Aaaaand, here it is, the fourth chap, fresh from my ill hands. Yeah, still feverish, but regaining my wealth back. This little one took me a lot of time to write, it gives out a lot of informations (not everything uhuhuhuh) and I hope you'll like it. Really, this was hard to write. Please let me know if it is good or not. Sorry for any mistakes.

AllyMyLife: Who knows ;3

12ReiRei: I hope your patience will be rewarded by this update ;) Thanks! And for the reference, it's not anything important, it's just Luffy noticing again and again how similar the crew members are to each other and to their Captain :D

Fujisaki: ahahaha, to you, too, who knows :D

Akemi: here you have it ;)

Catnip: I don't like rushed things, they seem so fake.. so I'm giving them time to adjust and hope my own eagerness doesn't make me slip xD

Insanity: Thank you, I really appreciate your review, it means it is captivating :D

Thank you again for the new follows, favorites and the reviews, I appreciate everything so much!

Words: 4110.

Enjoy!

04 - Broken

Luffy and Ace had just finished eating lunch. Fire-fist was finally getting his freedom back from the nurses and he was beaming.

"Really, Lu, they're strict! I'm finally free!"

"Does that mean I can go all out in my revenge?"

Ace shivered. "Luffy… I swear I didn't say anything compromising."

They were going to the deck, rain had stopped an hour or so before.

"How can I be sure?"

"Well… They don't laugh at you for no reason, right?"

Luffy sat under the canopy, followed by Ace. "That could be fear."

"Changing topic…" He said hurriedly. "How is your crew? Any new addition from our last meeting in Alabasta?"

The ex-marine rolled his eyes, then smiled. "Uhm… After dealing with Crocodile, we went to Water 7, where I picked up Franky, a shipwright. He built us a new ship, Merry was… Too much damaged to continue the journey. Robin was about to be captured by CP"9, too, but I intervened in time without leaving a trace. Damn them… The higher-ups don't know about her being in my crew." He was now barely keeping the rage at bay, his tone had gone from calm to nervous.

Ace gripped his shoulder with a concerned expression. "You're not one of them anymore, Luffy. I know that you had to join them, but... You had to endure too much. You were happier before, more straight-forward and open."

"Comes with the job." He sighed. "Brook joined us next, from Thriller Bark, Moria's ship. I'll leave the surprise of his… peculiarity."

Ace gulped. "And what about your goal? How much did you achieve?"

"Being a Commodore gave me more power, but you know that I needed to be at the top. So… I was far from done."

"And now? What are you going to do?"

"I guess… I can't follow the plan. Not anymore. So… I have two options. Join them or become a pirate. I'm an outlaw, anyway."

"Don't."

Luffy looked at his brother. "What?"

"Don't join him. Be a pirate, be free to choose."

The ex-marine smiled. "I'm still thinking about it. But… I'll admit that being a pirate attracts me more…" He shrugged. "Wait… He'll sure come searching for me…" He face-palmed. "I should have warned your pops."

"Don't worry about it, I'll do it for you when possible."

He shrugged. "No, leave it to me… What about you, though?"

Ace smiled. "I like it here…"

"I can see." A knowing smirk made fire-fist blush.

He coughed. "They accepted me… Even if I'm his son. I'm grateful for that… They are my family."

Luffy slapped his neck. "I'm glad you finally understood, stubborn to the core."

"Ouch, Lu..! Ok, you and Sabo were right. I surrender." He sighed with waving hands, making the other's smile soften.

"He'd be happy, too."

Their faces saddened at the flooding memories.

"What a dark atmosphere… Are you mourning someone?"

They turned to see Izo and Thatch standing on the door.

"Something like that." Ace said.

Thatch cleared his throat and came forward, sitting cross-legged in front of the two. Izo did the same, taking a deck of cards from his kimono.

"Thought you'd want to play." The cross-dresser said, smiling.

The brothers nodded, corners of their lips turning up. They began playing partnership spades.

"Thatch, don't cheat." Izo warned.

"Don't reveal my tricks!"

The afternoon went by like that, laughing and calmly, no one really caring who won aside from the cook, that was losing like mad. Whitebeard had sat on his chair at some point, watching their games and drinking sake.

The sun had begun his fall when they collected the cards and went to the galley for dinner. There, Marco was just sitting at a free table with his meal. After taking their trays, they joined him and ate.

Almost an hour later, Luffy found himself again in his spot on the deck. The wood was a bit wet, but he didn't care about the slight feeling of weakness. Fossa, above on the crow's nest, jumped down when Marco waved at him, disappearing inside.

"You know, I'm starting to think you're a stalker." Luffy said as the other approached and sat beside him.

"Tch. I'm not."

"Yet here you are, on watching duty… every single night?"

"It has always been this way, yoi."

Truly, it wasn't exactly like that… He wanted his brothers to rest after the battle… And maybe he was lying to himself.

Luffy looked at him skeptically. "Yeah, right." Then turned again to the sea.

They fell into a comfortable silence, where Marco tried to ignore his odd behavior, before the ex-marine sighed. "Go on, ask."

Marco smirked, crossing his arms on his chest. "What's your dream?"

Among all the questions, why did he choose the most difficult…

Luffy sighed, then looked at him with confidence, straight in his eyes. "To change things. A world where a child is enslaved, no matter the reasons, is corrupted. I won't stand by watching the Government do as it wants. Slave-traders, underground battles and devil fruits' users' shows. Everything revolves around money. A life can't be bought." His voice was fierce, holding feelings and memories.

"You talk as if…"

"I've been." He interrupted, without breaking the gaze. "Abducted, sold, tortured, used as a pet. For two months. Until my father saved me."

"How old were you?" Marco asked softly.

"Three years old. Memories are blurred, but I remember well enough." Luffy's eyes dropped to the ground. "I already had my power."

"That's why you're always hiding it."

He nodded.

"It isn't easy, right?"

Luffy sighed. "It isn't, I need to stretch, but I can't here."

"Well… We're approaching a spring island. It is wide, with mountains in the middle. Would you 'stretch' there?"

The ex-marine looked at the pirate, something like hope shining in his orbs.

"I'll take that as a yes." Marco smirked, making the other pout. "Will you let me see?"

Luffy studied his eyes for a while. "Why not…"

The pirate smiled, making the outlaw blush a bit and bath again in the darkness trying to hide it. He didn't want to think about the reasons, he didn't want to go there. Nope.

"Is that a blush?" Luffy cursed in his mind. Night wasn't helping him anymore… The said blush darkened. "For a teaser, you're fun to tease."

He heard the mock in the tone, but ignored the other thing he felt in it and pouted more. "Don't you have watching duty?" He mumbled.

Marco laughed a bit this time and said goodnight before flying up.

'Damn…'

Next morning, Luffy woke up looking at the profile of an island and smiled broadly. They were getting near as the sun rose at its right. He stretched his arms, hearing cracks, and stood.

"I wonder if you'll ever use the bed."

The ex-marine turned to see a smiling Izo nodding at him.

"I did, the first day. But… It's cramped. I feel caged."

Marco was leaving, going inside with a waving hand. Izo looked at Luffy with thoughtful eyes, then smirked and winked, pointing at his back.

"Maybe…" He began, louder. "… that's the same problem that Marco's having." The mentioned man froze. "He keeps choosing the night watch…"

Luffy smirked maliciously, glancing at the blond pirate, that was disappearing through the door. Izo laughed, patting the other's shoulder.

"You're a never-ending surprise, Luffy…" The cross-dresser said, getting to the crow's nest.

The boy went to the galley, where Ace and Thatch were already eating. He joined them with a tray heavier than the day before. The chaos engulfed them as pirates kept coming and going away.

"We'll stop at the island for two days, no more. We need to restock and you can go around freely, it is under pops' protection." Thatch said.

His brother left to get changed and the cook smirked.

"The infirmary is a mess, but I know how to lighten things. Now, Luffy, are you joining me?"

The ex-marine grinned deviously. "Of course."

An hour of navigation later, the Moby Dick finally docked. Luffy had changed into a white shirt, half-buttoned up, and black leather pants, loosened necktie and straw hat in place. He chose a point of the ship that was hidden well from others and was going to jump down, but something grabbed his waist. He saw a golden chain around it before feeling the ground miss under his feet. A blue Phoenix was flying above his head, dragging him away.

"Do you like kidnapping people so much?"

The bird clicked his beak as he surpassed the village and the mountains.

"Or… Maybe… You just want to kidnap me." Luffy smirked.

Marco answered releasing him, letting him fall on the hidden side of the island. The outlaw landed gracefully, grin still in place. The pirate, instead, was on a branch, still in his Phoenix form. He was tall, and big. They were in a forest, behind the mountains, no one in sight.

"Why so eager?" Luffy asked. When the other just scrolled his wings, he shrugged. "As you want…"

He morphed his hands first, gaining two big black scaled paws, each with four white"pearl claws. He let the scales eat his skin till the shoulders, feeling them getting larger. His legs became similar to his arms, but less thin and bent forward. From his back, two large wings and a long thin tail grew out. His head transformed in the meantime, gaining four pairs of horns, bent twice, outer then to the inside, shorter as they neared his blue deep eyes, slit black pupils shining. His nose was now protruding, glistening and huffing. His torso moved as he took long free breaths. He was now a lot bigger, towering over trees for a meter and long ten.

Marco looked at him, taking in the image of a true living black dragon. He changed into his human form and got near, jumping down from the tree. The bluish reflex of the scales was mesmerizing. The deep blue irises were looking at him with proud attention, studying every movement he made. The pirate stopped in front of his head and looked straight in his eyes, recognizing happiness, but also a bit of… uncertainty?

Luffy held the gaze and huffed again, unfolding his wings. They were thin, like a cloth placed on five little blue bones, resembling the pattern of a spiderweb, and as large as his body, if not more. Marco wasn't able to tell the exact dimension.

"Stretching?" He asked with a smirk.

A strong, low, guttural sound escaped Luffy's mouth, that opened slightly, revealing pearl-white teeth. They made a nice contrast to the darkness of the scales. He moved his wings up and down once, creating a gust of wind. Marco used his flames to keep his stance.

"Fly." Luffy cocked his head to the side. "If you keep low and on land, you won't be seen."

The dragon looked up at the sky, then back at Marco. As the beast tensed his muscles and jumped up, the pirate would have sworn that he was grinning, teeth glistening in the sunlight. He changed form, too, joining him and flying at his side.

Marco could now understand fully the feeling that Luffy had in being in a closed place. From what he had said, he surely had not transformed for a long time and his beast form has been trapped since. Being in a room without air had to be impossible to bear, but to do it and show that much control over his desires… That was something he respected and admired.

They danced through trees, touching their peaks and brushing their branches. Leaves fell around and whirled in the hurricane they created with wings. Luffy flied up for some meters, till the mountains could hide them, and then lost grip on the wind and started to fall, his head piercing air. Marco followed him, feeling the sense of freedom in letting everything go.

Only at the very last moment they stopped, unfolding their wings and causing a small crater on the ground. Luffy took again his human form, laughing like mad with closed eyes and falling on his back to face the sky. Marco did the same, landing on his feet with crossed arms and a smile he couldn't and didn't want to hide at the soft sound.

The outlaw sighed contented, regaining his breath. "That was so nice!"

"I agree, yoi." The pirate sat next to him. "Tired?"

"I'm not used to bring it all out. I trained, yeah, but to keep him in. So far, I've never used his full potential. The flames, maybe."

"Let me see, yoi."

Luffy opened his mouth and blew. Fire flew up. It was black, thick, almost watery to the sight. He wanted to test if it really was. A hand reached for it. But was stopped. The ex-marine had grabbed said hand and sat, waving the free one on the still lingering flames, that disappeared.

"Don't ever touch them." He said, looking into his eyes, serious. "It's not normal fire. This isn't hot, it doesn't burn, doesn't scar. It consumes."

Marco gazed back intently. "You're scared of yourself… What happened?"

Luffy dropped his eyes. "After I ate the fruit, I didn't know how it worked, so I had to stay in dragon form. I was traveling with my father and some men saw me and took me from the ship while he was away. The first time I used my flames was just before he rescued me. I was about to be killed as a show and breathed them without knowing… No one was spared. Nobles, slave traders, torturers… and slaves. I watched them run, straggle, cry and die…" He paused a moment, closing his eyes. "Maybe it's not my fault, but…"

"That's right." Marco stopped him, squeezing the hand that had gripped his own before. "It's not your fault, not even an inch. It lies in those who took you, no one else."

Luffy looked at him again, not sure.

"'Don't go and take credit that isn't yours', wasn't this what you said to Ace?" The pirate asked.

The other smiled softly at the reminder. "It was…" He sighed. "All right, I'm done sulking." He glanced at Marco, trying to fight back a blush. "Can you let go of my hand?"

The Phoenix smirked. "Feeling uncomfortable?"

He rolled his eyes. "You may find it odd, but my answer is no." The blush won.

He expected the hand to be freed, but blinked confusedly when it was still anchored.

"Then I have no reason to."

Luffy looked at him again and noticed that he was being stared at. Marco was sitting cross-legged with an elbow resting on his knee and his head in the palm of his free hand. The dragon looked back, barely blinking. He felt his eyes widen a bit and some tension in his chest and stomach as he took in the sight in front.

Then, the pirate lifted his head and, before he could even realize what was happening, Luffy leaned towards him, matching Marco's movement. Their lips touched, sending shivers down their spines. It was a simple kiss, calm, soft and soothing. Luffy lost his mind in it, closing his eyes. Marco tried to stay focused, but he was finding it terribly hard. They were both enticed, bathing in the comfort of the light and delightful touch. The pirate finally snapped out of it and separated slowly from the other.

The dragon huffed, resting his head on the other's shoulder to hide his furious blush. "I wasn't expecting this…"

"Me neither, yoi. But I don't mind… Did you?" He smirked. Those lips were so soft…

"Pervert." Luffy mumbled. He wouldn't admit he liked the rough… but soothing feeling of the other. Not yet, anyway.

Marco laughed softly and circled his waist with the free arm, keeping him close. This was so new to him. He wanted to be tender, to feel him and protect him. He realized to have a little treasure locked in a seemingly hug. A mysterious, selfless, kind and broken bundle of limbs. And he didn't want to let him go.

Luffy smiled at the protectiveness, liking it a lot, and cuddled. No one ever tried to protect him, everyone simply thought he was completely able to take care of himself. He was, sure, but the responsibilities that came with knowledge and power were heavy and suffocating. This feeling, instead… Was relaxing, as if he could leave every little thing in the other's hands and trust him totally to take care of them.

Silence fell like a chant. Marco closed his eyes, thinking of what exactly he was getting himself into. This was strange and dangerous and sad in the happiness that it brought. He didn't want to let him disappear from his grasp… But he was meant to.

"Your crew is sure to show up anytime soon, yoi." He said, hiding his dread. "What are you going to do?"

Luffy sighed, cuddling more. "I'll try again. Not as a marine, but as a pirate."

"Then why did you ignore oyaji's offer?"

The outlaw bit his lower lip. "Because he surprised me."

"Is that all, yoi?"

"I have to see my nakama first. I don't know what they'll want to do."

"Ok then…"

Marco kissed his forehead and morphed into a Phoenix, grabbing Luffy with his chains and launching him on his back. He felt the other grip his blue feathers, not at all hurt by his fire.

"Do you think I can control my flames like you do?" He asked after the pirate started flying.

The bird croo'ed, making Luffy smile. The blush that had subsided during the conversation was again bright and visible. He had barely the time to control it, before landing in the middle of the village's square. Marco morphed back beside him.

"Where have you been?!"

Ace was running towards them with some bags in both his hands. Izo and Thatch were following him in the same condition, slower.

"I got to stretch a bit." Luffy smiled. "What have you got there?"

"Things for the kitchen and medicines to restock the infirmary." The cross-dresser said, smirking.

"The nurses threatened us." Thatch whined, waving a little sheet of paper.

"Not us, you. Who knows why…"

"Maybe because he put glue in their uniforms." Luffy said off-handedly.

"Hey! You helped me!"

The ex-marine laughed loud, and so did Ace and Izo.

"Did they believe you when you accused him?" Marco asked.

Thatch started whining. "They were wondering 'how could a so cute and well-behaving child have done something like this'…"

Luffy smiled maliciously. "Does this mean that every prank I pull is going to be blamed on you?"

The cook paled, his eyes widening, while Ace face-palmed and Izo tried not to laugh. Marco smirked and patted his now sulking brother.

Luffy brushed the back of his pants when he noticed there was some dirt, gaining a lot of attention. Izo just looked, Thatch tried not to, Ace ignored him. Some people passing by stopped slowly in their tracks. The Phoenix, however, observed him with undivided attention, studying his curves and wondering if it was hard the way it looked. When he saw the villagers' eyes on it, too, Marco barely held in a growl. His face contorted in a threatening one.

The ex-marine finished, satisfied, and looked at him with a beaming smirk and a wink, before walking away with his brother. Thatch, in the meantime, had fainted, dropping onto the ground with blood falling from his nose.

"You're falling fast, Marco." Izo said, smiling.

The pirate relaxed a bit and scoffed. "You may be right, yoi."

The cross-dresser kicked Thatch and lifted him on his shoulder, while Marco took the bags. They went back to the ship and ate lunch. The strange bothers were nowhere in sight.

The Phoenix was giving back his empty plates when the bell from the crow's nest rang. All the pirates listened to the four dongs and rushed on the deck. Marco looked on the horizon and noticed a big ship approaching. It didn't have a flag, nor a white one, but it was fast.

He changed to his beast form and flied up into the sky as those no names got nearer. The wooden and colorful ship, with a lion as figurehead, stopped a few meters away from the Moby Dick. He could now see two men on the prow.

The one on the right was a muscular young man with lightly tanned skin. He carried three swords bundled up with a green haramaki over his right hip. He had three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe, a black bandanna tied around his head. A massive scar stretched from his left shoulder to his right hip and another one over his left eye. He wore a green kimono and cropped green hair could be seen sticking out of the bandanna.

The other, on the left, was slim, yet muscular, long-legged with blond hair brushed over the right side of his face, hiding the eye. He had a distinctive eyebrow in the form a spiral over his black visible eye. He wore a black, double-breasted suit with a tie and a long-sleeved, buttoned orange shirt.

Whitebeard was still sitting on his chair, drinking comfortably his sake, when the two disappeared and landed on the center of their deck.

"Give back our Captain." Said the green-haired one in a deep baritone.

"And we'll go away without engaging battle." Finished the other, voice slightly higher.

"Gurararara!" Newgate thundered. "The brat was right." He said, smirking, "But I can't give him to you."

They growled with rage.

"What have you done to him?" He unsheathed one of his swords, letting it low on his side.

"Why?" The blond asked instead, lifting a bent leg.

Whitebeard looked at them with studying eyes. "What if I told you he joined my crew?"

The two froze in shock.

The swordsman was the first to regain his composure. "I'd follow him." His face was confident and serious.

The other looked at his friend, then back at the pirate. "We all would."

The Captain laughed, delighted. Marco smirked, looking at the railing of their ship, where Luffy was sitting with a wide smile.

"Don't worry, guys, I didn't." He laughed.

The two turned at once, almost suffering a whiplash. In the meantime, three other figures launched at him from the land, making him fall face-first on the floor.

There were: a beautiful orange-haired woman with a blue rod attached on her back, that wore a tight white dress; a long-nosed man with a brushed back afro and a huge green slingshot, wearing brown shorts held by darker braces and bare chest; and a… blue-nosed raccoon with a pink and blue hat, a white cross on the front. Marco noticed two horns, maybe it was a deer?

They were crying while calling the ex-marine by his name and hugging the life out of him. Luffy laughed nonetheless, obviously glad to see his crew mates, but still with his face on the floor. Ace jumped up from below and waved at them.

"About time…" He whispered.

The green-haired man gestured at the ship to get near. It stopped right beside the Moby Dick and three more mates joined them.

The first one to was definitely a cyborg, with blue hair pompadour-styled to resemble a cannon. His limbs were clearly huge mechanical parts. He wore red coconut tree-motived Hawaiian shirt and red swim briefs. Several scars were visible on his chest and face.

Next came a raven-haired gorgeous woman, tall, slender, yet athletic. She had brown eyes, with dark, wide pupils and wore a long pink sari-like skirt, a partially-zipped purple leather vest with a V-neck line and a white rose printed on the left breast near the shoulder, that exposed her stomach, sunglasses and pink high heeled pumps. She was smiling politely and even greeted everyone with a nod.

All the Whitebeard crew froze when they saw a skeleton waltzing on their deck with a violin. He had colorful and high-end clothes, as though to represent a rock star, heart-shaped sunglasses, a yellow feather boa, a top hat with a giant crown on the brim and orange red trousers with a floral design. His afro made him taller than he already was.

Some pirates fainted, some freaked out and ran. Luffy, in the meantime, succeeded in untangling from his friends and stood, being surrounded by all his nakama.

"Nice to see you all again." He said with a beaming smile.

Thank you for reading, see ya!