I laughed as I splashed Nami back with water to get back at her for splashing me. Before she could get me back, I dipped into the water and swam off to the edge of the pool.
"Cheater!"
A smile appeared on my lips as the warm water swished back and forth while Nami's voice and laughter carried to my ears. I brushed her off, saying I wasn't cheating before getting out the pool and looking for a towel. The water slid off my body as my feet met the concrete floor, the smell of barbecue wafting in the air and reaching my nose making my stomach growl.
"Here you go, Y/n!" Chopper smiled up at me sweetly, handing me a towel before running off and eating some barbecue before Luffy could eat it all.
Now that things have settled down, we've all gotten to really relax and collect ourselves once again. My eyes shift to Usopp who was still passing off as Sogeking and my expression went blank as I dried my hair. Since things were less hectic, Usopp's words and behiavior from before had resurfaced my mind and I didn't really know how to feel about the boy, but i knew a part of me was still disappointed in him.
The Franky Family and some people from Galley-La arrived as some of them greeted Luffy and is while others hopped in the pool. The sun was out and everyone was in good spirits. It felt nice.
"Ah! You too!"
I hear a shout from behind me to see Paulie pointing at me with his hand covering his nose. I tilted my head curiously before realizing Iceburg's words from before and laughing at him, "You have a worse tolerance than Sanji!"
"You called?!"
"No."
"Oh..."
"Anyways," I smiled at Paulie, covering myself with the towel for his sake so he could actually look at me, "I wanted to thank you for helping Luffy and them get to Ennies Lobby. I get you had your own motives, but still. Luffy told me you were a great help!"
Paulie seemed to be caught off guard as his blush deepened and he scratch his cheek while looking away, "Th-thanks...and thank you guys for saving Iceburg...I still feel bad for suspecting you guys in the beginning."
I waved off his guilt with a crooked smile as we both began to walk to the barbecue, "Don't worry about it. We're pirates, we get it all the time."
He hummed and muttered a 'thanks' as I put some barbecue on his plate, "So...what made you want to become a pirate?"
"Why? Thinking about joining our crew?" I smile as I keep my eyes on the barbecue that i was putting on my plate.
"No," Paulie cleared his throat, "Just curious."
I hummed know acknowledgment as I put rice on my plate, "Well...as a princess I was cooped up on my island and i wanted to get out and travel the world."
"A princess?!"
I chuckled at his reaction, "Yes," I turned to him and gave him a playful curtesy, "I am Y/n L/n, Princess of the Kingdom of Sinthaya, at your service."
He chuckled at my action and words as his cigar moved to the corner of his lips, "Alright, alright I get it. But damn, a princess huh?"
I nodded as I walked towards a table with him following, "But don't let that intimidate you. For now, I'm just a pirate. And what about you, Paulie? What made you want to work for Galley-La Co.?"
Paulie swallowed the piece of meat he was eating before smiling fondly at his coworkers who were eating and drinking, "Well, Water 7 is all I've known. I guess one day I picked up a hammer and my love for architecture grew from there. Eventually Iceburg noticed my potential and took me in."
"Have you ever built anything? Any ships or buildings?"
For some reason, he seemed to laugh at this idea. As he shook his head, his hand waved in a dismissing manner, "Oh no, I couldn't build something on my own! I specialize in being a shipwright. I'm always fixing never building."
I tilt my head with a knowing smile, "So you've never thought about building something of your own?"
The shipwright hesitated at the question before a small, sheepish smile crept onto his lips that, for the first time that I've seen him, didn't hold its usual cigar, "I mean maybe I have a few blueprints..."
I smiled at the expression that he held on his face, admiring his passion and finding it inspiring, "I see. Maybe one day you can show me some blueprints? I'm sure whatever you've got brewing up is bound to look amazing."
He smiled in disbelief as he gave me a weird look, "Ya think?"
I nodded and I went to continue the conversation, but my eyes catch Robin in a weird state as she leaned against the wall. If I didn't have such good eyesight, i wouldn't have seen her cup becoming colder than it should have been.
I placed my hand on Paulie's shoulder after placing my food down on the table, "Hey can we finish this conversation later? I really need to check on something."
His eyebrows seemed to perk up once my hand touched his shoulder and he stumbled on his words when he looked at my smiling face, "Uh-Y-yeah sure."
"Thanks!" I warmly smiled at him before throwing my towel on my chair causing Paulie to freak out and walking towards Robin.
I watch curiously as she quickly checks behind the wall she against in a panicked state only to be called by Luffy. I stop in my tracks and look around to try and catch what she was looking for, or rather who. It wasn't until my eye caught the sight of an Afro that I had finally found him.
I walked quickly to catch up to him and right when I saw him getting on his bike, I spoke up, "Leaving without a goodbye? Is me being a pirate really that bad?"
His body jumped slightly at the sound of my voice and when he looked at me he seemed to stare for a second, "You look good in that bathing suit."
I place my hand on my hip with one eyebrow raised, "I don't think that was my question, Aokiji."
"What can I say, Princess? You're stunning."
I cleared my throat, brushing off the compliment, as I crossed my arms, "Seriously, Aokiji. Will our friendship change now because I'm a pirate?"
Aokiji sighed, propping his bike once more and walking towards me. Without another word, he plopped his hand on my head before ruffling my hair, "Try not to worry so much, Princess. You'll get wrinkles."
"What?" I slapped his hand away and fixed my hair while he got back on his bike.
"Later."
Before I could even say anything back he took off, leaving me standing there. I sighed out of frustration before walking back to the party.
I can never understand what's going on in his head...
When I got back, it seemed like there had been a lot more people than when I left. The sun had set and people from town were starting arrive. The party was so lively and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
I search the crowd for the table I was at before I left to see if Paulie was still there and a smile crept on my face when I realized he was. In fact, he had taken off his jacket and put it on my seat and he moved my plate closer to him as he was obviously watching over it.
I started to walk over to him, but someone grabbed my arm and pulled me close to them. I looked up to see a random man with a blush scattered over his cheeks, obviously drunk.
"Hey pretty lady, wanna dance?" His words were slurred and he obviously wouldn't remember what he was doing in the morning.
I smiled politely, trying to take his hand off my arm, "No, thank you."
He stumbled over his feet slightly with a drunken smile, "How bout a drink then? Lets get a drink, yeah?"
"Respectfully, sir, I think you've had enough," My smile drops as I forcefully take his hand off me and walk away from him.
Fucking asshole.
"Don't be mean, lady~" He followed me through the crowd, not wanting to give up.
"I'm sorry," A voice jumped in and the guy stopped, "I believe she said no."
I look back and see Robin standing there with a blank smile.
"Oh? Another pretty lady~" The guy smiled wider even though he was in bigger trouble than before.
"Now, I don't think you'll leave her alone even if we ask you to. Is that right?" Her voice held a threatening tone that the guy who was to drunk to notice should've taken into account, but he didn't.
"Yup!"
Robin nodded here head understandingly, "That's what I thought. Clutch!"
The guy's eyes popped out of their sockets as he bent down in pain. It seemed as though Robin had used her devil fruit to grab his balls and hurt them so bad that he'd pass out.
I grimaced at the pain he went through before smiling at Robin, "Thanks Robin. I probably would've murdered him if you hadn't come."
Robin giggled at my statement before smiling at me, "I don't doubt it. Be careful okay?"
"I will!" We smiled at each other before going our separate ways and I had finally made my way back to a patient Paulie, "Hey, sorry for taking so long."
His eyes landed on me before darting to look at literally anything but me, "Jesus! Cover up will you?"
I smiled at him teasingly, "But my towels all wet. What am I supposed to cover up with?" I expected him to freak out, but all he did was throw his jacket on my head and tell me to take it. I chuckled slightly before putting the warm jacket on and sitting down in my chair, "Better?"
He finally looked at me, but instantly regretted it as he realized it made the situation even worse. His nose instantly started bleeding and he ran off, yelling something about having to take care of something and how he was sorry for leaving so suddenly.
I tilted my head at his disappearing figure before I laughed at how weird he was. I held the jacket closer to my body after a cold breeze flew past me and it was only then did I realize the many cigars strapped to the front of the jacket. I looked at them curiously, but when I went to grab one a voice stopped me.
"Don't even think about it."
I look up to see Zoro plopping down on the seat that Paulie was using with an exhausted look, "What's your problem?"
"I had to fight some of the shipwrights for the good booze. I won, obviously, but damn it's exhausting," He placed his swords against the table and leaned back in the chair.
My curiosity for the cigars had dissipated at his presence and I had both my hands on my knees now as I looked around at the party. Everyone had the brightest and biggest smiles on and the atmosphere was full of laughter and loud voices.
I looked to the man and leaned on the table with a curious smile, "You know...Robin was talking about you to me."
"And?" His voice did a good job hiding his interest as he sounded me irritated and sassy than how he actually felt.
I fiddled with the sleeves of Paulie's jacket as I looked off to the side, "Well...she thinks you like me." When he didn't respond, I tried to elaborate more, thinking he didn't understand, "You know...like you have feelings for-"
"I know what she meant, dumbass. You're the only slow one here," He leaned further in the seat with his arms resting behind his head.
I pursed my lips together, waiting for him to say something about it, but he never did. I sighed and turned to him to ask what he thought about it, but he was already asleep.
How the fuck do you fall asleep in this setting?
After giving him a weird look, my curiosity got the best of me when I noticed his swords in the corner of my eye. I looked to Zoro to make sure he was dead asleep before reaching out to the three swords. My fingers touch the first one before I get a grip on it and bring it closer to me.
I check to see if he woke up, but he was still sleeping so I unsheathe it and examine it's sharp edge. I let my fingertips run down its smooth bade and noticed how it was evidently rougher near the sharper side, proving its age and durability.
What a nice sword...and it's not even that dull considering how long it's been used.
I carefully sheathe the sword before grabbing the next one. This one was the same as the white one, but it seemed a lot more ordinary than it. The third one however shocked me because when I unsheathed it, it was a broken blade.
My eyes furrowed at its broken state and I looked up at Zoro, wondering what happened before I gently sheathed it and placed the swords back.