AN: A Christmas present for Jinny/Sabolus! A Steven Universe AU~~ And, if anyone is curious! Sabo is Azurite. His scars are chips on his gem. Marco is Zircon, & Ace is Sphalerite. (There's also a list of their fusions below ;u;)

Sabo reclined backwards with a bone deep sigh, sinking against the sun-warmed mast and enjoying the heat of the day and the cool breeze that ruffled his hair. So far the day had been shaping up practically perfect, only fluffy white clouds drifting across the clear blue sky.

Dragon had assigned him to a 'political alliance' mission after his latest scuffle with the marines had left him with a minor concussion and other various injuries, and he'd been sent to meet up with the Whitebeard pirates (though, everyone really knew he was meeting with two in particular).

He did enjoy the chance to rest, however, and once the Whitebeards had found out he was injured Sabo had been stuck on deck-watching duty, which essentially meant he sat on deck and, in the event of a storm or a fight, made sure their stuff wasn't lost.

Footsteps resounded quietly on the wood next to him, and Sabo cracked his eyes open just as his hat was pushed down over his sight. He swatted the offending arm, and heard Ace give a laugh as he flailed. With a thump, Ace landed next to him, and leaned against his shoulder with a pleased sigh.

"You're a jerk," Sabo mumbled sleepily, shifting to better accommodate Ace's head and get more comfortable, and Ace made a sound that was more a hum of agreement than a word.

He was starting to drift off again when a cold shadow cut across his sun, and he squinted, seeing that Marco stood in front of them. He grinned, and Marco raised his eyebrow. "You're not doing your job very well, yoi," he said, tone almost admonishing, but Sabo could see his lips twitch.

"I'm doin' my job takin' care of Sab," Ace murmured, squirming just a little against Sabo's shoulder so he could give Marco a cheeky grin. "But we need more than one worker, honestly…"

Marco gave a quiet laugh, and Sabo watched him look around the deck before deciding that the crew wasn't going to run the ship into some sort of giant monster if he took a break. Marco sat down on his other side, shifting his arm around Sabo's shoulders so he could gently play with the hair at the nape of Sabo's neck, and Sabo gave a pleased sigh.

Now this? This was a perfect day.

It was so lovely to be so close to them, after having been so far. It was just simply nice being close-

Sabo's mind started to drift as Marco continued to play with his hair, slowly relaxing against Marco's body, and then suddenly-

He wasn't Sabo anymore. Not entirely.

Pietersite blinked, the sleepy warmth still present within their chest, but straightened against the mast in confusion, unable to place what'd happened.

The sounds of the crew died slowly as Pietersite looked at their hands, the scars and freckles and the neat nails; the thin streaks of gold and the overwhelming deep blue and red that made up their skin.

"Uh," Pietersite said, looking up to see the rest of the crew staring at them. "I'm- I didn't do it on purpose?" they offered, and someone in front of them (Jinny, Pietersite's mind supplied, and Sabo knew that was from Ace or Marco) gave a snort of laughter.

"That's even worse!" she said, grin stretched across her cheeks, "That means you didn't even realise you were fusing!"

Pietersite could feel themselves flushing out of embarrassment, but at the same time felt a part of him give a joyous, bubbling laugh. Another side of him gave a chiding tut filled with amusement, and happiness welled up in their chest as they stood.

They wobbled for a moment, unused to their height and the strangely light feeling of their legs, but then grinned, and in two steps were in front of Jinny, towering over her. "I did fuse though! I fused! All of me! Us?" They paused, giving a little frown, but then laughed again. "Wait until pops sees this."

"I wonder what he'll say," they said, and for some reason the crew couldn't help but think that the fusion was preoccupied with a conversation they weren't privy too. "I mean, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"But what if it isn't? What if he- and then-"

"But it's pops! Pops won't care!"

Pietersite frowned, wavering for a moment, and then there was a flash of colour and Sabo staggered from Axinite's golden body, unsteady on his feet and clutching his head. Axinite was frowning in worry, and the crew quickly scurried away, knowing for certain this time that this was a conversation they shouldn't be around for.

"Sabo?" Axinite asked, and Sabo shook his head, eyes squeezed shut.

"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, fingers digging into his scalp, "I'm just- I just, I can't-"

Axinite lost his form, Marco and Ace appearing from the white light, and in two quick steps Marco's arms were around Sabo's waist and his chin rested on top of Sabo's head. "Shh, sh, it's alright, yoi."

"But you-!" Sabo said, sounding close to tears, "You both wanted to see Whitebeard, you wanted to- show off- and I-"

Ace's hands rested gently on his shoulder, tugging until Sabo turned and faced him, and when he did Ace rested his palm against Sabo's cheek, thumb softly tracing his cheekbone. "Sabo, it's fine. Please, just tell us what's bothering you."

Sabo shook his head against Marco's chest, and Ace could see him give a deep breath, steadying himself before he pulled away from Marco slightly. "I just- when I heard pops I just-," his voice dipped, shaking. "All I could think about was my dad."

Ace could see Marco stiffen, and had to fight back his own urge to clench his fists. He knew what Marco felt, though maybe not to the same degree. Marco, when he'd first heard of how awful Sabo's father was, had almost immediately wanted to fly to Goa with Ace and destroy anyone who'd hurt them.

When they'd fused into Axinite a few days later, Marco had confided that his outrage was at the fact that someone as awful as Sabo's parents could even consider themselves his 'father' and 'mother'. To him, the words were reverential, and something one person couldn't take lightly. When Marco had heard what Sabo's parents had done – what Sabo had been driven to just to escape them – well, it had made an irrational anger boil in his chest.

And both of them knew that to have bypassed Sabo's sometimes spotty memory it had to have been a memory strongly tied to feelings – before Pietersite had broken, they'd felt the hollow, fearful ache and knew that it couldn't have been anything good.

Ace laid his palm gently on Marco's back, and saw Marco glance at him before carefully relaxing, his grip and tone softening before he turned to Sabo and said, "he doesn't deserve to be your father, yoi. And you – we – are free to make our decisions as Pietersite. Whether we show pops or not, introduce ourselves our not, if we ever fight with Pietersite. Your father doesn't get a say in what you do or who you fuse with. Or how and why you do it."

Sabo gave a quivering sigh, face buried in Marco's chest once again, but Ace could see him swallow, and watched the edge of a bittersweet smile twist his face. "Besides," Ace added, bumping Sabo's gem gently, "you know Dragon has pretty much adopted you and Koala, already."

Sabo grinned even wider. "Don't tell him, he thinks he still has a choice."

"He long since lost that, yoi," Marco snorted. "Just like the rest of this lot all call me big brother, no matter what I say!" he pushed Ace's head towards Sabo's, ruffling their hair and making the both of them burst out laughing, and they wriggled from his grip.

He relented when Sabo grabbed his hand, twining their fingers together, and Sabo offered him a grin and took a deep breath before saying, "Well, are you coming? We have someone to announce, don't we? A new fusion to add, just in case anyone needs them."

"If you need them," Marco said, squeezing Sabo's hand gently, and slinging an arm around Ace's neck. "Or you."

"Or you," Sabo chimed, bumping Marco's shoulder with his head, and Marco grinned as they set off to find Whitebeard.

"Or me."

AN: Marco/Ace/Sabo is Pietersite. Marco/Ace is axinite. Marco/Sabo is labrodorite. Ace/Sabo is sodalite ;u; (don't tell the others, but sodalite's design is my favourite ;v; )