Gender Neutral Reader - Blog Posts

Hi! Could you please do a part two to the lester/apollo x reader fic you posted?

Apollo x reader - Eternal Bonds

A/N: thank you so much for your request, anon! Sorry if this took a bit more than the time I usually take to write my fics, but as I said the past weeks have been really tiring for me🥹 

Anyway, I hope you like this fic, I personally like it better than the first part, but as always let me know your thoughts on it<3

Aaaand as always, painting is "Springtime" by Pierre Auguste Cot for anyone interested!

Summary: Having regained his immortality and prestige, all that remained for Apollo was to stabilise something in his life was one thing: you. It might sound easy, but he honestly would disagree.

Warning: it is implied that Athena has a great admiration for reader, but they’re not their child. This reconnects with my own personal thoughts on how Athena’s cabin should work, so the goddess’ relationship with reader in this fic should be seen as the same as hers and Odysseus’ (if you want further explanations on what their dynamic was let me know:))) Also I must say, I haven’t read any of the trials of Apollo books in ages so I took it as an occasion to interpret Apollo’s return to Olympus how I see it more fit to this little scenario of mine.

And lastly, not a warning but this fic starts just a bit before the end of the first part, if anyone was wondering:)

Word count: 3813 (longest fic yet omgg)

Apollo stood there, standing on the elevator that would take him home. How strange, he had dreamed of this moment for months, eager to return to his home and be welcomed as a glorious hero, with restored dignity, free of the mortal shell in which he had been confined all this time. He had imagined himself proud, tall and triumphant as he entered the gates of Olympus.

Yet as he stood on his way home, he could not prevent the continuous movement of his foot against the elevator floor. There was no trace in him of the security typical of a hero, in him at that time reigned only the same anxiety and nervousness that had characterized his mortal form. First it was Apollo inside Lester’s body, now Apollo had his body back, but Lester was inside of him. That Lester had become an integral part of him? Or maybe it didn’t add up, maybe it was always there, unable to make its voice heard under the omnipresent spirit of Apollo.

Okay, maybe he was rambling, but he couldn’t help it when he felt like his nerves were about to make him explode!

The point was, he wasn’t just going home, he was going to convince his father, the king of the gods, the exact same person who kicked him out of Olympus, to make the love of his life immortal so that he could stay by his side for eternity. It was not a situation in which one could easily remain connected to reality.

Finally, the elevator slowed down its run, until it stopped completely and opened its doors with a characteristic "ding".

Slowly, one step at a time, Apollo stepped out of the elevator and advanced to the throne room, walking up the path that would take him directly there. His performance had an air of regal composure, but it was nothing more than a method of masking his tense nerves. He walked until he reached the first areas inhabited by the Olympians and some other immortal creature.

"Apollo? I didn’t know you were already back. We thought it would take you millennia to make it up to Zeus!!" He hadn’t heard it in a while, but there was no way he could ever forget the sound of Nike’s voice. The winged goddess came to meet him flying curiously, also attracting the attention of the entities that had not paid attention to the scene so far.

Some approached, recognizing the face of the beloved god, while others ran to announce his return to the major gods. First came Hestia, who with that loving family attitude, embraced him gently. "Oh Apollo, you were so good! I never doubted you could do it." 

"I can’t say that with as much confidence, but I must congratulate you, Apollo, you have exceeded all my expectations." It was the authoritarian voice of Athena who spoke, who wore a smile on her face, a more unique than rare event. Apollo was so surprised by this unusual compliment from her that he hardly paid any attention to her questioning his chances of success.

For a moment he felt his eyes almost come out of his skull when a large hand was planted on his shoulder to pat him. " Well done, little brother, aren’t you as soft as you look, eh?" Massaging his shoulder, Apollo smiled faintly at the mountain that was his half-brother. "Thanks, Ares, it means a lot I guess..."

He was about to receive the coup de grâce, if it were not for Aphrodite, unconscious of her intervention, she had put herself right in the middle, affectionately placing one hand on Apollo’s shoulder while the other not very secretly found place in that of Ares, to the delight of Hephaestus who observed snorting away from the scene, but thumbs up at the sun god to express his joy.

He didn’t know how long this lasted, or exactly how many gods surrounded him at that point, but when Nike was about to hold a banquet in his honor he couldn’t control his reaction: "No wait!" His tone sounded so panicked that he caught everyone unawares. For a moment the gods almost had the sensation of speaking a mortal, so much his voice had squeaked in the air. Realizing that he had drawn even more attention to you, as if it were even possible in that situation, he gently shrugged his shoulders, to mitigate the gaze of the Olympians his nerves more tense than ever.

"Um I-" he made a false cough to try to regain his posture before starting to speak again, illuminating his companions with a dazzling smile, "sorry, mortal’s pollen, am I right? Anyway, much as I would be... ecstatic to attend a banquet, I’m afraid I must first have a discussion with Zeus about some... matters of utmost urgency! If you’ll excuse me, now.”

With little pomp, he made his way through the crowd stunned at his unusual behavior. "Poor thing, the Earth has changed him." Someone shook their head resigned, someone else did not even notice his abrupt exit, simply saying goodbye and congratulating him as he got smaller and smaller in the distance. The attention to him lasted just before each god went for their merry way. After all, when you have a whole eternity to live, there are few things left for you for a long time.

Everyone resumed doing what they were doing before Apollo’s return, all except Athena. It was in her nature to predict the rival’s moves- or rather, the moves of anyone around her. She may not have been born with the ability to see the future, but her intellect allowed her to come to conclusions almost as apt as an oracle. Silent as night, he followed the solar god, whose aura seemed to be clouded by some heavy burden.

The closer he got to the heavy bronze doors of the throne room, the lighter his head felt, as if his brain had gone numb. He was mathematically certain that he had NEVER felt so nervous in his entire existence. Not even his many figures in human form could compare to how he was feeling at the time. But it’s not like he could back out now, not after all the way he’s come, not after promising you not to leave your side. Not now, that had arrived in front of the doors.

He didn’t even have to knock, or announce his own name. No use, Zeus was waiting for him. Apollo took a breath, pumping his chest to emulate some sense of confidence before making his way into the vast hall. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked around and looked at the empty thrones, each with small inlays reminiscent of its owner. He passed by his own throne, and a sense of longing pervaded him to the thought that in no time he would have sat there again. Maybe you could convince Zeus to put a similar throne for you next to his own..

No, stay focused, Apollo, first of all he had to convince Zeus to make them immortal in the first place.

Without even realizing it, he was so taken by his own thoughts, he had reached the end of the room, finding himself a few feet from the king of Olympus. Now he could not afford to show himself weak, fearful. Come on, it had to come easy for him, he was also the god of the theater after all! As if a thread pulled him from above, he felt himself erect tall and proud, his chest out, his muscular back straight; a slight halo of light surrounded him, reconferendogli a little of that shine that has always distinguished him from the rest of the gods. He smiled at his father before bowing down gracefully. "It’s good to see you again, Father."

“Apollo, I see it took you no time to get used to your old life once more. I trust you have learned your lesson.”

“Indeed, father. And I came here to thank you for it all. It was… better than I expected.” Zeus lifted a brow suspiciously, eyeing his son as if trying to make out what’s in his mind just by his appearance. “Mmh I hardly believe that you only came here to thank me for your punishment.” Okay, even if he had second thoughts, it was DEFINITELY too late to back out. Yet despite the seriousness of the situation, Apollo no longer felt the same anxiety that had accompanied him throughout the climb to Olympus. He felt powerful, confident in his words, in his actions, but above all confident in you. He knew that if ever there was a mortal worthy of immortality, it was most certainly you. He looked up at his father, this time his smile had become less dazzling, almost a little nervous.

“Heh, you’re not wrong, father. I came here to make a request.”

“Depends. What is it that you desire?”

“How do you make a demigod immortal?”

Total silence fell in the room. The expression of Zeus was intelligible, and not being able to read the true emotions of Apollo, moreover in such a silent environment did not help to calm his nervousness. Zeus slowly blinked, covering his icy eyes for a moment before opening them again as he breathed in just as slowly. " Few mortals have earned the gift of immortality throughout history. He must deserve that honor with out-of-the-ordinary feats," he paused, as if to reflect, then resumed speaking, in a neutral but glacial and authoritative tone, "this is not impossible, but I count on one bare hand how many times a mortal has been added to the abode of the immortals over the millennia."

"I am aware of this, Father, and that is precisely why I believe that the person I speak of is the most deserving of this honor." Zeus did not answer. Not immediately, at least. He seemed confused and intrigued at the same time, as if he had not expected such a response. " My son, what do you mean by that?" Apollo could not avoid the smile that spread on his face having an opportunity to talk about your countless qualities, which in his eyes were endless. It was one of his favorite activities even when he was mortal, actually.

"You see father, they are a demigod of qualities worthy only of an immortal god. They are strong and wise, although they are still at a young age. They fear nothing but the limits imposed by Olympus, which they have served since the day they set foot inside Camp Half-Blood."He took a little dramatic pause, perhaps expecting to be interrupted by the divine father, but he gave no sign of wanting to intervene in words; he preferred to remain silent, peering at his son while he justified his reasons for satisfying his will.

"And they are beautiful, Father. They shine with a beauty far beyond that of an ordinary mortal. Even on the battlefield, soiled with blood and filth of all kinds, their beauty always resembled that of Aphrodite and Eros and all the gods of all the Pantheons of this world who possess the gift of supreme beauty." To this the father could not suppress a snort of derision, not trusting the words of the son in fact of beauty, "If I remember well such words were spoken by you also for Hyacinth, and before him Daphne, and before her still such a long series of river nymphs and mortal beings that I lost count."

Apollo lowered his head in resignation, sighing gently before looking up to speak again, "I realize this, Father, but I mention their beauty only because it would be a crime against all that is right to omit. However, it remains only one of the many qualities that characterize them, which none of my past lovers can say. But that is not the greatest reason why I consider them worthy of immortality."

"Speak openly then, you know I don’t like to wait." The blond-haired god nodded and took another step towards the king of the gods, his eyes even brighter than before, inflamed by his longing desire to obtain what he most desired in his entire existence. You, at his side. Forever.

"You see, they have done a great service to the goddess of wisdom and the manual arts. They have done the will of Athena and have done such glorious deeds that they have increased her honor. I myself was able to attend only some of their quests, but I assure you that they were so great as to justify the support and blessing of a goddess so hardly affable." To these words, Zeus seemed completely incredulous. In Olympus it was well known that Athena was the beloved daughter of the king of the gods, who always kept her close to him and always made all her will an uncompromising law. It seemed impossible to him that any mortal had been able to win the favor of the goddess, and he strongly doubted the veracity of Apollo’s claim.

The young god opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a voice echoing from behind him, "As much as the idea of supporting Apollo’s petty whims, this time I must agree with him." Athena had followed Apollo to the throne room, suspicious of his strange behavior. He had to be honest, Apollo literally had no idea what to say at that moment; he did not expect to get to that point with his interview and certainly did not expect Athena’s support in his intent. But this was a real blessing, for she herself could bear witness to your worth.

She only gave him a scowling look, like a silent admonition to avoid yelling at him, pick up your mouth from the ground and be a god, genius! But his silver eyes were enough to relay the message, and after a moment Apollo had returned to his usual divine bearing. She blinked slowly before turning her eyes again to Zeus.

"Y/N Y/L is a demigod of undeniable quality, which also left me pleasantly surprised. It is true, they have diligently served Olympus and have especially served me, and I have let them fight in my name precisely because their wit deserved such honor. If only it were possible, I would claim them as my own child, for only twice in my existence have I met two mortal men of equal virtue, and those mortals were the king of Ithaca and your son Hercules, to whom you rightly granted immortality.

You know that I do not speak in vain when I express my opinion, and that is why I consider them worthy to also obtain the gift of immortality, especially when to these incredibly successful quests are added the love of a god and the admiration of another." 

Now Zeus observed the two with two comically wide eyes, mostly due to the unexpected intervention of Athena. Even Apollo could not hide his amazement from that sudden help, but he certainly did not complain at all. Three beats passed, then Zeus cleared his voice and I speak in a more serene tone than before, though still authoritarian, "Very well, if you yourself, Athena, consider this mortal worthy of so many honors I want to believe you. Your lover will be granted immortality, Apollo. This will happen at sundown, when you bring your chariot back here to Olympus. Lead them with you, and they can live forever here with you."

"Yes!!" Apollo threw a fist in the air for joy, a small habit he had taken in his stay on earth, but soon after he realized that perhaps it was not quite the right place to give free rein to his happiness, judging by the unimpressed face of Zeus, "Um, I apologize. I thank you father, for this wonderful gift. I assure you that you will not regret it!" He slowly stepped back as he spoke to him with the biggest smile on his face, extending his arms and bending his knees in a farewell bow. Zeus, for the first time in what seemed like centuries, smiled at Apollo and nodded slightly.

"Enjoy this concession of mine, my son, and may it remain in your mind as your reward for having demonstrated your qualities, even without the intervention of your divinity."

"I’ll never forget it. They’ll never let me!" With some other ceremonious thanksgiving, which they had little given the haste and irrepressible joy of the sun god, Apollo rushed down to Olympus, hastening as much as possible to reach his beloved in the place where they had met. He looked at a clock to see how much time he had left. 7 P.M., he still had some time left. He ran like a madman, until he saw the entrance of the familiar Campo approaching. He ignored everyone around him, his perplexed children, his disappointed fangirls, his friends not too surprised to see him running like a bullet through the field, with the biggest smile they’d ever seen on him. Only Meg had a vague feeling about what exactly happened, but even if she did, she didn’t say anything and just looked at him smiling before going back to her things.

Apollo entered the forest next to the Camp and continued to run. Lucky he was back in his cool form, if he was still Lester would have collapsed out of breath for half an hour. And then finally, he finally arrived at your rendezvous point. She found you there, gently lying on moss, slumbering from the weariness of the activities at the Camp and from the worries you had freed yourself of the previous day, in that exact same place, when you had finally found your beloved. Apollo was quivering, thinking how you would react to the awakening, among the golden blankets of his heavenly palace. What would you have said seeing your body invigorated and illuminated by immortality. What would you have felt seeing that his declarations of eternal love were not fallacious, but promises that he had dedicated himself body and soul to keep.

He gently picked you up, taking care not to wake you. He invoked his golden chariot and rode with you to your new home. He kept you close, as much as he was physically allowed by the confined space. The journey did not last long, being facilitated by the godly transport; once arrived right in front of the golden gates of the Apollonian abode, he took you back in his bridal style, leading you to his- your bed. You were stretched out just as he saw your skin begin to shimmer gently, its color gradually became richer and filled with eternally vital sap. He stood by your side, filling your neck and shoulders with kisses as he crouched behind you, eagerly awaiting your rebirth as a deity.

In the morning you woke up with a strong light that dazzled you. You thought it was Apollo, who since he had returned to his true form had regained all the lustre of his nature. But no, it wasn’t him; it was you, whose skin emanated a faint light that bounced against the various gold inlays that were in the bedroom. Yeah, you didn’t remember falling asleep in a bed, the last thing you remembered was lying in the forest moss while you waited for Apollo. Wait a minute, this isn’t even a room in Camp Half-Blood! 

You did it to snap up to the alert, but then you stopped when you felt the familiar touch of Apollo caressing your shoulder, sliding towards the back of your neck and passing through your hair, which had been twice as long as the day before. Normally you would have yawned, but it didn’t seem physically possible to experience any fatigue in the state you were in. You felt... almighty. You finally turned your attention away from your body and turned it towards Apollo, who was already looking at you with a loveless look.

"Good morning, beautiful." You smiled though still confused by the situation you were in. Tempting your luck, you took a sigh and then you spoke, your melodic, honey-sweet voice even though you just woke up, "'Chicken, where are we?"

"We are in Olympus my dear. I promised you that I would not forget you, that I would love you forever. And I meant every single word I said, which is why I had a little conversation with Zeus earlier, and well... let’s just say with a little help I was able to convince him to give you immortality." He said it with the biggest and most satisfied smile I’d ever seen on him, and meanwhile he hugged you and held you and caressed you all over his body, as if to confirm himself that all this was true.

You were utterly speechless, incredulous at what this god had just done in the name of love for you, but at the same time you felt a warm feeling pervading you from within, filling you with joy and happiness, as if that of him had infected you like a disease. You held your hands to his face and laughed in disbelief and said, "You’re the biggest crazy idiot I’ve ever met, Lester!" 

He laughed with you, feeling pervaded by this joy that moved him from within, almost pushing him to tears by the power of these feelings. Holding you tighter, she stroked your silky soft hair as she chuckled happily, "I guess you’ll have to get used to the gold and clouds here." " Still better than a bunk bed to share in five."

Laughing together, you held each other so long as you had time, before he had to take off and lead the sun across the sky. Before he got on the golden chariot, he touched your face with his bronze hands and kissed you gently. " I still can’t believe I’m gonna be able to kiss these lips forever, Y/N." You smiled at him before you grabbed him by the shoulder to push him towards you, and kissed him again. " Then hurry up and leave, so you’ll be back soon and I’ll have a chance to convince you that everything is real." Winking at him, he laughed loudly and heartily, a more melodic sound than any lyre or flute.

"Then I shall not be long in returning to your arms, my lord" And so he departed towards the horizon, and you smiled as you watched him disappear into the sky, thinking with satisfaction of the world that will look up to him with longing and admiration, knowing that he will never again stop for anyone but you, once his daily duties are over. 

Hi everyone

Thank you so much for all the support lately, it really means a lot!

Sadly I've been quite busy lately because of school, work and family matters, so I kind of stopped writing in the past days.

I was actually working on a bunch of unrequested fics, but since I've recieved a few requests I'll focus on those first, and I'm pretty positive that I'll be able to publish them by the end of the working week but I won't make promises.

I won't make any spoilers about neither of these fics, but I'll just say, they're both about two characters whose fics I've written have been really like by the readers...

cough cough Baldwin and Lester cough cough

Sooo that is all for now, I'm starting to work on both fics, I really hope to be able to post them asap.

Bye everyoneeee hope you have a wonderful day and week💕💕💕

Lester Papadopoulos/Apollo x reader - It's Over, isn't It?

A/N: okay so a few weeks ago I was listening to the song “It’s Over isn’t it” form the Steven Universe series and this scenario came to my mind, so I thought I’d just make it a fic! For this piece I didn’t see a point in assigning a gender to the reader, so we go with gender neutral all the way😎😎(neither your godly parent is specified since it doesn’t really add anything to the plot, so you can choose whichever you prefer)

PART TWO IS HERE

Warning: insecurity, jealousy, angst (WITH comfort tho), mentions of suggestive activities

Word count: 3209

You kinda hate yourself right now, and you hate yourself because you are so angry right now.

Well maybe angry is an exaggeration, but still, you’re really, really upset.

And you know you should be anything but upset right now. I mean, the love of your life finally has the chance to go back to his home in the Olympus, regain his honor and his status as a god. Those were all good things that you should be ecstatic about, right?

Well, wrong.

Just thinking of it made you feel like you could throw up at any moment. Thinking about the fact that Apollo. Because, what will be of Lester, your Lester?

Your whole relationship had started because he wasn’t Apollo. He wasn’t the tall, tan, handsome and all mighty God of the Sun; he was just a normal teen, whose only things that made him stick out were his acne, his clumsiness and a somewhat nice voice. His mortal condition didn’t even give him a single chance to act in his usual exaggerated, narcissistic self. He had to start off from the start, build a personality that wasn’t based on his godly qualities, but on something more real.

And in that situation he found himself in, with his new eyes he had seen you, and you truly seemed like a deity to him. 

How could you be anything less to the rest of the world, he thought. You were your godly parent’s greatest hero, you were liked and admired by most campers both because of your victories and your looks. And he spent oh so many nights fantasizing about taking you back with him in Olympus, giving you the godly status that should be rightfully yours. But hell, with the body he’d found himself in he’d barely the courage to come up to you to talk.

He told you so many times how absolutely surprised he was when he found out that you actually liked him back, even if he looked like any 17 year old loser, his actual words. And you remembered too, how his voice was so shaky as he tried to muster up a coherent sentence, how his cheeks shone a bright red, how his hands were trembling as you took them into yours and his palms sweating. But in your mind, that was more beautiful than any sonnet, any haiku, any poem, any grandiose, Apollo-like gesture. Because that was Lester, not Apollo; and in your eyes, Lester’s awkwardness was what made him stand out, because it was purely genuine.

Now ever so often you wonder, if he used to feel like you’re feeling right now, like you’re no match to the person you love. You look at your reflection in the mirror of the bathroom, and the mean joke that played your mind made you highlight all the flaws you could spot in yourself. All things that a god could never accept in their lover. You feel so wrong, so flawed that you just wish you could turn yourself into mud and reform your appearance completely.

Gods, you’re being ridiculous right now, you think, you just want to slap yourself in the face and yell at your reflection to get a grip goddamnit! You’re one of the greatest heroes of your time, you survived two wars, you can’t possibly draw the line at a failed relationship with a god. 

At one point someone might think: but why are you so opposed to the idea that your boyfriend is finally becoming a god once again? How ungrateful can you be??

But the point is, you know damn well that the whole point of the creation of Lester was forcing Apollo into a form that would’ve been the total opposite of who he is.

Because Apollo is naturally flirty and superficial, he loves to love and be loved, and he pursues anything and everything that he finds beautiful. But he got bored easily of his love conquers, hence why he has so many kids. So in your mind, it was only natural that as soon as he was back to normality, he’d grow tired of you and move to the next mortal that piqued his interest, maybe even leaving you a single parent to a new demigod.

That’s why you couldn’t stop that nagging feeling deep into your core, as you walked out of your cabin, hearing all the girls already speculating about how beautiful, handsome, shiny and dashing Apollo will be once he goes back to his form. “And who knows, maybe he’ll set his eyes on some of the friends he made in here” squealed a girl, from which cabin you did not know nor care. Her friend replied: “Yeah I mean, ain’t no way he’s gonna keep staying with the same partner forever. I mean, come on, he’s Apollo!” They both giggled like school girls, then kept gossiping about something else, but you did not care enough to keep eavesdropping their whole conversation.

You really hated yourself for being like this right now.

Of course, you know that those two girls meant no harm, it wasn’t their fault if they knew just as much as you did about Apollo’s tendencies. And about that you’re already came to terms with, but there’s something else you hate yourself for…

You stopped reaching out to him. Or even worse, you even started to avoid him. 

Not also him, but your friends and siblings as well. You closed yourself off of everyone else in your life, opting to spend your free days in Camp by yourself, whether it is in your cabin, sparring or all alone in your favorite spot in the forest.

Which is exactly where you’re directed to right now, as you put your headphones in your ears, wasting no time to press play and then abuse the volume up button to muffle any sound from the outside. You walk past the two girls, past another group of guys that were training with one another, and past your friends too, who you didn’t noticed as they were calling and waving at you to join them for a quick snack, leaving them rather confused and preoccupied as it seemed that you were stuck in a trance, locked out in another dimension of your own.

You didn’t even see Lester excusing himself from the group to subtly start following you wherever you were going.

It’s a quiet place, the one in the forest, protected by a thick layer of trees and bushes that makes it hard to reach it; but it’s worth all the climbing and scratches for the beautiful sight of a clear waterfall that fell right into a circular body of water, surrounded  by a rather big field of moss, so soft and fresh to lay on during the hot summer nights.

And so you did, letting yourself fall on that natural mattress, then closing your eyes to feel the light breeze on your exposed skin, and let the words of the song that’s blasting at full volume at the moment fill your ears, although you can barely focus on what they’re saying

It really seems unfair, all of this. That you thought you had fallen in love not with a god, but with a boy. Somehow forgetting that boy and god mixed in Lester, two sides of the same coin.

And maybe he forgot too, because every time the two of you were together, he suddenly couldn’t bring himself to think of the responsibilities that were waiting for him. With you, he forgot about his lost and very much missed abs and tan, he forgot about his chariot and his comfortable place in Olympus. Hell, you even made him forget about all his old lovers. It was really only you in his eyes, just as he was in yours. If only he’d ever told you all of this though…

Your mind keeps swirling in a million thoughts, until it fixates on one memory in particular.

You and him, alone on that very same spot in the forest. In a similar situation as you were now, too, with your crappy phone playing music softly in the background, as the the two of you laid together, one next to the other. You turn around to look at him briefly, only to find him already looking at you. “What, do I have something on my face or..” he just shake his head with the most lovestruck eyes you’d ever seen, batting his eyes slowly before looking at you once again, “I just really want to kiss you right now”.

Your eyes widen. His eyes widen. Did he really just say THAT?

Neither of you were sure how or why, thinking back to it, you wonder if it was his godly charm poking at the back of his head. But that didn’t matter at the time, the future in which he came back to his godly state seemed so far from you, it wasn’t even an option in your head.

Nevertheless, after the initial shock from his words, you silently answered him with a slow, almost numbed movement of the head, nodding slightly, almost scared that if you moved to fast you would’ve whisked him away, or that he could’ve changed his mind already.

But that nod was all that he needed before crashing his lips against yours, one of his hands flying to grab the side of your head, while the other stayed put on its place against the ground to keep him from falling on top of you.

The kiss was an absolute mess: teeth clashing, nose bumping against each other,... but it was perfect that way to you. You broke away from each other for a brief moment to catch your breaths, and you just look into each other’s eyes. With chests heaving, breaths mixing, you both started laughing, if only for a moment, a laugh of disbelief at what had just happened.

But that laugh didn’t last long before he moved his head closer once again, this time more slowly, more confidently. The kiss was in fact much less messy, your lips found their place against each other, the panic from before had morphed into pure butterflies in your stomach and fireworks in your eyes.

After a minute at most, you broke apart once again, but only for Lester to reposition himself on top of you in a more comfortable position. Your bodies closer than ever, you could feel everything of him….

What happened after still makes your cheeks flush red at the mere thought, but it also causes a frown to form on your face. Those times, when it was just the two of you are over. Maybe it was just a time of crisis that brought you two together, the shock from a morta perspective might have caused him to cling onto the closes person he could find. You can’t help but imagine Leste- Apollo in that moment, laying in the clouds of Olympus in a much similar scenario, maybe with a beautiful nymph or a smaller deity, or a mortal he laid his eyes on while he was on this earth-

“There you are! I should’ve known that if you’re not around you’re definitely in here.” If it were a normal, mortal voice, you wouldn’t have been able to hear it over the deafening high volume of the music blasting in you ears. But it wasn’t a mortal voice.

It was loud, it was melodic, it resonated in the air like the echo of the most beautiful of songs,…

You wouldn’t even need to turn around to know that that voice came from no other than Apollo. That’s right, he probably came back to his true form already. You can’t even imagine what a scene that would’ve been, to see the handsomely perfect god walking around Camp Half Blood, how many boys and girls had probably followed him around drooling over the sight of him. 

You wish you could just stay put, coldly dismiss him and let him go for what probably is the rest of your life and his eternity. But, curiosity gets the best of you, and you can’t help but turn around tentatively, eager to see what your boyfriend really looks like.

Your mouth quite literally hits the floor at the sight. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve always found Lester really attractive, but this.

This was something beyond the concept of handsome or beautiful.

This, him, was beyond what humans can perceive and comprehend.

Yes, you knew that his skin was tanned, but as he stood in front of you it seemed as if his body was made of bronze.

And yes, you also knew that his hair was blonde, but that didn’t make them justice. They flew, like rays of sun through a clouded sky.

Of his eyes you knew nothing about, but you were pretty sure at this point that no description could really depict just how deep, bright, captivating, alluring, even, they really were.

Your mouth quite literally hit the floor at the sight. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve always found Lester really attractive, but this.

This was something beyond the concept of handsome or beautiful.

This, him, was beyond what humans can perceive and comprehend.

Yes, you knew that his skin was tanned, but as he stood in front of you it seemed as if his body was made of bronze.

And yes, you also knew that his hair was blonde, but that didn’t make them justice. They flew, like rays of sun through a clouded sky.

Of his eyes you knew nothing about, but you were pretty sure at this point that no description could really depict just how deep, bright, captivating, alluring, even, they really were.

Your throat felt tight, your mouth dry, and your whole body gives you this tingly sensation. With all of your strength, you took a deep breath to try and calm yourself down, before mustering all of your strength to speak without a pathetic shaky voice. “I thought you were going back as soon as you got your body back.“

“Ain’t no way that I wasn’t coming to kiss my beautiful partner goodbye.” He grinned as he swiftly took a seat right by your side, propping himself on his elbow, his eyes never once leaving yours. You swore his smile was intoxicating, you’d say contagious even if the thought that this might’ve been your last moments together didn’t fill your mind with sorrow.

You wanted to protect yourself from this, detach your mind and heart from him before he does it first, leaving you with an aching heart and moving on with his eternal life.

You felt a hand come up to your cheek, holding it softly as the sweetest melody came from his lips, “I’m gonna miss you madly once I’m back there, you know?” At that, you can’t help the deep anger that fills you from inside, a feeling that expresses through icy, stinging words, as you turned your head away from his touch, “I’m sure you’ll move on in no time.”

He frowned. That wasn’t the reaction he expected from you at all, but he didn’t really take it personally, it was so obvious that there was something troubling you. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” your voice is louder, a mixture of frustration and anger. But also so much sadness, that can be felt by just how strained the sound that came from your throat is, almost as if you were fighting back tears. You swallow hard, trying to recollect yourself, “I mean that you are a God, I am just a mortal. One of many. I’ve got nothing special to be remembered for, to be remembered by you for the rest of eternity. And Im okay with it, really. Our destinies were never meant to combine, I was just another one of your lovers.” As you spoke those last words you couldn’t help but let the tears flow from your eyes, those who always looked at Lester with a mix of love and mischief, now only filled with a never ending sadness.

Slowly, as to avoid scaring you off, the renewed god took your wet face in his warm hands, pulling you closer and wiping your tears off at the same time. Gently, he spoke: “My love, you couldn’t have said anything more wrong. You are special to me, and I could never forget you. In thousands of years that I’ve existed, no one had ever treated like you did, like I wasn’t a god. Sure, it was temporary and you knew I could’ve incinerated you as soon as I got back to… this.” He looked down, gesturing at his body, a sight for sore eyes that could’ve really made you unfocus on anything were you not so taken by your talk with Apollo at the moment. “But that didn’t stop you from treating me like we were equal. And I hated it, at first. I thought it would be part of my punishment. But as time passed, I realized that being your equal was the highest of honors I could ever get. You’re… you’re crazy strong, incredibly smart, unbelievably beautiful, way too kind for your own good, especially with those brats of the kids in this Camp.”

You giggled at his words, a consistent contrast with your tearful eyes and quiet sobs, “Some of those brats are your children too, genius.” “Well then it must run in the family.” You laughed again while shaking your head, but only for a moment before returning your full attention on the boy in front of you. He took the sign to continue.

“What I’m trying to say is, I don’t think I could ever be able to let you go. Over all the lovers I had through the years, which I’m sure you know are many, you’re the only one that saw me and treated me with true love and care. Not with fearful devotion, never fearing what I was capable of. I only ever saw this kind of love in Sally Jackson, and I mocked Poseidon for letting a mortal like many treat him so casually. But now, now I get it, and to be honest I can’t help but think that you’d deserve to be called a deity far more than many others who already are. Maybe even more than me. So I refuse to ever let go of this blessing that fate has given me. And if in order to do so I have to take your soul and put it on the sky above, to rest as a star forever by my side, so be it. But trust me you’re not getting rid of me so easily.”

You crumbled like a sand castle at his words, that he spoke with the very same tone, on the very same spot when you still called him Lester, and you promised to stick by each other’s side for the time you had left, only a few months before this whole encounter. You let your head fall into his broad chest, sobbing softly as you desperately clung to him. Your tears weren’t of sadness anymore, but of relief, for you had just been given the confirmation that your lover was still yours.You spent the rest of the night there, cuddling as close to eachother as possible as you rested in peace. 

The morning after, at dawn, when he had to officially go back to his daily duties, he begrudgingly got up from his place in your arms, placing butterfly kisses on your arms and neck, careful not to wake you. He left a little not right next to you, one that read: 

“I had to go, didn’t want to wake your pretty face this early in the morning.  Meet me here at dusk tomorrow, Forever yours,  A.”

It made you smile, seeing that note as soon as you opened your eyes, almost made you forget the lack of your boyfriend next to you,… and the yelling of your friends and siblings calling for your name in the distance.

You wasted no time walking towards those voices, and when they asked you just where the hell have you been all night, you just smiled and brushed it off, but everyone noticed how your usual bright self had mysteriously came back after days of brooding.

Hours later, you were calmly eating dinner with the other campers, laughing and talking and eating seemingly decent food. You were totally clueless as to where exactly Apollo was, but you guessed he was on his chariot, on his way to let the sun set and go to your secluded spot. But little did you know, he was in neither of those places. He was actually walking up to Zeus’ throne, tall and proud as he respectfully bowed to his father. “Apollo, I see it took you no time to get used to your old life once more. I trust you have learned your lesson.”

“Indeed, father. And I came here to thank you for it all. It was… better than I expected.” Zeus lifted a brow suspiciously, eyeing his son as if trying to make out what’s in his mind just by his appearance. “Mmh I hardly believe that you only came here to thank me for your punishment.” “Heh, you’re not wrong, father. I came here to make a request.”

“Depends. What is it that you desire?”

“How do you make a demigod immortal?”

 Leo Valdez x Child of Aphrodite!reader

A/N: I haven’t got much to say this time, just a reminder that requests are open and will remain this way for some weeks at the very least:))

Warning: absolutely none (maybe some swearing? But like, two bad words), just pure fluff. Also, reader uses female pronouns

It was kind of against your destiny to fall in love: Aphrodite is bound to never return Hephaestus’ love, so that they’re stuck in a loveless marriage. With the two of you, it’s the total opposite

The exact same MOMENT you see the boy in camp, disheveled look, face covered in machine oil and dust, you’re, absolutely smitten

It’s the classical “she fell first, he fell harder” type of trope

He notices you pretty early on too, but he doesn’t even try to approach you at first

I mean, no way that the prettiest child of Aphrodite could ever even look into his direction, you’re wayyyy over his league

It takes Piper’s help to start things up, when she accidentally stumbles upon Leo while she was taking a walk around camp. “Oh how rude of me. Y/N, this is my best friend, Leo”

It would be embarrassing to write down just how much he’s stumbled on his words the first time the two of you talked, just because of how he was absolutely captured by your godly beauty

He comes to find that you’re also a lot more than you’re looks: you’re funny, smart, clever, strong as fuck, and one of the best friends Leo has ever known

It doesn’t take long for him to realize that he’s completely and irrevocably in love with you, but oh boy how long does it take him to confess it to you

He had prepared this big, fancy plan to take you by the beach, with candles all around, a circle of rose petals and in the center of it a picnic filled with all of your favorite foods waiting to be devoured

Too bad he didn’t check the weather that morning, or he would’ve seen that a storm was expected right on that evening. He might’ve asked for Percy’s or Jason’s help too, maybe they could’ve done some big-god shit to prevent the rain

Nevertheless, you both found yourself soaked wet, standing by a line of extinguished candles, the petals long gone with the wind, and the food watered down to a soup

He wanted to drown himself in the sea right then and there, but he was quickly stopped by your laugh coming from behind him

Oh gods, where you making fun of him? Did you figure out what his intentions were? It must’ve been it, I mean, how could you ever want to have anything to do with him other than simple friendship, he’s been so stupid so reckles-

His track of thoughts was interrupted by your hands grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him in for a loving kiss, your skilled lips so soft and comforting against his much inexperienced ones

“You could’ve just told me you liked me at Camp, you know.”

“Wait, was it that simple?”

You laughed again shaking your head at his cluelessness, and he swore the sound of your laugh could’ve been the only thing he needed to live from that moment on

Okay no maybe food too, but you get the idea

You spend most of the time chilling in cabin 9 while he works on his projects, chilling in his bed or peaking at what he was doing

He definitely calls you dove for obvious reasons

Best believe that as soon as you guys are a thing all his flirting with every girl that moves is OVER my boy does not come from the streets he’s a loyal mf

After the curfew you usually sneak out to chill in some secluded area in the forest, and cuddle for hours in the moonlight

And whenever it rains, you waste no time to go at the beach and dance in the rain, reminiscing about the day you two got together

Oh, and get ready to see Leo as an emotional wreck anytime one of you is on a quest, when he’s unable to text you or hear anything from you for days or even WEEKS

He’s sure that’s worse than Prometheus’ destiny

Overall it’s like a golden retriever - siamese cat relationship, 10/10 would recommend

Hello everyone, new writer here!!

I have some writing ideas in mind but I thought it'd be wiser to start off by writing what you guys want to read first then I might elaborate the projects I already have in mind.

GENERAL INFOS:

English isn't my first language so please be bear with me if I make any mistakes (which will happen for sure)

I probably won't write for a male!reader. Nothing against male readers, of course, but I feel that I don't have enough writing skills to write as well for a man as I would for a woman. That being said, I still might try it out in the future if it's something that many of you want. Gender neutral is also totally fine to me!

Keep in mind that I'm still studying so I might not be always able to post the same day someone sends a request, but I'll try to write my fics in no more than 3 days after the commission

If any fic I write contains spoilers from the book/series/movie THERE WILL BE A WARNING so that I don't ruin anything to anyone🤗

FANDOMS I WRITE FOR:

The Arcana

Dragon Age, all four games

Game of Thrones, all series and books

Kingdom of Heaven

Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion and other book characters included

Baldur's Gate 3

Death Note

My Hero Academia

If you want fics from other fandoms you can still ask me and I'll do some research on it so that I can make something, but it will take more time ofc.

THINGS I WON'T DO (smut related):

Anything revolving a lack of consent so no noncon, dubcon, cnc,...

Pedophilia and zoophilia (ew)

Any naughty actions related to any sort of bodily discharge (period excluded)

Any butt stuff related activities, no shame in who likes it at all but it's something that I just don't like personally and wouldn't be comfortable writing

I think that is all you guys need to know for now, once I'll get enough fics done I'll add the masterlist in this post too so you guys can see if my writing is of your liking.

Byeeee hope I'll see you in the requests!!!!

okay, I'm feeling angsty lately so here's am idea for all talented writers out there (could maybe be considered spoilers for the aot finale but idk so be careful):

Eren goes mad and wants to destroy everything after his s/o has died by the hands of Marleyans, kinda as if by losing them he lost his last hope in humanity.

idk guys I like suffering during the holidays (kinda like family dinners)

A Rose By Any Other Name

fandom: Mouthwashing

characters: Curly x Paranoid!GN!Reader

warnings and summary: angst, depression, self-harm scars • you had no one to be there for you, so you wanted an escape, and thats the reason why you joined pony express. but now curlys here<3

title inspired by A Rose by Any Other Name... - Omori

masterlist

Captain Curly seemed intimidating at the start.

When you first met the crew, you were scared of Jimmy first. He stared at everyone like he was ready to fight the first person to say a word. Daisuke looked a bit too friendly. Swansea had the face of a drunk, angry stepfather. Anya seemed sweet but a little bit too nervous for your liking (you always thought that shy people had the most secrets). Curly had a smile on his face, but you were still timid.

The captain held his hand out to you. His lips twitched when you didn't take it, but he just ruffled your hair and grinned with a "Welcome, crewmate!"

You despised looking messy. Formality was key, your mother had taught you. Formality was all you had ever known.

He noticed the way you jolted to grab your phone and fix your hair with the help of the camera. He took a bag out of his suitcase and gave a brush that was inside it to you. Maybe he wasn't so bad- no. No. They were all going to be like everyone else who had ever spoken to you. You were set on that.

Your hands slowly took the brush. You nodded in thanks before you thoroughly combed your hair.

After three months on the ship, you settled down.

Daisuke was very affectionate around you, baking cakes for you randomly, which resulted in Jimmy scolding him for wasting supplies.

Swansea called you "kiddo" and patted your head often.

Jimmy rarely acknowledged you, but when he did he just nodded with the smallest smile (you knew he was trying).

Anya tended to your self-harm wounds a few times, you thanked her around fifty times each visit.

Curly was... a lot. He hugged you, made sure you slept and ate well, hooked his arm around yours when you felt nervous, and made you coffee. Occasionally he would let you sit on his cot with him and read comics together.

He saw how you shrinked in on yourself when the topic shifted to your life before the Tulpar.

"Oh... I, uhm.. It was okay."

Jimmy's brow furrowed, Daisuke was very confused, Anya frowned knowingly, Swansea sighed, Curly stared.

Everyone knew. Everyone was going to figure out. Curly spoke first.

"Eleborate on 'okay'? What was your childhood like?"

"Well, uh, I- I was raised good."

Swansea piped up next.

"Yeah? What were ya parents like, kiddo?"

"Mmh.. my mother was... formal... I never really talked to my father.."

Anya cleared her throat.

"Sweetheart, you need to open up eventually."

You looked down. Everybody was focused on you.

"Too much- I-"

"I'll be taking them for now. Resume with your activities, everyone."

A hand grabbed yours and gently gestured for you to get up.

A few minutes later, you were laying on your cot with Curly sitting by your side. His hand gently traced shapes on the back of yours.

"Are you okay now?"

You nodded.

"You don't have to talk, just so you know."

He gave you a caring smile, squeezing your hand twice.

"But if you ever need someone, captain knows best."

You smiled back at him.

In the morning, a yawn startles you awake.

Oh. Your. God.

Blonde hair erupted into your vision and blue eyes blinked down at you. Your eyes widened in return.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

You sputtered out sounds, frantically trying to grasp onto words. He chuckles at your struggling and shushes you with a press of his index finger to your lips.

"I suppose yes? That's good then. A captain must do his best make sure his crew is comfortable."

Then he winked at you. You felt heat and blood rush to your face.

"We could sleep in for a few more minutes, if you would like. The others haven't woken yet."

"...that'd be nice. Thank you."

It was nice. You finally felt like you belonged.

----------------------------------------------------------

created by sunnywrotethis☆

2025

do not repost without permission, reblogs are okay

A Quarter to Something

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

Masterlist

Pairing: Zach Hadel x gn!Reader

Warnings: Depression; Burnout; Mentions of Alcohol; Drug use (weed); Angst with happy ending

A/N: Song fic spotted! I guess you could count this as a vent fic? It's a little all over the place but I still hope you enjoy! (Translated lyrics are at the bottom ^^)

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

It was okay that no one noticed that you weren’t doing alright. 

At least that’s what you kept telling yourself.

You didn’t want to bother them, where were you even supposed to start? Most of the stress that had befallen you was due to your own procrastination anyway. If you were just a little more ambitious- no. 

You WERE ambitious. 

The problem wasn’t a lack of motivation for the matter. But then again, you couldn’t figure out what the actual issue was. 

“Alright, I’m tired as fuck. Think I’m gonna head home.” 

Chris’ voice snapped you out of your spiraling thoughts. A quick glance at the monitor nearest to you told you that they stopped recording. 

You weren’t an active part of any of the episodes. More so taking the role of a regular viewer that just happened to also be in the room and occasionally joining in on the conversations. 

No one forced you to be a part of the channel but you liked just spending time with your friends in this way. Especially if, like today, Tomar, Chris and Zach were playing a horror game. The tension in the room and the nervous jokes or Chris’ attempts at spooking Zach were able to take your mind for a little vacation. Away from all the deadlines and responsibilities. They seemed to melt away in the dark of the room and the soft couch. 

For the most part at least. 

“Sure, me too, I think. (Y/n), you need a ride?” Tomar stretched after standing up. The session today had been going on for like 8 hours. So naturally his back made a sound which caused everyone to collectively ask if he was alright. 

“Uh, no I think I’m gonna stay a little longer. Don’t really wanna go home into my cold room.” 

This year’s winter had been surprisingly tough and of course right when you needed it the most, your heater malfunctioned. The worst part is that your landlord was on vacation and like landlords often are, he didn’t want you to call a professional and would rather look at the issue himself. “That’d just be additional costs that aren’t necessary.”. With an eye roll and a shiver you had turned off your phone after he sent you that message. 

So that is why you spent the majority of your time at the office. That and the fact that you didn’t feel like being alone. 

“Alright then.” 

And with that, Chris and Tomar said their goodbyes.

Left were you and Zach. A comfortable silence filled the room as he turned off the game consoles and put everything away as neatly as possible. Meanwhile you stayed on the couch, watching him intently. As if him tidying up was anything special. 

“You know, I could take a look at your heater.” 

“Huh?” 

His back was turned to you as he made his offer. You could only make out his silhouette in the dim moonlight that now flooded the room after Zach opened the curtains and opened the windows for a bit. The air in here was probably horrible now that you thought about it. 

“Your heater. I mean, I’m no electrician or whatever the fuck you call the guys that fix heaters but the internet is free so…” 

You laughed a little at his ramblings.

“As much as I’d appreciate it, you’d have to look at the whole unit. It’s not just mine that’s broken.” 

“Oh” 

Again, silence. Although now it was a little more awkward since Zach had already put everything away. Leaving him to awkwardly stand in the room, looking straight at you. Who was awkwardly sitting on the couch. 

He looked kind of pretty like this. 

“Uh, you wanna like, smoke something?” 

“Gods, yes.” 

And with that you both left the recording room and opted for the shared kitchen and living room. 

You sat down again on one of the black bar stools, waiting for Zach to get his bearings. It had been a long time since you two smoked together. Not just a long time ago.. Almost half a year. 

The realization hit you like a truck. Has it really been that long? 

“Alright, you want me to roll one for you?” You just nodded. He stood across from you now, getting busy with the joints while you still pondered over what else you had neglected. This whole train of thought seemed surreal although not extraordinary. Most days did feel like a blur after some time. 

“Here you go.” He handed the joint to you and you absentmindedly took it from him and put it between your lips. 

Your head felt empty as you watched him take the lighter that was on the counter and bring it up to you. 

His gaze was unwavering as he lit up the joint, you stared right back at him. A strange melancholy washing over you. 

Why did you suddenly have to feel this way? Nothing really changed. Sure, university did get harder sometimes but that wasn’t anything new. Why did you suddenly buckle under familiar pressure?

A shiver ran through your body. Even though the heater in the office worked, it was still cold. The snow outside becoming a visual representation of that very feeling. 

Suddenly, Zach sighed, pulling you back to reality. 

“What the fuck is going on (y/n)?” He sounded angry. Why did he sound angry? Did you do something? 

Of course he was angry. You hadn’t spent time like this together for half a year and now you’re pretending like nothing is wrong. He probably felt like you were just avoiding him. 

Tears started to form in your eyes. Why did you always have to mess everything up? Even your friendships you couldn’t properly care for. It wasn’t enough that you were on the verge of missing a dozen deadlines, you also had to push away everyone around you that supported you. 

“Hey? Fuck I didn’t mean to- what’s going on?” 

His hand was now gripping your arm that was laying on the counter, softly caressing the skin with his thumb while his other hand still held the joint. 

You didn’t even notice that you started crying. Frantically you tried to wipe away the tears that were running down your face with the side of your hand that was free. 

“You can talk to me, you know? I’m sorry I sounded like a douche just now.” 

His thumb never stopped gently going back and forth on your arm. He patiently looked at you and waited for your sobs to quiet down. Waiting for you to be able to speak. 

“I’m sorry..” 

It was barely audible but it was enough for another wave of sobs to start. 

“Shh, shh it’s fine I’m- uhm, just, try to breathe.” 

You felt horrible for doing this to him. Overwhelming him and dumping this breakdown onto him while he probably just wanted to have a chill session with the two of you. Why couldn’t you just leave things as they are? 

“I just- I hate that I feel so empty.” You said, taking a shaky breath. Your eyes were averting his. 

Zach’s hand left your arm and that is when you finally looked up again. He walked around the counter to sit beside you, his body turned to you and his hand finding your again. Touching it lightly, asking you to keep going. 

“All this university stuff-” you gulped down another sob. “And I haven’t been handing in work for so long, I think I’m failing so hard right now.” 

You took an unsure hit from your still burning joint, hoping it would ease the feelings if only for a little bit. 

Zach nodded carefully. “Can I help you with anything? I’m no scholar but maybe if you-”

“No, it’s not that I have difficulties understanding or doing any of the work, it's just that I- I can’t.” You cut him off. Maybe it was rude but you didn’t want him to waste any energy in trying to help you when he couldn’t.

“And I have so many messages from professors and whatnot that are asking me why I haven’t handed something in or why I am so late with everything but I can’t even answer them.”

Zach nodded again, his brows furrowed in an expression of deep concern. 

“And the worst part is, I can’t even bring myself to care.” You finished, tears forming once again. 

You had no idea if it was burnout or just seasonal depression or both at the same time but it was bad. You felt so empty inside for such a long time that you didn’t even realize how bad you were hurting. 

The sudden breakdown in front of one of your friends was the thing that now made you realize how bad you actually were. 

For the first time in half a year, you felt something. Even if it was hurt, you were thankful. 

“I’m sorry.. I can’t do much to help you then.. If it makes you feel any better though, I noticed.” 

You looked up at him and his eyes were meeting yours in a way which was almost too much to bear. “Don’t think I didn't care or just chose to ignore you. I see how you come in here. How every interaction just feels like I’m talking to a shell or a husk or whatever. I just- I didn’t know if you wanted to speak about it at all.” 

Now it was his turn to look away. 

“You know, I think you’ve just been trying too much. You always try to put like 200% into anything when even 50% would be more than enough.” 

It wasn’t funny but it made you chuckle and you could see the little smile which tugged at the corners of his mouth once he heard you. 

“I’m sorry I came onto you this strongly before. I just missed you.” 

His eyes met yours again and in that moment something clicked. 

“Zach?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can I do something?” 

He nodded with a confused expression. 

You slowly leant forward until your lips met his cheek, giving him a small kiss. It was an innocent gesture. The fact that he sat here with you and listened was enough. That is what you had needed for so long and even if it wouldn’t magically solve all of your problems, the fact that there was someone like him that you could turn to, made everything much more bearable. 

You noticed the blush that crept onto his face, but you only smiled. 

After a second of silence he spoke up. 

“Fucking- gay ass interaction.” He huffed, causing both of you to giggle. 

You sat there for a little longer, the conversation shifting from one topic to another as you finished the first joints. 

Throughout the evening you found yourself actually laughing. And not a forced or pitiful one but actually having the urge to laugh out loud. 

You were glad that the high resulted in a giggly one and not circling back around to a melancholy horror trip. 

“Fuck dude that’s- no that’s actually so horrible.” You were trying to catch your breath, your body bending over as you were laughing. 

“Well- I wasn’t popular I guess, drinking alone wasn’t so bad though.” 

Your hand found its way to Zach’s leg, trying to stabilize yourself while also trying to show empathy after the heartbreaking story of his 16th birthday. 

“If I had known you back then I would have come!” 

“No! Now that would have been sad, imagine inviting like seven people and only one shows up, that's even worse than no one being there.” He was also giggling at the thought. 

“Thank you though, I would have shared my bottle that I wasn’t legally allowed to drink.” 

“What a gentleman.” You feigned, raising your brows at him. 

Zach then stood up, preparing to roll two new joints for the two of you. 

As he stood there, you couldn’t help but stare at him. 

The shirt that he was wearing was unbuttoned at the top, showing way too much of his chest for your gaze to be an innocent one. You rested your chin on your hand as you continued watching him. 

“What?” His fingers were still busy rolling as he questioned you. The slight smile on his face as he spoke looked way too good on him.

“Hm?” Your eyes shot up from his collarbones up to his face, a smug expression now adorning it. 

“See something you like?.” He grinned at you.

Fucker. 

You snatched the second joint from his hands, earning an amused ‘hey’ from Zach. Quickly lighting that one as well, you tried to block out all of the images that suddenly flooded your head. What a weird thing to think about a friend. 

“I know it’s freezing like a bitch out there but do you wanna go outside?”

He almost sounded like a child when he asked that. And who were you to deny him that excitement? 

Both of you quickly put on your winter clothes. The emphasis was on ‘tried’ because the both of you were not smart enough to make the process easier by simply putting aside the joints. 

As the both of you stepped out on the snowy balcony, you were immediately met with a biting cold. Climate change didn’t come to play it seems. 

“Holy shit- when did we go back to my place?” You joked, rubbing your hands together in an attempt to create some minimal warmth. 

“I wish you were joking but I genuinely believe you.” Zach laughed but was immediately distracted by the condensation when he spoke. 

You stepped over to the edge, arms resting on the railing and looking out into the street. The snow looked really soft in the dim light. 

Zach came up right beside you, out of you peripheral vision you saw his face turning to you and him taking another hit from his joint. You didn’t pay any mind to it until you felt him blowing the smoke right back at your face. 

“Eh! Fuck you man.” You laughed and returned the gesture, causing his head to jerk back and giggling at you. 

You had definitely missed this. Although the atmosphere was different now that it was winter. Usually in summer, Zach and you would sit on the balcony for hours, Adam joining in 99% of the time. Now though, with the silence brought by the dead of night and the noise dampening snow it felt a lot more.. intimate. 

“Thank you for opening up to me by the way. It means a lot.” 

You nodded, a quiet ‘thank you for listening’ leaving your shivering lips. 

Again, you saw Zach’s head turning to you. 

“I swear to god, if you blow more smoke into my face I will throw an entire snowball into yours.” You giggled, your gaze still lingering on the snow-covered streets beneath you. 

“I didn’t wanna do that.” “Yeah right.” 

You could see his smile.

You couldn’t help but blush. 

“You’re cold.” He stated, his deadpan delivery causing you to chuckle. 

“No shit, sherlock. Got any more wise words of wisdom?” Now you turned to him, a challenging look on your face. 

“Hold your horses there buddy, just wanted to ask if you wanted to come closer.” 

He removed the hand which wasn’t holding his joint from his jacket’s pocket, slightly lifting his arm- inviting you. 

And there it was again, that dumb smug grin that made you instinctively look away in embarrassment. 

“C’mon, I know you’re freezing to death right now.” 

Fucker.

You sighed internally. You knew that you didn’t have to. You could just ask to go back inside but the choice didn’t really matter. Cause you didn’t want to have the choice.

Without a word you stepped closer to him. Probably the closest that you ever were to him now that you thought about it. 

His arms rested on your shoulder and pulled you closer into him. Hopefully he couldn’t hear your heart because you felt like it was gonna jump right out and strangle him in a fit of emotional overload. 

It got quiet again and you felt warmer. His smell was intoxicating and as you took the last hit off of your joint you let out a sigh to which Zach looked down at you. 

“I like you.” 

You forced yourself to look up at him. You swore that you felt him trying to pull you even closer to him when your eyes met. 

Maybe it would be okay. Maybe if he stayed with you it would get better. 

“I like you too.” 

He smiled down at you. No matter how long it would take for you to feel better he’d be there and he’d listen. 

You didn’t kiss that night.

Because all that mattered was that you and him stood there, losing yourself in the moment.

 For once willingly losing the concept of time as the clock struck a quarter to something. 

‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹

(Translated by me so it's rough)

It’s a marvel

How the birds

Sit there on the power line

It surely is a miracle

But somehow 

It doesn’t really matter

It’s scandalous

That they’re tearing down the house right here

It surely is a disgrace

But what was here to begin with anyway?

A city demonstrates

But I don’t care

Everything passes by me

I am the epitome of boredom

The only thing I know

Is that I can’t stand myself when I’m alone

A warm breeze blows

It gently lies down on your forehead

A warm breeze blows

Blows through your window at night

And somehow

I wish that I could be that

But it’s all over

I am the epitome of boredom

The only thing I know

Is that I can’t stand myself when I’m alone

When I was at your place 

For the very first time

We laid there on the carpet

It was a quarter to something

I can’t remember how it happened

But from then on, nothing else mattered

And now it’s all over

I am the epitome of boredom

A glance at your eyes is all it takes

And I can’t stand myself when I’m alone

Gwendoline Christie

flirts, cute (ig), confused, they are in love. but they don't know.

GIF NOT MINE

[Just flirt. They are in love, especially reader. God. i love Gwen. Gwendoline and her Bf have an open relationship and are ok with having other relationships, but love each other *in this fic*. ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE]

Gwendoline Christie x Famous!Reader?

-

These days, everything just feels like a loop. Invitations, invitations and more invitations for parties, fashion shows and work. You felt full of it. You wake up and have to go straight to some meeting, you wake up and have to go somewhere, just to stare at people talking, you wake up...and you have people peppering you with questions and asking you to step on them. Not that you hate your fans, but you're just tired. You need some time. You are overloaded.

Sitting at one of the tables, not far from the stage, watching another fashion show that you were invited to and had to attend, because your husband is obsessed with money and knows that the source of all this is you. You let out a sigh, hoping this will be over soon. With the way you are barely able to concentrate on the show in front of you right now, you know this day is going to be unbearably long.

After trying and failing miserably to pay attention to the presenter on the stage, you decide to give up. You've given yourself a good forty minutes of trying, but your interest in what’s going on is non-existent and you're more than convinced that if you need whatever he's presenting, chances are it's already in the package you got.

What you still don't know is how you're going to spend the rest of your time. Not wanting to be too disrespectful by using your cell phone mid-presentation, you grab your not-so-big bag and pull out a blank piece of paper and a pen just to do some random doodling. Aimless. But sadly, drawing eyes or hands are no longer on your to-do list. But even so, you continue to draw, your eyes almost closing from sleep. A few minutes go by and you're just getting even more bored. Somehow while drawing you can’t shake the feeling of someone watching you. This is starting to make you uncomfortable. With a spunk of curiosity you lift your head to look around, trying not to be too obvious for everyone to notice. You can the other tables in the room, trying to discover the source of the sensation. When you finally achieve what you've been unknowingly looking for, you feel your breath hitch at the sight. All you find is a woman watching you like you’re a piece of art.

And in your opinion, this woman could be a painting that came to life. As you stare at the woman, you can tell that she could be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her medium blonde hair with curls like a tangle of beauty. An invitation to affection, the strands making small curves, like a smile. Unlike you,who’s pretty much just awkward, the rest of her is something like everything that could be described as something indescribable, the picture of professionalism. The delicate white skin that you would love to touch with your kindness, the lips of blood that boil not for heat but for love, the crystalline eyes, so deep that they carry more stories than a book can tell. It's the color of someone who carries something more than windows of the soul on her face; it's brute strength, beautiful and affectionate. That pulls your eyes to hers The irises of her eyes being the true art-stained space. Eyes you find hard to look away from.

Still sitting and looking at the woman, you can tell she noticed the red in your cheeks, shoulders and collarbone. Just like her, after being caught looking. But she doesn't look away, being unflinching with her eye contact. Her focus makes you even more flushed and confused, which makes you feel that the look isn't for you. After scanning the room thoroughly for the second time. You're sure the looks is for you, and it makes you cringe a little. Meeting her eyes again, you see that she smiles a little wider as she sees that you finally understand that she is looking at you.

But the universe might not want you to have a distraction or something. The man on stage calls your name, grabbing your attention. He’s talking about the models and the shows. Congratulations to you, since You helped with this. But now, really? The man continues, trying to keep your attention.

Try as you might, you can't break free of the woman's gaze. Smiling gently at the man, the rest of the adults and your husband standing around, you can't help, but steal some looks in the woman's direction. It's like you're stuck like this. And sometimes you can catch her looking and it's emotional, leaving warm little goofy smiles when you catch her looking. It's more exciting to know that she's interested in you and the game you've played with her. When everyone was up for the treats you got out of your chair so fast, you almost fell. You noticed the woman laughing and you're not sure how, but you somehow heard it. You just want her with now, because the sound was the most divine thing you ever heard.

"Are you well?"

Your husband asked, a small tone of false concern in his voice. You just wave chim away. Not much dialogue, just looking for the woman in the crowd. Your interest in her just grows, you want to go to her. But you’re failing. So you decide to go ask your close friends about this woman. Whispering to the not so short woman to your left you ask: *f/n = friend name*

"f/n do you know who this woman is?"

"Which one?"

"That one. Medium blonde hair, red lips, tall and pink dress."

You gesture vaguely in the direction of the mystery woman, not wanting to be too obvious.

"Oh, her. Her name is Gwendoline Christie, an actress who works with Tim Burton."

"Oh okay. Thanks."

"Why the question? Don't say something is going on."

Your friend whispers questioningly, with a rather interesting face and a sly smile. You just shrug your shoulders and curse under your breath. Going back to looking at the woman, she looks like she is not noticing you, she's talking to a man with glasses. They look really close. You blink with a frown on your face but try not to care too much and just walk over to the treats. Flirting certainly made the time pass faster than expected, but it also does something else. It made your heart beat faster in anticipation. What you have no idea. And hope to feel that, again. Take a moment to consider her thoughtfully, looking unobviously in your direction, for which you are more than grateful. 

—

inspiration from: Know Your Name. An fanfic in AO3 with Larissa x Reader.

Hope u liked this <3

I think i am going to make a part two 💀

(person who helped edited for a better english, bc Idk nothing: @lils-cards love u)

—

- baby gwen have my heart rn

GIF NOT MINE

I am Noura Ayman, a medical lab specialist. My husband and I were pursuing our master’s degrees at Al-Aqsa University when war forced us to flee Gaza. Now in Egypt, we have no income, no place to stay, and my father-in-law—who is battling cancer—urgently needs treatment.

Meanwhile, my family remains trapped in Gaza, enduring relentless bombings and desperate conditions. Baby Hanan also needs essential winter supplies to stay warm and safe.

Your support can make a life-saving difference. Please donate and share to help us through this crisis.

Vetted by: @el-shab-hussein @moayesh @nabulsi ❤️

I'm not financially able to donate but I'll get the word out.

I got this idea at school and I can't stop thinking about it <333 not proof read

Years ago, children with animal characteristics began appearing on Earth, causing panic around the world. The government's idea of exterminating the mixtures sparked a revolt that ultimately contributed to the collapse of civilization known to humanity, leaving behind only a post-apocalyptic world straight out of a movie.

Now, years later, people living in small camps try to survive and avoid contact with hybrids at all costs, blaming their appearance and the naivety of their ancestors for the fall of humanity.

Hybrids, living on their own terms, do exactly the same thing, avoid humans.

Unfortunately, you're too curious to stay away from them. By getting into the middle of a trap you become trapped in the human camp, but even in such a situation you cannot stop your fascination with people...

Luckily for you, your guard is just as curious as you. <3

"Mick" - survivor

"I've never seen one of you this close.... You look so.. Harmless.."

Mick masterlist:

• outline of his story (will post soon)

Main masterlist

Being in a relationship with your schools local nightmare bully/trouble maker while being a member of the student council is not easy.

You can't count how many times you had to drag him to detention by his ear after catching him smoking cigarettes behind school, how many times you watch him at the nurse's when she was treating him after a fight, how many times you pretended to be mad at him when he got in trouble again....

Just like you can't count how many times you've heard a knock on your window late at night, only to get up, open the curtains, and see him with a bouquet of flowers mumbling through the closed window about 'how you should hurry up and open it for him because he will freeze into a fucking ice cube soon!..'

How he spends the whole night with you, watching your favorite movies, doing those 'stupid and gross' face masks with you, how he lets you take silly pictures of him and threatens to "rip your head off" if you show them to anyone!! You both know he would never do that

Oh, and how he kisses you on the forehead every time you go to bed after spending the whole night together... And how he runs away quickly in the morning before you even wake up, to start causing trouble in school again so he can come to you at night and apologize <33

Everything he did showed how much he loved you, right? This is what love looks like?

At least that's what you thought....But then you heard all the things he said about you to his friends when they asked about you.

"Ew? Why would you even suggest something like that, man. I would never go out with them even if you paid me.... Not only a teacher's pet, but also ugly as hell... I feel sorry for anyone who has to look at their face longer than a few hours in school."

Is what you share really love?...

Reblogs appreciated <33

Main Masterlist Victors masterlist

Victor "Vick" Baylor - trouble maker

Secret relationship with Vi is not always easy, he is stubborn and easily annoyed.... But no matter what, he always comes back to you and apologizes for his mistakes. But can you forgive him after hearing what he says about you to his friends?

Victors masterlist:

• Outline of his story (x reader)

Main masterlist

Little something from my drafts since im too packed with school work to write something cool <\3

You met Katsukis parents before, of course you did. They invite you to dinner all the time. And at first, Katsuki didnt mind, hell, he loved that his parents like you and invite you over! But now? He hates it. You're probably wondering why? It's nothing you did, dont worry. Its beacuse of that stupid book his mom made a few years back. He knew that she still had this book, but he never thought she would show every single page to you. He almost died when he came back from the bathroom to see you and his mother looking at all the embarrassing photos and stories from "Katsuki memory"

Now he needs to live knowing you saw little him in his hero pajamas, little him holding hands with 'stupid Deku', all his primary school photos... He almost cried when he realised you saw all this.

"Oh Tsuki! I forgot to tell you! Your mom invited us to dinner again!"

Fucking hell.

Hello!!!!! I saw your cat!reader headcannons and it was amazing :3 could I request headcannons for reader with an animal quirk in class 1A? They can sort of shapeshift into any animal they want. THANK YOU💖

OMG HI YES OFC!!! I WAS ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT THIS IDEA FOR A WHILE

ꕥ Shapeshifter! Reader being BOMBARDED with questions from Izuku the second they join class 1A

ꕥ "Can you turn into any animal you want??? What about extinct species??? Oh! And humans?? How about objects?! Can you stay in the form you take as long as you want or does your quirk have a time limit??? How about-"

ꕥ To be honest, I think the questions are coming not only from Izu but from everyone else too!

ꕥ I can Imagine Denki googling the most goofy looking animals and begging you to turn into it. Even better if u can turn into the animal not knowing how it looks like

"Yo! I found this extra cool animal-"

And its literally this guy:

ꕥ Funny how Denki's smile fades when he sees you turning into a tiger (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

ꕥ Imagine Bakugou making you mad, calling you names and all that, so you decided to turn into the the loudest bird you know and sit by his window making the weirdest sounds you can in the early mornings

ꕥ Mina totally helps you prank him too <33

ꕥ The girls like you in general, especially if you like spending your days off turned in some random cute animal.... Taking pictures of you doing anything in any form other the your human one <33

ꕥ Momo making cute animal clothes for every single form you take!!! Oh youre a tiger? Its cold outside!!! Have a cute sweater!!! Going undercover as a kitty? Heres a collar with a microphone and pink bow!!! Hey, dont you want to turn into a puppy for the day?? No?? Well Im just asking cuz Momo made this cute dog vest...

ꕥ Again, Koda being besties with you, understanding every single thing you say in your animal form, organizing sleepovers for you and his animal friends (also inviting tsuyu and tokoyami sometime <33)

ꕥ GOING ON FLIGHTS WITH TOKOYAMI!!!!! imagine he's still learning to fly with dark shadow so you fly along side him as a bird and sing songs to make him less stressed out

ꕥ As I said in my cat! Reader post... Todoroki gives you animal food to try and become friends with you, only now he has more to choose from then just cat food

ꕥ Also, the aura this quirk gives in fights, A villain robbing a bank, turns around for a moment only to see a puma lunging towards him (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)!

ꕥ The advantage this quirk gives you is UNBELIEVABLE. The enemy never knows what will jump out at him next lmao.

ꕥ Tomura was considering kidnapping you along with Bakugou but decided to leave you be since you can just turn into a small animal and escape... Or eat the League alive.

ꕥOverall, people who knows you, love you with all their hearts, but everyone on the 'bad side'.... 💀

IM TRYING NOT TO FREAK OUT ITS MY FIRST REQUEST EVER I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!! WAAAAH <333 ヽ⁠(⁠(⁠◎⁠д⁠◎⁠)⁠)⁠ゝ

ALSO, PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU SEE ANY ERRORS SO I CAN CORRECT THEM <33

Random thoughts about cat! Reader

ꕥ Cat quirk reader! Who falls asleep in the most random places, making everyone look for you when they realize you disappeared a few hours back and since then nobody saw you.

ꕥ Shoto who was trying to become friends with you and gave you cat food. He pushed it towards you at dinner without a word, studying your expression (hes trying his best😭)

ꕥ 1A girls who invite you to every single 'girl night' just so you can turn into your cat form and be pet and cuddled by them when they talk about their crushes and 'girl stuff' (not that you listen, its hard to stay focused when you are being scratched behind your ear <333)

ꕥ Denki who buys cat toys just so he can use them in class to make you create chaos in the middle of the lesson. Imagine Aizawas face when he wakes up and see you climbing the wall to catch the red dot that irritated you from the start of the lesson.

ꕥ Also you get special treatment from Aizawa since youre a kitty lmao

ꕥ Tokoyami and you becoming friends after you tried hunting him down the first time you two meet BSHSHSH

ꕥ Ur also really close with Koda, I don't think I have to explain why

ꕥ Imagine turning into a cat when youre mad at someone, making innocent meows forgetting that Koda understands everything you say and how you curse out this someone 😭

ꕥ Bakugou calling you a "stupid furry shit" so you hiss at him only making him more annoyed, he starts screaming at you so you hit him with your paw and ran away

ꕥ Mirko being your mentor, helping you redesign your hero costume so it would work perfectly with your cat quirk!!! Awww you accidentally ripped your costume with your claws?? BOOM! Heres the contact to a designer who makes costumes for people with animal quirks!!! They will make u a costume perfect for ur powers >:3 Ty Mirko <333

ꕥ Class 1A making 'best room' contest just to find out your room is a real paradise for animals. Scratching and climbing mats on the walls, cat houses and beds everywhere... You also have a whole bunch of cat toys! Catnip balls, laser pointers... Everything! :33

ꕥ Denki playing with your tail 😭:

"What... Are you doing to my tail?.."

"Ojiros not here yet :((("

ꕥ Kirishima calling you "super strong and manly" (No matter if you are a boy, girl or anything else) every time you question if youre strong enough with your quirk

I had so many ideas for this but I forgor 🧍🏻‍♂️

Reblogs appreciated!!!

Hello ヾ(＾-＾)ノ

Can you make a one-shot with rise Leo x reader where Leo has a crush on the reader and one day maybe the reader ask if he wants to make out and he says sure XD an then when is over Leo confess his fillings? (Reader can be fem or gn :)

Authors note: Hi there little star! ^^ absolutely I can! Sorry if this is cheesy or cringy T vT

Rise Leo x GN

Tw: none

Readers pov

I was on my way to the sewers to see the turtle brothers like I did every Friday because it was a nice break from school and home life. Plus it’s always nice to have a place to just goof around with or just watch a movie or something with. “Hey [Name]!” Leo yelled as he saw me walk into the lair “Leo!, Hey what’s up?”

Leo’s pov

I saw [name] walked into the lair “Hey [Name]!” “Leo!, Hey what’s up” I walked up to [Name] and gave them a hug. “How was has your day been Leo?” I dramatically sighed “[Name] you wouldn’t ever believe how boring it waaas! Without you here.” I said with a slight wink flirting with [Name] like I had been since I developed a crush on them about 6 months ago. I was just to scared to tell them yet, why would a human want to date a turtle when they could date a human? “Leoooo” [Name pulled me out of my thoughts “Sorry what’s up [Name]!” I said in confidence, “Do you wanna go hang out in your room?” [Name’s] request took me a bit off guard “S-sure! Why not [Name]!” When we got to my room we sat on my bed [Name] and I listened to music for a little while but after one song [Name] looked at me and asked blatantly “Do you wanna make out Leo?” I looked at them and was screaming on the inside but I quickly responded with “Sure!” [Name] smiled and kissed me, I kissed back and it quickly became heated and became a make out session. I moved my hands into [Name’s] hair and their hands cupped my face, after a few minutes we both needed to breath I looked into [Name’s] eyes “[Name] I have liked you for a long time and I would really like to be your boyfriend…If you’d let me that is.” [Name] look at me and smiled “Leo I would love to be your partner!” Then they kissed me again I smiled happily into the kiss and for the rest of the night we cuddled and watched Jupiter Jim movies. “I love you [Name]” [Name] smiled, kissed my cheek and said “I love you to Leo.”

Shortest

Sacred Spaces masterlist, Heart Pirates reader-insert

Being the shortest in the crew has its perks and drawbacks.

Being the shortest came with its fair share of trouble with life on the Polar Tang.

For a submarine, the Polar Tang was built almost luxuriously. But the caveat was that it was built with height in mind. It was a blessing for many of your crew, those like Jean Bart and Shosai being able to navigate the halls comfortably for the most part (though the size of the navigation seats couldn’t be helped). It was a curse for shorter members like you, especially when you needed to get something from the kitchen cabinets.

‘Sugar’ glinted mockingly down at you in blocky letters, the container somehow set atop the uppermost shelf. Grumbling, you glanced around to make sure nobody was there before gingerly climbing atop the counter. Your fingers trembled as they fell a few scant inches short of the container.

How Risso managed to navigate the kitchen despite only being taller than you by a bit always stumped you.

Before you could do something drastic, a weight pressed into your back, pressing all the air out of you as someone invaded your space. Red strands of hair fluttered into your vision, and you muttered a curse as Shachi’s familiar voice rang in your ears. “Aw, does our wittol Taiwor need some help to get something from up high?” 

“Shut up!” You barked, trying to shake off the redhead’s bulk, lunging for the sugar, but too late as tanned fingers swooped them from the shelf. 

The man stepped back for you to hop down, and you did, whirling around to face him. Though he was the shortest of the Swallow Island quartet, he was still tall enough to easily keep the tin out of your reach as you reached.

“I just wanted some goddamn tea!”

“What’s the magic word?”

Incensed, you jumped at him, making sure your boots landed on his toes. “I’ll make a pincushion out of your ass, Shachi!”

***

Being the shortest did really come with its fair share of teasing. 

You ducked, avoiding the arm that Hakugan was throwing over you, ready to use you as an armrest. “Oi!”

The helmsman yipped, toppling over as he couldn’t correct himself in time. “Hey!”

His arm latched onto the back of your suit, bringing you down with him. You both landed on the navigation room floor with a thud, immediately breaking into a half-hearted squabble as the two of you wrestled on the floor.

“You idiot! Why’d you pull me down!”

“I was falling!”

Your fist bonked onto the forehead of his mask, not enough to damage anything, but strong enough for him to feel your ire. “I told you that you needed to stop putting your arm on my head!”

“But you’re so convenient as a table! Just the right height!”

“Shut up, Hakugan!” You gritted, one hand pushing back his own as you fought him from palming your face. “You’re not even that much taller than me!” 

You were ready to grapple him until a winner emerged, but a metaphorical rope was thrown your way when you saw the wobbly top point of a familiar hood. Muscles straining, you froze, pushing back Hakugan’s hands as you quickly hatched up a plan.

“Helmsman on the floor!” You yelled, scrambling off of him as some of the crew honed in on the sight.

It had the exact result you wanted.

“Dogpile Hakugan!” Clione yelled, diving on top of the already downed pirate.

That prompted a chain reaction for some of the other members present, Ikkaku and Shachi following suit. The masked man let out a weak wheeze underneath everyone that quickly turned to terror as thumping footsteps approached. The crew screamed as Bepo’s shadow fell over them.

“Bepo, no!”

“Please stop!”

“I’m gonna die!!!” 

You scuttled away before the navigator could turn on you.

***

Being the shortest meant that Bepo’s hugs enveloped you completely, even more so than any of your other crew members. There were many a time when you’d startled someone hidden in the depths of Bepo’s fur by responding to something. You often used that to your advantage, hiding within the safe confines of his bulk to de-stress

A questioning call of your name roused you from where you lay, swallowed up by Bepo’s fluff. After a moment of contemplation, you poked your head up. “Yeah?”

Tanaka screamed, a high-pitched note that rivaled Mozart’s, startling Bepo beneath you. He pushed his glasses up nervously and cleared his throat as you two leveled an unimpressed look at him. “Ahem. Sorry. Can you help fix my cap?”

A second look showed that he was wringing said brown cap in his hands, his jaw-length locks swaying free. From where you were, you could see the frayed threads, something that would most likely mean a painstaking session bent over your table. But despite your aching back, duty called. You sighed and began to struggle up from where you were lying. “Alright, let me s—”

The rest of your sentence was cut off by a yelp as Bepo’s arms latched around your midriff, pulling you back. He rolled to the side, locking you underneath hid arms. “No, sorry. Rest time.”

“B-But I’m the ship’s tailor!” You protested. 

“Captain’s orders. If it’s not major, then you’re not working,” Bepo murmured, nuzzling his head atop of yours. “Tanaka repair your own things. Sorry.”

~~~

Sometimes your height was useful to the crew in more serious ways.

Law handed you a slip of paper, a rough map drawn on it. A bar’s name was written and marked on top of everything, and you already knew what to expect. “Tailor-ya, think you can scout out this place for me?”

“Sure thing. The usual?”

“Yes. Dress down, and try not to interact with anything too much.”

You took the paper, scanning over the map before pocketing it for disposal later. “Got it, Captain.”

“Uni and some of the younger crew members will be on the island for supplies restocking, but they might not be around when you set out, so expect to be on your own.”

“Yes, sir.”

While the crew prepared their pre-docking procedures, you made your way back into your workshop, digging out an outfit in preparation for those going onto the island. It was during times like these that Law’s strict modus operandi came in handy. No unnecessary, garish, attention-seeking skirmishes, uniforms to blend in with each other as much as possible, and a fair amount of time being underwater ensured that the Heart Pirates’ individual identity still remained in a gray area. That, along with your height, made you especially unnoticeable compared to the other members. So once you took off the distinctive uniform and the more distinctive sunhat you wore out, you were the perfect person to move about unnoticed.

You were rummaging for a shirt when the overhead intercom system crackled to life, Law’s low voice filtering through. “Everyone, we’ve arrived.”

Ditching your current task, you followed your nakama up the metal stairs to the entrance doors. Uni, Clione, and the newer members (though not too new, since they’ve been with you all for a few months already) were readying to leave, the hooded man jumping and rushing over when he saw you.

The blonde shoved a small dagger into your hand, patting the appendage. “I heard you’re going out later. It’s nothing big but just in case.”

“Thank you,” you said gratefully, squeezing Clione’s hand before he pulled away to vault over the railing to the dock below (to Law’s loud chastising for him to ‘stop doing that goddamnit you’re gonna break your ankle!’).

You and Law watched the merry band head off, you waving, while Law was as stoic as ever. When the group disappeared around the corner, the man turned to head back into the submarine, and you followed suit.

“Do you need anything before you head out later, Tailor-ya?”

“No. I’ve got everything prepared. Should I join the crew to help with our post-docking procedures?”

Law exhaled through his nose. “I told you already. You don’t have to do that whenever I send you out for surveillance. Just rest up. I need you to be sharp for tonight.”

You gave him a joking salute and split off to head to your workshop. “Got it, Cap’n!”

Your workspace did need some tidying, so you puttered around in the little room until the sky outside the porthole got dark, shucking off your boiler suit and pulling on your outfit for the night. Something nondescript, darker to blend into the area, but not so that you’d look suspicious. One final glance at the map Law gave you confirmed where you were going before you shredded the paper and left.

Ikkaku poked her head out to say a quick goodbye as you breezed past, Risso following suit with a reminder to come back in time for dinner.

“I’m making the Captain’s favorite tonight!”

The thought of his warm food got you drooling. “Got it!”

The night air was gentle on your face as you stepped out of the submarine. Law was already on deck, and he turned to greet you. “Do you have everything?”

You nodded, patting your waistband where you hid Clione’s knife. “I have the dagger Clione left me.”

“Good.” Law tossed a rope ladder over the submarine side, and you began climbing down. “Don’t be reckless.”

Your boots hit the wood below you. “I won’t.”

The map was burned into your mind’s eye as you navigated deeper into the little island town. Even with the encroaching night, a few establishments remained lit. However, the number of souls on the street decreased as you headed closer to the bar of interest.

Noise slammed into you the moment you opened the doors, a disorienting contrast from the quiet outside. However, the chaos was an advantage as you slipped in without drawing any attention, eyes skimming over the area. Your ears caught the murmuring of a familiar moniker.

Bingo. Law’s information was true as always.

You slipped into the bar seat nearest to your target, ordering a lighter drink and settling down.

There were always a few things you kept a lookout for. Movements of other powerhouses, mentions, and bounties relating to the Heart Pirates. But the main one was anything relating to Doflamingo. It was a given, with your Captain’s past hanging over the crew. There was no one other than that man who everyone kept such vigilant eyes and ears out for, anything picked up relayed back to Law with haste. Depending on the nature of the information, it would set the course of your trip for the next few weeks, whether it be submerged deep below water or sailing at a breakneck speed to another place.

Their organizations, as well as any and all names the Donquixote leader went by, were long-memorized by you so that you could catch any and all information.

Your skin crawled at the mentions of slaves passed offhandedly between the men at the table. An auction, generously funded by Joker, on an island north of here. A rare commodity considering he never liked to dabble in this part of the Blue, so far away from his normal base of operations.

You stuck around for as long as you could, picking up the date and location passing between booze-loosened lips. Hearing enough, you paid for your drink and slid out of your seat, making your way to the bar exit. As you rounded the corners of the streets, you thought that everything went well enough, until the shuffle of footsteps fell in line behind you.

“Going somewhere so quickly? I’m surprised you didn’t stay for longer.”

You stilled, slowly pivoting to face the man behind you, feeling the way your body broke into a cold sweat. Though you didn’t show anything as you asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I thought we had a little rat listening to us. I just wanted to see what tidbits were swiped by greedy hands while my friends were discussing business.”

Resisting the urge to scoff at his cheesy words, you backed up, hand clasping over the hidden blade Clione forced into your hands earlier. Its handle was sturdy under your hands, but you didn’t have a chance to use it. Faster than you could react, he was in front of you. Pain exploded in your gut as he slammed a foot into it, sending you flying and hitting the wall of the opposing building and falling to the ground. You retched, stomach acid and spit coming up as you curled in to cradle your stomach. A shadow fell over your curled-over form, and you tensed, hand clenching the handle in your grip. Scuffed boots appeared at in your vision, and you struck, forcing battered muscles into overdrive as you swiped the dagger up, hoping it’d land.

The blade glanced harmlessly off him and the man slammed into you, vision exploding into stars before your air was cut off. You were dragged up, feet leaving the ground.

Oh no.

Though you haven’t been doing this for too long, you’d gotten careless at the ease in which the previous mission went.

You clawed at the vice-like grip around your neck, your borrowed dagger clattering to the ground as the man choking you out wretched your dominant hand to the side. The tips of your boots scrapped the ground beneath, barely making contact with the dirt. A glimpse of gleaming black on the limb holding you made you curse your luck.

Haki.

Damn him, you thought, baring your teeth in a desperate, animal display, ignoring the throbbing that came from the left side of your face. Even if you still had the knife in your grasp, you wouldn’t have escaped anyway. Someone with Uni’s stature or Moose’s strength could’ve handled it. But not you.

Jeering laughter echoed around you as you aimed weak kicks at the one holding you up.

“Who do you work for? Or are you just some nosy brat?” He asked, shaking you around like a rag doll.

Your eye bulged out of your head as he squeezed. The bones of your neck creaked like fragile butterfly wings within his hold. Against his size and abilities, you were helpless. A toy for the larger dogs to chew up. Your skin prickled as you felt eyes raking down your form, and you felt exposed without your usual thick, baggy boiler suit.

It shouldn’t have been like this.

Law was going to be upset.

“Hm, I could make you squeak. I’ll just have to take you back to my boys—”

“Let go of my nakama!”

The rest of his words were cut off by a grunt as something slammed into him. The world went sideways as you slipped from the man’s grasp, landing with a rough tumble as rocks and pebbles dug into your unprotected skin. Taking a few moments, you drew in wheezy gasps before trying to stand up. 

Hands caught you as your legs crumpled, and you were scooped up into warm arms.

“H-Hang on,” Bowser’s voice reassured you. “Don’t worry! Uni and Penguin’s got it covered, and we’re going to bring you to the captain!”

You tried to speak, but all that sounded was a hoarse rattle, the ring of fire around your neck aching like a brand. Breathing was equally difficult, and you relented to force wheezing, whistling breaths through your windpipe, limp in your nakama’s hold all the way until you were laid out on the infirmary bed, back in the Polar Tang again.

Through the haze of pain, you forced a smile at the figures hovering above you, unable to discern anybody due to the light shining down. You knew it must’ve been an unpleasant sight, the blood vessels in your eyes no doubt ruptured from the trauma.

Your name was said alongside Law’s familiar honorific. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

That was all the reassurance you needed as Law’s Room flickered on. The feeling of his fruit sectioning you apart was familiar at this point, and you closed your eyes. Your full trust laid in your captain’s abilities as you fell into darkness.

For others, it would’ve been terrifying to be on the receiving end of Law’s powers, but you and the Heart Pirates have never been led wrong by him. 

By the time you awoke, you could breathe again. The deep inhale you did came with a dull ache, but nothing of the caliber that you felt before. Shuffling came from the side of your bed, and you glanced over to see your captain standing up from his chair.

“Don’t speak,” Law said brusquely, interrupting you before you could even begin. “You have two fractured ribs and severe bruising surrounding your neck and the facilities there. Luckily, nothing was broken. I did the best I could to realign everything, but there was not much I could do about the ruptured blood vessels. You’re on bed rest until you heal.”

You exhaled, the motion coming with a dull pain as the muscles around your jaws ached. Your captain didn’t meet your eyes, fussing with the various equipment on the bedside table next to you. A common sign of his guilt as he tried to act busy.

Reaching out, you grabbed the edge of his shirt sleeve and tugged, halting the man in his actions. You lifted a hand to mime writing something, which he understood right away. A pencil and paper were thrust into your hands, and you quickly got writing. When done, you shoved the pad at him.

‘Not your fault.’

Law huffed, passing the pad to you. He pressed a hand onto your head, pushing you down. “You’re literally in the infirmary bed right now. Because of a mission, I sent you on.”

‘I chose to go, I’m the best at it. It’s not like our lives are only full of sunshine and rainbows as pirates. And you fixed me up now, yeah?’

“You know better than to over-rely on me,” he scolded.

‘But you take care of us so well, Captain!’

Law scowled, tugging on his hat as he averted his gaze. You squinted, seeing a bit of pink flushing over his skin. “Whatever. Did you manage to gather anything important?”

At that reminder, you brightened, pencil flying across the paper. You wrote down all the information you heard from those men, ripping out the page and presenting it to Law with a flourish. He took it, scanning everything. Gold eyes widened as he comprehended the information written on it. He gingerly folded up the paper and tucked it into his pocket.

“Ah. I see. Thank you.”

Knocking echoed on the infirmary door, drawing your attention away. “Captain?” Bepo’s voice questioned through the door.

Law let out an aggrieved sigh. “The lot of you can come in. Tailor-ya’s awake.”

The door slammed open, and you jolted as a veritable pile of crewmates spilled in, with Bepo’s orange-bright suit in front. Law gave a final word of warning for them to be gentle before the group skidded to a stop in front of you. You smiled at them, ignoring the slight ache that bloomed where you got hit. You could see their hesitation and tilted your head.

“You had pretty bad bruising,” Law told you. “I removed most of the blood from the broken vessels, but the ones in your eyes are too delicate for me right now.”

He gritted his teeth, and you could see his silent decision being made. You could already see him looking for more medical texts the next time the Tang docked at an island.

“Are hugs allowed?” Somebody asked tentatively.

Law exhaled a sigh, lifting an arm to flap his hand dismissively. “Do whatever. It’s mostly cosmetic and very minor injuries left. But don’t be too rough, either way.”

That was all the approval you needed, and you opened your arms.

Bepo’s wrapped around you first, and you relaxed into the Mink, letting out a soft sigh as Law stepped back for more space. A hand landed on your head, ruffling your hair. Uni’s hand, based on the length of the fingers. More arms wormed beneath Bepo, over Bepo, but all of them wrapped around you. An offended squawk from the side signaled that even Law was roped into the mix.

Being the shortest in the crew had its drawbacks, sometimes serious ones. But you didn’t mind. You knew your nakama was there to support you.

Hours in the Kitchen are Spent Warmer With You

Worick Arcangelo x Reader x Nicolas Brown

The apartment may be old, the halls run down, but even with the two of them in the cramped kitchen with you, it filled your heart with incredible fondness.

The pan sizzled threateningly as you dumped in the vegetables, water from those and your hands making the oil pop as you hissed and jerked back. On the other stove top, a second pan held cutlets of chicken being seared into golden brown. The knife in your hands glinted as you brought it down on some mushrooms, clicking your tongue in annoyance as the dull blade made a mess of your ingredients. You’d have to ask Nic where he left the whetstone again, but for now, they’d have sloppily cut mushrooms in their vegetable. And considering they weren’t the ones cooking, they had no right to complain.

Dumping in the mushrooms with the other greens, you gave the pan a few good shakes with one hand while the other went to lower the heat. Busy with your one-man show, you missed the racket of the door opening and Nicolas and Worick’s arrival as the latter announced their presence home. Seasonings were just about to go into the pan when you sensed someone popping up right behind you, just before a warm breath ghosted over your ear.

“Boo.”

The wooden spoon in your hand cracked over a mop of blonde hair, instincts faster than reason as your senses kicked into high gear at the perceived intruder. It hit you a split second later as the blonde stumbled back with a groan, clutching the spot on his head where you struck him.

“Worick!” You exclaimed, part exasperation and part mortification.

“Oi!!” he grunted. “Why did that hurt so much?!?”

You weren’t quick enough to dodge as he grabbed your wrist holding the spoon, inspecting the utensil in your grip.

“Let go! The food’s gonna burn!”

“Don’t use it as a weapon next time!”

Baring your teeth at him, you kicked his shins. “I’ll take a chunk out of your arm next time, yeah? Maybe that’s better.”

Your vision was obscured as Worick planted his open hand onto your face, trying to push you back. “You wouldn’t. How else would I—Ow, what the hell!”

You stumbled as Worick yanked himself away from you, a grossed-out look on his face as he held up the hand that was over your face just moments earlier.

“You bit me!”

“I warned you,” you muttered, turning back to the stove andflipping the chicken breasts.

Seeing Nicolas at the edge of your vision as he entered the kitchen, you quickly stomped twice on the floor, drawing the Twilight’s attention as he picked up on the vibrations. After resting the spoon on the counter, you signed to him, “Food’s almost ready.”

He grunted an affirmation, expression moodier than usual as he pushed past you and Worick to head to the sink, turning on the faucet and sticking his head underneath the water. You watched the occurrence in slight bemusement before turning back to the food, slapping Worick on the hand when you saw him reaching for the spoon. With the other two, considerably larger males here with you, it was hard to move about without knocking elbows, and you began to get irritated at the two of them so close right after their jobs.

Seeing the blonde trying to reach for the pans against, you haphazardly threw back an elbow in his direction (which he, unfortunately for you, dodged). “Piss off and get your nasty fingers away from the food. You absolutely reek right now.”

Worick let out a sad groan, pouting at you. “Will it be done by the time I finish washing up?”

Pausing, you gauged how much time would be left for the other side of the chicken to brown. “Yeah. Especially if Nico’s showering ahead of you.”

The blonde did a one-eighty as he turned around to catch sight of the back of Nicolas’s head as he disappeared around the corner. “Hey, no!”

His clingy presence evaporated from your side as he ran after Nicolas. Muffled thumping reverberated from where the two were, before the slam of a door closing echoed somebody’s victory. The vegetable medley was just barely soft, so you dumped in the marinade for it. You heard the clinks of utensils being set out behind you before Nicolas wandered into your peripherals, taking the pan with the chicken breasts and giving it a cursory jiggle. Nudging him away before he could ruin them with his cursed ability to scorch food, you took up the entire space in front of the stove.

There was a pointed huff behind you before you felt Nicolas press into your back, his head coming to rest on your shoulders as he leaned part of his bulk on you. He was careful enough not to use all of his weight, moving when you did, and feeling the vibrations as you hummed a soft tune you liked. After one hand was freed and clean, you reached up to run your fingers through his short hair, nails scratching his scalp the way he liked.

Nicolas’s chest rumbled as he practically melted into you, the Twilight going soft in the only way he would with you and Worick. You grimaced at the thought of sweat and other post-assignment muck on Nicolas rubbing off, but with him clinging to your back like this, you doubted he would listen if you told him to back off.

Steam from the rice cooker buffeted your face as you lifted the lid, mixing up the fluffy grains within it before shutting it. You gently pushed Nicolas out of your space to plate the food, the sautéed vegetables and pan-fried chicken being separated into three portions, with the biggest going to Nic to compensate for his increased metabolism. You nudged your elbow into Nicolas’s midriff to separate him from you, motioning to him to get the food. He peeled himself off of you with a grumble and went to take all the plates before you could, lifting them over your head when you tried to reach for one. The two of you shuffled over to the old wooden table taken from the curb that served as your dining space, its mismatched chairs pushed neatly in. Nicolas already set out cutlery for you all, and now, he placed the food in their designated spots.

The sound of the bathroom door opening signaled that the other male had finished his shower. True to word, he wandered into view a few minutes later, hair still dripping lightly. He perked up at the sight of you and Nicolas taking your seats by the table and adjusted his eye patch as he hurried to the same.

“Hell yeah,” he groaned, sliding into his seat. “Thanks for the food.”

You hummed picking up your fork. To your left, Nicolas was already stabbing into his portion of chicken with his own utensil. Rapping on the table with your nickel, you signed to Nicolas, ”Where did you put the whetstone?”

Nicolas stilled, mouth partially open and food halfway to his mouth. His eyes flickered away from you for a quick second, guilty. Narrowing your eyes at him, you hoped that the pressure of your stare would cause him to cave. But he simply looked away, the bastard. You huffed and returned to our meal, determined to pry the answer out of him later.

“Nic lost it.”

Worick’s answer jerked you out of your meal again. Nicolas continued to eat, pretending as if nothing was wrong. Reaching across the table, you took hold of his ear and tugged. Though the Twilight was much stronger than you, he relented and leaned over with a grumble as you forced his attention over. “That’s the fifth time, Nic! I swear, the corner shop clerk thinks I’m a weirdo by now! What the hell do you use it for because I know you don’t use it for your sword!”

The Twilight stuck his tongue out at you.

“We’ll grab a new one!” Worick quickly intervened before you could lunge across the table.

“You better,” you muttered, returning to your meal, stabbing the vegetables a little too viciously with your fork. “See how easy it is when it’s your turn to cook when the knives are dull as shit.”

“But you did so well,” Worick said. “I think Nicky can agree.”

He pointed over to the Twilight, who was cramming the last bite of chicken into his mouth. Nicolas sensed the shift in the air and paused, glancing up to meet your eyes, his cheeks puffed out from the food. He squinted his eyes, a challenge for either of you to say anything. While he was distracted, Worick snuck some of his vegetables onto the unsuspecting man’s plate, shooting you a wink behind Nicolas’s back. The dark-haired man was none the wiser as he turned back, only doing the briefest pause before resuming his meal. You and Worick did the same, the space settling into something quiet, only broken by the sounds of cutlery against cheap dishes.

Nicolas was the first to finish, and you passed the remainder of your food over to him. He took that too, and you got up, ready to clear away the dishes before Worick tutted.

“Sit down,” he instructed, leg hooking over your chair leg and tugging it in so you were forced to lower yourself. “Whoever does the cooking doesn’t have to do the dishes, remember?”

He shoved the last bit of food him his mouth and then stood up, gathering the utensils while Nicolas stacked up the plates. You tilted your head in curiosity as Worick passed everything to the other man, and then split off to go back to the living area. The squeak and rattle of water in the sink behind you was Nicolas’s presence, while the rustling of plastic gave hints to what Worick might be doing. You didn’t need to wait for long as he wandered back, a cheeky smile on his face as he slid back into his seat.

“Nico and I swung by the shops to get something sweet,” Worick said, waggling the brightly colored box, so out of place in the drabness of your apartment. He leaned forward to set it on the table, resting his face in a hand. “They were on sale, so we thought that it’d be a nice treat to go with the food.”

You couldn’t help but let out a good-natured sigh, shaking your head. “Of course, you’d go for that.”

Worick’s eye was bright as he broke open the seal, allowing the scent of chocolate to permeate the kitchen. Nicolas placed down a few drinks, brushing a quick kiss to your temple as he passed, and soon the crinkle of wrappers announced the treats being unwrapped. You hummed in delight at the taste of the sweetness melting over your tongue. Though the treats were cheap, the kinds stocked in bulk by the counters everywhere you went, it still warmed your heart to split the small offering in between the three of you.

Music drifted up from the street below as you three finished the chocolate, someone’s ancient stereo spitting out static-laden notes from foreign songs. The blonde perked up, setting down his drink on the worn table with a ‘thunk’. His bright gaze pinned you and Nicolas down as he stood up. “Looks like someone got their radio to work. Wanna dance?”

Nicolas marked his immediate refusal by crossing his arms and glowering threateningly at Worick. So the blonde turned to you, hand extended with a hopeful look on his face. With a begrudging smile, you reached out and placed your hand in his, getting pulled up out of your seat to stand in the small area of your kitchen. You could help but laugh as Worick spun you around, his own velvet chuckles accompanying it. The space was barely big enough for the two of you, hips bumping into the counters and Nicolas’s feet tripping the blonde as he purposefully stretched them out. Your heart felt inexplicably warm and full, Worick’s eye bright with mirth. Even Nicolas, when you glanced back at him, had a fond look on his face, a small smile as he gazed at you two.

There were pots and pans in the sink to be washed, schedules to update, and budgets to go over, but for right now, the three of you basked in the golden glow of the afternoon.

Japes and Jubilations, Pt 4

The Sanctity of Sacred Spaces Masterlist

The various antics of the crews and the various ways you’re involved in it.

(Part 1) | (Part 2) | (Part 3) | YOU ARE HERE

Part 4: Pillow Fort

The crew finds out about your sleeping habits.

You snorted awake as a frightened yelp of your name roused from your slumber. A hand around your ankle was all the warning you had before you were tugged out of the comfortable darkness you were under.

“What were you doing?” Slick asked, his and Boost staring down at you.

Head full of sleepy cotton, you sat up with a yawn. “Napping.”

“Holy shit, what if those things collapse with you underneath?” he wheezed, an arm thrown out to the bolts of fabric leaned up against each other in a shoddy tent.

You wisely chose not to mention how many times you’ve had to wiggle out of that exact situation. And the bruises that would inevitably form after being pinned by rolls of unyielding fabrics.

“That’s so dumb…” Slick sighed, ignoring your affronted ‘hey!’

It was also a good way to de-stress, the sound and light dampening effects helping you cut off from the world. And you told him so.

“You should just build a pillow fort, then!” Slick harangued. “Instead of scaring us half to death!”

You blinked. “What’s a pillow fort?”

They stared at you like you grew a second head. “You… don’t know what a pillow fort is…?” Boost asked.

Their strange reactions made you defensive as you stood up and crossed your arms. “If you guys are going to be weird about it, then just go away.”

Boost quickly shook his head, denying that. “No! No! It’s not that. We’re just surprised, that’s all!”

Shrugging, you waved them off. “I’m not sure what the importance of this ‘pillow fort’ is. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to sleep.”

You caught onto Slick the moment an idea went off in his head, resigning yourself to your fate as the dark-haired male grabbed your wrist and dragged you with him. “No! I have a better idea that won’t risk you being suffocated.”

Boost shot you an apologetic look as he went along with his best friend, shutting your workshop door behind him.

The three of you tromped through the Tang’s halls, with the tallest in the lead, looking for something specific. Slick didn’t stop until he saw Law passing by, absorbed in his documents.

“Cap’n!” he called, halting the man in his tracks.

Law stopped, humming to show that you all had his attention, but never lifting his eyes from the files in his hands. “What is it?”

You were presented in front of him like a guilty party, your name uttered out by Slick. “—doesn’t know what a pillow fort is.”

Law glanced at you and slowly raised a single, dark eyebrow. “And? What is the reason for telling me this?”

Slick’s eyes gleamed as he leaned forward. “The common room’s free for a while, right?”

“Yes.”

“And what about the crew duties?”

“Well…” Law drawled, pretending to ponder over a schedule that you all knew he had memorized. He shuffled the paper in his hands a bit, like a teasing bastard. “Nothing out of the ordinary for today. It’s actually a lighter day, so night shift should be done early.”

Slick’s wide grin grew even wider. “Perfect… Captain…”

Law held up a tattooed hand. “Do as you want. Don’t let it get in the way of your duties, don’t mess anything up, and put things back the way they were.”

The arm in Slick’s hold was yanked up along as he threw his up in victory. “Yes! Thanks, Cap’n! C’mon, we gotta start it early.”

“Start what early?” The plaintive voice of your navigation officer asked.

Slick turned his excited grin on Bepo, tugging you forward. And finally releasing your wrist to put his hands on your shoulders. He shook you back and forth, as if you were a rattle and not a senior officer twice his experience. “We’re going to build a pillow fort!”

 Bepo tilted his head. “Oh, is this a team-building exercise? Can I help?”

“The more, the merrier,” Boost said, with the knowledge of someone who’d spent years accompanying Slick in his antics. “Slick usually makes them pretty big, so it’d be nice to have some help if we don’t want to spend all night on it.”

Bepo’s eyes glittered at that, and you knew it was inevitable that most if not all the crew would get wind of this as the mink sped off. And it was true, the air of the Polar Tang taking on a fervent energy at the thought of a new, exciting event. You had to admit, there wasn’t much to do outside of chores on the submarine, and when the underwater stints were weeks long, it really exhausted all sources of entertainment available. So you couldn’t blame everyone for being worked up at the Captain’s go-ahead.

“Yo.” Shachi popped into the workshop, the redhead stepping in to lift one of the bolts of fabric that you could spare (at Slick’s insistence and the promise to roll them all up later). He paused as he passed by you, leaving space for Uni as he too moved about in your workshop. The redhead’s gaze felt sharp and assessing beneath his glasses, and you blinked, relying on your old, hated training not to shift nervously and give anything away. “You alright with all of this? 

The unexpected kindness threw you for a loop, and you broke your composure, eyes widening. “I—Uh…”

“If it’s too much, let me know right now, and Peng and I will tell everyone to pack it up.”

His concern warmed your heart even after so long with the crew, and you gave him a close-lipped smile. “It’s fine, Shach’. I’m just… It’s kind of exciting.”

It embarrassed you to say that, but it was true.

Shachi’s face broke into a broad grin at that admission, shooting you a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, then. We’ll make sure this is the best blanket fort you’ll ever have.”

Somehow, miraculously through the power of very careful maneuvering, lots of squabbling, and two unrolled bolts of the largest fabrics and what you think was all the blankets and pillows possibly on the Tang, the recreational space became a massive fabric structure that every single one of your nakama could fit under in comfort. Even the tallest ones, should they choose to partake, had a space for them. It wasn’t surprising that the thing got built (not with those like Ikkaku and Morsa helping), more so that everyone wanted to participate and wanted to join in on this silly little escapade that only happened because you had revealed an embarrassing facet about your childhood (or lack of). Of course, not everyone was present, as there were those who still had to go through their shifts. But they would come when their shift ended and someone else’s began. But not you for tonight.

Because tonight, you’d get the joy of experiencing your first ‘pillow fort’.

You couldn’t believe it. Full-grown pirates, led by the most fearsome surgeon of the seas. And there you all were, piled into a pillow fort of all things.

“So?” Slick prompted in a whisper, picking his head up to look at you from where he was. “How’s your first pillow fort?”

You hummed, feeling the gentle rise and fall of Bepo’s bulk behind you. Uni, already in his sleep, tossed a leg over you, the long limb pinning both you and Clione down under it. “It’s nice,” you said simply.

Law’s gravelly brogue rumbled over the space, a little grumpy after Bepo corralled him into the space. “Go to sleep, you two.”

In the dark, you smile gently up at the canopy above you.

Slick had a satisfied look on his face as he shot you a final smile before lying down. Unbeknownst to you, he exchanged a victorious fist bump with Boost for giving their dear tailor one more experience to cherish.

Japes and Jubilations, Pt 3

The Sanctity of Sacred Spaces Masterlist

The various antics of the crews and the various ways you’re involved in it.

(Part 1) | (Part 2) | YOU ARE HERE | (Part 4)

Part 3: Haunted

The senior members (Penguin) decide to pull some pranks on the newcomers. Of course you're pulled along.

The Polar Tang’s halls could be scary, if you weren’t used to her.

That wasn’t an exaggeration, but an undisputable fact. Every single crew member whom you’ve talked to about it, admitted that they were initially put off at being in the Tang’s hall when they first joined the crew.

(Save for Ikkaku and Law, but the former was a whole different beast in her own category and the latter never let slip a single peep when you asked.)

Hell, even Bepo admitted that he and the Swallow Island duo were terrified the first few weeks they took ownership of the submarine, though Penguin and Shachi would deny it to the best of their abilities.

Though Law was no-nonsense with stuff like this, he wasn’t always around to curb the rumors the senior members liked to tell the newer recruits.

Penguin leaned closer to one of the new recruits, tanned and his brown-hair in soft spikes. “You know, you’ve had quite a few night shifts already. How do you feel?”

“It’s kind of eerie at night,” Boost admitted. “Not that I’m complaining! It’s just very… different from what I’m used to…”

“You don’t have to lie to make us feel better,” the other man said. “Everyone knows it’s scary in the halls at night. Especially down the area where the Tailor’s workshop is.”

Clione joined in, ever the shit stirrer. “Yeah! If you’re by yourself there, sometimes you can feel a presence following behind you!”

You sighed as expectant gazes turned to you, raising your hands up. “I don’t know, don’t look at me. I’m usually not in the halls late. I’m either in my bunk early or I stay in my workshop the whole night.”

Another voice scoffed, and you scooted over to let the lanky figure of the other recruit sit down next to you on the bench. “Yeah, right! What’s gonna be with us? Ghosts? Spirits? What are you five?”

“Hey!” Penguin yelled. “It’s true!”

Slick chuckled, glancing at the senior members over his meal. “Sure, sure.”

 ***

Much later on that day, as the hours were turning into night, you were visited by two men who really had too much time on their hands despite being first mates.

“Tailorrrrr!” Penguin whined dramatically. The couch creaked as he draped himself over it, partially laying in Shachi’s lap, who sat on one end. “The new recruits don’t believe us! They think we’re idiots!”

“Probably because you’re acting like it,” you responded dryly, adjusting the measurements on your template as you calculated the changes you’d have to make for the new boiler suits.

“Well, how am I supposed to earn their respect as their superior if they treat me like that?”

“Act like the full-grown man you are,” you suggested.

“Orrrr you can scare them,” Shachi suggested, shark-like smirk on his face. “Make them eat their words.”

You shot the redhead a scathing look that warned him not to go any further. But all too late, as the damage was already done, and the seed planted as the moping man was revitalized.

“We should totally use your workshop to scare the newbies,” Penguin said, a fit of determination making him jerk up and nearly nailing Shachi in the gut.

“No, the fuck we’re not,” you said immediately.

Shachi didn’t say anything, only grinning wider when you looked at him for help. He opened his mouth, and you immediately knew that nothing good would come out of it. “You know, we should spook them first. Mess around with them a little bit.”

“Yeah! And we won’t mess with anything! We’ll just need a space to hide at most.”

You sighed in exasperation, not even bothering to ask for an elaboration at the two’s jumps in conversations, as they would eventually tell you. You had higher expectations for Penguin, as he was usually the more responsible one who reigned in Shachi and the more mischievous members of the crew when Law was not around, but when it was him who got an idea, there was no hope of deterring him as he had Shachi to egg him on.

“I have some old scare masks from the festivals on my old island if you want to use it,” you grumbled, giving in far too easily. As much as you tried to deny it, you did have a soft spot and a tendency for chaos that led you to lend your services too often to them.

Penguin perked up. “Really?!? Are you sure?”

“If you can find it and put everything back the way it was after, then go ahead. But,” You stopped and raised the pencil in your hand threateningly at them like a blade, “if you guys leave my shelves messy, I’ll kill you.”

He sweated nervously. “Got it.”

 ***

It started off normally, for the most part. The days passing by without you noticing anything much. Though that could have been because you were holed up in your workshop when not out doing your assigned duties. But you did notice that out of the pair of newbies, Boost looked increasingly nervous as the time passed. Once or twice, passing by the sleeping quarters’ hall, you did spy Penguin skulking around, sometimes by himself, sometimes with either Clione or Shachi or any other person he managed to rope into. You always made sure to look straight ahead and walk a little faster to pass it.

(Supplying them with a few items didn’t mean that you wanted to participate—and, more importantly, be caught up when Law came through and cracked down upon the antics.)

(You did not want to spend another day finding bits of your body scattered around the Tang by Law’s fruit, thank you very much. You were perfectly content to sit back and watch the chaos that was your nakama unfold around you.)

Tonight’s night shift included the daily navigation lookout duties, and additional maintenance things in the engines that you couldn’t get to while the Tang’s machinery was hot and active during the day. It was you, Uni, and Penguin, alongside the pair of newbies. One senior officer to a junior to show them the ropes, plus an extra pair of eyes on the ocean. Penguin was there to fetch you from your workshop, and the little smirk on his face was the only warning you got to prepare yourself for a night of mess as you met up with Slick and Boost

You were glad, though, that even though the first mate was mischievous, he still took his duties seriously. The first half of the time spent in the engines room passed by dutifully, with the two younger members learning what they needed to manage any emergency issues that might pop up. If they got assigned to a specific role, then they’d have more in-depth training later. But tonight was just a quick rundown for them to prepare for night shifts.

(You pretended not to notice the way Boost had a queasy look on his face and that Slick’s shoulders twitched every time something creaked or clanked. Law should give you an award for the best actor on the crew.)

“Now that you two’ve got the hang of it,” Penguin announced with a grin on his face. “Tailor’ll will watch over for a little bit. I’ve gotta go to the shitter!” 

You groaned, sending him a nasty look. “You’re filthy, Peng.”

He stuck his thumb on his nose and waggled his fingers at you before turning and leaving.

“Feel free to ask me anything if you need,” you said before wandering over to your area and opening the borrowed maintenance kit and extracted a screwdriver. “Remember, don’t overtighten anything, or you might crack the casing. Check for rust or leaks or any missing screws. This area tends to rattle a lot.”

“Got it!”

While Boost and Slick settled down in their quadrant. You unscrewed the panel of one of the deactivated filter tubes and stuck your head in, checking for clogs or debris. Not many others liked doing this particular task, especially after that one time Uni found a whole horde of spiders that stowed away from a previous docking, and the next month was spent battling eight-legged terrors. It took you hours to dust out and clear your workshop once you surfaced.

You shuddered and pulled yourself out, replacing the panels and making sure they were screwed on tight. There was a clank and a curse from the corner the newbies were working.

“You alright?”

“Where did my wrench go?!” Slick stuck his head out from behind the pipes, an aggravated look on his face. “Tailor, do you have an extra?”

“Let me see…” You rummaged through the mechanic's toolbox by your leg, grimacing as you pulled out an old, rusty one that Ikkaku swore up and down to have thrown away already. “Ugh… This is the only one…”

“It’s fine, I’ll take it.” Slick accepted it with a valiant grimace on his face and returned to his work.

Your attention was piqued after that, half-focused on the newbies in case anything else happened, and the other half keeping an eye out for the missing wrench. The lights flickered, and you frowned, casting a look overhead. You were halfway through putting a mental pin into notifying Ikkaku of the malfunction when the room plunged into darkness. There was a split second of surprise before your instincts kicked in, as you stilled, listening to the noises of the Tang around you. Electricity still hummed through the floors, and there was the very distant thrum of gears in action. That meant that the lights weren’t broken. Someone turned it off.

Steady footsteps approached you and through a weak trace of your Observation Haki you identified the familiar presence before you socked them.

Penguin tapped the back of your hand teasingly as he brushed by, aimed towards where the cursing newbies were, before his steps fell silent. Wise enough to expect the upcoming trouble, all the tools were packed up before they could become a tripping hazard in the dark.

Then it began. 

Due to its nature, sound tended to echo in the Tang, the metal walls and features bouncing and warping noises until it was night incomprehensible. Within the confines of the mechanical rooms, that fact doubled tenfold as a veritable din rang in your ears.

You were calm in the chaos as their footsteps and screaming approached you, chased along by ominous clanking and the frankly ridiculously scary laughter Penguin could produce. Hands grabbed onto either side of your shoulders, jostling you a bit, but you didn’t move even as the noises got nearer. Just when it sounded like it was right in front of you, everything cut off. The three of you were left in silence for a few moments, fingers digging into your shoulders and two forms that were too tall trying to huddle behind you. When the lights turned back on, you had two oversized males clinging to your back and a pair of wrenches sitting innocuously in front of your boots.

“I’m gonna piss my pants,” Slick muttered. He shook your shoulders a little bit. “H-Hey you didn't say that the sub’s got electrical problems at night. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I’ll let the head mechanic know,” you drawled, nudging the wrenches with a boot. Raising your hands, you patted the hands on your shoulders conformtingly. “Anyway, your wrench’s back, Slick. Get back to work, you two. The faster we finish, the more time we can spend with Uni in navs. Don’t you worry, I’ll kick the ass of any other ghosts here.”

It was a blessing that you finished up the mechanical work easily, so that you could let Slick and Boost run back to the navigation room to huddle with Uni. Though, as punishment for letting you shoulder most of the work, you forced Penguin to stay back and double check everything.

 ***

“How do I look?” Penguin asked, turning to you, the borrowed mask secured on his face. It looked a little silly with his hat poking up behind it, but you were more focused on your work table.

You gave a long-suffering sigh as you rubbed the bridge of your nose, eyes not straying to him as you doubled checked the two boiler suits for any last-minute errors. “You asked me that already.”

“But you didn’t answer before!”

And you didn’t bother to answer this time, either. Huffing, you folded up the suits neatly, making crisp lines even though you knew that they would be unfolded soon. With that ready for Slick and Boost, you turned to drag out an old bedsheet from the infirmary that laid in your reuse bin.

“They’ll be here soon to pick up their boiler suits,” you informed the first-mate in a tired tone, handing him the fabric. 

“Thanks!” Penguin chirped, grabbing it. The dark cloth finally covered his hat when he threw it on, concealing his identity completely with the mask. The man then shuffled behind your couch, tucking himself behind there just in time as knocking announced the arrival of your guests.

Making sure that there wasn’t an errant corner of the sheet showing, you went to open the door to let the two newest members in.

“No ghosts outside!” Slick announced, chest puffed up. “So you don’t have to worry! If you’re still scared, I can walk you at night.”

After the night shift where you bore witness to them getting scared, Slick seemed to try and double down on his previous statement denouncing his fears, hiding his increasing nervousness behind false bravado.

“Right,” you said simply, a small smile on your face as you stepped aside to reveal the new uniforms on your desk. “Well, if you want to stop talking about ghosts and start looking at your boiler suits, they’re ready.”

Both males eagerly went for their uniforms.

“Damn, you made these?!?” Slick marvelled, picking up the suit and unfolded it.

“W-Wow it’s perfect,” Boost said.

You grinned at the pair’s awe, pride puffing out your chest a little. “I’m responsible for the crew’s uniforms. Or anything clothes related. If you need something, come to me.”

Caught up in the ego of praise, your spirits were high enough that you only smirked as you saw Clione and Uni peeking into the open doorway of your workshop, the former with a smirk and a wrench in his hands and the latter reaching for the lights. Your workshop was plunged into darkness at the same time that Clione slammed his wrench into something, creating a reverberating crash in the small space that elicited shrieks from the two in front of you. It got even more chaotic as your couch screeched, moving from its spot as Penguin crawled over the back of it. In the dimness, the mask and sheet truly did look ghastly, like an eerie apparition. Coupled with the shrieking noise you had no idea he could produce, you had to say that it was quite a good act.

Slick and Boost ran screaming out the door. Penguin turned around to give you a jaunty little salute before shooting out after them. “See ya!”

Sticking your head out the door, you yelled after them, “You better bring that back clean!”

Behind you, the drawl of your captain brought heat to your ears and cheeks. “Tailor-ya. Quite lively here.”

Stepping aside, you let Law into your workshop as you turned on the lights.

“Captain,” you greeted him. “Here to tell me off? Or Penguin to stop?”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with your work, I don’t care what you do,” he drawled. “And isn’t this ‘good for raising team morale’?”

“The only thing it’s raising is my blood pressure,” you sighed.

“Sounds serious,” he deadpanned. “You know that too much salt in your diet tends to lead to hypertension.”

Your expression flattened as a distant scream echoed down the hall.

Though it was all in jest, none of you realized how close to home the story of a roaming spirit hit. In the corner of the ceiling, above the din and noise of all your antics, a transparent, ephemeral apparition looked on, the Polar Tang quietly rejoicing as her nakama expanding in numbers.

You Don't Need to Try to Belong

Sorry if the tone near the end doesn't quite match the rest of the fic something happened in the middle of me writing it and like all good writers do I used this as an emotional outlet. But hey, who doesn't want Marco to hold them amirite? This was meant to be shorter, but the rest of the crew hijacked it like the pirates they were.

Phoenix Marco x Reader (fluff, near-death experiences, dash of sickfic & hurt/comfort)

As the unofficial ‘Fixer-Upper’, the jack-of-all-trades of the Whiteboard Pirates with a helpful Devil Fruit to boot, you tend to overwork yourself helping any issues that arises. Sometimes at the detriment of your own health.

You don’t think you’d ever get used to seeing the sun rise over the horizon from your vantage point up in the Moby’s crow’s nest. 

The gentle blush of pink peeking over the horizon, watercolor-soft as the veil of the night pulled back. Blackness faded away to reveal the glittering waves of the ocean stretched seemingly infinitely all around you. It was a freedom given to you by the Whitebeard Pirates, one you could never repay.

Sunrise also had the added bonus of signifying the end of your lookout ship, the promise of your bed waiting for you.

Below you, on the deck, the morning bell rang out, signifying the official end of the night shift’s work. The hubbub of the ship coming to life stirred up as you climbed down the mast, seeing the specks of the other lookouts doing the same at the other crow’s nests. A few members glanced your way as your feet hit the deck, and you returned the greetings thrown at you, albeit with slightly less energy.

Your stomach growled as the aroma of food from the galley drifted over when you entered the halls. However, you didn’t join the others for breakfast like normal and instead went deeper into the Moby’s bowels to where the crew’s quarters were. You’d been bothered by a persistent headache all night, and you knew that going into the noisy mess hall would no doubt make it worse.

The shared cabin was thankfully empty for the most part, and you made it over to your hammock before collapsing into it and tugging the blanket up to your chin before blacking out, looking forward to the long, uninterrupted rest you’d get.

“WAKE UP!”

You grunted in pain as you were upended from your hammock, bedding and all falling down with you. Blearily, you sat up and squinted at the pair of legs in front of you, smacking your dry lips. You didn’t know how long it was since you’d fallen asleep, but you knew it was not long enough.

A freckled face and messy black hair invaded your vision, the inquisitive expression of one Portgas D. Ace showing who exactly it was that woke you up.

“Hey! Got a moment?”

Even though it was phrased as a question, you still found yourself forcibly dragged to your feet, his grip on your wrist the sole thing that kept you moving as you stumbled through the halls and out into the deck. Sunlight pierced your half-closed eyes, and you winced, squeezing them shut as you trusted Ace not to run you both into something. You two finally paused and you cracked your eyes open to show that you’d stopped in front of Striker, in all her dripping glory as she hung hoisted up over the deck.

Ace finally released your wrist, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry to drag ya all the to fix up the Striker for me? I’d ask Blenheim, but he’s with the other fleet right now.”

At the request of a fixing, you forcefully shook off your sleepiness. Tiredness still lingered, and that damn headache still nipped at your temple, but you pushed it all back. Alert eyes assessed the damage in front of you as you tuned into Ace’s chattering.

“I got cornered by a few small Marine scout boats and had to take the Striker through some sorta reef. Thought I got through it fine, but I guess the coral—”

A sudden thud.

You paused in your observation to haul Ace out of the way of the crew and lay him out straight before returning to the Striker. True to his word, the bottom of Striker’s hull was deeply scratched when you bent down to take a look at it. The wood was gouged in a few points, areas where leaks would’ve no doubt let in water. It was a miracle Ace made it back. You hummed at the thought, making a note to get Pops to talk with the young man about his recklessness.

The Striker swayed gently from the lines holding her up as you pushed gently, tilting your head to catch the sound of sloshing water in her bowels. It wouldn’t do to mend everything only to have her rot from the inside out by trapped moisture. When nothing came back, you nodded approvingly and crouched down, hand reaching up to touch the largest of the holes. There was a dim glow before the wood seemed to seal up wherever you dragged your fingers over it, returning to its previous pristine state. You did the same for the others, each spark and glow only tugging at the tiredness in your bones. It was light work, but you were still exhausted by the time you finished, opting to take a seat by Ace where he lay. You were only beginning to blink off into sleep when the young man sat back up.

“—scratched ‘er up real bad and—Oh.”

Ace blinked at the newly repaired full before turning to you, sending a thousand-kilowatt smile your way.

“F’xed it,” you mumbled, shooting him a thumbs up. Your head tilted to the side and you dozed off. While your Devil Fruit, the Mend Mend Fruit was extremely useful, it did take a toll on you.

Strong arms once again wretched you to your feet, and you squawked as Ace bodily hauled you off, cheerful as ever.

“Thanks so much! Let’s go get some food. I’m starvin’’”

You went limp in the newly minted commander’s hold, resigning yourself to your fate as he dragged you along to the mess. There were a few others there who were the stragglers from lunchtime.

Ace shifted you to drape over his shoulder like a sack as he assembled a plate for the two of you. The world flipped around as he set you down at a table, and you murmured your thanks, dragging heavy limbs to your utensils to force a few bites down.

A call of your name and a harried-looking Thatch halted right by your table, relief on his face. “There you are. Glad I could catch you. Think you can get that pipe done for us now?”

Your eyes widened as you straightened. Right. You were supposed to have stopped by this morning after breakfast to help fix up the leak in the piping that the division didn’t have the supplies to replace. “Oh shit. I’m so sorry, Thatch.”

Shooting to your feet, you pushed your plate to Ace and quickly set towards the galley, Thatch on your tail. The Fourth Division greeted you, wrapping up post-meal duties as they avoided one particular section in specific. Someone already peeled away the wooden boards to expose the problematic pipe, and rags were stuffed along the spaces in the wall and sprawled on the floor. As you approached, you noticed that there was something on the pipe. You squinted at the stain and sniffed.

“Is this–Is this dried molasses?!?” 

Thatch whistled and adverted his eyes under your scrutinizing stare. “We had to make do.”

You exhaled despairingly, pressing your fingers into the sticky mess. It was concerning how often you all ran short on miscellaneous supplies, despite being an Emperor’s crew. A glow sparked up, and you sealed the gap.

The sticky, dark substance stuck to your fingers as you withdrew them, and your stomach suddenly churned. Rushing to an empty sink, you quickly washed it off as you called back, “I’m not cleaning that.”

“Fair,” Thatch said. He withdrew a rag from his chef apron. “Thanks for this.”

You hummed as you exited the galley.

Somehow, those two actions seemed to unleash a catalyst upon your peace. The promise of rest seemed further and further away as you were directed all over the ship, fixing this odd thing or that odd part. Your headache never went away, only getting worse as nausea was added to the list.

Skull called out his thanks as you bolted away from him, clapping a hand over your mouth as you beelined for the railing. You made it just in time to empty your stomach over the side. The only food in your stomach—the meager bits you managed to shovel down before Thatch interrupted—splashed sadly into the water.

Shivering, you closed your eyes to block out the sight of the swaying waters below you. The railing dug into your stomach as you slumped down into it. Everything felt hot and cold at once, and you admitted to yourself that maybe it was time to lie down. No more using your Devil Fruit for today.

As you were straightening up, a scuffle broke out from behind you. It was two recruits, roughhousing or fighting, you couldn’t care either way. But before you could move, one of them stumbled and slammed into you. Your eyes widened as your grip slipped, and because of the way you were leaning over the railing, you felt gravity tugging you to the wrong side as you pitched overboard.

Your wide eyes were fixed on the spot where you just were, too stunned to make a peep. There was a shout of alarm on board.

It was never fun falling from the Moby Dick. Its massive size meant nothing less than a painful impact, and even a few broken bones if you were unlucky.

But you wouldn’t call yourself lucky either way if you fell over the Moby in the first place.

You slammed into the waves.

The first thing that hit you was the pain. Like crashing into solid brick, your back ached from bearing the brunt of the impact. Then the insidious cold seeped in, past your clothes, past your skin, until everything went numb. Bubbles swirled past you in a dizzying spectacle, and it would’ve been pretty if not for the death grip of the weight pulling down on your limbs.

Motes of bubbles passed your lips, but you had the foresight to not open your mouth, to not breathe. But that was all you could do as you sunk deeper, black edging into your vision.

They always said that drowning was a horrible way to go, the choking of water in your lungs. But to you, it felt soft. Like the welcoming of the tiredness you’d carried around all day.

It’s so easy,

Your eyes fluttered, lips cracking open, allowing the saltwater to rush in.

You could get the rest you wanted.

You didn’t feel the arms clamping around your waist to drag you upward.

But you did notice as the two of you breached the surface, water spewing out of your mouth as you coughed. It burned going up, and you clung limply to the form you now identified to be Rakuyo as he stretched up his other arm. “Bring us up!”

He crushed you to his chest as the two of you shot up from the water, hauled up by his living flail. You both landed on the deck again, him on his feet while you were still in his hold. However, that quickly changed as your body spasmed.

“Woah there!” The man exclaimed, quickly crouching down so you wouldn’t meet a second painful impact if you spilled out of his arms.

“Someone grab Marco!”

Quickly, you were set on your side. Just in time as you retched. More seawater (seriously you don’t know how you swallowed so much) came up, through your nose, through your mouth. Warm hands rubbed your back as you gathered the strength to prop yourself up, as the spasms continued. It would’ve been mortifying to have the crew see you like this if you hadn’t seen these same full-grown men projectile vomit their dinner after a few too many drinks. As of right now, you were busy trying not to feel like death warmed over. Someone’s oversized sash fell around your shoulders as they used it to dry you off of the cold water.

“What’s going on, yoi?”

Marco’s voice was like a balm to your raw nerves as indistinct voices murmured over your head. Someone draped something soft over you (a towel?) and you sneezed.

Like the world’s most pathetic, bedraggled, wet cat, you were picked up from underneath your arms and passed over to warmer ones.

“H-Hol’ on,” you slurred, getting wrapped up in the fabric around your shoulders. Your head lolled against a warm chest. “Might throw—throw up.”

Marco shushed you. “Don’t worry about it, yoi.”

Blue and gold flames fluttered to life around you, your aches and coldness fading away. However, you still felt that bone-deep tiredness, and your lungs still rattled wetly. 

“I’m taking you to the infirmary. We have to monitor your lungs, just in case.”

Aw, man. You hated to be a bother.

Weakly wriggling in his grip, you voiced your protests, “‘M fine. L-Lemme jus’ go sleep it off.”

“You can rest in the infirmary. I healed your superficial injuries, but I can’t fix the drain your Devil Fruit already pulled from you or expel any potential water. Don’t fight me on this, yoi.”

You let out an unintelligible noise, sagging deeper into his hold. The hubbub of the ship fell away into muffled peace as he entered the infirmary, greeting the nurses there.

“Goodness! What happened?” Lisa asked as she pulled out more towels and a pair of spare clothes.

“We had a tumble off the deck,” Marco said, setting you down on a bed in the corner and stepping back for the nurse to let her set the clothes down by your side. He grabbed the privacy curtain, readying to pull it close as he asked you, “Think you can get changed, yoi? Lisa or another nurse can assist if you think you’ll need help.”

You looked down at your shaking hands, then to the set of folded clothes beside you. It was a simple enough shirt and pants, nondescript for their versatility. “I’ll be f-f-f-fine.”

The shiver that broke your words into a stutter wasn’t convincing, but Marco didn’t push it as he pulled the curtains closed around you to give you a bit of privacy. His voice came from the other side, “Let me know when you’re done, yoi.”

It took you much longer than you’d like to admit, wrangling yourself into the change of clothes, but just when Marco began shuffling on the other side of the curtain, you managed to pull the collar of the shirt over your head with your stiff limb and wrapped your hair in a towel.

“I’m d-do-done.”

The curtains were pulled open again and Marco stepped through. In the span of time it took for you to change, the man had collected equipment of his own. His stethoscope hung around his neck, and he carried a blanket rolled up under an arm and a thermometer.

“Just a precaution, yoi,” he said when he saw you eyeing his getup. You took the blanket when he handed it to you. The back of his hand came up to rest on your forehead and he hummed as he began putting on his stethoscope. “I want to listen to your lungs and keep you here to rest up.”

Letting out a put-upon sigh, you tilted your head back, staying still as Marco pressed the cold metal of the chest piece into your skin, expression calm as he focused on your breathing. After a few moments, he pulled away and tugged off the instrument.

“Your breathing sounds alright from what I could tell, yoi. But your temperature’s a little out of its normal range. How are you feeling, yoi?”

With the assessment done, you pulled away and curled up on the bed, tugging the blanket up. “Blegh, fine. I’m just gonna rest my eyes for a bit.”

“You do that, yoi,” Marco said, patting your shoulder. “I’ll watch over you.”

Letting out a huff, you allowed the lull of sleep to finally pull you under.

***

Warm hands on your forehead and cheek stirred you from the fretful slumber you were in, and you murmured, trying to pull away from the disturbance. Your breath whistled when you sighed, nose closed by a painful pressure and the rattle when you breathed seemed more prominent than ever.

There was a quiet tut before they came back with greater insistence, pulling you into a sitting position. You resisted, but your limbs felt leaden when you tried to lift them up. A slow, pounding pain pulsed in your temples on top of that, intensifying when you cracked your eyes open. You squeezed them shut again, but that peek was enough to see the slight chastisement on Marco’s expression as you identified him to be the one taking care of you.

His voice was low, kept to a manageable level that wouldn’t upset your head as he said, “Looks like you’re getting a fever, yoi. That’s strange.”

Blue flickered through your closed eyes as a gentle wash of his flames coursed through you. The pounding in your head lessened

“Tried my best to alleviate some of your symptoms, but since most of them aren’t physical injuries, I don’t think helped much.”

“It’s fine,” you rasped, blinking the crustiness from your eyes as you sat up. “Thanks for tryin’”

He hummed, pulling away. “What I’m surprised about is that you’re getting so sick from a dip in the waters. As far as I’m aware, the waters in this part of the Grand Line should be temperate enough to avoid that issue, yoi. Unless…” He narrowed his eyes at you, suspicion flashing in his gaze as he picked up on your guilty air. “You were on deck at a time where you would usually be asleep, yoi. Why weren’t you resting?” 

“Listen,” you began. “You’re not allowed to scold anybody involved in it…”

Marco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why do I feel like I already know who it is, yoi?”

“Ace took me out to help fix Striker,” you agreed, ignoring Marco’s muttered ‘I knew it’. “Then we swung by the galley where there was something I forgot to fix for Thatch. Some of the crew caught me about, and it kind of escalated from there.”

The way the man tilted his head was distinctively avian. “Now, why would you do that, yoi? We’ve discussed using your Devil Fruit when you’re tired.”

You pursed your lips and adverted your eyes, shrugging. “I dunno. I couldn’t just say no.”

His eyes softened. “You know… You’re deserving of rest when you’re tired. You don’t need to bend over backward to please us. You don’t have to prove anything.”

Unbidden, you felt tears spring up in your eyes, and you blamed it on the mess running through your system, pulling away so you could wipe them.

However, Marco’s hands came up to hold your face, thumb wiping away the bit of saltiness that spilled over your lashes.

“Silly love,” Marco murmured as he tugged you into his chest and enveloped you.

Pliantly allowing it to happen, your face ended up buried in his chest. His hand rubbed your back comfortingly as he shifted to take a seat and pulled you into his lap. You sank deeper into him, instinctively relaxing at the soothing warmth he emitted.

“Nobody would think less of you for resting. There’s no payment to be on the crew beyond what you can safely provide. And you’ve done plenty, are doing plenty. Pops is not going to kick you out if you don’t repair Skull’s necklace or somebody’s sandals for the fiftieth time. You belong with us. We want you.”

You closed your eyes in embarrassment, hands coming up to cover your face. Marco’s chuckle jostled you a little bit, and the arm around your waist squeezed you, dragging you even closer to him. His flames flickered over you again, and you went boneless against him, hands dropping from your face. The ache in your chest that you didn’t even know you were carrying lightened with his presence.

“You just rest now, yoi. I’ll take care of you.”

You sighed, a trembling shaky thing. “Thank you, Marco.”

And Tonight, We’ll Be Warm

It is technically still the 25th where I am so have a holiday-related fic! This is just an excuse to write that obligatory Christmas fic that nobody asked for

Whitebeard Pirates x Reader (no particular pairing but very Ace-centric)

The Whitebeard Pirates never needed an excuse to party, but surprisingly, they always celebrated one specific holiday.

The sight of white flecks on the deck heralded the arrival of the Moby Dick to its destination, the cheery winter island in front of you a familiar sight. You couldn’t see it at this distance, but you had no doubt that if you asked Marco, he’d say that it was decked out in its annual holiday decoration already.

Around you, the hustle and bustle of docking preparations were in full swing, excitement filling the chilly air more than usual. Every year, on the same day and if time was willing, Pops liked to return to this specific island, deep in the heart of his territory, known for its celebration this time of year. It was done often enough that the locals left a special place for the Whitebeards and the crew always brought in supplies when they came. What would commence would be a two-day, island-wide celebration where the Whitebeards and even other friendly crews would toss aside their worries to rejoice. Though Pops’s family may have been a wide assortment of characters from all over the Blues, it was a unanimous agreement that all of you would indulge in this holiday because of how much joy it brought the old man. Though as pirates, there was never a reason needed to party.

You’d been with the crew long enough to have attended a few, the first few times never something you’d never forget. Overwhelming in the best of days, there would be lots of work done once you docked to unload the supplies and crates, but then the locals would whisk it all away and the crew would be able to release themselves upon the festivities. There would be stalls upon stalls of vendors selling indulgent foods, gifts, and knickknacks for the holidays. And—of course—the booze. It was a pirate island, after all.

A relieved cheer broke out as the Moby coasted gently to a stop, a few of those who could handle the jump vaulting over the side onto the dock, while those who remained up top tossed down the mooring line for them. You double-checked the ropes on the winches responsible for lowering the cargo and leaned over to ensure that nobody was in the way.

“Lowering the crates!” You yelled down to the people milling down below. The worn wooden crank was familiar in your work-calloused hands as you cranked it, lowering the creaking platforms of foods and ingredients down. A ‘thump’ and the lines slackening signaled the contact with the dock below you, and you left the unpacking to the ground crew.

Beelining for the rope ladder, you scaled down it to join the others, an eager grin pulling at your cheeks. Wagons waited for their loads, but you left that to those like Fossa and Blenheim, the likes of them able to move much more efficiently when they had no smaller crewmates running underfoot. Your eyes darted across the space, seeking one specific person. For once, a majority of the crew had a shirt and jacket on, only the hardiest of them forgoing it, so it was easy for you to find that tattoo stretched across a tanned back.

“Ace!”

The young man spun around, seeking the call of his name. You started toward him, waving to attract his attention. He returned your grin easily as the two of you met up. Close to him, you couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Despite your layers, it was still bitingly cold with the snow fluttering down. But with Ace nearby, his heater tendencies, courtesy of his Fruit, were a warm balm against the low temperatures.

“You were right, this does look fun!” Ace said, hands on his hips as he regarded the festivities beyond the dock. I’m glad I’ll have someone to lead me around.”

“Hm.” You rubbed your hands, fingertips red. “I’ll show you all the good places to hit up. Ignore what Commander Marco says. He’s a geezer who’s got outdated tastes.”

“Does he now, yoi?”

You stiffened, spine prickling with unease as footsteps came close. The warmth of the other flame-related Devil Fruit user on your back betrayed his approach. You shot Ace a nervous smile, grabbing his shoulders and swinging behind him to escape the fingers that skimmed the collar of your jacket. Grabbing the black-haired man’s hand, you readied to bolt but flailed when he didn’t move.

“C’mon! We gotta run!”

Ace glanced back at you, shrugging helplessly, still gripping your hand.

“You should know better,” Marco tsked as he stopped in front of Ace (and you, who ensured you were soundly on the opposite side of Ace from him). He crossed his arms, a lazy smile twitching into something mischievous. “We have to wait for Pops, yoi.”

As if that mention summoned him, the ground trembled with the impact of your captain landing down from his leap off the ship. He did a sweeping glance over his nakama, still milling about the dock as they waited for his arrival, and unleashed his booming laughter. “What are you all waiting for? Go have fun, my children!”

Noise erupted over the dock, and you suddenly found Ace very agreeable as you ran away from Marco. The two of you darted into the crowd, away from the blonde.

“Go! Go! GO!” You yelled as Ace swept you onto his back, laughing as he bolted. You wrapped an arm around his neck to keep balance, while the other one pointed in front of him to where you wanted him to go. Rakuyo jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being plowed over, and Atmos bellowed in laughter when Ace ducked under his arm, revealing you clinging to his back.

Despite you acting as a backpack for him, Ace was barely winded when you finally told him to stop. He regarded the street around you with wide eyes as you slid off him, dusting your clothes. “Where to know?”

You pointed to a little stall that had a small metal stove by its side. “First order of business: Drinks!”

The little old lady there waved as you approached, a smile of familiarity greeting you. “Welcome back, dearie. I see you’ve brought a friend!”

Nodding, you stepped aside to showcase the now-shy ravenette to her. “Hi again Miss Rose. This is Ace! He joined us a little while ago.”

“Showing him around, I see…” Miss Rose said

“Yep,” you said. “I gotta do it since I don’t want to put him through the history lesson that Commander Marco might’ve exposed him to. And I thought it’d be good to start everything off with drinks from your stall!”

Miss Rose tilted her head, an apologetic expression falling onto her face. “I’m sorry, dearie, but my stove just went out, you see. I sent my son off to fetch flint, but it’s going to be a while before I can get anything warm for you.”

“I can help!” Ace said, straightening up as he lifted a hand, small flames flickering to life. He, however, quickly extinguished it, and added on nervously, “I-If you want.”

The woman didn’t flinch at the small display of Ace’s powers, long-familiar with Devil Fruit displays on an island such as this, and toddled over to the stove, pulling open the door, and stepped aside for Ace. “Oh, if you could, that would be delightful.”

Caught off guard by the open friendliness, Ace glanced at you in a silent question. You bumped him forward with your shoulder. “Yeah. Miss Rose has the best cider all around, and you can’t start the festivities without getting a cup.”

Ace exhaled with a smile, sticking his hand into the open maw of the stove. With a flash of orange, the lumber within it lit up. The door was closed, and Miss Rose quickly put a pot over the top. Within moments, the warm smell of spices suffused the air and the pot’s content bubbled merrily away. Miss Rose moved with a speed that belied her age as she quickly set up two steaming cups of liquid. You barely just finished fishing out the appropriate payment before they were shoved into your grasp. Passing one to Ace, you slid the coins over to her quicker than she could react. Grabbing Ace, you led him away despite the woman’s protests refusing your payment and called back, “Thanks, Miss Rose!”

Your action prompted a curious look from him as the two of you hurried from her stand. “What was that about?”

“She’s too kind for her own good, and if I didn’t do that, she would’ve tossed my coin back at my face,” you explained. Taking a long sip, you let out a satisfied sigh at the warmth spreading through your guts and prompted Ace, “Try it.”

He took a tentative sip. Your catlike grin widened as his eyes lit up, and he went in for seconds. “Woah, this is good…”

“Mhm,” you hummed, turning to look at the busy street in front of you. You pulled the cup closer to your face to allow the steam to warm up your cold nose. “It’s good that we got here before the crew. Otherwise, we’d be fighting Kingdew for a spot in line.”

Ace didn’t reply, and you glanced over to see him staring at the colorfully lit lanterns above you that cast festive colors onto the street. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was nice seeing the awe on his face, and you realized this must’ve been why Marco was chuckling at you when it was your first time on the island. 

The growl emitting from him broke you out of your reverie, and you chuckled, hefting a bag of Berry in your hands.

“Alright Ace, since it’s your first time here, you can get any food you want, my treat. But—” You held up a finger when he brightened, “Only as much as this pouch can pay, and don’t spoil your appetite for later.”

“What’s for later?” Ace asked as he began walking to the nearest food stall, something to do with skewers.

“Five, please,” you said pleasantly to the vendor. Glancing back at Ace, you said. “There’s always a big feast and bonfire set up. It’s great. You’ll love it.”

The food was given to you, and you exchanged it with the correct amount of bills, passing four of the roasted chestnut and meat sticks to Ace while you kept one to yourself. Silence stretched between you two for a few minutes as the food was savored. As you were crunching through a chunk of chestnut, you heard Ace murmur, “Lu’ would’ve liked this.”

You swallowed your bite. Aside from his explosive (literally) introduction to the crew, there were a few other things about him that he never kept quiet about, one of them being his very cherished brother. “Oh yeah? I mean, this island is known for good chestnuts year-round, so food like this is common anytime. You can bring him here when you meet him again.”

Ace polished off his second skewer, expression wistful as he murmured, “Yeah…”

“Oi, you two!”

Like twin dogs, the two of you turned to the call. Thatch waved at you, Izou by his side. The former looked a little silly, with a sprinkling of snow piling up atop his pompadour, while the latter looked immaculate in his dark-blue kimono, its woven threats gleaming when it caught the lights. Amusement lit up the two Commanders’ faces when they saw the food in Ace’s hold.

“Putting another person’s wallet to work already, I see,” Izou said with a small smirk on his painted lips.

“Well, better than the alternative,” Thatch quipped, hands on his hips. “The locals may like us, but that can change if someone decides to dine and dash.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you pipped up. “I’m treating Ace today since it’s his first time.”

“How thoughtful,” Izou said. “You would have had the same result tossing your wallet in the sea.”

“I know better! I only brought a set amount.”

“Hey!” Ace protested. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

You, Thatch, and Izou exchanged glances. A beat of silence passed.

Thatch was the first to crack, folding in half as mirth shook his body, and you had to make efforts not to spill your drink in your laughter. Even Izou cracked, one fist coming up to cover his mouth as he snorted. Ace leveled a betrayed look at you all.

“By the way,” Thatch began, once he finally reigned his laughter back in control. “Where are the two of ya headed?”

Shrugging, you motioned down the street you two were on. “Just roaming for the most part, but the goal is to the town center to show Ace the stage before going to the bonfire.

“Hm. Mind if we join y’all?”

You shrugged. “I don’t mind. Ace?”

Silence greeted you, and you whirled around to find him face down in the snow, breathing deeply. Somehow, he still held his drink and food aloft. Sighing, you sent the other men a helpless look.

“We can wait until he wakes up to see what he wants,” Izou amended. “Let’s move him to the bench over there.”

Thatch smiled, lifting a hand. “If ya can grab the food and cup, I’ll carry our resident flamethrower out of the street.”

Chugging the rest of your cider, you crouched down and carefully wormed the sticks and cup out of Ace’s hands. There was no food left, so you tossed those, but Ace’s cup was still three-quarters full and steaming, so you decided to keep that for yourself. At your go-ahead, Thatch effortlessly lifted Ace’s snoozing form, while Izou cut ahead to dust off the coating of snow from the seat. Thatch set Ace down first before sitting down, and you immediately claimed the other empty spot of the sleeping Logia-user, sighing in happiness at the warmth that bled off him.

“I’m surprised that you’re not with Commander Marco, sirs,” you admitted, moving to sip from the cider cup.

You squawked as Thatch took it from you, using his long reach to lean over Ace. He took a sip from it and hummed. “Ah, that’s good. From Miss Rose?”

Sulkily side-eyeing him, you nodded.

“And stop with the ‘Commander’ stuff. We’re off-duty, and we’re all friends anyway.”

“Well, as my friend, you should give me back my drink.”

“Is it really yours in the first place, if you took it from Ace?” Izou asked. He waved the cup away when Thatch offered it to him.

As the brown-haired man was leaning back, Ace suddenly shot forward, knocking into him. The cup flew out of Thatch’s grasp, spilling its contents onto the snow in front of you all. Izou hissed, jerked the hem of his kimono away, and shot the others a poisonous look.

“Haahhhhh? Since when did we sit down?”

“Since you decided the snow would be a good cushion for your face,” Izou replied.

“Ah dang, was I out for long?”

“No,” you said. “Thatch and Izou were wondering if they could tag along with us.”

Ace stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “I don’t see why not! As long as your offer still holds up.”

Sighing in exasperation, you stood up with a shake of your head and a smile on your face. “Fine. But if you want to explore, we gotta get going.”

Your words were a reminder of the changing sky, the days shorter in the thick of winter. The others all agreed, and once everyone gathered themselves, you all set off again. Your motley crew would’ve struck an unusual sight, with Thatch’s stature and hair, Izou’s elegant dress, and Ace completely bare-chested in the snow, but the locals of this island were long-used to it, a few folks even greeting the Commanders by name.

The festival was still as eye-catching as ever, with the soft haze of snowfall spreading a dreamy air over everything. True to his nature, Ace ended up dragging you to a few more food stalls. You four wandered with no hurry, simply basking in the peaceful, jovial air that was seldomly seen on the seas.

“I wonder how long these chestnuts can keep,” Thatch mused as he rotated a candied chestnut in his fingers. Popping it into his mouth, he passed you one from his cup. “I have plenty of recipes that’ll be nice for the colder weeks when we’re sailing.”

“I think if you can store them in the ice closet, they can last up to six months!” you chirped.

You could see his mind beginning to form ideas. “That’s plenty of time. I doubt they’ll last that long. Since it’s so cheap here, I think I’ll arrange for an order to the Moby tomorrow.”

A folded hand fan whapped Thatch on the side of the head, Izou tucking it back from wherever he summoned it from when the brown-haired man turned to him. 

“What gives, you bastard?!?”

“Stop talking about work,” Izou sniffed. “We’re here to relax and enjoy the festivities, damn you.”

Thatch leaned down into Izou’s space. “Well, you didn’t need to hit me!”

While the two senior members squabbled like little kids, you turned your attention to Ace, seeing him contemplating the roasted squid in his hands like it contained the secrets of the world.

“What’s wrong?” You said, popping your head over his shoulder. “It raw?”

Ace blinked, shaking his head and taking a big bite out of it. “Nah. Just thinkin’.”

“Don’t hurt your head over it,” you said. “Now’s a time to turn it off.”

He hummed, and you linked your arm with his and marched forward.

“Well, we’re almost at the town center. You’d like it, I think. And if you don’t, it’ll be something to distract you, yeah? No worries.”

Izou and Thatch fell in line when they saw the two of you heading off. One was fixing the collar of his kimono, while the other had a red mark on his forehead. Neither said anything when you raised a teasing eyebrow in question.

You led them down the streets until it opened up into a wide space, the large, towering pine tree in the middle marking your arrival to the town center.

Ace froze as he gawked at the monster of a tree in front of you all. “Holy shit.”

Tall enough to make even Pops look small standing next to its trunk, the ancient growth was decked out in flickering candles and carved, wooden ornaments of all colors. Bands of embroidered cloth swayed gently, depicting the winter flowers that bloomed this time of year.

“This is one of the island’s pride and joy,” You told Ace, banking on the information Marco told you during your first time. Damn, if he knew, he would never let you live this down. “It was said that this tree was already massive by the time people settled onto this island, and it was decided that they would keep it and treasure it. The festivals came later, but this tree was integrated into every celebration as well. Looks like we came just in time.”

Chattering quieted as a door hidden in the tree trunk opened. A pair of men walked forward to the platform mounted there, rolling some sort of canon in between them.

“It’s safe,” you reassured Ace as you saw him shift in nervousness. “Just watch!”

With a muffled pop, a flurry of flat, petaled shapes shot up into the air. The crowd roiled, eager hands reaching up as the large charms fluttered down. This was what you came here for. This town’s yearly charms, hand-carved from a specific type of lightweight crystal only found here. When refined down into the flowers and the snowflakes fluttering down upon you now, they caught the light in a kaleidoscope of rainbows. They were beautiful.

And very desired.

“Quickly,” you hissed, pushing Ace forward. “Try and grab one! They say that whoever got one will have good luck for the upcoming year.”

Unsure, the man reached out, only to have it snatched in front of his fingertips. The old lady who took it from him gave him a sharp glare and toddled off.

A spark of competitiveness lit up in Ace’s eyes. “Oh, that does it.”

The two of you shared a look of determination, exchanging a nod before delving into the crowd.

“Over here, Ace!”

“Too far!”

“Watch out for that lady!”

Your teamwork fell in line seamlessly, the months together on the seas and all the training and fighting giving you and Ace a leg up. Though it always seemed like there were five people trying for every one charm. Eventually, there was nothing left in reach, but you spotted one still fluttering above the crowd. You were not the only one, as you locked eyes with a burly man who was bullying his way through the crowd toward it. The two of you scowled at each other, and you stuck out your tongue at him.

Looking back at it again, you saw that it was out of reach for even the tallest folks.

But not too tall for what you had in mind.

Spinning around, you pointed at the crystal and yelled out, “Ace!”

The man turned around to spot it, and you quickly took a knee, putting your cupped hands low to the ground. A move that you’d done once or twice before.

“Go for it!” You yelled, hiding a wince when an elbow dug into your back.

Ace stepped back, lining himself up before running towards you. His boot landed in your palms, and you pushed yourself upward, propelling him up with you as he jumped. You turned around to see his trajectory, a wild grin on your face. Ace had a similar expression, one hand on his hat while the other was outstretched as he approached the snowflake. With bated breath, you watched as his fingers grazed the edges of the charm, seemingly missing it before, with a burst of flames from his legs, he propelled himself up a bit and the charm landed in his grasp. With the prize secured, he brought it to his chest and pivoted in the air, landing at an empty spot with a perfectly tucked roll.

You let out a whoop, throwing your arms up in victory, before moving your way through the crowd to where Ace landed. Your cheeks ached not just from the cold, but also from the size of the grin overtaking you sported. Spotting Ace, you hauled him up and pulled him into a hug, your laughter ringing out in the air.

“You got it!”

His cheeks were flushed as well when you pulled back, a pearly smile on his face. “Yeah.”

The crowd’s excitement was dying down and a part of you dropped in dismay over the fact that you’d missed your chance to grab something, too busy making sure Ace had his moment to focus on your own. But you were at least glad that Ace managed to get one of the charms of his own, so you shoved down that bit of sadness.

“What shape did you get?” You asked. “Can I see?” 

He pulled the hand holding his charm away from his chest, and your eyes widened in excitement at the sight of a flat carving of a flame lily. As he lifted it into the air, the clear crystal caught the light, throwing out fiery red and orange iridescence from within its lattice.

“A flame lily, lucky you!” You shot him a thumbs-up. “That’s the most prized one. A symbol of undying warmth in the cold. Good luck is definitely coming your way.”

“There you two are,” Thatch said, panting a bit as he got through the crowd. “You crazy little cretins, I can’t believe you two did that! And don’t deny it, I saw Ace in the air.”

You whistled, adverting your eyes. “Welllll, it was worth it. Ace got this year’s Flame Lily. How ‘bout you?”

“Right here,” Thatch sighed, reaching into the top of his pompadour and pulling out a glittering, clear hexagonal plate that had flashes of smoky black when he tilted it. “Some lady tried stealing it from my hands after I got it.”

“Looks like all that hair really is useful for something,” you chuckled.

He harrumphed, tucking it in the inner breast pocket of his coat. “Whatever. Did you get one this year?”

You shook your head, a rueful smile on your face. “Nah. Looks like my collection is not growing this year.”

You only caught a flash of guilt on Ace’s face before something was thrust into your face.

“Here,” Izou drawled, a bored look on his face.

Going cross-eyed, you took a step back to see what it was. Your eyes widened when you saw the intricate poinsettia carving in his hand, the details of the flower it was mimicking catching the light prettily.

“I found this stuck to mine,” he said, motioning to the bird-shaped crystal peeking out of the collar of his kimono before you could ask. He shook it. “Take it. I don’t need two of them.”

“Aww, you do care,” you teased as you reached for it.

Izou jerked it out of your grip, raising it out of your reach. “I am not above breaking it over your head.”

“No don’t! I’ll be good, I promise!”

He finally gave it to you, huffing out of his nose as he swept past the tree of you. “Fine. Let’s go. We need to head to the beach if we want to catch the bonfire in time.”

At this point, the sky was blue-hued with the end of sunset, the chill settling deeper into your bones. But still, the lights and candles kept the island festivities in full swing.

“So, what do we do with these things?” Ace asked, inspecting his lily carving.

“You just keep it.” You shrugged. “Put ‘em in a box or something. It’s your choice. Hell, you can even toss them into the ocean, but make sure to point out where you did it so I can go diving for it.”

Ace hummed in thought, glancing over to see your expectant gaze on him. With a smile and shrug, he shoved it into his pant pocket. “I guess I’ll keep it. So what are we doing now?”

“Bonfire should start soon,” you affirmed. “There’ll be food and drinks, the full Whitebeard Pirates shebang, yaknow?”

The growling of a stomach was the response you received from him, and you chuckled.

“We’re almost there,” Thatch reassured. 

True enough, you four took the stone steps down from the edge of the town, where your shoes immediately sunk into sand. Already, you could hear the hubbub of conversation, men on their way to getting sloshed. There was a chorus of greetings that rose when those present saw you four.

“Finally,” Atmos roared, his beer sloshing over his tankard. “Was thinkin’ you guys died fighting in the town center.”

Izou scoffed, sweeping past him as he headed for where Vista and Haruta were. “Please. As if I’d be taken out by something so simple.”

“I’m going to check out to see if the Fourth Division needs any help,” Thatch called, splitting away too.

That left you and Ace again, and you steered him toward a table set up with food. You unleashed him upon the meal, picking up a few things that pulled at your interests too, and allowing yourself to mingle with everyone.

Like most other Whitebeard parties, it was easy to be swept up in the merriment. At one point, you managed to wrangle a spot beside Haruta as he lit up the main bonfire, toasts being called out into the air. Smaller bonfires went up around the beach too, like twinkling, golden stars in the dark.

And when the moon was high in the sky, just about the time when you knew the spectacle of the night would begin, you sought out Ace again.

He was warm as you slung an arm over his shoulder, warmer than even the slight bit of alcohol coursing through your veins. “Aceyyyyyyyyy. Come on closer to the bonfire.”

“Hm? Why’s that.”

You pointed to the towering back of Blenheim in front of you. “Too many tall ones over ‘ere. And you’re warm, but I wanna be warmer.”

“I didn’t realize you were such a heat hog,” he said, rising from his seat at your insistent tugging. 

Fossa smirked at him when he saw the two of you pass by. “Looks like you’re the victim this time, brat. Good.”

You stuck your tongue out at the older man, aiming towards a log laid on as a seat, angled to look into the island instead of out over the sea. Plopping into it with none of the grace you normally held when somber, you sighed at the heat that suffused your back from the bonfire.

At Ace’s questioning look at you, you raised your arm and pointed over the top of the island, where the top of the pine tree could be seen peeking out. “You’ll wanna watch o’er there. It’s good. I promise.”

Following your words were the lights from the town being extinguished, plunging the inland into darkness. Soon, the only lights came from the bonfires dotting the beaches like fireflies as everyone settled. An air of excitement took over the party, those sober and not tilting their heads up to the sky.

A whistle announced the first of the launches before the sky exploded with color. Fireworks bloomed in their brilliant glory, popping and crackling hues of sparkling rainbows before fading out. It was stunning as ever, but since you’d seen it a few times before, you chanced a glance at the man next to you.

Ace’s eyes were wide, the glow of the firelight making them glitter. You smiled softly at the way it transformed his features into something softer.

Even though you haven’t known him for long, the look on his face earlier was too somber for your liking. The two of you may not be close-knit, but you were at least friendly with him on the account of you two being newer to the crews. So to see that troubled look that bellied something deeper made you worried. You may not be close enough to pry, but at the least, you hoped that this was enough to lift his spirits lightly.

You tore your gaze from the black-haired male just in time to see the second round of fireworks going up. More impressive than the last, this time the fireworks were set up into shapes. All around you, cheers rose from the crew as the doggy face of Stephan bloomed into view, followed by an impressive arrangement forming the Moby Dick. 

As this round began to die down, Marco appeared at your side, handing you a steaming drink. “Here, yoi. Keep warm.”

Reaching for it, you asked, “Is it warmed rum?”

“No. I’m not letting you have that again, yoi.” He turned to Ace and jabbed a thumb at you. “No matter how much this one asks, no more of Raykuyo’s rum, alright? I promise you don’t want to deal with the aftermath.”

You sulkily sipped from the cup, finding that it was hot chocolate. Sweet, yet not too heavy to upset your stomach. “Whatever, I drink it ‘cause it chases the chill away.”

“You have Ace with you, yoi.”

“I’m still cold!” you barked. Your eyes gained a calculating gleam as you shuffled closer to Ace, your free hand whipping out to latch onto Marco’s wrist. “But if you’re insisting, why don’t you come have a seat, Marco? I’m sure you’re awfully tired, and it’s an awfully good view to see the fireworks.

His half-lidded eyes were knowing as he moved to sit beside you, bracketing you on all three sides with heat. You sighed in happiness, and relaxed, returning your focus to the sky.

With the bonfire at your back, Ace and Marco by your side, and the crew all around you, your heart was warm.

Japes and Jubilation, Pt 1

The Sanctity of Sacred Spaces Masterlist

The various antics of the crews and the various ways you’re involved in it.

YOU ARE HERE | (Part 2) | (Part 3) | (Part 4)

Part 1: Eyebrows

Hakugan comes with a little request

Rapid-fire knocking—no, pounding at your door made you scowl and throw down the pair of pants in your hands. What was the point of telling the crew to knock so they wouldn’t disturb your work if they’d go ahead and slam on your door like the world was ending?

Yanking the door open, you greeted the perpetrator with a curt, “What?”

Hakugan swayed on his feet, as if he didn’t almost bring your door down. Uncaring of your irritation, he leaned closer to you. “Are you free? Can I come in?”

You raised an eyebrow but stepped aside. “What do you need, Hakugan?”

“Do you have any of that sticky fabric thing?”

“What?”

Hakugan brought his hand together and pulled them apart, mimicking some sort of ripping, peeling sound.

“... Do you mean velcro?”

“Yes! Do you have any more of that.”

“I do, why?”

He leaned closer to you, excitement in his body language. “I have an idea.”

Seeing the man nearly vibrating in unrestrained glee, you held your composure for a few seconds before ultimately caving. “Alright, I’ll bite. What is it?”

Hakugan let out a little cheer, leaning closer as he rapid-fired off his idea to you. A slow smile cracked over your face as you envisioned the visual laid out. “Okay. I’ll do it. Do you have a spare?”

Hakugan whipped out a mask from the recesses of his boiler suits, and you twitched at the fact he already prepared for your involvement with it. You shook your head, disappointed with yourself that you were using such precious materials on something so silly. The only saving grace (and reason that you were doing it in the first place) was that there were some scraps left over from when you made the attachable pockets for the boiler suits.

As you laid out everything on your work table and turned your light on, you could feel the helmsman hovering behind you, peering over your shoulders. You got through the first half of your task, used to the man’s antics. It wasn’t a bother until your elbow began knocking into Hakugan. You stopped your work and looked back at him, and he tilted his face up to you, cocking his head silently.

Before you could regret it, you gingerly offered him your sewing needle. “Do you want to try?”

Hakugan perked up, and you could almost imagine an imaginary tail wagging behind him. “Are you sure?”

“Yos. I’ll walk you through it.”

He was a surprisingly good student, attentive and focused despite what his general demeanor might’ve shown him to be. There were a few learning curves and adjustments where you had to help him hold and position the fabric, but soon he was merrily finishing it up on his own.

Hakugan held up the mask, letting out a victorious cheer. “Alright! Thank you so much!”

You let out an affirmative ‘yos’ . “Don’t think much about it.”

The two of you remained holed up in your workshop until it was time to switch off the navigation teams, heading there together with the others who would be navigating the Tang through this turbulent part of the waters.

Morsa pulled the door open for the lot of you, and Tanaka sighed at seeing the relief shift coming to take over. “Glad you guys are here!”

“Hm,” Hakugan said as he left your side, and walked up next to the taller topographer, falling back into his role as helmsman easily. Nobody noticed that anything was amiss as he made sure that his mask was obscured for the most part. “What’s the update?”

“Well, it seems like we’ve moved out of the enclosed space so far,” Tanaka said. “We—”

His words cut off in a choke as he glanced at Hakugan.

“Hm, what was that, Tanaka?” Ikkaku asked as she squinted at the sonar system.

“Guys!” The bespectacled man grabbed Hakugan by the shoulders and spun him around to face everyone.

The navigation room fell silent as they saw Hakugan’s mask. The man tilted his head innocently, hands coming up to the mask. “What?”

Loud ripping noises echoed in the room as he peeled off the thick, dark eyebrows and slapped them on to make a confused frown. 

“Hakugan,” Ikkaku began. “What the fuck.”

Said helmsman shot a thumbs up to the crew.

Come Back to Bed with Me

Nicolas Brown x Reader X Worick Arcangelo

Sleeping with Nicolas and Worick is like sleeping between two ovens.

It was muggy again tonight.

In the corner of the room, the old electric fan wheezed away, blowing tepid air across the space and into your cramped, sweltering bed. Its buzzing accompanied the distant sound of nightlife filtering in from your open window and the sounds of the two souls sleeping on either side of you. Worick’s snores to your right almost covered the gentle rasping of Nicolas’s breaths, both of them completely out for the count despite the heat. But considering that both of them were responsible for the excess swelter pressing in on you, you weren’t surprised that they’d be immune to it.

Bastards. How dare they come into your bed, take up your space, and ramp up the temperature with their in-built, biological furnace system? It was your turn with the bed, so it was unfair that you couldn’t even get it to yourself tonight.

‘It was too loud!’ Worick had insisted.

Nicolas had simply hovered behind the blond, too sleepy to even attempt signing anything. A mistake on your end by looking at Worick’s puppy eyes ultimately led you to open the door wider and allow the two of them in.

Though, you guess it was your fault for allowing them to squeeze into bed with you in the first place. There was a perfectly good couch and plenty of floor space you could’ve gone to or made them sleep on if you really had minded. But you didn’t, the weight of their bodies beside you so deeply familiar that sometimes you struggled to fall asleep without them. Though sometimes the heat that you so coveted on colder days turned against you.

You laid still for a few moments, calculating how you’d escape without either Nicolas waking up or Worick latching onto you. After a moment of consideration, you slowly sat up, wiggling to the foot of the bed before slipping off there. The blonde mumbled something and rolled over, arms latching on the pillow you placed there as a victim as you vacated. Sighing in relief, you gave them one last look before tiptoeing out of the room.

It was cooler in the kitchen, but not by much as you fanned yourself with the collar of your oversized shirt (okay, Worick’s shirt, but he couldn’t fit in it anyway). Droplets of water splashed over the rim of your cup as you filled it, soon abandoning the whole thing as it took too long and sticking your hands under it. Cool water filled up your cupped palms, and you ducked down to sip from them before splashing the rest over your face and washing the sweat off.

Cooled down to a satisfying degree, you switched the water off but remained drowsily hunched over the sink, yawning occasionally. Water dripped down your features, but you were too tired to wipe it away. The thought of going back didn’t appeal to you, shuddering at the idea of sweaty skin and sticky sheets.

Your head dipped, eyes slipping closed as you began to doze off right where you stood. The slight sounds of footsteps approached, but you didn’t bother moving, knowing exactly who it was by the sound.

Fingers pinched the side of your cheeks, and you let out a groan as they tugged. “Hey, weirdo.”

“Mmmgrrghh.”

Worick chuckled affectionately, letting go of your face as your hand came up to swat at him. “What’re you doing out here?”

“Was thirsty,” you said. “‘N hot.”

His singular sleep-filled eye scanned your features, seeing how the collar of your shirt and skin was dotted with water. “Looks like you got more water on yourself than anything.”

“Was hot.”

He shook his head in exasperation. “C’mon, it’s late. Let’s go back to bed.”

“Don’ wanna.”

“I’ll open the window.”

“‘S already opened. And the fan’s on.”

You didn’t reply as your eye caught movements from behind Worick, leaning to the side to spy Nicolas stumbling into the room. “Oh, Nicky’s awake.

He signed something, movements sloppy and dragging as you tried to see what he was saying, but couldn’t due to the darkness.

Waving to catch his attention, you said and signed, “Sorry, I can’t really see what you’re saying. It’s dark.”

Nicolas let out a few unintelligible grumbles, a warm hand coming up to grab your wrist and tug you with him. Worick’s arm settled over your shoulders, his weight comforting as he leaned drowsily into you.

“Guys…” you whined, hand hitting Nicolas’s arm while following them back into the bedroom. “It’s too hot in there.”

“We can sleep on the floor,” the blonde suggested, slightly kicking at Nicolas’s calf to get his attention. His arm did leave your shoulders, but hooked around and tugged you closer for him to sign and speak, “It’s cooler down there since our whiny baby can’t handle this heat.”

“Fuck you,” you replied without any heat. “You two are a pair of furnaces.”

Nicolas stopped and let go of your wrist to sign, “Want us to leave?”

“No,” you quickly said. “Let’s just sleep on the floor. I wanna do that.”

Worick nodded. “Alright. And, you, don’t suggest something for somebody else!”

Nicolas blinked slowly, catlike as he moved forward and opened the bedroom door. You went ahead and tugged the blanket off the bed, Nicolas tossing the pillows down, while Worick unplugged the little fan on the table to relocate it on the floor where its wind could reach you. With the three of you working together, a comfortable area was quickly established, and you plopped down in the middle, settling into your spot with a satisfied sigh. Nicolas nudged you over, settling to your right as he set his katana down at the edge of the sleeping spot. Worick flopped down onto your other side, yawning loudly as he scratched the scruff on his chin. Before you could move, he rolled over to throw an arm over you, fingers latching onto Nicolas’s shirt.

“You’re heavy as hell,” you muttered, hand coming up to tug at strands of his hair. You turned to Nicolas to make sure he saw your lips as you asked them. “What were you guys doing up, anyways?”

“You weren’t in bed,” Worick replied simply.

Nicolas’s eyes glinted as they caught the moonlight, the Twilight blinking slowly in a catlike manner. 

You huffed and smiled, wiggling in your spot to find a more comfortable position. Your hand on his side sought out his and you curled your pinky over his. “I see. Sorry, I woke you guys up. I’ll make sure not to be gone for too long next time.”

Worick huffed. “You better.”

On the floor it was slightly cooler, but still not by much. But you didn’t complain as you felt their warmth press in on either side of you. Though none of you said it, it was always this way, the three of you so used to each other’s presence at night that the absence of one was always felt. 

The room fell back into its quiet nighttime ambiance as you all settled, three puzzle pieces clicking into each other.

Initiation

Part of "The Sanctity of Sacred Spaces" series

The Heart Pirates were overwhelming. So loud and chaotic that you didn’t know how you’d ever fit in with them. But you didn’t have any need to worry.

Takes place near the beginning of reader's journey with the crew.

Though you had joined (more like forced yourself into) the Heart Pirates in a blaze of chaos and explosions (quite literally), that courage didn’t stay in the aftermath of everything. When it was all said and done, and you’d stitched in a place on the Polar Tang as their tentative tailor, all the fight and bravery went down the drain.

Though you couldn’t say that you thrived on talking to others, you boasted fair enough people skills (which was more than could be said for their—your captain). Just enough for you to be known as a cordial and affable person. But with your history, growing up as you did, you had to say that your inclinations leaned more to that of reservedness.

The same could not be said for this new group of people you found yourself with.

They were loud, you already knew that from your initial introduction to them. But now, in close quarters and a confined space, the noise absolutely echoed. The sense of camaraderie was strong with them, inside jokes and banter flowing like water between them all. They would often include you in it too.

“Hey, Newbie!”

You froze as Ikkaku honed in on you, a touch of wildness in her eyes as she sped to you, dragging Clione along with her.

“Oi, don’t involve other people in with this!” the hooded blonde complained, but he still cornered you alongside the tall woman.

“We need you to settle this for us!” Ikkaku declared, crossing her arms. “Clione thinks that white lights are the best interior lights. But obviously, warmer lights are better than cool ones, yeah? You agree, right?”

“No???! Don’t influence the Newbie!”

“Shut up, you’re just angry because I’m right!”

“Uhm,” you began warily. “I think white lights are good if you want to maintain alertness, but warmer-toned lights are good for relaxation. Depending on what you need, one cn be better for your eyes than the other.”

Both stared at you blankly.

“Yeah, but which one is better?” Ikkaku prompted.

“I… They all have their…uses…”

Both members threw their hands up in twin displays of frustration. “That doesn’t help at all!”

They devolved back into their squabble, and you took a step away.

Two heads snapped at you. “Stay here!”

Your shoulders sunk down as you glanced furtively down the hall to see if anybody was coming. It seems like you’ll be stuck with them for a bit.

But not only did they pull you into the most mundane of conversations, but they were also touchy.

Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi were guilty of being particularly forward, the three having no qualms being in everyone’s space. While Bepo’s was well-intentioned—the Mink trying his best not to overstep his boundaries aside from when he’d scoop someone up in a hug—Penguin and Shachi had no qualms about holding back. Crewmates were often the victim of one or both of them leaning on them at once, on either side. The first time they did that, you nearly jumped a foot in the air, if not for their weight on you. 

The bolts of fabrics you were carrying thumped to the ground as you were jostled by twin pairs of arms, pushing you down. “Ah!”

“Whatcha got there, Newbie?” Penguin asked.

“New fabrics for the boiler suits,” you replied, wiggling out of their hold to hurriedly pick up the nearest roll, inspecting them for any stains. You would’ve snapped at the pair for making you drop them, but you were too busy fretting, and did not want to piss off the unofficial-official first mates of the captain. “I–Uh, C-Captain approved of this particular type. It’s more suitable to the conditions of the Tang than your suits now.”

“Oh shit, really?” Shachi crouched down right next to you, his side pressed up against your own as he grabbed the bolt of fabric you were holding while Penguin began gathering the other rolls.

The taller man tried to pick up all up, but let out a curse as their weight bore down on him. “Holy crap—”

You wobbled as his heat burned into your side, a hand reaching out to steady him as you took a few off to lighten the load.

“How the hell were you carrying so many with your stature?!?” Penguin ask incredulously, tugging his hat back in place.

“I’m used to it,” you said simply, reaching for the rest in his hold. However, a hand fisted the back of your current suit’s collar and hauled you up. “Ack–!”

“No need!” Shachi announced, wrapping his arm back around your shoulders. “Big Bro Peng and I will help you carry them!”

“Are you sure this is not you two trying to worm out of the Captain’s duties again…?” You asked.

“No way!”

“That’s silly!”

(They were, in fact, trying to dodge responsibilities.)

Though, despite their welcoming air, you couldn’t help but linger at the edges of everything. Too afraid to integrate yourself into their folds. Yes, you may have been brought on as their tailor—a position sorely needed as the most experienced person before you were the poor cook who at most knew how to do basic stitching—but you were still Newbie, first and foremost. Still clumsy when taking up the shared duties and occasionally getting lost in the halls. Your position here was strenuous at best, and you feared that there would be whatever reason that made them drop you off at the next island they docked at.

You peeked your head into the mess hall, wondering what was important enough that you were summoned there after your watch duties 

Shousai was the first to see you, the large, bald man waving a gloved hand at you. “Oi, Newbie, there you are!”

That sent an excited titter over the crew.

“Newbie’s here!”

“About time!”

“What took you so long?”

You took a tentative step into the room, but remained near the doors, wringing your hands. They had called you over the intercoms in the middle of you reworking he boiler suits, so it made you anxious to resume working.  “What’s… happening…?”

“Since, you’ve been doing a stellar job aboard the Polar Tang,” Bepo announced. “It’s about time that you get initiated into the group pose!”

“Group pose?”

The Mink nodded, completely serious. “Yes! We Heart Pirates take pride in our crew, so it’s imperative that we are ready to show that pride whenever Captain introduces us!”

Slowly shuffling backward, you asked, “Do I have to do it?”

“Yeah!” Clione yelled. “We all have to do it! You’re part of the crew, now. You can’t get out of this, Newbie!”

Hands grabbed your shoulders, and you looked back, expression full of betrayal as you found Uni to be the one pushing you to the group. The stoic man’s expression gave nothing away, except for the slightest pinch in the corners of his eyes that indicated amusement.

More hands grabbed at your arms when you were in range, Uni leaving to assume his position once he ensured that Shachi’s hold on you rendered escape impossible. You were shuffled from person to person, but for once, their touches didn’t make you tense nor freeze the way touches used to. They had, without you realizing, wormed their way through your guards as much as you’ve settled into their rank. In their endearingly Heart Pirates way.

Weak. Would have been what he called them. Called you. But those were just the whispers of the dead.

Shosai muttered your name as you were slotted right next to him. “You have to convince Risso to make something other than broiled rice cakes and peas and fish for dinner.”

“He says we have to try and conserve our supplies,” you protested quietly as Omura’s elbow dug into your shoulder.

“Yes, but we all know there are much better combinations than fish and peas.”

Scanning the group for the yellow newsboy hat and braids of the cook, you asked, “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“He likes you more!”

Bepo turned to give the both of you a chastising look as Shachi shushed you two. The Mink waited until the redhead ran through the positioning of your arms and legs. “Okay, Newbie! We’re going to do it now. Do you have the pose memorized?”

“Yes,” you said sulkily, resigned to your fate.

“Okay, Heart Pirates! Three, two, one!”

The crew burst into a clamoring of noise and limbs, you following suit with a heaping dose of embarrassment.

Your face burned  even hotter as, right after, the captain walked into the room. Law didn’t even blink as he saw the group of you in the mess hall, mug of coffee in his hands as he sipped on it. The crew held that pose, as if waiting for his approval.

He looked at you all with a sharp eye, amusement shining through as he cocked his head. “I think you should move Newbie-ya more to the left.”

“COME ON, CAPTAIN!”

Your face quivered as you fought a smile. Surrounded on all sides by lively figures, you undeniably felt warm.

Eventually, the nickname fell away, to be replaced with your own name or “Tailor”. Years later, as you and your nakama—a little bruised, and battered, but now twenty strong—assembled into that ridiculous group pose to greet Straw Hat, Shosai lifting you up onto his shoulders so you could throw your arms up and out into a victorious ‘V’, Jean Bart’s steady presence behind you, you couldn’t feel a greater sense of belonging.

Tyrant of the Laundry Room

Part of the Heart Pirates X reader series: Sanctity of Sacred Space

Laundry duty was your favorite. Though your nakama couldn’t agree.

To say you quite liked laundry duty was an understatement.

Always the first to sign up, taking the worst shifts or the day with the heaviest load, never a complaint coming from you except for the crew to take care of their clothes more.

As often as you could, you’d swap laundry duty with anyone willing on the crew. It had gotten bad enough at a certain point until Law had banned anybody from swapping laundry duty with you for a month until the redness on your hands died down. After that, he had imposed a strict limitation of how many times a certain chore could be done until the rota refreshed.

The rest of the crew never quite understood your fervor for this particular chore, as to many, this was down at the bottom of the list on how much they wanted to do it, alongside dish duty. Shachi had—the third time you asked to swap with him—grabbed you by the shoulders and peered deep into your eyes through his shades to ask if you were okay. He couldn’t believe that you simply just wanted to.

But the reason was simple.

Your passion as a tailor did not just simply end at making and fixing clothes. It extended into their care and upkeep. You knew the best way to cut linen, the specific direction it needed to reduce shrinkage in the long run. You knew how to remove all manner of stains, and you meant it. Not even the discolorations on Shachi’s hat stood a chance when you got your hands on it. 

It was the first thing you chose to learn after he died, the world opening up at your fingertips without the pressure of what you had to do. Your experience with a gun meant blood often found itself at home on your things and he didn’t care enough about appearances to bother keeping things stain-free. So as an act of rebellion, the first thing you did was to learn about clothes. The seamstresses and launderers at your old village were thrilled to have a fresh face so interested in their trade, and wasted no time in teaching you everything they knew. What that man forced you to be, and what those ladies taught you, were the only relic you had of your childhood.

And laundry duty was the one chance where you got to stretch out this knowledge and allow yourself a chance to shine.

Though, that passion tended to be a bit overbearing for those who worked with you. 

“Shachi, you don’t crank the heat all the way up for those!”

Crossing the space, you shoved yourself into the redhead’s space as you fiddled with the controls on the machines.

“You’re lucky that I caught this in time, you idiot!”

“But doesn’t turning it up make them dry faster??”

“NOT LIKE THIS!” Your screech echoed through the room. “We have fragile polyester-based stuff in there! You’re going to melt them!”

“It can’t be that bad, right?!?”

“HOW ABOUT I MELT YOUR SHADES FOR YOU TO FIND OUT?!?”

The screaming echoed through even the halls, those lucky enough to escape laundry duty with you chuckling at Shachi’s misfortune. You ran laundry day with a militant fist, hunting down those who forgot their clothes with a dogged focus. It was terrifying to get in your way, and even more terrifying to be stuck working the shift with you. No matter how much you begged, Law refused to let you shoulder the burden of washing everything by yourself. It was a well-known fact by now that your standards were hellish to meet, and you did not go gentle on those who failed (save Bepo and Law).

But at the end of the day, when the Heart Pirates received their laundry back, delightfully warm and cleaner than they’ve ever been before you arrived, they were glad that their beloved tailor cared so much.

Peace and All Else

Part of my Heart Pirates x Reader series: The Sanctity of Sacred Spaces

With a life as chaotic as yours, you preferred quietness where you could find it.

You were someone who valued your peace. Not just as a personal preference, but for your job as well, as any interruption could result in an errant stitch, ruining the clothing, or a needle through the finger.

This need for quietness was ironic, considering you were on a crew of pirates, whose lives were marked by nothing but unending chaos. 

Paradoxical. Peculiar. But when you were a pirate crew who had a doctor at the helm, it didn’t seem that strange. You were simply one oddball amongst a crew full of them. Which lent to many, many escapades that echoed throughout the Tang. It was never silent, whether it be the noise of her machines humming away, or the sound of the galley’s mealtime preparations, there was always life in her halls. 

You wouldn’t trade it for any other thing, but sometimes everyone’s antics were a little overwhelming, and you had to slip away to seek out a moment of peace. Innevitably, you’d always end up in a few places. Namely: your storage-room-turned-workshop. 

After your welcoming into the folds of the Heart Pirates, they were kind enough to clear out an empty broom closet and convert it into a mini workspace for you. You had initially protested that it was too much, but Shachi had quickly shushed you by saying you’d pay it back by repairing everyone’s stuff and fixing up the infirmary’s linens. 

Eventually, those bolted shelves were filled until with rolls and rolls of fabrics, projects finished and not set in marked piles on your desk. Your walls filled with papers, ideas and sketches (both yours and not) displayed proudly. An almost-too-big-couch crammed right into the last unoccupied corner of the room, with a lopsided mannequin that Ikkaku fixed up for you standing proudly right next to it.

A home away from home.

Well, just a home now. You didn’t have any other place except with the Heart Pirates.

And in this peace, you could relax, and unwind. Pick up a thread and needle and weave your love into every fold and stitch of the fabric in your hands. Love that you hoped your nakama could feel.

Your hands jolted as the door to your workshop slammed open with a cry of your name. You grabbed the nearest object, a spare pincushion, and lobbed it with deadly accuracy at the intruder. Penguin yelped as the item beaned him right on the forehead, the brim of his hat barely protected him against your wrath. “What was that for?!?!”

“HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO KNOCK BEFORE YOU ENTER?! AND TO NOT SLAM MY DOOR?!”

“Sorry, sorry! But can I hide in here for a bit?”

You squinted at him, anger giving way to suspicion. “Why…?”

“Please!” The man clasped his hands in front of him, stepping into the room. “I’ll do anything!!”

An idea sparked in your head. “If you take my dish duty tonight… You can stay for as long as you want and I won’t rat you out if anybody comes asking.”

Not that you particularly hated doing the dishes, you knew the importance of equal distributions of chores (Law drilled that into every members’ head on the daily), but just this once, you had something pressing you’ve been wanting to do, so the extra time gained from Penguin taking on your duty was exactly what you needed.

Penguin didn’t even flinch. “I’ll take it!”

You grinned and let out a little ‘yos’. “You can hide behind the couch, There’s space there, and the floor’s padded.”

He was full of thanks as he dove behind the furniture, shuffling coming from it as he settled there. To complete the look, you walked over, grabbing the blanket on there, and draping it over the back of the couch, making it look natural.

Just as you were patting out the last of the wrinkles, slow, steady footsteps approached your workshop. A knock announced Uni’s presence before he stuck his head in through the open door.

“Hello, Uni. Can I help you with anything?”

A drone of your name. “Have you seen Penguin anywhere?”

You had to resist a smile. “No. Are you looking for him?”

A nod. Slow eyes tracked across your workshop but ultimately landed back on you again, standing next to the couch. “He used my gloves and didn’t clean off the grease.”

Wincing at that, you wondered why the hatted man thought that was smart in the first place. Uni’s gloves were far bigger than Penguin’s, but they were also slimmer, so shoving his mitts into those could’ve popped a few stitches. “If you want, you can bring them here, and I’ll fix and clean them up for you,” you offered.

Uni shook his head. “No need. I have spares. But I’m going to find Penguin to make him clean off the ones he used.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

“Thank you. Sorry for bothering you.”

“You’re fine, Uni. See you around.”

You waited until his footsteps were out of earshot before cracking a smile. Penguin shot you a grateful thumbs up and a grin when you peeked your head over to look at him. “It’s pretty comfy down here,” he said, wiggling his shoulders a bit. “Mind if I sleep here a bit?”

“Be my guest,” you drawled, wandering back to your desk and picking up your pencil. “I’m sure the dust bunnies appreciate the company.”

I appreciate your company, was left unsaid, but you hoped Penguin understood.

Peace returned to the room, only interrupted by the sound of your pencil and paper as you sketched your way through clothing patterns. Then, the quiet whistles of Penguin’s snores began to fill the air. You paused your work, before shaking your head with a fond smile.

You didn’t know how long you worked before there was a small flash of blue and Penguin’s snores being cut off for something to hit the floor where he was. Knowing that it could only be Law’s fruit, you got up to investigate what was Shambled into your room to swap with Penguin. 

A note, attached to one of your missing pincushions by a pin.

“That bastard,” you muttered, reaching down to grab everything from the floor.

‘Stop hiding people in your workshop’ the messy scrawl of his handwriting read. 

You snickered, sitting back down at your work desk and depositing the pincushion in its rightful place on your table. Your lamp flickered on, and you moved it so it shone over the drawing on your table, a revised boiler suit for Bepo that had more ventilation, so the poor Mink wouldn’t feel the heat as much when things inevitably got hot in the Polar Tang.

Yes, you valued your peace. But your workshop was a sanctuary, too. Not just for you, but every single one of your nakama that wanted to wander through your doors, in search of help, repairs, or just plain comfort. Peace came in many forms, and your nakama’s peace was yours.

Know It Like the Back of Your Hand

Adashino x reader x Ginko

Their hands. You've memorized every facet of it.

For someone like you, tactile touches came easily, hugs, and grazes of skin against skin like second nature to you. Whether it be because of the loving environment you’d grown up in so, so long ago, or a desperate burning need to recreate it, you’d never know. But what you knew was that you relied on it like a drug, stealing touches from Adashino and Ginko like a drug.

It wasn’t uncommon for the villagers to see you hanging off of either one’s shoulders or arms, each time received with chuckles and knowing looks, any sense of impropriety long gone with how closely you all stuck to the other. Times where you jumped out to wrap around them were attributed to the spirit half of your heritage.

But more than the actions disguised as joking hugs and your mischievous Yokai nature, was the handholding.

Something you cherished viciously, a dragon hoarding its treasure. It was almost second nature, for yours to seek out theirs whenever the moment arose. For such a simple, nondescript act, it satiated that hungry, hollowed-out part of you. And it was like the men knew, offering their own hands for you to latch on, gorging and gorging yourself on the delicacy that was their love. You knew you were being greedy, but neither of them ever pulled away from your monstrous hands, even when your claws pricked and scratched at them.

Adashino’s hands held the smoothness that stemmed from a value of those limbs. Fingers long and nails well-trimmed, with a writing callous from the records he kept on his patients’ health. He was more prone to getting cold, and you always liked reaching for him on hot summer days.

Ginko’s hands were more calloused, though both bearing almost similar, parallel trades—doctor of the mundane, doctor of the arcane—he was out in far more fields in far more environments, so he gained callouses almost as fast as he did experience. The work-roughened palms made you feel soothed by your own not-quite-genteel hands, made you happy to be close to someone so intimately intertwined in another world like you were.

Sometimes, when Adashino’s work would get the best of him, you would take an ink or herb-stained hand into yours, cold and stiff from overworking, and worked away the aches and pains you knew would be there.

Sometimes, after a particularly harsh case, a minutely trembling hand would seek yours out, fingers entangling with yours in lieu of a cigarette that Ginko so badly wanted to smoke. During particularly bad cases where he sought you out, you would hold his hands, and squeeze, silently offering him your support.

Sometimes, when nightmares kept you half-ensnared in their grips, refusing to let you fully wake, hands slipped into yours from the men sleeping on either side of you. One calloused and broad, the other warm and soothing.

And when blinded and deafened, hands were the only things you could identify, touches from them were usually the first thing that hit.

It was those very same hands now, that tipped your head back, fingers beneath your chin. You struggled a bit, shaking your head and dislodging them from your face as you hissed and swiped blindly at the assailant. Your eyes were clenched shut, unable to be used due to the explosive that burned at your retinas and for fear of the blood from your head wound trickling in.

A groan vibrated out from someone and after a moment, you realized it was coming from you, everything sounding like they were underwater. Buzzes of voices echoed in your ears, but you couldn’t tell who exactly surrounded you. Animal instincts flared up, sharp and hot terror as you bared your teeth blindly, hands and feet scrambling to push yourself back on the dirt, too weak from the explosive light trap to stand up.

A faint call, something like your name. You brought a shaking up, claws extended, only to find it seized by warmer, broader hands. Ready to jolt away, it wasn’t until your fingers grazed across a rougher patch of skin by the meat of the thumb that you froze. It was Ginko’s hand, that callous you knew from him using a chipped pestle that he refused to replace to grind his remedies.

“Ginko?” The vibrations of your own voice followed by its familiar sound was barely heard beneath the ringing of your ears, and you hoped your voice didn’t garble up his name. 

The hands squeezed, responding to your words, and you knew it was him.

Then that meant the other hands…

Your head swung around, the less blood-covered eye peeking open to try and catch sight of the good doctor. Only for you to slam it shut again as bright light pierced it painfully.

Once more, cool, smooth fingers tipped your face up. Only this time, you didn’t resist, lips pulling up into an unrepentant grin in an effort to stave off the scolding you knew you’d face soon.

Slowly, as Adashino and Ginko worked on your injuries, the fear turned into sedation, your body, and senses going lax as you put your trust into their hands, content to allow them to take stock while your senses were scrambled.

You flinched when the hand abruptly left, a noise of fear bubbling up in your throat. But there wasn’t a need to worry as two warm presences sat on either side of you. Their weight pressed into either side of you, and you relaxed, a sigh escaping your nose.

Eyes were the windows to the soul, and furthermore, hands were their vessels, tasked with putting the will to the world, the way in which their identity formed and in which the world knew them. For you, it was the marker in which you’d identify friend or foe, it was your connection to the world.

And, despite both Adashino’s and Ginko’s lesser proclivities to physical touch, you were infinitely grateful that they never denied you when you slipped your hands into theirs.