Ace's stomach growled as the servants piled plate after plate of the aromatic meal onto the dining room table. True, it was identical to the one served when he first arrived, but the atmosphere of family made it its own special meal.

"I'm so glad you remembered," Rouge said, smiling her, as always, gentle smile. She seemed calm, but Ace still remembered how she tearfully tackled him (she would never admit it) when they returned from the forest and informed her of the status of his memory. "Glad" was just scratching the surface. "I'm sure we're eager to celebrate though."

Ace grinned. "No kidding, Ma."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in!"

And dig in they did. Ace wasn't shy about stuffing his face in an unspoken eating competition against Sabo (he knew that neither of them would win against Luffy). Rouge laughed her gentle, melodious laugh, filling Ace's heart with warmth. Sabo smirked at him as he tried to distract him with a shove, crumbs flying through the air.

It was one of the most fun meals Ace had in a long time.

When the table was finally empty and everyone had their fill, Ace leaned back in his chair. "So good."

"You can say that again," Sabo agreed.

Luffy didn't answer- he had already fallen asleep in his chair- but when Ace turned to his mother, the contentedness of a full meal started to drain away. Her smile wasn't all quite there, and the gentleness of her eyes was replaced of a look of hard seriousness.

"As much as I want this happiness to remain unending, there are some serious things we must discuss."

Ace was suddenly frozen in his seat, speechless. He should have seen this coming, but that didn't mean he was prepared. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but no words came out.

It was too silent as his family stared at him.

"Your Majesty!"

The silence shattered as one of the castle's servants burst through the door of the dining hall. Rouge didn't fail to stand, reading the urgency in the man's tone. "What's wrong?"

"The Prince of Moby is ill!"

Those words (as confusing as they were) grounded Ace from his panic as he returned to reality. Prince of Moby? How? And why?

"Wait. Please explain. Prince of Moby? Why is he here?"

"One of the merchants returning found him adrift in the sea. Since he's royalty they decided to bring him to the infirmary here for rest."

As soon as Ace heard those words, he was up out of his sea, dashing in a mad run towards the infirmary.

"Wait, Ace! Where are you going?"

He knew where he was going now, so the run didn't take very long. He pushed the door open with force and it slammed against the adjacent wall. Briefly, Ace saw the castle's doctor glare at him, but then, his attention focused on the figure on the cot in the far corner. The rays of the setting sun spilled in across his body, and he was as beautiful as ever: it was Marco.

A million questions ran through his mind as he tried to properly process the sight in front of him: why was Marco here this far from home, and sick too? Was he just dreaming all of this?

His stomach dropped and his head was still spinning as he once again rushed over to the side of his bed. Immediately, he pressed a hand to Marco's forehead. It was warm. "And I'm supposed to be the reckless one, idiot," he muttered despite the fact that Marco was unconscious.

"Your Highness, I don't know how you know him, but please understand that you must not wake him."

Ace nodded, standing up to relieve the bed of his weight. His gaze never left Marco. "I'll come back later then."

He started to back out of the room only to bump into Rouge and Sabo, who had followed him. They stared at him, and like earlier, Ace was at a loss for words. "Sab', Ma, I-"

"Ace, I know we've never asked what you've been doing all this time, but…" Sabo trailed off in hesitation, but picked back up, "we really do need to know."

As much as Ace loved his family, he had lost track of time here. This had been his way to get away even for a moment, so he hadn't stopped to dwell on the true realities of his situation. Now, he had to face the consequences of his blissful ignorance head on. He took a deep breath.

"Where to start…"

They had moved into the homey little parlor. It was private just for their family as indicated from the little homemade trinkets and goofy pictures that adorned the shelves. Ace finished his story: everything from meeting Marco and Pops up until coming home.

He tried to look back up at them, but couldn't muster the will to. How could he? He just told them about his other family.

"Wow…" Rouge spoke first. "So all this time, you've been with Newgate?"

Ace swallowed and nodded. He could only imagine how she felt.

"Well, I'm glad," she continued, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

Ace looked up at her, eyes wide. "You're… you're not sad? Disappointed?"

'Why would I be? He's a good man, Ace, and you've been safe with him all this time. Oh, if only I'd kept in contact…"

"Don't blame yourself, Mom," Sabo said. "Ace is with us now, and that's what matters." He himself hadn't shown his own feelings towards Ace's story, but to Ace, it had been a struggle for him to even get the words out to his brother (about his other brothers nonetheless).

"You have to tell us more stories some time, my little fireball. Like more about how you actually became my little fireball."

"Ah, Marco was so worried about me after that," Ace said. "Wouldn't let me leave the bed for days while I recovered."

"Well what about him now?" Sabo asked, jabbing a finger towards the infirmary. "You seemed pretty worried about him too."

"Well, we've always been pretty close. I kinda want to be there when he wakes up."

When he said those words, Rouge pulled him up out of his seat. "Go then!" she insisted. She pushed him towards the door and despite his skepticism, didn't resist.

"Um, alright then, Ma. Can we set up a room for him too?"

"Of course, my little fireball."

Ace hugged her, stopping to mess with Sabo's hair before returning to the infirmary. The doctor had already left by the time he returned, and Ace breathed a sigh of relief from the moment of privacy. He sat on the cot next to Marco's, smiling down at his sleeping form.

"I hope you're better in the morning, reckless pineapple."

Marco

Marco opened his eyes only to be met with a stinging sensation and bright sunlight. "What happened?" he groaned quietly.

The last thing he remembered was flying towards Raftel. It had been raining again. That explains the headache. He must have gotten sick the first time, unable to continue flying safely. He vaguely remembered hitting the water, being pulled beneath the waves before blacking out. But how long was the gap in his memory between then and now?

Marco sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings. To his right, there were cabinets filled with medical supplies: bandages and bottles of pills and liquids. Was he in some type of infirmary? There were other cots surrounding him and the one to his immediate left was occupied.

Marco almost couldn't believe his own eyes. He blinked and looked again.

The sunlight made Ace look like an absolute angel as he slept.

"Ace!" he tried to stand to move closer to him, but he still felt weak. Water, especially sea water, always hindered his regenerative abilities. He would have felt better by now if he hadn't fallen into the ocean.

"Prince Marco!" a red-haired woman chose that moment to walk into the room, pressing him back into his cot gently. "Please rest a little more."

"Is Ace alright? Where am I? And who are you?" he felt guilty about his slight interrogation towards the poor woman, but he couldn't help himself. He needed answers.

However, she merely giggled at his rapid-fire words, proceeding to answer with little difficulty. "Ace is perfectly fine. He's just sleeping. You are in Raftel. Some merchants fished you out of the sea and delivered you here to safety. And finally, I am Rouge."

Of course he had heard of Rouge, Sovereign Queen of Raftel. He bowed as much as he could from his position. "I apologize for my manners, Your Majesty."

"Please, none of that," she said. "It's so nice to finally meet one of Newgate's sons though. I have heard word, though Ace has told us a bit more about you all."

"I'm not surprised." Marco smiled at Ace fondly. "He sure loves to talk. Thank you for taking care of him, Your- ah…"

"Just Rouge is fine, and really, it's nothing," she said, donning her own gentle smile.

"Thank you, Rouge. He gave us all a scare when he suddenly vanished on a Raftelian ship."

"Yes, I'm afraid my reckless sons are all to blame for that. Ace is no exception either."

"Not, Ma," Ace yawned, sitting up while stretching his arms.

Marco chuckled. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Ace turned his head towards the sound of Marco's voice and blinked. Suddenly, everything seemed to click at once, and Marco found himself flat on his cot as Ace tackled him into bed. "Marco! You're okay!"

Marco couldn't help wrapping his arms around Ace. "I should be the one saying that. You worried us all, idiot."

Ace pulled away enough for Marco to see his sheepish smile. "Sorry about that."

"Oh my." The soft words came from Rouge, who was smiling at Ace. "Shall I leave you two alone?"

"Ma!" Ace's freckled cheeks lit up red as he sat up straight.

"Ma?" Marco asked.

The lighthearted atmosphere suddenly vanished as Ace fell quiet, Rouge indeed taking her leave from the infirmary

He hadn't meant for the question to slip out, but Ace's words struck his curiosity. "What was that about?" But despite his question, Ace didn't meet Marco's gaze, choosing to look down at his feet instead. "You're making me nervous, yoi."

After another moment of silence, Ace finally answered. "It's a long story," he said, strangely quiet for the loud, freckled, fireball that Marco was used to. "I'm not sure if you'll like the answer."

"Ace." Marco took his hand and squeezed. Ace looked at him finally, but his eyes seemed ever so vacant. "I can handle it."

He wasn't sure if his words were even convincing himself, yet he noticed that Ace swallowed as he opened his mouth to finally give Marco the full story. "Marco, Rouge is my mother."

Marco's grip slackened. He hadn't known what he was actually expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that. The mere incredulousness of the words made his head spin.

"I have brothers too! Luffy and Sabo! And guess what? I'm the oldest."

When Ace started living with his family, he would tell Marco stories about what he thought his life was like in the past. Even though those stories stopped as time passed and as Ace's place in their family cemented, Marco still remembered Ace's words: simple with a mom and a dad and a little house in the forest- maybe a sibling or two. Never had he mentioned a castle and a queen for a mother and a very much dead king for a father.

"Please say something."

"Are you sure?" Marco was barely aware of the words passing through his lips. His gaze focused, and Ace's eyebrows furrowed.

Marco regretted his words as soon as Ace spoke. "What do you mean 'Are you sure'?" His words were on the verge of biting.

"Ace…"

Ace bolted up and away from Marco's grip. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"I didn't mean that-"

"But you said it!" Ace cried out. "I have my memories back, you know!"

Marco flinched.

"I was worried about you for being a sick idiot-"

"I am not."

"Are you sure?" Ace mocked. Marco fell silent. "That's what I thought." He stormed out of the room without another word, Marco unable to find the words to protest.

"What have I done?" he sighed to himself, burying his face in his hands.

Footsteps returned to the room moments later, but they were too quiet to be Ace's heavy boots. "Oh dear. That didn't look like it went well."

"It was my fault," Marco said. "I'm so sorry, Miss Rouge."

Rouge frowned, smoothing the wrinkles in her dress as she sat on the cot Ace had previously occupied. "What for?"

"What I said disrespected both you and Ace. I shouldn't have, especially because of your hospitality."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to though," she said. "No matter what you've said, I've heard worse, and you seem like you didn't mean it." Marco looked up. Rouge's accepting and kind nature definitely matched her modest appearance. Most queens Marco had met wore jewels on their body everywhere they could accompanying grand, flowing gowns. At a glance, Rouge looked nothing like them. She looked like a mother. "We often say things we don't mean when we're not thinking straight. I'm sure you had your reasons."

Marco smiled back at her. "Thank you."

"It was nothing."

Ace… Ace was truly lucky to have Rouge for a mother.

Ace

Ace stormed into the library. It was quiet, but Ace knew that Sabo was there, and sure enough, there he was at his usual table.

"It's too early for you to be stomping around in here," Sabo said, not even glancing away from his papers. Ace crossed his arms, sitting next to his brother with a huff. They sat quietly for a few moments as Sabo's papers rustled until he finally looked up and sighed. "Fine. What's wrong?"

"Marco was being a total jerk."

"You probably haven't been awake for that long. How much of a jerk could he have been?"

"He didn't believe me when I said that you guys were my family!"

Ace himself still couldn't believe that Marco had doubted him. He always told Marco stories of what he thought getting his memories, and as much as he loved his family in Moby too, he had wanted this so much. Marco knew how he felt, so why did he say that?

"What did he say?" Sabo asked.

"He asked me if I was sure." Just thinking about those words made him clench his fists. "I can't believe him."

"That's pretty vague though. You could have waited for him to explain."

Ace froze and then turned to Sabo to glare. "Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I mean, yeah I guess." His brother merely shrugged at his words. "Did you think about how he feels though?"

"What?"

"Well think about it. You vanished without a word on a foreign ship. For all they know, you could have been kidnapped."

Ace flinched, unable to avoid the truth to those words.

"If I was in his shoes, I'd be cautious too. And sure, I could be on your side, but you tend to be… hotheaded."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Is now really the time to make jokes?"

Sabo completely ignored him, continuing with his lecture of sorts. "Even if he shouldn't' have said what he did, you shouldn't have walked out. Neither of you are in the right."

Now that Ace thought about it, if he really wanted sympathy, he shouldn't have gone to Sabo. He was always the one who thought rationally about things, rarely acting on impulse.

So naturally, he was right.

Ace groaned in defeat, slouching down in his chair.

"See? You just need some time to cool off."

"Shut up."

Despite Sabo's advice to "cool off", Ace decided to vent his frustrations (both at Marco's words and at Sabo for being undeniably correct) by beating up a few training dummies. "Few" was an understatement though, considering that the sun had set by the time Ace decided to stop (only breaking to occasionally sneak some food out of the kitchens).

The halls were abandoned when he returned to sleep for the night, lit only by the moonbeams shining soft light into the hallway. He could have easily lit his way by using his powers, but he liked the atmosphere. He stopped in front of one of the windows, closing his eyes. The loneliness of the dead of night did wonders to "cool off". Memories rushed into his mind: lying on the ground and gazing up in awe at the celestial wonders…

"Beautiful, right?"

It took Ace a moment to realize that those words weren't a part of his memories. He reopened his eyes and turned towards the source of the noise. Though it was dark, the man in front of him was undoubtedly Marco.

They stood in silence, Ace unsure of what to say. Marco was the one who broke it. "The city," he said, stepping over to the window next to him. The Raftelian castle was located in the middle of the city up on a hill. Despite the late hour, he could still see blips of light from the overlook, indicating the bustle of life.

"Still doesn't beat the stars and the moon," Ace found himself saying.

They slipped into wordlessness once more as they enjoyed the view together until Marco's hand slipped over Ace's own, yet barely touching.

"Ace…" His words were a mere whisper. "I understand if you don't want to listen to me, but I didn't mean what I said at all. I just wasn't thinking straight, and for that I must apologize."

He should have known that Marco would apologize first. Sure, both of them could be stubborn at times, but he was definitely more sufficient in the category of manners. Why did he have to be so-

"Formal," Ace muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"You're way too formal!" he repeated. "Why can't I get a simple 'I'm sorry' for once? You're my family too, you know? I don't need the whole diplomatic approach."

"Well, I can do it again."

"No, no, no. Just watch and learn this time." Ace took a deep breath. "Marco, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Ace could feel his cheeks heating up when Marco failed to respond. "Wh-what? Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"You have a very Ace way of apologizing, yoi."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," Marco chuckled. "Your pout is cute, by the way."

Ace looked away. "I'm not cute."

They leaned against each other, the tense silence now a comfortable one. The view was best admired together.

"Were you turning in for the night?" Marco asked. "I don't want to keep you from sleep."

"I was. Spent the whole day training. What about you? Shouldn't you be in the infirmary?"

"I was resting there all day, thank you very much. I was just heading to my guest quarters."

"Well, you're far from there. Guest rooms are on the other side of the castle."

"Really? Hm, he told me they were in this wing," he muttered, though he was loud enough for Ace to hear, striking his suspicion.

"Who told you?"

"Blond. Wavy hair like yours."

Sabo. He should have known, the sneaky bastard. "That, Marco, was my brother. I'm guessing he was trying to make it seem like you 'accidentally' found me."

"It worked out in the end, didn't it? I'll have to thank him when you formally introduce me tomorrow, though I should head to my guest room now."

"It's a far walk. Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Ace didn't know what compelled him to say those words, but he didn't feel like taking them back in the slightest.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Hey, stop being so formal. My bed is big and lonely, and I missed you, you dumb chicken."

"Oh, so I'm a chicken now? Are sure you want to share a bed with a chicken?"

"Sh-shut up." Ace pulled him along, and thankfully, Marco voiced no further protest.

They fell asleep as they had a much needed talk about the day's events, and that night, the bed as more comfortable than it had ever been before.

As always, please make sure to leave a review!