#they look cool and faster than a chopper that’s for sure

[typosandtea]

Vertibirds. 🚁⚙️🗡️🪽

So every wastelander and his dog know that the fallout 4 vertibirds crash more than settlements need help. But why is that? Here's my 2 caps on the matter. (Or: Bethesda doesn't understand aviation very well I think)

( So uh this is way longer than I expected, I was possessed🚁☢️:] )

TLDR: Horrific conditions for aviation, the difficulties of wasteland heavy maintenance, inexperienced pilots AND mechanics, and the WORST damn instrument layout I’ve ever seen

The Vertibird is designed as a fictional tilt rotor VTOL/STOL(Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft which makes a ton of sense in the wasteland where suitable runways are rarer than hens teeth. One of Bethesda's primary visual design influences for the vertibird I suspect is the bell boeing v-22 Osprey.

This funky creature \/

This photo is from the Wikipedia page >Here< [ID: a photo of a v22 osprey aircraft in flight as seen from below and to the right, the aircraft is a medium tilt rotor aircraft with very large propellers, the aircraft is current in vertical take off or landing with the engines pointed straight up. The landing gear is extended, the aircraft is painted in air-force grey with the faint decal “marines” and the American army star on horizontal stripes and the squadron and registration barley visible on the empennage. The cargo and forward doors are open and a soldier is hanging out the front. End ID]

Now the Osprey has a bit of a reputation among people I’ve met who’ve flown in them, I've personally been told things like "if it's not leaking hydraulic fluid, that means you're out of fluid" and "its terrifying to fly in".

My screenshot. [ID: A screenshot of a fallout 4 vertibird, seen from front left in flight over bushland. the Player is manning the minigun and Paladin Danse is a Passenger. End ID]

Looking at the Vertibirds themselves we can make a few assumptions here.

The shape of the cowling and the noise they make indicates that the engines are some form of turboprop engine, likely requiring liquid fuel akin to Avtur(Aviation turbine fuel). Confirmed by the Instruments visible in the cockpit.

The most weight efficient way to move big parts is hydraulics so, they likely have complex hydraulic systems for wing positioning / AOA(Angle Of Attack) / engine angle. Likely also for landing gear since they have retractable gear in fallout 4.

That the BoS has modified them from the original design at least partially, allowing attachment to the Prydwen, likely other modifications too.

I strongly suspect that they have an APU(Auxiliary Power Unit) in the aft fuselage / empennage somewhere, since they have a massive air intake scoop on the top fuselage, they can self start their primary engines which either requires a ridiculous amount of electricity / amps or a source of bleed air. Bleed air is the most likely candidate for self start and is reasonably common on real turbine aircraft, APUs also allows for ground power without having primary engines running. Also confirmed by the instruments in the cockpit.

All of these points are well and good and common in aviation, even modifications (ie. STOL kits, survey aircraft, agricultural mods, skiis, ect). But modern aviation has some advantages that the BoS doesn't have: access to new off the shelf parts, proper verified documentation, proper test processes & facilities, and experienced personnel.

Don't get me wrong, I think Proctor Ingram is awesome, very knowledgeable and practically a miracle worker (especially with that one terminal entry about an engine failure field recovery she pulls off!!), but one chief engineer cannot maintain an entire fleet AND the Prydwen, she comments on how things are breaking often on the ship that she is very busy! Training of new engineers takes *years* to even get to basic level! Ingram can’t train anyone she is too busy keeping everyone in the air 24/7! So who is training all of these scribes? There must be a huge amount of time teaching and supervising even simple tasks! Even at their best the BoS wouldn’t be able to hope to be near the prewar standards of training! Even Ingram or other senior scribes would not be thaaaaat experienced, 10 years is not a long time to completely learn a new aircraft and implement systems & processes of maintenance. The point here is that there are inexperienced scribes maintaining these aircraft.

WOLRDS BEST CHEIF ENGINEER ❤️ \/

My Screenshot. [ID: A screenshot of proctor Ingram from fallout 4, she is standing in the Liberty prime control area. She is smiling. She is wearing her usual modified power armour frame. Preston is visible in the background with a clipboard and pen, he is wearing woody’s outfit from toy story. End ID]

Heavy maintenance in the wasteland, especially in an active combat zone would be an absolute nightmare, are the poor scribes doing overhauls on the flight deck?? Not really possible, so the BoS must have a ground facility at the airport somewhere. Also side note where is the rest of Boston airport? There is more to an airport than a terminal and 1 runway, where are all the hangars?? Likely underwater but still, no ruins??

Back to maintenance, aircraft need a huge amount of care, way way way more than cars do. light civilian aircraft IRL need a full inspection every 100 hours of flight time, which adds up incredibly quickly! For example if you have a one hour commute twice a day that’s MR(Maintenance Release) hours reached in 50 days! You legally cannot fly out of hours. And a service for small aircraft takes about 3 personnel / 2 days and that’s without any major repairs or ADs (Airworthiness Directives) to address! $$$$! Aircraft operating in adverse conditions also need additional maintenance, and coastal areas like Boston, are considered adverse conditions since the salt air corrodes aluminum and steel like nothing else! Corrosion untreated will damage your aircraft and if left too long can destroy the structural integrity of aluminum parts. The spars of aircraft are aluminum often!

My photo. [ID: The inside of a Cessna 172 wing trailing edge is shown looking inboard at the aft root rib, which is primer green, it is backlit by torchlight, the fuselage and a orange scat hose are visible behind it, it has 3 irregular shaped holes in it, 2 are by design but the third medium sized hole in the center of the image is eaten away by corrosion. End ID]

Vertibirds, between being shot at constantly and having a complex deign with a lot of precision moving parts will need a lot of repairs; moving parts means lots of upkeep, grease and inspections! The BoS by 2287 must have some sort of manufacturing back in capital, they cannot still be using old parts from the enclave after 10 years of maintenance, that’s a lot of grease, paint and hydraulic fluid!!!

The BoS must also have a refinery of some kind because Avtur is a refined fuel with some important additives like biocide. Manufacture and storage of fuel is very important since fuel contamination will bring down an aircraft! (and has multiple times IRL! :[ ). Water, microbes, and algae are real dangers to engines, with free water being the most common. Poorly sealed tanks or improper fuel storage combined with a incomplete or missed pre-flight inspection can lead to fuel starvation, since water is heavier than fuel and tank outlets are at the bottom of the tank. If you loose an engine on a twin, may God help you.

This image is from Concordia Bioscience >Here< [ID: A photo of a sample of pale yellow Jet fuel in a clear container, the sample is contaminated with water and microbes and has separated into layers with water at the bottom, then microorganisms, and then Fuel at the top, the image is labeled as such. End ID]

Getting to the most likely crash reasons now (finally), In my opinion that is inexperienced pilots and; a horrific instrument layout.

While there must be some lancers in the BoS that have been flying for the whole 10 years that they’ve had Vertibirds, I think that is likely the exception not the rule, even if they crashed a fraction of the time that do in game that’s still A LOT of downed aircraft!

Experience is only gained in practice, and unfortunately for the BoS they are (self-declared) at war so resources are thin and safe zones are thinner. I suspect that there are a lot of very inexperienced pilots without the time for the experienced pilots to really teach.

Linking to my final point, experience on an airframe itself is also important, you want to be familiar with your aircraft, even among a group of the same model aircraft they will each have quirks, like slightly different instrument layouts, slightly different handling/feel i.e. "this one flies heavier / slower" (at least that's my experience with smaller civilian aircraft) I imagine that the apocalypse did nothing for improving manufacturing tolerances!

FINAL AND MOST DAMNING POINT:

Experience can only help lancers so much when veritibirds have such a strange instrument panel layout:

My screenshot. [ID: a screenshot of a instrument panel from a Fallout 4 vertibird. it is slanted on a approximately 30 degree angle. End ID]

A bit weird looking yeah? For reference Pilot is left seat and copilot is always right seat, this applies globally even in right hand drive countries.

lets take a closer look:

My Screenshots. [IDs: Three screenshots of the same Instrument panel as above, but zoomed in using a sniper rifle scope to get a better look. The first screen shot is the pilots side, the second the center, and the third the copilots side. End ID]

All righty! So reading from top to bottom, then left to right we have:

On the pilots side: A Rotor%RPM gauge, a VOR(Very high frequency Omni-directional Range) indicator, a DG(Directional Gyro), a HSI(Horizontal Situation Indicator), and then a huge AI(Attitude Indicator),

In the center section we have: presumably light clusters (likely master warnings & cautions, gear indicators, and other status lights), a second VOR gauge, likely magnetic compass as they are usually top centre (though I can’t see it being at all accurate with all of the steel around!), the engine instruments cluster, and the APU status / control panel at the bottom. unsure of what the 3 clusters of horizontal buttons are suppose to be other than input of some kind?

In the Engine cluster: Torque%, XMSN(transmission) oil temp / pressure dual gauge, a gas producer % RPM gauge with small integrated single percent dial (like having a seconds dial on your watch for accuracy) meaning the engines have free turbines (compressor not attached to the power turbine), a dual load / fuel psi gauge, a dual engine oil pressure and temperature gauge, fuel quantity in pounds, a turbine output temperature gauge (the hottest part of your engine), and a clock.

On the copilots side: a second Rotor%RPM dual gauge, a third VOR indicator, Airspeed in Knots and MPH, a RMI(Radio Magnetic Indicator) which uses VOR and ADF(Automatic Direction Finder) on compass, a second DG, a second HSI, and a teeny tiny altimeter right in the outboard corner.

the 4 instruments on the lower copilots panel are completely unlabeled

some things of note that are from game limitations:

most of the engine instruments don't have needles at all

the DGs and the RMI use the same background asset, resulting in the DG wrongly having 'VOR' and 'ASI' on its face, DGs are self contained air driven instruments that work on gyroscopic precession, not any outside data input.

all of the instruments with a compass face all say north despite this vertibird not quite facing north.

the AI is showing wings level despite this vertibird being crashed and on a ~30 degree angle

there are not engine controls at all not even flat assets, only flight controls.

There are a lot of instruments here and most of them are reasonably OK read individually, BUT there at least 1 key instrument missing and the layout outs emphasis on completely the wrong things:

WHERE IS THE VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR(VSI)????? That's a pretty important gauge in a VERTICAL take off / landing aircraft!!!!!!!!!! It's one of the basic six pack!!! how was it omitted??? Speaking of the six pack why is there only one ASI and Altimeter?? and why are they tiny and ON THE COPILOTS SIDE ONLY???? the altimeter is LITERALLY the furthest instrument from the pilot in a vertibird, it should be right in front of the pilot!!! the easy to miss altimeter would make IFR(Instrument Flight Rules) flying incredibly dangerous! Also why are there four VOR based navigational instruments? VOR IS GROUND BASED NAVIGATION!!! unless the BoS has rebooted the multiple ground beacons for them to navigate from that's THREE dead instruments taking up space on the panel! the RMI is slightly more useful as ADF can tune to commercial radio frequencies, though these would need to be strong!

These poor inexperienced lancers are having to look all over the whole unnecessarily crowded cockpit for basic information that should be right in front of them, causing reaction delays and possible confusion. That delay could be the difference between whether or not they are flying home today.

-> Bethesda doesn't understand what half the instruments do and while they did a good job with most of the assets, in their quest to make it retro-future / visibly different from actual aircraft, they have completely destroyed any use of logic in the layout.

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Thanks for reading! Here’s a video of me yeeting Danse with the ‘Get out of my face mod’ as compensation haha

My Video. [ID: a video capture from fallout 4 in first person. It is night and is at oberland station facing the water treatment plant. The player is wearing power armour and the HUD is visible. The player is very close to Paladin Danse, he turns away from them and they shove him with the voice line “stay out of my way”. Danse flys a long way away while rag-dolling. The Gamer’s laughter can be heard while Danse is flying. The player follows Danse’s fall with the crosshairs. The player then walks backwards. End ID]

[misslovasstuff]

Op!men seeing you hurt

sanji x reader, zoro x reader

Sanji

The only occasion when he calls you by your name and not one of his words of endearment

With the speed of light, he rushes when he hears you’ve been shot in your leg.

He’s panicked but tries to keep his cool

“Show me please, - Sanji touches your thigh gently, touching the end of your dress to pull it up but you stop his hand. - Y/n?”

“I’m fine… it’s nothing.” - you claim, trying not to let your expression give away your pain.

Sanji stared at you, clenching his jaw as he shakes his head, anger building up. Who even dares to hurt you this way?

“Please, let me see. - he notices the worry on your face and tries to lighten up the situation. - What, are you shy? Love, it was only yesterday when you had my head pressed in between. Now…”

Your cheeks blush, looking away and getting somewhat a sense of relief seeing him smile, although you know deep down it was forced to reassure you.

Sanji raises your dress up, noticing your wound on your thigh. His eyes widen and he curses.

“Damnit!… - he caresses the unwounded area of your thigh as he looks at your eyes. - It must hurt a lot, right? Let’s take you to Chopper!”

Sanji picks you up and you put your hands around him, head resting on his chest.

“I’m really sorry, Sanji. I didn’t mean to be a bother for you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. - he says sharply. - If you wanna feel sorry about something, feel sorry for the bastards that did this to you and that have to deal with me. I’m gonna give them ten times more of the pain you’re feeling now, love.”

“I am in no pain when I’m with you.” - your voice gentle and soft and words so genuine and selfless make Sanji feel even more at fault for letting you get hurt. But his heart starts beating faster and he can’t deny it as your hand rests on his chest.

“I won’t let you get hurt ever again. I promise.” - Sanji kisses your forehead, flames of anger extinguished by your gentle love only to burn brighter than ever after he leaves you at Chopper’s care, kissing the palm of your hand and finishing the business he has with the ignorants who dared to touch his woman.

Zoro

“Are you ok?! Oi, answer me!” - Zoro shakes your body, noticing a lack of reaction.

“…who did this… - he whispers, putting strands of hair behind your ear. - Please answer me, baby. Open your eyes… please…”

He’d never beg for anything, but now more than ever, Zoro felt most helpless. Hi strength could not help, nor his swordsmanship or any other asset he deemed as important.

He had his lover layed on the ground and hurt, and he wasn’t there to protect, to defend, to lay down his life for you.

“fucking hell… - he cusses, grip on his sword tightening. - … why didn’t you call for me?!”

Zoro takes your body, pulling you close to his embrace as his forehead meets yours.

“How can the world hurt such a soul like yours… tell me… open your eyes and scold me as always… please, love…” - his voice has a distinctive desperate tone, jaw clenched that relaxes when he feels his clothes pulled.

You reach your hand to the nape of his shirt, opening your eyes and giggling slightly at his widen gaze.

“You’re so silly, you know?” - and there, you scold him. But instead of having a counter argument, Zoro hugs you tightly, pecking your lips before asking many questions.

“Are you in much pain? Are you feeling fine? Which bastard did this to you, give me his name cause I swear to-

“Relax, - you breathe heavily but still manage to relax your fuming boyfriend. - the fight is over isn’t it? Let’s just go back to the sunny.”

Zoro sighs, scanning your face before saying:

“I could have not handled a second more in this world without you. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

It’s true, although your vision a bit blurry, you can feel his voice shaking and his tight grip on your arms as he holds you, perhaps to convince himself that you’re here with him, and you’re alive.

“Then I’ll make sure to love you for a lifetime, Zoro.”

This man doesn’t usually shed tears but, his eyes get a bit watery as he presses his lips against yours, then shaking his head and sighing in relief.

“Ok enough kissing now, let’s get you treated.”

“You’re the one kissing me, idiot!”

[cozage]

Hi! I really like your writing , each of them makes me feel all the emotions.🥺💞 I have an idea for a request, maybe someone has already suggested this (sorry if that's the case) I think it will be interesting, cute and sad🌱

Monster trio, Ace, Low with fem S/O, whose body was under the control by the enemy, she did not want to harm her nakama, but could not prevent it because of a uncontrolled body. Thereby hurting someone, but not of their own free will

Sorry for the mistakes, English is not my first language :(

A/N: I’ve been sitting on this one for a long time because I knew how painful it would be to write. I only did three of them, but if you want Luffy and Sanji’s, definitely send me a request when I reopen them!

Characters: female reader x Zoro, Ace, Law

Cw: angsttttt

Total word count: 2.2k

Enemy Control

Zoro

“What the hell are you doing?!” Zoro yelled, jumping away from your swinging blade. 

“I don’t know!” you cried out. “Just get away from me, I can’t control it!”

Your body suddenly changed direction, jerking you to the side. Your arms raised your sword and swing, aiming directly for Nami. 

“Nami!” you screamed, but there wasn’t enough time for her to jump out of your way. Your blade made contact with her flesh, causing her to scream out in pain. Blood dripped down her arm; the wound was deep but thankfully not fatal.

“I’m sorry,” you sobbed. “I can’t stop it.”

You raised your blade again, ready to strike Nami again. She cowered in fear, and you swung as if you had the intent to kill. 

Metal hit metal, and Zoro stood in front of you, blades raised to defend. His good eye was scowling at you, full of confusion. 

“The enemy must’ve gotten ahold of your blood. He’s forcing you to fight us to keep us occupied.”

“Just run!” You jumped back, aiming to strike Zoro. 

“You are faster than all of us and you know that!” He yelled at you. “We just have to keep you occupied until Luffy knocks the guy out. It’s not that hard.” Your swords clanged together again, Zoro easily deflecting your blows. 

You kicked him, using him as a springboard to push him backwards and propel you towards Chopper. You hated that your body knew who to target, and Chopper ducked as you swung, screaming in terror. 

“Please, Zoro. Knock me out or something!” You sword jabbed towards Chopped again, but your boyfriend was back in front of you, defending his crew mates. 

“The ability still works if you’re knocked out,” Zoro said, keeping his sword against yours.

Tears were streaming down your face. You had already hurt Nami pretty badly. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you hurt anyone else. Or worse. 

You pulled away and swung again. You changed your trajectory at the last second, almost catching him off guard. 

“Kill me then!”

Zoro gritted his teeth at your request. “Not an option,” he growled. 

He swung his blade around to make contact with your sword, sending a shockwave through your body. He used your brief disorientation to flip his blade around yours, causing it to fly out of your hand. Once you were disarmed, he tackled you to the ground and pinned your arms down.

You thrashed against his body, and he struggled to keep you still. You were still sobbing under him. 

“Nami,” you said. “How is she?”

“She’s fine.” Zoro tightened his grip on your wrists. He was trying to be gentle with you, but it was difficult when you had such strong bloodlust. “Chopper’s helping her now. Just relax.”

After what felt like an eternity, he finally felt your body go slack. He looked down at you, waiting for you to fight back against him, but you seemed to be free from the curse. 

“Can I let you go?” He asked, watching you carefully.

You flexed your fingers and toes, checking to see if you had control back again. They responded to your desire, and you breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“I think so, just be ready in case something goes wrong.”

He nodded and released your wrists, still sitting on your core to make sure you kept your cool. 

“Nami?” you asked, propping yourself to look around for the orange-haired navigator. 

“She’s fine.” He got up and offered you his hands to take. You accepted, and he pulled you to your feet. He dropped one of your hands as you stood, but interlaced his fingers with yours, holding your hand tightly. 

He squeezed your hand tight, trying to comfort you. “Let's go see her. Everything’s okay now.”

Ace

“Ace!” you screamed, your fist infusing with haki as it aimed for the back of his head.

“Huh?” he turned just in time for your hand to connect with his cheekbone. The force was so intense it sent him staggering a few steps backwards.

“What the hell!?!” Ace yelled at you. “Why did you do that? That actually-”

You pursued after him, readying your fist again. “Ace, get back!” you screamed. 

You punched at him again, but this time he was ready, and he grabbed your fist as you swung. “Stop it!” he cried out in frustration. “Just tell me what I did!”

“Something’s wrong,” you said, swinging your other hand. You connected with his freckled face, and he grunted out in pain.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, jumping back a few paces. He rubbed his cheek, trying to soothe the pain. 

You continued towards him again, and you could feel yourself winding you for another punch. 

“Can’t we talk about this?” he said, backing away from you. 

“I’m not doing it!” you cried, increasing your pace to him against your will. 

Ace created a wall of fire between you two, trying to give himself time to think. “Please, Y/N! What’s-”

Your screams cut off his question, and he watched in horror as you stepped through his flames to get to him. “Ace,” you sobbed. “Help me.”

Your fist drew back, ready to hit him again, and he leapt backwards as you aimed for him. He was fast, but you were faster, and you closed the gap yet again and punched, making contact with his face again. 

He groaned in pain and pushed you away. He instinctively lit his fist on fire to attack, but quickly diminished it when he realized it was you he was fighting. He couldn't harm you, even when he knew it wasn't you attacking him.

“Shit,” he hissed, dodging another one of your relentless attacks. 

“Knock me out!” You screamed, punching at him again. 

“I’m not going to hurt you!” He could see the fear in your eyes as he continued to evade your attacks. 

“You have to do something!” You cried back. You could see him debating the idea. “You won’t hurt me! Just do it! Please!”

He dodged your next attack, slipping behind you. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, smacking his hand against a pressure point in your neck, and everything went dark.

You woke up in the infirmary of the Moby Dick, the soft beeping and whirring of machines around you. Your eyes found Ace, slumped in a chair across the room, and you sat up to look around. 

Marco must’ve been alerted to your consciousness somehow, because he quietly slipped into the room and smiled at you. 

“You’re okay,” he assured you, seeing your panicked eyes. Marco’s voice caused Ace to stir, but he didn’t pay the fire user any mind. “You were under the influence of an enemy, but it appears that it was temporary. Whether it was time related or range related, we’re not really sure.”

“Can it happen again?” You asked, scared for the danger you could put your crew in. 

“Unlikely,” Marco said, looking at your chart. “When you first came in, there was an unknown toxin in your system - likely whatever was causing your body to act on its own. But that’s disappeared now. I’ll keep testing you for a few days, but I’m not concerned about it.”

You nodded, and Marco left the room to give you and Ace some time alone. As soon as he was gone, Ace got up and walked over to your bed. He stroked your hair affectionately and planted a kiss on your forehead. 

“You scared me,” he whispered. 

“I scared me,” you said. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me.”

“I’m sorry I burned you.” You could see the pain and regret in his eyes from a simple mistake. 

“That wasn’t your fault.” You gave him a pained smile. “It was just a bad situation.”

You shuffled to one side of the bed, and patted it for him. “Come join me.”

You’re not sure who benefited more from cuddling together, but you were thankful for his warm embrace. 

Law

“Something’s wrong,” you whispered, your heart in your throat. Your feet moved without you telling them to, your hand reaching for a knife. 

“Hm?” Law hummed. He still had his back to you, chopping vegetables. He was completely vulnerable and unexpecting of what you were about to do. 

“Law,” you said, more urgently now. You hands grasped the hilt of the knife, and you turned to face him, raising it above your head. But he still didn’t turn around.

“Law!” you shrieked, full panic now. He only had a few seconds before you...

You swung, Law turning around just in time to see the flash of silver. Just before your knife made contact with his shoulder, something shoved you hard in the side, and you heard a groan. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Shachi yelled. He grabbed your shoulders, shaking you. You could feel the knife wedged in his shoulder blade, a warm, sticky liquid flowing out from the wound. 

Your knife was removed from his back and stabbed into him again, and Shachi gritted his teeth from the pain. He switched his position to hold your arms down by your sides. 

“Captain, get your girlfriend,” Shachi shouted, and your eyes looked over to the captain. When you looked at him, you knew that Law was your target, but it was best to get rid of the weaker enemies first. 

Why were you thinking like that? What was happening to your brain? You were scared, and you could see your own fear mirrored in Law’s eyes. This ability - your body moving separately from your thoughts - reminded you of Dressrosa, and the man you defeated there. 

“It can’t be…” Law whispered, backing away from you. “That’s impossible.”

You kicked Shachi in the groin, causing him to loosen his grip on you and fall to his knees. You looked down at him, just as terrified as he was. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, tears in your eyes, as your foot whipped back and you kicked him in the jaw. Shachi slumped to the ground, unconscious, and your eyes turned back to Law again. 

“Please run,” you begged him. But Law only stared at you, horrified. Even as you picked up the knife and aimed it at his skull, he just stared at you.

“Law! Do something!” You screamed again. You threw the knife at him and he finally moved into action. 

“Room. Shambles.”

Suddenly, you were behind a locked gate, Law standing in front of you, safely out of your reach. Your body instinctively lunged for him, and he stepped back out of surprise, but you still couldn’t reach him.

“I’m sorry about this, Y/N-ya.” He sat on a barrel and watched you for a few moments, you desperately clawing at where he stood. Your vision was getting blurry from the tears in your eyes, but you could see that his eyes were still filled with fear. 

“Go help Shachi,” you sobbed. “Please.”

Law shambled a med kit to the room you all were in, and pulled out a tranquilizer. “Stay still,” he muttered, flicking the syringe and walking up to the bars you stood behind. 

“Law-” When you reached out to grab him, he quickly took hold of your wrist and flipped it over, injecting the sedative into your veins. The last thing you saw was his face, looking down at you as you crumpled to the ground. 

You weren’t sure how much time passed when you woke again, but your mouth was dry and there was a blanket over you now. The events came rushing back to you - the lack of control you had over your body, the prison, Shachi. 

You were too tired to move, so you balled up as small as you could on the cold metal floor and you let out a sob of despair. 

You heard movement from outside of the prison, and then the soft creak of the cell door opening. Your entire body tensed, afraid of what might happen, and you squeezed your eyes shut in fear. Maybe if you didn’t see the person, you wouldn’t hurt them.

Calloused fingers rubbed your arm, and you leaned into Law’s touch. You would know his touch anywhere, and it made you feel a little bit better knowing he was so close. 

“Shachi’s okay,” he whispered. 

You could feel hot tears slipping past your closed eyelids and down your cheeks at the mention of the news. Relief flooded through your veins. 

“You can open your eyes,” Law said, still running his fingers up and down your arm. 

“What if I-” you choked on your words, unable to finish. 

“You’re okay now. It was a devil fruit power that could control the person through some kind of virus. But I removed it while you were sleeping.”

Law wouldn’t lie to you, and your eyes opened to see his golden irises. There were dark circles under his brilliant eyes, a sign that he hadn’t slept in a very long time. But you could see relief flood through them now, and you knew everything would be okay, just like he said. 

[rollinouttahere]

Joyride

Yandere Strawhats + Ace x Isekai Reader

2.2k words

Part 2

Yet again, this fic is inspired by @lovelybrooke ‘s Isekai reader stories.

I also want to say thank you for all the support and kind comments on the last story I wrote! I’ve actually been working on my own yandere one piece fic that I’m hoping to start posting in a few days give or take, so if you like what I’ve written so far, keep an eye out for that! All future writings are gonna be posted on my writing blog @rollinouttahere-writes​ so go follow that blog if you’re interested!

Trying to act normal and inconspicuous in the One Piece universe was a far from easy task. Being the massive fan of the series that you were, it was damn hard to not give away that you knew all about the crew that was so generously letting you stay with them after appearing on their ship with zero explanation.

It became even harder to stay lowkey when Ace temporarily joined up with the Strawhats. All you wanted was to hug that man and tell him how loved he is and that he deserves to live just as much as anyone else, but you really couldn’t say or do any of that without looking weird. You’ll just have to settle for being extremely nice to him, which was very easy.

Ace himself was already an easy guy to get along with (now at least), but he was noticeably very interested in you. You couldn’t blame him, what with Luffy almost immediately outing your insane situation to him. He seemed incredulous at first, but warmed up to and accepted the story way faster than you expected. It didn’t take long for his questions to go from feeling like an interrogation to being genuine.

You were so busy soaking up the attention from such a beloved character that you almost missed how jealous your crewmates were getting. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were taking it the best. Chopper probably because he was still so new to the crew that he wasn’t all that bothered by one of them not paying as much attention to him. Usopp was too busy building Nami’s weapon to concern himself with it too much. Meanwhile, Luffy was just so happy to see Ace again that he didn’t really notice that you were spending a lot of time with him. That, and he would usually be hanging out with both of you anyways. 

The others though, oh boy did they not like this. Nami was the most blatant about it, straight up glowering at you and Ace whenever you two were too close for her liking. You’re pretty sure the only thing keeping her from up and dragging you away from him is Luffy dismissing her complaints and telling her to stop fretting over it. You love being a part of their crew, so she should quit worrying!

Sanji and Zoro were both vying for your attention in their own ways as well. Sanji suddenly wanted more help around the kitchen, insisting that he needed an extra pair of hands now that there was another mouth to feed. Given that Ace’s appetite was on par with Luffy’s, you could understand the desire for help. Zoro’s attempts were considerably less convincing. One time he wanted you to spot him while he was working out, making you laugh right in his face at the mere idea that you would be able to help him with the ridiculous weights he lifts. His face had gone bright red after you pointed it out to him, prompting him to walk away immediately, much to your amusement.

Right now, though, you weren’t with Ace. Him and Luffy were busy doing something and you didn’t want to butt in on all their time together. Instead, you were ogling Ace’s boat that was currently tied to the side of the Going Merry.

You absolutely loved the design of his ship, it was such a clever idea to use his devil fruit ability to power a steam engine and make what looks like a tiny sailboat function like a jet ski. It didn’t appear in the anime too many times but everytime it was on screen it looked so cool. 

“I wonder what it’d be like to ride that,” you quietly mused to yourself.

“Wanna find out?”

You almost jumped out of your skin at the sudden arrival of Ace. He laughed at your reaction, not a care in the world for the near heart attack he just gave you.

“Oh my God, Ace, you scared the hell out of me!” You lightly slapped at his shoulder, your other hand resting over your now racing heart.

He laughed some more, “I could tell, and I’m sorry about that.” He didn’t sound even vaguely sorry. Ace elbowed your side, “But seriously, do you want to go for a ride?”

The offer had you staring wide-eyed at him. Then the boat. Then back at him again. “Really? Are you sure?” You were desperately trying to keep your cool and not show how insanely excited you were about the idea.

“Of course! I wouldn’t have offered it if I wasn’t. Come on,” he hopped up onto the railing and held his hand out to you. You didn’t need to mull it over, eagerly taking hold and stepping up with him. As soon as you did, he wrapped an arm around you and was ready to jump down onto his boat when Nami started yelling.

“Woah, woah, woah, what the hell are you two doing???” Nami, who was previously pruning her trees, had abandoned the activity entirely in favor of sprinting over to where you were and grabbing onto your leg.

“(Y/N) wanted to try riding my boat, so we’re going for a little joyride, that’s all,” Ace flashed Nami a dazzling smile, not at all deterred by her interruption.

“No way! What if they fall off? That thing doesn’t look safe at all!” Nami was now pulling on you, trying to get you down from the railing.

Ace held on tighter in response, “It’s perfectly safe, it has to be. I’m a devil fruit user, remember? (Y/N) isn’t, so really, I’m in more danger on that than they are. It’s fine.”

You could tell Nami was ready to argue more, but thankfully Luffy piped up, “Don’t worry about it Nami! If Ace says it’s safe then it’s safe!” Luffy, who was perched on his special seat at the bow, came bounding over, “But I wanna go next!”

“Sure thing, Luffy, we’ll be back in a bit,” Ace was quick to jump down with you in tow, not wanting to give any of the other Strawhats a chance to object. After untying it from the Going Merry, he knelt down slightly, “Hop on my back, you’re not gonna want to have your feet down there when we get going.”

Not wanting to get set on fire, you obliged. If you weighed anything to him, he didn’t show it, simply standing up straight as soon as you were on. “Ready?”

You excitedly nod your head, holding on tight to Ace in preparation. It was a good thing too, because he decided to immediately start at the leisurely speed of what felt like mach 7. A shriek emits from your throat as you take off. You think you can hear Nami yelling something again, but couldn’t make it out over your own screaming and the noise of the steam engine roaring to life.

Ace laughed loudly at your reaction, but did slow down slightly, “Sorry about that, I just wanted to get some distance before anyone else tried to stop us.” One of his arms let go of your leg and tugged at your arms around his neck, “But would you mind easing up a bit? I won’t be able to take us back if you choke me out.” 

“Oh oops, I’m sorry!” You immediately loosened your arms and readjusted them. Accidentally strangling Ace was not something you wanted to do today. Or any day really.

He simply shrugged it off, telling you not to worry about it. It’s not like you could really hurt him. “I’m gonna speed up again, you ready for it this time?”

The second you confirm that you are, the boat lurches forward, cutting through the waves like nothing. Now that you weren’t panicking, you could properly take in the experience and thoroughly enjoy it. 

The wind was whipping through your hair and sea water misted the air, droplets clinging to both yours and Ace’s hair. He hit a particularly big wave causing the boat to go airborne for a moment before crashing back down. You found yourself laughing and cheering as Ace continued to show off, which only egged him on more.

After a while, Ace slowed to a stop and let you down from his back. “C’mere, step up on this,” he stepped to the side and motioned for you to step up onto the front of his boat. His hands rested on your hips to keep you steady, presumably not wanting to get chewed out by Nami if you came back sopping wet. 

“This is one of the best parts of being at sea,” he was staring straight ahead. “Sunsets out here are something else, you don’t get a view like this on land.”

He was completely correct, it was beautiful. Orange, red, and pink hues colored the sky and reflected gorgeously in the ocean. It was a breathtaking view, one you would remember forever.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, quietly admiring the view with nothing but the natural sounds of the ocean around you. It was nice, very peaceful. 

“What do you think about staying here?”

You tense at Ace suddenly speaking. “Like staying out here a little longer?” As lovely as this was, the others were bound to get antsy if you stayed out after dark.

“No, I mean staying here in this world,” he stepped closer to you, wrapping his arms fully around you and resting his head on your shoulder to be able to see your face. “It’s nice here, right? Why not stick around? I know Luffy wants you to. Hell, I’m sure the rest of the crew does, too.”

You were taken aback by this statement, and weren’t really sure how to respond. Sure, it could be nice here when you all weren’t being hunted for sport by marines, but this wasn’t a place you could see yourself staying long term. That, and you had a life back home, you couldn’t just throw your friends and family to the wind like that.

Sucking in a breath, you searched for the nicest way to say all that. “It is nice here, but I have to go back.” You could feel his posture stiffen behind you, “Don’t get me wrong, you all have been super nice to me! It’s just that I’ve got all my friends and family back home and I miss them terribly.”

“Your family?” Ace said this so quietly that you weren’t even sure he was saying that to you. Abruptly, he straightened up, “I know! If you want a family so bad you can join the Whitebeard pirates!”

What? You joining the Whitebeard pirates? You already feel inadequate enough around the Strawhats, you can’t imagine how pathetic you would feel around those people. Of course, it would be awesome to get to meet them, but you want to keep to yourself as much as possible since you will eventually have to go back home.

While you were thinking, Ace kept going, “Pops would love you, I just know it. We haven’t gotten another sibling in a while, everyone would be psyched to meet you.” His once comforting hug was growing tighter by the second. Suffocating even.

“Ace-”

“And you already have friends with my brother’s crew, so that’s all taken care of!”

“Ace, ple-”

“Of course, I’m your friend too, but after you join I’ll be your big brother!”

“ACE!” Your yell startled him, mercifully making him let go of you. You take the opportunity to inch forward and create some distance, however minute.  “That’s,” oh, how to put this without hurting his feelings, “that’s very kind of you to offer, but I’d rather stay with the Strawhats for now.”

“Oh…” You don’t even need to turn around to know how disappointed he was by this declaration. He chuckled awkwardly, “I’m sorry about that, looks like I got a little carried away there.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” frankly, you just wanted to go back to the ship after that. The atmosphere was uncomfortable now.

After a few more seconds of silence, Ace cleared his throat and spoke again, “We should probably head back now, it’s gonna be dark soon.”

You were quick to agree and clambered onto his back, “Yeah that’s a good idea, Nami would throw a fit if we stay out much longer.” She’ll probably be mad regardless, but still.

Ace got his boat going and began the trip back. The Going Merry was a lot further away than you’d realized, it was so small that you could just barely make it out in the distance. You internally cringe, your crewmates are no doubt unhappy about you being this far away.

Despite the distance, you couldn’t help but notice how slow Ace was going compared to earlier. It’s like he wanted to drag this out for as long as possible. You decided not to call him out on it, not deeming it worth it.

“I’m not giving up, you know.”

“What?” 

“I’ll drop it for now, but I’m not giving up on you joining Whitebeard’s crew. Just… think about it, okay?” Ace’s voice was quiet, just barely loud enough to hear over the engine. 

The rest of the ride back remained dead silent, giving you plenty of time to mull over what just happened. It felt so… Weird. Out of character, really. He’s known you for, what? 24 hours? If that. Yet he’s trying to talk you out of going home and seems dead set on replacing your family with his own. Granted, everyone’s been more clingy than you thought normal, but this was downright bizarre. 

You really need to find a way home, and fast.

[baelpenrose]

Project Praetorian 40: New Arrivals p2 What they're Capable of

This one focuses on Kimmy, and snaps back to the ride over in the blackhawk. Pretty much all the new arrivals have LAYERS.

Beta read by @canyouhearthelight and @writing-with-olive

Oh, TW for more of Jared being himself, which after last chapter should require no more explanation. Also for Imperator being almost unbelievably evil and ableist. Like, Jared is a prick, what Imperator was planning with regards to Kimmy is horrific.

Oh and see if you can count the layers in the title.

Kimmy

The arrival to the new base wasn’t exactly making a shining first impression. First she’d been yanked out of a wheelchair, had her chair shoved into a shitty chopper, and then she’d been forced to fly for hours with a douchebag white supremacist, a girl who was probably cool but who she couldn’t talk to for language barrier reasons, and a dude who would probably be fine but who was busy having anxiety attacks about flying in a helicopter. 

So functionally her discussion choices were either the neo-Nazi dick or silence. She chose silence. That is, Jared made a snide remark to Micah that even the cripple was keeping her cool better than Micah was. 

“You’re really lucky we’re all strapped down so I can’t slap you. Actually, honestly, you’re lucky my legs don’t work because if they did, kicking would still be an option.” 

Jared sneered. “Half a spine and still more than this neurotic little beta will ever have.” He jerked a thumb at the terrified boy next to him.

“I’m proud of you, you’re evolving. You got through a whole two sentences without a racial slur. If you can get through the rest of the ride with no slurs of any kind, maybe your balls will finally drop and a girl will look at you without gagging.” 

“I got your balls and gagging right here.” “Yeah, but that’s why you’re strapped down, and by the time we land, if you stand up and try something, I’m sure I can get someone to get a proper ballgag in you before you’re halfway through it. Honestly, if you ask real nicely, I’ll pantomime the concept to Mia. All that talk about immigrants fucking our country, there has to be some kind of repression there. If I can find an English-Spanish dictionary and you stop being an asshole, maybe I’ll ask her if she’s down to peg you. She doesn’t even know you’re a douchebag, she doesn’t know what you’ve been saying.”

Jared scowled and finally shut up, realizing that he was losing, and Kimmy smirked, offering Micah a slight grin. Jared was right about one aspect, unfortunately, which was that Micah was neurotic in ways that could be difficult or annoying at times - and certainly weren’t helping him survive this shithole.  

*** 

When they finally landed, it didn’t take long before she was offloaded and put in her chair again - almost immediately drawing looks. One curious - followed by an almost immediately dark, almost terrifying look from a wiry boy with short curly hair. A good-looking black guy who introduced himself as Xavier was already squaring off with Jared - and she wanted, badly, to watch that but found herself pulled aside by two people. One was a girl with teak-dark hair and long skirts, and the other was a person whose every aspect screamed some variety of genderqueer - and who didn’t speak. Until Kimmy recognized that the gestures they were doing were a form of speech, at which point she managed to fumble her way through some of the ASL she remembered from the disability support group she’d been put in after her accident.

The deaf person reacted with obvious delight, signing faster than Kimmy could follow, and Kimmy said, “wait, wait, slow down, I’m not totally fluent.”

The other girl nodded. “Right, sorry. I’m Casey, this is Shiloh. You probably have a lot of questions. So. Welcome to Imperator and welcome to the Praetorians. We get experimented on, given superpowers, and forced to fight aliens. None of that is a joke.” Casey said with a grimace. “We managed to win this cookout as a reward for our first major victory.”

Kimmy felt a flutter of nervousness. “I…knew about the experiments. We’re getting changed to be super soldiers? Can…can they fix my spine? If they can’t…” 

Shiloh winced, then signed something. “What happened to it?”

Kimmy looked down. “I was a gymnast, heading towards regional championships when I was around twelve. I was doing the beam routine, but I…it was a dumb mistake. Twisted a bit. Hit my back on the dismount. Total fluke. Had the twisties, didn’t call it. Near-total paralysis below the waist. I’m lucky in that I had good doctors, and I can…still go to the bathroom without a lot of help, like it didn’t take a lot of work to give me that capacity.” 

“Won’t your parents ask where you went? I mean, you were a gymnast in regional championships, you disappearing is gonna…”

Kimmy winced. “Yeah. Uh. Thing is. They had hopes of me being an Olympian at some point. So, when I broke my back, they put in a lot of work to try to restore me, but when it didn’t work, things just kinda…got more distant. I mean, yeah, I got support groups, but I went from being the thing they were excited about to being a thing they had to deal with. Like at first I was all for the tests, since I wanted to get back on the beam as badly as anyone, I hated being bound to a chair and sorta still do, I want to be able to run and jump again, but after a point, I just wanted the constant testing to stop and the disappointed glares when nothing worked to stop. There’s a reason I wanted to make sure I could handle my own catheter. So then about three months ago, they heard about this new, experimental trial for nerve regeneration pioneered by a Dr. Winters at the Aventine Research Institute, and they signed me up…”

She suddenly went quiet as she noticed that Shiloh had gone absolutely still, their gaze very, very far away and breathing very slowly. Casey wasn’t touching Shiloh, very noticeably, but was quietly signaling someone for help.

“What’s…” Kimmy signed, slowly. 

Shiloh signaled and Casey replied. “They say I can tell you. Your parents signed you over to their mother. For the same reason that their parents experimented on them. It’s a little different, at a guess since you started off wanting to be fixed, and being paralyzed actually did take your sport from you whereas they didn’t really mind being deaf, but…that’s why.” 

Kimmy absorbed that. “What kind of hell is this place?” 

Casey was quiet, clearly thinking about something. 

Kimmy felt cold. “Can they fix my legs?” 

Shiloh didn’t move. Casey was quiet. “I’m not sure.”

“Then what do they want me for? And…what’s the process like?” 

Shiloh signed, slow enough for Kimmy to follow. “It’s terrible. It’s frightening, painful, humiliating. Powers are a crapshoot. Combat is better, mainly because you aren’t helpless. I’m sorry your parents sent you here.” 

Kimmy felt her blood run cold. “But can they fix my legs? So I won’t be helpless?” Underneath that, the real question: what are they going to do with me?

Shiloh

Kimmy’s reactions to their answers were the obvious ones, and Shiloh glanced at Casey, and realized neither of them could give the kid the answer she obviously wanted. Couldn’t answer the question she was really asking. Truth be known, Shiloh did know the answer. Had read the medical data out of Koleth’s process because it was really relevant to the body modifications they and their siblings were undergoing and how it impacted their metabolism. Impacted their healing. 

Shiloh looked to Casey to translate. Then began signing, very, very fast. “Short version: theoretically yes, but we don’t know for sure if they can. Yes, it’s possible, but power development seems to be random chance.”

Koleth, in short, had no idea what impacts anything would produce when someone was tested. Merely that all impacts behaved within certain parameters of anomalies, and that there were predictable parameters of mutability in the genome that made someone a Praetorian candidate. Yes, Kimmy’s spine COULD be regenerated by the process - but she could just as easily wind up with a powerset that would be near-totally useless in combat if attached to someone who could not move or could only move from inside a vehicle. Yes, Kimmy could wind up with a powerset that suited her perfectly to being in a support role away from frontline combat and thus made her disability unimportant, like Echo or Shiloh themself, but they could also very easily wind up like Casey or Jonathan or even Vergil, who despite being able to stay back to some degree still needed to be able to maneuver at which point she would be effectively useless to Imperator.

“We aren’t totally sure what we’ll have you do, but Mark? Her boyfriend? The skinny guy with the curly hair? Yeah, he’s the boss in combat, he’ll figure out something. Or you’ll get a power that’s more suited for spying and figuring out the enemy, then you’ll be taking your orders from Echo, the black girl who looks like a model.” Kimmy nodded as Casey translated, even as the other girl glared at Shiloh for calling Mark her boyfriend.

And Shiloh knew Franklin, Stricken, and Gideon too well to delude themself that they’d keep a useless asset, nor even gamble on the possibility of one. Meaning they already had an alternative use in mind if Kimmy developed a powerset that neither reversed her disability nor allowed her to deploy in a way that made it irrelevant.

“That said, if you’re really worried about it, there’s something I can try.” 

And Shiloh knew their own parents, and more chillingly, Koleth, well enough to know exactly what that alternative use would be.  Kimmy would develop the ability perform to the standards of the rest of the Praetorians, or Kimmy would be used as a test subject to determine the outer limits of the mutation process without any of the safeguards Koleth kept to avoid damaging ‘valuable assets’ - like the Praetorians who were definitely useful in combat. 

Casey snapped a look at Shiloh. Then spoke for herself. “You said it was an injury. They straightened it and braced the spinal column surgically, right?”

Kimmy nodded. “Yeah.”

Casey turned to Shiloh. “Are you even remotely sure this is possible?” 

Shiloh signed back rapidly, explaining to Casey what they hadn’t to Kimmy. Then finished, “worst case, I accidentally put her in shock when the nerves start reconnecting and the shock kills her. Which is still better than what happens if Koleth gets to play with her.” 

Casey nodded. “She should know.”

“I wasn’t gonna start without asking. And we should both eat a lot before I try. This is gonna be one of the hardest things I’ve ever attempted.” 

Casey turned back to Kimmy. “Shiloh is our medic. They can regenerate damaged tissue. They might, might, be able to fix your spine, but they say you both need to eat first. And…they said it might put you into shock and kill you if the nerves connect wrong, because it is going to hurt horribly when they first start. Other hand, you’re in real danger if we don’t and the powers you get don’t make you useful in combat - the people working on us are evil. It’s your decision. I, personally, would trust Shiloh more than I trust Koleth.”

Kimmy glanced between them, then took a breath. “Fuck it, I already do. Just because they asked and they’re used to people trying to fix without asking. Wait, question, do powers usually eat a bunch of calories?”

Shiloh paused. Casey answered. “Seems different for all of us.”

“Makes sense. Okay, so…food, then Shiloh tries to make me walk again.” Kimmy tried to wheel herself over, struggled on the shitty paving of Imperator’s walkways, then based on Casey’s reaction, let loose a truly impressive litany of profanity. Her wheel had gotten caught in a pothole that had been there as long as any of them remembered and was invisible in the bad lighting. She relented, signaling that yes, someone could help her. Casey began helping her wheel over to the meal tables and piled her plate high with a bit of everything, whereupon Kimmy began wolfing food down with reckless abandon. 

Casey

Casey flicked a signal at Shiloh. “I’m gonna go talk with Gideon and be right back. About kidnapping someone to be tested to death.”

Shiloh nodded. Then signaled, pausing. “Check with Echo to make sure we don’t need him alive.” 

Casey snorted. “I’m not gonna kill him. This time.” 

Gideon was talking with one of the pilots by the landing strip, and Casey took her time. She grabbed a marshmallow stick from the fire and heated it until it glowed, then jogged over, heating it and keeping it hot with her power. Something to add a little fear to the situation.

Then Gideon saw her and calmly hung up the phone. “Ms. Martin.”

“It can’t happen again.”

“Are you approaching me with a demand from all your team or just yourself?”

Casey didn’t answer - no point in letting this asshole think she had no backing or that Mark wasn’t in control of the team. “I’m not saying anything the others won’t. It can’t happen again. Imperator can’t scoop someone up for the purposes of testing them to death.”

“How do you know that was our intent?”

“You don’t keep people around you can’t use. If Kimmy couldn’t fight - and you have no way of knowing what powers she’ll develop - you’d have found another use for her. That’s the obvious one.” 

Gideon inclined his head. “Since the process could kill any of you, just that Koleth’s safeguards make it less likely when the asset is valuable - why is this so different? You all risk a bad reaction every time you climb in the tubes.”

“Risk is one thing. Guarantee is another. We’ll fight aliens, but our loyalty is to each other first - and we’re not going to watch another Praetorian tortured to death for Koleth to refine something.”

“You just met the newest one. Your bond isn’t that strong already. Even in such a sentimental group.” 

Casey shrugged. “Maybe not. But we’re in it with her, which we aren’t with you.” Then, with a gesture, the air around the glowing marshmallow stick blazed to life and she waved it like a wand, feeling the heat raise her hair in a wave, lighting the night around them with the force of her fury. “It won’t happen again Gideon. If it does, I’ll burn you alive one layer of skin at a time.” 

His normally inexpressive face went pale at that, and Casey hoped she’d made her point. She felt hollow and shaken on the walk back. The display of power had been so…minor, honestly. The threat was only meant to accompany it to scare him, something that she could imagine one of the villains from one of Mark or Xavier’s nerd movies saying - made credible by the fact that, at least on a physical level, she could actually do it.

When she’d actually said it she’d come to the horrible realization that not only could she do it, she actually would if Gideon ever again.abducted a kid for the sole reason to be tested to death.

She forced herself to walk back to the cookout, and saw Shiloh and Kimmy eating, signing slowly back and forth, even as Molly approached them and chatted with Kimmy, Vergil edging in. She heard Kimmy mention something about rhythmic gymnastics to Molly, and Molly smiling back.

Kimmy

The night was going well - existential terror notwithstanding. The new crowd seemed a lot better. Cute, shy, skinny boy who everyone told her was the team sniper but who seemed like a dork. The cute ginger with the rosary who kept stealing glances at a gorgeous girl who Kimmy could only assume by description was Echo. The girl who’d welcomed her in, the black boy who made Jared back down, the super hot giant dude, Shiloh, and the boy who everyone told her was in charge talking with Micah and actually getting the guy to relax. 

Overall things were looking up on arrival here. 

Then, Molly and Xavier took up a position in the middle of the place and began pumping music and Kimmy found herself clapping and laughing. Okay. If this was going to be my life now, experiments or not - especially if I got my legs back - this might actually be a step up from parents looking at me like a disappointment for getting hurt in a competition I’d been too nervous to back out of when I’d gotten a condition that made even the GOAT back down. 

Then, as the music was dying down, Shiloh handed her a rag, and Casey gripped her hand. As Shiloh put their hands on her spine, Kimmy saw Molly looking at her, curiously. 

Then Casey told her to bite down on the rag. Kimmy nervously put it in her mouth, biting down on the cloth and clenching.

Then her world flashed in pain unlike anything she’d ever experienced - it wasn’t like breaking her back. It was like having hot wires replace the nerves, having them all set ablaze. But she could feel fibers moving beneath her skin, like it itched on the inside. Kimmy screamed into the rag, and bit down. Kimmy was certain she had half-crushed Casey’s hand, and Shiloh stood up. She could hear Casey asking where Shiloh was going and Shiloh flashed an answer Kimmy couldn’t understand. 

Casey whispered in her ear. “Fixing this is taking a lot out of them, they’re grabbing coffee and more chow then they’re gonna come back.” Kimmy felt tears trickle down her cheeks, eyes blurry with the pain - it hurt so much. But it hurt. She could feel the pain.

Kimmy don’t know how long she waited, but Casey was with her, gently stroking her hair and whispering assurances. Then Shiloh was back and the pain flared up worse, but Kimmy could suddenly feel her toes again. The pain subsided, sort of. Though it was there and it was horrible, she could feel the lower half of my body again. 

Kimmy spat out the rag and tried to twitch her legs, which were slowly coming to life like a thousand little pinpricks. The girl shoved the rag back into her mouth to scream again. 

Then, as slowly as she could, she stood up, leaning a little on Casey and Shiloh, and smiled, throwing the rag aside, even as her back ached. Casey said something to her, about how nerve pain took time to heal, how Shiloh was warning her it would take time before the pain went away but that she was actually better.

Kimmy saw the redhead - Molly - looking between her and Shiloh, mouth agape. 

She was overwhelmed, in shock. She was walking. 

She turned, slowly, and looked at Shiloh. 

“Thank you,” Kimmy whispered, throat hoarse with pain and joy at the same time. 

Shiloh signed back. “I couldn’t let them use you up and throw you out.” 

“Even still.”

[jewishcissiekj]

At the end of The High Republic phase 1. Only Fallen Star & Midnight Horizon left basically. Mission to Disaster-Fallen Star comics reading post! (I'm emotionally devastated after reading Star Wars Adventures #12 you have no idea)

Love love love love this cover. Kantam Sy my beautiful partner they're soooooo

LOST ALL MY GALACTIC BAKE-OFF SCREENSHOTS AND I'M TOO LAZY TO GO BACK AND FIND NEW ONES. Here are my favorite pages anyway it was so cute and Lily was there I think? pretty sure that's her with the black hair and the bob, it seems right (and Burry!)

I have a lot to say about Trail of Shadows #3 but first of: slut. put a shirt on. Jesus.

Dalna mentioned! Haha that planet is going to helllllll

Keeve aka my special little guy finally got a hug! I bet Emerick gives the best hugs

A lot going on with the dialogue but my first thought here was "CHOPPER?????" no, it's Estala Maru's droid. It is pretty similar tho

Big fan of how connected THR is, love to randomly see Ram Jomaram in Trail of Shadows (I only got the race in THR Adventures later but it's a nice connecting thread)

Oh Avar is tiredddddd I need her

Again, the connections are great! I love this panel a lot

:):):):) Rooting for them, wholesome relationships are always welcome for me

Turns out I did, not, in fact, lose my Galactic Bake-off screenshots, I'm just bad at finding them. Here's Kantam again because look at them!!!

FUCKKKKK ZEEN AND LULA ARE GONNA END IN A TRAGEDY AREN'T THEY

connectionsssss

Deva's design is so cool, I know she's hundreds of years old and that she appears in the Sana Starros series but I hope we see her in Phase 3 too if that even makes sense

Affieeeeeeee

Wait just how big is Geode should I start running

And what if I said Yoda-Kantam-Lula Jedi lineage goes down to Mana-Ky-Asajj linea- (given Lula lives)

This isn't ending well for them is ittttt

Them! Also the 2nd one is such a funny ending page with Krix on da ground barely alive

Huh ok so I got through THR phase 1 much faster than I thought I would. All in all, I started in the middle of the summer, more or less, and not only did I finish most of it, I also squeezed a fair amount of Legends books in between. I will be starting the Fallen Star as soon as I finish another Legends book, and then Midnight Horizon and maybe a few more things and I'll start being annoying about The High Republic Phase 2 instead! (I still have some Phase 1 comics left, but after the fallen star and midnight horizon lol)

The High Republic Adventures: Galactic Bake-Off Spectacular #1 | The High Republic: Trail of Shadows #3 | The High Republic Adventures (2021) #11 | Star Wars Adventures (2020) #14 | Star Wars Adventures Annual 2021 #1 | The High Republic Adventures (2021) #12

[the-firebird69]

Hugh Jackman rides a motorbike down the red carpet

This is the first year of the motor the new one that our friend helped designed the 883 evolution and that's what they called it and he said it's time for you to do something and change up and make it work and it does we used a lot of them because we're smaller and we still do they're still pretty big and these bikes are awesome when he's designing and really going to help a lot of people can't ride a million miles an hour up to 200 is great if they needed it's there. And he's going to make one and really he wants me to describe the scene I'm leaving the mansion and yes the Xavier institute mansion and that's what I call it and it's his clan but boy he may have been pushed too far and he was pushed and I'm going real fast and it's on a different bike and it's not the Ducati it's a roadster it's awesome the scene is intense and I'm thinking to myself and I'm flying down the road and stopped and smoked a cigar everyone loves the scene and you said you do as a commercial but if I just kind of a mini it's not really small and it's not really big it's smaller than the bike I'm riding which is full size and it's huge and fast this is going to be fun these bikes are going to be cool it's going to look just like it he says and I'm going to help name it I'm going to make my version I got to start this is intense but it will have a lawn mower motor I don't have to make the exhaust somehow work with the emission stuff it sounds better but we need the sound to be right said if you get the sound right it'll probably be faster it is usually the case

Wolverine

He said we can't call it wolverine but we're making ours now we can't call it Kingsley LOL that was our son's joke and daughter and she says and he says as good one so they're getting along. This is going to be awesome what a great lineup already and hard knock kicker 5150 will have to be revised by people who were building them or they'll find Randall text Cobb and revive him and it would be a huge boost to the rebels

Zig Zag

We're going to try that

Dan

Olympus

Oh yeah sure you'll try that I don't think so you never do anything right

bill

I got to do something to make up for it these bikes are my style yeah they are but not really I'm more of a chopper guy and they're already doing the chopper and it says I should do my version of the child size I'm going to go ahead and do that

Dave

I'm going to make this too and I'm going to start designing it it's like the roadster that wolverine has but it might change the sport bike look that we're going to do they all look like they're from China and people don't like that and it's not really Japanese and when she's on doesn't look like either and she was suggesting it and it's a smart idea and the size is a little small but they'll see it works it has to be small for the engine to work well I can't believe it these things are going to be great there's so many of these engines we're going to make it work

Hera

We don't have time to make everything there aren't any frames kicking around for these but there's a lot of parts in China and tires and ribs and handlebars all sorts of things and they can make them pretty quick but so can we and he says that we should stamp out mags they take a lot less time and you can make mags for the choppers too they look cool or solid rims really mags look good we know which ones and we're going to do that it takes 1/8 of the time there's a couple other cost savings things we're going to cast the frame in case we have to ride them and it's high tech but it's low tech and takes an eighth of the time and the motors we already have and the transmissions already made and we have a ton of them and we're going to take all the longhorns and use the used ones we're getting to work on it now

Thor Freya

Everything can be cast it takes 1/8 of time so we're going to start doing it now

Olympus we can use it for other stuff but we need to get it going

[princemarimo]

Since the beginning of time

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro / Sanji Vinsmoke Warnings: de-aged Sanji, de-aged Zoro Word Count: 4.119 Summary: When a fight against another pirate crew goes wrong, Usopp finds himself with two children alone in the woods. Sanji doesn’t seem to trust him at first, but he cares about Zoro even more and lets a well kept secret out. Link (if posted on AO3): https://archiveofourown.org/works/37452448

So I re-wrote this since I had a similar fic for another fandom, but I wanted to do something for Sanji's birthday in a few hours. I love him way too much.

I hope you all enjoy this. It's just fluff.

*

Usopp is pretty sure that he is actually still on the flying lamb, in his soft, warm hammock, and is dreaming all of this. This can’t be his real life, no matter what else had already happened in it.

This has to be a joke.

“Sanji, please. It’s me, Usopp!” Usopp says for the tenth time, but the little blond boy behind one of the trees only cries louder. Dammit. Usopp knows they have seen so many weird devil fruits, but this one takes the cake.

“Why is Sanji crying?” Zoro asks and Usopp takes a deep breath before he looks down at the tiny swordsman. At least Zoro seems to be better off than Sanji, since he still remembers their names. However, he seems a lot more like a real kid too no matter how grumpy he can look.

“I think he is afraid,” Usopp says, exhausted, and looks back into the forest. He needs to get them out of here, before other pirates would find them. Luffy and the others should already be back at the ship and maybe Chopper could help them somehow.

Their little doctor has a plan for everything. At least that’s what Usopp tells himself.

Too bad Zoro killed the weird pirate before Usopp had realized that the asshole had cursed the cook and the swordsman. Usopp sighs loudly and watches how Zoro nearly stumbles over his own feet as he walks towards Sanji.

Usopp doesn’t even have an idea how old they could be. Just like always Sanji is actually a tiny bit smaller than Zoro, but they both seem to be very young. Three, maybe four, if Usopp is lucky. Just great.

“Sanji?” Zoro asks quietly when he reaches the tree. Usopp can see how he kneels down and has to hide a grin. Fine, maybe the baby swordsman was actually kind of cute. Even his swords seem different, made of wood now. Seems like the baby still has to train with wooden swords, Usopp smiles.

“I w-wanna go home. I want my m-mommy!” Sanji cries louder this time and it’s as if someone punched Usopp in his guts. So either Sanji is so small that his mother should still be alive or he is now dealing with his mother’s death. Usopp doesn’t know for sure when she died, but Sanji had told him once about her when he was really drunk.

They all know Sanji doesn’t like to talk about his family.

“But you have me and Usopp,” Zoro says happily and he even throws his hands up. Sanji sniffles again, but at least the loud crying finally stops. Usopp takes a shaky breath, thank god.

“But Usopp looks scary!” Sanji whispers, or he tries to, but Usopp can hear him clearly. He smiles, so Sanji does remember him, even though he is scared of the great Captain Usopp.

“Hmm. I think he looks cool,” Zoro giggles and Usopp’s heart swells. He thought Zoro would be an angry kid, but maybe he had been a sweet boy, before he grew up to be a warrior. Just like Sanji.

“Sanji, it’s okay. I promise you that I just want to help you,” Usopp says and he tries to soften his voice. Sanji actually looks carefully around the tree and Usopp smiles as widely as he can.

Sanji looks back to Zoro who now holds his hand out.

“Okay,” Sanji says softly and he wipes away all the tears and snot on his face. Usopp concentrates not to make a face at that and he watches as Sanji carefully takes Zoro’s hand in his own.

“Maybe we can ask Usopp for some food?” Zoro says and Usopp huffs a laugh. The little swordsman seems really clever and Usopp winks at him. Sanji actually walks a bit faster, when he hears that, but he doesn’t say anything.

Usopp is relieved, when they are both in front of him. They are still dirty and Sanji’s face is all red from his crying, but they seem healthy and at least not hurt. Usopp had been worried that the other pirates had actually hurt them. And thank god both are still dressed.

If the bandana on Zoro looked dangerous before, he looks just incredibly cute now. Sanji looks almost adorable in his tiny suit and Usopp chuckles.

“Did I hear something about food?” Usopp asks and Sanji’s eyes automatically light up. Seems like some things never change.

“Can we please get some? It would make Sanji very happy,” Zoro asks and Usopp would literally give him anything, if the little cook continued to look at him like that. Sanji nods hastily besides him, but he is still not speaking.

“Of course. I’m sure we’ll find something,” Usopp promises and he knows that they still have some food on their ship. Sanji made their snacks just before the pirates had attacked and Usopp knows he had hidden them before Luffy could see them.

“Thank you Usopp!” Zoro says happily and Usopp only nods.

“Okay, Zoro? Come here. It’s probably better if I uh… carry you, before you eh… get lost or something,” Usopp says and he carefully picks the swordsman up. Zoro seems surprised but he lets go of Sanji’s hand.

This is all so damn weird, he hopes Zoro can laugh about it later when he’s big again.

Zoro growls.

“Put me down, longnose!” Zoro says, but Usopp just adjusts his weight and looks back to Sanji, who sniffles again.

“Wait!” Sanji says loudly and Usopp raises his eyebrows.

“What is it?” Usopp asks, a bit worried and Sanji looks down to his feet. Usopp obviously didn’t know Sanji the first time around, when Sanji was this young, but he never would’ve guessed that Sanji was this shy.

“What about me?” Sanji asks and his under lip wobbles dangerously, Usopp kneels down and puts his hands on Sanji’s shoulders.

“Hey I would never forget about you. I just thought you wanted to hold my hand instead, but maybe you wanna be carried?” Usopp explains and Sanji nods. Only one tear falls down this time and Sanji is pouting all cutely.

Usopp always knew the crew would be his death one day, but that he would get killed by his cook’s cuteness? Yeah, that's a new one.

“Are you okay with walking?” Usopp asks Zoro now and the swordsman nods. He didn’t seem to like to be carried anyway. Usopp sighs and puts him back down. Sanji smiles and holds his arms up.

They already survived so much crap in their lives, they could do this too. As soon as they got back to the ship, Usopp would do anything to change them back.

“There you go,” Usopp says, when he picks Sanji up this time. Zoro smiles a bit too when the cook laughs all cutely at that. Then Sanji smacks his lips and actually puts his thumb into his mouth. Usopp yanks his hand away and Sanji’s eyes widen.

“N-no”. Sanji says and Usopp can see that he is nearly crying again. He groans quietly and then looks into his bag. He knows he has some wet wipes in there somewhere, not because he actually thought he would ever have babies with him, but because it often comes in handy, when they are all bloody and there is no shower in sight.

“Here, let me just clean your hands,” Usopp explains and he carefully wipes the dirt off Sanji's hands. Sanji just watches him and as soon as Usopp is finished, he puts his thumb back into his mouth.

He looks way too cute to be angry with him for doing that, but maybe Usopp should buy him something. God, he hopes the curse will be gone, before he actually has to buy all this baby stuff.

“I can help!” Zoro says happily and Sanji snuffles around his thumb.

“Help? I’m not sure that you actually know the right path back to the ship,” Usopp says, while Sanji plays with his hair. Usopp watches in disgust how the spit already dribbles down his chin from sucking his thumb.

“No but Sanji has something in the pocket of his jacket. He needs that when he’s nervous!” Zoro says, as if it’s the most obvious thing he ever said. Usopp frowns for a moment.

“As I said, don’t worry about that. I’m…” Usopp starts to explain, but he does look into the pocket of Sanji’s suit. Usopp almost squeaks when he sees that where normally Sanji’s cigarettes would be, are actually some pacifiers. What the fuck. This stupid devil fruit had changed everything or what.

“Wow.” Sanji says, looking so fascinated and even Usopp feels a bit lightheaded. Zoro smiles widely and then Usopp holds out the pacifier for Sanji, who immediately takes it and puts it into his mouth. He smiles behind it.

“See I can help!” Zoro says, but he sounds a bit disappointed in himself, even though Sanji doesn’t seem to care. Usopp knows that Zoro believes Sanji would only tolerate him around them because he is a good fighter, not a friend or something.

Sometimes Usopp wants to tell Zoro the truth, telling him that the cook is just a coward, but he still hopes, one day, Sanji will finally find the courage to talk about his feelings. Not that Zoro is any better. Just as hopelessly in love with the cook and doesn’t say a damn word about it.

“Thank you, Marimo!” Sanji squeals and it comes out all slurred, because of the pacifier. He struggles in Usopp’s arms and Usopp holds him a bit down, so he can reach Zoro. Sanji takes his pacifier out, just to press a kiss on Zoro’s cheek and the swordsman puts his hand over the spot Sanji kissed.

Usopp has to hide his grin, while Sanji just nods and then kicks his legs a bit.

“Food?” Sanji asks and now that he seems to understand the power of his big blue eyes, he actually starts to use them. Usopp nods.

“Sure.”

*

Luckily the walk was quiet. Zoro had hummed to some music, even though he didn't seem to remember any of the words and Sanji had actually slept a bit on Usopp’s shoulder. Zoro didn’t even try to run away, which probably means they are both super tired.

They’re still not anywhere near their ship, but the town seems peaceful and quiet. Maybe they should actually take a break here. Since they’re both kids, they had walked very slow and Usopp could use the break himself. Around the next corner is a nice looking restaurant and Usopp stops.

“Boys, we’re here!” Usopp says and carefully wakes Sanji up, to put him down. Sanji rubs over his visible eye and smiles, before he takes Zoro’s hand back into his. Usopp can’t help but smile, it seems that it’s easier to show their emotions as kids.

Usopp wishes the crew could see this.

“Food,” Sanji mumbles quietly and Usopp chuckles. He knows that Sanji probably wants to cook instead of eat it, but right now he wouldn’t even reach his own stove.

“Are you feeling okay, Zoro?” Usopp asks, just to be sure, and Zoro nods.

“Hungry,” Zoro says and Usopp nods. Zoro is probably really hungry, often enough he is not better than their captain, he just doesn’t show it so easily.

Usopp is glad when he sees that the restaurant is almost empty. He helps Sanji and Zoro onto their own corner bench and then sits down at the opposite.

“Oh hello, aren’t you two lovely?” The waitress, Perona according to her name tag, states and Usopp grins in agreement.

“Hello, we want food,” Zoro actually says, while Sanji hides behind him. He does make shy heart eyes at her, Usopp snorts.

“Your sons?” She asks and Usopp nods, before he realizes what he is doing.

“Actually just the small and shy blond one. The other one is the son of a friend.” Usopp explains and Sanji actually pouts at those words. Zoro just nods along. They need a cover like this or people would probably arrest him for stealing two kids.

“Okay, what can I do for you all?” Perona asks and she pulls out her pen and pad. Usopp gets himself some cheesecake and some apple pie for the two boys. Hoping that it wouldn’t be too sweet for Zoro’s likeness.

“Usopp?” Sanji asks and Usopp looks back at the boys. Sanji seems so nervous again and he is still holding onto Zoro, who is playing with a napkin.

“Yes, Sanji?” Usopp asks back and now Sanji is smiling all widely and then points at another couple at the end of the restaurant.

“Why are they doing this?” Sanji asks and Usopp doesn’t really know what Sanji is talking about. Then he sees that they are holding hands and the man leans closer to kiss his girlfriend.

“Uhm… you do that if you really like someone,” Usopp explains awkwardly and Sanji nods very seriously. He is looking at the couple again and Usopp hopes they will get served, before Sanji can ask any other questions.

“Are they in love?” Zoro wants to know and he looks fascinated with the idea. Usopp swallows dryly.

“Yeah… perhaps,” Usopp answers slowly and Zoro nods to himself. Sanji is still watching the couple with big eyes, when the man starts to feed his girlfriend some of his food, Usopp groans.

“Here we go boys! Cheesecake for the caring father and for the two cutest boys in the world, some apple pie with extra cream.” Perona says happily and puts the plates down. Usopp is a bit relieved when Sanji finally focuses on something different than the couple and starts eating his pie.

Sanji eats his own pie very slowly, while Zoro just stuffs it all into his mouth. Usopp has to hide his grin, because Zoro even has some cream on his nose.

“And is it good?” Usopp wants to know and Zoro only answers with a nod, still too busy devouring the pie in one breath. Sanji smiles at Usopp.

“It tastes really nice. I hope I can get the recipe.” Sanji answers happily and Usopp chuckles a bit, because that is so typical for Sanji. He’s glad that even as a kid Sanji seemed to already enjoy cooking.

“Zoro?” Sanji asks between his bites and Zoro looks at him automatically. They stare at each other and it’s scary how much Usopp can see their adult selves at this moment. Sanji blinks.

“Open your mouth,” Sanji says and Zoro frowns, still without complaining he does so and Sanji nods to himself, before he scoops up some of his pie. Usopp feels like he shouldn’t be watching this, but he can’t help it either.

Sanji grins when he actually feeds Zoro and the swordsman blushes deeply, when he seems to understand what Sanji is not saying.

“Thank you,” Zoro says and Sanji shrugs, as if it was nothing.

“You do that when you love someone,” Sanji says and Usopp coughs into his glass of water. Oh god. He just… said that.

“Like a brother?” Zoro asks back and Usopp sighs. Yeah, okay maybe Sanji had said those words to lots of women before and never really meant it, since he’s just a guy who flirts a lot but Usopp knows it means more now.

“No thank you. I already have a lot of brothers.” Sanji, the dumbass, says and smiles.

“Oh,” Zoro says and this time he is the one who looks back to the couple. Before Usopp can somehow distract them from… whatever this was, Zoro frowns harder and then puts his hand over Sanji’s.

Sanji doesn’t react at all, he just continues to eat his pie with his free hand, and Usopp decides not to say anything. They deserve this. The next ten minutes nobody says anything and Usopp gets up to pay for their meal.

When he comes back, Sanji seems still pretty tired, because he is rubbing his visible eye again while still holding onto Zoro.

“Young love, huh?” Perona asks smiling, when she sees them as well. Usopp shrugs.

“Nothing really new, but the first time they acted on it.” Usopp says and he doesn’t care that this may sound weird for the waitress.

“I’m glad you are so open with this,” Perona says and Usopp frowns. Why wouldn’t he be, but then he sees how Sanji looks up to him. He seems a bit afraid and hastily looks away, as if he thinks Usopp wouldn’t be okay with him and Zoro.

“Boys? Are you ready?” Usopp asks and he holds the door open. Zoro gets up and joins him, Sanji behind him, still holding hands. It’s a sight Usopp could get used to, he still takes his time to smile at them.

When Usopp picks Sanji back up again, he smiles at him.

“I’m really proud of you.” He says and Sanji just grabs his pacifier as an answer, while Zoro is already on the wrong path walking in front of them.

Idiots.

*

“Oh my god,” Nami says, when she sees them. They are in the men’s room and before Usopp can stop her, she is already picking Zoro up. Sanji hastily hides behind Usopp’s legs.

The other strawhats had luckily already waited for them and Usopp filled them in on their little problem. Chopper is already looking through his books.

“Hello Nami,” Zoro says and he frowns a bit, when Nami puts him on her hip and boops his nose with her free hand. Usopp has to laugh at the swordsman’s face. He looks almost grumpy now.

“Please tell me you have a solution,” Usopp says and he puts his bag down. He needs some sleep, but he can’t just ignore this problem. He can’t wait for Chopper to find a solution for this.

“Yeah, wait a second. I wanna see my sweet little Sanji first,” Nami answers and because of her soft tone, Sanji actually looks up to her. He still seems way too shy, but Zoro just nods to him and Sanji makes two steps towards her.

“Hi, you look very beautiful,” Sanji chirps and Nami’s eyes actually tear up. She kneels down, Zoro still on her hip and puts her hand on Sanji’s cheek. Sanji smiles and doesn’t say anything else.

“Are you okay, Sanji?” Nami asks and Sanji nods. Zoro starts to wiggle in her arms and when she lets him down, Zoro takes Sanji’s hand, before they both start to toddle over to the bed they normally only use for emergencies.

Well maybe this is one.

“Can we read something, Usopp?” Sanji asks and bites nervously on his bottom lip. Usopp nods and then looks for something they could actually read. He does find the book of the Liar Noland and hopes that’s at least kinda child appropriate.

Usopp even helps them on the bed and pulls the blankets over them. Maybe they are still tired and will sleep some more.

“And we are sure those are Sanji and Zoro?” Nami asks when she watches them. Sanji awkwardly puts his head on Zoro’s shoulder and Zoro gives him his pacifier. Usopp laughs.

“You know how they say that only children and fools tell the truth? Maybe it’s like this. Zoro shows his feelings more openly now and Sanji is enjoying this,” Usopp explains and Nami nods.

“I thought I would never see the day those two are actually cuddling in bed together,” Nami whispers and Usopp nods along to her words. He is hoping Sanji won’t run, as soon as he is an adult again.

“So, you actually found something?” Usopp asks, when Chopper walks back in. Hopefully, the medication to fix this wouldn’t take very long to make. Chopper turns around and gets a book out of his bag and Usopp takes it.

“Yeah, I think I did,” Chopper says and Usopp reads over the article he points out. Usopp sighs. Nothing they could do. It should be gone on its own after 24 hours. At least that means he can actually go to sleep now.

“Okay, so we just sit it out? Great. You’re the best Chopper. I really need to get some shut eye.” Usopp says, ignoring how Chopper dances around at the compliment, and is already at the door, before he hears a tiny voice again.

“Usopp?”

Nami grins, when Usopp stops and turns back around. Zoro is still focused on the book, but Sanji is looking at him.

“Yes, Sanji?” Usopp asks and Chopper goes over to the bed as well. Sanji seems a bit embarrassed but then points at the bathroom door. Usopp groans, while Nami leaves them alone.

“We need to get ready for bed,” Sanji says and Usopp nods. He is right and they all know how much Sanji enjoys his hygiene. Luckily, with Chopper by his side, they manage to get both boys into the bed again in under ten minutes, even though Zoro complained about brushing his teeth.

Since Usopp has no real pajamas for them to wear, he puts them both in some of Sanji’s shirts, even though Sanji would for sure kill him for that later, but Zoro’s shirts are all dirty. Usopp shakes his head and then tucks them in again.

They look so small in the middle of the bed. Chopper is stroking Zoro’s hair again and the swordsman closes his eyes.

“Sleep well,” Chopper says and Usopp actually presses a kiss to Sanji’s forehead this time. Usopp nods to himself and then gets up, Chopper quietly follows him.

“Goodnight Sanji,” Zoro says, when Usopp and Chopper are leaving. Just as Usopp wants to turn off the lights, he sees how Zoro leans closer and kisses Sanji’s cheek.

“Love you,” Sanji mumbles half asleep, but Zoro smiles wider than Usopp has ever seen, before he cuddles back against Sanji. Usopp shakes his head, grinning.

*

It’s nearly noon and the boys are still sleeping. Maybe the curse was too much for them? Usopp has already checked more than three times on them, but they are both still alive. Still breathing. At least Chopper had said that, when he had checked too.

“How long?” Nami asks and Usopp checks his watch.

“Around ten minutes,” Usopp answers and he can’t help it, he is nervous. What if Sanji reacts badly? He is already imagining hearing some screaming from his room, but so far, there is nothing.

“Usopp!”

Oh yeah. That is definitely not the sweet baby cook anymore. Nami giggles into her mug and Usopp swallows dryly, when he hears Sanji’s steps coming up to the galley, where he and Nami are sitting.

“You okay?” Usopp asks, before Sanji can start yelling. Sanji is wearing dark pants and still the - now well fitting - shirt, but over that he wears another jacket. He looks very alarmed.

“Please tell me this was all just a joke and I did not just wake up in Zoro’ arms,” Sanji says and of course that is the moment when Zoro also enters the room. He is wearing his normal clothes again.

“It wasn’t a dream,” Zoro answers for Usopp and Sanji’s eyes widen almost comically.

“Zoro?” Sanji asks and turns back around to his swordsman. Nami shrugs, when Usopp looks at her. They both stay quiet, while Sanji and Zoro are staring at each other again.

“Did you… not mean it?” Zoro asks carefully and Usopp wishes he could leave, but the two are standing in front of the only exit. He doesn’t want to be here, when Sanji breaks Zoro’s heart again. Or they break his neck.

“I… of course I meant it,” Sanji whispers quietly and he seems so nervous, that he looks down and shrugs awkwardly. Sanji is afraid to get hurt, Usopp realizes. He isn’t ashamed of Zoro or his feelings for another man. He just doesn’t think Zoro feels the same.

“Good,” Zoro says and he takes the last three steps towards Sanji to hug him. Nami hides her squeal very badly, when Sanji presses himself even more against Zoro and Usopp huffs. Fucking finally.

“I love you too, Sanji. No matter when,” Zoro whispers, while he presses a kiss to Sanji’s hot cheek and Usopp is really relieved when the cook just nods and holds onto his swordsman.

He would still blackmail them with lots of stories.

*

The next weeks are much happier than Usopp can ever remember. Sanji and Zoro are still shy around each other, but it gets better. Usopp still tells everyone he meets their story just to embarrass Sanji and Zoro.

Until one day he searches for his slingshot and finally finds it in Sanji’s wardrobe. Usopp stops, when he sees the letter that’s laying on Sanji’s hammock. It’s obviously Zoro’s handwriting and Usopp knows he shouldn’t look. But it only says a few words anyway.

“I have loved you since forever.”

[datsleepygirl]

One Piece Talk Chp.1 : Straw Hats

This is a new series that I'm gonna start. I was originally planning to release this on March first, but I got bored and decided to start earlier. I do hope you guys enjoy this! Also, you will see the name Saya a lot. That's how I go by on the internet! Just thought that I should state it here so you guys don't get confused teeheehee.

-

Saya: Ummm....

Sanji: Make room for the lady, Luffy! We're starting the show now you dumbass, stop eatingall the food!

Zoro: Oi where's my booze?! I only agreed to do this cause someone told me that there'll be booze here!

Usopp: Chopper, look at me! *does the chopsticks face*

Chopper: *does the cutiest laugh on the earth*

Saya: I think I'll come back at another time... Maybe I can start with Law and the others frst...

Luffy: NO!!! *Literally wrapps his arms around everyone and pushes them towards him*

Nami: You idiot!

*Boinks* *Boinks*

Nami: *Smiles* Shall we start Saya-chan?

Saya: Y-yeah sure. Everyone just sit back, relax, and enjoy.

*Round of applause and cheers*

Saya: Okay first question goes to the great captain himself.

Luffy: OHHH IT'S MEEEEE! What is it Saya what is it!

Saya: We got a question from and anonymous viewer! They wanted to know if there was a single day that you didnt eat anything, more specifically, meat?

Luffy: Yeah I've had a few days like that

Sanji: Luffy?!

Nami: Doesn't eat?!

Usopp: WHATTTTT?!

Luffy: Gramps used to throw me into the forest, soooooo I dont have anything to eat besides mushrooms. Ahhhhhhh Sanji! I'm hungry!

Sanji: You just ate! Wait until dinner time!

Saya: Okay, next question. Zoro!

Zoro: *jolts up* Huh?! What?!

Saya: There's a question for you from an anonymous viewer, dear.

Zoro: Oh.... Yeah what is it?

Saya: They wrote, 'How many hours of sleep does Zoro get everyday? And what are his hobbies besides sleeping the whole day?'

Sanji: This loser does nothing. He just stays on the ship and be a loser.

Zoro: You wanna go swirly brows?!

Sanji: Bring it on Marimo!

Nami: Stop it you two!

*boinks*

Zoro: Reah, ai wike to train wen ai'm now sweeping... *can't speak due to Nami"s beating*

Saya: Yeah sure.... okay. Let's see, oh we have another one for Zoro! It's from... Tashigi!

Zoro: Huh?! The fuck does that woman want?!

Sanji: Don't disrespect a woman Marimo!

Saya: It's more of a proposal, rather than a question.

Zoro: *scoots over and sees the question on the paper* I'm not gonna fight her! Tell her to leave me alone and stop trying to touch my swords!!!

Saya: It doesn't work like that, but I'm sure shes watching the show right now, sooo.... anyways, next!

*Everyone waiting patiently for the next question!*

Saya: Robin-san! Anonymous asked, 'what's the biggest change you've made after being with the Straw hats for a few years?'

Robin: Oh I'm suprised that I'm getting a question this soon! Well, I'd say that I'm more outgoing and I can now trust others more easily. I know that even if I end up trusting the wrong ones, I still have my very strong nakamas to protect me. *genuine smile*

Everyone: AWWWW ROBINNNN˜˜ *does the shy dance*

Saya: I'm happy to know that you're finally getting the life you deserve! The next one is for Chopper!

Chopper: *Raises hand* I'm here!

Saya: Any new medcine invented? -anonymous

Chopper: Yes!!! I've made one that cures allergies completely! Also also! One that cures a cold faster than the older ones that I've made!

Franky: Superrrrrr cool!

Zoro: That's my man! (new episode vibes, anyone?)

Chopper: Even if you guys complement me I won‘t be happy, you bastards˜˜˜˜

Saya: That's great! It's freezing in my country.... can I have some later?

Chopper: Of course!

Saya: Okay, let's take a break now! Luffy, You want to eat?

Luffy: Yes!!!!!!

<and so the feast begins>

-

<Timeskip brought to you by today's sponsor, Binks. Definitely a perfect gift for those who loves alcohol *Zoro* . Use the discount code, Binks No Sake to get 50% off your first order! Binks, a sake that lives in everyone's fridge.>

-

Saya: Well that was a messy meal. We still have a few questions left, so lets get this over with! Okay let's see... Oh My. *Nosebleed*

Sanji: Saya-chan are you okay?!

Saya: Y-yeah.... ummmm Brook, you might want to check your mail box.

Brook: Oh what's in there, may I ask?

Saya: A crazy fan of your's sent a pair of panties to you. And, ummmmm, you know.... (And don't do this irl kids, this is really fukin disturbing)

Sanji: It's not fair! Why don't I get anything?!

Saya: Well you DO have a question from Pudding.

Sanji: Oh Pudding-chan!!! What's wrong? Does she need help? Id she in danger?

Saya: This looks like a draft that she accidentally submitted. 'It's not like I like you or anything, Sanji!......-san'

Sanji: Ahhhhh Pudding-chan˜˜˜ I'm so glad that she's safe˜˜˜

Saya: Anddddd that's about it! We still haven't received some of the submittions, so we'll probs continue next time! Say goodbye, minna!

Luffy: Shishishishi˜ Byeeeeeeee!

Everyone: Bye!

-

And that's it! I hope you guys enjoyed it! If you guys are willing to, please leave some questions for your favourite characters! You can choose to ask anonymously or if you want to be featured in the next post, just tell me! Please do leave questions, I'm running out of ideas for the Strawhats :(

[imanonymousfanfic]

How do you think the strawhat would be with a crewmate who has a cat (or like three) ?

I am so sorry this took so long to answer. I've had university deadlines.

Anyway

This is my personal take on the characters. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had fun writing this. Thank you anon ❤️

Luffy would LOVE to have cats aboard!! Luffy would be giggling childishly after hearing the new crew mate has cats, unless that’s why he asked for them to join in the first place (no surprise there). Since it’s Luffy, and he’s oblivious as hell, he’ll probably do a couple things that would get them feisty, earning him a good cat fight. He’d end up looking like he does after Nami has a go at him. Luffy’s love will go on endlessly, as they’re not part of the StrawHat family. Before the cats can explore the ship, the idea of teaching the fur balls some “cool tricks” will come up, maybe even plotting to sneak some meat behind Sanji’s back. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t... probably not, knowing Luffy. He’s good company for them, a good partner to play with if he has a feather stick. You will find them resting on his belly as they both nap in the sun on Sunny's head. And without a doubt, ass will be kicked if a single whisker on their faces is touched out of malice.

For a brief second, Zoro will question the cats safety: traveling on water, but at the end of the day it’s not his problem… kinda. Despite his stiff “cool guy” exterior, the swords man would definitely jump in after any of the cuties that have gone over board. He will angrily mutter about their reckless climbing and playfulness as he rushes them out of the water. I mean he does the same for Luffy, so what’s new? He’d give them some small here and there, nothing too special. Their compatibility will really shine when they crawl all over the man during his meditation, they will have fun tapping at his gold earrings, and as much as he would like his silence, the cats company will make him smile. There’s no doubt about it, Zoro loves them, he just expresses his affection to his crew own way. They’re part of the family and their silly antics will make his night shifts a lot more entertaining.

Sanji will ban any cats from the kitchen right away, which is entirely understandable. Cats shed like crazy and don’t think about where their paws have been. They would knock over things carelessly, even on purpose at times when they want attention. That will irk Sanji. Should it ever happen, though, he’d take the opportunity to show off his cool moves in front of Robin and Nami. His envy would melt the man, seeing them curled up in the ladies laps too, but that’s just Sanji being himself. Since are respectable for the most part, and for this reason Sanji wouldn’t treat them any less than he would the rest of the crew. He’ll work hard on their meals, spoiling their little toe beans off.

Chopper will be the CUTEST with cats, he will be befriend them on an emotional level much faster than the others as he’s one himself. He’s in tune with them, and since he’s a doctor, he will be eager to pick up on veterinary studies to care for them. You will find him often studying their anatomy, even physically studying the little fur balls himself. He’d play with them lots, mostly with him originally chasing them, but knowing Chopper, they will turn that around. You’ll catch Chopper reading books with the cats crawling over him and covering his desk. An adorable sight to see.

Franky is definitely more a dog person, but he won’t reject the adorable purring of a cat. He’ll walk around with one or two of them perched on his shoulders, the height and the stability of Franky is a fun place to hang out. They see lots, and he’s a fun person. When not busy, Franky will take a moment to give out some pets, maybe even making some kissy noises at them. He’ll incorporate some kind of play pen or netted area so they can play safely. You’ll definitely catch him blubbering emotionally about them at some point. It’s Franky, after all, he’s a ginormous softie. When maintaining the ship, he’ll keep the cats locked away for their safety, all the heavy materials and tools could be dangerous, and the last thing he wants is them hurt while they get a little too curious. Let’s hope whenever they crawl over him, none of their claws have a scratch at his banana hammock.

100% Robin is a cat mom, calling it immediately. She’s elegant and has that cheekiness that cats posses too. She likes to soak up some sun, explore her surroundings to understand them better, and is intelligent with a talent in sneaking around. Robin confirmed to be a human-cat? All jokes aside, Robin’s companionship with the cats is calm, just like how many of them like it. They’d be spoiled with lap cuddles, and her devil fruit will make sure none of them are left feeling jealous. Her and Chopper will be often spotted hanging together, or helping the vet check ups.

For some reason, I have a hunch Brook is scared of cats and his hair would pop off seeing them. He’d jump behind one of the crew members, his bones rattling loudly as you hear his cheerful voice pronounce his fear. Luckily for him they’re not dogs, his femur would be gone in seconds if they were. He’d be nervous around the little things at first but with time he will open up to them. Seeing how the crew plays and cuddles with them will make him step out of his comfort zone, and next thing you know, they’re huddled around him as he plays the violin. Music, after all, is calming for cats. He will have his own furry fans to give him all of the love, which will warm his heart (if he had one).

Nami will think they’re super cute, but wouldn’t be quite as enthusiastic as some of the other crew members. That’s just Nami though. She’d definitely be cracking some skulls if you hurt any of them, and she’s a very protective cat mom. She might not be the super cuddly type, but she doesn’t care about them any less than the rest of the crew. She’d save a little bit of money on the side for some nicely made collars, which will be a BIG deal coming from her. They’d be gold plated, or something nice along the lines which is definitely her way of showing affection. No matter how cute they are, however, they won’t be caught in her cartography space - their paws are chaotic and Nami needs her maps to be pristine. As cute as inky paw prints are, she rather not have them.

Usopp will talk to the cats a lot, befriending them like they’re any other person. Even though they can’t understand him or his exaggerated stories, they’re entertained by him no matter what. He’s enrapturing, able to hold their gaze as they get lost in his enthusiastic tone. They sure feel playful around him too, his goofy behaviour is exactly what they need, but they might end up chasing him across the ship with how much a coward he can be at times. With his ingenious building skills, he’d take the time to make them some cool toys, a crazy laser, a feather toy, who knows what Usopp has up his sleeve. Oh, the ideas are endless and Usopp’s designs will be spoiling their tails off. If only Sniper King is able to see how adorable they are… *wink-wink, nudge-nudge*

As I’m not fully caught up and his character to me is still quite hard to write about, I will try to capture Jinbe to my best understanding of him.

I imagine him to find great companionship with cats, understanding their free will, but sense of loyalty they have. Unlike dogs, who are loyal to nearly anyone, a cats sense of loyalty is out of a devoted love they choose to share. Jinbe holds a similar integrity with the relationships he choose to be a part of. Naturally their natures of being are opposites, as he’s a fish man, strongest when in water, while cats run from it. They share a wholesome companionship. If it isn’t Zoro first in the water to save them, Jinbe will be the next to be a kitty rescuer.

[shreddedparchment]

A World of Our Own Pt.07

Decrepit Old Grump

9/29/2020

Pairing: Bucky x Reader          Word Count: 5,510

Warnings: language, smut, fluff, angst

A/N: Y’all, I have not edited this chapter much at all. I edited the first part and that’s about it. I’m too tired to edit and I may come back and edit later but I didn’t want to make y’all wait anymore as I already made y’all wait a long time before I came back to it. I’m sorry if it stinks. <3 If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work. xoxo

Bucky is gutted.

He can feel the weight of his guilt growing as you sit there on the beach staring out at the crashing waves, sky turning an inky purple where it kisses the sea as the sun sets.

Your skin is enveloped by ocean wind, briny and thick it coats you with sea salt making you sticky with its humidity.

In this light, you’re glowing. A beauty. With tears slowly rolling across one cheek then the other as your sorrow wounds you repeatedly. Over and over you play it all in your head. Remembering the sounds of the chopper, the violent swish of tall grass and palms, gunpowder saturating the air as he lays on the ground and you panic over him pressing your hands against his wound.

Reaching up, he feels the spot, pressing his palm flat against the spot now healed and only a little sore.

The slump of your shoulders, the dead weight of your hands as they rest at your sides on the sand without moving, Bucky can see it all from where he stands by the hut.

You’ve given up. All hope gone. Not only are you stuck here on this island forever, but you were betrayed by Ryan.

Someone that Bucky suddenly wonders might have meant more to you than he realized. A real spark.

Of course, Bucky knows that you love him. It’s in your eyes, or it was before you were both permanently marooned here because of him—this is all his fault after all.

Still, maybe you cared more for Ryan than you were willing to admit? Could you have loved him too?

The two of you had been close. Despite your suspicions, your gentle guarding against him, could your spark have turned into real feelings?

Bucky hates this thing, this oozing pit of green sludge he knows is jealousy.

He knows he shouldn’t feel it. This is bigger than who anyone might be attached to emotionally or attracted to physically. This is life and death.

With being left here, all hopes of a real future are gone.

No jobs. No family. No friends. No children…Why had he gone and told you he wanted to have them with you?

How much must that be hurting you now?

Idiot.

Of course, with you hating him now, maybe the very thought of having kids with him is repulsive? He’d never been able to see himself as a father before you. Maybe this is all for the best? No matter how much it hurts to think.

He hesitates, waiting to see if you’ll turn or rise. You haven’t eaten all day and he knows its depression keeping you anchored here to this beach. A final depression. Dark and consuming.

However, he also knows that despite your giving up, even now your eyes scan the horizon for possible ships. Not in hope, merely habit.

When you continue not to move, he breathes in deep to gather his courage and moves towards you slowly.

You don’t even twitch at the sound of his approach.

You don’t even care that he’s there. Do you?

You’ve been so distant since Ryan left, sleeping in his now empty room on the floor. Bucky was willing to give you space at first.

How you must not be able to look at him…

The pit in his stomach widens, bringing with it painful aches of missing you pressed into his side. He misses the smell of your skin and the touch of your lips against his throat when you’d wake up in the middle of the night, searching for comfort.

He's lost you and he has only himself to blame.

However, whether you hate him or not, he can’t let you keep neglecting yourself the way you have. He can’t keep his distance anymore. Not completely.

He’s still responsible for keeping you alive, even more so with Ryan’s deception.

He'll force you if he has to. He needs you. Even if you can never love him again, he needs to see, hear, and know that you’re well.

~~~~~~~~~~

The hiss of the sand as he walks to you is soft with deliberate steps taken towards you then he stops.

Beside you, Bucky crouches and he penetrates your peripherals, filing you with wretched agony at the scowl in place on his beautiful face.

That face had smiled at you once. Kissed you. Assured you of safety. Loved you.

Now…how can he not despise you after your misguided trust?

How can he not hate you for your reckless friendship with that stupid man. You’re so angry at him you can’t even think his name.

You don’t want to remember him, but your heart will not let you forget.

You’d thought it so many times. So often. He’s a good man. A good father. He’s my friend and he’d never do anything to hurt us.

How very wrong you’d been. How foolish and trusting and generally stupid.

“Get up.” Bucky orders, his voice hard like it had once been so long ago when he’d dragged you up from the beach and through the trees where he’d put the fuselage.

You thought you’d heard the last of that voice. If he hates you, you suppose it makes sense that he’d adopt it once again. Why would he speak with love to you when he clearly can’t trust you or your judgement?

It hurts to hear his dislike of you, you can’t bear to see it to. So, you keep your eyes trained on the horizon, looking at nothing.

You don’t answer him either. This upsets him.

“You can’t keep ignoring me. And you can’t keep sitting here, crying your eyes out, not eating.” He huffs, gets to his feet and towers over you, legs spread slightly as he waits for you to look at him maybe, hands flexing in and out of fists.

What does he want from you? How can he expect you to respond to him when he’s like this after months of feeling his love?

He hadn’t even stopped you when you came back to the hut and told him you were going to sleep in the other room.

“Whatever you want.” He’d said in monotone, sitting stiff by the fire after you’d just cleaned, stitched, and dressed his wound.

He let you go; let you sleep away from him. You’d almost hoped he’d ask you back into your room, but he didn’t, and you weren’t bold enough to ask to come back when he so clearly didn’t want you.

“This isn’t helping anyone, Y/N. Get up.” Bucky chastises, driving a nail through your heart with every stern word. “Are you seriously just going to sit there?”

Your lips twitch tempted to shout at him to leave you alone. Very nearly you look up at him and yell at him to let you starve and die because that would leave him unburdened and free of you. But you picture it, his face, all scowly and angry. A hate in those steel ice eyes that had once overflowed with adoration and love.

No, you can’t look at him. It’ll break your heart more than it already does to wake up in the mornings without him at your side.

You mash your lips together, refusing to answer him and tilt your chin up in defiance.

It happens so quickly and you’re all of a sudden upside down, or…close to it.

Bucky swoops down and grabs you, tossing you over his shoulder and you’re not sure how he does it but he won’t let go and he doesn’t seem to have trouble lifting you—he pulled a literal piece of a plane inland so why would he?—as he turns and marches towards the tree line.

“Bucky! Let me go!” You scream, startled as you bounce against his back.

Trying desperately to find a hold on something, you push yourself against his waist but your hands keep slipping over his hips where you finally take hold of the loops of his jeans and use them to anchor yourself so that you’re not bobbing up and down as much.

“Bucky please-” You begin, an attempt to plead with him because this is the closest you’ve been to him in a month and you can smell him. The heat he radiates, just a bit hotter than normal, penetrates every fiber of clothing you’re wearing.

“I don’t know where the hell you got the idea that this behavior is alright. You want to starve yourself? You do it once I’m dead. Do you have any idea what you look like? What you smell like?” Bucky argues, strutting faster as he swerves between the trees.

The embarrassment you feel overwhelms you into silence because you don’t know what you look like or what you smell like. It must not be good if it’s made Bucky this angry. You feel shame suddenly that the man you love is seeing you like this.

For it to get so bad that he breaks whatever distance he’d wanted to keep between the two of you, it must be disgusting.

Your heart is suddenly thrumming for a whole new reason, and you’re very aware of how close to your butt Bucky’s face must be and with his enhanced senses, just how well he must be able to smell.

“Bucky put me down.” You squirm, pushing against him and pulling yourself up enough to grip his shoulders and hold yourself up a little straighter as the fear in you builds.

His arms only tighten around your legs and waist, refusing to loosen his grip as he continues to march forward.

“Bucky…” You push against him harder, a frenzy taking you over as you kick and squirm, hoping to maybe knock him off balance but instead he stops and suddenly, you’re weightless.

You fall for what feels like forever as your face is overtaken with shock. You see his frown as you fall, his eyes boring into yours until you hit water and sink down into cool green waters.

You gasp, swallowing water but quickly find your footing and push yourself up from the floor of what you realize is the bathing pool that Bucky had rebuilt closer to the hut.

You gasp and choke as you surface, eyes wide with panic as you push the water out of your face and try to catch your breath.

“You wanna let yourself fall apart, you do it on the other side of the island where I can’t watch you do it, because I won’t sit here and put up with it, Y/N. I can’t.” Bucky points at you, his finger firm.

“What the fuck, Bucky?!” You gasp, still wheezing from swallowing water.

“I get that this isn’t exactly an ideal situation.” He starts, pacing a step away from you before coming right back up to the lip of that pool and presses his hand to his chest. “I’m not innocent. I’ve been paying for the crimes I’ve committed ever since Steve pulled me back from the brink and I know that I’ve done a lot of wrong since. Getting you stranded here on this island…if I could take it back, I would. If I could fix it so that you weren’t on that plane when they blew it up, I would do it in a heartbeat.

“I get that this is my fault. I understand that them wanting me dead has put you in this fucked up situation, stuck here with no possible escape, and hate me if you want to. That’s fine, I’m used to it. I get it if you never want to speak to me again, but please stop neglecting yourself. If you want to punish me, I’ll think of some other way for you to do it, but please…please don’t make me the reason you die here because I couldn’t stand it, Y/N. I’ll find you a way off of this place.

“I’ll build a raft or a bigger fire or…I’ll think of something, just…I need you to eat something. I need you to take care of yourself. I need you to care. Don’t let what I did hurt you more than I already have.

“I’ll fix this. I promise. Alright?” He’s still fierce in his words, but slowly his anger has receded into begging.

Before you stands a desperate man, asking you to keep living and all you can think about is one thing.

“I…” You swallow hard, fighting the knots in your stomach and the aching squeeze of your heart as a fleeting hope takes shine within it. “I don’t hate you, Bucky.”

The words are mostly air, still too stunned by his speech and certain parts of it in particular to catch your breath fully from the sudden dunk into very cool water.

He takes a breath, staring at you as you look at his feet, shaking your head before finally meeting his eyes.

You blink against the water still dripping down from your hair into them and wipe at the drops that get trapped in your lashes.

“What?” He asks, his own voice rising in pitch in confusion.

“I don’t hate you.” You repeat, this time strongly with a voice so clear that the birds making nest for the night go quiet. “I could never hate you. How could you even think that?”

You lick your lips, wiping more water away from you face while Bucky stares at you, blinking as he processes the words you’ve spoken. It’s clear in his expression the flurry of thoughts that must be speeding through his mind.

“But you moved out of ro-” He begins, but you don’t let him finish, wrapping your arms around yourself to battle the chill that’s begun to set in.

“Because I thought that you were angry with me…because I trusted him. I kept insisting that he was our friend and I was so…so stupid for believing him.” Your voice breaks, pent up sorrow breaking through as you look away from him because you can’t bear to see the look of disappointment on his face when you admit your crimes.

He says nothing.

“If I’d been more careful maybe we might have noticed something sooner? If I hadn’t been so won over by the story of his kid or the way that he pretended to be nice, I’m sorry, Bucky. I’m sorry that I didn’t-”

There’s a splash and you blink against the rush of water. You have no time to search for the source because he’s there, in front of you, his hands wiping away the water from your cheeks.

He presses himself so close that there isn’t a part of you that isn’t touching him. You tilt your head to look at him, meet his eye and see a desperation in his own as his lips curl into a small sad smile. His eyes are soft, his brow is raised at the center as he drinks in your own expression of surprise.

“You really don’t hate me?” He wonders, voice soft and sweet and full of fading anguish.

“No.” You nearly sob, shaking your head as much as you can in his vice-like hold. “I could never hate you, Bucky. I’ve told you before. You’re my hero. My savior in more ways than one stupid. I love you.”

He closes the distance between you, fierce hungry lips painfully pressed to yours until he gets his fill then pulls back to sweep more water away from your cheeks.

“I’m not angry.” He whispers, reaching down to wrap his right arm around you. “I could never be angry with you for seeing the good in people. How can I when that’s what made you dumb enough to love me?”

You laugh, ecstatic and slightly insulted. “Did you just call me dumb?”

“Fuck yeah, I did.” Bucky shakes his head. “Stupid, lovable, dummy. You’re a hothead too. I hate that in a woman.”

His teasing fills your belly with butterflies and sweet warm tumbles.

You laugh again, then reach behind his neck to pull him down for another kiss, this time holding it for longer as you let your lips meld with his. Soft and fluid as a month’s worth of insecurity washes away in the water of the pool.

He sighs, angling your head with his metal hand as he parts his own lips and the heat of his breath parts your own. He deepens the kiss and you welcome him, a small whimper breaking the silence as you melt against his chest.

He pulls back to tilt his head the other way, “Will you come sleep in our bed now?” He asks, before meeting your lips again.

You nod.

“Mmmph.” He moans, pushing you back until you hit the pool’s wall.

He nudges your legs open and you lift yourself easily in the water and wrap them around his waist as he presses in against you, flesh hand sliding down to your bottom to grab a firm hold.

You break the kiss, gasping as his lips drift to your neck until a sudden flash draws your eyes upwards followed by a sudden boom.

Bucky pulls back, staring up at the sky with you.

“This’ll hit in half an hour.” Bucky guesses, and you know it might hit sooner.

“Bad?” You wonder, dropping back down to your feet as you continue to stare at the canopy as it begins to sway more strongly as the wind picks up.

“Bad enough.” Bucky frowns. “I need to go get the tools secured in the hut and check the nets.”

“I’ll help.” You offer and begin to move around him, but he turns back to you, planting you firmly against the wall.

“No. I wasn’t lying when I said you need a bath. You don’t stink as bad as I made it seem, but you haven’t been taking care of yourself, kitten. I’m not okay with what.” He’s stern again but this time, you can’t blame him.

“I’m sorry.” You allow, feeling shame once again for your inability to be strong through this.

“Don’t be.” He shakes his head. “This isn’t your fault. Or mine. We’re just here and we lost our way for a bit. I should have spoken up sooner. We’ll do better, right?”

You nod, eager to move on from this hiccup. “I’ll do better.”

“We’ll do better, Y/N.” He corrects, reaching up to caress your head. “There should still be some soap in the basket. I’ll bring you a change of clothes.”

He pulls himself out of the pool, untying the basket where you keep the soap you’d made up in the branches of a tree away from where animals might find them. He places it beside the edge and as another flash fills the sky, he hurries back towards the beach to prepare for the coming storm.

~~~~~~~~~~

The hut shakes, a charge fills the air, and you sit up gasping. Clutching the thing almost worn blanket close, you turn your head this way and that, searching for the chopper.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Warm arms wrap around your shoulders, pull you closer as the thunder rumbles into nothing.

The rain is still pelting the outside of the hut, a constant stream of white noise as rain and wind thrash the beach and your island home.

The storm has gotten worse over the past few hours, the waves are loud and chaotic, rising higher than they’ve risen since you’ve been here. The beach and campfire where you usually sit and cook are under water.

Bucky building the hut on stilts has paid off and you curl into him as he drags you back down to lay in the plane cushion bed.

“It’s alright, it’s just the storm.” He promises, still half asleep.

You turn towards him, wrapping your arms around him, placing your palm flat against his chest.

“The storm.” You repeat, still mostly asleep yourself.

As your heart begins to slow, you reach up to trace the shape of his ear, slipping your hands up into his hair you pull him down for a kiss.

He gives it to you, his lips gentle and coaxing as he responds eagerly to the attention.

“Bucky…” You fret, thunder overhead shaking the hut once more as lightning flashes and illuminates the inside of the room.

The sky is a black void of weather, scary and unyielding as mother nature asserts her dominance over both your lives.

“It’s okay…” He promises, traces the curve of your body from hip to shoulder, then back down to your hip.

You snuggle closer, pulling him down for another kiss and this one he holds, his tongue slipping past your lips.

Toes curling, you sigh, pushing yourself up over him for only a second before he rolls you onto your back.

Already mostly naked, Bucky pushes his briefs down then pulls your panties aside and without hesitation pushes into you, stretching your heated cunt with his thick throbbing cock.

Both of you freeze, feeling each other for the first time as the sky flashes and thunders.

His mouth finds yours swallowing your moan as you both give in consequences be damned because you’re both here. You’re stuck, deserted, with no hope of rescue and you love him so much.

He thrusts into you, burying himself deep.

It’s a hazy dream, the pleasure his body pulls from you, until he’s pushing your legs open wide and you obey because you want him closer, deeper.

Suddenly the world is crystal clear. Sharp and detailed and you can feel the tip of his cock sliding against the walls of your cunt, prodding and sliding making your legs quiver and flex.

“More…” You beg, hands raking against taut shoulders, tracing cool metal. “…Bucky…”

He pushes himself onto his knees, angling himself up further until he’s mounted you and you’re trapped in the cage of his arms.

He grunts, driving you mad with the sounds he’s making because they’re better than anything you could have dreamt up.

You pull him down until he’s got his full weight on you, crushing you down as his hips continue to thrust.

The wind grows more violent, the rain falls harder. The lightning feels endless and the thunder never stops but you hear none of it as Bucky’s lips kiss your neck, his tongue tracing circles before his teeth bite into your throat.

The heat in your belly swells over, down into your hips and pelvis and your body is overwhelmed with pleasure. Toes curled, arms locked around Bucky’s shoulders, you stop breathing.

Bucky keeps pumping, drilling into you faster as he chases his own release then he stutters, hips clapping against your thighs as he spills into you, grunting with every thrust.

He doesn’t stop. He won’t stop. Even when he’s finished, his lips trail across your skin, searching for more.

He reaches down and pushes the bottom of your shirt all the way up, exposing one breast which he takes into his mouth, nibbling gently.

“More?” He checks, moving to the other, never once pulling away.

“Never stop.” You hope, pushing him until he’s on his back.

As you settle over him, hands pressed against his chest, he licks his lips and traces your sides. Stopping at your hips, he licks his lips in anticipation.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Bucky!” You call, searching the beach in the distance, too tired to walk all the way out to the nets.

“Yeah?” He calls back, his shout distant enough that you know he’s in the water just beyond the rocks.

“Lunch is ready. Come eat before it gets cold.”

“Let me just finish with this trap.”

“Okay but hurry up.” You relent, knowing that he won’t come until he’s satisfied.

You move the fish away from the flame, careful and quick as they’re hot. Placing the extras on one of the trays you’d salvaged way back when from the plane, you move to take your usual seat beside the fire.

Ten months.

It’s been ten months of being stranded on the island. The two made bearable by the fact that Ryan’s betrayal had helped you and Bucky push into a new stage of intimacy.

You have sex often. Maybe not everyday as sometimes you’re both too exhausted to do more than sleep, but often enough that you’ve begun to wonder if you’ve made the right choice to give in.

There is no doubt in your mind that should a baby come, you and the child would be safe and well kept with Bucky at your side. Although the fear still lingers that something could go wrong, with either you or the baby, you’re sure that if you weren’t around to care for it, Bucky would do an amazing job as protector and keeper.

He doesn’t talk about it, but you know he, like you, wonders.

You’d stopped having regular periods well before you and Bucky began to have sex, so there would be no real way for you to know until you got big enough to show.

With a sigh, you push these thoughts away. This worry is only one of many and there are others much more important than a possible child.

With the storms getting worse, and hurricane season almost over, Bucky is sure that the island will see one more storm before it’s really over.

The idea of being caught in more scary weather fills your tummy with big bats and you want to forget the worry almost as soon as you remember it.

You unwrap your fish and pull it apart, careful to avoid the bones as you pick it to pieces and begin to eat.

You’re almost halfway through when Bucky finally settles in across from you, sighing with relief as he smiles and reaches for his plate.

“Everything good with the nets?” You check, mouth full of fish.

“Yeah, they’re fine. Just had to cast it out a little farther. Season’s changing so we might have to look for new fishing spots.” He explains and tears into his fish hungrily.

“We need to find more boar.” You sigh, pulling more bones from your fish. “We need the protein.”

He meets your gaze, blinking slowly as he watches you eat before nodding.

Neither of you has to vocalize your worry about protein and your health in case of a pregnancy.

“I think I spotted some yuca root on the far side of the island too. Some nopal and jícama too. We’ve been eating a lot of fruit; we’ll need to mix in some vegetables…for…it’ll be good for you.” He smiles, trying so hard to be relaxed.

“Vegetables…” You lament, moaning with desire for the long-forgotten tastes.

“I know. I’d love some good french fries.”

“Oh my-why would you bring up french fries?!”

Bucky chuckles. “Sorry. Just popped in there.”

Nervously, you lick your lips of the flavor of fish and set aside your leaf and tray.

“Bucky?”

“Yeah?” He doesn’t look up, focused instead on his food.

“We should make plans, just in case.”

“Not yet.” He sighs, the corners of his mouth curving down.

“We need to.”

“Not yet.” He insists.

“Bucky.” You press.

“Damn it, Y/N,” He looks up at you, shaking his head in resistance. “Not yet.”

“We have to, babe.” You smile sadly, shrugging your shoulders. “You may not want to think about it, but we have to. We gave in and with that comes the chance that the two of us could turn into three and we can’t afford to put this off. If something happens to me while I’m giving birth-”

“Okay!” He cuts you off, nodding. His eyes a little wild as he thinks quicky. “I agree, we need to make plans, but right now I’m not worried about what could happen in months. I need to find the caves Ryan was talking about and take some rations over there so that we have somewhere to go when this hurricane inevitably hits.”

“It might not come.” You argue, more hopeful than right.

“It will.” Bucky assures you. “And I can’t afford to get distracted until we’ve gotten all that setup. We will have this conversation just not yet. Okay? I know you’re worried. So am I.”

“And excited?” You check, a little timidly because yes, although you’re worried, you can’t deny the appeal that having Bucky’s baby holds.

A little one running around that looks like him? Sounds like him? The baby could very well look like you and sound like you too and that wouldn’t be so bad, but a little Bucky is too appealing not to hope for.

Bucky leans towards you, reaching to place his hand over yours as his eyes soften. “Of course, kitten. Yes, I’m excited too. It would be much sooner than I was hoping but I meant it when I said that I wanted this with you.”

Relief washes over you and you’re able to relax a little.

“But we’ll have time for that after I make sure I have somewhere safe for us to go.” He takes his hand back, focusing on his food once again.

You allow him to eat in silence for a bit, leaning back against the palm log as you watch the horizon with unfocused eyes.

A terrible thought has been growing in your mind for a while now. A thought you’ve been too scared to speak aloud for fear of robbing Bucky of his hope. The more determined he gets though you know you can’t avoid it any longer.

“Bucky?”

“Hm?”

“Bucky what if he lied about that too?” You try to subdue your fear as best you can, but you know you can’t hide it all. “What if he was dropped off on the island at some point and then came and joined us as the co-pilot-”

No, wait. You do remember seeing him on the plane though. He really was the co-pilot. Still…

“What if he jumped out and got picked up and then sent back to make sure you were dead? What if there are no caves? What if there’s nowhere safe on the island to sit through a stronger hurricane than the one when we crashed here?”

“The mountains on the other side of the island are large and they go on for almost the entire shoreline. Even if he made up his caves, I’m sure there are some. There has to be.” Bucky insists, determination invigorating his voice. “I’ll find us somewhere safe, kitten. I promise.”

“You’ve been promising me somewhere safe since we landed here. I’m starting to think you mean it.” You tease and hope it’s enough to draw a smile after the cloud you just summoned.

Lucky you, it works, and Bucky huffs a small laugh.

“I love you.” He tells you, voice low and soft.

“I love you, too.”

As the two of you stupidly get lost in each other’s eyes, the sudden sound of a voice echoes in the heated air.

You can’t make out what it says, but it’s clear though distant.

Both your faces are overcome with confusion as you continue to stare at each other.

“What was that?” You wonder, and Bucky shakes his head.

The voice is louder this time, still unintelligible but still clear enough to be a voice.

Bucky suddenly bolts up, turning and running down along the beach from where he’d come.

“Bucky?” You hurry up, chasing after him.

He stops suddenly and squints towards the rocks that jut out into the water blocking the side of the island where you have the nets set up.

“What is it?” You gasp, tired from the run to keep up.

“Shh.” Bucky orders and you swallow hard, trying desperately to quiet your breathing.

“Can anyone hear me?” The voice says, deep and easy. “I am looking for a decrepit old man, probably grumpy. Most definitely surly and usually wearing a frown. Long hair. Needs a cut. Worse looking than me.”

From around the rocks comes a boat, a small vessel meant to travel from a larger ship to land. On it is a whole crew of marines. At the bow holding a steel gray megaphone to his lips is a handsome black man, sturdily built wearing a familiar red and gray suit.

“Bucky…” You gasp, your heart nearly seizing as your brain tries to process the fact that there is a boat full of soldiers right offshore.

“Sam?” Bucky whispers, too shocked to speak any louder.

As this Sam spots the two of you, he breaks into a smile and drops the megaphone to slap against his thigh. He’s ecstatic to see Bucky and when he lifts the megaphone back to his mouth, he laughs once.

“You are a pain in my ass, Barnes.” Sam says, smirking at him from the boat as it stops far enough out that it’ll be an easy swim to reach them. “Why am I always looking for you and why can’t you make it easier? I’m putting a chip in your ass as soon as we get back home.”

[oldjane]

So this friend of mine, whose tumblr handle I don’t even know, so Imma link to their ao3 profile instead, was going feral about some movie they saw, and about a JoeNicky AU for it, and I haven’t seen the movie, don’t even remember the name of it, but well.

Here is... Some AU (unedited).

“We have to get out of here!”

Nile’s panicked voice spurs him on. He is running to the dock, hoping the emergency pods are not too badly damaged by the ravage going on around them. Joe is half a step in front of him.

Nicky doesn’t know where everybody else is – most of the inhabitants got evacuated late yesterday afternoon, but there will still be dozens of people who didn’t make it onto the evac shuttles. Nobody expected disaster to strike quite so soon. Nicky knows pods have been leaving all day, but they thought they had at least two more days. There will be people trapped, families who are desperately trying to make it to the pods –

Nicky stops, tries to turn around, but Joe notices and grabs his wrist.

“Nicky, no! We need to go, now!”

“But there might be others, we should –”

“No!” Joe’s voice is sharp, and he tugs at Nicky’s arm desperately. “There is no time!”

His eyes are huge, and his curls stick to his sweaty temple. His shirt is dirty and there is a gash on his arm. It is a far cry from the cool and calm engineer who arrived almost three years ago, introducing himself to Nicky with a wink. But he is still the most handsome man Nicky ever saw.

He fell in love with Joe at that first wink, and somehow, Joe didn’t seem to mind Nicky being painfully shy and blushing fervently as he awkwardly managed to introduce himself. Over the next two months, Joe simultaneously managed to draw Nicky out of his shell and make himself a fixture in Nicky’s comfort zone. They’ve been the best of friends and Nicky kept his feelings firmly under lock, afraid of losing Joe completely.

“Come on, Nicky, please!”

Nicky throws one last look over his shoulder, and Joe almost dislocates Nicky’s shoulder, he is yanking his arm so wildly.

There is nothing Nicky can do, and so he follows Joe. He would follow Joe everywhere.

The dock is in complete disarray. A lot of the stations are empty, and Nicky is glad that so many people got out. The far side of the dock is completely destroyed, and some of the remaining pods seem too damaged to risk the journey.

Nile yells at them to hurry. They run to where she found a pod in a good state.

“I don’t know – I never used these things –”

She is trying to enter the correct code with hands that tremble terribly, and Nicky looks at Joe. Joe nods, and he covers Nile’s hand with his own.

“It’s really easy,” he shushes, and he turns her towards him while Nicky makes quick work of unlocking the pod and firing up the systems. He hears Joe talk to Nile, explain to her how the pods work, what will happen. His voice is soft and calm, and Nile sniffs away her tears as she nods.

Nicky’s heart could explode. Here is Joe, taking care of one of their friends, as if this is just another day and they are not minutes away from being completely wiped away.

Nile steps into the pod, and without hesitation, Nicky and Joe strap her in, as if they have done this a thousand times. Their hands brush. Nicky feels the usual combo of heart flutters and a sense of belonging whenever he and Joe touch, but there is no time for that. He keeps running the procedures, and Joe keeps talking to Nile.

“You will get to the surface, and we will be right behind you, okay? I promise we won’t leave you alone. A beacon signal will alert home base, it will be no longer than thirty minutes before the chopper picks us up. You can open the hatch as soon as this light comes on, okay?” He points to the clear indicator. “The systems are all working perfectly,” he continues, when Nicky reaches the final check. “Tell me what you have to do.”

“Enter my personal code and the take-off code – seven-nine-four, enter, three-nine-three. Then the green button. Close the hatch.” she says, sounding almost normal, ticking it off on her fingers. “When I get up, this light will come on and I open the hatch. You will be right behind me. The chopper will be there not long after.”

“Good,” Joe replies fondly. “You’ll be fine, Nile. Keep your eyes on the screen, the counter will start as soon as you take off. We will see you up there in fifteen minutes.”

As Joe reassures Nile one last time, Nicky scans the stations. They can’t go back to the main section anymore, they need to find undamaged pods here and they need to be fast. The warning signs for critically low oxygen levels have been blasting for at least twenty minutes now. They could run out any minute. But most stations are empty, and the pods that are still here are broken and rusty.

There. Nicky sees one, and as soon as Nile closes the hatch, he pulls Joe along.

He opens the pod, and he breathes out in relief when it reacts immediately. It seems to be functional, and he pushes Joe in, entering the launch key.

Joe goes along, strapping himself in.

“Leave it, Nicky, I can do this myself, get to a pod –”

Nicky knows exactly when Joe notices what Nicky already knew. He starts unstrapping, but Nicky is faster. He locks Joe’s chair in place, keeps working on the take-off checklist.

“Nicky, stop, we can find you one further along –”

“There is no time, Joe,” Nicky says calmly. “We will run out of oxygen in seconds.”

“Come in, then, I won’t leave you –”

“There is not enough oxygen for two, Joe, you know that.”

“We will breathe as little as possible, hold our breath, something! Nicky, they never even tested that stuff, we could –”

“We are not risking it, Joe. One of us has to make it up there alive for Nile. You promised her.”

Joe is frantic now.

“Not without you, Nicky, stop, please!”

He reaches for the touch screen, trying to override Nicky’s commands. Nicky slaps him full in the face, and Joe falls back in the chair, stunned. It gives Nicky just the seconds he needs to complete the final procedure. He knows Joe’s code, of course, they’ve been friends for years, and he doesn’t make a mistake. Then the same numbers Joe told Nile, seven-nine-four, enter, three-nine-three.

“Nicky, no,” Joe begs, and –

Nicky presses the green button, not looking at Joe, not listening to his pleas.

Nicky will die here. He will die, within the next minute, while Joe is travelling up, and –

Nicky grabs Joe’s face between his large hands. One cheek feels hot where Nicky slapped him, but he doesn’t pay attention to that.

He stares into Joe’s beautiful, beloved eyes, and he bends closer to press his lips on Joe’s.

It is too short, too chaste for three years of pining, but there is no time – a crash, close by, vibrates through the structure, and Nicky pulls back. Joe starts saying something, but Nicky shakes his head and closes the hatch, gently but determinedly.

He hears Joe’s voice, calling out for him, but then the pod is sealed hermetically. It takes off smoothly, and Nicky’s knees buckle.

 ***

The fifteen minutes before Joe reaches the surface are the longest and the shortest of his life.

He screams himself hoarse in fifteen minutes, he bangs his fists on the inside walls of the pod until his knuckles burst, and then he touches his lips, where Nicky’s were but the blink of an eye ago.

Almost three years of dreaming about Nicky’s kiss, and –

And now –

He curses himself. He should have known Nicky would make sure everybody else got out before him. He should have seen right through him, should have forced him to go first –

He should have told Nicky he was in love with him three years ago. He should have kissed that man every chance he got, because now he will not ever get to again.

He is too distracted to pay attention to the screen or the indicators, and only when a robotic voice announces he needs to open the hatch because oxygen is low, he mechanically unstraps and enters the correct code.

Nile is floating right by his side.

“Oh, thank God!” she says as soon as he stands up. “Your pod arrived but you didn’t open the hatch, I was freaking out here, I didn’t know if there was a problem or – wait.” She takes a look at Joe, and she cuts herself off.

Joe doesn’t know how he looks – his eyes feel puffy and tears are streaming over his cheeks and his hands are bloodied.

“Wait,” Nile says again, unsteady. “Your pod arrived at least five minutes ago. Why isn’t – where is Nicky?”

Joe can’t help himself. A fresh wave of tears springs to his eyes, and he screams to the heavens.

He wants to dive back into the water, swim down, every meter a meter closer to Nicky, until he drowns as close to Nicky as he’ll ever be again.

Nile gasps.

“Joe, Nicky – Nicky made it out, right?”

He doesn’t answer, just sobs, his lungs burning, his throat choked up.

Nile reaches her arms out for him in a futile gesture, since they are both confined to their pods, and anyway, hers are not the arms Joe wants around him right now.

“I am sorry,” he hears Nile whisper, but it doesn’t help either. It feels like nothing will ever help.

If you asked him two days ago, he would have said feeling the sun on his skin again would make him the happiest man ever – it would have been a lie, of course. Kissing Nicky would make him the happiest man ever, and he got to do that, and the sun is reflecting from the water, but nothing will ever make him happy again.

The water has exactly the same colour as Nicky’s eyes.

He should say something to Nile, praise her for making it up here, assure her they would be picked up any minute now, tell her he loves Nicky with all his heart – though she might have some inkling of that by now – but he cannot bring himself to do any of it.

Then he hears the rhythmic sounds of the helicopter blades, and he will be brought to home base, and he will be further away from Nicky than he ever has been since they met, and –

Nile is winched up first, and then Joe. Somebody is interrogating Nile when he is pulled into the chopper.

“Anybody else coming?” a rough voice asks, and Joe curls in upon himself on the floor as he shakes his head.

“We were the last people at the dock,” Nile says hesitantly, “The two of us and – and Nicky – but we were out of oxygen –”

“So we are still waiting for this Nicky then?” the pilot asks, and Nile looks at Joe.

Joe doesn’t answer, can’t speak, wants to get to the base and be left alone for a week – a month – maybe a lifetime.

“I – I don’t think so,” Nile says. “There were not many pods left, and most were damaged, and – and we’ve been up for ten minutes, and –”

She doesn’t finish, but everybody knows what she’s not saying. There was not enough oxygen left for ten minutes. Nicky isn’t coming.

“Sorry,” the first speaker says. “Let’s go, then,” he directs the pilot, and they swerve off. Joe stares to the window, to their floating pods. A boat will come by later, tomorrow or the day after, to retrieve the pods. Somewhere, miles below, is Nicky.

Did he suffer? Did he regret kissing Joe as he died all alone?

Another sobs wrecks through him, and Nile does pull him closer this time, and Joe buries his face against her shoulder as he cries his heart out.

And then suddenly a harsh beeping fills the cabin.

“What the –” the pilot mutters, and the other guy’s voice is hard.

“You said there was nobody else!”

Joe’s heart leaps into his throat.

Nile speaks up.

“We thought – we didn’t know –”

“Could be something else too,” the pilot mutters. “Let’s check.”

The chopper swerves again, and two dots appear as they get closer, but no –

There is a third pod there, and the beacon signal gets louder, almost deafening Joe.

“Joe – Joe, look,” Nile says, and Joe does.

The pod is battered and cracked, an older model by the looks of things. It’s a miracle it made it, any of these fractures look like they could tear the thing in two any second, and –

Nothing.

The hatch doesn’t open, and Joe dies a second time that day. Is it just an empty pod that managed to launch itself somehow?

They get closer, and still no sign of life. The diver is winched down, and he pries open the hatch so agonizingly slowly.

Then they hear his voice through his comms system.

“There is someone in here. Male, unconscious. Twenty-five, thirty, maybe. Brown hair.”

“That your friend?” the pilot asks.

“Yes, maybe,” Nile says, hope dripping from every syllable.

“Older model pod,” the diver continues. “Takes longer to come up. Amazed it even got here, seems to have not been maintained in years.”

The winching up is silent, and it seems to take so much longer than when it was Joe hanging there. Every second is a lifetime.

“He has a mole on his chin,” the diver then says, and Joe doesn’t believe his ears, asks Nile to repeat, but she just hugs him, laughing and crying at the same time.

“It’s Nicky, Joe! It’s him! He made it.”

And then the diver is pulling him in, and it’s Nicky, and he is breathing, and Joe is sobbing again, from joy this time.

The diver puts an oxygen mask on Nicky, and Joe crawls over, cradles Nicky close, kisses his jaw, his hair, his hand.

He’s gonna do that for a long time, if Nicky allows him to. As soon as Nicky wakes up, he will tell him he has loved him since he first saw him, competently bandaging up somebody who had fallen off a ladder, setting a broken bone and wrapping up a deep wound on their temple. He had been talking softly the whole time, reassuring the woman it would be fine, distracting her from the pain, and at the same time managing to keep the woman’s young child calm. He’d been so effortlessly competent and kind and so damn attractive. Joe had introduced himself and Nicky had been adorably shy, and Joe had been hopelessly lost.

And then he’d wasted three years.

And he’ll be damned if he wastes another second.

Nicky opens his eyes, and blinks. Joe smiles, but he must look a freight. And yet, Nicky pulls off the mask, and he mouths Joe’s name, though no sound comes out.

“Nicky,” Joe stutters, and then he decides talking is overrated.

He softly, gently lays his hands on Nicky’s face. He stares into Nicky’s beautiful, beloved eyes, and he bends closer to press his lips on Nicky’s.

There is nothing short about it. They have three years to make up for, and the rest of their life to do it.

[one-boring-person]

Alrighty! I know I’m late but to make up I’m going to send a B U N C H of requests! You don’t have to do all of em but I think they’re going to be fun!

Ok first off how bout a Dutch x Reader where they got separated in the jungle and meet up in the chopper, but Dutch was sure she died and it’s a nice little reunion!

I cannot wait to write all of these! I'm so excited!😅 I think I may have gone a bit overboard with this first one, but the idea has been going round my head ever since I read the request, so I hope you like it!

We're Alive!

Alan "Dutch" Schaefer x reader (Platonic)

Warnings: death, spoilers, injury, blood, gun use

Masterlist

"(Y/N)! GO!" Dutch bellows at me as he scrambles to get up again, his arm bleeding profusely from his newly acquired wound, the major's voice laced with pain and urgency.

"No!" I snap back, taking up my gun and firing off into the trees, aiming for the origin of the blast from before, going in a wild arc as the automatic pelts the surroundings with a volley of bullets.

"(Y/n), get to the chopper, now!" He tries again, climbing to his feet, his own gun clenched in hand as he backs himself with me, the two of us staring out at the area.

"N-" I go to respond, only to be cut off by another flash of energy coming between us, the heat of it burning away the skin and fabric covering my leg, a surprised cry of agony escaping me as I instinctively buckle under the intensity. 

Dutch is quick to grab me, forcing me to duck down slightly as we take off into the underbrush, the veteran pulling me along with speed. Vines and branches whip past my face, welts appearing on my grimy skin as I do my best to hobble after the broad-shouldered man ahead of me, his physical size easily parting the jungle for him. Behind us, I can hear the pounding footsteps and eerie clicking of whatever the hell is chasing us, my pulse pounding in my ears as my panic fuels my adrenaline, allowing me to ignore the searing pain in my leg. Each breath is harsh and fast, my legs pumping quickly to cover as much ground as possible. 

All of a sudden, Dutch's foot goes out from under him, his massive body falling into the sharp slope to the side of us. A shout of panic tears itself from his throat as he tumbles out of sight, leaving me alone on our original trail, our ruthless pursuer hot on my heels. 

"DUTCH!" I scream after him, briefly considering going after him, unsure of how well I'll fare without him.

A low growl behind me makes the decision for me, my instincts kicking in as I ignore my heart and push on, limping on into the dense jungle, eyes widening as I realise exactly how close the killer is. My heart jumps in my chest as I suddenly feel the quick brush of air as it swipes at me, blades just catching the back of my neck before I've gotten out of the way, my legs carrying me faster as fear takes over. Completely oblivious to any pain now, I thunder through the undergrowth, slapping wildly at vines, leaping over fallen branches and logs, heartbeat racing faster and faster with each step. There's a taste of iron on my tongue, blood from a bitten lip dripping down my face now, coating my chin in a thin layer of the stuff. 

And then my feet are no longer touching the ground.

Crying out in surprise, I throw my hands out in front of me to catch myself, my palms smacking harshly into hard rock as I smash into the boulder below me. Pain explodes in my chest as it collides with the solid surface, winding me even as my knees crack loudly as they bounce off of it. 

For a moment, I lie still, trying to regain my breath, before I roll onto my back, staring up at the slight cliff I fell off, expecting to be met with the sight of three red dots on my chest. Surprisingly, I see nothing, the forest around me mostly silent, except for the rushing of water, which I quickly deduce is from the river nearby. Groaning, I let myself relax, closing my eyes as I finally register the full extent of the pain coursing through my body, my newly bruised torso not helping at all with the stinging from my leg, blood now pouring down the limb in great streams, staining my skin crimson. 

Steeling myself, I push myself upright and take in my surroundings, glad to find myself at the river where there are many boulders I can use as cover, the ground much easier to move over here, meaning I can make a quick getaway if I need to. Somewhat relieved, I force myself to get up and go to the river, knowing I need to clean my wounds or they'll get infected, not that it makes much difference: I'll probably be dead by the end of the day. 

I shake these thoughts from my head, focusing on getting to the river as I limp over the uneven surface, coming to kneel beside it with a wince. Swiftly, I peel back my frayed trouser leg and manoeuvre myself so that the appendage lies in the water, the cool sensation bringing tears to my eyes from the harsh sting. It is somewhat soothing, but mostly painful, the blood washing away quickly, only to be replaced by more as the open wound continues to bleed, the inflicted area being large, not deep thankfully. Biting my lip, I run a hand over it, cleaning it slightly before finally pulling it out, swiftly tearing off my sleeve and wrapping it around my leg as a makeshift bandage.

Having done so, I hobble back to one of the boulders,  sitting at its base as I think over my options. 

My first instinct is to find Dutch, wherever he may be, but the cynical part of my brain tells me there's no real point. If the killer stopped chasing me, it's because it thought Dutch was the better prey, and if the fall didn't kill him, he'll be too beaten up from it to really be able to do anything against the creature hunting him. Then again, Dutch is a tough one to subdue, let alone kill, so he may well be alive and kicking, but I have no way of telling whether this is the case. 

Hopelessness floods me as I think through this, my head dropping to my chest, completely unsure of what the best course of action is. Naturally, I'd go find the pick-up point, but again, I have no idea where I am, and so would struggle greatly to find the allocated place, meaning I'm totally stranded here, alone with a killer stalking around. Lifting my head, I check over my body to see which weapons I still have, glad to find my knife still attached to my hip, though I curse colourfully when I realize I dropped my gun in my haste to escape the predator at my heels, leaving me defenceless, unless it comes into close-quarters, which I would rather it didn't. Chewing my lip, I toy with my knife a bit, before deciding to try and locate the pick-up point, think over the possibility of retracing my steps. I would've left a trail through the jungle from my panic, so it shouldn't be too hard to follow it back to where Poncho was killed. 

At the reminder of this, my heart twists painfully, my chest tightening from the realisation that all of my closest friends, possibly bar one, are dead at the hands of this otherworldly killer, all because of some mission Dillon managed to get us mixed up in. When Dutch had first told us about it, I'd been sceptical, not quite believing that our team was needed for it, rather than another military branch, but I'd gone along with it in the end after a particularly snide comment from Dillon himself, finding myself with the need to prove him wrong. A bitter chuckle escapes my lips at the thought, reflecting on where his antics eventually got us, and him, though I scold myself for being unfair; it's not his fault there's a predator trying to kill us.

Climbing to my feet, I push aside the idle thoughts, ignoring the pang in my heart at my own callousness, limping stiffly back to the small cliff I fell off, glancing up at it to determine how I should get back up. Deeming it appropriate, I slide the knife back into its sheath and find myself a hand hold on the hard rock, beginning the tough climb up. Agony shoots through my battered body, but I simply grit my teeth and push past it, forcing my body to haul itself higher and higher, fingers scrabbling at the tough stone, leaving them raw and grazed, the skin chafing away with each movement. My muscles scream at me in protest, grimaces contorting my face with each pull, relief flooding me as I reach the top of the cliff. Dragging myself up onto it, I hastily scramble to my feet and observe my surroundings, wary of what might be hiding in the trees, my body tense and ready for action.

By now, darkness has fallen on the jungle, a bright moon shining down onto me from above, lighting up the trees before me slightly, casting them in a ghostly light. The dreary appearance puts me on edge, knowing that the new shadows provide all sorts of effective cover for any predator, especially the cruel one hunting me down. Breathing deeply, I start off into the dense shrubbery.

The going is slow, my leg now hurting me badly as I drag my body through the jungle, doing my best to head in what I think is a familiar direction. My eyes have long since adjusted to the darkness, allowing me to see in minimal clarity where I'm going, making the navigation somewhat faster than it could be, though I'm still painfully aware of how disadvantaged I am in this current state. Every sound and noise around me makes me freeze in place, terror stiffening my joints every few seconds, my hand reaching for my knife with each rustle of the leaves. Mentally, I know that if the creature was anywhere nearby, it would've killed me by now, but the weapon at my hip gives me some reassurance in any case.

Something heavy drops from the canopy to land in front of me, branches snapping under the weight, the sudden sound drawing a gasp of fear from me. Stopping still, I stare at the misshapen form on the floor, already dreading going closer, though my curiosity gets the better of me. Unfortunately, I regret this decision as soon as I look over what I now know to be a body. 

Before I can stop it, a cry of horror tears itself from my throat, the outburst horribly loud to me as I fight the urge to hurl, quickly looking away from the mangled body at my feet.

And then I hear it.

Clicking.

Whirling on my heels, I draw my knife and look around me, adrenaline pumping through me, my hand shaking uncontrollably as my wide eyes take in the surroundings.

The clicking continues, seemingly all around me.

Terrified, I jerk my head around, unsure of where it might be, breathing ragged now as I struggle to focus.

Suddenly, the knife goes flying from my grip, my wrist snapping painfully as it is twisted back against my arm, a surprised scream of pain leaving my parted lips as I can only watch the limb become disfigured, the invisible blow dealt to it having a lot more force than I expected. Taking a step back, I feel my heart pound in my chest, still unable to see where my attacker is, as well as who it might be. 

Agony explodes around my jaw as a camouflaged fist connects with it, blood filling my mouth from the strength of the punch, knocking me to the floor. Catching myself, I scramble in the dirt for my knife, ignoring the tears that have sprung to my eyes, spitting out mouthful of blood with each breath, my face aching badly. I don't get a chance to recover properly, before I've been thrown into a nearby tree, an invisible hand clamped tightly around my neck, holding me a good foot or two off the ground. Gasping, I grasp at whatever is holding me, feeling dark spots take over my vision, but not before I catch sight of what exactly is holding me captive. 

Eyes widening, I bat at the metal mask, hoping to knock it off guard before it can choke me to death, but I can feel my throat beginning to constrict, air struggling to flow through it as it used to. My pulse races, body now aware of its dying state, my arms weakly slapping at the huge creature holding me, darkness flooding my vision. Dizzy and light-headed, I feel my conscience starting to leave me, allowing me to fall into the blackness I so desperately want to give in to. 

Vaguely, I register the predator's head snap round, clearly distracted by something, before I finally succumb to the darkness.

*

A low beating sound draws me from the fog in my brain, my conscience coming back to me slowly. Blinking, I push myself upright, yelping in pain as my body aches and throbs, my neck feeling completely useless as the bruising agony there kicks in. Everything rushes back to me, confusion flooding my mind as I recall the predator choking me to death, explaining the pain in my neck, though it does not explain why I'm still alive. 

Frowning, I glance upwards, realising that the beating sound I can hear is the steady whir of helicopter rotors, my heart soaring as I recognise that I may still have a chance of getting out of here alive. Ignoring the agony in my body, I throw myself to my feet and start limping as quickly as possible in the direction of the familiar sound, elated at the thought of getting out of here, though I feel my heart twist at the thought of it only being me. Hope gives me some speed, allowing me to charge relatively quickly through the undergrowth, all thoughts of the predator forgotten as the sound gets louder, the aircrafts now visible in the sky from where I am, though only in the distance. 

A deafening explosion somewhere to my left jerks me from my feet, a shockwave from the blast easily throwing me to the ground. Covering my head with my hands, I instinctively keep myself small, knowing full well how to stay somewhat safe in the midst of an explosion, though I can feel my hope slowly draining away. What if the blast took out the chopper?

Minutes pass before I climb to my feet again, taking note of the thick smoke now shrouding the jungle, making it harder to see where I'm going. I decide to go towards the sound, knowing that the explosion will have drawn the pilot's attention, meaning it'll be much easier to see me if they fly over to explore it. As I thought, the beating of the rotors gets steadily louder as I delve deeper, glad to find that it is much more cacophonous here. 

Bursting out from behind a tree, I feel my spirit soar as I see the smoke in this area being whipped up and away from the clearing, allowing me to see in a large radius around the lowering aircraft. With it, however, I notice that the rotors have revealed something else. 

Immediately, my heart skips a beat.

Clumsily, I stumble forwards, tears coming to my eyes as I recognise the figure standing a little way away, the muscular man turning to me in surprise.

"(Y/n)?!" He exclaims, shock and relief lacing his accented voice as he sees me.

"Dutch!" I call back, running towards him even as he runs towards me, his arms outstretched towards me, the filthy major bloodied and beaten, but still alive. 

Upon reaching each other, Dutch wraps me into a tight embrace, crushing me into his muscular body even as I bury myself into him, clutching at his waist, leaping into his arms. Picking me up, he presses his face into my hair, muttering things to me, voice breaking in emotion, his grip tight around me, knees buckling out from underneath him as it overwhelms him. Tears fall freely from my eyes, my face pressing into his bare chest, ignoring the blood and mud, relishing the feeling of his body against mine, my hands pulling him closer to me as he falls to the floor, my form still wrapped around his. One of his hands comes up to press me head into the crook of his neck, allowing me to inhale his familiar scent, the smell comforting me and reassuring me as I sob in joy. Reluctantly, he pulls his head back so he can look down at me, his grey eyes meeting mine, their surfaces wet with tears.

"I-i thought...I thought you died…" He stammers out, voice breaking with emotion, his cheeks stained with his tears, my heart throbbing for him as the usually stoic man holds me close to him.

"I'm here, Dutch, I'm here." I reassure him, before continuing, "I thought it got you, too…"

I have to fight through the choking emotion, but I manage to get it out, laughing in giddy relief as he pulls me back into him, crushing me into him, his arms locking me in place.

Dutch keeps his arms around me even as we climb into the chopper, the veteran pulling me so that I lie against his chest in my seat, his hand resting on my back as if to keep himself grounded. I stare up at him, unwilling to look out at the jungle even as he stares at it, face blank as the grief and exhaustion finally catches up to him. Anna sits across from us, the guerrilla girl thankfully still alive, glad to see us in a similar state. 

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're still alive...I don't know what I would've done if…" Dutch murmurs to me, the man rambling a little as the emotions assault him, his grip tightening with every word.

"We're alive, Dutch, and I'm so, so happy we are." I respond, nuzzling into his chest, uncaring of the fact it is covered in a layer of mud.

Exhausted, the two of us drift off, sleep finally catching up to us as the trauma of the past few days sets in, our consciences unable to keep going after so long of simply running on survival instinct.

[missorgana]

everything has changed

pairing: darcy lewis/monica rambeau

fandom: marvel cinematic universe

rating: general

word count: 2612

summary: Monica pines, Jimmy gives her Darcy's number, and they meet again. (post wv finale reunion)

(once again crossposting late but hello!! i’ve been wanting to write these dorky girlfriends for ages but alas life! distractions! this doesn’t have much of a plot as much as just... darmonica being soft and jimmy getting them together cus 💞 hope u still enjoy!)

read on ao3

“Debriefs are for the weak.”

Monica mulls over Darcy’s parting words for her with a repressed chuckle, realising just how many hours the task is going to take her. And paperwork has only just begun.

It’s no surprise, of course.

In a short time, she’s dealt with a wide range of emotions. Monica’s done her job the way she knows how to, but this was no ordinary job.

Confusion, frustration, anger, shock, revelation. A strange force sparkling inside her, a power Wanda gave her without even realising it, and one she has to adjust to, like she’s adjusted to so much else in her existence after the return of the population post-blip.

She’s got most of those feelings pinned down, but one. One she suspects got a whole lot to do with a certain Doctor Darcy Lewis.

That must be why the shorter woman’s immediate leave left a certain pull in her chest, but really, how could she convince her to stay? For what reason? Monica felt ridiculous just considering it, if she could go back in time, mere hours ago, and yet it would probably be no different.

Darcy got a lift out of Westview, to where, she has no idea, of course. And she’s left bent over a desk with her fellow S.W.O.R.D colleges swarming around her, as well as Jimmy’s FBI unit.

Speaking of Jimmy, he knocks her out of her head on the non-existent door (the whiteboard, that is) and holds up the tray of coffees with a grin. She returns it, despite the lack of sleep making her eyes burn.

“Mind if I interrupt?” he says, and she’s already reaching for the cup, so the question is merely out of politeness, anyway. But she doesn’t mind, obviously.

“Thank you,” Monica answers, scooting over to allow him to sit, and he protests against it because he’s just too damn nice, so she insists, “I could honestly use a break, don’t worry about it. Seriously.”

And so they sip their beverages, revelling in the relative silence there could be in a space full of government officials and sounds of wheels and choppers and constant phone calls. She’s used to it. It’s just a little too much right now. Can you blame her?

“Looks to be a long night, huh,” Jimmy starts again, a chuckle that sounds as tired as she’s feeling.

Monica smiles again and rubs a hand over her face, “Several of them, I fear.”

He nods, “You think Wanda’s gonna be okay?”

She takes a minute with it, and really, Monica knows all these Avengers…  superheroes , deal with unspoken shit and the fate of the world on their shoulders. Doesn’t mean they’ll be able to handle it, though. In fact, it makes her wonder if she’d be okay, herself.

And she wonders if Carol’s okay. She hasn’t thought about her in a long time.

It’s not much of an answer, but she figures she ought to say something, “I hope so.”

The silence between them settles again, and Monica flips a page before taking another sip, Jimmy seeming somewhat satisfied with the answer. It’s a guess, at the most. But a qualified guess, perhaps? It’s  something .

When he picks up the conversation for the third time, it surprises her, “Are you okay?”

“Sorry?”

“I was just-” he stops himself mid-sentence, chuckling at the thing awkwardly and fidgeting with the paper cup, “Forgive me, I talk too much for my own good, sometimes.”

Monica shakes her head, sighs, rests her chin on one hand, sort of in an attempt to stay awake, “It’s fine. Just thinking.”

When he nods and downs the last gulp of coffee, looking like he’s about to leave her to the tedious work once more, her brain surprises herself, this time, pronouncing the words before even registering what she’s saying, “You think Darcy’s gonna be fine? I mean, uh, on her own.”

Jimmy’s face showcases mild confusion. Nevertheless, he sits down again, and before answering her question, turns the page for her. She feels overwhelmingly grateful.

“She doesn’t take any bullshit, excuse the language,” and they both share a laugh, because it’s too true, “Definitely. You worried about her, though?”

Well. The tight knot in her gut signals a definite yes. Yet Monica feels like an idiot for it, because they’ve known each other for, what, two weeks? She tries to lie. Somehow, she senses that the man doesn’t believe it.

“Nah.”

Pause. “No?”

She pauses herself. Chews the inside of her cheek, “I mean, I am. But it’s stupid. Should I?”

Jimmy’s confusion seems to fade in an instant, which Monica finds rather peculiar. Maybe she’d comment on it, if she could figure out how.

Sleep deprivation hangs over her being like a dark cloud, while the image of the doctor rests permanently at the very front of her mind. Gosh, it’s so obvious.

“I don’t think it’s stupid,” he assures her, flipping the next page, and the next, a kind of routine being developed, “I’ve got her number, though, if you want.”

Monica feels her hands freeze up, then.

It’s almost like her new friend can read her mind, and it’s a little bit scary. She resumes the work, the faster they do, the faster they’ll get the fuck out of here. But the look in Jimmy’s eyes is like a hilarious know-it-all sort of thing, minus the smug demeanor, because he’s incapable of that, she thinks.

“You have?”

“Yes, I mean, we got the information of all the specialists, heh,” he says, because obviously they do, and nods again in a funny sort of way, “But thought you might want it.”

“Oh.”

“Just, uh, you asked.”

“I did! I did, I…” Monica doesn’t really know where she’s going, now. Her voice gets rather its own life, and she has to return to the top of the paragraph to understand what it’s saying, “Thank you. Not sure she’d wanna hear from me, though.”

Jimmy frowns. “What happened to the boss lady I met two weeks ago?”

“Oh, shut it.” she snorts. He scribbles down the number on a scrap of paper and hands it to her with a satisfied grin. If a warmth spreads to replace the knot in her stomach, then sue her.

*

“You doing anything Friday?”

This is the question that repeats itself in Monica’s head as she comes to stand in front of Darcy Lewis’ front door, contemplating whether to knock, ring the bell, or chicken out and leave what those feelings in her chest are doing unresolved.

Of course, she won’t step down, not when she’s come this far.

Despite playing it relatively cool when Jimmy handed her the contact information, she did a lot of overthinking before picking up the phone.

Considering and planning every word, then, when the woman’s sunny voice rings in her ears, considering every word she receives. Monica never thought talking to someone she liked - or, well,  more  than liked, could be quite so terrifying.

“What up, sucker,” the voice had said, Darcy never failing to make her laugh, even without knowing, it seems. “Darcy? It’s Monica.”

She convinced herself the minimal pause wasn’t just in her own head, “Monica! I- I’m glad to hear from you.”

“Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting-”

“Never.”

If the phone call made Monica horribly flustered, she couldn’t imagine what being in the same room as the shorter woman again could entail. Honestly still unbelievable that the doctor invited her over. It’s like she read her mind. And somehow, she does it again when the door opens at the same second as Monica convinces herself to finally raise her hand to the bell, and there she stands. She’d shush the butterflies in her gut to quiet down, but it’s quite a difficult task when Darcy stands in front of her, wearing a red cable knit sweater two times too big on her frame, raven hair lacking the beanie and eyes lacking glasses.

Monica finds herself swallowing around a lump in her throat she wasn’t even aware of till now.

The doctor’s instant smile and deep dimples don’t exactly help. She’s got a somewhat mischievous glint in her eye, and is already pulling on her wrist for a hug before saying anything, “You came!”

Her smile transfers to Monica’s own lips with ease. She doesn’t really know what to do with her hands. Not very used to this hugging thing.

“You sound surprised,” she replies, attempting a chuckle, but feeling painfully awkward in the process.

And when Darcy draws back, she does one of those funny faces that isn’t a frown, but rather a sign that she’s thinking of a joke, tilting her head to the side and her tongue poking out in the corner of her mouth.

Monica also doesn’t know why it makes her feel even warmer. Like the sun’s breathing in and out right above her, but never so far to scorch a burn. Never.

But of course, deep down, she does know. That is why she’s here in the first place, isn’t it?

She doesn’t know if the doctor considers her a friend. She didn’t assume so, she’d hoped, and also not, because judging by how her cheeks are already heating up, Monica’s beyond friendly feelings for the other woman already.

Darcy must consider her a friend. People don’t invite people they’ve known for all but two weeks home, usually… do they?

“Just thought you’d have important things to do, you know,” the shorter woman explains, already stepping aside in a silent invitation for Monica to enter, “Too busy for silly little me.” The doctor has a tendency to screw up her voice, too, she’s noticed. Last time, it was to relieve a room filled with tension, now, it pokes at the multiple knots in her chest, unwinding just a tiny bit.

Breathing in, breathing out. Come on, Monica, what are you so stressed for?

“You hungry?” Darcy interrupts her clogged brain again, “I’m not much of a chef, but uh- I’ve got coffee, too! Please ignore the mess.”

The shorter woman’s fumbling with her hands, making herself busy cleaning up after what she assumes is her own dinner. It’s just way, way too adorable.

She almost worries Darcy will fall and break something with the way she’s nearly sprinting to the kitchen, and so assures her she’s fine, really. Monica feels too anxious to sit, so she remains standing, for now.

The doctor starts up the coffee machine regardless.

Stacks of papers and folders on the side of the dining table, oh, she’s been there plenty of times herself. Monica doesn’t even realise she’s fixating on it when Darcy grins sheepishly, and after what feels like an eternity, they both sit.

She folds her hands on the tabletop. Tries desperately fighting her subconscious to not pick at her nails, because it’s a stupidly bad habit that’s got to be left behind. Hasn’t felt this nervous in ages, she realises.

“Debrief went okay?” Darcy asks, gesturing for the milk, an offer Monica takes. This seems easy. Should be easy. She’s making up all the tension in her own head, surely. And to ignore it, she smiles fondly at the thought of their last moment back in Westview, “Yeah. Long. You definitely didn’t miss out.”

The doctor snorts, nods, perhaps just confirming her own theory on the subject.

Then a smirk surfaces on her features, “Hayward getting his ass kicked in jail, I hope?”

And Monica allows herself to laugh, ease taking over her little by little. Coffee was more needed than she realised. So was Darcy’s half-lit flat, muted television going in the background and several open folders scattering the living room rug. 

Feels like the doctor’s own little bubble, of sorts. Their little bubble. Hm.

“A girl can dream.”

“Goddamn right.”

So much to her own surprise, the shorter woman pretty much takes all nerves about this reunion right out of her, as simple as popping a balloon.

They’re making small talk, not boring or superficial like any two people who barely know each other, because, somehow, it just feels like they know. Monica can’t understand why. It’s easy for them to be personal, when her thoughts shift to her mom. And she knew Darcy knew Thor, the woman insists she should meet Jane too, and it just makes the butterflies flutter faster and stubbornly.

In fact, Monica doesn’t realise how long they sit there, talking about everything and nothing, until she glances at the clock on the wall and it tells her it’s almost 11PM. Oh, shit.

There goes the nerves again. She doesn’t know what to do with herself with that information in mind, because, ugh, well. 

A part of her really, really likes the thought of this as a date. But it’s not a date, that has to be explicit. You know, talked about. Then, what is it, then?

She catches herself itching her fingers, and when she pushes her chair out, something in Darcy’s face shifts. It’s like she instantly understands. But also, a hand lands on her thigh, and Monica can’t exactly process that.

“Ah, shit! I always do this, me and my big mouth…” she grumbles, which is also too adorable, like everything else about the doctor, until her wide eyes gleam in excitement all over again, “Wait, just a moment. Almost forgot.”

The shorter woman retreats to another room in a hurry, leaving Monica strangely lost without her hand and downing the last bit of coffee. She grimaces at the cold liquid. Only encourages the butterflies more.

And then, Darcy returns, but with a bouquet of blue roses looking comically giant in her grasp.

Not what she expected, that’s for sure. But those butterflies in her gut are now having a rave. The doctor scrunches her nose, Monica’s quick to stand up and take the flowers handed to her, and then she’s staring at the baby blue petals in her arms, feeling like she’s in a daydream.

Looking back at Darcy, she’s shifting her weight back and forth on each foot, clearly as nervous as she herself feels when her heart jumps in somersaults. Does this mean what she thinks it means?

“These… are these for me?” Monica finds herself asking.

The shorter woman tilts her head again, but grinning, “Duh.”

She has no idea what to say. All she can think about is the doctor and the flowers and the smile  meant for her  and how she surely, definitely must be blushing. It’s a little relieving that the woman in front of her is doing the same.

And then Monica feels like an idiot for making sure this reality really is happening, “Why?” and it strains her chest, then, fearing that Darcy might take this back. Instead, the doctor steps a little closer and touches some of the flower heads, straightening some, nodding, satisfied with the arrangement.

She stays in Monica’s space, “I wanted to give flowers to a pretty girl. I mean, uh, if this is… I can totally take it back if this is weird. Ugh, I’m such a bad romantic.”

Talking to herself, Darcy’s so adorable it almost hurts.

The flat also feels a lot warmer than when she arrived, but in an overwhelmingly good way. Their tiny bubble.

Monica tightens her hold on the flowers even more and shakes her head to the flustered doctor, pushing a coil of hair behind her ear. Her reminder to herself, thank Jimmy next time they see each other. How did he read them so easily?

“I like getting flowers from pretty girls, so…”

Darcy’s eyes turn hopeful again, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

[stardustryewriting]

Nothing left unspoken

Zoro and Sanji shared a kiss days ago. Sanji refuses to speak about it. Zoro insists on speaking about it.

Also on AO3: here

Most of the time, Sanji’s annoyingly loud praises, that made everyone aware of his presence all the time, were the worst thing about Zoro’s day. When Sanji praised Nami and Robin for doing the bare minimum (something he always criticized about Zoro) his voice was something special between worship and sing-song, that was all Sanji’s own. And way too over the top, if you asked Zoro. So, usually he picked fights to get Sanji back to his normal voice and to divert his attention from Nami and Robin. Which Robin didn’t seem to mind at all and Nami only ever minded in the rare occasion she really wanted Sanji to do something for her. Also, when doing this, Zoro always had Sanji’s undivided attention. It was a nice added bonus.

Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

He didn’t have to either. Though what he did instead was objectively worse. How he had managed to turn their usual old I’m not going the wrong way, you do argument into a make-out session was still beyond him. In his defense, Sanji was hot when he was riled up, or annoyed or even just mildly inconvenienced. (Sanji was hot all the time, he wouldn’t admit that either.) And so, when Sanji was screaming at him about some directions that made no sense and were completely wrong anyways, he lost control and just kissed him. On the lips, with tongue, because he had thought Sanji opened his mouth because he wanted it too. He only realized way later, that Sanji’s mouth was open out of shock. In retrospect, that made more sense.

Sanji had fled afterwards, running faster than Zoro had ever seen him running, and Sanji wasn’t slow by any means. So, Zoro had expected that when he returned to the ship, he would get Sanji’s cold shoulder for a while. Or some passive-aggressive comments that would the turn into an active-aggressive fight. Or maybe some disgusted looks, because even though he never hid his sexual preference, he never openly stated it either, where as Sanji was very explicit about his favored gender. Which unfortunately wasn’t Zoro’s gender.

What he got instead was nothing. No looks, no comments, no cold shoulder. He got his normal treatment, Sanji nagging about him not doing enough, picking fights that were more about there respective prides than the thing they were actually fighting about, and Sanji still giving him a bottle of booze with every lunch and dinner. While this should have been good, their normal routine, same old Zoro and Sanji doing Zoro and Sanji things, it wasn’t. Because underneath Sanji’s normal, over-the-top surface he carefully kept around the crew, something was simmering. Zoro felt it in his bones, like Nami felt storms on the Grandline.

That wasn’t good. They needed to talk about this. (which Zoro didn’t really want to, but if it was to keep the peace on the ship, he could deal with it.) But every time he found Sanji alone - mostly in the kitchen to prepare food - the cook somehow managed to cut their talk short. It’s no big deal, was the best answer Zoro had ever gotten out of him and he would have loved to take it, but he knew there was more. Damn Sanji for not being able to give him a straight answer.

So Zoro decided to corner him on deck, when he came back from yet another delivery to Nami and Robin. He did more of those than usual, and Zoro had actually believed that he couldn’t possibly increase the frequency any further. Sanji just loved to mess with his head, it seemed.

„I need to talk to you.“ Straight and to the point. Cause if he said anything else Sanji would use that as a get away or a distraction. Or he would just flee again, which was so unlike him, that it made Zoro even madder, than the constant avoidance he had to deal with.

„I don’t think there was anything to talk about“, Sanji answered way too happy for his usual self. Certainly happier than he ever was talking to Zoro. It hurt, a lot. But it also was a serious test for his patience, and his patience for this situation was thin from the beginning. Zoro glared at him, hoping to convey that he was as annoyed and tired about this topic as Sanji was. And if they could just have one talk, to make sure that the Thousand Sunny stayed peaceful, he would gladly drop it forever. He would erase it out of his mind and hopefully never think about it again. (He wouldn’t be able to do that really. But he needed to try.)

„You can’t mean this. I know you’re not as stupid as you look.“

„Excuse me?“, Sanji sputtered, looking as insulted as he usually did, when one of Zoro’s compliments came out the wrong way. Zoro just didn’t have a way with words. And Zoro decided ages ago, when it became apparent that Sanji really had no interest in men at all, that it was better no one ever recognized his compliments for what they were. It did save him a whole bunch of explaining. And probably a lot of uncomfortable situations, too. But also, right now he was determined to make his point clear, no matter how much he had to shout at Sanji for that.

„Goddammit, we kissed, you can’t just ignore that“, and shouting that out in hearing range of the entire crew might not have been the smartest move, but Zoro hadn’t had it in him to care. Sanji seemed to care enough for both of them anyways, if his increasingly annoyed look was any indication. He also turned a little red in the face, which would have been cute, if the situation wasn’t as serious.

(„Zoro and Sanji kissed?“, he heard Chopper ask someone in the background. Thankfully not them. He really didn’t have the capacity for that right now.

„Yes a few days ago“, Robin answered patiently, and Zoro didn’t even want to know how she knew. There was just no hiding anything from Robin it seemed.)

„You wanna tell it to the newspapers too?“, Sanji whispered angrily and Zoro would have laughed, if he was any less tense. As if whispering would save anything now. He’s seen Nami collect money from both Usopp and Franky out of the corner of his eye, even though Sanji seemed to be blissfully unaware. Zoro was only surprised Robin hasn’t won. With her powers, she could have easily rigged the game.

„What, now you want a private talk?“, he mocked Sanji instead of screaming in frustration like he originally wanted to. Nami probably had a bet on that too, and he refused to let her win two times in one day. Also, mocking usually proved more effective when he wanted Sanji to talk to him, where screaming only ever lead to them fighting. A fight was the last thing they needed now. Maybe they could have one to get rid of some steam after all of this was over. Hopefully it was over soon. (It did hurt the first few days, now Zoro was just tired of it.)

Instead of giving him a verbal answer, Sanji grabbed him by the wrist of his hand and tugged him inside the ship, into the men’s sleeping room. Once there, Sanji grabbed his cigarettes and the lighter from his pocket pants and lit himself a cigarette. Zoro wished he didn’t, he hated the smell even under the open sky, but it was worse in closed rooms. Instead of starting a fight about the cigarette smell, he busied himself opening all two of the windows in the mans sleeping room. Sanji was trying to distract him, to change the topic, again. He wouldn’t let him.

„So what now?“, he asked, after he opened the second window and leaned on the wall next to it. Sanji still stood by the door, taking a long drag from his cigarette and disposing of the ashes in the ashtray on the night table next to him, seemingly having all the time in the world.

„Nothing, you wanted to talk, now talk“, Sanji answered him finally, tone carefully devoid of all emotions, making Zoro want to hit him in the head. And, for some reason, to kiss him again. Which was  a dangerous thought, that Zoro carefully got rid of, before he decided to say something to Sanji again. He moved from his spot on the wall to sit on the bed furthest away from the door, where Sanji was still standing. It was Luffy’s bed, standing against the wall separating the room from the ocean, because Luffy liked listening to the sounds of the waves when he fell asleep. Zoro wasn’t usually this sentimental, but even he could agree that they were soothing right now.

„You can’t keep pretending that it didn’t happen, cause guess what? It did. And it obviously still bothers you“, Zoro stated, way more defeated than he ever thought he would be. When Zoro had thought about having this talk with Sanji (and he did think about it a lot more than he was willing to admit) he was always mad and screaming and demanding an apology for Sanji leaving like he did. In his imagination he was always so full of rage, because he had showed Sanji his heart that day and Sanji had stomped on it and pretended he didn’t. But now, that he finally talked with Sanji he was just fed up with the entire thing. Let Sanji be mad him for this, he could even spit on Zoro’s vulnerability a second time if he wanted. Zoro really just wanted all of this to be over now.

„I never pretended it didn’t happen. I just didn’t see the need to talk about it“, Sanji defended, sounding entirely too cool in Zoro’s opinion. He had known Sanji for long enough to know that it bothered him more than he let on. He also knew he would have to provoke Sanji to get something out of him. Sanji would rather implode than let Zoro in on his feelings. (How he was ever stupid enough to believe something else, for even a second, was beyond him.)

„You -“, he was rudely interrupted by the sound of a door slamming and what was very unmistakingly Luffy screaming out a demand for food. Luffy was however very abruptly stopped, by what Zoro thought sounded like Nami hitting him. Her reprimanding their captain a second later („Not now, you really have no sense for what is important“) confirmed his suspicions. There really was no way to have some privacy on this ship.  

„You know that this is lie. As well as I do. If you keep it all in you’re gonna explode one day“, Zoro said, after the door slammed shut a second time, when Nami had dragged their captain back on deck. Sanji, who was well on his way to take the distraction Luffy had provided for him, froze in the middle of his movement and looked at Zoro with one eye blown wide. The next second it narrowed in anger.

„Don’t assume what I will or won’t do. You assuming things is what got us into this -.“ Sanji seemed like he lacked the proper word to describe their current situation, so he just gestured wildly with his hands. „- thing“, he finally ended rather lame. At least thing wasn’t wrong and it wasn’t as hurtful as ‚mess‘ would have been. Zoro had fully believed Sanji would use mess.

„Alright, I stop assuming when you tell me what your problem is“, he agreed, because it seemed like getting Sanji to talk would be easier than he thought. Lucky him.

„It didn’t hate it“, Sanji mumbled and Zoro almost didn’t catch it. In fact Zoro was sure he didn’t catch it and his brain just made up something he wanted to hear. Maybe he had some sort of spontaneous stroke that affected his hearing. Or he was laying on deck underneath the warm sun and dreamed. All those things were more likely than this.

„Excuse me?“, he said, because he was certain this wasn’t a dream, so he must have heard Sanji wrong.

Sanji sighed deeply, taking one last drag of his cigarette, before putting it out for good in the ashtray. Then he made his way across the room, dropping down on the same bed, Zoro was sitting on, close enough that their legs were touching. He leaned back, resting his head against the wall, looking at the ceiling and continued talking.

„I said, I didn’t hate. It was a nice enough kiss, even though you clearly have no idea what you’re doing. I was just really confused, during and after because YOU“, and he made a point of looking at Zoro now, „are not a women. You aren’t even pretty. So I was scared and I ran, because I couldn’t possibly fight my feelings. And then of course I insulted you, I might have even hurt you, so I couldn’t bring myself to talk to you. And you never talk about feelings, ever so I thought I was safe to just pretend, but suddenly you’re all ‚We need to settle this‘“, he did a horrible impression of Zoro’s voice here, „and I was just. I wasn’t prepared to talk about it so I didn’t. I honestly didn’t think it would bother you that much.“

Sanji’s leg twitched next to him, and Zoro couldn’t possibly ignore that way Sanji’s lean muscle moved next to his own significantly bigger leg. It made concentrating hard, but Zoro was determined to see this through to the end. He’d already come this far.

„I don’t just kiss people without a reason“, was everything his mind could come up with, because Sanji was still so damn close. And he smelt really nice, and he was still very hot, maybe even more so up close, but Zoro could say none of that out loud. And even though it wasn’t technically an answer to what Sanji had just confessed, the other took it.

„Why did you kiss me back then anyway? We were in middle of an argument! Full offense, you have the worst timing.“

Now, that got Zoro to concentrate on something other than the feel of Sanji’s leg against his own. (Not entirely true, it still stayed in the back of his mind.) Just what was he supposed to answer to that? The truth, he decided, because lying now, to save his face would get them into an even worse spot than before, if Sanji found out. And Sanji knew Zoro as well as Zoro knew Sanji.

„You’re really hot, when you’re riled up“, he confessed in small voice, in hopes Sanji wouldn’t catch all of it. He did judging by the way he laughed, and Zoro didn’t have it in him to be mad about. Sanji was more light-hearted than he had been in days and it was all thanks to Zoro.

„You’re also really hot, when you’re riled up“, Sanji confessed, after he had calmed down and leaned more towards Zoro. He placed his hand on Zoro’s thigh in the process, looking at him like Zoro was the only thing on Sanji’s mind right now. Zoro didn’t think he’s ever been happier.

[firefistlaw]

Request:

Hello! Could you do a hc about Luffy, Sabo, Katakuri and Law gf getting jealous because their boyfriends is working with a really really beautiful princess ( like saving a country or going to a country from some work stuff).

or... you’re jealous. (Luffy) 

a/n: I had a lot of fun writing them, I loved the idea so I chose to make a scenario out of it. The stories will be posted separately. As a fair warning, the s/o get jealous over stupid things, but I thought it was funny. Please let me know how you felt about them! 

Luffy

The weight of the guns on your belt were the only thing that calmed you down. With soft fingertips, you went along the cold metal, feeling safe knowing you could always grab them and defend yourself. But the scene in front of you still tested your limits. It took you all of your willpower to not throw yourself into the water for a nice cooling down swim. You pressed yourself stronger against the wood railing of the Thousand Sunny, wishing the wood would just give in and let you be.

„So, is the plan clear?“ Your captain said one last time, typical grin covering his features. Under normal circumstances you’d smile right back at him, but today you could only frown. His black hair was falling messily down his forehead, you noted silently. The straw hat was perched up like usual on his head. You let your eyes wander and bit your lip in annoyance when your eyes met hers.

The princess was standing next to Luffy, blonde hair looking as golden as honey. You could feel yourself getting uneasy as the timeline of the plan went through your mind again. The logical part of you understood that she was rather defenceless and needed some protection, but the other part of you hated the fact that Luffy took it upon himself to bring her safely to her family. The role of the rest of the crew was: distract, defend and— you gritted your teeth, be at the opposite part of the kingdom. As easy as that was, it also meant that your boyfriend would be all alone with a woman so gorgeous, your blonde crew-mate had fainted after he had seen her for the first time and almost bleed to death.

You sigh and shift your weight from one foot to another. Nami, who stood next to you, gave you a questioning gaze. But you only shrugged and made your way up to the middle of deck, where the rest of the crew was talking excitedly about the banquet the royal family would possibly throw once Luffy brought their dearest daughter back.

„Are you sure you’re okay with it, Luffy-kun?“ You heard her ask then, voice soft as butter. You stole a glance at the two of them a meter away from you and saw how the blush on her cheeks made her look even more innocent than before. If Sanji hadn’t been called away by Chopper earlier, he would have fainted yet again. „Am I not too heavy?“

Now you audibly huffed. Where was this conversation going? You turned your body towards the pair of them, ignoring the way the rest of crew was flickering back and forth between you and them. The air grew slightly tense. Luffy and the princess didn’t notice.

„I’ve carried things heavier than you, Lulu—,“ Her name was Lilly, you recalled and hated how you felt satisfied at the way he didn’t remember her name properly, „so carrying you should be no problem! It will be faster like that!“ He gave her a thumbs up and turned himself around, ready to walk away and get ready, when her small hand shot out and touched his arm, causing the muscle to stretch half a meter.

Carry her?

„Luffy-kun,“ she whispered and quickly looked at your figure standing close. „can we… talk privately? I would like to talk to you about something before our ways part.“ This time, her blush got even deeper and you swore, she let her full lashes fall like that on purpose.

You have had a feeling that her interest in your boyfriend was deeper than just friendship, but hearing her words that were promising to a love confession still took you by surprise. You didn’t see, but rather felt the presence of Usopp next to you. For some reason, you had the feeling that he was getting ready to stop your infamous temper from getting the best of you and some part of you was actually relieved at him standing close.

But Luffy just shook his head. „No,“ He merely said and your heart jumped in your chest. Did he actually noticed the meaning behind her words? It had taken you a few tries to make him notice your hidden romantic feelings, so maybe he had finally learned. Your shoulders relaxed. But then, of course, you were wrong, „we will have plenty of time to chat later on, right? You can tell me whatever you want then, Lulu.“ Right. They would be all alone for a longer time.

„Okay,“ She nodded her head softly and let go of his arm. „I still can’t thank you enough for helping me out.“ She turned around and looked at every crew member that surrounded her, even into your eyes for a second. Her own eyes were wet with unshed tears, „All of you. Thank you so much for bringing me back home. I don’t know what I would have done, if I hadn’t met you guys.“

You could hear encouraging words being called from everyone around you, Franky singing some wonderful tunes along with Brook and even Nami calling out promises as well. But it was Luffy who caught your eyes again. Your captain turned his back towards Princess Lilly and spoke his next words with a seriousness that made the blood in your veins tingle „You asked us for help. And I will make sure you get home safely, Lulu. That’s what friends do.“ It still amazed you how Luffy could switch from moods so suddenly, but it was one of the things you admired so deeply about him. The sudden urge to wrap your arms around him almost got the best of you, but you just turned to the Sniper next to you and let out a loud sigh. Maybe later you could steal some moments with him.

It was your task to stay with Sunny and take care of her. The kingdom you all were staying at was rather large and Princess Lilly had mentioned some bandits who took it upon themselves to rob empty ships. Thus leaving without having someone to keep an eye was out of the way instantly. And since Usopp and you could fight any danger from distance— again, you softly touched the metal of the guns on your belt— you two volunteered to stay behind.

„We should ask Sanji to make us some snacks.“ You mumble towards him and swallow down your previous insecurities. You couldn’t let your foolish jealousy get the best of you. Luffy was protecting his friend — and his friend was your friend… even if the friend was show stopping beautiful and probably smelled like cherry blossoms. You needed to focus properly.

Usopp grins into the sky, relieved at the change of heart. „I would love some lemon cake, to be really honest with you, Y/N. But if I ask him, he’ll tell me to leave. You go and ask him instead. And while you’re at it — ask for chocolate too, yeah?“ With a slight shake to your head, you turned on your heels and went for the kitchen.

And soon enough, it was time for your duties. The sun was high in the sky and the waves were calm. It was the perfect time to leave now. Zoro and Franky left with Brook first. Nami and Chopper left with Robin and Sanji shortly afterwards and mere minutes after that, Luffy took his leave with Princess Lilly after his hour long nap.

„Good luck.“ You said, shifting your weight from one foot to another. Even though you tried to swallow the uneasy feeling down, you could still feel its presence in the back of your mind and before you could stop yourself, more words left your lips, „Don’t have too much fun. I guess it could be tempting for some. “

Luffy, who was already half off the ship, gave you a gleeful grin, completely obvious to the double meaning behind your words, or the grim glance you gave him. „Thanks, Y/N! Don’t eat something good while I’m away, either!“ You crossed your arms and huffed at that. You were getting annoyed. For a moment he looked a bit confused about your reaction, but Usopp took a step towards him quickly, long nose scrunching in the sunlight.

„We won’t! Now go! We will take care of our pretty Sunny!“ His enthusiasm overshadowed your childish words easily, making Luffy nod his head. When his arms grew with length, you expected the tight curl of him surrounding your body in a hug, but with a quick tug at your chest, you watched his arms hug Princess Lilly. Five times did his arms curl, before he stepped up the railing and jumped off Sunny, the woman hugged safely in his arms. Even after they left, you stood still. You know how he was, he didn’t understand certain things in a way you did, but the picture of him leaving with her in his arms stung. It stung how he had not said anything more, not done anything more.

„Y/N,“ Usopp then said, slight whine in his raspy voice. „It’s Luffy. The only thing you should be worried about is him stopping at a restaurant and leaving that princess behind.“ He shook his head, his bronze skin glowing in the sun above him. He let his hand fall down on your shoulder, „Now come. The lemon cake look too good to not be eaten!“

You were glad to have him with you. In all these months of being a part of the Strawhat crew, being a fellow Sniper like Usopp was one of the best things that had happened to you. It didn’t take much to be distracted by his adventurous stories and dry jokes, but as the sun made its way faster across the sky, there was still nothing happening. Neither bandits, nor your crew mates were seen. At one point your friend even fell asleep on the grass, all while you leaned against the railing and looked out to the numerous trees that lay before you. You couldn’t see anything from here. It was straight up boring.

Caught up in this boredom, your mind drifted to your captain and the pretty princess in his arms. Were they already at the castle? Or still on their way? Your shoulders tensed. It was starting to become dark. Did they already have their little talk? Did Luffy think she was pretty? You hummed.

Did Luffy think you were pretty? Sure, he did say you looked nice from time to time, but it was rare. And it was Luffy, for crying out loud. You never knew what he was thinking to begin with. He just wasn’t the type to be affected by visuals, though.

But he did hug you tight when you tried on new clothing. Almost as tight as when you both kiss. You liked his kisses. He liked your kisses, too. How would he react if she kissed him? Would he like it and tell her to do it one more time like he does with you? Would she smile so lovingly at him, the way that you do?

You shook your head, „For heavens sake,“ you merely mumbled to yourself, not believing where your thoughts were going.

You were about to turn around and wake your best friend up for some entertainment, when you caught something moving behind the bushes on your right. The metal of your guns were in your fingers in a heartbeat, your feet finding a steady place automatically. If you called out for Usopp to wake up right now, the unknown thing would know that you had noticed it, so you had to keep calm and wait for the right moment to shoot a bullet — a warning bullet on the ground or a warning bullet in the flesh. You could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins and again, the bush moved quickly. And then it parted. You gun was raised instantly, finger already on the trigger, when you let out a disappointed sight.

„Zoro, what the hell!“

Out of the bush came every one of your crew members, some packed with bags, some swaying slightly on their feet and when you looked at the green haired swordsman, who was at the front, you couldn’t help but shake your head at the bottles of Sake in both his hands.

„The plan worked perfectly, Y/N!“ Was the first thing Nami said once her feet touched Sunny’s grass, „Luffy already brought her back home and the city was so relieved that they gave us everything for free!“ Nami squealed, shaking the full bags in front of you. „I even got some stuff for you! Look at this!“ She took out a shirt and started to rant about how pretty it would look on you, when you started frowning.

„But where is Luffy?“

There was a small pause.

The rest of the crew had successfully woken up Usopp and were in midst of telling him what had happened. Nami and you stood a few meters away.

„Well, look,“ her eyes flickered back and forth, fingers now raising to play with her orange hair. „He’s still at the castle. Apparently the king liked him so much that he insisted on keeping him there. I think he promised him some meat and, well,“ she laughed nervously. „You know how he is.“

You gave her a small smile. „Yeah, I guess I do.“  You merely said and left the deck for the aquarium. Ignoring the wild conversations outside, you let yourself plop down on the velvet seating and looked at the shark swimming around the otherwise empty water. Luffy and Usopp had put the shark in as a joke once and stupidly enough, it had eaten the rest of the fish. Now it only swam around and looked angrily at everyone that passed him. The red fabric underneath you makes a dull sound as you shift around, worry swimming around in your own head.

You got it, honestly. He didn’t have to come back first things first. Luffy had all the right to stay as long as he wanted. He was your captain. If he wanted to stay, he could stay. You had no reason to be feeling the way you did. But it didn’t stop the headache that found its way inside of you. Even though he didn’t had to, it would have been nice if he did. With a sigh, you could feel the jealousy blossoming in your heart.

You grabbed one of the deco pillows and hugged it close to you, suddenly feeling drained and tired. The feelings inside you were a mess and what was even worse, was that they were caused by nothing. Nothing but your own thoughts had caused this. Luffy did nothing bad, but you were still all up in yourself. And soon enough, the disappointment in yourself lulled you into a soft, dreamless sleep.

Time passed quickly. The first thing you noticed was the shake of your body and the tight grip someone had on your arm. Sleep was still surrounding you like a big, warm blanked, but step after step it was taken away from you as the shaking on your arm grew heavier.

„Y/N, wake up. You slept long enough~!“ Luffy was crouching down in front of you, brown eyes full of excitement. The dark fabric of the seat was now pressed against your cheek and with a groan you noted that you must have lain down unconsciously. Your bones made a few sounds as you stretched your arms and sat up. „Finally!“

„I must have fallen asleep,“ you mumbled quietly. Luffy was still crouching down in front of you, but now he let his hand graze your thigh. You wanted to grab his hand with your own, eager to finally have him back with you, when the thoughts from earlier sprang wild in your mind. You abruptly got up, making the hand fall down on the seat. „What time is it?“

„Uh, almost midnight, I think? The celebrations are fully on right now, we should leave before we miss all the good stuff! Nami said you were asleep for a long time, so you probably missed most of it anyway.“

„I’m not going.“

When Luffy stood, you crossed your arms. You were now a feet away from each other, but it was too far away, and yet not far enough for you. To hold in your feelings, you bit the inner side of your cheek. After all the things that clouded your day, he just popped out of nowhere and wanted to celebrate? It was midnight now, so there were a few hours that he had not been here. What was he thinking? What was he doing?

„Why not?“ He merely asked and the genuine confusion in his face made the blood in your veins prickle. He now leaned against the little wooden table in front of the seats, arms swaying softly back and forth. His straw hat was still perched up on his head, but his red shirt, which was closed before, was now opened and showed the deep scar on his chest. „Are you feeling ill? Should I call Chopper? I could find him quickly, if I leave now. I think he went to the plaza—“

„No.“

His brows furrowed again, then he started to rub his finger underneath the space of his nose. „Sanji told me this would happen eventually,“ he mumbled sheepishly, mostly to himself. You balled your hands into fists. „Are you…,“ He looked to the side, his cheeks now colouring slightly. „Are you mad at me?“

Your mind went blank. Did Luffy really just notice that you were mad at him? Or feeling unwell? That certainly was a first, you thought surprised.

„I…“ There was no point in sulking any more. Your feelings were hurt and you had to let him know. „Yes, I am.“

„Why?“ Luffy took a step towards you. His eyes were concentrated on your face, as if he could find the answer in your features and if you hadn’t been so overwhelmed with all of your feelings, you would have giggled at that. „I didn’t have that much fun, I promised you I wouldn’t.“ He nodded his head, taken your words from earlier literal.

„I didn’t like how you ignored me.“ You breathed out and cringed at the way you sounded. But that is what it was, right? He gave the princess what you wanted; his attention.

„Ignored?“ He merely asked and again, he was genuinely confused. He leaned his head to the side, fingers holding the hat on top of his head. He was thinking hard, you realised and again, you wanted to hug him so bad. „Ah… I think I know what you mean.“

And then he giggled.

„This is not funny, Luffy.“ But he still giggled. You shifted your weight. This was really testing your limits. Why the hell was he laughing?

„Lulu said that you were mad that I hugged her earlier. She even said that she felt bad for making you feel…,“ He made a high sound. „jealous? But I told her that I loved you. And that you shouldn’t worry. Why would I like someone else?“ He tapped his fingers against his chin. „I don’t need to like someone else.“ And then his eyes met yours. „Because I have you!“

You couldn’t believe that you thought Luffy ignored you on purpose. Or that he was affected by someone as pretty as Princess Lilly. He never cared about anything like that, so why should he start now? He picked you. You, not her or anyone else. You could feel another wave of shame crash over you. You hated Princess Lilly when she didn’t mean any harm to you. And yet, you let your own insecurities get a hold of you. You winced.

„I’m sorry.“  You whispered then and let your head fall down in your hands.

You heard him before you felt him.

Luffy was stretching his arms and let himself crash into you a second later. The impact was hard enough to swoop you off your feet, but before your back could hit the floor, he turned you both around so you lay on top of him and fell onto something soft. His laugh echoed through the whole room, making the shark in the water glare at the two of you. „You’re so funny, Y/N.“

„No,“ you pouted then and felt your cheeks redden when his hands grabbed your face. „No, I’m not.“

„I’m sorry.“ He then said, voice serious again. And yet again, you were surprised by his reaction. You didn’t know that Luffy could be this mature. At least not in situations like that. As a matter of fact, he was more mature than you were. The shame pinged again. „I will never hug someone else again. Not even Chopper. Even though he is so soft and fluffy…“

You snorted and let your head fall down on his chest. He pressed his arms stronger against you. „Was that wrong? I thought I was supposed to say that? Sanji told me to apologise if you get mad at me, and I did?“

„No, Luffy… it’s okay.“ You giggled. „You can hug anyone that you like. It was my fault. I didn’t like that she was so pretty and you spent so much time with her.“ You softly shook your head and looked back up to him. „I reacted stupid. You did nothing wrong.“

„I didn’t mean to make you feel like that.“ He then said, words filled with truth. But you already knew that.

„I know.“ You let your fingers touch his cheek, the feeling of him still so… interesting underneath your own nerves. „I know, Luffy.“ You whispered.

He smiled. „Do you want to go and celebrate now?“

You let out an amused hum and pushed yourself up, now sitting on his lap. He sat up as well, arms still wrapped tightly around you.  „Of course.“

„Sanji said I should kiss you after we fight. He talked so much that day… told me to do all these weird things. Said I should really kiss you. Either that or he will come and do it for me.“

The laugh bubbled out of you before you could stop it and a second later, Luffy joined you. Like fools the two of you sat on the floor of the aquarium and laughed.  

But at least Sanji didn’t have to come that evening.