A/N: Ace's childhood is over and now we kick it into the story's present!

Enjoy!

"I could have handled it by myself."

"I know."

"Then why did you come here?" Ace couldn't help glaring at Marco right now. Pops had sent him on this mission- not Marco and certainly not him and Marco, who had arrived well after Ace. Ace's powers were perfect for this- after all, what was better for taking down an ice monster than fiery powers that could just melt the bastard into oblivion? With his level of skill, Ace was confident he could handle it- but more importantly, he was confident that he could handle it alone.

"As in without you," Ace stressed, setting down his fork. Even if the food at this seaside inn was amazing, he was too annoyed to eat right now. Hopefully, he would be able to have more later after he defeated the ice monster and the fish returned. "I can handle myself, Marco."

"I believe you, Ace, but found out something we thought you should know right after you left," Marco said.

"And what is that?"

Before Marco could answer him, something crashed straight through the ceiling above them and the air around them became cold. Thankfully, the gigantic, icy fist had missed both of them by a hair, but it took up half the room at the least.

"It seems our mere ice monster has become an Ice Titan," Marco answered dryly.

"No shit."

Ace shifted into gear immediately, throwing off the traveling cloak he had been wearing in favor of igniting his entire body on fire. He punched the icy fist with force, the titan groaning in response. "Bring it on, frosty!"

The creature had already damaged other buildings besides the poor inn, leaving footprints that froze the ground wherever it walked. Terrified townspeople fled as they shivered violently from the temperature drop, but the only place to run was the boats and the water was starting to freeze over as well. Ace would need to act quickly.

"Remember that-"

Ace cut Marco off. "The core is in the head. I've got this, Marco!" After all, he had read the book of monsters a thousand time since it was hard not to be fascinated with the idea of battling such monsters. He needed to strike the core, a difficult task considering how tall the thing was (and including the fact that the town's clock tower had already suffered damage)- however, difficult did not mean impossible.

"I just need to knock this thing down then! Hey, ugly!" The Ice Titan turned its head slowly towards the noise.

"Wait, Ace!"

Ace rushed forward, dodging a barrage of icicles that had been blasted his way. Right, left, right- "Oof!" A break in the pattern knocked him back, but he would not let that hinder him. He got back up, the ice on his body melting away easily. Normally he would set a wall of flames, but he couldn't risk causing any more damage to the town.

Marco tugged on his collar, pulling him out of the way of the Ice Titan's sweeping fist into an alleyway. "I won't step in unless you ask, but do try to be careful, yoi," Marco reminded.

"Well, now that you mention it…" The gears were turning in Ace's mind. He didn't want to ask Marco for help, but if he was offering to be a resource, that was a different story. The plan was potentially risky, but if it played out like he wanted, then it would solve the problem quick. "Let me get on your back."

Marco raised an eyebrow at him, but suddenly Ace found himself atop Marco, who had transformed without Ace even asking him to. It's as if their minds were synchronized then as their flames flickered together. That feeling always made Ace smile even in the heat of battle, made him feel like he could do anything. Marco soared high into the air, dodging the Ice Titan's attacks until they were far above it, and just when Marco was about to dive back down, Ace released his grip, letting himself fall.

As he gathered speed, he let his fire grow around him. "Take this!"

Ace crashed into the Ice Titan's head, their foe roaring in pain. It melted smaller and smaller from the intensity of Ace's fire until there was nothing left of it but a rather pathetic puddle and a vanishing chill.

With the chaos gone, the street was quiet save Ace heavy breathing, but slowly, people began to emerge from their hiding places in the buildings or at the docks, staring at Ace.

"Er-" Ace laughed nervously, unsure of what to say. "Problem solved?"

Ace's words elicited many laughs- and cheers of course- from the grateful townspeople.

There was a party that night for Ace as a thank you gesture. He definitely enjoyed himself, especially because of the abundance of drink and food (finally he was getting to eat that seafood feast that he had been drooling over). Though the night had been busy with greeting villagers and partying with them, somehow, he and Marco had found some alone time.

Marco smiled at him, patting his shoulder. "Great job as usual, yoi."

"Did you ever have any doubt?" Ace couldn't help grinning back. "Thanks for the help by the way- not that I needed it."

"Well, you really didn't need my help. That was your plan after all."

Forget the fact that Ace wouldn't have been able to fly up without Marco there. He was really too humble- something that Ace couldn't help loving about him.

Yeah. Loving.

Ace had been convinced that he would get over his feelings. He had pushed himself into his commander work to try to get some time away, and even this mission was a part of that, yet none of it worked. Each time Marco spent with a new suitor, every time he and Ace laughed together, his heart just grew fonder. It was too hard for him to act mad at Marco for following him too.

"I'll be heading back to the capital tomorrow morning if you want to come with me, yoi," Marco offered. The offer was tempting, especially with the thought of getting to fly with Marco. He wondered if he had taken any of his suitors flying with him.

"I'll take my time," Ace said. "I know you helped set up stuff with reconstruction here, but I might as well make sure things start off well, right?" That excuse sounded good in his head at least.

It was hard not to ignore how Marco's hand brushed over his own. Even though Ace was naturally heated, Marco's hand made him feel a different type of warmth. "Stay careful, yoi." His voice was practically a whisper. He squeezed gently. "I worry about you."

Marco was so close. Ace couldn't help but lean closer to him. "Marco…"

Nothing more happened beyond that. Neither of them would let things happen, no matter how they felt.

Ace still saw Marco off the next morning.

"Come home soon," Marco told him, hand gently brushing over the hibiscus in Ace's hat. It was something he did often- even did it before Ace left on his mission.

"Don't worry, Marco," Ace said, though he knew he needed some time. It was hard not to choke over his next few words. "You have a suitor to meet, right?"

Marco didn't answer. "You be safe too," Ace added, taking Marco's hand like he had done yesterday. Maybe he was hallucinating, but their hands lingered against each other's before Marco transformed. As he flew away, Ace watched him until he disappeared completely. He hated seeing Marco leave as much as Marco hated seeing him leave, but he knew he needed this time to himself.

The first day, he actually did what he promised he would do. The town had sustained major damage in some areas- mostly inland as well as the clocktower. The town carpenters already started their work, but for some of the more damaged buildings, they would need more help. He and Marco already arranged to send over some of the Capital's best hands.

The next day, he headed down to the docks. After he defeated the Ice Titan, the weather began to warm up quickly, and with it, came the return of the fish. It had been a major reason that Ace had been sent here. Port Donec was one of the kingdom's top seafood suppliers, even with the Capital bordering water as well. Namur would probably want to come here soon to check things out for himself, being a fishman and all.

That was also the day his snail phone rang. He almost forgot that he had brought it along with him. "Hi, Pops," he greeted, unable to help his own smile when he heard his father's infectious chuckle.

"How did your mission go, son?"

Ace didn't doubt that Marco had already told him, but he had no problem recounting their exciting yet short-lived battle to Pops, who laughed once again when Ace described narrowly dodging its ginormous, icy fist during a blissful meal (exaggerated, but anything to entertain their father).

"I knew I was sending the right man for the job! You made me proud, son."

"Thanks, Pops, but Marco helped."

"Was it Marco who defeated that monster?"

Ace frowned. "Er- no, but-"

"Then give yourself more credit, Ace. You are strong and I don't doubt that you could have done it on your own."

He decided not to protest. Whitebeard was a stubborn man, but in a good way. He knew when to make compromises for the right cause and he knew when things absolutely needed to be certain, and this was one of the latter incidents. Must have been all those years of ruling as king.

"Just think about it at least, son. Get some rest and return home soon."

"I will, Pops."

Before Pops answered, Ace could hear some mumbled words. He leaned closer in an attempt to hear, but he felt they were obviously not meant for him. "Who is that?" he asked.

"Marco," Whitebeard answered. "He wants to speak with you."

"Go get some rest, Marco!" Ace heard Izo yell on the other end. "Out! You saw him two days ago!"

"Sorry, son. I know you two won't stop if I let you speak now."

"Budding lovers, those two are," Izo chimed, presumably having succeeded in kicking Marco out.

"You're right on that."

"Pops!" Ace gasped. His cheeks felt warmer than usual- and he was made of fire.

"See? I'm not the only one who thinks you two are being obvious."

"Stay out of this, Izo." He wished his brother could see his glare right now, though it was quickly replaced by his blush once more once their father laughed again.

"I think you would be great together if you were honest with each other," Whitebeard said.

But Ace just sighed in response. "You know how he is though." It didn't matter if what Pops and Izo was saying was the truth. Marco would carry out his duties as a prince. "What I feel doesn't matter, right?"

"Ace…"

"Goodnight, Pops. Goodnight, Izo."

He hung up, not bothering to think about the situation before collapsing into bed and falling asleep.

"Sir!" A messenger frantically knocked on his door. As someone who loved sleep, Ace was not pleased.

"What is it?" he grumbled after opening the door.

The man outside panted, out of breath. "An-an unidentified ship… docked overnight. We thought we should… i-inform you."

Now Ace knew that, as a prince, he should be able to take care of this potential threat, but diplomacy wasn't exactly his strong suit. Looks like he would have to solve this problem the only way he knew how: by kicking someone's butt.

Of course, he didn't know what these strangers looked like, but if he waited by their strange boat, they would come back eventually.

And strange it was.

It was just a simple sailboat- possibly only a small cabin within- which wouldn't have been strange if the flag of the kingdom of Raftel wasn't flying upon it.

Though he didn't pay very much attention during Marco's lessons, but he did remember some of the surrounding nations. Traveling seemed exciting, so he had taken note. Raftel wasn't exactly close, so why was such a small boat from there in their kingdom? He set a foot onto the deck cautiously, but there was no one there.

He leaned against the mast, making himself comfortable. The boat was pretty much abandoned for the time being, so no one stopped him. He would just wait here then- not that that was wasting much time. This was just giving him something to do, and in extension, something that would help him avoid going home, especially after the snail call the previous night.

If he had to stop a hundred more ships to clear his mind, then so be it.

Ace didn't remember falling asleep. Sure, it happened often enough at home, but he was on a foreign boat and he had let his guard down. To make such a show of laziness and lackluster instinct was a shame to his position! Even if there weren't enemies around, it was still a big deal- and unfortunately, he was surrounded.

"Hey! He's waking up!"

Ace groaned cursing the fact that they had noticed. It didn't help that he still felt sluggish, vision still blurry.

"Really?" Footsteps began to thunder across the deck. He needed to move now! Surely they were about to strike!

'Move, damn it!' He was helpless, unable to even defend or brace himself.

"ACE!"

Ace was expecting an attack. Who wouldn't take such a golden opportunity to strike a defenseless prince down? End his life whilst in slumber and be done with it?

Instead, he had been tackled, bowled over from his previous position of resting against the mast. Whoever was hugging him was also sobbing messy tears into Ace's chest. He couldn't really tell much about the person beyond that since his vision was obscured by a straw hat.

"You can't just do that, Luffy," the boy's- Luffy's- companion sighed. "I know you're excited to see him, but we'll capsize if you rock the boat too much."

Luffy didn't seem to be listening to him, only hugging Ace tighter.

Ace was speechless, trying to process everything that had happened in the past few moments. How did these people know his name? And what was that about capsizing?

He shoved Luffy off of him, sitting up to look at his surroundings. Notably, there was nothing of note considering there was only water on all sides.

"We're on the ocean," he mumbled. No way. "What the hell!"

"You think after eight years you could at least act happy to see us?" the other man asked. "Look, I know it's taken us a long time, but give us a break."

Ace finally was finally able to get a look at the two. The younger of the two was still sniffling, wiping tears away across a small scar under his eye. The older man was dressed like some fancy-pants noble complete with a top hat, though his own scar seemed out of place. "Welcome back," he said, words not helping Ace's confusion.

Ace didn't know what the hell that was supposed to mean. He was pretty sure he had never seen either of these people in his life.

So he said the first thing that came to his mind, which happened to be, "You kidnapped me!"

The man frowned, adjusting his hat atop blond locks. The color reminded Ace of Marco. If only he were here to help Ace out of this one. "Kidnapped? Why would we do that? I thought you got on the ship because you knew. Unless…"

"Knew what?"

"Sabo, what's wrong with Ace?"

"Nothing is wrong with me, idiot. I'm pretty sure it's you guys."

"That's arguable," Sabo said. He sat on deck, facing Ace. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a slip of paper to hand to Ace. "Do you know what this is?"

Ace whacked it out of Sabo's hands. "I don't really care about what you have to show me! Take me back!"

"Hey!"

Luffy grabbed it out of the air before it could blow away in the sea breeze. Sabo let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Lu." This time, Sabo shoved it into Ace's hands before he could protest, and upon catching a glimpse of it, he couldn't help examining it further.

It was him.

A photograph of him of course, but he was much younger- probably around the same age he had been when Marco and Pops found him. What was even stranger about the photo was that sitting next to him were Luffy and Sabo as they all grinned wide.

Ace didn't remember this at all. It must have been a fabrication, a trap- yet this photograph seemed too real. "Wh… What is this?"

"We took it before your birthday," Sabo explained. "I never thought I would have to use it for something like this."

"Ace! Do you remember us now?" Luffy practically whined.

"Luffy! You can't just ask that!"

Neither Luffy's begging nor the photograph had brought his memories back- unsurprisingly. Nothing had worked before, yet he knew this wasn't a lie. It was too real, but he didn't know what to do. These guys who were supposedly his brothers? What was he supposed to say?

His feet were moving before he knew it, and he found himself shut into the room aboard the small ship. Ace closed his eyes, sinking back onto the ground. He hadn't felt this blank in a long time, so empty. His years with the Whitebeard had filled his life quite literally. Before them, he had nothing. He owed so much of his life to them. He felt like he would be betraying them

Yet he had waited for this day. He imagined it differently- after all, how could he have thought up his reunion by being kidnapped? Ace had fashioned in his mind that he was an only child, and that his parents were distraught after losing their son. They would show up at the castle one day, claiming that they had left behind everything they had to search for him. Ace would run into their arms, and Whitebeard would grant them a small house in the capital so Ace didn't have to leave his brothers behind, and they would all live happy ever after.

Ace couldn't have been more wrong. This was far from the fantasy that had danced in his mind. He was helpless in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by his new brothers- one that didn't even look like him and the other who wasn't quite right in the head, mind you.

The door opened slowly, interrupting his thoughts. Ace barely glanced up.

"Are you alright?" Sabo asked, kneeling down.

Ace didn't answer for a moment, trying to process the words. "It's a lot to take in."

He felt Sabo's hand on his shoulder. The slight warmth from the touch was comforting. "Look, Ace." He did. Sabo was frowning, looking down at the ground as Ace had been doing previously. "We can bring you home."

Ace's eyes widened. "You're going to give me up so easily?"

"If you really feel like we kidnapped you, then that's no good," Sabo said. "Neither of us want to, but I know it's the right choice. If you want us to bring you home, just tell us where to go."

Sabo said that, but Ace wasn't exactly sure of what he wanted. He was curious about Sabo and Luffy, and what their home was like back in the kingdom of Raftel. If he returned and let everyone else know, they probably wouldn't let him go and he would he miss this opportunity forever. Sure, he loved Pops and all his family back home, but it's not as if he would abandon them.

Ace hoped that Marco would forgive him for this- he was a worrier after all- but maybe this is what he needed.

"Wait," Ace said. Sabo looked up at him in surprise. "I'll go with you."

The meeting had failed again, unsurprisingly. Years of searching for suitors and he had not even come close to a single success.

"What did you expect?" Thatch asked as he stirred a stock pot of soup.

"Something has to work out eventually, yoi," Marco sighed.

He almost missed how Thatch rolled his eyes at him. "Sure. Taste this?"

"Needs a bit more salt."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a bit more as Marco mulled over his thoughts, but Thatch wasn't one to keep his mouth shut for long. "Have you thought about just… not?"

"Not what?" Marco raised an eyebrow. He wished Thatch wasn't being so vague.

"You know, just giving up on finding a queen? It's obviously not working out very well."

"Are you really saying that? I don't exactly have that luxury," he argued.

Thatch remained unfazed. "Sure you do," he replied with a mere shrug of the shoulders.

Marco didn't know why Thatch said such things. He just really didn't understand him.

It was Marco's duty to marry and produce an heir- he was to become king after all. The kingdom needed someone who was responsible, and he had already resolved himself to his fate. If he was determined, if he kept trying, then things would work out. That was how he truly felt.

Or at least that's what he was trying to tell himself.

Starting off, he thought there was something wrong with his suitors, his potential brides. She only wanted him for his money, they were too bratty, they were too shallow, they didn't like his brothers, they were in love with someone else… The list went on and on. He was hoping that things would click one day, and none of those issues would exist.

"Are you going to stop moping?"

"I am not moping," Marco denied with a huff. It was unbecoming for a prince to mope.

"Well, whatever it is, can you take it out of the kitchen? And you call me a drama queen." Thatch had muttered the last part under his breath, but Marco still heard it.

"What was that?"

Marco almost laughed at how Thatch's hands immediately moved to protect his "magnificent hair" (as Thatch would call it). "Nothing!"

"Is he threatening your hair again, dear?" Izo asked as he strut into the kitchen. He kissed Thatch on the cheek, lowering his hands.

Now it was Marco's turn to roll his eyes. "Can you tell him that I'm not moping?"

"Well, I don't have to correct him if it's true."

"Izo!" Marco glared at both of them, who were sporting matching smirks. "Stop that."

"Really though, Marco," Izo said. He let go of Thatch, walking over to Marco to pat him on the shoulder. "You'll feel better when Ace gets home though."

A heat crept onto Marco's face at those words, but he couldn't find the heart to deny it. Sometimes it seemed as if Ace was the only thing keeping him going. He hoped that Ace would return soon.

But "soon" turned into a week- then a week and a half- and Ace hadn't come back home yet.

Marco had been waiting for the day that Ace would come back. He would burst through the library doors with a huge sunshine smile on his face as Marco looked up from a heavy book. Ace would tackle him to the floor in a hug before Marco could respond, and the two of them would sit on the library floor for hours as they talked about their weeks. Ace would fall asleep before dinner, so Marco would have to carry him to his room- he would bring Ace a hot meal on a tray (or a cart) later of course, he would never think of allowing Ace to skip a meal.

None of that happened. Marco waited in the library, trained in the magic hall- anything to take his mind off of it, but nothing worked, and he grew ever more aggravated at Ace's absence. What was keeping him so long? Marco's mind was swirling with anxieties, worst-case scenarios. What if Ace was attacked on his journey back? What if the people were making him stay, unsatisfied with how they even allowed the attack to happen? It didn't help that Ace hadn't contacted him at all.

"You can't just leave, Marco," Izo sighed.

"I know he can," Marco argued. Ace wasn't a baby, of course. "But what if something happened to him?"

"I'm sure we would have heard something if that was the case. Pops, please tell him that he doesn't have to go."

"Izo is right, my son." Whitebeard frowned at him in concern. "Though I am worried as well, I believe that he will return home safely." His gentle hand pressed down on Marco's shoulder, reminding himself to take a deep, calming breath.

"You guys are right," he said. "I just can't help but be worried."

"I know, my son, but I know you have the patience to wait."

"Ace is probably fine," Izo added.

The sound of panting and running interrupted their conversation, and the three of them looked up to see a messenger. Whatever he was here for, it was clear it was nothing good judging from how quickly he rushed in.

"What is wrong, son?" Whitebeard asked.

It took him a moment to answer, still out-of-breath, but eventually, he thrust out a piece of paper that had been crumpled in his grip.

"I-it's Ace," the messenger said, and Marco swore that he felt his stomach drop out when he heard: "He's been kidnapped."

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