"You sure you don't want me to just drive you there?" Franky scratched his head as he watched you pack your phone and wallet in a small bag.

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna meet up with a friend of mine from school." You told him and fixed your appearance before heading out the house. Franky, Robin, and Chopper watched you leave.

"Is she really okay?" Franky asked aloud.

Chopper shrugged, "She said she knew the way there, so I think it's fine."

He frowned and looked back to where you left. Although hesitant about leaving you unsupervised, he didn't want to butt in your personal affairs if you didn't want him to.

So you walked silently and kept your mind focused on that one place you could remember. 'What really happened that night?' You kept asking yourself as the answer had just been buried deep in your mind this whole time, locked away and forgotten.

Time seemed to move slowly as you thought about your missing memories. A burned down house filled with painful memories came into view as you stopped at what used to be the gates of your old home.

You stared at the ashes and charcoal-painted remnants of the building. The sound of footsteps caught your attention and you looked up to see an apparition of a memory. A sad smile graced your lips as you watched a young (Name) run out the doors, the sound of her voice making two boys grin as they see her make her way over to meet them.

The memory quickly faded as soon as a familiar face stepped into your view and stared at you in disbelief. His usual stoic expression was replaced by surprise, mouth hung open and speechless from what he was seeing in front of him.

"(Name)?"

You felt yourself smile as soon as you recognized him, "Hello, Marco..."

The confused blonde blinked numerous times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He glanced at the house before looking back at you and realizing why you were here.

"I just came to find the pendant for this-yoi." He explained and held up a silver chain from what you assumed to be from a necklace. You nod in understanding and let him go inside.

Marco spent over an hour or two searching through the soot. Seeing as he was starting to get tired, you tried to offer your help a few times but he instantly rejected them without a second thought.

His determination was what kept him driving forward in his search until he finally found what he was looking for.

"Is that it?" You ask curiously, eyeing the silver locket he was cleaning.

"Yeah... This was actually for you..." He mumbled and took your hand, gently opening it and placing the locket at the center of your palm.

Your eyes widened as you saw the words engraved into the cover: Happy Birthday, princess

"It's Ace's birthday gift-yoi," He said and reached out to pat your head, but stopped himself and pulled his hand away. You looked at him and saw the guilt in his face. It made you pity him since he had endured all the burdens on his own this entire time.

"Well then... Bye." He sighed and began to walk away. Giving you the present was all he came to do, so he didn't feel the need to be around someone he had hurt.

Marco had only taken three steps before he was pulled back by a trembling hand. Looking over his shoulder at you, he saw the loneliness in your eyes and he immediately froze in place.

"(Name), are you-?" He said slowly and peered down at you in slight panic.

You shook your head and tugged on his hand, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Don't leave me too..." You sobbed and hid your crying face into his chest. Marco felt himself tense but he returned the hug in order to comfort you in some way.

Luckily there were no people on the streets since it was still early morning, so he didn't have to face the looks of concerned gazes and curious stares of passersby.

With a quiet sigh, Marco rubbed your back as you cried. The two of you stayed like that for a few minutes before you had finally calmed down. You hurriedly wipe your eyes and smile up at him, earning one from the man in return.

"Want some (favorite drink) or something?" He offered. "It always cheers you up-yoi."

You nodded in response and followed him home, still holding his hand.

Several times during the walk, he tried to loosen his grip, but when he did you would only tighten your hold on his hand. "(Name)?" He called out gently and looked at you. Your eyes were downcast and the vibe you were sending made him stay silent again.

When you reached his house, he offered for you to sit on the sofa while he went to the kitchen to get your drink. But you shook your head and followed him even to the kitchen, sitting on the counter and watching him from there. Marco didn't mind, of course, it was you after all. It was very hard to say no to you, especially when you were like this.

He leaned his back against the counter and waited for you to finish drinking. "(Name), what happened to you...?" He asked when he heard you put the cup aside. "I heard that you were found crying in school, did I do something wrong?"

You stayed quiet for a moment. Then you looked at him thoughtfully, contemplating what to say.

"Marco... What happened during that day?" You ask.

Yes, Ace did tell you his side of the story. But the more you thought about it, the more you felt like he was hiding something from you.

The frown on Marco's lips made you even more eager to know the truth, you were tired of not knowing.

"Well, how should I say this..." Marco looked away in thought as he recalled the night he last saw his best friend.

-Flashback-

Marco walked up the front porch and let himself inside. You had told him and Ace that you were going to leave the front door open for the planners to decorate the house and bring in the cake. So it really wasn't a surprise to see Ace already stuffing his face with the food from the buffet.

"Ace, what are you doing-yoi?" He asked him and smacked him upside the head to make him stop eating.

"I swear I wasn't eating the cake!" Ace defended himself and began to wipe his mouth free from the evidence.

Marco sweat dropped. "Oi, don't eat the celebrant's cake before the celebrant," He sighed and shook his head. "But that's not what I'm asking-yoi."

The ravenette tilted his head and waited for him to explain himself.  Again, Marco smacked his head, "Did you seriously forgot our deal-yoi?"

"Yeowch!!" Ace yelped in pain and rubbed the bump growing on his head, glaring at Marco. "Of course not! That's why I'm here!"

Marco sighed, "I knew it..."

"Eh? Don't tell me that's why you came early too."

The two looked at each other and frowned.

"Oi, Marco, I came here first, so obviously I win!" Ace said.

"The deal was who confessed first, not who got here first, Ace-yoi." Marco retorted.

-End of Flashback-

"And? What happened next?" You ask him when he suddenly stopped talking.

Marco didn't look at you, the memory still fresh in his mind as he stared at nothing.

"The fire happened." He mumbled almost bitterly. "And when Ace and I tried to put it out, it only grew worse by the minute."

You frowned, so Ace and Marco had tried to stop the fire then.

"When it began to spread from floor to floor, Ace and I heard you screaming from your room." He continued, voice barely audible. "So he told me to go get you, while he tried to find the fire extinguisher and stop the flames."

You stayed quiet, remembering the first dream you had when you had just moved into your new home.

The man that crashed through your window and saved you, that was Marco?

"So, then, what happened to Ace?" You asked and broke the silence.

But to that question, Marco said nothing.