Hello!~ This is my half of a drabble trade with paox on Tumblr, I was given the choice of angst and a cute little drunk starter, but of course the allure of the angst was too much and welp…

The sentence starter is "You mean so much to me. Please let me help." I changed the me to us, because MAS reasons.

Enjoy!~

"You mean so much to us. Please let us help." the words resonated within Ace's mind as he glared at everything and yet nothing in particular.

The snow was finally beginning to fall from above. The sweet icy kisses landing on Ace's previously warm cheeks and bared arms as he sat on the steps of the apartment complex. The warmth Ace was famous for began to fade little by little as he continued his stay outdoors, and after a few minutes the lowering temperature began to seep into every single one of his pores until his bones felt as nothing more than chunks of ice.

Ace was used to the cold now, he was used to the cruel world he had been born into. Or so he told himself.

A sighed created a small puff of smoke in front of Ace as he tried to think of something, anything else, but those words continued to plague Ace. And those alluring and honest blue eyes continued to haunt him, even as he shut his eyes trying to escape them.

Honestly, how dare they? Ace thought bitterly. Who even asked you to care?! Both of you!

Their kindness, did Ace really deserve that? What exactly had he done to make either of them care? If anything he had done his absolute best to drive them away, until he realized it was futile.

Who could ever care about scum like him anyway? He was a nobody, he amounted to nothing. He was just a waste of space that should have never been born.

"Why would you say such a terrible thing, yoi?" Marco's voice asked him softly.

"Why can't you see how special you are, Ace?" Sabo's whisper followed.

"But I'm not!" Ace yelled into the emptiness of the deserted street, "I'm telling you the truth...I am…"

"You're Ace." Sabo finished his sentence, "And you are our beloved." Marco added, his voice filled with so much conviction and warmth.

Ace wanted to believe him, he wanted to believe Marco and Sabo when they said that they loved him, and when they swore that they cared about him, but he just couldn't.

Ace had never thought he would be cared for, not after his mother had passed, and certainly not after his time with Teach.

What he did to you was wrong. Marco's soft voice was like a warm caress on his cold cheek, What he made you believe is beyond evil, Ace. Let us help you. You mean so much to us. Please let us help.

Ace had responded in the only way he could, with anger. He didn't know how else to react. All of this was new to him, these things called affectionate feelings. He was regretting that now, the way that he had yelled at both Marco and Sabo, telling them that he didn't need any help, that he wasn't worth the trouble. And then he went on to accuse them of treating him like a pet project that they were planning to fix because they thought he was broken or something.

Hurt had flashed in both of their eyes. Ace hated to think about that, he loathed to know that he was the cause of the sadness in those blue eyes. And that was why he was outside now, freezing himself and his anger because he could never forgive himself if he had continued to hurt them.

Deep in his heart Ace knew that they wanted to help him come to terms with himself, and to see his self worth/ But years upon years of having believed otherwise were not so easily erased.

Ace didn't know how long he sat outside. When he finally trudged back into the apartment and knocked on the door to the apartment he shared with his two lovers, there was a trail of puddles that lead up to where he stood.

Sabo opened the door, and immediately Ace was enveloped in warm arms as he was lead inside, Marco quickly joining them as he wrapped Ace in a large towel and blanket.

"I...want to learn." Ace whispered his eyes finally looking up to where Sabo and Marco hovered next to them.

He was met with inquisitive eyes from both of his boyfriends, only then a tentative smile blossom on Ace's lips as he voiced the resolution he had come to on his time in the cold. "I want to learn how to love you both...and myself.

Paox also did a cute af little drabble for her half of the trade, I promise you it is hilarious! A drunk Ace and Sab have quite a conversation with Marco, if you are interested in reading it, you can find her work here ^^: bit dot] ly/2uDX14h *just you know, replace dot] with an .*

Till next time!~