Okay. So I hope you guys like angst and like heartbreak because the next few chapters they're basically going to be centered around that. So, sorry?
...
As Teach had predicted, the battle only lasted a few more days. Squardo had made no moves towards hurting Ace, as Marco was sure to stay by his side until they left. With the arrival of Jimbe, Moria's forces were decimated and what remained of his army was forced to withdraw back to the Dark Nation. With the knowledge that Ace knew about Marco's powers, many of the Whitebeards accepted Ace and started to treat him as part of their family, although, Ace was unaware of his new status as a prospective family member. Since the fight was won, the Whitebeard Army planned to head back to the Earth Nation's capital. Ace decided to stay with them until they arrived there, so that his leaving would not cause suspicion. Teach had anticipated to initiate his master plan immediately after the fight with Moria ended, but something put a delay in his schedule. That thing was a red envelope sent from the capital addressed to Marco.
"What's with the letter?" Ace asked when he saw Marco holding the red envelope marked with a golden seal at breakfast.
"It's an order from the capital." Marco replied with a sigh. "I've been assigned a solo mission of driving off enemies from one of the Earth Nation's treasuries on a far away island. The only people there right now are a few royals who have been taken hostage by thieves looking to steal the money that's stored there."
"And they want you to handle them alone?" Ace asked, incredulous.
"Marco gets these solo missions every once in a while." Haruta says. "Since he's so strong, the royals of the Earth Council like to assign him to this stuff when they don't want to risk their weaker troops but also don't want to send out all of us."
"Does that mean you won't be coming to the capital with us?" Ace asked in worry. He knew that once they made it to the capital, he would have to leave immediately to even attempt to make it back home before the curse took his life. After all, they had a long way to go until the capital and Ace had an even longer way to go home. Green Bit and the village that Ace had met the Whitebeards at were near the ocean. The capital of the Earth Nation was land locked, besides a path of rivers and lakes that were deep and wide enough to sail large ships in. It would take them roughly fifteen days to reach the capital and another ten for Ace to make it home and that was if Ace could still run at full speed in his true form, which he doubted he could. If Marco wasn't coming to the capital with them, then Ace might not get to say goodbye to him before heading home.
Marco smiled and ruffled Ace's hair. "Don't worry," Marco assured, "this should only take a week at most. I'll meet up with you again before you all reach the capital."
"But how will you know where we are?" Ace asked. "And how are you getting to this island?"
"He's going to fly." Thatch stated blandly.
"But won't people see him?" Ace inquired afraid.
Immediately everyone around started laughing, "God, Ace, we just let you in on the secret and you're already worried we're going to just let Marco fly around in broad daylight?" Izou teased.
"I'm going to leave in the dead of night when it's pitch black and I'm going to fly so high, that no one else can fly as high and see me. Everyone that's on the ground will just think that I'm a shooting star." Marco explained. "No one will think I'm a phoenix until I get there."
"How are you going to keep it a secret then?" Ace asked.
Marco sighed in a depressed manner. "I have to kill everyone who sees me."
"What," Ace asked stunned.
"Unless I kill everyone that sees me, rumors will spread about me and that could cause a major war if Akainu heard. So, when the council sends me on these missions, they're basically sending me as an assassin to kill everyone in a specific area. This time, the mission is at a treasury island, which means the only people there should be royals who already know about me and everyone else is the enemy that I'm meant to kill. So, I can use my true form as freely as I want without risking civilians getting involved." Marco explained.
"What happens if civilians do get involved?" Ace asked.
"Then I have to kill them." Marco answered in a tone full of grief and guilt.
"Oh," Ace said quietly before quickly changing the subject. "But how are you going to find us to get back? If you're going to be flying so high how will you see us?"
Marco's frown dispersed and was replaced with a smirk he shared with his siblings. "Let me show you." He offered, holding his hand out to Ace and standing up.
Ace looked at the others around the table, who gave no signs as to what he should expect. Ace shrugged and rose to take Marco's hand. Marco led him back to their room. He motioned for Ace to sit down on the bed and went over to his dresser and opened a small drawer at the top. He pulled out a necklace. It was on a gold chain and had a clear, transparent sphere with a folded piece of paper inside of it. Marco handed Ace the necklace and he could see that the paper was moving, seemingly of its own accord, towards one edge of the sphere. No matter how Ace moved the sphere the paper still pointed and moved in the same direction. On the small piece of folded paper 'Oyaji' was written on it in slanted script.
"What is it?" Ace wondered.
"It's called a vivre card. At certain shops, you can take a lock of your hair or chips of your fingernails and they'll infuse it with a special type of paper. The paper then is infused with your life force and it will always move in the direction that you're in. This is a piece of Oyaji's vivre card. Everyone in the family has a piece so that we can always find our way back to him and, thus, to each other." Marco informed him. "I had my piece made into a necklace so I can easily see it when I'm flying so that I can find my way back home."
Ace moved the necklace close to his eyes and watched the little paper move in the direction of Whitebeard's throne. "That's kind of amazing." He said softly. He reluctantly handed the necklace back to Marco and watched the blond put the necklace around his own neck.
Marco sighed. "I guess I had better get to packing. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back."
Ace lay down on the bed and watched as Marco started packing a small knapsack with some clothes and a few other necessities. Ace felt like he wanted to pout. He only had a limited time with Marco, and it really sucked to have to give up even a minute of that time, now he would have to sacrifice a whole week of it. "Do you have to do it?" He heard himself ask in a childish voice.
Marco paused from what he was doing in surprise. He looked over at Ace with a fond expression. Marco came to lie next to Ace on the bed and pulled the younger against him. Marco wrapped one of his arms around Ace and brought the other to the back of his neck as he whispered, "I wish I didn't have to."
Ace felt Marco's lips press against his and sighed dreamily, even through the pain of Marco's hand resting on part of his cursed skin. He tried to ignore the urge to feed from Marco again. It was growing, since he hadn't fed in a few days and had been fighting, but he knew if he kept feeding from Marco they would most likely become mates. That was something that Ace couldn't allow to happen. Ace latched his arms around Marco to pull him closer. He felt guilty. He was kissing someone that he knew he would leave, but something about Marco made him never want to let go. He selfishly wanted Marco to be his and wished that he could be Marco's. He felt Marco gently nip at his bottom lip and parted his lips to accommodate Marco's tongue. He couldn't help but moan as the two of their muscles brushed inside his mouth and Marco's taste overwhelmed his senses. Marco tasted just as good as his blood did, but it was a hard taste to describe. It was sweet and spicy and completely intoxicating, almost like alcohol, but less bitter. It made his head feel fuzzy and nice. The more Ace tasted, the more he wanted to taste. Marco tugged at his hair, knowing that the sensation drove Ace wild, and made Ace moan louder. Ace pulled him closer, deepening the kiss as he could feel the need for air pestering him. He could feel Marco smile against his lips.
As they pulled apart Ace whispered, "Marco," in want, even though he knew they could go no farther than that without revealing his curse.
Marco chuckled before peppering Ace's face and neck with little kisses and nips before pulling away slightly. Marco lay beside him still just holding him and caressing his face. "I'll be as quick as I can be." Marco promised. "I'll be back before you even start to miss me."
"I doubt that." Ace said, but was happy to be close to Marco for whatever time they had before Marco would leave. He only hoped that when Marco returned that they'd have time left to be together before they arrived at the capital and Ace would have to leave. "Just hurry back," Ace whispered.
Marco replied with a soft, "I will," and rose to return to his dresser where he removed a white sheet of paper from the same drawer and tore a square piece from it before writing his name on it in impeccable script. "I want you to have this." He said handing the paper to Ace who sat up to receive it.
Ace looked at the piece of paper for a second in confusion before he felt it tug in the direction Marco was standing in. "This is," he said in surprise.
"It's my vivre card." Marco affirmed as he took a seat next to Ace again. "I want you to have it, so you won't worry about me."
"How would it keep me from worrying about you?" Ace inquired with a raised eyebrow.
Marco smiled and held one of Ace's hands. "This vivre card is infused with my life force. If anything happens to me, then the card will show it. If I'm hurt or dying, then you'll know."
Ace looked at the small card in stunned amazement, then curled his hand around it protectively. Ace's chest hurt and felt light at the same time. It hurt because it felt like he was betraying Marco in some way by accepting such a wonderful gift. This little piece of paper was a representation of his bond with Marco. It felt heavy in his hand with the weight of his dishonesty, but he wanted to cry because it showed how much Marco thought of him too. It meant that he was important to Marco. It was almost more than he could take.
"Thank you," Ace whispered and Marco leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek.
"No problem, when you get a vivre card of your own I expect a piece of it in return." Marco smiled.
All Ace could do was nod. He knew that he probably wouldn't live long enough to have a vivre card of his own made, but he couldn't tell Marco that. So, he kept up the charade that everything was fine, and that they would live happily ever after, because it was what Ace wanted, he just couldn't have it.
Marco left late that night, after giving Ace a farewell kiss and promising again to be back as soon as he could be. Ace had smiled when he said goodbye, but when he got back to their room that smile was gone. He would be alone in their room at night for a while and that thought made him miserable. He almost considered asking someone if he could share a room with them, but he knew that they would only think he was weird. When he lay down to go to sleep, he realized that the bed felt empty without the other man there with him. He tossed and turned for hours until sleep finally took him. In the end, it was Marco's familiar smell on the sheets that lulled him to sleep.
…
Marco didn't keep his promise. That fact was fraying the ends of Ace's sanity. What he felt was anxiety. Perhaps it was because Marco was taking longer than he'd promised and Ace worried because of this. Perhaps it was because Ace worried about Marco not making it back before he had to leave. But, most likely, it was the keen awareness that his demise was quickly approaching that made Ace anxious.
The curse was moving like wildfire across his chest and reached all the way across his body and had started to affect his other arm and leg that had been previously untouched. His whole torso, and his left arm and leg, were all covered with burnt and peeling flesh while the curse just started to consume his right leg and arm. Moving was painful, everything was painful. It made Ace just want to lie in his bed and not move. When he moved the burnt flesh would stick to his clothes and peel off painfully. Showering was near torture, because as the hot water cleaned the burns, it also stung and made his skin throb. The water in the tub would be stained red or pink and it made Ace's stomach turn almost as much as looking in the mirror did. Seeing his own flesh black and flaking off made him feel nauseous.
Ace could feel his eyes starting to produce tears and he grit his teeth, but he couldn't hold them back. He wasn't going to make it back home. The curse was moving too fast. Ace would be surprised if he could move at all by the time they made it to the capital. He wouldn't be able to see Luffy and the others before he died. He would leave behind Marco and the Whitebeards, but he would be highly unlikely to make it back before the curse took his life. Then he would die, with no one with him, all alone. Luffy and the others wouldn't even know that he was gone until time passed and he hadn't returned home. Even Marco would be oblivious as to what would have happened to him. He was sure of it, and that fact made the icy feeling of dread claim his mind completely. It rendered him immobile curled up in the bed where only trace amounts of Marco's scent still clung stubbornly.
He wished that the man would return. He wished that he wasn't just trying to find the man's scent in the sheets he hid under currently. If Marco was here, then he could have calmed Ace down, even with just his presence. He would whisper sweet words and kiss him gently and the pain would dull and melt away. Ace would be comforted by the fact that Marco cared. He just needed one person to care that he was still there, that he was still alive, even if only for the moment.
Ace took the white piece of paper with Marco's name written on it from his pocket with his not yet burnt hand. He could feel it twitching in one direction as he held it, and when he laid it down on the bed in front of him he could watch it crawl across the mattress. In the first two days of Marco's absence, looking at the vivre card made Ace feel less lonely, but now it just reminds him that Marco's somewhere far away.
Ace looked around and the whole room was a reminder of its inhabitant's absence. Ace's anxiety grew as he lay alone in a room that was themed after the man. It was that feeling that made him finally rise from bed, even if he had no place in mind to go. As he left the room he took the vivre card with him he held it in his hand and wandered the ship aimlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going. That was the reason why several minutes later he found himself somewhere he hadn't been before.
He ended up in Whitebeard's throne room. There were two thrones on the ship; one outside so that Whitebeard could sit on deck and watch the happenings on the deck, and one in the room that Ace was currently standing in. This room was where Whitebeard could be found if not on deck or sleeping. But, currently, Whitebeard was nowhere to be seen.
Ace was in a lot of pain. Walking around had caused the cursed areas of his skin to scream and his breath started coming harsher and harsher. With light-headedness sinking in, Ace knew he should take a short rest before trying to go back to his room. He didn't want to become stranded in a hallway where someone would see him and wonder why he was in such terrible shape. If that happened, they would surely take him to the infirmary and the nurses and doctor would take off his coat and see the curse without Marco there to stop them. Therefore, resting in the currently empty throne room made complete sense to Ace. Ace was about to sit down in Whitebeard's throne, but then realized that action would look very strange if someone were to walk in and discover him. Thus, he went around to the back of the throne and sat on the ground with his back leaned against it. Slowly his breaths became easier and he no longer felt lightheaded, but, just as he was going to get up and leave, the door to the throne room was opened and he could hear two people enter. They both had heavy footsteps, but one was much heavier than the other. Ace's breath caught when he heard both sets of footfalls pause.
"Is something wrong, Oyaji?" He heard Jozu ask.
Ace gulped. He knew that Whitebeard had kenbunshoku, which meant that the man already knew that Ace was currently hiding behind his throne. He held his breath to see if Whitebeard would let Jozu know, which might raise some questions.
"Nothing," Whitebeard replied with a smirk. "Would you please tend to the first division? You have to help calm them about Marco taking longer than normal or fights could break out because of their worries. I would have Teach do it, but for some reason the man seems angry and disgruntled about Marco's absence, as well, and sending him would only instigate violence."
"Oyaji, the nurses told me to watch you." Jozu responded. "Since Marco isn't here to keep an eye on your drinking, they're worried that you might try to sneak sake while they aren't around."
"Gurarararara," Whitebeard laughed. "If I promise not to drink anything, will you go to the first division and remind them that their commander is strong and will be back soon?"
Jozu sighed, but knew that arguing would never work. "Alright, since you promised."
Jozu left closing the door behind him, leaving Ace and Whitebeard alone in the throne room. Whitebeard sat down in his chair before addressing the boy hiding behind it. "What brings you here, Ace?"
"I was just taking a walk." Ace answered honestly but shortly. "I'm having trouble staying in a room that reminds me that I'm alone with everything in it."
"Marco will return." Whitebeard stated, "And you are not alone."
"I am." Ace stated stubbornly.
"But you don't have to be." Whitebeard retorted wisely. "You've locked yourself in Marco's room and haven't left, unless you had to, since he left. Marco isn't the only one on this ship that cares about you. Thatch, Izou, Jozu, Haruta, and many others would be happy to spend time with you. Although it may not be the same way that Marco does, they also care for you."
"They only accept me because Marco does. No one cares about me because they like me. They care about me because Marco does." Ace argued.
"Why do you think that?" Whitebeard asked in a concerned tone.
"I saw it the day that they found out about my father." Ace replied. "Thatch even said that he was trusting Marco's instincts about me. Marco's the only one that got close to me on purpose. Everyone else was forced to get used to me because Marco kept me around. Everyone's still wary of me. They don't know me so they think that I'm not to be trusted. I'm alone here without him with me."
"Did you ever consider that they might be wary of you because you are still wary of them?" Whitebeard inquired and when Ace was about to speak he continued. "You haven't really tried to get close to anyone besides Marco either. Even on that rainy day, when he sent you to spend time with everyone else. You spent the whole day trying to figure out why he was depressed and then trying to cheer him up. Also, you wear your coat all the time and you never let anyone see the actual you. You don't smile often, even though we all know you are a bright and cheerful individual, based on the idea you came up with to make everyone happy on that same rainy day. You act like you don't want anyone close to you, so the others sense that and stay away." Whitebeard paused briefly to take a bottle of sake out from underneath the throne and take a swig of it. "But that doesn't mean that it has to stay that way. The others are waiting to see if you'll let them in like you have Marco. They care, but they need to know what you want Ace."
Ace could feel the prick of tears in his eyes. "I don't know if I can have what I want."
"What would stop you? Your heritage, no one cares about that." Whitebeard took a deep breath. "We could be your family, Ace. The others want you to join our family and so do I. We already think of you as our family, even if you've only spent a short while with us. If you join our family, you won't have to be alone or hated ever again."
"No," Ace screamed as the tears fell over his eyes. "I don't want that! I don't want a family and I don't want a father! My brothers are my only family and that's all I need. I don't want anything else."
The need to leave the room filled Ace and it seemed to make his breath catch in his throat like he couldn't breathe. No, he didn't want that. He hated his father; he hated him because he was the reason Ace couldn't be free. He would always be hated as that man's son. Everyone thought that he shouldn't have been born. If people knew who he was then he would be killed. He'd found a few people who didn't care but everyone else thought, knew, that the world would be a better place if only he hadn't been born. Why then, would he want a father? Why would he want to become part of this family? Sure, Marco didn't care, and the others seemed not to, but they might just be hiding their disgust for Marco's sake. Then there was the curse. He couldn't be part of this family, even if he wanted to, because once they found out about him being cursed and lying to them, even Marco would hate him. Or worse, he would cause one of the very few, special people who loved him regardless of his birth an unfathomable amount of pain just to save himself. He didn't deserve to be saved. He shouldn't have been born, so why should he cause Marco pain just to continue his life. He couldn't do that. He'd rather die than do that, especially since he loved Marco. Yes, he could admit it to himself. He loved Marco, the last phoenix, a royal, whom was perfect and loving and accepting and too good for someone like him in every way.
Ace stood and wiped the tears from his face before walking out from behind the throne and towards the door. His thoughts were dark. He felt as though he was being crushed by pressure. He needed to get back to the room he and Marco shared before his walls crashed down around him and everyone saw how weak he was. Whitebeard watched in a saddened silence as Ace left, wondering if he had said something wrong or if the idea of family was just that revolting to Ace. But he sensed as though he wasn't getting the full picture, as if Ace was still hiding something infinitely dark inside himself and that it needed to come out for him to be happy. Now, even Whitebeard started to wish his first commander would hurry up and come home already. It seemed like things were nearly falling apart without him.
When Ace made it back to the bedroom, he was instantly overcome with depression, sadness, and guilt. He barely made it to the bed before he succumbed to his emotions and cried openly curling in on himself again and trying to block out all of his terrible thoughts. He cried into a pillow, in hopes to dampen the sounds so those passing by wouldn't hear. But outside Thatch and Izou paused and shared an expression of empathy.
"Marco needs to come back soon." Izou said. "Ace is coming apart at the seams without him. He won't come out of their room. I want to say something and cheer him up, but I don't know what to say."
"I think if we tried anything it might make him feel worse. What should we say? We don't really even know why he's upset." Thatch agreed. "Hopefully, birdbrain can figure it out when he gets home." Izou nodded, but as they walked away both men felt guilty that they couldn't help the younger man through whatever was making him this way.
…
It had been twelve days since Marco left and only three days remaining until they reached the capital. The curse had claimed Ace's entire torso and was starting to trail down his right arm and leg. He could barely move, but Ace had taken to waiting on deck for Marco to return. After staying in Marco's room had proved to be detrimental to his health and he didn't want to repeat the conversation he'd had with Whitebeard, he thought it was safer to be on deck. So, he would sit on the deck and wait staring at the view in the direction that the vivre card told him Marco was in, but the sun had set some hours ago, and Ace's narcoleptic brain was telling him he needed sleep by causing him to fall into it every once in a while. He had not slept well since he'd cried after the talk with Whitebeard, even though his body had been extremely exhausted afterwards. He could no longer smell Marco in the bed and had taken to pulling one of the man's shirts out of his dresser to find his scent there. That was an action even Ace could admit was extremely creepy to do, but it was the only thing that could help him fall asleep.
Ace stared into the night before giving up and lying back, painfully, onto the deck and staring up at the stars. That was when he noticed a very beautiful, bright blue star and it appeared to be getting closer. Mentally, Ace paused and wondered how a star could be getting closer, and then he could make out the shape of the star and bolted into a standing position.
It was Marco. He was back, finally! Ace wanted to cry because he was so happy but a huge bright smile broke out on his face instead. As he got closer, Marco flapped his wings to slow down before landing on the deck and changing back to his human form. He was immediately assaulted with a tight hug and Ace's face buried in his neck. Ace had to fight the almost undeniable urge to feed, but it was worth it to have Marco back. Marco held Ace close, unknowingly causing him some pain, but Ace didn't care if it hurt.
"I missed you so much!" Ace admitted. "What took you so long?"
"There were more enemies than the council had said there was." Marco replied but then apologized. "I'm sorry, Ace."
Marco gently kissed away the tears that had started to leak from Ace's eyes before claiming his mouth with a long, deep kiss. Ace sighed, feeling content to have the other next to him. Marco smiled against his mouth before pulling away. He looked at Ace and frowned. Marco could see that Ace wasn't feeling well. His visible skin was unnaturally pale and the boy seemed exhausted even by just standing. He could hear and feel Ace pant within his arms and see the sweat collecting on his brow even though the night was cool.
"Are you alright?" Marco asked in a worried tone.
"I should be asking you that." Ace joked before receiving an unappreciative look from Marco. "I haven't been sleeping very well lately."
Marco hesitated before nodding and seemed to accept the answer. "Then let's get to bed."
Ace nodded in agreement while joining his un-burnt hand with one of Marco's as they walked back to the room. Ace's heart was filled with worries. Would Marco notice how terrible he had gotten? Would the curse be revealed? He tried to calm himself as they returned to their room and crawled into bed. He reminded himself that he only had to hide the curse for three more days. Then, he would leave and Marco would be free of the burden of having to heal him. He could save Marco from that pain if he could just hide it for three more days. Even if the curse had progressed too far for him to make it home to Luffy, at least he would have done one decent thing in his life by saving Marco from saving him.
…
Alrightly then. Thank you all for all the wonderful reviews. I really enjoy reading them. I also find that when you guys ask questions, some of which I reply to, I actually by thinking about the questions get new ideas to make the story better. Just for one example Azuresea8 asked me about Sabo and through that I ended up coming up with an idea for what I'm going to do with him. So please don't be afraid to ask question I will try to answer those I can without ruining the story.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. -LPC
