And we are here, the last chapter. I just finished writing my longest story yet: 201,000 words! 537 pages to edit. But I finished one of my other crossovers so I'll be posting that today since this one is over.
I hope the ending is satisfying. I had a lot of fun writing this. My only pre-pandemic - pandemic story. I started this back when I would bring my laptop to school and write. Enjoy~
Marco made a deal with the phoenix. To wake himself every two hours to check on Ace. And he did, every two hours. Ace was fine, sleeping peacefully not sweaty or shaking. Just sleeping peacefully in Marco's embrace. He did his very best to not wake Ace up when he did, wanting him to sleep happily in a bed that wasn't in the infirmary.
The commanders' beds were all higher grade than regular bunks, so of course going to the hospital bed would be a serious step down than a commander's bed. Ace mumbled some sounds, but no words. The first mate still wished he knew what dream Ace had about money laundering.
Everytime he made sure Ace was okay, he drifted back to sleep with a smile. He'd missed sleeping with another warm body. The commander had grown so used to it over the months so that when Ace wasn't there, it felt wrong. Like something serious was missing. His bed felt colder, and his room less cozy.
Marco woke up the next day, for once in a while being the one who woke up later. He heard the sounds of the shower going in the bathroom, door closed. Marco yawned and stood up, going to the closet to take out clothes and then the dresser for underpants. He changed clothes, since Ace was in the other room, and dumped his dirty clothes into the cloth hamper hanging from the ceiling by a hook.
He couldn't help but wonder if Ace would ever be comfortable enough to be around him nude. Not just for sex, but to take baths together. Well, it would be nothing if they took a bath together; everyone bathed in the same bathhouses. Yet no one knew what Ace looked like naked except for the nurses, who helped him shower and make it to the bathroom when he was under quarantine.
And Ace did say he had a little anatomy lesson about human males, so Marco was the only one in the dark. He wouldn't ask; it wasn't necessary information. He was putting his sandals on when he saw Ace come out, a towel around his shoulders with loose pants on. He had a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth, the toothpaste gathered at the corner of his mouth.
"Morning," Marco said pleasantly. Ace nodded in reply, as he was scrubbing his teeth. He went back to the bathroom to spit in the sink and finished brushing his teeth.
"Did you sleep well?" Marco asked. Ace nodded with a smile.
"Much better than the infirmary. It was lonely and cold in multiple ways," Ace replied and headed to Marco to kiss his cheek. Marco was surprised by how affectionate he'd been since he was released, though he shouldn't be surprised. Ace was isolated for over a week, of course he was craving human contact with someone he loved. Marco kissed his closed eyelids. "I can't wait to go onto an island."
Marco laughed, and said they were nearing one in the next one to two days. "How is your haki coming along?"
Ace put a finger on his chin. "Well, when I was locking the infirmary, I tracked people around with my observation haki so I knew for sure I wasn't completely alone. Not much with the future seeing. There was nothing to see so I assume that's why… or something. And nothing happened with my conqueror's haki," Ace explained in detail. Marco was brushing his own teeth and then started shaving. Marco never wanted a mustache, so he only shaved above his lip and enough of his jaw to be mostly smooth besides the very edge.
The sayla was the only one aboard the ship who didn't need to shave, since he had no body hair in the first place, besides his eyebrows, eyelashes and hair. Marco wondered if humans even needed body hair since Ace seemed to do just fine without it.
When he was done, Ace had started sewing a project he'd had to put on hiatus when he got sick. "Ace. Remember you have a couple days off?" Marco asked. He wasn't scolding him, but he didn't want Ace to dive back into working after the stress and loneliness he was put through. "Don't you want to go eat Thatch's breakfast with Thatch?"
Ace nodded and put his work down, sticking the needle into his tomato shaped needle holder. They happily headed to the galley, though breakfast was already in full swing. They'd just slept in a bit. But Ace was made everything he usually was. French toast (of course), eggs, waffles, bacon, sausages. He scarfed them all down with gusto at the table.
"It's good to have you back, Ace," Pops said with a grin. "I'm sorry you had to be isolated. It was for everyones' well being."
"I know. Marco told me about illnesses on ships. I'm just glad no one else got sick and that Tami's case was mild," Ace replied, shoving a banana waffle in his mouth. The commanders chatted for a while, Ace staying quiet, just enjoying the company of other people. The chatter that echoed around the big room was a contrast to the silence of the infirmary. Marco knew that Tami and Whiskey were nice, but not very charismatic when they're doing their job seriously. And they weren't Ace's friends, so they must not have chatted or had any meaningful conversations about anything other than his health problems. Marco was glad he was free now.
After breakfast, Ace left Marco to go mingle with his division friends, who had all missed him as well. Marco didn't follow, he wasn't Ace's chaperone everywhere, and instead went to the navigation room to check into the logs about the weather in this area previously. As Marco told Ace, the Whitebeards had been to almost every island they were not not welcomed in the New World. Obvious ones to avoid, they did. None of them had stepped foot in Totto Land. Wano had fallen into Kaido's hands, so they did not go there as well.
But all of the other islands were game, including Shanks' as long as they didn't cause trouble. The only island Pops declined ever taking them was raftel. He believed that someone else should find the treasure, even if he knew it was real. Marco would always respect him for choosing family over fame. Well, a certain type of fame. He was infamous already.
The sea king activity and weather were bad in that area two years ago, he read. He flipped through the pages, and started writing notes for the navigation division. They were the second division which was still empty and most likely would be so for a time to come. The first division could not help but think Ace would make a great commander if he had more confidence in himself on the crew.
But, Ace was happy in Izo's division, living a simple role. Marco would never want him to do something he really didn't want to. He wanted Ace happy, as happy as he could be. There was a leader in the division, because there had to be, but not a division member. He wanted to be one, but Pops never offered, so he never asked.
Marco brought the notes to the captain, who was in the sanitized and no longer quarantined infirmary getting a check up.
"I can't believe you listened, even when we were distracted with Ace. I'm shocked, but thank you," he heard Whiskey say in an amazed voice.
Whitebeard laughed. "Rum is much better than coffee, but I'll settle." Marco blinked twice. He'd been so distracted for the last two weeks, strung up and nervous that he didn't even notice Pops was drinking less. Since the captain rarely fell into a drunken state, it wasn't extremely noticeable. Marco felt terrible for not paying attention enough to notice.
"What changed?" Tami asked.
"Ace's situation. I need to be in my best health if an outbreak or some sort of catastrophe occurs. And being dead from drinking too much isn't going to help anyone. And Marco, I don't blame you for not noticing. No one has but a few of your very watchful brothers." Obviously, it was evident to a haki user that Marco was in the room.
Whitebeard laughed when Whiskey dabbed her eyes. "About time, you dumbass!" she finally exploded, the captain laughing louder, sounding truly happy. Nobody else would get away with telling Pops he was a dumbass. Marco had called him an idiot before, though.
"I'm sorry to stress you, daughters," the captain said, patting Whiskey on the back. "I assume I'm free to leave?"
"Yes. That wasn't the quickest check up ever! You didn't argue a single time! Who are you, Pops? Are you sick, too?" Tami exclaimed, truly looking suspicious.
"If I were sick, I know I can count on you to make me better. I'm very proud of your handling Ace's illness. I wasn't even allowed to go near anyone who might be contagious. So I'm sorry you had to do most of the work," Pops apologized sincerely. Whiskey waved her hand.
She put the clipboard down and sat next to him. "You would have just gotten in the way even if it wasn't contagious. It's really lucky Ace didn't die from it or spread it throughout the ship." Marco flinched, now standing with his sisters and father, when he heard Ace could have died.
The captain asked if it had really been that bad. He knew it had been, but had not seen Ace at his worst. "His body was rapidly failing him. He was unable to regulate his temperature, was so exhausted he could barely stand up on his own, and needed assisted breathing. His body rebounded. And without any medication. It might have been a mistake to not try medication, but it was a risk I was willing to take. And his body was able to fend it off with some healthy food and tea. I know you're the strongest man in the world, but your immune system is crap compared to Ace's."
Whitebeard laughed, and said, "Well then I guess it's good Ace is not human or he'd take my spot. Though it wouldn't bother me to have a son surpass my strength."
Marco smiled softly. Pops wasn't super close to Ace, not like the commanders, but Marco knew the captain loved Ace like a son. He kept his distance because Ace had never made a show that he wanted to be close to the captain. Maybe for certain reasons. And though there had been more than one kidnapping when he wanted someone on his crew, Ace was delicate and Whitebeard did not interfere with the space he seemed to need.
Ace was unique in the fact that he both longed for a family (Marco could tell) but was vehemently opposed to having one if it wasn't his brothers. Maybe if they weren't all men, he'd be fine with sisters.
"Now, Marco, what did you need to speak about?" Whitebeard asked, standing and leaving the nurses with a cheeky grin, while they looked like Pops' check up made their days.
"Oh, right. Well, I looked into our past log books and this area of the New World is a mess. At least, where we're going to enter sometime tomorrow morning, if we continue at this pace," Marco explained. He had his reading glasses on, and said, "Unusual sea king activity and storms. It was two years ago, so it could have just been a fluke, but I think we should be prepared for anything unusual happening," Marco explained thoroughly.
Whitebeard nodded, touching his large mustache in thought. "Well we can't avoid it most likely, so we'll all be ready when it comes. The Moby is strong, she won't be bested by some sea kings," the captain bragged.
"That is true, but you know our crew is full of morons. Many you handpicked yourself. What will we do if someone showed their idiocy and a sea king gets them?" Marco asked, only half kidding. Whitebeard laughed, as they'd reached his throne out on deck, where people were moving about or talking and laughing.
"Then we'll deal with that if it comes," the captain replied. Marco didn't think the answer was that great, but it wasn't like they could un-stupid their family. Well, their common sense. His attention was brought to Ace, who was being followed by many of his friends from the division. Ace looked very uncomfortable, even through the awkward reassuring smile. Marco looked to Pops, who was frowning and nodded for him to go see what was wrong.
Marco pushed his way through the group. "Ace? Baby, what's the problem?"
"Nothing," Ace said. It was clearly a lie, which was shocking to Marco. But it had to be something that Ace knew would worry people, so he was lying. Marco turned and dismissed those who were concerned for Ace. "I'm fine, Marco," Ace said in a tight voice.
"C'mon, let's go inside and talk," Marco replied, knowing Ace would not talk if there were a lot of people around. Ace went with him inside, past everyone. Marco could feel the trembles in Ace's hand, which he was holding tightly. Marco brought them to their room, sensing this was a big problem, whatever it was. And even if it wasn't, Marco wouldn't want anyone thinking whatever upset Ace was an overreaction or stupid.
He closed the bedroom door behind them quietly and walked with Ace to the bed. "Ace, what is the matter? Please tell me. Are you feeling sick again?" Marco asked in great worry. The sayla shook his head.
"I'm not sick. Just… I th-think there was a side effect," Ace muttered. Marco's heart started to hammer in worry. He didn't need to ask what the problem was, Ace didn't leave him hanging. It would be cruel. "I can't change colors."
Marco kept himself from sighing in relief that Ace wasn't in pain, but it was a big deal. Ace had told them that was something all of the sayla could do. Something in their DNA, and if Ace couldn't anymore, then something had happened in his DNA. "At all?" Marco asked, holding Ace's hand and showing genuine concern, not terror and not relief.
"I tried to show Mika the color green I wanted and I couldn't. Then I tried turning all human color. It didn't work. People started asking me what was wrong when I stopped talking. Kept asking what the problem was," Ace explained. Marco cupped his face.
"They care about you, of course they were concerned. It's normal to be worried when your friend seems upset, right?" he asked in a soft voice. "If you can't change colors anymore, be happy you are forever in this you, yourself, and not as a human. You get to be you forever, and everyone else will just have to deal with a blue person walking around," Marco said in a strong voice.
Ace looked sad. "I don't want people to be worried about me anymore." Marco sighed quietly.
"Well, I'm not sorry to say that as long as you have people who love you, someone will worry. Someone will be concerned. Even if you're perfectly healthy and great and nothing is wrong, someone will worry. That's just how it is. Most of the crew is worried about Pops' age and health, but he goes on through life happy and free.
"You ran into good people when you came here, and you're stuck with us," Marco finished.
Ace was looking at his hand, sad, but much better than before Marco talked to him. "Sorry I lied. I didn't want you to worry," the sayla said quietly.
"Well, that's what will continue to happen here, Ace. Or anywhere with good friends or family. You'll worry about us and we'll worry about you. And this changes nothing with us. We all love your normal side, this you. It's just outsiders who will think it's not normal," Marco explained. "And we're outlaws in the first place. None of us fit in with 'normal' humans."
Marco leaned forward and kissed Ace's cheek. He wiped away the tears on Ace's cheeks. "I'm scared," Ace whimpered, curling in on himself. "I don't want to be sick or have something bad happen."
"I know, baby. And if anything else happens, we're in it with you. Through thick and thin, we're friends," Marco said, barely skirting saying "family" instead of friends. Having Ace there with them, stubborn as he is, had trained them in avoiding hot topics. AKA the words: "brother, father, family". Ace was family even if he might not see them as that.
Ace nodded. "I-I'm gon…" and Marco caught him from falling forward. He tucked Ace back into the bed, resting his forearms on his knees, shoulders hunched. What kind of damage could have happened to inhibit Ace from doing something his whole species could? He was trying to figure out what kind of thing would happen with a human. They didn't have natural abilities, like the sayla, so it was hard to think about like that.
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Well, he couldn't let himself or Ace wallow in fear and confusion. The ability might come back, it might be a fluke, or it could be something else. They wouldn't know, couldn't know, so there was no use in fretting about it in an unhealthy amount of intensity.
-x-
After talking to Marco about the issue, Ace started to secretly feel different about the whole situation. He was given a lot of time to himself with Marco and the others being busy watching out for the ship or weathering storms that popped up. So Ace didn't need to explain why he had this certain look on his face while seemingly thinking of nothing.
They were landing on the island later that day, soon, most likely. Ace was nervous, but happy. He could tell Marco was liking the lifted demeanor. Ace wouldn't share it though. It was kind of stupid. He was happy because he lost something he had had his whole life. It wasn't losing it that made him happy, but what it meant for him in the human world.
Now he would always be himself. He'd never again dress up as a human to make their lives easier. They'd see Ace as he was, even if they didn't like it. Now Ace could never be a human, ever be seen as one. He loved Marco and liked his crew, but as a whole, he still had many fundamental problems with the humans.
Ace may get stared at, he was used to it, but it would be better for him than having people like him just because he looked normal. He didn't know what to expect from other humans, the Whitebeards were weird. Many of them didn't accept him at first, and maybe not still, but none of them tried to hurt Ace. Not directly, like the pool of oil in his room that time.
What if he was attacked on an island? Well, the pirates would never let anyone get away with that, and Ace wouldn't just let anyone hurt him. He would defend himself as peacefully as he could. It was here that his power was incredibly useful. He could stop them without even touching them.
Standing at the railing as the island came into view as everyone was tired from avoiding the disasters that plagued them for the last many hours, Ace stared at it. It had a lush forest on it, that crawled up a steep mountain. Ace would like to explore it. Marco came up behind him. "It's pretty isn't it?"
"Yeah. I want to explore the mountain," Ace replied. Marco put his arm around his lover.
"Then why don't we?" he asked with a grin, Ace returning it. "Are you worried about going in your true colors?"
Ace shrugged one shoulder. "I guess a little. I don't know how people will react, y'know? But, no one will like me as a faker. They have to deal with me being myself," Ace replied. Marco kissed his temple and Ace giggled. Marco was clearly surprised by Ace's demeanor, after not only half a day ago he was a mess. Now he seemed almost happy.
"I'm glad you're in a good mood," he said, not asking any questions or making assumptions. The ship sailed closer and they went around the back side of the island, where they usually went. Rarely did they dock at a port. For one, their ship never fit, and second, they were pirates. Not welcome most times. Ace put his hat on, hands on his hips with a smile on.
Like always, the first day was business, and Ace offered to help Thatch again. The sixteenth division was not out of supplies, and therefore didn't need to go shopping all together. Only getting their own things to use for themselves. Ace would get something later. He wanted to hang out with Thatch for now.
"Sure! I'll go get the cart. Jimmy will be getting the packaged foods, we'll get the meats and fruits and veggies," Thatch said, happy to have Ace to hang out with. Ace was not surprised that Marco wanted to go too, so the three left, Marco going, too, but also buying medicines when they came across the shop. Killing two birds with one stone.
The first person to see Ace in his true form just blinked at him dumbly. It was a farmer, since they were walking through the wooded area, where there was a path for the pirates to make to town. He stared at Ace, and rubbed his arm across his eyes. Seeming to realise he wasn't seeing things, the farmer just shrugged and went back to work. The two humans chuckled while Ace shook his head in amusement.
None of them were under the impression everyone would react that way, but it was a good start. When they reached the edge of the city, Marco was holding Ace's hand tightly. None of them were surprised with the shameless staring, or the whispers. Ace could hear the words, questioning what was with him, why he was blue. They saw his tattoo as he passed, and their words soon involved the Whitebeard pirates. Thatch looked the most worried out of the three.
Ace put his blue hand on Thatch's shoulder, smiling at him reassuringly. Ace was the one comforting him. The chef smiled at him and knocked his hat back to rub his hair. Ace pushed the hand away with a laugh.
He hadn't been stared at like this in quite some time, but he was not offended. Just like he had said the first time, it was natural for people to stare. As long as they didn't do anything bad, Ace didn't care much about the stares.
"Alright, where first?" Marco asked. Thatch replied that they should get the medicine first so the food didn't have to wait longer than necessary. Marco nodded, and the three walked through the streets to find the drug store. The pirates kept maps of the islands they visited, marking where things were. There were many copies of them for the pirates to use to find their way around. Veteran pirates weren't stupid, so of course they had things like this set up.
More than a few times, children saw Ace, and looked at him in awe only for their parents to usher them away or scold them for staring so openly. Maybe people thought he was a fishman? After all, doesn't every human know what fishmen and merfolk were? They wouldn't guess Ace was from another planet.
Ace could feel the people moving around him, what they were doing and where they were heading. But he didn't let it overwhelm him like it had done for so long. He let it sit on the backburner of his mind.
"What a freak," he heard a male voice say from behind them. He dodged slightly to the left when something came flying at him. It missed him and landed on Marco's shirt. Marco stopped and turned around with a death glare at the person who'd thrown the egg. He let loose intimidating haki that had the kids knees shaking.
Ace didn't stop him. He watched as the guy's friends ditched him. That made Ace frown, what good friends. Marco took his vest off with a huff and tossed it into the crate. "Little shit," he grumbled. Ace stared at his muscled torso and it was a little weird to see him shirtless out in public, though he wasn't one to talk. "Sorry I dodged and you got hit."
"It was my fault for not being fast enough. Idiots, throwing food at a Whitebeard pirate. They clearly saw your back," Marco said irately. Ace put his on the shoulder. He ignored the stares, instead looking around the shop when they entered, Thatch staying outside to watch the cart. Not that anyone would steal it easily, it was heavy as hell.
Marco had many baskets, and was picking up things from a list in bulk. Ace read the packages, the bottles. There were so many. Not as many as there were back home, but still quite a lot. The cashier watched him warily the whole time, but Ace didn't mind. While some people might feel like holes were being stared into him, he barely noticed. Well, he knew they must be staring at him, but it didn't make him uncomfortable.
There were no Celestial Dragons or nobles on this island, so Ace was safe. Plus, he was accompanied by Marco and Thatch. Once Marco was done shopping, he paid for the multiple baskets of medication and ingredients, and collected Ace to go back outside with Thatch and head to the market.
Marco put all of the medication in the dozen bags into the cart, where he'd watch them carefully. They headed to the market that sold fruits and vegetables, rice and fish, meat and spices. The three wandered around, Thatch not needing a list as he knew what they needed and what he wanted.
Ace picked out some stuff while Marco did others. The cart was steadily filled, dozens of sacks of uncooked rice, and tons of perishables, mostly things that he could freeze. They ended up spending over a million berris on food alone. "Why did we get so much this time?" after all, someone else was stocking up on non-perishables.
"Over a month until the next island. We'll be sailing through slow waters, the wind speed low. We need to stock up for that extended length of time." Ace looked down when a child pulled on his hand. He looked surprised, but crouched down.
"Did you need something?" Ace asked kindly.
"Mister, why are you blue?" the little boy asked. Ace grinned, and said it was a secret, but he'd let him in on it as long as he didn't spread it.
"I'm magic. I can't go into detail, but I'm blue cause I'm magic. Make sure to keep it a secret, okay?" Ace asked with an exaggerated voice, looking around like he didn't want anyone else to hear.
The little boy nodded and promised he wouldn't tell anyone. He ran off then, and Ace wondered where his parents were. He stood back up to walk with Marco and Thatch back to the ship and through the forest, back the way they'd come.
It was when they were nearing the edge of town when they heard a woman screaming somewhere near. The three stopped, and Ace wordlessly hurried to the sound in concern. She sounded really upset. He came around a corner to see a man grabbing her wrist and not letting go. He looked disturbing. "Hey! Leave her alone," Ace commanded, glaring.
"Fuck off!" the man said, and started to drag her away. Ace released as best a burst of haki as he could, as he still wasn't very good at it. They both fell, but Ace turned into fire and got to the woman before she fell. Marco and Thatch were watching with sad eyes. Ace had a feeling they knew what was going to happen. Ace carried the woman back to his friend and lover.
"What do I do with her?" Ace wondered, glaring at the human who was unconscious.
Thatch frowned softly. "We'll wait for her to wake up and then take her back to her home," he said. "But let's get away from that guy," he added, pointing to the unconscious human.
It didn't take long for the woman to wake up, seeing two men standing near her, one blue. Thatch had left so the food didn't go bad, not knowing how long it'd take for her to wake up. "Are you alright, miss?" Ace asked.
She nodded, wiping tears away. "Thank you for saving me," she blubbered. Ace smiled in response.
"Where do you live? We'll escort you back home," Marco said. He wasn't as kind as Ace, his voice a bit gruff while the sayla sounded like the nicest person you'd ever meet.
"You don't need to. I can make it back myself," she said quickly. Ace frowned.
He replied, "I'd like to make sure you get back to your home safely. It won't be a problem, we have nothing to do anyways," the sayla added. He was impressed that the woman wasn't acting shocked by his appearance. "What is your name?" She had blonde hair and a kind face.
"Conis," she replied.
"I'm Ace and this is Marco," Ace said. "Yes, Phoenix Marco. We're Whitebeard pirates." Ace didn't want to scare her or startle her off guard when she noticed their tattoos. "So, where do you live?"
Conis looked shocked, probably that they were pirates helping her for no real reason of their own. "You are very nice for pirates," she commented, smiling softly. "I don't live too far away."
Marco chuckled. "Oh, we're not all like Ace. He's the odd one out on our crew," the first mate said fondly. "Now, let's get you back home." The three headed in the direction Conis was leading them. She looked comfortable around Ace and Marco, probably because they had saved her and didn't seem to have any ulterior motives. When they got to her home, they walked her to the door, which she unlocked.
"Thank you so much," she said with a bow. Ace and Marco nodded, and Ace wished her a good day. She had some more tears in her eyes, and then closed the door behind her. Ace was surprised she hadn't once asked Ace why on earth he was blue. Everyone else seemed hung up on it.
Marco kissed Ace on the mouth. "You're so sweet, Ace. But you'll ruin our pirate reputation, you know." Ace knew he was joking, and grinned.
"Any decent person would have helped her," Ace responded. Marco raised an eyebrow.
"So am I not decent, then?" Ace sputtered out that he didn't mean it like that, but Marco just laughed. "C'mon, let's go back home. Then we can go out and explore the forest and mountain." Ace was satisfied with his first time out in public as himself. Stares and mutters were to be expected, but no one really did anything but the guy who stupidly threw an egg at them.
Ace latched onto Marco's arm and hugged it. "You're so brave. I'm so proud of you," Marco said, and Ace giggled.
-x-
Marco was playing poker with Ace and many of the commanders, and he knew something was up with Ace. Not just because he was winning spectacularly when he usually was terrible at it. He kept blinking his eyes in a weird way. He also had a cheeky grin on. Something was up, and when Ace won again, Thatch rudely pointed at him and shouted, "You're cheating!"
They all knew Thatch was right when Ace didn't deny it. He just smiled pleasantly. Marco raised an eyebrow, wanting to know what he was thinking of. "How could I be cheating?" Ace asked curiously, still smiling brightly.
"I don't know, but you are!" Thatch argued heatedly.
"Maybe I've just gotten better at it since we last played," he offered, taking an apple wedge from the plate in front of him.
"That's not true! It's like you're predicting our moves somehow," the chef accused heatedly. Ace grinned brighter, elated with something, and then it clicked. The sayla was not denying the claim, seemed happy with it being said out loud. He shrugged playfully.
Marco asked, "Are you controlling your foresight?"
Ace put his hand on the back of his hat and tipped his head back a bit. "Maayybbeee," he replied. The commanders eputed into either anger or happiness. Anger because he'd been cheating, and happiness that he could finally control it. But it seemed out of nowhere. Ace hadn't said anything about it and here he was controlling it perfectly.
"Since when?" Marco wondered, trying not to feel hurt that he wasn't told first. Ace hadn't brought it up anytime recently. Did he master it that day or had he been hiding his progress? Why would he do that?
"I've been practicing for a couple days. I wanted to wait until I was sure I was using it correctly before bringing it up. It took you long enough to say I was cheating! I don't know how to play poker," he joked in a bright voice.
Marco grabbed him and trapped him in his lap, Ace kicking and trying to get out of the tight squeeze. "So, how does it work?" he asked curiously once Ace stopped struggling.
"I can only see a few seconds, and it looks different than normal. It's from my point of view, but sort of a muted color. It's hard to explain. Now that my plan has been foiled, I won't cheat anymore. Promise," he said with a bright smile.
Suddenly, Ace looked up at something he could sense coming down. "There's something falling towards us," he said in wonder, wondering what it was. Things didn't fall from the sky here, unless it was a meteor or something like that? Marco looked up to see it was something shiny, and the group got up before it slammed down on the deck, crushing the plate of apple slices.
It was a big box-like thing. It was shiny, black and silver, with white lights on it. And symbols that Marco recognized were Ace's language. It was something from his world. He looked to the side, to see a shocked Ace, staring down at it.
"I-is that from your world?" Thatch asked nervously. None of them had any idea as to what it was or what it did. But it worried them. What if it was a way for Ace to get home? What if he left them? Ace nodded numbly, and walked forward, staring down at it, eyes flicking from side to side as he read whatever it said.
Haruta got behind Ace to look at it, even if he didn't know how to read Ace's language. Marco recognized many of the symbols, one of them was Ace's name, which looked much longer than how his name was written in their language.
Ace's eyes widened, and his eyebrows furrowed, a look of uncertainty. Marco bit his lip, feeling utter fear. If Ace went home… to his old home… what would Marco do? He was so in love with Ace, it would feel like part of his heart was ripped away. And it would be crushing that Ace chose something else over him. Did Ace still miss home so much?
"What does it say?" Marco asked, the tremble in his voice. Ace swallowed, and then cleared his throat.
"It's asking me if I need assistance getting back home. They were able to track where I am from the chip in my head. I didn't know it had a tracker in it."
Marco's face drained of color. He couldn't ask what Ace was going to say back. The zoan started to shake, the phoenix freaking out inside as well. Flames erupted on his shoulders, and Marco couldn't contain them. Ace still didn't look up. Then he started to type quickly, picking out symbols so unlike their language. His fingers flew across the surface.
Another message turned up after Ace pressed a button to send the message. Marco couldn't help but be in awe of the technology. Ace read this one as well, and responded quickly. The message was longer this time. The pirates waited silently, not wanting to interrupt, even if many of them were feeling worried.
Ace stood back, done typing, as the box extended, opening up further to show smaller boxes inside, though these ones were the hard metal of the whole case itself. Ace pulled the boxes out, and opened them to see two black surfaces, flat and skinny. Ace smiled a watery smile, and held the things to his chest, closing his eyes. Everyone was curious, but said nothing.
He held the unknown objects in his arm while he opened another box. This one was another wristband like the original he'd had, only it looked a bit different from the first. He strapped it to his wrist, and sighed when it was in place. That was all there was. He closed the box, whose lights dimmed until it was just a smooth surface.
Silence surrounded them, until Marco gathered the courage to ask what he said back. "I said I was going to stay here. They sent me some stuff, photos of my brothers, and a new wrist band in case I need anything." The deck was quiet before cheers erupted, and Marco hugged Ace tightly, the phoenix feeling utter relief as well. He pulled back and asked to see Ace's treasured brothers. The pictures were of two young kids. One was a boy with black hair like Ace's, wide light blue eyes, blue skin as well, but without freckles.
He had a white, curved stripe under his left eye but that was all. He was grinning, holding what Marco assumed was a stuffed animal from his world. Next was an older boy with blond, curly hair, holding up a book, which looked very old. Ace touched the surface, and moved his finger to the left, where more pictures showed up.
"They looked like they were very happy." Marco said. Ace then showed a picture of him and both of them, all children, though Luffy was smaller than the other two. Sabo and Ace looked the same age.
"We were all happy," Ace said, looking at the pictures lovingly.
Thatch came up behind them, and said, "Aww, little Ace was so cute! And the littlest one was adorable!" Ace sniffled, and nodded in agreement.
"Luffy was an idiot. But he was our idiot," Ace replied, a smile in his voice. "Marco, will you help me take this to our room?" Ace asked, pointing to the box. Marco lifted it and was surprised with how heavy it was. He had a bright smile on his face.
"You chose us over going home?" he asked quietly. Ace beamed at him, bright and sunny.
He nodded. "You're my new friends. I've gotten used to living here, and now I can request things if I need them. Medicine if I need it. Even if I'm no longer part of that world, I'm still one of their citizens, and they do everything they can to make us happy and healthy," he explained. "I love you too much to leave."
After Marco set the big device in the back of the closet, putting a blanket over it, he hugged Ace tightly, after he set the devices on the dresser near photos of the Whitebeard family, Ace included. "I love you. Thank you so much," Marco said against Ace's soft hair.
"I love you, too. And you're welcome. This is my new home," he replied quietly.
The End