The sun was just shy of rising when Marco woke. He took his time to get ready for the day, knowing the only people awake were those on watch from the night before. He left his room and made his way to the deck, already running through the tasks he needed to finish today.
The sunrise stopped him just before he sat down in the bird's nest, having let his mind wander enough that he got there by muscle memory.
Marco watched the sun break through the dark sky, still just as beautiful as the first time he watched it rise while out at sea. Letting himself relax with the sunrise, he thought about the previous night and conversation, or lack of, with Ace.
He knew that there was something else going on with Ace, evident in the questions he asked, and his overall delay in reactions. Ace knew something, and wasn't saying it outright. That wasn't the problem. Ace knew something, but was holding onto it.
Marco knew all too well what that does to someone. He himself had done just that, up until he decided to indulge Thatch's questions and sake that one night long ago.
Thatch had been surprised to say the least. Marco knew better than to tell Thatch his retelling was done purposefully, needing to confess to someone. He knew the cook would try to approach him and he would never be strong enough to talk about it.
Although it didn't free him from the pain, it had given him back some of his heart that left him on that day.
He knew he needed to talk to Ace before he kept himself in the same prison Marco did for so long.
By the time Marco had realized he spaced out, the sun was well above the horizon, its yellows and oranges illuminating the sky and crewmates beginning to mingle about the deck.
Marco sat down and began his work, choosing to once again stay in the crow's nest instead of his office to wait for a certain fire user to come out.
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Ace grumbled to himself as he made his way to the mess hall, grouchy from his lack of sleep. After Marco had left him with his mouth gaping on the deck, he went to his room only to be kept awake with his thoughts running wild.
He continually ran through their conversation, trying, and failing, to understand what had happened. One thing was for sure,
Marco had no idea. Or, he did and was waiting for something, though he didn't know what.
Ace sighed as he ate his breakfast, slower than normal with its lack of gusto. He waved at crewmates who greeted him in passing, though mostly kept to himself. He didn't know if he should be glad that he was still in control of the situation, though his control seemed to lessen the longer this went on. The realization that he did like Marco had changed the game.
Thanking whatever God there was, Ace finished his breakfast without Thatch or another commander cornering him into talking.
After collecting himself, he made his way to the deck. With a renewed energy and mission, Ace was on a hunt to find and throttle Thatch. He started this whole mess with his offhand comment, and it was time for him to feel the wrath of Ace's built up anger.
Making his way on the deck, Ace was immediately about to tell that Marco was up in the crow's nest. He stopped briefly, before scanning the deck for Thatch. A strange feeling in his chest built up, but Ace ignored it as he found Thatch and Izou talking together across the deck from him.
As if he could sense Ace's stare, Izou turned and looked in Ace's direction, Thatch still obvious to his fate.
Ace let his head tilt slightly down, his eyes still locked on Thatch as he strode towards the duo.
Izou smirked as he tapped Thatch's shoulder and gestured to the incoming fire user.
Looking at Izou in confusion, Thatch followed the path of his sight to see Ace only a few feet. Without stopping, Ace reached out his hand, grabbed Thatch by his pompadour and dragged him off to the side, fully knowing the pain Thatch would feel, emotionally and physically.
"Oi! Let go of my hair, you brat!" Thatch yelled out, more distressed over his hair than what was to come.
Izou giggled behind them as Ace let go of his hair and crossed his arms, giving Thatch a fierce glare.
"Sheesh..." Thatch said as he tried to fix his now wilted hair, ignoring Ace's glare and pouting at the lack of improvement.
Ace slapped his hands away from the hair and went back to crossing his arms. Thatch then looked back at Ace in confusion. Glancing at Izou, Thatch slowly backed up, arms beginning to raise in surrender.
"I'm not sure what I did this time...but I'm," he paused to search for the word, "...Sorry?"
Ace took a step towards Thatch, closing the distance that Thatch had inched back, his face remaining the same; a hard glare that was far from wavering.
Neither party spoke. Thatch let out some nervous chuckles, all while Ace's glare continued to darken and Izou passively watched.
Finally biting the bullet, Ace sighed loudly, closing his eyes in exacerbation and letting his arms relax to his side.
"We need to talk about you know who and you know what."
Hearing this, Izou let out a little gasp, excited about whatever had happened since their last talk, while Thatch's eyebrows had shot up in surprise.
"You said something to him?" Thatch asked quietly. He quickly glanced around trying to find the blonde in question, only to see Ace jerk his head up slightly, gesturing to the crow's nest. Nodding in acknowledgement, Thatch grinned saying,
"Well, let's head to the mess hall then, hm?"
After some snacks and a thorough explanation of the previous night's events, Ace let himself sag against the table, waiting for their reactions. Both Izou and Thatch had been silent thus far and only nodded during his retelling. Ace, being accustomed to constant interruptions and comments whenever telling a story, thought the silence was different, new.
Though if it is a good new, we'll have to see.
"So you were confronted and tried, unsuccessfully, to question what he knows? That sound right?" Thatch said beside Ace.
Ace nodded his head that still laid on the table, and relaxed at the hand that patted his back.
"I'm not sure asking rhetorical questions was the correct way to integrate him." Izo pointed out.
This is Marco we are talking about, the voice in his head laughed at him.
"So what now, are you going to tell him or wait?"
Ace had left out his discovery of an actual attraction to Marco. How the tallies on his skin being from Marco wasn't as much of a coincidence as he originally thought. The more he dwelled on it, the less angry he was with Thatch being the catalyst, and the more angry he was at himself.
How could I not have seen it?, he thought.
It had been clear that at least the commanders, if not most of the crew, had seen through Marco and his relationship as brothers and saw something more.
"Like I said yesterday," Thatch said to Ace's right, "We aren't here to pressure youー"
"I think I love him." Ace interrupted him, lifting his head to lock eyes with Thatch. He left no room for questioning; his voice so sure of his statement that he was almost confident in how he said it.
Thatch's mouth made an 'O' and before he or Izou could fully react, Ace continued. He knew he needed their help, but more importantly to get this off his chest.
"While your meddling wasn't something I had wanted," a look in Thatch's direction, "It helped me realize some things. Marco... he really does mean a lot to me." Admitting it outloud, Ace knew a blush was growing on his face.
"The tallies, while they don't dictate someone's decision about their significant other, they do mean something. I had taught myself that they were meaningless, so when I found Marco as my soulmate, I denied it."
Ace sighed, "Truthfully, I didn't want it for myself. To ruin another relationship, to have someone like Marco tied to me, being a burden on him..."
Ace thought of the small smiles they shared, the oblivious lack of stress on the normally tired looking man. It had only been himself stopping his own happiness. There was no sign whatsoever that Marco saw him as a burden, rather the opposite. The only thing stopping the happiness he could have with Marco, and giving Marco, was himself.
"After talking to him, though at the time it seemed as though nothing had come from it, I realized that I need Marco, and..." he glanced down at the tallies on his arms, "The tallies were just another piece pointing me in that direction."
Allowing a smile to come across his face, Ace tilted his head and said,
"So, my nosey brothers. What should I do now?"
Hugs were given, smiles and small laughs shared, and a plan hatched between the three to 'win' Marco over was made, though Thatch and Izou had made clear that Marco had been won over long ago. With a final threat and smack to Thatch, reminding him that Ace was still fake irritated at the situation, and pushful shove from Izou, Ace made his way onto the deck to speak to Oyaji before finding Marco.
Pops was watching the crew, sake in his hand and nurses frowning at a distance. Seeing Ace, he seemed to pause in what he was doing. Without waiting for Ace to reach him, he made his way into his cabin, knowing Ace would follow shortly.
Once both parties were settled, Ace took a breath before once again explaining what had happened the previous day. This time he didn't leave out anything; the confusion he had felt, his distaste for tallies up until now, and his feelings for Marco. There was no point in lying or leaving out parts with Pops, he would know and make Ace admit it eventually anyway.
He smiled as he told him the plan that he, Thatch, and Izou had made for him to confront Marco, laughing with Oyaji at each ridiculous idea Thatch made that he had to veto.
"Well, my son," Pops laid his hand against Ace's shoulder, gripping it only slightly as he continued, "To know that both of my son's will become happier is enough for this old man."
Ace's eyes watered and his smile wavered at that statement. He grabbed Oyaji's arm back, squeezing it in silent thanks.
Just as he was about to ask about his thoughts on how Marco might react to their plan, the door was pushed open quickly, causing them to stare at the haggard form of Thatch panting at the door.
Shouts were heard behind Thatch, as he said, "We are under attack!"
And with that, all three men left the room to confront those who dared attack the Whitebeard pirates.
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Marco had gotten more work done this morning than he had in the previous days, even with his mind on autopilot. The mundane work was calming and without worrying about making mistakes, he could dwell on other things.
He had immediately noticed the lack of Ace's presence for most of the morning, seeing him leave with Thatch and Izou before coming back. Even before he had the thought to come down from his place above the deck, Ace had already left with Pops to his cabin.
Marco had to fight the urge to question the fire user. He knew that he would come to him and explain when he was ready, or Thatch would spill before he could.
As Marco organized his things, having finished all the work he brought with him, his head shot up, looking beyond the crow's nest. A second sense told him caution.
Something is coming, he thought, setting down his things to properly look out.
Boom!
The deck shook with the force of a cannon hitting its side, and just like that, those on the deck got into defensive positions. Seeing Thatch's body disappear in the direction of Oyaji's cabin, Marco began planning how to fight against the pirates across the sea from them.
Jumping to the edge of the crow's nest, Marco surveyed the deck. The enemy ship was slowly coming closer to the Moby, continuing to fire cannons every few seconds.
Transforming himself into his hybrid form, Marco flapped his phoenix wings once before taking flight towards the ship.
Marco flew til he could hover just above the ship, watching as they rushed around to prepare to try and board the Moby, and try they will. Marco took note of the captain and his stronger members who chose to stand at the bow instead of aiding the rest of the crew.
They aren't going to fight? Seems suspicious.
The captain made eye contact with the phoenix, scoffing and smiling. With a glare in response, Marco flew back to the Moby.
He landed on the deck just in front of Pops and Ace, the commanders gathering to discuss what they should do.
Relaying what he saw, a plan was made. Marco saw many of the commanders begin to smirk, excited for some action after sailing so long without a stop.
Marco himself was going to sit back, preferring to observe with Pops and intervene when needed than fight on the frontlines. He had long since grown out of the pure adrenaline to fight, but found pride in watching his siblings successes.
Without wasting any time, everyone dispersed. Marco made his way with Oyaji to his seat and watched with focused eyes each and every battle going on around him. His eyes flickered around rapidly to keep track of his siblings, his calm stance never wavering despite his hyperfocus.
Though the commanders had tried to prevent the enemy crew from boarding the deck, the combination of cannon fire and the sheer amount of pirates that were attacking on the frontline pushed them onboard.
From there, the crew divided and conquered, slowly picking off those who came aboard with ease. Marco narrowed his eyes at the forms of the captain and his crewmates that were clearly the strongest remaining on their ship, no movement from where Marco initially saw them. They smiled and spoke to each other, as if ignoring the battle ongoing, with the strongest man in the world's crew.
Holding back the urge to deal with them himself, Marco went back to watching his siblings, though he kept an eye out for the captain.
Thatch and Ace tag teamed a large group of the enemy pirates, laughing as they made a competition out of it.
A ways away, Izou began aiming at the ship's cannons, but more specifically those firing them. Each successful shot left Izou with a smirk, and Jozu who was covering for him smiling.
Across the deck, the battles began to die out when Marco got the same feeling earlier, that something else was about to happen, something that posed trouble and worry.
Looking around, Marco couldn't pinpoint anything out. He began scanning the enemies deck when he saw it.
The ugly captain's sly grin, his other mates laughing alongside him.
The glint of a gun.
A small projectile shoot out.
Ace.
The bullet hit Ace and he crumbled to the ground, passing out before being able to express the agony he felt. Thatch immediately caught him and yelled for help to bring him to the infirmary.
Seastone, Marco realized as Ace was unable to bounce back.
With narrowed eyes, Marco transformed his arms to wings and darted to the ship and the captain who dared hit one of his loved ones.
Wasting no time, Marco dealt with the scum and his subordinates, making sure to inflict as much pain as he could with the swipe of his talons. He left the weak men cowering as his siblings rounded them up for Oyaji to decide their fate.
Dropping back onto the Moby, he spotted Thatch outside the infirmary, and sped walk towards the man knowing he would have the answers he needed.
"How bad?" Marco asked, noting the expression Thatch wore on his face.
Fear.
Sighing, Thatch said, "The nurses said the bullet entered really close to his heart and are currently in surgery to try and remove it."
A pause.
"They... aren't sure if he'll make it yet."
Marco's face was tilted towards the ground, shadowed and avoiding Thatch's watchful eyes on him. After a moment, Thatch continued.
"I'm sorry," he reached out to lay a comforting hand, but retracted it as Marco moved out of its path. "You rest, I'll get you if the situation changes."
Normally one to fight, Marco remained silent. His eyes were locked on a single thing.
His arm.
His arm full of tallies, normally standing out bold against his skin, were flickering.
Flickering.
Not once had they stayed their normal, consistent color throughout his one sided conversation with Thatch. The bold black only had a faint tinge now, growing fainter with each flicker. His body began to involuntarily shake with the implications. No one but himself knew what this meant. No one but himself seemed to live through it after all.
The flickering of the tallies meant a soulmate was dying, or close to death if they managed to survive. August hadn't, and he was witness to the flickering fade into nothingness; his arms going from completely filled to blank in a moment's time.
He clutched his arms, as if to will the tallies, no, will the person he knew was connected to them to survive.
Thatch caught on quickly, letting out a small curse before grabbing Marco and leading him to his room. He dropped him off, cursed to himself again, before promising the unresponsive man to be back. With a now shut door, Marco was let alone, his eyes having not left his arm.
Only when he saw droplets falling on his arm, did he realize tears were streaming down his face. He made no move to wipe them.
Ace was fighting for his life, and Marco could do nothing.
Useless, he thought.
His soulmate, who had been obviously trying to see if he felt the same the previous night, was now fighting for his life and Marco could do nothing but pray to a God he didn't believe in that he would survive.
Survive so that Marco could tell him that, yes, he did love him. That he wanted to wait for Ace to be ready rather than push his own wants. To be able to hold him. To tell him that he was loved. Convince Ace that he could be loved.
Fate seemed to laugh at Marco's misery, giving him the curse of immortality to only watch his loved ones perish in front of him, unable to do anything. What good was immortality if the ones you lived for always left?, he thought bitterly.
Sobs were ripping out of him with no control. They shook his body, increasing as the tallies continued flickering. He knew that he couldn't survive this again. It was August all over again, the hopelessness, the uselessness, the devastation.
Lost in his thoughts, a common occurrence recently, he was unable to notice his brother's reentry with Izou in tow. They paused, watching as their brother broke down in a way not many had seen before. Thatch moved forward, bringing Marco into his arms and clutching him tightly. He slowly rocked him back and forth, as it was the only comfort he could lend to him.
Izou closed the door to leave them some privacy and began to tidy Marco's already tidy room, jittery at seeing the normally deadpan man expressing such emotion. Expressing such agony.
Thatch couldn't help but watch Marco's forearm with his brother, which was clutched close to his chest. Seeing the flickers, knowing what they meant, his fears increased, for both of his brothers. He had to actively stop himself from imagining the day the same might happen to him for Izou, or Izou for him.
Marco calmed down slowly, still hyper focused on his arm, but silent except for his breaths that were still weak imitations for breathing. Looking up and locking eyes with Izou, Thatch nodded silently and Izou left.
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The following day had left the crew only slightly relieved. Ace had survived the night, but that seemed to be the only good out of the situation. Marco had yet to come out after being brought to his room.
Most were exhausted, having slept little and hope leaving with the passing time yet no answers. Whitebeard had kept a serious expression on his face, dividing out tasks to distract those on the deck, unable to help his children in the way he knew they needed.
With each hour that passed without word about Ace and without Marco's emergence from his self exile, he grew more anxious and worried. Thatch had given him a detailed explanation of what went on yesterday, but has since been locked out of Marco's room and denied access through silence.
The nurses had finished their surgery, though it was only a waiting game if Ace would wake. The prolonged exposure to the seastone left him weak and in a coma like state. Thus, he could only wake up naturally.
While Whitebeard wasn't worried about Ace having the strength to wake, he did worry about the aftershock this had left many in the crew. Ace was plenty strong and had the will to wake up, though there was no telling when that would be.
As he and most of the crew had suspected, Marco and Ace were soulmates. The thought should bring a smile to his face, his children beginning brought together through their makeshift family. Instead, it left him cold. The reaction Marco was having was brought another depth to the situation, one he knew only Marco could recover from by himself.
He never had interrogated Marco about all of his past adventures, as his life as a Whitebeard pirate was meant to be a new life, free from the past. Though, he had suspected that the lack of soulmate tallies, with how long he had lived, would imply something else. Something Marco kept close to his heart and with a closed mouth.
And now, Marco was living through another heartbreak.
Closing his eyes in an attempt to calm his thoughts, he soon felt the presence of one of the nurses in front of him, causing his eyes to snap open.
"Ace has become conscious," the nurse said, not bothering to hide her smile at the news.
Whitebeard thanked her and began to laugh heartily, relieved that their fire user had graced them with waking so soon. Some of his sons came quickly over to him, confused at the sudden laughter during such a grim time.
Once most commanders had wandered over, save a certain phoenix, he relayed the news and the crew broke out in cheers. Nodding to Thatch to try and coax out Marco, Whitebeard made his way to the infirmary to greet Ace with his sons.
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Laying on his bed, Marco's gaze at the ceiling was unfocused, as was his thoughts. After Thatch had left yesterday, he locked his door and laid on his bed. Once he forcefully tore his eyes from his arm, he began to stare at the ceiling as a way to distract himself. He hadn't looked since, unable to watch the flicker anymore, scared of the moment it would disappear. Instead he took time to make note of the groves in the wood above him, their changes in color, and texture. At some point he had run out of observations and opted to just let his mind glaze into nothingness as his eyes remained on the wood above him.
He heard faint knocks and voices throughout the day, but hadn't had the energy to get up and face them. He wasn't sure how he'd react, and so he chose to lay on his bed and block out his emotions. Not that different from his normal method in dealing with his overwhelming feelings.
Blocking them out since he knew he couldn't face them, not now, not ever.
Thatch's voice right outside his door and the knock accompanying it roused Marco from his thoughts, or lack of. Watching the ceiling come into focus, he took his time to sit up and make his way to the door.
As he opened the door, he was greeted with Thatch's grinning face, something not seen since before the enemy attack. Without saying a word, Marco shut the door behind himself and made his way with Thatch to the infirmary.
After having sped walk (read as run), Marco saw many of his brothers and Oyaji outside the infirmary. Many turned at Marco's entrance, moving out of the way til he stood right outside of the closed door he knew Ace was behind. With a glance and nod from Pops, Marco pushed the door open.
He turned his back to the occupant to shut the door, staring at the wood, his shoulders tense.
"Hey," Ace spoke softly behind him.
Slowly turning, Marco set his face into an unreadable expression and looked at Ace, their eyes immediately locking. He walked towards the chair seated directly next the bed, feeling Ace's eyes following his every move.
Once seated, he looked back up at Ace, looking up with his eyes first and having to tilt his head up like a child looking up at their parents.
He had yet to utter a word, afraid that it wasn't real.
Ace watched him, his face calm. After a moment, he reached out, purposefully cautious of the speed and how he approached. His hand touched the side of Marco's face, just along his jawline. Once he had deemed his delicate touch was met with no resistance, did he then lay his whole hand along his face.
Marco not in control of himself, leaned into the touch. Realizing what he did, his eyes darted to Ace's face, watching as his eyes lit up and crinkle with the blinding smile on his face.
Allowing his eyes to shut, Marco relaxed with the touch and the tension slowly left his body.
Both stayed quiet for a while, enjoying the silence and each other's company.
"I knew the whole time, yoi." Marco said, not moving from his position.
With a hum of acknowledgement meant as encouragement from Ace, Marco continued, "I knew from the moment I spoke to you about why we call Oyaji our father. Seeing you smile, becoming second division commander... I didn't want to impose and drop something unexpected on you."
Marco sat up, trying to ignore the way he felt as Ace's hand disconnected with his face.
"It was stupid, yoi. An excuse I had made for myself because I was too afraid of what it would mean. I knew I loved you, that was the easy part. But, then what?" A sigh.
"August," the name was whispered by Ace, concern clear on his face.
With a nod, Marco said, "When I told Thatch about her it was all but an accident, yoi. Once I knew he caught onto what I did, I expected him to tell you."
Thoughts overloaded Marco's head each time he spoke, chastising himself. Coward. Waiting for Thatch to tell him because you couldn't yourself. Marco couldn't disagree with that, choosing to wait for everything rather than fight for himself, just once.
It was easier to fight for everyone else. That way it hurt less when he himself got hurt, having not tried in the first place.
"Stop." Marco looked back up, his eyes having fallen to the floor unintentionally. Ace's face was serious, the smile long gone as he spoke.
"I know you're berating yourself, so just stop and listen to me, okay?"
Seeing Marco nod, Ace let out a small huff.
"I understand why you did it, and you were right. I did need time. I did need to be the one to come to you. You knew me well enough to know that, even though you doubt it."
He then grabbed Marco's hands into his own, letting his thumb run across Marco's knuckles. The warmth from their fires seemed to increase with the touch.
"I want this, and I know you want this too, even if you are afraid of it." Letting out a small laugh, Ace said, "Though I'd never imagined this would be my wake up call."
Ace's eyes snapped towards Marco's face when he felt tremors from said man. His eyes shadowed, Marco's shoulders shook in silence. Ace brought Marco's hands closer to his body, clutching them tighter.
This seemed to only increase the silent suffering. Marco, unable to hide the shaking, bite his lips in an attempt to prevent his voice from escaping.
Though, once he felt Ace lightly place a kiss on his knuckles, all sense of control left him and he collapsed in on himself. Sobs racked his body, the shaking increasing tenfold. He was left gasping for breath, just as he had been when the tallies were flickering on his arms. Through blurred vision due to tears, Marco could see the solid tallies littering his arms and Ace's gentle gaze watching him.
Marco squeezed Ace's hands, grounding himself as he started to calm down. Ace is here, with me, he told himself until his sobs were reduced to short hiccups and deep breaths.
Finally able to speak, Marco said, quietly, "I thought I would lose you before I could even have you."
Ace dropped their hands, pulling Marco into his body with a hug, wrapping his arms around Marco's neck. "You thought I would be done in so easily? Psst." Ace said, trying to lighten the mood.
Marco wrapped his arms around Ace's middle, not responding to Ace's rhetorical question for a moment.
He slightly started to shake again, saying, "The tallies were flickering, just like they did with August, and I... I didn't know what to do... Iー"
Wanting to stop Marco from spiraling again, Ace interrupted, "I know, it's okay! Not a good time to joke, sorry."
They sat together still clutched tightly.
"It's okay," Marco spoke, loudly and more stable than before.
After a while, he let go of Ace, and they both separated. Marco was lost in Ace's eyes, and before letting his inner thoughts scare him, he held Ace's face in his hands and leaned in to kiss his soulmate.
After they separated, Marco let a smile graze his face, "I've been waiting long enough, don't you think, yoi?"
Sharing a laugh together, they held each other, with no intention of letting go anytime soon.