Hello everyone, here is the next chapter

A few different things with happen in this chapter, including some explanation of things which occurred in the last one.

Hope you enjoy

Read and relax

Marco felt his eye twitch, his hand moving to flick the side of Ace's head, making the other look at him in confusion and curiosity. "Don't eat like a pig, yoi." Ace swallowed the food he had in his mouth as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Birdy. I can eat how I want." the kid continued to stuff his face, , making Marco move to flick Ace again.

But, as he was about to flick Ace, red eyes and a snarl was given to him, seeing two fangs out, making him take his hand back.

As he took his hand away and somewhat retreating in fear, the red eyes and teeth disappeared, Ace proceeding to grin widely. As the fear disappeared, Marco felt his eye twitch more noticeably, moving his arm to hit Ace over the head, making the kid give an "Omph!" Marco gave the vampire a glare. "Don't do that!" He hated it when the kid did that. He had been doing it a lot the last few weeks, becoming more daring with his vampire after Hidan left. Since he saw Ace feed from another human, Ace seemed to open up more. He knew some beings or animals felt more comfortable around others once they had seen them eat. He knew Ace wasn't an animal, but he still had the same kind of instincts as them. There was still a lot he didn't know about Ace and wanted to get to know the other better.

Ace gave a sly smile, before he moved a bit towards him, giving a snarl again, fangs out and eyes red, almost making Marco fall of the bench as he tried to scurry away on instinct. As he was preoccupied with that, Ace took the time to run away, heading out the door with a laugh.

Marco felt a vein appearing on his forehead. "That brat." He muttered to himself, before he stood up and headed after the kid. "Ace! Get back here, yoi!" He could hear the others inside the galley laughing.

That kid would be the death of him one day!

-x-

Marco gave a small breath, walking over to the railing and leaning against it, standing next to Ace, who gave him a smile.

He turned to look at the half-moon that was a bit over the horizon, as it was closing in on midnight. He had given Ace the duty to clean the deck early, Ace complaining and gaining sympathy from Pops - which made Marco annoyed - and had just gotten away with completing only half of the duty. "Can't sleep, yoi?" Ace gave a hum next to him, also looking at the moon. "No. But, I usually don't sleep at this time of the night. We like to be awake now. You?" Marco gave a small nod. "Not tired yet. Is that why you're often late to breakfast or duties in the morning, yoi? Because you sleep more in the morning?" Marco hoped not, knowing he had been stern on that and had even given a few punishments at times.

Ace gave a nod. "Yeah. No matter how much I try, I can't sleep early. It just feels wrong." Marco gave a nod, giving a small look to Ace. "I will try not to give you morning duties, yoi. You should have told me that." He should have realised there was a reason for it since it happened often. He knew vampires were beings of the night. Ace might only be a half-vampire, but he was still a vampire. Ace gave a smile as he learned on his hands. "It's fine. I need to try and be awake in the mornings. Stuff happens then too." Marco gave a small chuckle. "Still. You shouldn't push your self, especially when it's something your vampire side can't do very well." Ace only gave a small hum, turning back to the view. Marco was sure Ace didn't mind that he might not have duties in the morning any more.

After standing out for a small while, he saw Ace giving a yawn, his fangs appearing. They disappeared when Ace closed his mouth, shaking his head a bit. Marco thought Ace's human side might be tired, but not his vampire. But, that yawn had him smile, feeling glad. He didn't know too much about vampires, but he knew they didn't like to show vulnerability. And, as with most living creatures, yawning was a sign of vulnerability. He was glad Ace felt comfortable around him enough to do that.

Marco moved a hand over Ace's shoulders, brining the other into a small hug, shocking the other. "Never be afraid to tell me anything, yoi. I want you to feel happy and comfortable here." He felt more than he heard the small laugh Ace gave. "I know, and I am. It's amazing here. There isn't many other places I can imagine being." That had Marco smile too.

After a couple of minutes, something had him look down at Ace's head, still having his arm around Ace's shoulders, who didn't seem to mind the prolonged hug. "Do you feel fine, yoi?" Ace frowned as he leaned back a bit, looking at him. "Yes. Why?" Marco nodded and gave a breath. "Just making sure, after the thing with the doctors, yoi." Ace blinked, Marco seeing something that had him worried, before Ace spoke. "I feel fine. But, I think I might go to sleep now, or try too at least. Good night, Marco." Marco gave a nod, bidding the other good night too.

As he was alone by the railing, he gave a small breath, hoping what he felt was wrong. But, he was sure Ace smelled of something. Almost like metal, but not quite. Maybe smelling like wood and salt too. He just picked up something very strong and distinct whilst Ace was close by,something he couldn't place. And, he was sure he saw something silver in Ace's eye, but it quickly disappeared. Marco shook his head.

Probably nothing. And, Ace did seem fine. But, he still felt he should tell someone, either Bay or Pops, or both, just in case. He would see would sleep on it, and decided what to do tomorrow. He was sure nothing would between then and now.

-x-

Whitebeard looked at his children that were out on deck, preparing to dock at an island so they could stock up on some things.

Things had been calm the last few months and he tried to keep things calm for everyone.. He was still worried about Ace and what had happened with those doctors. But, nothing seems wrong. Marco had said he smelled something or felt something maybe, but wasn't sure. Nothing else has come up, so he felt things were fine. At least for now, and hoped it would stay like that.

They were at a neutral island now, a somewhat big one. There were often different pirates here, but there were rarely any fights or battles here. The inhabitants of the island were amazing and skilled fighter, though they avoided taking part in any, who managed to keep the island, and its surrounding areas, neutral. Visitor often feared getting on their bad side. He knew a smart pirate crew wouldn't start anything here, knowing that both the Whitebeard pirates, and the inhabitants of the island, would confront them and were strong enough to take them on. The Whitebeard pirates hadn't been to this island in a while, nearly half a year. The inhabitants didn't mind them staying, and often enjoyed their visits. A few of them were on the dock to welcome them, even though it was almost 11, the sky dark and the moon high in the sky, a few days away from it being a full moon.

As the boarding plank was lowering for them to disembark, and the ones on the island ready to meet and greet them, he noticed Marco having a frown. Before he could ask about it, Marco spoke. "Ace?" The captain looked over at Ace too, who had a snarl, looking at the island, fangs half out and eyes shifting between red and great, yet he was clearly trying to contain himself. When the captain looked in the direction which Ace was looking, he saw someone else snarling in return. Another vampire? Maybe not, this person had yellow eyes, almost glowing. Wasn't that Zara? He was a nice kid, always helpful, though he didn't get along with some of them, especially Marco. Maybe this was why.

As he was about to ask Ace if he was fine and what was happening to have him react like this, Ace and Zara lunged towards each other.

The captain, realising that Ace was going to attack, tried to stop him - already knowing he wouldn't reach him in time, but needed to the same time, another man appeared in front of Ace, delivering a punch to his gut - just as Vincent had done a few months prior. Also seeing another person doing the same to Zara, both falling down to the ground, gasping as the wind was knocked out of them. The two newcomers moved to have their elbows under Ace and Zara's neck, pinning them down. What was going on?

The one holding Ace down, who was still snarling at Zara - the other snarling back - looked up at him. "Do you have a vampire bind?" Whitebeard blinked. "A what?" The man sighed. "That's a no." The man, Max if he remembered, looked to another guy who came back. "You can borrow one, it should have a bit of power over him, even though it's made for werewolves." As the man said that, Ace gave another snarl, which had the man put more pressure on his neck, which had him, and some others, move to stop him, especially Marco. "Stop it, yoi." Said the commander as he moved to help Ace.

Max lifted an eyebrow at the first commander. "And have him kill Zara? Or Zara kill him? Or them kill each other? No thanks. Next time,tell us if you have any supernatural additions to your crew." As the man said this, he saw the man on top of Zara pushing down on his neck as Zara gave a snarl. The captain didn't know what was happening right now and could see the others thinking the same, wanting to get the man off of Ace, but saw they were doing the same to Zara, which helped settle them a bit. But still, he didn't like this. Max gave a sigh. "You obviously don't know what's going on and I will explain when both have the binds on."

Thatch gave a frown. "Bind? Will it hurt Ace?" Max shook his head. "No. It'll just calm and suppress his vampire slightly, I hope." That was good. A minute later, a man handed a bracelet to Max and other man on top of Zara, both putting the bracelets on Ace and Zara.

The effect seemed to be instantaneous for Zara, eyes going changing to blue and ceasing to snarl,, being allowed to get up. Ace was still snarling a bit, but seem to have calming down slightly. Max was more reluctant to let Ace up, doing it slowly and giving a point to go towards the crew, who were still on the ship. Ace did so and stood beside Whitebeard's leg, seeming mad and unsure, holding on to his pants. Max then looked at Zara. "Back and you're not allowed on that ship or close to the vampire for now." The other just nodded and went away, seeming neutral, another following behind him.

Max then looked at them, giving a sigh. "Again, next time you have any supernatural additions to your crew, please tell us ." Whitebeard gave a nod, moving a hand to Ace, giving some reassurance but only grasp his pant leg tighter, which had him worried. "It's normal. The bind is probably something he hasn't worn before. It keeps his vampire from coming out, but not completely, since it's made for werewolves." Whitebeard gave a nod. "Is Zara a werewolf?" Max nodded. "Yes. Which is why I'm annoyed you didn't tell us you had a vampire. They do not mix, especially, the first time they meeting. They hopefully will settle more once they've been around each other a few times." The captain was about to answer when another voice spoke. "I don't like it." Whitebeard looked down at Ace. "I want it off." Max shook his head. "Not happening, Kiddo. You know you will attack Zara then, and he will attack back."

Ace gave a small nod, not liking this, but agreeing, seeming to realise this himself. The captain looked at Max. "How long will he need to wear it?" Max shrugged. "At least for a day, depends on how long you will stay here." Whitebeard nodded. "We had planned to stay for maybe 3 days, to relax." Max nodded. "But no more. the full moon is in 4 days, the vampire can't be here then." The captain nodded, understanding that. "We will leave in 3 at the latest." The man nodded, seeming relaxed by that and the fact they understood the situation. Why Marco never liked the other made sense now, seeing as the other was a werewolf, it must have put his phoenix on edge.

Max proceeded to explain a bit about the bracelets, a werewolf bind, which suppressed the werewolf to some extent and helped to keep them calm. It worked slightly on Ace too but there was one especially for vampires, which they should obtain. Ace wouldn't like it, but it was only for emergencies. They were told to think about it like the ring Ace wore, that protected him from the sun, but much stronger. Ace didn't seem to like the idea, but agreed, understanding that he didn't always have full control over his vampire. But, the captain did reassure him that they would never use it unless it was absolutely necessary.

As Max left, Ace staying close to Whitebeard for a while, Marco staying as well. Marco seemed a bit worried about Ace, especially when he made a few comments which Ace normally would respond to with a playful snarl towards Marco, but Ace showed no reaction Marco would say that he found it annoying and wanted Ace to stop, but he knew his son better than that, and knew he actually liked it. The two were really playful around each other and it was sort of cute to watch, amusing. He'd knew that others had noticed and felt the same. .

Ace did seem become more like himself after a small while, joking around with Marco again, but without the use of his vampire abilities. He had apparently thrown some seeds at Marco before running away, annoying Marco and making him chase after Ace. Ace seemed to like that, finding it fun, even though he did get punishment.

Ace did turn in earlier than normal, which worried Marco, but it might be because of the bind. They would stay here for a couple of days, not wanting to staying too long, because of the full moon and and so that Ace could be rid of the bind quickly. Though they would need to stay for a bit, as they still needed to stock up.

The captain was sure things would be fine.

-x-

Marco gave a small frown as he saw Ace was up, it wasn't even 7 in the morning, something which normally didn't happen, which made him worry.

There weren't many up yet, most staying up to drink and going to bed late, which was fine. They were here to relax and stock up on things after all. What almost surprised him more than the fact Ace was up, was the fact that Thatch was up too. The chef was rarely up this early without a reason. Marco was surprised the man wasn't sleeping off a hangover.

"Hey Ace!" Yelled Thatch as he walked over to Ace,the kid turning to look at the chef. "What's that guy? Hidan?" Ace tilted his head. "What do you mean?" Even Marco didn't get what Thatch was asking. The chef blinked. "Oh. I mean like, what is he to you? You look at him weirdly, and you feed off of him." Thatch moved his eyebrows at Ace. "Is he your boyfriend?" Marco wondered about that himself. Ace did look at the other in a special way whilst he was here. Ace looked disgusted for a few seconds. "Hidan? Lord no! I just feed off of him." Thatch blinked. "But, isn't the one you feed from the one a vampire bonds with?" Marco had heard that too, but now it didn't seem like that, especially since Ace looked disgusted by the idea. Ace looked a bit uncomfortable- as he usually did when someone asked about his vampire side, though he seemed to be more okay speaking about it now,, most likely because of the bind- as he shook his head a bit.

"Sort of no. Just feeding is not bonding, it's feeding. It's more with an actual bonding. But… biting and feeding is a part…"

Thatch blinked. "Oh… Cool. Do you have one?" Ace shook his head. "No." Thatch looked to be waiting for more. "Whyyy?" Ace shrugged. "We often need to bite someone to find out, and I don't like to bite others. We can find them based on smell if they bleed, but that's it. It also might take a bit of time to find them, but they will taste and smell really good." Thatch nodded, and Marco took note of that. He was still learning new things about Ace and vampires, making him feel like he still didn't know Ace all that well. He wanted to get to know Ace better, but knew the kid was uncomfortable speaking about himself. Ace said his goodbyes to Thatch, as he headed to start his duties, he had the first shift which was assigned to the machine room. Thatch headed over to him.

"See, Birdy? He is available."

Marco gave a sigh, not wanting to deal with Thatch's nonsense this early. He knew the man couldn't be up to anything good at this hour. "What are you talking about, yoi?" Thatch snorted. "Come on, Feather Brain! Everyone can see you have a crush on the vampire kid! You've always wanted to be with him!" Marco rolled his eyes, starting to head to the galley for breakfast. "I don't, and please get rid of that idea, and don't call Ace that, yoi - he doesn't like it. I just want to get to know him more." He heard Thatch let out a small laugh. "No way! You can't be serious! Just admit it!" Marco gave a small glare towards Thatch, really not in the mood for this. "I do not like Ace like that, yoi!" The chef just gave a chuckle. "Of course, birdy! Came get me when you're ready to admit it!" That would be never. He gave a small wave to the chef as he left, not wanting to speak about this anymore.

Thatch could really be annoying at times. Marco gave a small snort as he shook his head.

Him having a crush on Ace? Not happening. He liked Ace as a brother, nothing more. And, things were going much better as his phoenix was slowly - really slowly - getting used to the vampire.

And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it

I know it was a bit fast paced, but I hoped it was okay. More things will happen with Zara and the werewolves in the next chapter

If you have the time, I greatly appreciate feedback

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