A/N: I do not own One Piece.
A/N: English is not my first language.
This letter: Flashback, or important remarks
"You knew it was going to hurt"
"I know…"
"The woman told you it was going to hurt a lot in that place"
"I know…"
"And you were the one who wanted to do it in the first place"
"I know…"
"So if we think about it you don't really have the right to whimper like a scolded puppy, because it was your fault anyway"
"I already have Bakainu at my back every month to remind me of every mistake I have committed since I was seventeen years old, I don't need you to do it as well, Peacock" She mumbled, almost glaring at him sideways. If it weren't because of the fact that he was pretty much holding most of her body weight and that, without his hold, she would crash into the floor without further contemplations, Kaede would have kicked him, hard, somewhere sensible, but that had to wait "Besides, you were the one that offered to go with me. If I have known that you were going to try and act like him then I would have bought Drake… Oh, wait, he wouldn't have even let me inside the shop" A expression of deep concentration crossed her face for a second, and Marco couldn't help but chuckle a little at how childish she looked, but he wouldn't say anything about her looking in her mid-twenties when it was kind of far from the reality, he appreciated walking and breathing and living in general, thank you very much "Thatch, I would have brought Thatch"
"He was not here this afternoon" He reminded her, completely amused by her reactions and her train of thought. It was kind of stupid since he was completely used to those, but he couldn't help it "Only the first division and the fifth came in the morning, he's probably getting here right now, if not later today" She grimaced for a second before speaking again.
"…Then Toshiro"
"He would have said the same things as me"
"Someone from my crew"
"Doubt that's part of their job"
"Then I would have come alone!" Kaede kind of pouted, exasperation and frustration clear in her voice and her face and her body language, half stamping on the ground with the feet that she so carefully had been lifting to avoid exactly what she was doing. Milliseconds later tears perked the corners of her eyes, and her expression changed to one of pain as the woman bit her trembling lower lip, trying to silence her whimpers and doing a horrible job "Bad idea! Bad idea! Really bad idea!" She half screamed, jumping on the only feet she was using to walk, catching a couple of curious stares while the Marine basically and quite literally jumped on Marco for support.
The man rolled his eyes, hands catching her waist, because of course she would be the only person on the planet to forget that she had just gotten tattoo on her ankle while walking. Actually that was half of the reason behind why he was there; earlier that day, just after they anchored in the island where there was no Marine base but instead a Whitebeard's flag, when Kaede told him about what she was planning to do Marco immediately imagined every scenario where she ended in the floor in one a way or another, each one of them as realistic as the other. Let's not forget he knew that woman like the back of his hands, there was no way his predictions didn't become a reality.
Second thought regarding the matter was that she was crazy, which wasn't that much of a surprise, but after clearing that up he thought that since Bakainu and Sengoku would, to put it simply, flip if they happened to see the tattoo, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Because really, at first sight and if you got to see it there was nothing weird with the blue feather that circled the ankle like a bracelet, and even if you got close enough to see that it was a feather made out of fire, there was no reason why you would make the connection, because there was absolutely no way a Rear Admiral would possibly have some kind of relationship with the only being in the world who could transform into a blue phoenix. But for people that actually knew about it, the story was completely different.
For example, if someone like Drake happened to see it he would probably go crazy and would try to fight with Marco again, which would lead to Kaede getting upset at both of them, something that wouldn't be fair at all, and then he would look at Marco like the blonde pirate were scum, thing that would end in Kaede hitting both of them, again.
Not fair.
The other half of the reason was that Marco had not seen her in what he thought was a long time, maybe three or four months since the last island. For them, as Pirates with a crew as big as theirs, it was kind of easy to evade Marine's ships –Disappear them like they had never existed in the first place. Ups. Sorry not sorry- but since she was a Marine there was no real escape for her and her crew. It still was a wonder how she managed to choose islands where Sengoku wouldn't find her for a day or two, or hear about her for that same amount of time, so they were safe as long as they kept it that way; a day or two, three top.
It was not the best of the best, but it was something.
It should be enough.
That didn't mean that Marco wasn't irritated by why they went through all of that to see each other.
He was happy because in that kind of islands there was no need of hiding from someone, they could walk side by side and hand by hand without people expecting someone like Akainu marching his way in with a not at all small army on his tail, or thinking of it as some kind of taboo- Hell, he was a pirate, and the very word basically meant that he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Or at least most of the time he did whatever he wanted.
But with Kaede all of that was different.
Because it didn't matter how many almost lawless island they visited, or how much time they expended evading the Headquarters' eyes, or how much time they invested on looking for a place to spend the night because there was no possible way he was going to set foot in her ship and vice versa, mostly because the crew's teasing was going to be eternal if she did so, slightly because he wasn't looking forward to Drake standing guard at their door.
It was something that couldn't be stopped or destroyed by a simple tattoo, even when it did mean a lot for both of them.
Because there was a thing that could but at the same time couldn't be changed, no matter how many things they did together or how many hours they spent on each other's company.
Kaede was a Marine.
She would never fully enjoy they freedom he had taken for himself the very moment he tattooed his father crest on his body, the same freedom that boosted his day to day and that he was only able to show her in that kind of islands- She would never know how it was to do what you wanted without any kind of restriction, to follow your own dreams and not be chained to a whole organization's ideals, to speak your mind without fearing others paying the consequences, to act according to what you feel and not according to what you have to do. She would always be in a cage, big enough for her to open her wings, but never to take fly and go somewhere far away.
The small but meaningful moments were all they had because of them.
That was why every single time they saw each other, from the very morning of one day to the morning of the other day, during and after he was with her for basically every second of those twenty four hours, he couldn't help but think of a question that had come to his mind from some time now. It had always been the same, since a really long time ago. Maybe even after they started a whole new level in their relation, during the time in which she had been somewhere far from him and he had enough time to properly think about things.
When she looked at him again, puzzled because he was way too quiet, the Commander was certain of how offended she would probably feel if he even dared to ask something like that. It would be asking her to quit everything she had worked for the past nine years, the things she had literally bleed for, but on top of everything, it would be like asking her to put her pride and her convictions and morals aside and admit she couldn't handle the life she decided to have and the people she had to deal with- Marco knew how often she tried to prove to her superiors, and basically anyone who didn't like her, that she was capable enough to stick to her guns. So, even if it the question was at the tip of his tongue, he wouldn't say it.
"Is something wrong?"
Do you want to come with me?
"No" While interviewing their fingers together, Marco thought he was doing the right thing. Kaede had never looked down at him for being a pirate besides the normal 'I'm going to arrest you because I have to' years ago, therefore, it would be far too selfish not to do the same regarding her uniform and her way of living. The blonde pirate sighed, pressing their foreheads together in a swift motion, repeating over and over again inside his head his conviction of not doing anything stupid as she looked at him curiously, not really believing his words "Nothing at all"
Even if only was that thing, it was better to keep it away from her.
"To the new Rear Admiral, the only marine we don't want to send to hell! Mostly because she would come back from it even before Marco gets the chance to kick our asses just to do it herself! The one and only, Danielle D Kaede!" Those words were source of maybe infinite laughter from those inside the Bar, and even Thatch himself doubled in laugher before taking air once more, raising his glass high over his head with his right hand, the other firmly placed on the woman's shoulder, much to Marco's enjoyment "Cheers!" That was followed by a chorus of 'cheers', more laughing and booming clapping.
In retro perspective, anyone was on his/her right to call the celebration pointless, stupid, incoherent, our whatever came to their minds, because it was a group of pirates celebrating a marine's promotion, but it was not like someone from that not so small group was going to say something about it. Some newbie's from Whitebeard's side –Because the ones from Kaede's side were a little bit too jumpy to attend- still were a little bit uncomfortable in that kind of situations, but it was nothing they weren't going to get used to soon enough. The one person that probably would never accept it as a normal thing despite his presence in every single gathering was the Commodore that now sat in a chair besides the Rear Admiral, arms crossed over his chest and the ultimate poker face on. Marco was extremely tempted to ask him what the hell was he doing there if he didn't like what he was seeing or hearing, since the man didn't love Drake following Kaede around like a puppy, but he didn't want to ruin anything, so he bit his tongue.
"Come on Drake, don't be mad" Said Thatch, quite obviously drunk, throwing an arm over the other man's shoulder in the same friendly manner he did with his crewmates, offering him a drink with a large smile on his flushed face "We kind of like you too, right, Rear Admiral-sama?" He asked mockingly at the woman, who laughed while nodding.
"Yeah!"
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" He growled, trying to take the arm off him.
"Yes!" Basically everyone laughed at Thatch and Kaede's exclamation, and Drake found himself trying extremely hard to hide with a grimace the small smile on his face. Marco chuckled, quite amused by the Marine when the woman sat by his side again, smiling brightly at him before turning her head so to talk to Thatch again, laughing hard at something the man had said.
As cheesy as it sounded, as much as every single one of his crewmates would tease him if they ever found out, Marco wanted to treasure those moments just as he treasured the ones with his family, he really wanted to. Mostly because moments like this one were proof of how little need there was of the question that almost slipped past his lips.
But if he had known what the future had in store for them, he probably would have asked when he had the chance to.
