swee2iepea: Thank you! I'm glad you like it.
Longer chapter this time with fluffiness! And some interesting developments about Ace! Enjoy~
Marco woke up with Ace tossing and turning. It was the middle of the night, and Ace had a grumpy face on, even as he slept. It would be cute if it wasn't concerning. Marco assumed he was having a nightmare, but before he could wake him up, Ace did himself. He opened his eyes scowling.
"You okay?" Marco asked quietly, turning on the lamp on his side of the bed. Ace rubbed his hands down his face.
"I keep waking up and then falling back to sleep. I'm not having any nightmares, I don't know what's up," Ace replied honestly. Marco ran his fingers through Ace's soft hair. "I wish I could take some sleeping pills." The nurses refused to give Ace any medication for any reason, not wanting to take a risk that might be too costly.
Marco offered that they could make some tea for him. "That would just wake both of us up more. Going into the kitchen and waiting for the tea to be done."
"Well, there's this thing that I did to myself when I was a kid and couldn't sleep. It might work on you." Ace asked what it was. Marco decided to show him, and ran his fingertips up and down Ace's arm. If he had any body hair, he probably would have gotten goosebumps. "It would relax me, but it was harder to fall asleep doing it to myself."
Ace asked why his family didn't do that. "Well… I didn't have a family. So I only had myself to do it," he replied. Marco had never talked about his childhood with Ace, since he never asked. Ace frowned, clearly feeling bad for Marco. "I have a family now, so everything is okay," he made sure to say. "Now, it's not time to talk about such things. Does it feel good?" Ace nodded, and rolled onto the side he usually slept on while Marco ran his fingers along Ace's skin.
The sayla dozed off but Marco made sure to continue doing it for quite a while before he thought Ace wasn't going to wake up again. When he woke up next, it was morning, and Ace was still asleep, thankfully. The mythical zoan slowly got off the bed, trying his best not to move the blankets Ace had hogged. Almost every morning, Marco would wake up with most of the blankets off of him and tangled around Ace. It didn't bother him, it just made him smile. Ace had never noticed he did it. Either Marco woke before him or he was too sleepy or distracted to notice most of the blankets were on his side.
Marco went to take a shower while Ace continued to sleep, looking forward to going on the island with just the two of them. The day before, after he helped with the stocking of supplies for the infirmary with Curiel, he'd looked around the town and found a path that lead into the forest to a meadow. He planned on taking Ace there. Not for anything special, but just to have some alone time that wasn't in their room or the library. Sometimes Marco disliked having so many people around all the time when they could get little complete privacy.
When he came out, Ace was awake, putting his boots on as he'd already dressed while Marco was in the bathroom. Both of them went to brush their teeth in front of the sink and mirror. Marco looked nice and clean, while Ace had bed head from tossing and turning during the night.
Marco smoothed down the mess of dark hair absentmindedly. Once they were done brushing their teeth, putting both toothbrushes into the little cup, they headed out of breakfast. They were going out after breakfast, and Marco ate quicker than usual to get the blanket out of one of the many linen closets in the hall, and then a basket and to raid the storage room for food. It wouldn't be noticed. Just snacks and treats that they had more than enough of.
There was no hiding the basket from Ace, so he looked a little surprised, but happy. Marco went into the kitchen, Thatch for once not biting his head off, and got some fruits from the refrigerator or the bag of them hanging on the wall.
The two set off before most go to breakfast. When they passed the captain in the hall, he smiled at them. "Have fun, Marco, Ace," he said, refraining calling Ace "son". Marco had noticed he was having a lot less trouble not almost calling Ace son. He learned just like his sons that Ace had reasons for not joining, and there was nothing they could or should do to change his choice.
The two walked through the quiet town, bustling only with people opening up their shops for the day. Marco held the basket in one hand with Ace's hand in the other. The sayla was, as usual on islands, in human disguise. Ace didn't ask where they were going, and Marco didn't tell him.
When they reached the edge of town, Marco led him through the bushes, over a very light path that not many people had been on, considering it still had grass. Ace looked around at everything, enjoying the leisurely walk through the trees and grass until they walked into the meadow.
"Wow. It's so pretty," Ace said, looking at all the tiny flowers on the ground. Marco grinned and opened the basket to pull out the blanket, laying it on the grass and setting the basket down. Ace sat down on the blanket, taking his boots off and setting them on the edge of the picnic blanket. "How did you find this place?"
"I went exploring after going shopping for the nurses yesterday. I found a couple of small cafes, but I thought this place would be better. More privacy, quieter. We just had breakfast, so you're probably not hungry, but I brought some food and drinks," Marco explained, and pulled out a bottle of lemonade and two little cups.
Ace laid down on his back, smiling. Marco laid down on his side, facing Ace. He twirled a strand of Ace's hair with his finger. It had grown longer, down to just above his shoulders. Marco liked the length; there was more to play with. They looked at the clouds for a while, talking about small things, nothing too deep.
Their hands were joined, resting on the blanket between them. "Hey, Ace? About what I said last night-"
Ace stopped him. "I don't want you to tell me if you don't want to," he said seriously. Marco smiled and kissed the finger in front of his lips.
"I want to," Marco said simply. "It's not too happy a story, but I want to tell you." Ace nodded, and turned on his side to look at Marco, head resting on his folded arm. "I've been on the crew since I was a teenager, first to join. Pops found me starving on the beach of some forgotten island. I had just escaped a slaver's ship. The only reason I got off was that they fed me my devil fruit for fun and it ended up being their downfall.
"I'd killed all the slavers on board. I still regret not helping everyone else, but I was able to fly away, but not far. I mostly cared about saving myself at the time. I was a slave for six years to a noble, not a Celestial Dragon, but a regular noble, still thinking he was above everyone else." Ace's face had turned very grim, eyebrows tilted downward. Marco continued.
"I had all types of scars and burns, but when I ate the phoenix fruit, all of them disappeared. Didn't mean I wasn't starving. Pops was on this little boat, only big enough for him to sail on. He'd just left another crew that had been disbanded, and set out to make his own crew.
"I attacked him when I saw he had food, like a rabid animal. Rabid bird. My powers were still difficult to control, so I wasn't very good. He just thought it was entertaining. I didn't even get a scratch in.
"I asked him why he did it years ago, but his answer was that I was a fiesty brat that had a good future. I was exhausted after being useless. He gave me a bunch of food, and offered for me to sail with him. I was only fifteen, I don't know why he chose me for his first crew member.
"I never gave him my story, or what I'd been through. Not until years later. He sailed us back to that island and destroyed everything for that noble. His home, his money, status, everything. It was a fate worse than death for him. We released the slaves he had collected besides me, and they all took revenge against him. I don't know where they are now, that was thirty years ago." Marco waited for Ace to ask any questions.
His lower lip was wobbling, probably in sympathy for him. For someone he loved to have gone through that, it must be very upsetting to hear. "What about your first family?"
"They died," Marco said simply. "I barely remember them, I was young when it happened. I'm not lucky like you, who remembers your first family. I just know they were kind and loving. Pops became my new family, and all those who had joined us over the decades are my brothers."
Ace sat up and hugged Marco tightly. "I'm sorry that happened to you," he said quietly. Marco wrapped his arms tightly around Ace's warm body, burying his face in Ace's hair. "Does everyone have dark backgrounds like this?"
Marco nodded. "Most didn't live pretty lives before they joined. Pops picks people he thinks need a family, or finds them interesting and with potential."
"Why is everyone so happy if all of these horrible things happened?" Marco smiled and tucked a strand of Ace's hair behind his ear.
"Because they have a new family. They are loved now, no matter their pasts. Love from a family heals the heart more than any therapy could ever do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I knew all about you and you didn't know about me." Marco felt bad that he had known so much about Ace, and he had barely told Ace anything about his past.
Ace frowned at him. "It's no ones' business besides yours," he said strongly.
Marco smiled softly. "I was also worried, in the beginning, that telling you would almost be a bribe. That you'd be much happier if you were family. That you might think I would play it up to get you to join. I know now that you would never think I would do something like that.
"There's a reason everyone wants you to join other than just to be your brother. We want you to be as happy as you can be. But, we've also been proved that you're perfectly happy even when not included in the family by name. No one is going to pressure you anymore. Promise. And please don't apologize again," Marco said when he noticed Ace's look. "You break the mold in many ways, and this is just one of them."
Ace smiled and nodded. "You're happy right?" Ace nodded again. Marco leaned in and kissed him gently. His hand ran through Ace's hair. Ace was always wary of kisses, but it seemed mostly because they had little privacy on the ship. Someone could always walk in, or interrupt them. He kissed Marco back with as much enthusiasm, making Marco's heart beat quickly.
Marco turned over and Ace landed on his back, Marco continuing to kiss him. It didn't go any further than kissing, and Marco was happy with just that. A long time ago, he had thought about the possibility of sex with Ace sometime in the future, but Ace hadn't once shown that he would ever want to go further than they already did. Marco was fine with that, as long as Ace was happy and comfortable. Besides, it was quite possible any type of sex would be impossible with Ace.
After all, Ace wasn't human. It was hard to remember sometimes, even when he was in his normal colors. He looked and acted so human.
Marco laid down on Ace, his head on his bare chest while Ace had his hands in Marco's hair and cradling his head. It was more intimate than any kind of kiss.
The two stayed in the meadow for hours, easily finishing off all of the food and drinks Marco had packed. Marco had never been so comfortable in silence like he was with Ace. Even with Pops, it wasn't like this. "I love you, Ace."
"I love you, too," Ace replied with a bright smile and dark blue cheeks.
-x-
Ace and Marco were heading through town, going to get some coffee at the little places that Marco had checked out the day before. The sayla was carrying the basket, swinging it back and forth. It had been a great day, and he enjoyed the very alone time with Marco. He didn't know if he'd be comfortable to kiss like that on the ship. Someone could always interrupt or walk in.
Ace had decaf coffee, since any drink with too much caffeine had negative side effects, especially on his poor heart, which was doing its best. It didn't need extra hurdles to jump. Marco got strong coffee, and the two walked around a bit. The town was bigger than the usual ones that Ace had explored.
With his haki putting him on edge with all of the people walking around, holding Marco's hand was like a lifeline. He stayed constant next to Ace while everyone else moved about. He did notice a large crowd of people, all in an organized pace. Ace turned around before Marco did, taking a sip of his hot coffee, since he kept his hand hot enough to keep the temperature hot.
Marco turned around as well, and scowled, slowly pushing Ace behind him. Ace watched from around his much taller partner as who looked like a World Noble walked around the corner. "Who is it?" Ace asked Marco.
"World Noble." Ace stayed silent, thinking of everything Marco went through, and wondering what he felt whenever he saw nobles. It couldn't be often since they weren't spread about the New World much.
"He looks much more valuable blue," the haughty, ugly man in front of the procession said. He was sitting on a human in chains, and it disgusted Ace. He scowled, lip curled up in disgust at this human. Ace may not think they're that good of a species as a whole, but this was a new level of low.
Marco tensed, but said nothing until the nobleman said, "Hand him over, pirate."
"Excuse me? You think you can give me an order?" Marco said in a cocky voice, though Ace could tell he was very uncomfortable, the tight grip on Ace's wrist telling. It didn't hurt, but it was tighter than usual. The noble looked furious at his words and tone.
"How dare you speak to me like that, filth?!" the noble sputtered angrily. The men around him, clearly guards of some sort, pulled out guns. Luckily, bullets could not hurt Ace or Marco. It was an empty threat to them.
Marco said, "I think I'm the one looking at filth, here. We're Whitebeard pirates, do you honestly think you'd ever get away with taking one of our own? Even if you got him, we'd hunt you down and kill you painfully while taking our family back."
Ace didn't like this Marco. He sounded mean, but Ace knew he wasn't like this and he was only speaking this way because of their situation. The Whitebeards may be against slavery, but it wasn't like they purposely went around freeing them. They did their best to avoid nobles, and the nobles did their best to stay away from them in turn.
"You think I care that you are a Whitebeard pirate!? Give him to me! I command you to do so!" the man outraged. Ace wondered how someone could be so reactive. He was from a zero to ten in intensity after just a few words. Marco scoffed, and turned around, dropping his coffee in the trash.
"We're going back to the ship, Ace," Marco said in a tight voice. Ace nodded and tossed his drink, too, keeping up with Marco's fast pace. They were still following the two at a hurried pace. Marco ticked his tongue, clearly feeling them pursuing, and the noble was screeching obscenities.
"Wait, Marco," Ace said, slowing and turning around, to Marco's surprise. "Prepare your ears." Ace knew that Marco's ears wouldn't be hurt. And most civilians had fled the moment the noble and Marco got in a confrontation. Ace raised the sound in the area to 120 decibles, and the noble and guards dropped their weapons to cover their ears, some screaming. Marco made no show that it was bothering him, and Ace was unharmed by his own power.
Since Marco would be unable to hear Ace, he motioned that they could go, and went in a hurry. Ace knew Marco was wondering how far they could get from the source of the noise, which faded the further they got from where the two had been.
Once they were completely out of range, Marco grumbled. Ace pulled on his hand. "Nothing happened. I still had a great day, don't let that spoil it," he said with a reassuring smile. "Don't let that guy ruin it." Marco's face relaxed and he smiled, rubbing Ace's hair before putting his arms around his shoulders.
"How long will the sound last there?" Marco wondered as they leisurely walked back to the ship.
"For as long as I want," Ace replied. They made it to the port, where the ship was not docked after yesterday since everything had been stocked up. "Is that their ship?" he asked pointing to a quite obnoxious ship. It looked like a marine vessel, but more expensive looking.
Marco nodded. "Let's wreck it so they can't follow. We're leaving tomorrow, or today if necessary." Ace nodded, and the two went to the ship. Marco told Ace to get on his back for safety, not wanting to leave him on the ground alone even if he could last for Marco to come back. Ace latched onto Marco's back, who transformed to use his talons to rip apart the sails so they were utterly useless. Ace had his face in the fiery feathers, which wrapped around him.
Rarely was Marco in full phoenix form with Ace, so now that it was released, the phoenix was smothering Ace with it's warm and soft flames. Marco picked up the picnic basket with his foot and then just flew them the rest of the way to the ship.
They landed gently on the ship, and Ace kept his eyes closed, trying to calm the nausea. "Sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you sick," Marco said in concern. Ace shook his head.
"I'm fine. The noble can probably move again, I got distracted," Ace replied. Marco scowled, and Ace touched Marco's face. "Don't let him ruin it. Nothing happened that we need to be concerned about."
"How did he know that you were you? You aren't blue!" Marco shouted, clearly very worried. Ace didn't take his shouting as anger directed towards him. Ace put his hand on his chin.
"Maybe someone saw me yesterday? When I passed out and Thatch covered me up. Maybe whoever saw it reported it to him, or something?" Ace hypothesized. They always knew it was dangerous when Ace had a sleep attack since it made him revert back to his normal colors. "Hopefully they didn't get any photos of me like this," Ace added, and then changed back to his natural blue.
Marco grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Marco had landed them at the back deck, so they walked to the middle deck to report to Whitebeard about what happened. Ace had had a really nice time on the island with Marco, so he wished the first mate wasn't upset about it enough to ruin their outing.
"Son? What's wrong? I thought you and Ace went out on the island for the day?" the captain asked, concerned in his voice, probably because of Marco's demeanor, not Ace's. He was disgusted by the noble but he wasn't going to let it ruin his very nice outing.
"A noble tried to get Ace. He knew who he was, even though Ace was in human colors," Marco said immediately. Whitebeard grew concerned, and Ace felt a bit bad for being exposed. He had no control over it, but it still made him feel bad and guilty, that it was his fault.
The captain asked for what happened in detail, which Marco explained. Not about their alone time, but about what happened when the noble confronted them and after. Whitebeard was surprised with the effectiveness of Ace's power that did not hurt anyone in the long run. After all, Ace hadn't used it when someone else was around to see.
"How do you control the ability's volume?" Whitebeard asked curiously.
"Well, I had to study up about decibels and what is too bad for a sayla. I don't know if the measurements are the same on earth. But humans seem much more weak to loud sounds than my people," Ace explained simply. Whitebeard asked if he could only do it to certain people or if everyone in the area felt it. "People in the area. That's why I told Marco to prepare for the loud sound. There was no one else around to hear it."
"Very interesting," Whitebeard said sincerely. Ace smiled and thanked him, and then said he was going to put the basket and blanket away, going to put the dishes into the sink for Thatch to wash. Marco walked over and kissed his forehead before Ace left. It was very different from the kisses they shared in the meadow. Ace's cheeks flushed when thinking about it. It had been very nice.
When he walked into the kitchen, Thatch wasn't there, so Ace just put the glasses and utensils into the sink, filling some water into the glasses. He left to put the basket and blanket away. This blanket, he was told, was used for picnics, so they didn't need to wash it from it being on the grass.
Ace headed to their room, and he put his hat on his head, where it belonged. He looked out the porthole window onto the island. He hoped nothing happened with the noble. Someone on the ship had once told him that anyone who harms a noble, especially the Celestial Dragons, were killed by marines. Ace was confident that their crew would be fine, but it would still cause trouble.
He left the room, and went to the library to look for something new to read, though when he picked a book, he was unable to read a single line, mind lost in what Marco had told him earlier that day. He'd kept himself from thinking about it during their outing, but it was so hard to hear what he'd been through.
To be a slave sounded horrible. But, he got out. He was able to escape and was happy now. Ace tried to get himself to leave it at that, but he was just so disgusted with humans. Well, the bad humans. He still hadn't been proved that the majority of humans were good. He hadn't met enough to outweigh that the government and military forces were horrible people who didn't care about the citizens, but only the rich and "important". The humans' system was incredibly flawed.
During his thoughts, Marco came in, Ace alerted easily since he could only tell when it was Marco. Being around him so long made him recognizable by haki. Marco walked up the spiral stairs to Ace and sat down next to him. "How you doing?"
"I'm fine. Why?" Ace replied.
"I know you're probably thinking about what I told you earlier. I don't want you to dwell on it. I'm happy from it. Besides, I wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't been on that slave ship," Marco reasoned, tucking a strand of hair behind Ace's ear. The sayla's gaze fell to the floor.
"You must have been so unhappy and scared… I can't imagine going through something like that," Ace replied softly.
Marco gave him a sad smile. "I don't want you to imagine, Ace. We'll keep you safe, no one will harm you like that. I'd tear the world apart to save you, and I know so would everyone else." Ace nodded, not wanting to think about it anymore. "You stayed so calm when the noble said he wanted you."
Ace smiled at him. "Of course. You were there," he said simply. He grinned when he saw Marco blush slightly. It was difficult to get Marco to blush, so he always felt proud when he was able to. Marco hugged him close, and Ace wrapped his arms around Marco, as well.
-x-
There was no more trouble with the noble, surprisingly. Marco kept watch during the night, making sure no one came. He'd go back to bed before Ace woke up. Marco did his best to not let the encounter ruin the day. Ace had been able to, Marco could, too.
He was left to think about the day, and wonder if the privacy the two had that day had made Ace more willing to be physical, an example of the heavy kissing session that had never happened before. Not like that, in the many months the two had been a couple. Their room was enclosed, but the walls were thin to the other rooms with the commanders. After all, they heard Ace when he was crying once.
The phoenix zoan's cheeks darkened, even if no one was around, when he thought of the kissing, his hands in Ace's hair below him and Ace's hands in his. It was nice, and then just laying there was one of the most relaxing things Marco had ever done.
Marco had been nervous about Ace's reaction when he planned to tell him about his past. He knew Ace would not see him any different, but Marco had admitted to killing many people, slavers or not. And then his old master's life was ruined later. Ace hadn't frowned or flinched when Marco had explained. Instead he wore a look of deep, sincere sympathy that Marco rarely saw in anyone. It wasn't pity, but sadness over a loved one going through something traumatic.
And he'd told the truth when he said he wasn't trying to bribe him or make propaganda in his story about joining the family. It was true that many of the members had gotten better under the blanket of being in a family, by blood or otherwise. And it was also true that the pirates could clearly see Ace could be perfectly happy while only being a crewmember, and not a claimed brother or son. Like Marco said, Ace didn't fit the mold in many ways and this was just one more.
After Jenson came out to switch with Marco, he headed to their room, opening the door quietly and finding Ace curled into a ball, mouth slightly open and breathing slower than usual, showing he was deep asleep. Marco was very quiet with closing the door and going to change in the bathroom before brushing his teeth and crawling into bed next to Ace.
Sometimes Ace sleep talked, but it was incredibly rare and Marco was always happy when he heard it since Ace said the strangest things. "Money… laundering…" he mumbled. Marco put his hand over his mouth to keep the chuckles away, wondering what on earth Ace was dreaming about.
He pulled some of the blankets over him, and Ace latched onto it once it moved even slightly. He rolled over with the blanket being pulled to Marco, and made a "hmmm" noise before growing silent once again, now both of them under the blankets, even if Marco knew he'd wake up with none and Ace with all.
Like he predicted, he woke up with his partner cocooned into the thick blanket. For someone who was made of fire and unable to get cold, he sure did like being under the blankets. Ace woke up not long after. Marco wasn't too tired, able to function just fine with little sleep, though he needs at least a couple hours.
Marco came out of the bathroom to see Ace sitting up in bed, sleep still on his face with his hair a mess. He always looked so young when he was sleeping or just woke up. Marco noticed he'd worn one of his own shirts. "You're wearing my shirt?" Marco wondered. Ace stretched and nodded.
"You were gone so I couldn't smell you as well," Ace said simply, throwing the covers off and standing up. Marco grinned at the response, glad he smelled good to Ace. Ace smelled good, too, though it was hard to describe. He used the same hair products that Marco did, but smelled differently. "I gotta take a shower," Ace said, patting down his bed head.
"There are some clean towels in the linen closet," Marco said.
Ace smiled. "I know, I was the one to put them there," he pointed out. Marco chuckled.
"After you get out of the shower, you have to tell me about what you were dreaming about," Marco said, walking to the bed and making it a bit neater but not attempting to make it perfect. Just place the blankets back on the bed.
As Ace went to his dresser to pull out new shorts and underwear, he asked, "Oh no, what did I say?" Marco laughed.
"'Money laundering'," Marco replied. Ace looked surprised. He clearly didn't remember any such dream, disappointing Marco. How did he even have a dream about that? It was still funny, though. Ace just shook his head, amused but confused, and then went into the bathroom to take a shower.
Marco went into the porthole, which faced the land, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He was very surprised no one had come after them. Guards would do anything a World Noble would say, but they were the Whitebeard pirates. Maybe that scared them off? It was the only logical thing, unless they called an admiral and he just wasn't there yet? After all, this island was very far from Paradise, where the admirals stayed.
He was also surprised a noble had been here in the first place. On the New world seas. Why would a noble, who considers himself a god of some sort, put his life in danger by sailing the New World sea? Fool.
Marco heard aloud crash in the bathroom, and assumed Ace had passed out. He was worried, but didn't know if Ace would be comfortable with him seeing him nude, whatever that looked like. But he was worried Ace had hit his head on something. He braced himself and slowly opened the bathroom door to see Ace was laying with his feet in the shower, but face first on the tiled floor.
A towel was just barely covering over his butt, and Marco knelt down. "Ace? Baby, are you okay?" If Ace just woke up from a nap, and had a sleep attack, they only lasted a few minutes. He moved Ace's face to the side to breathe easier, and didn't move him in any way other than to pull the white towel up a little bit.
The sayla woke up, and looked up at Marco with wide, horrified eyes. After all, he was practically naked. "Ace, don't worry, you had a towel on. I didn't see anything. I was worried you'd hurt yourself so I came in," Marco explained. Ace looked behind him and did see a towel over his butt and low back.
"Th-thanks," Ace said, and Marco left immediately. Ace came out a few minutes later, face a dark shade of blue.
"Ace, I didn't see anything. I promise, I swear on Pops' mark," he said. Ace, and everyone else, always knew he was telling the truth when he swore on the mark, so he knew Marco was telling the truth, and the embarrassment faded.
"I've never passed out in the bathroom before since coming here," Ace chose to say instead, clearly trying to forget about the embarrassing moment.
Marco agreed, he'd never heard or seen Ace have a sleep attack while showering. If he weren't a logia and already durable, he could have hit his head on the bathroom counter or toilet. "We won't tell anyone," Marco said, Ace nodding in agreement.
When they entered the kitchen, most of the commanders seemed to be there, including the captain. It was a strange sight, so early in the morning. When they approached the table, Ace backed off a bit, assuming this was a meeting that he was not welcome at.
"Hello, son, Ace," Pops said. Ace and Marco replied with slow, almost suspicious greetings. "Ace, you're welcome to sit with us. It involves you, after all." Marco and Ace sat down next to Thatch and Haruta, across from the captain and Jozu.
"Is everything alright?" Marco asked, since this was quite an uncommon sight.
"It turns out that the noble was injured and has blamed us. An admiral will be setting sail from Marineford, but it will take weeks at least for them to reach this island. We'll be long gone, leaving this morning. We were to leave soon either way. Apparently, after the sound stopped, the noble fell from dizziness and broke his arm."
Marco knew they must have heard the transmission from Haruta's team, which tapped lines easily when they were close enough. "Why aren't they coming after us now?"
"You took away the chance of them escaping if it went badly for them. I assume they're waiting for backup. There was also a message about Ace, though they still don't have his name. The noble will blame the injury on Ace, so his bounty may go up again. We're unsure if any photos have been taken.
"You did the right thing, Ace. It was his mistake that he got injured. I'm sure Marco would have done much worse if it were left to him," Whitebeard explained. Ace nodded in response. "So, we'll be leaving after breakfast."
They were in no especial hurry, since they knew it would take the admiral who was dispatched, Aokiji, weeks if not months to get there. It was basically a moot point, but they were following the order of nobles, of course something like that would not matter much to them.
After breakfast, everyone worked to leave the island, Ace up in the crowsnest with binoculars to see if anything or anyone were coming to the ship as they prepared to leave. Marco worked to unfurl the highest sails.
Nothing happened, and they set sail smoothly. Marco flew Ace down the deck, and the ship left to the next island, which was one of their own. Marines knew not to go on protected islands or they'd end up dead by any of the allies nearest. Pirates were taken care of by the main ship, but marines were simple to pick off and it happened faster and gave the point across sooner.
At dinner that night, the crew learned something from Ace they hadn't known. Thatch was sitting across from Ace, eating his delicious food while Ace scarfed down garlic bread with the pasta dishes that were that night's specials. "Hey, Ace? When is your birthday?" Thatch asked. They knew he was 20, but he hadn't had a birthday yet. At least, they never asked and he never said anything about it.
"Not for another 412 days," Ace replied simply. Those around him grew confused. "What?"
Izo asked, "Ace, how many days are in a year for your planet?" This caught the attention of all the commanders and captain within hearing range.
"656 days," he replied casually. The table and Marco were shocked. Earth had 365 days, meaning Ace, in human years, was much older than 20. "Why do you ask? Is it not the same here? Your days last around the same."
"Wait! That means you're… 36 years old in human years!" Haruta shouted, doing math on a napkin with a pen. "That means you're older than I am! Hey, is that what you meant in the beginning by saying we didn't look good for our age?"
Ace seemed pretty surprised, too. It clicked to Marco that Ace had to be older than 20 because of how mature he was. Meaning that for everyone one year for humans, Ace's planet was a bit less than two. Did that mean Ace had a longer lifespan than Marco?
"I guess. I didn't think that your years were shorter. I just thought you had more months in the cycle," Ace replied. He was then asked about Sayla's lifespan. "Sixty years."
Haruta had a pen and continued math on a napkin furiously. "That means your people's lifespan, compared to ours, is 107 years old. Our lifespan is in the seventies, though it varies per person."
"That's not true. Different sayla have different lifespans. Women live a lot longer than the men, and blue and purple sayla live shorter than green and pink. Do all humans have the same expected lifespans?" Ace seemed flabbergasted, even though his system was much more complicated. Haruta nodded.
They hadn't been fascinated with anything new about Ace's world since there hadn't been any new information out. "Why didn't you tell us about that?" Thatch whined.
"No one asked. It didn't seem weird to me so I never had a reason to bring it up," Ace replied honestly, twirling his fork in the pasta and then taking a bite.
Marco was sad that Ace's lifespan was much longer than anyone on the crew. They'd die around him, even if it didn't happen for many more years. Pops was the only one above sixty. It made Marco so sad that Ace could end up all alone. But, they weren't sure how long Marco would live with his devil fruit, since he wouldn't fall ill as long as he had it. He still aged, but had no health problems.
"When is your birthday, Ace?" Haruta wondered.
"On the day of the New Year. Well, at my home world," Ace replied.
Thatch scowled. "But we already had a New Years and you didn't tell us?!" he raged. Ace rose his eyebrows, and pointed out that his birthday was not for a while, so there was nothing to celebrate at that time. Thatch pouted, and Marco put a hand over his partner's shoulders, amused with how calm Ace was and Thatch was getting progressively more cranky.
As Thatch stewed and Ace ate slowly, watching the chef and clearly wondering what the problem was, Marco thought about the fact that Ace was older than they thought he was, at least compared to humans. Marco had had no problem dating someone half his age, but things suddenly felt different. Ace was still the same person, but he was less than ten years younger than Marco.
Marco had always thought Ace was just an old soul, wise and mature beyond his age. He may look 20 years younger than Marco, but it now felt a little more serious. They were both adults. Ace had been an adult, but in their eyes, barely older than a teenager. It was nice, suddenly, not being so much older. He didn't think things would change from this, but it was nice to know.
The ship came across some stupid pirates, not a super rookie like Kid had been, who threatened the ship. It was not even a challenge, as they didn't even battle on the Moby Dick. Ace stayed inside, napping in their bedroom, as the pirates destroyed the enemy crew. It was quite disappointing to be honest.
"What losers," Haruta commented, still grumpy. As was Thatch, even though the conversation had been hours ago.
"Haruta, why are you so upset about this?" Marco wondered. It couldn't just be because Ace hadn't disclosed his birthday when they could have celebrated it on New Years, which was months ago. It was far too late.
"Because now I'm the youngest again!" Haruta ranted, surprisingly honestly. "Stupid Ace is stupid 36 and I'm 26!"
"Hey! No, don't say things like that. How do you think hearing that would make Ace feel?" Marco scolded. Haruta flushed and looked ashamed, but still upset. "It's not Ace's fault that he's lived longer than you. We just never thought about the fact that time might be different on Ace's planet."
The commander shuffled his feet in a grumpy way. "Fine," he grumbled and walked away. Marco pursed his lips, irate with the response that some of the crew were having about Ace's new age. There were plenty of younger members on the crew, under 36.
Marco went back to the bedroom, since Ace asked him to wake him up in an hour, and it had been that long. When he went into the room, Ace was curled up under the blankets like usual. He sat down on the bed next to Ace's head. "Ace, baby, time to wake up," he said. Ace put the pillow over his ear, and Marco chuckled. "Didn't you want to get up so you could work on your duties? There were a lot of damaged clothes in the fight. C'mon, up you go," Marco said, shaking Ace awake gently.
He sat up slowly, and sighed. "Are you okay?" Marco asked.
"Have a headache," Ace replied, rubbing his temples. "It's not too bad, but it's there."
"Do you want me to get you some tea?" Since Ace was not allowed any human medication, tea and herbal supplements were what was used. Ace nodded, and asked if Marco could bring his share of clothes to fix to their room. Ace already had his supplies in a little chest on top of the dresser.
"Sure. I'll make the tea and bring it back with your share of laundry," Marco replied. "Try not to make the headache worse."
"Okay."
Marco was concerned, but not panicked. Ace got occasional headaches, but they were usually due to haki. He brewed some tea and left to get the allotted amount of clothes, coming back once the tea was ready and pouring it in a tall mug. He headed back to their room, greeting those he passed, which became more and more sparse until there was no one else. The commanders' hall was strictly for those who had rooms there. It was the most private part of the ship when it came to general pirates and not the higher ups.
Ace was asleep again when Marco arrived, and closed the door with his foot. He dumped the clothes on the bed and set the mug on a fabric coaster Ace had crocheted on the bedside table on Ace's side. "Ace, I brought the tea and things you need," Marco said, and Ace got up much easier this time.
"Thanks," Ace said, taking a large swig of the tea. Since he couldn't be burned, he was able to drink and eat scalding hot food and not be even slightly uncomfortable. He turned on the dim lamp after setting the mug back down. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry. It faded a bit." Marco nodded.
"I'm gonna go get some paperwork and bring it back to work on in here," Marco said. Ace said he didn't need to, that he was fine. "You think that's the only reason I want to work in your company?" he asked with a smile.
"No, I guess not."
"I'll be back in a bit," Marco said and left the room to head to his office and bring back the things he could do with some distraction. He had to write up a report about what happened on the island. He'd been distracted since then, but the other commanders turned in their paper work already. It was the end of the week and Marco had one more thing to write up.
When he got back to the room, Ace was humming quietly, working on a ripped vest and leaning against the bedframe of the bed, legs under some blankets while he was sitting up. Marco didn't want him to stop and didn't ask, and was enthralled when Ace continued to do so, even with Marco in there.
Usually, Ace only kept singing to himself in the shower, and Marco never told him he could hear it, or if Marco is having an unusually hard time falling asleep. The best remedy is still the song about making paper baskets, which would never not be funny.
Marco sat at the desk in the corner of the room, reading glasses on while he wrote. Ace's tune was not distracting, even if it was fairly lively sounding. The only other sound that wasn't Marco's pen scribbling across the paper was the soft rustling of the fabric Ace was working with, and the times when he opened the chest to get out something else.
After Marco was done with his work, Ace had drunk all of the tea. "How's the headache? You haven't let loose any haki in a while." Ace looked up in shock and surprise. "What is it?"
The sayla poked the needle into the foam cork board wedge he had. "I didn't even notice that it wasn't happening. Usually it happens on its own…" Ace muttered. Marco smiled.
"Does that mean you can control it? Can you let loose any?" Marco asked excitedly, the excitement on Ace's face as well. Ace closed his eyes, and Marco waited patiently, wondering what would happen next.
A burst of it came out, Ace's face scrunched up a bit, and it made Marco wobble just a bit. Ace opened them and beamed. "I did it! I can do it!" he shouted, jumping up on the bed and acting like a child and jumping up and down in happiness. Marco rarely saw Ace like this, so playful and cute. It was weird now, to describe him that way knowing he was not just out of his teens, no matter how he looked.
"Congratulations. See, I told you you could do it," Marco said, sitting in the chair, laughing and smiling along with Ace. "Is the headache gone now?"
Ace shook his head. "It's barely there, but doesn't feel like my haki headaches," he replied, tired a bit from jumping. He slumped down on the bed, on his back with his limbs spread wide. "It took me months, but I sort of control one of them. And the other one isn't happening as often, but I still can't say when I want it to activate. It's happening less and less, too. That I notice, at least."
Marco stood up and walked to the bed, plopping down next to Ace on the large bed. "And how about regular observation haki?" he asked, taking the hand closest to Marco and kissing the knuckles. Ace said that it was still there all of the time, but he did his best to ignore it. "You don't really mention it much anymore. And you can sleep easier lately."
The sayla turned on his side to face Marco, and said, "I've gotten used to it. It's still there all of the time, but it doesn't scare me anymore. Only when there's something foreign off of the ship, or coming close to me. Maybe I can focus on other things, now that they're more under control?"
Marco ran a hand through Ace's hair. "Why are you asking me? You can do whatever you want," he pointed out.
"Cause I want you to help me," Ace answered.
"You don't have to ask. I'll be there for you with anything and everything," Marco replied. Ace crawled on top of Marco, resting his head over Marco's heart, while Marco's hands ran up and down Ace's smooth spine and his beautiful tattoo.