Ok, this is a bit shorter (like, 1k words shorter...) and maybe a bit rushed, unlikely the other chapters... But, frankly, there was nothing more to say, so I think it is also right. The next one will probably be even shorter, but it will be the epilogue, on which I will begin working right now. Sorry for any mistakes and let me know what you think :) And may you all enjoy happy holydays :)

phoenix: Oh God, I don't want to kill people xD Thank you!

12ReiRei: Ahahah, try to stay out of trouble xD Maybe by the end of this chapter you'll need a dietist :P Well, I started writing this with the will to end the story, there are too many not completed and abandoned... Before this I was already writing something else, KHR related :P But it is a strange project that needs a lot of work and I don't want to publish it until I finish it. Thank you, for the marvelous review, for the faith, for the beautiful words, for the praise :D Don't worry, it's not creepy at all and, even if it is, I'm creepy myself XP

blackfairy30: Thank you so much! :*

Xarxion: Thanks thanks thanks! :D

Thank you for the new follows, favorites and the reviews, they give me the willpower to go on and finish this :)

Words: 3124.

Enjoy!

07 – The ritual

The Moby Dick was slashing through the waves, Sunny at its side, where Luffy was looking at his new jolly roger. It had a straw hat painted on the skull.

He had discussed with the crew what to do and they had wanted to stay with their new mates for some days more. Their Captain was extremely glad of the outcome. Not only the turn of event was being welcomed, but he could also be with Marco for a bit more. Not that he would admit it aloud.

Sabo had left the same day they reunited, promising to find them again and for longer next time he could.

They were currently at day four of navigation to the next island, that was finally on sight and steadily approaching. With pirates moving from one ship to another, everyone got to know more and more about one another. Luffy had bonded with the other Officials, too. Pranks with Thatch had been hilarious.

He remembered the last one, laughing alone on the crow's nest. They had replaced the red soap of the onsen with the strongest tabasco sauce they had on board. The nurses had madly chased after Thatch, blaming only him. Honestly what a mess.

"If you keep laughing like that I'll find you a psychologist, yoi." Marco said, standing on the railing next to him with a smirk, knees bent. "Fossa is still complaining about it."

"Stop reading my mind." He whined with a pout, but the smile didn't fall. "Admit it, you found it fun, too."

"Only because I was not in the line of fire that day, yoi."

"You didn't like the glue on the shirts?"

"Not one bit, I had to shave it away, damn you pranksters…" Marco rolled his eyes.

The sun was still sleeping on the other side of the world. Few clouds were roaming the sky, gray and black.

Luffy grabbed his shirt with one hand. "Are you still mad?"

"What if I say I am?"

He pulled Marco forward and kissed him without reservation, licking the insides of the other's mouth and his tongue teasingly, escaping it when he moved the muscle.

"What the hell…"

They separated abruptly to watch below on the deck. Nami, Brook and Zoro were there, looking at them with wide eyes and open mouths.

The cat burglar regained almost immediately her speaking ability, smirking and waving her hand to them in a greeting move. The skeleton decided to sing a love song while playing his violin. The swordsman, however, was a totally different matter.

He was seething with gritted teeth and two unsheathed swords. Luffy sighed as he felt Marco slip out of his reach to evade a massive slash. Sabo and Ace had been easier to calm down when they had woken up. They'd had to bring them on the ship because they were setting sail in the evening. Luffy had simply talked to them without Marco in sight. His two brothers had accepted the relationship with a forced promise to let the pirate alone, pouting all the time.

He laughed when Sanji joined Zoro from the kitchen, his cook was probably looking through the window, he must have been frozen to the spot for a while.

They were approaching the island, it was four time bigger than the last one. There were lakes, two abandoned towns in ruin on opposite sides and a green wide blanket of pines with few clearings. Luffy looked again down and then at the unexplored ground. With a grin, he winked at Marco, that was looking at him from high up in the sky.

He jumped and morphed into his dragon form, ignoring shouts and yelps from both ships, and fled to the island, unfolding his black wings. He closed his eyes at the feeling of the wind caressing his scales, sniffing the frizzy air of the sea and bathing in the cold of the night.

Luffy arrived all too soon, landing on a beach hidden by rocky cliffs, but not turning back. He stretched like a cat, arching his back and digging the sand with his paws, then lied on his stomach, looking at horizon, where the moon still shone.

"You scared almost everyone, yoi." A Phoenix was disappearing at his right side. "This was more entertaining than the tobasco prank."

Luffy huffed, waiting for the other to continue talking. Marco sat with his back against the beast's warm side.

"Thatch fainted, I wonder if it's becoming a habit. Izo actually screamed, yoi." He smirked. "Pops was taken aback, but laughed a lot. Fossa and Vista were speechless. The others screamed and started to run around. Your crew just watched in fascination, they knew after all."

The dragon lifted his head and hit the other's elbow softly.

"Oh, they're alright, I flew after you and they fell into the sea, yoi." Marco moved a hand on his forehead. "You're really trusting us now." He said, smiling.

Luffy's eyes shone in the darkness. There were happiness and shyness. He brushed his scales and the ex-marine pressed more into the touch with closed eyes.

"Well, now they know, yoi. I wonder when they'll find us."

He lazily lifted an eyelid in question.

"They shouted to me to be prepared for a fight, but, in the night sky, you're completely invisible and they lost me when they fell."

Luffy huffed again, lying his head next to Marco and relaxing in the comforting touch. Silence covered them as the sun started to rise in the distance. The Dragon's breath soon evened, signaling he was asleep.

The pirate followed him, lulled by the warmth of the sun and that of his little lover. Thinking about him that way brought a smirk on his face.

Two hours later, Marco woke up from the dreamless nap groggily. Luffy was still behind him in dragon form, but awake and looking at him. He turned after some moments, sitting at his side. He was wearing the leather pants from Izo's prank and a white half-buttoned shirt, loosened necktie fluttering in the light breeze and hat hanging on his back.

"I think Nami took care of Zoro and Sanji." He said, still sharing gazes. "They were running here, but stopped some minutes ago."

To not feel the danger was something that left Marco dumbfounded for some moments. The two had been seriously trying to kill him on the Sunny. It could only mean that he had felt safe enough to ignore their ill intent.

"You never talked about yourself." Luffy wondered.

Marco thought about it, making order in his mind. "I'm from North Blue. When I was five, my family sold me to pay off their debts to some burglar pirates. For years they used me to steal, yoi. Then, they had the galls to send me to pops." He smiled at the memory, looking at the sky. "Instead of killing me for trying to steal his money, he gave me food and didn't let me go back. The pirates did never come to take me again, I don't know if he played some part in their disappearance."

"I'm glad he found you." The ex-marine smiled. "And your devil fruit?"

"The bastards didn't give me enough to eat so I didn't give them all the goods stolen. One of them was the fruit." The smile turned into a smirk. "Serves them right."

Luffy laughed softly, falling to rest against the other's side and relaxing as he was embraced again.

"Tomorrow evening, or the day after at most, we will leave." Luffy whispered, looking at the horizon. "Our first stop is Sabaody."

Marco tightened his grip on the other's waist and kissed his cheek. "You're thinking too much, yoi."

He blushed and mumbled something unintelligible, making the other laugh softly.

"I didn't understand."

Luffy took a deep breath, blush darkening. "I'll miss you."

The Phoenix smiled and, this time, couldn't completely fight down his own blush. "I'll miss you, too. But we won't be so far, the sea is wide and it's our home. We're on the same crew, time will come when pops will need your aid. Also, no one said I can't come and kidnap you whenever I want to, yoi."

The dragon laughed, comforted by those words. He then launched his arms around the other's neck and kissed him deeply, making him fall and roll. In a tangle of limbs, they stopped where the dirt suffocated the sand, with Luffy pinned under Marco.

Their mouths clashed, tongues interlacing with heated passion. The ex-marine bit the other's lower lip before lapping it and smirking. Marco bit his chin as revenge and began tracing his neck with his wet muscle, gaining moans of appreciation. Luffy lifted his hands and began caressing the other's chest and shoulders with a feather touch. The Phoenix shivered, sucking the mark on the collarbone, that had almost disappeared.

"So possessive…" Luffy huffed, playing with the hem of the other's pants.

"And you're so eager, yoi." Marco bit down on the base of his neck.

The dragon arched his back, squeezing the other's hips. The pirate was leaving uncountable marks on him while unbuttoning the shirt, necktie already discarded. Luffy liked to tease, not to be teased, so he opened his legs and captured his waist, pressing their bodies together.

"Don't push me too much, yoi." Marco said, interrupting his doing. "I may lose my control."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do." Luffy said in a malicious tone.

He moved his hips up slowly, rubbing their awakening manhood and gaining a long hiss.

"Are you playing with fire?" Marco asked, breathless, inhaling the other's scent.

The ex-marine pulled him near and whispered sensually: "You taught me, take responsibility."

Sometimes, Luffy knew too well how to push things the way he wanted them to go. Marco cursed in his mind his utter inability to say no and lost every bit of self-control he had.

They became a hot, excited, steamy tangle of limbs, losing their minds in their first love-making. The Phoenix claimed the Dragon, marking him, holding him, cherishing him in a way he hadn't ever used with anyone. In the heat, in the overwhelming feelings, he understood that he had fallen completely for the boy that was panting under him, flustered.

Luffy, in that moment, when his mind was controlled by the ecstasy of the notion, looked straight in his eyes, as if synchronized, and pulled him in a searing, loving kiss, conveying and accepting. Marco poured his heart in the simple touch, both reaching their climax.

The two lovebirds were panting, exhausted, and fell asleep almost immediately, after whispering loving words to each other.

Zoro and Sanji were fuming. Their Captain had disappeared for the entire day with the… With the… Pirate. Nami and Robin had prohibited them from searching for him with the untold promise of pain. Their other mates had been shocked, but not enraged as the two still felt.

It was night and Zoro was progressively losing his patience. Sanji had burnt dinner four times and had eaten it not to waste food with teary eyes. Brook was trying to lighten up the mood with his songs, but failing miserably. Eventually, he retired to drink tea with Izo, defeated. Franky had just shrugged his shoulders, saying something about 'Luffy's business'. Usopp had paled visibly while Chopper had asked what meant to have an affair.

The dragon's appearance, though, was something that had left everyone speechless. They had known, yes, about his devil fruit ability, but seeing the big beast tower over them was a totally different matter. Even Whitebeard himself had seemed at a loss for words.

As Zoro was remembering its features and Sanji was beginning again with his dinner, both in the kitchen of the Sunny, Luffy passed through the door, yawning, shirt completely buttoned. Zoro was the first to jump and grab him from the shoulders.

"Luffy! Where hav–…."

The Captain watched his Vice pale, looking at the base of his neck. Sanji approached them, too, towel in hands, and lost his grip on it steadily, until it fell on the floor. Luffy smirked, freed from the swordsman and crossed his arms.

"You two need to sort things out and leave me and my lover alone." He said, leaving them speechless again. "Consider this an order from your Captain." The dragon then went out and locked the door, closing them inside. "I won't let you out until I'm satisfied, so don't ask."

They were already calling out to him, but he completely shut them out of his mind.

"When I brought up the subject, I wasn't expecting this, yoi." Marco said.

He was leaning on the railing with crossed arms.

"I had already noticed but decided to leave them be. Now, I feel like they need this. I'll take the blame later." He got near him and smiled.

"Or the gratitude, yoi."

Nami, Robin and Brook were drinking tea peacefully on the deck, they had waved at them before while the girls were now winking with thumbs up, making Luffy laugh.

"Now, I feel I owe an explanation to our brothers." His stomach grumbled. "And in the meanwhile, ask for dinner, Sanji won't be available for some time."

Marco circled his waist and jumped on the Moby Dick, where Whitebeard was laughing with Izo, Haruta, Usopp and Thatch.

"Oy, Luffy!" The sniper shouted, beaming.

"You seriously went to Skypiea?" Thatch asked. "And defeated a God?"

"Eneru was not a God, he was a useless man that had a big ego." Luffy snorted, leaving Marco's embrace.

"Oooh, you're no fun…" Usopp pouted.

"So, aniki…" Haruta said. "You're a dragon."

Luffy approached them and morphed his skin on the arms into black bluish scales. "I am." And turned back.

"Do you breathe fire?" Izo asked.

Marco went to his side, seeing him flinch almost imperceptibly, and held his hand in front of him, nodding when he looked at his face. Luffy took a long breath and blew his black flames, remembering attentively his 'training'. The thick mass attached to the skin and dissolved after some seconds, hand unscathed.

"Normally, it consumes everything, not even ashes are left."

"That's the reason you never use it." Newgate said with a fond smile.

Luffy nodded and double-checked that indeed Marco's skin was intact with his gaze. But the hand had gone up to flick at his forehead, making him blink twice.

"It's alright, yoi." Marco laughed.

The ex-marine shook his head smiling.

"Your form is graceful, I must say." Izo interrupted their exchanging gazes with a smirk. "How much time since your last morphing?"

"Uhm… Aside from the last island… I think it was before starting Marine Academy, right after Ace set sail to become a pirate."

"It's impossible…" Thatch whispered, flabbergasted. "I mean, I don't know, but Marco often said it was hard not to transform at least once a month…"

"Impressive, Luffy." Izo commented.

"I had to, so I did." He shrugged his shoulders.

"How did you acquire the devil fruit?" Haruta asked.

"My father had taken it from a Government Base in Paradise." Luffy recalled, hand gripping his chin.

"Dragon?" Whitebeard wondered.

"Yeah, I think he said something about it not being natural. Well, I was hungry, and it tasted awful." His mouth contorted in disgust.

Everyone laughed at that.

"You've always been like that." Ace said from the door to the inside of the ship. "Eating whatever came towards your mouth and leaving barely enough for me and Sabo."

"I need the energy." Luffy pouted, arms crossed on his chest.

"Hey, Captain!" Nami called from the Sunny.

The boy went towards the railing and saw her navigator wave at him.

"It worked!"

A beaming smile grated his features. "Finally!"

"Excuse me, what are you two talking about?" Izo asked, curious.

"I set up my Vice and the cook, it was about time they talked seriously." He smirked.

"Great doing, Luffy!" Usopp laughed.

The next day passed quickly. Zoro smirking like mad had Sanji blush every time they met. And that meant every minute. The crew teased them, succeeding only on the cook, but was happy for them. They had all seen their feelings bloom during the journey, it'd been a pain to see them hidden so obliviously.

Luffy enjoyed the morning with Marco on the beach, talking about nothing important and kissing the living hell out of him every time he wanted.

In the afternoon, the two ships set sail. Whitebeard wanted to part with them halfway to Sabaody, Moby Dick would have then returned to the New World, and threw a party in the meanwhile.

Seeing his mates be so easy-going and open towards their new brothers was heart-warming. Luffy sighed contentedly from his seat on the armrest of Newgate's chair, munching on some meat.

Zoro and Marco were happily drinking, Sanji was cooking, Nami, Robin and Izo were watching Brook play his violin while Usopp, Chopper and Thatch made a fool out of themselves with their chopsticks, Franky was dancing with Vista and Fossa.

"Now, son…" Whitebeard said solemnly. "Be careful on your journey and be sure to count on me whenever you need."

Luffy smiled, gazing up at his adoptive father. "Thank you." He said, pouring himself some sake. "But I won't try to stay out of trouble."

With a smirk, he lifted his hand and Newgate did the same. The cups touched with a shrill sound. They drank and laughed loudly afterwards. All around them, the pirates that had fallen silent, watching the ritual, cheered louder than ever.

Next morning, time came for goodbyes. Luffy's crew was waving from the Sunny to their adoptive brothers. Their Captain was still on the Moby Dick, talking to Whitebeard one last time.

"Gurarararara! Keep in touch, I gave your navigator a piece of my vivre card and an untraceable Den Den Mushi."

"Here's mine, yoi." Marco put a little piece of paper in his shirt's pocket. "Don't cause too much trouble." He smirked.

"No promise." Luffy laughed. "You, too, stay out of trouble."

"Don't you dare tell me that phrase, trouble-magnet!" Ace shouted.

"I already did." The straw hat boy waved at them, pecked Marco on the lips and jumped on his own ship. "See ya around, Oyaji, brothers." He smiled.

The signature laughter thundered once again.

"Take care!" Came the chorus as the ships started to separate and get further from one another.

He felt his heart clench, but the warmth was still there, unchanged and comforting. He watched Marco's smile until he could in the distance, then took a long breath and turned towards his crew.

"Are you ready for destruction?" He smirked.

"Aye, Captain!"

"Then, route to Sabaody!"

Well, we're almost done. Marco's past is unknown so I made it up. Let me know what you think but thank you for reading :) See ya!