You came out of Kid's room a little groggy, but certainly hungry, and if you wanted to eat you needed proper clothes. Comfortable as the shirt was, you weren't going to meander down into the common areas wearing nothing but the Captain's clothes. It was well past breakfast time, but it wouldn't be long before people were gathering for lunch.
"Oh."
You look over in time to see Killer's mouth go slack.
Your grogginess is quickly replaced by embarrassment. There wasn't any guilt in you, but for some reason it suddenly felt like Killer had heard you. It wasn't possible, he would've been out scouting all night with the others, but the feeling struck you regardless.
"... I'm hungry." You can't think of anything else to say and the words come out awkwardly. Your expression feels awkward too. You're grateful you can't see Killer's eyes right now, because something tells you that it would only be more awkward.
You can see a few emotions switch places on what you could see of Killer's face, and finally he replies.
"I just need to talk to Kid and then I'll get lunch going. Pasta maybe, since House says carbs are a good post-cardio meal." Killer's voice is so even and matter of fact you don't realize he's teasing you until you're already in your room and half-way through changing.
You can't help the pink tinge in your cheeks and ears as you make your way downstairs. Knowing Killer knows makes seeing Killer harder than you expect, but once you got downstairs you realized your situation was worse.
The night crew had been back by dawn, which meant they were all awake now, which meant – in turn -that the dinning room was filled with people who were all ready to have lunch. Everyone looked to be in good spirits, and good condition, but since no one had woken Kid up as soon as they had gotten back, you were pretty sure you already knew what the end result was.
There was new information to be had about the scouted locations, but no one had come across Decken and been able to take care of him. For better or worse there was still more work to be done.
Emma and Hip motioned you over to sit with them, shuffling around to put you between the two of them. For the next few minutes you were introduced to other members of the crew – Boogie, Reck and Moai.
"How'd it go?" You ask, hoping to keep control of the conversation, you were sure you didn't want Hip and Emma to ask you how your night alone with Eustass went. Especially not in front of so many other people.
"Well, we narrowed things down." Hip explains. "Instead of nearly a dozen possible locations, we're down to five."
"The rest were either too perilous, too protected, or too abandoned to be being utilized by anyone." Emma chimes in. "I mean, it's possible with his money, the little sleaze ball is hiding behind said protection measures, but dodging the great pink catastrophe is easier to do as a single person. He wouldn't have been giving anyone the slip rolling around with an entire army of guards."
"Another round of scouting tonight," Mosh says as Killer comes down and starts making lunch. "And we should catch the bastard."
There were a few more minutes of scattered conversation among you and the crew, and eventually you heard Kid come into the room. Turning to look behind you, your face went instantly red, and you turned away considering the option of hiding under the table for a brief moment.
Eustass Kid had joined everyone for lunch in nothing but sweats. A couple of days ago you might've been able to appreciate it for what it was, but sweats weren't the only thing that he was 'wearing'.
Red hair and golden-brown eyes meant that Kid had pale skin. He wasn't lucky enough to tan, but he was lucky enough to have some envy-worthy clear alabaster skin. It was another one of those things about him that was conflictingly elegant when compared to his stature and general demeanor. The few patches of freckles on his shoulders only added to things.
Pale skin bruises. Bruises in such a way that you're suddenly aware that you don't have the exacting control over your prosthetic that you thought you had. Dapples of unmistakable Mouse-sized, hand-shaped bruises were obvious on his right arm.
Kid walked past the dinning room table as it went dead silent and meandered into the kitchen to get, you assumed, an entire pot of coffee. Walking by the table, however, gave all the sets of eyes that were watching him a clear view of the red scratch marks on his back. All the eyes on the marks, became all the eyes on you when Kid disappeared from view.
You had no idea what to say, but you were certain your face had never been quite so red, or quite so expressive of the phrase 'WELP'. Emma and Hip leaned forward and looked at you like a couple of cats who had just caught the early bird and its worm.
"Go scouting last night too, eh (Y/N)?" Emma asks with a grin.
"Little catch and release?" Hip muses, "Ya tagged him pretty good, those conservationist types would be proud."
"Ohmygod." You pulled the collar of your shirt up and hide your face inside your t-shirt.
"Guess Cap'n's not the only bruiser in the relationship," Emma adds before the two of them fall into fits of laughter.
"Teasing is a sign of affection from those two," Mosh says, even though his face is pink. "Don't pay 'em no mind (Y/N)."
"I know, I know," you admit, coming back out from under your shirt. "I'd ask you go easy on me, but-."
"The Captain already did. There's not a mark on you." Heat muses, sending Emma and Hip into renewed cackles as you set your head down on the table with a defeated thud.
The teasing stops as Kid comes back into the room. He sits down at the table, and when you catch his gaze, he gives you a quick wink. The only indication that he knew exactly what he was doing by coming down the way that he did.
During the meal there's more talk about the plans for that night, and everyone gets their assignments for the evening. There's a lot more to be done before another one of these raids happens, and you're surprised by the efficiency with which the crew operates. It's not that everyone does as Kid says without question – it's that by the time it's all said and done there's nothing left to question.
You're sure that meetings like this, where everyone tosses in their points and counterpoints, are the backbone behind the crew reacting to his orders in other situations. Eustass Kid, and any good leader honestly, couldn't lead such strong people as well as he did if he didn't care about them.
Even though you were well aware of his softer side, it wasn't really the same thing that held the crew together. Eustass' concern for his crew was loud, violent, and unapologetic. You're sure you fall under the same sort of category, before you ended up in your more pointed position.
It wasn't hard to see the crew as more of a family, than a gang. Granted, the kind of family that would hospitalize outsiders without much thought, but a family regardless.
A heavy metal mafia. Whose "captain" had been keeping you in, on, or near his lap for the last couple of hours since lunch. Thankfully, he had put a shirt on, not that he'd bothered to button it up, but it had made it more comfortable to sit with him. The way the crew reacted to it made you think it wasn't something they had seen him do before – no one teased you or him as they came and went from the living room where you had ended up.
"I did not expect that you'd be like this." You muse, yawning a little as you leaned into him. The combination of big and warm was easy to fall asleep against.
"Like what?" You can feel his head tilt toward you at the question.
"A snuggler."
"I'm not."
"Then what is this?"
"I woke up alone, Mouse." He says flatly.
"I... was hungry? Wait, are you saying this is punishment?"
"This is you paying a debt." He asserts.
"I was gone for a couple minutes. Killer found me in the hall. It wasn't like I went back to bed hours before hand."
"You don't want to do this?"
"What? No, I'm not complaining." You assure him, failing to stifle another yawn. "I dunno, I just expected more violence and wall-shaking music, less soft 'n' warm."
You could feel him chuckle. "You'll see some things change, you're not a guest or a client anymore, and we won't be on the lookout for flying weapons soon. It'll be easier to rattle the windows with music after that."
"Client." You scoff a little. "Client's pay for their protection, I was-."
"You paid, Mouse." He interrupts, raising your prosthetic glass hand up with his own metal arm. "Don't doubt that. You weren't a pity case or a charity job."
"... Swear to me," you turn to look at him. "That you don't feel guilty."
He leans down and steals a kiss before ruffling your hair. "I don't feel guilty."
"Good I -." A thud against the wall interrupted your words. You paled a bit and Eustass was already setting you aside.
"Oi!" Kid yells, and another thud hits the wall. Heat, Killer and Wire come from the kitchen as all four of them head outside. "Stay there Mouse."
You stayed put inside the house, since you were against a wall that wasn't mostly windows it was a better place to be than trying to dash for the basement. The four that went outside would be plenty to stop things from breaking through the wall, and aside from House who was in her room/office, the rest of the crew were out preparing for tonight.
The rain of weapons and miscellaneous items rained down for twenty minutes before it had finally stopped. You stepped outside carefully, eyes on the sky as the four power houses of the crew kept watch. The four of them looked a bit worn out, and the debris scattered around them was a testament to just how much stuff had been flung toward you.
As expected, now that the rain of destruction was done, a small flurry of paper airplanes came into view. These ones were shaped like cranes, and if not for the intent behind them, it would've been quite beautiful.
"I hate those more than the weapons." You grumble, as everyone turns to the airplanes.
Heat steps up, taking in a deep breath, and releasing a blast of fire at the paper objects. There's something therapeutic about seeing them all burn to ashes. You still hadn't read one, despite knowing there was at least one of them in Eustass' room waiting for you if you wanted it. It seemed like more a of a win for you, if you never directly heard or read Decken's words.
There's a strange calm after the flurry of weapons, and the four men look like people picking through the wreck of a neighborhood hit by a small natural disaster. They're already starting to pick up the wooden pieces that Kid won't be able to pull up on his own. You stay away from most of the destruction, you hadn't grabbed any shoes before coming outside, but being alone inside the house was uncomfortable.
You wanted to apologize. It wasn't your fault, not really, but you still felt a pang of guilt for causing so much damage to such a nice house.
A glint of light shimmers in the afternoon light, from a different angle than the first barrage, and catches your attention. A single swear passes your lips just as the katana threads itself into your torso.
For a cold, terrible moment, there's no air in the world.
Your hands move to the hilt, but you can't bring yourself to touch it as you sink to your knees. Eustass is by your side, you're sure you heard him yell out to you, but the sound had been too distant. You can feel him keeping you upright, but he's not warm like he was earlier.
"Heat, go get House. Killer, call Law." Eustass commands, steadying you and taking care to mind the sword through you so he doesn't worsen the wound. "(Y/N), stay with me."
Everything is red.
Eustass is red.
Your hands are red.
The air feels red.
The thump of your heart is red.
Your words taste red.
You look up at him, your heart's already breaking at what you need to ask of him.
"Out..." You manage the word against the pain in your heart more than the pain from the sword. "You... have to get it... out." Breathing is hard, but you can manage it. Your words bubble up with a coppery taste.
"We need to wait for House." The usual authority in his voice is cracking.
"I can heal..." You put your hand on his. "I can't while it's... still in."
Eustass' eyes bore into yours. "If you pass out you won't heal."
You nod weakly. "You're right."
"House can-."
"Kid." You interrupt. "House can't... help me. You can. It's metal. The faster it's out the better I can... stay conscious."
There's a tense moment as you can see the emotions clawing at Kid's face. You choke on a breath and blood bubbles up past your lips. If you go into shock, you won't be able to heal either.
"Please."
You can feel Eustass' entire body creak like bone against concrete.
"Wire hold her steady." He commands, finally.
Wire braces you from the side as Kid steps behind you. You can feel and hear the hum of magnetism in the air as the power coils around him. The single word of focused command is the most pained sound you've heard from his lips.
"Repel."