A/N: I have a friend that occasionally sends me writing prompts now, so I may be posting stuff like this a little more often.

Prompt: "He called you by your real name."

Shock laced through him, locking his limbs in place from the sheer weight those few syllables held over him. He had never been shot before, but for a brief flash of a moment, he wondered if this must be what it felt like, a piercing pain that sank into him and had every nerves screaming. It was no physical blow though, but one of the mental plane, a wound that toppled him and left thoughts blank in the mad rush to even comprehend what had just occurred.

Silver hues iced over, losing the warmth that normally rest in such eyes, at least when he was with this one particular person in particular. Where once an easy smile, if small, rest upon his features, now his lips were pressed into a thin, tense line, tension evident upon and within ever inch of his form.

"…Take it back…"

His voice was low, barely above a whisper and nearly drowned out in the natural ambience of the mountain scenery around the pair of them. If not for the look of confusion briefly flashed his way, he might not have thought that the other had even heard him. His face must have been enough of a warning though because the blond's features froze, familiar gap-toothed smile slipping only to be replaced with shock and then concern, emotions that grated at the young raven now.

Fingers clenched tightly around his pipe and his other hand curled into a fist, his fingers were so stressed that they were tight with the tension of his grip, each knuckle standing out as they cracked in his silent rage. It was a miracle that his shoulders weren't shaking with the sheer force of his shocked rage.

"…Ace?"

Not the name he had uttered just a moment before, even as only a whisper but somehow it only fueled his anger, ignoring the sharp sting of betrayal that burned in his chest, the source of the lump in his throat and the weight that dragged him down.

"Take. It. Back."

Gol D. Ace. It had been a whisper on his tongue, a mere wisp of words but enough to nearly shatter the trust he had so cautiously shared, the one secret he had fretted for months over before finally voicing. And Sabo had just used it as an unintentional weapon against him.

Finally seeming to realize the mistake in his words, blue hues widened, ash boring back into them unwaveringly and watching the guilt flash across that oceanic gaze. "Ace…" He was already turning away, the voice behind him cracking suddenly. "Ace, I-I'm–" Before he could even finish, the raven was already gone, bolting suddenly as he raced through the trees and a strange moisture falling from the corner of his eye to trail down his cheek, wind whipping at his face and leaving the tear to fall far behind him, dripping to the forest floor just as the youth leapt up into the treetops, racing across the branches now in an effort to lose the other he could hear chasing after him.

His voice continued to echo through the forest until it grew fainter, one final cry splitting through the trees but it was already too late.

"ACE, I'M SORRY–"

The damage had already been done.