hiding

All the feels

Alexia stopped talking, and looked at Marco, waiting for him to respond. Marco starred at her, not responding.

"That's why I say if you keep me here, your risking a war with the World Government. They want me dead, will stop at nothing to see it happen." Alexia stressed, "Please say something so this doesn't feel as awkward."

"Lexi, yoi." Marco paused looking at her, "You really think a war would bother us? We live this life expecting to die at any moment."

"I'm damaged though, extremely weak, I'm not someone you would want here."

"Damaged? Have you actually taken a look at us?" Marco smirked, "A good number of us were slaves, assassins, drug dealers, someone of us were beaten ourselves for most of our lives, hell some of us did the beating to others. Most all of us, were not good people, we don't come from good lives."

"How did you all end up like this? Here?" Alexia looked confused.

"Somewhere along the way, Pop's found us, made up this family for us. It may sound stupid, but this is where we belong, a place where no matter your past you'll be accepted. He calls us his children, so we call him our Pops, and he treats us as such. It gives us a reason to live, to not feel dead inside."

Marco stuck out his hand, holding out a single white pill. Alexia raised an eyebrow at him.

"To help you sleep, remember?" Alexia hesitated, swallowing the pill with a glass of water he handed to her. He found he no longer had to consume portions of her food to prove it was safe.

"Marco, I know you said you wouldn't but still, please don't tell anyone." Her voice was nervous, her fingers fidgeting again.

"I promised yoi, not a soul." Marco put his hands up as a sign of surrender, "So these nightmares, I'm assuming they pertain to what you told me." Alexia nodded her head slowly, looking ashamed.

"Mostly of being tested, the punishments." Alexia almost hissed the last word, "I know it's over with for now, but it just feels so real."

"For now?" Marco frowned, "You're not planning on returning are you? Just because you refuse to join now does not mean we won't stop you from doing something so reckless."

"No of course not, I'll kill myself before I ever return." Alexia eyes turned dark, "I'm not naive, I know one day they'll find me. I know I won't be able to fight back. Just seeing a Marine in general, scares the hell out of me, it's like my mind shuts down, I can't move."

"Your giving up like that?" Marco looked agitated, "Because they scare you, you're just going to roll over?"

"Marco..." Alexia didn't know how to react to his growing anger.

"Haven't you been listening to me? You're not going anywhere yoi." Marco shook his head in disbelief, "We consider you family, Pops has already claimed you as a daughter. We won't let them take you. So your weak now, but we're working on that, and until you no longer need us to, and even after; we'll protect you."

"But I'm scared Marco." If it was anyone else, Marco would have slapped them upside the head. But this was Alexia, she didn't express emotions so openly like this.

"Lexi," Marco leaned forward, their faces just inches away from each other, making sure she was looking at him as she continued to fidget nervously, "It's okay to be scared. We are all scared of something, what matters is not letting that fear overcome you. We'll help you figure out how to overcome it. You will not let your fear define you."

"You make it sound so easy," Alexia muttered, "But it's not." Marco burst out laughing, almost feeling bad for a second as Alexia was so serious.

"Of course, it's not that easy! If it was that easy, everyone could do it," Marco chuckled, "And more people in the world would be doing much bolder shit."

Alexia felt like changing the topic. It made her uncomfortable to talk for long, and she had never told anyone her past. She felt so open and insecure. She got up from the bed, standing at the desk next to Marco, trying to figure out the paperwork that only seemed to grow on his desk. Marco quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What are you trying to do with all of this?" Alexia asked, confused by all the numbers on the pages. Most of it actually appeared to be basic math.

Marco spent the next two hours, explaining to Alexia the process for completing the mess of papers. Most of it was a simple, totaling expenditures of protected territories, expenses for any work on the Moby, and crew expenses. Alexia grabbed herself a massive stack, settling down on the bed, trying to balance a quill and ink on the post of the bedframe.

"Aren't you being a tad bit ambitious? It's taken me a month to even touch that stack." Marco gave her a daring look.

"It's math Marco, it can't be that hard." Alexia laughed at him, "Maybe I'm just afraid one day your piles of paper will grow until it swallows the bed. Then where would I possibly sleep?"

"You do know it's my bed right?"

"Not like you ever sleep in it anyways; your desk seems to make a more useful bed for you than your actual bed."

"True, eventually we should probably look into getting you a room."

"Why?" Alexia looked confused, "Am I really that bad of company?

"No that's not it at all." Marco laughed.

"Ohhh I get it, it would be awkward to explain to a woman or *cough* man, that you have someone else sleeping in your bed." Alexia stuck her tongue out at him. Marco turned beat red.

"That's not it at all yoi!" Marco sputtered, "You know what, never mind! I thought you'd want your own space, but I guess I was wrong. You spend too much time with Thatch."

"Guess I'll just have to stay here forever then." Alexia flopped down on her stomach, starting to work on some of the papers, giving him a childish smile.

"Oh, but I believe then dear Lexi, you might have to accept Pop's offer." Marco teased.

"I might just do that," Alexia murmured, "You never know."

Marco smiled at her, watching her for a brief moment as she worked on her stack of papers, already several pages ahead of him. He was amazed that she was working so fast, surely she couldn't be doing them right.

"See something you like? Or do I have something on my face?" Alexia raised an eyebrow, not looking up from her papers.

"You never know." Marco smirked, turning her own words on her.

"Okay smartass, focus on your papers, or risk your eyes being stabbed out." Alexia quipped, "Hey Marco..."

"Hmm?"

"You know you can tell me, if you actually need space that is, you won't offend me if you want your room back to yourself." Alexia paused, "I've just spent so long alone, it's been nice to have someone there, even if we don't actually talk."

"Lexi yoi, your fine." Marco chuckled, "It's nice to have someone here to keep me company other than these papers." Alexia laughed, returning to her papers until she fell asleep.