(Dark Carrier AU)

It took about two days to get to Momorio island. Ace blanched at all the pink which Sabo couldn't help but snigger at. Sabo was glad it was late at night otherwise the residents would be cooing all over Ace, one, because they would adore his looks and two, because he was pregnant. Once they had a pregnant agent over to deliver some messages with Koala who was due to escort the girl to somewhere safer, but immediately the okamas swarmed the poor agent and Koala was forced to teach them some manners in the way of her fists.

It had been a funny report, but unfortunately the agent had been overwhelmed and had to go lie down that day. Koala had been furious and snapped at Ivankov for their troubles. Ace was already overwhelmed enough as it was and seriously did not need anymore stress. Sabo would boot anyone who caused said stress in the face.

Sabo stretched out once they landed back on solid ground. Karasu had placed them down near Ivankov's mansion where the top of the Revolutionary army were currently lodging.

"There's a lot of pink huh?" Sabo smiled, glancing over at Ace who frowned.

"This is a waste of your time and mine, Sabo. The first chance I get I'll go straight back to Cedric. You do realise that don't you?" Ace sneered.

Ace was unfortunately back to being cold and distant. Sabo honestly preferred the anger, at least then Ace had more emotions than a block of wood. Sabo really wished he could go find a block of solid, hard wood right now and slam it off Cedric's face repeatedly. Unfortunately he had to be the responsible one and not go about rampaging.

"You remember how I was raised right?" Sabo reminded Ace. "I only turned out this way because I wanted freedom and through that I met you and Luffy. Your child though, you've seen how they behave up there. They are selfish and cruel and they will make sure your child ends up exactly like them. No matter what you do."

Ace stared blankly at him. "How is that a problem? Cedric will be happy and so will the baby. I will have done my duty."

Sabo's heart ached and his voice actually choked a little. "Ace, Luffy punched one of them. I'm not sure if you got to hear about that but-"

"I did. The Straw Hat pirates will pay for it too," Ace replied coldly. "You don't hit a God and get away with it."

Karasu threw him a sympathetic look while Sabo struggled not to order Karasu to take him right back to Mairejois. They could go there while Ace was safe on Momorio island and Sabo could tear Cedric apart. It was the huge but very familiar face that peaked out the doorway that distracted him and Sabo couldn't help but smile.

"Hello, Sabo!" Ivankov greeted cheerfully as he approached. "We saw the news. Good job!" His eyes landed on Ace though and Sabo saw Ivankov restrain a sigh. "You probably haven't had a chance to sit down and relax yet have you Ace-boy? Come, let's get you three inside. Kara-boy you can go rest while Sabo and Ace-boy come with me."

Karasu glanced over at him and Sabo nodded. Karasu deserved the chance to catch up on some well deserved sleep after the effort he put in to get him and Ace back here as quickly as he did.

Sabo settled a hand on Ace's back. "C'mon, Ace. Let's head inside. The food here is amazing."

Ace sighed. "Sure."

He led Ace into the large dining room with a huge stage at one end of it. The long table sat across from it and at the head Dragon was sitting, surrounded by plates while working on more reports. Sabo wanted to groan. Dragon never took a break.

"Welcome back, Sabo," Dragon greeted him before his eyes landed on Ace. "You're Portgas D. Ace then. Welcome to Momoiro Island."

"I'm no longer a Portgas," Ace said dully.

Dragon frowned while Sabo restrained a pained noise. He hated this, he should have killed Cedric before he left, should have torn him apart, then destroyed every temple he could get his hands on and the priestesses-

No. Calm. He needed to keep calm. For Ace's sake.

"I'm not sure if I could ever call you by another name," Dragon admitted. "I've seen the reports on what your mother, Portgas D. Rouge, did. You did her a great honour taking on her name like that."

Ace looked astonished and almost relieved. Sabo couldn't help, but smile at the near hopeful expression, however Ace's face quickly smoothed back over into that damned cold, dull look. It wasn't panic and terror thankfully, but he wanted Ace to feel safe again. Instead Sabo had Ace take a seat and began piling food up for his big brother, making sure Ace had plenty to eat before attending to himself.

"You still like the name Portgas don't you, Ace-boy?" Ivankov asked.

"Of course," Ace stated with no hesitation whatsoever.

Thank god. That lifted Sabo's spirits a great deal. Cedric hadn't taken Ace's love for his mother from him. Ace had managed to keep a tight grasp on that at the very least.

"Then we can keep it between us, right?" Ivankov winked.

Ace shifted, hesitant and clearly nervous. "I... I don't know..."

"It's a good name," Dragon nodded.

"...It is..." Ace mumbled quietly, looking down at his lap.

His hands were shaking. Sabo nudged a glass of water towards him, hoping Ace would start to eat something, but Ace hesitated once more, looking a lot more suspicious. "You're not trying to drug me again right?"

He had mixed the sedatives with water back on their boat when Ace had been going through that panic attack. It had been difficult to coax Ace into drinking it but he had managed.

Sabo sipped at his own drink and struggled to keep a smile off his face. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you're a jerk," Ace scowled.

"It's not drugged. I promise," Dragon cut in smoothly. "I'm a Carrier as well, although thankfully my crystal never connected to the Temples."

Dragon actually pulled out his crystal, tossing it in the air and catching it. He did that often when he grew restless and Sabo couldn't help but relax at the familiar sight. He was home and Ace was safe.

"Then did you carry Luffy?" Ace blurted out, before shaking his head. "Wa-Wait I... No..."

"I did not. My wife did," Dragon replied, distracting Ace from his internal crisis.

Ace had not wanted to talk about anyone. Not Luffy or the Whitebeards or Dadan or just anybody he knew and cared about. Not even his cat Kotatsu. Ace didn't want to recall any of them and it hurt. Ace had suffered enough as a child and when he was finally happy Blackbeard showed his true colours and stabbed one of Ace's friends in the back and fled.

Then the monster captured Ace and handed him over to the Marines and they gave him to the priestesses. Ace was forced to marry a Celestial Dragon after that.

It was just too cruel. Ace should have been happy. He should have been living with his family on Whitebeard's island, probably snuggled in a house, living all domestic with Marco the Phoenix.

The thought that Ace hadn't gotten any of that made Sabo's blood boil. He couldn't wait to tear down this nightmare of a government and free everybody from it's oppression. He couldn't wait to see Ace smile again and be free like the three of them promised they would be.

It would be a long recovery period, but Sabo was confident that Ace would recover. His brother was strong, and he had so many people that loved him, people that would help him. He wasn't alone anymore and for Sabo, that was one of the best things ever.

Ace shook his head and scowled. "None of that even matters. Just do me a favour and send me back to my husband. He's probably worried sick."

Dragon frowned. "You should eat and get some rest before we get into such discussions. You and Sabo were flying for at least two days. You're bound to be tired, especially with a baby on the way."

Ace hissed and gripped his chair tightly, looking beyond frustrated. "You guys just have to bloody interfere with everything don't you? Why don't you butt out my business and deal with your own. I was happy where I was."

Ivankov was instantly by Ace's side. "Ace-boy, you need to eat. For the baby's sake."

Ace let out a heavy sigh but thankfully nodded. Ivankov kept him distracted with idle talk, mostly about colours and fashion while Sabo shared a glance with his boss.

They needed to talk, but first he needed one of the doctors to look at Ace. Once done he could get Ace to go to bed and sleep while Sabo spoke with Dragon.

.::.

The doctor had gave him a thorough examination, not that Ace had paid any attention, simply stared at the wall while Sabo listened intently. The baby was healthy, a bit strained and restless, but the doctor said that as long as Ace rested they'd both be alright.

"Thanks, doc. That's reassuring to hear, right?" he asked, glancing Ace's way who fiddled with his sleeve.

"Sure," Ace shrugged.

"Do you know the gender yet?" Doc asked.

He looked very concerned, but Sabo had already informed him of Ace's situation, and that for now, all they could do was try keep him calm.

"No, I don't want to either," Ace sighed. "Can I go now?"

Sabo almost winced. That's how it was then, Ace had distanced himself from his baby completely, in fear of being hurt again. Ace probably wasn't going to allow himself to get attached until his daughter was born.

He didn't even know he was going to have a baby girl and yet Sabo did. That made him feel guilty, like he had taken something precious from Ace, but it was too late now.

"Yes, though I would recommend getting some rest. It is late and you should get some much needed sleep after travelling for so long," Doc said.

"We'll go to my room. Ace can use my bed," Sabo said, gesturing for Ace to follow.

It earned him a tired, frustrated look, but thankfully Ace followed. That was handy, he doubted Ace would appreciate being picked up and carried after all. His brother was staring dejectedly at the floor, which made his heart ache, but he didn't try to stir up a conversation. Ace looked far too exhausted to entertain one right now.

Ace needed a good night sleep.

.::.

"Okay," Sabo said as he closed the door to his room where Ace slept, curled up in his bed and cuddled up under some thick blankets. "He's fast asleep."

It hadn't taken long. Ace was exhausted despite not wanting to sleep. Sabo had made sure to get him comfortable, managed to coax him into lying down and just closing his eyes for a bit. Ace had drifted off quickly after that.

"We can't keep him here, Sabo," Dragon said, glancing at the door. "I'm sorry, I know you've only just reunited, but it's not safe."

"Dragon's right, Sabo. Those monsters have been abusing your brother for nearly three years now, the poor thing is terrified, no matter how coldly he acts," Ivankov agreed.

Sabo crossed his arms, his fingers digging into them. "I know. I don't want to leave Ace like this, but I know it's going to be too dangerous to stay with us."

"We just declared war on the Celestial Dragons. If he remains with us they will end up dragging him back," Dragon said firmly. "Portgas won't heal staying with us. He needs his family back."

"He needs the Whitebeards," Sabo agreed. "But Ace has a near heart attack when I mention them. He will end up just freaking out if we try take him there."

"Then have them come here," Ivankov suggested. "Have them come here and collect Ace-boy and have them settle him down. If Ace-boy is too overwhelmed you can help him instead."

Sabo looked back at the door, feeling frustrated. He couldn't help Ace. All he could do was send his big brother away.

"Don't," Dragon frowned. "You look angry with yourself."

"I brought him here, yet I can't even help him." Sabo looked away, clenching his fists. "I forgot about Ace and by the time I remembered he was gone again."

"You got him out of there. Now he just needs time to heal," Dragon reassured. "It won't be easy. In fact it will be messy and it will feel horrible, but Ace has plenty of people who want to help him. The Whitebeards have coaxed down those walls before. Now let them do it again."

"I have before as well. When we were kids," Sabo said desperately.

"Unfortunately you don't have the time to. There are plenty of the Whitebeard pirates and only one of you and we just started a proper declaration of war," Dragon reminded him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You found him, Sabo, you got him out of there. Now all he needs to do is heal."

Sabo sighed, he had ran out of arguments apart from the fact that he just wanted to help his brother. He couldn't be selfish though. He knew that Whitebeard was still looking for his youngest son, trying to desperately find him but the fights have taken their toll on the Whitebeard pirates and they had to retreat.

"I take it you still have their number?"

Dragon snorted. "I have everyone's numbers."


Yey! Whitebeard pirates are due to enter the story once again soon :D