With different eyes

Marco, our beloved bird

Marco, our beloved bird

Narrator's POV

Ace walks towards the galley with a thick head. He didn't sleep well, in fact he just tossed and turned. Ace missed Lucia. The warmth of his girlfriend and the light kicks of his daughter. Heavily, Ace moves further down the corridor. He is just wondering why there is a whole marine unit marching in his head and tormenting him. Maybe he should have left out the last bottle of sake. Or maybe he should have left out the last ten. Groaning, he grabs his head and wishes Lucia were here. Surely he would feel better then! Ace runs into some fellow sufferers as he continues to torture himself. Maybe he should move to Lucia, then he would lie down in bed with her. Take her in his arms and sleep away his hangover. Unfortunately, his fantasy is interrupted by a scream.

Lucia's scream!

Ace is wide awake in an instant. Everyone else looks alarmed too. Lucia screaming so loudly that she can be heard in the hall must have really frightened them. Ace races down the corridors, followed by a few people. Arriving at his new quarters, he pulls open the door and sees a strange picture. Lucia is lying on the floor in front of the bed and crawls away from Marco. He crawls after her and then takes her in his arms. Ace tilts his head.

Lucia's POV

"What's going on here?" I hear Ace ask. "Ask Marco that?" I ask, squeezed. The latter purrs contentedly and rubs his head against my neck. "Ace help me?" I ask. Ace makes the effort and taps Marco on the shoulder. "Marco can I have my girlfriend back?" asks Ace amusedly. Marco's reaction, however, is no more funny. He growls at Ace! I press my hands against Marco's chest to get away from him. But it doesn't work! He presses me against his chest and licks my cheek. I grimace. "Hello Marco? Still alive?" I ask, but Marco gives no response of understanding. He just purrs and rubs his face against my neck. Now Ace has lost the fun too.

"Marco what's wrong with you? Come on, let go of Lucia!" says Ace and reaches for Marco again. Marco hisses at Ace and presses me against him again. Ace wants to pull him away from me, but Marco moves around and attacks Ace! Ace is startled and moves out of the way. "Damn it Marco, what's wrong?" says Ace and continues to avoid Marco. Marco attacks without a care in the world. I stand there horrified and don't know what to do. Unconsciously I put my hand on my stomach. "Marco snap out of it!" says Ace sternly. As Marco kicks Ace through the door. I scream out and stand in front of Ace. "Lucia! Go away!" says Ace, horrified. But Marco doesn't attack me, he stops immediately. He puts his arms around me and is already rubbing his face against me again.

Calming down, I run my hand over Marco's head. Something is wrong with the birdie! He purrs contentedly. "Ace, go get the doctor or someone!" I say and look at the men who have followed my scream. Honestly, though, I wake up next to Marco. This one is acting completely insane. Ace looks very unwilling. "Lucia...!" he begins. But I myself interrupt him. "Marco doesn't seem to be aggressive with me, but he is with you. You'd better get help!" I say to Ace. "Let someone else get help!" he grumbles and wants to pull me away again. Marco tenses up again and I see blue flames. "Ace STOP!" I yell and Ace freezes in motion. "There's something wrong with Marco. And as long as he's just cuddling me, there's nothing wrong." I say before the situation can escalate. Marco starts digging around in my hair. Okay?

Ace sends one of the men off and watches Marco critically. He cuddles up to me again and again. Since when has he been so in need of love? Hasn't he been given enough love? I feel like a cuddly toy right now. "Marco?" I ask again. But at the moment he doesn't seem to be able to say anything. He just makes growling sounds. Marco ruffles my hair for a while before the Doc and with him Whitebeard arrive. Whitebeard laughs when he sees the scene. Honestly, I would do the same: Marco sits cross-legged on the floor and I am placed between his legs. Mind you, with my arms folded and Marco picking and tugging at my hair. Ace watches the whole thing with wary eyes, ready to intervene at any moment. Doc approaches, but can't help smirking. But as soon as Doc tries to pull me away, Marco starts growling. His arms burn and he stares angrily at the Doc.