I finally decided to update this story, haha. I also changed the title and the summary!
Title: Matchmaker
Genre: Humor/Romance(ish)
Summary: What could possibly go wrong when Thatch and Vista decide to play matchmaker?
Thatch like to think of himself as an expert on all things dealing with the heart. He could tell just by gazing deep into someone's eyes what they were truly feeling. The eyes were the window to the soul, and he had seen many things in the eyes of many people.
Which is why he was convinced Marco and Aerie were in love. The way they interacted was so unique, filled with insults and withering remarks, and he was sure of what they felt for each other.
He first noticed, or began noticing, when Marco and Aerie first started training on the deck in the day rather than in the room for which it was built, as their sparring and other activities became too destructive to remain inside.
It was on such a day he decided he would do something about it. The two were squared off on deck, ready to begin their sparring match that would mean the end of the training session. He was sitting with Eliza as the two lunged forward, each trying to gain the advantage over the other.
He sighed contentedly. "Just look at them, Eliza," he said, gesturing to their friends fighting on the deck. "Isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen? Two young people fighting in a way to show their affection?"
Eliza raised an eyebrow and looked down at the pair. Marco had apparently said something Eliza missed, but it made Aerie yell something back at him in irritation. She snorted. "I suppose, if that's what you call 'affection', though I've seen more effective methods of courting."
Thatch suddenly smacked his fist down onto his flattened palm. "We've got to do something about this, Eliza! Without our help, their true feelings may never blossom!" He exclaimed boldly.
Eliza whipped her head around to gape at him. "Wait, yer serious? There's no way they would have those feelings for each other. I mean, have you honestly been watchin' them, lad?"
"I've never been more serious," Thatch nodded. "It's something we must do as their friends and their family."
"Don't involve me! I don't want anythin' to do with this!"
Thatch crossed his arms and huffed. "Fine, spoil sport. I'll just find someone else to help, then. I'm sure somebody sees what I'm seeing."
~...~
The search to find a matchmaking partner proved to be harder than Thatch originally thought. Izo flat-out refused, Jozu stared at him silently, and Namur just walked away without another word. Even Whitebeard said no. However, Thatch soon found a suitable partner in the Fifth Division commander, Vista. The tall swordsman pondered his request while stroking his magnificent mustache, before grinning and agreeing to help. Now that that was over, the two had to come up with a foolproof plan to push the lovebirds together. It took a couple of hours of hard thinking on both men's parts, but they eventually came up with a plan.
It started the next morning, with Aerie waking up to find a folded note on the bedside with her name beautifully written on the front. She opened it, assuming it was from Eliza. She was surprised to find, thought, that it was a love note. It read:
My dearest Aerie,
The apple of my eye, the shining star of my universe, the ground beneath my feet. All of these phrases and many more cannot even scrape the surface of how much I love you. I have admired you from afar and from up close for many a days, but have been too shy to tell you how I feel. I want you to meet me on the edge of the cliffs on the next island we dock at seven p.m. so we may discuss the possibility of the future of us.
Your Secret Admirer
Aerie had to read the note several times to make sure her eyes weren't playing a trick on her. It was written with a thin spidery script, and the paper was of the heavy, expensive kind. She turned it over to see if the note continued, but it did not. She read it one more time before she neatly folded it and...
...threw it in the wastebasket beside her bed.
Give me a break, she thought crossly. I don't have time for this crap. I'd bet anything this was Thatch or Marco trying to screw with me. She left her shared cabin and headed in the direction of the stairs that led to the deck.
Thatch and Vista hurried into her room as soon as she was up the stairs. They searched everywhere in the room for the note, looking under pillows, in the chest at the foot of her bed, and even in the bedside drawer itself. They were both very discouraged to find it in the wastebasket.
"That's okay!" Thatch said determinedly. "We'll just move on to Phase Two of Operation Hook Up Marco and Aerie!"
~...~
Phase Two turned out to be as much of a failure as Phase One had. This time, they tried to confront Marco about his supposed feelings for the ship's resident artist. They cornered him in the dining hall after everyone, including Aerie, had departed from breakfast.
Marco looked between his fellow commanders in confusion laced with mild irritation. "What's going on here, yoi?" He asked.
Thatch shook his head. "Marco, Marco, Marco," he said. "Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco."
"Why do you keep saying my name? Just get it over with!" A vein appeared on the Phoenix's forehead.
"You know why we're here," Thatch sighed dramatically.
"No, I don't. Please enlighten me."
"We're here to talk about Aerie," Vista explained while stroking his mustache.
Irritation turned into confusion on Marco's face. "Eh? Why would we talk about her, yoi?"
"We've got some very interesting information for you, bird-brain. It seems Aerie has got herself a secret admirer." Thatch said with a nod.
Marco's face went back to it's usual, lazy expression. "Good for her. So what?"
Thatch sighed again and turned to Vista. "I think he's in denial. What about you?"
"Denial? Why would I be in denial?"
Vista sighed as well. "Definitely denial, Thatch." He said solemnly.
"You have two seconds to tell me what's going on before I plant your heads in the wall, yoi."
"Well," Thatch said, speaking as though he would to a small child. "I overheard her saying she was interested in this admirer."
Marco sighed impatiently and crossed his arms. "Still not seeing what the big deal is, Thatch."
"If she's with someone else, how can she be with you?" Vista asked.
Marco's jaw dropped. Is that what they've been trying to say? The large swordsman mistook his shock for depression and he patted his arm sympathetically.
"I know, it's horrible!" Thatch cried, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Poor Marco! His true love shall never know the feelings he harbors for her!"
"So tragic!" Vista added, also throwing his arm in front of his eye. All Marco could do was stare at his fellow commanders and wonder if they had gone insane.
"I don't-"
"There's still time, Marco!" Thatch said, taking his hand. Marco pulled it back. "She said she would meet him tomorrow at seven! You can confess to her before then-"
Thatch was cut off by Marco grabbing his head and slamming it into the floor. He did the same with Vista, before stalking out of the dining hall, muttering, "Idiots."
~...~
Training that afternoon was somewhat tense. Aerie was still upset over the note she found and not being able to track down the source, and Marco was still livid with his brothers. Their moves were choppy and aggressive as they sparred, both causing more damage than intended. One particular blow from Marco's foot went to Aerie's side, which was still sensitive from the wound caused by the Machinist. She gasped in pain and fell to the floor of the training room.
Marco knelt beside her as soon as she hit the ground. "Are you all right, yoi?" He asked, actually concerned.
"Fine," she grunted. She accepted the hand he held out, and he pulled her to her feet.
"Sorry about that," he said. "May I-?" Aerie nodded and lifted the corner of her shirt for him to asses the damage. There was a footprint on her side, covering the scar that used to be an open wound. He brushed his fingers against the skin below her ribs, determining the mark would turn into a bruise. As his fingers lingered, the conversation he had with Thatch and Vista this afternoon returned to him, making him scowl and pull his hand away.
Aerie watched his expression change from concern to anger as his hand moved away from her side. She lowered her shirt as he took a step back to glare at the wall, his cheeks slightly flushed. "What's wrong? You seem angry."
Marco grunted. "It's nothing, yoi. Just something Thatch and Vista said earlier."
"What happened?" She asked as she tilted her head.
"They were talking about something stupid. It was along the lines of, 'Aerie's getting a boyfriend, and it isn't you'."
Aerie cocked an eyebrow. "Where on earth did they hear about that?"
Marco shrugged, still not meeting her gaze. "Dunno. They were talking about a love note from an admirer-"
"Hold on, a note?" Her gaze narrowed. "How could they have known about that I threw it..." Her eyes widened in realization. "Thatch. I'm going to kill that stupid, pompadoured-"
"What are you talking about, yoi?" It was now Marco's turn to be confused.
"I found a note this morning in my cabin from a 'secret admirer' wanting to meet me tomorrow night. I threw it in the trash." She frowned. "At first I thought it was you messing with me, but now I know it's obviously Thatch."
"That-" Marco said a word Aerie had never heard before. "I knew he and Vista were messing with me, telling me that load of crap about my supposed feelings."
"Feelings? For...me?" Her cheeks reddened. "What did you say to them?"
"Told them they were being stupid and smashed their heads into the floor." He shrugged.
Aerie chuckled. "Wish I could have seen that. So, are we good?" She held out her hand.
Marco shook it. "Yeah, we're cool, yoi." His smile took a slightly sinister tone as he leaned forward. "I think I have an idea for what we can do to get back at them, too." She leaned in to hear his whispered plan. An equally sinister smile stretched across her face and she giggled maliciously.
"Let's do it," she snickered.
~...~
No one was entirely sure who put make up on the Fourth and Fifth Division commanders' faces, but Thatch knew for certain it was a certain pair of bird-brains currently in the training room, laughing their butts off as they looked at the pictures Aerie had taken with her camera.
What did you think? Review, follow, and favorite, please!
~Batman