"DAD?!" The people in the Whitebeard's dining area all shouted in surprise while looking back and forth between Ann and Roger.
Ann can only wince a little at their reaction. Maybe she should be thankful that she can't see Marco's reaction right now because he is standing behind her. She needs to explain it to Marco after she calmed down the raging beast that is her father.
"I'll really kill that guy." Roger said while glaring at Marco. That's all that he has in his mind, it's kind of getting repetitive and irritating if you ask Ann.
"Dad, you're not killing him."
"And why not?!" Roger is being childish right now, but that's how he is when it comes to his daughters.
"Sab and Luffia approve of him. Why can't you accept that?"
"Hell no!"
Ann sighed for how many times this evening. Looks like her dad will never listen unless she threatens him.
"If you hurt him, I swear, I won't talk to you for a week."
"W-What?! You can't do that!"
"I can and I will if you won't stop being childish and if you won't stop trying to kill my boyfriend." Roger gasped so loud as if the words Ann just said are the biggest shock he heard in his life.
"Are you listening to this, honey? Ann won't talk to me because of that guy!"
"Honestly, I won't blame her because you are acting like a kid." Rouge reprimanded. Maybe it is good that he accidentally discovered Ann's little secret. At least this way, he will be forced to face this ordeal.
"You're siding on this guy? Now, I will kill him!" He was about to step forward but Ann stopped him.
"If you hurt him, not only will I not talk to you for a month, but Sab and Luffia will too!"
"You said it was only a week?!"
"I changed my mind. Now, if you won't calm down, I'll tell you on Luffia, I swear!" Ann shouted with conviction, telling her father that she is serious.
"You won't dare!"
"Trust me, I will. Need I remind you the time Luffia refused to talk to you for a month? This time, it will be the three of us."
"And I'll join them." Rouge added, making Roger look back at his wife. "You better get used to the idea of sleeping on the couch in the living room because that's where you'll be sleeping."
The people around can't help but sweatdrop at the exchange of threats between Roger versus his wife and daughter. Is this some kind of rom-com? It's funny, at the same time it's so bizarre watching the most powerful man in the world being threatened by his wife and eldest daughter. To think that he's also afraid of Luffia.
"Rayleigh..." He whined at Rayleigh who stepped back away from Roger.
"Nope, not going to side on you." Rayleigh chose to side with Ann this time - or more like all the time. Roger's being unreasonable with his threats. He should learn how to accept it.
Roger glared at Marco one more time before looking at his daughter who is still as serious as ever.
"Fine! I won't kill him!" He pouted. "But! One punch! Just one punch and I'll be satisfied."
"NO." Ann answered to his father's pleading.
"Tsk! This is Garp's fault." Roger muttered which Ann heard.
"What does this have to do with Grandpa?" With her curious question, Roger started sweating as if he realized something bad.
"Err - " Roger can't lie to his daughters. He could never do it. What should he do? It's not like he can just tell her about that drunken signed deal, could he?
"Speaking of your grandfather, he arrived last night." Rouge said.
Ann is the one in fear right now. She can still somehow prevent Roger from killing Marco, but Garp? She will need Luffia's powers to prevent Garp from going on a rampage.
But maybe she will have time to talk to her grandfather tomorrow. She will call him and explain, or maybe beg him not to send an army against Marco. Yes, that will work.
That's what she thought until a very familiar loud voice echoed in Whitebeard's mansion.
"Old man Whitebeard! I am here!" It was Garp. "BWAHAHAHA. Where are you, old man?" He sounds too damn happy.
"Shit." Ann panicked a little. Should she tell Marco to run away now?
She's not the only one panicking, because more than her, it was Roger who was sweating a lot.
"Old man Whitebeard, I am here!" Garp's voice echoed while looking at the people around. He noticed Roger and Rouge as well as Rayleigh. "Oh, you're here!" Then his eyes landed on Ann then to Marco. He saw how Marco's hands are around Ann's shoulder and connected the dots immediately. "Ann! My dear granddaughter, it's good that you are here! What great timing! Bwahaha!" He was laughing merrily.
This pissed Roger off, so he decided to grab Garp's collar, shaking him heavily.
"This is your damn fault, you damn old man!" Roger shouted while shaking Garp loudly.
"BWAHAHAHA. Isn't this great? Hahaha!"
It was shocking that Roger is attacking Garp all of a sudden. Ann thought that Garp will attack Marco, but he didn't.
"They're dating, aren't they?" Garp asks while pointing to Ann and Marco. Roger did not answer but the look in his eyes is enough as an answer. "HAHAHA! I told you it will work out fine!"
"No! Everything is not fine!" Roger's been shaking Garp aggressively. Thank goodness the older man is sturdy.
"Don't worry, Ann! I approve!" This is shocking to Ann.
"HUH?!" How come her grandfather is approving of this so suddenly?
"You don't get to approve anything, crazy old man!"
"Don't worry about your father. He approves as well. Or more like he doesn't have a choice but to approve. BWAHAHAHA!" Garp is laughing so hard that his voice is penetrating deeply in the ears of those who are in the same vicinity as him.
"What do you mean, Gramps?"
"Oh, would you like me to tell you?"
"You won't tell her anything, you damn old man! No one's getting married!" Roger shouted. The last word shocked Ann a little, but she's still confused at what they are talking about.
"BWAHAHAHA! Look at you panic!" Garp is dead-set in annoying the hell our of Roger because he's winning in this battle. The annoyed Roger locked Garp's head using his hands, trying to prevent him from saying anything. He might have done that but Garp's hands are still free.
"Wait, what are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing, baby! Your gramps is a psycho. I'll send him to the mental hospital right now!"
This made Ann suspicious of her father so she looked at her grandfather whose head is still being locked by Roger. Garp's hand reached his pocket, taking out a folded paper and giving it to Ann.
"NOOO!" Upon seeing the familiar paper, Roger panicked. He let go of Garp to get the paper but Ann is fast. She has the paper in her hands. "Don't read it, Ann. Don't read it. That's nonsense."
"Anything that can make you nervous can't be nonsense." She said before opening the paper and read the words written.
Marco was behind her so he also got to read it as well and he is as surprised as Ann upon knowing what's inside. His eyes darted to his father who looked away, a little embarrassed, like a child who got caught stealing candies.
"You're marrying me off?" Ann asks her father who was sweating profusely. She's not mad at the contents of the letter. In fact, she's okay with it, but maybe not right away.
"NO! Of course not, baby!"
"But that's what you signed up for."
"I was just drunk! We were drunk at that time and that was before I met your mother!" Roger explained.
It should not be surprising to hear that Roger signed a deal while being drunk. This just made Ann roll her eyes at her father.
"Wow, Pops. Never thought you'd want to marry me off while drunk, yoi." Marco said dryly.
"Well, it's not like the deal is anything against you." Whitebeard shrugged.
The confused people around caught the idea of what is inside the letter that Ann and Marco were reading.
It was a deal between Whitebeard and Roger to marry Ann and Marco.
"You and him dating is great news! I thought I have to set you two up. Bwahaha! You can get married anytime!"
Ann blushed a little on the topic of marriage. Not like she's against it.
"No! My daughter's not marrying! I'll kill him!" Roger pointed to Marco again. The signed deal must be why he came here unannounced.
"Oi! You won't be killing my grandson-in-law!" Garp argued.
"Who the hell are you calling grandson-in-law?!"
"Marco, of course!"
"The hell he is!" Roger shouted back.
"If you hurt him, what do you think will happen to their child?!" Garp shouted making Ann wide-eyed at the conversation. How did the conversation suddenly change from dating to marriage and now to a child?
"WHAT?! You're pregnant?!" Roger asked loudly.
"NO, I am not!" Ann refuted.
"You're not? Why aren't you pregnant?" Garp asks innocently.
"HUH?! What?" Ann can't understand why Garp is asking such a question.
"Tsk. Well, whatever." Garp shrugged, dismissing the topic. His eyes landed on the food at the table, then he smiled. "Oh, you have a delicious meal prepared. Good timing, I am hungry!" That was what he said before taking a seat as if it is his house, leaving Roger crying to Rouge about how he will lose a daughter.
Ann is getting a headache at the situation. How did it become like this?
"Ahem. Why don't we have dinner now? There are more seats available. Join us." Whitebeard broke the very awkward silence in the room and thank god he did.
"Just because my daughter is dating your son doesn't mean I'll allow the deal to happen, you hear me?" Roger said to Whitebeard before taking a seat on his left side.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Sit down so we could all eat. I am hungry." Whitebeard shrugged Roger off.
Rouge just sighed and took the seat next to Roger, followed by Rayleigh. The rest of the people silently took the remaining seats until it was only Ann and Marco who remained standing. Left with no choice, they took the available seats in front of Garp and Roger.
"I am watching you." Roger told Marco while munching on his meal.
"Of course, Sir." Marco answered, trying to remain calm. He is surprised by the sudden turn of events, as much as Ann was. He never expected that her parents turn out to be Roger and Rouge. With that revelation, he has a lot of questions he wants to ask her, but that can wait. He'll ask when Roger is not in the perimeter, trying to kill him.
"The dishes are very delicious. Kudos to your chef, Whitebeard!" Garp said loudly. The Whitebeard family is used to seeing this old man drop by from time to time as he's one of Whitebeard's old friends. He's a weird guy who refuses to use the gate and chooses to climb over the huge gate.
"You'll have my son to thank you for that." Whitebeard pointed to Thatch who received a salute from Garp.
"I assume you can cook as well, Marco. If not, you better learn because my granddaughter doesn't know how to cook to save her life. HAHAHA!"
"Gramps!" Ann protested. Talk about an embarrassing family. First, her father trying to kill her boyfriend. Now, it's her grandfather broadcasting her lack of cooking skills.
"Yes, sir. I can."
"Ok, good! Good!"
"What's good about that?" Roger muttered.
"IT IS GOOD! I won't allow my precious granddaughters going hungry because their boyfriends can't feed them right!" Garp shouted so loud, it is so embarrassing. Ann just wanted to get this dinner over with. She's through with this embarrassing situation. What do Marco's siblings think of her family now?
"And if they don't know how to cook?" Surprisingly, it was Haruta who asked this question.
"Then they better learn! It's a simple requirement so they can be suitable for my granddaughters! If I deemed them not suitable, I'll just send my army to kill them, simple as that." He was talking as if sending an army to kill a guy who dared to date one of his precious granddaughters whom he deemed not suitable.
Ann can't help but groan out loud. Why are her father and grandfather so casual when it comes to killing someone? Are they serious?!
"I think that's enough. No one is killing anyone, do you understand?" Rouge asked but Roger and Garp did not answer. "Do you understand?"
"Yes." Garp and Roger answered like obedient children.
"Good." Talk about being scary. Only Rouge has the power to control Garp and Roger like that. Ann is grateful to her mother for getting things to calm down.
That may be the case for a moment because right after eating, Garp issued a challenge against Whitebeard and Roger. It's a drinking contest.
Next thing everyone knew, the three men are drinking their asses off, including Rayleigh who is holding himself well when it comes to alcohol.
Roger is a terrible drunk. He was crying and whining about his precious daughters while Garp is trying to console him.
The four of them were reminiscing about their past as well as their adventures when they were young. Everyone can see that the four of them are good friends.
While the four old men are drinking, Ann was cornered by Izou who was frowning at her and Marco.
"So, the two of you were sneaking behind our backs, dating merrily without telling any of us? I feel betrayed." She said, pouting madly at them.
"Ok, look, it was meant to be a surprise tonight, yoi."
"And what a surprise you dropped on us, Ann." It was Thatch who said this.
Ann got a little nervous after hearing it. She was thinking that they might think she's a fraud or something like that for keeping her identity a secret.
"I'm sorry. I'll explain everything and I didn't mean for this to happen like this."
"Whoa, whoa, wait. Don't think any of us are mad at you." Thatch corrected. He noticed that she looks worried and stressed at the situation.
"You're not?"
"No, of course not! It doesn't matter if your old man is Roger. Oh, wait, it does matter to Marco. He's about to get killed." The rest of his siblings were hauling in laughter. "I've never seen him so pale like that earlier! HAHAHA!"
"You should have seen his face!" It was Blamenco this time.
But their laughter soon died because of the murderous aura that Marco is emitting against them.
"Should I let you experience what it's like to receive death threats, yoi?" The siblings who were laughing loudly all gulped in nervousness while looking at Marco.
"You two better make it up to me. I want details, you got me?" Izou said to the two of them. Marco's attention shifted back to Izou, then he nods. "Alright, idiots. Leave the lovebirds be. I believe they have much to talk about." Izou ushered the rest of the family away from Marco and Ann so they could talk properly. Ann was about to start but, her mother approached them.
"Your father and grandfather are dead-drunk. I'll take them home with me." She looks exasperated just thinking about driving two drunk men. "We'll go ahead of you as I am sure the two of you have a lot to talk about. Drive safe, baby."
"Yes, mom. You too." Rouge kissed Ann on her cheeks before smiling at Marco before leaving, dragging a very drunk Garp and Roger. Thank goodness Rayleigh is sober to carry the two drunk men in the car.
Now that Marco thinks about it, Ann looks a lot like her mother, except she's not blonde at all.
"Let's go to the gardens, yoi." He extended his hand to her which she took without hesitation. The garden is quite large and no one will be disturbing them while they talk here.
As soon as they arrived at the table in the garden, Marco immediately faced Ann.
"Just want to tell you that I am not mad, yoi. I am curious, yes, but I'll let you decide what to tell me."
His words comforted Ann. She's worried about how he will take the whole thing. From the threats to the fact that her parents are Roger and Rouge. Of course, Marco will have a lot of questions, but he's letting Ann decide what to tell him.
"I actually do not know where to start." She said, a little nervous but after looking at Marco's eyes, she felt a little relieved that he's not seeing her any differently. "Maybe I'll start by introducing my other name."
"Other name?"
"Yeah. Gol D. Ann. That's my other name. What happened is that Gramps registered other birth certificates. They're legal but, the last name is Monkey D. Not Gol D. That's why we can use the other name we have."
Marco nodded, understanding a little bit of what's going on, but he refrained from asking anything so she can continue.
"To be honest, we never liked to be in a spotlight and we opted to use Gramps' last name. It was pretty convenient than being in the spotlight because of your parents' fame. I guess the three of us wanted to be recognized for our abilities, not because of our parents."
That, Marco, can understand.
"I know the media will be all over us. I could be standing at a random restaurant, wearing the simplest thing and they'll be all over me. So, yeah. We liked our freedom and only a few people know. Trust me, I was planning to tell you one of these days as soon as I tell dad first, but I guess that did not happen."
"Yeah. He's after my head." Both of them laughed. "At least your grandfather is not after my head too, yoi." Ann laughed again. "I just want to let you know that whoever your parents are won't change the way I feel for you. Never, okay?"
Ann nodded, thankful that everything went fine. It may not have happened under the circumstances that she planned, but all is well in the end.
"My sisters and I are planning to come out of hiding. I guess it would be best to do it at our terms. You know, when our relationship gets out of the public, they'll be trying to investigate who I am."
"I am not going to pressure you into revealing your parents' identity to the world - "
"No, it's not that. We've been planning this for quite a while now. It's about time. We are still not sure about when, but it'll happen soon. Maybe by that time, we'll get used to the media."
Marco only nodded. Whatever Ann wants, he will support it. He'll be there when she needs him. That won't change and nothing will change that.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"WHAT?!" Sab and Luffia shouted at Ann as soon as she got home.
Sab and Luffia were together in the medical program earlier and just got home around 10 PM. A few minutes after that, Ann arrived from the dinner in Whitebeard's mansion.
She looked a little stressed so when they asked what happened, she spilled the beans of what happened.
"Ann." Sab called out. "Are you sure, as in 100% sure that it was Gramps? Are you sure that it's not an impostor?" It's hard to believe that their Gramps just approved of them dating. What more, he's even encouraging them to do so.
"It was shocking. I thought he was an impostor, but no man is as crazy as him in slipping in Whitebeard's mansion like that."
"HAHAHA! I should have been there to see how Dad reacted!" This is what Luffia just said.
"He's set in killing Marco. He's crazy."
"But that's just how he is." Luffia argued. "He might kill Zoro too."
"And you're not worried?" Sab can't help but ask Luffia. Sometimes, they question how her mind works. She should be worried about her boyfriend getting killed by his father, but she's not. Instead, she looks so damn amused at that notion.
"Nah, Dad won't kill him. Besides, he got his bones ready when dad decides to break them."
The twins sweatdropped. They can't believe how casual Luffia can be.
"Gramps seems ok with Zoro, so he will be safe." Ann said.
"How did they react when they found out about your identity?"
"You mean our identity? Yeah, they don't mind and they didn't care much. Marco's not mad either, so all is good. I guess they just find it funny how our dad and Whitebeard signed a drunken deal to marry their firstborns."
Sab looked at Ann, wondering if she heard it right.
"Dad did what?"
"Funny, isn't it? He signed a deal with Marco's father that they will marry off their firstborns. Which are Marco and me."
"Why am I not surprised?" Sab can only say while shaking her head in exasperation. "Please tell me he doesn't have any deals to marry off the second child."
"I don't think so. Otherwise, Gramps would have mentioned it."
"That would be bad if dad signed another deal. Then Sab can't date Jaggy." Luffia frowned at the thought. There's no way she will allow that to happen. Maybe, she'll beg their dad not to marry Sab off.
"Oh, has there been any progress?" Ann smirks.
"YES! They were together the whole day! Jaggy dropped by in the orphanage and they got to babysit a little girl. It was so cute. Do you want to see the picture?"
"Luffia, no!"
"YES, Lu! Give it!"
Luffia threw her cellphone to Ann before Sab could take it. Their eldest ran away from her twin sister while opening Luffia's cellphone. And there it is. The picture that Luffia is talking about.
In the picture, there is a lot of hospital staff as well as the children in the orphanage. In the middle is none other than Sab and Kidd. Beside Kidd is an old woman. Beside Sab is Luffia, then Zoro.
It's not surprising that she's in the middle, but what's surprising is the red-haired toddler that's she's carrying and Kidd's hand are around her shoulders.
"What is this? Your child's baptism?" Ann asks.
"Can you stop talking nonsense?"
"I am serious. You guys looked like a couple!"
"I know right?!" Luffia exclaimed. "Ask him out already!" She's demanding as if that's as easy as making breakfast.
"It's not as simple as you think it is."
"It is simple. All you have to do is ask him on a date!"
"I don't want to rush it, okay? If it fails, there's no going back at all. We won't be friends." Sab argued.
"Who are you trying to convince? Us, or yourself? Besides, it's not like you guys are friends in the first place." Sab can't find a way to refute Ann's statement because she is right. She and Kidd never started as friends like Luffia and Zoro did. They started as a nemesis.
"Which makes me doubt if I should. He's not the type to date someone like me, so there's no point for me to ask him out."
"You won't even know if you haven't asked."
"I don't need to ask for me to know. So, can we please drop this conversation?"
Ann and Luffia can only sigh in response. They wish that Sab will gain a little bit of confidence in asking him out, to risk everything, but she's dead set in believing that he won't like her that way or won't even think of dating her.
At this point, there's one thing Luffia can do. And that is to hope that Kidd will man up this time.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
AN: This is one of the funniest chapters I've ever written and probably my favorite.