"What the hell are you doing, yoi?" Marco asked in exasperation. He had come up on deck to enjoy a nice quiet evening and instead had stumbled across this, whatever it was. Jozu, Izo, Haruta and Thatch sat in a circle with their less than welcome guests in various stages of undress.
"Truth or Dare Go Fish." Haruta answered, putting two cards down in the discard pile.
"Alright. Why are you half dressed then?"
"Because Ace has no shame and Sabo cheats at poker." Saber answered, pulling a card from Izo. "Damn. Truth."
"Is it true you're dating Hancock's sister?"
"Which one?" The other replied, making room for Marco as he was dealt in. "Yeah but it's more of a… physical thing if you know what I mean."
Ace snorted, "It's only a thing because I'm fake-married to Hancock."
"No, see, that's not fair. You can't just say that and not explain." Thatch whined before pulling a card. He grinned in triumph and put a pair down. "HA! Explanation please."
"I'm fake-married to Hancock."
"That doesn't tell us anything, yoi." Marco mused, "Wait, there was an article a year or so back…"
"Yeah, that's what started it. Some stupid marine overheard us talking about heartburn and then some shit happened. Anyway, long story short, he asked her out saying he was more qualified to be her boyfriend than a pirate and her sister made a quip about if he was 'half the man Ace was' Hancock would've considered it and suddenly everyone thinks we're married." Ace shrugged, "I mean, she's a good friend so it's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal. You're fake married to the most beautiful woman in the world!" Jozu stated incredulously.
"Not my type." He reached over and pulled a card from Koala, grinning and discarding two. "Speaking of type… You dating my brother or what?"
"Ew no. Just no. Firstly, ew, and secondly,ewww." She laughed at Sabo's pout, bumping him with her shoulder. "He and I are friends only. I'm seeing someone anyway." She said in a manner that made it clear she wouldn't say who.
Sabo was next, pulling a card from his brother and discarding two. "If you're going to be a cheat so am I."
"Fine, I'll stop." Ace grumped.
"What's your favorite attack?"
"Hmm… I'd have to say the Firefly one? I basically took the game we used to play as kids and made it a weapon. We used to spar this game on this hill on summer nights, and if you had a firefly touch you it was a free hit…"
"No wonder Sabo was a fighting monster as a kid." Hack muttered.
Izo was next and he pulled a card from Marco. A frown marring his face he sighed, "Dare."
Marco grinned, "I dare you to pour sake on your hair."
The pure look of murder Izo shot him was still worth it to see his usually so put together brother with hair dripping wet falling out of it's elaborate style.
The next question was from Saber directed to Thatch. "How did Luffy get that scar?"
The laid back friendly atmosphere became tense and Marco found he couldn't blame Fire Fist for the trickle of killer intent as Thatch told the story. In honesty he was impressed that the brat didn't do more than that. When Thatch was done all he said was, "If he isn't dead, I'll find him and he'll wishhe'd drowned."
It was a pretty awkward for the next few rounds before Hack broke it by asking Haruta to do their best impression of a well known marine. Marco personally thought that Garp was a little more... Garp … but it was pretty good, and he said as much.
"Well, if you were stuffing your face or punching people, maybe." Ace shrugged, reminding the Whitebeard commanders he had many interactions with the Marine Hero.
"He still does the thing?" Sabo asked.
"Yes every time I see him. It's 'Bahahahaha! Fist of Love!" The young man wilted dramatically, "And he wonders why I never stop by…"
Jozu was next, pulling from Sabo and discarding quickly. "What's this about you being dead?"
"Yeah I was wondering that, too…" Thatch grumbled, pouring more liquor for everyone.
"Oh that." Sabo took a long drink before continuing. "I got blown up by a Tertibo about ten or so years ago. Well, the little dingy I'd stolen to go and be a pirate on was blown up. Nearly died. When I came to I was with the Revolutionary Army and had amnesia. Thisjackass thought I was a ghost when we finally met up, too." He finished as breezily as discussing the weather.
"That… explains some things." Izo allowed. "I imagine it will take some adjusting, reconnecting with your family."
"Nah. Ace and I kind of just picked up where we left off and, well there's Luffy but that's a whole other issue." Sabo shrugged.
Ace nudged him, "What about-"
"I'm… " Maybe Marco was imagining it, but the two other revolutionaries tensed slightly. The blond sighed and looked at Izo, finger tracing the scar on his face as he smiled pleasantly. "So, before I died as it were I happened to run into the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Who happens to be the one who saved me. At the time I figured it was just a matter of timing but now… let's just say given my… connections … it's unlikely he rescued me out of kindness." He frowned, "Not to mention he knew I had people who were important to me, and also knew very well who they were and kept that from me."
Marco wasn't the only one who winced at that. No matter what the motivation, it seemed wrong to keep something like that from a kid. And for all that he was a tricky potentially dangerous pain in the ass, a decade ago Sabo had been a child.
"So, what my brother is asking in his awkward way is if he needs to have wordswith Dragon. Which as much as I'd love to…" he sighed, looking at his brother. "We can't. I'm the Chief of Staff, Ace. That's second in command, and in a lot of ways I'm the new face of the Army. Which I'm betting was definitely deliberate given my previous connections. If I confronted him about this in the open it could possibly split the whole group."
"Seriously?" Saber asked, eyebrows raised.
"Sabo-kun is well liked and respected by many of the undercover operatives." Hack nodded, "He has a reputation for being more approachable and for listening that Dragon is lacking. He also never asks someone to do what he won't. Which is why Koala and I have agreed to follow Sabo's lead in this. If he wishes to break ties over this, we wouldn't be the only ones to go."
Sabo let out a frustrated sound, "Which isexactly why I can't. We do important work. I'm proud of the work I do. I can't risk all that because of a few hurt feelings."
"Damn." Ace spat. " Fine, you win. I won't kill your boss." Somehow Marco thought the brat might just be able to pull it off with how honestly pissed he seemed. "But… I'm telling shitty Gramps."
"You wouldn't!"
"I would." The two shared a grin that no one bothered explaining as the game continued well into the night. Marco found himself grudgingly coming to like their guests for all that he really didn't want to. They were all loyal to each other and driven. Honestly they were the type of people Oyaji liked the best…The kind he liked the best, too. Which made it harder to hold onto his grudge. Unwillingly he admitted to himself maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing for Das to reconnect with his… other brothers. Because Marco wasn't going to be giving up his little brother. Not one bit.
But… maybe they could share. A little.