Olvia came down the stairs to see breakfast on the table along with a bag of women's clothing, but no Galan.
She pursed her lips and sat down, staring to eat.
Galan was in his office looking at reports and frowning as Sakazuki was placed on Base-Locked Vacation until further notice. Galan ignored it and continued his work, putting his attention elsewhere.
Sakazuki would have to leave Marineford eventually.
It was only a matter of time.
However, Galan was more interested in Kuzan. The one who spared Saul on O'Hara. Perhaps he could become a useful chess piece in the future.
Other than this, there was nothing else to do besides paperwork. He wasn't going to leave Marineford at this time, not with Olvia at his house. So there was only paperwork to do.
The day passed and the sunset rolled in.
Galan returned home and hung up his coat at the door as he passed by. He paused, seeing Olvia laying on his couch with her legs propped up on the arm rest. He grabbed her slender legs and put them on the ground.
She was wearing a tanktop with 'MARINES' written on the chest and short shorts with the Marine logo at the corner. Her white hair was tied up in a ponytail and she frowned at him, looking up from a book, asking "What." Galan said "Keep your feet off the couch." before walking away.
Olvia watched him head upstairs before snorting and adjusting herself, hanging her feet off the edge of the couch instead.
Galan changed from his suit to just shorts before heading outside. Olvia peeked from the couch and watched as Galan brought the chair to the same spot before jumping into the ocean, going for a swim.
She turned back to her book and flipped the page, forgetting about him again.
That night she looked out the window of Galan's room to see him crying again. She frowned and closed the window, going back to sleep.
The next night, he just sat there and watched the waves.
The night after that he drank himself to sleep.
The night after that he floated in the water letting the waves rock him back and forth as he stared at the moon.
And again and again, over and over.
Olvia was having trouble sleeping.
So, after the second week of her stay she stormed out at night and pointed at his nose, shouting angrily "Can you please stop this madness?!" Galan looked at her silently and frowned, "Hm?" Olvia waved her hands, saying "You come out here every night and barely sleep at all, leaving yourself with your thoughts or whatever it is! I can't take it! I can't sleep with you doing this nonsense! It's driving me insane!"
Galan replied "So? What I do is my business." Olvia poked his chest and spat through gritted teeth, "Not when it affects me! Damn it! Stop sitting here with the weight of the world on your shoulders, acting like you're the so-called 'big bad monster' when you don't have to! You're clearly forcing it on yourself! I'm not gonna sit here and watch someone destroy themselves."
Before crossing her arms and frowning, "Not in my character." Galan looked at her for a moment before saying "Fuck off." as he turned around and continued drinking, watching the waves in silence.
Olvia froze and a vein throbbed on her forehead as she replied "Fine!" before sitting down in the sand next to him. He ignored her and she sat there in silence, staring at the waves for a few moments before walking into the house and coming back with a book.
She sat down and read the book without speaking, crossing her legs and resting her elbow on her knee, propping up her head with her palm as she laid the book in her lap, slowly flipping pages every now and then.
Many pages later
Galan said "That's annoying." Olvia retorted, "What I do is my business." Galan stayed silent and didn't speak again after that.
When the sun rose, he got up and left.
Olvia's head was leaning on Galan's chair but without the support, her head slammed into the sand and startled her awake. She looked around and remembered the night before, frowning as she dusted herself off, taking her book with her back into the house and getting some rest.
That night
Olvia sat outside with Galan again, staying silent this time.
This continued for a few more weeks, the time counting to a month that she had been here.
This night was different.
Olvia carried out a small table and put the chessboard on it.
However, Galan didn't indulge her. So she simply played against herself.
This phenomena continued for half a month before Galan finally moved a piece. She smiled to herself and played against him. However she lost within 8 moves. She frowned and set up the board again, but Galan didn't play again.
Not until the following night where Olvia lost in 3 moves. She scratched her head in frustration and reset the board, but Galan didn't play again for the second night in a row.
It wasn't until the end of the month that Olvia lost in 12 moves that Galan played twice. Her eyes lit up and she continued to play against him, getting better every night.
During this month, neither of them spoke a word to each other.
The Third month rolled in and they played two games a night before Olvia went back to reading. During this month, the chairs and table stayed outside the entire time.
Until the final night of the Third Month, the day before they were going to meet Dragon at O'Hara.
Galan set up the chessboard for a third game and Olvia was surprised, but played against him and lost after 20 moves. She hadn't won a single game since they started.
When they were done, Galan turned back to the waves and Olvia returned to her book but unexpectedly, Galan asked "Why did you stay out here this whole time?" Olvia paused and looked up from her book, watching the waves as she replied "My Husband. He used to do something similar before he died."
She smiled slightly and went on after a brief moment of reminiscence "He would, um, sit outside and smoke a cigar in secret. There was this pressing weight on his shoulders that he felt the burden of carrying for whatever reason… He didn't tell me until I pressed him for an answer when I was pregnant."
She smiled and gestured gently, "He said that he felt that he had to use his talents of Archaeology to pass on the past to the future. He said that he…" she laughed softly, "He felt it was his duty to keep the past alive on his own. As if he was a lone soldier, standing up against the world for the truth. He was… Heh… He was a proud man to say the least… Dedicated his life to digging up the truth and ironically the past caught up with him… He was killed for his efforts… His big great duty…"
She snapped her fingers and continued "Gone. Just like that. He was the man I loved and he, um…" she swallowed and snorted in amusement, curling her toes over each other, "His death hit me pretty hard I guess… I spent the rest of my pregnancy and 2 years after that studying with Clover. After that, I… I went to continue his legacy. It was the only way for me to deal with his death, and I, um…"
She sniffed and wiped her eyes, adding "I didn't want Robin to see the state I was in. She was just a little girl, what did she know, you know? So I ran… I probably would've ran into the fire along with Clover if it wasn't for you."
Her feet were on the chair, toes curled over each other, holding a book in her hand, a finger in between pages, making sure she doesn't lose place; her other hand holding her wrist, arms wrapped around her shins as she leaned on her thighs, resting her head on her knees, looking at Galan, saying "The last person who had the weight of the world on his shoulders with no one to share it with; died miserably. Leaving behind a broken woman."
Galan looked forward to the sparkling sea under the moonlight, saying slowly "I'm not a replacement for your husband." Olvia snorted and replied "You're a real fucking asshole, you know that?" Galan stayed silent as she got up and walked back into the house, leaving him outside alone.
He picked up a whiskey bottle from the ground and drank from it, staring out into the endless sea.
Alone.
Again.