Oookay, so, here's the third chap :) As usual, sorry for any mistakes and I hope you enjoy it :) Thanks for everything!
Ryuu: Oh really? Guys, let's welcome the new adept to this wonderful fandom! Yeah, I like the canon Luffy, but I love this one xD Thank you for the support :) Check out my other two ff about this pairing ;)
Dar'ska: I agree... Sad indeed... Thanks :) Here it is ;)
Insanity: Thanks to you! :D
Guest: Thanks! Uhm, I don't understand... The time skip was needed, describing those months in a different way would have been boring, in my opinion. In the first part, I described what happened from Marco's POV and the newspaper's title was a good mean to change perspective. I'm sorry if it wasn't clear... Thanks, anyway :)
Kurama: Well, it's not me that refers to Luffy as a midget, but Marco, that's quite taller than him. He is short, anyway xD No, I don't change the appearances of the characters, maybe their clothing, often their personality, but not the appearances. Oh, if you remember the image of the escape from Impel Down, wasn't he the smallest? So, yeah "midget" fitted xD
Faery66: Here for you all :D Thanks!
Words: 4116.
Enjoy!
03 – Little Talks
Marco sighed. What a headache. Escaping the marines had been easy, for them and for pops. They had sunk the marine ship after reaching the Sunny, on which they had later joined Whitebeard.
Luffy had slept all throughout the journey and was still sleeping in his hammock. Really, how much had he pushed himself… It was worrying him, but his doctor, Chopper, had said to Ace he was okay. So, he had to wait. Again. So utterly annoying.
He was happy, of course. The midget had accomplished a lot, avoiding a war, saving probably more than a life, but Marco had a feeling he wanted only to save Ace in the safest way possible. The others to hell.
Well, not that escaping Impel Down was safe, not a little bit. But he succeeded, who was he to judge? Marco watched from the roof of the Moby Dick the marine flag of the Sunny being brought down, a jolly roger with a straw hat on top replacing it.
That was to take into consideration, too. Luffy was not a marine anymore, but he hadn't seemed sad by the fact. Who knew now what was going on in his head, really. Marco didn't want to increase his pain.
He sighed again and dropped his back onto the roof, arms crossed behind his aching head, and closed his eyes. It was night, so the darkness covered him nicely. Ace was currently going through a loud scolding by Izo in the infirmary, where the nurses had taken care of wounds.
He smiled slightly, remembering the reactions of his brothers seeing Ace safe and sound. Their pops had been tired so he was in his room resting.
A loud crash made him jump on the deck. On the Sunny, that was sailing alongside the Moby Dick, a cloud of dust was dissolving. Marco saw two legs and three swords sticking out of debris and Sanji smoking and fuming on a doorframe.
"GO GET DRUNK SOMEWHERE ELSE! I NEED TO COOK FOR THE CAPTAIN!"
And with that shout, he disappeared inside, loudly slamming the door. Marco jumped on the ship, approached the swordsman and helped him get up.
"Shitty cook."
"You okay, yoi?"
"Yeah, thanks." In one hand he had a bottle of sake. "Damn, I was only to–"
Another loud crash, from the lower deck this time, stopped Zoro's explanation. Luffy jumped up towards the door where Sanji had disappeared without sparing them a glance.
"Here comes the black hole."
Marco then remembered how the dragon had finished all that food in the galley those months before. It wasn't only a one-time strangeness, then.
"I bet he's still sleeping." The vice went to the window and gazed inside with a smirk. "Yeah, he is." He shook his head and, with a wave, went away to the crow's nest.
The pirate neared the glass and blinked a few times. The boy was indeed still sleeping… but he was eating, too. At an impossibly fast pace. From inside, Sanji was shaking his head with a fond smile. He then looked at him and nodded.
"Come in."
Marco obliged, sitting on a chair far from the eating machine. The sounds of munching and biting and scrunching were loud. A lot of cooked meat was left in a pyramid on the table. It was rapidly vanishing in the black hole, anyway.
"He's always like this, yoi?" He asked arching a brow, nodding towards the monster.
"No. This happens when he's really tired and really hungry at the same time." Sanji took a plate of soup from the pot. "I think the situation stressed him a lot." He placed it in front of Marco. "It's warm, eat before he notices it." And took one for himself. "He'll wake up in half an hour or so. Maybe."
"And the recklessness?" The pirate had to admit the soup was delicious.
"He acts like that every single time." Sanji took away his cigarette and started eating. "Once, he went against a king to protect our doctor. If he was a pirate, no prob, but he was a marine..." He scoffed.
"I see your point, yoi."
"Hey, he was annoying!"
"Yeah, Luffy, I know… Oh, good night there."
Luffy was awake. Marco couldn't decide if it was natural or because of the accusations. His half-lidded eyes were still sleepy, though.
"Sunny… Marco… Whitebeard near… Ace?"
"He's in the infirmary, undergoing scolding, yoi."
He nodded and stretched. The pirate then noticed he didn't have his white cape anymore.
"Someone tried to reach the official channel?"
"Yeah, but I didn't answer."
"Good. What happened on Marineford?"
"Whitebeard said they almost engaged battle. Sengoku was suspicious but didn't catch on what was happening until someone reported of the breakdown. You were already safe by then, so the pirates retired with a lot of commotion."
Luffy sighed with his head propped on his hand, elbow on the table, biting some meat. "Gramps?"
"Nothing."
"Damn geezer…" A bulb lit in his head. "Jinbe?"
"He's on the Yonko's ship's infirmary, all patched up."
"Ivankov?"
"He said to tell you 'hi and thanks'. He took the second ship and ran away."
"I guess he took everyone else with him…" Luffy smirked. "I'd give anything to see his face when he wakes up."
The door suddenly opened, taking from Marco the occasion to inquire, and the little reindeer entered. "Luffy!" Chopper jumped into his captain's stomach, spearing him. "How are you? Do you feel pain? Call a doctor!"
Luffy laughed, patting his crew mate. "Chopper, you are the doctor…" Sanji said with a smile.
"OH! Right! Let me check."
Marco blinked and shook his head. They were all crazy, indeed. How on earth did this bunch of people get together? Maybe the centre of the craziness was the Captain. He finished his soup and thanked Sanji.
"No problem." He shrugged and took the empty plates away.
"Everything's all right, Luffy."
"Iva took care of the poison, don't worry."
Chopper nodded and went outside again with a wide smile, followed by a waving Sanji.
"I need to sleep." He had said, stretching his arms.
The pirate looked then to Luffy, that was drinking some water.
"I'm sorry." He said abruptly, gazing straight into his eyes.
Marco blinked confusedly. "For what, yoi?"
He sighed, rolling his orbs. "For not telling. That I am… was a marine. I used you and your kindness."
"You did not." Luffy looked back again, sceptical. "You didn't want my help since the beginning, yoi. Even if you didn't know who I was, you trusted me. And then, you knew, but trusted us." The other glanced at his left. "Why?"
He stayed silent for a bit. "Because I knew I could."
"Simply by inspecting us, yoi?"
Luffy nodded. "I remembered you were Ace's family the day after."
As an afterthought… Oh, right, the fever. The dragon had fainted back then.
"What happened to you?"
The question surprised, oddly, both. It was the mystery that had wrapped his mind most of the day. Could he reign in his tongue and mind? Even once?
"I mean…" He coughed. "Ace always depicted you differently."
The other's lips shaped a 'o'. "I..." He seemed at a loss for words. "I was forced to become a marine. My grandfather 'bribed'" he gestured with his hands "me into it."
Marco's eyes narrowed. The only kind of bribe that could deter someone off pursuing his dream… Someone dear in danger. This was the only thing possible, if going along Ace's repetitive description of his little brother.
As if reading his thoughts, Luffy talked again. "Ace." He sighed. "He told me Ace was being held prisoner by Whitebeard and the only way to free him was to join." Another sigh and Marco decided not to correct him. "So, I did. I learned a lot while following him around, to behave, too, and to think before acting." This time a mischievous smirk adorned his face. "But then you pirates had to go and make him one of you."
"It was not easy, yoi." Even he smirked at the memory. "He's stubborn."
"I can imagine." He laughed. "He's always been. I guess you know his secret." Marco nodded, more serious. "Then I have to thank you, again."
"I consider him one of my brothers, you don't have to thank me, yoi."
Luffy grinned. This smile was a lot brighter than before. Almost blinding. It made Marco blink.
"What gave you that wound?"
"A spear. I was getting rid of some bandits sailing around that island. In the storm, they managed to hit me."
"Why did you go alone, yoi?" Damn, he had to stop this shit.
"It was a mission, I didn't want to change our route."
The talk then fell into lighter subjects. For Marco, this was almost unprecedented. He wasn't a talkative person, never been. Aside with Whitebeard, no one really succeeded in busying him so much and with so many words exchanged. He found his thoughts racing, trying to reach the reasons.
"Yeah, his narcolepsy is quite entertaining… shishishi!"
"I agree, yoi. Though, he gave us, almost everyone, a near heart attack. Collapsing like that face-first in the plate…"
Maybe he was stressed out and this was a way to vent? No, he wasn't venting, damn. They were conversing about past adventures on the sea and more. How on earth could that be considered venting?! So, option one, scratched.
"Well, we were grown by bandits."
"That explains a lot…"
Maybe he was tired, and this was his way of relaxing? Yeah, right, and of course 'relaxing', in his personal book, meant speaking. Let's scratch option two, too.
"Pops was stubborn enough, yoi."
"I must say, more than Ace."
"He joined, so you may be right."
Maybe he was curious? This was slightly more probable. The boy in front of him was a complete mystery, in his humble opinion. Dragon devil fruit ability, ex-marine, escaped from Impel Down with the son of the Pirate King… Go figures Luffy's family, now…
"Of course, we're not bonded by blood. It's a lot more important and solid."
"I had a feeling…"
Yes, that was definitely it… Or a part of it. Honestly, he was thinking that the other part was off limits. For now. Too dangerous, his instincts were screaming in his head, this time dulling the omnipresent ache.
At around 4 a.m., the boy fell asleep again, changing his form to baby dragon. He noticed that only because the talking had gradually lowered and disappeared. Marco debated what to do. He was sleepy by then, too, so he wanted to go to his room. But he also didn't want to leave Luffy there. He sighed. He couldn't bring the boy to his hammock, his mates were sleeping and he could have awoken them.
Marco took the black bundle and returned to the Moby Dick, in his room. He chose the pillows from those months before and put them in the same place. Luffy seemed comfortable enough to stretch on his back. With a smile, the pirate laid on his bed, wary of the animal.
Thinking about it… Why did he morph? Was he planning to sleep on the table? He couldn't have done it on purpose to be brought in his room… He fell asleep with the growing fear of what the prankster of the ship was going to say or do about the situation. The man shivered a bit before darkness took control.
Three hours later, Marco woke up with a strange feeling. He blinked groggily and looked around. The pirate was lying with his back on the bed. He was about to sit, when he understood what was the problem.
On his chest, Luffy was curled up, breathing evenly in deep sleep. He arched a brow. How the hell was the boy able to sneak up on him... He was trained to wake up even with a light breeze flowing through the cracks of wood.
He sighed, feeling the headache coming fiercely against him. He brushed a hand on his face and held up the dragon, sitting with him on his legs. Marco absently nudged with his right index the black nose and smiled at the huff. He took one pillow from the floor and positioned him there, standing up to take a shower. The man discarded his clothes on the sink and let the cold water sooth his skin and hair. The headache subsided almost instantly, making him sigh again.
He was honestly curious what his pops was going to say to Luffy. The man had said the boy was interesting, so Marco wasn't worried, only curious and a bit thrilled.
With a grin, he started brushing his hair with a towel and cursed his mind. He had forgotten to take clean clothes, and those were really too dirty for his liking. He wrapped the bigger blue towel around his waist and hoped the boy was still sleeping.
Marco opened the door and sighed, seeing the dragon curled with closed eyes. He went to the wardrobe to get dressed, letting the towel slip. The clothes were blissfully warm, in contrast to his cold skin. He closed it and turned, violet opened shirt blue pants and sash in place. Then froze.
The baby dragon wasn't there anymore. Luffy was sprawled on his bed, stretching like a cat with a huge yawn. And it was so se"… No. No. He wasn't going in that zone. Not ye"… NO!
Back to the situation at hand. Was he half-asleep, thinking to still be a dragon? The boy blinked, looking around and stopping at him. Marco shivered in being at those eyes' mercy, again. But… This time it was different… He felt judged, yes, but also…
A Cheshire grin almost made him flinch. Luffy launched at Marco, that stumbled and fell on the floor with a loud thud. He hissed, bringing a hand to his calf, where he hit.
He opened one teary eye and found Luffy too near to be comfortable. He was going to voice this, but a lick to the corner of his lips made his mind shut down. Literally. With wide eyes. For several minutes. In which the boy laughed silently and fled out through the window.
Thatch barged in without restraints with a worried face. "Marco!" He looked at his brother, still on the floor, and ran to him. "Are you all right?" He touched his shoulder and the man finally regained thoughts' process.
He gazed over the cook, then at the open window, and sighed with closed eyes, touching his forehead. "Yeah, I'm okay, yoi." He answered.
Did the boy really lick him?! AGAIN?! What the hell was he thinking, really…
"You sure…?"
Marco nodded and stood up. "Don't worry. Pops?"
"He's eating breakfast."
"The hosts?"
"Still on their ship, but he sent Izo to bring them on ours."
They fell into silence and joined the others in the galley for breakfast, where most of their brothers were fussing over Ace's usual show of narcolepsy. Marco took his tray and joined his table, while Thatch went back to the kitchen.
"Hey, Ace."
"'Morning, Marco!" Then he promptly fell asleep.
Well, it was a good sign, anyway. It meant he was feeling relaxed and safe. Good.
He had barely begun eating when the chaos of the room quieted down a bit. He looked at the entrance and saw the full crew of the Sunny walking in without a care, following Izo and Luffy, that was wearing the same Cheshire grin from before. He couldn't suppress a shiver and thanked whatever that no one noticed.
Izo was smiling while talking with the boy and leading them to a table. He seemed too pleased for his liking… Marco finished eating his breakfast and left Ace, still face-first in his plate, walking out and to the deck. He sat at the armrest of his pops' chair with crossed legs, elbows on knees and head on a palm.
Whitebeard observed him curiously with an arched brow, but didn't ask anything. He simply smiled and continued drinking from the sake bottle. The fact soothed the First Division Commander, that sighed, closing his eyes.
That boy was driving him crazy. In some hidden corner, his mind had processed that Luffy was doing this on purpose, but he promptly ignored it. This simply was not possible. Why would a boy 19 years old cause him the need of another cold shower? Oh yeah, he could understand when something… or, better, someone… attracted him that way. The strange thing was that it was a boy, so much younger than him, that had ignited his instincts.
How many years had passed since the last time… A lot. And it had not been pleasant. How could it be when forced… He had never had these urges since those times… So. DAMN. How could that boy leave such a burn on his skin, almost kissing him, why the hell did he do that in the first place?
"Marco." The tone was a little reprimanding. "You think too much."
A cold shiver downed on his back. He wasn't thinking loud, right?
"No, but your mind is loud enough for me to hear."
He sighed. "And what did you hear, yoi?"
Whitebeard gulped some liquor. "You're holding back."
"That's usual…"
"Not at all. You hold back your killing intent towards the pranksters of the ship, but not the feelings of brotherhood."
"… What are you implying, pops?"
"That you should let it flow, whatever it is."
"But–"
"Do not fight it, Marco. Search for your personal happiness, and fear not of others' judgment. You're my son, you're the son of the sea, you're free. Catch the occasions presented to you, whenever you can."
The man smiled. Freedom. It was true. He wasn't a slave anymore. Hadn't been for many years. He could do whatever he wanted. And he wanted the boy, that was obvious. As was the nudging feeling Luffy was being captivating on purpose.
Said boy joined them in that moment, with Zoro and Sanji in tow. Marco levelled that still present smirk with one of his own. It was all it took to make him decide what to do.
Luffy nodded to Whitebeard and glanced for an instant towards him. That gaze held surprise and enjoyment.
"Monkey D Luffy."
"Whitebeard. I must thank you for helping me."
"And we owe you for preventing a war and saving Ace. You had to leave your position."
The boy waved a hand. "It wasn't important, my job was forced on me by gramps. And it helped me save Ace, so I don't need it anymore."
"Gramps?"
"My grandfather, Monkey D Garp."
Whitebeard laughed loudly. "I understand now. A lot of things. What do you plan to do now?"
"We're outlaws, pirates like you, and have our dreams and objectives. We'll go back to our original route."
"Ooooh, so soooon?!" Thatch's whiny voice reached them from the door.
The cook ran to Luffy and gripped his hands with a pout. Izo came, too, still oddly pleased.
"Yes, we lost enough time already." Luffy answered, a little fidgety.
"But I was preparing a party for tonight!" Another whine.
A thick mark appeared on Marco's forehead, who seemed calm, anyway.
"With booze?" / "With meat?"
Were Captain and Vice coordinated? Thatch nodded fast with a hoping smile. Sanji face-palmed with a huff.
"I guess we'll go tomorrow..."
The final decision made Sanji sigh and Thatch jump, Luffy's hands still clutched in his. The cook briefly hugged the boy and went back, probably to the kitchen, followed suit by Sanji, while Marco was trying his hardest to hold back an ill intent of punching and kicking his own brother.
… Though, he had to thank the cook. He had successfully made the crew wait, until the day after, to depart. And that, consequently, gave Marco more time to act on his plans. He smirked, looking at Luffy. The ex-marine was smiling sympathetically while waving at Zoro, that jumped to the Sunny, sulking.
"So, Ace is your brother." Whitebeard said, catching Luffy's attention.
"Not by blood, if that's what you're curious about."
The huge man nodded. "You grew up together, then."
Luffy grinned. "Yep, in a forest. Oh, thinking about it, how much did you scold the dumb head? He is still sleeping on the table."
"I heard the nurses yell a lot, but nothing more." The Captain laughed. "What are you going to do to him?"
"Depends on how he behaves."
Marco suppressed a shiver, looking at those narrowed and ominous black eyes. He had never felt so relieved to not be at the end of a threat. Because, as brotherly as that was, it was a clear one.
"How did you manage to break out of Impel Down?"
Luffy arched a brow and glanced at Marco, then sighed. "I went there to speak to Crocodile, then asked help to Emporio Ivankov in the 5.5 level. Legends were true, after all. They escaped with me but took another ship to easily make the marine lose our tracks."
"Why would someone like Ivankov help you willingly?"
The teen looked at the Captain with disbelief. "You understood that already."
Whitebeard's signature laughter thundered on the ship. "Cheeky brat."
Luffy smirked. "I was forgetting. Thanks for helping me that time." He morphed the skin on his arm into black bluish scales. "You all saved me."
The huge man's eyes twinkled in enjoyment. "It was no problem. My son wanted to help you and I had no reason to refuse." He smirked widely. "Turned out he helped a member of the crew."
Marco matched his pops' grin at the shock on Luffy's face. "What?"
"Technically, you're my son's brother."
The boy rolled his eyes. "That's tricky." He smirked back. "But I'm not part of your crew, and I won't be. I need to be independent, after all."
"What for?" Whitebeard inquired with an arched brow.
"I will become the Pirate King."
The confidence that filled the sentence and his eyes allowed no room for objections. He was not talking about a dream. He was stating a fact. That only made Marco more and more curious and… eager.
Whitebeard laughed loudly, visibly pleased and thrilled. In a different way than his son's, obviously. Luffy lost a bit of cheekiness against the various emotion that slipped from Marco for a fleeting and too-soon-gone moment. He blinked in surprise. Even Whitebeard had felt the wild will, but he only smirked more and eyed his son.
"I did say you were an interesting one." Izo said with a chuckle, shaking his head in mild exasperation and stealing a glance towards his brother. "So, you're going to follow the Logue Pose, where was your ship?"
"We were about to reach Sabaody Archipelago." Luffy nodded curtly.
"You're in need of someone that can coat your ship."
"Actually…" The ex-marine looked down in thought. "We have someone waiting. He said he knows a man that can help us… Teach Franky how to coat the ship, too."
"Someone willing to help on Sabaody?" Whitebeard asked, curious.
"Hatchan told me so. An old friend of his."
"Hatchan, yoi?" Marco perked up. "Isn't he an ex-member of Jinbe's old crew?"
The Captain nodded. Luffy tilted his head, as if searching for the answer. Rather cute. Oh, right, he had a plan to set into motion… Even though his mind was slowly scratching it and urging him…
"He was in Arlong's crew when I met him for the first time. Usopp beat him up. He managed to escape the prisoners' ship, those idiots…" The true reprimanding tone of a marine, indeed. "Well, Nami's having her own debate whether to forgive him or not. It's her choice. I guess Jinbe will want to talk to her, once he wakes up. How is he?"
"The nurses said he's recovering slowly, but he could wake up any moment, yoi." Marco answered.
Luffy nodded. "I see." He sighed. "I must inform her now, see you later."
With that said, the teen jumped quickly on his ship and disappeared in the kitchen. Marco assumed a thoughtful expression, still trying to understand if he wanted to deploy his plan or just go with the flow. It was a rather nasty battle, between pleasurable hunting and growing desire.
"Such predatory eyes, brother." Izo teasingly smirked.
Whitebeard snickered. "You're listening to my advice?"
"I am going to, yoi." Marco smirked, standing with hands in pants' pockets. "I have until tonight."
"Wow, that's something I never thought I'd see…"
"What?" The pirate arched a brow.
"You… interested… and wrapped around someone's little finger."
Eheheh... See ya! :D
