Chapter Text
Marco
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When Marco was younger, he often thought that he wouldn’t ever meet his soulmate, stuck on his little home island with no way to leave it. He didn’t know what had happened to his parents, the story lost to time and the memory fading from the moment he met his new father, the man who gave him the chance to see the world and brightened his life.
At first, he didn’t even know he had a soulmate, due to not understanding how they work, what with never having it explained to him, but once he learned of them, he grew excited at the prospect of it, eagerly awaiting the day he would find a name on his wrist.
It would take him being in his twenties for the name to appear on his wrist and when he saw it, his heart sank to his feet and into the bottom of the ocean.
The name on his wrist wasn’t someone who was still around after everything that had happened in the past year and yet, fate had cruelly placed the name there on his wrist as if mocking all of his childish wonder and excitement at the prospect of having a soulmate, after waiting years for a name to appear on his wrist, for any indication that someone out there was waiting for him.
But no, the name on his wrist couldn’t be possible for one reason, so pure and painfully true.
Gol.
The name of a man who’d died without bringing a child into the world, due to the World Government going the extra length to make sure another person holding his blood never breathed again. An entire generation was slaughtered in search of this child and yet, fate was a cruel mistress that continued to play with Marco to this day.
From the day his Pops picked him up, he thought he’d never feel pain this deep again, but here he was, tears filling his eyes as he stared at the black letters that curved elegantly around his wrist, almost lovingly placed there.
With a choked laugh that held no mirth, the blond shoved his sleeve back down, swearing to himself to never let another person see how he was truly destined to be alone in this world.
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Ace
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When Ace was born, his soulmate's last name was already on his little wrist, yet no one ever peeked and he had no idea what it stood for. He stared at it a lot, but never said anything, too busy enjoying life running around the jungle.
Until he turned four and his childish wonder and innocence was shattered by the very man who brought him to Dawn Island in order to try and keep him safe from the rest of the world.
Garp, the man who wanted Ace to love him as a grandfather, told him the true origin of his birth, snuffing out the childish light in his eyes as he spoke of a man that was a demon to the public, who was nothing more than a monster that terrorized people and moved across the seas as some sort of hungry beast. Garp told him the tale of the woman he killed by her holding him in her womb until an entire year had passed and when she finally did, she passed holding onto his sleeping form and giving him his name that would mark his end one day.
Gol D. Ace, the spawn of a demon.
“Gramps…” He murmured, voice soft and scared, carmine eyes locking with the other’s stone-hard gaze as he brokenly lifted his wrist for the man to see. “What does this name mean?”
Blinking, the marine leaned down, squinting at the chicken scratch over the small wrist, before his face twisted. “Ace, no matter what, never go to find your soulmate. They’ll want to kill you for your father’s crimes, I mean it.”
And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Ace dropped his wrist, head falling back and loud wails of broken rage and sadness burst forth, tears streaming down his face in hot streams as Garp merely sat by and watched, eyes wise and old as he watched the four-year-old sob at the loss of the chance to have someone who would unconditionally love him, even as the name printed on his arm burned in his head.
Phoenix.
The word was obviously his soulmate’s last name, written in their handwriting to boot, but Ace was never meant to love or be loved, it would seem, as even his own soulmate would one day hurt him.
Ace was destined to be alone no matter where he was or when he was born, all thanks to the man who helped in his creation.
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Marco
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Marco sighed heavily as he walked to the shore of the island that they had docked at, a bouquet of flowers in his hands as he crouched as close to the water as his Devil Fruit would allow, placing the beautiful flowers into the waves and watching as the water began to sweep them out, further and further into the horizon.
He’d taken to doing this every year at the same time of the assault on Baterilla in honor of his soulmate, who never even had the chance to take their first breath in the world, killed too early, just for having the blood of the long deceased Gol D. Roger.
It truly was a cruel world it seemed.
“Hey, Marco!” He turned, watching as Thatch jogged up to him, a sad smile on his face. His newest younger brother had learned about Marco’s special ritual to his soulmate. “Finished with your little meeting with your soulmate?”
“Almost, yoi.” He murmured, the brunette kneeling next to him. “I just sent the flowers out and was about to start talking, but it would be nice if you’d like to join?”
Thatch blinked, before he smiled, this time less sadly and more on the softer edge, kneeling next to the blond. “I’d love to.” He turned to the ocean and took a deep breath. “Hey there, Marco’s soulmate. I know this is the first time you’re hearing from me, but I’m Thatch. I only joined last month and you know, you would’ve loved Marco more than anything. He’s always so kind and patient with us newbies. Constantly looking out for us like a mother hen and making sure we’re okay. He’s been helping me adjust to living on the Whitebeards…I’m sorry that I got to meet him and you didn’t.”
Marco smiled, blue eyes looking out at the fading sun on the horizon. “Hey love, it’s that time of year. I sent some hibiscus flowers out again. I know you’re probably tired of them, but they were the main flowers that were located on your home island and I thought it would be best if I sent them to you as a tribute every year instead of trying to find flowers with meanings constantly, since being on the sea means I can only stop oh so much.” He paused, feeling the familiar choking feeling reappear as it did every year while here. “I’m still really sad that I’ll never get to meet you, but I feel a bit more at ease with you being up there and not feeling any pain or fear that you would’ve went through while being alive, since the World Government would’ve stopped at nothing to take you from me again, yoi. I hope you’re watching me up there, I’m the best of the Whitebeard’s commanders and you have the chance to see me kicking ass in your name.”
The two sat there for a bit longer, before they stood, the sun almost fully set by now, before making their way back to the Moby Dick, the chef saying nothing as Marco wiped furiously at his cheeks and eyes, trying to get rid of any tears before they fell.
It was a yearly task that he would continue religiously.
The name on his wrist burned painfully at the reminder of him being alone in the world and Marco could do nothing, but run his thumb over the three beautifully written letters.
His soulmate would’ve had beautiful writing, it seemed and he wished his handwriting was better than it had been, even if they never saw it to begin with.
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Ace
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Ace was ten when he finally felt like his world was falling into place perfectly. He found people who accepted him for who he was, after years of going into bars alone and asking the local drunks and washed up bandits what would they think if the former Pirate King had a child and getting nothing, but hate and abuse hurled his way, he thought he’d finally found the two who would pull him from the slumps.
Until the day that Sabo died, shot down by some Celestial Dragon and lost to the sea that they all wanted to escape to and yet, they were all trapped here once more, this time with one less brother.
That made the dark thoughts in Ace’s head reach a new boiling point as he tried to distance himself from Luffy, only for the younger to get hurt while fighting a bear with him so close by and able to help him.
That changed something in Ace as he stayed by Luffy’s side as he recovered.
Even if he was destined to be alone, destined to bring nothing but pain and destruction to others in the vicinity, he would stay by Luffy’s side. His younger brother, who decided that it was easier to be hurt by wild animals and bandits, than to be alone.
The only light in his dark tunnel of loneliness and pain.
The name on his wrist ached as he remembered how he was never to go looking for them, for they would want to hurt him and take him out for the same reason as the rest of the world.
Just for being the bastard son of the long dead Gol D. Roger.
Phoenix, written in weirdly bad handwriting, forever burned into his skin, one of the many things that he could never allow himself to have.
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Marco
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Marco grinned brightly as the teen finally accepted his place among their ranks, taking on their mark and joining them after three straight months of assassination attempts and being beaten each time.
He didn’t understand why Ace had been so against joining them at first, but the kid finally seemed to realize that they truly saw something in him, that they wanted him for their crew and that he belonged there just as much as the next man.
It had been a long time and he’d watched as the teen (only seventeen, who would’ve guessed!), who seemed to carry some dark world around him, finally began to loosen up and join them.
It was a great day.
The three letters etched into his skin itched on his wrist, but Marco ignored it.
His soulmate was forever on his mind, but right now was about Ace, not the one who he never got to meet.
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Ace
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Ace squinted down at the paperwork in his hands. It had been close to two years since he joined the Whitebeard Pirates and even rose to their Commander ranking for the Second Division at the mere age of eighteen.
But as he sat there, looking over old reports to get a feeling for what he was going to have to do in the future, something about the words resonated in his head and he pursed his lips, carmine eyes locked on the ink that was awkwardly written on the paper.
His wrist burned and it clicked in the freckled logia user’s head immediately.
Quickly moving to unravel the gauze he kept over his soulmate’s name in order to try and bury the feelings of being unwanted, his eyes looked over the name and the ink on the paper, face paling and dread filling his stomach.
Phoenix sat on his wrist, a mocking reminder of everything he was never allowed to have, just as mocking as the words written on the paper in front of him.
Marco had been doing the work from the Second Division until Ace took over the position just that morning.
Marco’s handwriting fit the chicken scratch that was forever burned into his skin like a taboo.
Marco was one of the few people who didn’t have a last name on the ship, instead being known by his Devil Fruit abilities, which just so happened to be a Phoenix of all things.
“I’m so f*cking stupid…” He whispered, eyes filling with tears as his hands moved to cover his face.
The blond man that he had been getting closer to, even crushing on, was his soulmate and Ace could never tell him.
He didn’t want anything to happen to Marco, just like what happened to Sabo and Luffy just for knowing his name. He didn’t want to face the disgust, hatred, and rejection that he was sure to face if Marco was to find out his birth name.
Ace was used to holding himself back from the things he wanted. If Luffy wanted, that was fine, Ace would make it work, but if he wanted something, he locked it away.
Because if Ace got greedy, it could mean the end of many things, including his own life.
So, in the privacy of his own office, Ace broke down for the third time in his life and began to cry, his sobs muffled by his hands and the door as he once more held himself back from reaching out for someone to love him, knowing it was nothing more than a pipe dream.
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Marco
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Marco stared wide eyed at the live Den-Den Mushi visual that everyone was forced to watch as Ace, the fiery youngest of the Whitebeard Pirates, sat there, beaten to hell and back, head dropped in shame as Sengoku explained the process of the birth for the young fire logia and the subsequent reasoning for his execution, despite him only being part of Whitebeard’s crew.
His wrist burned and ached and he didn’t know why, too focused on the story unfolding in front of them.
“And your true name isn’t Portgas D. Ace, but rather…Gol D. Ace!” The silence in the room was suffocating as the marines on the feed began to whisper amongst themselves and Marco even caught some looks of detestation on their faces as they gazed at the pale, freckled form of the chained pirate.
But none of that mattered to the blond, who’s eyes widened and he looked over at Thatch, who after being left for dead was on the mend, the brunette’s eyes just as wide and bewildered as his own.
His soulmate, who he thought was dead after the attack on Baterilla, had been alive and well under his nose this entire time, alive and healthy.
“Marco…” Whitebeard’s voice was low and sorrow tinged the edge and the blond knew why. He’d gone and told his father about his soulmate’s name when he first found out about it and obviously Ace had entrusted his true heritage to him, but he wouldn’t tell the rest of them, due to Ace’s paranoia about his name getting out.
“Don’t. I understand completely, yoi.” He grinned, a sharp show of his teeth as flames licked along the edges of his sandals and arms. “Now, we have to show Ace how much he truly means to us and get him back home, so I can yell at him properly and then kiss him stupid.”
“Aye, my son.” Whitebeard grinned, eyes crinkling from his happiness.
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Ace
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The war was brutal and the fear that was thrumming through Ace’s veins was the only thing that kept him stuck and lost in the spiral that was his mind. He was forced to watch the crew mates that he’d come to call family all fall, one after another for him, despite his pleas and begging to leave him.
He wasn’t worth it.
He was the Demon’s son.
He didn’t deserve to live.
He was always on borrowed time.
Then, the bright blue and gold flames of a phoenix caught his eye and Ace watched, a small traitorous little spark of hope came to life in him. His soulmate (even if Marco didn’t know or did know) had come for him…only for that hope to be dashed by Garp moving to slam his fist into the fire zoan’s head and send him careening to the hard ground of Marineford, the bottom of the scaffold.
“Marco!” His voice was hoarse from yelling, tears filling his eyes once more.
Thus, he was forced to watch the continuation of the bloodshed and as more bodies fell, one atop another, unmoving and lives lost for his own cursed existence.
It broke him repeatedly, which only worsened when he realized that Luffy was there too, trying to desperately save him without his crew and instead surrounded by a bunch of people from Impel Down (which both worried and confused him).
Somehow, his brother managed to get to the scaffold and release him from his cuffs and they were on the move, Ace trying to get his little brother out of there without any more damage coming to him.
But like an idiot, he stopped when something made him angry. Akainu, spitting words of hate and venom his way, causing his entire mind to tinge red on the edges as he turned, arms ready to try and set the damn dog on fire, only to stop when blistering pain traveled up his arms instead.
Magma burned hotter than his own flames of passion and emotion could.
He knew he was at a disadvantage, that both he and Luffy weren’t in the proper state to be able to take an admiral on, but still, he couldn’t force himself to leave without making that mutt apologize.
Ace stood there, breath coming out in exhausted pants as he tried to find a way to win this, before he glanced at Luffy, carmine eyes softening at how beat up his brother was.
For now, he’d leave it. Luffy needed him more than ever now and the only way to make that happen was by leaving this damn war.
He turned, ready to start running again, only for Luffy to collapse, his body seemingly giving out on itself and Ace saw it, Akainu rushing forward, magma spilling freely over his arm as he launched towards Luffy and the fire logia was moving on instinct, body standing between his downed little brother and the marine admiral making his way towards them.
He closed his eyes and braced himself, the feeling of magma already splattering along his back and tearing a scream out of his mouth, but he chanced a glance over his shoulder, eyes widening at the sight of Marco standing there, blue and gold flames blocking Akainu from getting any closer.
His vision darkened as his carmine eyes met annoyed blue as the blond turned to them. “Thatch, get them out of here, yoi!”
“Roger!” Muscled arms wrapped around Ace and Luffy, the elder brother struggling for a moment, before relaxing at the familiar voice. “Don’t worry, Ace, we gotcha. You and Straw Hat are going to be fine.”
He lost himself to the haze of exhaustion and pain.
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Marco
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After the events of the war, Marco didn’t have time to talk to Ace, too busy trying to keep him and his brother alive with the help of another member of the Worst Generation, Trafalgar Law, who wanted to assist them for some reason.
Not that they were complaining. They had many to bury and others who were hurt and Law’s entire crew seemed to be able to help in some shape or form and that was a bigger relief than most would think.
It gave him time to look over his soulmate, gaze sad as he breathed through an oxygen mask, body weakened and broken from his time in Impel Down.
“They hurt you so badly, yoi.” He whispered into the quiet of the infirmary as he settled himself into the chair next to the bed. “But don’t worry, we’ve got you and brought you home. Straw Hat is fine, but he’s with Trafalgar right now, getting the help he can and as far from us as possible for their own safety. We’re on our way to Pops’ home right now to rest and recuperate, we all need it.”
His hand, the one with the beautiful handwriting on the wrist, reached out and gently held Ace’s own gauze-covered hand and Marco felt a bit of him feel a twinge of happiness that Akainu’s magma hadn’t managed to burn Ace’s wrists and sadly just his forearms.
Marco could usually heal wounds like that, but the burns were nasty and left some nasty burn marks, just like the spots on Ace’s bare back, some of them messing up his Whitebeard mark as well. “When you wake up, I can’t wait to tell you how much I love you, Portgas D. Ace. I would never care who your father was, former Pirate King or even if he happened to be Sengoku the Buddha his damn self. You’re my soulmate and I’m just so happy that you’re still alive, yoi.”
“...I’ve been wanting to hear those words for over twenty years of my life…” He heard a raspy whisper and his eyes snapped up to Ace’s face, where he saw carmine eyes fluttering slightly, before opening to slits. “I love you…I was always told my soulmate would be the one to kill me and yet…you’re the one who saved me. I’ve always loved you, no matter how much I tried not to think about my soulmate. Meeting you in person was a dream come true.”
“Oh, Ace…” Marco leaned down, moving the mask aside briefly to press their lips together softly, eyes closing as he took in the fact he had finally met his soulmate, his wrist no longer itching or burning at the thought of the name that was on it.
He was at peace and the blond could see Ace was in a similar state.
Pulling back, huffing a small laugh at the whine he received. Marco placed the mask back over Ace’s face and another kiss to his forehead with a small hum. “You’ll get more kisses and the lot when you’re all better, love.”
“So…” A long breath as Ace started to drift off to sleep. “No cuddles?”
“Not yet. Need to wait a bit more, darling, yoi.” He chuckled, reclining in his chair and allowing himself to relax as Ace finally fell into a peaceful sleep once more.
They may have both been hurt unintentionally by their soulmates, but they found the right path to one another and made it once more to each other.
That was all that mattered at the end of the day.
