I know we all are frustrated by how many things turned out in both anime and manga, but there is no denying we can actually change things without taking away the world Oda-sensei delighted us with after the two years skip. But that does not mean I can't dedicate chapters to what I would have gladly changed in my story had it not been for the fact that there was no way of maintaining how amazing One Piece is right now. The chapters might be related one to the other, or they might not be related at all, I'll just write whatever What if comes to my mind and publish here, you might as well give me your head canons and I'll try make them reality for a chapter.

But let me tell you something, you have no idea of how many possibilities for this specific chapter I thought of. I was in therapy pondering options and could be's while getting electro shook, but when I started writing this was the one that came out, so I just hope you like it.

A/N: I do not own One Piece.

A/N: English is not my first language.

"Rear Admiral Kaede!"

Said woman's reaction was not instantaneous despite the suddenness of the call, as she blinked up at the light blue ceiling and it's blinding lights before turning her head to look at whoever had spoken, slowly dragging her eyes through the room before landing on the now open door and those standing by it. A grey haired man dressed in a white coat with a stethoscope hanging from his neck and pens lined on his chest pocket smiled widely at her, and there was no doubt of how quickly he would have moved at seeing her sitting against the pillow instead of lying on the bed like any patient should if he had not already been familiar with the doings of most Marines. An almost amused chuckle left his lips when Kaede found it in herself to smile back at him "As expected of such a rank, you woke up earlier than expected"

It was not right away either, but she did notice the ones standing beside the doctor. It wasn't always easy to see strong people worried, and because she had unlimited trust on several people who had won her respect, Drake's face that split of second before he went with the relieved look would maybe hunt her forever. As a highly laughable contrast, Garp's face held a grin that was already narrowing the corners of his eyes by the time she half grimaced at the bandages on her arms, a booming laugh following shortly after with such power the doctor winced at the sound. Toshiro, who had been standing firmly behind the Vice Admiral, almost seemed to jolt when no one seemed to have something worrying to say about her state. The man next appeared besides Drake, glancing briefly inside the room with not at all hidden relief when he laid eyes on the awake person on the bed, before half saluting at no one in particular or maybe at all of them at once, close to sprinting down the hallway with a rushed sentence messily leaving his person "I'll go inform the crew"

"Would you look at that" They all stepped inside the infirmary, Drake reaching to close to door behind them, living up to his reputation of prioritizing privacy, definitely motivated by those who had paused to look at what was happening with curious eyes. Garp only laughed, waving a hand around as he nearer her bed "Brats sure are lively nowadays, wait until I tell Sengoku about it, he owns me about three bags of rice crackers for this" Her lips twitched, slowly curling up into a smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Garp-san"

"There is the possibility of a concussion, you shouldn't have moved that much. Why is that every single one of your subordinates, past or present, refuse to behave like they should?" When he reached her the doctor sent a small glare to the Vice Admiral over his shoulder as he took a small light out of his pocket, turning to the woman with a small sight when the other grey haired man only laughed again, thumbs going up. Kaede couldn't help but blink uncomfortably the first couple of seconds the light reached her eyes, easily following the finger held in front of her nose after she got used to it "Do you know what happened? What's the last thing you remember?"

"Surprise attack. I believe it to be Big Mom, didn't get to touch the main ship before it navigated away, we were left to deal with the smaller ones"

"Do you know where you are?"

"Headquarters"

"Light headed?"

"No"

"Pain somewhere?"

"No"

The man almost made a face at that.

"Besides obvious ignorance of human responses to injuries, which somehow is a sign of being healthy around here, everything seems to be fine. I have seen worse cases of blood loss, should be okay after we get you something to eat" Was his verdict once he checked under her eyes and it's paleness didn't seem to upset him, tucking the light inside his pocket once more. He laughed lowly, shaking his head from side to side "Is it incoherent from me to wish for normal recuperation speed from time to time?" She did try to laugh alongside him, wincing halfway through it, and it could have been his imagination but maybe that gesture was made to please him somehow. But a doctor never truly wanted to see an already hurt person hurting even more, so even when he chuckled, the man kept a close eye on further reactions.

"Sorry, can I have some water?"

"Why, of course"

When he turned his back to her, she was left facing a very solemn looking Drake. It was not the look he used to give her those first months on board of her ship, the unamused face when something clearly not to proper happened when on duty, or the look of that first time he found her pealing potatoes in the kitchen with the chore boys- This was the same look he gave her before realizing she was evading being in her office because she Akainu had sent her some papers regarding a mission, that one of 'I was not trained for this'. The look that time changed into the 'I'm not exactly sure of what is this', and finally evolved into the 'I know we are doing this anyway' look. It was the one her crew had learnt to wear as they waited for orders, firm on their places despite the light atmosphere, really nice to look at expressions.

But when she scratched her arm over the bandages, it turned into the 'Do not dare' look. Not that he ever said it aloud.

There was no need really.

"Don't look at me with that face, Drake" Kaede laughed, motioning for him to get closer. A frown and a sigh later, Drake found himself doing just that, shaking his head with arms going from crossed over his chest to hanging to his sides, taking in the bruises when he was close enough to see the already healing wounds on her face. It took him being as close as to stand right next to the bed to notice the twitch of her hands "I truly am okay"

"Oh dear" The doctor's exclamation took both Drake and Garp's attention for a moment. The grey haired man stood with a glass full of water besides some complicated looking equipment, a confused look on his eyes as he tapped one of the many machines, tapping it again when there was no reaction "The results of the tests that I ran on Danielle-san should have been printed out already, is it broken? I must call someone to fix it immediately"

But before he could say something about it, the Commodore was pulled in for a hug.

Now, even from someone like her, it was a surprise. Not because she wasn't willing to show her affection, but due to the fact she normally respected how wary of it many people on her crew were, despite being able to muster an awkward smile and a pat on the back in return. It would have made a lot of sense if it hadn't been someone who had fought with pirates before, someone who hadn't already known what it was to be in a battlefield, maybe someone who still had hands without little scars or a coat hanging from her shoulders, a warship under her command and a thousand fight under her belt. It was unsettling, extremely out of place, and it wasn't until she held on tightly until his head rested on top of her shoulder that Drake thought of asking if everything was actually 'al right', but it took him less time to notice what she wanted him so see than thinking of what to say.

His head was positioned so he could clearly see the wrinkled pieces of paper half hidden under the pillow, the sides of the sheets visible for him to see over her shoulder. If he tried, he could almost smell fresh ink from them, dark spots staining the pristine white covers of the hospital bed proof of how recent those documents were- The symbol of the Navy stared back at him innocently as his eyes found words under the blue stamp, and maybe it was all the years he had spent burning unwanted documents sent from the Headquarters alongside that same woman, all the time the crew had invested on creating an alibi for when Akainu 'visited' or Sengoku asked, all those months he single handedly stopped rumors for growing into something troublesome, that he didn't show any type of reaction on his face when his brain processed the words 'Medical Report' alongside her name. Because things had not turned out as he had first expected when he joined the Marines, molding him into a man far different from his father, Drake had no problem on remaining impassive when he knew that gone was the smile and the traces of laughter and when a whisper reached his ears, knowing very well that Garp had tensed behind him as her eyes probably landed on the old man as well.

Because he too started to walk down the path of living a lie while knowing he was an outcast, proudly holding onto what he had found to be true justice, he had no problem squeezing her back when he felt her shoulders shaking, nails digging into his clothes with barely manageable anxiety and fear.

"Help"

"I can't say we didn't have it bad" Thatch crossed his legs, sitting over the railing of the ship without needing to look out for his own safety or grab onto something so not to fall to the sea, many years of experience on evading just that up his sleeve. His eyes were focused on something entirely different anyway, a certain dark haired boy who thought a little bit too much about things, a steaming bowl of stew placed in front of his barricaded self. Sometimes it was comical, really, to see Ace act like a rebellious child- Sometimes it wasn't. The Commander of the fourth division grimaced "But that kids seems like he has gone through some pretty tough things"

Marco hummed, resting his back against the same railing, tilting his face as he caught on how Ace started to glance at the food with not as much resilience as the first day onboard. More than a sight of wanting to be alive, the blonde pirate had the feeling the empty plates he found were due to not wanting to waste food. It would have been easy to toss it aside, but the back that Ace didn't do that actually said a lot more than his attitude towards his current situation. Marco smiled sideways "Well, took a little while, but I think we all start to see what Oyaji saw days ago"

His brother laughed, nodding alongside his words "He'll make a fine little brother, if I may say so myself. Although…." The Commander of the first division glanced at him, but Thatch was looking at their soon to be brother with crossed arms and a deep in thought expression, eyes narrowing ever so slightly at whatever he was trying so hard to see. He was doing that a lot lately, mainly when their father was nearby, not talking about it or pointing out whatever interested them so much for the others to make an opinion about it "Say, Marco, I've been thinking about this ever since we got to see his face up close, but doesn't he look somehow…" Thatch waved his hand around, making a face when the exact word he was looking for didn't come as easily as expected, scratching the back of his neck with one hand in a rather contemplative way "… familiar?"

"Commanders!" Whatever Marco could have answered to that was lost when a third voice interrupted his thoughts, one of their crewmates running towards them with a pair of binoculars in hand. He didn't stop, not even when most people around them paused at his call, curious about what could have possibly caused such a rockus- Normally nothing really, actually happened, and that was precisely why most were so amused by Ace, him being the addition they had been waiting for. Their brother reached him, breathing agitatedly, sweat running down his temple, and Marco got just a little bit worried about what could have possibly made him come down from his watching spot so quickly "We have spotted a warship not twenty minutes from our location. A Rear Admiral, by the looks of it"

At first, both Commanders smirked immediately. Being part of such a crew meant they didn't have that much action, not as much as they used to have when they were smaller and 'less threatening', although they had not changed that much, so the chance of getting some exercise was rather pleasant.

"What are we waiting for then?"

"No, Commander! Is not the enemy!" The man shook his head fervently, a conflicted expression on his face. Thatch and Marco looked at each other with a raised eyebrow before turning around in the direction their brother had come from, eyes narrowing when they actually caught on the faint shadow of a ship navigating in their direction, still too far away to distinguish without binoculars. But maybe it was the fact that no one had yet announced a battle that made Marco realize just who was on board of that ship, and although there was no denying the pleasant surprise, he couldn't help but frown at how something just felt wrong. Thatch lowered himself to the ground again, looking at their brother.

"Get Ace inside a room before he sets something on fire"

"I thought you were the one saying we should never step into each other's ship ever again" Technically Marco couldn't remember the last time Drake had actually been there, maybe when he still wore a frown on his face every single day and looked out of place all the time, be it in a pirate ship or back on Kaede's ship. But the fact that the always grumpy looking Marine stood in front of him without seeming to mind his surroundings, actually not looking completely out of place, not even with his stupid blue suit, was what set alarms on Marco's head. The first division Commander would have liked to cross his arms and look like he couldn't care less about his presence, but he was too busy studying Drake's aggravated expression and the silent ship behind him to actually do it. Frowning, Marco tried to get answers directly from the source, not having the patience to try and figure out what was happening "Unfortunately I know you enough to know you wouldn't go back on your word"

"Vice Admiral Garp is covering for us" Drake tugged at his cloak, taking down the hood with one hand. Although he didn't exactly look uncomfortable, he looked absolutely serious and downright solemn, making the whole thing seem completely random. Had it been someone else, a not so lucky Marine that had somehow being able to board the ship, a look full of hatred would have been already expected and laughed at, but at this point of life there really wasn't a need to point out why this just wasn't the case "Apparently he has had his share of sneaking around in a warship without the Fleet Admiral suspecting a thing" No one said anything about that, knowing full well there actually wasn't anything to say. Thatch glanced around, a slight frown soon appearing on his face.

"That's not your ship"

A severe expression quickly appeared on the Marine's face, eyes and whole aura darkening at the point out. It had even Thatch blinking at such a change, and many others observing the sudden atmosphere around those on the warship that had heard the Commander's words, showing how much of a bitter reminder it actually was "You can thank Big Mom for the change"

It didn't take to be a genius to figure out what had happened, it only took a group of people used to sinking war ships under the command of one of the Yonkou as well.

Those who were listening understood that easily enough, but it was up to Marco to find out the rest of the story. The Commander observed the new ship and the crew on it, not looking half as relaxed as he knew they could look, and then the man before him, because it didn't really matter if they didn't like each other and didn't mind making people know it, Marco had lived enough to recognize an emergency when he saw one.

"What happened?"

It seemed like it had it took Drake a great deal of self-control to not frown or scowl or something that showed how he felt about the whole thing, so at the end the Marine opted to shake his head, biting hard the inside of his mouth "If this causes trouble, I'll even apologize and do things how I believe them to work, but for the time being just listen to what she has to say" Quickly, probably so Marco didn't have a chance to comment on his face as he muttered those words, Drake half turned around "There isn't much time to spare, I'm sure Kaede-san will be able to coordinate via Den Den Mushi how it's going to go, but for now we have to leave and make a few rounds up north to keep up a cover. This is Vice Admiral's Garp personal one, I believe Vegapunk made it the safest line on the world" Thatch easily caught the thrown Den Den Mushi, looking for all the world like he was witnessing Drake grow another head right in front of his own eyes, pretty much the same reaction everyone had as he actually, looking quite willingly, left the Rear Admiral with them "You might want to get some tea brewing"

It was the last thing they heard from him before Kaede actually stepped out into the deck of the warship, chore boys and the handful of young girls saluting almost instantly. Folders were held by Toshiro, who walked besides the woman while listening to what she was saying, probably instructions by the looks of it. The first thing that caught his eye wasn't the lack of Marine uniform, replaced by normal clothes and a cloak suspiciously similar to Drake's, nor how she was actually helped onto the stairs between their ship and the pirate's ship, instead, the first thing Marco noticed was the dark circles under her eyes as they made eye contact and Kaede paused for a minute before taking a deep breath and stepped on the wooden railing, almost like she was actually bracing herself.

But the frown at that and the question on the tip of his tongue disappeared as soon as the woman stumbled on apparently nothing upon stepping onto the deck, face contracting in a forceful expression as she fought to get one feet in front of the other again, managing to stay standing with the help of the hands that had automatically shot to hold her shoulders. Marco would have frowned had he not been taken by surprise, staring almost incredulously at the woman that was currently grimacing at the ground.

"What happened?" This time around there was no way of hiding how Marco felt about the whole thing, anxiety clear on his voice and face and whole body in general, and there was no hope of it getting any better as the cloak's fabric slipped a little and the bandages on her arms were showing for the whole world to see, therefore, it didn't take to be a genius the scratches and bruises on her face had not long ago being forced to wear similar bandages as well. There was no way of knowing if the clothes were hiding similar things, and there was no way of knowing how he would react if that was the case. Kaede attempted to smile at him from her position, and almost failed miserable at the look on his face.

"Good afternoon"

Marco was quick to push her until Kaede was standing straight once more, holding her wrist with one hand and the side of her face with the other, carefully but quickly checking on the eyes as he wisely held in a snarky remark about her greeting and how that day would probably not have anything good in store. The Commander almost cringed at the paleness and the unusual coldness of the skin, gritting his teeth for half a second before finding himself speaking again "You are anemic. Get me a bowl of stew, and call the nurses!" Although it was a pretty simple task the closest group of people scattered quickly, almost racing at the urgency of his words, and how utterly silent the deck was besides the sound of footsteps made Kaede realize just how many people were staring.

"I'm okay"

"You are not"

A breathless laughter escaped her lips when the obvious remark was made, head hanging from her shoulders as she took a deep breathe in and out and a couple more times, shaking her head from side to side before raising it again, clearing her dry throat with the intention of not looking as breathless as she was feeling.

"Just… give me a minute, it was hard getting here" Kaede blinked repeatedly after that, clearing her head as she raised her eyes and felt the hold on her wrist increase in strength, the corner of her lips immediately curling up into a smile she spotted the Commander of the fourth Division not far from where they stood "Hello Thatch, it's really nice to see you"

In really simple terms, Thatch was reassurance itself. That man was the one to stand by anyone's side as they got a new tattoo, the one to step forward when an internal problem or a personal fight was about to break out, the one who would smile and nod when looked at for conformation or support. It wasn't a matter of being carefree, and maybe that was one of the few things he could possibly bond over with a Marine such as her, so technically speaking both Thatch and Kaede were similar enough to make everything easy for everyone involved, like the newcomers of both crews who were bitter about the idea of befriending the enemy, so to see Thatch hold Kaede's eyes with his own while holding a perfectly still expression was one more thing to worry about. How he couldn't bring himself to joke or laugh or smile or show in some direct way his concern and support was enough to make him turn around.

"I'll go get that tea right now"

"When did you get this wounds?"

As she sat on a chair inside his room, Kaede grimaced onto the cup of tea she was holding. And not precisely because the thing was too hot, or because it hurt when he brushed the bandage on her cleavage, because it didn't, though it did make herself conscious. The cloak was now on the desk, leaving the white cotton shirt to barely hide the reminder of whatever had happened with Big Mom, giving Marco a pretty good idea of how it all went. The way he gritted his teeth made her think twice about it, but the intensity with which he was waiting for her answer had Kaede sighing in defeat before saying enough, knowing full well what type of reaction she was going to get "Two months ago"

Truth to be told, he did a pretty good job only curling his hands into fists to the point she was pretty sure he would bleed had it not been for his devil fruit, because it could have very well been like that one time he kicked chairs and tables inside a bar after a particularly annoying argument with a person that apparently knew him from long before he even was a pirate –Marco didn't like to talk about that long ago, so no one asked. She didn't feel the need to ask either-. But despite the tamed reaction, the woman knew it before he said anything- She noticed how he processed the information, looked at her bandages, frowned over the conclusion, and glanced up at her face for confirmation. She knew what was coming, so she took the biggest sip she possibly could without burning her tongue.

"They should have been healed by now"

She had had time to think about it.

She had time to hear what little Toshiro had to say, what Drake had to suggest, and what Garp had to comment. Kaede had the time to think about the whole thing through, to ponder her choices and come up with the best course of action, to make use of the brain that had been somehow rewarded with a new rank and praises from people who didn't precisely dislike her, like Tsuru. But Marine or not, she had been thought by one of the most important people in her life to act by what you thought to be right and then worry about the consequences, and probably not even Garp, with his somber face as he realized what she had decided to do before other considerations could be made, could say something about the way of life he had taught not only her, but his whole crew. So it wasn't completely a surprise when she found herself opening her mouth to start and explain, before closing it upon realizing she didn't know where to start.

Kaede fought to settle herself with the most important things, to then forget the order and start all over again. She took more than one deep breathe, preparing to say something and then go with whatever came out, to find that this time she couldn't do it. Marco sat there, waiting patiently, probably more concerned about the bruises that he could see up close than the fact that she was, not for the first time in her life, speechless.

In her defense, it would have been the same thing had she prepared some kind of speech, because the chances of her tired mind to remember it were so low it was pitiful. Her stomach twisted in knots although she had been made to eat not long ago, realizing her injuries did hurt and that they weren't actually getting better, even if they weren't getting worse. It wasn't that hard to realize that she was stuck in the same situation as that first day in the infirmary, when she handed a wrinkled medical report to Drake, when she was held under a piercing stare until Garp acknowledge he too knew what was going to happen if they didn't move fast. There was no bleeding anywhere, however, the bruises were bright and the ribs weren't healing, the bandages were daily changed but none were permanently removed. Walking on the line of preserving the same but having to go forward.

"This is harder than it looks" For a second, tiredness took complete control of her face. The dark circles were more obvious, and although there were absolutely no signs of bad nutrition Kaede's skin didn't look all that healthy "I don't think I could go on for another month, focusing my strength somewhere else. Now I have no doubts, she…she was an amazing woman" A low chuckle escaped her, but Kaede didn't look that joyful "Such an amazing woman" In fact, she looked rather deferential, if not apologetic about the person who she was talking about, although he didn't have an idea nor he thought she was going to give him an explanation. The silence didn't stretch that much; Kaede held the cup closer to her chest, biting the inside of her mouth, looking at the liquid like by doing it she would somehow uncover all the secrets of the world. Or like it would provide an excellent object to focus her attention in so not to look at him just yet, and if that were the case, it was working. Taking a deep breathe, Kaede spoke again "I had to hide it. I didn't get permission to sail until a couple of weeks ago, then we had to go around the red line with some other ships to keep up appearances, so there was too much people around me. Garp-san tracked you down ten days ago, took us about that long to get away from prying eyes"

It didn't take him that long to put the little pieces together, slowly making his way to the reason why she looked like that, or why Drake had been willing to leave her there. To not get a direct answer would have been frustrating under normal circumstances –not that he recalled what was normal anymore- but Marco didn't seem to find it in him to feel annoyed when Kaede looked like she was about to pass out. There were lots of things he would have been able to ask after hearing that, lots of things he would have been able to comment, but almost all of that was lost when she held his eyes and it was clear she already knew what was coming next.

"What did you have to hide?"

The question was out of his mouth before Marco could properly think about it. And for good or for bad, it was the right thing to ask. It was the question than englobed everything he wanted to know, everything he was missing, and by the looks of it probably what had Kaede had been waiting for.

At first, she didn't say a thing.

She contemplated his face, his tattoo, the way he sat with his feet directed at her. Everything signaled he was paying up most attention, that he cared for her answer and worried because of her silence, and the face he was making had the woman smiling internally despite all the worries and the 'could be's and the 'what if's. If Kaede allowed herself to be selfish for that second before doing what she had come to that ship for, she would have admitted it was nice.

"Seven months. I'm seven months pregnant"

It wasn't exactly like a bucket of cold water.

Actually, time didn't seem to stop and nothing seemed to pause to let him catch up with his own thoughts, or whatever was going on his head as waves rocked the ship and the smell of salty water sneaked inside the room from the cracks and doors, as footsteps were heard over their heads, announcing that no one had stopped whatever they were doing as Marco just did. Now, people thought pirates were brutes who didn't know the first thing about general knowledge, and some lowlifes would be the living, unfortunately breathing proof that most pirates were like that, but even the dumbest person would know what those words actually meant, and since Marco actually was quite intelligent he found himself staring into honey colored eyes. In a ship as big as the Moby Dick, there was more than a handful of people who had talked about children and wives and girlfriends, there was more than one proud man wielding the picture of a newborn or a group of small, smiling children, assuring they were carrying on a safe and peaceful life in an island marked as their territory.

Marco had always been the one listening, nodding, paying attention, but never the one telling something of his own. What could he possibly tell those who helped both Kaede and him keep as a secret the relationship that, really, didn't seem to have the brightest future ahead? Maybe Akainu or Sengoku or even Garp or Drake didn't think Marco gave it a thought, that he didn't care enough to realize they were going to near a dead end if they went on as they did, but the truth was, he did think about it. More times than he could recall.

Inevitably, his eyes were drawn to her stomach, taking in every curve and thinking if it was possible to match what he was hearing with what he was being told, tongue wisely held until his mind cleared and he was sure nothing bad would go out of his mouth, until Marco actually knew how to react and how to feel about it, until he had some kind of control of the blank sheet that had settled itself on his mind, ironically obscuring about everything.

The Commander of the First Division of the Whitebeard Pirates was not noted for cowardice.

But that was not taking in count the frozen state he found himself in when trying to gain control of his own body.

Kaede's lips curled up ever so slightly, looking down as well as she held onto the cup like a blind man held onto carrots. Soon enough, her expression changed into something more conflictive "To not look like it was what I was aiming for. Sengoku-san…. No, no one at the HQ can know, I disposed of the results of the tests they ran, Toshiro managed to stop the doctor's insistence on another round claiming that I was fine. But as much as I would like to say I can keep on hiding it, that it's going to be absolutely fine if I go on, I know it's a lie and sooner or later it's going to show" Pressing her lips into a thin line, she tried very hard to stop the trembling that threatened with taking control of her facial expressions, empowered by the ball of mixed feelings looking for a way to burst into freedom. It is our duty to point out, if you haven't figured it out yet, that she was losing the battle by a long shot "I know how easy to find of a target this ship is when we get close to it, and even if you can take your enemy down in a matter of minutes, I don't like the idea, but I…" Her knuckles turned white, and the only reason the cup didn't shatter under her fingers was due to the strong material it was made of. Kaede lowered her head, eyes burning with the unstoppable need of letting it out, of letting something, anything, out "I don't know… I don't know what to do"

It wasn't the first time Marco saw Kaede crying.

There had been many years between the first time, the second, third, and this one. Many years in between the night they had sneaked inside a Marine base managed by the, at the time, Rear Admiral Akainu, and he happened upon a storage room containing many documents and a teenager holding onto shelfs with trembling fingers. Good people, he had learnt a long time ago, tended to get hurt the worst, maybe not as often as many would think, but they were a prized target for those who seemed to sniff morality so to tear it apart. But this time there was no stupid Marine to blame for the wounded ideals of that woman- There was no family with four children and both grandparents killed by bandits on an island on the North Blue, nor an unfair execution that had her trembling and crying out of sheer frustration. This time, Marco was face to face with a soon to be sobbing Danielle D. Kaede, who tried her best to curl on her own body, forehead pressed to her forearms.

It wasn't the first time he saw her frustrated beyond believe.

Wasn't the first time he saw her trying to fight inner demons that tended to seek control of her actions when she was cornered.

It was, though, the first time he saw her being scared.

To the point her shoulders shook because of it, even preferring to cover it with the physical reaction of crying rather than allowing fear to dictate her actions. For many, including those who he is proud to call brothers, to enlarge a weakness to shadow another was the bravest thing they could do, and although it wasn't in Marco's nature to evade something, he had learnt to understand it. He had learnt to understand that many faced crying with wide open eyes, like she was doing right now, and he had learnt good people wasn't good for what they decided to do, but for how they naturally reacted to things.

The pirate knew he was not and could never be called a saint.

He knew he was someone bad.

He knew he did things frowned upon by society.

He knew he was the kind of man mothers hid their kids from.

Marco knew there was nothing he could do to change it, nothing he wanted to do to change the way he had chosen to live his life.

But maybe and just maybe, he didn't only do what the thought was the ring thin as he kneeled and took the cup out of her hands before it could slip and shatter. Maybe, even men who lived honorably and worked on normal things to support their families deemed right to do what he had done, when Marco first took hold of her trembling fingertips before slowly, covering her shaking hands with his. Maybe normal men, those who didn't have to hide from the world to be with the one they loved, those who maybe had turns on buying groceries or locked both doors and windows in the night to protect their families, too thought that being there and not running away was the right thing to do. That not turning his back when he could have very well down, was the right thing to do. That allowing himself to smile and feel happy, so she could feel it and share it, truly was the right thing to do.

"We'll find something" There was no need of raising his voice or bothering on sounding stern about it. Or more like there was no meaning on trying to have a monotone tone, instead of one that would actually deliver the growing exhilaration inside his chest. Kaede raised her head slowly, dragging her eyes off her arms like she feared what she was going to see would betray how honest he sounded, how happy she tentatively thought him to be. But she was not disappointed with what she found herself facing- Marco made sure of it. He made sure of looking relieved and content and grateful, to wear his heart on his sleeve, and he made sure to squeeze her hands when tears still rolled down her cheeks, lips parting ever so slightly as if she wanted to sob but couldn't. He made sure to smile but not overdo it, to show that they weren't different from others, that they too could be happy about a baby "It's going to be okay, we'll find something to do. We'll find a way"

It was like seeing a kid putting on a brave face when being bullied, to then see the same kid crying on a corner, away from judging eyes. The sniff that was followed by another and another, accompanied by a new set of tears, was proper of someone showing the side that would forever be broken. So Marco listening when she tried to speak once more, when she actually did it and when she narrowed her eyes, probably literally blinded by the tears still going out.

"They wouldn't do anything if it weren't my kid Marco, if it wasn't me…"

Her face was slightly swollen, her nose and eyes were red. But it was all lost on the fabric of his shirt as he raised from his position and didn't even try to dry the tears that would anyway keep on coming out, hugging the woman that was strong but not strong enough, the woman who just realized it was okay even if she wasn't that person who could do what she was ready to do but couldn't actually make it happen. It didn't matter how many things there probably were behind her words, things he probably didn't have a clue about, but for the time being the only thing that actually mattered was that where she failed, he was there to make up for it. What actually mattered was the fact that Marco had learnt from the best father in the world how to protect his family, that he had seen and felt what a parent was able of doing for their kids, that he was there and was never going to walk away. What truly mattered was that Kaede, sobbing and holding onto his shirt like a five year old would, was not alone.

"Everything is going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen to either of you, I promise"