Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Sabo stares at Ann in confusion, wrapped up in her blankets until barely her head was visible, face buried into her pillow as she whines, "I'm dead. I'm so dead."

"You know, I have seen you in quite a few situations, but this, this is not one of them. Did you set a marine base on fire or something and get people looking into you?"

"I wouldn't be that stupid. I'm not you," She pauses. "Or my dad."

"I would never set a marine base on fire," Sabo says looking offended.

Ann twists to look at him, eyes narrowed, "You've set six, six, marine bases on fire since we've met and that's not counting the one where you found your little brother was visiting, set it on fire, fought your grandfather, and then kidnapped the kid back here," She tilts her head. "Where is Luffy?"

"Bugging Dragon. Again." Sabo answers collapsing on her bed and leaning back against her. "Why are you dead?"

"You remember that guy?"

"That one that you were seeing this time last year? I do remember hearing vaguely about him before you stopped talking about him rather abruptly."

"We're still dating," Ann mumbles into her pillow.

"What," Sabo demands, elbowing her in the side.

"I stopped talking about him because I didn't want dad to do anything, you know how he is. I," She sighs. "I really like him, Sab. Really, really like him."

Sabo sighs, "So you lied to everyone so that you could keep him from being found by your father. So?"

"He knows dad, not as my dad obviously, but as the Pirate King. I might have let him draw his own conclusions on some very, very vague facts. He thinks dad is a merchant."

"Ann!"

"I know!"

"What were you thinking? What if he says something to your dad?" Sabo pauses, something like horror flickering through his mind. "Ann, how does he know your dad?"

Ann is silent for a long moment before she finally says, "You have to promise to keep your mouth shut if I tell you. Please. Promise me?"

"Fine, I promise."

"On your pipe."

"How serious is this," Sabo demands. "Is this the kind of bad where we send you in to try and fix things before we reach a war?"

"Yeah," Ann sighs. "If this gets out before I get a chance to talk to him and to dad then there could be a war. Dad gets over protective, you saw how he was when I pretended to flirt with that Marine. He would have killed him if the old man hadn't turned up in time."

"Alright, I swear on my sea stone pipe that I will in no way reveal who you are dating to your father. That work for you?"

"His name is Marco."

Sabo nods slowly, "Marco, huh? Th-" He cuts himself off, twisting to stare at her in horror. "As in Edward Newgate's first mate? Phoenix Marco? You and Phoenix Marco?"

"Shut up," Ace hissed rolling them both off the bed and slamming Sabo onto the ground with her hands quickly coming up to cover his mouth. "Be quiet, do you want someone to overhear us and tell my dad? He'll murder Marco," She pulls her hands back making a face. "Gross, you're worse than Luffy," She states wiping her hands on his vest.

"Whitebeard's first mate?" Sabo hisses, voice high but quiet. "You decided to mess around with the second strongest man in the world's first mate?"

"I'm not messing around," Ann hisses back. "I like Marco. I really like him, Sabo. I," Ann pauses, sighing and biting her lower lip. "I'm in love with him."

"You couldn't have made this easy, could you?" Sabo mutters dropping an arm over his eyes. "Why do you do these things to me?" He sighs. "Alright, what are we going to do about this?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I know. I said I wasn't getting involved in any more of your stunts, but this one isn't really a stunt, so I'll help this time. And only this time. Don't start getting ideas about me doing more than this, this once."

Ann squeals, launching herself at Sabo and dragging him into a hug, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You are going to owe me big time, Ann, you know that right?"

"I don't care! Thank you!" She grins as she drags them both upright. "I would even help you trick Koala into a date."

"I don't need to trick people into dating me! I'm a catch!"

"Is that the lie that Dragon is telling you telling you these days?" Ann teases. "I know he's like your dad but I didn't know that he had the whole 'lie to my children because I love them' thing that my dad's perfected."

"Your dad is an overprotective dick," Sabo states brushing off his clothes as he stood and straightening his cravat. "And I wouldn't have this much trouble convincing her to date me if she didn't seem to think I was dating you."

Ann makes a face, "That would be like dating Luffy."

"Most people remember the two week period when we pretended to date when we were fourteen because your dad kept insisting that you didn't need boys," Sabo says rolling his eyes. "Most of them think we pretended to stop because you were protecting me from Roger's wrath."

"That's silly, if you can't stand up to my dad then why would I date you?"

"Like this one?"

"I haven't told him who my dad is," Ann states snatching Sabo's hat off the floor and putting it on her own head. "There's a damn difference. It's like admitting you're part of the Revolutionary Army and admitting that you're it's damn second in command."

"Does he at least know what you do for a living? we've got some news that we should be giving them and you could deliver it."

"Sabo, this is me that we are talking about."

"So no," Sabo nods. "Well, we're still going to have you deliver this anyway. It's time sensitive and I don't want anything happening because we sent someone slower than you."

Ann sighs, handing him back his hat, "Fine. I'm going to steal Luffy and cuddle him while you get that file ready for me."

"I'll be quick, it's mostly together. You better not get into another food eating contest," Sabo says frowning at her. "Dragon yelled at me for the last one and I didn't even have anything to do with it."

"I don't know," Ann drawls. "I might want to out eat Luffy again while I can."

Sabo glares at her, "Go bug Luffy, you asshole, while I get everything ready for you."

"Sabo," Ann says, her bag over her shoulder and her hat in her hands. "Thanks for this. I really do want to keep Marco, he's nice and funny and he likes me."

"It's not that rare that people like you, Ann. I like you, Koala likes you, Luffy loves you."

"You didn't, not at first. I slammed into Marco and he offered to help me and then asked me to dinner. He asked me to breakfast after seeing me eat and even stopped by before we ate and asked them to start everything early. He does that every time we meet at a restaurant."

Sabo sighs, "Luffy at least loved you at first."

"Luffy's an idiot," Ann mutters. "Now get, I want to say goodbye to Luffy."

"I'm getting," Sabo laughs leaving, tugging his hat down to cover his face as he turned the corner, hurrying to his office to get the file together, collapsing into his chair with a sigh.

Ann was always, always confused when people liked her and she wasn't wrong when she said that no one loved her first, at least not counting her father and Luffy. He had hated her and Koala had thought her rude, he could only imagine the people that weren't close with her father would think of the daughter of the Pirate King. The Marines would kill her if they learned she existed beyond Garp.

And if Phoenix Marco broke her heart, well, Dragon wouldn't mind him taking a handful of people to make sure Phoenix knew exactly whose sister he had left heartbroken.

He might even bring Luffy.

Marco stares at the Ann as she sits on the railing of the Moby Dick, her hat on her head and on hand holding the strap of her bag. She smiles nervously the second she catches sight of him but glances past him to Whitebeard.

"Portgas D Ann with information from the Revolutionary Army for Edward Newgate, permission to approach?"

"Portgas," Whitebeard says raising an eyebrow. "It's been a long while since I heard that name. Come here then."

Ann bounces closer but Marco has long since gotten use to spotting the nerves that she tries to hide, the way her knuckles go white and her eyes watch everyone so much more closely than usual. They're all tells and Marco's learned them all, even if Ann hasn't used them when dealing with him in a while.

"I know that name," Whitebeard says calmly. "Though usually, Marco is talking about you."

"He would, he's my boyfriend. I was actually coming by to see him but my little brother asked me to drop this off and I couldn't turn him down when he asked," Ann smiles and Marco frowns at the way it falters. "Unless you have something else for me, I would like to talk to Marco, please."

Whitebeard nods, "You know, I remember a woman named Portgas. She was a smart woman, kind and a spy if I remember her rightly."

"My mother," Ann says softly, her hands shaking.

"She was an amazing woman, Ann."

"Thank you."

Marco steps forward the moment that Ann gets close enough, ushering her down the stairs and into his cabin, her shoulders shaking slightly even with his arm around them. She closes the door softly, barely stepping into the room before her gaze goes to her feet.

"You want answers."

"I would like them," Marco admits. "If you can give them to me. Information broker for the Revolutionary Army seems far different from an idle life of luxury."

Ann snorts, even if she still looks nervous, "I learned at a young age that I had to lie and if I did tell the truth that it would mean death. Dad made sure that I understood that Death would be the best I could hope for."

"Ann?"

"And I like you. Really, really like you and no one ever likes me, not like you did, not right away. I just, I wanted to keep that to myself, just for a little while and then it just…"

"You were scared."

"I was scared," Ann agrees. "You're important to me and I don't want to lose you. No one likes me after they learn about me."

Marco tilts his head, "I like you. I love you, Ann."

"I love you too, that's why I was scared. I'm still scared, but you want to meet my family and to do that I have to start talking to you about them."

"You're scared."

Ann nods, "I told you, most people find out who I am and hate me."

"I could never hate you, Ann."

"You know my dad," Ann says after a long moment, her hands buried in her pockets. "You've known him for years before I was even born."

'I've known a number of people that long, Ann."

"Roger, Gol D Roger."

Marco raises an eyebrow, "The Pirate King?"

"My dad."

Marco stares at her for a long moment before laughing. Ann shifts nervously.

"Marco?"

"The one woman I would fall in love with would be Roger's daughter," Marco says shaking his head. "But that doesn't change anything, Ann. I'm still in love with you. Upset you didn't tell me and nervous about meeting your father, but still in love with you."

Ann smiles shyly, "You do?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you," Marco asks holding out a hand to her and tugging her closer when she puts one of her's into his. "I love you." He kisses the tip of her nose. "I love you." He kisses the corner of her mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ann says kissing him softly.

"Good because your father might kill me."

"Dad isn't going to kill you, he's just going to be upset."

"At me. For dating his daughter."

Ann laughs, "Dad won't kill you and I'll protect you, I like you best alive."

"Good, because I like being alive too."

This was suppose to be a one shot, it really was, but this happened. Ann is an information broker that works mostly for the Revolutionary Army as a freelancer.