Holy crap guys! Thank you for the support! Now onto the actual author's note!

Yo! What's up with these fast updates? Mainly me avoiding life, but it works out for you guys in the end. Also does anyone bother to read the chat thing at the bottom? I'm just curious, cause I'm going to keep doing it, but just wondering. Let's begin!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

See you at the bottom!

He would do it this time. Ace would take Whitebeard's head. It had been a week since his first attempt, and he spent that week planning. There was no way he could fail. He had some idea on how to navigate the ship. Thanks to Marco giving him that tour on third day he had been on board, he had even been shown where the armory was. Stupid move.

Ace was now heading towards the uppermost deck, knowing that Whitebeard would be sitting in his chair there, Marco had told him that's where he could find the captain most days if he ever wanted to talk (which he didn't thank you very much).He was also finding out that it was very hard to be stealthy with a giant axe strapped to one's back.

Who even needs an axe this big? He shook his head, clearing it. Focus.

Ace reached the top deck, he could tell by the breeze hitting his face and sudden lightness. He moved towards the main part of the deck, hoping he wasn't drawing any attention, and sensed for the presence he associated with Whitebeard, the biggest and the strongest. Then he backed away, moving the ace from his back he focused on Whitebeard's presence. Ace took a deep breath and started running, a yell tearing from his lips. Shit. Fuck. Theres no way they didn't hear me.

He kept running not wanting to back out now. His fire told him that he was approaching the point where he should jump, when the trail of fire he let out was about half its distance. He gathered up the strength in his legs and jumped, he made sure the axe was fully behind him at the pinnacle of the jump and as he started to decline he started his swing.

Ace felt the air moved and then he felt the contact of a fist, this punch was a lot harder than the first one. Ow. Shit.

Then he was flying.

It was a short flight. As he started to fall, he tensed up, prepared to meet the hard wood of the deck. Only he didn't, he met it briefly as his body crashed through the railing.

Oh no. Was all he managed to think before his body seized up due to the cold of the sea water. It felt like he had lead flowing through his veins, he had never felt this before. The curse? He had a lot more sympathy for Luffy now.

Ace sank fast, and even though his eyes were open he couldn't tell if there was any light. Fuck.

Now he was panicking. Failing his arms desperately trying to get them to move so he could swim no one else would and save him. Frankly the drowning wasn't what was bother him or the being left to die (he kind of expected it anyway), no, it was the fact that he couldn't see. He was terrified if this is what his eyes would eventually end up showing him. For this first time since he woke up with a blurry ceiling when he was ten he was afraid of losing his sight. He couldn't live in a world of perpetual dark. He was fire, light itself, but he couldn't even light his own vision.

Something was grabbing at him. He wasn't expecting it so he lashed out with arm, it somehow jerking to life to make a semi-effective punch. It made contact with something, it didn't feel like any sort of fish, and it was solid but bent under the force. Almost like he was hitting someone in their nose. Did I just punch a mermaid? Great. Just my luck. Hit the one thing that would save me, and I punch it. Fucking wonderful.

He was definitely going to drown the thing holding him would let go; but, instead whatever was grabbing at him continued to do so, and thankfully the arms felt like they were human and not sea king teeth. Ace remained tense as he felt his position get adjusted by whoever it was.
He felt his arms get wrapped around what he guessed was a neck and then they started to ascend. So, they're still saving me? Must be a nice person. Ace let himself be pulled to the surface, he wanted to help but his limbs were still heavy.
Eventually they broke the surface and it took him a few seconds to get his bearings back, hearing sound, inhaling fresh air. I guess I didn't swallow much water.
"I got him!"
That voice... Thatch? He jumped in after me?
He was honestly surprised. Thatch started to swim towards what he assumed was the ship. Too stunned to do much else Ace kicked his legs slowly in an attempt to help, but his movements were still awkward and sluggish. His body was mostly limp as he went from hanging around Thatch's neck, it had to be he felt it move with each breath the chef took, to being carried over one shoulder like a sack. He closed his eyes, too exhausted to keep them open or it was a sleep attack. At the moment either of them were a better option that being hounded on by the crew for trying to kill their captain again.

Thatch was surprised when he heard Ace yell, even more so when he saw the teen running at Pops back with a large axe. The chef almost felt sorry for the boy, attacking Pops in the back was a sure way to get him irritated at you. Though that swing has some power in it.

A few seconds later he was proven right as Ace was punched across the deck, and he knew Pops planned for the kid to catch himself on the railing. Instead, the limp teen went right through it, and started to head towards the water. Pops didn't miscalculate he knew his strength but their newest members reaction was weird.

I know he could've stopped his fall, he looks athletic enough.

He heard the splash and the rest of the crew spent a few more seconds looking at each other bewildered. Thatch locked eyes with Marco and with a nod from the first mate he was off running to the hole in the railing, taking his shoes off as he ran.

Without a second's hesitation he was diving into the water, it was chillier than normal, he guessed they could be closing in on an autumn or winter island. He spent some time trying to reorient himself and locate the fire teen. Once he did so, he saw Ace looking straight at him.

Fear was apparent on his face, and Thatch was taken aback. The young pirate either showed anger, confusion, or indifference. It reminded him of how young the kid actually was. Ace looked like a kid.

Thatch needed no further urging to start swimming. He wondered if this was Ace's first time getting knocked into the water with his Devil's Fruit power. The other commanders had admitted it freaked them out. Still, Ace's eyes were wide and darting around, as if he was searching for something, his lips were pressed tightly together to not let any water in. His body was also rigid. The chef had fished several fruit users out of the water before but none of them had looked this frightened.

Not for the first time Thatch was grateful for his strong upper and lower body, making the swim to Ace a lot easier and faster. He noticed no change in the teen's face as he drew closer. What does he think I'm going to do?

When he wrapped his arm around Ace's waist to slow his descent, the kid freaked. Thatch was surprised when a fist struck him in the face, most of the blow hitting his nose. I know he saw me, so why? Some kind of traumatic flashback?

He was a lot more careful the second time he tried to wrap Ace around him, wrapping an arm around the teen's waist securely and then moving the teen's own arms to wrap around his neck. Thatch made sure that Ace was secure before starting to surface. It was harder going up with only one arm and basically dead weight hanging on to him.

They finally surfaced, and Ace took in a shaky breath, but didn't cough. He could feel the fire teen's strength return with the subtle tightening of his arms. Thatch could see his brothers looking over the deck shifting anxiously, Ace had drifted to the side further than he had thought. He'd have to swim over to the ship before they got a rope thrown to him, still he needed to let his family know that they had surfaced.

"I got him!"

Ace's face went from confused to completely shocked. The change happened in a blink of an eye. Did he really think we would let him drown?

His brothers were moving towards them now. Ace was out of danger from drowning, he started to swim over. He could tell the teen was trying to help, kicking his legs in time with Thatch's own strokes, but there was no power in the kicks. One of the crewmembers threw down the rope ladder, and Thatch finished swimming over to it. He shifted Ace from around his neck to over his shoulder. The teen was being oddly compliant, but he ignored it in favor of getting out of the cold water.
The climb was the easiest part despite the extra weight, he noticed Ace was lighter than a guy of his size was. Thatch growled, the kid hadn't been eating, probably hasn't since lunch on his first day. Brat. Still he finished his climb and was met with a circle of worried crew members. Marco at the front, he looked in different but there was something about his stance that told him otherwise. Izou and Haruta were next to the first mate, their worry clearly displayed.

He carefully took Ace from his shoulder and laid the kid down on the deck, surprised to see that the kid had his eyes closed and chest rising and falling rhythmically. He fell asleep?

The others seemed to have the same thoughts.

"Is he okay? Why's he asleep?" Haruta asked. "None of the others fall asleep after they fall into the ocean."

Izou shrugged. "We don't know Ace that well."

Marco's gaze lifted from Ace's sleeping form to Thatch himself. "What happened to your face?"

"He," The chef pointed at Ace. "got startled and started swinging wildly, got a lucky punch in."

The phoenix made the face like he was thinking. "Let's take him to the infirmary."

Thatch raised an eyebrow, wondering why Marco had decided to accompany him. He would ask when they weren't surrounded by their comrades. He bent down and picked up Ace, now that the teen wasn't in danger of drowning from inhaled fluid.

Everyone else started to disperse when as they all assumed their newest brother would be fine since none of the commanders were freaking out. Thatch and Marco started to head to the infirmary, the teen's light snores breaking the silence between them. Neither spoke until the door leading to the outside was shut behind him.

"There was something else wasn't there?" Marco stated, but his voice made it a question.

"Yeah. He was afraid before he hit me, and I know he saw me. Maybe it was some sort of flashback."

Marco's lips twitched downward, but otherwise said nothing.

"What are you thinking?" Thatch asked.

"I'm not sure, yoi."

They fell back into silence. Not speaking until they reached the infirmary and even that was only to tell the nurse what had happened. Thatch knew his brother was thinking about something important and he didn't want to interrupt him.

"Its almost dinner. " Marco said suddenly.

"Oh yeah, but what about Ace?" The chef was unwilling to leave him alone, all to curious to ask about the time underwater.

"I'm Izou or Haruta will sit with him if you ask either of them to. I have to talk to Pops." Marco said.

Thatch frowned. "Okay, I'll see if I can find one of them."

Marco nodded and started walking off.

The first mate was stumped. He was certain there was something about the fire teen that was hidden and with passing day there was more evidence to support it. The carefulness, dislike of big groups, the odd subtle movements. Marco was still confused about the fire on the first day, he had finally identified the feeling he got from it, the flame was almost curious like it was exploring. He hadn't ever felt a flame that had emotion, but then again it was a logia type's fire. He knew from experience that each fruit had its own twist to it. His own was extremely attracted to fire, and his phoenix was excited about an animated flame and kept nudging him to get Ace to release his flame.

He doubted he could get the teen that willing, not until he fully joined the family. Marco sighed. Thatch's words bothered him. If Ace did have some kind of trauma, it would explain a lot of his behavior, but how could he get the teen to open up to him. He was barely able to get him to take a tour of the ship.

Marco was unaware of where he was heading, but he found himself only a few feet away from Pops chair. He figured he should ask the old man what he knew about Ace.

"Pops." The first mate called as he walked to the chair.

"How's Ace?" He asked, his eyes filled with worry, but it was neatly hidden away.

"He's fine. Fell asleep the moment Thatch pulled him above water, yoi." He also knew that his father was feeling bad about punching one of his sons into the sea (even though said son fully deserved it.)

"That's good." Pops sighed. "Something troubling you?"

"Its nothing, probably. Just thinking." Marco answered.

His father left it at that. He would ask when this whole situation was forgotten. Though he was certain that Ace would be much less reluctant to join the crew even after an accident like today. It would take a lot to get that little bit of trust back, but Marco was willing to work for it.

Even though he decided not to share his worries, he still couldn't help but wonder what the other had gone through, if that was the case at all. Out of all the situations it was the most likely, there were a lot of pirates on this ship that became pirates because something horrible happened to them and they couldn't stay at home. Hell, Marco himself was like that, and he knew that he didn't want people prying. He told his family when he was comfortable enough. Though it took some prodding from Thatch, who had joined the crew after him but the only member before him was Pops himself and that didn't count. It took him years to even tell his father.

Wait... Marco's thoughts stopped abruptly. That might help telling Ace something personal, letting the younger pirate know that he trusts him. It worked on himself with Thatch so it was worth a shot, the worst that could happen was it didn't work.

But what he could tell him?

It was dark and cold. Ace looked around, frowning when he couldn't see anything. He tried to move only to hear the clinking of chains, and the metal clasped around his wrists. Shifting slightly he tried to figure what he was bound to. A wall maybe? Another tug and he found that was the case. Stone was biting into his back, and when he shifted he could only feel a blinding pain.

So I'm also injured? He frowned. All he remembered was being catapulted into the sea. This felt like someone had taken something and run it up and down his back until he was raw and bleeding. It hurt like all hell, and Ace stopped moving.

Now that he determined that he was bound and injured it made more sense why he couldn't see. He was probably in some sort of dungeon, which was too dark for him to see anything. He was most likely captured, as well. Marines he decided. Ace chewed on his lips, he thought he would never think that the Whitebeard Pirate's would be preferable to anything. At least on the Moby Dick he could still see things, even though they were blurred beyond all chance of deciphering.

A memory fluttered into his mind, with him laughing with Marco and Thatch and he furrowed his brows, he never laughed like that, not since Sabo died (even when he Luffy goofed off) and he most certainly wouldn't laugh with those two. But for some reason he knew this was a memory and that confused him beyond everything else.

He shifted again. Wait, if this is sea stone, then why can I move so freely?

Ace swallowed. His chest seizing up, it wasn't possible! He could see this morning! He could make out the pink thing Izou wore and Haruta was still wearing that green thing. It was sunny, he knew this. So he took a few calming breaths, and tried to summon his fire. It leapt to the surface as eagerly as it always had, he could feel it dancing on his skin. The metal grew warmer. But his eyes were still seeing nothing. He turned up the intensity of his flame, but it only caused his cuffs to start to melt. Nothing was registering.

No. No. No. No. No. He chanted. This couldn't happen. His breath was coming quicker, his flames dancing in time with his breath, the patterns wild.

"The pirate is finally awake." That voice was not the least bit friendly.

Ace pushed himself away from it as best he could, yelling out as the melted metal tore at his skin. Right, forgot, still hurts like a bitch if its molten and caused by my own flame.

"Where are you going?" The man spoke, his voice drooled cruelty. "Can't you see that there's no escape?"

Someone chuckled in the background. "No he can't. He's blind."

"Oh right!" The first one laughed.

Ace stilled that second voice sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. Before he could chase down the memory of that second voice something heavy connected with his chest.

Ace shot up in bed, reminding him of a week ago when he did the same thing. But he quickly found that unlike that day, there wasn't any light filtering in from the window. His breath was starting to come quicker, did he really lose his sight when he went into the sea? He let his fire out on instinct, and sighed in relief when he could see the red-orange glow of his flame.

Bad dream. It was just a bad dream. Ace chanted mentally. He hadn't had a dream like that since he was little, way before Luffy was in even his life. It was probably because of his unplanned trip into the ocean. The dark was because it was night outside.

His breathing started to slow down, and his fire was starting to become more controlled. He wondered how he didn't wake anyone, the nurses were down the hall and fire wasn't exactly quiet. It was a small blessing so he would take it. He settled back down onto the bed, curled up into a tight ball. The only part that was away from him was one of his hands which he lit. A small flame flicked to life, strong and steady.

It gave him comfort, to be able to distinguish between the darkness of the rest of the room and his hand. That nightmare... it had been too real for comfort. There were so many questions it raised, and part of the reason he reacted so strongly was because it didn't feel like the monsters underneath the bed type but demons inside his head type. The flame died down due to his inattention but he didn't mind, it was still bright enough for him.

He wasn't sure how long he laid with awake with the flame burning but at some point he fell back asleep, without any dreams. Ace only knew he fell asleep because he was waking up, and this time the room was drenched in the early morning rays of light. He sat up and rubbed his head, turning it side to side listening for anyone. For some reason he was alone, the nurses really need to pay attention to their were still a few hours before breakfast, and he saw no need to stay in here any longer. So he stretched, and stood up.

He wasn't sure where he was going, but he was heading out of the room, letting his fire guide him. This was the one part of the ship he hadn't spent much time in, he wasn't fond of medical officials, they tended to give him bad news (narcolepsy and blindness both came from the mouth of a doctor.) Also, if the nurses decided to give him a physical, there was an incredibly high chance that they would find out that he was blind.

The deck was quiet for once, and he sucked in the air. Relaxing thanks to the sea air, it was so much better than the stagnant infirmary air. He let his fire lead him to the stern of the ship since there wasn't anyone near by to see it. The sea was calm, barely rocking the boat. He took another deep breath, letting the salty breeze sink deep into his lungs.

Ace wasn't sure how many hours passed him as he stared out into the blurry blue of the sea. But he could tell that it had been several by the time he heard footsteps, he recalled his fire slowly so the person wouldn't notice.

"The nurses are upset with you, left without permission, yoi." Ah, it was Marco.

The older moved to stand next to him. Ace just shrugged, he could tell that he was being stared at. A few seconds ticked by before he was reminding of nearly drowning yesterday by the lapping of the waves, and the impulse to ask why Thatch saved him struck.

"Why did Thatch jump in after me?" He always did have a hard time controlling his impulses.

"You were drowning." Marco replied.

"I'm aware." Ace spoke harshly. "But why? You owe me nothing!"

"You're our brother." The other said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ace clenched his teeth, he was tired of that word being thrown at him. The only brothers that he had were Sabo and Luffy. Not a single person on this ship. He snapped.

"Why? Why do you consider me your brother? You don't know me. You know nothing about me!" His voice was a dangerous level, more of a growl.

Ace's thoughts were coming fast, but thankfully he was able to filter himself. These guys didn't know about Sabo and Luffy, or how he was the charge of the Hero Garp. Hell, they couldn't figure out he was blind (him hiding it be damned, it was actually really obvious he knew.) He knew that they would take back their invitation the moment they learned who his father was. He was born with the blood of a monster and disabled, he wouldn't last as a member of this crew.

Marco said nothing as Ace tried to calm himself, but he wasn't able to stop one last question from slipping past his lips. "Why do you call him Pops?"

That time Marco did answer, barely a seconds after the question was asked. "Because he calls us his sons." He paused and Ace wondered if that was the entire answer, then he continued. "To the rest of the world we're all just outcasts. It makes us happy, yoi. Its just a word but it makes us happy!"

Marco's voice, it sounds so light and pleased, Ace wondered what kind of expression the other was wearing. But the words hit him a second later and stopped him cold. He knew what it felt like to be an outcast. It was fighting daily for just scraps of respect, it was being a kid in an adult world swinging first so that the words didn't have time to hurt. Ace knew very well what it felt like to not fit in anywhere; he also knew that you probably wouldn't ever fit in and that's why he and his brothers had been so close, because the only place they ever felt like they belonged was with each other. Could I really have that feeling again? The feeling of belonging? Having a family that cared. Is it possible for me to call someone my father?

The last thought made him tense up. He hadn't ever really had a father, his blood father never did anything for him, just haunting him from beyond the grave with the name of Pirate King. He was also certain that the man wouldn't have been much of an actual father if had lived. All he had was bad blood, was it possible for him to choose his father like he choose his brothers?

Ace held onto the railing, not sure he could hold himself up. He was confused and shocked. The man he had wanted to kill was offering to take him in as a son. How could anyone, especially a pirate, be that kind?

Marco watched as Ace went still after his words. he saw several different emotions flash across the young pirates face, from sadness to something bittersweet to confusion. The first mate instinctively knew that this was something he needed to let the teen settle on his own, so he didn't speak. His phoenix stirred slightly at the feel of fire brushing past him, but it was so fast that he guessed he had just imagined it, he hadn't let the pheonix out to play in a long time.

He tilted his head upwards, examining the early morning sky. It was a mix of purple and blue right above them but it gradually got brighter as it got closer to the sun, finally settling on a halo of yellow-orange. A day of smooth sailing, then. Marco smiled, these were the best days, not much to do but relish in the feeling of calm sea water and the presence of the family. That's when he remembered that he was supposed to be changing the Watch.

"I have to go. So I'll see you around."

Ace just made a sound of acknowledgement.

Well, its better than being ignored. He turned and walked towards the cabins.

It was around lunch when he realized that he hadn't seen Ace since their talk this morning. He normally saw that teen at least twice before lunch and once before dinner. Is he still at the stern?

Their conversation this morning couldn't have been that shocking to the teen. Could it? It was the fact of the sea that once you joined Whitebeard or he claimed you as a son, you were a brother to the rest of the crew. Marco frowned and headed off to find the wayward fire user (please don't let him be plotting another assassination attempt).

Not at the stern. He pursed his lips as he stared at the empty portion of the deck. His room?

The walk to Ace's temporary room, it would be changed to one nearer to the rest of the crew once it was official that he was a part of the crew. Marco knocked on the door, knowing that Ace wouldn't appreciate the Whitebeard Pirate's normal disregard for privacy at the moment, or ever.

"Who?"

Right, he doesn't like not knowing who's coming into his room. "Its Marco, yoi."

"Come in"

That was new. All other times the teen had been the one opening the door, and he hadn't let anyone else in the room since he had gotten aboard. Marco slowly opened the door, and walked inside, the room looked unchanged except for the orange cowboy hat on the nightstand and the figure laying on the bed.

Ace was on his back staring up at the ceiling with his arms being used for pillows, his legs were crossed. The only change occurred when Ace flicked his eyes over to where Marco had entered and then it went straight back to the ceiling. He noticed that the yellow shit was discard somewhere and the young teen's body was on display. Ace looked a little skinnier than he had when had first come aboard but Marco figured that was just a trick of his imagination even though he knew the teen hadn't been eating.

"Did you want something?" Ace asked, for once there wasn't a lot of hostility in the tone, reminding him of the nearly whispered question this morning.

Marco could tell that all the fire user needed was one more push and he would be part of the family for real. Something inside of the first mate was telling him that Ace would do well on this ship, that the teen needed a place like this. He agreed with that part of him.

"Its lunch, yoi." Marco shrugged. "Wanted to see if you wanted to go down with me."

It was a half-truth so he didn't feel as bad as he would outright lying.

"I'm good."

The older pirate arched an eyebrow, the kid had to be hungry going more than a week without eating, probably part of the reason he bailed on the nurses. He knew the next time that Ace was in the infirmary he wouldn't nearly as lax treatments. The nurses were terrifying when it came to patients.

"Okay."

Marco left, guessing that any longer would have the teen getting riled up, and that would be the opposite of what he wanted. He was so close to getting the younger pirate to let someone into those well built walls, nobody was that cautious for no reason. Not for the first time he wondered about the fire teen's past.

He was joined on the walk to the mess hall by Izou.

"Any luck with our resident pyro?"

Marco shrugged. "Maybe."

Izou sighed. "He's so stubborn. Can't he see that he's not at all into trying to take Pop's head anymore, if he was he'd be trying every opportunity."

The first mate stayed silent.

"Do you think he'll actually join?" Izou asked.

"Yeah, I think he will. He just needs some time."

They were greeted by Thatch when they got into the mess hall, the chef setting down plates at their usual spots, one was sitting in the spot where Ace had taken up residence this last week.

"Not coming today. I'll take it down to him later, yoi." Marco answered the unspoken question.

"He doesn't eat it anyway." Thatch mumbled angrily. "If that kid is as good of a pirate as his bounty says he is then he should know to eat at every opportunity."

"Haven't you been missing fruit recently?" Izou chuckled. "Ace isn't starving himself, but he isn't exactly feasting."

Thatch just grumbled something that no one could make out.

Today's lunch was a quick potato soup, one of the simplest meals the chefs made, but despite everyone's different backgrounds they all loved it. Even Ace would, if he decided to eat it.

"So Haruta is on watch right?" Thatch inquired after a few minutes of everyone eating.
"Yeah, they took the long shift, won't be done until dinner." Marco answered, he had been the one to get the other commander up, why they always decided to take the long shift would forever be a mystery.

The three commanders ate the rest of their meal in silence. By the time they finished, Ace's bowl was only a little warm, well the teen was made of fire so he should be able to warm it up. Marco grabbed as he left the mess hall.

Ace stayed looking up at the blurry form of the ceiling. He had a chance, to start over here and now as someone else's son but could he so easily give up his ambition to be Pirate King? Luffy's face sprung into his mind, he guessed he could let go of that dream for his little brother's sake (he doubted it was his dream in the first place, since he so easily let it go). So then what reason did he have to live? If he joined this crew he couldn't kill Whitebeard any more, so then what could he do?

He rolled over to his side, his hand gripping at the fabric of the pillow case. Everyone had to have a goal its what kept people alive and able to live on despite all of the horrible things that happened. Ace guessed he could find his goal later on if he joined. Becoming a Whitebeard Pirate would be a heavy blow to his pride, and it's one of the few things good about him that he had left.

There was a knock at the door that startled him out of his thoughts.

"Who?"

"Marco."

"Aren't you supposed to be eating?" Ace called back.

"I finished. Brought you your portion." Marco answered.

At the mention of food Ace's stomach growled. He covered it with his hands hoping it wasn't loud enough to go through the door. The fruit he had stolen wasn't enough to curb his huge appetite, he missed the days he got the largest share because he was the one that made the kill. But to take this food, it would mean that he trusted them to some degree not to kill him. They had been rather nice about him not eating food at dinner. Ace pushed himself into a sitting position. This would be the test, if he ate this and didn't die then he would join because that meant they weren't trying to stab him in the back. And at this point he had nothing to lose, he would have to start over either way not knowing who's ship or where the ship was that had his crew on board.

"Come in." He found it odd that the first mate waited to be invited in and not just barge in since he was a commanding authority on this ship.

Ace heard the door click open and Marco walk slowly inside. For whatever reason Ace had gotten used to the older pirate's presence, the calm temperance on this ship. Marco had been the first Ace had trusted, and within only days of meeting him and it frightened him, he had never given trust away so freely. It must be something to do with how his fire reacted and almost clung to the man whenever he had it out and Marco was near.

He focused on Marco's presence and listened as the older got closer. Eventually the footsteps stopped not far from him and tilted his head curiously, wondering what was going on.

"Here."

Oh, that's right, he brought food. I'm supposed to take it from him. I can't see it! He'll know, what am I going to do? Ace thought with increasing panic, he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Set it on the nightstand." Well that solved the problem of having to take it from Marco himself, and with luck the older pirate wouldn't think much of it.

He heard something being set down and he could only guess that it was his food. Ace looked over to it hoping that it wasn't something obvious. "What is it?"

"Its potato soup."

Well at least it wasn't something simple. Ace waited a few seconds thinking that Marco was going to leave and surprised when he didn't.

Marco was speaking, and the tone of his voice caused Ace to listen. "Hey, how long are you going to keep risking your life like this?"

Is he talking about my lack of eating? Or is going to tell me to get of the ship because he found out about my father or my blindness? Ace tensed.

"Make up your mind already!" That was a lot more emotion than he had heard from Marco in the short time they knew each other. "You can't possibly take the old man's head the way you are now, so are you going to get off this ship and start over or are you going to stay here and accept Whitebeard's mark?"

He winced when Marco brought up the fact he wouldn't be able to kill Whitebeard at this moment of time, but he was surprised to hear his thoughts echoed out loud about starting over or staying. This was a one time chance, and he didn't know what he should do. Sabo would know, but his brother wasn't here, or even alive to help him with his problem. He would have to figure it out on his own.

With a sigh he closed his eyes, and rested his forehead on his clasped hands. If he missed this chance, he might not be able to get another invitation to a family again, he wouldn't forgive himself if he missed out on having a family because he was prideful. He'd regret it for the rest of his life. Ultimately that's what sealed the deal, he promised to live without regrets.

"Marco... I..." Ace started, unable to form the thought correctly. "I'll take his mark."

He could hear the sharp intake of breath from the first mate.

"Really? You're going to join?"

Ace raised his head, and hoped he was making eye contact with Marco. "Yes."

"Well, we'll have to tell Pops he has a new son, yoi. When do you want to do that?" Ace felt bad when he flinched at the word 'son'. Marco's voice stayed the same tone, but his words were a little faster, was he excited?

"After dinner?" He asked quietly. As much as he was sure the other would like him to go as soon as possible, he had to mentally prepare himself. This was a big gamble, joining without spilling any of his secrets. He was scared to see the repercussions if they ever did come.

"That works, I'll get you after Pops returns to his room, that way you can tell him in private, yoi."

Marco really was a considerate person. It made him feel slightly better about putting so much trust in a guy he's never seen the eyes of. Ace listened as Marco left the room, saying something about how he would be back later, and once again Ace was alone. A feeling in the back of his head told him this would be the last true alone time he got after taking the mark of Whitebeard.

He didn't get much time to think about what he may have just gotten himself into as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. Oh, right, that's three major secrets I have.

Ace awoke to gentle tapping on the door. "Who?"

"Marco. You ready?"

The young teen stood up and stretched, inhaling the air with a yawn, and smelling something that smelled faintly of potatoes. Ah, yeah, I didn't eat it. I'll just eat in the mess hall as a member in the morning.

"One second."

He grabbed his yellow shirt and put it on, along with groping around the nightstand for his orange hat, wrinkling his nose when he stuck his hand in the soup. Ace wished he could use his fire to find his hat, but Marco was too close to risk it. The teen licked his hand clean while he used the other one to find the orange cowboy hat one. He wiped his hand off on his short and secured his hat on his head.

With one more confidence inspiring inhale Ace strolled to the door, once again opening it slowly to make sure he didn't hit Marco in the face.

"Took you long enough, yoi." The tone was teasing.

"Sorry, had to find my hat." Well, it wasn't a lie.

Instead of respond Marco just started walking, and Ace followed behind, glad that he was finally able to identify the first mate's presence quickly. It made this whole pretending like he wasn't blind thing a lot easier.

They walked a route Ace knew well, it was the long way to the mess hall. Must be a shortcut to Whitebeard's room. The trip was too short for his liking, he still had no idea what he was going to say. Thank you narcolepsy for making my life even more difficult.

Ace was cut from his mental cursing of his condition when Marco knocked once and then opened the doors. The hinges creaked a little.

"Pops, I brought Ace."

Whitebeard is expecting me? No time to stumble around words then. Ace pulled himself up as high as he could trying to make himself look as confident as he could.

Once instead Marco shut the door behind him and Ace gave it a look like it personally betrayed him.

"Marco says you have something to tell me?" Whitebeard's voice wasn't loud like it usually was, it was soft and gentle.

Not words I thought I would ever associate with the strongest man in the world, but today is the day for surprises.

Ace straightened himself up further, and once again praying that he was actually looking his soon to be captain in the eye and not just in his general direction. "I would like to join your crew, if you'll have me?"

There was silence for a few moments and Ace started to sweat nervously was this all really a joke? These guys don't seem like they would do anything that cruel, but you could never be too sure with pirates.

"I'm the one that asked you to join in the first place, welcome aboard!"

Ace was suddenly wrapped up by something large and hard and pressed into something larger and harder. He was about to flip out and get out of this vice grip when he heard a heartbeat. Oh! He's hugging me? This is odd. The last time someone had hugged him it had been Luffy right before he set off on his voyage, this hug didn't lack any of the emotions he got from Luffy's hugs, so maybe he did make the right choice.

After several more seconds, Ace was wondering if he was going to be suffocated, he was finally let out of the hug. He took several lungful gulps of air, he hadn't been that winded after he almost drowned. It was embarrassing being hugged so suddenly, and uncomfortable for him since he can't see it coming.

He left the room quickly with a goodbye, almost running into Marco as he left.

"How'd it go?" Marco asked, after stopping Ace from hitting the ground face first.

"He accepted me and then gave me a hug." He answered. "Is that a normal thing he does?"

"Not really." Ace wondered if the other shrugged to that statement.

He was relieved, he didn't think he could handle that many hugs in a lifetime, he was sure that he was going to get more, but hopefully they would be sporadic and he would have a little more warning.

"So where are you going to get your tattoo, yoi?"

Tattoo? Wait does taking Whitebeard's mark literally mean taking his mark? Ace swallowed, he didn't even know what the Jolly Roger looked like, he hadn't bothered to learn about it since knowing what it looked like wouldn't help him if he came across it. Still he thought about where he should get his mark.

"My back?" He tried uncertainly.

"You won't be able to cover it up then." Marco replied.

Ace shrugged, his Devil's Fruit kept his body temperature regulated so he was never cold or hot. "I'll be fine."

"What is it going to be of, yoi?"

He pursed his lips acting like he was thinking about it. The safest thing to do would be to get the Jolly Roger it was unmistakable and people wouldn't question it too much about him getting it. Ace wondered where Marco's was, but he couldn't ask incase it was extremely visible, and he assumed as the other was first mate it was. "The Jolly Roger."

"Oh? A lot of people just get the cross one these days, sticking with tradition?"

"Yeah." Not that I know what any of you really look like. Ace added mentally.

"I'll take you to get it done in the morning, yoi."

Ace blinked. "You do tattoos on the ship?"

The blur that was Marco seemed to move, he's shaking his head? "Only Pop's mark. If you want another tattoo you have to wait until we land, yoi."

That made sense, in a way.

Ace's eyes were starting to get heavy. "I'm going to go back to my room."

"Sure."

He hurried as fast as he could trying to keep himself awake without right running back to his room. Wondering why he was having another sleep attack in the same day, it was rare for it to happen in quick succession like that, and he had only been awake for thirty minutes tops.

Ace barely made it to his bed before he collapsed against it. Tomorrow, whether he would regret it or not he was going to be permanently marked as a Whitebeard Pirate, and he might even have a new family to go along with it. For once he fell asleep excited for tomorrow to come.

We're at the bottom! Please leave your thoughts below!

AS A REMINDER TO MY READERS:

1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please.

2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace.

3.) I am going to update this irregularly

I think this is my shortest chapter yet, though its quiet long any way. *shrug* It felt right to end it where I ended it and I have a nice place to pick it up next chapter, so its a win win. As per usual tell me if there are any major errors!

Okay for this chapters chat session it'll be short, but here we go.

1.) I forgot to mention it last chapter, but Haruta is either agender or non-binary, and will be using gender neutral pronouns, and Ace will to for the time being since he can't actually tell so it works out in the end.

2.)As I said at the start, wow thank you for the support this is great!

3.) Guest reviewer thank you for your review, and I'm glad you found something amusing! Would you mind sharing what it is?

4.) Forshadowing! Nightmares! Doubts! Plot!

5.) Ace is a skittish child in this chapter but he does have a reason, and I think I explained it well, and not to give to much away, but he's probably still really freaked out about the almost drowning and the nightmare, so theres why.

See you next time! Later! ~IF