#bastardo

After your talk with Pops, you had a whole new slew of things to think about. On one hand, you were glad to know a little more about your mother and father. The man that Pops had described, it wasn’t your father, but it was the man he used to be. Now that you thought about it, you could’ve swore you remembered him like that once. But, they were much like the memories of your mother; distant and not quite sure if it’s a fabrication or not.

You honestly still couldn’t believe their love story was nearly identical to yours. Part of you wondered if maybe it wasn’t Fate playing her cards, but your mother helping you to have some kind of peace from beyond the grave. Maybe she saw what your father was about to do, so she decided to soften the blow. Either way, you were glad Corazon was in your life now. You weren't sure if you would've been able to pull through this otherwise. 

He just had this natural way of keeping you grounded. Despite his clumsiness, he kept you calm.

On the other hand, more questions popped up. The main one being - why? Why did your father decide to tell you everything? Why did he admit that he'd been the bad guy the whole time? He could've let Crocodile and Doflamingo do the dirty work and played the innocent card. He could've gotten off scot-free, so why admit everything?

You wondered why he would decide not to just cut you off sooner, but you supposed he needed your ties to take over the hospital. He knew he couldn't just storm the place; too many people had already tried that and failed. He went the round about way to get to you. So, you knew he feared you. There was nothing you could do, however. You signed over the hospital, it was legally theirs. 

“I can hear you thinking from inside,” Corazon said as he stepped onto the back patio with you. Pops had wanted to talk to Corazon alone for whatever reason. You thought the blond man was going to pass out when you left. The panicked look in his eyes told you everything, but you reassured him it would be just fine.

While you waited, you decided to grab something small to eat and wait outside. You hadn’t really eaten anything in the past week, so you knew you wouldn’t be able to eat a lot and since you'd been cooped up in the dark for so long, you figured some sunlight would do you good. 

“What did Pops want?” you asked, looking at him. You could already somewhat guess. It was like this whenever you or Marco started dating someone.

He paled, shaking his head and a shrug. “Nothing, really.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Doesn't look like nothing. Lemme guess, the typical dad routine of ‘what are your intentions with my child' and all that jazz? Maybe some threats?” A sly grin spread across your face.

The man signed, nodding. He knew he couldn’t keep anything from you. You would either figure it out or he’d just end up telling you anyway. “Yeah…”

You laughed, shaking your head. You were so lucky to have Pops. You supposed your father hadn't really filled the role in a very long time. At least you had someone in your corner that you could rely on. Pops had always treated you the same way he treated Marco. He was really your father when you boiled it down. You were sure your father hated you for that too. He had always seemed fine with it, but now it was clear he resented you for it.

“What were you thinking about?” It was clear Corazon was trying to change the subject and also stop you from whatever down spiral that your thoughts were trying to form.

“Trying to figure out why Anthony bothered to tell me anything. He could've just played the innocent card, but he didn't. He severed all ties.”

“Maybe he was banking on the psychological damage being enough to take you out permanently. After all, that place is your life's work and he knew that. He knew you'd fight tooth and nail for it. So, he made you rethink your life and then threatened those you care about.” Corazon frowned, shaking his head. “You said he saw you ‘weak’ like your mother, so perhaps he thought that this would all be enough to mentally break you beyond repair.”

You just stared at him for a moment, your eyebrows slightly raised. You weren’t expecting such an accurately sounding answer. “I suppose he's still in the business, so I shouldn't expect anything less.” You groaned, burying your face in your hands. “Ugh, I was so foolish and naive,” you grumbled. 

Corazon sat next to you on the patio bench, wrapping his arms around you. “Don't go blaming yourself. How were you supposed to know your own flesh and blood was going to betray you like that?” 

You sighed, looking at him. “I suppose you're right. And I mean, your own brother shot you, so I guess I was let off easy.” You placed your hand on his torso where the bullet went through. You frowned. “Why do families suck?” You groaned again. 

He laughed, pressing a kiss to your head. “Well, I wouldn't say all families, but our blood relatives ended up being the worst, that's for sure.”

You looked up at him, smiling. “I suppose you're right. It’s just like that old saying. ‘Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’ or whatever. Just cause you're related by blood doesn't mean anything. Pops and Marco have shown me more love than my father ever did and I know for a fact they'd never do to me what he did.” You sighed, leaning into Corazon. 

“That's true. And there's something a little more special about found family than blood relatives.”

“It's better to be like, ‘I love you cause you're a goofball’ instead of ‘I love you only because we share blood.’” You shook your head with a small smile. “More genuine, I guess.” You shrugged, settling into the man next to you and closing your eyes. 

Man, you wished this moment could last forever. The weather outside was perfect, not too hot or cold. A slight breeze that wasn't too much and provided just the right amount of coolness. There was an air of tranquility and you had no doubt that Corazon brought that with him.

For a moment, you were content with the outcome of things. Sure, everything you loved and cared about fell apart, but it felt like it was going to be okay as long as you had the man next to you. It's not like there was anything you could really do anyway. You signed papers and it was all legal. You were starting to come to terms with it. It sucked, yes, but you’d be able to live on.

“Y/n.” 

“Yes?”

“What is your legal last name? Is it the same as Whitebeard’s?” You sat up, looking at him for a moment. “Yes. It is. Why?” You tilted your head to the side slightly.

“As in, you changed your government name to his last name?” You nodded again, not seeing what he was getting at. “And I'm assuming it was that name that you bought the hospital with as well.” You nodded once more. Just what was he getting at? Were you dense for not understanding right now?

“When you signed the papers, which last name did you sign with?”

You thought for a moment then it hit you. Your eyes widened and your breath caught in your throat. You'd been so caught up with your past coming back to bite you in the ass, that you'd signed with your father's last name. Not with what it legally was now. “I signed it with Anthony's last name,” you whispered, still in disbelief yourself. 

A slow, sly grin appeared on Corazon’s face. “So, I guess we can say that legally those papers are null and void. They aren't worth anything. The hospital is still yours.”

You were just staring at him, your eyes wide. Your brain was spinning with this new information. This new sliver of hope. You could honestly cry. This was the ace in the hole that you needed. Excitement and joy blossomed in your chest.

You reached up, taking his face in your hands. “You're a genius. I don't know what I'd do without you,” you mumbled, kissing him hard. He didn't make any startled noises this time, only kissing you back. You slipped into his lap, straddling him. He slowly sat back as you pushed him into the side of the bench. You let out a small, breathy moan as you felt his hands squeeze your thighs. 

You heard the click of the balcony door, signaling that someone was coming outside. Dammit, Marco. You jumped, quickly removing yourself from Corazon's lap and pulling him upright. He let out a small noise of disappointment. You straightened yourself up and then went to straighten up the man next to you when you noticed the glazed, almost drunk look to him.

He was frowning in a small pout and you couldn't help but chuckle. “I'm sorry,” you whispered. He let out a small huff, shrugging. “It's fine,” he mumbled. 

You kissed his cheek, heart still racing. “Just wait until I finally take you to mine,” you whispered in his ear as Marco joined the two of you on the patio. You watched with amusement as Corazon's face turned even more red and he shifted in his seat. 

“Am I interrupting?” Marco narrowed his eyes at the two of you. It was clear that he was just hoping to catch the two of you so he’d have some blackmail. Shithead. Though, you’d do the same thing just to mess with him.

“Not at all. Cora was just giving me the best news I've heard all week.” You grinned widely as you crossed your legs, Marco cocking an eyebrow. 

“Which is…?”

“He pointed out the fact that I signed my name as y/n l/n.” Marco looked confused, just as you had. “I don't-” Seems that the both of you were dense. Truly the same person and siblings at heart.

“Marco. What the hell is my name?” You looked at him with a droll expression as if you hadn't been in the same boat five minutes ago.

“I'm still not- OH.” Realization hit him like a freight train and you watched it in real time. After all, he’d been there when you changed your name. His face lit up, his grin growing wide. “So those documents don’t mean shit?” You nodded, your grin mirroring Marco’s. 

“Single handedly saving the hospital, huh?” Marco looked at Corazon who turned red. “I-I don’t know about all that,” he mumbled.

You looked at him, patting his leg. “C’mon, love. Give yourself credit. You pulled me out of my head and gave us our biggest ray of hope.” Though, the moment you called him ‘love’, his brain seemed to short circuit and his face was almost glowing with how red he was. You’d have to keep that pet name if it riled him up this much, it was cute.

You just loved teasing him in general. It was easy and he was so adorable.

“Well, what’s the plan now, then?” You looked over to Marco, sighing. That was the part you were having difficulty with. “I’m not sure. I don’t even know how the hospital is fairing.” You hadn’t done anything in regards to the hospital. You haven’t even checked on your staff. You felt awful for just ditching them. 

Marco shook his head with a sigh. “Probably because someone won’t replace their phone.”

You scrunched your eyebrows together. “The hell does that even mean?” Yeah you hadn’t replaced your phone yet. You didn’t really need to. Everyone you cared about was under your roof and you had figured everyone else was fine without you.

“Good news is that they didn’t change the camera systems.”

You stared at him for a moment before it hit you. Your eyes widened. “They didn’t?” You shook your head, scoffing in disbelief. “Dumbasses.” You grinned, looking to Marco and holding out your hand. This was good. This was so good.

He handed you his phone before leaning back in his chair.

“I’m confused,” Corazon said, looking between the both of you. 

You looked at him and smiled. After grabbing Marco’s phone, it instantly recognized you, your face unlocking it. Of course both you and Marco could unlock each other’s phones with your faces and fingerprints as well as pins and passwords. You didn’t keep anything from each other, after all. Besties for life.

After clicking on a few things and logging in to a security app, you handed the phone to Corazon. He took it, looking at the screen. You watched his face as it took him a moment to process what he was looking at. “Wait, is this the hospital?”

“Damn right.” You grinned, feeling the excitement building back up.

“You still have access to the security cameras?” You nodded, chuckling. You pointed to the phone. “Press the button with the biohazard sign.” He did and he blinked. “This is…”

“Yep. That’s the underground hospital. We have access to it all. They won’t be able to see what hit ‘em.” You grinned widely up at him, excitement showing in your eyes as the man looked at you. You technically still had the hospital and now the secret key to help you sneak around.

“You’re going in there?” Concern and worry washed over his features and you frowned. “Well, yeah. What else am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know…get the authorities involved?”

You frowned deeply. “You know just as well as I do that they won’t do anything to help. They’re incompetent and lazy. And, they are probably being paid off already by the families to stay out of it, so we don’t have a choice. I’m going to have to go in.”

You took the phone back, looking through the cameras. “Besides, I don’t think Doflamingo, Crocodile, or Anthony are there. I would assume it’s all their lackeys.” 

“I can go in and silently take them all out without so much as raising an eyebrow. It’s just a matter of which side I should tackle first for the best advantage.”

“If you’re going, so am I.”

At Corazon’s words, you shook your head. Oh, how you admired his determination. “Absolutely not. You’ve already been shot once because of me.” You weren’t about to let it happen again. Besides, he was still healing from his injury. He might not show it too much, but you could tell that sometimes it made him uncomfortable. 

“You shouldn’t go in alone. I have experience, let me help.”

“Did you forget who I am? All that I’ve done?”

“That was years ago.”

“Did you not see what I did a few days ago?” 

Corazon went silent, a small pout to his face. It was clear that he didn’t like the idea of you being in a dangerous situation, but he couldn’t argue with you. “I never lost my edge. The only difference now is that I have people to protect that I care about. If I go in by myself, it’s easier for me to sneak around and not have to worry about anyone else getting hurt because of me.”

“I’m going to let the two of you talk this out. I’m heading inside to let Pops know.” You looked at Marco, nodding as he left.

You took Corazon’s face in your hands. “I know you’re worried. But I have to do this. Not just for me but for so many people.” You kissed him softly before resting your forehead on his. “I promise that I’ll make it out of there. Just fine.”

The man before you frowned, clearly still not okay with this. “I just…can’t lose you. Especially not when I finally have you.” 

You sighed softly, wrapping your arms around him and he did the same with you. “I’ll be fine. I’ll get the hospital back, fuck everyone up so bad that they never bother us again, and then we’ll live happily ever after.” You pulled away, smiling at him. “And I’ll give you the best shag of your life too.” You snorted, grinning.

Worry still consumed his features. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to be satisfied until everything was over and you were actually safe. “Is it a lot to ask to let go of the past?”

You watched him for a moment. “It’s too late now. You’ve already given me hope and a way to get my life back in order. But after. After I’m going to let it all go, okay?” You kissed his head. You were wondering why he was suddenly against you going. He had given you the information you needed in the first place? Was the situation just settling in?

“I still don’t understand why you won’t let me-”

“Rosinante.” His eyes widened slightly at your tone of voice. “Let’s be honest. It’s been so long since you’ve been in the scene. And you’re incredibly clumsy.” He frowned at your words, but didn’t argue. He pouted like a pet being told no. You couldn’t help but also frown. “I’m sorry. I just can’t have you getting hurt because of me again.”

He nodded, groaning. “Fine. I know there’s no stopping you once you’ve made up your mind.” You smiled up at him, kissing his nose. “It’s going to be just fine. It’ll be over before you know it.”