So he remembered. He knew. But that meant Thatch really was living on after the fact. It wasn't a second chance, but it meant Marco could keep protecting him a little longer. He nearly crushed Thatch in his return hug and rested his on head on Thatch's shoulder. He wanted to tell Thatch not to apologize for that. No one should ever have to feel guilty for dying, jeez. But Marco understood why. Thatch understood better than anyone how much it would have hurt Marco to be left behind. To go out early like that. Thatch really had been one of the only people in the world who could get through to Marco sometimes. Who could understand both Marco and everyone else's perspective and cohesively translate the two. If Marco was named after a god of war, he'd always thought Thatch would be his tactician forever.
"We're sorry. None of us knew, eh? And if we had, would we have even said anything?" A brother. To doubt a nakama was unthinkable. They'd survived the New World by trusting each other. That was why Blackbeard could get away with it. "Ugh and you know Shanks came to tell us that he told us so? Fucking punk." Marco still was annoyed, but since Shanks was trying to save Ace's life -- by going about it all wrong -- and then built the memorial for Whitebeard and Ace next to each other, Marco couldn't completely hate him. "I'm not... a good first mate, eh? I'm trying to trust people still and I just want to hibernate. Even our own allies... I almost snapped and killed Squardo at some point." It was hiding a lot of details, but it was all true at least.
"It'll be okay," Marco gulped. "We can get through it together now. So it'll be okay," he clung to Thatch as though worried he'd lose him again. "Hah, no wonder you haven't been surprised I've stuck to you like glue, eh?" He wanted to ask him not to go. Yet again. For a thousandth time. But it was all right. Even if he lost Thatch again; no, when he lost him, at least he'd have had an extra day. An extra hour. An extra anything. "Don't be sorry, just..." it hurt. It hurt that Thatch couldn't go back to the Grand Line. It hurt that Thatch had been suffering where Marco couldn't know to reach him. It killed him that the one time Thatch needed it most, Marco hadn't had his back. Nakama were always supposed to guard each other's backs. Thatch had always protected his and Marco hadn't been able to guard Thatch's in return. "Stay. Let me guard your back here, and we'll move forward together."
Price of being a phoenix. Marco didn't want to move back in time. To do so just meant repeating it in a loop. He wanted to move forward and take everyone with him.
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"We're sorry. None of us knew, eh? And if we had, would we have even said anything?" A brother. To doubt a nakama was unthinkable. They'd survived the New World by trusting each other. That was why Blackbeard could get away with it. "Ugh and you know Shanks came to tell us that he told us so? Fucking punk." Marco still was annoyed, but since Shanks was trying to save Ace's life -- by going about it all wrong -- and then built the memorial for Whitebeard and Ace next to each other, Marco couldn't completely hate him. "I'm not... a good first mate, eh? I'm trying to trust people still and I just want to hibernate. Even our own allies... I almost snapped and killed Squardo at some point." It was hiding a lot of details, but it was all true at least.
"It'll be okay," Marco gulped. "We can get through it together now. So it'll be okay," he clung to Thatch as though worried he'd lose him again. "Hah, no wonder you haven't been surprised I've stuck to you like glue, eh?" He wanted to ask him not to go. Yet again. For a thousandth time. But it was all right. Even if he lost Thatch again; no, when he lost him, at least he'd have had an extra day. An extra hour. An extra anything. "Don't be sorry, just..." it hurt. It hurt that Thatch couldn't go back to the Grand Line. It hurt that Thatch had been suffering where Marco couldn't know to reach him. It killed him that the one time Thatch needed it most, Marco hadn't had his back. Nakama were always supposed to guard each other's backs. Thatch had always protected his and Marco hadn't been able to guard Thatch's in return. "Stay. Let me guard your back here, and we'll move forward together."
Price of being a phoenix. Marco didn't want to move back in time. To do so just meant repeating it in a loop. He wanted to move forward and take everyone with him.