King strokes the book carefully, then closes it. He pulls you in his arms and climbs to the upper half of the bed.
He places a soft kiss over your forehead, and you nestle close to his side.
His enormous wing lays over your body like a blanket, its darkness mimicking the blackness of the night.
"You can sleep if you want," he says. "I'll try to read some of this."
"Shouldn't you check on Yamato?" you ask.
"I help her if she comes, but that's her decision," answers the Lunarian. "Yamato can take care of herself. She's a good kid."
"Kaido is dangerous," you scowl. "You know that."
"That is why I'm still alive," he looks at you strictly. You nod silently and touch his wing, pulling it over yourself even more. He smiles at the sight and strokes your face gently.
"Kaido-san is the strongest, and you have to respect that. He also helped me to bring these memories here from the Red Line."
"He does it because he needs your power."
"He would do just fine by himself in terms of strength," shrugs King. "But in the end, we all want someone around us. Someone to trust. "
You close your eyes and lay your cheek above his forearm, feeling his deep scars against your skin.
He doesn't talk again, and you don't want to keep arguing as you don't see a point in that.
You start to trust him too. Even if he locks you in his place and to himself, you found happiness. You feel safe and cared for, for the first time in your life.
Maybe there would be more in the outside world, but right now, this is just enough for you.
You want to enjoy it and live through every second, to remember.
King breathes calmly by your side as he reads. His fire is brighter than usual as he uses its light to see the old, deep red runes.
With your eyes closed, you see orange color dancing on the back of your eyelids as his flames change shape.
You wish you had them.
Maybe this is the punishment that comes for being a Halfblood, that you will never have a chance to understand this kind of gift, nor the value of the magic it brings.
But you still have your wings, thanks to him.
The myth of the Lunarians' birth often comes to your mind. As they rose from the ocean to reflect the sky, the Sun gave them warmth and life, and the Moon formed them to become more than mere shadows of distant worlds.
Then there's the rosace and the dance. These two celestial bodies are the pillars of Lunarian heritage and all their beliefs.
They found their symbolism in everything they found important.
And you are just grateful that at least the Moon gave you its blessing, despite your human half.
As you spent these few weeks with King, the culture of his kind ended up being such important as it is to him.
But by now, you want to learn about humanity too. With all its flaws, it must have its value too.
Maybe having both types of blood is a blessing to let you know more. King warned you in time not to let hatred affect your mind as it did his.
He will never find complete forgiveness or peace because of the crimes of humanity.
Her death was enough for him to become cruel, a man who murders and tortures others.
There are still days when he comes home with blood on his hands.
But over time, he noticed how uncomfortable it makes you, so he washes it off right after arriving.
You take a deep breath as his wing moves above you, so its shadow helps you fall asleep.
But as you leave for the land of dreams, the comfort of his presence stays to protect you from nightmares.
.
.
.
Morning
You wake up when you hear silent whispering by your side. You open your eyes, and your heart misses a beat as you see King sleeping next to you peacefully.
His arms keep you close to his body, one of his hands behind your head as he held it against his chest before falling asleep.
His wings embrace both of you just like the first night.
But now, he wants you here.
The Lunarian lours and moves a little as you move away from him, so you kiss his cheek gently out of pure instinct.
His features relax once again, and it makes you smile.
He's so beautiful when he dreams.
This is the first time he let you sleep here and when he didn't need to leave his flames with you to keep you warm.
But you snap back to reality when the quiet voice sounds again.
"Uncle King!"
You free yourself from the Lunarian's hug and leave the protection of his wings.
You almost start laughing as you look for the source and see Yamato standing beside the bed.
The child looks ridiculously tiny next to the large furniture. She pouts, her little hands holding the side of her dress.
"I'm scared," she says loudly to hide the weakness of her voice.
King murmurs something in his sleep. and your wings open as you fly down to her.
I don't want to wake him if I can help. He sleeps too rarely.
"Shh," you hush her. "What's the matter?"
She trembles and jumps upon your leg, reaching for you with her arms. Your heart misses a beat as you pick up the child and embrace her gently.
She feels so unbelievably little and fragile in your hands.
You hide her figure with your wings as you learned from Alber. Its shadow calms her down and creates a safe place.
Yamato shakes her head, and you understand that she won't explain it to you.
I'm not her Uncle King, I suppose.
But maybe I can still help her.
You take a deep breath and lay your cheek over the top of her head. You stand up and tiptoe out of the room to the kitchen.
Kaido gave it to King so he could do everything he wants at this part of Onigashima.
Although, he prefers bringing food from the outside. You've never seen him cook complete meals, but he keeps some ingredients so you can when leaves for a longer time.
You are still surprised that you didn't set anything on fire yet.
"Want something to eat?" you whisper, placing her on the table. "I can make amazing fried eggs."
"I don't want fried eggs, [Y/N]," she sniffles.
"Well, that's all I can offer that surely turns out edible," you smile. The child rubs her brown eyes, but she chuckles sweetly.
"Hot chocolate?"
You grimace slightly but rummage through the shelves to find the milk.
"You really like to give me challenges," you sigh. Yamato blushes slightly, and she starts swinging her legs in the air. You place a pot over the stove.
She reminds you of the little girl you met in that town. Who wasn't scared of you, didn't hate you, didn't despise you.
And she did not grow up between pirates, being the daughter of the strongest man in the world.
She was just a child.
You look over your shoulder at the closed door between you and Alber.
"Yamato, can you keep a secret?" you ask her silently. Her eyes sparkle with curiosity as she nods.
"Your dad came here yesterday, and I flew out to find King," you whisper. "And I saw a town. With kind people."
"You can't tell that to Uncle King!" she shouts, and you press your index finger to your lips to make her quiet. The child snuffs but lowers her voice.
"I know," you say, stirring the milk over the fire. You bethink for a moment before you continue. "But I wish I could talk to them a little longer. I know nothing about the outside world."
"You have your wings now, so why don't you go there?" she tilts her head. "They look strong. I bet you can fly so fast! If I had wings, I would leave Wano forever. But Uncle King stops by the borders whenever he takes me out."
He keeps you away from the ocean that took his love.
You stop moving and look at the wave of black feathers.
"I promised him to stay here," you answer. "Until the world begins to change."
Yamato sighs and scratches her nape.
"Adults are complicated."
"You might be right," you agree with a soft smile.
"But you will stay here, right? I don't want you to go," says the child. "Uncle King would be alone again."
"Well, that's not up to me," you murmur, warming your hand by holding it over the pot.
And as the door opens, you accidentally touch its side and shout from the burn, falling back.
King's red eyes widen as your wings hit a few things down from the wall.
He sighs deeply with resignation and walks inside, taking your place by the stove.
You blush a little as you see that he only wears black trousers without the usual shirt since he just left the bed. Yamato doesn't seem to be bothered by it.
And you are somehow relieved to see how he isn't ashamed of the scars.
You sweep a towel off your shoulder and try to fix your mess.
"How are you even alive, Halfblood?" he grumbles. "Dead end of evolution."
Yamato laughs, and you sit by the table after you notice the hidden smile on the man's lips.
I suppose we have different ways to draw her attention away.
You watch the Lunarian without a word as he scolds you for almost burning the milk.
His voice is sharp, but his features are calm. A few minutes later, he puts two cups opposite you and the child.
He has a little one just for her.
Guess this wasn't the first time for hot chocolate.
Alber sits by your side and pours it out carefully, then pushes the mugs closer to you and her.
Unlike me.
"Drink," he says. Yamato happily takes hers, but you blink confusedly. King notices it, and he touches your thigh, making you shiver. "What now?"
"Nothing," you whisper, picking up the cup. You thrill from the wonderful scent and lift slowly, then take a sip.
Your mind brightens from its tenderness as it flows down your throat, warming you up from the inside.
It's sweet and light.
You start smiling widely with pure happiness and drink half of it, then chuckle loudly.
Until you see how King and Yamato look at you, probably measuring your mental stability.
Their jaws dropped the same way, and you find it strangely adorable.
Your cheeks turn bright red, but you can't remove your smile as you offer the rest of your treasure.
"I'm not drinking that, woman," he huffs, his bare chest lifting fast as he breathes in.
"But it has marshmallows, Uncle King."
"I didn't give her any, Yamato," snaps Alber frustratedly, his veins appearing on his neck. "It's all yours."
You don't even hear him.
"It feels just like being around you," you explain, pushing the mug against his muscular arm. The Lunarian recoils and almost falls off the chair, but you continue. "Care is like hot chocolate, isn't it?"
The man shakes his head with disbelief, and you freeze when he laughs softly. It was brief but honest. You tear up, even if you don't understand why.
Alber lays his hand over your cheek and pulls you closer, kissing you gently.
"Gross," comments Yamato, and King smiles against your lips before leaning back.
He rests his elbow on the table and accepts your mug with his free hand.
The man hesitates a second but starts drinking, and his left wing touches your right behind the chairs.
You watch his calm face as he talks to Yamato. His flames dance strongly and steadily on his back.
His white hair falls beside his shoulder to reflect the light of the fire with dim gleaming.
Your eyes still burn with tears.
You sit closer to him and pull up your legs, nestling close to his side to hear his heart beating, the air filling and leaving his lungs, changing the lines of his body rhythmically.
Alber doesn't look at you, but he strokes your face tenderly.
After he puts down the empty mug, the long fingers play with your silver hair.
Yamato jumps on the table, and the Lunarian listens to her as she shows him the new moves she learned to fight.
You close your eyes and enjoy the peace that runs through your veins like molten gold, rich and beautiful.
Once, he told me that care is hidden in the little things.
Maybe I found something else now that I never had before.
Family.
.
.
.
Home.
You fall over his neck, so he can't see you crying. Yamato stops with displease because you interrupted her show, but she smiles when King embraces you despite his surprise.
"What's gotten into you, Halfblood?" he asks harshly, and you gather all your emotions to say the bravest thing you ever did, even if you know that he won't react with words.
"Thank you."
And the Lunarian tenses but then tightens his hug around your body as an answer, caressing the dark skin of your arm.
.
.
.