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Marco flies beneath a hot, midday sun. The New World sea is calm for once, giving him the perfect viewpoint of the small ship on the horizon. It was a small ship, for one that held the entirety of an emperor's crew, a smiling lion adorning its helm. The bright colors might disarm some into believing the crew aboard wasn't a threat. Marco knew better. It was precisely because he knew better, because he knew the Thousand Sunny's crew and captain, that he approached.
Just like he knew exactly where everyone was on smiling ship far before he landed, Marco knew at least a few of them had sensed his approach with their haki. So when he finally reached the ship, hovering beside the deck to ask permission to board, he was not surprised to find Cat Burglar Nami waiting by the railing to welcome him. "Permission granted, Marco."
He lands gently on the grass, taking a look at the crew he fought alongside just a week prior. The signs of battle had been all but cleared away, healed by a doctor currently fishing along the opposite railing. Roronoa Zoro sits against the mast, eyes closed though Marco knows he's not asleep. The rest of the crew is milling about the deck, doing what Marco assumed is part of their daily routine. He notices the sniper, Usopp, and Luffy are missing.
His musing is interrupted when Jinbei walks over, a warm smile on his face. It is one Marco readily returns. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, Marco," he greets, bringing Marco into a hug.
He chuckles and pats Jinbei's back. "I had a conversation I needed to finish," he replies vaguely, searching the ship with his haki. Luffy is running around beneath deck, followed by another presence. "Speaking of, where's Straw-hat?"
No sooner had he spoken, that very captain slams open one of Sunny's doors, earning a disgruntled yell from his shipwright. He runs and laughs in equal measure, his face lighting up when he spots Marco. "Oh, Marco! What are you doing here?" He asks, as if he hadn't noticed Marco's approach an hour earlier. Luffy darts a look behind him, dodging to the side as something zips passed him and bursts against one of the ships outer walls. A giant plant erupts from the point and Franky let out another yell. Luffy only laughs. "Never mind that! Help me get outta here before Usopp's ammo eats me!"
Distantly, he hears Nami sigh out, "he's not here to play games with you Luffy," but he hardly pays it any mind. Luffy is staring at him, a glint in his eyes and grin growing impossibly wider.
He'd known Marco's answer before he's asked the question. Marco closes his eyes and lets out his own sigh, a performance really, letting the excitement flooding from Luffy's gaze fill him. He opens his eyes, returning Luffy's grin with a smirk of his own. In a second he was transformed and Luffy was on his back. In another, he had pushed them into the air until the ship was the size of an insect beneath them.
"Oh, Sunny looks like a colorful beetle from up here," Luffy parrots inadvertently. They hear an outraged shout from Usopp. Luffy leans over to look down. "Uh oh."
Marco had a moment to dodge after feeling a ping with his haki. He feels the projectile whistle past them as he dives to the side. Marco raises an eyebrow the best he can in his phoenix form. "What did you do to get him so angry?"
Luffy chuckles. "We were playing tag. I guess this counts as cheating." This time a pair of shots flies up at them, Marco weaving between the incredibly well-timed bullets. "We should probably run."
Marco obliges, looking around and seeing a small island on the horizon. Getting Luffy alone worked well with him. As he dives forward, accelerating till the ship trailed far behind, Marco wonders how much of this Luffy had planned.
They reach the island in just under an hour, the ride between filled with silence on Marco's part and meaningless chatter on Luffy's part. More than once he asked Marco to do a cool trick. More than once Marco debated just dropping him in the ocean, but using the eternal patience he learned from his siblings, he resists.
They land and Luffy immediately hops off, darting around the forest in fascination. Marco follows along bemused. It had been so long since he landed on an island and felt excited to explore it. Unfortunately the island was small and took mere minutes to explore. If Marco thought Luffy would have been disappointed, he surely didn't now as he watched him admire and eat the colorful fruit hanging from the trees.
Eventually, though, Luffy stops walking and turns back to face Marco. He doesn't say anything. He just gives Marco that look, an urging, and waits. Marco silently curses him. Doing that, Luffy reminds him of Pops. So, surprised, Marco evades. "Were you upset Yamato stayed in Wano?"
Luffy just blinks at the deflection. He shakes his head. "Nope. He's gotta take care of his country. It's like with Jinbe, when he's done he'll come find us." Like you did, Luffy says with his stare. He gives Marco a moment to come clean. Marco hesitates. Luffy frowns, a barely perceptible thing, and goes for the kill. "I'm sorry about Izuo."
And Marco barely refrains from hitting him, if only because his voice is truly sincere and he knows it was said to rile him up. Instead he returns Luffy's gaze and says, "Thank you." Apologize, he glares.
Luffy's face turned sheepish for a moment before he adjusts his hat on his head and pushes forward. Marco isn't expecting it, his guard is down, and so he takes the punch straight in the face. Somehow it feels like, I'm sorry. The force sends him flying halfway across the island before his rage catches up to his brain and he uses the momentum to transform his arms and legs and return fire.
They dance with each other, taking turns landing blows that threaten to send them flying into the ocean. More than once they catch themselves before the waves can swallow them. As the sun moves across the sky, Marco briefly wonders at the fact that the Sunny hasn't caught up with them.
The physical exertion drains Marco of his anger, and of many other things, until he feels nothing but his pulse and breath. They clash again, a rubber fist pushing against sharp talons, and when they pull apart they both stand there for a moment, chests heaving and eyes sharp, before collapsing backwards. They lay there on the ground, the clearing silent except their ragged breaths.
A sense of calm has settled over him by the time Luffy weakly kicks his ankle. He tilts his head, making eye contact with Luffy. "So why do you wanna join my crew?" He asks bluntly.
"I should have punched you harder," he huffs, turning his head back towards the sky. Luffy chuckles, but doesn't rescind his question. Marco stares at the clouds, as though the colors dancing through them will give him some magic insight. They don't. "I want to join your crew because... You're Ace's brother. You remind me of Pops..."
The answer is half-assed and Luffy doesn't waste a moment in calling him a "Liar!" The truth of the statement does nothing to deter the glare he sends back. Luffy ignores him, his own eyes staring at the colors caused by the sunset. Unlike Marco, Luffy seems to have found the story interwoven amongst the shifting wind, for he smiles and closes his eyes. When they finally turn back towards him, there is a certainty behind his gaze that pulls Marco to follow. "Why do you really want to join my crew?"
And Marco thinks about it. He stares up towards those pinkening clouds and looks through them. The stars will be beautiful tonight. "After the war, after everything with Blackbeard," and still he can't stop the tremble, "I thought I was done with being a pirate. I thought I would be happy with caring for Sphinx, making sure Pop's treasure stays protected." He thought of the kind villagers, of the kinder words Pops spoke about them.
"Then Nekomamushi came asking for my help and I thought, maybe I just needed to help one more person, one more friend." The fight for Wano rushed through his mind, a whirlwind of blood and intense violence that reminded him horribly of another battle. "I realized, at some point during the battle, that I wasn't tired of being a pirate. I was tired of losing." Thatch. "Over," Ace. "And over," Pops. "And over," the Payback War, the remainder of his family. "And over again." Izuo, his brother, who was right there- "So I ran."
His vision cleared, when had it gone? And he realized Luffy had sat up, staring at him with that look. That same, focused look. The look that he wore when he declared in front of the strongest man in the world that He would become Pirate King. The look he screamed at Ace when he insisted they were brothers. The look he gave when he focused solely on reaching Kaidou, an opponent he'd decided was in his way. The look he made on every bounty poster and in every photograph the world had seen.
"I want to join your crew because you make me feel like I won't lose, ever again, like it's not even a possibility." You take the pressure from my throat- Marco admitted, returning Luffy's gaze with a determined one of his own. "You make me feel like even if I did lose, you'd be there to pick up the pieces." Like it won't be my fault anymore-
They hold each other's gaze for a moment longer, before, finally, Luffy stand and holds out a hand to help Marco up. He grins when Marco takes it and laughs. The sound is like a clear bell and a nostalgic melody, the promise of a clear horizon. It feels like coming home. "Welcome to the crew, Marco!"
They walk back towards where they can feel the rest of the crew. The ship is docked a little ways away from the coast. So that's why we weren't interrupted, he thought. Marco is about to fly them back when Luffy decides slingshotting back would be a better solution. They land in a heap in the middle of the deck to a chorus of complaints that tells him this is a regular occurrence.
It isn't long after that that their wounds are noticed by the rest of the crew. Most take it in stride, though Chopper frantically runs around shouting for a doctor. Marco smiles, filled with an odd fondness, as he lets his devil fruit heal his wounds. He looks at Luffy, who is equal parts fawning and grumbling over his powers, and debates letting him tough it out. His healer side wins out and he presses his hand to Luffy's shoulder, letting his flames heal over his wounds. They lock eyes and share a secret smirk as Marco announces, "Good as new, captain."
The deck is quiet for a moment before a flood of excited congratulations surround him. He accepts them with a wide smile that he can't quite get rid of. Jinbei simply nods his head, eyes twinkling with a feeling that he can understand now.
A question cuts through the racket. "What's Marco's role gonna be?" Chopper asks, looking between his crewmates.
Nami scratches her head. "I mean..."
Marco shrugs his shoulder. "I don't mind doing whatever. I'm pretty decent at doctoring, especially thanks to my devil fruit abilities. I wouldn't mind assisting a genius doctor such as yourself, Chopper."
Chopper yelped in embarrassment. "Don't think that makes me happy asshole!" It obviously did.
Luffy interjected. "If you don't need him with you Chopper, he could be our scout!" He glanced at Usopp. "Unless that would be stealing your job Usopp?"
"Me? Going ahead by myself to search for potential danger?" Usopp rapidly shook his head. "No thanks, not for me! That job is all yours Marco! Got for it!"
Luffy laughs like he expected that answer. "That settles it! Marco is our new scout and doctor's assistant!" He hops in excitement. "This calls for a celebration! Sanji, let's eat!"
The ship burst into movement, people directing others as they set the ship up for a party. Stuck in the middle of the noise Marco feels something in his chest settle. For a moment he was sure he heard familiar voices around him. A deep rumbling laugh slips between his ears before it vanishes. Luffy calls him into the galley and he steps forward into the new era.