Last time, Marco drifts as the days in Zou go by where he gardens with Nami, fights with the now-missing Sanji and stumbles onto his past.
Luffy stares at the den den mushi. He doesn't often think about things too deeply; it's a waste of time. People who think too much are often angry and sad and do too little about any of those things. Happiness is in doing, doing what makes you happy, and doing away with what makes you unhappy. Sometimes, like today, Luffy's problems have bounties and need a punch in the face. Sometimes, they're his friends, and they need a punch in the face.
(Luffy's solved a lot of problems via punch in the face.)
Luffy doesn't think it'd go over well with Macro if Luffy punched him in the face, which is frustrating sometimes, but Luffy likes him anyway. He's grown even a little fond of quiet moments, something he hadn't desired before. He enjoys telling Marco all the things that go through his head, and the fact that he doesn't think too deeply doesn't mean Luffy doesn't think at all.
Marco, on the other hand, is definitely someone who needs to think less. Luffy knows what Marco's thinking looks like because he's sure they run in the same street as what the younger man pondered after Ace. But, and this is according to Luffy's experience and Jinbei's lesson (and the Fishman's very smart!): those are dumb thoughts.
It's not Marco's fault.
He cannot give up now.
There are still things to live for.
Luffy knows it's not easy, but Marco and Traffy and Jinbei and Hammock had all been there for him until he believed it, and Luffy would do the same for any of his Nakama.
But, he's learning as he looks through the bars at the den-den mushi Kin'emon's holding. Maybe there's something more to Marco because it takes a lot to make Luffy angry, but it seems to take very little when it comes to the older pirate.
"Luffy?" Sanji's voice comes again, panicked, "Luffy, I need to know, Marco jumped ship already, and I can't really see how he's doing…"
Luffy thinks briefly about Fishman Island.
Thinks about Ace's fruit being in Doflamingo's clutches.
About Marco's press of his lips before he left this morning and how it feels like it's been years.
"Crush them," he orders and bites down to keep Marco safe. Marco's strong and Luffy will not doubt him like that. The older pirate has enough doubts for both of them. Sanji's thirst for battle is palpable through the speaker.
"Roger, Captain."
"All of you be careful!" Luffy will just have to trust his Nakama will handle themselves. There's too much at stake, too much to do. The quicker he gets Ace's fruit and beats Mingo, the faster they can be back together on the Sunny.
Puru.
"Did Luffy sound…. odd?" Ussop wonders.
"I think he might be upset that Sunny is under fire," Robin comments, making Franky frown.
"Sunny will be fine. She's a SUPERRR ship, built by yours truly after all!"
Ussop stares at him, nonplussed, while Robin giggles.
"I think she means that Marco's on the Sunny, Franky." Oh, that does make more sense, Franky's cheeks go warm. Usopp seems to frown as he says it. "I like Marco well enough, but… aren't we concerned how attached Luffy seems to be with him?"
"What you mean, Ussop-bro?"
"I mean, Marco's been through a lot and… you know, I've overheard Caesar and Traffy talk… it's worse than we think… a lot worse. And Luffy isn't exactly, ah, tactful. It's just, I'm worried y' know? That they're going to hurt each other."
"You think Marco might kill himself and break Luffy's heart," Robin mutters, more to herself than their group, almost as if pondering the idea.
"Robin! Don't say it like that." Usopp exclaims, but he doesn't deny the reasoning. The acknowledgment hangs heavy in between them, filling the cave with awkwardness and hesitation. Huh. It's not like Franky isn't guilty of the same thought, but that was before he'd spoken to Luffy. "Look, I also overheard Brook telling Chopper about an… incident."
"You sure hear a lot of things, Ussop…." Franky chides, frowning slightly. He tries to soften his brow. It wouldn't do for it to come patronizing to his youngest crew member. The blue-haired man knows they cohabit small quarters, but Ussop needs to stop listening to private conversations. The cyborg shares a look with Robin, though, allowing the sniper to go on.
"What incident?" the archeologist prompts.
"He found Marco on the figurehead in the middle of the night, just… standing there." Ussops hand gesture in quick short bursts that say nothing but how tangled Ussop feels about the whole issue. "Marco denies anything was happening, but after what he's been through, I mean, after Marineford and the Payback War and Punk Hazard… I don't judge him, but… Luffy…" The East Blue native trails off and seems to sink deep in thought. His shoulders hunch in tragedy and fear, but little understanding. It's logical, isn't it? Great tragedy and people wishing for death seems intrinsically linked. Franky wonders about such a connection. Immediately made and yet so rarely discussed.
"I see your point, but there's not much we can do. Getting out to avoid pain isn't really Luffy-bro's vibe." And it never would be, Franky has no doubt.
"I know, I know. I'm stressing out for naught but, I just… I look at Marco, and there are days where he smiles, and you think he's getting better, and then… then I hear he's suicidal, or you stop seeing him for days, or I find him passed out in the hallway…. I also feel bad for him. What I heard from Caesar was so bad I thought I would be sick, and that guy lived it for months. Just… how do you come back from that?"
Sometimes, Franky realizes, he forgets just how young some of his crewmates are. Ussop might be well on his way to being a brave warrior of the sea as he often claims, he's a reliable comrade and a fairly insightful young man. But, he's young, and some things cannot be acquired without experience. To someone who hasn't experienced love, loss and then had life go on… its probably inconceivable.
Not to trivialize Marco's suffering, though Franky lacks the details, as he shares a look with Robin, the answer he knows is reflected back at her in her eyes.
You just… do.
You keep running.
Start tinkering and fixing.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other until one day, you can breathe. You never forget, but you learn to move with your grief. Franky hopes that Marco makes it to see whatever's waiting for him on the other side of this. He'll help all that he can, but... if he doesn't, he'll be a sojourn in Luffy's journey, and Franky's captain will go on.
Just like Robin's family or Tom guide them through the seas, filling them with promise and driving them through the inheritance of dreams left unfulfilled.
That's just the type of man Luffy is, and as cynical as it may be, just how life works. Not a concept he's confident he can translate well, but...
"You know, Luffy asked me something similar."
Twin pair of surprised eyes meet his own.
"Luffy?"
"Yeah, I was surprised too."
You're good at fixing things, right? I need to fix Marco so that he's not sad anymore.
"He wanted to know how to fix Marco," the cyborg elaborates.
"That's so very like him," Robin comments, sounding immeasurably fond. Franky smiles, always moved, and a little baffled by Luffy's sideways thinking.
"Yeah…"
"What did you tell him?" Usopp questions.
"That he was already doing fine."
"He is?" Ussop presses, "our captain?" Robin nods, picking up on Franky's meaning.
"He's offering care and support and space when needed," Robin reasons, "the ethics of sleeping with someone who you know is in an unstable mind frame is just as questionable as taking advantage of the comfort offered by a man 2 decades your junior." Franky and Usopp sweatdrop uncomfortably at Robin's calloused assessment.
"Robin-sis, you're making it sound wrong…" Robin's head tilts in innocent askance.
"You think so?"
"Definitely." Ussop nods frantically.
"Most of what she said isn't wrong, though. I think Luffy has been doing his best, just like everyone else is trying to do, and there's not much room for more." Similarly to everyone else who has sailed aboard the magnificent Thousand Sunny, before joining the journey of the Pirate King, Marco the Phoenix is going to have to fix himself, get his affairs in order to throw it all into reaching the most feared and coveted destination of all: Laugh Tale. "Besides, from what Luffy told me, they'd had something already, during the two years we were off. So I don't think it's as situational as it appears to us, I was worried too."
"Wait, what?!"
Good news, the rest of the story is officially outline so now we hold tight till the end! I might add one more chapter, but it's not looking that way really. I know it's giving the same vibe but Marco's character arc here is different to Luffy's Mystery Bird, specially in what his relationship with Luffy is like.
Next chapter is somewhat drafted and we will explore what actually went down in Rusukaina via our guest Izou. I hope you're enjoying seeing things come together 3