffy was content with eating but Sabo started talking.
"Whitebeard's real name was Edward Newgate wasn't it?"
"Yeah, that's why I think its him. The company just gave a lot of money to orphanages, and that seems like the type of thing he would do."
Sabo took a bite chewing slowly, before speaking. "Do your research well before you go off, I don't want you disappointed. Also, Luffy chew your food, don't just inhale it."
"That's how he always eats, he'll be fine. But I wasn't planning on running off anyway."
"Okay. But he could choke!" Sabo said watching Luffy nervously.
The youngest of the trio didn't seem to mind that he was being talking about in front of him. Stopping his eating shortly to look at Ace and smile.
"It'll work out in the end."
Ace wished he could share his brother's optimism.
Turns out the man that owns the company was in fact an Edward Newgate, Ace's heart clenched with excitement. He was even more thrilled when he found out that the company's headquarters were located in the same city he was going to college in. There weren't any images of the man on the website, and as Luffy headed into his senior year Ace's time on the computer was limited due to the projects his younger brother was assigned.
He didn't worry about the company until they headed off to do a campus tour during winter break. It was Sabo, Luffy, Zoro, and himself with Garp driving. They would stay for a week, and Ace was already trying to figure out how he was going to get away for a day to try and get to the company.
On the second day they were in the city Luffy and Sabo came over to him.
Luffy spoke loudly at first, but quickly dropped his voice when Sabo hit him. "We'll cover you tomorrow! So you can go look for cresentstache!"
Ace laughed at the name. "Thanks."
Sabo spoke next. "We won't be able to give you much time, but maybe enough to confirm if this is in fact Whitebeard."
That night Ace's dreams were filled with memories he's seen a thousand times but never grew tired of seeing. There were several memories compressed into one dream sequence; it was the first time he realize that he could accept this man as a father and then when he got his mark but it was also him hanging out with some of the other crew members a man with a pompadour, a kimono clad man, and then a person in a green prince like outfit. But the best part of the dream was when he saw some of the more tender moments he shared with the pineapple man, he didn't understand why they were always touching each other with fire that seemed summoned from their body. But then again he didn't understand a lot about those seas.
So the next day when Sabo gave him the thumbs up and Luffy started doing something dumb and got Garp's attention Ace slipped away. Finding the building was easy, he had spent a lot of time looking up routes from this college to the building just incase this was his father's company. It took him twenty minutes to reach the building, and a few minutes ago Sabo had guaranteed him no longer than an hour, so he'd have a short time to figure out if this was the place.
He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Ace had seen buildings like this in the movies, everything thing was clean and shiny with few people milling about or walking quickly to get to some unknown destination. One of the people nearly ran into them, their gaze turned to their phone, and Ace was forced to jump back. The person looked at him, but he saw no hint of recognition, which was good because Ace had no idea who this person was. Probably just an ordinary person.
He spent several more seconds before he saw what he wanted to see. A portrait wall, he had heard that this company was strange in putting its CEO on a wall on the bottom floor, along with his executives. Ace wandered over to it, hoping he looked like he had a purpose here.
The first thing that he saw was the CEO in the center. His heart leapt into his throat as he saw that it was none other than his father, grinning with that same mustache he had previously. Then his eyes went to the executives, learning the names of those that recurred the most. The pompadour man was Thatch, the kimono man was Izou, the prince outfit was Haruta. Finally after looking over the names and pictures, learning the names he's forgotten he found the one he was looking for, the pineapple, his name was Marco.
The name sat pleasantly on his tongue, and he wasn't sure what he should do now. Approach the receptionist and tell her? Ace shook his head, that would make people think he's crazy, but it wasn't like he could get to the CEO office either. He pursed his lip in thought, staring at the portraits on the wall for how long he wasn't sure.
"Can I help you?" A male voice startled Ace out of his thoughts.
He turned his head to be greeted by none other than Thatch, who looked ridiculous in the suit he was wearing. Ace wasn't sure what he should do, he was so glad that he could see Thatch alive but he knew that it was likely that he wouldn't know Ace and think he's some teen here to cause trouble. But part of him wanted to throw caution to the wind and tell the man everything, because he missed him (that was the feeling he didn't know.)
The pompadour man furrowed his brows and then his eyes widened, but Ace didn't see that as all of the nerve he built up suddenly vanished and he was moving quickly towards the door. Making the excuse to himself that he shouldn't press his luck and get back to his brother's. Besides he had his answer and he still had a few more months to make a more eloquent return.
Thatch blinked as he watched the quick moving back of the teen. He had only come over to see if he had been helped, or to see if he was going to cause trouble; but, then the teen turned around and the family member they had been missing was suddenly right in front of him. That was Ace and he had let him walk out of their company.
Marco was going to have his head for that. He quickly turned around and headed back to the elevator that would take him up to the executive offices, as well as Pop's office. Thatch thought about the teen's face carefully making sure that it was in fact Ace, the hair and the freckles looked similar, but it was the eyes that were slightly different, almost like they were unsure. The odds that another teenager that looked like Ace would walk into their father's company and stare at portraits with such interest, they were extremely low.
The elevator dinged, and Thatch stepped out, took a deep breath and headed to the meeting room where he was sure he would be able to find one of the people he was looking for. He thought of all the ways he could maybe curb Marco's temper, he had seen how the phoenix was still pining after the fire-user, and wasn't into any other relationship, it had been like that since they had been reborn into this life and to say to him that he let the other walk out of the company? At least Marco couldn't call his phoenix powers any more.
Pops would also have an interesting reaction. He knew the old man had been waiting for Ace, maybe to apologize for failing to protect him and take him under his wing again. Though they didn't know what kind of life had lead this time around, he could be able without the need of a father figure, and Thatch knew his father had been worried about.
With one more deep breath he pushed open the doors, surprised to see all of the executives in the meeting room at once. Several of them turned to see who had entered, he ignored them in favor of searching out Marco. He was easy to find considering he had been standing next to their father, who was still larger than a normal human but not quite as big.
Thatch quickly walked over to Pops and Marco, the others returning their attention to their own conversation except for Izou who wandered over.
Marco was the first to look up. "Thatch, what's the matter, yoi?"
"You're not going to believe this." He replied speaking faster than he would've liked.
"Believe what?" Izou had made his way over finally.
"So I was just downstairs, and there was this kid just staring at the bored with all of our portraits on it, and so I went over to see what he wanted, right?"
"Get on with it, please Thatch." That was Izou again.
Thatch shot him an annoyed look but a stern look from his father stopped the developing argument.
"So anyway, I called out to him and he turned around, and I had trouble believing who it was."
"And it was, yoi?" Marco asked.
"It was Ace." He finished with a grin.
Their reactions were interesting like Thatch had thought they would be Izou clamped his hand to his lips smothering the sound of joy. Pops started laughing. Marco's was the quietest, a smile taking over his face.
Pops spoke next. "Where is he then? If he was here?"
Thatch rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. He turned around and saw me and then he basically bolted out of the waiting room while I was recovering from seeing him."
"So you lost him?" Marco's voice had dropped.
"If it's Ace, he'll come around, he did before, maybe it was just the shock of seeing one of in person?" Thatch raised his hands.
Marco moved to say something but was cut off by Pops.
"If he came here, then it's likely he's not far away. You'll see him again. Marco don't worry. Ace should have his memories, so he'll come back."
Marco sighed, nodding.
Thatch let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Marco had always been volatile when it came to mentioning Ace, and the former chef had a feeling that it would only settle down when he saw Ace for himself.
"How'd he look?" Izou was speaking again.
"He looked healthy, and happy."
Thatch didn't fail to notice the sharp intake of breath from Marco.
"Age?"
Thatch thought back, Ace was the type who would always have an ageless face so it was hard to say. "I think he was in his late teens. Maybe eighteen or nineteen?"
He was glad about that, he wasn't sure what he would do if he was younger than Ace, or if he was old enough to be this Ace's father, that was just a weird thought, he was already older than Marco which was hard to grasp.
"So he's probably going to go to the college here, if he's not enrolled already." Izou reasoned.
Thatch nodded, it sounded like something Ace would do, though he didn't see the kid as a studious person.
A phone started ringing and Marco answered it walking away to his office talking about some business deal that was going to happen.
Thatch wondered how much his brother was bothered by Ace's reaction. But now that the former phoenix was gone Thatch could speak freely, because he had a feeling they were all having similar thoughts.
"What if he doesn't remember us?"
Izou shook his head. "If he didn't remember us, I doubt he would come here."
"It could be partial memory. Haruta was like that, they only were following vague dreams and feelings." Thatch countered.
"If that's the case then he'll come back, he doesn't leave mysteries unsolved, and we'll help him remember." Pops spoke his voice steady, certain.
Thatch and Izou nodded, they would get their little brother back someday they hoped.
Marco finished the call and rested his head on his arms. Ace had been in this building and he had missed him. He thought he felt something strange, but he brushed it off; he knew what it was now, it was his old phoenix sense telling him his mate was in his vicinity, he hadn't felt it in so long he had forgotten it. The former first mate was both elated and worried at the same time. Ace was alive and happy, but if he had run from Thatch what did that mean?
He had been waiting to see his spark since the dreams started happening, being introduced to Pops and Ace before anyone else, and that had been when he was four. For twenty years he'd pinned for Ace, and he missed his chance to see him.
He moaned in distress at his luck. Izou's encouraging words hanging with him, that Ace wasn't far away. Marco had to hope that he'd see Ace soon.
It was almost a half a year since Thatch had claimed that he had seen Ace. Marco didn't doubt his brother, but it would be nice to see his mate for himself. He had spent several weeks fighting with himself over him calling Ace what he always had, he had no idea if Ace was interested in him still, even if he retained his memories, it had been a long time since they had seen each other.
Memories of smoke and burnt flesh assaulting his nose joined with a pained grunt reaching his ears. There was the memory of him feeling like the one that just got a hole punched through his chest.
Marco shook his head, that was a long time ago he didn't need to worry about that anymore. What he needed to do was find Ace, but his logical side told him that he should wait. Let Ace approach them again. From experience he knew that pushing too hard would cause the opposite of what he wanted. It was just like when they had first brought Ace onto the ship.
Regardless, Marco wanted to see him. He also wondered what it would be like now that they didn't have their powers connecting, their bond went beyond the flame of course, but he wasn't sure how much different it would be to lay with Ace now that they wouldn't have fire flickering between them. He knew that it was just an idle thought however, he knew that so long as it was Ace in his arms he would be happy with anything.
There was a knock on the door that distracted him from this thoughts, he had a meeting to worry about now, he couldn't let thoughts of Ace distract him.
One more month passes and Marco was starting to wonder if it was Ace that Thatch saw or if it was some kid that that looked similar. He knew that if it was Ace he should've been back by now, unless something was stopping him. But Marco doubted it, no one stopped Ace from doing what he wanted, so there had to be some other reason. The worst of the scenarios was Ace not remembering who they were. The former phoenix didn't know if he could handle that, it would be worse than watching Ace die (well maybe not but it would be close.)
He was off for the rest of the day, Pops having sent him home saying he looked stressed and Thatch nodding in agreement. Marco stepped off the elevator when a familiar sensation pricked at him. It was from when he had his phoenix, but now that he had experienced it in recent times he was able to know exactly what it was. His eyes snapped up scanning the room, they were almost drawn to the black haired beauty standing in the entrance way.
Ace turned, like he noticed someone looking at him and their eyes met. Marco allowed his gaze to look at teen up and down.
Physically Ace might be less muscled, but it suited him, and he dressed differently; he wore skinny jeans that rode low with a band t-shirt and rolled up flannel, but the combat boots remained. The face and hair was still the same, still completely beautiful.
With promising physical results Marco wondered if every part of Ace was the same. At some point he had started to move towards the teen, it was unconscious on his part. Ace was standing still, watching him, and Marco wondering if he was breathing. He continued walking over, praying that the teen wouldn't run.
Ace took a deep breath as he pushed open the door. He'd definitely do it today, he'd tell the Whitebeard Pirates that he was back. Though, Thatch could've taken care of that and that was the most likely situation which made his life easier, he'd just have to find Thatch.
The waiting room hadn't changed much since he had last entered, people still moved around in a hurry or sat in the stylish couches. What he hadn't figured out was how he would tell the receptionist to let her let him see Thatch. While he thought about what he could say, something pricked at the back of his mind and he looked up. The sensation was familiar, like something from a dream. No, its a memory, but from what part?
His question was answered when he saw the pineapple stare at him from across the waiting room. Their eyes met, and several of his fondest memories of Marco rose to the forefront of his mind. It was several seconds of staring, he wanted to walk towards the man but he didn't know if he would be allowed to when said man started walking towards him.
He readied himself for something, he knew that Marco could be mad at him for running so he could get scolded or this could be a heartfelt reunion (if Marco still loved him as he did.)
"Ace..." Marco said his name in a whisper. "You're here, yoi."
Ace grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I am."
"It's been awhile." Marco said again.
"It has." Ace couldn't believe this, he had expected something more dramatic.
"We should go somewhere." Marco suggested.
"But what about the others?" Ace arched a brow, confused.
"They can wait, if I let them see you we won't be able to talk for awhile, and we need to have a talk now."
Ace swallowed. "But aren't you working?"
"I'm off right now." Marco shrugged, walking past Ace. "I know of this spot in the park, we should go there."
Ace nodded following after Marco, wondering what they had to talk about. He figured they would have to talk about their relationship at some point, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. Ace would've rather seen the rest of the family before having this talk, that way he could think of things to say and not be completely lost for words. It brought back memories though, of how he had always had trouble expressing himself.
The park was only ten minutes away, and the spot that Marco lead him to reminded him of the field of flowers he had made the crown in. He smiled in fondness at the memory.
Ace bounced on his heels, waiting for Marco to break the silence like he usually did when there were important topics. Part of him worried that this would be a continuation of the argument they had prior to him leaving to chase Teach (that particular memory had come back to him shortly after his first visit which was why he had been so reluctant to go back and took him four days after moving into his dorm to actually go in the building.)
"Ace."
His name caused him to meet Marco's eyes, still deep as the ocean and wise.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you. Its like I'm in one of the deams."
That's not what I was expecting.
"I missed you so much." Marco said quietly.
"I missed you too, you know." Ace replied, not mentioning the fact that he had to relearn his past lover's name.
Marco raised his head like that wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Ace?"
"I did. Why wouldn't I? I loved you." Ace's voice was shaking, because he wasn't sure where this was going he was familiar with Robin and Franky's romance movies after all. "I think I still do."
"How can you say that? You don't know about my life this time around."
"Then tell me about it. Remember how long it took me to open up to you the first time? I can tell you haven't changed."
Marco was silent for a minute before speaking again. "I've wanted to see you for so long, because I still love you. There won't be anyone else, no matter how many lives I live. It was hard, not knowing where you were at."
Ace smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I suppose Thatch told you about my sudden appearance?"
"He did. Why did you run?"
Ace shrugged. "I don't think I was ready, nor was I staying long, college visit. But also, I didn't know if you guys would want me back. I mean I left on such bad terms, and I think it resulted in something bad."
Marco nodded, but stopped. "You don't know about Marineford?"
"No? The furthest I've gone in the timeline is the last time I saw you. I've seen bits and pieces, but nothing solid." Ace answered frowning.
"That's not important. I'm glad you're here. Are you ready this time to meet everyone?"
"I think so. If they'll have me again." Ace said slowly, the chewed on his bottom lip before continuing again. "But where do you and I stand? You still love me and I still love you, but-"
Marco cut him off. "We pick up where we left off. All of us."
Ace nodded, happiness causing his heart to soar. "Sounds good."
He was suddenly brought into Marco's arm in a tight hug. "Let's stay here and catch up. You can meet the others later."
Ace hugged back with all of his strength. "Okay."
"So, what have you been up to?" Marco asked loosening his grip to look Ace in the eye.
Ace grinned mischievously, moving his leg and kicking one of Marco's out from underneath him causing the older to fall and take Ace with him. The grass was soft so it didn't hurt badly, and the younger crawled up Marco so that his head was right next to the other.
Marco arched a brow, but before he could say anything Ace answered his question from before.
"Well, I'm going to start college next month, Luffy and Sabo are attending it was well. So are the Straw Hats, and I think there are some of the Heart Pirates and the Kidd Pirates."
"I feel bad for your teachers."
Ace's grin widened. "What's the worse that could happen?"
Some minor things in this really quick, ages. Marco is 24, Thatch is 27, Ace is 19 as is Sabo, and Luffy is 18 and most of the Straw Hats, Whitebeard is like 50. That's all! Leave your thoughts below. Later! ~IF