"Now, tell me, (Y/N), why are you depressed?"
Heaving a long, dramatic sigh, I flopped further over the crates I was laying upon, the back of my hand pressed to my forehead.
"Oh, dear Heat, my heart longs to be reunited with my precious hat. I risked life and limb to obtain it, and now we have been torn apart. Oh, sweet hat, where for art thou?!"
Heat chuckled quietly as he watched me writhe in faux emotional distress, his hand at the ready to save my head in case I leaned too far.
"How did you manage to steal Hawkeye's hat, anyway?"
Immediately sitting upright, I crossed my legs and grinned, excited to share one of my stupid little stories with someone. I had never been able to tell them to Paulie, because he would have sent bounty hunters from every corner of the earth to capture me and bring me home to a prison of cotton wool.
"Okay, so, about a year ago I was wandering around near the Drum Islands, right? Slim pickins that area, for a thief. Anyway, I was ready to pack it up and call it quits when all of a sudden, who do I find taking am afternoon siesta by the docks? Dracule Mihawk himself!"
Heat seemed genuinely intruiged by my tale, and it made me happy. Even if he was just humouring me so I wouldn't be offended.
"He always has that hat on, though. How did you manage to get it?" He asked curiously, kind of leaning in to hear better.
"I'm glad you asked, my friend! He wasn't wearing it this time, it was kind of resting right up against his arm, to his side." I explained, using my hands to try and give him the best visual I could give. "Now, I know it was stupid trying to steal from the world's greatest swordsman, but you should know me by now. I'm greedy, and I like a challenge!"
"You sure do." Wire had joined now, leaning against the barrel Heat was sitting on and I beamed, loving the positive attention.
"So, what did this little ol' lass do? She crept aboard, of course! Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure he was awake the whole time, but anyway..."
I'm a bazillion percent sure he was.
"Slowly, I tip-toed closer...and closer...and closer...until-"
"He jumped up and cut your tits off!" Feeling two hands squeeze at my sides I nearly jumped a thousand feet into the air, screeching in shock. Heat and Wire, along with the captain to blame, broke out into hysterical laughter, and I smacked my hand against Kid's chest.
"You douche! I was just getting to the good part! I nearly pissed my pants!"
Proudly smirking, Kid just stood there, tall and happy with himself for scaring me.
"Ain't nothin' interesting about it if he just let you take it." He shrugged, and that was when I noticed that there, upon his head, was the exact hat I had been talking about.
I was on my feet in an instant, trying to use the crates to give me a height advantage, but he quickly stepped out of reach.
"Give it! Your dumb spikey hair is gonna make it all weird!" I complained, stamping my foot like a spoilt child.
"Sharing is caring, little bitch." Kid tutted, toying with the long feather draping over the back of the hat. "I never said I'd be giving this back. You still owe me." I knew there was no way I'd win a fight to get it back, but I wasn't going to just lay down with my tail between my legs, either.
"I swear to god, I'll-"
"Aw, don't tease her, Boss. We all know you asked Heat to stitch it up for her." Wire commented, trying to hide his amusement. Kid's demeanour changed instantly, his cheeks flaring as his face dropped. Making some kind of strangled grunting noise, he ripped the hat off and smacked it down on my head, stomping off in the direction of his cabin.
"Fuck off! I didn't ask shit like that! Screw you!"
Whilst the other crew members cackled and wheezed, I pulled the hat off and studied it closely. It had certainly been repaired, and by a steady hand at that. Clutching it tightly to my chest for a few moments, I put it back on my head properly before jumping from the crates and into Heat's chest.
He nearly fell backwards off the barrel, but managed to keep himself steady, arms hovering as I gave him an appreciative hug.
"Thank you! It looks as good as new! You're the best, Heat!" I thanked him with a grin, and his startled expression melted into a smile, one of his large hands patting me on the back.
"You're welcome. I'd thank the Captain, though. He tried to do it himself, but, uh, he's better when it comes to metalwork." He confessed, scratching at his chin as I peeled myself off of him.
"Wait, for real? He tried to sew it up? Why?" Quirking a puzzled brow, I looked towards where the red-head had stormed off to, struggling to believe it.
Wire's hand came down on my shoulder and gave it a pat, kind of nudging me in that direction.
"Why indeed. Why don't you go ask him?" I knew that was just his way of trying to tease his captain some more, but I was curious enough to do just as he said.
On my way down the stairs to the cabins, I ran into Killer, coming out of his own room. From the looks of things, only myself, Kid and Killer had our own spaces, whilst the others shared amongst themselves.
"If you're looking for Kid, he's in one of his moods. His stomping nearly knocked the books off my shelf." He warned me, but I had long since stopped caring about the man's mood swings.
"Yeah, that's why I'm going to bug him." I chuckled, clasping my hands behind my back and rocking on my heels. Killer sighed, and I could almost picture his eyes rolling along with it.
"Of course you are. Why am I not surprised?" He mumbled, starting to slip past me, but I reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, causing him to stop.
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure that you two are okay now? I know the plan kind of ruffled your feathers and all. I know the risks, and I trust you guys. Even if things don't go according to plan, I trust you. All of you. I don't want it to stress you out."
Another sigh blew out from behind Killer's helmet, and he reached out to place his hand atop my head, slipping slightly under my hat so he wouldn't crush it.
"We're fine. I'm used to being stressed, anyway. I mean, he and I grew up together. How could I not be used to stress?"
Very fair.
"You can't blame me for being concerned, though. I'll hold my tongue, but know I'm not happy with it." He kept his hand in my hair, and I wished I could see his face. What did he look like? Was he disfigured? Scarred? Completely normal? Whatever he looked like under there, I was sure it would have been kind.
"I know. Thanks for looking out for me, Killer." I smiled up and him, and after a quiet moment he pulled his hand back, tucking it away into his pocket before turning to leave.
"Yeah, well, don't make me regret it..."
I probably will.
Back on track, I made my way to Kid's door, tapping my knuckles against the wood and waiting.
"If you come in I'll kill ya!" His voice shouted from the opposite side, and I took that as my invitation.
"No you won't." I replied casually, opening the door and strolling in.
Kid wasn't in the immediate room, but the bathroom door was locked, and I could hear trickling...liquid.
"Fuck you! I'm taking a piss!" He bellowed as I made myself comfortable on the end of his bed.
"Wow, such a big boy! All by yourself?!" I called back, flinching and snorting when the door burst open, Kid midway through zipping up his fly.
"I told you I'd kill ya if you came in here, you dumb little bitch!" He snapped, making a grab for my scruff, but I rolled out of the way to the opposite side of the bed.
"Woah there! You didn't wash your hands, you dirty bastard!" I laughed, screeching as he tried to grab hold of me again and leaping over the mattress.
"I just pissed! I don't need t'wash my hands after that!" He refuted, his stance showing me he was ready to take the chase seriously. I mirrored him from the opposite side of the bed.
"Wow, you're gross! Captain Piss Hands Kid! You've touched my head with those disgusting hands!"
"You little shit..!" I thought he would make a move to launch himself across the bed, but no. Kid was smarter than I gave him credit for. Stretching out his hand, I saw his mouth move, and all of a sudden I was being dragged through the air by some invisible force by my belt buckle.
My metal belt buckle.
I yelped loudly when I finally reached him, and he pinned me down to the bed, one hand up beside my head with the other poised above my face. One of his knees was up beside my hip, and I struggled beneath him, panickedly laughing.
"No..! No no no no, you're gross..!" I cackled, half-heartedly smacking his hand as it came closer.
"Ain't nothin' pissy about these hands!" Sadistic grin on his face, Kid forced both his middle and index fingers into my mouth, and my shrieking laughter became muffled. That was, until I realised the position we were in.
Eyes growing wide, something in my chest sprung to life, and I looked up at him just knowing my cheeks were turning as red as his fiery hair. It seemed to take a few moments, but Kid eventually realised just how intimate his actions were, and we were frozen in a space of realisation, and possibly mortification.
Why aren't I scared..? Or disgusted..?
Slowly, too slowly, Kid pulled his fingers out of my mouth, his skin dragging along my bottom lip and dampening it with my own saliva. He swallowed. I swallowed. The only sounds in the room were our slightly overworked breaths and the waves lapping the sides of the ship outside.
"W..well...I guess that's one way to wash them..." I joked poorly, reaching to wipe the excess moisture from my mouth, unable to tear my eyes from his. "I..If I get sick again, I expect the full princess treatment this time..."
Shaking his head, and therefore himself, out of his stupor, Kid backed off of me, averting his eyes and curling back his painted lip.
"Tch...you won't get sick. You're the type of bratty little girl who ate dirt as a child, so I'm sure your immune system isn't that weak..." He muttered, rounding the bed and returning to the bathroom, where I could hear him turn the faucet to finally wash his hands.
That was...something...
"Uh, yep. Dirt, sand...I even ate a sea slug once. Fun times..." I replied dazedly, still kind of reeling from what had just transpired. Carefully, I sat up, fluffing my hat back out and repositioning it on my head. "I just came in here to thank you for, uh, trying to fix this. It means a lot to me."
Kid walked back out, almost warily, shrugging his shoulders and wiping his soggy hands on his shirt.
"Whatever. It's one of the only things you had when you broke into the ship, so I thought I may as well have some decency and let you keep it..."
You're kind. You don't like showing it, but you really are, aren't you?
"Either way, thanks. I've missed it..." Toying with the feather, just as he had when he had been wearing it, I stood up and shuffled towards the door, hating how nervous I suddenly felt. It wasn't something I was used to. "Well, I'm gonna go see what UK and the others are up to...Seeya..?"
I could feel Kid's eyes on the back of my head, but I didn't turn around. I didn't need to feel stranger than I already was. He was starting to have an effect on me, and I wasn't ready to figure out whether that was a good thing or not.
"Yeah...Seeya..."
.
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.
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.
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***Peepee fingies.
Gross? Yes, but he's a pirate. He's not gonna be the most hygienic.
I offered to take a super early shift tomorrow because we open earlier than usual due to the San Diego Comicon Pop Vinyls releasing, so I'm gonna be wrecked 🤣
Next Time: She's A Hooker, She's a Looker***