So sorry this has taken forever to update. Spring break started with me working and then getting sick (go figure). So I plan on updating again as quickly as a I can to catch up, but again no promises. Please Enjoy.
Chapter 11
When Marco woke him a couple hours later, the sun had started to set, and the deck of the Moby Dick had been transformed for the party. Lights were hung from poles that had been tied to the railing of the ship, and a large stack of gifts sat off to one corner near Pop's chair, where Whitebeard was of course sitting, laughing, and drinking (much to the displeasure of his nurses).
Sitting cross-legged at his feet and accompanying him was none other than the other Yonko Shanks, his entire crew all nearby. Laughing at the two men and holding glasses of their own, while standing at their fathers' side were Vista, Rakuyo, Fossa, and Blenheim. All four obviously holding back some of their merry making in order to watch Red-hair.
Dotted around the rest of the deck stood their numerous brothers and sisters, as well as many of their allies. Jinbe had sat himself off to the side near the railing, and was chatting with the Decalvan Brothers and Doma. Near the drinks Whitey Bay, Brocca, and Elmy stood gossiping about who knows what, but Ace wasn't particularly interested to find out what had the three female captains giggling like they were. The other captains of their allies including Squardo, McGuy, Ramba. Bizarre, Islewan, Karma, Amadob, Palms, Blondies, Delacuaji, and Epoida all sat in their own circle drinking and exchanging tales. Obviously a pirate baby shower was not a non-alcoholic event, like a normal shower would be expected to be.
However it was after Ace walked in that all chattering died and eyes turned to him, that Ace start to feel a little self conscious about his appearance. He had taken to wearing shirts again, as even when left open they covered his expanding middle. However the excited cry of his name when the others realized the reason for their party had finally woken up and joined them had him smiling a bit. The female captains to no one's surprise were the first to make their way over, and despite their high bounties and infamous names, began to chatter away and coo at his obvious growing midsection. Ace was not surprised to find that Marco had quickly left his side as the ladies arrived, to go chat with Thatch and watch him squirm. However the arrival of the male captains saved him from the chatter, as they moved them aside to pat him on the back and congratulate him. This went on for a bit, before they motioned him to a cushion that had obviously been set there for him. A tad annoyed at the special treatment, he got over it as the pain in his back began to return from earlier that day.
The second he was seated however a slightly inebriated Red-haired pirate was next to him with his arm around his neck congratulating him, then asking him to join his crew and make him the babies' godfather and for Ace to name it after him. He didn't get to answer before Benn pulled Shanks away while giving his own congratulations, just making Ace laugh harder at the scene it made. Jinbe was by far the calmest in his congratulations, as he simply patted him lightly on the shoulder and told him to take it easy.
Soon the group had settled some, and with most of the excitement and congratulations out of the way Whitebeard called for silence.
"Well I thank you all for coming. As you all know, as it's why you're here, Ace has decided to make me a Grandfather in a few months," They all laughed at that, before he continued, "and we are here to celebrate the coming addition to our family." Cheers went up, and he motioned for silence again. "So celebrate we will, and congratulate the lucky new parents on their coming joy, and sleepless nights." Cries of agreement went up throughout the deck.
It was surprisingly Shanks that asked for silence next from where he was sitting to the side. Once it was granted he lifted his glass and began speaking, "So I'll offer my congratulations once again to you Ace on your impending parenthood." Cheers rang out, but he wasn't finished and as the cries ended he continued, "However I'm not sure if this was just my invitation, but I do need to ask." Ace nodded, and he continued again, "Who the hell is the other father?"
Silence was meet at that question, though the Whitebeard commanders and Whitebeard himself found themselves choking a bit on their drinks at that question.
All of them thinking the same things when they recalled the words on the invitations, 'Oops.'
Ace just stared for a few more seconds before he started to laugh. He laughed until he was lying on the floor holding his sides trying to contain it. Soon the other Whitebeard pirates had joined and those assembled just waited for them to answer the question they had all had for nearly a month. Finally able to contain himself Ace sat up, and drying his eyes he spoke, "You mean to tell me these idiots," he pointed his thumb at his brothers, "forgot the tell you whose baby this is?" He patted his rounded belly lightly as he asked the question.
All the gathered captains nodded their heads. Ace simply turned his head to his siblings, "You all are the worst baby shower planners, ever!" Then he started to laugh again.
It was a while before Ace had finally stopped laughing about the botched invitations. However it was when they started revealing their wild guesses to his child's parentage that he started laughing again. He laughed at most of their guesses, though when someone asked him if it was Izo he grimace a bit. He had finally decided to answer their question when he felt an arm go around his middle and Marco sit at his side, simply stating with a smile, "It's me yoi."
Shanks was the first to recover, smiling widely before turning to his crew and screaming, "Ha, I told you it was the Phoenix, you all owe me 100 beli each." Then turning to Ace he added, "You should also join my crew and bring him with you."
"Shut up yoi."
The laughter that his comments caused went on for a while, before the questions about their relationship began. Thatch either screaming in victory or defeat as they finally revealed the answers to some of his betting pool questions, including how long they had been together and when had they informed Whitebeard and such. However it was when Shanks asked them when they'd decided to try for a baby that both grimaced and began to blush, while sharing a look.
"Oh come on now, most of us here have heard how hard it is for male devil fruit users to conceive, so you had to have been at least trying. I mean it's not like you all had sex once or just happened to get lucky the first time." He laughed a bit at the thought, but then noticed when both winced at the last comment and how both began to blush even further. Staring in shock at the two, "You're kidding. Once, you all did it once and you," he pointed at Marco before continuing, "managed to knock him up?"
Marco grimace turned to a frown as he placed his head in one of his hands, before he shrugged. He instantly regretted it. Shanks was laughing almost instantly, as were most of the other males on board the ship. Thatch who hadn't known about the fact simply began to pat him on the back before he started spewing congratulations among other things. "Dear god Marco nice one, never knew you had it in you. One time, dear lord. Only you and Ace." Then he continued to laugh.
Ace was nearly the color of his flames he was blushing so badly by this point, Marco simply gripped his waist a little tighter in order to lend some support to his embarrassed lover. Neither wanted to admit that it wasn't really one time, but one whole night, knowing that they would get made fun of either way.
The laughing continued for a while longer, even Whitebeard finding some humor in his son's predicament. However he knew when enough was enough, and soon had called for all of them to quiet down and leave the two alone before stating, "It's not like it wasn't possible for it to happen, and it's more than likely happened before and will happen again as long as there are devil fruit users." The others quieted, though some in the crowd still snickered a bit quietly, until he spoke again, "Now it is getting late, and it is probably best we begin on the gifts, or we may never get through them all."
Whitebeard motioned for them to retrieve their gifts, and all the captains, the commanders and some of the crew ran to the pile before returning to the circle they had formed around the pregnant commander. Thatch was the first to walk up, handing the Ace a small package before returning to the circle. Thanking his best friend Ace turned his attention to the gift in his hand before tearing the wrapping off. Inside was a set of books, cookbooks to be precise all on the best ways to cook for a baby from formula's to solid foods. Smiling he thanked him again and soon he was handed another gift. The gift giving continued in this fashion for a while, Ace moved by the thought most had put into some of the gifts. Shanks was the last to offer his gift, it was a small box that he lifted by the ribbon wrapped around it, to place in his hands. Thanking him as he had the others, he unwrapped the box and opened it. Nestled inside was a baby version of his hat, right down to the face medallions and skull drawstring, though the later had been altered into a sort of pacifier. Smiling Ace thanked Shanks again, whom simply replied with a grin, "When you have another baby let me know I'll get him or her your brothers hat." At which Ace simply laughed, though he didn't deny the idea of having another child eventually like he had done weeks before.
The gift giving done the party fell into full swing again. Thatch brought Ace and Marco plates full of food, and the three laughed over some of the gifts as the party continued. It wasn't long after having eaten though that Ace, as Marco had known he would, began to drift off. His head had just fallen to Marco's shoulder, when Marco announced that he'd be taking Ace to bed. Ignoring the wolf whistles that his comment earned him, he stopped to thank them briefly before he left the festivities behind.
In their room Marco placed Ace on the bed, pulling off his lovers shoes and hat, before undressing him to his boxers. Deciding to join him he turned to undress himself, and as he started to crawl into bed he noticed that Ace was still holding the hat Shanks had gifted them. Smiling he pulled it from Ace's hands, and placed in on the table next to Ace's full-sized version, then he pulled Ace into his arms and soon he was asleep as well.
So there is actually a story behind Ace and Marco's first time, but I can't post it on cause of the new rules. So I will try and find a way to put it up, and in the mean time here are the Gifts that were given:
Shanks - Baby hat
1st & 2nd division - Baby book (The kind that you record a babies firsts' in)
Ex-spade pirates - Lots of sterile bottles with nipples, and bottlebrushes
Jozu & 3rd Division - Receiving blankets
Thatch & 4th Division- Baby cookbooks, and lots of extra high end formula
Vista & 5th Division - Changing table and pad
Blamenco & 6th Division - Bassinet
Rakuyo & 7th Division - High chair
Namur & 8th Division - Hooded towels and baby washcloths
Blenheim & 9th Division - Crib
Curiel & 10th Division - Den den mushi baby monitor
Kingdew & 11th Division - Baby bathtub
Haruta & 12th Division - Stuffed phoenix (someone probably made it, like this: fs70/i/2011/314/0/1/marco_cursor_by_ )
Atmos & 13th Division - Diaper cleaning kit, and diaper pail
Speed Jiro & 14th Division - Baby sling
Fossa & 15th Division - Baby mobile (hand carved with little phoenix's)
Izo & 16th Division - Baby clothes (Gender neutral, despite slight protest from Izo)
Jinbe - Baby safety materials (Gates, cabinet locks, etc.)
Doma - Rattle and Pacifiers
McGuy - Baby swing
Decalvan Brothers - Diaper bag and diapers
Squardo - Baby soap, and other bathing materials
Whitey Bay - Insulated bottle carrier
Elmy - Burping blankets
Ramba - Baby First aid kit
Delacuaji - Baby Clothes
Bizarre - Toys
Islewan - Baby Bedding
Epoida - Baby Clothes
Blondie - Baby Clothes
Karma - Baby playpen
Amadob - Baby Clothes
Palms - Baby Clothes
Brocca - Reusable diapers
I started running out of gifts, couldn't you tell. But I figured the women would get the most practical gifts, and the male pirates would just go into a town and ask for the best item and buy it. The invitations would have said something along the lines of this, "Please come help us welcome the newest addition to our crew at Portgas D. Ace's Baby Shower." And I do imagine that pirates would be terrible at planning baby showers. Please Review.