Chapter Text
It’s not until Marineford that Marco finally understands everything—the injuries he sustained despite not getting into any strenuous fights for an extended period of time, the unexplainable anger brewing in his chest with small specks of grief and frustration mixed in— everything.
He looks upon the sight in front of him, eyes widening. Everything that he had been feeling past and present, is because of Luffy —this rising rookie, nerves of steel and recklessness rivaling his brother’s—his soulmate. Not in the way that humans typically describe soulmates to be, but rather through their outward species. The orange flames surround the boy and his eyes are no longer just a deep black, but rather there is now a burning determination and shine to his pupils.
The boy is a sight to behold, all ceasing fire and observing the teen flapping his wings, lifting himself from off the stone battlefield. His wings are a blazing orange, tinges of blue and red decorating them as his tail feathers flow with the wind. He gazes down at the battlefield and lets out an ear-piercing screech. It echoes from above and if there was anyone initially ignoring him, now they do not.
The silence is piercing.
Then. His body moves. Marco’s body is no longer chained down by the seastone shackles and so, he joins his other half in the sky. Their inner phoenixes both rejoice, finding solace in the other, and the two look at each other, Luffy tilting his head inquisitively before nuzzling him and letting out a cheerful chirping noise.
It’s not what Marco expects, but it calms him down; he has found his soulmate and thank the heavens his soulmate isn’t a jackass—just… incredibly reckless. (He would be having words with the boy about the stunt he pulled at Enies Lobby. And Alabasta. And Baratie with Mihawk. And literally everything else. )
But all that could wait. After all, they both have a brother to save. They nod at one another in acknowledgement before taking a nosedive, shoving and kicking and clawing their way through the Marines. It’s not much, but Marco feels an emptiness in his heart slowly close up. (He chooses to ignore the playful rumbling of laughter coming from Pops)
When the duo lands less-than-gracefully on the ground, they revert back to their human forms. Marco grins at the younger boy. “ So. This is quite the surprise. My best friend’s younger brother is my soulmate, huh?”
Luffy tilts his head as he lets out a joyful ‘ shishishi . ’ “Nice to meet you, Marco!”
The man in question snorts. “So you can call people by their actual names, yoi.”
Luffy continues to smile disarmingly. “Of course! I only do it for people I really like! And actual nicknames like Smokey!” He makes a large hand motion and Marco can’t help but feel charmed. He ruffles the boy’s hair and gives him an uncharacteristic peck on the forehead.
Luffy freezes up, and before Marco can regret his decision, Luffy jumps on the older man and wraps himself around his back. “Anyways, enough talking! Let’s beat these marines up and set Ace free! My friend is one of the executioners and he’s helping us!”
Marco smirks. “I like the way you think, yoi…. Also, which friend are you talking about?” He questions, as he and Luffy casually knock out the soldiers running their way.
“Mr. 3 or something! He works for Crocodile… sorta… I dunno, it's confusing!” Luffy grumbles. “Speaking of Crocodile… Hi, Croccy!” He hollers at the Shichibukai as sand rushes past them. If Marco wasn’t mistaken, he could hear a hint of resignation if not amusement coming from Crocodile’s discreet response of ‘hello to you to, Straw Hat’.
Seems like Marco’s not the only one caught up in the tidal wave that is Luffy himself.
Blatantly ignoring the many Marines continuing to pursue after the two, the younger boy proceeds to talk about the various adventures he experienced with his crew—and yes , the boy sometimes went out of order—and frankly Marco realizes how much of a miracle maker Luffy is, truly. The Grand Line is harsh, to say the least, and to make do with an admittedly small crew, is admirable.
But it’s also reckless.
Marco finds himself having to take multiple deep breaths as he hears about all sorts of idiotic things Luffy and Co. did—he draws the line at punching a Celestial Dragon… Marco personally despises them too, but even he is not blind to the dangers of harming such a prominent figure.
“Luffy-yoi… I know we met today, but can you promise me that you’ll be more careful from today? I won’t ask you to stay under the radar—you don’t seem like that type of person—but, please do be aware, I share your pain —quite literally. And, I do care about you, ‘ya know, yoi.”
Luffy’s eyes turn blank before he sighs. “Okay, Marco! I got it.” He whispers, his arms clenching a bit tighter around the neck of the blond.
The older one smiles at him. “ Now. Let’s get Ace out of those shackles, yoi.” Luffy nods in agreement, and as the Admirals are distracted by the others, the Phoenix duo grins cheerfully as they barely escape the rage of the Fleet Admiral, cuffs being released from the wrists of the fire user.
Ace chuckles with a hint of glee as he and the others go all out with their powers with the crowd surrounding them. Marco watches with a smile as he sees Ace and Luffy’s bond come into light through their unspoken orders and synchronization in fighting; color him impressed. Everything seems to be going their way… Until Akainu, the bastard appears in front of the three.
He taunts and mocks Whitebeard, and Marco panics because he knows. He knows that Ace does not take insults towards Pops easily—Luffy seems to be aware of this too, because when Ace turns his back on the two, he snaps—he cries. No. He sobs. The boy’s wails ring out, and Marco knows that while most of it is just crocodile tears to regain the attention of his older brother, some of the tears are very much real.
Ace freezes up.
If there’s one thing, or person, that can get him to turn his back on an opponent, it’s Luffy—always has and will be Luffy—Marco is not stupid; he can tell their bond goes deeper than most, and the safety and protection and wellbeing of the boy will always come first.
“Fuck… ” Ace whispers to himself, his head darting between the two options. Run. Fight.
He chooses the former and Marco can’t help but snort and take a shot at his fellow Commander. “What a Brocon, Ace-yoi."
Ace’s eyebrow twitches as the word processes. “Fuck off Bird-brain. I will literally kill you.”
"That's not very nice, Ace-yoi! Luffy is technically a bird, too!"
Ace's right arm bursts into flames. "And, when the hell did you get so chummy with my brother, huh? "
Marco keels over in laughter when they get back to the ships, Whitebeard and the newly-arrived Shanks officially declaring the war over as their goal has been accomplished—save Ace. Ace is still blazing and screaming at Marco about “tainting his younger brother ” when Izo and Jozu hold him by the arms. “Ace is way too protective of his brother… ” Marco sighs to himself, a grin still littered on his face before Haruta snorts at him.
“You’re one to talk, Marco! You met Straw Hat today, and I can tell that you’d burn the world down just for the boy.”
Marco flushes but does not dignify the comment with a rebuttal—he flicks Haruta’s forehead as he walks away to talk about the crew’s next objective with their Pops; Haruta grins maniacally in the background.