Sunshine Punks Secret Santa 2017

Sabo had parents sure, but he never once had their attention. From the minute he was born, Sabo was handed over to a nanny who raised him until his father decided she was not being a good influence because she filled his imagination with far away adventures. After his nanny was fired, he got a governess who was more to his parent’s likings, one who schooled him in not only the basic subjects but also focused alot on business material. Sabo was five, there was only so much his brain could grasp.

Pretty soon Sabo was enrolled into private school and learned that just like his parents, those kids didn’t really care about making any connections other than business ones. If Sabo wasn’t in the market for trading information about companies and setting up partnership deals, then the children cared not to get to know him.

Sabo was beginning to think that friends were a myth until one fateful day that he was walking alongside a sidewalk on his way home. Sabo had been able to talk his father into letting him walk to and from school, so that he could assess the advertisements and see what the general public liked, it was a blatant lie that apparently worked and got him another few minutes of freedom from the stifling walls that were his home.

Sabo was walking slowly, trying to make the walk last as much as possible when all of a sudden, a freezing slushy mass slapped him across the face. Sabo’s feet stopped moving and he stood in the middle of the street stunned and wide eyed as the melting snow slid off of his warm cheek and onto his shoulder as laughter reached his ear.

Sabo’s large eyes looked over to the boy who was laughing at him, eyes closed and laughter creating small puffs of air around his mouth while other kids around him looked on unsure of how to react, some smiling tentatively, and a few looking worried. By all rights Sabo should be mad, seething even. He was just attacked by this kid with a ball of snow.

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true oh

All I want for Christmas is you

“Whats'a matter kid? Ain’t ever been hit with a snowball before?” the freckled boy asked after he stopped laughing and dusted off Sabo’s sodden shoulder.

Sabo had two choices in that moment, to be an utter embarrassment and tell the other kid that no he had never engaged in one of these fabled snowball fights, or lie through his teeth and give some half assed excuse of why he had been caught off guard. Sabo didn’t know why, but he didn’t like the idea of coming off as a fool to the boy and his friends, so he puffed out his chest and lied his ass off.

“I just wasn’t expecting to get ambushed is all… got room for one more?” Sabo asked the boy and looked past him to the group that was waiting for him to return.

The boy immediately brightened, “Hell yeah we do, what’s your name anyway kid? Mine’s Ace and that’s Marco, Thatch, Izo, Luffy, Nami, Law, Zoro, Sanji, and Koala.”

Sabo was not in the least overwhelmed with the names as he let a smile come to his lips easily enough, and waved only slightly awkwardly in their direction, “Hello, my name is Sabo, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

The kid with the large hair laughed, “Look at that Marco he talks just like you!”

The aforementioned child, Marco, looked over to the laughing redhead and sighed, “No he does not, yoi.”

“Well I guess not exactly with that tic of yours bird brain, but close enough.”

Next to Sabo Ace laughed again, “Don’t worry they do this all the time, c'mon you’re on my team.”

I don’t want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need, and I

Don’t care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

Sabo had stayed out that day until the sun set and when he returned home, he was scolded and consequently punished, there would be no sleigh ride for him that year. Sabo was disappointed and yet at the same time, he was not. Sabo had learned that even someone like him, who had never had friends, could have them. And that someone like Ace, was capable of wanting Sabo as a friend.

All Sabo wanted that Christmas was to have friends, primarily the one that made it happen, Ace.

I don’t need to hang my stocking

There upon the fireplace

Santa Claus won’t make me happy

With a toy on Christmas day

Sabo didn’t see those kids again the next day, or even when winter break released him from his classes. Sabo walked home and retraced his steps in order to possibly bump into one or two of the children from the group. But nothing of the sort happened and he had to trudge home in disappointment.

Christmas came and went and Saint Nick didn’t give him what he had wished for.

Sabo didn’t see Ace and his friends again the following week either, nor on new years; and pretty soon the year began to pass without a single sighting of them.

And yet, each year Sabo passed by the same street with that same hope, that Ace and his friends would be there throwing snowballs again. Sabo even refused going along with his parents to their island resort in order to wait by that street.

It was the first Christmas Sabo spent without them, it wasn’t like they were always present during it, but at least they were home.

And again Santa let Sabo down, there were no children waiting for him to play with. No friends to be given to him.

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you

This became a cycle pretty soon, Sabo knew that he should let it go and move on. But… he couldn’t.

That year soon evolved into a second, and then a third, and Sabo began to forget the many faces that he had committed to memory when he was ten. And by the time he was seventeen, he had all but forgotten how they looked like. He had also forgotten their names.

Sabo had more or less convinced himself that it was a dream his younger self had had and moved on into the corporate world that his father had wanted for him.

Sabo graduated at the top of his class and with a year to spare, he was out a few months after his seventeenth birthday and on his way to his interview to his very first internship.

The meeting went spectacular, and Sabo was sure he had locked in the position without really needing to try. His parents would be pleased to know that, but Sabo… he didn’t really feel as if he had accomplished anything. Sure he was educated and knew the ins and outs of the business world and trade, but was he really happy?

Sabo had stayed up countless nights wondering this very thing, just as he did now as he sat on a park bench, watching small children run along the grass, large smiles on their faces.

“Hey watch out!”

Sabo heard the cry right before something very solid and fast hit the back of his head. Sabo’s head whipped forward and he clutched at the sore spot just in time to tune back in to the repeated apologies of the person above him.

“–rry, I didn't–fuck, the ball–are you okay? Fuck that’s a stupid question, how many fingers am I holding up?”

Sabo’s glare became stunned shock as he looked up to the guy above him, his wide green eyes meeting the other’s concerned gray ones.

“Whats'a matter, are you not able to count?” A panic rose within the other and he looked over Sabo and called out for help, “Marco, he can’t count!”

I won’t ask for much this Christmas

I won’t even wish for snow, and I

I just wanna keep on waiting

Underneath the mistletoe

Pretty soon Sabo found himself surrounded by a group of teens, one of them pressing a cold pack against his head and shining a beam into his eyes until his surprise wore off and he was able to push away the overbearing hands.

“I’m fine, please.” Sabo began and sighed, “Thanks for the cold pack, and yes I can count.” he said shooting a glance over to the guilty looking one with a frown, “I was just… taken off guard.”

The guy at the very least had the decency to look sheepish and bowed low, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you, the ball slipped and it flew over here and–”

“And, if you need to see a doctor, we can take care of all the medical fees, yoi.” the one who had given Sabo the cold pack interrupted and Sabo shook his head, only wincing slightly with the action.

“Na I’ll be okay, tender for a day or so, but fine… thank you for the offer though. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Sabo made to stand and was surprised when someone blocked his path.

“Hey, before you go at least let me make up for this by treating you to lunch or something?” and there was that smile again, so bright Sabo didn’t doubt it could eclipse the sun.

“Uh–sure?” despite his words, Sabo didn’t feel too sure about accepting this strangers invitation, but that combination of his, the smile, eyes, and freckles; there was something there that Sabo was supposed to recognize.

“Awesome! Let’s go now, I’ll see you at home Marc, tell Lu I’ll be help him with his homework later.” and with that he turned to Sabo and turned his world upside down. “My name’s Ace, and yours?”

I won’t make a list and send it

To the North Pole for Saint Nick

I won’t even stay awake

To hear those magic reindeer click

Sabo hadn’t jumped down Ace’s throat the moment he realized that this Ace was the same Ace of his childhood and demanded to ask why Ace hadn’t searched for him as Sabo had, because that would have been childish. Sabo had remained silent about the coincidence and wondered if Ace remembered their previous meeting.

Just as their meal was ending, Ace confirmed Sabo’s ponderings on that though. “I… I’m sorry if I’m just assuming here, but are you the same Sabo who once had a snowball fight with a bunch of kids?”

Sabo nodded, eyebrows knitting as he wondered where exactly Ace would take that conversation.

The freckled boy smiled, “I thought so, I remembered your eyes. We were starting to think you weren’t real because we never saw you again, we tried to go back, but some of the cops kept running us away, something about ’stinkin’ slum kids’.” Ace chuckled, “Anyway, we’re sorry we never got to hang out again, it was fun that day and you guys really did have some great snowball throwing snow.”

“I’d like that too.” Sabo blurted and then reddened as he reeled back his enthusiasm. “I mean, I would like that… to hang out with you more if you want?”

Ace’s bright smile came back and Sabo’s redness deepened. “Of course I would, here I’ll give you my number.”

And just like that, they fell into friendship and somewhere along the way, it became more than that and deeper feelings were shared.

‘Cause I just want you here tonight

Holding on to me so tight

What more can I do

Oh, Baby all I want for Christmas is you

And it was in that year that they shared their first Christmas together. Sabo for once didn’t spend it at home and alone, but surrounded by Ace’s abundant family as they laughed and enjoyed their evening. Some of them already getting so drunk they couldn’t walk properly.

It was a nice change as opposed to what he was used to, but Sabo welcomed it.

The liveliness of the household was so overwhelming that Sabo couldn’t help but let himself be carried along with it. Sabo joined in on the singing and merriment. And in that moment Sabo could truly appreciate what it meant to be in a family.

It turned out that Ace was part of a group of fostered and then adopted kids, along with his many brothers and sisters. Sabo hadn’t even known such a thing was real, but was happy for all of his new friends that it indeed was true for them and they had found their home, no their family right then and there.

All the lights are shining

So brightly everywhere

And the sound of children’s

Laughter fills the air

Over time the situation at home began to get more and more complicated, Sabo hadn’t necessarily told his parents about Ace and the activities that he was involved in because he knew that his father would never approve. They questioned where he was spending his time, and Sabo made up excuses about the internship demanding more work of him than it actually did.

It wasn’t until the next christmas eve was just around the corner when his father confronted Sabo about it and told him that he had had a talk with Sabo’s employer who denied that Sabo was running extra errands for him as Sabo had stated.

And everyone is singing

I hear those sleigh bells ringing

Santa won’t you bring me

The one I really need

Won’t you please bring my baby to me quickly

So Sabo came clean about what he was doing, and the new world that he had stumbled into, and he was loving.

His father was furious. Even went as far as to forbid Sabo from engaging in his newfound “activities” telling him that he had a legacy to uphold, an obligation. And that such people would not be permitted into his son’s life.

Sabo had been furious and defended his position.

To which his father gave him an ultimatum. His house, his rules; if Sabo could not abide by his father’s wishes, then he was not allowed in his father’s house.

Sabo was numb after that, the choice was clear. But it still weighed on him.

I don’t want a lot for Christmas

This is all I’m asking for

I just wanna see my baby

Standing right outside my door

Sabo was disowned that Christmas eve and standing in the cold at the gate of Whitebeards house, his numb hands holding onto the one bag he was able to pack, or was he?

“Sabo?” the voice asked softly and Sabo turned to look at Ace who was looking on in curiosity and then in concern as he reached over to Sabo’s pale cheeks, wiping away at the wetness he hadn’t even known he had.

“What’s wrong? And what’s with the bag?” Ace asked as he scooped it up. “Not running away on Christmas are you?” Ace asked and Sabo appreciated his attempt to lighten up the mood but his smile fell before it could fully form.

“Can’t really run away when you don’t have a home to run from, you know?”

Ace’s concern only deepened as he put two and two together, “Fuck, oh shit. I’m sorry Bo… I didn’t mean to, but why are you standing out here in the snow, do you want to catch a cold? C'mon let’s get you into something warm and I heard Thatch was making his famous hot chocolate, I’ll get you extra marshmallows if you want.”

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

Baby all I want for Christmas is you

Sabo didn’t protest to being moved from his spot, nor being shoved into a bathroom to catch a warm bath and the clothes that were given to him were a little too large, but they were warm and comfortable and they smelled like Ace.

Ace then lead Sabo down to his room and sat him on the bed where he enveloped Sabo in a hug. They didn’t speak for hours it seemed until Sabo glanced at the clock and noticed that it was no longer the same day, but Christmas day.

“Merry Christmas, Acey. I hope you get what you wanted this year.”

Ace hummed in thought and a soft kiss was pressed to Sabo’s cheek. “All I want for Christmas is you, Sabo*.”

And I hope you like it ^^;I’m sorry I couldn’t MAS T^T the trio eluded this particular song and setting, but now that Sabo lived with the Whitebeards it could happen right? ;3c

The only Lyric here changed was Baby to Sabo for Ace’s last spoken line ^^

“If you were here then surely I would be able to see you!” he called, “So if you are, then where are your hands, your eyes, your heart?”

There was silence, suddenly, only sparks crackling as they flew towards the sky, and then so softly that Marco barely heard, “Nowhere.”

He paused, then carefully asked, “Nowhere?”

“Can’t find- can’t see-” the forest fire before him faltered, dropping down till it was only just past the height of the trees it was slowly devouring, and a plaintive howl filled the air, long and echoing though there was almost nothing left for it to echo against. “Where are you?”

“Adaline, forgive me for this,” he mumbled, eyes narrowed at the wavering flames, and he took her reins in a hard grip and urged her towards the fire. She shied away from the heat, but Marco had already begun to cast one of the spells he knew from heart, redirecting the fire and its heat from the both of them. “Here, fireling,” he called as they stepped into the inferno.

The fire seemed to bend down to look at him, arching in a gleaming globe above his head and blotting out the last of the smoky sky. “But how are you so- small?”

“Were you not, before?”

“Always!” said the flames, and even through his spell Marco could feel how the heat jumped. The fire lost form, flames licking for the ground beneath them, and Marco’s heart caught in his throat as he struggled to keep the spell going and Adaline under control. “Always, so small, burning out and out and out!”

“You would not burn out simply from staying small,” he said, turning Adaline to try and keep her to stay, but all that happened was a spinning circle of gold seemed to follow him, till Marco was almost dizzy with the everchanging fire. “And if you’re under control-”

“I will not be controlled,” hissed the fire, the words coming from all around him, and then the fire was growing louder and louder until the boom of its words echoed. “I WILL NOT BE PUT BACK.”

Marco clasped his hands over his ears with a gasp, trying to stop the terrible noise from ringing through his head, but it was too late; his spell shattered, heat rushing over them instantly. It was only the sigils sown into his clothing and Adaline’s saddle that kept them from being burnt to a crisp, but the warmth still pressed against his skin, hotter and hotter till Marco was sure the sigils themselves would catch alight. Adaline, finally sensing that the grip on her reins had faltered, reared with a whinny. Too stunned by his magic breaking, Marco could do little but feel himself fall.

Hitting the ground drove the breath from his lungs, head spinning from the steadily growing heat, and he barely had the strength to send a spell after Adaline to make sure that neither of them would be used to feed these flames. “So small, so small,” crooned the fire, and Marco panted as he tried to push back the fire bearing down on him. One touch would burn him far more badly than anything he’d ever felt, and if his concentration broke again, Marco wasn’t sure he could reclaim it fast enough.

That all mattered little, however. It seemed inevitable that his concentration would break, and he had no idea what could defeat a sprite of this magnitude. What spell could he use to stop a fire sprite so big that it’d made Marco’s magic falter?

“I’m not small,” he said, heaving in desperate breaths of the burning air. “If you just came to my size-”

“Can’t make me, can’t put me back, can’t make me go back, can’t keep me there again-“

“I’m not going to put you anywhere!” he cried, his shield shrinking again as fire pressed against it, and his hands began to shake from the strain. All he could see were the flames pressing against his magic, crackling and sparking like electricity. How could it just keep attacking him? Surely it would run out of power. Surely it hadn’t devoured enough to keep it burning so large and for so long. Surely-

His shield flickered, heat pouring over him and chapping his lips to the point where when they parted the skin cracked and bled, and Marco screwed his eyes closed to stop himself from watching the fire creep nearer and nearer. Adaline had made it out, sprinting past the ring of fire, but Marco knew that unless a miracle occurred, he would not.

A boot dug into his side, driving the air from his body in one rush of surprise, and Marco’s shield finally died. Before the fire could rush over him, however, a body fell atop him.

“Hold still,” ordered a blond, his voice shaking as he pressed their foreheads together, and Marco’s eyes went wide at the burn that took up half his face. One sharp blue eye was wide in desperation, but the other was sealed shut by new burn scars, red and swollen. “Just hold still.”

“Did it-,” he croaked, his hand moving to the charred skin and the few wisps of hair that still clung to the right side of the man’s skull, “do this? Did the sprite do this?”

The blond glared at him. Coming from someone two inches from his nose, it was a remarkably scathing glare. “God, you’re thick. Can’t you listen to one instruction?”

“…Sorry?” he offered, and then wondered why he was apologising.

Then, he couldn’t help but wonder how he even had time to apologise. Shouldn’t the sprite have burnt them both to husks by now?

Marco tilted his head to peer around the blond’s body, his eyes going wide as he saw that the clearing had once again emptied of flames, only that same globe blotting out the sky. The fire directly behind the both of them, however, seemed to sway, and as Marco watched it took on a distinctly humanoid figure.

“Move, Sabo,” it ordered, slowly reaching out a long tendril that almost seemed like a hand, but the blond – Sabo? Marco wondered – merely hooked his arms below Marco’s shoulders, pressing his forehead into the crook of Marco’s neck. His frantic breaths washed over Marco’s throat, and Marco felt his own breath catch as the sprite touched Sabo’s back, trying to nudge him aside. However, Sabo’s grip only tightened even as his breath hitched.

“Stop it,” Sabo whispered, and Marco couldn’t ignore the sizzling noise that began to fill the air. The smell of burnt fabric hit his nose, but soon after Marco could only smell overcooked meat and his stomach churned. “Stop hurting people, Ace. I didn’t let you off that candle just for you to burn like this!”

“Never let me off at all-” the spirit began, and the tendril formed into a hand, pressing further against Sabo’s side to get him to move. Sabo’s arms tightened around Marco’s shoulders, his leg sliding under Marco’s to press them closer together.

“I didn’t know you were there!”

“So small, so small, forever- Choking on vanilla and sweetness!”

“Ace, I’m sorry!” Sabo cried, and Marco felt nails dig into the top of his shoulders. He grit his teeth, hands falling to Sabo’s waist.

“Let go,” he ordered, and Sabo looked up at him, eyes wide in surprise. Then, he glared.

“No.“ Sabo said, and then added, "Fuck you.”

Marco spluttered. "Fuck-?” he shook his head, trying to pry Sabo off him, but Sabo stubbornly clung to his shirt. “You can’t let him burn you to death just because he wants to get at me!”

“He’s not trying to hurt me!”

“Oh, he’s not?” Marco said, and Sabo only backed up the accusation in his tone by letting out a loud cry as the sprite tried to roll them both over. “If I can just cast a spell-”

“And you’re certainly not allowed to hurt him!”

“Well than what are we supposed to do?” Marco demanded, and Sabo gave a soft grunt.

“You can shut up and let me think?” he offered, tone snapping like ice shards, “Rather than jumping straight to self-sacrifice.”

“You’re the one who fell atop me!” Marco said, “I’d say that was closer to self-sacrifice than refusing to see you burn to death!”

“He won’t hurt me,” Sabo hissed, “and if you just gave me a minute to think-”

“Oh, you can do that?” Marco retorted, “I’d thought perhaps a fire sprite burning you would make such a thing difficult.”

“Fighting, fighting, so easy to fight…” crooned said sprite, and Marco’s eyes widened at the sight of the long tendril hovering just above his nose, “but you cannot fight inevitability.”

With a yelp, Marco hooked his leg around Sabo’s and rolled them away from the sprite’s questing touch, barely avoiding the sparks that flared before his eyes. Sabo let out a grunt as Marco landed on top of him, but his eyes went wide as soon as they’d stopped moving, caught on something behind them. He quickly rolled them again, and Marco watched as the fire parted around them like water around stone.

But Marco had seen just how easily water could wear away even the most durable stones, and he could spot the cracks in the tight lines around Sabo’s eyes.

“At least let me shield us,” he said, and Sabo bit his lip.

“…Don’t hurt him.”

“It doesn’t exactly have the same qualms,” Marco said, but nonetheless once Sabo freed his hands, he wrapped one around Sabo’s waist and used the other to press at the air around them, his blue shield flickering to life again and pushing the heat away. The sudden temperature drop was bliss against the sweat beading at his temples, and Marco felt Sabo slump against him. “What happened here?” he asked, trying not to jostle Sabo too badly, mindful of his burns, but Sabo took a deep breath and pushed himself off Marco’s chest, eyeing the fire that curved around the domed edge of Marco’s shield.

“I wasn’t- I didn’t realise Ace wouldn’t know what was right and what wasn’t. That after years of only having one thing to burn he wouldn’t realise that the world wasn’t like that.” Sabo cast Marco a pointed look, his lips pursed tightly. “He had been kept on this candle wick, for so long-”

“Didn’t you think there was a reason for that?” Marco mumbled, and Sabo growled low in his throat.

“Cruelty.”

Marco frowned, Sabo’s sharp, quick answer rankling. “If he was kept on a candle wick than maybe they knew he’d do this. Sometimes sprites – fire sprites, especially – have to be kept under control.”

“Had he been given the chance to learn how to stay under control rather than just kept prisoner for most of his life I’m sure such an argument would be valid!” Sabo snapped, vicious fury making his voice shake, and Marco reeled back, shocked by that sudden piece of information. “As it is, I’m afraid that when people keep you hostage and barely feed you, you learn to appreciate food. And as his food is in no short supply now, considering that fire sprites can eat anything flammable, it’s no wonder he lost control!”

“Since when?” Marco asked, voice dropping into a dangerous growl, and Sabo’s own rage seemed to subside, replaced by confusion.

“What?”

“Since when was he kept prisoner. On that- you said, candle wick?”

Sabo blinked slowly before his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. But just as long as I’ve been alive – maybe longer.”

“And those who kept him-?” Marco said, and Sabo’s lips quirked into a vicious, bitter smile.

“He already burnt them,” Sabo said, and the deep breath he took seemed to strengthen something in his eyes. “And he burnt them because they hurt me.”

“Polite of him, to protect his- saviour.”

“Had I saved him he wouldn’t be hurting now,” Sabo whispered, and Marco moved his hand from the small of Sabo’s back to pat him gently. Guilt rested heavy in the furrow of Sabo’s brow, and Marco instead turned to look at his shield, strengthened by his rage at the injustice committed against Ace. As a Paladin, his defensive magic was already strong, but when it was for the protection of another it was unbreakable. The fire swirling along the outside of the shield couldn’t even make it waver, and Marco’s eyes were drawn into the hypnotic patterns as flames curled around each other.

By the time it started, it was far too late for him to realise that they’d all begun to gather in one spot. “Sabo,” he said cautiously, his hand digging into the last remains of Sabo’s shirt, and Sabo shifted to look at him. “Is that- Ace?”

Sabo turned, and Marco watched as his eyes went wide. “No.”

An open mouth, paused as though screaming, feet that hovered a few inches above the ashen ground, and then the outstretched column of flame that slowly sucked the forest fire into the figure’s midst. Every burst made it fluctuate wildly before it settled, more features picked out in sharper clarity. The last of the fire made a soft whoomp of displaced air as it was drawn inside the sprite, and Marco watched as it landed on the barren ground beneath its feet. Fire sprung up around its feet as it walked closer to them, and Marco found his heart thumping in his throat as he watched those slow, inevitable steps towards where he and Sabo lay.

His shield would hold. It had to hold.

“Ace, don’t do this,” Sabo warned, his hands fastening even tighter around Marco’s shoulders, and Marco couldn’t deny how those nerves seemed to affect him too, making him swallow hard to get past his heart in his throat.

Ace raised his arm, the features at first indistinct, but then it began to solidify, gaining separate fingers, then the bend of a wrist and the crook of an elbow. It would have been fascinating to watch had that outstretched hand not begun to slowly turn blue, even brighter than Ace’s earlier flames, burning so hot that Marco could once again feel it through his shield. Ace’s palm met Marco’s shields, and for a moment, Marco was sure that his shield was going to hold out.

Then, Ace’s fingertips flared brighter, and the very tips poked through. The rest of his palm followed suit as the holes widened like melting butter before Ace’s touch, and though most of the shield still hung strong, Marco couldn’t do anything but watch as Ace’s hand headed for Sabo’s head. “No,” Marco whispered, frowning as he tried to close the hole, but there was little he could do but watch the fire’s steady descent. “Don’t do this.”

“I’m not going back.”

“You don’t have to,” Sabo said, pressing himself off Marco’s shoulders and even closer to the blue flames with little regard for what the heat would do to him. “Ace, I swear it. On my life, I swear it! You killed anyone who would’ve tried, and I would never imprison you.”

“Won’t go-” Ace started, and then grunted, his open palm shrinking like a burning life, fingers curled towards his hand. “Sabo, I don’t- I can’t go back. I can’t be- so small, so weak, again-”

“You won’t,” Sabo declared vehemently, and he took his hands from Marco’s shoulders to reach out for Ace. Soft sizzling met Marco’s ears, and Marco tilted his head back to see what’d caused it before giving a soft gasp of surprise. Ace’s shoulders were shaking, and small tendrils of steam rose from his face.

“Can’t say that, can’t be sure it’s true, can’t-”

“You are never, ever going to be hurt like that again, Ace, I promise. Were you ever to be that small again it would be of your own choosing. I would make sure of it.” Sabo stretched out his arms again, expression set with determination and longing, his body coiled tight, and it was only through Sabo’s thighs around his stomach that Marco could tell he was shaking. “Ace, please. I promise I’ll protect you, just like you protected me. I promise.”

Ace gave another sob, his shoulders hitching high, and the steam that rose from his face almost blocked out Marco’s view of him.

And then suddenly a young man stood in the place of the sprite, skin dark brown and freckled instead of gleaming fire red, and he was falling into Sabo’s open arms, burying his face into Sabo’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice cracking, and his nails dug into Sabo’s back with how hard he tried to pull them together. “I’m so, so sorry, Sabo. I’m so sorry.”

“We’re okay,” Sabo said, running his hand along the curve of Ace’s skull, his own head bowed, but Marco could see how his knuckles were white. Ace was pressing right against one of Sabo’s new wounds, and yet Sabo still refused to say a word. “Thank you.”

Ace pulled away, and Marco’s breath caught. For all that he had skin like a normal man, and the heat that came off him was no longer deadly, Ace’s eyes still looked like smoke and ash. “What are you thanking me for? I hurt you!”

“Not on purpose.”

“That doesn’t excuse it, Sabo,” Ace hissed, his cheeks turning white. “These scars-” Ace leaned even further back, biting his lip and letting his hand skim Sabo’s side, finally realising what he’d been touching while he and Sabo clung to each other. “Fuck, Sabo. I hurt you so bad.”

“And you won’t, ever again.”

“But what if I-!”

Sabo cast Ace a glare that had Ace’s mouth clicking closed, and Marco almost laughed, were it not for the fact that Ace had proven his shield useless, and that if Sabo’s glares could shut up someone so powerful, he didn’t want to see them turned on him. “You won’t.”

“If you do, you can also do a lot of begging, because he refused to even entertain the thought of hurting you while you burnt his back.” Marco said, his lips twisted into a frown. “I think he’ll forgive you for anything.”

“Not everything,” Sabo said, looking down at him, and a smile tugged at his cheeks. “For one thing, he knows not to touch my books. That will get him disowned.”

“How terrible,” Marco muttered. “Speaking of separations, however.” He pointedly looked to everywhere they were entangled, and Sabo rolled his eyes before lying back down, making himself comfortable on Marco’s chest. “Hey!” Marco said, and Sabo tilted his head slightly to glare.

“I am in no rush,” he declared. “And I just saved your life, so you can hold still as repayment, and let me rest. In case you couldn’t tell, these injuries are a little bit fucking painful, and I got them saving your stupid ass.”

“You are so very rude,” Marco said, shifting to try and shove Sabo off him, but Ace moving to gently run his hand over Sabo’s cheek made him pause.

“I know you know I didn’t mean it, but I’m still sorry,” Ace said, swallowing hard. “I never-”

“It’s fine,” Sabo said curtly, reaching up to snag Ace’s wrist. His eyes, now closed, seemed to soften as he managed a teasing smile. “Just don’t do it again.”

Ace groaned. “Fuck you.”

“I can’t tell who got the language from whom,” Marco muttered, and Sabo elbowed him.

“Quiet, pillow.”

Marco glared, wincing at the bruise he was sure formed on his side, and his temporary distraction gave Ace time to lie down and curl into Sabo’s side.

“Hey wait, don’t you-!” Marco said, but Ace ignored him, hand draped over Sabo’s – and consequentially Marco’s – side.

“I’m still sorry,” Ace mumbled, and Sabo’s hand came to rest in Ace’s hair, his fingers running through the dark strands.

“You won’t do it again.”

“But what if I-”

“You won’t. So it’s fine. I’m fine.”

Ace sighed, and Marco almost felt like sighing along with him, lifting his head from the dirt to glare at them both. “Hello, excuse me,” Marco said stiffly, his gaze very pointedly on the fact that they were both laying on him. “Do I not get a say in this?”

“No,” said Sabo, snorting haughtily. “They’re Ace’s powers, and it’s my apology to be accepted, not yours.”

“I meant-!” he tried to defend, and Ace patted his cheek. His hand lit a warmth along Marco’s face, tiny sparks reminiscent of his earlier flames, and Marco found himself stunned into silence when Ace said,

“I’m sorry to you, too. Even if someone doesn’t think I have to be. I still tried to hurt you, without thinking, or asking why you were here. It was wrong, and I shouldn’t have let the fire overtake me like that. I should’ve-” he trailed off, guilt swimming in his eyes. “I should’ve stayed on the candle wick,” he mumbled softly, bowing his head. Then, a loud thwap! filled the air.

“Hey!” Ace cried out, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Sabo. “What was that for?”

“You made a mistake, because you weren’t allowed off that fucking wick. You being kept prisoner is not an excuse for what you did, but it damn sure is a reason as to why you couldn’t control yourself! You didn’t know any better, and now you do, so you won’t do it again.”

“You hope,” Ace said, glaring stubbornly, and Sabo peeled his eyes open to fasten Ace with one sharp blue eye.

“I know,” he said simply. “Now would you please shut up so I can take a fucking nap?”

Ace rolled his eyes but patted Sabo’s chest softly, and Sabo seemed to take it as agreement, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek to Marco’s chest again before Marco could protest.

“Thanks for letting us stay,” Ace said, just as Marco was going to start pushing at the two of them, regardless of Sabo’s injuries, and Marco felt his breath catch in his throat at the expression on Ace’s face.

”…You’re welcome.”

Ace’s smiled widened, somehow as bright as his fire, yet Marco only felt warmth spread through him instead of that earlier burning pain. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was some fire sprite ability he’d never heard of as Ace yawned and curled even closer to Sabo’s side, his own eyes flickering closed.

Before Marco knew it, he had two sleeping men on his chest and very little in the terms of physical comfort under his head. “Great,” he muttered, resigning himself to being used as a temporary bed until they felt like moving. His eyes moved down to Sabo’s parted lips, and how his cheek was all squished up against Marco’s chest, and Ace’s wrinkled nose and slack jaw, and he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his cheeks.

He gets his first look while still blinking glitter out of his eyes, and has to take a second to fully appreciate the...outfit the blond guy is wearing.

"What--?" he starts, and then the blond throws a teacup towards his face, shifts his hips, slams his shoulders down, and kicks straight up with his entire body, forcing Law to fall back or catch a foot to the face, and with the point on those heels, Law's not willing to risk it.

The guy squirms off and around, swinging his legs under him in a smooth move and rising easily to his feet. "Usually I at least get a name first," he drawls, and Law only gets a moment to notice that the hideous green shirt is framing some really impressive abs before the guy is tackled back down to the ground.

"Saaaaaaabo!" Luffy yells, and Law pauses a moment.

"What..? Oh, Luffy?" The blond says, and wraps both arms around Luffy. "Luffy! What are you doing here?"

"I made a wish!" Luffy tells him happily. "I wished you'd come back, and you did!"

"Look at you! You've gotten so big!" He puts both hands on Luffy’s shoulders and pushes him back to look at, and Luffy goes, letting his arms stretch so he can keep up his hug.

"Shishishi, of course I have! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Little Luff,” he says, pulling him in for a hug. “But where are we?"

"The Grand Line!" Luffy says, throwing his arms wide. "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates, and I got a crew and a ship!"

"I know," he says, rubbing Luffy's hat into his head, and Luffy lets him? which is unexpected, to say the least.

"Luffy-ya," he says, drawing both their attention, and Luffy's already bouncing over to introduce him before Law has to ask.

"Traffy! Look, look! It's my brother Sabo! He was dead, but now he's not! Isn't he cool?"

Law takes in the blue stiletto heels, fish-print boxers, open green flannel shirt, half-tied lace scarf-thing and blue top hat. "Sure," he says, meeting Sabo's gaze and popping an eyebrow. "Cool."

Sabo smiles wide and tips his hat, but not enough to break eye contact. "Nice to meet you, I'm sure. Traffic, was it?"

"Trafalgar Law, actually," Law says, and doesn't offer a hand.

"I've heard of you," Sabo says, and from his tone, it hasn't all been positive.

"I've never heard about you," Law shoots back.

Sabo ignores this magnificently. "What's the Surgeon of Death doing hanging around my little brother?"

"Traffy's my friend!" Luffy says. "We're gonna fight a flamingo together!"

"A flamingo?" Law says nothing and doesn't take his hand off his sword, but this Sabo character is apparently not dumb at all, and his hands tighten on Luffy's shoulders. "You don't mean Doflamingo, do you?"

If Sabo can blatantly ignore baiting comments, so can Law. "Is this really the time for this?" he asks, and Sabo narrows his eyes.

"If you're going to be dragging my little brother into danger--" he starts, but then there's movement on the ground and they both shut up and reorient on the potential threat.

It's the glitter, because of course it is. It's swirling up like it's being caught in wind, only the air is still.

"Luffy," Sabo says, quiet and serious. "How did I get here?"

"I made a wish," Luffy says, and Sabo makes a quiet hurt noise and pulls him closer by the shoulders, letting one hand drop, and Law prepares to draw Kikoku.

The glitter sweeps up into a small whirlwind, circling around the three of them. It's sharp enough to be dangerous now, and Law draws in closer. Sabo's put Luffy at his back, facing the wind, and Law does the same on the other side.

The glitter funnel in narrowing in on them, and Law can feel Luffy pushing up against his back, and someone's saying something, he thinks, but everything is drowned out by the roar of the glitter tornado. His Room's still active, though, and he reaches out, grabbing onto a few pebbles on the outside edge, takes a deep breath and pulls.

The landing is rough, because it always is when he can't see what he's switching with, and he hits the dirt hard. He rolls to come up low and glances over to the other side. There's only one figure, though, and that top hat is clearly not Luffy's.

He grabs the pebble that's supposed to be Luffy and throws it towards the glitter whirlwind, reaching out and tagging Luffy as the Shambles target. The lurch he associates with it is there, but Luffy's not.

"Luffy!" Sabo yells. He's starting towards the tornado at a run, ignoring the way the little bits of glitter are scoring across his face and chest, when a voice rumbles out of it.

"The wish has been granted," it booms. "A life for a life, and the payment comes due."

Sabo charges into the deadly storm, and the glitter just--stops, hanging still in the air for a heartbeat, and then it explodes outwards, and Luffy is gone.

Not that Law can tell right away, because he's busy blinking glitter out of his eyes, again. He goes to say something nasty, but this Sabo guy beats him to it, again.

It is, Law can tell, going to be a very bad day.

Sabo's standing where the glitter exploded, and he's still and sparkly. Law watches the line of his shoulders warily. He's still an unknown, and Law's braced from anything from accusations to fist fights.

"What," Sabo says, still facing away, "happened there?"

Law doesn't drop his Room, not yet, because a temper that runs cold is more dangerous than a fiery one. "I tried to get all three of us out of there," he says. "Something kept it from working on Luffy-ya."

"And so my brother was abducted on his own."

Law draws in one calming breath and takes a gamble. "I intend to get him back," he says.

And finally Sabo moves, turning around and taking off his hat to tap glitter off, but for all that falls off, twice as much remains.

"So do I," Sabo says, and comes back towards Law, steps measured and steady. "Tell me everything you know."

Law just shrugs because he’s not about to let this guy take control of this. He appeared from a wish, and Luffy had said he was dead. Law doesn't know him, and for all Luffy had seemed to, he is absolutely untrustworthy.

On the other hand, he does need all the help he can get, and Sabo does seem to be legitimately concerned over Luffy, and that's not nothing.

“We should split up,” Sabo says, eyes already distant. “Canvas the neighborhood, chat up the locals, ask if they know anything about this.”

“Like hell,” Law shoots back. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

That actually gets Sabo’s attention. “What? Why?”

“Because,” Law says, “for all I know, you’re actually an illusion or some fae creature and not a zombie of Luffy's dead brother at all.”

“A what?”

“Luffy said you were dead.”

“Wha--I’m not dead!”

“Neither are zombies, not technically.”

Sabo huffs. “Yes they are. But no, there was a--” and his fingers flutter up til he stops them “--an incident when we were kids. He might’ve thought-- But no, I was never dead.”

But that’s interesting, is what it is, and Law frowns over it. For all Law’s found about Strawhat Luffy and his crew, there really isn’t much information to be had of his past or family, besides, potentially, the terrifying Marine who shares his name, but that might be simple coincidence. Law hopes really hard that it is, but has a sinking feeling that it’s not.

“That might be our in,” he says instead. “But we have to find them first.”

Sabo nods and sticks out a hand. “Truce? For Luffy?”

It takes Law a second to fully overthink it, but he takes the hand and shakes it, and finally drops his Room. “Truce,” he agrees, “but I’ll be watching.”

Sabo’s grip is firm and his hand is dry and rough, calloused from hard work. He holds it a moment too long to be polite and catches Law’s eye again. “You know,” he says, “I’m kinda glad you’re like this.”

Law hesitates just a moment, thinking many things and saying none of them, and Sabo continues. “Luffy needs someone around who’s paranoid and mistrustful,” he says, and drops his hand and turns away.

Law tells himself he’s not bitter and takes a breath to refocus and get back on track. “What’s the plan?”

Sabo’s already on the move, and Law has to hurry to catch up. “We start in town,” he says. “If it appeared around here this time, maybe it has before. Local legends, the elderly, a library, maybe? You go for books and I’ll talk to people. Oh, no, you didn’t want to split up, right? Then we start in the town square and work outwards. Stay on my heels and try to look approachable.” He glances over. “Or maybe just wait a few feet back.”

He bites back his response because the thing is, is it’s a good plan. Just because it was delivered ruthlessly and insultingly does not negate that, and it's probably their best chance to save Luffy. And also it’ll give him some time to watch how this guy works.

But there's at least one thing he has to know. "One question," he says, finally falling in step beside Sabo.

"Mmm?"

"What are you wearing?"

Sabo sniffs and sticks his nose in the air. "I was in the middle of a very important mission when I was whisked away by the glitter fairies," he says, and Law remembers the tea cup and can't help the snort.

"A mission," he repeats.

“Are you deaf as well as scowly?”

“Are you always this rude?”

“Only to people who lose my brothers,” Sabo demurs.

“I didn’t lose him; that thing stole him.”

“Semantics.”

Law grumbles, “dumbest definition of semantics I’ve ever heard,” and it’s just loud enough to be heard and just quiet enough to be ignored.

Sabo does, ignoring him magnificently, all the way into town and to the market. He swans to a stop next to the first stall on the left, and Law hangs a bit further back, as instructed. He pokes around a different table, and the next one over catches his eye. There’s a whole display of old coins, and he leans in closer.

He knows most of them and has several, but there’s a couple he wouldn’t mind having for his collection. A bit of bargaining gets him three, and he sticks them in his pocket just as Sabo appears at his elbow, in an entirely different outfit.

He’s found a blue jacket somewhere, and actual pants and solid looking boots. It looks a lot more respectable and a lot better on him, though it shows significantly less skin.

“How did you do that so fast?” Law asks. Sabo’d only been gone a few minutes.

Sabo just shrugs. “It’s my job,” he says, and crowds Law until he starts moving. “C’mon, we gotta get across town to the post office.”

“What’s at the post office?”

“Not a what, a who.” And that’s all he gets until they stop a fair distance away from a building with a porch, containing a perch for coos, a rocking chair, and the fiercest old woman Law has ever seen.

Her face is craggy and her hair is grey, and she looks like she has iron for blood. She’s knitting something, two needles flashing at an incredible speed as she rocks gently.

“You sure this is a good idea?” Law asks, eyeing the incredibly intimidating lady.

“Trust me,” Sabo says, and the grin on his face is anything but trustworthy. Law scoffs, but he doesn’t wait for an answer, striding right up to the house. “Excuse me, ma’am?” he says, sweeping his hat off and holding it to his chest.

She stops rocking but not knitting, and looks up at them. “Yes? Can I help you?”

Sabo flashes her a smile, all charm and flash. “I’m hoping so,” he admits, and approaches the porch. “Miss Layfield?”

“Who’s asking?” Her eyes are sharp and her fingers do not miss a stitch.

“Mr. Hinshaw directed me to you,” he says, and falls into a relaxed stance just at the foot of the stairs. “I was looking for information on local fairies, and he said you’d know.”

Her fingers slow, and she sets her needles down. “What’s a nice young lad like you wanting with something as dangerous as the Fair Folk?”

“A passing interest only, ma’am,” he says, and leans in just a bit. “My friend here,” and he gestures to Law, who keeps his face straight, “is writing a book, you see. Fairy Tales of the Grand Line!”

Her eyes dart to him, and he almost unconsciously straightens his spine and tries not to fidget. “Is he now?”

Law bobs his head, and Sabo takes back over. “Not so good at people, him, but great at writing, S’why I’m along, to help gather. Are there any tales of the island that you can share with us?”

She looks between the two of them. “A book, hmm?” Her fingers dart out and gesture imperiously at Law. “Come here, young man.”

He goes, climbing the stairs to stand in front of her, and she eyes him, then nods. “There’s a local tale, here, of the starshine stealers.”

Starshine sounds...poetic, but hopeful. The creature had looked like a barely contained fire, burning bright, and Law dips his head and says, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, boy,” she says, and looks back down to take up her needles. Law almost sags at being released from her focus, but only almost. “There’s a price, you know. Always is with the Fair Folk.”

“I know,” Law says. “What can I do for you, Honored Grandmother, to repay you for a story?”

She huffs at him, “You can quit the fancy talk, for one. And a tale for a tale seems only fair. Sit here, boy, and tell me one of the stories you have.”

Right, of course. Law knows a lot about a lot and devours books, but he hasn’t had time for fairy tales in...a long time. He goes to sit on the stoop, folding his legs up and determinedly not looking over to Sabo.

Well, there’s always… “Do you know the story of the girl cursed to sleep for a hundred years?”

She gives him a look and says, “Of course I do, child. Who doesn’t?”

Right, all the common ones are out, and any from the Grand Line. If he wants to take down Doflamingo, he needs to save Luffy, and to save Luffy, he’ll have to reach further. He steels himself and casts back, back before fire, before night and running and anger, back to happier days. For the first time since, he tries to recall a voice he doesn’t quite remember telling a story to someone smaller yet than him.

He closes his eyes and focuses on the words, and he tells a story lost when Flevance fell.

It’s a story of twin princes, when twins were considered bad luck, and how a far-away kingdom fell apart around them. It’s a story of betrayal and woe, of misery and misfortune, and it has a bittersweet ending where one is freed at the expense of the other. The only magic is what people believed in, and the only fairies are imagined.

Still, it is a classic and he heard it often enough that he can lose himself in the telling, and he ends on the traditional words; “...and if the prince is not through with his journey, then perhaps he is journeying still.”

It’s odd, he thinks, letting the silence rest. He hasn’t thought of his mother, or his sister, or his childhood in so long, and there’s an odd scraped-clean feeling that comes with sharing even an impersonal part of it.

“Thank you,” Ms. Layfield says, and Law startles a bit, coming back to reality. Right, there’d been a reason.

“Of course,” he says, and if his voice is a bit hoarse, no one says anything.

“That sounded like a very old story,” she says. “Where was it from?”

Law keeps his eyes on the ground. “A kingdom that fell a long time.”

There’s a nudge on his shoulder, and he looks up into mismatched eyes. There’s a certain sympathy in them, but also a lift to the brows that clearly indicates he should hurry up.

Law clears his throat and says, “A tale for a tale, then?”

“Oh, of course,” she says, and her needles are flying through yarn again. “The starshine stealers, was it? Listen up, boys, I’m only going to tell this once.”

Sabo scoots onto the stair beside Law, and they both look up at her as she begins.

“There’s a path in the forest north of here, and if you follow it into twilight, it ends in a well. They say the well has water like we don’t anymore; real water, true water, water so pure it’s potent.

“This water drew people and animals from all over, and even the stars up above longed to try it. And one day, the longing grew so strong that a star threw itself down to earth. Or perhaps it fell. In some few versions, it’s even pushed.

“However it happened, the star landed on the island, and it grew itself legs so it might find the well. And it did, and it drank, and all was well, until it wished to return to the sky and found it couldn’t.

“Stars fall, you see, but it’s a one-way trip. So the star haunts the forest around the well, and sometimes it comes down close to town. It takes children when it can, or the unwary, in hopes of one day collecting enough power to return itself to the sky.

“So we warn our children to be careful. Nothing comes free, and the stars are pretty when away but up close, they burn. And if the children are bad, or if they wander off, or if they misbehave, then the starshine stealer will come along and gobble them up to return to the sky.”

And she nods and her needles continue, clickaclack, clackaclick. Law watches them, and it’s Sabo who stands first.

“Thank you, Miz Layfield,” he says, and sketches a bow. “We appreciate your time and your story.”

“Of course,” she says, and starts herself rocking again. “Mind you boys send me a copy of the book when it’s done.”

“Of course,” Law says, scrambling upwards. He stick his hands in his pockets and nods to her. “Thank you.”

She looks at them both, and then waves Law forward. “One last thing,” she says, and then drags him in by his collar to say quietly in his ear, “The path to the north starts beside the old signpost, which is due north from the old butcher shop.”

He pulls back, and her nod is knowing. “Twilight,” she tells them both. “But when the stars come out, it’s already too late.”

Law glances up to the sun, and it’s not nearly as high as he’d like. “Thank you,” he says again and means it. Then he grabs Sabo’s arm and pulls him away, towards the north.

“That was an interesting story,” Sabo says, keeping pace.

“Yeah,” Law agrees, because it was, in many ways. “I don’t think it’s accurate, but it’s a start.”

“Oh, hers was too, but I meant yours.”

Law swallows and looks away. “Wouldn’t have had to tell it if you hadn’t built such an elaborate lie.”

“It totally worked!” Sabo objects, and Law snorts.

“No, it didn't. She totally saw through us.”

“Did not,” Sabo says petulantly. “Besides, you’re good at thinking on your feet.” Law’s quiet for a moment, and Sabo picks up the slack. “So, where are we headed anyway?”

“Old butcher shop, apparently,” Law says, checking the sun again. “It’s the next street over.”

“You know this island well enough to know where the old butcher shop is?”

Law throws him a look. “I came here with Luffy. I’ve been here a few hours and I know where every butcher shop is.”

Sabo laughs, and it’s clear and deeper than Law was expecting. “That’s true,” he allows. “And what’s at this butcher shop, then?”

“Nothing anymore,” Law says, and Sabo laughs again. Law shivers and waits it out, then says, “No, apparently the path to the well starts behind it.”

“Ah,” Sabo says. “Makes sense. Is that why you keep looking at the sun?”

Law shrugs. He hadn’t thought Sabo had noticed.

They make it to the shop, and it’s easy to find the signpost Ms. Layfield had mentioned; it’s tall stone, half-covered in moss, and  leaning slightly. There’s a slightly worn path next to it, and Law starts down it immediately.

“So what are your intentions towards my little brother?” Sabo asks out of nowhere, and Law trips over nothing and only just manages to not fall over.

“I--what…?” he splutters, but Sabo’s just watching him. “Nothing! Intentions?!”

“Yeah, your intentions,” Sabo repeats. “Are you using him for money? Fame?” Law shakes his head, and Sabo arches an eyebrow. “Sex, then?”

“No!” Law stops walking and takes a deep breath. “No, nothing like that. I just find the way he bends the world...interesting.”

Sabo nods. “And Doflamingo?”

This guy’s got a brain like a steel trap, Law’s starting to realize, and just because something is dropped does not mean it’s forgotten. It's something he respects. “We have an alliance to that end,” he admits.

“Mmm. And what does Luffy get out of this alliance?”

Law frowns. “Actually, I’m not sure anymore. As far as I can tell, what he wants is just fun.”

Sabo stares him down for another second, then nods and turns on his heel, starting back up the path. “So you fell under his charm, then.”

“What? No, I--”

“--proposed an alliance for a specific cause and ended up falling into his pace and doing whatever he says and finding out you’re willing to do things counter to your own agenda because he wants you to?”

“No, not at all,” Law says, but it’s weak even to his ears.

“Suuuuuuuuure,” Sabo says over his shoulder, and Law has to hurry to catch up.

“It’s an alliance,” Law says again, and Sabo laughs at him some more.

They walk on as the sun sinks. The path winds up a hill and deeper into the woods, but the trees are never so dense as to block the sky completely.   

Law is the one to break the easy quiet, asking some leading questions that get him nowhere. Sabo’s smart and slippery, and the conversation is a game of trying to discover more about the other than they reveal about themselves. It is, Law reflects, probably the most fun he's had in a long time.

All good things must come to an end, though, and this one lasts as long as the sunlight. The last of the color is fading from the sky when the path finally turns out into a clearing.

It's unusually round and clear with a single small well right in the middle. It’s made of stone and perfectly circular, and looks like it came right out of a fairy tale, roof and handle and all.

Sabo wanders up to look down into it, and Law stays a step behind him and alert. At least the creature thing will be easy to spot in the gloom, he thinks, and makes a circuit around the perimeter, just to be sure.

Sabo makes an unhappy noise and pushes back from the well. “Nothing,” he says, and then leans down it to call out, “Helloooo!”

It echoes down and nothing happens. Law glances up at the sky once again, and though there are no stars yet, he’s very aware of the clock running out.

Sabo must be too, because he kicks the well, and then has to hold his foot and hop and say horrible things for a while. Law listens, both eyebrows up, and marks down some of the more creative ones for later.

But Sabo’s moving away from the well, so Law takes his turn to check it out. The stone is smooth and even, the wood is not perfect but also not rotting, and there’s no bucket to draw water with.

“It’s a well,” he says.

“Well, well, well,” Sabo retorts, still massaging his toes. “Look at Captain Obvious over here and his knowledge of architecture.”

“No need to take out your own stupidity on me,” Law says mildly. He looks around, but that’s it in this clearing; it’s just them and the well and a darkening sky.

“There’s nothing out here,” Sabo says, finally standing properly again. “There were animals ‘til I scared them away just now, and it’d be hard for something that bright to sneak up on us.”

“We’re missing something,” Law agrees, and sticks his hand in his pocket. His palm around cold metal, and oh, of course. “It’s a well,” he says again. “What do you do at a well?”

He steps up to the very edge and says,“I wish to speak to the one who took Luffy-ya.” Then he drops in one of his new coins and leans over to follow it down.

It falls and falls, and though he’s listening he doesn’t hear it plink into water. It just disappears down past where he can see it, no matter how far over he leans.

“Oh,” says Sabo behind him, a sort of soft exhalation, and then stronger, “Hello.”

Law jerks back from the well and flips around. Sure enough, there’s the creature, large as life and twice as blinding and--yes. There’s glitter again.

“You,” Law says, hand wrapping around Kikoku’s hilt.

The creature--the starshine stealer--wavers briefly, then hisses. “You.”

Law glances to Sabo to see if he’s gonna take charge, but his eyes are blank and his gaze is far away. Law takes a step forward to draw attention to himself and says, “Give us back Luffy-ya.”

It sways and rotates a bit, and Law tells himself it doesn’t matter. His fingers itch to throw up a Room, but not yet. The voice comes again, double-timbered and hard. “He made a wish and paid a price.”

“But it wasn’t a fair price, was it?” Law says. “You said a life for a life, but that’s not right, is it?”

“What…?” Sabo says, swaying in towards him, and Law catches his arm and props him upright.

“Didn’t you catch it?” Law asks, surprised. “Luffy doesn’t have to pay with his life because you weren’t ever dead.”

“There was no life to give,” Sabo murmurs, and manages to push himself upright, but doesn’t quite move away.

“Exactly,” Law says. “If anything, it was long range transportation. And, as a master of switching things, I can tell you all it takes it some energy.”

“And you’ve had Luffy all afternoon. Surely that’s enough energy, even for you?”

It wavers in place, turning a way that his eyes can't quite follow, and then it speaks. "The wish was made. The price was fair."

Law stops for a second to breathe and think.

"I don't think logic is working on the reality-warping fairy creature," Sabo murmurs beside him, and despite everything, Law cracks a smile.

"Oh," Sabo says, quiet and surprised, and Law glances over, but Sabo is looking at him.

He doesn't say anything, though, so Law prompts, "Got any ideas?" He hopes so, because he's out, and he really doesn't want to have to rewrite all his plans yet again.

"Just the one," Sabo says, setting his jaw. "If we can't change the price, maybe we can get a refund."

"A refund?" It's absurd, he thinks, but is it? If they can't change the price, could they invalidate it? "Send you home, and Luffy comes back?"

"Sure," Sabo says, tugging his hat down to shadow his eyes. "If I...leave, I think it'll make the wish unfulfillable."

What a neat solution. Law eyes him sidelong, the set of his mouth and the tilt of his chin, and thinks again that this guy would make a terrifying enemy. "Okay," he says. "How do we get the thing to return you?"

Sabo hesitates a moment, and that's unusual enough that Law turns to face him directly. Sabo meets his eyes, cuts his gaze away for a split second and then he smiles, a small crooked thing. "I think I know how I was brought here," he says. "I think I know how to return."

The creature hisses beside them, and Law tears his eyes away to check the sky. It's not quite velvet dark, not yet, but getting there fast. "Then do it," he says. "You can always go visit Luffy later, as long as we get him back now."

Sabo tilts his head and makes a humming noise. "I wish we'd had a bit more time. I think we could've been--friends, don't you?" He stops, then half raises a hand, then drops it. "Promise me you'll take care of Luffy?"

Law swallows and then nods. "I'll look after him for a while."

Sabo nods. "I trust you," he says, and Law freezes, but he just sweeps off his hat and makes a formal bow. "Trafalgar Law," he says, holding it and looking up. "Thank you."

He's glowing, as he comes apart in motes of glitter and bits of star, and it's pretty in a terrifying kind of way but like no kind of teleportation Law's ever seen, including the one that took Luffy away.

That connects with what Luffy said, and why the price was fair, and Law takes a second to reach a conclusion he really ought to have earlier. There's a whole bunch of words stuck in his mouth, but he manages, "Sabo really is dead, isn't he?"

The Sabo in front of him straightens, mostly vanished, and grins, big and rueful. "You're smart,” he says, “and right. I was only a ghost of a memory.”

And just like that, he’s gone. Law reaches out to try to catch a bit of glitter.

It dissolves under his touch, and the fairy creature that burned like a star makes a noise like a comet. “How dare?!” It shrieks, the resonance driving Law to his knees.

He gets Kikoku out in front of him, just in case, but he can't see anything but light. It explodes upwards and more glitter goes flying, but he can't even bring himself to mind anymore; there's been too much already.

The light cuts out as suddenly as it started, and Law pushes himself up and blinks the light spots out of his eyes. Sitting where the fairy had once stood is Luffy, blinking and completely, entirely, unfairly glitter-free.

“Traffy!” Luffy says, beaming. “Hey, where'd you go?”

Law looks at him, looks at the glitter and the well and the sky, and can't help it. He laughs so hard he shakes with it.

Luffy laughs with him, and Law falls to sit on the glittery ground, forcing himself to breath. When his lungs are under control again, he says, “Welcome back, Luffy-ya.”

“Hey, where'd Sabo go?”

Law leans back on his hands and stares up at the sky, eyes on a big bright star low on the horizon. “He wasn't really here. Sorry.”

Luffy nods. “I didn't think it was real,” he says, and when Law stares at him, he continues, “Sabo died. And if there was a way to come back, he’d already be back.”

Law thinks of a sharp smile and hard eyes and has to agree. “The fairy couldn't bring back the dead, I think, so it made you a temporary illusion. But he still loved you,” he tells Luffy, because that much he knows for sure.

“Shishishi, I know,” Luffy says, and then stretches. “I bet he's having great new adventures wherever he is, but I miss him!”

There's a small unintentional smile on Law’s face but he doesn't bother to hide it. “Yeah,” he says, eyes on the stars.

There's a breath of quiet, a whole moment, before Luffy bounces up and says, “There wasn't any food in the dark place, and I'm starving!”

“Right, right,” Law says, and heaves himself to his feet. A cascade of glitter falls off his clothes and leaves a trail behind them as they head back to town. “Luffy-ya,” he calls, interrupting a song that seems to be made up mostly of the word ‘meat’. “No more fairies, okay?”

Luffy just laughs and keeps going, leaving Law behind. He sighs as he lengthens his stride. This alliance is gonna be trouble, he knows, but maybe it'll be less of a burden than he originally thought.

His ship arrived on the post being attack by a no-name pirate crew, and Coby had his men joining the ferry as soon as they could. The pink haired man was quick in saving some of the cooks held hostages shaving to the side of the possible first mate. As he took care of the fool he missed the crazed look of the captain.  She shot two of his men in the chest, forcing Coby to put pressure on the wounds in order to not lose them.

She had attacked the post for the rumored devil fruit they managed to uncover, though no one had any recording of the particular fruit or it’s possible powers, and she wasn’t about to let the Marines rush in and ruin her raid. By the time Coby turned his sights to her- after making sure a medic could save those wounded- she had already broken the safe, holding the blue spiked apple.

One pirate taking a bite of a fruit, shooting a colorful beam at him which he should have dodge but doing so would have meant someone else getting hit and that- that wasn’t acceptable was all it took to have everything he knew ripped from him.

Now, look at him.

He was a short, chubby, soft-fleshed kid trapped on a fat pirate’s ship, where he was treated badly. Again.

It was disheartening to have his mind know what to do but to have his untrained body unable to go through with it.

When Alvida had raised her club at him, Coby was so in shocked of going from a battlefield to a boat with the screaming hag above him, his first reaction was mostly reflex of jumping out of the way and throwing a punch.

He was not pleased with the pain that came from his knuckles, nor with the way Alvida had gone at him for attempting to fight back. It was painful, but nowhere near Garp training painful so after she was done he just laid there confusingly staring at the ceiling wondering what the hell kind of fruit that had been.

A Devil Fruit with the ability to Time Travel or at the very least to send a soul to another dimension, such a powerful thing in the hands of a bloodthirsty criminal doing who knows what with it. Coby really hopes someone stops her before she does more damage with a power like that.

The only consolation to this dis-aging was that Coby managed to returned the day before he meets Luffy which meant he was getting out in only twenty-four hours.

In that time he needed to figure what he was going to do, because while he’s devastated that his hard work had been ruined…he’s not as broken up about as he should be. Don’t get him wrong, it burns that he was sent back before his office promotion but it was the only real regret, and even then it wasn’t regret as it should be. It was more of a annoyance similar to stepping in mud.

The biggest feeling is more positive then it should be over his predicament.  

He’s excited about a do-over even. He shouldn’t be, but he is.

On one hand, Coby could find a way back make it so he can return to the life he had built for himself through sweat, blood, and tears.

On the other hand…..

The screams both in a battle cry and a shout of mercy, the sound of blades clashing and fists meeting flesh, the booms as cannons fire into the sky with ash and smoke in their wake and the small figure holding up a body, blood surrounding them both as the smallest cries in agony.

Coby stands to the side feeling horror bleed into his veins as he watching the strongest man he’s ever known breaks down before his very eyes and being unable to do anything to help.

Coby is loyal to the Marines for all that they should stand for. But he owes a man a life debt that sometimes feels it feels heavier then the duty he swore to and sometimes when sitting in his bed, he turns his head to the wanted poster he pinned up on his wall.  A far too bright smile for their far too dark world staring back at him underneath a straw hat, makes his stomach twist in guilt knowing that the people he works for are crueler then he likes to admit.

He’s high ranking enough to have seen things that made him question who the real monsters were in the world. The marines protected people but they also terrized them as fast as flipping a few coins. They saved them from death but killed faster then a bullet being loaded. They stop pirates from ruining their lives, but allowed them to be enslaved like the sound of chains didn’t echo through many streets.

He has a dream but he also has a heart.

One that beats for someone it shouldn’t.

With those though circling his head the chubby boy wills his sore body to stand,  intending on finding a quite place on the ship to start training. He needed to whip himself back into shape as soon as possible. Because he had come to a decision, one that would change history for good or for bad, and he had to be ready for the changes.

He had seen what life was like a Marine, but come sunrise he will see what life is like as a pirate, in order to pay back that life debt.

This time it will be Coby saving Luffy….by making sure Portgas D. Ace does not die. Somehow he’s going to have to find his way onto the Whitebeard Pirates and keep that stubborn fireman from getting caught. (and if he asks for his blessing to peruse Luffy along the way then all the better for him)

First thing was first.

He had to get to the New World. Should be easier if he train himself along the way and he already knew it pretty well, right?

Marco was not prepared for the boy.  He was not expecting anyone to approach the Moby, especially not a flimsy looking lad in a rowboat, with nothing but his crack glasses and a stubborn frown.  No clean clothes, no food, and no water….and yet still standing tall when he yelled up permission to come on board.

It takes guts to do something like that, real guts that younger generations of pirates have seemed to forget. This was proably why Pops allowed the young man to climb on board. He was…not as impressive as his voice made him out to be. The pink hair stranger was covered in wounds, his body was not that of a cillian but not that of a fighter either but his voice carried command and strength that showed a glimpse to the monster he would be in just a few years.

“I’m looking for Portgas D. Ace.” The stranger says, back straight, head held high and throwing all the body language of a no good marine. It makes the crew weary (they don’t want to kill the kid, he’s far too young) but Pops seems to find him amusing because he calls for the Second Commander after ordering Thatch to get him something to eat.

The way the boys eyes grow grateful as the chef runs off to do as he told lets Marco know he’s dealing with a polite fellow. Which is always good as it means his siblings won’t break into a fight with him. It’s not until Ace steps through the crowd that his real problem with the  visitors rises, as the boy takes notice of the second commander.

Marco does not appreciate the way the kid eyes his boyfriend. Does not like the way pinky’s face gets warmer the moment Ace steps in front of him.Say what you will, but he’s a Phoenix, which means his territorial. It’s in his very soul to puff out his chest and let blue fire flicker around his shoulders as he notices someone else trying o steal his shiny treasure. (Ace’s hair in the right light always looks like it’s made out of jewels and it drives Marco absolute wild)  

If it wasn’t for Thatch elbowing him in the side, The First Commander may have killed the brat.

“What do you want from me?” Ace asks somehow being polite enough to not come off as rude but hinting at it with his tone of voice. He was talented like that.

Pinky straightens up, staring at Ace like he’s the answer to the universe, which Marco hates to break it to him but Ace is taken and no way is he-.

“My name is Coby, I have sailed from the East Blue by myself and I will like to formally ask your blessing for Luffy’s hand sir!”  Coby blurts out, nervous and red but still with a straight back  “I will, of course, be willing to serve you and prove to you I am worthy of Luffy! If- if you will have me that is!”

All of Marco animal instincts to rip the youth apparent with his talons come to a screeching halt as the deck falls unnaturally salient. The first commander is actually thrown for a loop, stumbling to make sense of the words he just heard.  

Luffy? As in Ace’s precious little brother, his lover will never shut up about? As in the cause for Ace’s terrible brother complex?  Did he sail all the way to the New World to ask Ace for permission knowing that Ace may kill him on sight?!

Because by the way he is eyeing Ace, Coby knows this is a death warrant knows that any wrong move- hell any move will be his last. He came here expecting Ace to burn him alive and came anyway just to do right by the one who captured his heart.

Holy shit.  Marco thinks, respect rising for the pink hair lad easily ignoring that he almost took the boy out a second ago. Now that’s what I call love.  

“No.”  Ace syas flatly flames licking the back of his shoulders. His quite rage, promising danger would have made anyone sane realize how bad that idea was. The heat surrounded the boat rises, making a few men sweat. Coby forehead is covered by a thin layer of sweat, and his knees are shaking under the weight of Ace’s barely restrained haki but he doesn’t step down.

He meets Ace’s eyes evenly  saying in a surprisingly strong voice.  “I know that I don’t look like much now. But I truly love Luffy. So please allowed me to prove it to you.”

Ace’s haki snaps as he hisses hands balling into fists. “I said no.”

It’s the sight of Coby not even flinching at the fire slowly rising from Ace’s being that makes Marco hope he’ll lie through this. Because he recognizes that look on the obviously straining to stay on his feet boy’s face. It’s the same one he wears whenever he thinks of how the world would try to take Ace away from him if they ever found out about his dad.

His boyfriend does not like that reaction. He muscles tighten up, and the wave of heat is either by heat or by haki it’s hard to tell with the difficulty it is to breath suddenly. Marco rises one eyebrow as the Coby’s stumbles but he does not fall, it’s obvious that his body can barely handle the pressure but his eyes are steel and ready to fight.

Marco’s approval rises for him.

“My answer is no.” Ace’s voice is practically ice which is somehow more terrifying then the literal flames around him. “Get back on your little boat and row away boy. We are done here.”

Everyone on the crew takes a step back, when Coby stubbornly shakes his head and Ace growls (secretly Marco drools over how protective Ace is. If they were to ever build a nest together Ace would guard it with his life and that is one of the most attractive things about him)  “No, you- no one is good enough for my Lu. No. One. Is. ”

“You’re right. That’s why I have to get better. Luffy is going to be Pirate King, I have to become the best for him. He deserves only the best” Coby answers without hesitation, and it is impressive when the pressure forces him to his knees yet he never breaks eye contact with Ace. Never shows signs of rolling over.

It’s said in such a matter tone that many of the Whitebeards are thrown for a loop.  Even Ace, who looked like a second away from frying the boy alive is surprised into cooling down long enough that Coby can stand once more.

“That’s why I am asking you….please help me become a man that is good enough for your brother.”

It’s all Pops needs to hear, stepping in before Ace can even respond.  Marco is glad, he likes this kid’s spunk would be a shame if he died because of Ace before he could reach his full potential. Standing up to a Whitebeard commander was a great start.

________________________________________________________

It’s a few months later after Coby proved to be a diamond in the rough, strong and a great leader one that just needed to train his body Up. A perfect addition to our family, who fits in just fine even though he tends to be more merciful then a pirate should be.  But it was thanks to that merciful nature that they were able to save Thatch.

Marco is woken by a pale and sweating Ace one night, after waking up screaming name.

He had a nightmare it seemed.

A nightmare about Luffy’s wedding.

“Luffy is going to fall in love with Coby and I can’t kill him, Marco. He’s part of the Whitebeard crew, he saved Thatch from Teach and he’s trying to steal my brother. Pops won’t let me kill him Marco”  Ace whines like it the greatest offense their father could do to him.  

“I see you dilemma and I offer cuddles as a means to cope yoi.”  

“Cuddles won’t make that pink haired brother stealing lunatic go away.”

“You were the one that helped him get stronger.  Now you have to deal with Cody looking for your brother in Alabasta.”

Ace is silent before a grin stretches on his face. Marco feels his hair stand on end because he knows that look. Knows it all too well. His boyfriend- soon to be husband if things go as planned at Ace’s next birthday- just got a horrible idea that he plans on roping Marco into.

The sad part is, the blond isn’t sure he can say no. Not with Ace looking at him like that.