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Chapter 14: Two Drums and a Cymbal

Two Drums and a Cymbal fall off a cliff – ba-dum, tssh.

-Next Month-

Andrea had practically dragged herself home as she slumped onto the couch, not even having enough strength to pull herself up to the room. Just a nap… Sakazuki could throw me into the shower later. Hehe… nice mental images.

It was a couple hours later that Sakazuki walked into the house after being greeted by Chives. He never had believed in the concept of people understanding their pets so well, as he never had one growing up, but something about the way he was honked at made him believe that Andrea was exhausted. Seeing her on the couch was definite proof of that. "Andrea-chan," he nudged her slightly in an attempt to wake his woman up. Instead of actually waking, she just grabbed his arm and yanked him closer, then continued sleeping. For a moment, he stayed there, content to hold her. I hope that she says yes… when she eventually wakes up, he mused as he stroked her hair.

Just as the former admiral almost fell asleep due to how damn comfortable he was (not to mention peaceful), Andrea stirred finally and blushed slightly on realizing how close she was gripping her love. "You should have woken me up," she mumbled into his chest before placing a greeting kiss on his jaw.

"Attempted to but it's not a big deal. You looked exhausted from your training." He kissed her forehead as he felt her grip him even more. "More Haki training or…?"

"Just everything lately is aching my head. Like I've been using Observation Haki to do things besides that lip reading thing I told you about. Like I should be able to apply a similar concept for feeling what people are writing but for fucks sake, the person I chose to test this on had shitty handwriting. So I'm not even sure about the usability of this but if it does work… The implications are many."

"As long as it wasn't me. Still, that is a useful skill that would definitely help on a mission," the magma logia admitted as he was proud of his love's accomplishment.

"Damn straight!" Andrea proclaimed happily as she hugged her fellow vice admiral, overjoyed to take pride in something difficult to accomplish. He chuckled as he pushed her off the couch. "What was that for?" she whined slightly as she got up.

"Get dressed in something nice. I want to take you somewhere." Andrea's brow arched slightly in interest before a smile took over.

I like it when Sakazuki takes me anywhere. It's a rarity for certain. While his social skills admittedly were improving, it still was a shocker to people used to the grouchy man scowling that seeing a young woman on his arm happily. "Where to? The Stewing Sailor? The bakery?"

"Somewhere new," the logia scolded her as he shooed her off towards the room. "Just pick something really nice. I'm dressing nicely myself too."

"Alright," Andrea frowned as she followed him. It took a lot of difficulty for her to tear her eyes away from him however as he dropped his coat and jacket. When his shirt followed shortly after, her throat tightened as she watched the muscles and so finally with a blush, she barely opened her dresser.

"At the pace you're going, we're not going to make it out of here," Sakazuki snorted with amusement as he glanced to see her embarrassment at being caught checking him out. "You realize you're equally distracting for me as I apparently am for you."

Andrea's blush only deepened more. It was always a good boost to her esteem to hear endearments and compliments from him. Despite the improvement to her esteem and outlook however, she had to actively fight to restrain herself from the self degradation that she had become so used to in the past in terms of applying it towards herself. "Suit or dress?" she finally asked as she surveyed the outfits before her. Sakazuki's vagueness in stating exactly where they were going and only specifying nice was not helping and the temptation to try on a suit was almost overwhelming.

The logia himself was intrigued she would ask such a thing and wanted to chuckle at how quickly Andrea's hands would travel among her wardrobe, as if completely unable to decide. She still mourned the loss of appropriate times to wear her beloved attire and he admitted she did look very good in them. What would make it even more amusing to the onlookers of what he hoped would be a proposal that would go over well would be his beautiful woman in a suit, different from what they could imagine. "If you want the suit, wear it," he encouraged her with a smirk.

Andrea was unaware of the smirk or the fact her boyfriend was cackling mentally to himself at the gaping faces he looked forward to that night. Instead, she squealed as she practically launched herself into the dresser to pull out a dark suit with a light blue blouse. Within the dresser was the small box she kept that her subordinates had given her. Although it originally held alcohol, she found it a fitting place to keep her locket. The slight clink of metal betrayed her curiosity of if she should wear it and she did not realize as she was so focused on the jewelry, that the former admiral was smiling. If it's a nice occasion, he likes when I wear this but his temperament feels so… She shivered at her realization. There's something so attractive about him right now. The confidence he feels is so appealing and damn it all you stupid Observation Haki. Her head tensed at how hypersensitive her Haki had been since her official training.

"We might spar afterwards, so you might want to leave the locket," he said with anticipation before he took her raised eyebrow of confusion.

Spar? In our nice suits? Huh? "Exhibition? That's the only reason I can think of dressing so nicely. Who would I spar with?"

Just as he buttoned the last part of his suit, he frowned. "What's wrong with sparring with me?"

"Sakazuki-kun, the resulting effects of our spars are not fit for the public eye," Andrea pointed out as she started to blush. She slipped on her boots easily and winked at him. "I thought the point of tonight was to get out of the house?"

"In a way, it is," he said vaguely as he felt the weight of the engagement pendant in his pocket. He was speechless the day he approached Admiral Shiroyoru and showing her the pendant. His shock when she had a better photograph than he did…

-Flashback-

"What's with that face? Are you truly surprised?" Theodora smirked as she pressed the small photograph into the magma logia's hands. "I found it oddly sweet so I think it is fitting and appropriate."

Indeed, the image showed Sakazuki and Andrea completely unaware of a Den Den Mushi or camera at all so everything felt natural. There was no tense grimace on his face or a bemused expression on Andrea's but rather love as they shared a meal. "I thank you again," he said as he carefully measured the photograph against the pendant, not bothering to ask how she knew the size specifications of the locket itself. Satisfied, he pocketed both carefully.

"My pleasure but I must wonder, have you approached Garp-sensei?" The tense stance that the vice admiral took made Theodora want to snicker. "He is the head of her family, so his approval is vital."

"There aren't enough donuts or curry in existence to make him agree to give away his granddaughter in marriage to me so easily," Sakazuki groaned as a sweat drop formed. "Maybe he'll cool off but what other things do I need to take care of?"

"You need to talk to him first," Theo glared, her Haki dripping with annoyance. "There are such things as protocol, or have you been shirking classes, hopeful? I have over five hundred who want my attention and are not running on their one last chance."

"I had no intention of shirking the protocol or insulting you and I have been attending the classes," he grumbled with an apologetic nod. "Knowing it's so close I suppose made me anxious is all I suppose. I… This is a weird feeling." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I'm trying to understand this myself, emotionally that is. Loving her… isn't something that I can apply cold logic towards."

"Afraid of disappointing him, are we, hm? Hate-hatena, really. Then again, it is of little surprise," she smirked. "Garp-sensei is one of the few people who are fully able to deliver on the promise to kill you after all. Which is the result if you would ever hurt her in any form."

He remembered briefly the rage the marine war hero felt when his unborn great grandchild was in danger just to find out there no longer was a child. This caused the magma logia to sigh deeply. "I would never hurt her. Especially not now. I want a family with her and in a way, that would make him my family now…" Fear crept into his eyes briefly as he recalled all too well a few stories that Andrea had told about how Garp showed affection to his grandsons: intensive and often painful training sessions. "Despite the danger of having him as… head of the family, it would be worth it. Seeing families such as what you share with Kuzan and what Borsalino has makes me envious. It's difficult to know what to want or expect since I have little experience but at least I will try." He massaged his forehead as he thought on Garp some more. "Facing Garp will be more difficult than any marine battle."

"Coward. I know quite a few battles more difficult, but whatever – I am afraid that there is no way in the Great Blue around talking to Garp."

"He tolerates me enough to throw some marines for me to show basics to but that still doesn't discount the fact he doesn't exactly care for me either. Would speaking to Sengoku help in that regard? Or at the very least, he could hold off Garp from killing me…" Unless he tries to kill me himself.

"Sengoku-sensei would likely appreciate his opinion on the matter being counted but as for persuading Garp, he may be just as skeptical, if not possibly more. An offering to the Gods of the Sea would likely be more effective than that – these two are like brothers. After all, they are her family and speaking of which, her brother or at the very least her twin." She sighed, remembering sensing the young privateer's trouble while inspecting submarines (which the young man called cooler than Law's, no surprise as Law's was the first, stolen prototype), while trying to forget his good-for-nothing brother. "Have you tried asking Portgas D. Ace about any of this?"

"It's hard to talk to her brother when she's not around. Whenever he pops by to visit, that pair are thicker than thieves. It's like they're trying to make up for lost time."

"They are Akarô-san. From what I've gathered on Andrea-kun's self esteem and family issues, she always butted heads with her twin."

"He wouldn't contact her at all for the longest time…" he muttered as he remembered her literally crying because Ace was being too much of an ass to pick up the Den Den Mushi. "It's why she started becoming friends with Marco the Phoenix."

The admiral frowned at this tidbit of information. "In any case, her becoming a marine and actually sticking through it with him as a privateer mean they will have to work together and thus, at least both of them take this opportunity to strengthen their bonds. But why is it you haven't been able to ask him about proposing to her if you spar and train him?"

"Andrea's watching and she's scarily good at reading lips. That plus the basics of Observation Haki she's had an affinity for, she could sense if her brother came around then she wouldn't leave him be once he is and would consider it suspicious if I would ask to speak with her twin alone. Her hearing thankfully isn't as sharp as ours but she's so damn curious that asking him on the Den Den Mushi likely wouldn't work out very well." A smirk took over his face. "Would you be able to provide a distraction in the form of training?"

"Hmm." The White Dragon considered. "Well, her physical and mental self-control are certainly up to it, so… Invite him to come in the end of the next week. I am going to start on her Conqueror's Disposition training, and since the first part of it is the very incarnation of a tedious task that takes days, you should be fine. But do me a favor? Buy her a metal bucket for training at home. And plant a kurokaya tree, that's an order."

…A bucket? "Sure," Sakazuki replied as he furrowed his brow. Whatever this training is, as long as it leaves the curry pot out of danger's way, it should be fine. "The tree shouldn't be a problem either. We have plenty of room for a tree, but I fail to recognize its significance."

"A kurokaya in the garden stands for a naval family. The two in mine are actually older than the Navy – my ancestors just built the house between them. A kurokaya stands for the wish that one's line will last as long as the tree and beyond," she explained. "When you visit Borsalino-nii next time, check his main yard." Digging through her desk, she handed him a card. "That gardener comes once a year to pick up the seeds, so she should have some tree saplings for you to plant."

"I wonder if volcanic soil would be good for them," he murmured in curiosity as he examined the card carefully. "Thank you for your time. This have given me a lot to think about."

"This island is volcanic originally, as all Grand Line Islands are, so do not worry about that. Besides, this would fill in the second spot of the old saying." At seeing his confusion, she chuckled. "Three things a man should do in the course of his lifetime: Make a house his own, plant a tree that survives ages, and father a child that carries on legacy. Well, you have a house now, the kurokaya would take care of the tree part for the next two millennia or so… and as you want a family, the last part is up to both of you. Fair Winds, and Following Seas, Vice Admiral."

Nodding and deciding to bow politely despite the sad and happy thoughts that fathering a child made him think on, he ran his hand through his short hair after closing the door behind him. Don't be angry Andrea when your training gets stepped up, he chuckled as he could imagine her initial elation at more training (or rather what the results would be).

-Present time-

"Is something wrong, Sakazuki-kun? Even for you, you're being awfully quiet." This was followed by a roll of eyes and a snort from the magma logia.

"I'm not that antisocial and I wasn't being quiet. I was just thinking about something." Us rather. "You seem rather anxious despite your exhaustion from earlier."

"She was utterly ruthless, Sakazuki-kun. When I saw that damn gull soaring towards me, I should have ran but it was about upping the amount of things I needed to do while balancing a bucket. It's like multitasking to some extreme extent." She shook her head in annoyance. "I had to dodge and strike out in addition to lip reading someone from behind a fucking wall." Sighing in defeat, she flung her arms out. "I told her about the writing idea and that's when she dragged a recruit to write some rubbish for me to decipher while doing all that crap. Hence the main part of the headache. I couldn't read it except for a few words here and there."

Hearing her get fired up made Sakazuki chuckle as she did not notice where he was steering her towards: a rather nice restaurant. She also had missed the fact that there were some familiar faces around. I'm glad you're so exhausted otherwise she would have been disappointed in your lack of perception around you, Andrea. "We're here," he announced as he pushed her through the doors to be greeted by a waiter.

"We have your room ready. Right this way, Vice Admiral Akarô."

The curt and slightly condescending tone of the waiter, the sheer fanciness of the restaurant as well as the luxurious smell of gourmet cuisine made Andrea's eyes bug out as she looked around curiously. "You got reservations? But how would you have…?"

"Just enjoy it," Sakazuki scolded her gently as he kissed the top of her head.

She merely nodded numbly as she followed him to the reserved room. It almost felt like it was on an elevated platform and had a mirror, which Andrea was about to eye with suspicion when the waiter's haughty tone caught her attention. "We have a good selection of fine wine that go with a variety of our dishes but…"

"Sake is fine," Andrea said dismissively as her attention was successfully diverted from the mirrored wall. She took in the politely horrified expression and raised an eyebrow. "I don't like normal wine that much," she attempted to explain but the man was left gaping like a fish.

-Meanwhile: Behind the Two-Way Mirror-

Borsalino wanted to roar with laughter but was promptly elbowed in the side by his wife. "Silence," she hissed as she motioned to the couple behind the mirror, one of whom was unaware of the party awaiting them.

"She's such a philistine," Theodora grumbled as she took a sip of her wine.

"No argument from me, princess. This is all Sakazuki's fault. Sake hound," Kuzan muttered under his breath before shooting a glare at Garp to prevent him from laughing loudly and revealing their position to the female vice admiral.

-Back to the Reserved Room-

"The Icewine dinner set and some Kubota sake as aperitif," Sakazuki attempted to placate the waiter, but he himself was barely restraining his laughter despite feeling twitchy as he did very faintly hear the comment from the fleet admiral as well as his wife. He felt a glare when he noticed Andrea's eyes on him, taking in the fact that she noticed his blatant amusement. "You cause quite the stir," he explained just to have her roll her eyes at him. "You might actually like icewine so at least give it a try. Just bear with me."

"Only for you," she grumbled as she lifted up the menu to see exactly what was being offered. "Sakazuki-kun, this is really a lot…"

"Order what you want," he sniffed dismissively. "We're doing fine and I will treat you to a meal when I want just as you treat me to your cooking." He flipped a page in his own menu. "In any case, have you ever seen exactly what you or I make?"

"Oh fuck," Andrea muttered as her forehead slammed into the menu. "I never bothered thinking about it between how when I needed something since joining, it just got bought for me. It felt so different to having to constantly worry about money that I guess now it's still unusual. Knowing I have enough to spare? Can you show me about my finances when we get home?"

"Sure," the vice admiral shrugged before feeling anxious on the inside. What's mine will be yours if tonight goes well after all. "I might get an order of Sea King BBQ or something."

"No curry stew?" Andrea asked with curiosity as she noted it was on the menu.

"Only as sauce," he sniffed as he motioned over to where it was listed – a vegetable mix in curry sauce. "Don't be so surprised when I eat other things." He put his menu down decisively. "Have you decided on your own food? This place is superb with seafood."

"Well, I see a Bouillabaisse is being offered which I sadly never tried. I haven't met many chefs who spoke with me about similar dishes except one and…" Andrea's nose crinkled with dislike. "Black Leg Sanji isn't very high up on what I'd call respectable."

"That's the chef that flirted with you when Borsalino was escorting you to Loguetown correct?"

-Flashback-

While the light logia was watching over his comatose charge, he sighed as he played with the green Den Den Mushi on his wrist. "She always had a hard time with blondes," he told Shiroyoru who had dropped by to ensure that her patient was indeed healing to her specifications. "I don't know if it's severe enough to go into her psychological profile but…"

"I heard about what happened with Morgan. Disgusting," she sneered as she replaced the food bag that the admiral was neglecting. "What other blondes could set her off this badly?"

"A little after I retrieved her, we had gone to a floating restaurant you see, and it turns out she's a great cook. She probably could whip up a good curry."

"That would please Sakazuki then," Theodora chuckled. "What else happened?"

"The chef tried to take advantage of her thirst for knowledge and tried to have a few liberties. Sakazuki wasn't thrilled when he found out but if I didn't kick him away, I think she would have killed him herself."

"What's the likelihood she would run into him again unless it really is the Straw Hat chef?"

"It is him. Black Leg Sanji."

Theodora's face was in confusion and amusement as she remembered the unusual wanted poster. "Does he really look like his poster?"

"It's spot on," the admiral deadpanned with a smirk.

-End Flashback-

"I had heard about that from Borsalino," Sakazuki grunted as he motioned towards the menu. "If the Bouillabaisse is what intrigues you, try it. It's not like this would be the only time we could come here. There is not a reason to limit yourself so much, Andrea-chan."

"I'm working on it," she said weakly as she flipped through the menu and nodded her head. "That's the dish I was most curious about. Let's order."

-From behind the mirror-

"Finally," Ace grumbled as he saw them order food. "So Gramps, can we order our own food now? I'm tired of waiting."

"You should have slept while they were conversing," Garp snickered quietly before the fleet admiral would glare over at them again. "Why are you so anxious Ace? We did give our approval after all."

"It's just so… Seeing her be different but so similar. It's just startling."

-Flashback-

As Ace strolled past the gate, he noted the protesting honks of a certain super penguin. Damn it. I was hoping it was asleep this time. The last time it tried to peck him for jumping over the fence and landing on top of him, it somehow actually hit him despite the fact he was a logia to his annoyance. "Oi! Someone open up!" he protested as the bird was waddling towards him.

Sakazuki opened the door with a scrunched brow. "Oh, you actually did show up. Chives, go back to sleep," he told the super penguin who honked back before laying down where he was. "You know he's anxious because remember one of the times you came over, those bounty hunters were following you and somehow got to our house."

"Hey, if I remember correctly, you enjoyed that. Hell, you looked like Christmas came early."

"If you would have been stuck for six hours with Kumori 'Paranoid Gaia' Flynn lecturing on ethics and tallying your own casualty reports, you would consider anything enjoyable," the magma logia chuckled. "But in any case, I'm glad you were able to come over."

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I have much to do other than bait morons and turn in an occasional bounty. Where is Andy by the way? She usually is around when I drop by."

"When you drop by usually is the evenings, remember?" Ace shrugged as he slouched onto the couch in the living room. "I made sure to have you come over here when she's not around and when she'll be too distracted to realize you're around."

"So we're going to have a serious talk then you want me to scram? I'm totally feeling the love," Ace snorted as he still felt uncomfortable around the magma logia. Sparring or training felt alright but when they were not doing either, all he was doing was talking to his twin's boyfriend and really, they had not much else in common.

"You can stay afterwards if you wish. But I do have something important to ask you." Ace's eyebrow rose and he could not keep curiosity out of his freckled countenance.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," he drawled. "What's so important that the marine Vice Admiral Akarô would request my presence?"

"I want to marry your sister," Sakazuki said quickly, hoping that the casual demeanor would ensure this conversation would go over easily. Ace however looked like he was about to incinerate the couch he was sitting on. Out of rage or shock however, he was uncertain.

"You're not bullshitting me?" The privateer asked quietly, completely unsure what to think. He knew the former admiral was close to his sister but to actually consider marriage… He had no idea what to make of it. "She's pretty young you know."

"I'm aware of her age. Others have gotten married at younger," Sakazuki pointed out before frowning. Great, now I sound like a cradle robber.

"Look, as weird as the age difference is between you two, I frankly don't care that much but do you two want the same thing? Like older people want different things than younger people."

"If you haven't noticed, being a high profile marine is very dangerous. For her, even more. Would you rather her die before having a chance to start a family?" Ace's glare became rather heated as he was trying very hard to reel in the fire he wanted to let loose in the couple's house. "I want to give her more time but she's in danger the longer she isn't connected to someone. Monkey D. Garp may be the head of your family but remember, as long as she isn't blood related to him, she isn't completely under his protection."

"Shit," Ace muttered as he shook his head. "So, you think people might interfere because of our father? That's the brilliance of my old man at work," he sneered at the thought of his father. "So, how will her marrying you help that? Excuse me to say it out loud, but you are a war orphan turned most notorious marine with a reputation that until recently tended to excel that of some of the worst of pirates. An oyster served at the Fleet Admiral's dinner table has more connections than you."

"I realize I had a tumultuous past and am not exactly the easiest marine to work with, even now…" He noted Ace's rolled eyes of confirmation. "But if she is connected with and starting a family, she can be protected under a matronage of a Dai Senmeibukai."

"Starting… a family?" Ace's eyes widened as he felt way too young to be an uncle under any circumstance. "Is it safe for her to…?"

"When Admiral Shiroyoru healed her, any difficulty she would have had with bearing a child would have been taken care of as well but this isn't about children. She just needs to be protected and I cannot do that as well if we're both living together but not married. There needs to be more solidified evidence of a bond or something between us. Something that makes it worth risking political messes for a Dai Senmei clan, and an unmarried pair is to them about as legal as two drums and a cymbal falling off a cliff, and you can guess the consequences of no protection."

"Those government bastards could claim it's a set up if there isn't a connection or another group looking out for you two," Ace muttered with annoyance. "Who's offering?"

"Kumori."

Ace just felt like he was hit in the jaw with how fast it dropped. "Really? Fuck." He shook his head as he looked around at the house. It was obvious where both Andrea and Sakazuki had their influence but to think it actually would be where their family would begin still hit the flame logia hard. "The World Government wouldn't even be able to do as much as sneeze in your direction with that protection."

"True, but Shiroyoru was very explicit on the needed valuta – we are both running on that one last chance she gives people before turning them into ice dust, so we cannot expect lenience; approaching someone else would yield the same, as the Kumori are the leaders, and so, it's either everything or nothing," Sakazuki explained carefully as he knew that the flame user was not exactly the type to care for politics.

"If she's happy and safe, you have my blessing or whatever you wanted from me," Ace sighed as he felt the intense need to hit something subside. "Just don't hurt her or you'll have me to deal with. I don't care if my pyrokinetic abilities are of a lower tier than yours but I will not let you hurt my sister and come out unscathed."

"Understood. Do you think you'll be staying for dinner then now that we have an understanding?" Sakazuki asked as he felt that Andrea was almost at the house.

"Sure and I'll probably crash for the night. Haven't had any leads to catch up on so you get to train me," he smirked before glancing at the door. "So, what is she cooking?"

"We're going to have to order take out because there is no way she'll be in the condition to cook. In order for her to not realize you were here… I took precautions."

"What do you mean by…?" He heard a thud on the door and got up immediately, followed by the magma logia. As he opened the door, he was greeted by his snoozing twin, barely standing. "Precautions?" he roared as he turned to the vice admiral. "She looks like she got wrecked by a Seatrain!"

"Oh, actually, that's better than the last time she fell through the door." Well, your brother supports this. Now, how to persuade that grandfather of yours…

-End Flashback-

"The food smells good," Andrea sniffed the air delicately. The motion at first made Sakazuki tense as he hoped she was still exhausted enough to not detect the other guests but she giggled as she looked over at his expression. "I never thought you'd like a place like this."

"Time and place for everything," Sakazuki grumbled as he crossed his arms. I'm allowed to like nice things too, crazy woman. Especially since I never indulged myself the entire 20 years as admiral.

"What's so special that we'd go here?" she asked as she caught the smell of cooking meat. "Like, I'm totally appreciating it and everything but…"

"I'm with you. That's special enough."

-Behind the Mirror-

"That was oddly sweet," Garp snorted in disbelief at what he just heard. "Any more of that and I might consider that giving him my blessing was the right thing to do."

"You wouldn't take back the blessing," Sengoku pointed out as he picked at an appetizer delivered to their table. "And you know I wouldn't either."

"My blessing is what matters," Garp said dismissively as he snatched some food off of the former fleet admiral's plate. "Yours was just to be polite."

"Polite?" Sengoku sneered as he almost speared the marine war hero's hand with his fork. "Do you see what you're doing?"

"Do you see what you're doing? Letting perfectly good food go cold." Just like that, the squabble turned back and forth between blessings and food before they both felt a glare from a certain Kumori admiral. They looked up to see the fierce gaze leveled at them. "I'm fine with him having my blessing," Garp declared as he looked at Sengoku daringly.

"As am I," the mythical Zoan muttered as he crossed his arms and glared at his friend. As the two of them fought, Ace began to eat the portion that had been involved in the argument.

"You snooze, you lose," he muttered before passing out into the plate.

-Flashback-

It was not too hard for Sakazuki to encounter Monkey D. Garp apart from his granddaughter as Andrea's training kept her from her grandfather's side plus the fact that his recruits did not always mingle well with her other than Helmeppo and Coby. "Garp-san," Sakazuki addressed carefully, wanting to have the war hero's full attention.

He noticed the skeptical look on the man's face. "What do you want? I don't have anymore failed recruits to toss for you to scare back into shape." Sakazuki winced slightly.

Looks like he's still pissed at a few of the recruits I let back into his curriculum. "It's about something else a bit more important." This got an intrigued look from the old man. "Can we speak in your office or somewhere private?"

"Sure. Sengoku is probably there waiting for me. Can he listen in on whatever this is?"

"It would go better in fact with him listening." Garp's interest only spiked higher at hearing that Sengoku's input or that he would know what was going on would be allowed. "Shall we?"

"Sure," Garp said airily as he gazed over his various recruits. "Listen up, all of you!" he roared. The magma logia noted with a smirk the various looks of fear as they looked over at him. While Garp's training was scary, it had become known that to be sent into Vice Admiral Akarô's training (which was to encourage the vice admiral to work better with others and possibly pass on some basic fighting experience) was basically the last ditch attempt to stay in the marines as a full fledged soldier. "You can go for dinner early!"

"Eh?!" Every single recruit stared at each other, wondering what the hell was going on before Garp cracked his knuckles threateningly. Immediately, all the recruits scattered like gulls in the wind.

"That was effective," Sakazuki noted. Before either of them could move however, Sengoku came out past the still fleeing recruits.

"I was curious as to the panic I could feel building up. Makes sense I would find the two of you here as the source," the mythical Zoan grunted in annoyance. "Lunch?"

"Andrea has some leftover curry at the house if you'd like some?" Sakazuki offered. Maybe if they see the home we've made together, they would be more inclined to give the blessing.

"Oh! Sengoku, you're in for a treat if it's my Andy's cooking," Garp said merrily as he practically dragged the two men through the streets to Sakazuki and Andrea's house. The devil fruit users looked at each other, bewildered at how Garp literally launched through the roads, even navigating around a sleeping super penguin. Sengoku's sharp eyes caught a sight in the yard and he gave a rather intense glare at the magma logia but before he could point it out, Garp flung them into the dining room. „Serve the food, Sakazuki!"

The magma logia grunted as he retrieved the leftover curry and warmed it up briefly with his powers carefully before serving out the portions. "So there is something I wanted to speak with you both about…"

"Does it have to do with the kurokaya tree in the yard?" Sengoku interrupted as he scooped some curry and tasted it briefly. "Because one shouldn't plant it so lightly; it won't grow to ship material in due time after all."

"Tree?" Garp tilted his head in confusion as he briefly surfaced from devouring a majority of the curry that was in front of him. "Where was it?"

"I planted it with Andrea about a couple weeks ago. She doesn't realize the meaning of it however." Sakazuki put down his curry spoon to look at both of the older men. "But you two do. Both your yards sport one of them."

"What are your intentions with her?" Garp asked seriously. "You're making a whole lot of effort for her, aren't you?"

"I seek to ask for her hand in marriage and thus, I approach the two of you for your blessing." The silence became painful as Garp refrained from touching any of the food and Sengoku looked at his friend critically before glancing at the former admiral, who had a hard time not ducking his head – the two veterans had expressions that they nearly exclusively sported on the battlefield.

"You dare?" Garp finally snarled. Slowly he stood up, causing the chair he was sitting on to fall slowly to the floor. The room was saturated with his killing intent as he stared down the man who dared ask for his precious Andy's hand in marriage. "She is my granddaughter, you had failed to protect her before and you dare to ask for her hand in marriage? If I'm not mistaken, you weren't exactly kind to her on your first meeting with her. I should kill you for daring to approach me about this." The vice admiral's threat was not idle as his fists showed the sheen of Armament Haki upon them and every single marine alive knew the power behind Garp the Fist. "You're lucky I allowed you to live with her and you trespass upon my kindness."

Sengoku cleared his throat to speak in a carefully controlled tone. "Suppose you proceed. Have you thought on the aftermath of a marriage?" He nudged Garp to calm his friend or at least to force him to not attack the logia. Although not immediate, some of the killing intent wavered slightly at his friend's motion. "It isn't just about a ceremony then honeymoon then back to work."

"I've thought about the future and that's why this marriage…"

"If you dare hurt her, no one will find your body." The threat hung in the air harshly and with a slight gulp, Sakazuki nodded.

"A marriage between the two of you will make you both potentially big targets and not just to pirates either. This is politics of the harshest degree," the Zoan head of the Keimô clan warned. "Do you want to get used that badly? For if you go through with this, I am unlikely to have enough pull to protect you."

"We're being offered matronage by the Kumori clan," Sakazuki said quietly, unsure how these two would take these news. "And with that, Andrea would be more easily protected. I don't care about what happens to me. I'm at least used to the manipulations of politics but her… Imagine how easily she could be controlled if they had the right bait." He shook his head as he remembered how once, he was trying to manipulate her. She's so forgiving, even of someone like me. "I'm know I'm far from ideal for your granddaughter and I think she can do much better than some warmongering asshole like me but, I have to try. I'm new to the feeling but I know I do love her. I want… No, I need the chance to prove this."

"You have gotten better or I never would have permitted the thought of you living under the same roof as her," Garp admitted as he glanced at the curry. Reaching for it and bringing his seat back to the proper, upright position, he continued. "It doesn't matter if I don't think you deserve her but what she wants, isn't it? If you make her and keep her happy, I will give my blessing but my threat stands." He paused his munching to glare at the logia. "And I would serve up your devil fruit to Theodora as a present."

"How serious are you?" Sengoku pondered as he leaned back in his chair. "How can I believe you without…"

Taking this as the cue, Sakazuki pulled out the medallion, placing it in the middle of the table. Being of lower social rank than most people in the city and needing something that would appeal to Andy, he had eschewed the engravings traditional for the Dai Senmei and had opted for lapis lazuli enamel inlay showing an infinity knot surrounding a brilliant cut diamond; however, he had not spared any expenses and taken the traditional material (platinum) for the casing and the chain. "I wanted to give her something that shows what she means to me. She is my peace of mind, forever more. She means enough to me for me to easily give up what held me back and I would do it again and again."

Garp looked at the medallion and carefully touched it as he examined it. "Think he's sincere?" he asked Sengoku.

"Everything would point that way. But know this. If you dare to give us a reason to believe you were not truthful…" The cold look in his eyes carried the threat well before he turned to the food that had laid forgotten. "You have my blessing."

"And mine. Which is the one that matters the most," Garp spouted gleefully as he began to look in the kitchen for the donut supply Andrea kept on hand for his visits.

Satisfied the two men had been placated and having both blessings slash death threats secured, he carefully placed the medallion into the case he carried in his pocket. That went better than expected. Now she just has to say yes…

-End Flashback-

Andrea hummed happily as she put her silverware down, full and content after the delicious meal. Sakazuki looked rather calm and even said he could speak to the head chef for her which all in all, made it a nice day for her. "You know, when Shiroyoru-sensei put me through that training today, I thought I was going to feel like jelly until I slept then woke up for the next round of hell. This concluded the night nicely."

"That isn't all," Sakazuki said with a surprisingly firm tone.

Andrea's eyebrow rose in curiosity. "What could make this day better? It's been a very good night, a lovely dinner, and you've been very sweet. Really, it has been rather…"

What she did not expect was Sakazuki to go over to her and get down on one knee. Andrea's heart began beating madly to the point that it almost drowned out his words. The tone however was so sincere, so loving, that there was no way she could not hear it. "My Andrea, we've been through a lot. More than most couples and less than some but it has been quite the journey. It feels like I've been through hell with you and back to heaven all at once because that's just what you make me feel."

"Sakazuki… Are you really…?" Her words were cut off when he reached into his suit jacket and revealed the little case then opened it in front of her. The light shone off the brilliant diamond then she took in the design around the platinum pendant as well as the lapis lazuli. She touched his hand before gasping at the piece of jewelry in front of her. "What is this?" she asked him quietly.

"Will you marry me, Gol D. Andrea?" Her hands flew up to her mouth in shock as she recalled what she had read earlier that day from that recruit's scribbling and suddenly, everything made sense.

The tree… A pendant of engagement… Those were the words being written. Andrea's throat felt tight as she looked at Sakazuki and she could see the anticipation and anxiety rolling off of him in waves. He's so nervous. "Sakazuki, this is so much. Am I really worthy of your love?" she said quietly as doubt threatened to swarm her mind.

"You caught my eye and literally barreled into my life. Without you, what am I?"

"You're so damn sweet when you want to be," Andrea murmured as she looked into his eyes. "I would love to be your wife."

Sakazuki carefully placed the pendant around her neck and kissed her quickly. "There would be no greater joy than to be your husband."

Before Andrea could respond or squeal in joy, she heard the bleat of a goat followed by some muffled swearing. "Why did you take the goat here? There's no way she didn't hear that."

"Sakazuki-kun?" Andrea said suspiciously as she walked over to the mirrored wall.

"You're an idiot, Garp."

A sudden silence happened just as Andrea stepped in front of the mirror and sent a surge of Observation Haki through it. "This whole time?" she said as she looked over to her fellow vice admiral.

"The audience without the audience?" he said sheepishly before sighing. "Since that cat is out of the bag now…"

A couple waiters entered to push back the mirrored wall, revealing their friends and even Andrea's subordinates in a large banquet hall. "So you proposed sort of in front of everyone?"

"I'm allowed to be shy," he grunted lowly, causing her to smile as she took his hand in front of everyone.

"Guess what?" she announced loudly with a grin. "I'm engaged now!" A round of applause sounded as she started to blush but she was not alone in that as Sakazuki held her hand. Taking that as a cue, the restaurant band's drummer played a rimshot sting (b'd'boom, tssh).

"Shall we make the rounds?" Nodding quickly, Andrea beeline-d towards her still sleeping twin.

"Oi Ace!" she muttered in annoyance as she poked her brother. "You missed him proposing to me," she growled in his ear, causing the flame logia's head to shoot up in protest.

"No, I fell back asleep after," he pointed out, causing Andrea to roll her eyes at the grin her brother was giving. "Congratulations by the way."

"How long did you know about this? Twins are supposed to be practically psychic or shit like that," Andrea teased her twin who was trying to pick out pastry flakes out of his hair.

Finally settling for burning them out, Ace shook his head in amusement. "Do you realize how hard it was to hide this? Like seriously sis, think about what had to be done so you wouldn't notice."

Andrea's eyes blinked owlishly before she glanced at a smirking Admiral Shiroyoru with a sense of dread. "The training schedule…"

"Did you enjoy the Icewine?" the admiral asked with amusement as she put down her glass.

"It was different, sensei. I don't dislike it but rather, I don't know what to make of it," Andrea replied cautiously as she saluted politely. I don't know what to make of you either half the time. It's sweet yet tart, elegant and enigmatic… like you. "It is not something I am very familiar with."

"This is a near legendary Marineford specialty. True, these days the frozen grapes come from the islands north of here, but the cellars are still here. Believe me, one will get used to it in time," she smiled. "And congratulations."

"Thank you," Andrea beamed as she looked around, still in shock at how many people technically witnessed the proposal. "I'm guessing you were in on this," she motioned to the grinning people around.

"Haven't you learned by now when something goes on, of course I'd be informed," she received a sour reply. "I own this place after all," she muttered.

"Congratulations," Kuzan lazily murmured from Theodora's side as he refilled his wife's and his own wine. "It'll be interesting to see what you two are like when married."

Andrea and Sakazuki looked at each other before she giggled nervously and he looked around stoically. "He's already an improvement," the light based logia called out with amusement as his wife smacked his side. "Oi, both of you come over here."

"In a second," Andrea called back as she made her way back over to where Ace, Sengoku and Garp were seated. The goat that ousted them all was happily eating a stack of newspapers provided by the restaurant. "You all are rather amused, aren't you?"

"Yes," the three men replied as they all went for the same donut.

Sengoku rolled his eyes as he decided against pursuing the treat but the logia and vice admiral were glaring at each other. "Let's see the pendant," Sengoku murmured as he motioned towards where she had already placed it under her jacket. The former fleet admiral gave no indication that he had seen the piece of jewelry before and he saw the pride that the vice admiral had in wearing it. "Tell me, why you are so proud of it?"

"Well, I'm always happy when Sakazuki-kun gives me something. He doesn't give lightly and if this represents the fact we're engaged together, it's even more special." Her eyes shone with how happy she was and she tugged him closer. "Just knowing we're together gives me strength."

"Being alone is meaningless," Sakazuki murmured as he stroked her hair lightly. "Thank you two for your blessing. It means a lot to us as a family about to start."

Andrea's cheeks reddened slightly as Garp started to laugh despite Ace snatching the donut away. "Still, my blessing was the one that mattered. I wouldn't give my Andy to just anyone."

"Nonetheless, I appreciate the sentiment," Andrea replied before Sakazuki could gape at her grandfather. He actually went and asked for their blessing. That's so sweet.

"Borsalino wanted to speak with us," Sakazuki reminded his fiancé with a slight nudge. Gasping at how she had forgotten, she bowed to her family before scampering off to see what the jovial admiral wanted to talk about. "That woman," he smirked under his breath as he followed her.

"Have you met my wife?" Borsalino motioned to the woman next to him, making Andrea scrunched her brow in half recognition.

"Her voice… Suikô-san, we haven't met, have we?" Andrea asked in confusion. She had walked over as the admiral was getting chastised and could not help the sense of déjà vu at the woman's voice. "It almost feels like I heard it from a dream or something."

The couple looked at each other with slight alarm but both of them covered it up quickly on seeing the frown on Andrea's face. It must have been while close to waking when in the coma or maybe she overheard on one of Theo's Den Den Mushi calls… Well regardless. "Well, she's my wife who happens to be a civilian so…"

"Got it," Andrea understood immediately as she bowed politely to Suikô. The pain of having to hide one's love I cannot truly imagine.

"You are different than I imagined," Suikô chuckled as she examined the female vice admiral before her. The suit may have been tailored for her but it seemed to hide what she truly was. The professionalism that the suit had over her seemed overshadowed by the joy she was radiating, almost like a flower being supported by sepal underneath. "And I wanted to offer something to you and that man of yours, if you would take it."

"A trip to the bathhouse?" Sakazuki asked in confusion as he appeared next to his beloved. "That would be nice but…"

"Not quite what I had in mind but you are both welcome to show up," Suikô chuckled. "I was referring to planning your wedding. Were you just planning on the ceremony?"

Andrea's eyes seemed to have a tunnel effect as she thought on the world that literally opened up in front of her. The thought of managing every aspect of such an enormous event like her wedding felt staggering and almost suffocating. Sakazuki took in her look cautiously. "I was hoping for more than just a signing but we'll have to discuss that later, won't we love?"

"So… much… planning," Andrea gasped after a few seconds as she shook her head. "Invites, venues, food and then guest lists and damn. Never realized how difficult this all could be. Wait, when would we get married?" Andrea asked as her head swung quickly to Sakazuki, making her gape like a fish now when he merely shrugged in reply.

"We get to talk about that later unless Suikô-san is offering what I think she is offering," Sakazuki pointed out as Borsalino began to grin at the confirming nod that his wife gave.

"I explained to her that just having Sakazuki unbanned from the bathhouse isn't a proper wedding gift and she decided to kindly extend her services as a wedding planner," the admiral explained as he watched his wife examine him critically.

"Huh?" Andrea blinked as she looked between her love and the couple in front of her. "Now I'm more confused than before."

"Long story," Sakazuki grumbled as the couple in front of them began to laugh.

"Indeed. Here is my business card Andrea-san. Tomorrow come see me and we shall make your wedding quite the occasion."

Andrea nodded weakly as she felt herself being steered to yet another table after a few more well wishes. "Took you long enough," Rob Lucci grumbled as he placed his own wine glass down.

"Just in shock," Andrea explained as she looked over at the table full of her subordinates while Sakazuki returned to where Borsalino was to converse more. "Just… holy fuck, I'm getting married."

"Don't go soft on us," Jewelry Bonney teased as she drank the alcohol she was brought with amusement. "It wouldn't do if you got weak after being married."

"If anything, it should do the opposite, yes?" Kaku asked as he examined the look on his superior's face.

"Of course," Andrea said firmly, resolve solidifying in her eyes. "Can't let anything hold us back, can I?" Before, me being weak could put us in danger but if anything recent that has happened shows, I'm getting stronger. I will not let myself be pushed aside to just let him do the tough jobs.

"Your eyes show a good intensity. Good. I knew this would be better than being stuck under Spandam's thumb," Kalifa noted as she pushed up her glasses. "Also, we have something we wish to tell you. We have procured the materials to make a cruise yacht and have created it ourselves. The final result is in the dock, awaiting your inspection and thus approval."

"Huh?" Andrea blinked as she took in all of the prideful looks of her subordinates. That would make sense with the looks Kaku, Lucci and Kalifa have been giving each other but what would I use a yacht for?

"It's a good backup ship, but it is built for comfort and pleasure rather than speed or outright firepower." Lucci informed helpfully as he straightened his tie before glancing at his superior and the man she was to be married to. Not that they need cannons… "We offer to man the ship whenever you require our services."

"Just try to pick whenever your crazy ass grandfather is doing his training," Bonney grumbled as she massaged her neck. "He's bloody insane."

"He's always doing training, he's the chief instructor," Andrea pointed out just to get an annoyed sniff from the former pirate. "So, when do I get to see this vessel and take her out to sea?"

"Not yet. You still have work to do, a wedding to prepare for and training," Sakazuki reminded Andrea as he came up behind her. Despite being fairly antisocial, he was in a fairly good mood. After all, it was indeed an interesting day and he could only imagine the World Government's reaction at the fact that Vice Admiral Akarô was engaged and to whom. "We do have time, my love. Don't panic. It's not as if the wedding would be tomorrow."

"I can arrange that if you want," Suikô called, much to the couple's horror (and everyone else's amusement). "Nobody booked the Shrine of the Great Blue this week, so it should be fine."

"Tell me you didn't dare," Andrea croaked weakly as she turned to Sakazuki who was still frozen in horror at the thought of being married so soon.

"Not at all," the magma logia finally managed. Of course I want to be married to her but tomorrow? That's a bit rushed and that would have pissed her off and made it seem too presumptuous…

"A toast," Borsalino stood up happily as he lifted his wine glass. "To the damn strangest couple I have seen together. I wasn't sure you guys would work out but I'm happy you did."

"Hear, hear!" Ace shouted with laughter as he lifted his own glass. The others in the room emulated the gesture and the couple found themselves swarmed with more jokes until soon the night wound down.

"Sakazuki-kun, you're thinking too much," Andrea said softly as the laughter died down and everyone started to leave. She hung on his arm slightly as he paid and soon the couple was off to their home. "If you really wanted to be married that soon, we could…"

"It's our wedding, not just mine. We decide together," he insisted gruffly as he pushed some of her hair back, causing her to smile in pleasure.

"And this is why I love you, my stubborn man." He reached for her hand and squeezed encouragingly. "We're a team," she quipped helpfully as she leaned up to kiss him. "So tomorrow we go for planning?"

"After your training. We still have responsibilities to think of, remember?" Andrea shuddered at the thought of even more things on her mind before smiling.

"It won't be so bad. Feels like a light at the end of the tunnel moment." She shook her head slightly.

"I see no reason to not free the schedule up for this a little, as long as you keep the combined basic exercises up," Theo spoke up. "You are not quite good enough to manipulate air yet, so it will not step up for a while anyway, and as for Sakazuki, the finals are still two months away."

"Didn't realize that was coming up so soon," Andrea murmured softly before bowing to her sensei. "I'll make sure that this doesn't interfere with my training."

"Or with my progress on finals," Sakazuki agreed as together they looked at the admiral. "You won't be disappointed."

Theo yawned. "Naturally." Because you shall regret it if you fail me once more, you two. I am still not sure if you are not a pair of Baka, so I reserve my right to be careful.

What's red and white and way too hot? A Sake dish (さかずき) filled with bravery (Ανδρεας). (drums-and-cymbal-toss: ba-dum, tssh.) – Borsalino