Chapter Eighteen: Over Thinking

LuffyGirl here.

I hope everyone is doing o.k and is staying safe, indoors, social distancing and staying healthy and all those safety and precautionary things. It's going to be a long ride but we can make it through this.

With that little bit being said…

This chapter turned out a li~ttle different than what I originally had planned (it's definitely LONGER than what I planned) but it's better this way. Plus, the chapter name still holds up.

Thank You Kippysaurus for mentioning day trips :) I really haven't thought about that so I found a way to fit it in here.

Summary: Marco's had enough with the sleepless nights so he finally decides to talk to the one person who can help with pretty much anything and everything. Meanwhile, Ace takes the opportunity to talk to Thatch. There's a little surprise towards the end. (No they don't get married hence the words 'a little surprise')

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda :)

Enjoy ;)

Marco had enough of not being able to sleep (and now he was having returning nightmares so that was fun. Not to mention, Ace was now scolding him for drinking so much coffee and Thatch was beginning to wonder why Marco was drinking so much of it) so he finally decided to talk to the one person who could help with pretty much anything and everything.

"Hey, dad." Marco said as he entered his father's house.

"Hello, Marco. Are you alright, son?" Whitebeard asked as he noticed how tired Marco looked.

"Yeah, I just… Haven't gotten much sleep lately."

"Does this have to do with what you want to talk about?"

"Well… yeah." 'And now those returning nightmares.' But Oyaji didn't need to know that. "Got any coffee?"

"Something tells me you've been drinking more than enough of it."

"It's the only thing that's been keeping me going through the days lately."

"And apparently through the nights as well. How about some tea instead?"

Marco didn't want any but seconds later, a cup of hot tea was in front of him on the table and even a bowl of rice was placed next to it. Did Oyaji make this because he was coming over or was it already made beforehand?

"So what do you want to talk about, son?" Whitebeard asked patiently. He smiled when Marco took a sip of the tea but noticed him wince. Guess he made it a little too strong. "How is it?"

"It's good." 'Still prefer coffee at the moment, though.'

'You brats don't change when it comes to lying.' Whitebeard thought still smiling. He waited a couple more minutes (he was pleased when Marco ate some rice and took a few more sips of tea) before Marco decided to speak again.

"So, um…" Marco hesitated. How should he start? "We… We had a movie night a few weeks ago at Luffy and Nami's house. And… a few topics came up." Was that a good start? Maybe he should've worded it differently.

"What were they that they're keeping you up at night?"

"Well… According to Nami, Ace and Sabo, they feel like Thatch and I don't go out much as a couple. As in movie dates, dinner dates and the like. But we do go out once in a while and we do cook for each other and do other couple stuff."

"I see. When was the last time you two ate at a restaurant?"

Marco was about to answer but then stopped himself. When was the last time they went to a restaurant? Have they even been to a restaurant as a couple? He was pretty sure they never went on a movie date. Probably.

"Marco," Whitebeard spoke getting his son's attention. "If you have to think about it then you know the answer to my question yourself."

Marco looked down at the cup of tea. Were he and Thatch really that busy with work that they didn't have enough time to go out? Or have they just not been trying hard enough? The more Marco thought about it, the more he realized that Ace was right. They really haven't spent enough time together as a couple have they? He and Thatch weren't getting any younger and now it was starting to feel like they were running out of time.

"Ace was right." Marco whispered mostly to himself but Whitebeard heard him a little.

"What? Who was right?"

"Ace was." Marco said a little louder as his grip tightened on the cup. "Me and Thatch have been together for almost six years and it really does feel like we haven't gone out much. I think we've gone out to eat a couple times? Am I just starting to forget things? I know we haven't been on a movie date and what's worse, I don't think Thatch wants to get married and we're obviously not getting any younger and we're running out of time!" Marco's voice rose as he spoke. "We need to start thinking about these things and I want to tell Thatch but I don't know how! What if I do want to marry him and adopt kids and eventually settle down? Every time I want to talk to him about something I feel like I'm just going to start an argument! What if I wait too long?! What if we never talk about it?!" Marco paused for a second as he became teary eyed. "Am I not worthy for him to marry? What if he wants to be with someone else?" He finally looked up at Whitebeard. "Oyaji… What do I do? I'm so confused."

Next thing he knew, Whitebeard was in front of him and gave him a much needed hug.

Seconds later, Marco finally broke down for what felt like in years.

Earlier…

Ace was happy when Marco decided to talk to Oyaji about what was bothering him. He offered to give Marco a ride but said person insisted that he was fine. Ace was relieved when he received a message from Marco saying he was at the house.

Actually, the message said 'I'm still alive and made it to the house'. Ace rolled his eyes but let it go as he wanted to concentrate on something else at the moment.

He wasn't sure how Thatch would react during the conversation but Marco seemed to respond… Calmly. Enough. O.k so he had a mini anxiety attack but maybe and hopefully Thatch would be the same. Excluding the anxiety attack that is.

Ace then entered the kitchen and was immediately greeted by Thatch who just finished making lunch for the two of them.

"Hey, Ace." Thatch greeted as he placed a plate of food on the table in front of Ace. "So Marco told me he went to Oyaji's house."

"Yeah, he went to get something from him." Ace half lied as he looked at the inviting plate of food. "He won't be back for a while."

Thatch sat down as he placed his own plate on the table. He didn't know what but he had a feeling something was off. "Ace, are you o.k? Normally your plate is gone in like, two seconds."

'Shit, I waited too long.' Ace thought. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." He spoke as he began eating. Why the hell did it seem like talking to Thatch was harder than Marco? Wasn't Thatch supposed to be the easy one? Maybe it was his happy-go-lucky attitude? A happy yet calming aura that Ace didn't want to disturb? Or maybe the feeling of unintentionally hurting Thatch during the conversation?

…

Now Ace knew why Marco had a hard time talking with Thatch.

Thatch didn't make it hard when it came to talking.

Thatch unintentionally made it hard because he was a genuinely nice person.

Damn it.

"Ace!"

Said person jumped out of their thoughts and looked at Thatch.

"Are you sure you're o.k? You stopped eating."

Alright, it was now or never. Ace forced himself to get it together.

"Thatch, we need to talk." He said a little too demanding for his liking as he suddenly stood up making Thatch flinch. Ace noticed the surprised look on Thatch's face before it was replaced by a serious one and he sat up a little straighter.

"About what?" Thatch asked seriously and on guard.

Whoa, this was NOT how Ace wanted it to start or go. He quickly relaxed himself and sat back down and made an important mental note to NEVER do that again.

"Sorry about that." He said hoping that would ease the sudden tension. "I just… I don't know how to bring it up."

Thatch relaxed a little which Ace noticed. "I'll try my best to help but no promises."

Ace smiled. "Thanks, but…" He sighed. Might as well try now. "Listen, Thatch. As you know, we had a movie night a few weeks ago. And… some things were brought up about you and Marco. Have you-"

"I already know where this is going so I'll just answer your questions now." Thatch interrupted. "Yes, I've thought about marriage but I'm still not sure about the concept of it in general. And that night when we drove home, I thought about what you guys said and you guys are right. It does feel like we don't go out much."

"Maybe you guys should plan some day trips." Ace suggested.

"We've actually done that a few times but I guess not enough. We're just… so busy with work. Then when we are free we just want to stay here and relax. Don't me wrong, it's nice just to cuddle with Marco but…" Thatch sighed suddenly feeling tired. "It's frustrating."

"Wait, is that why you and Marco would disappear when you guys got together?"

"Yeah, what did you think the notes were for?"

"You could've at least told me where you guys were going instead of leaving me guessing!" Ace argued playfully.

"We said we were going out for the day what more do you want?" Thatch laughed.

"Leaving a child alone with a huge house, what's wrong with you guys."

"Yeah, what was wrong with us? We should've told Izo to come babysit."

"Hey! Well, whatever you guys still left me with the house for like a year anyway."

They both shared a laugh and then it grew quiet. Now Ace really understood why it was hard talking to Thatch about certain things. The conversation was a lot easier than he thought (maybe too easy) and he almost didn't realize they were getting off topic. Before Ace could speak again, Thatch beat him to it.

"Hey, Ace… Can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"You have to promise not to tell Marco or I won't make you any dessert for a year." Thatch said seriously.

Ace looked Thatch in the eyes. "I promise." And he meant it.

XXX

Meanwhile…

Shortly after Marco had his breakdown, said person fell asleep in Whitebeard's arms so said father carried his son over to the couch and laid him there.

'Guess I did make the tea too strong.' Whitebeard thought as he placed a blanket on Marco since it was a little chilly. He knew the tea would help but didn't think it would work like a charm.

After a couple minutes (o.k, more like thirty minutes) of making sure his son was asleep, Whitebeard stood up and made his way to the kitchen and began looking for something.

What Marco told him and the way he sounded made him upset. Whitebeard didn't show it in front of Marco (or anyone really) but when his family was upset, that made him upset.

"Damn it, where is it?" Whitebeard said to himself as he searched through some kitchen drawers. He figured what he was looking for would be here. Guess he'll have to look for the other thing first. Although, that one was most likely upstairs.

Whitebeard looked at Marco again who still asleep. Deciding to be quick, he went upstairs to his room and began looking through some drawers. After rifling through a few of them he actually found both of the things he was looking for.

"Perfect."

He then made his way back downstairs and looked at Marco who was now crying in his sleep.

Whitebeard went up to him and shook him gently. "Marco, wake up. It's alright. Whatever you're seeing is just a dream."

Marco opened his eyes a little but Whitebeard could tell he was still half asleep.

"It's alright, Marco. It's just a dream."

Marco said something Whitebeard couldn't understand and soon Marco closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

Whitebeard waited another couple minutes (o.k, this time it was twenty) to make sure Marco was fully asleep and then looked at the two papers he found before. He called the number on the first one and the conversation went smoothly. It was the second number he was worried about.

But damn it, it was for his son's so the argument would be worth it. Well, he didn't want to argue but would if it came to it.

Whitebeard called the number and waited. He knew it would hard but- Wait, they picked up, wow, what a miracle.

"Hello, I would like to make a reservation for two on May 5th, please."

XXX

Back with Ace and Thatch…

"You have to promise not to tell Marco or I won't make you any dessert for a year." Thatch said seriously.

Ace looked Thatch in the eyes. "I promise." And he meant it.

"Alright… When I was younger… I hated marriage. I know they say hate is a strong word but it's true. But as I grew up, my mind began to change a little. As of now, I'm neutral about it. If other people want to get married that's cool. I'm happy for them. But when it comes to me, my mind says no despite the heart saying yes. The main reason why I turned down Marco's proposal that year, other than it being way too soon and… really embarrassing, was because… Well, I guess there's two reasons. I'm just not ready and I'm still not sure. But when I am… I would love to ask him."

Ace took in what Thatch told him. There were obviously gaps with what was said but Ace didn't want to pry. Still, he couldn't help but wonder. Why did Thatch used to hate marriage? Why was he so confused about it? Did Marco even know how Thatch feels about marriage? Didn't Marco say they spoke about it during their vacation?

"Aside from the last part, I assume Marco doesn't know anything about what you just told me?" Ace asked even though he possibly knew the answer.

"No." Thatch answered. "I never bothered to think about marriage until he asked me that year. But… He did bring it up again during our vacation. I… I didn't want to talk about it, though. We were on vacation and I thought it wasn't the right time to bring it up."

"When will it be the right time?"

Ace was sure he saw Thatch wince for a split second before he answered.

"I don't know."

"Thatch. You don't have to agree with the concept of it but it's still important to talk to Marco about this. Even if you don't want to get married, Marco deserves an explanation."

"But what if he still wants to get married?"

"You're over thinking it. We both know that he loves you enough to wait if you talk to him about it. After all, if you tell him he's the one you want to marry, I'm sure he'll understand."

Thatch took in what Ace said. He was obviously right but if Marco didn't want to wait anymore? Six years was a long time to wait. Then again, Thatch never wanted to talk about it so…

…

Oh.

…

OH.

No wonder Marco never brought it up again.

"I'm such an idiot." Thatch said as he mentally kicked himself. "Every time Marco wanted to talk about it, I just… I just kind of brushed it off."

"Kind of?"

"O.k, fine I never really wanted to talk about it. Now I know why he never brought it up again."

"And that's why you're an idiot."

"I can still take away your dessert you know."

XXX

Meanwhile at Whitebeard's house, Marco woke up three hours later and was feeling well-rested and now ate dinner with his father. After they were finished Whitebeard began to talk to Marco since he didn't get the chance earlier.

"Do you think he would want to talk about it?" Marco asked helping his father clean up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Whitebeard asked back.

"Of course."

"Then he'll want to talk about it. But if not, I'll hit'em on the head and see how he feels then."

Marco laughed a little. "I don't think that would be very helpful."

"There is a time and place for everything, Marco. When the time is right to bring it up again, you'll know."

"But… What about everything else? What about the future? What about kids? What about-"

Whitebeard put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Marco. You're over thinking things. And way too into the future at that. Think about what you want to do now and worry about the future when it you're in the moment of it. It's great that you want to marry Thatch but it's not the end of the world if you two don't get married. You can still have a future, you can still adopt children and you can still be happy without it. I'm not married and I have everything I could ever ask for."

Marco thought about what was said but then seemed to get lost in thought so Whitebeard decided to shift the topic a little.

"So according to the calendar, your six year anniversary with Thatch is coming up."

Marco looked at Whitebeard. "Yeah. We were gonna try to-"

Whitebeard held his hand up silencing Marco. "No need to try. I called of both your jobs and neither of you are working on May 5th and the day after that. I called that spa you both always wanted to go and made you both appointments for twelve noon. After that, you'll both come back here to change clothes because you'll both be having dinner at a very special place."

Marco wasn't sure if he heard right. "Wh- what?"

XXX

"So that's why Marco went to Oyaji's house?" Thatch asked Ace.

"Yeah. Sorry I kind of lied to you. But if anyone can help Marco, it's Oyaji."

"I can't argue with that. Maybe I should call Marco-"

"Uh, I don't think talking about it over the phone is best."

"Good point. Guess I'll wait-"

Suddenly, Thatch's phone rang and it was Marco.

Thatch yelped and tossed the phone on the table. "It's Marco!"

"What the hell are you doing?! Answer it!" Ace told him.

"But-!"

"Answer it or I'll make dessert for a year!"

Thatch's expression changed into horror before he recovered and grabbed the phone but hesitated.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Ace said as he answered it.

"Ace!" Thatch scolded.

"Thatch, I have great news!" Marco said loudly making Thatch yelp and let go of his phone for a second before catching it mid-air.

"Wait! Marco! Slow down!" Thatch said as he fumbled with his phone and then tossed it back on the table but it was upside down so he turned it over real quick and then decided to put Marco on speaker. "Marco, what the hell?! Stop talking! I didn't hear anything you said!"

Meanwhile, Ace was having a blast and was laughing like crazy.

"Isn't that great?!" Marco asked happily completely unaware of what just went on.

"It would be if I heard what you said!"

"Oh… Well, Oyaji called our jobs and now we're not working on our anniversary so we're going to a spa and then we're having dinner!" Marco said still happy but a little too fast.

"Wait, what? Dinner where?"

"I have no idea but isn't that great?!"

"Uh…"

"Marco, let me tell him everything calmly." Thatch heard Whitebeard say.

Seconds later, Whitebeard was on the phone. "What Marco was trying to say was, I called both of your jobs and neither of you are working on May 5th and the day after that. I called that spa you both always wanted to go and made you both appointments for twelve noon. After that, you'll both come back here to change clothes because you'll both be having dinner at a very special place."

Thatch wasn't sure if he heard right. "Wh- what?"

"Also, I'm going to be your chauffeur for the day so you guys don't have to do anything besides relax and enjoy each other's company. After the day is over, I'll take you both home so you can finish the day off right."

It took a couple seconds to figure out what Whitebeard meant.

"Oyaji!" Marco and Thatch said both feeling embarrassed and blushing making Whitebeard and Ace laugh.

Marco and Thatch both made a mental note to return the favor.

"I ask for nothing in return." Whitebeard said as if he read their minds.

They were going to return the favor anyway.

"Although, some rare sake for father's day would be nice."

Marco and Thatch made another mental note to save money for that.

WOW, THIS CHAPTER TURNED OUT A LOOOT LONGER THAN I THOUGHT AND THOSE SCENE CHANGES DROVE ME CRAZYYY

Welp, if you actually read my stories you know what's coming next. Depending how it turns out… I'll just… Not say anything in case it turns out different.

There were a couple things I wanted to add in this chapter but decided to leave it for another future chapter. Plus this is long enough. Maybe someone will bring it up but let's see.

Thank You guys for reading and please stay safe out there.