Maldea: Thank you! But it's not the end of the awful step family's asshole-ness.
angelsXdemons: Four more chapters to come! One hurdle overcome!
Wishfull-star: He couldn't stand Ace being miserable anymore. Such the loving partner aww. I love writing sweet Marco.
just1randomhooman: Thank you! Finally they don't have to hide it and Ace can love Marco openly. Sweet baby is happier now.
We have some fun characters in this chapter! Enjoy~
Ace couldn't believe he was so close to self harm only a few hours ago. Then Marco showed up and told him the good - great! - news. The king accepted him? What had Marco said to convince him? After all, his lover had thought there was no way they could stay together if they were found out. That mentality rubbed off on Ace, but was much more severe for him, it seemed.
He opened the front door and found Alvida was there, but he couldn't smell the other two. They were probably in town for Stelly's injury. When he touched the door knob, he'd been frozen, too. It made Ace wonder if his ice wasn't just ice, but living and spreading to other things and people it touched.
Spade was on his shoulder. Alvida jerked away from Ace, looking terrified. That look was secretly satisfying. "I'm moving into the palace. The king was close friends with dad once, so they're welcoming me. You are to move out of this place. I'm evicting you all," Ace said, getting straight to the point. He couldn't tell which thing pissed the woman off more. Knowing that Roger had had connections to the royal family all this time or the news that Ace would be removing his step family from their home. His home, not theirs. He still had the will in his sack that he had given to Marco to hold outside.
"B-But- why?! If you're moving into the palace, why are you saying you'll evict us?!" she demanded. Ace sat on the couch and replied honestly.
"Because I hate you. You've abused me for eight years. Did you think I could ever forget that? This isn't your house, it's mine and I'm telling you to leave," Ace replied bluntly, staring at the woman with a hard gaze. His ice powers didn't act up despite his feelings of deep seeded hate. "Since the tower and attic were damaged, I'll have that fixed before you leave. That gives you time to find somewhere else to live. You're lucky that I'm that considerate," he finished.
He stood up, and Alvida backed away. She was afraid of him after the ice incident, which made sense. He walked upstairs, careful of the brittle floorboards. Spade stayed on his shoulder to not cause more trouble by putting any weight on the floor. He collected everything he owned besides the furniture. He then went back downstairs and took all of the portraits of his real family off of the walls to take with him.
Marco had already gotten Chopper and hooked up a wagon to his saddle that Ace rarely used. He put the things in the wagon, and Marco said that they could have the house fixed up in a week. Ace smiled and called, "Hear that? You got a week to find someplace else! I'll be back tomorrow." He heard Alvida rip up something made of fabric in anger.
Ace beamed, sitting on the saddle, any coldness dulled through the leather so the horse was not uncomfortable. Spade was running beside them, racing Chopper, it seemed, as Chopper got faster the faster Spade got. Marco was sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist.
"Are you sure this is okay? Me living with you?" Ace asked, voice uncertain.
"I'm positive. Besides, Pops wanted you to stay in some way. I just didn't want you to have to work and lose any freedom," Marco said. He put his jaw on Ace's shoulder. "Everyone will be happy you make me happy. And Vivi and Nami get to be together, too. Even if we have to pretend for the public, we don't have to at home." Ace nodded with a small sigh of relief. Marco heard this and rubbed his hands up and down Ace's chest. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He was thinking of something, an idea that popped into his head. Marco could tell something was on his mind, and asked what he was thinking about. Ace gripped the reigns a little tighter, his gloved hands protecting Chopper from the cold. "I want to learn to control my ice. And how to fight. I don't want to be a guard or anything, but it'll give me something to do."
He worried it was a terrible idea. He'd waste somebody's time learning how to fight but then never using it. "That sounds fun. I don't see why you couldn't," Marco said, his head still resting on Ace's shoulder. The horse and dragon had entered their max speed and were zooming down the road at an amazing pace.
They'd make it to the palace in less than half an hour, the usual amount of time it took to get there. "I was thinking… it's stupid, but if my ice can spread by accident, then it could be helpful if I can do it on purpose. I'd be afraid of carrying a sword around. So I can just make a sword when I want, and use that," Ace said, worried his idea sounded stupid.
The big and warm hands continued to rub lazy circles on Ace's chest. It felt really nice. It relaxed him more. "I think that's a good idea. Spade learned how to make objects out of ice, who says you can't, too? And you'd have an awesome sword," Marco encouraged.
When they neared the palace, Ace's senses went wild, alerting him to danger. Spade suddenly stopped, too, and Ace made Chopper stop as well. The dragon was nervous, pacing back and forth, but Ace didn't know what the problem was. What could make him so nervous. "Baby?" Marco questioned.
"There's something here, dangerous," Ace said. Marco flew up to an aerial view. When he came back down, he was smiling and said other dragons and bonded humans were there. He said they'd sent back a letter, but apparently had come themselves. He assured Ace that they wouldn't be stupid enough to kill anybody on the palace grounds. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I saw the humans talking to the guards. I'm sure they're here to be peaceful. If you want, we can go around the back," Marco said kindly. Ace said he would be brave, and he directed Chopper forward again, Spade following warily, on guard.
When they came into view, the three saw that two of the three dragons were very large, larger than Spade by far. They were napping it seemed, in the huge grassy field in front of the palace. Two men were with the guards, and the king was out now as well, shaking their hands. Ace could hear them speaking on friendly terms, wanting to meet Ace and his dragon.
One of the men was older, another younger but still an adult, and a kid who could only be a few years younger than Ace. The dragon next to him was red and resting on his head, very tiny. The other two dragons were blue and green. Spade was pitch black. They each had wide wings, but one of them had no front legs, and was resting its upper body on the claws of its wings.
Chopper was scared, so Marco offered to take him to the stables while Ace went to see the other dragon riders. They had to be, since the dragons had saddles on. Spade was still in his largest form, probably because he was uneasy. But he was also much smaller than the other two dragons. Ace walked towards them, and the teen came running to him.
"You're like my age! I'm Luffy, let's be friends! This is Boshi," he said, and the dragon crawled down his arm and into his hand out in front of Ace. He was speechless, and Spade got irate when he went to pet the other dragon. "Don't worry, Boshi won't steal Ace!" Luffy insisted. The black dragon still wasn't happy with it, but didn't interfere.
Ace touched Boshi's head, the little curved horns poking out. Ace wondered how old it was. "Boshi is nine," Luffy replied immediately. He asked how old Spade was, and Ace said he wasn't sure, but thought he was still a baby. Based on the intact egg he found.
The older teen asked, "Does… Boshi have any abilities?"
"Yeah! He can make plants grow. C'mon Boshi, let's show them," Luffy encouraged. Boshi got bigger until he was a little smaller than Spade and he and Luffy made the grass grow longer beneath them, sprouting flowers and bushes. They stopped when little trees started to grow. Ace thought it was amazing. He looked down at his gloved hands with a frown. His ability was so destructive. And dangerous. "What's yours?" Luffy asked excitedly.
"Ice. But I can't control it and it can hurt other people. That's why I have to wear gloves." Luffy beamed and said it was supposed to be hard like that. Ace looked confused and asked what he meant. Boshi was in front of Spade, who was uneasy, clearly trying to be friends by making him berry bushes to eat from.
Luffy answered, "When Boshi first bit me when he was a baby, everything I touched had plants grow out of it! Even people, so I had to wear gloves, too. But once Boshi was better at it and used it more, it got easier for me. I still had to work on it and practice, but I got there eventually." The other two men were still speaking with Whitebeard.
Marco was back, and introduced himself to Luffy with a smile. "Ah, you're the prince!" the kid said enthusiastically. Marco nodded, but said Luffy could call him by his first name without the title while he was there. Ace looked to the side to see somehow, in the last two minutes, Spade and Boshi had become friends and were both eating berries happily.
Ace wished he could make friends that quickly. Well, he didn't have any friends. He just realized that. He had Marco and now he would be friendly with his family. But outside of Marco, he had no relationship, friendship or family wise. He pushed those depressing thoughts out of his mind.
The king called Ace over to him, and Ace felt stiff as he walked over, Spade following closely, his faithful bodyguard and dragon. Marco whispered, "Be yourself. You are welcome here." Not close enough to look intimate, but still full of love. Ace nodded and took a deep breath, forcing his body to relax.
He was introduced to the two men. Garp and Dragon. One of the humans' names was Dragon, and had a dragon. Ace wondered if there was ever confusion about that. "I'm Ace." He was asked his full name. He didn't know why, but responded honestly. "Portgas D. Ace," he said. Garp, a large and older man nodded, as if affirming something.
Marco asked why the name mattered. "Every dragon rider we know of has a middle initial of 'D'. All three of us and Luffy's old friend have 'D's." Ace frowned, and said his mom and dad both had that, so why didn't they? "Did they ever come into contact with dragons?"
"No… not that I know of."
"Then it wouldn't matter if they never met any." Ace nodded, starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Was there something wrong with him? For this "D" thing? Why didn't mom or dad ever say anything. Well, mom died too early. What about dad? Clearly there was something up with this.
Marco rescued him. "We should get your things to your room. Will you be staying for awhile?" the phoenix asked the guests. The king said they would be staying for a bit to talk to Ace. but that he should go get moved in before getting into anything in depth. Ace nodded, and he and Marco went to the carriage waiting at the stables with Ace's belongings.
"Spade, why don't you keep playing with Boshi?" Ace offered. The dragon moved his weight from one front leg to the other in nervousness. "I have Marco, don't worry." He nodded and brought his attention back to his new friend, who was older than he was. Ace dragged the wagon behind him and inside.
Guards offered to help the prince, but Ace said he wanted to do it. He was more than strong enough to drag this wagon behind him. He and Marco worked to pull it up the stairs, and they got the Ace's room. He stood outside of it, wondering if it would be with Marco. But he had his own bedroom. Though his bed was shared with Vivi and Nami. so he didn't sleep in his bed, out of respect for the princess and her lover.
Vivi came out of the bedroom, looking irate a bit but also happy. "I'm sorry, I went to Ace first. He needed me." She sighed but nodded. Marco then told her she was free to be with Nami. Vivi smiled and said Izo already told her the jist. Thatch was confused, though. The staff was confused.
Marco nodded to Vivi and said he was going to help Ace get situated again. The teen wasn't making eye contact, but felt more welcome now than he had earlier just that day. Marco sat on the bed while Ace restocked his belongings.
"Can I share the room with you?" Marco asked with a smile. Ace gave a small one himself and nodded. The bed was nice and big. Ace sat next to Marco and almost immediately fell asleep. He had been stressed all day and it had been a miracle he didn't pass out on the way to the volcano and back. Marco curled around his lover, running his fingers through his hair.
After Ace woke up, only about fifteen minutes, he went outside again to see Spade and Boshi playing. Boshi was still in tiny form, and had dug holes into the grass, and was playing whack a mole with Spade. Luffy was laughing at the whole thing. Ace smiled, thinking Luffy was a good kid. He was cute.
Thatch came out behind him, and Ace turned around nervously, wondering if he'd be mad Ace had been lying the whole time. Though his brother had been lying too, both of them. If he was upset, it'd be justified. But at least he wasn't the only one, the king hadn't known either. Ace could smell Nami and Vivi on the balcony.
The chef/prince came out and handed Ace a ice cream sunday. It was loaded with tons of sweets, and Ace took it with a smile. "Welcome, here, again! Hopefully this time you'll be happier now that you don't gotta pretend to not like Marco. Or him not like you. We can be friends. If you want," the brother said happily.
Ace nodded, saying he didn't really know how to make friends, but he'd try. Thatch smiled brightly and nodded. They both noticed Luffy staring at the drink, actually drooling. Thatch laughed and asked if he wanted one, too. Luffy nodded vehemently. But then Dragon (the human) told him to not trouble the royal family.
"It's totally fine! It'll be easy as hell to make another batch. Wait here for me," Thatch said, and ran off. Ace smelled Marco watching from the roof, looking at Ace was a lazy smile. He blushed and looked away.
Luffy got his attention again and asked if he wanted to work with him on controlling his powers. Ace bit his lip, and asked how they'd do that safely. "We'll use my powers, too! Dad and Grandpa have powers that wouldn't be very helpful." Ace said he wanted to work with him, as long as it was safe. "Then let's go over there!" Luffy exclaimed, and Ace and their two dragons followed after. He sat on a grassy patch in front of the palace steps.
He put his hands on the grass and grew multiple trees. Ace was trying to not freeze them. He took off his gloves, fingers shaking, and grabbed onto the first tree. The ice spread across it and crumbled it, leaving little chunks of frozen bark. Luffy looked surprised and it worried Ace. "What?"
"That's super powerful!" Ace asked how he was supposed to control it. "Ehhm, just try not to freeze things?" The older teen looked at him with a straight face. Did he think Ace wasn't trying to control it? He was! He just didn't know how! He then scowled at Luffy. He'd gotten his hopes up that somebody would help him.
"That's not helpful at all. It's not like I'm actively trying and wanting to freeze everything I touch," he said in annoyance and frustration. Luffy apologized, looking like a kicked puppy. "What about Garp and Dragon? What are their powers?" Ace asked in a grumpy voice.
It'll be okay, baby. Just needs lots of practice and precautions. Ace looked up to see Marco looking at him from the roof still. He looked dreamy, like watching Ace was the most enjoyable activity. He flushed again and than Luffy got his attention again by replying, "Dad can control wind and grandpa is just super strong. I don't think their powers will help you much." Well, Luffy's hadn't either. "Maybe you could try running out of steam! Doing it too much to your limit."
Ace stood up, thinking that was a good idea. He asked if Luffy knew a place that could be frozen over without hurting anybody or anything. "The beach would be a good place! One that nobody swims at." The phoenix nodded. Marco, we're gonna go practice on a beach. Will you come?
Of course. Ace saw Marco fly down from the roof and to the king, who was still speaking with the other two men, while being allowed to touch one of the beasts. He seemed fascinated with them. The two men seemed more than alright with being there, and Ace hadn't caused them much inconvenience to come visit. Marco told the king that he was going with Luffy and Ace to the nearest beach to work on Ace's ice powers. The king okayed this and so did Luffy's family. Ace climbed onto Spade and Luffy on Boshi and then the five took off, Marco in his phoenix form. "Why are you riding Spade?" Luffy asked over the wind. "You don't smell human."
Ace was worried, not knowing if Luffy really was a blabbermouth. Well, he wasn't in this kingdom. He sensed the mood and said he wouldn't tell anybody. So Ace shifted and flew alongside Marco and the dragons, the smallest of the four of them. "You're so cute and fluffy!"
The red phoenix made an annoyed sound of displeasure. It didn't take too long to land at the beach Marco had led them to. The two phoenix shifted and landed while the two dragons did as well. Boshi ran into the surf and splashed around, even if the water should be freezing at that time of year.
"So, what do I do?" Ace wondered. Marco suggested seeing how far his ice could spread by freezing the water. Ace nodded and took his gloves off, kneeling in the sand and putting his hands in the water. Immediately ice shot out of his hands and spread the surface as far as they could see.
To see how far it had gone, Ace flew up high above the water. At least a 100 meter radius. Only the water had frozen, not the cliffs or sand on the shore. He landed lightly and told them how far it had frozen. "Wow!" Luffy exclaimed. Marco walked along the shore and found a large amount of big rocks.
"Ace, come freeze the rocks. See how frozen you can make each one and try to lessen and lessen the intensity," Marco explained, both other people coming over while the dragons were slipping and sliding around the ice happily. Ace walked to the place Marco was pointing to, and found a nice amount of rocks to work with.
He slipped his gloves off, and picked up one of the rocks. They were fine in his palm, but the moment his fingers closed around it, it froze with satisfying cracking noises. He opened his palm to show it was completely frozen, and chipped easily. Ace thought this was useless. He wanted to be able to freeze so hard it was unable to break.
He dropped the first stone, which cracked apart when it hit the icy sand. Luffy was skidding around the iced over water hanging onto Boshi's tail while Spade was trying to capture fish through holes in the ice surface. Ace picked up another rock and made himself freeze only the outside, not deep into the inside.
The rock wasn't cracking, but he also couldn't tell if it wouldn't crack just by being a rock in the first place. Maybe they weren't the best to work with. He looked around before seeing some shells and algae in the sand outside of the ice's reach. He picked up a shell and froze it, only this one cracked, too.
Ace huffed in frustration. It'll take practice, baby.
I know. I just wished I could get the hang of it so fast like Spade has, Ace replied in a jealous voice. Marco asked Luffy what they lived like in Goa kingdom with the dragons. "We live in a big house like yours, too. Not that big, but big enough for the dragons to hang out in horse sizes. Dragons are worshipped there, so people think we're really cool!" Luffy explained excitedly before falling on the ice and landing on his face with a painful noise.
But he got up and declared he was fine even as his nose bled. But it didn't look broken. When it started to get dark out, the five of them went back to the palace. Apparently they'd be staying the night in a guest house area reserved when other royal families visited. But they were all having dinner together first.
During the meal, Whitebeard officially welcomed Ace to the palace, and said he'd like to get to know him better this time. Nobody said why, not wanting word to spill already. Nami sat at Vivi's side, always quiet when in a group but loud when just with Vivi. Ace was the same in that way, too.
During the dinner, Thatch asked Ace what had happened about his terrible family. Ace looked down and said, "I damaged the house with the ice powers, and told them I was evicting them. I want to get the house fixed up before then so they have some time to try to find somewhere else." He gauged Whitebeard's reaction, but he didn't look upset or in disapproval at all.
"That is little compared to what Roger would have done had he been around and aware of the abuse," he said in a hard voice. Ace was glad he was on his side. "We'll get people out there to fix it up. Are you selling it off?" Ace shook his head, and said he planned to have it as a haven. In case he ever wanted to be alone or ended up out of the palace.
He patted Marco's leg besides him when he said that, and got a rub to his knuckle with a thumb. Ace didn't want Marco to think Ace was changing his mind. He wanted to stay with Marco, even if it wasn't at his own home. It would be nice, to be a couple just the two of them. Acting like normal people. But it wasn't what was going to happen, and he came to terms with this being the best scenario to be with him more freely.
Boshi, Vice, and Supreme, the other dragons under the three Ds, napped outside under a comfortable place under a grove of trees Luffy and Boshi had made. Ace could see them out of the bedroom window. He was in sleep pants but otherwise shirtless, Marco the same. He was really tired for some reason and hit the sack as soon as he walked into the bedroom. Maybe emotional stress from the day's events.
A lot had happened in one day. He turned the lights off, Spade spending the night with Boshi, his clear new friend, and went to bed, Marco automatically curling around him when he laid down next to him. Ace smiled into the pillow. He was so happy, and for the first time in awhile, thought that things might actually work out.