Chapter Twenty-Three: A Father's Guidance

LuffyGirl here.

Phew! This chapter let me tell ya. I actually couldn't sleep some nights cuz I was thinking too much on how to write it. But it's here! And I cried writing it. Maybe you'll cry to.

Also, I rarely say this but Marco might be a tad ooc(?) But you would be to if you didn't get any sleep due to returning nightmares and drank nothing but coffee to help keep you awake. And especially if you're emotionally constipated and hardly want to talk about your feelings.

With that being said, have fun and enjoy :')

Summary: Thatch tries to talk to Marco but said person doesn't want to. However, they get some proper guidance when Oyaji practically bursts into their home to talk to them. (I changed this summary way too much)

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda :)

It's been a rough few days for Marco and Thatch. They hardly slept, ate and they tried to avoid each other when and if possible. They hardly even glanced or acknowledged each other.

However, that didn't mean they could ignore their family. Well, they kind of did. They both texted Whitebeard and Ace (who knew what happened due to Whitebeard telling him and since then Ace has been staying over at Sabo's place) and while said family members wanted to call them, neither Marco nor Thatch wanted to talk to anyone at the moment. They told them to inform the rest of the family of what was going on but not to mention any details. Neither of them didn't want anyone else knowing too much until they were ready to speak about it.

But they both knew that they had to speak to each other first at some point. It was when and how that was the problem.

Thatch knew that he should be the one to talk first this time. And apologize as well. He did hurt Marco after all. It took a while but after constantly fighting with his own thoughts and thinking about everything (and hardly getting any sleep for days), Thatch finally gathered his thoughts properly. Looking back at how everything happened and went, Thatch came to the conclusion that he might've overreacted.

…

O.k, so he did overreact but at the same time, he didn't know Marco was going to propose so what else was he supposed to do?

The harsh words Thatch said to Marco came to mind and Thatch now knew what he did and said was wrong and very hurtful.

Thatch sighed. Just how the hell was he going to talk to Marco?

XXX

The next day…

Marco woke up (not that he slept much) and was annoyed to see that the sun was just beginning to rise. He looked at the time and it was hardly even six a.m. Seriously? It couldn't be six thirty or at least seven? Well, whatever. The sunrise was the least of his problems right now.

Despite being very tired, Marco forced himself out of bed and went up to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked out and was relieved not to see anyone. And by anyone, he meant Thatch. Marco decided that he wasn't ready to talk to him now and since he was exhausted, he wouldn't be in the mood. He very quietly made his way to his and… Well… … Marco made his way to the room Thatch was currently in and lightly leaned on the door and listened.

He didn't hear anything so he assumed Thatch was either asleep or maybe quietly crying to himself or just thinking.

Even though Marco didn't want to talk to Thatch now, he still hoped he was o.k.

Marco wondered if Thatch thought the same about him.

XXX

Thatch tiredly made his way downstairs to the kitchen and was surprised to see Marco at the table with a cup of coffee and… cookies. A whole pack of cookies.

As much as Thatch wanted to scold him, he just let Marco be. For now. Since Marco didn't see him yet, Thatch took the opportunity to take in his appearance. His hair was a mess and he looked absolutely exhausted and looked like if he would keel over and fall asleep any minute. Thatch knew he took too long when Marco finally spotted him and his tired look turned into an annoyed one.

"Can I help you?" He asked more annoyed than demanding.

Thatch resisted the urge to roll his eyes (and to snatch those damn cookies away) and made his way to the fridge. He wasn't even going to attempt cooking anything (not that he has during the past few days) so he just simply poured himself a glass of orange juice and grabbed a croissant. He wasn't even sure if he should sit at the table.

A part of Thatch wanted to sit there just to see what would happen but at the same time he didn't want to make things worse.

"If you want to sit here so bad why don't you push me out the way." Marco said still annoyed.

This time Thatch did roll his eyes but ignored the comment and made his way to the living room instead. Looks like talking will have to wait a little longer.

Thatch drank some orange juice before placing the cup down on the small table in front of him and took a few bites of the croissant before he suddenly heard the door and looked at it confused. Marco heard it to and also looked at the door in question.

Seconds later, the door was opened revealing Whitebeard and they both visibly paled as he didn't look too happy but not angry either.

Said father demanded Thatch to stay where he was and he then looked at Marco who visibly flinched and shrunk as Whitebeard made his way to him and grabbed him as if he weighed nothing (Whitebeard was careful not to hurt him though) and dragged him to the couch and just dropped him on it next to Thatch.

Whitebeard stared his sons down as they both avoided looking at him and each other. He took in their appearance and they both looked tired (although Marco looked more exhausted than tired) and both of their hair was a mess. Have they even showered? Have they even spoken a single word to each other? Even if they haven't that didn't mean they could do the same with the rest of the family. And that was why Whitebeard was here other than to check up on them but now apparently he had to give them a scolding.

"I decided to give you two some space to work things out but it seems like you brats haven't even spoken not a single word to each other." Whitebeard spoke firmly. His tone left no room for arguing and he held back a sigh when his sons still didn't look at him. "I understand you don't want anyone else to know the details about what happened but that is no excuse to not even make small talk with your family. They're worried about you guys to you know."

After another minute of silence, Whitebeard was beginning to lose his patience (and he was very patient when it came to his children) so he tried something else. If he couldn't talk to them while they were together he'll just have to try one on one.

"Marco. Go shower."

Said person flinched when his name was said and he finally looked at his father. Shower? Why? He didn't feel like showering. He didn't even want to be sitting on this stupid couch. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"NOW." Whitebeard demanded knowing Marco was thinking about saying something.

Feeling annoyed, Marco got up from the couch and begrudgingly left the living room and made his way to the bathroom.

Once Whitebeard was sure Marco was in the shower, he looked back at Thatch who seemed to be fiddling around with a partially eaten croissant. At least one of his sons was trying to maintain a decent diet.

"Thatch. I'm not going to beat around the bush. Why haven't you told Marco?"

Thatch didn't know how to answer that. At first he didn't want to tell Marco but after finally gathering his thoughts for the past few days he finally decided to do so even though he knew it was going to be hard. He knew Marco still wouldn't understand completely but knew he would try to. Thatch wished he realized that much sooner and mentally kicked himself for not doing so. Should Thatch tell Oyaji that he was planning on telling Marco or should Thatch tell him what he actually told Marco?

"… I was going to tell him eventually."

Whitebeard was surprised to get an answer at all. He knew this was hard for Thatch to talk about.

"When exactly is eventually?"

"… After…" 'I apologize.' He wanted to say but didn't. "… Can't you tell him?"

"I'm afraid it's not my story to tell."

"And as if I want it to be mine?!" Thatch suddenly lashed out finally looking at Whitebeard. "Like what the hell?! It's not easy living with what I went through! I know it's been years but you really think I don't think about my past?! Trust me, I'd love to forget everything but people like me never forget these things know matter how hard we try! We don't even forgive despite saying we do just for the sake of other family members! It's not easy talking about these things without getting emotional or lashing out at others who think they know what real abuse is when they clearly don't! It's just annoying and frustrating and sometimes I just wanna-!"

Whitebeard pulled Thatch into a hug which he tried to get out of but seconds later he gave in and finally broke down.

"I'll never fully understand what you went through, Thatch. I didn't grow up with parents but I understood enough of what was going on to get you out of there." Whitebeard said gently as Thatch cried. "No person needs parents to understand what was going on."

'Wha…?' What did Oyaji mean by that?

As if sensing his confusion, Whitebeard continued.

"I figured it out when you almost never wanted to go home. You would try to stay as long as you could and you were always happy to be with Marco. At least when you thought I wasn't watching. It was never me you were afraid of. Well, maybe due to my size. But it was the authority and the fear that I would hurt you. Other than that, I knew something was up when you told me you didn't go to school. Listen Thatch, just because someone didn't grow up with parents, it doesn't take a genius to know good parenting from bad. I used context clues and admittedly a lot of research."

Thatch grew silent but the tears still came down as he thought about what Whitebeard said. He couldn't help but wonder…

"Did… Did Marco ever ask you anything?"

"He asked me a couple times. When you guys were younger I told him your parents were bad but as you guys grew up, I just told him your parents sucked at parenting."

Whitebeard was sure he heard Thatch trying to hold in a chuckle but stopped himself by speaking again.

"Oyaji… I… I told Marco he wouldn't understand. I didn't think that he could understand. I… I told him he didn't grow up with real parents like I did." Thatch let out a soft cry. "I was so mean and I literally pushed him away! I'm sorry…!"

"Thatch… It's definitely time to apologize and talk. Don't you think? I know it won't be easy but both of you need to talk it out. Not as a couple. Not as friends. But as family."

"But… what if he doesn't want to?"

"Then I'll tie him to a chair and make him." Whitebeard half joked.

This time Thatch did let out a small chuckle which made Whitebeard smile a little.

XXX

Marco felt a lot more refreshed when he came out the bathroom (more specifically the shower) but he still felt exhausted. If only it was nighttime and he could go to sleep right now.

…

Marco made his way to the room and was about to enter it when…

"Marco."

Said person flinched when his name was called and turned to see Whitebeard standing there with his arms crossed.

Marco greatly resisted the urge to roll his eyes. All he wanted to do was sleep!

"Don't make me drag you downstairs, brat." Whitebeard warned leaving no room for arguing.

'Guess it's my turn. Fun.' Marco thought annoyed as he went over to Oyaji. He then noticed Thatch pass by who looked at him and then went in the bathroom most likely to shower as well.

Whitebeard noticed how Marco's expression softened just a little.

Less than a minute later, they were both in the living room and Marco sat on the couch avoiding eye contact while Whitebeard stood in front of him.

"Alright, Marco. You know where this is going so I'm not going to beat around the bush. Why haven't you two spoken?" Whitebeard also wanted to know why he looked more exhausted than Thatch did but that was going to wait until he got an answer.

"Let's see…" Marco pretended to think. "I proposed to Thatch which made him upset. I ruined our anniversary. When I actually did try to talk to him, I upset him again and he yelled at me and literally pushed me away. So I gave up and decided to wait on him yet again when he's ready to talk. Anything I didn't mention that Thatch did? Or anything I did mention that he didn't?"

Whitebeard didn't like how Marco spoke but he let it slide (for now) and knew from what he was just told, Marco blamed himself for what happened. He then noticed how Marco crossed his arms and sat back against the couch as if trying to get comfortable. Whitebeard knew Marco had to be exhausted but said person probably won't admit it. At least not yet.

Whitebeard was about to speak but Marco beat him to it.

"But you know… Despite everything that's happened and what he said… For some reason, I just… I can't stay mad at him. I know I should be because this never would've happened if we'd just talked about it in the beginning. I am upset of course but…" Marco hesitated as he sat up a little straighter. "… I'm more mad and annoyed at myself than I am with him. It really is my fault and I ruined everything."

Whitebeard took in what Marco said. Sounds like both of his sons blame themselves for what happened. Sure Thatch didn't say it out loud but Whitebeard knew he felt it by the way he talked. As for how Marco is feeling now…

He loves Thatch so much that he couldn't stay mad at him for very long. And that was why Marco was annoyed with himself.

Whitebeard had to admit that it was kind of cute but knew there was more to it. He wanted to get some words in but could tell Marco wanted to speak more so he waited and listened.

"… Thatch apologized before. … Even if he wasn't going to before that, I still forgive him."

Whitebeard could tell Marco was hiding something. He seemed to be fighting with what to say but just couldn't say it. Whitebeard also couldn't ignore how tired he looked and will have to mention it but before that, there was one thing he wanted to clear up.

"When I spoke with Thatch, not once did he blame you for what happened."

Marco scoffed. "That's because he doesn't have to say it. We both know it's my fault."

"Thatch feels guilty to you know."

"Good he should. Nobody told him to bottle everything up and then tell me off about not understanding something. Just because I didn't grow up with so called 'real parents' doesn't mean I don't understand." Marco said getting annoyed.

And there it is. That was one subject brought up. Now for the other one. Whitebeard didn't want to do this but it looked like he was going to have to force the answer out of Marco.

"Are you sure you're not mad at Thatch?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"You're not annoyed with him?"

"No. I already told you what I'm annoyed at." But now Marco was getting annoyed with this conversation. He could've been sleeping right now! "I'm just…" 'Tired.' "…upset."

"About what?"

'Everything!' Marco wanted to say but didn't. "I don't know…"

There was just so much Marco was feeling right now. He thought about everything that happened. About what was said. About what was done. Marco wasn't sure what to do at the moment. He wasn't as mad and angry as he was a few days ago. Still annoyed yes. Upset of course. But he was also tired. He was more than tired. He was exhausted and he just couldn't sleep through the nights anymore. Mostly now because of those damn nightmares. They started before everything happened but since the anniversary, Marco noticed how they became more frequent. But if there's one thing that hurt him the most it was…

What Thatch said.

"But I wouldn't expect for you to understand since you never grew up with your real parents."

Even though it's been a few days, the words kept repeating in Marco's head and he just couldn't get them out. It was like a broken record at this point but it kept playing know matter what.

Sleeping didn't help either as the nightmares just made everything worse. They were almost always about the same thing. He was either in or outside a house and… Marco tried to get the image out of his head but something about the dreams felt… familiar. And that scared him.

Marco was suddenly shaken awake and panicked as he frantically looked around.

"Marco, it's o.k, it's alright!" Whitebeard said worried as he held his son by the shoulders.

'Wha…? Where…?' Marco looked around confused. When did he fall asleep? And… Why was he crying? … Oh. He had the nightmares again. Great. Now he was falling asleep during the day.

"Marco, look at me. Or at least talk to me. Tell me what else is bothering you. If it's not letting you sleep at night, you need to talk about it."

Whitebeard was sure by now that Marco was having nightmares. Returning nightmares to be exact. Whitebeard remembered how Marco would have frequent nightmares shortly after he adopted him. They lasted for a few years until they finally went away. Until they came back when he hit his teens. Whitebeard wondered how many times they've returned throughout adulthood while he wasn't around.

Suddenly, Marco jumped into his arms almost knocking them both onto the floor and hugged him tightly as if he were a lifeline.

And finally broke down.

Whitebeard was surprised by the sudden action but once he heard Marco cry he hugged back and let his son cry for as long as he needed. To think Marco had a breakdown just a few weeks ago. Whitebeard wondered how many times he and Thatch cried themselves to sleep in the past few weeks. Clearly they both still had trouble talking about certain things.

Marco then said something so low that Whitebeard hardly heard him. Did Marco just… apologize? What was he sorry for?

"Why are you apologizing, son?" Whitebeard asked gently.

"For… not being strong. I… I should be to handle things on my own. Talking with Thatch. Dealing with… the nightmares. With everything. But… it's so hard…" Marco's tears still came down. "It's so hard staying calm when I feel like this more than I should!" He cried.

Whitebeard couldn't believe what Marco just said. Was he really apologizing for having feelings? For crying? And did he just call himself weak? Whitebeard was NOT just going to sit here and let his son belittle himself like that. As much as he didn't want to break the hug, Whitebeard did so (he felt Marco's grip tighten for a split second) and looked at Marco even if he didn't look back.

"Listen Marco, don't you ever apologize for having feelings. You are NOT weak. If anything it makes you stronger because you are brave enough to show them. You are being brave just by talking about them and the things that bother you. You are strong, Marco." 'And if anyone tells you otherwise, I'll kick there ass.'

Marco rubbed his eyes and thought about what was said. A part of him believed it but another part didn't. But the words came from Oyaji and he knew they were sincere.

After fighting with his thoughts once more, Marco finally looked at Oyaji.

"The… The nightmares I used to have… they're back. They started again a few weeks ago. But… after what happened between me and Thatch… they've gotten worse. They're almost always about the same thing. I don't know what they mean. I don't know if it's something that already happened or…" Marco hesitated. "…if it's something that's going to happen. … I'm not sure if I want to know but… at the same time I do."

Whitebeard listened as Marco spoke. He was relieved that his son finally chose to speak up about what was bothering him. But Whitebeard sure as hell hoped that the dreams Marco was having didn't mean that something was going to happen.

Because it already did.

Marco might not tell him what the dreams actually are but little did his son know that he already told Whitebeard what they were a long time ago. Looks like Marco forgot about it over time.

When all this is over, Whitebeard was going to have another serious talk with Marco.

But first…

"Perhaps now that you've talked about it, they won't be as frequent."

"I don't want them to not be as frequent. I want them to go away completely."

"I'm sure they will over time, son. So… How do you feel?"

Marco thought about it. "… Still tired. But better."

"Then you know what you have to do now."

Marco sighed. "Right."

It was finally time for Marco and Thatch to talk it out.

*SOBS* This chapter took so long QAQ

I hope Marco's half was o.k. Sometimes you gotta let other feelings out before you can get to the main thing. It was actually easier writing Thatch's part than it was Marco's and I can't tell if I should be happy about that or not.

But yeah, only like… one or two more chapters to go :') It really depends on how the next chapter turns out.

Oh! This chapter also made these one-shots surpass my 'MarcoxThatch One-Shots (New)' in word count! These one-shots officially hold the lead for the most words! Whoo!

Thank You guys for reading and please continue to stay safe.