«This doesn't make sense.»

Marco seemed to talk to himself rather than to you. His hands were restless on his face and in his hair, while you were leaning against the wall, empty.

«I'm sorry.» you whispered. Not even the voice would come anymore.

It was too much to handle.

«But I saw you. With Ace. I saw him getting in your room in the middle of the night and leaving in the morning.»

The only mention of Ace's name made your chest hurt like you were having a heart attack.

Some time ago.

Whitebeard's crew had just saved an island from another group of violent pirates, and was now enjoying the deserved party. The citizens went all out for the joy, and organized a glorious banquet on the beach to honour their saviour.

To be honest, you always felt a little uncomfortable when the crew had parties with strangers, and you often ended up standing by yourself, apart from the core celebration.

First because your big brothers would viciously glare at any man who tried to talk to you, second because, at the same time, they didn't mind the company of all the enthusiastic women who gathered around them. So, at the end of the day, no one really interacted with you.

Sometimes it was even worse, though. And this was the case.

You sat on your own with your tankard, not too far from the big fire lighting the night. The beach was filled with shouts and laughter, but they couldn't enter your mind.

Your eyes were fixed on the beautiful brunette sitting on Marco's lap. She was awfully attractive and she knew it. On the other hand, the first commander looked like he was definitely pleased by her attentions.

Your stomach clutched when the woman traced the tattoo on his chest with her slender finger.

«...and you'd be the famous Y/n.»

The voice from your side shook you from your catatonic state, inducing a frown to enter your features.

Not now.

You turned to the drunken man who approached you. The lust was glittering in his half-lidded eyes.

«Please, just go away.» you hissed.

«Oh, c'mon baby girl. Juuuust a ride. You live alone with so many men, you surely know how the world goes.»

The deadly glare you shot him made him shut his mouth, but before you could do anything more, a strong arm circled the man's neck, squeezing it a little too hard. He let out a muffled moan.

«Sorry friend, I believe you lost the way.» Ace grinned «The party is in that direction!» so he threw him towards the banquet.

You stood on your feet.

«There was no need, Ace.»

«I know. I just wanted to do it!»

The ravenette cheerfully smiled.

«Why are you here, by the way? We're having so much fun!»

«I can see that.»

The caustic comment left your lips before you could contain it.

Ace blinked, noticing the dark expression on your face.

«Y/n, are you okay?»

When you didn't reply, his eyes scouted around the area, like they were looking for something. It didn't take long before they spot that something.

«Oh. I see.»

How is this reckless boy so good when he wants?

«I'm going to bed.» you flatly said, heading for the ship anchored nearby.

You didn't want to look at Ace, let alone Marco. The tears you were trying to swallow back had grown more difficult to restrain.

«Hey, wait a second...!»

But you didn't turn.

It wasn't even an hour before someone knocked to your cabin. You were just starting to fall asleep after a long cry in the pillow, but the noise startled you.

There was no chance you could answer the door in that state. Your face was as red as a tomato, your eyes were puffy and humid.

You decided to ignore it, but after a few seconds they knocked again, banging the door this time.

«Y/n, I know you're not asleep! Let me in!»

«Ace, go away!» you shouted.

«Open up!»

«Let me alone!»

«Won't happen! Open this door or I'm burning it down!»

You groaned in your pillow, ignoring him.

«Y/n, I'm serious.»

Uh-oh. You knew that voice, he really was.

With a low growl, you got out of the bed and stormed to the door.

«What do you want?!» you uttered, opening it.

Ace scowled at the sight of your messed face. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

«How can I enjoy the party knowing that my little sister is crying in her room?»

«It's none of your business!» you sighed, falling back on your bed.

His scowl muted into a sneer, and he dropped his shirt and hat on the floor, insinuating under your blanket.

«Woha! What are you doing?»

«Cuddle!» he cheerfully said, pulling you against his chest. You beat your forehead against his red necklace.

«Ouch! Ace, let me go!»

«Not until you smile to me.»

«I don't feel like it.»

He pouted like a little child, but the grin came back soon on his freckled face.

«Then I'll have to make you!»

His fingers rapidly found your ribs, pinching and prodding. You squirmed in the hug, trying to escape, but he was too strong.

«NAHAHAHAH STHAP!»

«That's better!»

Ace stopped, resting his chin on your shoulder.

To your surprise, your body began to relax in his warmness.

«Ace?»

«Hm?»

«Was... was he still with that woman?»

The pirate sighed.

«You know she doesn't mean anything to him, right? She's just some girl on some island, and we'll never see her again.»

«So he was still with her.»

«Have you even listened to me?»

«I know, it's not like this is the first time.»

You rolled on your back, entangling from the embrace, but staying very close to him.

«It's just... hard.»

«Do you want me to punch him in the face? I could totally do that. Just like "hey Marco", and then, bang!»

You chuckled at his words, but the smile died fast on your lips.

«Ace, what if he falls in love?»

He widened his eyes.

«Are you kidding?»

A soft hum left your mouth, as your gaze got lost on the ceiling. Ace sighed quietly.

«Y/n, what are you going to do?»

«What do you mean?»

«Do you plan to go on like this forever?»

You didn't reply, a heavy pound sinking in your chest.

Fire Fist pouted, pulling you closer again.

«Let's sleep for now, shall we? I'll stay here with you.»

You couldn't avoid a soft chuckle at his affection.

«Fine by be.» you said, closing your eyes against his body.

The first light of down had fallen on the calm sea when Ace sneaked out from your cabin.

Not that he really cared about what people were thinking about you two, but some of your brothers could be extremely annoying, and, more importantly, Pops would have probably been upset.

Most of the men were passed out for the booze on the deck or on the beach, and he felt like he succeeded his mission, until resolute steps resounded behind him and a familiar voice called his name.

«Oi, Ace.»

The pirate cursed in his teeth, before turning to the first commander.

«Marco, hey.»

The pineapple didn't look pleased.

«So this is why you were both gone during the night, yoi.»

Ace rubbed the back of his head.

«We... wait, you noticed? I thought you were a little busy too.»

The blond huffed, diverting his eyes.

«Don't change the subject!»

«Don't you change the subject! You were the one who disappeared with a random woman!»

«S-So what? At some point, I wanted to check on Y/n, yoi.»

The raven-haired boy crossed his arms on his chest, lifting his chin.

«You mean after sex.»

Marco buried his face in his hand, exasperated.

«Well, I suppose she was with you, yoi... fine then.»

«Wait pineapple, I think you misunderstood...»

The first commander waved his explanation away with a swift gesture.

«It's okay, yoi.»

«But Marco, really, we didn't–»

«I don't wanna know, I don't want to talk about it. Just know this: if I see her crying because of you, you're a dead man, yoi.»

«Hey...!»

Marco turned, clearly not willing to listen any other word, and walked away.

Ace groaned, messing his hair with his hand.

«You should punch yourself, stupid pineapple!»

Present.

Marco was waiting for something from you, a confirmation, or a deny. But you were far too tired.

«I can't do this right now.» you breathed, almost silently.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but a heavy knock on the door made you both startle.

«Marco, are you in there? The men are gathered, we're waiting for you.»

Vista's voice.

The blond threw a glare outside the porthole.

«It's morning already. Shit.»

«I'm sorry to disturb you, but they need to know you got their back now. I don't like to increase the burden on your shoulders, but you seem to be the only one they wanted to hear.» Vista continued from across the door.

Marco's arms dropped along his sides.

«I'm coming.»

You stood up as well as he turned to face you. His eyes were tormented and you immediately lowered yours, unable to stand his gaze.

«Y/n...»

«Go.»

He sighed.

«We'll talk later, yoi.»

«We don't have to.» you whispered, finally able to raise your head again «Let's pretend I didn't say anything, okay? I–»

«We'll talk later.»

His voice was firm and didn't allow abjections. He moved to the door, opening it. Vista eyed the inside of the cabin, spotting you.

«Here you are, little one! I was worried.»

«Did Shanks say something about our destination?» Marco asked.

«We should be there in a few hours.»

«Good.»

The first commander walked out from the cabin.

When he was gone, Vista's eyes went back to you.

«You did good stopping him tonight.»

You nodded weakly, bracing yourself.

«Hey.»

With a few wide steps, Vista was beside you, pulling you in his chest with an arm, while his other hand rested on your head.

«I'm sorry you have to go through all this.» he said with his warm reassuring voice. Your body relaxed a little in the hug.

«We're all together in this.»

«True.» he hummed «But it's a little bit different. See, I've been with Pops for most of my life, and I'm no youngling anymore. I knew the time for goodbyes would have come. The same goes for Marco, or Jozu. Of course it doesn't make the pain any better... but you.»

Vista gently grabbed your shoulders, pulling you back a little to watch you in the eyes.

«You're so young and fresh, Y/n. And so was Ace.» he moved a lock of hair from your face «I wish I could protect you from this pain, little one.»

You shook your head, tears lining your cheeks once again.

«It's okay.»

With a rough movement, you rubbed the tears away.

«V-Vista, sit please! I didn't even visit you yesterday, I need to check your wounds!»

He smiled fondly.

«Y/n, Y/n. Forgive us. You became such a wonderful and strong woman, yet all we can see it's always the little girl hiding behind Marco's legs.»

You blushed, weakly smiling back.

«Yeah, I used to do that...»

Vista patted your head.

«You were strong already, though. Every time he used to leave for a mission, you always greeted him smiling, and then cried in your room for hours.»

«Vista, come on...»

«And remember the time Namur got slashed in the abdomen? It was a dark stormy night, and we were furiously fighting on the deck. You were, what?, ten? And you ran across the battle and stubbornly stopped the haemorrhage with your hands.»

«Oh, yeah...» the memories started to flow «I got a glancing blow then. I still have the scar.»

Vista nodded.

«That was when Marco got really angry.»

Marco... you might had just lost him forever.

«He needs you know.»

You glanced surprised at him.

«What?»

«He has always wanted to be the one you could lean on, but his burden it's just too heavy. Although we're like brothers, Marco is now in charge. He will not quiver in front of us... but you're an exception. Please, stay beside him.»

Your shoulders dropped.

«I will.»

If he still wants me to.

The first commander did a good job reassuring the men, although he couldn't lift the pain in their chests.

No one could. It was just too soon.

You didn't attend the reunion, needing some time on your own. You took a shower, put on some fresh clothes and reached the deck of the main ship.

The sun was pale in the autumnal region, and a cold breeze was blowing on the limpid sea.

Some Red-haired pirates were scattered around. They glanced at you when you walked to the railing, but they let you be. Yasop waved at you.

Hours passed and you just stared at the horizon, wrapping Shanks' black jacket around your body.

«Y/n?»

The captain himself approached you.

You lifted and forced a smile into your face.

«Red-hair.» you greeted «I owe you an apology and my gratitude.»

Shanks smiled and waved away your words with his hand.

«Please, no need to be so formal! How come you're not in the hall with your crewmates?»

«I needed to be on my own for a while.»

«Well, I just came to tell you this.»

For a second, the man looked a little embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head, clearing his voice.

«Don't take it the wrong way, I don't want to sound inopportune... but the future of the Whitebeard pirates is uncertain now.»

You narrowed your eyes and he immediately shook his head.

«I'm not questioning your strength or your bound! If I didn't have the greatest respect for you, I wouldn't be here now.»

«So what are you trying to say?»

«I just want you to know that, if anything happens now or in the future, well... there is a place for you on my ship.»

You blinked at him. So he was serious, that time.

Normally you would have repelled his words with scorn. But now...

Your brothers needed you and you had not intention of leaving them. At the moment. But after losing Pops and Ace, you were pretty sure it'd have been impossible for you to live near Marco and barely talking to him. It was just too hard. Your confession could have ruined your relationship forever, and if that was the case, you had no choice but leaving.

You lowered your eyes.

«I'm flattered, Red-hair.»

«Call me Shanks.»

«...Shanks. Right now, I want to stay with my brothers. But I'll keep your offer in mind.»

He smiled.

«Hey, look!» Red-hair pointed to a distant black spot on the horizon «That's the island! We're almost there.»

The meeting was over, and some Whitebeard pirates joined you on the deck as well.

You stiffened when you saw Marco turning to you and walking in your direction.

The two captains greeted each other with a respectful nod. You kept your eyes on the sea.

«So, we've almost reached our destination, yoi.» Marco observed.

«We should be there in an hour if the wind continues this way.» Shanks confirmed.

«Thanks, Red-hair. If you don't mind, Y/n and I will go on to check out the island, yoi. We'll see you there.»

You frowned.

«Wait, wha–»

Without waiting for you to realize or Shanks to answer, Marco wrapped an arm around your waist and jumped outboard.

A second later, you were surrounded by blue flames.

Marco transformed completely, like he used to do when you were a child, always stressing him to "make you fly".

God, you were such a pain in the ass as a kid! But he pleased you every time, and Pops was always saying he was spoiling you too much. He laughed while saying it though.

The wind in your hair and on your face wiped away the weights in your chest. The speed was so high you grasped on the neck of the blue phoenix, shouting. Just like you did as a child.

Thanks to his flames, you weren't cold.

You weren't sure if you were crying or not, but certainly you were unable to stop smiling during the ride.

For a few minutes, all the pain was gone and you were just a kid flying on a phoenix.

You reached the shore, and Marco started to transform back to his human form. He kept the wings to gently glide on the beach, but manage to make you slide between his arms, one under your knees and the other around your waist.

He carefully let you go when he set foot on the sand.

Your legs were shaky at first, so he held you until he was sure you could stand on your own.

«T-Thanks, it was... good.»

Your arms automatically wrapped around your torso.

«Please, Y/n, look at me.»

Your eyebrows furrowed, but you lifted your eyes.

Now he looked as collected as always.

Just, how could he do that? Your heart was pounding so fast in your chest you were afraid it could kill you.

«I need to tell you something too, yoi.»

You shut your eyes.

You didn't want to listen.

You thought all the losses of the previous day had wiped away your feelings or what you cared about them. You painfully realized you were wrong.

«Please, don't.» your murmured «I know. I know it already. I'm your little sister. It's obvious, I was just a child, and you were already a warrior and I'm so much younger... It's okay. Really, it's okay for me if you're my big brother. I just... I cannot lose you now, Marco.»

He was fast in nullifying the distance and bringing you to his chest, holding your body in his arms.

«There is no chance you will ever lose me, Y/n.»

You relaxed a little bit, leaning on his tattoo.

I promised I'd stayed strong... looks like I'm doing a terrible job.

«Then it's okay.»

You swallowed and tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let you.

«Marco?»

«Remember when you left for your medical training, yoi?»

You blinked, confused.

«Yeah...»

«Pops had the best doctors came on the ship to teach you, but eventually you had to do the practical training in a real facility. We were all so depressed when we left you on that island, yoi. How could we imagine a child picked up out of nowhere would become so important for us? Pops was impossible for weeks.»

You chuckled, still wrapped in his arms. His chin rested on your head.

«You were fifteen, yoi, and stayed away for three whole years. Everyone wanted to visit, but no one wanted to say it out loud, so we never did. When we came to pick you up again, we had the hardest time hiding our excitement from each other, yoi.»

More soft giggles left your lips.

«But when we arrived» Marco continued «some idiotic pirate had thought it was smart to kidnap you to blackmail us.»

You remembered the whole episode very well.

The Whitebeard pirates just went berserk on the island. The Navy actually raised Pops' bounty after those events.

Eventually, you were able to free yourself and escape the enemy crew, but it didn't stop your brothers to turn those pirates into dead meat. It was maybe the only time you saw Marco and Thatch actually willing to kill someone.

«You didn't need us though, yoi.»

«I... trained in combat also, during those years. I didn't want to be a burden for you guys.»

Marco finally pulled away to look at you in the eyes.

«When I saw you again, you were eighteen, yoi, with a black eye and limping.»

You blushed.

Not the way you wanted to greet Marco after three years, you recalled. It felt so frustrating.

«It is true I left my little sister on that island, yoi. But.» his hands squeezed your shoulders as he was looking for the words «When I saw you again I though... I thought crap. She's beautiful.»

Your eyes widened.

Marco was not looking at you. His eyes were fixed on the white sand.

«I was so ashamed of myself, yoi. At first, I thought it was just a moment, you know. Everything would have gone back to normal as soon as you were back on the ship. But it wasn't the case. Everyday you look stronger, yoi, and more beautiful and so damn perfect.»

Wait.

What is happening?

What is Marco saying?

Someone explain please, I'm not understanding.

«I tried to suffocate my feelings, I really did. I slept with other women, I left more often, I treated you like my little sister like I was supposed to. Nothing worked, yoi. Then Ace came.»

He lifted his eyes on yours. His gaze was ragged.

«And now you say... all this time...»

You frantically shook your head, lost.

«Marco, stop! I don't understand! I don't understand what you're saying!»

You tried to pull away, but the first commander stopped you, cupping your face and forcing you to look at him.

«I love you, Y/n.»

Your breath stopped.

Your heart stopped.

You stared at each other in the eyes for what it felt like an eternity.

Then he bent on you and captured your lips in his.

Oh my god.

Oh my god, I'm kissing Marco.

He loves me. He always had.

At first, you let him lead, melting in his warmness. Then the realization got you and you grasped on his shirt, putting all the feelings you were unable to contain in a desperate kiss.

He did the same, pushing his tongue past your lips, entangling it with yours in a burning need.

He almost hurt you from how tight he squeezed you against his body.

You were both panting for air when he broke the kiss, still pressing his forehead and nose against yours in a tormented frown.

«I'm so sorry, Y/n, yoi.» he whispered.

«Shh.»

You wrapped your arms around his neck, burying your face in his chest.

Ace, watch me now.

You were so right. I should have listened.

«Pops saw it, in the end, yoi.» Marco wheezed «He would have approved.»

«Ace knew too.»

«So they were the only ones...» the first commander smiled «I bet they're laughing so hard at us, right now, yoi.»

You laughed and cried a thousand tears in his chest.

All the Whitebeard pirates and all the allied captains were lined on the hill.

The two graves were sprinkled with flowers in every shape and colour. Whitebeard flag fluttered high.

Shanks and Marco were standing in front of them, while you were kneeling between the flowers, gently disposing the last one.

«Red-hair. I have no words to express my gratitude.» Marco said, eyes fixed on the flag.

«Stop talking nonsense. I've always respected Whitebeard even though he was my enemy. Even Sengoku respected him.»

Marco nodded and Shanks turned.

«We must go now.»

«Yes. Thanks, yoi.»

Red-haired Shanks walked away with his men. Your paths departed.

All your brothers stood silently on the hill for hours, everyone mourning in his own way.

You stayed quietly near the graves till the sun began to set.

When almost anyone was gone, Marco stretched his hand for you and you took it, standing beside him.

You both stood some more minutes in silence, eyes on their names, or maybe lost in the violet sky.

«So what now?» you quietly asked.

«Now we go to our brothers.»

He turned his back to the graves and gently pulled you by his side.

It was not over, though. The Payback war was still to come.

You couldn't know by that moment, but more losses were waiting for you at the end of the road.

A time was approaching in which Blackbeard would really come and claim you as his wife. And your brothers would not be enough to stop him.

But this is a story for another time.

Right now, Marco would not let go of your hand, and that was enough.