Fully Human, Chapter 24 (Sci Fi AU, Marco x Reader, DARK, CONTAINS NON CON, humans as pets)
18+ MDNI | on Ao3 | the other chapters
Your POV
Marco’s “mate” comment changed everything. You hadn’t remarked on it in the moment, electing to pretend that you hadn’t heard anything out of the ordinary. Marco hadn’t commented on it either, letting the conversation drop from there. He had allowed you to watch the rest of the sunset (which really was quite lovely) before taking you back to the ship. You’d been quiet on the trip back, that one word looping in your mind as you leaned against him.
It had continued to resound in your head on repeat, that one small word having more impact than you could have expected. Unfortunately, hearing Marco call you his mate meant your plans to escape had just moved up to almost immediately. You weren’t sure what being the mate of a Phoenix entailed, but you were 100% certain you didn’t want to find out. Marco clearly planned to keep forever and there was probably some fucked up ritual that would bind you to him. He wasn’t beyond chipping and tracking you, so you needed to get the medicine and escape before anything more drastic happened.
Luckily, something must have clicked for Marco after his revelation. Ever since you’d gotten back from Kyuka and he’d made his “mate” comment, Marco completely changed. It almost reminded you of when you were on your period, but he was even less demanding of your attention and time. Maybe a mate got more leeway than a pet, but you weren’t going to stick around to find out. Some part of you suspected that this was some kind of trick, a way to get you to somehow reveal more information, but you would take any opportunities that you were given.
Once you awoke from your long sleep after Kyuka, Marco was sitting at his desk and working like usual. He glanced over at you and did his almost-smile but quickly went back to what he was doing before. It was a little unusual, but you’d seen him like this before when he was really busy with his patients.
“Good morning, Marco,” you said, sitting up in bed. Gods, you would miss this bed once you went back to Laughtale. If only there was a way to bring it with you, you thought wistfully as you ran your palm over its cool, squishy surface. This was your first test of what he’d said the previous day – Marco claimed that you could call him by his first name but you had yet to actually do it. Marco merely looked at you for a moment with a calm smile before turning his attention back to the screen in front of him.
“It’s not morning yoi. That’s a human saying. But good morning to you too,” Marco replied easily. “I’m going to be heading into the lab soon. Would you like to join me or would you rather do something else?” Marco’s jaw was set tightly as he spoke to you without breaking eye contact with his screen.
Your brow furrowed – what the hell was going on?
“I’m not on my period,” you said, already suspicious of his intentions.
“I am aware. Your menstruation cycle is about 28 Eurt days long, you are not due yet yoi,” he continued. Marco closed the screen he was looking at and walked towards the bed and sat down at the edge, perching far from you. He didn’t even reach out to touch you, unlike every other time you’d woken before. His fingers twitched slightly, but he kept them resting on his thighs. He didn’t even want to touch your face?
“Then why are you letting me choose what I want to do? You never let me pick stuff like that, only when I’m on my period,” you asked, stretching out. Marco looked you in the eyes, his expression serious, like he’d set his intentions.
“I took what you said on Kyuka to heart. I wish to make you more comfortable being with me, and I want to listen to your opinions more frequently. You are correct, I have been somewhat inconsistent in my treatment of you and I would like to amend that. I also agree that I have been treating you at a level incompatible with your intelligence and ability for independent action1,” Marco replied. His mouth twisted a little at the end, like he’d eaten something sour. But it was gone faster after you blinked and replaced with the same placid smile as before. You blinked – this was far from the response you had been expecting.
“Alright. In that case I want…to go see Thatch in the kitchens,” you said, testing the boundaries of your newfound freedom. In truth, you didn’t want to stay in the room or go with Marco. What you really needed was time alone in other parts of the ship so you could familiarize yourself before your escape. So it would be a good time to find out if Marco was as lenient as he was saying or if it was all an act. Marco frowned as he listened to you. It wasn’t punishable to ask for things, right?
“That was not one of the options yoi. You can choose to either stay here or – I’m sorry, Luna. Give me a moment,” Marco said as he opened an incoming message. He scanned the contents briefly before dismissing it faster than you could read. His frown had deepened after reading whatever it said. Your gut twisted – Marco was definitely not letting you leave his sight after whatever that was. You clicked a few buttons on your own to avoid eye contact with Marco in case this tipped his mood.
“I suppose you could go to the kitchens,” Marco gritted out, before taking a deep breath. Your eyes widened as your confusion grew. “Let me find out if Thatch is free right now, sometimes their division is quite busy –”
“He says he’s not busy and that he has something – what’s this word?” you asked, showing the quick reply you’d already gotten from Thatch. Marco’s frown deepened yet again, making your heart skitter in nervousness. Marco smoothed out his features as he read Thatch’s message over your shoulder.
“How are you able to message Thatch?” he asked, looking over the message. He sounded annoyed but looking at his face, you didn’t see the normal furrowed brow that accompanied that tone. It made you a little on edge, but so far nothing bad had happened.
“I don’t know. I didn’t do it. I can’t change anything on my controller,” you said, extending your arm for Marco to see. You had opened your messaging center the previous night to send Marco the picture you’d taken and had seen that you were now able to message all the Commanders on the ship. You didn’t really think anything of it as you sent the picture to Marco but it was a little strange. Marco tapped a few buttons, searching through your screens quickly. He scanned through your brief messages with Thatch before dismissing the screens.
“That word is ‘special.’ Thatch is inviting you to try novel food in the kitchens yoi,” Marco said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Is that safe?” you asked, chewing on a nail. For as much of a dickhead as Marco was to you, you did trust that he knew what it took to keep you from dying.
“Yes. Thatch knows what you can and cannot eat. And I suspect he has several Eurt delicacies waiting for you yoi,” Marco supplied, rolling his eyes.
“Really?” you asked, smiling as you heard the news.
“Really. He’s been planning this for some time, he talks about it during our Commander meetings. I will walk you down to the kitchens –” Marco paused as his controller pinged again. His eyes darkened as he dismissed the short message.
“I will walk you down to the kitchens. When you are done, you may return to me in the lab without an escort,” Marco said harshly. Your shoulders bunched up around your ears as you wondered why Marco was angry with you. It was like he was talking to someone else, but there wasn’t anyone else in the room. Marco’s face softened before he began talking again, this time more quietly. His hallux stroked your cheek as he spoke once more, his touch after so many days together. After a moment, his hand dropped from your face quickly, almost like he’d been burned.
“You have a map on your controller, you can use that to find your way back to the lab. Moreover, if you are lost or scared, call for me immediately. I can always find you yoi,” Marco said, crossing his arms once more. You nodded, mollified that Marco apparently wasn’t mad at you. You had no explanation for why he was acting this way, but you weren’t going to ask and ruin it now. Marco had just given you permission to walk the ship by yourself, something you could have only dreamed of a few days prior. To be honest, you were a little impressed with Marco – he finally seemed to have listened to your needs. Maybe he wasn’t as terrible as you had originally thought.
Marco stood up and crossed the room back over to his desk. He opened a drawer and removed something pink and small, about the size of your palm.
“But before you go, I’d like you to orgasm yoi,” Marco said, walking back towards you. Now it was your turn to frown. Of course Marco would make you do something for him before he’d do something for you. There was no getting without giving – at least not with Marco. But to your surprise, Marco unfurled your fingers and put the small tool in your hand. You were momentarily surprised as you began examining the item.
“What’s this?” you had asked, looking over the small object. It looked like a stylized version of the rose that Vista had given you, but only the flower part. There was a small opening at the top, though you couldn’t understand what it was for. Its rubbery texture was somewhat similar to plastics you’d touched on Lafftale but not exactly. What on Eurt was this for?
“For your daily orgasm. Press the button on the side there to turn it on,” Marco explained. You quirked your eyebrow as you complied. You nearly dropped it as the small item began buzzing in your hand, the vibrations constant.
“How will this help me?” you asked, completely perplexed, and not just about the tool he’d given you. Wasn’t Marco going to give you an orgasm himself? He’d always enjoyed the process thus far, so what had changed? Had he really listened to you on Kyuka? The evidence was stacking in his favor, his behavior finally matching his words.
“I trust you can figure that out yourself yoi. I’ve read that female humans enjoy this kind of toy,” Marco said enigmatically as he walked towards the door.
“Let me know when you are done and I will return,” Marco said, putting his hand on the panel to open the door. Now you were really confused.
“You aren’t going to do it for me? You aren’t going to watch?” you asked, suddenly unsure. There must be some kind of trick happening, you thought, and you didn’t want to get in any kind of trouble. Was he testing you? Did he want you to ask for him to stay? What did Marco want from you?
“No. You said you wanted increased independence. I am giving you what you asked for yoi,” Marco said with a tight smile. “I will return when your orgasm is complete and your vitals stabilize. At that time I will bring you to visit Thatch and the Fourth Division,” Marco said, leaving through the opened door. Your mouth hung open as you watched the door shut silently as you were left alone.
What. The. Fuck.
Marco POV
Marco calling you his mate changed absolutely nothing about how Marco felt about you.
Marco hadn’t meant to say it out loud, it had simply slipped from his lips. However, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it or be mad at himself. The more he thought about it, the more he accepted the idea of calling you his mate. It wasn’t like he was going to run into any other Phoenix soon – he hadn’t met another in all his years of travel – and his body already considered you his. You were going to be staying with him and the Whitebeard Pirates either way. So really, what did it matter if he called you his mate? It wouldn’t effectively change anything between you and he found comfort in the title.
Shortly after you’d come back from the trip to Kyuka, you’d fallen asleep for your long stretch. Based on how quiet you were on the way back, and the way you’d leaned your head on his shoulder without prompting, Marco suspected you would need a longer rest than usual. Your endurance was still below standard for humans of your age, which was something he’d have to work with you on. Once back in his quarters, Marco laid down with you for a cozy few hours of rest. You were warm and sweet, your breath fanning softly over his skin. He wished he could live in this moment forever, with you safe in his arms, but he knew that was only a dream.
Unfortunately, after a few hours he had an important meeting called by Izou. His brother had called for him to meet in his quarters as soon as Marco was able. Marco had been in his brother’s room innumerable times before and found the atmosphere calming and serene. Even though their rooms were built identically, the ways in which they had designed them were unique. As he entered Izou was relaxing on top of a chaise lounge, offering Marco a cup of tea before starting.
“Did you enjoy your trip to Kyuka?” Izou asked as Marco sat down on a chair opposite his brother. As he sat, the familiar scent of jasmine and cedar wafted to his nose.
“We’ve been there many times, it was the same as all the others yoi,” Marco replied, accepting the tea.
“No need to hoard your feelings. You know I meant if you enjoyed your trip with Luna, but I won’t pry,” Izou said with a smirk. Marco was already on edge about the meeting – they had to somehow push you into your plans of escape. Marco had a looming feeling of danger, a sense that the humans on Lafftale were in acute distress and needed help immediately and they couldn’t wait much longer.
It was a tricky situation – they needed you to think you were escaping and fully in charge of your decisions while also ensuring your safety. It was unthinkable to let you into space unguarded and alone; that would never be happening. However, you had to believe you had gotten the better of them in order to feel confident enough to make your way back to Lafftale. It was a complicated plan, but ultimately the only one that Izou and Marco felt would guide them to the human colony.
“We are going to discuss measures you will not like,” Izou said bluntly, setting down his tea. Marco inclined his head, ready to listen.
“I understand the nature of the meeting. It is not about what I like or dislike, we need Luna to escape so that we can follow her yoi,” Marco agreed. As much as he didn’t want you out of his sight, Marco understood what had to happen.
“Exactly. To that end, in order to allow Luna to escape, you will need to grant her some measure of independence,” Izou said. Marco frowned, that wasn’t news.
“Of course, how else will she feel emboldened enough to escape? Besides, she was just talking to me about her status. She says I am inconsistent and treat her below her level of intelligence,” Marco replied, thinking about what you’d said on Kyuka. Izou raised his eyebrows but didn’t reply to Marco’s statement.
“So I suspect she will highly enjoy the change,” Marco said with a shrug of his shoulders. He really had listened to you on Kyuka, but would have enacted his changes much more slowly if there was no need to find the other humans.
“Which in turn means you will need to let her walk the ship by herself. If she is going to escape, she needs to have experience navigating the ship alone and getting to the escape pods,” Izou continued, looking pointedly at Marco.
“...right,” Marco agreed after a moment of consideration. He didn’t like the thought of you walking around without him, or of the myriad ways in which you could be injured without his knowledge. He would have to send orders to the rest of the crew telling them in no uncertain terms not to touch you or interact with you too much.
“Not only that but I am going to begin monitoring her in your room. The feed will be both live and recorded, for us to review later. We need to be able to see what Luna is doing when she’s left alone there and what plans she’s making. Once you are in the room yourself, you will have the ability to pause or stop the recordings through your controller,” Izou explained.
“Makes sense yoi,” Marco agreed, nodding his head. He would have to remember to turn off the recordings when he was having private experiences with you.
“Which brings me to my next point. You need to cease touching Luna in all ways, including romantic and sexual,” Izou said, his eyes boring into Marco’s.
“Wh – what would be the benefit of that?” Marco sputtered, taken aback by the suggestion.
“She needs to feel at ease, completely comfortable –”
“She is comfortable with me –”
“No. She needs to feel independent and that she is in total control of her space. If you are constantly guiding her, she will not have the self actualization to begin her plans,” Izou said, a tentacle patting the top of Marco’s hand as if to comfort him.
“It’s not forever, Marco. She needs to feel more self reliant, like she did when she first arrived. You remember her attitude and demeanor,” Izou commented, his tentacles wriggling slightly.
“What if she decides to touch me?” Marco asked, thinking about the deal he’d struck with you on Kyuka. Izou smiled and inclined his head.
“Then it is her choice and you may indulge her as she sees fit. You may find you enjoy her coming to you, rather than the other way around. There is fun to be had in willing submission. Humans enjoy games of many varieties,” Izou said, his smirk returning to his face. Marco frowned as he turned his tea cup around on the table. It would be difficult not to stroke, touch, and kiss you, but he would do it for the sake of the plan. If you needed space from him in order to act, Marco could comply for the time being.
“Very well. I will cease touching Luna unless she approaches me yoi,” Marco conceded, already annoyed. His fingers twitched as he thought about the feeling of your soft, warm skin as he had left the bed but he curled his fingers into his palm.
“Good. We have many more details to discuss,” Izou said, sending a lengthy document to Marco over their controllers. Marco rolled his head on his shoulders to release tension, already wishing he was back in bed with you.
“There’s many moving parts and it needs to be seamless.”
Which is why, hours later, he only had a recording of you pleasuring yourself rather than having been present for the actual event. It had taken every fiber of his being to leave after giving you the toy. He had made it according to the specifications his ancestor had left in his journals a few weeks prior and had been eagerly anticipating using it with you. Marco had read that section of the journal extensively, especially the portions that described the human female’s reaction to the sucking machine. He wanted to see you react to the toy and determine if your reactions were the same, but it wasn’t meant to be at that time.
Marco sighed as he clipped the footage of you in his bed, the toy buzzing under his blankets. He supposed he could always recreate it later, once his prohibition had been lifted. He had known that being apart from you sexually would be difficult given how intense his attraction to you was, but he hadn’t anticipated how strongly you would react to the toy or he to the footage.
Everything in him was screaming to go to you when he watched your back arch off the bed, your thighs shaking from the intensity of your orgasm. He’d clawed his own thigh (which healed seconds later) as you came with a sharp cry, your eyes tightly screwed shut. Marco watched your heavy breaths as you flopped back on the bed, like you were completely boneless. The toy was a hit, and he would be putting it into regular rotation.
Even moreso, Marco had been annoyed when Izou began pinging him during his conversations with you. Izou had heard him saying he would escort you down to the kitchens and had immediately intervened, saying you needed to walk alone. Ultimately, Izou was correct that Marco needed to let you walk independently, and the route to the kitchens was a good start. The passage wasn’t lengthy and it was a fairly direct path back to his lab, so it would be challenging for you to become lost. Marco’s thoughts were interrupted as he received a brief message from you.
“Marco am done,” was all it said. Marco smiled to himself, it really was better seeing his name in your messages than ‘Prince.’
On his way back to his room, Marco brought you your glass of water. You were already sitting up in the bed again, refreshed from your orgasm. Even though you vehemently denied that humans needed one daily, the evidence was clearly in his favor. Marco crossed the room towards you, the scent of your desire thick in his nose. Marco inhaled deeply, savoring the rich, earthy smell.
“Hey, Marco. I was wondering if you could send me something,” you said as you accepted your glass of water. Marco’s decision to let you say his first name was the correct one, he decided. He loved hearing the way your little human mouth pronounced his first name, the sound sending shivers down his spine every time you said it. Why had he forbidden it in the first place when it was so pleasurable?
“Mh? What do you require?” Marco asked, watching you intently. His finger was on the rim of glass, holding it down gently so you couldn’t gulp the water quickly. Even though he was going to temporarily grant you more independence, he would still do everything in his power to ensure that you were healthy. And that included continuing to teach you to eat and drink more slowly.
“Can you send me that vid you took when you brought me on the ship?” you asked. Marco’s eyebrows hiked higher. That was not something he had anticipated you wishing for.
“The one where I tested your –”
“Yeah, where you tested me,” you agreed quickly, your face burning hot. Even though he had seen it innumerable times, Marco always loved seeing your blood rush to your face. It was one of your cutest involuntary reactions, along with the small bumps that rose along your skin when you were cold and your yawns when you were tired.
“I don’t see why you would want it yoi,” Marco replied mildly before removing his finger. You ran one of your own around the rim of the glass, as if savoring the cool feeling on your fingertip.
“Everyone else has a copy and I don’t. Why can’t I have it? I’m the one in it,” you complained. Marco thought for a moment and conceded your points. There could be no harm in sending it to you, it wasn’t like you could do anything with it other than watch it. And you were right that it was a vid of you, so you should have access to it. It was a small, harm-free request to grant you, and it would continue to show that he was being more amenable to you. Marco nodded in reply to your query.
“I don’t understand your desire for it, but in the spirit of cooperation I will send it to you –”
“Thank you –”
“ – if you drink your water slowly rather than chugging it,” Marco said with a small smile. Of all the deals he’d struck with you, this was the easiest one by far so surely you’d capitulate.
“Ok,” you agreed without a fuss. You raised the glass to your mouth and took a sip, swallowing it before taking another. In the meantime, Marco found the vid you had requested and sent it off to you. It wasn’t difficult to find, but Marco hadn’t watched it in some time. He had no reason to watch vids anymore, not when he had a beautiful human living in his quarters. Except now that he was leaving you alone, he thought with a scowl. You immediately put the glass down from your face, watching his expression.
“Is something wrong?” you asked. Marco erased his annoyance from his face, resetting his features into a calm state. He hadn’t really understood how on edge you had been with him until the previous day. Every time he allowed his negative emotions to show, you felt compelled to ask him about his mood. It was rather depressing, he realized, to think he had inadvertently trained you to notice when he would be more likely to punish you. Perhaps having to foster your independence could have other positive outcomes other than allowing you to escape.
“Nothing is wrong, Luna. I have sent you the vid as you requested yoi,” Marco said, closing his controller. You took the last sip of your water before handing him the glass once more. Marco sanitized and put it away while you tapped on your controller, bringing up the vid and pausing it.
“Is…is that what I looked like?” you asked suddenly, your voice tinged with concern. Your hand was idly touching the skin of your face as you looked at a still from the vid.
“Of course. That is from the day I found you yoi,” Marco confirmed.
“Kidnapped, not found,” you said absently, tugging on the ends of your hair.
“It’s a matter of perspective,” Marco said, coming to stand behind you. His fingers curled into his palm to prevent himself from cupping the soft skin of your neck. Marco had the sense that you desired comfort and he wished to provide it, though the constraints of his current agreement with Izou prevented it.
“I can’t believe it. I looked so gross and sick,” you said, tilting your head to the side. Marco looked at the still, the memories of just how frail you were coming to his head. It was easy to forget how sickly you’d been at first when he saw you day by day. In comparison to the vid your skin was no longer ashy and sallow but healthy and glowing, your hair no longer brittle and parched, the dark bags under your eyes nearly gone. You were hardly the same human he had found exhausted and scared, hiding yourself on some third class merchant ship.
“You were not – and are not – gross. You were sick, yes. Without my intervention I do not know how much longer you would have been able to survive,” Marco agreed.
“It wasn’t that bad –”
“Most of your bodily systems were heavily overworked or close to failure yoi.”
“Whatever,” you said, dismissing his words with a wave of your hand. Marco wasn’t going to press you or scold you for disobedience. It was likely jarring to see the condition in which he’d found you and how much you had needed from him. Your unslakable desire for independence (or perhaps your pride) wouldn’t allow you to admit how much you needed him. You would come to terms with it eventually, of that Marco had no doubt.
“But I think I look better now, right?” you said hesitantly, looking back at Marco for confirmation. Marco wanted to trill at you, but kept himself in check. You were already seeking his validation, whether you realized it or not. After a brief stint of independence, you would come to realize how much better life with the Whitebeard Pirates was – life with him was – rather than dying in some forgotten corner of the universe.
“Much. You have access to nutritional foods, plenty of water, and you’re receiving rest and care. You are in better health, though still not optimal. Your cardiovascular system still needs exercise. But yes, you look much more robust than you had when we first met,” Marco said, proud of how far you’d come in such a short time. Your mouth twisted as you listened to his words.
“Like a perfect pet,” you said, closing the video.
“Like a healthy human,” Marco corrected you. “Now let’s go see Thatch. He’s already pinged me four times asking where you are.”
Notes:
Transitional chapter, I know. But it’s important to establish why Marco’s backing off. I got re-hyped on this story again and already started the next chapter. Love u.
Taglist: @rebeccawinters @mfreedomstuff @joyfullittlethings @ocean-mochi
