With her sweetened breath [ONE PIECE]

17 - SIN

Smoker wanted to tell her that she shouldn't worry about that because he wouldn't let anyone touch a single strand of her hair, let alone put their filthy fucking fingers on her skin but he can't and he's not entirely sure if he can protect her like the way he wants, she was far too stubborn to stay by his side, to play the damsel in distress and let him be her knight, she will have none that, unless smoker locked her up in a tall tower like one of those princess he had read about when he was a kid, he wonder if isolation and feeling the same cold walls would make her yearn for him the same way he yearns for her?

"I was surprised you weren't" Smoker replied, eyes hard on the early morning sun. "The moment I got the news I was expecting to find your rotting corpse floating on the sea"

"Wow, didnt it occured to you that I can protect myself?"

"Not to him you can't" Crocodile may be kind on her own opinion but he's still a pirate, and pirates are known for their violence and brutality, to get what they want until their dying breath. And y/n, no matter how hard she appeared to be, no matter how brave nor strong -  still stood no chance againts a logia, specially one that has the experience and strength that Crocodile has.

"Your faith in me is truly heartwarming, cancer stick"

Of course Y/n knew she cant exactly fight nor outrun Crocodile if it comes to a situation where he wanted to kill her and harvest her organs, she may be an idiot sometimes but she know what she's capable of and killing a logia or even hurting one is not exactly one of them. She's not luffy, she doesnt have the power of friendship or whatever the fuck that's been fueling him to kill every guy on his sight no matter how strong they were, she's just a regular person in a not so regular world, she's in a great disadvantage by just being there - in a place that shouldnt exist - she wasnt used to all this.

"Can you blame me? I havent exactly seen you in a fight before" Said the man, exhaling a thick of grey smoke.

Y/n's resist the urge to tell him the time when she killed a sea king with a single punch, how she could use Haki like a fucking pro that he, a Marine captain, cant even do.
But she didnt, only offered her a sad exaggerated pout that completely contrasts to the harshness of her eyes. There's power in Underestimation, she thought. After all, there is no greater strategy than a hidden blade.

"You wound me, truly. Maybe one of these days you will let me save you from the scary hands of the pirates you seems to loath so much and then you will finally realized that I wasnt as helpless as you thought I was" she replied, hiding a smile when she remember the time Doflamingo plummet him into the ground, all bruised up and closed to dying.

"But until then, stay out of trouble. Better yet, stay away from the pirates"

"And who would you rather have me stick on? The marines? Garp? You?"

He briefly picture Y/n running around the compound and following him like a pup, all smiles and sharp smirks. Well wouldn't that be something?

"I certainly wouldnt mind having you around me" is what he wanted to say, what he will say if only he was a much bolder man, if only his heart weren't aching on how fast it has been beating. But Smoker settles for a simple lie "No, stick to anyone but me"

Y/n gave a smirk, as if knowing something he didn't - maybe she knows how much he yearns for her, how he seems to think about her at every waking moments - maybe she knows and maybe she doesn't. Some part of smoker wanted her to know, to understand, to figure out how fucking desperate he is to hold her in his arms, safe and warm and everything she will ever need because smoker is getting tired on lying to her like this, pretending like he wasnt affected at every twitch of her lips and every bat of her eye, he cant keep saying things he doesnt mean when all he wanted to do is kiss her as sweet and as harsh as her beauty.