Hi everyone!

This is a fic that I've had on my computer for ages but I was struggling to finish it. Thanks to Korazan's help I not only managed to complete it I also rewrote certain chapters, so hopefully it's a lot better now than it used to be!

Let me know what you think of it! ;)

As usual, his office felt unnaturally neat. He didn't spend enough time in it to mess it up to an agreeable level. Not that he was unhappy about that. The marine base he had been assigned to was, not only remote, but also the most abjectly boring place he had ever been in. Granted, it was in the New World and was therefore subjected to quirky weather but even freak tornados didn't excite him anymore. He didn't know which idiot had had the brilliant idea of building in a marine base in a corner ocean that literally no one ever visited, but they might as well have made it a vacation resort for all that happened around here.

Rear Admiral Monkey D. Luffy heaved a deep sigh, tearing his eyes away from the window from which he could see the mildly agitated sea, and looked down at the letter he had been painstakingly writing. Or trying to write. Who knew it could be so hard to write some words on a sheet of paper? He reread the few lines he had managed to scrap together so far:

'Dear Grandfather'

After a moment's pause, he scratched 'grandfather' and replaced it with 'Garp', then scratched it again and wrote 'grandfather' again.

'We haven't met in a while. Are you doing well? I heard from old woman Tsuru that you were in Paradise…'

Luffy groaned and threw himself back into his chair, burying his fingers in his black locks in a frustrated gesture. He didn't even know what he was trying to say to the old man. He hadn't seen him in two years and they hadn't exchanged a word since then. It wasn't like they had ever been particularly close to begin with. Garp had always been a vagrant and Luffy….well, Luffy had always been alone hadn't he?

From his earliest memories he had been left on one island or another at the mercy of whatever predators lived on it. He had met plenty of people through the course of trips his grandfather dragged him on and although he hadn't disliked all of them, he had found himself completely unable to get attached to any of them. Sometimes he had to wonder if he had always been preparing for the inevitable….

The young man smiled bitterly. Sometimes he felt like the years he had lived stretched far beyond just seventeen years. Every day felt like an eternity. A painful eternity.

He looked back to the letter and in a split-moment decision crumpled it and threw it in the nearby waste basket. He sighed again, rubbing his forehead in a wary gesture. What was the point anyway? Garp would find out eventually. In fact, he probably knew already. Either way, Luffy doubted the old man cared. If he did he might have bothered to give signs of life these past years.

He got up and walked to the window. It was a nice day for the New World. Ideal for his plan. He smiled to himself. The prey he had chosen was no mere rookie but that was what gave the game its thrill. He had been gazing out from his window a few days before, letting his eyes sweep over faraway cities and islands when he had caught sight of the pirate. Luffy had recognised him at once. He had proceeded to excitedly take note of the location – an island he knew to be under Whitebeard's protection – and form his plan.

Today was the day it was put into action and if all had gone well, the ship he had sent should be back soon. If it hadn't returned already. He had been so caught up in his epistolary troubles that he hadn't seen the hours tick by.

He was just thinking of going down to the shipyard to check on the situation himself when a sharp knock came from the door.

"Come in." Luffy called out, reflexively straightening himself and checking that his red shirt and black tie were presentable, before hurriedly moving to stand behind his desk.

During the times he was around, Garp always insisted on his keeping a respectable appearance. The old man had always acted as if Luffy needed to be better than perfect. It had taken a long time for Luffy to understand why the old man and old woman Tsuru always insisted on his having proper looks and pristine manners and more than anything, absolute obedience. When he had found out the reason, he had laughed hysterically in the loneliness of his bedroom and murmured bitterly to the walls: 'it'll take more than that to save me'.

Luffy sighed and banished the grim memory from his mind with a shake of his head. It was all in the past now and he needed to concentrate on the present. That brought a smile back to his face.

"What is it?" he asked the soldier who had just entered the room.

The man came to stand in front of his desk and saluted before answering.

"The prisoner has arrived, sir."

"Very good." Luffy said not bothering to hide his jubilant smile. "Bring him here."

"Here, sir?" the soldier looked hesitant.

Bringing a prisoner to a Rear Admiral's office as if he were a common guest was most likely not standard procedure. Luckily, Luffy had never cared much for standard procedures. Boring and dull, that's what they were. Which was why he made a point to break tradition and protocol on a daily basis. His soldiers were just a little reluctant to follow suit.

"Yes, here. Now run along and stop wasting my time." he ordered, with a dismissive wave.

With a final salute, the soldier was out the door and running down the corridor. Once his subordinate was out of sight, Luffy raised his arms above his head and stretched slowly. He felt like he was finally waking up from the most uninteresting dream one could imagine. Now the real excitement could begin.

He went over to the heavy Marine coat that he had abandoned on the sofa and threw it over his shoulders before taking place in one of the armchairs. Now, all that was left to do was wait. Not that he minded, he was quite good a waiting. In a sense he had been waiting his whole life.

As it happened he didn't have to wait long. Soon enough, men adorned in the blue and white uniform of the Marines were filing inside his office. In the middle of the group, surrounded by the armed men, was a tall man with a mop of blond hair that gave him the air of a pineapple, his wrists bound together with seastone manacles.

"Marco the Phoenix." Luffy commented, testing the name in his mouth.

A pair of disinterested blue eyes fell on him.

"I've been wanting to meet you." Luffy continued, not at all disturbed by the man's apparent lack of interest.

"I can't say the feeling's mutual." was the bored answer.

The Rear Admiral found himself grinning widely. It seemed he had made the right choice. Marco the Phoenix was exactly the sort of man he needed.

"Ah, well, never mind. Why don't you take a seat?" he gestured towards the sofa opposite his own seat, before turning to address the soldiers. "You guys are dismissed. Leave us."

"But, sir!" the protests rose up instantly. "He's a first-class criminal!"

"Yes." the rear-admiral snapped impatiently, waving his hand dismissively. "Luckily I'm a first-class Marine. I hardly need the lot of you getting in the way. Now scram."

The room emptied in a matter of seconds.

"Well, then." Luffy said good-naturedly. "Sit down, please."

Whitebeard's First Division Commander was looking at him oddly, as if he wasn't sure what to make of him. Luffy merely smiled. After a moment, the blond man moved forward and took a seat opposite the Rear Admiral.

"I'll say this now." Marco started, eyes narrowed and expression guarded. "I won't give you any information on my crew."

Luffy blinked in surprise. In retrospect, he should have known the man would think he was after information. Most Marines would have been. But Luffy wasn't most Marines and he felt he ought to put the record straight sooner rather than later.

"Oh no!" he said, giving the man a strange look. "That would be a waste of time for both you and me."

The phoenix looked mildly disturbed at how easily his concerns had been dismissed.

"Now then, Marco." Luffy continued as if there had been no interruption. "Can I call you Marco?" the man gave a curt nod, posture still defensive but a flash of curiosity in his eyes. "I want to offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" the man asked evenly.

Luffy grinned.

"An advantageous one, hopefully. For both parties involved." he assured. "For five days, I want you to be my friend."

"Your friend?" Marco repeated numbly. "You want me to be your friend?"

Luffy confirmed this with a nod.

"Yes. And before you ask, I won't abuse this status by asking you about your crew or Whitebeard's allies."

There was a long pause while the phoenix attempted to digest the demand.

"What's in it for me?" he asked eventually.

His tone made it quite clear that he couldn't see what was in it for Luffy, let alone for him. But that was fine. He didn't need to understand Luffy's motivations. He only needed to agree to the deal, nothing else mattered.

"At the end of these five days, I'll bring you back to Whitebeard and hand you over to him without fuss." Luffy said.

"You'll free me?"

"I'll free you."

Marco leant back in his seat, staring at the Rear Admiral disbelievingly.

"This is insane." Marco said. "You're insane."

"Could be." Luffy agreed easily. "So? Are you in?"

"Yes, fine. I'm in." Marco huffed.

For a moment Luffy let slip a flash of relief, but he picked himself up quickly and plastered the impossibly wide grin he was known for on his face.

"Great!" he exclaimed happily. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, from today onwards and until five days from now, you'll be my friend."