Work Text:
It all started with Ace.
Because ofcourse all the chaos nowadays started with their little brother.
Their brilliant, idiotic, lovable little brother.
Who was supposed to just be getting some scratches patched up.
( "No."
"Ace,yoi."
"No!"
"For the sake of my peace, please go to the infirmary Ace."
...
"Fine." )
So everything was supposed to go as always.
Ofcourse that was too much to ask of when sailing with this crew.
This idiotic crew, filled with his siblings that always drove Marco crazy.
But they were his idiotic siblings...
And he did love them...
Where was he again?
Ah right.
He was talking about a specific sibling of his.
Ace.
You see, Marco knew exactly where Ace was.
That was kinda the problem.
If it was anyone else, maybe they would have given up.
Maybe they would have assumed the younger pirate had simply wandered off.
But the other was one of his siblings that the phoenix knew too well.
Ace wasn't as predictable as he thought he was.
When he was angry, he fought.
When he was embarrassed, he got louder.
When he was hurt, he ran.
Marco sighed.
The entire day had been ridiculous.
A simple checkup.
A few vaccines.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Yet somehow, Ace had turned it into a full-scale war.
Because apparently that goddamned grandfather of Ace (who Marco will personally ensure will get the beating of his life,when Ace finally caves in and give them his name) had never cared enough to get Ace any vaccines.
And because Deuce wasn't there.(And that little shit definitely knew about this whole thing but never said anything. When his brother comes back from his mission,he will have numerous amounts of paperwork to fill.)
So when Becky asked about the shots Ace had received as a child, the kid only stared at her confused and asked why would she want a child to get hurt.
He did add ofcourse that he had gotten shot at once before.
So poor Becky had made the second division commander promise to stay put and run to find her commander.
From then on, the chaos truly started.
The first time he escaped, Marco thought Ace had just been stubborn.
The second time, he realized Ace might actually be serious about this.
By the fifth?
He had accepted defeat.
For now.
Which was why, when Marco found their firecracker sitting on the edge of the deck, staring out at the sea, he didn’t call out.
Didn't went over there.
Because Ace wasn’t angry anymore.
He was thinking.
And that was different.
Eventually another figure reached him.
Ace looked up.
"Pops."
Newgate smiled.
"Ι heard you’ve been causing quite the chaos today, my boy."
Ace immediately looked away.
"I wasn’t."
Newgate raised an eyebrow.
"Ace."
A pause.
"Okay, maybe a little."
A deep laugh sounded.
"Would you mind telling this old man what happened?"
Ace frowned.
He looked toward the sea.
Then back.
Then away.
Because explaining things was not easy.
Not when they sounded stupid.
But this was Pops.
"Everyone’s being mean."
Newgate’s expression softened.
"Is that so?"
Ace nodded.
"Yeah."
The older man carefully lowered himself beside him.
"Tell me how."
And so Ace did.
Not all of it.
Not perfectly.
Just pieces.
Like
" The rest of the commanders chased me..."
Or
" The needles..."
And even
"They wanted to put it inside me..."
Newgate listened.
Not laughing.
Not dismissing him.
Just listening.
"And everyone acted like it wasn’t a big deal."
There it was.
The real problem.
Whitebeard had understood the moment the situation reached his ears, nonetheless it was nice to hear he was right.
Slowly, he reached out.
Ace tensed but didn’t move away.
And that was enough.
The old pirate lifted him easily.
The boy immediately protested.
"Pops!"
"You’ve caused enough trouble today."
"I didn’t!"
"You did."
His son glared at him but in all honesty it looked far more like a pout.
He carefully carried him back toward the ship.
"Tell me more about how your brothers were being mean."
Ace grumbled.
But he did.
And slowly, the tension left his shoulders.
Until they reached the infirmary.
And his son froze.
"No."
Newgate looked down.
"Ace."
"No."
The younger pirate tightened his grip.
"I’m not going."
Newgate looked at the door.
Then back at him.
"We’re here because it’s time for my checkup, brat."
The boy hesitated.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Ace looked suspicious.
But Pops was Pops.
So he didn't really have any other choice other than agreeing.
Inside, Ace immediately noticed something.
Only Marco was there.
Ace narrowed his eyes.
"Traitor."
Marco looked up.
"Hello to you too, little brother."
"I trusted you."
"You ran away from me,yoi."
"Because you were mean."
Marco sighed.
"We'll discuss that later."
Ace accepted that.
Because right now, he was more interested in the fact that Pops was sitting down.
The checkup began.
Marco worked.
Checking.
Listening.
Making notes.
Taking blood.
Ace sat nearby.
Quiet.
Not paying attention.
Until Marco bought the subject up.
"So." Marco said casually.
Ace looked over. "What?"
Marco smiled. "Today was interesting."
Ace immediately knew where this was going.
"Don’t."
"Pops, did you know your son spent the entire day avoiding medical care?"
Their father hummed.
"Did he now?"
"He ran from me and the nurses."
"I did not."
"You threw Haruta at me,yoi."
"He attached me first...I just defended myself!"
Gurarara's were heard.
"And then" Marco continued "he accused us of wanting to shoot him."
Ace frowned.
"Because you said shots."
"I know,yoi."
Marco shook his head.
"And the brat also had the gal to casually mention he was shot as a child and then proceeded to try running away again."
Ace went still.
"That’s different."
Marco’s expression softened.
"Of course it is."
Ace blinked.
He had expected teasing.
Not agreement.
Because that's what the others had done before.
"You were seriously injured when you were younger. It's way different than a vaccine. You were in pain and probably scared."
The youngest remained silent.
Marco stood and slowly walked over.
No sudden movements.
Then he took Ace’s hands.
"Ace,yoi."
The younger pirate looked away.
"Let’s just try."
"No."
"Ace."
"No."
Marco squeezed gently.
"Just one injection."
Ace was ready to refuse.
Until, Whitbeard spoke.
"Do you really think I would let anyone or anything hurt you,Ace?"
Silence.
Ace looked at him.
Really looked.
"Fine..."
Marco prepared everything.
Ace watched.
Every movement.
Every second.
His entire body tense.
Marco cleared the area on his shoulder.
"Almost done."
The needle moved closer.
Ace’s eyes tracked it.
Closer.
Closer.
And-
Fire.
Marco immediately stopped.
Newgate didn’t move.
Didn’t get angry.
"Ace."
"I-"
Ace swallowed.
"I’m fine. Let's do it."
But he wasn’t.
Marco tried again later.
Slower.
More careful.
His hand rested on Ace’s shoulder.
Steady.
Safe.
And then Ace felt it.
The change.
The slight hardness.
Armament.
He immediately trashed around trying to get out of Marco's hold.
"No haki."
Marco released him immediately.
Because Ace didn't sound angry.
He sounded scared.
"Sorry."
Ace looked away, feeling annoyed.
From above, their father still watched.
"Come here, brat."
Ace hesitated.
But went.
Because it was Pops.
Whitebeard settled him in his lap.
"Want to hear a story?"
Ace blinked.
"What...?"
"A story."
"Why?"
"Because I want to tell one. And after that,you ought to tell your father about the person who shot you and what ended up happening to him."
"Okay."
And thus Newgate started.
A story about the sea.
About storms.
About ridiculous pirates.
And slowly Ace relaxed more and more.
A hand touched his shoulder.
Ace flinched.
But when he turned, Marco wasn’t holding the needle.
Just his shoulder.
Ace stared.
Then looked at his pops,who continued the story.
Then back at Marco.
A moment passed.
Another.
Newgate smiled slightly.
Ace was now confused.
Not afraid.
Confused.
And that was progress.
More and more minutes passed and the story continued.
At some point,Newgate’s expression changed.
Amused.
Deeply amuzed.
His son noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing, son."
Ace frowned.
Then looked at Marco who was looking softly at him.
He looked down.
And froze.
A small bandage.
On his shoulder.
He looked at his brother again.
"What?"
Marco smiled softly.
"It’s done,yoi."
Ace blinked.
"But I didn’t-!"
"I know."
"But-!"
"Ace." The first mate cut him off. "Good job, little spitfire."
But Ace continued looking at him,still frowning.
So really,Marco couldn't be blamed for leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to his little brother's forehead.
"You did good,yoi."
He immediately looked embarrassed.
"I didn’t do anything."
Marco smiled.
"You did very good."
Then the first mate looked back at Newgate.
"Continue your story, Pops."
And with absolutely no hesitation, Marco climbed onto Whitebeard’s laps too.
Ace looked between them.
"I hate this family. You all are mean!"
Newgate laughed.
They truly were terribly mean.
But Ace still stayed.
And that was enough.
The rest of the night was strangely peaceful.
Ace avoided looking at the bandage.
Mostly because every time he did, he remembered the needle.
And then he remembered with embarrassment being in his father's laps because he was scared of said needle.
Thought Ace was glad to be with his family.
And the next time someone mentioned a shot,Ace at least knew they weren’t talking about bullets.
Mostly.