***(Y/N) POV***

"No. No way. Nuh-uh. Never. I look like a doll."

My mother gushed over me, hands on her cheeks as she forced me to look at myself in the mirror. Not two days had gone by, and I was already about ready to end it all.

"You do! You look stunning, darling! Honey, doesn't she look stunning?!" My mother called out to my father, who had appeared in the doorway, cigar lit and pinched between his fingers.
"Like a lady. A good improvement from those worker boy rags you were wearing earlier."

I liked my worker boy rags...

Staring at myself, I felt sick. My mother had scrubbed the 'filth' off of me with what felt like a dish scourer, and thrown me into an ankle length, flounce-sleeved dress. A pink one, at that. My hair didn't even look like my own. So stiff with spray it felt almost heavy.

"I think I'm gonna throw up..." I gagged, trying to wriggle my toes that were imprisoned in tight-tipped heels.
"Going, not gonna, darling. At the very least, wait until we get home after dinner."

Turning on the spot, the corseted middle of the dress making it hard to move, I quirked a brow.
"Dinner? There's no way I'm going out in public like this. I'll be a laughing stock."

Completely ignoring me, my mother tottered off in search for something, and my father took a deep draw, blowing a thick stream of smoke from his lips.
"I want no complaints from you this evening. You need to act like a proper young lady, otherwise all my groundwork will be for naught. Your reputation around here hasn't cleared since you ran off, so we all have to work hard."

Groundwork? What is he on about?

"Now, stay still, darling..." It took all I had not to thrash and bite at my mother when she came at me with a load of make-up, but I refrained, simply grumbling and cursing internally until my brother arrived.

"Wow...you look..." Paulie took one look at me and cringed, likely knowing exactly how I was feeling about the situation. "...nice..?" Finally being released, I stomped over to him and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him down to my level.

"You gotta get me out of here, man! I'm about to eat my own face off!" I hissed, low enough so hopefully only he would hear. Paulie looked genuinely sorry for me, but I knew he wasn't about to get me out of there. He had to stay in the same city and couldn't escape their wrath, so I understood that. To a degree. 

"Calm down. I have a little something planned, so hang tight." He shot me a quick wink before my mother nudged him out of the way, bottle of unsightly pink nail polish in hand.
"Finishing touch, then off we go!" She let out a pitched 'squee' and I flinched down. 

Kill me. 

After a lot of struggling, bitching and whining from me, myself and I, we ended up at a fancy looking restaurant, much to my further dismay. It was the same place they used to drag me once a week as a kid, forcing me to eat weird, tiny portions of gross food. 
"They should be here waiting for us. Table nine." My father spoke to us, then to the waiter, who started leading us across the large room. 

"They? Who are we meeting?" I asked Paulie, clenching my teeth when he completely avoided my eyes. "Paulie. Who are we meeting?" Soon enough, my question was answered, and to say that I was horrified was a total understatement. There, sitting with an older couple, was a face I knew all too well.

There's no possible fucking way..!

There, clean-cut and dapper looking, quite the opposite to what he had looked like when I had last seen him, was Timbley. The young marine I had knocked out cold on the first mission I'd done for Kid.

I came to a halt, gripping the back of Paulie's shirt and dragging him back to me, despite the three guests already standing to greet us.
"Pauls, I gotta get out of here...Now..." I hissed through my teeth. "I know that guy, and if he remembers me I'm dead!"

Paulie glanced between me and the table, brows furrowing.
"What the hell did you do?" Before I could answer, my father reached back and yanked me forward, nodding to the couple and their marine son.

"I would like to introduce my daughter, (Y/N). (Y/N), this is the Bruckner family. Yancey, Avera and their youngest son, Timbley." He introduced us and I gulped, raising my hand for a wave before my father elbowed me in the side. Cursing under my breath, I forced myself to curtsey.

"A pleasure to meet you all." I spoke stiffly, doing my best to avoid Timbley's eyes. He was staring at me, I could feel it, and if he recognised me my days were numbered. When the boy scrambled around the table I nearly wet myself, and then again when he took my hand and pressed a messy kiss to the back of it.

"N..Nice to meet you. You look beautiful tonight." He stammered out, and I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding. Under all this make-up and bullshit, he couldn't recognise me. Who knows, maybe I had given him amnesia back at the Naval Base?

He went through the paces. Pulling out my chair for me to sit down, offering me a menu, complimenting me far more than he needed to. I wasn't an idiot. I knew exactly what this dinner was for. An arrangement.

"So, (Y/N), I can't imagine how horrible the past while has been for you. Prisoner to a gang of filthy pirates? Must have been scary." Avera tried to start conversation, and my nails dig into the cardboard menu I held. Glancing to my father, I saw him shaking his head slowly as a warning.

"O..Oh, yes, it was so very traumatic. A bunch of brutes..." I lied, no emotion in my voice. So that was what my parents had been telling people since I had come back? That I had been a prisoner? Whilst it was true that it had started out that way, it wasn't the case any longer, and they knew it.

Timbley stared at me from across the table and I fidgeted nervously. The cogs in his brain were turning, and I knew that if he kept on looking at me it would only be a matter of time before he figured it out.

"Are you all ready to order?" The waitress came to serve us, and I allowed everybody else to order their food and drinks before it was my turn.
"I'll have-"
"She will have the house salad and a water." My father cut me off curtly, earning himself a disdained glare.

That's not how you say a whiskey and steak...

I sat in silence and brooded for the next while, my foot consistently tapping the side of Paulie's leg beneath the table. He spared me many pitying glances, so I at least knew he was feeling sorry for me.

"-spring wedding would be divine!" I zoned back into the conversation as Timbley's mother finished her sentence, and I quirked a brow.
"A spring what? Who's getting hitched?" My mother slapped at my shoulder in a silent manner of scolding and I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, I meant to ask who will be marrying in spring?"

The elders of the table chuckled amongst themselves, and I felt as though a joke was lost on me.
"Why, the marriage of you and Timbley, of course!" Timbley's father laughed, patting his son on the shoulder, causing the poor guy to shrink down.

I nearly choked on my water, having to snatch my napkin from the table and hold it under my chin so I wouldn't drool it all over the place.
"S..Say what now?!"

"Well, of course, we haven't organised the official proposal yet, but all in due time. You're at an age where you're ready to settle down, and start a family, dear." My mother cooed, as though it were a positive thing.

Oh my god, I think I'm actually gonna throw up..!

It was laughable, really. A stubborn, bitch of a criminal being forced to marry a Naval cadet? No, actually, it wasn't laughable at all. It was ridiculous.

"I'm barely out of my teens...I'm pretty sure I have a few good years left to live before taking that kind of a step...if ever..." I wheezed out, stiff as a board thanks to the shock of the announcement. My alleged soon to be fiance seemed uncomfortable as well, but I was sure he had already been filled in prior.

"Nonsense. You had your fun, gallivanting around, and look at where that got you?" My father spoke to me sternly, trying to cut my argument off at the roots. "It's already been decided, so not another word out of you, young lady."

What is this?! The stone age?!

"She has a point. Kinda young to start thinking about marriage..." Paulie piped up, and I blessed every higher entity for his support.
"Don't you start, Paul. I want to meet my grandbabies before I die, and by the look of things you won't be giving them to me any time soon." My mother huffed, and I consoled my now moping brother by patting his knee under the table.

As our parents continued to talk about my impending doom, I glanced over to the cadet across from me, and he offered me a sympathetic smile.
"If it helps any, I'm not too thrilled about it either." He confessed, prodding at his meal with his fork. "Don't get me wrong, you seem like a lovely girl, but I...haven't had the best experiences with women..."

Yeah, my bad, bro.

"Uh, yeah...we can be horrors..." I joked poorly, wanting to slide down my seat when he went back to studying me closely.
"I swear I've seen you before. You're really familiar..." He hummed, and I could feel my sweat beginning to gather.

"Oh, I just have one of those faces." I laughed awkwardly, the hand on Paulie's knee gnarling, my nails digging through denim as I leaned to whisper at him. "If I don't get the hell out of here right now I'm gonna swallow every piece of cutlery in this fucking restaurant."

With a very fake 'whoops', Paulie tilted his hand, the contents of his wine spilling over the front of my dress.
"Oh no, how clumsy of me. Sorry, everyone. Excuse us while I help my dear sister get cleaned up." Without missing a beat, Paulie stood me up and started leading me away from the table.

"You better hurry it up! We have a lot to discuss!" My father called after us, but I tried to tune him out, finally able to take a breath when we rounded the corner and entered the bathroom.

My back thudded against the wall as I raked my hands down my made-up face.
"Ugh, I love you so much right now, Pauls, you have no idea!" I groaned, pinching at the corseted waist of my stained dress. "Would now be a good time to mention that I totally knocked that Timbley guy out cold a few months ago and stole a bunch of shit from his Naval Base?"

Paulie just stared at me, face completely flat and unemotional. Was he finally about to snap? If he wasn't, he was a saint.
"No, it would not be a good time. Never mention that again. I heard nothing." He replied flatly, and I gave him a salute.

Fair.

"Okay, listen...The Victoria will be done by tomorrow night, at the earliest. If I can get you away from Ma and Pa, do you promise to lay low? I can make something up to try and keep them from losing it, but you need to keep a low profile. Do you understand me?"

Straightening up, I nodded eagerly, grabbing hold of his rose-embroidered jacket.
"I'll lay lower than hell itself! I'm begging you, Paulie, please get me out of here! I miss my boys!"

I really did. There wasn't anything I wouldn't give to be able to see Kid, Killer and the rest of the crew. I had grown so used to seeing them almost all day every day that going such a short time without them was torturous.

Closing his eyes, Paulie sighed long and heavy before moving to the window, which was situated high up on the wall.
"Alright. Come on then. Don't say I never do anything for you."

Rushing over to where he stood, I threw my arms around him and planted a big, lip-stick marking kiss to his cheek, beaming brighter than I had in days.
"You're the best big brother a girl could ask for!" I cheered, pausing for a moment. "Is Kid still staying with Iceberg? I can head right over there once I get out of this ridiculous get-up."

Picking me up, Paulie motioned for me to reach for the windowsill.
"He's still staying with him. Hurry it up before Ma comes to check on us." Complying, I grabbed hold of the sill and, with Paulie's help, was able to climb up there.

What I hadn't accounted for was the force of my brother's push, and before I knew it I was falling head first out towards the stone path below. Shutting my eyes, I braced for impact, but before I felt any kind of pain, I felt something firm around my middle.

Please don't tell me I got caught on something on the way down...

Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was a pair of familiar boots. Squishing my chin down against my own chest, I gasped when I saw that shock of brilliant red, still rich even in the shadow of night.
"K..Kid?!"

He was a sight for sore eyes, that was for sure, even while he was smirking at me in his cocky manner.
"You look fuckin' hilarious, brat. Did a clown paint your face?" He teased, still holding me upside down by the waist.
"Kid, don't be an ass. Though, honestly, it really doesn't suit you, girl."

I adjusted myself a little to also see Killer, who was holding the hem of my dress so I wouldn't flash the two of them, or my brother, who was hanging out the window. Kid finally turned me right side up and set me down, and I immediately tackled him for a hug.

"I never thought I'd openly say this, but please, don't ever let me go again." I whispered, squishing into his chest even further when I felt his hand on my back.
"Tch, what? You missed me that much after a couple of days?" He snickered, though the way his hand squeezed me close to him told me he had missed me too.

Forcing myself to pull away before things got awkward for anyone else, I turned and hugged Killer, his hair tickling the backs of my wrists when they curled around him.
"Things were weird without you. I think Heat has separation anxiety. He hasn't put your skinbag cat down since you left."

My babies.

"Oi!" The three of us looked up to Paulie, who was leaning on the sill with some effort. "I won't be able to see you until the ship is done, otherwise Ma and Pa will end up tracking you down. Get out of here, before you're caught."

Nodding enthusiastically, I wished I could hug him again. Even though we had argued a lot growing up, and even now, he always looked out for me and my best interests. I was glad that he understood that the Kid Pirates were the best thing for me.

"Thanks, Paulie! I love you!" I called out to him, getting ready to make a sprint for it.
"And Eustass. Killer." Paulie named my two companions, a more serious tone overcoming his voice. "Keep her under control."

Kid clicked his tongue before unceremoniously scooping me up, throwing me over his shoulder like the sack of potatoes I was born to be.

"She's your damn sister, you idiot. You of all people should know that's impossible."

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***Heat and Missy have now bonded.

My Killer arrivedddddd

And I also got a bunch of towels and two posters from ichiban kujis - I think we all know which towel is my favourite...

Next Time: Stir Crazy***