I once read about this japanese folklore a long time ago from one of those kiddie mangas (was it Doraemon? I can't remember anymore) and came across it again recently while doing some readings. And… idk, this suddenly shaped and formed in my mind. Besides, i always like 'reimagining' (read: being an unimaginative little shit) my favorite OTP into fairy tales and folklores or just general AUs and hey.

Also, i'm having writer's block on my other fics. Again.

Winter had always been his least favorite season.

He had been born during one, at the cost of his mother's life, and it was behind the cloak of white that he began the first few months of his life as a screaming baby no one wanted. Winter had been the season the war around the kingdom's border reached their small town and ravaged the population, one that nearly cost him his life and actually cost him his health in exchange for the wellbeing of his brothers. Last year, the first drop of snow reached the ground when he sent his brothers away to live their own lives, to fulfil their dream and achieve their potential instead of wasting away to take care of him.

And now, this would be his first winter alone.

Ace blew into the cold air, seeing his breath crystallising in a puff of white smoke, and pulled his old fleece coat tighter in a futile attempt to gain some warmth.

The old, ugly wound on his chest throbbed painfully with every step and every blow of wind, but he valiantly ignored it and made his way through the snowy tracks towards the village. With the weather being much colder than usual, Ace found that he ran out of wood much faster than usual, and without fire, he won't be able to keep himself warm of cook his food. He couldn't trust himself to chop wood when his hand couldn't stop shaking the way it does now, so the local woodsman is his best option, even if the journey felt like a torture.

He had only seen the very first house on the town's border, when something caught his attention.

It was an unusual rustling sound that caught his attention first, accompanied by an animalistic screech, both which was nearly drowned by the harsh wind. Ace darted his eyes from corner to corner, and just a few metres away from the pathway, he could see a flash of blue and yellow nearly hidden behind the large trunk of a dormant tree, the unmistakable source for the racket.

Ace couldn't get a good look as to what the blue and yellow creature was, but he knew what must have happened; some poor animal was caught by one of the local hunters' trap, and is now trying to get away. And this late at night and with the weather showing that it could go worse in matter of hours, it would take hours for whoever owned the trap to come and check and release that animal from its pain. By that time, for all he knew, the cold would've taken its life away first.

Pursing his lips, Ace glanced hesitantly to the town, where the lights along the streets has begun to dim down. The stores would be closed soon, possibly even sooner if the wind kept getting harsher, and if the stores are closed, he'd have no wood for his furnace tonight. He didn't have time to be sorry for another's misfortune, especially not an unlucky animal that chose the wrong place at the wrong time.

The screech became even louder, sounding more and more like a plea for help.

With a sigh, Ace acknowledged that as much as he liked to think he's capable of that, he's not. Pulling his coat even closer around himself, he began to trek along the snow, feeling bits of it freezing what part of his feet uncovered by his withered slippers.

It was a bird, much, much bigger than the usual little sparrows and robins that can be found around here during spring, but of what kind he genuinely couldn't tell. It was covered in resplendent blue feathers that moved so wildly it almost looked like flames, with a golden coloured patch on the top of its head like a mane, shaking just as furiously when it noticed Ace walking closer. It let out another screech, angry and aggressive, spreading its wings widely in a familiar attempt from wild creatures to make itself look bigger as an attempt to chase away predators. It's scared of him, Ace realized.

Slowly, Ace released his hold on his coat, raising both of his arms in front of him as a peaceful gesture he hoped an animal would understand. He could feel the cold wind blew over the wound on his chest, and he held down the stinging pain by biting the bottom of his lips. To no surprise, the bird didn't relent on its squawking, its wings still flapped around wildly to show it's not willing to go down without a fight. The more it moved, the more Ace could see what was the problem; one of the bird's foot was clamped rather painfully in a bear trap of all things, the sharp tooth of the metal device already digging onto the thin bones.

Ace stepped closer, glancing his eyes away from the trapped talon to the bird's face. "It's okay," the freckled male assured, making his voice as gentle as he possibly could, "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you get out of that thing,"

A pair of beady eyes seems to stare deeply into his soul, as if assessing him to see how genuine he was. For a moment, Ace wondered if the bird could understand him.

Then, the bird stopped moving, and folded its wings. Ace blinked a little surprised, but was reminded again of his task when the giant bird craned his head down and started pecking on the trap, "Don't do that," he warned, before slowly creeping towards the trap. The surface has rusted from lack of care - or perhaps it had been out here for a long time, forgotten? - and he was rather surprised to see that some of the edges had bended around the talon. Could the bird had struggled enough to actually cause that? There doesn't seem to be any visible wounds on the fibula, however, though it must've hurt.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the bird cawed and tried to lift its legs again, "Okay, okay, just hang on,"

Ace sat on his knees - and immediately regretted it when his entire body shook with the cold that seeped through his pants - positioning himself right next to the trap to correctly and started pulling it with his bare hands.

Of course, it was easier said than done. The rust must've made it even harder to pull apart than a regular trap, and the more Ace forced himself to pull the jaws open, the more he could feel a sharp pain rising on his chest. He let out a strangled shout when the pain became so blinding that he had to let go, panting shallowly because he couldn't take a deep enough breath, and feeling a sweat dropping from his forehead despite the weather. He raised one hand to clutch on his thumping wound, willing the pain to quickly go away.

Above him, he could hear a soft coo. Ace slowly pried his eyes open, and found the bird had lowered its head low enough to meet him at eye levels, even if it made its body twist in an odd angle. A bird couldn't emote the way some other animals could, he realized, and yet Ace could feel something like sadness oozing out of those bright, animalistic pupils, beady eyes so wide and dark in colour that Ace could see his own reflection on them. And its iris, so blue it was almost white, the colour of the solemn skies.

The massive avian gave a chirping noise before used its head to push against Ace's hand, the one on top of the ghastly wound on his chest.

"I'm okay. It just hurts sometimes if i strain myself too much," he admitted with a little smile, petting the top of the bird's head. The yellow mane felt softer than silk - or how soft he imagined silk must be like - while the feather felt a lot more wispy than a feather should. Almost like clouds. Or fire, "Don't worry, i'll still get you free, okay?"

The bird did not make a noise.

Clenching both of his fist, Ace adjusted himself to a better position, lowering his back just over the trap and once again grab hold of the trap's jaw. With a long grunt, he pulled both of it apart again, almost faltering when he felt another searing pain on his chest, "Almost there," he panted breathlessly, pushing what is last of his energy to give one last tug and finally, the trap broke open with a resounding clank.

A jolt coursed through his body, stemming from inside of his chest. Ace's entire vision turned white in unexpected agony, so much that he felt suffocated and could only let out a strangled sound from inside his throat. He felt something wet dripping out of his mouth, and know from the coppery taste, that it was his own blood. He watched through hazy eyes as red dripped on to white, smearing, spreading.

Then suddenly, everything was black.

"I won't do that, Ace! We're not going to leave you all by yourself like this!"

"Sabo, this is the opportunity you've wanted your whole life. You wanted to travel, to explore the world, and— and your benefactor is Luffy's dad! You could bring Luffy to finally meet him!"

"I don't want to meet my dad! I want to stay here with you, Ace!"

"Luffy…,"

"Look, Ace, i don't care if this thing is my dream, what's important is, we're not leaving you! Who's going to take care of you if we're not here? You saved our lives and because of that, you became like this. We want to stay with you because it's only right,"

"No,"

"No, what?"

"No, i saved you both so you can continue on living. So you can still follow your dreams, and if i had died then, i know it would've been worth it,"

"Ace! Don't say tha—"

"But this? I don't want this! I don't want to become the burden that stopped you two from achieving your dreams and fully realizing your potential! If all that came out from my sacrifice is that i'll be keeping you two in here, wasting for the rest of your lives, then what's even the point of this fucking hole in my chest?!"

"…That's… that's not fair,"

"What's not fair is you two wasting away this sort of opportunity for someone like me. I've made peace with my own situation a long time ago, but i would never forgive myself for living if this is all you two will ever be. If i don't see you packing your bags in the next two days and be on your way, then i'll make sure you both won't have any other reason to stay,"

Luffy hadn't cried as he did that day since he was 5 years old. Sabo had continued on arguing with him, a long debate that almost turned hostile if Ace hadn't started coughing. They never had a fight like they did that day, and as his brothers finally relented, tearfully and reluctantly agreeing with him, they never cried together and felt as torn as they individually were that day.

Ace knew he did the right thing, however. Not a single moment, through physical and emotional pain of knowing he had choose to let himself be left behind that he regretted telling Sabo and Luffy to leave. His brothers were smart and tough, and together, they can take on the world. Once upon a time, Ace would count himself along in that equation, but those days were long gone. He accepted it, painful as it is.

But those days had passed seasons ago. Why is he remembering it now?

When Ace blinked, chasing away the cloudiness in his vision, the first thing he noticed is that he's staring at his cottage's ceiling. He recognized it exactly from the uneven hole on the top, poorly concealed by a slab of wood nailed in place just enough to stop too many snow or rain to come inside.

Yet, that seems to be the only thing that pinpoints him to his whereabout, whole everything else felt wrong. For one, his humble abode should've been the most draughty place within the general vicinity, and yet he felt nothing but warm since waking up. There's the unmistakable sound of crackling somewhere nearby, a sound suspiciously similar to that of his furnace, and yet he remembered that he didn't even have wood to burn and that was why he had been on his way to the town. And lastly, he was so sure that there is no way he could've been home right now.

With all of that concern in mind, Ace tried to push himself upwards, but was stopped and shocked by an unknown voice saying, "Ah, you're awake,"

Gasping and immediately on alert, he turned to the source of the voice, and found that not only is he indeed back in his cottage, in front of the small, warm and most importantly burning furnace, was a stranger. A stranger, a blond haired man with hooded eyes and easy smile who stood by a steaming cooking pot.

For a moment, Ace couldn't find anything to say. He stared at his 'house guest', blinking furiously, and after a while, he couldn't help but glance towards the furnace and the pot. He hadn't notice it until now but there's a really delicious smell permeating the small space, cooking and bubbling over the furnace burned with the woods he didn't own, preparing the sort of food he didn't think he had. Prices of meat had always gone up during winter, so between what scarcity and ration he kept and the vegetables he grew on his own, there's no way that can make anything like that.

The stranger let out a chuckle, warm and low, bringing Ace's attention back to him, "Don't worry, it's ready. I was just waiting for you to wake up," he picked up a wooden bowl from the rickety table next to the furnace, and ladled in a generous portion of what seems to be stew into it. He then picked up a spoon and walked over to where Ace laid, and the closer he was, the faster Ace pushed himself to a sitting position, scrambling to get away.

Only, he must've moved too fast. His chest twinge painfully and he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Careful," the stranger's voice was back, much closer than before, and Ace didn't have enough time to get away when a firm hand clasped his shoulder, holding him in place. He tried to shrug it away, but in the end, it wasn't his resistance that got the man to move away, it was the man himself, raising his empty hand and the one holding the bowl in a non-threatening manner. Like one would approach a cornered animal, "Easy, i'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to help,"

His heart was thudding rapidly in his chest, a painfully uncomfortable sensation ever since he attained his wound, "Who are you?"

At his question, the stranger gave another smile, looking a little sheepish, "Right, forgive me for not introducing myself first. My name is Marco, i'm a wanderer," he said, taking a step closer. When Ace didn't react, he took another step, not too close but close enough to speak, "I was on my way to my next stop when i found you passed out in the middle of the snow. The town was quite far still, but i found this place to be much closer and there doesn't seem to be anyone home. Don't worry, should the owner comes back, i'll explain it all to him,"

Passed out…? Oh, yes, that's true. Ace must've pushed himself beyond what he should have again.

"This is my house," he admitted timidly, still unsure of what to think about the man who is apparently his saviour, "I… i didn't have enough wood to burn for the furnace. And i don't remember keeping enough for stew,"

The man, Marco, nodded, "Yes, so i've taken the liberty of collecting some from the woods behind this place. And as for the food, don't worry, i did not touch any that belongs to you, i'm using my own ration for this and i have plenty," he pursed his lips, looking a little apologetic, "I hope that's alright with you?"

Ace didn't really now what to think, but his body does. Before he could say anything, his stomach let out a loud rumble. Yelping, he wrapped his arms around his midsection in a failed attempt to conceal the sound.

To his credit, Marco didn't laugh or add to his embarrassment, but his smile bloomed again as he offered the bowl of stew, "I don't know how long you passed out outside, but i made just enough to make sure you'll feel warm again,"

And Ace truly feel warm, as well as filled like he hadn't been for a while. Though he never had to share his food with Luffy and Sabo anymore, they would usually be the one hunting for food since Ace could no longer run for too far and chase after a game without feeling like collapsing. The three of them always did plant their own vegetables, but the labour was much easier when there had been 3 people working instead of a single sickly one. What other food there was that Ace had was given as generousity or gratitude from the townspeople after he finished helping them with some simple task, especially from those who knew of his living condition.

But they were never enough to fill his stomach to fullness. Not until today.

"Slow down, there's more when that came from," Marco told him when Ace tilted the bowl to drink down even the last drop of broth, feeling heat spreading into his stomach and providing him the sort of comfort he didn't think food could ever achieve. He only felt flustered by his own action when he handed Marco the bowl back, and heard the man chuckling, "I'll get you another… ah, sorry, but i never catch your name, did i?"

"…Ace. My name is Ace,"

"Ace," Marco repeated, as if trying out his name on his tongue, and Ace felt a little flutter in his chest. Marco had a nice voice, with a curious accent and a lilt, almost like the chirp of a bird in the morning.

Oh!

"Um, excuse me," Ace called out before Marco could walk too far, "When you found me, did you find a bird somewhere nearby?"

"A bird?"

Ace nodded rapidly, gesturing with his hands how big he estimated the avian had been, "It's about this big and quite tall, and its feathers were blue with several flecks of yellow along the wingspan and on the top of its head. It was caught in a bear trap and i was helping it before… before i passed out,"

When Marco turned, just enough to show half of his profile, Ace felt like there was something different with him. So far, he had only came out as friendly and kind, but right now, he looked enigmatic, mysterious, and the way he smiled looked like he was hiding something.

It could all be the lighting that came from the furnace that cast that sort of shadow, but Ace couldn't quite shake the feeling away.

"No, i don't think i saw any birds around, especially nothing that big," the blond answered, "Is there something wrong?"

Ace shook his head, and along with it, his ridiculous thoughts. Maybe he was just tired. He hadn't pushed himself like that for a long time, "No, i'm just worried for it. I hope its alright now,"

Marco chuckled, walking away towards the cooking pot, "That's very kind of you, Ace. I'm sure that bird is very grateful of you," he poured in a couple more ladleful of stew into the bowl, and once he was done, he made his way back to Ace's bedside, kneeling down before giving the bowl to him. This close, Ace could see some more of Marco's features better, like the hair spun gold, the hint of stubbles along his chin, and hands that seems all too smooth for a wanderer.

And his eyes. They were blue like a glacier, and bright enough that they almost turn white, like a snowflake dropping from the sky.

"Who knows, maybe he'll try to pay you back for saving his life,"

When Ace opened his eyes again, he could see through the little peeping holes on the roof that the sky had gotten much darker. That fact would only register after staring for a while, as he tried to discern what exactly caused the horrible rumbling sound that disturbed his sleep.

He sat up, feeling no less warm than before, and he turned towards the furnace. The cooking pot was gone - he finished the entire content after all - but the fire was still stoked, gently swaying along with the breeze that blew inside through the many holes and entry point this rundown cottage has. With it being the only source of light in the entire place, it casted dark shadows through the areas it couldn't manage to illuminate, and it took Ace a moment to find where Marco was.

Just as Ace laid his eyes on him, the man turned from where he had been standing by the only window in the cottage, arms crossed and expression grim, "Seems like the storm's brewing outside. It might last longer than just tonight,"

As if on cue, the roaring sound of wind picked up, rattling the already fragile parts of the roof and the door leading outside. There's a small latch right behind the makeshift knob that Sabo installed after that one time Luffy didn't realize a wild animal had followed him home, a poor excuse of a lock that they all always considered of fixing or replacing with a proper one but never really got around to. Right now it was their only defense against the wind outside, and Ace was rather concerned.

"I'm sorry," Marco suddenly spoke again, prompting Ace to look away from the door to him. The blonde man was rubbing his nape, a sheepish smile on his face as he glanced back to the window. Now that he had moved away from it, Ace could see the storm he had mentioned earlier, blowing so furiously that he could barely see anything beyond the veil of white, "But at this rate, i might have to impose on your further. There is no way i could continue on with my journey in this sort of weather,"

"Oh," was all the dark haired male could say in response. When Marco kept staring at him, hopeful, Ace realized he never really gave a straight answer, "Of course, stay as long as you like. I owe you one for saving me, after all"

And there it is again, in his smile. Something sharp, something hidden. Like there was something else that Ace must've missed.

"As long as i like? Well, that's mighty generous of you," Marco chuckled, a sound that sent warmth into the depths of Ace's core, "Don't mind if i do,"

The original folklore was called 'The Crane Wife', i'm pretty sure a lot of people are already familiar with it.