Please, purr for me

Ch 6 - A bright future

May, or may not, have forgotten to add specific Marco Alpha thoughts/actions.... And it felt forced to add afterwards... Oops-yoi.

Either way, enjoy the last chapter!

Timeframe: +/- 2 years have gone by since the last chapter = 3 years since Ace his rescue.

Marco

A big party was going on on the deck of the Moby, celebrating their captain getting a year older. The birthday boy himself was denying getting older, saying he was still young and blaming his own sons on his hair loss, it has nothing to do with age, absolutely nothing.
For once Marco was not on 'Stop Pops from drinking alcohol like it's water'-duty, today he could drink what he wanted. Tomorrow.... Tomorrow was something else, but for today he would let the old man enjoy his birthday.
Despite Marco always stopping him from drinking too much, the old man, surprisingly, knew when enough was enough. So even with him not sitting next to Pops, he could, with a peace of mind, leave the old man alone for one night.

Knowing Pops would be okay, Marco decided to sit with Ace a little bit away from the main deck, still able to see and enjoy the party. But not close enough to get roped into it.
For the longest time after Ace's rescue, regardless of when he started getting a bit used to people, Ace had been scared of the noise and sudden movements that a party brought. It of course being a lot more boisterous than normal day life. But finally, after 3 years, it started getting better. Though, Marco doesn't push it and always chooses a quieter place to sit with Ace, just to be safe.

Although getting more used to it, Ace normally doesn't stay too long. The noise and movement still getting to him, but this time he had told Marco that he was going to try and stay until at least midnight.
So for now, Ace was leaning against Marco's side, just resting and trying to remain calm. Ace really wanted to stay outside and be there at the change of day for Pop's birthday, even if he wasn't literally in between the party goers himself.

Marco had spoken with Pops before the party and he was also very happy that Ace himself, even after all this time, didn't give up on himself and was still trying to get over his fears. Slowly but surely conquering them, small steps at a time. Every time Whitebeard saw Ace looking over, he would smile and raise his tankard, showing Ace that he was proud of him. He did hold a gentle look in his eyes, showing Ace that even if he left, he would understand.

Watching the silent interaction between Ace and Whitebeard, Marco took a sip of his drink while having his other arms loosely around Ace and holding onto his waist, thinking back of the past years. Before his thoughts could start to wander, Thatch came over with a plate of cake.
Ace his favourite cake to be precise. With every excuse Thatch could come up with, a party being an excellent one, he would make the cake and act as if it wasn't especially made for Ace. Taking the plate, he thanked the chef who just waved him off and went to join the party himself, his important (self-given-) task of the evening finished.

The piece Marco had gotten was slightly bigger than the other already cut ones, about 3 times bigger if he dared to make a guess. But they would be able to finish it, with Ace still having a black hole for a stomach, it wouldn't be an issue.
And if this piece was the only one that had a big fresh strawberry on top of it, no one mentioned it. How Thatch was able to get a fresh strawberry in the middle of the ocean, when they haven't even docked in a while, was a mystery to Marco, but he is thankful for it. Both of them knowing that Ace loves strawberries immensely.

After putting down his tankard, he cut the strawberry in half and stabbed it on the fork before holding it out for Ace, "Hey love, got a piece of Strawberry if you want-yoi". Sitting up Ace takes a hold of Marco's hand holding the fork before pulling the piece off with his teeth. Slowly chewing while settling back down against Marco.
Smiling softly at Ace he went to take a piece of cake next, saving the rest of the strawberry for later. Before he could grab it tough, he felt a slight vibration in his side. He stopped all movement, -Was it really?- Carefully Marco looked at Ace, searching for any sign of ......., but Ace looked the same as always, still chewing his strawberry while watching the partying crew.