Author confirmed as a cryptid who drops off the side of the earth and forgets to update ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I know I usually out warnings at the bottom but for this chapter I am going to put the warning at the top just so no one gets caught by surprise: there is an explicit sexual scene between Ace and Sabo in this chapter, if you would like to avoid it then skip the scene starting with Ace and Sabo going somewhere after putting Luffy to bed (or skip to the next scene after they start kissing because yes it gets heated)

He groaned, curling up further into his comforter and burying his face into his pillow. Sunlight was streaming in through his blinds warming the room to a comfortable level, and gently lightening his bedroom outside his closed eyelids. He wasn't going to get up yet, he didn't care what Koala said. It had been a difficult mission and all he wanted right now was to rest and relax his sore muscles, honestly who would have thought a fucking fire demon-

Sabo groaned because he knew his mission was NOT over, he LOST his fight against the fire demon, and he may have ABANDONED his post to help protect said demon and his charge.

He cracked his eyes open, still immensely enjoying the comfortable bed and pillow and comforter, and trying to figure out where the fuck he was, and if any of this was Ace's fault.

"If we survive this" Ace audibly swallowed "I'll kiss you"

He stared deadpan at the blue flowers sitting in a pretty glass on the bedside table several feet from his head. The sunlight shining in through the large windows at the head of the (rather large) bed made the water in the glass sparkle, the flowers taking on an almost ethereal quality.

"Well" Sabo laughed "Guess we both better make it out of this then"

The room itself wasn't that large, all naturist browns, from deep wood to light tan. The floor space was mostly dominated by the bed, large enough for Sabo to comfortably sprawl in. It could probably fit three to four people on it, if they were of average size and willing to cram in. One giant happy cuddle party.

"I'll kiss you"

Giving up on life, Sabo buried his face into pillows again. Had Ace really said that, or had Sabo imagined it in his last few moments of life? Had Ace meant it? Did he think it was a good idea at the time but was now having second thoughts? Had Sabo even survived the battle?

Deciding the best route was just accepting he died in that battle, Sabo relaxed into the amazingly soft blankets and mattress, determined to catch up on as much sleep as he could.

At least that was the plan, until 90 pounds of 11 year old boy landed squarely on his chest. With a whoof of air escaping his body Sabo wondered why he ever thought rescuing Luffy was a good idea.

"Sabo! Ace! Sabo!" Luffy laughed, rolling all over the bed (which included all over Sabo) before pouncing on Sabo "Sabo's awake!"

Sabo cracked a smirk, and while still feigning sleep he managed to trap Luffy in his arms and under the blanket, all the while faking a yawn.

"Sabooooo" Luffy whined from under the blanket "Saboooooooooooooo"

"Wow" Sabo mumbled, his sleep addled mumbling only half faked "What a comfortable teddy bear"

Luffy managed to squirm his head above the blankets, dramatically gulping down air "Ace! Save me from the blanket monster!"

"Nah" A voice responded from the doorway "I think I'll just let you die"

Luffy only managed a frustrated noise, somewhere between a groan and a shriek, while Sabo peeked an eye open to spy on the figure leaning on the door.

Dang, when Ace wasn't trying to blend in, he fucking glowed. His hair floated around him, his eyes sparked in delight, and his goddamn skin was sparkling.

So of course Sabo couldn't fucking take him seriously.

"Hey there Edward Cullen, how are you today?" Sabo barely managed to keep his voice steady, descending into giggles afterwards ruining the effect.

"Ha. Ha. I'll kick your ass, pretty boy" Ace left his perch by the door to flop onto the bed, on top of Sabo and the still trapped still squirming Luffy, both of whom released a pained grunt.

"I'll push you off the bed, then you'll die" Sabo declared, finally releasing the eleven year old who climbed over his head (and stepped on his hair) to get on top of Ace and declare himself king.

"Yes because" Ace grunted as Luffy's weight settled atop him "That's the obvious result of falling off the bed, inevitable death"

"It's a long fall" Luffy concurred from above.

"Knock knock!" someone interrupted from the doorway.

Shoving Ace and Luffy off of him, both falling with their own unique whines of discontent, Sabo propped himself up on his elbows to catch a glimpse of the newcomer with the unfamiliar voice who'd interrupted his morning.

They were hard to focus on at first, all floating blue silk and long wispy dark hair. They didn't seem very defined in their space, the lines between them and the air blurring to make you second guess whether they were really there at all.

Sabo stumbled, desperately trying to hold his ground against his enemies, of which there were far too many. His breath caught in his chest as he caught sight of a soldier across the clearing with a gun aimed right for him, he couldn't dodge out of the way without endangering Ace or Luffy but a blurry flash of blue knocked into the soldier from the side, knocking the gun from his hands and gaining Sabo a few more precious seconds of life.

"Yo, Izo" Ace greeted "Sabo finally woke up"

"Congratulations Sabo" the figure moved from the doorframe to sit at the foot of the bed "You've been asleep for about two weeks"

For a split second every thought process stopped as his brain scrambled to come to terms with the fact that he'd apparently dropped off the side of the earth with no contact for two weeks and that Koala was literally going to murder him this time-

"Kidding!" Izo exclaimed "You did sleep about 17 hours though, so I imagine you're quite hungry. I'll have Thatch bring up some food for you three." He stood, his silks slowly following and floating around.

"Oh" Sabo managed to get out as Izo took his leave.

"Izo's a nymph" Luffy proudly declared "And he's real good at doctoring. He made Sabo all better!"

Dazed, Sabo turned to Ace for further clarification.

"He's a Meliai" Ace explained "A dryad of an ash tree, good at healing and all that. Healed our- well yours and Luffy's- injuries after the whitebeards wiped the forest floor with Kaigun ass"

Ace was grinning "It's never boring with that kid around, is it?"

Sabo's eyes widened as figures, creatures, and people of all sorts and sizes came pouring into the clearing, flinging spells, and fists, and in some noticeable cases trees, in every direction but their own. Kaigun scrambled to recover the situation, Guards shouting for help and falling beneath the claws of animals that had snuck in. A ghost madly cackled as it grabbed a shouting commander calling for order, dropping him from high above onto his underlings.

"Ace?" Sabo questioned, wondering if he was really seeing any of what lay before him.

"Yeah?" Ace replied.

"We might actually survive this"

Sabo turned to face Ace "They saved our lives"

"Yeah" Ace sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck "I guess they detected a battle happening in their territory and sent someone to investigate. Luffy took off like a bat out of hell because, apparently, he knew they could help"

Sabo rubbed a face over his scarred face, that was something he needed to think after getting some food in him, and exhaustedly asked "Ace, where are we?"

Ace looked reluctant to reply, as if hoping against hope and trying to gauge what Sabo's reaction would be, although there was no way he would have been able to guess Ace's next words

"Welcome to the Whitebeards?"

As it turns out, Luffy had indeed spotted Izo, and begged for help because he just knew Izo was the key to saving them. Izo, being a whitebeard and recognizing Ace, went for help. The massive fucking army he'd seen charging through the forest to their rescue?

That was the Whitebeards.

He'd been skeptical, very skeptical, when he'd learned where they were. If it hadn't been for Ace begging him to just give them a chance he would have insisted they high tail it out of there at the first sign of freedom. The fact that they saved their lives also helped.

And so, albeit reluctantly, Sabo allowed himself to be brought along on a tour of the Whitebeard grove, which was admittedly beautiful.

"Wow" Sabo mumbled to himself, neck cranked to look up the trunks of the trees towering above him "I didn't even know trees could grow this tall"

"The forest is filled with nymphs and dryads" Ace supplied, holding Luffy's hand to prevent him from wandering off "Not to mention Fae and lots of other nature protecting species. Together they cultivate this sort of perfect environment where plant life thrives for like, ever."

"Not quite forever" A ghostly figure descended in front of them, Thatch the chef, who was actually a ghost and had fed them the most amazing Lunch ever earlier "But they certainly last awhile. Izo's tree has been thriving for centuries since I started paying extra attention to his care"

"Or maybe" Izo appeared from behind a young wilting Maple tree "I've just been naturally glowing all these years" The Meliai turned to face them "Don't mind the poltergeist, he likes to start trouble when he's bored"

"Rude!" Thatch stuck out his tongue, doing summersaults in the air "I have a name!"

"He means well" Izo ignored the pouting deceased "But I'm certain his death cost him precious brain cells. Come along, I'll introduce you to the rest"

They met Vista, A flower Fae who was exceptional in his use of the blade, and Namur a water nymph while trudging through the grove. Near the main buildings they met Haruta, a mischievous pixy who absolutely loved playing with Luffy, and stole his hat resulting in a near 20 minute chase. Inside their large home they met a diamond golem, Jozu, and mystical weapons charmer (and crafter) by the name of Rakuyo.

And it was even further inside that they met whitebeard himself.

In the heart of the forest was a lake, and mountain. Inside the lake played many nymphs and water sprites, but it was inside the mountain where the Father of the lands lay.

Sabo had never met a mountain giant before, and he felt extremely overwhelmed.

The man towered over them, inside the cavern within the mountain. The cavern couldn't be manmade, not if a mountain giant resided within it, but the walls and floors were smooth, naturally lit with small fireflies that floated around.

"Don't touch them" Ace whispered to Sabo "They explode"

As it turned out, it was one of the reasons they summoned Ace so frequently because his fireflies were a wonderful smokeless light for the gathering area of the family.

Sabo was studiously doing his best to avoid looking Newgate in the eye.

Ace shot him a concerned look "You don't need to be scared"

Sabo bit his lip "He's so powerful. Even I can feel it" he shuddered.

"Yeah well" Ace chuckled "Just look at Luffy"

Luffy was standing in front of where Whitebeard sat (Sat as if he wasn't already huge enough) staring at him unabashedly, eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. The mountain giant seemed amused, thankfully, staring right back at the boy who barely reached his mid calf.

Sabo watched the silent interaction intently, hoping against hope Luffy didn't do anything to upset him and bring the mountain down on them.

"You're kind" Luffy finally voiced, his voice echoing through the silent cavern, everyone having stopped to watch their Father and leader evaluate the young demon charmer before them.

Sabo whipped his eyes to whitebeard, seeing his face for the first time. He didn't have time to marvel at the age lines on his face, the laugh lines at the corner of his eyes, or the kindness etched into his very being. He was too busy watching the man's expression for any sign it was time to grab Luffy and hightail it out of there.

A loud laugh shook the walls, and it took Sabo a few heart stopping moments to come to terms that it was a laugh of joy, not maliciousness "You are a kind boy yourself Luffy, I am pleased to have you here"

Luffy giggled "We won't be staying though, we're going to the ocean"

"Oh?" Whitebeard queried, and Sabo leaned on Ace's sympathetic shoulder as his heart felt ready to give out from the stress of trying to prevent Luffy from getting himself killed.

"Mhm we're gonna train to fight demons and I'm gonna get strong and go to Russia"

"Hm?" and Sabo got to witness a powerful mountain giant tilt his head "and why is that?"

Luffy looked down at the floor, not necessarily upset but unable to answer. Sabo knew Luffy was insistent in going to Russia but he just didn't know why and it seemed Luffy didn't know either.

"Well" The older man backed off, surprising Sabo "The beach is certainly a nice place, enough of my children go that it must be"

"Is it?" And up Luffy jumped, stars in his eyes "I've never been to the ocean but Ace has, and Sabo has, and they really liked it so I thought it must be nice but I don't really like the pool that much so I was really hoping they were different but Sabo and Ace haven't been to the pool before so they can't really compare so I wasn't sure what to think and-"

And slowly Sabo relaxed against Ace, realizing Whitebeard was easily amused by Luffy's antics, and kept him entertained answering all of his questions thoroughly and honestly. Ace and Sabo sat down, Sabo still leaning against Ace's shoulder, Luffy and Whitebeard still chatting.

At some point a warlock named Marco came in, one very skilled in healing alchemy and had lived for hundreds of years after unlocking it's secrets. The three of them wasted the hours away together on the floor of the mountain hall while Luffy casually chatted away with one of the oldest creatures in existence.

"So" Sabo inquired "Where are you taking me?"

After Luffy had finally started drooping, Ace and Sabo had insisted on feeding him dinner and taking him to bed.

It was after they had Luffy settled that Ace had surprised him with some sort of plan, one Sabo wasn't privy to, but was expected to follow along without complaint or protest anyways.

He stumbled, Ace catching his arm to steady him and Sabo thought it was ridiculous that now of all times he felt like Ace was lighting him aflame.

"If we survive this, I'll kiss you"

Refusing to relinquish his grip on Ace's hand, he watched the back of the demon's head as he lead them somewhere, where Sabo did not know.

Did Ace intend to follow through on his promise? Sabo wouldn't hold him to it, he didn't want to force the boy to do something he'd only been joking about, or had only blurted out as a we're-about-to-die last words kinda thing. Did Sabo even want Ace to kiss him? Sure the man was attractive, and loyal, and friendly once you got past his I'll-kill-you-if-you-touch-Luffy thing, but he was a demon. An immortal demon who would outlive him by a very long time so really things could never work out in the long run-

He was getting ahead of himself.

"Here we are" Ace proclaimed, coming to a stop. Sabo narrowly avoided running into his back, coming to his side instead, their fingers still entwined.

They'd come to a pond, almost big enough to not quite be a pond but too small to be a lake. Budding flowers and cattails lined the edges, with lakeweeds and lily pads dominating the shallower areas. A frog or two sat upon the pads, croaking out their midnight song to the stars.

"Wow" Sabo whispered "It's really pretty, Ace"

"Yeah Thatch cleaned it up a bit a couple years ago, with Namur's help. Made it more accessible you know" He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, not catching Sabo's eye "He probably did it to impress Izo cuz you know he really likes him and yeah I thought you might like it?"

Sabo chucked, still not letting go of Ace's hand "I really do Ace" He tilted his head, leaning down to catch Ace's eyes "It's beautiful"

It was all worth it to see his face light up with a pleased smile, and a bright red blush "I'm glad! We should" he manoeuvred he and Sabo closer to the water where some soft grass grew, presumably to sit and gaze upon the water, but their reluctance to relinquish each other's hands finally caught up to them causing them to lost their balance, and tumble into the grass instead.

"A-ah!" They both exclaimed at the predicament, toppling over. Ace, being the first to fall, managed to land himself below Sabo who fell onto his chest.

"Oh, oh god your burns-" Ace sputtered in panic, hands reaching up to help him, but Sabo caught them.

"Are healed" he finished "Thanks to Izo, though I won't ever see out of my eye again"

Ace's face softened, his panic falling to a deep guilt. Slowly he brought one of his hands up to brush against the scar marring his eye, cradling his cheek "I'm sorry" he whispered "I wouldn't do anything different were we to repeat that fight again, but I wish I'd known you weren't danger. I wish-" he cut himself off with a deep sigh "I wish I'd known you. I'm glad I hurt they mystery man threatening Luffy, but I wish I hadn't hurt you"

Sabo's heart was hammering, his cheeks flushed as he leaned into Ace's hand "I'm sorry too, for assuming you were bad, For putting you in that position, for hurting you too"

The two of them stayed that way for awhile, neither willing nor wanting to move. Eventually Sabo sat up, much to Ace's dismay, but stayed straddling Ace's lap.

Ace followed, sitting up so the two of them sat face to face. Sabo grinned, wrapping his arms around Ace's neck "So was there another reason you brought me here, other than to apologize and seduce me?"

"Well I'm all done apologizing" Ace wiggled his eyebrows, breaking the mood and causing Sabo to double over in a fit of hysterics "But really, I did bring you here for a reason." He brought Sabo's face up with one hand on his chin, leaning in, before abruptly turning it to face the pond "Look"

Ace took his other hand and splayed it out palm up to face the pond, before the same fireflies that filled Whitebeard's cavern gently emerged from his hand to spread across the pond's surface to light up the area.

Sabo gasped, leaning in to rest his head on Ace's chest. Sure enough there were frogs, three of them sitting on lily pads on the far left side of the pond croaking their own musical melody to accompany the night. Beneath the water's surface Sabo could see a few fish flitting about, small reflective scales catching the light and reflecting it back at them.

"Look beyond the water, to the tall grass" Ace whispered, his hand no longer holding Sabo's chin and instead moving to grip his hip.

Sabo followed his suggestion, to see a few of the small flower buds gently opening up, sharp white petals beginning to peek out.

"What?" Sabo gently asked, eyes leaving the pond for a second to look to Ace's face.

"Ssh" Ace answered "Just watch"

Slowly as the moonlight began peeking out from behind the clouds more and more buds began to bloom until the entire pond was surrounded by pale white lilies.

"Midnight lilies" Ace finally responded "They only bloom at night, and Vista diligently cares for them. They hold slight supernatural abilities, but that's the most that I know"

"They're beautiful" Sabo murmured in awe, watching the fireflies light up the night with a gentle glow.

Ace deeply inhaled before looking down at Sabo, who tore his eyes from the pond to look at him in confusion. Ace seemed nervous, bringing in the hand he'd used to release the fireflies and wiping his palm on his pants.

"They're" He flushed bright red and tried again "They're not the only ones"

Sabo was suddenly very conscious of his arms around Ace's neck, Ace's hand on his hip, his legs straddling Ace's lap. Every point of contact between them was heated, their breaths intermingling. Ace moved his hand from his own thigh to Sabo's waist, both hands holding him sending jolts through his core.

Ace leaned in, his face inches from Sabo's "I thought maybe you'd like me to come through with my promise?"

Sabo brought his lips to mere millimeters from Ace's, his eyes closed in anticipation "Yes" He whispered "I'd like that very much"

When their lips met neither of them held back, gentle at first but rapidly adding more pressure, mouths opening to reach more of each other. Ace's hands found themselves under his shirt, fingertips skimming across his skin sending shivers across his body. Sabo's fingers delved into Ace's curly locks, holding and massaging him.

One of Ace's hands searched lower, beneath Sabo's belt gently groping the clothed erection beginning to strain against his briefs.

"H-ha" Sabo breathed, separating their lips with a gasp, unconsciously moving his hips closer Ace and against the hand slowly massaging him and awakening his cock.

Ace moved his lips to Sabo's ear "Do you like it?" He whispered, to which Sabo nodded eagerly, nearly whining at the brief contact. Ace's mouth moved to Sabo's neck, biting a mark and sending sparks across his skin.

Ace's hand moved within his briefs, pulling the constraining fabric down his thighs to free his erect member. He continued his work on Sabo's neck, sucking and sending shocks of pleasure through his system.

Ace firmly gripped Sabo's erection, gently moving up and down causing his breath to hitch and catch in euphoria, his heart racing out of control. He thrust his hips into Ace's grasp, whimpering in delight at the sensations as Ace took the hint and picked up his pace, eliciting groans at the pleasure coming from both his neck and cock.

A pressure began building inside him, making him whine and beg without sense "A-ace please I'm so close"

Ace relinquished Sabo's neck to meet his lips in another kiss, picking up the pace with his hand on Sabo's cock, his other hand finding Sabo's nipple and pinching.

Sabo arched his back with a cry, all the different pleasurable sensations hitting him at once making his release splatter into Ace's hand.

He panted against Ace's chest, Ace's hands coming up to rub his back and help calm his racing heart.

Sabo released a breathy laugh "I'd have helped you get off but I certainly didn't forget that interesting tidbit about-"

"About demons having different reproductive systems, and energy consumption systems, so yeah we don't have genitalia" Ace finished, hands settling on Sabo's back

"Yeah" Sabo grinned "Thanks for that, though I am rather messy now"

Ace grinned back "Well there is a very well maintained pond right next to us?"

Sabo stood away from the group of whitebeards gathering to say goodbye, adjusting Luffy's backpack, tightening the straps and buckles that held the little thing to his tiny frame.

"I'm still impressed you guys had a Supernatural backpack, in a kid's size none the less" Ace chuckled, shaking his head "Comedy at its finest"

His eyes caught Sabo's for a brief moment, and a small smile was thrown his way. Ace flushed before grinning back, his memories from last night still very strong and pleasant.

Marco elbowed him "You're too obvious, you gross in love fuck"

Ace rolled with it, lightly punching him in the shoulder in retaliation "So I'm happy everything worked out, bite me"

Marco accepted the punch, grinning "You two will be happy with Luffy, He's a good kid. You're" he poked Ace in the chest "A good kid, you'll make a find demon entrapper out of him"

"Or banisher, if Sabo has anything to say about it" Ace joked, watching Sabo fuss over Luffy's new boots.

Marco shrugged "I'm sure you'll come to an agreement." They both silenced as Sabo came over, Luffy in tow.

"I knew it, you two are just a pair of gossiping hens" Sabo humoured, Luffy bounding up and around them in circles, excited to start the next leg of their adventure.

"That's us" Ace conceded "A couple of old women with too much time on their hands"

"Speak for yourself" Marco shoved him towards Sabo, who slipped an arm around his waist "I have some fortunes to cast, go find your retirement bungalow and get your grossness away from us"

Ace slipped out of Sabo's grip to get their backpacks "Oh yes the perfect retirement, just me the extinct fire demon, the demon banisher, and the demon entrapper in training"

"Don't forget half the private government contracted forces after us" Sabo inputted, eliciting a frustrated groan from Ace who handed over the lighter of the two backpacks to Sabo.

"We'll just kick their ass!" Luffy piped up from below.

"Luffy!" And there went Sabo, swooping in to cuff Luffy's head "What have we said about using that language?"

Luffy whined as Izo and Thatch approached chuckling "Ew Izo look at how gross it is, they're domestic"

"Positively vomit worthy" Izo concurred from his side, the two of them floating a few feet in the air.

Ace stuck out his tongue, doing up the straps of his backpack. The Whitebeards had provided them with the necessary supplies to hike to the coast, loads of food, first aid kits, and soaps so the two humans could actually bathe on the trip (something they managed to get done with the Whitebeards but would probably need to get done at least one more time before they reached the ocean) Ace, for one, was immensely thankful.

Boots on, Backpacks strapped, and well wishers gathered meant the three were ready to leave. Over a third of the Whitebeard forces had gathered to say goodbye to the trio, many wishing Luffy good luck on his training once they reached the coast.

As they all finished their goodbyes Luffy took one of Sabo's hands and one of Ace's, grinning like he'd won the lottery.

"What?" Sabo inquired at Luffy's grin.

"Told ya" Luffy proudly proclaimed, bouncing in his step and swinging their connected hands.

When he didn't elaborate, the two adults looked to each other, then back to Luffy "Told us what?"

"That you'd like each other!"

Aaaaaaaand we get the explicit saboace everyone has always wanted, plus the whitebeards finally showed up! When I was first planning this fic my biggest dilemma was whether they should go to the whitebeards or the revs, because i couldn't decide who (Ace or Sabo) would concede victory to the other first. That's why, ultimately, they never agree and decide on a middle ground (the beach) however i knew i wanted to touch base with both groups so the readers could become familiar with the groups, that's why we had the chapter with Koala (and Ivankov's chapter) and why we had this whitebeard chapter. I promise you we are not done with either group! Thank you everyone for the kind reviews!