Archive of Our Own

Ace was not having a great time.

Don’t get him wrong, he was doing exactly what he wanted to. He and Sabo had been on their own for about a year now. They had formed the Spade Pirates from a motley crew of people they’d befriended after returning to the East Blue to start their journey when Sabo reached 17 years old a couple months after Ace had. They had made good friends on these seas: Deuce, Skull, Mihar, Banshee, Kotatsu and many others who had chosen to throw their weight behind him, not just as a captain but as a potential pack leader, an alpha.

During their year at sea, Ace had led them on some wild adventures, from meeting Deuce while shipwrecked on Sixis, to building their ship Piece of Spadille, to fighting Marines and battling pirates. They dealt with his lovers, affairs that didn’t always end well but still set Ace’s heart alight as much as his Fruit ever did. They weathered his and Sabo’s appetites and arguments as well as respecting the bond between the brothers. They didn’t make fun of them for still building a nest together even though neither were pups anymore or omegas. They saw Sabo as a leader as much as they viewed Ace as one, especially since they knew that, other than Deuce, their navigator/Vice Captain was the only one who could cool Ace’s fiery countenance. In turn, Ace had come to hold his loyal crewmates in the highest regard.

They’d sailed with him from the East Blue over Reverse Mountain through Paradise and Fishman Island to the New World, a place he had comfortably called home for two years of his life before he struck out on his own. They’d been with him as he ran wild, challenging New World crews and defeating a Warlord. They’d accepted it when the Spade Pirates made an alliance with the Revolutionary Army and began working some covert missions with them, stealing and smuggling weapons as well as freeing slaves when they were able. They knew about Sabo’s origins as a noble and, in a show of faith and trust, Ace had even told them about his parentage. None of them turned their backs on him or demonized him for it nor had they criticized Sabo for his beginnings. They had even met his former crew and youngest siblings, though most of the Spades had been more fearful than anything else when Ace blithely declared they were going to go into Red Haired Shanks’ territory. Watching their reaction to his relationship with the Emperor was probably top five funniest things he’d ever seen.

All that led to the fateful day in which he finally decided to go after Whitebeard. He wasn’t expecting the five-day fight with yet another Warlord that preceded the encounter with the World’s Strongest Man. Still, he dragged himself onto his feet when Whitebeard did show up, refusing to be flat on his face when he went up against the other alpha, Roger’s greatest rival.

The captain’s presence was an imposing one, expected of a man who had never fallen in battle, even against the Pirate King. He carried with him a scent of sea breeze, whiskey, oak, sage and rosemary. His presence and scent dominated the clearing almost immediately. It made Ace’s hackles rise, the alpha spirit within him seeing it as a challenge. He growled at the Emperor, allowing his own scent to permeate the space more, specifically reaching out towards his young pack, marking them as his and cloaking them in his protection. His scent was not powerful enough to overpower Whitebeard’s. The older alpha had strength, time and experience on his side, but it did not make Ace back down, nor was he about to submit. He had a goal to defeat Whitebeard once and for all, something even Roger hadn’t done. To accomplish that would solidify Ace’s name in the annals of history, give him his own legacy.

Whitebeard seemed to be looking down at Ace, assessing him for something as he made landfall, his large whale-shaped ship looming overhead.

“You must be the one who wants to kill me. You want to fight, pup? I’m here to grant your wish.”

Ace grit his teeth at that.

“Real nice of you to show when I’ve already been giving it my all for five days straight,” he spat back.

“Please, boy. One of me is enough for all your crew, but you know that much already, don’t you?”

Ace’s Observation warned him something big was about to hit his crew, but before he could do anything, a sudden wave of energy knocked all the Spades back, sending them flying through the air.

“Flame fence!” Ace shouted, throwing up a barrier between Whitebeard and his fledgling pack.

“Your quarrel is with me, not them!”

“You’re their captain, their pack leader as well. Any fight you get into, boy, you’re dragging them into as well. If you’re not strong enough to face the foe you’re challenging while carrying the fate of your pack on your back, then you shouldn’t be challenging anyone in the first place.”

“Ace!”

“Captain Ace!”

“What are you doing?!”

“Let us through!”

Ace could hear the voices of his crew getting more and more frantic through the fire. He found himself wishing that Sabo was there rather than off with Mihar and Skull working with their allies in the Revolutionaries on a mission. Then again, his brother probably would’ve told him they weren’t ready to challenge Whitebeard yet.

Ace gritted his teeth as he realized the old man hadn’t shown up alone. He didn’t want his crew caught in the crossfire.

“Go! Leave me here!”

“Ace, stop being an idiot!” Deuce shouted back.

“Take the crew and go! Sabo isn’t here so you’re next in charge. Do as I say, Deuce,” Ace ordered before turning back to Whitebeard.

“My pack isn’t trying to fight you, only me. Don’t you dare lay a finger on them!”

Ace felt his Conqueror’s Haki mixed with his alpha influence burst out of him, causing the fire to waver a little, the ground to shudder and dirt to go flying in the air.

Whitebeard’s eyes widened briefly. There was an expression on his face that Ace would call impressed if he didn’t know better.

“Throwing the Conqueror’s Will at me and trying to make me submit to you? You’re a cocky brat but a brave one, I’ll give you that much. Show me what you’ve got then, punk.”

Ace braced himself before lunging straight at the oversized man. The next moments were a blur of clashing wills, growls, gnashing teeth, fire and tremors. He didn’t know when consciousness slipped away from him, but he knew enough to be disappointed in his own failure as he came to on an unfamiliar ship.

The Spade Pirates had managed to flee during the fighting but Ace had been stuck on the Moby Dick ever since as the Whitebeard pack tried to convince him to join their family.

Ace had been warned about this possibility before he struck out with Sabo. Not all crews operated like packs, but in the New World, crews that did ran the risk of being dominated and dissolved into a larger, more powerful pack. This usually happened if the leader of the pack (who wasn’t always an alpha) was defeated or killed by another pack leader. Emperor crews were the most prolific offenders of this. Kaido would kill a pack leader and take over their pack if they didn’t submit to him first. Big Mom and Whitebeard were more likely to defeat a pack leader but leave them alive with the option (a very loose use of the word in some circumstances) of joining their families and pledging to their packs. Shanks defeated pack leaders as much as any other pirate captain, but he didn’t seek those fights out himself. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t finish that fight and, if pushed to it, he would destroy an entire pack rather than only killing the pack leaders. However, he would also befriend weaker, vulnerable packs (mostly led by betas or omegas) and let them fly his flag, remaining protected under his name. However, he would not absorb their pack into his own. That distinction was reserved for his closest crewmates. It led to him having a strange contradictory reputation: he was easygoing and passive yet ruthless and possessive at the same time.

All that in mind, Ace wasn’t overly worried about being on Whitebeard’s ship in terms of ending up joining his family or even ending up dead. He was more worried about the fallout when word got back to certain people.

Uta was never going to let him live this down.

Sabo might finally be convinced to overthrow Ace as captain.

Luffy was going to get a kick out of it.

More dangerously, Shanks wasn’t going to like this.

He and Whitebeard had a weird relationship; one Ace couldn’t get a clear definition of. He hadn’t witnessed it himself, only got descriptions from others, but it seemed like a friendly sort of rivalry softened by history but hardened by their titles. Shanks probably wouldn’t be too keen on hearing that Ace was captured by Whitebeard, even though he knew he wanted to defeat him on his own merits.

At the same time, Ace had struck out not just to be his own pirate but also to start his own pack. Would Shanks interject himself in a pack dispute? Ace wasn’t sure that he wanted that or that he was worth the trouble.

Shut up, Dummy!

Yeah, Freckleface, stop being an idiot.

You heard them.

Ace smiled to himself as words from Luffy, Uta and Sabo floated into his head. They had thrown enough insults at him in response to his self-loathing that he had a whole script in mind of what they would say.

He missed them like a limb. And, if he was honest with himself, he missed Shanks and the rest of the crew too. He still had his bonds with them, dormant as they were, like background noise in comparison to all the new packbonds he had formed with his beloved crew. He knew alphas starting their own pack could sever their previous bonds in order to create new ones, but Ace had spent so long feeling unwanted and unmoored, unsure where he belonged, who he belonged to, cursing his own blood and his existence as a blight on the world. Sometimes he still felt that way even with all the love and validation he’d received from his family over the years, so he couldn’t force himself to let them all go. He still needed to feel them in his heart, in his soul, in his mind. He instead allowed the majority of those bonds to settle into background noise, with the exception of Sabo. His crew couldn’t feel his old pack, but they knew of their existence and didn’t begrudge him his old bonds any more than he looked down upon theirs. Making a family amongst themself didn’t preclude the family they already had made, nor did it invalidate the feelings of the packmembers he had who were only just finding a family with the crew.

Which was why he had to admit he could see the appeal of an emperor like Whitebeard: a man who would call everyone he made part of his crew his sons and daughters. For a bunch of packless, family-deprived castaways, it was probably a dream. Ace understood these men’s loyalty to the ideal of their family, to the man who built it, to their pack, to their family. It was because of his own loyalty that he had no intention of joining this crew and so, instead, he kept trying for his dream. Day after day after day, he attempted to assassinate Whitebeard, a man he was coming to respect the longer he spent on this ship but still refused to call Pops no matter how much the others tried to convince him.

“You look like you’re expecting an anvil to fall on your head.”

Ace glanced up at Marco, Whitebeard’s first mate, as he placed a bowl of soup in front of him. It was too small, anyone who knew him, who was his family, would know it was too small.

(Marco would know if I joined his pack.)

Ace grabbed the bowl anyway, eating it with a sullen look on his face.

“Never waste food. You never know when a time might come when you’ll be without,” Sanji, his first love, had told him.

Their love affair had been swift and passionate but brief as all of Ace’s romances tended to be, but he still carried bits of all of them with him wherever he went. Thanks to Sanji, he would not waste this meal no matter where it came from. Thanks to Yamato, he would not falter in his belief for his dreams despite his current “captivity”. Thanks to Isuka, he would not fold in the face of any disappointment Marco would feel at his rejection.

These men were good men, but they weren’t Ace’s.

“I forgot how moody teenagers can be, yoi.”

“I’m eighteen.”

“Yeah, a teenager.”

Ace rolled his eyes in response to the beta.

“So, what are you sulking about? Failing at killing Pops again? When are you going to give that up? You can’t beat him.”

“What other choice do I have?”

“Join us.”

“I already told you, I won’t. I can’t.”

“Why’s that, brat?”

Ace bristled as Whitebeard joined them. He stood up quickly, though it didn’t change much in terms of their height difference.

“Would whatever I say matter to you, old man?”

“Contrary to what you believe, if you tell me ‘no’ from the heart, I’ll let you go.”

“Is that so? Now, why do I have a hard time believing that?”

“I haven’t let you go yet because you haven’t meant it.”

“Is that what you think? I haven’t meant it enough? All the times I’ve tried to kill you didn’t prove as much to you?”

“No, it didn’t. I knew a young woman that was just as fierce and deadly as you when she was confronted with something she could love. She would try to rip it up from the roots before she’d ever fall for it. A curious trait in an omega, but back in those days, a necessary one for survival.”

Ace stiffened at that, his brows furrowing. He couldn’t mean…?

“Portgas D. There aren’t many around who’d remember that name from back when she was her own captain, long before she joined Roger. Still, I remember her well. She was as fiery as you. You take after her more than you do your old man.”

“You know about…”

Whitebeard gave a pointed look to Ace’s hat, inherited from his mother, as well as the dagger against his hip. A gift from Roger to Rouge, passed down to Ace.

“Why are you still trying to get me to join your pack?”

“Because I see in you what I saw in Rouge once. Your mother loved your father long before she ever admitted it simply because she didn’t want to be seen as an omega allowing herself to be claimed by an alpha. Her heart yearned for a mate, but her mind yearned for freedom and she saw those two things as being in conflict with each other until she was able to reconcile them.”

“I don’t need help reconciling anything. You should’ve kicked me out by now. Is this some kind of ego play?”

“Of course not. To my crew, lineage is a trivial matter. It doesn’t matter where you came from or who you might’ve once belonged to or if you’ve never belonged to anyone at all. All of us who choose to live our lives free as pirates are children of the sea. That connects us more than any bloodbonds or even packbonds could. It’s an older connection, a deeper one that goes back long ago when this world was new. Your birth parents may be Rouge and Roger but that didn’t stop you from making your own way on these seas and forging your own pack. The sea called you all the same just as it calls us all. It’s a connection that happened when you were born and it’ll exist even after you’re dead. To join my pack is to live and breathe that connection everyday alongside your brothers and sisters, alongside me as your father, all of us together as a family.”

Ace blinked back in reply, feeling of two minds. In another life, he would’ve liked a place like this. He could only imagine a version of him that was more broken than he was now, more lonely, more desperate for validation. Faced with a man like Whitebeard, he would’ve folded eventually. It was what he never dared to dream of as a lonely child traversing the jungle of Dawn Island: a man who would blithely declare that a person’s lineage didn’t matter, they were all children of the sea. It wasn’t moving Ace at the moment, however it was nice to know that his mother wasn’t lost to history as he always feared. There were some people in the world who still remembered her, remembered the name. He also couldn’t help but wonder what Whitebeard gained from bringing this up.

“What’s your point?”

“You want freedom, I can see it. Every bit of your soul: your alpha spirit, your Conqueror’s will, the sea salt in your veins, your very being is yearning to run wild. But your heart wants a family as much as it does freedom.”

 “You’re right about that much. But I already have a family. My family is my pack, the people that I chose. My family are the people who I made a promise with over sake. My family are the ones who chose to love me and claimed me when they didn’t have to. I won’t turn my back on my crew by forcing them to join a pack they never asked for and I won’t spit in the face of my promise or the people who chose me by calling you Pops. There’s only one man alive in this world that I’ll ever call my father and it won’t be you.”

“Oh? Just what sort of man is that?”

“A great one. One of the best men I’ve ever known.”

Whitebeard rose an eyebrow, intrigued, before a voice cut through the air.

“Pops! Two ships are approaching!” The lookout called.

“Who?” Marco called back.

“One of them looks like Ace’s crew.”

His heart skipped a beat at that. His pack better not have been stupid enough to go on a suicide mission for him.

“The other is Red Hair!”

Ace deflated a little at that. He was glad his crew hadn’t come back along but he couldn’t help but be somewhere between annoyed and touched that they had gone running to his father for help.

“That brat. What’s that pup doing in our territory?” Whitebeard muttered to himself.

Ace bristled before he could stop himself, not liking when people minimized Shanks. Marco glanced over at him, but Ace didn’t meet his eyes.

“We’re not looking to fight him, yoi. If you’re keen to challenge another Emperor, I’d advise you to cool it,” the first mate cautioned.

Ace glanced over at him wordlessly before strolling towards the railing. He tilted his hat down a little to block out the sun. He could just barely make out the Red Force on the horizon.

“They’re signaling that they want to approach!”

Whitebeard was quiet a moment before he nodded.

“Let them,” Marco called back.

Ace’s attention was pulled by a flicker on the horizon. He allowed his Observation Haki to range out, trying to sense the object. It was a wild soul, a bundle of pure sunlight, chaotic joy and happiness, but a familiar soul nonetheless. A grin stretched across his lips as he got closer to the railing, squinting into the distance to get a closer look at the encroaching spirit.

“AAAAAAACE!!!”

His smile stretched wider as Luffy’s voice reached him.

The glare of the sun impeded his vision for a moment but eventually he could make out the growing image of his brother, who had flung himself across the sea if his still elongated arms were any indication. His eyes widened as he realized Luffy was about to crash into him. He planted his feet but still wound up stumbling back. His hat fell off as he tried to keep his balance with Luffy’s legs wrapped around his torso and his upper body smooshed against his face as he rubbed his cheek over Ace’s hair, scenting him. He couldn’t make out what expression the Whitebeard Pirates had at the sudden intrusion, he was sure it was hilarious though.

“Ace! I missed you so much! Uta and I have all the Newscoos about you and Sabo’s adventures and your bounty posters too! We heard so many stories from your crew about you guys, I can’t wait for you to tell me more!”

Ace chuckled to himself at Luffy’s rambling before he started poking the boy’s armpits.

“Hey, that tickles!” He exclaimed through giggles.

“Then get off me, you little punk. I can’t breathe and you’re embarrassing me in front of all these pirates.”

“Pirates?”

Luffy finally relinquished his hold on Ace and came to stand next to him, he tilted his head curiously as he stared at Whitebeard and Marco. They were staring back at Luffy with bemusement. Several other members of the Whitebeard crew looked shocked or confused by his little brother’s presence. Ace snorted at the dumbfounded looks on their faces as he picked up his hat, dusted it off and placed it back on his head.

“Hey, I know you two! I’ve seen you on wanted posters before in Dad’s cabin. You’re uh… um… uh… Old Banana Guy! And… Pineapple!”

Luffy declared, pointing at Whitebeard and then Marco.

There was a beat before all the men on the deck started laughing.

“Pineapple?”

“Oh, that’s a good one.”

“You know, I can kind of see it.”

“That one’s gonna stick, eh Marco?”

“He called Pops a name too, you know,” the beta first mate pointed out with annoyance.

“Yeah, but yours is funnier.”

Marco gritted his teeth in reply.

Ace took the moment of levity to discreetly study his little brother. It had been a year since he last saw Luffy. The 15-year-old didn’t look that different. He’d grown a little taller, though he’d always be on the shorter side as most male omegas were. He was wearing a white Criminal t-shirt with a red star on it, jean shorts and his preferred sandals but he still had the same wide grin on his face, the same straw hat sitting atop his head, same scar beneath his eye, same wild hair. He put on a little more muscle as well.

“You’ve gotten stronger, huh Luffy?”

The younger boy grinned widely at that.

“Uh-huh. I’ve been training a whole lot for when me and Uta go out to sea on our own. I have so many more moves to show you. Oh, there’s this new one that I call Gum Gum Battle Axe. Dad won’t let me practice it on the ship anymore because he said I’ll sink us if I do. It’s really strong though. I lift my leg really high in the air like this…”

Ace watched Luffy rear back before sending one of his legs high into the sky, drawing gasps and exclamations from the Whitebeard Pirates.

“…then I bring it down really hard and smash up a bunch of stuff, like this!”

Before Ace could stop him, Luffy’s leg came crashing down towards the deck of the Moby Dick. He cringed internally, fully expecting Luffy to punch a hole straight through the oversized ship. However, before his foot could make contact with the wood, it hit a small quake bubble instead.

“Huh?”

Luffy stared in confusion at the two opposing forces of his rubbery foot and the quake bubble. The energy of Whitebeard’s power caused Luffy’s leg to deform as it began to absorb the vibrations. The Devil Fruits continued to interact in a strange way before the tremor bubble cracked and Luffy’s leg reformed and thumped down to the deck harmlessly.

“That was really weird,” the young omega commented, rubbing and stretching his skin to make sure his leg was in its proper shape. Ace punched Luffy on the back of the head in response.

“Ow! Ace, did you have to use haki,” Luffy whined, rubbing the bump forming beneath his straw hat.

“Seeing as how you nearly sunk us, yes.”

“Give the Moby some credit, brats. She’s been sailing these seas for nearly 40 years. She won’t fall so easily. All the same, I’d thank you not to put a hole in her.”

“My bad, Old Banana Guy. Sissy told me not to make too much of a mess, but you did kidnap my brother, so I think it’s okay to mess up your ship at least a little,” Luffy replied.

“Brother?”

Ace stepped forward and threw an arm around Luffy’s shoulder.

“This is my little brother, Luffy.”

“Hi!”

“And I don’t need any saving, you little idiot. Certainly not by my baby brother. I would already have blown this joint if I wanted to leave.”

Luffy tilted his head to the side.

“These aren’t bad guys then?”

Ace felt the air shift as if the Whitebeard Pirates were eagerly awaiting his answer.

“No, no I don’t think they’re bad guys.”

Luffy took a moment to think this over before shrugging.

“Cool,” he replied before stretching towards Whitebeard and flinging himself at him.

Ace stepped forward protectively as did several other sons of Whitebeard. The old man caught Luffy in his large palm, snatching him out of thin air. He held the boy up so they were eye to eye before Luffy twisted around and climbed up the emperor’s massive forearm, perching onto his shoulder. Ace felt a growl bubbling in his chest, a wave of possessiveness flooding through him as Luffy happily swung his feet back and forth from his new seat. Whitebeard didn’t appear to mind the teen using him as a jungle gym, but Ace very much did.

“Pops, don’t even think about it,” Marco warned.

Whitebeard glanced down at the blonde man who was glaring back.

“We’ve already got our hands full with one hotheaded teen, we don’t need another one, yoi.”

“There’s always room for more among our family.”

Ace bristled again, glaring at where Luffy was leaning back from Whitebeard’s shoulder, nearly falling over before being caught by the Emperor.

“You’re not claiming my little brother, old man,” Ace snarled, letting his alpha scent grow stronger in a show of possessiveness.

“Shishishi, Ace is so silly. No one can claim me if I don’t want them to, dummy. I’m free to choose where I want to be,” Luffy declared, hooking his legs over Whitebeard’s arm so he was dangling upside down like his namesake animal.

His voice was carefree but there was a flare of Conqueror’s Haki that accompanied the declaration, causing a few men on deck to falter and stare wide-eyed at the teenager.

“The Conqueror’s Will as well? You would be perfect to join my crew alongside your brother. You sure you don’t want to be my son?”

“Eh? Me? Why would I do that? Besides, I can’t join anyone’s crew. I’m going to be King of the Pirates!”

Whitebeard’s eyebrow ticked up at that.

“That so?”

“Yeah!”

The old man glanced at Ace who shrugged wordlessly in reply.

“That’s all well and good, Pops, but we’ve got bigger things to worry about. Red Hair is within shouting distance by now and judging by the Haki he’s letting fly off him, I don’t think he’s in a good mood,” Izou pointed out.

“Let the brat board when he asks,” Whitebeard replied, not taking his eyes off Luffy, who had leaped onto his outstretched arm and was swinging back and forth before flipping into the air and landing on the back of Whitebeard’s chair, much like Ace had seen the acrobats in Buggy’s crew do.

“You’re a rambunctious one, huh punk,” the old man rumbled, looking at Luffy with a worrying glint in his eye.

The old man seemed determined to claim a new son regardless of who they were.

“Uh-huh. Dad says I’ve got enough energy to power the whole Grand Line,” Luffy replied, walking along the back of Whitebeard’s chair like it was a tightrope.

“I don’t doubt that,” Vista muttered.

“Just watching him is exhausting,” Izou groused.

“I think he seems fun,” Haruta protested, mischief glinting in his eyes.

“Dad?” Whitebeard repeated, an undeniable trace of disappointment clear in his voice.

“Ya-huh. Dad is the best.”

“I suppose your dad and Ace’s are the same, eh?” Thatch threw out, sweeping onto the deck while holding a meat pie aloft in one of his hands.

He didn’t get more than five steps before Luffy stretched out a hand, snatched the pie and started devouring it, pie tin and all.

The chef blinked in surprise before going back inside and wordlessly pushing out a cart of more meat pies. Luffy gasped before dragging the whole cart over and beginning to devour the pies whole one by one while Thatch looked on astonished, impressed and perturbed.

“Isn’t that our dinner,” Izou muttered, also watching the display with bemusement.

“You know, Firefist, you never said who your father was,” Vista pointed out.

“Who is this man you’ve decided is worthy of calling ‘father’? This man you choose over our Pops,” Jozu inquired.

Ace snorted in reply.

“Isn’t it obvious by now?”

There were several clueless blinks onboard while other faces lit up with understanding, not least of all Whitebeard’s.

“That little brat,” the old man commented before moving to his large chair to sit down.

Marco looked equally put out as the Red Force sailed up alongside the Moby Dick.

“You couldn’t have said something sooner?”

Ace shrugged in reply.

“I didn’t think he’d come.”

“‘E thou’ oo got takem, so Da’ came oo saf oo,” Luffy explained through his mouthful of food.

Marco sighed again before turning to the other pirates.

“Any rookies still out here better get inside. You won’t be able to withstand Red Hair’s spiritual pressure, not if he’s as serious as I suspect he is.”

“Huh? Why would we—”

Ace watched the pirate who had spoken fall unconscious to the deck. Several other pirates followed in quick succession as an oppressive energy began to spread over the Moby Dick like an ominous shadow. To Ace, it passed over him like a harmless wave, softened with a trace of warmth and possessiveness. He rolled his eyes at that even though he did feel an undeniable pang of affection.

He turned to watch Shanks’ approach. Men were falling out left and right and several cracks were forming in the wood of the Moby Dick. Shanks’ black cloak was billowing out behind him and his eyes were shadowed while his face was carefully blank.

Ace winced slightly as he took in the older man’s expression.

“What’s going on? Why are they all passing out like this?” One of the rookies asked.

“They just fainted, that’s all,” Marco dismissed.

“Those who have a weak will can’t withstand the aura that exudes from that man’s every step,” Jozu explained.

“Dad’s so strong,” Luffy agreed with a giggle.

Ace gave Whitebeard’s commanders credit for not downplaying Shanks, but he was also annoyed and embarrassed at the display. Sure, it was likely not simply on Ace’s account, he was meeting with a fellow Emperor after all, but he wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for the young captain.

He glanced behind the redhead. The Red Force and the Piece of Spadille were bobbing in the water not far from the Moby Dick. The commanders of the Red Hair Pirates lined the railings, guns slinged on their shoulders and hands resting on their swords. The Spade Pirates did the same from their ship, open hostility playing over all their faces as they glared at the Whitebeard Pirates, sneers and low growls audible on the wind.

Shanks finally stopped in the middle of the deck, his hand resting on Gryphon’s hilt. His gaze roved around the deck, his eyes lingering on Ace, looking him over for any signs of injury.

He felt another surge of affection-laden annoyance at the display.

Shanks’ eyes switched over to Luffy still perched on the back of Whitebeard’s chair after stuffing his face with meat pies. The teen, to his credit, seemed to pick up on his father’s mood. He stuffed one last pie in his mouth, swallowing it down almost painfully, before slinging himself towards his father, landing just a step behind him.

“Hi, Dad!” Luffy greeted happily.

“Anchor, I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t go ahead of me,” Shanks chastised.

Luffy pouted sheepishly in reply.

“Oh yeah, sorry. I was just excited to see Ace again.”

Shanks glanced over at Ace again, raising his brow inquiringly. Ace didn’t reply beyond stepping up next to Luffy behind Shanks.

“Red Hair, it’s bad form not to address the captain of the ship first, you know,” Whitebeard announced.

Shanks’ eyes lingered on the two boys before turning back to the alpha with a sharp grin.

“You’ll have to forgive a father’s worry. I’m sure you of all people can understand as much. It’s not every day a man finds out someone like you is looking to steal their son away. I might hold no ill-will towards you as a man but I don’t let go of my treasures so easily, not even the ones who drift off on their own.”

Ace felt a blush coloring his cheeks at the words.

Damn asshole.

The deck of the Moby Dick was quiet now, save for the creak of wood and the distant call of gulls. The pressure of Shanks’ Haki had eased, but its echo lingered with an unmistakable territorial air.

Shanks stood with one hand resting on Gryphon’s hilt, his gaze locked with Whitebeard’s. The tension between them was thick with history, power and something older and more primal. Ace knew that this was more than just two Emperors facing off, it was two packleaders sizing each other up in the wake of a possible challenge to a claim on a packmate. As a young packleader himself, Ace hadn’t been put in such a position yet but perhaps it was different for Shanks. Being an omega, his claims weren’t seen as strong or permanent like an alpha’s was, even as an Emperor.

Marco lingered near the mast, arms crossed, watching the exchange with a tightness to his shoulders he didn’t bother to hide. He’d probably seen enough clashes between pirate crews to know when a conversation was a negotiation and when it was a warning.

This was both.

Whitebeard leaned forward slightly in his chair, the wood groaning beneath his weight.

“You came storming into my territory, Red Hair. That’s not something I take lightly.”

“And you tried to steal what’s mine. I would’ve thought by now I made it clear that’s not something I let slide,” Shanks replied with a sharp smile.

Ace shifted where he stood, trying to look casual. He hated how much warmth bloomed in his chest at Shanks’ words. He didn’t need saving. He didn’t. But Shanks had come anyway.

Whitebeard’s eyes flicked toward Ace, then back to Shanks.

“He’s strong. Fierce. Loyal. He’d make a fine son.”

“He already is,” Shanks replied, voice low and firm.

“You may see potential. I see history. I see the boy I taught to sail, the pup who built nests in my cabin, the alpha who learned to protect his family as much as he learned to fight for what he believes in.”

Ace’s blush deepened.

Whitebeard didn’t flinch.

“And what of the boy on my chair? He’s got fire in him. The Conqueror’s Will. You think I wouldn’t want that in my family?”

Shanks turned slightly, glancing at Luffy, who was now crouched beside a barrel behind Whitebeard’s chair, poking at a crab with a stick and giggling every time it snapped at him. Ace had been so engrossed in the emperors’ exchange that he hadn’t even noticed that Luffy had left his side.  

“He’s not yours to want. He’s free. But he’s mine all the same too.”

Whitebeard exhaled slowly, the sound like a wave rolling over stone.

“You’re possessive,” the old man noted.

“I’m a pirate. We all went to sea in search of freedom and treasures that we couldn’t hope to find anywhere else. I’ve found mine. Can you blame me for being a little possessive? I don’t let go of what’s mine unless they ask me to.”

Ace’s throat tightened. He didn’t look up, didn’t speak, but he felt the truth of it settle into his bones. Shanks had never questioned that Ace and Sabo would leave one day to forge their own paths in the world. Ace wasn’t quite sure why he in turn had ever doubted that Shanks would still see Ace as his no matter where he was in the world.

Whitebeard leaned back, fingers drumming against his armrest.

“And if he chooses me?”

“Ace’s freedom is his own to exercise how he sees fit. I’ll respect whatever he chooses and so will you, old man,” Shanks said, his words carrying the weight of a warning and a threat.

Ace felt the tension shift, less like a storm and more like a tide pulling back.

Whitebeard was listening to Shanks.

“Despite what you appear to think, brat, I don’t steal sons. I offer them a place. A family. A pack. A home.”

Shanks nodded.

“I don’t doubt that. If Ace still feels like he doesn’t have all that even after all these years, then I’ll accept my own failure and let him go if that’s what he wants. Even so, I won’t ever turn my back on my duty to protect his freedom and his dream to create a legacy of his own.”

Ace swallowed hard.

They’re talking about me like I’m not here, he thought with a bit of frustration. Still, he didn’t interrupt. He wasn’t ready. Not yet.

Whitebeard’s gaze softened, just a fraction.

“His legacy, huh? He’s got Roger’s fire, but Rouge’s eyes.”

“He does. He has a lot of them in him, but he’s his own man all the same. If he joins you, he’ll trade their shadow for yours.”

Ace held his breath as he watched on. They stood in silence for a moment, two packleaders with the weight of oceans behind them.

Then Luffy popped up beside him, startling Ace as he shoved the crab in his face triumphantly.

“Ace! Look! I named him Snappy!”

Ace stared at the crab slightly cross-eyed.

“Lu, that’s a terrible name.”

“No, it’s not! He snaps! So, his name is Snappy!”

Ace rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.

Whitebeard watched the exchange, then turned back to Shanks.

“You’ve raised good boys.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Shanks replied simply.

Marco finally stepped forward.

“So, what now? Are we at war, or not, yoi?”

Whitebeard snorted.

“I don’t fight over sons unless I am looking to protect or avenge them.”

“Then we’re not fighting,” Shanks shrugged.

Ace let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Luffy jumped up triumphantly on top of a barrel, arms flung wide, voice echoing across the deck.

“I declare a banquet!”

Marco blinked.

“For what?”

“For everything! For Ace not dying! For Dad not punching Old Banana Guy! And for my new friend, Snappy the crab!”

The crab, now perched on the edge of the barrel, snapped once in agreement.

“You can’t just declare a banquet on someone else’s ship,” Marco pointed out.

“You clearly don’t know Luffy,” Ace commented.

Shanks chuckled at Ace’s words before shrugging.

“Never said I taught him manners. Besides, he’s not wrong. We didn’t kill each other. That’s worth celebrating.”

Marco glared at Shanks in reply.

“Why does this just feel like an excuse for you to drink?”

Shanks flashed him an unapologetic smile before turning to the Red Force.

“Bring out the booze, boys!”

With a whoop, the Red Hair Pirates began hauling crates of booze and food from the Red Force, their laughter spilling across the waves. Ace smirked as Marco’s face grew more and more annoyed. Whitebeard simply laughed and ordered his own crew to start hauling out their booze and food.

Beckman patted Ace on the shoulder as he walked past him and tossed a bottle to Marco, who caught it with practiced ease, scowling but not protesting.

Beckman looked back to Ace and raised his eyebrow silently.

Ace shuffled a little, feeling a flush of embarrassment.

“You know, we were sailing for eight years before Shanks felt ready enough to challenge Whitebeard. You’ve been on the sea for nearly one and you’re already trying to fight an Emperor?”

“No risk, no reward, right?”

Beckman snorted in reply before patting Ace’s shoulder again.

The tension that had gripped the Moby Dick began to melt, replaced by the clatter of mugs, the scent of grilled meat and the low hum of sea shanties.

The Spade Pirates arrived soon enough, mingling among the Red Hair Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates. Ace leaned back against a barrel, watching the merriment unfold. He couldn’t help but feel the absence of Sabo along with Skull and Mihar who accompanied him to work with their allies in the Revolutionary Army.

There was another notable absence as well. Ace hadn’t seen his sister yet. He was fully expecting her to never let him live this down but as of yet, she was a no show.

Ace scanned the crowd until he finally spotted Uta stepping onto the deck, her braided two-toned hair swinging behind her, her posture proud but cautious even as she drew the eye of the Whitebeard Pirates. Ace recognized the myriad of looks she was getting, the kinds she’d always gotten being a gamma: the pitying looks, the questioning looks, the cautious ones, the wary ones. Ace noted that none of them were disgusted. It was a credit to the family Whitebeard had created that none of his sons were looking down on Uta but he recognized now that she’d probably always be wary of environments like this being who she was.

She caught his eye eventually and approached him with a smirk on her painted lips.

“You really know how to cause a scene, Freckleface” she said by way of greeting, nudging his shoulder.

“Kidnapped by an Emperor, rescued by another, declared your independence in front of what might be half the Grand Line. Very dramatic.”

“Can we not call it ‘kidnapped’? I walked onto the ship.”

“According to Deuce, you were carried onto the ship unconscious and then held on the ship. Kidnapped seems accurate,” she reminded sweetly.

“Sabo’s going to lose his mind when he hears about this.”

Ace winced at the reminder.

“You think he’ll yell?”

“Oh, definitely. And then he’ll hug you so hard you’ll crack a rib.”

“I didn’t mean to worry anyone. Didn’t think you’d all come running after me,” Ace admitted, shifting uncomfortably.

“Dumbo. You’re our family, of course we came for you.”

That shut him up. The moment was interrupted as Luffy bounded over, arms wide.

“Uta! You missed my crab friend, Snappy!”

“I saw the crab,” she replied dryly.

“I also saw you ignore Dad’s orders and sneak off the ship.”

“I was bored,” Luffy pouted.

“You aren’t captain yet, Lu. Dad’s orders are still law.”

“Unless Benn says otherwise,” all three kids finished, the words rehearsed from years of being with the Red Hair pirates.

They all laughed at the familiar mantra, enjoying the moment after a year apart. They sat close together, shoulders pressed up against each other as they let the noise wash over them.

“I like this,” Luffy said unprompted.

“Hmm,” Ace hummed.

“The pack Ace is building, the new family he’s making. It’s making Ace happy.”

Ace blinked at that but didn’t deny it.

Uta smiled a little at her twin’s words.

“Your heartsong does feel lighter. You’re building something that’s your own. When Luffy and I set out, we’ll do the same thing. We’ll choose our own crew, our own paths.”

“But we’ll always come back to each other,” Luffy finished.

“You two are really growing up,” Ace realized as the words left his lips.

Luffy giggled at that.

“Yup, I’m a big boy,” he declared which really didn’t help matters but what could Ace expect from him.

“I’ve always been grown. You boys wouldn’t have survived otherwise,” Uta declared.

~*~*~

The banquet had bloomed into full chaos. Mugs clinked, songs rose, laughter spilled across the deck like waves. The scent of grilled fish and roasted meat mingled with sea salt and someone had started a dance circle that Luffy was dominating with wild, noodle-limbed enthusiasm.

Ace slipped away from the noise, weaving through the crowd until he reached Whitebeard, who sat slightly apart, watching his sons with a quiet pride.

“Got a minute?” Ace asked.

Whitebeard nodded, gesturing to the empty crate beside him. Ace sat, elbows on knees, gaze fixed on the horizon for a moment before he spoke.

“I’m not joining your crew.”

The words hung in the air, not sharp, not defiant, just true.

Whitebeard’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t look angry.

“I see what you’ve built. I respect it. You’ve given a lot of people something they never had.”

Ace paused, his eyes scanning the deck.

The Spade Pirates were laughing with the Red Hair crew, swapping stories and drinks. Luffy had pulled Uta into his dance circle and she was mock singing dramatically, twirling with exaggerated flair. Shanks was leaning against the mast, watching them all with that quiet pride Ace had come to recognize as love.

“I have that. I’ve been building it. My crew, my siblings, my pack. I didn’t see it at first, but it’s here. It’s real.”

Whitebeard followed his gaze.

“You’ve got good instincts. They follow you because they trust you.”

“And I trust them. I can’t give that up. Not for a bigger name. Not for a legacy that isn’t mine.”

Whitebeard studied him for a long moment, then nodded.

“You remind me of him. But you’re not him.”

Ace exhaled, tension bleeding out of his shoulders.

“I don’t want to live in his shadow. I don’t want to live in anyone’s shadow. I want to be free to chase my own dreams. To protect my own people. To build something that’s mine.”

Whitebeard leaned back, the wood groaning beneath him.

“Then you’ve already started.”

Ace smiled, small and quiet.

“Yeah. I think I have.”

Whitebeard raised his mug.

“To freedom, then.”

Ace clinked his own against it.

“To family.”

~*~*~

The stars were beginning to scatter across the sky when Ace made his way back to his Spade Pirates. The deck of the Spadille was alive with laughter and the clatter of boots. Ace had missed the sounds of his crew. He had taken for granted the comfort their presence alone brought him. Ace approached them with steady steps, his heart full.

“Captain, you really stirred things up, didn’t you,” Deuce greeted.

“Wouldn’t be me if I didn’t. Although, I wasn’t the one who went running to my captain’s father for help. Pretty sure I’m never living that down.”

“We won’t apologize, Captain Ace. We were willing to do whatever it took to get you back,” Banshee defended.

Several noises of agreement went through the crew as Kotatsu rubbed up against his leg.

“You’d do the same for us,” Deuce added, a challenge in his voice. Ace didn’t dare deny it.

“We’re heading out soon. I’ll be spending the night on the Red Force, but I want you to follow it. Stay close.”

Ace took a deep breath as he looked around the deck of the Spadille. The scent of his crew mingled together and soaked into the wood, telling of their shared history and the bonds that they were building together. It wrapped around him like a blanket and settled in his chest securely.

He moved through his crew slowly, touching shoulders, clasping forearms, pressing his forehead to theirs in quiet ritual. Each contact was a reaffirmation: You are mine. I am yours. We are pack.

They responded in kind between gruff laughter, soft murmurs, the occasional tear quickly wiped away, teasing jabs and playful threats with promises of retribution if Ace ever left them.

Deuce lingered last and longest, his scent steady and grounding.

“You weren’t tempted at all to join Whitebeard, were you? You know we’ll follow you anywhere. If this is something you’ll live to regret, tell us now and we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re happy.”

Ace felt a flush of warmth and love settle over him so heavy it made him squirm with discomfort.

“I’ve got everything I need right here.”

Ace pressed his nose lightly to Deuce’s neck, inhaling the beta’s familiar scent: pine, bergamot, ink and cedarwood. He relaxed further as he felt Deuce reciprocating the impromptu scenting, his nose brushing over the skin of Ace’s neck lightly.

Eventually, they parted and Ace turned, leaping from the deck of the Spadille and landing lightly on the Red Force. He smiled at all the Red Hair Pirates he passed, accepting their gentle ribbing as he made his way to his old quarters, the one he shared with his siblings, the place where they had all built their shared nest. Uta and Luffy were already inside and curled up in the blankets and pillows, arguing over who got the corner spot.

Shanks was nearby, watching with that soft, steady look Ace had come to associate with safety.

He climbed into the nest without hesitation, knowing he was always welcome. He let his body relax into the warmth of his siblings and allowed their scents to wash over him.

Luffy – ocean breeze, cinnamon and something meaty.

Uta – sea breeze, vanilla and something floral.

Shanks – sea salt, amber, grapefruit, sage.

He could still faintly smell Sabo among the fabrics – ink, petrichor, green tea with a hint of lime.

The fabrics that had carried Makino, Dadan, Buggy, Eudora and the other bandits’ scents had long faded but Ace’s nose still remembered the scents of vanilla, elderflower and maple from Makino, sharp pine, smoke and citrus from Dadan, teakwood, lemon and lavender from Buggy, pineapple, chocolate, hibiscus and rose from Eudora. He even remembered sun-warmed driftwood, warm and briny with hints of rum, ginger and iris from Garp, the shitty old man who had made it his business to chase Ace and Sabo all throughout Paradise, promising Fists of Love if they didn’t abandon their dreams of piracy and join the Navy.

All of those smells and more made up the tapestry of people he called family, people who filled his heart with joy and love and a sense of belonging. Maybe he could’ve had that with Whitebeard too, but he already had it with the family he had now and he wasn’t going to trade them for anything.

He settled deeper into the nest with his siblings. Uta stole his pillow and stuck her tongue out at him, daring him to take it back. Luffy flopped across his legs, chattering away about the new beetles he’d seen since the last time Ace saw him. Shanks draped a blanket over all three of them as Luffy’s voice washed over the room, lulling Ace into slumber.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, he slept soundly.

~*~*~

Ace woke before the sun. Warmth pressed in on all sides. Uta was curled against his back, one hand tangled in his shirt. Luffy was sprawled across his chest like a weighted blanket, snoring loudly. Shanks, somehow, had ended up with his arm draped protectively over all three of them, his breath steady and slow. Around them, the Red Hair Pirates were scattered in the room in various states of unconscious chaos, blankets kicked off, mugs tipped over, someone snoring into a pool of drool.

Ace blinked, the early light filtering through the porthole casting everything in gold.

He eased himself out of the nest carefully and traversed the mess of bodies on the floor, doing his best not to step on anyone or wake anyone up.

He walked out onto the deck, the chill of dawn brushing against his skin. He waved to Yasopp who was on watch before walking to the railing and looking out into the expanse. The sea was glassy and calm, as calm as the Grand Line ever was. The Piece of Spadille followed not far behind the Red Force as the horizon was painted in hues of lavender and rose from the sun’s slow climb.

He didn’t know how long he stood there before Shanks joined him, quiet as a shadow.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Slept fine. Just… needed a minute.”

Shanks nodded, resting his forearm on the railing beside him.

“You always wake this early?”

“Only when I’m thinking too loud.”

“Want me to shut your brain up?”

Ace gave him a sideways look.

“You gonna knock me out like you did half of Whitebeard’s crew?”

“Tempting, but no. I was thinking more like talking.”

Ace grimaced a little at that. He wasn’t as standoffish as he was when he was a kid, but something inside him still squirmed uncomfortably at the prospect. Shanks didn’t speak, leaving the floor open for Ace to go first. He rolled his eyes at that before sighing.

“Do you think… when you first went out to sea, did it ever feel like you… I don’t know, owed them? Mom and Roger?”

Shanks snorted at that.

“Oh seas, all the time. It felt like anything I did had to be in honor of them and if I fell short, I’d be failing them. But on top of that, anything I did was credited to Roger even though he’d been gone for years. It still happens sometimes, even now that I’m an Emperor. My name will always be attached to his. It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to, but when I was first starting out? God, I hated it. I didn’t want to be a symbol, I just wanted to be free to be myself. Who I am was partly shaped by Rouge and Roger, but I knew them well enough to know that they would want me to be my own man no matter what legacy they left behind.”

“I want to honor Mom. I want my name, her name, our name, to echo across the Grand Line. I don’t want her to be forgotten. But I don’t want… I want to be myself too.”

Shanks took a moment to think about that before responding.

“There’s nothing wrong with your dream or your desires. You can make the name Portgas D ring loud and still be yourself because everything you do will be yours. No one knows about your connection to Roger, as far as I’m concerned they never should. For better or worse, most don’t know about your connection to Rouge either. It gives you the chance to be yourself first and foremost. You don’t have to do anything, not for Roger, not for me, not for Whitebeard, not even for Rouge. You’re Ace, that’s what they loved the most and wanted to protect. Not a legacy, but their son.”

“They weren’t around to protect me though,” Ace muttered, a fact that still stung his heart to this day even though he knew all the circumstances surrounding his birth and his parents’ relationship.

“No, but he tried to prepare the world for you and she tried to protect you from what the world would do to you. That’s why they kept you a secret.”

“Didn’t work.”

“No,” Shanks agreed.

“But you’re still here. Still choosing. That’s something. It’s given you a chance. You’re building something real. Something yours. That’s what I always wanted for you. You may have jumped the gun a little with Whitebeard, though. I thought you’d be out a full year before you gave me a heart attack like this one.”

“I just… I didn’t want to disappoint you,” Ace admitted.

Shanks chuckled at that.

“You could set the Grand Line on fire and I’d still be proud of you, Firefox.”

Ace snorted at the reply and the old nickname.

“Don’t tempt me.”

Shanks looked down with a bittersweet sort of smile on his lips. Ace raised a curious eyebrow at it.

“I went into this knowing my pups would leave one day, chase their own dreams, build their own crews, maybe even make their own packs. I just didn’t expect it to feel like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like pride and heartbreak all tangled up. I spent years apart from you. From all of you, chasing a place at the top for you, so we could be together without all the… bullshit that came along with me being who I am. And now you’re grown. Strong. Brilliant. And I still want to keep you close.”

Ace’s throat tightened involuntarily at that. He thought of all the ways Shanks stayed a presence in their lives while the pups were growing up with the bandits on Mount Colubo, all the phone calls, the letters, the gifts, the way he checked in on them through the bonds, all the ways he let them know he still cared.

“You did keep us close. Even when you weren’t there. And you kept your promise. You came back for us. I could stand strong and choose myself in the face of Whitebeard’s offer because of the family you helped me build. Because I knew I wasn’t alone.”

Shanks reached out, ruffled his hair gently.

“You’ve never been alone.”

“Still embarrassed you had to come save my ass though.”

Shanks grinned at that as they watched the sun rise together, the light spilling across the deck, painting the world in yellow hues.

Ace leaned against Shanks’ shoulder lightly, enjoying the view.

“Whatever comes next, you’ve got a home here. Always.”

“I know.”

And for a moment, the sea was quiet, the sky was endless, and everything felt exactly as it should.

BONUS:

Sabo slammed the report down on the table, the parchment curling at the edges from the force of his frustration.

“He did what?”

Mihar winced at his Vice Captain’s tone.

“He challenged Whitebeard. Alone.”

“Alone?” Sabo echoed, voice rising.

“He left us here to run weapons and he went to fight an Emperor? Awfully rude,” Skull commented jovially.

“Technically, he had the Spades with him,” Hack offered.

Sabo shot him a look.

“That’s not the point.”

Koala slid another report across the table.

“There’s more.”

Sabo scanned the details from the Revolutionary spy network, coded summaries of the incident: a temporary alliance between the Spade Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates, the arrival of the Red Force and Spadille, Shanks and Whitebeard’s confrontation, Luffy’s antics, Uta’s appearance, and finally, Ace’s decision.

He sat back slowly, fingers drumming against the wood.

“He didn’t join Whitebeard,” Hack pointed out.

“’Course not, our captain chooses his own path,” Skull declared.

Sabo exhaled, tension bleeding out of his shoulders.

“Good.”

Mihar raised an eyebrow at that.

“You’re not mad?”

“Oh, I’m furious,” Sabo corrected.

“He ran off without me, picked a fight with the World’s Strongest Man, had to get rescued by our father and then had a banquet about it.”

“Sounds like Ace,” Skull shrugged.

“It is Ace. That’s the problem,” Sabo groaned.

He stood, pacing the room.

“I know he’s strong. I know he’s capable. But he’s also reckless and stubborn and emotionally constipated. He needs someone to keep him grounded.

“You,” Koala inquired knowingly.

“Me.”

He looked out the window, watching the sea stretch endlessly toward the horizon.

“I love the Revolution. I believe in it. But my place is with my pack. With Ace.”

Hack crossed his arms.

“You’re leaving then?”

“The Spades are sailing again. They left the Red Force and the Moby Dick behind so they could forge their own path in the New World. I can’t let that continue without being there to help them along. It’s time we went home.”

“Suppose they do need our Vice Captain to knock some sense into his brother,” Mihar agreed.

“I’m going to knock him overboard.”

He turned, grabbing his coat and pipe, the fire in his eyes tempered by love.

“Ace is building something. I want to be there to help him shape it, to remind him he’s not alone, to remind him he’s loved. He forgets too often.”

Koala stepped forward, pressing a small packet into his hand.

“Rations. Get back to your crew safely but keep an eye out for us. The Revolution still needs you.”

Sabo stepped out into the sunlight, the wind catching his coat, the scent of salt and citrus already calling him home.

And somewhere, across the sea, Ace was laughing with their crew, sailing toward the future.

Sabo would be there soon.

To scold him. To hug him. To stand beside him.

Because that’s what brothers do.