One Piece: Unforeseen

Chapter XXIII | It's been a while |

| Above is the song that Mae hums in this chapter |

Bitsy stood at the end of Viske's bed and listened intently as he fumed. The medicine that Chopper gave him was beginning to wear off and his happy-go-lucky attitude started to do a one-eighty and he was on the verge of breaking down the entire house.

But the cool down from the medication wasn't the only thing that evoked his anger. When Mae turned down Luffy and told him that she wouldn't go with them-he snapped.

"It doesn't make sense!" He yanked at his bandages irritably. "Why won't she go?!"

Bitsy knew that Viske wasn't looking for answers, so she didn't speak. Instead, she stayed at the end of the bed and silently watched as he grabbed at his bandages, flinching inwardly as his raw skin tore and his burns began to spot with blood.

"She's an idiot!" Unwrapping his arm, he violently tossed the bandages to the ground in spite. "She's an idiot!"

He tried to hold back his frustrated tears, but the medication tugged at his emotions more than he could handle and he started to cry. Wiping the back of his hand over his cheek, he sniffed and coughed up his snot.

Bitsy let out a soft breath. With a warm smile, she walked around the bed and took a seat next to him. Reaching between her breasts, she pulled out a handkerchief and comfortingly dabbed it over his cheeks. When she dried the last tear, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Wiping the boogers that dripped from his nose, he pulled away from her kiss. "She's an idiot..."

"Viske," Bitsy whispered, "you have to understand-"

"-What's there to understand?!" He sucked in a breath. "She's an idiot! That's all there is to it!"

Bitsy's cheeks tightened as she smiled. His constant, and repetitive insult was slightly humorous. "Viske, she's not an idiot."

"Yes," Viske roughly mopped up his boogers with the blanket, "she is!"

"Do you know why Mae turned them down?"

Taking in a shaky breath, he pouted his lips to the side. "Because she's an idiot?"

"No," Bitsy laughed, "it's because she loves you."

Laying back against the bed, Viske nuzzled his body close to the mattress and pulled the blankets up to his nose. Looking at Bitsy, he narrowed his drowsy eyes at her. "No, she doesn't."

From behind the bedroom door, Mae stood calm and quiet and she listened to every word that Viske had to say. But when he insisted that she didn't love him, she decided that it was time to go into the room and face him.

Opening the door, she slapped her hand firmly against the door frame and stared earnestly at him. "Yes, I do."

Viske sat up when he heard her voice. Tangling his hands in the blankets, he clenched them tight and glared at her. "What do you want?"

Standing up, Bitsy shoved the handkerchief back between her breasts and then held her hand out, offering her spot on the bed to Mae. "I'll leave you two alone."

"What?" Viske broke his intense glare on Mae and looked up at Bitsy. "No, don't leave me with her!"

Mae gave Bitsy a short nod and a weak smile, letting her know that she would like for her to leave the room.

Bitsy nodded in return. Brushing her hand over Viske's, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll grab you some breakfast and fresh juice."

Viske crossed his arms stubbornly. "Fine," he muttered. "Leave me... But I don't want juice, I want milk."

"You can have whatever you want," Bitsy smiled before walking across the room and into the hallway.

When Bitsy closed the door behind her, Mae moved further into the room and took a seat at his school desk. Hunching over, she laced her hands together and pressed them to her forehead.

For ten minutes neither of them said a word.

Growing tired of the silence, Viske finally spoke. "Well, what do you want?"

"First of all," Mae straightened up and gave him a firm look, "you need to stop moving around so much."

"Why should I?" Carelessly, he moved his body around in the bed just to irk her.

"Because," she said, standing up and moving to his side, "even though you can't feel it right now, you're irritating your burns and making them worse. And you're going to be in a lot of pain when your medicine wears off."

"What'd you care if I'm in pain or not?"

Taking a seat on the bed, Mae shook her head in disbelief. "Viske-"

"No, don't Viske me!" He shouted, yanking the blankets roughly from underneath her. "How can you do this?! How could you tell them no!?"

"I had to."

Viske flopped back into the bed and turned on his side. Ignoring the pain that was beginning to wrench at his thigh, he jerked the blanket over his shoulder and buried himself under it.

"Just go away."

"Viske..."

"I said," Viske ignored the aching pain in his body and kicked at her, "go away!"

"I'm not leaving," Mae argued, stubbornly crawling underneath the blanket with him.

Moving to the edge of the bed, Viske stared at his bedroom wall. "Then," he muttered, "don't talk to me."

Mae scooted closer to him and began to gently brush her fingertips along the bare spots on his back. "All right," she whispered, "I won't say a word."

"You... just... said... a word..." He mumbled, his words lost in exhaustion.

Mae smirked at his uncompromising attitude, but she didn't say another word. Instead, she began to hum a soft tune while continuing to run her fingers along his back soothingly. Since he was a baby, he always enjoyed having his back rubbed. And Mae found that it was one of the easiest ways to calm him down and help him sleep at night.

It wasn't long until a quiet snore emitted from him. And as his back rose and fell with gentle breaths, Mae started to feel her own eyes grow heavy. But just before she could slip from reality and into a sound sleep, a sudden voice jolted her awake.

"I see that you decided to keep it."

Even though the voice caught her off guard, Mae didn't bother to move from her spot to see who it was. She didn't have to. She already knew who was standing at the door. Their voice was well recognizable.

Staring at the back of Viske's head, she licked her dry lips and stayed quiet, collecting herself mentally. It seemed like an eternity before she finally spoke, but when she did, she made sure that her voice was coated with confidence.

"Lucci, it's been a while."