Chapter Twenty-Four: Broken Together

LuffyGirl here.

This is technically the last chapter but because I don't want it ending on this chapter number, I'm adding an epilogue. Then again, I wanted an epilogue anyway know matter what chapter number it was. I suggest you read it when I put it up.

A BIG HUGE GIGANTIC HUG AND THANK YOU TO TRAY D. SHIELA who's been with me on my MarcoxThatch/ThatchxMarco one-shots since the beginning! I can't believe you stuck around this whole time and for so long! Over the years, we became such great friends and you were ALWAYS THERE to review even if it was late XD You might not know it but you really inspired a number of one-shots that I've done and I thank you for letting me use your muses and nickname in my story ^-^ I hope this ending and the epilogue is to your liking! *HUGS TIGHTLY* Also, Thank You for dealing with my constant babbling about these two and just me babbling in general XD

Also, a HUGE Thank You to Kippysaurus for reviewing now and then! I know they're short but I still appreciate it ^-^

And one last Thank You to the silent readers. I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF YOU. Glad to know that my stories and one-shots are favorite/follow/stalker worthy XD

Oh and take a drink of water every time you see the word 'awkward' used in any form.

With that being said…

Enjoy ^-^

Summary: Thatch and Marco finally talk it out. They also repay a few favors. (I've written a thousand chapters and I still can't think of good summaries sometimes)

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda :)

After Thatch and Marco talked everything out with Whitebeard, the two of them were finally ready to talk to each other.

At least they would have talked to each other on the same day if Whitebeard didn't insist on making dinner for them (he ate with them to) and then made sure they finally got a good night's sleep. Whitebeard wanted them to feel more better and completely well-rested before they talked to each other and didn't want one of them (more specifically Marco) to keel over in exhaustion while they were talking. He also wanted them to be aware of what the other was saying.

So now said father waited downstairs patiently and to give them privacy. He then took out his phone and texted someone.

'They're finally talking now.'

Seconds later, he got a reply.

'Finally. What do you think they're going to do?'

'I'm not sure, son.'

Sent.

That was the one thing Whitebeard didn't ask either of them. That was completely up to his sons if they wanted to stay together or not.

Whatever his son's decided to do, he would support them as long as it wasn't anything stupid.

Besides, at the end of the day, they were still family.

XXX

Marco and Thatch sat on the bed in silence thinking about what to say for the final time. It was a few awkward minutes before they finally looked at each other and spoke up.

"Marco, I-"

"Thatch, I-"

"Don't." Thatch quickly stopped Marco from talking. "You apologized enough. I forgive you." After a few seconds he sighed. "Listen, Marco… I am so sorry for everything. For not talking about marriage. For not telling you about certain things. For how I reacted that night. For how I yelled at you and pushed you away. For saying what I said. You were so patient with me for so long but I wasn't patient with you when I needed to be. I never should've treated you like that. And I never should've said something so mean to you. I know I can't take back any of my actions but I really am sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I said and did for the past six years."

Marco listened as Thatch spoke and apologized. He knew Thatch meant all of it and could tell he was trying not to cry. Admittedly, Marco thinks they've done enough crying for the whole year. Marco thought about what to say and at first he was hesitant but he didn't want to lie to Thatch. After all, the truth is always quicker.

"Thatch," Marco began. "I understand why you didn't tell me about you not liking the concept of marriage. Really, I do. But telling me I wouldn't understand because I didn't grow up with real parents really hurt me a lot. I can forgive you about most things but I can't forgive you for that and I certainly can't forget it. If it were anyone else, they would've walked out already. And if you think you're ready to tell me everything then do it now. Because after this conversation, I'm no longer waiting. So what's it going to be?"

Marco knew he sounded harsh but he didn't want to beat around the bush this time. Despite being forgiving about everything else, Marco just couldn't forgive what Thatch said about him not having parents. It really did hurt and Marco wanted to make sure Thatch knew that.

Thatch listened as Marco spoke. He was hurt when Marco didn't forgive him that much but knew he deserved it. Thatch knew what he said to Marco was very hurtful and insensitive. He also knew that Marco was right. If it were anyone else, they would've walked out already. As for talking about everything…

"Whether you forgive me or not, I'm still sorry for everything. I understand when you say you can't forgive and forget. I'm ready to tell you why I understand that. I'm ready to tell you everything. And if you're ready to talk about it, I'm willing to listen to you talk about your nightmares."

Marco's eyes widened a bit and he hesitated. How did Thatch know about that?

"I, uh… Heard you scream a few times." Thatch admitted. It certainly wasn't because he stood by the door listening to see how Marco was doing.

"Oh." Was all Marco could say.

After a few seconds of awkwardness, the two of them finally spoke to each other about everything. It was hard but Thatch told Marco why he didn't like the idea of marriage and what he went through and Marco told Thatch about his nightmares and what he thought they meant.

In the end, everything turned out alright despite it not being perfect.

After all…

They were both still family know matter what.

They just had a few things left to take care of.

A few weeks later…

"What on earth did you guys get me that I'm wearing a blindfold and why are we are outside?" Ace asked somewhat suspicious as Thatch practically dragged him outside with Marco following from behind.

"You'll see." Thatch answered. "But don't worry, it's not a prank." He added quickly.

"Hearing that from you doesn't help."

"It's not a prank." Marco repeated.

"That somewhat helps."

"I can still return it." Thatch said and then stopped making Ace accidentally bump into him. "My bad." He then took off the blindfold from Ace. "Ta-da~!"

Ace couldn't believe what he saw and was surprised. "Whoa, you guys got me a bike?!"

"Not just any bike! A mountain bike!"

"Now you don't have to take the bus as much and you can go anywhere anytime you like." Marco told Ace. "We also got you this." Marco held out a book about mechanical engineering for bikes and motorcycles. "You always seemed very interested in bikes, hence why we got you one. But I figured you could use this to. In case you ever want to upgrade to a motorcycle or something."

"It'll take a few years before I get one but thanks!" Ace grabbed the book carefully and then flipped through it slowly as he didn't want to rip anything. "At least I'll know how to fix the bike whenever something goes wrong." He then went up to the bike and admired it. He really loved the flame design on it. Ace looked back at Marco and Thatch. "Thank you, guys."

"You're welcome." They both said.

"Thank you for… Well, you know." Thatch said a little awkward.

Ace smiled at them and then got on his new bike. He was excited to try it out. "You're both welcome. Just try not to shut us out again next time." He half joked as he began riding off.

XXX

A few days later…

"What the hell is this?" Whitebeard questioned as he looked at the medium and small sized package on his doorstep. He didn't order anything. Not that he knew of anyway.

He grabbed the packages and brought them inside as he looked them over. Once he saw where they were from he smiled.

"What did they send now?" He wondered.

Whitebeard opened up the medium package first and the first thing he saw was a note.

'Dear Oyaji,

Thank you so much for always being there for us. You always listen to us when we talk, scream and cry and we really appreciate it. Without you, we don't know where we would be. We'll try to bother you less often, though.'

Whitebeard chuckled at that. "I'm your father brats, it's what I do." He continued reading.

'It took us a while but we got you something as a thanks for helping us out with everything. Just try not to drink too much. Please.

Love,

Marco and Thatch'

Whitebeard smiled at the note and then removed the wrapping to reveal a bottle of sake and a bottle of Irish Whisky. There was a note on one of them.

'I'll know if you drank too much. -Marco-'

'Be careful with the Whisky. It sneaks up on you. Actually they both do. I think. The sake is great with dessert, though. ~Thatch~'

Whitebeard laughed this time. "Those damn brats always try to tell me what to do."

He then observed the bottles and found out that the Whiskey was aged twelve years. Well shit. This one was definitely being saved for a special occasion. A very special occasion. He was going to make sure it was hidden in a safe place.

Whitebeard put the bottles aside and then grabbed the small box. He wondered what could possibly be in such a small box but then again, big things came in small packages. He opened the box and found yet another note.

'Dear Oyaji,

Remember that picture you were looking for? We actually took it but for good reason. Please don't scold us, it's the original picture but it's fixed and we really hope you like it.

Happy Father's Day!

Love,

Marco and Thatch'

Wait, they took the picture? Whitebeard immediately knew which one it was and just tossed the wrapping paper aside and froze in surprise at what he saw.

It was a picture of him, Marco and Thatch when the three of them first went fishing together. To anyone else, this picture might seem ordinary but to Whitebeard it meant the world to him. In the picture, Marco was ecstatic because he managed to catch a bird (how Whitebeard will never know) and Thatch was happy because he caught his first fish even though it was kind of small.

It was also the first time he played catch with both of them and the at the end of that day, Thatch called Whitebeard his father for the first time months after he was adopted.

What surprised Whitebeard as well was how the photo looked. It looked new as if it was taken in today's time and it was wonderful. Technology is a grand thing sometimes. There was also a nice silver frame around it engraved with the words 'Family Forever' on top and on the bottom was 'Thank You, Oyaji.'

"Those damn brats. Making an old man cry." Whitebeard said as tears came down his eyes. In his opinion, this picture was worth way more than any drink in the world and certainly worth a thousand words.

XXX

Thatch and Marco sighed as they laid down. They were both relieved that everything was finally over. It's been a rough month and a half but finally, it was over. They talked everything out. They talked about what to do. They told Oyaji and the rest of the family (after they received a small scolding from them as well). They surprised Ace with something he's been wanting. They got Oyaji what he wanted and a surprise to go along with it.

Everything was alright but they know it'll never be perfect like it was before.

Thatch turned to his side.

"Good night, Marco."

Marco turned to his side.

"Good night, Thatch."

…

Marco stared at the closet intently before he drifted off to sleep.

O.k, the ending seems anti-climactic (which it kind of is) but there's going to be an epilogue after this. So hang in there for one more ride.

So based off how the chapter went, what do you think Marco and Thatch decided on? Tbh, I hardly even have an answer myself. But it is nice to keep things open don't you think? ;)

The reason why I didn't put Marco and Thatch talking about what they went through was because I already discussed it thus I didn't want to sound repetitive. I also wanted them to have their own privacy from us if that makes sense.

Unsurprisingly, I was listening to music while typing but while I was typing Oyaji's scene, the song 'Unconditionally' by Katy Perry came on and I CRIED :'D As for who he was texting before I'm sure you don't need an answer for that as it should be obvious. It was Ace, duh :P

If you're very insightful you might just understand this chapter name and 'Broken Apart' as well.

Uh… Anything else you wanna know just ask.

So! Thank You everyone again for mostly stalking this story and a HUGE Thank You to the ones who reviewed and stuck with me along the way! ^-^

Get ready for the epilogue ;) It's gonna be short though so don't expect anything spectacular.

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