Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

It was late evening.

The sun was finally going down in brilliant red and orange flames that cast a sad, disheartening glow over the ocean. The stars were fully prepared to show off their beauty now. In the distance, the moon was once again becoming visible. It was only a matter of time before it would appear in full before them, signaling the start of a new and peaceful night, where they could—

A crash shattered the silence into glass.

Aiko kicked an overly large piece of what was once a part of the Red Force off of her. She stoop as straight as she could with her injuries, then dusted herself off. For an instant, she was distracted by the sight of the setting sun. The last time she'd noticed the hour, it was mid-afternoon. Had so much time really passed?

Meanwhile, on the Moby Dick, Marco emerged from a disoriented crowd of his men that he had been punched straight into. His expression was a mix between irritated and indignant, as he told them to get out of his way in a tone that brooked no barter. Family they might've been, but it was move or get kicked aside for them right now because he wasn't patient enough to tolerate anyone stepping in the way between him and that woman that had just mercilessly sucker punched him on the thigh, right beside his family jewels. Aiko would've hit them, too, had he not twisted like a startled kitten at the very last second to protect them.

Marco moved to the side of the ship, scanning the surrounding area with Haki for her presence as he did so. He found her on the Red Force. Marco looked down at the much smaller ship to find her standing proudly on the deck with one hand planted confidently on her hip and a smile wide enough to look forced. She waved at him in a manner unbefitting of someone her age.

"Let's call it a tie!" Aiko shouted.

He took a moment to observe her. She had a dislodged shoulder, a cut above her forehead that he didn't remember giving her, and blossoming green and purple bruises on her arms and legs. She'd taken so many of his kicks head-on that he had no doubt that a little bit of everything must've been a little cracked. Though it was obvious that her head had fallen loose if she thought he'd agree to a draw.

But then again, his ankle was sprained, four of his ribs were broken, and he had an aching bruise on his right shoulder that protested whenever he so much as twitched. He also didn't know when this one happened, but two of his goddamned fingers were broken. His fingers. Oh, sure, he could heal. But where was the fun in that? If he used that little advantage all the time, then he'd never be able to savor a fight.

Marco's calf suddenly jerked, and he looked down in surprise at his worn pants to find that the force of her punch had caused yet another bruise to appear just below his knee. He groaned in annoyance. Everything ached. And he sure as hell knew that was how she felt, too. But despite that, they stood tall on their ships, living up to their reputation of an Emperor's commander.

"What's the matter, Phoenix?" Aiko grinned. "Been a while since you got smacked around?"

"Look at yourself first."

"Now, now," a third voice intervened. It was followed by slow clapping. The two of them turned, startled, to find Shanks standing there with a peaceful grin on his face. "That's enough you two. Whitebeard and I have settled on something."

"Huh?" Aiko said dumbly. "When?"

Shanks only grinned.

As she looked around, she realized that everyone else had already stopped fighting. When had that happened? So many of them were seated off to the side, placing bets and passing around drinks. The sight had her tilting her head in confusion. She could hazard a guess that the sheer intensity of her and Marco's fight drew their attention, and when she saw one man exclaim in victory, while the others groaned at him to shut up, that guess was proven right. Were they seriously betting right now though? Some of the senior members of her crew had even joined the pool, along with her captain!

Aiko looked around more to see the full extent of what their little tussle had wrought. Railings all over the Moby Dick were broken, and one of its massive masts was broken at the core, like a twig lost to the wind. The Red Force had a gaping hole the size of her body right in the middle of the deck. Shipwrights were running around, shouting at each other to take care of the problem, before they started fighting again.

The ship I was supposed to use to find Fire Fist, Aiko thought, as she looked frantically over the edge of the Red Force. Shit.

It had been destroyed completely. All she saw was its sail floating pathetically over the thick waters, surrounded by stray pieces of walnut-colored wood. She didn't know when they destroyed it, and she didn't think Marco knew either, judging by the flash of surprise that crossed his the moment he quit his focus on her. All Aiko did know was that their main shipwright was going to kill her.

"I know we all like a good brawl every now and then," Shanks said. He chuckled loudly at their expense. It was strange for two commanders like them to let go like this. "And I know Aiko hasn't immersed herself in a fight in a long time. Good ol' Marco here probably hasn't been able to cut loose with a woman either."

Marco sent a heated glare at Shanks that he expertly ignored, while pirates in the background snickered at what he was implying.

"But let's all get along, alright?" Shanks went on with a friendly grin. "It's a banquet!"

A pirate's banquet was always something to write home about.

It involved everything from singing and dancing to the most hardcore drinking contests. Bouts of laughter mixed with singing spilled from every area of the ship. It was broken by the occasional scream as a man was thrown off deck for losing in a brawl or hitting on a hardass woman pirate after one too many shots of liquid courage. Chatter erupted from all corners of the deck, as the two pirate crews mingled together like old friends. As if they hadn't all just been trying to wring each other's necks a few hours ago.

Before they broke out the food and the booze, Whitebeard had announced that they'd say whatever they had agreed upon later in the night to allow everyone some time to recuperate. Aiko couldn't help but think that it must've been one hell of an agreement though. It could only be if two Emperors of the sea decided to work together.

Or maybe not, she amended. This is Captain I'm thinking of. It might be a fairly simple agreement.

Aiko coughed harshly when a hot sting of pain traveled up her shoulder. It was sudden enough to make her choke on the mug full of alcohol that Benn had handed to her to help ease her wounds. It helped, but clearly not enough. She needed to get her hands on something stronger. Aiko knew her captain would definitely have something, but just as she turned to find him, her gaze caught sight of Marco instead.

He stood across the deck, getting hit on by a few of her bolder crew members that obviously had the hots for him. But that wasn't the problem now, the real problem was that she was stuck on the sidelines, sitting on the edge of a crate and drinking her pain away, while her Rho, their ship's doctor, painfully attempted to dislodge her shoulder, so he could pop it back into its socket. She bit her lip to muffle the shout once he finally did, then openly cursed him for doing his job.

Rho smiled patiently at her, already knowing that it was the pain that she was cursing at, rather than him in particular. He dug into his pack to find a few bandages and salves for the rest of her wounds.

Ocean spirits! I hate that flaming chicken, she thought sourly. Why am I the only one that has to go through this? His healing powers are so unfair.

"Hey now," Rho scolded her. Aiko turned her attention to him. He was a lanky man with a baby face. Despite that, Rho always had a woman with him at every port, and it wasn't difficult to see why. He could really turn on the charm when he wanted to. "Don't make such an ugly face, you'll get wrinkles. What would I do then? You're the Red Force's morning star! My heart might actually burst from sadness!"

"It hurts," she said, before giving him her most pleading look. Aiko hoped that he'd do the rest tomorrow, so she could enjoy the banquet properly. Unfortunately for her, Rho was the type that took his job very seriously. Perhaps he had to be that way, considering how much the other members of her crew abused their bodies.

"Oh, don't be such a baby." He gently took her arm and rubbed some salve onto the disgusting blackish purple discoloring there. It stung enough to startle a yelp from her, but after a minute, the bruise was gone completely. "See? It's good for you." Rho gave her a winning grin. "Wanna know what else is good for you?"

Aiko rolled her eyes at that. She knew what was coming next. The only reason they were even able to get a master of salves like Rho was because he was interested in her. When Shanks saw that, he dangled Aiko in front of Rho as bait to get him to join his merry little band of misfits. Now, like always, she had to deal with his mess.

Doesn't he know what a pain it is to get such a persistent guy off you back? She looked over at her Captain, who was happily telling stories and gulping down copious amounts of alcohol like there was no tomorrow. He'd die of alcohol poisoning one of these days. Obviously not.

"Sex, kisses, cuddling," Rho listed off. "Basically anything involving intimate body contact."

He flashed another one of those dazzling smiles that he gave to so many women whenever he wanted something. It was handsome and lit up his face in all of the right ways, but it wasn't…

She shook her head to rid herself of the thought.

"Sounds interesting," Aiko said, only half paying attention to his words. She found that looking disinterred always ended conversations much faster, but with Rho it was different. He liked to push, and there was only one solid way of dealing with him. "Tell me then, do you want to do those things with me?"

"Hmm... Who knows? I wonder..." Rho said, trying to play the aloof and mysterious card on her, but his eyes were quickly falling into a trance, as he allowed his mind to wander to more mature scenarios. Rho thought of all of the compromising positions he could have her in before the night was through. A head strong woman like her would melt like butter in his experienced hands. He could just imagine the thrill of it; could almost taste it, but not quite yet.

Aiko grinned at his dazed expression. She could actually have some fun with this.

"I don't know. You're amazing with your healing salves, but a phoenix…now, that's cool." She gave his crest fallen face a happy grin. "I mean, just look at those muscles. Not to mention, I already know that he can take care of me really well."

"Why don't you try something new then?" Rho asked boldly.

Wow, Aiko thought. She had to hand it to him. He really didn't give up.

"We couldhave sex in the air," she went on, as if she hadn't just heard him speak. "I wonder if he's improved any."

"Who's improved?"

The sound of Marco's voice from behind, had them both turning in surprise. One of his hands curled around his hip and his shoulders were slouched. He was obviously very comfortable in their presence, despite everything that had just occurred between their crews. Perhaps his assurance in his power allowed him to be so.

"Oh!" Aiko exclaimed, thrilled by his appearance. "How long have you been listening, Phoenix?"

Marco shrugged. He didn't want to admit that he'd been watching them from the corner of his eye for a while now, and had only decided to approach because he'd heard some rather bold statements being thrown around. That wouldn't be good for either of their hearts—especially his. He already felt like she could reach inside of that useless bone cage and place her eager little hands on it without even trying.

"How are you?" Marco asked, as he plopped down on the wide space left on the crate beside her. He glanced inside of her cup to find it more than half-empty. Marco exchanged their pints in a move so smooth that she blushed in appreciation.

"Ask the doctor here." She motioned to Rho, who was glaring daggers at Marco.

"She's fine," he said through gritted teeth. "She'll be as right as rain by tomorrow," Rho looked at her pointedly then, "so long as you remember to apply this salve and drink this tonic every 3 hours."

Marco didn't really seem to mind his hostile demeanor towards him. He kept his listless eyes and blank expression the whole time as the doctor was talking. "That so?" Marco looked towards Aiko again. The corner of her lips quirked upward into a small smirk. "Then we should fight again, hon."

Aiko's eyes lit up. "You want me to spank you again, Phoenix?"

His smirk grew wider.

"Is that a challenge?"

"You tell me."

Rho cleared his throat loudly, getting their attention and trying to get them to realize that he was still there—alive and very much present to hear their ridiculous trifling.

"Right…" Aiko trailed off, embarrassed. It felt strangely awkward to flirt with him in front of her mates, or rather, Rho, in particular, considering how much he seemed to like her. Aiko and the rest of their mates teased him about it sometimes, but full-on flaunting the fact that she was interested in another was just cruel. "I don't think I've introduced the two of you yet. Phoenix, this is Rho," Aiko pointed a thumb at the first division commander next to her, "Rho, this is Marco."

Marco offered a lazy grin.

"So, you're the one all of the nurses have been going nuts about, yoi," Marco said.

"Nurses?" Rho head shot up, and just like that, he forgot all about his hostility towards the commander. He leaned in, listening to every word that left his lips as if all of the pirate kings from ages past were bestowing some kind of ancient wisdom upon him.

"Yea, Pop's nurses. They've been talking all night about you."

Marco pointed to the side of the ship, where almost a dozen nurses stood. When Rho turned to look at them, there was a simultaneous yell of 'kyaa' and 'ohmygod he looked here!'

"Popular as always." Aiko shook her head.

"I figured he was the popular type, yoi. He's got the face for it. But still," he paused to rub the shell of one ear, "don't those gasps just make your ears bleed?"

Rho apparently didn't agree because he was gone in two seconds flat, leaving the salve and tonic Aiko was supposed to take on the ground in his place. Marco stared after the doctor, both amused and slightly surprised.

"I'll call him Doctor Dick," Marco suddenly said. Aiko burst out laughing at the comment. "That's what he seems to think with." He finished complete with a shrug of indifference to show that was completely serious.

"And you don't?" Aiko challenged.

He gave her a look.

"Oh," Aiko continued, ignoring the silent warning he threw at her. "I guess not huh? After all, you're not as young as you used to be."

"There's no need to insult my manhood, yoi." He clicked his tongue in displeasure, before looking back at Rho. "After I saved you from that doctor fellow too. You can do so much better than him, hon."

She rolled her eyes.

"Whoever could you mean, I wonder?"

"Who knows?" He replied oh so mysteriously, then gave her a grin that could have broken a thousand hearts.

"Ok, lovebirds." A voice from behind them interrupted smoothly. It was Izou, another one of Whitebeard's commanders. "We've all had enough of your blatant flirting. You're going to give us all cavities at this rate."

"Then stop eavesdropping, yoi."

Izou ignored him in favor of examining Aiko. "Ohh, I see why Marco likes you."

Said man immediately threw him a look that told him to watch what he said. Unfortunately for him, his glares had no effect whatsoever. Marco might've been strong, but Izou was, too. And if the Phoenix Commander wanted to threaten him, then he was going to try a hell of a lot harder.

"I've never seen him like this," Izou went on. "Be proud, you have Whitebeard's almighty First Division Commander whipped." He put up his pinky finger. "All wrapped around your little finger."

Aiko looked at Marco, who downed the rest of his grog. His eyes were firmly closed; a clear indication that he didn't want to be a part of this particular conversation. But even if he didn't, that didn't mean he wasn't listening. Aiko could tell from the moment she met him that even if he didn't want to, he unconsciously noticed everything around him. A true observer, if she ever met one.

Aiko shrugged, then told the Okama commander the honest truth. The one they both knew but set aside to bask in the amusement of the moment. "It's nothing special," Aiko said. The words made Marco's eyes dart to her, but she kept her focus on Izou. "Just some harmless fun."

"Harmless, huh?" Izou repeated quietly. His own eyes shifted towards Marco, who now nursed an empty pint. "Well if that's really the case..." He let the sentence hang for a few seconds more before changing the subject. "I'll go grab some food. I'm starved."

And then he was gone.

Izou left an awkward silence in his wake. It settled around them like a cloud of poison. Aiko shifted in discomfort as the truth hung in the air between them, before she decided to break it. Because she sore that Marco wasn't going to, and that some small part of him actually enjoyed it, since it made her insides twist.

"Congratulations, you flaming turkey," Aiko began, meeting his lethargic eyes with her own narrowed ones. "I don't even remember the last time I actually saw my own blood."

He looked down at her. Her gauntlets were gone and nowhere to be found. She nursed injuries, both big and small all over her body. They were healing fast. No doubt thanks to their doctor, but even with special ointments, there was nothing in the world that could match his recovery time. He was beside her in tip-top condition. Utter perfection. As if their fight had never even happened.

He shook his hand side to side; the one that was supposed to be sporting two broken fingers. There wasn't even a bruise. Not even a touch of minor swelling.

"Are you jealous, yoi?"

"As if." She turned her head away and did her best to focus on the partying pirates in front of her. They were being complete idiots.

"Hey, yoi." Marco wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then pulled her in close. He rubbed his face in her dark tresses, so he could inhale her scent, already going back to their little game of sweet, issue-less couple."Don't be mad at me, hon."

"You hurt me," she said stubbornly, though she made no move to push him away. "I have every right to be upset."

"You hurt me too, yoi."

"You have absolutely no proof."

Proof, huh? he thought. She was right. He didn't have any. So, instead of responding, he showed her his free hand. His palm was facing upward and his fingers stretched out as far as they could go. She looked at him carefully, asking what he was doing with her eyes, before a small blue-green flame burned like a contained star in his grasp. It was brilliant and cozy in a way that reminded him of her on lonely nights.

"It's warm, huh?" he commented.

Marco watched, as she stared straight into the flame with eyes filled with curiosity and wonder. She lifted her hand to touch them, and for the first time he noticed just how scarred they were underneath those gauntlets she usually wore. There were scars all over the back and palm, though they didn't spill over onto her fingers. The bunches of flesh looked grotesque under the light of his flames.

From what he remembered of her when they first met, her hands were nothing like that. On the contrary, they were rather dainty, if not a little squared from her fighting style. Choosing to sate his curiosity at a later time, Marco simply watched quietly as she hovered one hand above his, before dipping it directly into the fire with no fear whatsoever. Perhaps she already knew that he wouldn't have allowed her to do so if it could actually hurt her. She was astonished by the way it flickered, before enveloping her hand.

Aiko made a pleased sound that had Marco's eyes softening. It couldn't be put out just because she covered it, but he pretended as if it did. He lowered it bit by bit as her palm came closer. Once her hand covered his, he made the fire bleed between the gaps that her hands were too small to cover. It flared particularly strong at his fingertips. It wasn't long before she started using both of her hands to try and cover his much larger one completely, so he could put out the warm fire.

This continued for about ten minutes.

Once she finally got tired of this little game and found it impossible to win, she just brought his hand down into her lap, cupping it between both of hers and resting her head on his arm.

"It doesn't hurt," she muttered quietly, ignoring the rowdy chatter from all of the pirates around her. Some of them were definitely talking about her and Marco, but she doubted anyone would actually have the gall to interrupt them—not unless it was a commander.

"My flames are only for healing," he explained.

"They're… warm."

Marco grinned, far too pleased with himself at her remark, before he let go of her completely. He didn't really want to, but he could feel so many eyes on them that it was starting to make him uncomfortable. They were just supposed to be having fun. This wasn't anything serious, nor did he imagine that it ever could be. He needed to hang around other people—other women—lest his mates start talking about how he might've been in love with her. That couldn't happen. Absolutely not.

It wasn't that he cared about what people thought about him, but because falling in love wasn't a good idea. Especially not with a woman from rival pirate crew. They might be partying together now, but that could change in a moment's notice. What happened earlier today was a concrete example of that. Just one wrong move and their entire world could be turned on its head.

"Aww, now why'd you stop?" Vista's voice suddenly boomed. He was seated at a nearby table with Jozu, Rockstar, and Yasopp—a strange combination. But they somehow seemed to become… well, not friends, but amicable acquaintances after a few drinks.

Marco turned to them with all the ease and confidence of a man with absolutely no worries in the world. "Why? Are you hoping for a show, yoi?"

They just laughed.

Marco placed a comforting hand on Aiko's head, before he ruffled her hair. She swatted his hand away not a second after, not liking how he suddenly treated her like a child that needed to be mollified because he was leaving her side.

"Why don't you walk around?" Marco suggested. "Stretch your legs a bit and get the blood pumping. It'll be good for you."

Aiko scrutinized the half-smile on his face. There was a touch of disappointment there. But she knew why he suddenly stood from his position. She was glad for it actually. It got her out of the daze he always managed to put her in. Aiko couldn't harbor any type of romantic feelings towards Whitebeard's First Division Commander. Benn had even told her, on multiple occasions, that it would be a bad idea. Not that she really listened to what people said, but it was just that somewhere inside, she agreed with them. Marco and Aiko needed to keep their feeling in check. Their relationship was good as it was, especially for pirates like them. There was no need to advance it further.

"Why? Are you worried about me, Phoenix?" She teased, returning to her jovial tone to keep the tension between them from bubbling any more than it already was.

"Always," he said, as he walked away.

Marco raised his hand in farewell for the evening. He greeted some men from his division and spent some time talking to a group of commanders huddled off to the side, before heading to where the two captains sat, discussing old stories in boisterous tones, while they drank the ship's alcohol supply dry.

"Pops," Marco called once he reached them.

"Marco," he said back.

"Here." Marco handed him a bottle of amber liquid that he'd swiped from a nearby table before approaching. Whitebeard took it with a grateful grin.

Off to the side, Shanks gestured to the spot across from him and said, "Why don't you join us, Marco?"

"Sure, but…" Marco trailed off. He looked up at the moon that was out in full now. It cast a dim glow over their ship. Marco knew his mates enough by now to know that in another hour, they'd be too drunk to properly retain anything. So, now was the best time to ask about their little agreement. "I was hoping you'd make your announcement, yoi."

Quick Edited: 01/07/2019