A big thank you to lucyknight13, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, and Miss Fuhrer for your lovely reviews on the previous chapter! Also thank you to all the other ducklings who have favorited/followed this story as well! Yes, henceforth you are all now deemed my ducklings!
I'm hoping to be able to continue doing weekly updates for this story, hopefully around Thursdays or Fridays so look for weekly chapters around those days.
Marco cuddles for everyone because let's face it, we'd all love to get some cuddles from our favorite smexy Phoenix! :D
Chapter 4
A week had passed since the "incident", as Felicity now referred to it. Since that time, she had made it a point to not be alone with Marco in any form other than the nights that she had to sleep on his floor. She couldn't even look the man in the eye! By the gods, she hated him even more for making her feel the foreign things she had felt that day!
As she once again felt her mind wander toward what had happened, her hands instantly moved to clutch at her skull while a moan escaped and her head collided with the table she was sitting at. No! Bad Felicity! No having thoughts about what happened before!
"So, you've moved from trying to starve yourself to death to now trying to give yourself permanent brain damage. That's definitely a step up I'd say."
Felicity lifted her head to find herself face to face with Izo, who was currently giving her a knowing smirk, and managed to give the man a weak smile. "Hi, Izo..." She had to admit, Izo was one of the few men on the ship who had shown her any kind of decency in the weeks since her abduction and also one of the very few on board the ship whose presence she could tolerate.
"Now what's got our little duckling in such a tizzy today, hmm?" Izo propped his chin up on the palm of one hand while he looked Felicity over. She in turn gave a little sigh before shaking her head.
"It's nothing," She was quick to try and smoothly lie her way through what was really on her mind. Felicity may have liked Izo, but there was no way in hell she was ready to tell him what had happened between she and the first division commander just yet. "Just my mind going wild I suppose. I feel like I'm going crazy being stuck here like I have been the past few weeks... Any chance we'll be stopping at an island in the near future?"
Izo's smirk never left his face, as if he knew that she was lying through her teeth. But it was still better not to let him know that any suspicions he might have were correct at this point. Felicity mimicked Izo's movements, also propping her chin on both her palms as she looked at the man sitting in front of her with wide doe eyes, trying to appear as innocent as possible.
"Well, last I heard Marco had mentioned something a couple days ago to the other commanders about possibly making a stop at the next island we come across. Maybe it won't be too much longer and then your mind won't be going as wild as you say it is right now."
"Finally," She breathed out in relief at hearing the potentially good news.
"Finally what, exactly yoi?"
Felicity felt a shudder run through her spine at the all too familiar voice of Marco, yet she refused to turn around and face him. "Izo tells me that you mentioned something about stopping at the next island. I was thinking it would be nice to get off the boat for awhile and stock up on some necessities for myself."
Marco chuckled before taking a seat next to Felicity, noting the way she seemed to tense at his close proximity. "I think most of the men could use a break, we've been on the seas for the past few weeks now and it'll give us all a chance to get anything we might need before we head out again."
Izo's eyebrow arched slightly as he looked from Marco to Felicity and then back again at his brother. His lips slowly curved up into a smirk and he waved a hand flippantly before speaking up again. "I was thinking it might be beneficial for us to break up into small groups this time around. In fact..." His smirk grew wider as he turned his undivided attention toward Felicity. "I was hoping I could take Felicity off your hands and bring her with me in order to help her get whatever things she might need."
Brown eyes blinked at Izo's offer and Felicity found herself slowly nodding in agreement while Marco eyed the cross-dressing man skeptically.
He snorted. "And why would you want to do that yoi? She is mine after all, I could just as easily bring her with me and drag her along to wherever I choose to go."
Marco of course had no intention of doing such a thing and was eager to get away from the problematic woman, but the way Felicity whipped her head around and glared daggers at him was priceless.
"I want to go with Izo instead. Besides, I seriously doubt you'd miss me and this way I can be around someone who doesn't completely loathe my presence and remind me of that each and every waking moment of the day."
His fingers began to drum lightly against the table as he considered this. "Ah, you bring up a valid point yoi. It might be better if you were to be with someone who isn't one step away from throwing you overboard." He gave a slight shrug before moving to stand from the table. "Suit yourself, just don't come crying to me if she drives you up the wall now yoi. She's your problem for the day once we get to land." With that, he turned to walk away from the pair still sitting.
Felicity grumbled under her breath before whirling around and sticking her tongue out at Marco's retreating back. Izo laughed at the girl's audacity, deciding that he indeed was going to like this girl.
Especially considering the way their Phoenix acted around her, and every single one of the other commanders had certainly noticed a change in the man over the past weeks that the petite, raven-haired woman had been on board. The usually calm and laid-back first division commander now easily became quick to anger, snapping at Felicity if she said one wrong thing to him or acted any certain way toward the other members on board the ship. No one had ever gotten under Marco's skin like that, and it worried and interested all the men at the same time.
The pair were like gasoline and fire anytime they were around one another. An explosive combination that resulted in barbs and insults being thrown back and forth, until a week ago that is. Izo had noticed that for the past week, Felicity had avoided all contact with Marco if it could have been helped; and like any good-hearted individual would, he intended to snoop and pry until he got the answers he wanted out of her.
And he intended on finding out every single detail of just what had happened the previous week.
A slow smile made its way across his face as Izo reached a hand forward to gently tug at one of Felicity's wild curls. "So duckling, shall we discuss what you're going to need once we get on land?"
The men cheered and whooped for joy once the ship had docked and even Marco had to admit to himself that it felt good to be off the ship. They all broke off into groups of a few and went their separate ways, most heading straight to the bars for beer and to find women.
Marco intended on doing just that as well after he gathered some information about the next territory the crew had planned on moving toward. He turned his head toward the groups that were slowly heading toward the town, noticing that Izo had firmly grasped Felicity's wrist in his hand as he dragged the woman behind him, prattling on about something he couldn't quite make out.
What his eyes were drawn toward was the soft smile and little laugh she gave in response to something Izo said to her, the first time he had ever seen her do either during her stay with the crew.
So, it appeared the spoiled brat had a soul somewhere inside after all...
"You know, for someone who acts as though he completely dislikes her, you sure seem to be unable to stop staring at that woman."
That quickly pulled Marco out of his thoughts as he turned his head and found Jozu standing right by his side, also staring after Felicity and Izo. "Just making sure Felicity doesn't try to run off yoi. It wouldn't help us any if she managed to run away and tell the Marines what happened."
Jozu snorted. "And you're certain that's all it is?"
That made Marco freeze in place, narrowing his eyes as he faced the larger man. "What exactly is that supposed to mean yoi? Of course that's all it is, there's nothing else to it." Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Marco moved to begin walking off, but not before he turned to face Jozu a final time. "She's nothing more than the brat that we're now stuck with yoi. Or should I say, that I'm stuck with until we figure out what to do with her. I don't have time for this yoi, I'll see you all at the bar in town when I'm done."
Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath, leaving a chuckling Jozu behind. Izo might have been onto something when he had suggested something potential between their brother and the woman that had been brought aboard their ship. Nothing was able to set Marco off like the mere mention or sight of that woman, even if he refused to admit it to himself.
The real challenge would be getting Marco to acknowledge that Felicity had indeed gotten to him like no one else ever had.
Izo sighed in disgust at Felicity's clothing choices. "Felicity, please tell me this is not all you plan on getting."
The raven-haired woman frowned and looked down at the pile of clothes in her arms before her head snapped back up, giving Izo an offended look. "What's wrong with what I've picked out?"
He sighed, grabbing one of the many tank tops from Felicity's pile. "For starters, you can't just wear capris and shirts all the time. Where are your winter clothes? We do travel north several times each year after all."
Damn, she hadn't thought of that. "Well maybe I could grab some longer pants and a coat or two," Looking around the store they were in, she could see the opposite side indeed had shelves with nothing but winter apparel. "See? There's winter stuff right there, I can go pick out some things and..."
A hand grabbed her elbow and she slowly turned, only to come face to face with a little sundress that Izo held out for her.
After looking the frock over, her response was instantaneous. "No."
"Try it on! What could it hurt?" A frown slowly made its way across the cross-dresser's face at the glare Felicity was giving him. "Try it on, or I swear I will make you put this on." And he damn well meant it too.
"Fuck that! I'm not putting it on!" She grit her teeth, hands clutching at the mountain of clothes she was still holding onto.
The pair glared at one another, knowing that in the end only the stronger would come out victorious.
And, well...
"I hate you," Felicity mumbled as she looked herself over in the full-length mirror inside the changing room. She supposed it shouldn't have been a surprise that Izo had eventually won out and had forced her to try the damn thing on.
Said man grinned approvingly, nodding his head as he grabbed Felicity's shoulders gently and spun her around. "No you don't, not when you look as good as you do right now. I knew I was right when I thought blue would look great on you."
As much as she hated to admit it, she did like the light blue color and the dress was flattering to her petite figure... But still, she was in no way a dress-wearing woman. She knew very well that she wasn't pretty enough for cute things like this. Hands planted to her hips as her eyes cut at Izo. "Well you had your fun, now give me my regular clothes so I can change back." The look Izo gave her immediately made her stop in place and take a slow step back.
Oh shit, why was he looking at her like he was planning on doing something dark and horrible to her?
A low chuckle emanated from him as he moved closer to Felicity, gently grasping her chin with his fingers before turning her face from side to side as though he were inspecting her. "Oh duckling, who said anything about you changing back into your drab old things? You see, we're going to have some fun with hair and make-up next... Now tell me, have you ever in your sheltered life been to a bar?"
Yay! We get to see some bar fun with the Whitebeards in the next chapter! That should be interesting... *evil laughter*
Even though we don't know much about hardly any of the Whitebeard commanders, I personally think Izo would totally be a sassy fun friend! Think about it, he's obviously strong enough to be one of the commanders of the Whitebeard pirates AND he knows how to apply make up and looks great in a kimono!
... *slowly realizes that a man from the One Piece world looks prettier than I do with make up on...proceeds to go to my emo corner and grow mushrooms*
*laughs* Kidding! Anyway, I would definitely want Izo to be my friend anytime and wish he would give me a makeover! Anyone else feel the same way?
As always feel free to review because good or bad I always respond to reviews!
