Hope you enjoy!

"Oh, mister! You're here again!"

Ace had been wary of any ghost seeking him out the moment he stepped on to the front entrance of the hospital that day, and it was with a hardly stifled sigh of relief did he see that the first one to greet him was the little girl that always stayed by the front door. He could visibly see her intestines jiggling from inside of her gut as she bounded over cheerfully to approach him, "I haven't seen you for 3 days! Oh, you got more flowers!"

Like before, he picked up one of the flowers from his entire handful, and offered it to her, which was received enthusiastically, "Yeah, i've been… busy,"

Busy thinking coming up with excuses for not visiting, when really he's just been wary of any familiar looking ghosts approaching him and pulling him back to that room. Busy wondering if his last interaction with Dr. Newgate means he is no longer welcomed, and if he should come and fix whatever misunderstanding had come up last time and if he were to do so, how exactly is he supposed to explain it.

Busy balancing a tumultuous conflicting emotion, mostly annoyance and feeling insulted by the dismissal, yet at the same time, he knows he couldn't just leave things the way it is now.

It's been a fairly busy 3 days.

"I hope you're not busy again, mister, i always looked forward to seeing you," the girl chirped bashfully, and glanced towards something out of Ace's line of sight, somewhere deeper inside of the building, "And i'm not the only one, that nice man had been waiting for you here too,"

He had been expecting Thatch or Haruta, the first ones who came and asked for his assistance, or any other one of Dr. Newgate's brothers, those who had been overjoyed by his agreement to help and had expressed various objections the last time he left following Dr. Newgate's dismissal. When Ace trailed his gaze upwards, he absolutely did not expect the large form of Edward Newgate himself to be standing tall at the very end of the pristine and empty hallway, arms stiffly by his side.

The old man lifted his head, his eyes, even in their pearlescent state, seems to pierce deeply into Ace's soul.

A soft 'oh' escaped Ace, his hand unconsciously tightening around the smaller than usual bouquet of flowers.

"The flowers you brought has wilted,"

The walk from the entrance hall to his destination, while hardly far away, felt like it might take centuries due to the sheer tension Ace felt weighing down his shoulder. He walked side by side with Mr. Newgate, falling on to the ghost's pace while wondering that if people kept looking at his direction because the entire world somehow gain the same ability as his, or that he looked just as awkward and nervous as he felt on the inside.

Ace loosened his grip on the flower stems, after the initial sound of a voice close to him made him tightened his hold enough to hear one of it crack under pressure, "O-oh. I… i see," he murmured, and after a while, spoke again, softer, "He kept them?"

From his periphery, he could see Mr. Newgate nod, "He has no reason to throw them away, does he?"

Ace was under the impression that Dr. Newgate would, especially with the way he looked at Ace last, that near contempt washed away by exhaustion, just like the very first day they met, for whatever and however it is that he thought Ace had wronged him. If the problem had lied with Ace.

He doesn't even know anymore. He spent 3 frustrating days trying to figure out what went wrong, until he figured that coming back was the only way to find out.

"Mr. Newgate," perhaps it's because they're already talking anyway, that made it easier for Ace to finally open his mouth, allowing him to finally say out loud what had burdened him since the first time he saw the old man, "I'm sorry. For bringing up your name last time and upsetting your son,"

Next to him, the man chuckled lightly, shaking his head. From where Ace stood, he could only see the side of Mr. Newgate's face that's completely burned off, his eyelid unable to cover a fraction of his eyeballs when he closed them, leaving a hint of white over the expanse of ashen black, "Don't apologize. If anything, i am sorry you were caught in the crossfire between Kureha and Marco. She's the kind of person who doesn't believe in sugarcoating things, and Marco had always been too stubborn for his own good,"

Yeah, Dr. Newgate seems to be that sort of person, if the 5 days worth of silent treatment was any indication.

He wonders what that says about him, when he kept coming back in those 5 days.

They finally arrived on the door, when Ace's hand faltered over the door handle. Mr. Newgate paused on his way through the door, and glanced at him questioningly, "I wonder if Dr. Newgate even wanted me to come back at all," the raven haired male whispered, looking down to the bouquet in his hand. Two of the blowers bent down in a rather awkward position, probably the ones which stem he accidentally cracked earlier, "He doesn't seem… happy with me last time,"

"He does,"

It was said with such conviction that instantly, Ace had to ask, "How are you so sure?"

The old ghost gave a little chuckle, sounding both amused and fond, as if Ace's question, one that he had been asking himself for 3 whole days, was silly, "My boy, i have been these children's father for decades, even since they were barely out of diapers for at least half of them. Call me a silly old man, but sometimes i swear i can telepathically sense what's going on with my boys, down to what they're feeling or what sort of mischief they're up to," he chuckled proudly, somewhat reminding Ace of his own father whenever Ace did something good.

Mr. Newgate's smile suddenly faded, his lips pressed thin and his eyebrows furrowed together. Yet just from those little changes on his face, it felt as if the entire atmosphere changes, enveloped in a sudden, palpable gloom, "But i don't need to be some telepath to know that for the past 5 years, Marco was miserable. My dear son hadn't even crack a genuine smile for the last 5 years, he hadn't felt joy since our passing, and it hurts to see that. It hurts to see how much my own boy has to suffer because of his family's passing,"

He sighed, one large hand reaching over and barely went through Ace's shoulder. So closely, the raven haired man could see how it's ever so slightly shaking, "Ace, my boy, somehow, you change that. Even for a few seconds, you managed to put a smile on his face. There's a heavy, dark clouds over his head, and yet since your arrival in our lives - in his life - i can see it slowly fading. I've been watching him hopelessly these past 5 years, and you gave not only Marco," his other hand reached up, placed over the hole on his chest, "but this old man the courage to hope again,"

Mr. Newgate smiled kindly, a jagged, grotesque sight that Ace was sure once upon a time was kind and fatherly, before the fire that took his life took half of his face in his death, "We have not spoken privately, just the two of us, but now that i have the chance to, please allow me to say this. Thank you, Ace, from the depths of this old, unbeating heart, thank you for coming into our lives,"

Under the harsh glare of the hospital lights, Ace felt his chest stutter at the sight of the unshed tear on Mr. Newgate's one good eye, and became rather painfully aware of the tightness in his throat and the sting that begins to enter his eyes. He took a deep shaky breath, averting his eyes away from Mr. Newgate, irrationally fearing that if he gazed on to those kind, hopeful and genuinely grateful gaze, he might combust.

All of his life, this ability to see ghost was something that separate him from his peers and scaring even those who knows and cares for him regardless. He had to hid it away, accept the fact that he's going to be different no matter what, and while he had come to accept it in his adult life, he remembered resenting it for as long as he could remember having it.

Never, not once in his life had he ever been thanked for it.

In the end, he only nodded awkwardly.

With a chuckle, withdrew his hand away, "As for your question, don't you worry about it, Ace," he approached the door, giving the young man one last glance, "Besides, I told you that he kept your flowers, didn't i?" Without any other words, the old man phased through the door, leaving Ace truly alone in the quiet corridor.

With one last look at the flower in his hand, the young man took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Upon his entry, the reaction was slightly delayed yet simultaneous; As Mr. Newgate returned to his usual spot, most of his children suddenly straightened up at the sight of him, eyes wide and gaping mouth turned into exuberant, relieved smiles. It made Ace feel extremely flattered, seeing so many people so happy with his arrival that he faltered and felt his face growing hot at the attention, especially when Haruta leapt over the bed and rushed towards him to pull him into an embrace.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," the brunet chirped happily, causing a smile to grow on Ace's lips. He lifted his empty hand, wanting to reach over when he caught sight of the figure on the bed.

Dr. Newgate was staring at him, mouth pulled into a frown.

Ace dropped his hand from hovering over Haruta, "H-hi,"

No reply. Just a bland, if rather unwelcoming stare.

Like how it was before, even if Dr. Newgate doesn't look away once he recognize who his visitor is.

The younger man tried to mask the pang in his chest, but from the pitying look Haruta gave him, he didn't think it worked all that well.

Taking in a deep breath, he strode inside, very aware of the purple arrangement in his hold when he caught sight of the wilting, sorry sight on the bedside table. Most of the flowers had dried out, their once fresh petals turning into the frail and dried imitation of their previous vibrant selves, some of it even falling down over the table's surface. When he walked closer, Ace could see that the water inside of the vase had gotten murky, as if they hadn't been changed since he last came here.

Gingerly, he place the new bunch on the edge of the table, before picking the vase over and carrying them towards the trash can on the far side of the room. He opened the lid and threw the entire wilted ensemble away, hearing the muted whisper from Jiru who stood next to him, "He's watching you,"

He didn't tell the twisted-armed ghost that he knew. Ace didn't even have to turn around, he could feel the weight of it on his back.

Once he was finished throwing out and filling the vase with fresh water, Ace made his way back to Dr. Newgate's bedside table, putting the vase roughly where it was before and unwrapping the stems before depositing the flowers to the plastic container. They bobbed gently before settling against each other, at which point Ace had taken resident again in his usual chair, feeling like he had return home.

Not really. Home wasn't this suffocating and nerve-wrecking.

Minutes pass without anyone speaking, not even any of the deceased Newgates, who would usually try to fill the silence with their own chatters. All eyes were upon him, upon them.

It came to the point that he couldn't stand in anymore, when Ace cleared his throat and decided to speak up, "Look, i—" and fell silent again, because no, he still doesn't know what to say. At least Dr. Newgate hadn't told him to get out again, so maybe his father was right about one thing.

Maybe.

The dark haired man cleared his throat again, "I—"

"Purple Hyacinth," Dr. Newgate's voice was croaky and barely a whisper, but even that was enough to silence Ace, "Deep regret and asking for forgiveness,"

Ace swallowed harshly, suddenly feeling off balance. Shit, he didn't think the doctor would notice or even know about it, "Like i said, my mom's big in flower arranging and, well, flowers in general and she taught me about it when i was a kid. I just.. it was subconscious, probably,"

"Mixed colours carnations; health and energy. Peonies; healing. Anemone; fragility, but also well wishes for health. Yellow snapdragons, good luck. Peace Lily; rebirth, renewal. It was a coincidence the first time, but later, it felt like it was deliberate,"

"Okay, so i just want to be thoughtful," the younger man could feel his face heating up. The sound of little muffled laughs around the room and that one small 'aww' from someone doesn't help at all, "I didn't think you would notice. Or even know about this sort of things,"

Unexpectedly, a small smile made it's way to Dr. Newgate's face. It was pained and bitter, but there's a hint of fondness in them as he gaze towards the new bouquet of flower on his side, "One of my brothers was a florist who loves talking about how flowers has meanings. He always says the rest of us were uncouth for not knowing about it, but i think he just wishes someone would understand what he's talking about, so i tried learning about it for him," he spoke softly, and the little choke at the end it didn't miss Ace's hearing.

He could also see Izou raising both of his hands to his lips from the other side of the room, staring adoringly and sadly at his living brother, "Oh, Marco. You were listening to all of my ramblings?" From his side, Thatch pulled him by his shoulder, rubbing his translucent hand on Izou's arm in a calming, sympathetic gesture.

"…Yeah," Ace shifted his gaze away, hunching and slightly curling into himself, "I'm sorry, for hiding the fact that i know who you are. But whatever it is that you're thinking, you're wrong. It has nothing to do with me being here,"

No, he thought, glancing around the room and taking in the sight of each and every phantom in the room, he's pretty sure his reason for coming here would never cross Dr. Newgate's mind.

"What is it then? Why all of this? Why did you keep coming back?" There was it again, that edge in the blond's voice, defensive and disdainful, "Was it pity? Because i don't need it. I—"

"Because this room was empty for days,"

Dr. Newgate fell silent.

Ace huffed, looking down to his lap - purposefully avoiding Dr. Newgate's stare - as he continued, "This room was just… empty. There's no visitors, no sounds, not even flowers or gifts, just plain white walls and closed curtains. And you," he added while glancing up, meeting the blonde's severe frown, "I came back to Sabo's room after that first time i came here," That first time he was told to leave, "And there was such a big difference that i felt suffocated by it. There's colourful flowers and little gifts from his colleagues on his bedside, i see his girlfriend lovingly helping him with every little thing he needed, my rowdy family making all sorts of small talks and joking around, i ate my mother's homemade cookies for Sabo and it's just… it's so unfair,"

Something flashes across Dr. Newgate's expression, an emotion the man so quickly repressed Ace didn't have time to truly discern what it was. He heard the doctor took in a deep, shaky breath before he looked away, and spoke, "So it really is pity then. I already told you that i have no need for that, so if that's why you're here, then just leav—"

"Maybe i never know loss like you and i hope i never will, but if there's anything i could relate to you, is that i know what it's like wanting to be left alone," Dr. Newgate fell silent once more, glancing sideways to Ace. He looked exasperated that Ace was still talking, but at least he didn't try to stop him, "Obviously, we both got different reasons for it. You're dealing with the pain of loss, and me, i just hate how different i was. But at the core of it, i know what it's like thinking that isolating yourself from the world was for the best,"

He lowered his head to see his hand's tightened grip on his pants' material, "But the thing is, i was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who'd pull me out of this safe little bubble i place myself in, telling me that they care and love me no matter what," that they don't care about his ability, that he's still a good friend, still a beloved son, the cool cousin who is even cooler now because he has a really cool ability, and the thought of it unconsciously made Ace smile and his sight to slightly blur, "And because of it, i was never trapped in my own mind for too long because i know they would be there for me when things got too much. I mean, sure, there's only a couple of them, but i was lucky enough to have these couple of people who i love and love me back,"

Ah, there goes the first teardrop, staining the fabric of his pants. Ace lifted his other hand to wipe his eyes, sniffling and inwardly laughs to himself. His dad and Sabo would never let him live it down if they know he cried while talking about them, while his mom and Luffy would probably just pull him into a suffocating hug while cooing and aww-ing, as they're prone to do even on a normal day.

At the sound of a shuddering breath, Ace looked up, and saw that Dr. Newgate has looked away to the other direction from where Ace was, hiding his face away from him. He hadn't the chance to even say anything when the spectres around the room suddenly stood up, looks of concern etched across their faces. Haruta was the first one who rushed towards the bed, followed by Jozu and Vista, just as - who Ace perceived to be - the youngest of the Newgate siblings knelt next to the bed, "Marco, please don't cry. We still love you and we're still here for you," the brunet choked out, and though not for the first time witnessing this, it never stopped to caught Ace off guard to see that ghost can cry, tears and all, "So please don't cry. We're still here, you just can't see us anymore,"

Dr. Newgate didn't reply, of course. He didn't even know that he's being comforted.

And that, for Ace, is the biggest unfairness in all of this.

"So that's why… that's why i chose to be here," the raven watched every single Newgate family member from where he sat, taking in the sight of their devastated expression, of the sorrow, of the murmurs and declaration of love that will never be heard again and knew he never stayed because it was a request from a group of ghosts, a request he could've just refused in the first place and decided it was a lost cause after he was chased away the second time. It was because of the ghost themselves and this man they still love for even 5 years after their passing, who obviously couldn't let them go for just as long, a family ripped apart by mortality, "Because everyone deserve to have someone who still care,"

It's just so, so unfair.

"You're presumptuous," Dr. Newgate spat angrily, yet the effect was greatly diminished by the obvious shakiness in his voice. He still wouldn't look at Ace, but the hand on his side was shaking, "So you know what happened to my family, but you don't know me. Maybe i don't need anyone to—"

"Then why are you crying?"

He received no reply.

Slowly, Ace dragged his chair closer to the bed, and with the same gentleness he treated the hyacinths, the dark haired male took Dr. Newgate's hand in his. The hand jerked away briefly, yet Ace insistently held on, "Please don't tell me to leave again,"

The hand limps in his hold without any further resistance, still quivering.

Ace recalled that time in junior high, about a game that both he and Sabo were really into and spent all of their weekends together trying to finish it while closely following the walkthrough to unlock every secret. It was tiring yet rewarding, and in the matter of 2 weeks and several scolding from his mom for playing way past their bedtimes, they managed to reach 80% completion, missing only one missable item, a big source of pride for them until the day Luffy came over and accidentally deleted that saved game file.

In a funny way - not 'haha' funny, more of a forced one that he's got to think about as amusing or else, he'll get himself down - seeing Dr. Newgate not even acknowledging him when he came in sort of feel like that time too. It's the sort of reluctant acceptance that he has to start over from the beginning again, going through the same obstacles, only this isn't a video game with a guide, this is a real human that the only way Ace knew how to deal with was by persevering.

Gripping the bouquet of Azaleas tighter in his hand, Ace strode in, and called out, "Good evening, Dr. Newgate,"

The blond turned, but didn't return the greeting. The doctor's eyes went to the colourful arrangement on his hand, not leaving it until Ace placed them down on the vase, together with yesterday's hyacinths. Once he was satisfied with how it looked, the raven haired man took a seat on the lone chair, just as usual. On the other side of the room, Mr. Newgate was slumped over, dozing quietly, and the only voice in the room was Kingdew and Jiru talking quietly near the window, while the rest greeted Ace quitely before going back to idly standing around. There's a couple of the Newgates that are missing, and Thatch, once he saw Ace coming in, immediately set on to his side.

"Dr. Kureha came by earlier," the ghost said, and immediately, Ace felt himself tensing up, "Well, nothing happened. She gave him some new prescription, has some medical talk and left. No apologies for what she said or anything. Haruta was so angry about that that Jozu suggested they take him out for a walk and that we all needed one as well. He's got a point. We may be ghosts, but we can still feel kind of stir crazy being cooped up here,"

As not to alert Dr. Newgate, Ace gave a small nod. Next to him, Thatch gave a small laugh and spoke a little lower, "I know everything you said yesterday was for Marco, but i'm not gonna lie, that made all of us happy as well," he placed a hand on his shoulder, making a patting gesture even if Ace could only feel the cold air through, "Thank you, Ace. Really. And i know he's not saying it, but Marco appreciates that as well, he's just a bit embarrassed about everything,"

At this, Ace glanced upwards questioningly.

Thatch grinned, "Hey, i know my brother, okay? Look at what he's doing,"

Ace did, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Dr. Newgate was looking away from, even if it's not completely, one of his hand coming up to the lower part of his face. When he leaned over slightly, he could see that the blond was actually biting the fingernail on his thumb.

"It's a bad childhood habit he never managed to completely wean off. Marco only does that when he's nervous, feeling guilty, or the likes. It's how Pops and us figure out whenever he's lying or hiding something," the auburn haired man snickered, "And he's been doing it since you came in, which is pretty telling why he's feeling any of the sort,"

Blissfully unaware of the two pair of eyes watching him so closely, Dr. Newgate resumed on gnawing on his fingernails. After a while, he released his thumb long enough to mumble, volume too low to hear clearly, but the room was so quiet Ace can hear it all the same, "Thank you for the flower,"

Ace couldn't quite stifle the little laugh that escaped him.

Ah, maybe not from the very beginning then.

"I've been thinking, and i hope you don't mind me asking," Dr. Newgate spoke, breaking the silence that has grown less tense and more companionable in just a 3 days since Ace's return. At Ace's nod, he continued, "What do you mean when you said that 'you're different'?"

"Ah," was all Ace could say before he clamped up. Damn, he did say that, didn't he? Shit, why did he say that? Mr. Newgate already said he didn't want Dr. Newgate to know that his family was around him, and not only that, his ability to see ghost wasn't something he ever wanted to share with people, not anymore. And it's not like Dr. Newgate will even believe it, or if he did, what are the chances it's going to make him mad again. Or will he? What if he started asking if Ace could—

"I shouldn't have asked that, it's probably something personal," the words broke through Ace's reverie, and he looked up to see Dr. Newgate shaking his head and gave him an apologetic look. Subsequently, Ace noticed that his right hand twitched on his side, and wondered if he was trying to bite on his nails again, "My apologies,"

"No, it's okay," the younger dark haired man shook his head, feeling rather relieved.

Still, he thought, taking in the sight of Haruta lying next to his brother on the bed, right on the edge of it, and the rest of Dr. Newgate's siblings watching their brother vigilantly, he sort of wished he could tell the man, if only to tell him just how loved he still is. He wanted to tell him of their words and concerns, of what had initially brought Ace here and caused them to even have this conversation. It may be a good closure to Dr. Newgate as well, the kind of relieve that may be the key to his road in recovery.

In the following silence, Ace added, "One day. Maybe i'll tell you one day,"

"You're saying that as if implying that we'll be around each other for a long time,"

At that Ace grinned, because while he tried to mask it by looking away, he knows there's a smile on Dr. Newgate's face. Mostly it was by the help of Haruta jumping up and shrieking, 'He's smiling!', but somehow, Ace knew just from the fondness he knew he didn't just imagine in the man's words, "Well, i did get you all of these yellow flowers,"

Today's flower was an assortments of the bright coloured blossoms; yellow rose, yellow tulip, marigold, iris, and a smattering or freesias that the florist was all too happily wrapped in a beautiful arrangement complete with a nice new vase, free of charge. When this is all over, Ace really had to do something nice for the old lady, after all she's done.

Dr. Newgate glanced up to the new decoration on his bedside, tilting his head backwards enough to take in the entire sight, "I'm actually a little confused about this. Usually you brought the same type of flowers, not a whole bunch of them,"

"That's because it's not the individual flowers, it's the entire bouquet. Yellow flowers means friendship," at his explanation, Dr. Newgate gave a derivative snort, at which Ace took offense to, "Hey! It's a kind gesture!"

"Kind of like a child, yes,"

"Ungrateful bastard. Maybe i'll bring you a bunch of begonia next time,"

"'Beware'? Of what?"

"Of these hands if you keep being like this,"

Perhaps tired out by their bickering or his medication, Dr. Newgate fell asleep not soon after, suddenly slipping out of consciousness after delivering a couple of drowsy replies to Ace's playful jabs. With a suppressed sigh, Ace dragged his chair closer to the bed and leaned over, putting his elbow on the corner to put himself in a more relaxed position. Dr. Newgate did look tired, as if he hadn't been sleeping well, if the bags under his eyes were of any indication.

It entered Ace's mind that with his 'host' sleeping, maybe he should leave early, or leave to go to Sabo's room instead. He hadn't been visiting or 3 days now - feigning extra shifts with the fire station when really he's just wary of seeing any of Dr. Newgate's family - yet his butt kept rooted on the chair and instead of standing up, Ace laid his head on the bed, sighing.

He glanced to the arrangement of purple and yellow flowers.

"Yellow flowers also means joy and happiness," he mumbled to the bed, feeling equally drowsy despite the sterile chemical smell on sheets. Maybe he could get some shut eye as well before leaving, "And i hope you'll get that back one day, the way your family would want it,"

Ace fell asleep to the sound of Dr. Newgate's quiet snores and the quiet, rumbling laughter from around the room.

Thank you for reading!