Chapter Nine: A Place to Belong

"Would you like to join my crew? Become my daughter."

Ace didn't hear a word before then, didn't see the signs that most saw. He tried to keep an eye out, tried to see beyond what was in front of him. If things had been different he would have just noticed, he wouldn't have to try so hard to read his own sister. He wouldn't look at her and see a stranger that meant the world to him. He wouldn't see a person that was never her. He hated it.

He did know Luna well enough from their time as kids to know that one thing would never change. Luna hated being told what to do. It wouldn't matter if she respected and loved you till the ends of the earth, she couldn't stand being a subordinate. It was in her genetic code to be a leader, to not follow orders from anyone. He couldn't imagine her bowing her head to anyone without a good reason.

He didn't think ten years in Impel Down could change that in her.

Before he could warn Pops off, to not get the crew's hopes up and be set up for disappointment, his sister discretely put a hand on his arm, stopping any words that might have passed his lips. Ace looks at her, startled. What was she thinking? She hated being bound to anything, only choosing to interact with people she hand-picked. Only so much could have changed in ten years, and one of her core characteristic weren't one of them.

The look in her eyes said it all though, the sparkling blue dying stood out a message only he seemed to be able to read. She was tired. Tired of running, tired of fighting. She didn't want to lead right now, wanted to take a rest before jumping into the battlefield before her. Luna didn't want to be the one others looked to for once, she wanted to be taken care of – even if only for a little while. She wanted to rest, to just lay down her head and forget everything that had ever been.

He knew she couldn't though, just like he couldn't run from a fight. It was vital for her to never give up. Whether it was from fighting, the past, or just not running away she had to do it. She wanted to take a break though, let her mind and body rest before she forced herself to get moving and start on her journey once more.

He couldn't say no to her, couldn't deny her the thing she had wanted since they were children. Just like Whitebeard, just like himself, just like everyone on board she had wanted a family to call her own. Even if she had to build it herself from the ground up. Ten years in Impel Down didn't change anything.

She wanted a place she could come back to, to rest and just be herself. Be the child she never got to be. He couldn't take that away from her. He wouldn't.

It was that reason alone his protest stopped dead in their tracks, his body going slack under her hand. He wouldn't deny her something she had wanted for so long, wasn't about to say no if she accepted. He knew though, knew deep in his heart and soul, it wouldn't last long. Luna was born to lead and have an adventures on her own – sooner or later should would leave for the sea on her own.

He wasn't sure he would ever be ready for it, but he could at least give her a home if anything went south.

Luna, dear sweet, broken Luna gave him a crooked smile, looking as if she would break to his eyes. She wouldn't though, her will too strong to ever be torn down for long. Her stance changed, her hand falling away from his arm to her side. Tendons and muscles relaxed and stretched out, allowing her to breath. Chin set in determination that couldn't be bowed to anyone, and eyes so fierce even the great Whitebeard would have felt astonished by what was held in those azure eyes.

"I can only agree to one of those offers, Ossan."

The deck seemed to their breath, the commanders taking on guarded expressions. It wasn't uncommon for one of their to-be siblings to deny their father's offer – one of the very ones stood right next to her in fact – however it was rare for one to only accept half of it. They didn't really know what the unknown person on their ship would decide, and were wary to see what her decision would be.

"And what is that, brat?"

"I will become your daughter, but I cannot be a Whitebeard Pirate."

The deck seemed to tense even more, not many people would deny an offer to be a Whitebeard Pirate and most who would weren't interested in it in the first place. To accept one you would naturally accept the other, it went hand in hand with the job offer. There just wasn't a way to take one without the other.

"Why is that?"

Luna, Cheshire, whoever was in control at that moment smirked so widely that Ace briefly wondered if it was a trait of the original or the parasite.

"Because the Pirate King has no captain."

Whitebeard laughed, one so loud his awaken child had to grab hold of something to make sure they didn't fall over. It was certainly unusual to see someone turn down his offer, but not uncommon. To have someone deny one and accept the other was rare, but to have that as their reason was unheard of. Newgate could almost see it, their images overlapping in his mind as he stared at the blue eyes that were his daughter's. They held the same look in them, their smiles identical to his late rival's.

He could see her becoming King.

"You have yourself a deal, brat!"

He wondered at the irony of the world.

xXXxXXx

She accepted, she actually accepted.

Even though it wasn't how Marco had planned this meeting going down, he couldn't deny it wasn't what he thought it would be. He was sure she would have denied their offer, would have headed out the second they headed for a new island and he was half tempted to beg Pops to not go to an island soon just so he could have had time to convince her to join. He had never been more glad that he didn't have to.

She might not have actually joined the crew, but being a daughter of Whitebeard was basically the same thing. She would be family, would have a connection to them and would allow him to keep tabs on her at all times. He could hunt down whoever harmed her without needing to justify his actions and it wouldn't be suspicious if he was the one to comfort her in her darkest hour. He could be around her without needing a reason to, now that she was his sister.

…he should probably disown himself.

Pages: 3

Words: 1185

Technically, this is actually a three-chapter update. I wanted to give you something new and decided I would give you three chapters for not updating for so long. I will admit, this is shorter than the ones previous to it, but I couldn't really think what else to put here. Marco does not know he is in love with Luna, he knows that he feels very over protective of her though. Everything will be explained, I'm just not sure when.

Unlike the last time I updated, I gained a life (sadly). I don't get home until five most days, nine on others. My only free days are the weekends, Mondays, and Tuesdays. This means I might not be updating as often as I would like, so I have decided to give you longer chapters in spaced out sessions. This summer I should be free (I have fifty days of wake up left, so hurray!) unless my mom wants me to find classes to go to (she doesn't want me staying home all summer).

If any of you want to go check out my profile, I have a lot of stories set up and in the process of writing if you want to go check them out. They're summaries, and haven't been put on fanfiction or wattpad (I think only one is on wattpad), and those are the stories I'm working on behind the scenes. So if you're wondering why I haven't updated, its because I was also working on those.

I hope you have enjoyed, I'll update when I can, and I love you all.

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Love you all! This has been Night :)