Summary: After the Summit War, the Whitebeard pirate crew splintered and fell apart like so many shards of glass, and everyone knew it would never be the same again. But who would have guessed that, just a few years later, they would all start reuniting under the Straw Hats' jolly roger? No pairings. Canon-divergence after Dressrosa arc.


Quite fittingly enough, Marco ends up being the first one to join them.

After the Summit War, his family falls apart, each of them knowing they need some time alone to deal with their grief in their own way. But the days and months and years pass by, and they don't fall back together again. Their oyaji had been the glue that held them together, and without him, their crew has no hope of working out.

Marco knows his siblings love him and respect him, knows that if he were just to raise his head and let his brothers and sisters know where he is, they would come to him – he's not the only one that yearns for the comfort of home and family, and his oyaji had been training him to take over as the next captain for a long time now. But in the time since their oyaji's death, Marco has realized something about himself: he's not fit to be a captain. His is a power meant for supporting, for finding a man (or woman) worthy of his respect, and giving his everything for them. Marco loves his family too much to let them drown with him. So he keeps his head down and continues on his own, drifting aimlessly through the waters he once called his home, through waters he never dreamed he'd one day hate.

After more than twenty years in the Whitebeard pirates however, he's gotten too used to having people around, has gotten too used to knowing a sibling is just a shout away. Without his crew at his back, the loneliness is unbearable.

So when he stumbles into Jinbe, he's not too proud to admit he's relieved to have a friendly face around, even if only for a short time.

It's a beautiful day, the sun shining hot on the summer island Marco's been staying at the past week, when Jinbe steps off a sea-giant's head and into the town Marco has been considering making his home (though he knows he'll get tired of being chained down eventually and will return to his pirating ways).

The two have been laughing and drinking together for two hours when Marco asks, "How are the Sun Pirates doing?"

Jinbe shrugs, nonchalant, and puts his drink down. "As good as always, last I checked."

"Last you checked?" asks Marco, raising a brow in question.

"I'm no longer their captain," Jinbe replies, a faint smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"What happened?" asks Marco, interest showing in his lazy eyes.

Jinbe seems to consider him for a moment before he says in a fond tone, "I left them in the care of my trustworthy former first mate. There's a man that has earned my complete respect, and after seeing the trouble he got into in Dressrosa, I figured I ought to hurry to my would-be captain's side before he gets himself killed for real."

Marco lets out an impressed whistle. "I never expected you to serve under another captain after Fisher Tiger. This man must be pretty impressive."

Jinbe's expression becomes confused. "You mean you don't know?" he asks. "Have you not seen yet what happened in Dressrosa?"

Marco blinks in confusion. "Should I have?"

Amused, Jinbe pulls a newspaper clipping out of the folds of his kimono and hands it over to Marco. He waits, expectantly, as Marco reads the article, and is satisfied when the blond's eyes widen in shock.

"Ace's brother," he mumbles to himself. "I knew he was alive, but he's doing such ridiculous things so soon after coming out of hiding?"

Jinbe chuckles.

Marco's eyes land on him.

"And you're going to join his crew?"

Jinbe nods. "I am on my way to the Thousand Sunny right now, in fact. It's docked at an island just a day's sailing away, though I really ought to get going now, in case Luffy-san's patience runs out," he says, smiling in amusement at the thought of his childish captain.

Marco tries not to let his disappointment show; he'd hoped they could spend at least a few days together. He's not looking forward to being alone again.

Perhaps his disappointment shows on his face though, because Jinbe says, "You should come along, if you've not got anywhere you need to be."

"I don't think Strawhat would appreciate that," Marco replies with a snort.

"He wouldn't mind," replies Jinbe, and Marco can hear the concern in his voice, can hear that he doesn't want them to be separated yet either. While Jinbe had never officially joined the Whitebeard Pirates, he was an honorary member of their crew, and is as much a brother to Marco as Haruta or Izo are.

Marco can see his train of thought, and sighs.

"Jinbe, you know I can't-"

But Jinbe cuts him off, shaking his head.

"I'm not asking you to join," he says. "I don't have the right to even make that offer."

"Then what are you saying?" Marco asks.

"I'm saying you should sail with the Strawhats for a while. I'm sure Luffy-san wouldn't mind, and no offense, but you have not been dealing with your grief well, Marco. Please allow me to worry for my brother a little."

Marco scowls, wanting to deny Jinbe's remarks, but knowing he's right.

After a brief internal struggle, he sighs.

"Just for a little while, then."

Jinbe smiles, relief evident on his face, and nods.

Within a few hours, they've stocked up on supplies, and Marco's little skiff is ready to set sail once more, this time with one more passenger than before.


They set sail in the early afternoon and, after sailing straight through the night, they arrive at the Thousand Sunny in the early hours of the morning.

The crew's musician, a living skeleton, is the one on watch at the time, and as soon as he notices Jinbe, he rushes to get the rope ladder, letting it down with a cheerful, "Yohoho!" and shouting for his crew to wake up.

By the time the rest of the Strawhats come on deck, yawning and grumbling about the early hour, Jinbe and Marco have already come aboard, the latter running a hand through his hair and looking around awkwardly, feeling out of place.

When they notice the fishman, they start perking up, the navigator squealing excitedly and going in for a hug.

But before she can, there's a sudden shriek of, "JINBE!" and a certain rubbery captain shoots onto the deck and right past his navigator, attaching himself to the fishman, who laughs and returns the embrace.

"It's good to see you too, Luffy-san," he says. "We have quite a bit of catching up to do. But first, there's someone where you should meet."

At these words, the excited conversation halts, and curious eyes turn to Marco.

He meets the captain's gaze, and can see the exact moment the younger boy recognizes him.

"Ace's nakama," he breathes in an almost reverent voice, letting go of Jinbe and dropping to the deck.

"Ace's little brother," says Marco, by way of greeting.

They stare at each other in silence for a few moments, before a shy smile stretches across Luffy's face.

"Thank you," he says, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "I was really out of it, after…after that. But I remember you and your crew protected me-"

He looks like he wants to say more, but he stops suddenly, his mouth snapping shut, and swallows hard.

Marco nods, not saying anything either, and the deck is quiet for the next few minutes, nobody willing to break the silence.

In the end, Sanji is the one that breaks the silence with a sigh.

"Well, since it looks like none of us will be going back to sleep anymore, I'll go get started on breakfast. We'll have Jinbe's welcome party later tonight."

Jinbe is quick to protest, saying, "You don't have to have-"

But his protests are drowned out by the rest of the crew's cheering at the prospect of a party, and Sanji smirks at him.

"If you feel so bad about it, then come help me out with the food," says the chef, turning and gesturing for their newest crewmember to follow. "I trust you know how to use a knife? None of the other shitheads are any use in the kitchen, and since I'll be cooking for two extra people, I'll need an extra pair of hands."

Jinbe follows without complaint, and the other Strawhats eventually wander off in twos and threes as well, until finally it's just Marco and their captain left on the deck by themselves.

Marco is just beginning to consider whether he should excuse himself, when Ace's brother turns and gestures for him to follow.

"So, how are things going with your crew?" asks the boy as they walk.

Marco shrugs and answers as vaguely as possible as they go below deck, eventually walking into a rather impressive room surrounded on all sides by an aquarium. In the middle of the room is the ship's main mast, and Luffy walks right up to it, opening a little door to what turns out to be a dumbwaiter.

"The kitchen is right above here," Luffy tells Marco. The chef must have guessed they would be coming here, because there are two snacks waiting for them right there, and Marco can't help but be impressed.

"Ace and Thatch would have loved this," he says with a small chuckle as they take seats.

Luffy laughs, agreeing with him, and proceeds to tell Marco about how much Ace loved to swim when they were younger, and how upset he must have been when he realized he couldn't do that anymore after eating his devil fruit.

Marco confirms this, telling Luffy about how the young second division commander had moped around the Moby Dick for a solid week, and before they know it, they're trading stories about him.

Two hours pass by in the blink of an eye, and by the time Usopp comes around to tell them breakfast is ready, both of them have been crying, and Marco knows they must look absolutely horrid, but the sniper doesn't mention it.

Luffy throws an arm around Marco's shoulder as they head up to the dining room, and they're both laughing by the time they reach their destination, and they're almost hysteric, but no one mentions that either.

Later, after all the food has been eaten, Marco stays behind to help with the dishes.

There's an almost comfortable silence between him and the chef as they methodically wash and dry the dishes, and it's only broken once, when the blond says, quite suddenly and without preamble, "Thanks."

Marco doesn't need to say anything, doesn't need to ask what he's thanking him for.

From the moment he'd seen Luffy, he'd known the boy captain hadn't opened up to anyone about the war yet, had allowed his wound to fester and go untreated.

Marco had known, because it had been the same thing he'd done.

He doesn't say that though, doesn't tell the chef that the two hours they spent talking and reminiscing about their lost ones had helped him just as much as it had helped Luffy.

He just nods, accepting the thanks, and continues drying the dishes.


No one questions Marco's presence on the Thousand Sunny, even as the days stretch into weeks, and then into a month.

He's surprised, at first, by how readily they can accept him into their family, and it isn't hard for him to understand how they had earned Jinbe's respect.

He finds himself settling comfortably into life on the Thousand Sunny, slipping easily into a nook they've carved out for him.

Sometimes, he's reminded just how young the Strawhats are as a crew, and it surprises him.

The Whitebeard pirates were an ancient crew by most standards; they were established and everybody knew their name. As a result, not many dared to challenge them, and though there was always the threat of danger that went hand in hand with their profession, there was this underlying feeling that everything would turn out okay in the end, that they were invincible, and nothing on Earth could hurt them. They had been everywhere, and done everything.

The Strawhats, in comparison, are infants. Only just emerging into the New World, even docking at a new island is an adventure for them, and Marco finds it refreshing. It's at once nostalgic and a novel experience.

As the days go by, it gets harder and harder for him to think of leaving – after losing his father, Marco had thought he would never find anywhere to truly belong again, but now he has, and he isn't eager to give it up.

And yet, despite how much he enjoys being a part of a crew again, Marco can't quite bring himself to commit to the Strawhat pirates completely.

He knows the others have noticed, and it's exactly thirty-two days after he first came aboard the Thousand Sunny when someone finally brings it up.

The musician, Brook, is on watch again, and Marco can't sleep, so he decides to keep him company.

Brook doesn't question him when he walks into the crow's nest, despite the fact it's something like two in the morning.

The night is quiet, and the sky is clear, the stars sparkling like a million tiny diamonds scattered across the heavens.

Marco is searching for something to say, to break the unbearable silence, when Brook does it for him.

"The weather is always beautiful, on nights I'm on watch duty," he says, quite absently, and Marco looks at him.

"Yeah?" he asks, because he doesn't know what else to say.

"Yeah," replies Brook, nodding his perpetually smiling head at Marco. "Miss Navigator ensures it. It's a small thing, but it never fails to warm my heart…not that I have a heart to warm! Yohoho!"

The corner of Marco's mouth twitches up.

"I was stuck in the Florian triangle for fifty years," Brook informs him then, and Marco suddenly understands. "With nary a soul for company. And when I first became a Strawhat pirate, I was quite like you. I couldn't stand to be alone, couldn't stand the silence."

"I wasn't exactly alone these past two years though," Marco points out.

Brook shakes his head.

"Being surrounded by a thousand different people isn't quite so different from being completely alone if none of them are the right people. And the murmur of a thousand voices isn't quite so different from utter silence if none of them are the right voices."

Marco stares at him, dumbfounded, and empty eye sockets stare right back.

"We're not as big or as strong as the Whitebeard pirates," says Brook, "But we pay attention to the little things. We care. We understand. Is that not enough?"

Marco holds his gaze.

He considers lying, considers brushing off this too heavy conversation.

But instead he finds himself saying, "Pops is the one I swore my loyalty to."

Brook nods, as if he had expected that, and comes to sit next to Marco.

"I was a part of the Rumbar pirates, back when I still had flesh and blood," he says, gazing out into the sea. "My captain, Yorki, was my best friend, and I would have died for him. But then a sickness took him away from us, and shortly after, I lost the rest of my crew as well."

Marco is surprised, he must admit. In a way, Brook's story sounds so much like his own.

"I still dream about them sometimes," Brook continues absently, as if lost in thought. "Sometimes, I think I would give anything to have them back. I used to think that meant I wasn't worthy to be in Luffy's crew, because I couldn't give him everything. But you know what I realized then, Marco-san?"

He looks away from the ocean to meet Marco's gaze.

"I realized that Luffy doesn't want everything from us. All he asks is that we stand by his side in the now. He doesn't care what came before. And just because I call him my captain now, doesn't mean I have forgotten about captain Yorki, or any of my old crew mates."

Marco feels his heart squeeze, and he thinks he might just choke on his emotions right then.

"I don't know about Whitebeard-san," continues Brook, "But I like to think captain Yorki would be happy for me. I don't think he would have liked me to be alone for the rest of my life."


It's Marco's thirty-third day on the Thousand Sunny, and they've just had breakfast and everyone's still seated around the dining table, talking and laughing.

Marco turns to Luffy, expression serious, and he vaguely notices the others stop talking to look at them, seeming to sense something important about to happen.

"Luffy-san," he says, and the young captain turns to smile up at him.

"Hm?" he asks.

"I would be honoured if you would allow me to join your crew."

He says it before he can think twice about his words, and he hears a few excited gasps from the rest of the Strawhats, and he just knows Jinbe is smiling widely at him, expression somewhat smug.

Marco just keeps his attention on his would-be captain as the boy's expression morphs into confusion.

He tilts his head to the side, eyes narrowed.

"Aren't you already in my crew though?" he asks, and Marco has to wonder if he's heard correctly.

But then someone starts laughing, and it then another, and before he knows it, they're all laughing for no reason at all.

And in that moment, Marco hopes that his oyaji is happy for him.


Fin


SkyGem: So this fic was actually somewhat inspired by the lovely gestaltwithluck's "A Song For the Heartsore and War-Weary," which you all should totally totally check out if you haven't already! Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought, and let me know if y'all would be interested in seeing more of this verse, yeah? If enough people like it, I'm thinking of continuing this series and showing how various Whitebeard pirates join up with the Strawhats, and what they think of their new little captain, who is so very different from their oyaji. Anyways, that's it for now! I'll see you guys next time, and if you haven't already, I'd appreciate it if you'd check out my other One Piece fics!