#the angsty chapter

Marco POV

Marco had kissed many, many people over the course of his life. After all, he was over 40 and had been traveling the seas for most of his life. He’d met and left hundreds if not thousands of lovers over the years. But he’d never had to work so hard for one little kiss. And that made it all the sweeter. He put his arm behind your back, bringing you closer to deepen the kiss. He could tell you were less experienced but no less enthusiastic than he was. He gently bit your lower lip, which made you moan softly. You tried to wind your arms around his neck but were too short. That wasn’t unusual, Marco was exceptionally tall. Marco broke the kiss and pulled you along to a nearby rock, trying to even out your heights. He sat down and you straddled his lap facing him. He was a little surprised at your forwardness - you were blushing, which was a cute look for you. Marco was already hard, and he was sure you could feel it through his thin pants. 

“More,” was all you said to him, cupping his face in your hands. As demanding as always, he thought amusedly. You leaned in to him, he felt your soft breaths on his face. He licked the seam of your lips and you opened up for him, greedy to continue kissing. As your tongues entwined, you ground your hips onto his, giving you both needed friction. You were moaning as Marco held your head in one hand, biting and kissing your neck. You were sensitive, needy, and open, nothing like you were when he’d first met you. 

You were riding Marco like a lazy cowboy and he felt like he was going to burst in his pants, like a teenager. Marco put his hands under the hem of your shirt, touching your lower back. He started to ruck up your shirt from the bottom when you stopped him by putting your hands on his forearms. 

“Nah, that’s enough for now.” 

“Are you sure yoi?” Marco wasn’t trying to persuade you if the answer was no, so he kissed your jaw as his last kiss.

“Yeah, I think that’s far enough for today. Or did you think I was going to have sex with you on a rock ?” 

“I’ve done it in worse places yoi.” You huffed at him, but your lips quirked up a little. He pressed one final kiss, really the last one this time, to the corner of your mouth.

“I have to work tomorrow, but if you’re still around the island after my shift, you can come over to my place.” You weren’t looking at his face as you invited him over, shifting your gaze to the ground near you. 

“I’ll meet you at your restaurant yoi. What time?” Marco made plans with you as you hopped off his lap. Yes, he was still hard, but that wasn’t his fault. He noticed you make eye contact with his tented pants and your expression was priceless. He wished he was the artist so he could capture your perfectly surprised, turned on, and nervous face. You flushed again as you noticed him watching you. You bade your goodbyes and made your hasty retreat into the forest. Marco had never seen anything more adorable.

Your POV

Just as all good things had to come to an end, so too your little excursion into the woods was over. After two days off, you felt relaxed and refreshed, which would continue up until the moment you set foot into the restaurant tomorrow. You’d tried camping out the night before work before but it wasn’t a great idea. You needed to shower and sleep on a bed to prepare yourself for the mental drain of serving customers.

You were still riding the high from kissing Marco as you packed up your campsite. It wasn’t fair that pirates could be so attractive and sexy, you thought to yourself. As you were putting your things away, you caught the sight of blue flames out of the corner of your eye. You perked up a little, eager to see your friend. You waved as the phoenix made swooping circles in the sky. You were excited to see him, but something in you was pulling at your heart. You realized you felt guilty . You felt like you’d betrayed your phoenix for some quick kisses. You didn’t feel guilty for kissing Marco himself - once you made your choices you stuck with them without regret. It was more that you were always so adamant in your hatred for pirates, so dedicated to your goals of conservation, and yet you threw them away for one ( very ) good looking, smart, bird-oriented pirate.

The phoenix landed softly in front of you, extending and ruffling its feathers. You wondered about the mechanics of having fire feathers, but the phoenix hadn’t been interested in answering your questions previously and you didn’t want to ask again. You couldn’t help but stare with adoration at the bird, no matter how low you felt in the moment. 

“Hello, you,” you said, sitting down near the legendary bird. You weren’t sure what it would do, but you suddenly felt drained. It had been a long day for you and you were tired. Watching the phoenix was like watching the most beautiful fire in the world, relaxing and mesmerizing. You hugged your knees, thinking over your day. It had been fun and exciting, you hadn’t felt like that in a long time. For whatever reason, it had always been hard for you to make connections with other people. Etta was the exception, not the rule. Your attitude had evolved from constant social rejection, not the other way around. But being with Marco was so easy and entertaining, you’d lost sight of what you thought you held dear. The phoenix tilted its head, looking at you closely.

“I’m sorry, I’m just feeling a little guilty. I…met up with that pirate again. And I had a great time. I just - I don’t know. I feel like I betrayed you. Lost sight of what’s important.” Even you weren’t going to tell a bird that you’d made out with a pirate like a horny teenager. The bird walked over to you while you watched cautiously. You lowered you knees as it got closer and sat with your legs crossed. When the phoenix was about a foot away, it perched next to you. You opened your eyes as wide as they would go. This was the closest it had ever been to you in its entirety. Before it had extended an enormous wing from a few feet away. You didn’t dare move for fear that it would fly away. It slowly extended its neck, laying its head in your lap and closing its eyes. Maybe you had died and went to heaven? You weren’t sure what you’d done to deserve such a wonderful turn of events, but you weren’t going to look a gift bird in the mouth. 

“Can I pat your head?” you whispered. The phoenix opened one eye and trilled. You extended two fingers and ran them over the soft downy feathers on the top of its head. While you marveled at the softness, small blue flames flickered on your own hand. It didn’t hurt, so you just watched intently. As the blue flames receded, you noticed that all the small scrapes and cuts on your hands that you’d gotten over the course of the last week had been healed. You wanted to cry - it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for you. And it had come from a bird. 

“Can I, um..hug you?” you asked tentatively. The phoenix nodded and wound its long neck over your shoulder, allowing you to hug it. You felt like it was healing your soul, not just your body. You hugged it for a long time, reveling in its power and warm flickering flames. It felt like the sun itself had given you a personal hug. You felt a shiver of recognition through your body as you embraced the bird, though you couldn’t say why. 

“Thank you, for everything.” You weren’t sure if you’d see the phoenix tomorrow, or ever again. So you wanted to say goodbye, just in case. You’d never forget it and all the incredible experiences it gave you even if you never saw it again. The phoenix nodded and put its beak on your cheek. With that, it moved backward and flew away. You looked with unrestrained longing as it fled from your vision in the sky.

~~~

Marco POV

Marco rushed to his cabin to finish himself off from thinking about you. He practically mowed down his siblings in his haste to get to privacy. The way you’d been astride him and rocking your hips, your complete devotion to enjoying the moment had been playing on a non stop loop in his mind. His Phoenix side had been just as delighted with you, taking the sexual offering somewhere between supplication and surrender. The Phoenix didn’t always make its opinions known, but with all your fawning and ornithological knowledge, you’d quickly become a favorite.  Both man and Zoan had been turned on, which hadn’t happened in a very long time. He stroked himself thinking of you riding him without clothes between you, your head thrown back in passion. In his fantasies, you were loud, moaning and saying his name, crude language spilling from your lips.

“Oh god, Marco! Right there, ugh, oh fuck Marco please, more…Marco…” He spilled himself over his stomach with a groan. Marco was hoping for the best tonight on his third date with you, but would be content with just kissing if you didn't want to go further. He cleaned himself up and laid back on his bed, arms resting behind his head. 

Now through the rush of coming to the thought of you riding his cock, Marco thought about the last conversation you’d had with him. It was so honest and direct, so sweet and affectionate, that you thought you’d betrayed the Phoenix. Now he felt even more guilty for continuing his deceit. You’d let both him and the Phoenix into your confidence in different ways, and he couldn’t see a way out of it without betraying one or the other. He sighed and hoped he’d be able to keep it up for just a few more days until they set sail.

~~~

The next day, as you said, you were working. You had an afternoon shift, ending in the early evening. After working in the morning, Marco and his siblings decided to go to your restaurant for lunch. All the restaurants on the island were shitty, but yours was the best of the worst. Ace was back to normal and wanted to see Etta again, so between the two of them the choice was made easily. Thatch, Izou, Vista, Ace, and Marco all made their way into town, with Marco walking alongside them.

“Brother, why aren’t you flying there? I haven’t seen you walk so far in years,” asked Vista. Ace glanced at Marco with a smile but didn’t say anything. 

“Feel like walking with my brothers is all,” Marco replied with a smile. Ace’s smile got wider. Marco shot him a warning look. Izou clocked the interaction with a raised eyebrow. Making their way to the restaurant, they were seated in Etta’s section. Marco watched you shuffle around the busy restaurant, taking orders and bringing plates of food from the kitchen. It was kind of depressing. Now that Marco had seen the real you, watching you stuff yourself into the box you needed to in order to make money was kind of sad. He knew you needed freedom, intellectual stimulation, and creative liberty. Someone who drew and studied like you needed to be outside, exploring and learning. Not telling people that the orange juice was made from oranges and getting yelled at for forgetting a lemon wedge. When you saw Marco in the restaurant, you gave him a small smile.

“Whoa, what magic did you work there? Did you see that? She smiled at you.” Thatch was impressed. And he should be, Marco had spent a lot of effort trying to get on your good side. He hadn’t told his brothers that you’d kissed, he didn’t think you’d want them to know. 

“I’m telling you, she’s nice yoi. Leave her alone and let her work.” Etta had been by to take their orders, her normal flirty self. She and Ace had enjoyed each other’s company a lot over the past few days. Ace had introduced her to the other Commanders when they came to pick him up from her house. She was chatting as much as she could while still on the clock, evidently still charmed by Ace and his antics. 

“Alright, boys, I gotta keep working. Making that money to replace all the food Ace ate at my house.” Etta grinned at Ace, who seemed slightly embarrassed. 

“I was hungry! And besides, you’re a good cook, I liked those skewers.”

“Oi, you wanna break my heart? Just stab me in the back?” Thatch was pretending to be dramatic, making Etta giggle. Marco watched them with his usual calm demeanor, enjoying the banter. Etta picked up her tray of drinks, carrying it to the bussing station. On her way, she turned her head to laugh at something Ace said and tripped, spilling the load onto the tiled floor. Ace got up to check on her, but she waved him off.

“I’m ok, I’m ok. Nothing hurt but my pride.” Etta got up, picking up the glasses and some of the ice and putting them on the tray. “I’ll get a mop to clean the mess.” While she was gone, you made your way towards the pirates, looking at Marco. As your foot stepped on the tile Marco saw what would shortly happen but wasn’t fast enough to stop it. You slipped on the spilled drinks, falling to the floor. And unlike Etta, you did get hurt. Marco was up in an instant and by your side, helping you off the ground. Etta heard the commotion and came back hurriedly to your side, mop in hand.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I was on my way to clean it up, I swear. Are you ok?” Etta was fretting over you while Marco helped you to your feet. You leaned on him for physical support and he picked you up and put you on a chair. Bending down to inspect it, Marco elevated your ankle on his knee, moving it around while you winced. Marco had to use a considerable amount of concentration to restrain his Phoenix from instantly healing the injury. The Phoenix was clamoring to heal its dear friend, angry at Marco for stopping it. Etta was still talking to you, asking how you felt. 

“Ow,” was all you said. But being a doctor, Marco knew this was more than an “ow.” You’d either sprained your ankle or fractured it. 

“What’s taking you so long? Why aren’t you just healing it for her?” Thatch asked loudly from the table. You looked at Marco’s face with confusion, biting your lip. Marco didn’t have time to answer - with his concentration broken by Thatch’s yelling, the Phoenix took the opportunity to heal your fractured ankle in a blaze of healing flames. You watched the flames engulf your lower leg. Marco could see you finally putting everything together. You noted his tattooed chest, the flames, the glasses. He could almost feel you shuttering him out of your life. He looked at you apologetically, but for once didn’t know what to say. It felt like the restaurant had gone silent, watching the scene unfold.

Your POV

How could you be so stupid? So blind? So desperate? You’d finally understood - Marco was the phoenix you’d been seeing. Or The Phoenix, you supposed. He’d told you he was a devil fruit user, but you’d never asked which one. Now that you saw the same healing flames that had healed your hands the previous day were the ones that had healed your ankle. It all made sense - how he knew where the waterfall was, how he made all those bird calls, why he was the crew’s doctor. And everyone else already knew, clearly. Even Etta was looking at you with pity. 

‘Don’t touch me,” you hissed, taking your foot off his knee. You felt completely, utterly, and totally humiliated. You knew you were flushed and could feel your eyes filling with tears. This wasn’t even the first time someone had pulled something like this on you. The same thing had happened once when you were a child. Asked on a date, only to be told it was all a joke as the boy’s friends laughed, joining in on the joke. This felt even worse than before since Marco had clearly orchestrated this and you'd fallen for it. He wasn’t laughing in your face, but that didn’t matter. He had all his friends behind him, watching you. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

“Did you get what you wanted? Was I amusing enough for you?” You were enunciating every word, wanting to make sure he knew how you felt. You weren’t loud, but you didn’t have to be. Everyone was listening. You wanted to kick him in his stupid face, but he was a pirate on Whitebeard’s crew. 

“No, it’s not like that yoi, I -” He stood up and tried talking to you. You didn’t want to hear whatever it was that got his rocks off.

“It’s exactly like that. Or is there something I’m missing?  When were you gonna say something? You let me swim in front of you naked - did you all laugh about that afterwards, too?” you looked at his crew mates. They were looking at each other with uncomfortable looks on their faces. 

“Did he tell you I fucking bowed to him? Or that we kissed? Or that I invited him over tonight? How many laughs did you get out of that?” You laughed humorlessly. 

“Wait I-”

“No. And you even got my friend in on it! Amazing, you’ve actually lowered my opinions on pirates, which I didn’t think possible. Hope you fucking drown.” You got off the chair, able to walk on your healed foot, and started taking off your apron. Fuck this job, fuck this island, fuck all these people. Etta reached for you, and your lip started to wobble. You didn’t want to confront her in front of these pirates.