Marco hit the deck with his back, his breath rushed out of him. He lifted his feet, and then jolted himself into a standing position. "Very good Ace-san! But you need to widen your stance. No not that wide. Shoulder width." Jinbei instructed. Ace changed his position and turned towards Marco again. Ace did the Shoulder Current Throw again. It was more powerful this time, and Marco had to dodge.

Jozu, who had been walking by, didn't have that chance, only instinct had his body turning to diamond, saving him from severe injury. Still he had to step back a few steps. There was silence, and Ace got nervous. "What happened?" he asked. He reached out with his senses. He could feel Lu practicing Fishman Karate to his left. He was having trouble with the Water Fist Technique. He kept stretching his fist so Jimbei was working with him on it, but the fishman had stopped moving. Marco was standing at where he'd dodged to, and Ace could feel the presence of someone he didn't know.

Marco was at his side in an instant, "Nothing. You just hit Jozu with your Current Throw. He's fine. He can turn into diamond, so he's not hurt." Marco said, brushing a hand out and brushing Ace's cheek. Ace leaned into the palm, and let out the breath he'd been holding since Marco had first mentioned that he'd hit a bystander.

He brushed Marco's hand with his own, before he started walking over to Jozu in order to apologize, only for Luffy's fist to come out of nowhere, and hit him between the shoulder blades. He went flying forward with a cry. His body hit another's, and he recognized it as the bystander, Jozu. In the time that it took them to fly over the railing he also realized that the body he hit wasn't hard like diamond, then they hit the water.

Ace felt Jozu instantly sink, and he swam down after him. He grabbed Jozu by whatever he could catch, in this case the back of the man's armor, and then swam up. It didn't take him long because he was a strong swimmer, but it still took long enough for him to worry about the devil fruit user. He broke the surface, and Jozu gasped a breath. Ace kept them afloat with one arm, and swam back towards the Moby Dick.

Ace suddenly felt Thatch diving off of the ship towards them. So he wasn't surprised when he heard a splash, and felt water hit his face. The cook surfaced next to him, and grabbed the other side of Jozu, "Come on Ace. Follow me. I'll lead the way to the raising platform." Thatch said. Ace hummed in agreement, and followed.

Together they lifted the large man onto the wooden platform, and climbed on themselves before the plank was lifted, and they got back on deck.

Ace hadn't even gotten both feet on the deck before Marco was pulling him into an embrace, and then lifting his shirt to see if Luffy's hit had hurt Ace. "That's going to bruise." He said. That was about the time that Ace found himself with an armful of crying Luffy.

"Shh Luffy. It's okay. No one was hurt. You just have to be a bit more careful. But I shouldn't have walked into your training path without letting you know that I was there. So don't cry anymore. Look, we'll go apologize together." Ace said, and set Luffy down. They walked hand in hand over to Jozu, and bowed low, "We are terribly sorry that we hit you while training, and accidently endangered your life Jozu-san." Ace said.

Luffy sniffled and nodded, showing that he was sorry too. Jozu just patted them on the head and said okay, before walking away. Ace could hear that Luffy was still sniffling so he kissed him on the top of his head. Luffy turned and moved into Ace's arms, holding on tightly. Marco watched it, and the sweetness of the scene made him smile.

Ace felt Marco watching them, so he held out a hand, and invited the man into their family moment. Marco felt humbled. He took Ace's hand, and was pulled into the hug. He wrapped his arms around both Ace and Luffy. Ace nuzzled Marco's shoulder as he felt calm wash over him. Luffy wrapped an arm around Marco as well, his tears stopping. He smiled to himself. Ace was happy. All Luffy had ever wanted for his brother was for him to be happy and to feel as though he had a reason to live. Luffy had a feeling that Marco could give him that better than Luffy ever could. "Ace?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah Lu?" Ace asked. He wondered what Luffy could possibly have a question about when they were having a family hug.

"I approve of the flaming blue chicken." Luffy said with a giggle.

Ace felt his face heat up, and he buried it in Marco's chest. Luffy giggled as he saw that, and full out laughed when he saw that Marco was blushing too. Marco cleared his throat, "Thanks Luffy, but why do you call me a flaming blue chicken?" he asked.

"Because I saw you turn into a chicken the first night we were here. And the chicken was blue, and on fire. At first I thought it was being cooked and I got hungry, then I realized that it was just you being a blue flaming chicken. Ahahaha. You ate a Chicken fruit!" Luffy laughed.

Marco could feel Ace chuckling against him, his body shaking with mirth. "I'm a Phoenix, not a chicken." He grumbled. He wasn't going to touch the fact that Luffy had thought he was food. That was just wrong.

Suddenly Luffy wiggled his way out of the hug, leaving only Ace and Marco embracing each other. "I'm gonna go play with Haruta!" he shouted and ran off giggling. Marco watched him go, and felt very confused.

He looked down at Ace who had his head still buried in Marco's chest. The teen was nuzzling his cheek against Marco's bare skin, and it felt wonderful. "Ace." Marco said, his voice low. Ace lifted his head, his expression quizzical. "I've been accepted." Marco said referring to Luffy's earlier comment.

Ace was confused for a second and then he grinned, "Yes you were. Why don't you take advantage of the fact?" he asked.

Marco smiled, "I'd love to." He said, and he leaned down, letting their lips meet. Marco brushed his lips softly against Ace's. The friction driving them both mad.

Ace opened his mouth to tell Marco to quit teasing him, and Marco took advantage. He sealed their lips together, and swept his tongue into Ace's mouth. Ace moaned. Marco tasted just as he smelled, and Ace couldn't tell which was better. He pressed in, trying to get closer to Marco, their bodies lining up flush. Marco's hands slid down to grip Ace's hips as he kissed him. Ace was inexperienced, but it was still the best kiss Marco had ever had. He felt his heart overflow with emotion, and he closed his eyes so that tears didn't spill over as well. He was happy, so happy. He didn't feel lonely anymore.