Title: Secret Santa
Genre: Family, Christmas, a little Romance
Summary: Thatch arranges a Secret Santa for the crew.
It was that time of year again. Of course, with the weird weather on the Grand Line, it was almost impossible to tell that it was now December. Not that it would stop the Whitebeard Pirates from partying almost nonstop the entire month. They decorated Moby Dick with lights and garland; hung hundreds of wreaths from the rails; set up an enormous Christmas tree in the center of the deck; and of course, placed mistletoe in plenty of inconspicuous locations.
It was during one of these parties that Thatch had a brilliant idea. He was sitting at a table, enjoying his Christmas eggnog with his usual crew, when he suddenly fell out of his chair out of excitement. He popped back up off the floor as if the incident had never happened, and shouted, "Hey, everyone! Let's do a Secret Santa!"
"What's that?" Asked Aerie from her seat to his right.
Thatch gaped at her. "You've never done a Secret Santa?"
"I lived alone with my dad for sixteen years, then on my own for four, Thatch. I didn't have a lot of time to do Secret Santa."
"Basically," explained Eliza, "we all put our names in a hat or a pot, then we each draw a name. Whichever name we get is the person we have to buy a present for."
"It's pretty much a test to see how well you know your crew mates," added Izo.
Aerie nodded. "Sounds simple enough. Are there any rules as to what not to get?"
"Not anything too vulgar, yoi. We all know what a dirty mind you have," Marco said from across the table with a sly smirk.
"Says the guy who walks around half-naked every day," Aerie snorted.
"Okay, you two," Thatch said, rolling his eyes. "Everyone in for Secret Santa?" He was met with enthusiastic nods. "Let's go ask Pops!"
Persuading Whitebeard and the crew to play along took almost no effort. Everyone wrote their names on scraps of paper and tossed them into a giant bowl. They all drew a name and set off to brainstorm ideas.
Aerie drew Whitebeard himself. She sat in her shared cabin, trying to think of an idea for the giant man.
What do you get a guy who's only treasure is his family? She asked herself. She glanced over at Eliza's side of the room and had a genius idea. She laughed, barely able to conceal her excitement.
~...~
Christmas Day was met with the enthusiasm of children. Under the tall tree in the center of the deck lay a multitude of presents, all with a name tag. They had decided to not to tell each other who they had as a Secret Santa, rather, they would guess once the presents had been opened. Aerie's gift would not fit under the tree, but she had managed to convince the crew to sign a card for their beloved captain. On the card held directions to where his present was.
Thatch stood in front of the tree, wearing a red Santa Claus hat and a jolly smile. As soon as the entire crew had gathered around the decorated fir, he called out names and handed people their presents.
Aerie was one of the last to receive her present. It was a simple card with her name on it. As soon as the entire population of the Moby Dick had their gifts, they ripped into them with vigor. Cries of surprise and excitement were heard all around the deck.
The Artful Dodger opened her card with a small smile. The smile stretched into a grin when she saw what was on it.
Are you ready for a treasure hunt, matey? Solve all the clues to find your present! The next clue is in your room!
Aerie vowed to solve the hunt later. First she wanted to see the reaction of Pops when he saw his gift. To her delight, she saw the crew dragging him from his massive chair. He followed them down into the belly of the ship, where his present was being held.
The crew congregated in the hallway down near the mess hall. Aerie had utterly transformed the hallway, and she had done it all early that morning.
On the wall was a collage of the crew's wanted posters, each of them signed. Aerie searched the papers for weeks until she had collected each of them. Once that was accomplished, she recruited all of the members to autograph their posters. She then woke up before everyone and glued them all to the wall.
In the center of the collage was Whitebeard's poster in an ornate frame. Surrounding his, in order going clockwise, were the sixteen division commanders. Fanning out from them was the division members themselves, including the nurses.
Whitebeard was speechless. He broke into a broad grin and closed his eyes. "Aerie," he rumbled, "come here."
Aerie was pushed by her brothers and sisters until she stood in front of the wall beside her captain. She smiled up at him. "How'd you know it was me?"
He opened his eyes again, and she could have sworn she saw actual tears. "Brat, you're the only one who would make art like this."
"Eh, I guess you're right." She looked at the wall with pride. "Do you like it? I'm thinking we should call it the Wall of Infamy."
He ruffled her hair, much like one would to a small child. "I love it, brat." He rumbled affectionately.
"Well," she pulled a pen from her pocket, "there's still one poster that needs signing."
With a loud, booming laugh, Whitebeard signed his own poster, completing the collage. The crew gave a cheer and Thatch yelled out from, the back, "Hey guys, it's snowing outside! Let's go party!"
As the crew rushed back to the deck, a Aerie stayed behind. Whitebeard gazed fondly at the posters on the wall. After a moment of comfortable silence, he said, "Go on, brat. If I'm not mistaken, someone left you a treasure to find."
Aerie gaped at him for a minute, his yellow eyes not revealing anything. She got the feeling he knew exactly who gave her her gift. She smiled and embraced him around the waist, before dashing off to her room.
~...~
True to her card's word, there was another clue on her bed. This one read:
She's a clever one isn't she? Not that it takes a lot of brains to read a card. The next clue is on your favorite bed in the infirmary!
Aerie eagerly went to Eliza's infirmary and found the card. She followed this one to the training dojo. The next one to the mess hall. Then to the figurehead. Apollo's birdhouse.
Finally, she found the last clue card. It read:
Alright, I promise this is the last one. Your gift is on your bed. For real, this time. Enjoy!
-Your Secret Santa
She found herself outside her cabin again, slightly out of breath from her jaunt around the ship. She opened the door and went inside the cabin.
The sight of her gift, or gifts, she should say, blew her away. Spread out over the blue duvet was the largest amount of art supplies Aerie had seen in one place. There were paints, the oily, expensive kind, pencils of all grades and colors, brushes, erasers, and many more. There was even a brand new spiral-bound sketch book, it's creamy pages begging to be filled by her work. Lastly, on the center of her pillow, was a tiny, wrapped package. She ripped the paper off to reveal a small, velvet box.
Curiosity growing, Aerie opened the box. A hand shot to her mouth as she gasped, golden irises shooting open wide.
In the box was a glass anchor suspended on a silver chain. Hanging next to the anchor was a silver bird's wing. It's simplicity was what made the necklace so beautiful. She looked to the pillow again and saw another card.
You be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground, I'll be the wings that keep your heart in the clouds.
Aerie smiled again, having a pretty good idea who her Secret Santa was. She put the box in her pocket and went to the deck to the Christmas party.
~...~
Christmas, like every other special occasion, on the Moby Dick was a sight to behold. All over the deck, pirates drank eggnog, had snowball fights, and tried to trap the nurses under the mistletoe.
Eliza returned from one such incident, face flushed an angry red. She had beaten the poor sap into the floorboards for trying to kiss her. Her green eyes flashed danger to everyone around her, warning people to stay away.
Aerie mingled with the crowd, laughing with her friends and watching the snow fall in the coming twilight. Finally, she found the person whose company she sought.
He stood alone with a mug of sake on the figurehead. The snow fell peacefully around him, and the set sun dramatically before him, giving him an almost calm air. Aerie snorted. The arrogance surrounding completely drowned out the calm atmosphere. She walked up behind him and punched him in the shoulder.
Marco spit out most of the drink in his mouth. He swallowed the rest, nearly choking on it, and spun around. "What was that for?" He demanded to the golden eyed woman behind him. He was not expecting, though, the hands on his shoulders and the warm pair of lips that brushed his cheek. Marco's mind completely shut down for about a second, before kicking into gear again. He gaped at his subordinate, eyes searching her face for an answer.
She smirked and held up the necklace. Understanding filled Marco's face and he grinned sheepishly. "Take it you liked the gift, then, yoi," he muttered.
Aerie rolled her eyes. "Where did you find it?"
"Thatch did, actually. When we stopped at that last island, he found a glassmaking shop. This was in the window," he shrugged.
She raised an eyebrow. "And the card?"
"Ah. Vista actually wrote that. He must have slipped it in there when I wasn't looking. Shifty guy. I even told him not to!"
"I'm sure you did," she teased. "But, seriously, thank you. I loved the art supplies. Especially the paints. Those must have been expensive."
"Eh, no big deal." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Pops really liked your present." He said, changing the subject.
Aerie looked back at the captain, who was drinking from a giant urn that read "I mustache you a question," with the word replaced by a cartoon mustache. No doubt a gift from Vista. "Yeah, he did seem to enjoy it didn't he," she murmured in thought. They stood side by side for a moment in companionable silence.
The silence was broken by none other than Thatch. He sidled up to them and put an arm over each of their shoulders. There were distinctive lipstick marks on his cheeks. "Heeey guys. Whatcha doin' all by yourselves over here?"
"Nothing, Thatch," Aerie said, pushing his arm off of her shoulder. "I was just leaving. Merry Christmas, Marco." She turned and began to walk away.
Only to be stopped by a hand grabbing the back of her collar. "Where're you going?" Thatch asked.
"I was-"
"Not anymore, bird brain. Look at where you're standing."
Aerie was about to protest that she wasn't standing on anything when she followed Thatch's gaze upward. There, suspended by a rope from the mast was Vista, who was holding a piece of mistletoe. Her mouth dropped open comically. "What? Where did that come from?"
"Doesn't matter. Now, get in with it." The pompadoured man said, waving his hand in Marco's general direction.
The blonde put his hands in his pockets. "I'm afraid you're too late, Thatch. Should've seen her five minutes ago. She was all over me."
"I was not!" Aerie interjected, her face a shocking shade of red.
"Unfortunately, I do have standards. Only one kiss per customer, I'm afraid." Marco sighed dejectedly.
"That wasn't what you told that broad the other day!" Vista called from up above.
"Not helping!" Aerie all but screamed.
"Still," Marco said, "Aerie already had her turn. So, I'm sorry, Thatch. Go find someone else to get your entertainment." Thatch sulked away. The First Division commander turned back to Aerie with a smirk. "So, what was that all about, yoi?"
Aerie huffed and crossed her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well just a few minutes ago you couldn't wait to kiss me. Why hesitate now?"
"Th-that..." Aerie stuttered, feeling the heat rush to her face again. "That didn't mean anything! It was just a thank you!"
"Eh, doesn't matter anyway. I'll just find a way for you to make it up to me," he added in a slightly darker voice. Aerie gaped at him.
"H-hey, I'm still up here!" Vista said. "Don't be going and doing anything ridiculous now! Keep it PG!"
Aerie groaned, not wanting to deal with her family's antics anymore. Meanwhile, the pirates partied on, making the most out of their Christmas together.
Well...not too crazy about this one. It started out really bad and ended up kinda good... I don't know. Anyway, did y'all appreciate that Marco/Aerie moment there? I was blushing so much when I wrote it, even though it was only a kiss on the cheek. I'm just super awkward, okay!
I think I'll write a one-shot for New Years. Thoughts or ideas? REVIEW!
Merry Christmas!
~Batsy