One Piece CharacterXOC stories.

The Phoenix's Soft Side - Marco #4

Yatsumi smiled softly as she watched the love of her life from the doorway.

The rest of the world always saw him as strong, brave, confident, cool and many other things.

But this? This was meant for her eyes only. To see that soft, gentle look in his eyes. To see the smirk playing on his lips. Not a cocky smirk or the oddly seductive smirk he wore in battle. But a happy, calm smirk filled with love and tenderness.

The rest of the world knew him as Marco the Phoenix, First Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The rest of the crew knew him as Commander Marco, just Marco or even brother.

Whitebeard knew him as son.

But Yatsumi? Yatsumi knew him as honey, love, and -her favorite- Mythical Beast.

But her favorite was changing.

Normally, the Phoenix's soft side was meant only for the woman known as Katagiri "Shadow" Yatsumi.

But now, the Phoenix was showing his soft side to a giggling little bean with a pineapple hairstyle and happy blue eyes.

Though, right now, that bean was sound asleep in his father's arms while the man softly sang to the baby that looked like him.

"If I lay here. If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told, before we get too old.
Show me a garden that's bursting in to life.
All that I am. All that I ever was.
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see.
I don't know where. Confused about how, as well.
Just know that things will never change for us at all.
If I lay here. If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?" Marco sang softly to his son.

Yatsumi pushed herself from the door frame and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around her two men and rested her chin on Marco's shoulder and looked down at the baby boy.

"Babe, come on, let him sleep." She hummed softly. Marco didn't remove his gaze from the baby.

"He is asleep, yoi." Marco said softly. Yatsumi giggled softly.

"I was talking to the baby." She said. Marco turned his head and looked at the woman he loved. She smiled and kissed his ear, then moved to the other side of Marco. Carefully, she lifted the baby from his father's arms.

The baby immediately squeaked at the sudden shift, but calmed down immediately when he felt his mother's heartbeat.

"There, there, Phoenix. Mama's got you. It's time to sleep in your own bed with Buddy. Buddy misses you." She hummed softly to the baby. Gently she lowered her son, Phoenix, in to his crib. As she rose back up, she felt Marco's hand on her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"He's so precious, yoi." Marco said softly. Yatsumi smiled and rested her head against his.

"Just like his daddy." Yatsumi hummed. Marco smirked.

"More like his mommy." He said. Yatsumi sighed and looked away from the two boys she loved.

"You know I'm far from precious." She said. Yatsumi had a bad past. Her father abandoned her after her mother died and the life she chased after wasn't particularly a clean one.

All of the murders she'd commited. The lives torn apart because of her. The broken hearts. The broken homes.

"Hey." Marco said, wrapping an arm around her and his other coming up to her chin and made her face him.

"That was the past. That's all behind you, yoi. This. This right here." He said, moving so she could see both him and Phoenix at the same time.

"This is your future, Yatsumi. You're not a mercenary anymore. You're a pirate. You're a daughter of Whitebeard, yoi. You're Yatsu. My Yatsu." He said, pulling her to him, holding her head to his chest so she could hear his heartbeat.

"And, you're Phoenix's mommy. All of that. That's what make you precious, Yatsumi, yoi. You're my angel." Marco said and kissed Yatsumi.

Suddenly, Phoenix began to cry. Yatsumi's mother mode activated and she stepped away from Marco and lifted the baby from the crib as he continued to cry.

"Oh, baby, you made a poopie, didn't you? It's okay. Mommy's here. Shhh." She hummed and carried Phoenix to the changing table. She cleaned the baby up and put a fresh diaper on him, but the baby still cried.

Yatsumi cradled the crying boy and hushed him softly and gently, but he just wouldn't stop crying. Marco knelt down in front of his lover and son and began to sing again.

"Step one, you say we need to talk, he walks.
You say sit down it's just a talk.
He smiles politely back at you.
You stare politely right on through. Some sort of window to your right,
as he goes left and you stay right between the lines of fear and blame, you begin to wonder why you came. Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend somewhere along in the bitterness
and I would have stayed up with you all night,
had I known how to save a life.

"Let him know that you know best
'Cause after all, you do know best.
Try to slip past his defense.
Without granting innocence.
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along.
Pray to god he hears you
And I pray to god he hears you.

"Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend somewhere along in the bitterness and I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life."

Marco sang softly. Slowly, Phoenix calmed down and stopped crying and fell asleep in his mother's arms. Yatsumi sighed softly.

"I wish I had your singing talent." She said softly. Marco smiled at her. He leaned in and kissed the baby's head. Phoenix smirked in his sleep and let out a small giggle in his sleep.

"I guess someone is gonna be sleeping with mommy tonight." Yatsumi said as she gently rubbed the baby's back. Marco carefully lifted Yatsumi from the chair and carried her and Phoenix to their bed and carefully laid her down, crawling in beside her and positioning them so Phoenix was lying on both of his parents and they wouldn't squish the poor baby in their sleep.

"There, now we all can get a good night's sleep, yoi." He hummed softly. He kissed Yatsumi softly. Yatsumi nuzzled his cheek.

"What would I do with out you, Marco? I love you." She said. Marco smiled.

"Then marry me." He said. Yatsumi stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wha-?" She started.

"Yatsumi, I love you. And I love Phoenix. I want to be married to the mother of my son, yoi. Just because I love you so much and I can't live with out you. So marry me and make me the happiest man to ever walk the earth." He said. Yatsumi smiled up at him.

"Oh, Marco. Of course I will! I love you." She said. Marco carefully cupped her cheek and wiped away the tear on her cheek with his thumb, then kissed her again.

Phoenix squeaked in his sleep, reminding his parents to stop moving around so much. Yatsumi giggled.

"Well, we better get some sleep." She said. Marco kissed her head. The two relaxed and let sleep over take them.

Until 3:00am when Phoenix woke up with another dirty diaper.

[the end]