Chapter 35

As soon as he figured out the reason they kept running into Compote, Marshall hurried to plot a course to take them out of future Big Mom territory and sprinted to the wheel to get the ship moving in the right direction.

Really, it made sense that if they were running around an area being eyed by an Emperor they were going to run into some of that Emperor's crew. Running into Big Mom's eldest daughter alone every time it happened could be considered an odd twist of luck, though he honestly couldn't say whether it was good or bad. Charlotte Compote had proved herself more than capable of kicking their asses without any help, but lately she hadn't made any move to finish off his crew once they retreated. Chances were slim to none that any of her siblings would do the same.

(Maybe Katakuri, later, but until Luffy beat respect into his skull Marshall wasn't going to test the theory.)

If location was the problem, then they just had to go somewhere else, he reasoned, sighing as he took the wheel and pointedly ignored the call of "captain on deck!" as he set about adjusting the Coddi's course. Idiots.

Unfortunately, the New World seemed to have other plans, sending everything from acidic, syrupy rains to icebergs made of rock candy into their path. Marshall refused to be deterred; he fought against the sea from start to finish, determined to get out of the future Emperor's territory. It was a hard battle, but nearly two months and five more encounters with Compote later it was a battle they won.

Later he would admit that maybe flipping off the sky and cackling as they sailed through the cotton candy snow was a bit much, but for now?

"We're out! We're out of that sugar-laced hell! Break out the liquor, it's time to party!"

Even Zarazan, a newcomer to his crew, cheered at that.

Marshall had thought that with them safely out of would-be-Totland the run-ins with Compote would stop, but a month before his birthday he was proven to be very much mistaken.

"Why are you here?!" He had to admit, his crew's swearing as they dashed to clean up the remnants of Zarazan's birthday celebration made for oddly appropriate background music as he stood there gaping at the woman who stood at the edge of their impromptu camp.

"Miss me, sweets?" Compote grinned.

"Not really!" He replied, guarding his crew's backs as they made a run for it, relieved when his haki told they escaped with only a few scratches from the attacks she idly flicked in the direction of the retreat.

"Come now, don't be like that~" the teal-haired woman winked, raising an arm to deflect a kick. Deflect. Not block, deflect.

A slow grin spreading across his face at the sight, Marshall laughed.

"Zehahaha! Let's do this!"

The hangover did him no favors (that stuff they got from the Valhallians was strong) in the ensuing fight, but he was rather proud to say, once he staggered back to the Coddi and his worried crew, that Compote had been the one to retreat first this time.

"She's courting you." Vertara told him bluntly as Olivia bandaged a fairly serious gash in his side and nodded in agreement.

His mind promptly skipped a beat.

"...What?"

For lack of a better idea, he called Rouge for a second opinion and, once she was done laughing, his sister confirmed it. "Oh yeah, bro, she's totally into you," she said after he explained the situation.

Replaying their meetings and her gradual change from indifferent to playful in his mind and considering what he knew about her mother, that actually made sense...Charlotte Linlin was as infamous for her taste in men as she was for her power, after all. For all he knew Compote could take after her mother in that respect. (She certainly inherited Big Mom's strength, he thought with a wince, his side throbbing at the memory.) From what he remembered though, Big Mom strictly controlled who her kids were involved with, unless that only started when Totland was established? He couldn't think of a reason why Compote would risk her mother's ire by leaving her territory otherwise.

Frowning, he thought back to the bits and pieces he remembered Compote letting slip during their bouts (which was apparently a thing that happened to all Ds, not just Luffy), putting them together with her facial expressions and coming to the realization that she actually was having fun during their fights, which were honestly more like sparring matches now. She laughed freely now, happiness making her steps lighter and her attacks stronger every time he matched her blow for blow - wait. Running that back through his mind holy fuck she really had been flirting with him hadn't she?

Marshall gave this newfound knowledge the consideration it was due...by looking back on his life choices that led to this moment incredulously.

He must have been silent a bit too long, because when he blinked away the daze he'd fallen into the first thing he heard was Rouge freaking out.

"-are you okay, bro? Bro? Did I break you?! I'm sorry bro!"

Chuckling at the panic in her voice, he had to shout to get her attention before he could start calming his sister down. "I'm fine, sis, no need to worry," he sighed, leaning back and looking up pensively, "just had some thinking to do."

There was a slight before Rouge asked, oddly subdued, "what are you going to do?"

He could only answer honestly. "I don't know."

The Coddiwomple docked at an inhabited island a week later to celebrate his twenty-second birthday (not that the crew knew how old he was), barely a day after he healed from his and Compote's last spar.

He was actually impressed by how smoothly they pulled off setting up the surprise party; buying out the largest tavern on the island for the day, hanging streamers and rushing through last minute decorating while he was distracted by getting supplies. They bribed the tavern owner and his wife to prepare the food while the crew got the presents, which was a good plan since he was the only one on the crew that was any good at cooking. When all the preparations were done, they sent Rune to tell him that the meeting place was changed to the tavern and boom, he walked through the door fifteen minutes later to be greeted by his crew's collective roar of:

"Surprise!"

For just a moment he was back on Orango with Annie and her family, the smell of food teasing his nose and cheerful voices ringing in his ears, that same feeling of warmth welling up inside him. A blink and he was back in the present, smiling with misty eyes at his crew as they grinned back, all of them clustered around a table piled high with food with a smaller table off to the side stacked with presents. It wasn't easy pulling them all into a hug, but he managed.

Zarazan squirmed free, beaming ecstatically as he gestured to the presents, his new beaded bracelet glinting blue-green in the light, "Come on, presents first, then food!" He urged, and Marshall laughed as he indulged the fishman, releasing the rest of his crew as he made his way over to the gift table.

The skill of the ones who'd wrapped the gifts ranged from sloppy to the picture of elegance, but he opened each one with the same amount of appreciation...and when he opened a certain present, he burst out laughing. Vertara, the one responsible for that particular gift, was the very definition of 'shit-eating grin' as he lifted the source of his amusement out of the box.

It was a hat. Specifically, a hat the same dark purple as his coat, with a black band and a large gray-feathered plume.

"Well, at least it's better than the last one," he snorted, shaking his head, lips quirked up in amusement as he put it on, much to his gathered crew's delight. As expected, it fit perfectly, and he grinned as his crew cheered. Wilde's gift was a royal cape, an actual fur-lined royal cape, and he gave the teen the deadpanned look that this deserved, the thief smiling back unrepentantly. His ship doctor at least refrained from gag gifts, Olivia having elected to give him a saber, one he recognized as Valhallian workmanship (he looked at her and raised an eyebrow, impressed by her ability to plan ahead, and she preened in response).

Feral had obviously teamed up with his doctor when it came to thinking of gift ideas, because she gave him a sword sharpening kit and a vicious grin as she informed him that she would teach him how to use his new blade. He stared at the swordsman, voicing his suspicion that, "this is payback for the haki training, isn't it." She didn't reply, but her widening grin meant she didn't have to. Laughing to himself because yeah, he probably deserved that, he moved on. Trax gave him a book, oddly enough, and he blinked in surprise. He really hadn't expected the tiger's taste in literature to lean towards romance novels...he flipped through a few pages and shrugged, thanking the big cat for the gift.

Rune gave him a very familiar looking weapon: three hooked claws connected to a metal plate that would cover the back of his hand with two bands looping around to secure it over his palm when worn. His smile was a tad strained, but seeing the hopeful look on the kid's face the expression eased as Marshall thanked him sincerely. The beaming smile on Rune's face was worth letting Canon have the victory.

Zarazan's present was the most surprising, a pearl-studded belt and knife sheath, perfect for replacing the one he currently using that was holding together with thread and spite. Swapping out old for new, he looked at the old belt and sheath thoughtfully. They'd make a good wristband, he decided, setting the idea to the side for later consideration as he thanked the barracuda fishman.

Once the presents were taken care of, it was time for food, starting with the cake that Vertara and Zarazan carted out between them.

("Specially ordered from the bakery in town," Olivia assured him.

"Thank you.")

He cut the cake - chocolate with vanilla icing and rosette - and proceeded to dig in, the others following suit. Laughter and booze flowed freely, the tavern owner Manning the bar, sweaty but happy as he served the partying crew, the older man's smile growing wider as some of the townsfolk cautiously poked their heads through the door only to get waved in. More and more people drifted in and got invited to join until the room was filled to capacity, the celebration spilling out into the street.

Midway through the party, Marshall noticed that at some point Compote had slipped in, moving silently through the crowd to sit at the bar. She was sipping at her drink as she watched the celebration around her, and he couldn't help thinking that she looked strangely vulnerable as she sat there, a lone island in a sea of people. Watching her watch the joyous crowd, he sighed.

Joining Compote at the bar, Marshall let himself be wooed for the night.

Being chased was all well and good, but eventually you had to let yourself get caught.