Birds of Feather

Chapter 19: Amusement

The rest of the ferris wheel ride was had in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable silence, the two of you leaned against one another and enjoyed the view, and when the view became the interior of the ferris wheel itself you nuzzled your face into his arm, remembering a moment too late that you had put on a bit of makeup that morning.

Fortunately, if any was left to rub off on his coat, it didn't.

Marco stepped out, offering his hand for you. You take it with a smile, inclining your head a little as the two of you move away from the crowd.

"I'm getting used to all these gentlemanly considerations of yours." You admit, hand twined in his as you meandered about. Your eyes wander over the crowd as Marco hums appreciatively.

"Rough and tumble as growing up with so many brothers could be, in a way I think it managed to smooth us all out to some degree, yoi." He admits. "Pops wasn't shy with his feelings on the matter either."

"I bet." You mutter a little, distracted by something that's caught your attention.

"What's got your attention?"

You squint a little and then look up at Marco. "Stay here for me, I'll be right back."

His brows furrow slightly in confusion for a moment, but he lets your hand slip out from his and gives you a small smile. "Sure thing, I'll be right here, pretty bird."

Turning on your heel you disappear into the crowd so quick that Marco's eyes go wide for a second. It wasn't that you were particularly skilled at skulking through crowds, but you were quiet, and a little below the average height for the island. The moment you crouched, just a little, it was enough to put you below where most people would look at eye level.

Some of it was a bit of skill. You fled your home island when you were younger. Right around the time you'd accidentally eaten the devil fruit that resided within your bones. Other things that helped were the passive effects of the devil fruit itself.

You honed in on the voice you recognized as you wove through the crowd and popped up right in front of Thatch. Who was standing with a young, freckle-faced boy with messy black hair.

"Thatch." You state dryly, and the older man nearly screeches when he sees you before looking around nervously. "What are you doing here?" You nearly hiss the question.

He finishes looking around before looking back, and down, at you. Reaching out silently he grabs the young man with him and pulls him closer.

"Enjoying the carnival with my little brother." He says in a tone that clearly implies otherwise.

The younger man waves a little awkwardly. "Hi."

It takes a second and your face lights up. "Oh, by the seas, you're stalking your brother on his date." You put your hand over your face for a moment.

"I... well, I mean... not... exactly." Thatch stammers.

"No one knew where he was going to go," the younger man starts explaining. "So, uh..." He stops, and looks away. "We split up."

"You... split up?" You question and watch in real time as both men get more uncomfortable. "Wait, all of you? All thirty-seven of you?"

"Thirty- what, no, like... ten... of us." Thatch starts, and then stops. "Look, it sounded like a better idea when Ace and Sabo were laying it out the other day."

"Ace," the freckled young man says, holding out a hand. You shake it, still looking a bit dumbfounded between the two of them. You give Ace your name as you release the handshake.

"Yoooooou two should probably leave." You say after a second. "Trying to... I don't even know what, but that stuff only works in movies."

"Yeah, yeah, you're not wrong, we thought we saw him at one point, but we lost him so fast." Ace admits sheepishly. "It's just that he's always so calm and collected all the time." He asserts. "I've never seen him like, ruffle, in the last decade." The storm grey eyes look to you with an intensity you hadn't expected.

"Until Sunday." Ace explains. "He blushed! He smiled! Like, no, wait, I've seen him smile, I've never seen him like that."

You can feel your face heating up. "Stop talking." You say, looking away. "Look, go home before your brother murders you both, and I'll, uh, come visit or something. Soon-ish. Soon-ly. Just, it was nice meeting you."

You say quickly and disappear back into the crowd. You already left Marco alone for longer than you meant to, but now you had a new problem to consider. You didn't want to do anything to end the date early, but you also didn't want to keep anymore secrets than you already were.

After a moment, you found Marco, right where you left him, looking up at the sky. You didn't quite reach him before he looked down at caught you with his gaze. You smiled, taking his hand before the two of you started to meander again.

"Can I ask what it was?" He says after a moment.

You laugh a little. "You can, I'm still trying to sort out how to say it."

"Is it... bad?" His voice is a little more nervous than you'd expected.

"No, I don't think so. It's endearing, but maybe a little aggravating." You offer, squeezing his hand and looking up at him, pausing your meandering walk again. "I saw Thatch."

The confusion on his face is nearly adorable, before he rolls his eyes and sighs. "And?"

"And a young man named Ace." You say, a cheerful tone in your voice. Marco pinches the bridge of his nose. "They hadn't found their quarry, but, I did send them home."

"I didn't tell anyone where we were going." Marco starts, and you pat his arm.

"I know, apparently they broke off into groups and cast a net over the city." You explain and watch him nearly pale. He mutters something in a language you don't know well, but you know muttering swearing when you hear it, no matter the language.

You can't help the laugh that escapes you, and seemingly true to an earlier statement, you see him relax. He brings your hand up to his lips and gives your fingers a warm kiss.

"I'm glad to hear you have a sense of humor about this, yoi." He muses, leaning down and kissing your forehead before straightening back up. "My apologies for my brothers."

"Not at all." You assure him. "I'm looking forward to meeting more of them. If, uh, you're comfortable with that."

"You want to?" There's an easy tone in his voice, but you can feel his fingers flex.

"Yeah." You admit, clearing your throat a little. "Thatch is nice, and Ace seems like quite the enamored younger brother. It seems like you have an interesting family, and you haven't said anything bad about them, so... yeah."

"Alright." He says simply as the two of you continue walking.

"Oh, and I did say I would petition for you to not murder your brothers." You say after a moment, and Marco laughs.

"Well, if it's you asking, I suppose I can forgive them, yoi."

"So what next?" You question. "It's cold, but I feel like I could go for ice cream."

"I need to try and win you a cheap carnival prize too before we leave."

"Ah, but what if I win you a cheap carnival prize instead?" You prompt, giving him a cheeky grin.

"A competition?"

"Whoever wins a big stuffed animal first wins?"

"Sure."

"Ah, but what do they win?"

Marco leans down, speaking quietly into your ear. His breath is hot, but it's the words that warm you more than his proximity.

"Control, once we get back to your place tonight."