I know a few of you have been waiting for this chapter, so... here you go! Also, it might get a little confusing and you'll be like "B-but he was just... What? Why are they suddenly... Argh! This makes no sense!" but it has to do with what happened last time they saw each other and... that's I'll I'll say.

Disclaimer: I'm going to go waste my new copic ink! :D As always, only the words are mine. (Just resisted the urge to put 'yoi' at the end, don't know why...)

Apparently the place Ace liked before the accident was a dingy, easy-to-overlook roadside bar. The place hadn't been updated in what seemed like centuries—an exaggeration, of course—with the tables and bar made of old wood, stained and chipped from careless use. The aroma surrounding the place held a unique twist of woodchips, beer and pine. As strange as it was, he found it kind of comforting.

Breaking away from its 18th century appearance were proper lights. They clashed with the dated atmosphere, though. Perhaps they shouldn't have upgraded from lanterns, Ace mused. All joking aside, it had an interesting feel to it. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not but, for the time, he would go along with it.

It was still early in the evening so, naturally, the place was all but deserted. Judging by the sign on the door, the bar just opened about ten minutes before they arrived, so no one showed up yet—except for one individual sitting at the bar, drinking what appeared to be nothing more than water. The youth raised an eyebrow at that but quickly shrugged it off and ignored his presence.

That was until Marco gestured him nearer to the man, at least.

Giving his friend a suspicious look, Ace complied, stepping nearer. As he did, he got a closer look. Clad in a navy coat and black pants, the man's blonde hair stood out. He was hunched over the bar in an almost bored fashion, unmoving except for his fingers smoothing over the glass of his drink. There was something about him that seemed… unsettling.

Veering from Marco's silent orders, Ace took the seat two places away from the man. He wasn't willing to get any closer. As he pulled his gaze away from the stranger, he saw that the bartender was giving him a curious look. If his analysis and experience with that expression meant anything, the man knew him. He recognized him. And after going over that same explanation of his amnesia to so many people, he wished to forego it just that once. He'd play along.

"Your usual?" the man questioned, a gentle smile on his face. He turned away, as though expecting compliance, already preparing whatever it was Ace usually bought from there.

Looking to Marco for guidance, he deadpanned when he was met with a shrug. Well, might as well go with it. "Yeah," he replied, just loud enough to be heard but still subtle enough to hide the awkwardness in his voice.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde stranger glance at him. Maybe he recognized his voice. They knew each other, apparently, because he was certain that was the guy Marco wanted him to meet. The vibe he gave off didn't seem 'friendly' though. Why did Marco bring him there, exactly? Because he was pretty sure that guy didn't like him—at all.

"It's been a while," the barkeep declared after stepping out of the kitchen, uncorking the bottle he held in his hand.

"We've been busy yoi," Marco stated, saving Ace from having to react to that. He was thankful because he really didn't know what to say. He didn't know the guy—anymore. "Ace just got out of the hospital last week."

The man raised an eyebrow and looked curiously to the pineapple-headed blonde but didn't question him. After a moment of glancing between the pair, he nodded and grabbed some glasses for them, placing them lightly on the bar top. The alcohol poured from the lip of the bottle into the glasses, swishing about before settling at the bottom.

Ace stared into the darkly-coloured liquid, watching his reflection. He hadn't drank anything alcoholic since he woke up and he was certain he wasn't supposed to because of his injuries, but Marco would stop him if he drank too much, he was certain. That was just the way he was. He looked out for Ace and the heir couldn't be more grateful.

"Well?" Marco began, halting Ace as he held the glass up to his lips.

The freckled youth glanced at his friend, quickly realizing he was looking past him to the stranger two seats away.

"What?" the stranger questioned before taking another sip of his water.

At the sound of the voice, Ace instinctively faced the man. Something in his tone was… nostalgic. Not in a good way, though. With it, it brought a bottomless dread to coil in the pit of his stomach. He didn't let it show on his face, though, and blinked curiously at him instead.

"You going to greet us yoi?"

The stranger snorted. "Why should I? As far as I'm concerned, you're strangers."

"That makes things easier for me, then," Ace declared unwittingly, only realizing he said that out loud when both blondes' eyes fell on him. He could feel their stares but decidedly ignored one in favour of the other. "Let's just eat, Marco. I'm starving," he whined, stretching his arms out on the bar and plopping his head down against the wood.

"Yeah, yeah," his friend sounded. From the tone of his voice, Ace just knew he rolled his eyes. "But that's not why we're here yoi."

"I don't care. You brought up food so I'm eating. Blame yourself," he ordered, his voice childish as he tried to remove his thoughts from his contracting stomach.

Marco sighed before everything fell quiet. The bartender was in the kitchen again, leaving the three of them alone. The air between them was stifling and, for a moment, Ace thought it was going to drag on forever. He raised his head and picked up his glass, swirling the liquid inside as he debated drinking it. He didn't really feel like it, though.

"Notice anything different yoi?" his friend asked, directing the question at the stranger.

Ace knew what he was referring to immediately. After everyone's reactions to his behaviour since his release, he knew he'd changed from before the accident. Marco was going to tell the man about his amnesia. Why? He didn't know. They knew him, obviously, but they weren't on good terms. Why bother?

"What? That Ace hasn't downed a bottle of liquor yet or that you're trying to start a conversation with me?"

"Let's not," Ace said with a sigh. He didn't want to deal with another shocked reaction. Was one night away from the questions and the staring too much to ask?

The blonde looked at Ace momentarily then shut his eyes. "Alright," he agreed.

That one word brightened Ace's mood. Knowing that Marco was respecting his wishes felt great. Still, he couldn't stand the stranger's attitude—lacing his words with sarcasm. So he turned to him and sent him a dull glare. "I really don't like you."

The stranger turned to him and for the first time he got a good look at his face. His eyes were round but that didn't make them any less piercing. His pale skin just made his dark irises stand out more.

"We established that long ago, Ace."

"That so?"

The stranger narrowed his eyes at that, likely suspecting something. Maybe he would realize he lost his memories. In that case, was there any point in trying to avoid explaining? Probably not, so Ace decided to forget his earlier statement to his friend. He was going to have say it eventually, right?

The heir turned to Marco with a sigh. He might as well get it over with. "What's his name?"

Marco looked at him with amusement, "Sabo."

Ace nodded then spun around to face the newly-identified water drinker. He knew the pineapple beside him brought him there for a reason so picking a fight with the guy was probably a bad idea. "Let's start over. Sabo, right?"

The blonde was eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you trying to pull?"

"It's called 'reconciliation'. Ever heard of it?"

Sabo scoffed at that.

Ignoring the blatant dislike the guy held for him, Ace smiled and stretched his hand out towards him. "I'm Ace."

Looking from his face to his hand, the blonde swatted the offending appendage away. "I know that."

Ace pouted. "What part of 'start over' do you not understand?"

"Ace," Marco warned.

The freckled youth looked over at him, face sagging into a frown. "Well what do you want me to do? He's not cooperating!"

With a sigh, Marco shared a look with the other blonde. From what Ace could tell, he'd confused Sabo. Well, that was expected. But, by the look of it, his temporary butler slash roommate was willing to explain. He had no idea what he'd do without him.

"Ace is an amnesiac," he stated simply as the bartender returned from the back.

The heir glanced at Sabo curiously and saw that, just like all the others, his face held that 'what did you say?' expression. He braced himself for the questions he knew would follow.

"Then—"

"No idea who you are," Ace bluntly confirmed, stirring his drink. "And before you ask: no, you don't look familiar; no, I don't have brain damage—not really, anyways; and I don't want to play the 'remember this?' game." He took his first sip of the drink, finding the flavour to his liking.

Instead of the emotional freak-out Ace had grown accustomed to, Sabo simply faced the bar, rested his elbows on its surface, and pondered. Even if he didn't give the youth the greatest impression, he was at least calmer than most.

After nothing but the sound of the bartender's footsteps to break through the dense silence, Sabo let out a shuddering breath. Ace glanced at him as he swept his hands over his face in exhaustion. "You idiot," he said from behind his hands. His voice that time held no spite, no sarcasm. It sounded… upset—sincere. Just what kind of relationship did they have?

Sabo turned to Ace, his face holding a pathetic excuse for a smile, before he turned away and closed his eyes, fingering his cup. "After everything you've done," he began, tapping absently on the stained wood, "even now, I can't bring myself to hate you." He chuckled dryly. "Hopeless, aren't I?"

Ace blinked, confused, then softened his features. The strange blonde who seemed to despise him so much was… upset. Even after their short exchange just moments ago, he still felt bad knowing that Ace had amnesia, which in turn made the youth feel bad for disliking him based on first impressions. And beyond the initially sad expression Sabo gave him there was something more, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"Nah, not hopeless," Ace started, catching the other's attention, "just extremely stupid," he teased. Catching the dull glare the other gave him, he couldn't help but laugh. That feeling from before—that dread—started to vanish. He could relax. "Look, for whatever I did… I'm sorry, alright? I don't remember what it was, but…"

Sabo's glare turned into a smirk. "The great heir to Gold Roger's estate, Portgas D. Ace, is apologising? You must have hit your head pretty hard."

The freckled youth pulled his mouth into a taut line. "Why does everyone react like that?"

All three of them laughed. Talking to Sabo was starting to feel—dare he say—natural. He felt like he'd laughed like that with him often. Maybe he was wrong. Internally he took back what he said about not liking him. Maybe before the accident they were on bad terms. Were they friends still? Were they friends at all? He didn't know. He was willing to find out, though.

One thing was certain: he knew why Marco brought him there.

Marco watched Ace enter the car. He waited until he shut the door to turn to the other blonde. Sabo's face told him that he had a million questions floating around his skull that demanded answers, but he had to keep it short. If he took too long, Ace would grow impatient and would walk up to them to ask about the delay. Explaining everything to that boy could be exhausting from time to time.

"He's different," Sabo stated.

The older flashed a teasing grin. "Now you notice yoi?"

He turned away from the pineapple-blonde to instead face the car, looking through the window at the bored expression the freckled youth held. He let out a tired breath. "What's wrong with me?"

"Hm?"

Sabo's features softened as the heir sitting in the car began to doze off. "I can't forgive him. After what he did to Luffy, I just can't."

"But?" Marco urged. He knew there was more to it than that.

The other sighed. "Seeing him like this, I can't hate him, either." There was a pause. "He's just like he was back then, when we were kids."

"Before everything went to hell yoi?"

"…Yeah."

Marco looked from the car to the blonde, his grin widening. "He's staying at his parents' for the time."

"Wha—"

"You don't know because you haven't spoken in so long, but he renounced his father's name over a year ago. That's why we call him 'Portgas' now yoi."

Sabo narrowed his eyes. "What happened?"

The older shrugged; he didn't have time to explain. "He was staying with me, but now he's there. Feel free to stop by for a visit." He saw the other's eyes widen. "Don't give me that look—it's written all over your face yoi."

"You…"

Marco started walking away, towards the car, but gave the boy one last glance. "You're still his brother, right?" Not waiting for an answer, he entered the car and drove off.

Sabo watched them go, a faint smile on his face. Looking off into the distance, he whispered, "I suppose I am."

A/N: And the plot thickens! Kinda. Not really.

To my lovelies~

Mon Esprit Libre: You'll find out... eventually :P (I think I've written that sentence like 1,000 times since writing my first OP fanfic...)

Honeydee: Everyone's been guessing rape. Whatever gave you that idea *bats eyelashes innocently* A better question would be: why does Ace have Luffy's hat?

StrawberryGirlKairi: Perhaps, perhaps not. We shall see :D

siqwithaQ: Good, I was going for creepy ;) As a warning with the flashbacks, some of them will be vague and some may even seem contradictory at first, so keep an eye on that to keep from getting confused. And if you think anything is note-worthy (like the child-sized hat) it probably is. The descriptions Before!Ace and After!Ace use do have meaning and reason behind them (not just here, but later on in the fic as well) and they're not always quite as... obvious... as they seem. How often do I use red herrings? ...Do I really have to answer that? Please don't make me! If I give you the answer it might spoil things! I can tell you how often I use them in other stories... Divide: a lot. Skip: so-so. Imagined Life: a lot. Flame and Phoenix: few, if any. Reverse: rarely. Can't tell you for this story, though, because whether I say a lot or rarely, it'll... ah, what do I care? Quite a bit. Not as much as Divide, or Imagined Life but... it's on par with Skip. Yeah, but I'm happy with whatever reviews I get, and the one or two people who list their theories are enough for me :D Lol yeah, saying that out loud would be kind of... hard. I will not comment on what you said though for fear of spoilers :P As for the conflict between Before! and After!Ace, we shall see! :D

jam klaoo: Glad you like!

samettikettu: You'll find out as time goes on! I already have quite a few chapters written out that have flashbacks so you'll get more hints soon!

MysteriousEyez: If you want theories, just look at the reviews :D People are giving the plot quite a bit of thought, which makes me happy :) N-no! Whatever gave you that idea?! I've only ever been nice to the char-pfft. Can't say it with a straight face :P

TheAnalei: Do that. Honestly, he's the least confusing character in the fic, and the most straight-forward. Lol glad you like him! I've been messing around with different ways to write him in each of my fics and it's probably most enjoyable in this one. Don't worry, the future chapters have hints to that :D I will~

mrsfirefist: Awe thanks! ^^

yukiko hyuga-chan: Here!

ssspooky: We shall see :P

Diclonious57: :)

Guest: Yes, yes he was. I can't wait to write more flashbacks of him from before the accident muahaha! Well it's BL but everything's going to be implied - nothing explicit. I want to keep the rating T.

azab: Yes, yes he was.

Kitsune Foxfire: Yep, I'm surprised no one asked about it. That bit was fun to write because it was the first chance I had to write him from before the accident.

spoons-are-evil: Doesn't he?! Interesting comparison ;) Ace was very... interesting back then. That's all I'll say :P You're theory is pretty unique - first person to mention one like it. Let's see how long it lasts :D Yup, that was a memory! Or a fragment of a memory! And actually I've already written out the rest of that memory in a future chapter, so you'll get to see it soon ^^ Wow, sounds like it hurts... feel better!

(And now I'm going to draw pretty pictures. Like a 3-year-old. Because I'm cool like that. *whispers* Not because I'm having issues writing Imagined Life or anything. Please review, be it ranting, pondering, or otherwise! :D Adieu~)