AN: hot diggity damn batman a new chapter? so close? ye babes! 'Cause, guess what? because of where we are in the fic and the dates, I'm going to be trying to post the festival on Ace's birthday!

...please review to encourage me to stick with this bad decision pft

By the time Sabo managed to shake himself from his thoughts, Izo had thankfully turned his attention to Ace. The phantom touch of Marco's magic still lingered on the back of his neck, distracting him enough that it took more than a minute of staring to figure out what was going on.

Like two wild cats, Izo and Ace were at a stand-off in the clearing, eyeing each other. Izo's hands were outstretched, but Ace's-

Sabo snorted, his lips quirking as he realised what was going on.

"If you just let me have it I can change the colour and make it match your jewellery," Izo said, eyes narrowed as he made another lunge for Ace's hat, and Ace yelped and jumped backwards, arms folded protectively over his head.

"But I like it!" he protested, and Sabo had to stifle a laugh at his petulant tone and his ridiculous position. "It was a gift from Marco!"

Izo lunged again, the movement coupled with a growl, and Ace almost tripped over himself trying to scurry away, the hat squished even further in front of his eyes.

"At least take that bracelet off!" Izo pleaded, throwing his hands to the side. "That thing is so obviously witch-made that I'm surprised the nereids didn't drag you into the lake the second you stepped on my terrace."

Ace's eyes flicked to the side, and his hands shifted till he could run his thumb over the cuff on his wrist. "It's Sabo's."

Izo groaned, tilting his head back and flicking his long hair over his shoulder, but Sabo faltered, more preoccupied by the fact that Ace still considered the bracelet his. That Ace wore it easily, comfortably, refused to take it off, and still considered that it belonged to Sabo.

We're even, now, he thought, remembering Marco's taunt from months ago when he'd teased Sabo about what Ace would want to wear, and for a brutal half-second he couldn't help but wish that this was how it worked. That they would – could – share, that Ace was refusing to take off either possession because he cared too much about what they represented.

Sabo's heart twisted, and he shook his head to free himself from those unrealistic thoughts.

"Fine," Izo said, his lips pursed, "but you'll at least take the hat off for the Festival, right? It's at night, you can't wear a hat at night."

"I mean-" Ace said, slowly putting his arms down, and Izo took the moment of agreement to snatch the hat off Ace's head and throw it over to their bags. Ace gave a betrayed squawk, staring at Izo with wide, upset eyes, and Sabo had to bite back his grin.

"You'll get it back," he said, but Ace still blinked at him sadly until Sabo rolled his eyes and picked his way across the grass to grab Ace's hat and bring it back to him. Izo glared, but permitted Sabo to hang onto it while he quickly measured Ace's torso and cleaned off weeks of travel dirt.

"Did you always have freckles underneath all that?" Sabo asked teasingly, and Ace poked his tongue out.

"Were you always so pale under all that?" he shot back.

"Stop bickering, you're both pretty," Izo muttered, shaking his head as he eyed off Ace's bracelet. A grimace fluttered over his face as he caught sight of the hat again, and as though trying to distract himself from the neon colour, he asked, "So how long have you two known Marco?"

"Three months," Sabo said, trying to ignore the sly query in Izo's words. It was worse watching Ace's cheeks flush, and he had to force himself to loosen his grip on Ace's hat, trying to avoid leaving nail marks in the fabric. "He kidnapped Ace."

"He what?" Izo asked at the same time as Ace said,

"He apologised for that!"

"No, he hasn't."

"Yes, he did-" Ace started, then paused and closed his mouth, frowning at Sabo. "He didn't apologise to you though, did he."

"I'm sorry, apologies are very important," Izo said, stepping between the two of them, "but please go back. He kidnapped you?"

"Accidentally."

Sabo snorted.

"Why are you dating him?" Izo said, eyes wide as he grabbed Ace by the shoulders. "I love my brother, I do, but starting a relationship less than three months into knowing someone, after they kidnap youisn't exactly healthy!"

"What?" Ace squeaked, his voice cracking in the middle of the word and his cheeks flushed, and he quickly pushed Izo off him. "We're not dating."

Izo stared at Ace, his mouth slowly dropping open. "But- but you- you held his hand!"

"He looked nervous. I was nervous! You were all staring at us."

"So your first instinct was to hold his hand?"

Ace's cheeks turned even redder, and Sabo glared at Izo, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Ace likes physical comfort. What's so wrong with holding your friend's hand when you're nervous?"

"Wait," Izo said, holding one hand up in front of him and pressing the other to his eyes. "Wait, you mean to tell me that Marco's not here to ask Pops about proposing to you two?"

"What?" Sabo yelped, feeling his own cheeks burn, "Propose? To both of us? I'd rather drown myself in that lake!"

"Harsh, yoi," Marco said from behind him, and Sabo's spine made a series of harsh cracks as he twisted to look the clearing's entrance.

"Don't-" he tried, and watched Izo bury his face in his hands with a groan and Ace half-glow with the red on his cheeks. He knew he couldn't have looked much better, though, not with how hot his face felt, and managed to snap, "Who'd want to marry you?"

Something soft and bitter curled in the back of his throat, and he bit his tongue to add, "Ace, you're not allowed to volunteer."

"I-! Sabo!" Ace shrieked, and his freckles disappeared under the colour on his cheeks, "Shut up, Sabo, I don't-! I'm not gonna volunteer!"

"Who knows," Sabo said with a shrug. "Considering your experiences, you might've thought that Marco's kidnapping was the height of romantic intention."

"I did not!" Ace yelled, his voice doing a marvellous impression of a bird's squawk. Sabo had to turn away, pretending to be unconcerned, so that Ace couldn't see how his lips were twitching at the sound of Ace's protests.

Marco's cheeks were just as red as Ace's.

Sabo had to quickly stifle a laugh, pressing his lips together as his mouth danced with the urge to grin. The blush that stained Marco's cheeks was far more impressive than either Sabo's or Ace's, crawling down his throat and all the way up to the tips of his pointed ears, turning him the same shade as Ace's favourite shirt. His mouth was gaping uselessly, and it was the broken, confused noise that escaped him that finally ruined Sabo's self-control. Laughter burst out of him as he doubled over, clutching at his stomach and trying to wheeze in breaths to get himself back under control.

"Your face!" he howled, and Ace made a noise of pained exasperation and shoved him. Distracted as he was by laughter, Sabo was spent sprawling on the grass, but didn't feel a hint of pain, instead rolling onto his back. "You both look so stupid!"

"Shut up!" Ace said, pressing his foot against Sabo's stomach and pushing him across the grass, but it only made him laugh harder, curling around his aching belly. Tears had sprung to his eyes before his laughter slowed, but when he caught sight of Marco crouched by his head Sabo sprung into a fresh round of uncontrolled giggles.

"We could drown him," Marco suggested, and Sabo tried to ask, Then who'd be best man at your wedding? but the thought forced him to plaster his hands over his mouth, trying to stop himself from wheezing. His sides ached as he heaved in loud, gasping breaths, finally managing to get his laughter to calm, but the sporadic snigger of laughter still escaped him as he struggled to sit up.

"Your faces," he said in awe, and caught the tail end of Marco's grin before Marco managed to glare at him.

"Yes, we figured from your laughing fit that they were hysterical. Now, have you stopped?"

A snort escaped Sabo, and Marco rolled his eyes with a playful groan. "I'm still down to drown him," he said to Ace, and Ace pouted.

"You can't kill my best friend, you've already kidnapped us twice. Murder's just rude at this point."

"Twice," Izo said faintly from behind them, and Marco reached out to pat Izo's kneecap.

"I apologised, yoi."

"No, you didn't. Not to Sabo." said Ace, and Marco heaved a sigh, looking as though he were about to roll his eyes.

"Yes I-" Marco stopped, his eyes going wide. "Fuck."

"Oh, by the Gods," Izo said, burying his face in his hands, and Marco spluttered out a protest that made Sabo grin, his sides still in pain.

"Don't worry, Izo," Sabo managed to say, propping himself up on one elbow, his hand pressed against the stitch in his abdomen, "he's not the only one who's kidnapped Ace."

Izo whirled on Ace, his hands on his hips. "Why do you get kidnapped so often?"

"I don't mean too!"

"So, what, you just attract kidnappers?"

"Apparently," Sabo snorted, and Ace scowled.

"I don't mean too."

"And yet…," Sabo drawled, and Ace's expression grew petulant.

"I don't-"

Izo cocked his head, the very picture of innocence, "I should hope you don't mean to get kidnapped."

"My blame is on all his 'shiny things'," Sabo said, and heard Marco's pointed, threatening inhale. The noise only made him grin wider, however, and he grinned at Marco. "Come on, Marmar, who wouldn't want to steal Ace…'s jewellery?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Ace has already said murder is rude."

"I did, but I'm contemplating taking it back."

Sabo pressed his hand to his chest, faking a look of betrayal, but Ace only scrunched his nose into a sneer.

"You're all ridiculous," Izo huffed, stepping between the three of them, and Sabo blinked up at him. "I don't care if you're not getting married, you should be."

Marco's cheeks, still tinged pink, flared bright red again, and Ace quickly looked away, biting his bottom lip. It was left to Sabo to force out a laugh and say, "I'd rather not. They'd be terrible husbands. Weren't we just discussing Marco's kidnapping habit, and Ace's habit of getting kidnapped?"

Izo rolled his eyes. "I think you'd learn to deal. Or just lock them up somewhere when it got too much-" before Sabo had time to flinch, Izo had continued with a roll of his eyes, "-or perhaps you could train Marco to only kidnap Ace. That would solve Marco's desire to kidnap, and Ace's getting-kidnapped curse, don't you think?"

"There's still be the whole 'married to them' issue," Sabo said, aiming for derisive, but Izo only scoffed. It left something uneasy in Sabo's chest, tight and uncomfortable, and he was thankful that Marco and Ace seemed far too distracted to comment.

Izo pulled his hands from his sleeves and moved across the clearing in a few strides, stopping only to place his palms on the willow that shaded them. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, Sabo could almost see a glow of violet around his forehead; then, he was more preoccupied with Izo's hands sinking into the willow, vanishing up to his wrist. The wood was liquid around his skin, a sight that fascinated Sabo, but it only lasted a moment.

"Here," Izo said, pulling back from the tree, two shirts now in either hand, and he threw one at Ace and the other at Sabo. "The Festival is in two days, but I'll be finished with your clothes by tomorrow afternoon, so you can try on your new things then. And if there's any problems I'll fix them." His nose tilted up, the curve of self-satisfaction and arrogance in his lips, "Though I wouldn't worry. They'll fit perfectly."

"Your stuff always does." Marco said, stepping up to pat Izo's shoulder, and Izo grabbed Marco's wrist, making him jump.

"And you?"

Marco's stricken expression almost made Sabo laugh again, but it was the quick way Marco blurted, "I already have something!" that made Sabo bite his lip to stifle his grin. Izo cocked his eyebrow, and Marco tried for a sheepish grin as he tugged on the bottom of his shirt in demonstration. "I've been travelling longer than them, after all. I've needed more than just this."

"Human made?" Izo said, squinting, and Marco gave him a triumphant smile.

"I'm not a fool, I'd rather not be eaten by the nereids. Or give you control of my wardrobe."

"So we should've avoided that ourselves, then?" Sabo asked, inspecting the plain grey tanktop that Izo had thrown at him. It felt strangely soft under his hands, especially for something created by a tree, but he couldn't find anything wrong with it. He pulled off the old shirt he'd been given by Luffy to pull on the tanktop. It bared his shoulders and his scars, and Sabo couldn't help but frown, running his hand over his bicep and hoping his coat dried quickly.

"I am insulted," Izo said with a short scoff, but his eyes lingered on Sabo's scars, and Sabo quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. Stupid, to think that such a gesture wouldn't have been noticed. Even stupider that he'd gotten so used to that coat when he knew his scars were a weakness, one that he should've been working harder to conceal.

Before he could try and change the subject – or, at least, try and distract Izo like he'd been able to do before – Izo turned back to the willow tree and stuck his hand into the bark again. When it re-emerged, he was holding a dark blue coat, dull in colour but oddly shiny. "Here," he said, nonchalantly tossing it at Sabo, and Sabo's eyes went wide in surprise as he fumbled to catch it. The fabric was just as soft as the shirt, but felt heavier – slicker, like wet grass – beneath his palms. "The Lake can get chilly in the mornings. Humans usually complain about it."

Stupidly, the only thing Sabo could do was croak out a questioning sound. The noise of it made him shake his head, and he swallowed to clear his throat. "And this won't mess up your sense of aesthetics?" he asked, trying to tease Izo in order0 to cover up that he was holding the coat too tightly and had yet to put it on.

"Well," Izo said, and cycled his hand as though he were forgiving some slight. "I was right about your biceps being impressive, but you do cut a nice figure in a coat with wide shoulders. So." Izo shrugged, then squinted at Ace and added, "It's better than silver and orange."

Ace gave a sheepish grin.

"Don't," said Izo, pointing one finger at Ace's smile. "Don't you try and puppy-dog charm me. According to Thatch you already have one member of our family under your thumb and I refuse to let you add another until we've known you for at least twenty-four hours."

"Twenty-four hours?" Sabo said, and, finally, managed to pull the coat on. The fabric felt silky soft on his skin, but it was his scars behind hidden that made his shoulders loosen and his lips curve in a teasing grin. "I mean, you may be asking too much of yourself. After all, he got his kidnapper tripping over themselves within a month, and you're not trying to be his enemy."

"I wasn't trying to be his enemy," said Marco, sounding oddly scandalised, and Sabo cocked his eyebrow.

"Oh, so you kidnapped him to be his friend?"

Ace snorted. "If he were trying to be my friend, he woulda listened the first ten times I said he wasn't going to get a ransom for keeping me hostage."

Izo gave a soft laugh, moving to cover his smile with one hand, but Sabo could still detect the fondness behind it when Izo spoke. "You don't need me to tell embarrassing stories, Marco. These two already know how to embarrass you."

"It's a talent," Sabo said, shrugging, but he couldn't help the self-satisfaction that curled in his chest at the long-suffering look on Marco's face.

"It's certainly something," grumbled Marco, and Sabo's grin stretched wider.

"Something like-"

"Ey, Izo!"

Sabo jumped, his head snapping to the clearing's entrance, and caught sight of two figures standing by the overhanging willow branches. The first, in front, was short and had close-cropped brown hair and bright green eyes; the second sported a wide, gap-toothed grin, and long black hair held back by a bandana that hid the tips of his ears.

Marco made a surprised sound, and Sabo's concentration stuttered, switching to Marco and that curious noise. The corners of his mouth were tight, but he was obviously trying to smile. "Teach, Haruta. Hey."

"You're back," said the taller one, grinning, but there was something odd in his voice, something Sabo couldn't read. The smaller of the two refused to look at Marco entirely, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Yeah, Teach. Came back for the Festival." With a jerk of his arm, Marco drew attention to Ace and Sabo. "My- they wanted to see it."

What word do you want to say there? Sabo wished he could ask, but instead gave a short wave. "Guilty as charged," he said as he pulled on a charming smile. Then, thinking about the strain in Marco's mouth, he added, "Ace can be such a nuisance when he gets an idea in his head. As soon as the festival got bought up, he was sold on the idea, and poor Marco had to reorganise his whole travel plan to guide us."

"How nice of him," said the short girl – likely Haruta, if the other was Teach – and Sabo frowned. Teach's tone had been unidentifiable, but Haruta's wasn't; there was a bitter bite to the words, and she refused to look at any of them, keeping her attention on Izo. "Can I grab a hand, Izo? One of the fire fae is being an ass to the faeborn. He won't let them charm any lanterns."

"Yeah, of course-" Izo started, taking a step forwards, then he frowned and looked back. "You'll be alright getting around the Lake without me, you two?"

"To be honest, after having spent all of last week on the road, and with Thatch-" Sabo waved vaguely and caught Izo's exasperated smile, "having some time to rest before you show us around would be appreciated."

"Thatch is back too?" Teach said, looking at Izo. "Thought he was going staying near his home town till spring."

Izo shook his head with a soft hum. "No, Pops made him promise to come back for the Festival the last time he visited." A teasing grin slipped onto Izo's face. "You know how much Pops likes having his family around for celebrations. Easier to get given alcohol, if there are more people around to distract his minders."

"Must be…" Teach paused, and Sabo caught how his attention switched to Marco, something cruel in his smile, "pleased to have this surprise, then. Considering Marco hasn't been home since he cursed Pops."

Marco flinched, obviously not having expected the sudden jibe. In the back of his throat he made an uncomfortable noise, trying to articulate words that didn't exist, and Sabo frowned. Before he registered the movement, he'd taken a step forwards, determined to help.

…Preferably with words sharp enough to wipe that arrogant little smirk off Teach's face.

"Izo, come on." Haruta stepped through the leaves, brushing them away from her face with a huff, and Sabo pressed his lips together to stop his curt response, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I want to get this sorted so I can go back to helping Teach with the bounty he was chasing."

Teach gave a short laugh, clapping his hand on Haruta's shoulder. "Yeah, the Council's posters for this guy are so shit. You wouldn't believe the amount of magic Haruta's had to pour into trackin' 'em. A few months back they straight up dropped off the map and Haruta couldn't find them till last week."

Izo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't burn your spells out again, Haruta," he chided, and Marco stepped forwards.

"I can- do you need any-?"

"No," Haruta said, finally looking at him, her eyes in a burning glare, and then she turned on her heel and left the clearing with a call lingering over her shoulder, "Izo, hurry up."

Izo followed after her, his fingers brushing Marco's shoulder as they passed each other. "We'll be fine. And I'll- talk to her," he promised, then squeezed Marco's shoulder, obviously forcing the smile that came to his lips. "Why don't you three relax and enjoy each other's company for a bit? Promise not to be back for at least an hour, and I'll waylay Thatch for you, too. He can stay with Jozu."

Marco's cheeks turned red, and Sabo rolled his eyes, turning to the backpacks that he and Ace had thrown against the willow, ignoring Marco's hushed but high-pitched objection. Then, Izo was gone, and the clearing fell silent.

"So," Sabo started, watching from the corner of his eye as Marco reached up to touch his shoulder, rolling it back as though to recapture the pressure of Izo's hand, or perhaps to ease the weight of his bag. "That's your family?"

"Part of it," Marco mumbled, and turned away from the clearing's entrance. Latching his thumbs underneath his bagstraps, he slung it half-way off his shoulder, and then let it slide next to the other two bags. Sabo buttoned up his own gear, then obligingly moved out of the way, listening to Marco babble. "Lots of my siblings like to travel, but for the Festival, everyone- most of Pops' kids come home for the Festival. He probably has-" Marco pressed his hand to his chest, rubbing his palm in the middle of his sternum, and sighed. "He calls everyone his children, regardless of their relation to him. Adopts most of the fae born by the Lake or in the forest. And stumbled into being a Guardian by accident because of them, the way he tells it. The people I know, the ones I can introduce you to, they're probably working on things for the festival. Food, charms, that sort of thing. We cut it close, so everyone's probably busy."

"To busy for us to meet them?" Sabo asked, and watched Marco still, his movements slowing down as he considered his words.

"No," he said, and Sabo saw Ace step forward, the both of them catching the same hesitance in Marco's tone. "I can introduce you to some more of my family."

"Is everyone gonna treat you like that witch girl?" Ace asked, and Marco jolted.

"What? Haruta?" he shook his head. "She's just- mad at me for leaving. Same as Izo."

"And that bounty hunter?" Sabo said, watching Marco's hands tighten around his bag straps before he forced himself to let them go.

"I have- I hurt a lot of people before I left," Marco said, voice dropping into a low growl. "Is that what you want to hear? Is that what you want to know about?"

"Why would you bring us here if you didn't want to come?"

"Why are you asking me this now?" Marco said, the words accompanied by a short and bitter laugh, and Ace stepped forwards, reaching out to put his hands on Marco's shoulders. He pulled Marco away from the willow, coaxing Marco to face him, and when Marco finally looked in his eyes, Ace squished Marco's cheeks.

"We can leave if you don't want to be here." Ace said, and Sabo watched Marco jolt, Ace's hands slipping over his cheeks and his mouth as Marco pulled away. "We haven't unpacked. If you want to go, we just have to pick up the bags and leave," Ace added, before Marco got his voice back.

"You wanted to come here," Marco said, an accusing growl in the timber of his voice. Ace eyed him in vague annoyance, arms folded and hands cupped around his elbows, and Sabo took the moment to speak up.

"But did you?" he asked, "Or did you think that we would come here regardless, without you?"

Marco stilled, eyes wide, then looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Just because I haven't- visited in a while-"

"A decade is longer than 'a little while'," Sabo said, and Marco glared at him.

"Not a decade," he snapped, then sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It's not that I- I want to be here. I missed them." He braced his palm against his forehead, eyes screwed tightly shut, and the next sigh that left his lips left him in a shudder. "I just- I don't- I didn't think they'd want me back."

Ace's hand drifted to Marco's shoulder, his thumb braced against Marco's collarbone, and Sabo didn't - couldn't - drag his eyes away from that simple gesture.

When did Ace last touch you like that? whispered some bitter part of him, but Sabo ruthlessly crushed the thought. He knew when; it'd been after Ace had curled into a ball and screamed agony to the stars, after Sabo had been unable to do anything but hover uselessly as Marco fixed him, it'd been after Sabo'd locked himself into his own head, tumbling through his failures as Ace's knight, his inability to protect Ace as Ace travelled through his kingdom. It'd been after Sabo realised that he'd long since lost the battle for Ace's affection.

It'd been while he decided that any competition that left Ace yelling at him, hating him, hadn't been worth it. It'd been while he pressed his lips to Ace's knuckles and told his heart to let go.

"Wouldn't want you back, because of cursing your dad?" Ace asked, and Marco's mouth went tight.

"I was meant to take care of him. Take care of all of them. I was meant to be the healer. And I-" Marco turned his head away, brushing Ace's hand off his shoulder and pushing his shoulders back, but whatever else he meant to say lingered uncertainly on his tongue. Ace took the choice away from him.

"Do you want to be here?" he said, eyebrows knit in a critical frown that made his mouth turn down at the edges, and Marco's eyes dropped to the ground of the clearing.

"I don't- know," he finally said, and Ace nodded, sidestepping Marco to grab his bag.

There was no question on if they would stay without Marco; as soon as Marco made any indication that he wanted to leave, then Ace would follow, and Sabo wouldn't be far behind.

Marco reached out to snag Ace's wrist, wrapping his hand around the sliver of bare skin below Ace's bracelet. "I don't know if I want to be here. I don't know if they want me here," he said, every word slow and heavy, "but I do know that I- I want to introduce you to my family. And I want you to see the Lake and the Festival, even once. It's not- it's not- how I remember, but that's okay."

"Things change," Sabo mumbled, and the knowledge that the lesson he'd learnt over the past three months still applied here was bittersweet.

Marco glanced at him and then let go of Ace's wrist, tucking his hands back into his pockets. "Something like that," he said, managing a wry smile, and Sabo couldn't help but copy it.

Things change, he thought but as he looked at Ace and Marco, lingering in each other's space, the gentle way Marco reached out to brush Ace's cheek with his thumb and the way Ace tilted his head into the touch, he couldn't help the tight feeling that seized his heart.

Things were changing, and he couldn't help but wonder if he were being left behind.

Or, perhaps, if he were changing too.