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

"For the record, it was your fault we got exiled."

Kid nudged me in the shoulder as we plodded along, causing me to stumble a few steps to the side before catching up again.
"Fuck off. You're the one that tried to climb the crane." He grumbled, not at all budging when I tried to shove him right back.

"Yeah, but you're the one who was trying to pick a fight with the entire Galley-La crew. I was only thrown out too so I could make sure you wouldn't cause any more trouble." I tried to make a case for myself, but I knew the facts. We were both annoying as hell.

It was a lazy day in the higher levels of Water 7. Less people walking the streets, not as many vendors calling out their specials, the light trickle of water running through the canals. It sounded like home.

"It's boring here. Ain't shit to do." Kid complained, the click of his heels on stone steady as we walked along.
"There's plenty to do, you're just stupid." I teased, my nose scrunching with a smile when he shot a glare down at me. "We could get something to eat, we could explore the aqueducts, we could go rent a bull so we're not walking around like peasants-"

"I'm not getting back on one of those little shits!" Kid barked, earning himself a few concerned looks from the surrounding citizens.
"Tch. Pussy." I clicked my tongue, not flinching in the slightest when Kid leered towards me, teeth bared.

"What the hell'd you just call me, brat?!" He really was making a scene, but I didn't mind. I always used to do the same thing here. Turning to look him dead in the eye, I smiled.
"A pussy. Maybe you should get your ears checked, Kidlington."

Of course, as expected, I was scruffed in an instant, right off the ground. Kid snarled directly in my face, but I wasn't worried.
"I swear to high hell, you're on thin ice!" He hissed, throttling me about a little bit. "You kept rantin' and ravin' on about this glorified piss pot, but it's boring as shit!"

Well, I was gonna save it for later, but I guess now is as good a time as any...

Kid's face softened a little when I didn't react to his aggression, but he still held me off the ground. Motioning my head, I smiled yet again, poking him in the chest.
"Actually, I know a place you'd love, but if you're not gonna act like a gentleman I might just keep it to myself..."

Quirking a non-existent brow, the redhead set me back down, though his hand still remained on my scruff, now a light touch instead of a harsh grip.
"Never in my life have I acted a gentleman, and never in yours have you honestly acted like a lady. I'd bet my nuts on that."

Snorting, I pulled his hand from my scruff and tugged him along by the wrist, glad that he didn't refuse.
"You're right, but I'm afraid I don't have a physical set of nuts to give you quite yet. Would you take an I.O.U?" I joked, chest thrumming when I finally got a slight laugh out of him.

"So, where are you leading me, anyway? If it's boring, I'll have t'make my own fun..." I didn't have to be facing him to know he was giving me a look I knew all too well, and I felt the back of my neck begin to heat up.

I hadn't forgotten about the kiss we had shared in his bed. In actuality, it had been one of the only things on my mind since, second only to returning here to Water 7. If I closed my eyes, I could still somewhat taste his lips on mine, and it never ceased to make my chest pound.

"It's a surprise, but knowing you, I think you'll like it. One of my old haunts, actually. Spent a lot of time there growing up. When I could escape, that is." I chuckled, trying not to focus on the warmth of his wrist in my hand.

Much to my surprise, Kid didn't complain nearly half as much as I had expected on our journey down the levels of the city. Sure, he grunted and grizzled about the canals, the people, even some of the smells, but only a little.

When we finally reached the stone bridge, he tugged me back into a stop, looking out towards the other side.
"Is that...scrap?" He asked, glancing down at me as I nodded.
"Yep, a whole island of it. Not all of it is metal, but I thought you might like to explore?"

I watched as Kid's lips curled into a smirk, then a grin, and before I had the chance to blink he had me thrown over his shoulder, already starting across the bridge.
"You thought right, brat. Maybe you're smarter than I gave you credit for?"

Duh.

I was becoming fond of being thrown over his shoulder, though I wasn't at a place I would openly admit it yet. The curves of his muscles, even through his fur coat, were becoming more prominent by the day, and I liked feeling them. His progress.

The second he set foot on the scrap island he set me down, pulling his fur coat off and plopping it over my head before dashing off to scrounge around. Digging out of the red fluff and settling it around my shoulders, my chest felt warm as I watched him.

He was like a child, full of wonder and joy, and I loved him like that. Not trying to put on a tough act, or oozing dominance through every pore. Just the real him, doing what he enjoyed.

"Why didn't you tell me 'bout this in the first place?" He asked from over his shoulder, lifting a large metal coil from one of the mounds and inspecting it in his hand.
"You would've rushed off the second we docked and left us to deal with the plans for Victoria. Couldn't have that." I chuckled in response, shrugging off his coat and placing it neatly somewhere it wouldn't get lost and buried.

"Fair point." Kid hummed, eyeing me with his peripherals as I bounded further down the coastline, towards the wreckage of a small ship.
"I used to hang here a lot, mostly on my own, but sometimes with Franky. You know Franky, right? He's a member of the Strawhats now. He likes building things, just like you."

Climbing up the jagged side of the hull, I made my way onto the deck, then part-way up the splintered mast. Just like old times.
"He's that cyborg, ain't he? What, was he your boyfriend or something?" Kid's voice soured a little as he moved to sift through the debris below me, and I snorted loudly.

"Oh, God, no! Loved the guy to pieces, but not at all my type. Plus, he was an adult and I was just a brat. I sometimes helped him gather junk to take back to his crib. He made me a pellet gun once, but my father confiscated it after I broke a few things..." I explained, kind of chuffed that my captain had shown a bit of jealousy.
"The ones I made you are better though, right?" Kid asked, trying to sound like he didn't care much.

Aw, he's fishing for praise.

"The best, by a landslide." I grinned down at him, and he smiled back before quickly returning his attention to scrap collection.
"I'm comin' back here before we leave and taking a few bits. That gonna cause shit?"

Shaking my head, I slid back down the mast and bent over to pick up a dried out crab, tossing it overboard.
"Nah, it's free pickings here. Nobody will care. Take whatever your little tinkering heart desires." Just as I was getting ready to climb off I felt a strange tug on my belt, and before I knew it I was flying off the edge and down into Kid's waiting arms.

"Whatever my heart desires, huh?" He smirked down at me as I was registering what had happened. Cheeks burning, I fought against my fluster and rolled my eyes.
"I said your heart, not your cock, Kidiot."

He released me and gave me the chance to skitter away, but this time I just took a single step back. We'd already kissed. Not much to run away from anymore.
"I said what I sa-"

*Putta Putta Putta!*

Muttering his usual obscenities, Kid fished his transponder snail out of his pocket and answered it.
"What? Kinda busy here." He asked in a low growl, and the snail's face turned nervous.

"S..Sorry to unterrupt, Boss..." Wire's voice was the one to come through, hesitating before he continued. "We, uh, have a bit of a situation..."

"MA, CALM DOWN!"

"DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! WHERE IS MY LITTLE GIRL?!"

My body went rigid the moment I heard that voice screeching on the other end, knowing exactly who it was. My mother.
"Tell the bitch to calm down. We'll be there soon." Kid quickly hung up the snail and shoved it back into his pocket, turning to me. "What do you wanna do?"

Curl up into a ball and die.

How did she find out? Especially so soon? Word did travel fast around Water 7, that was true, but I didn't look at all similar to how I had back when I had left. Could it have been Paulie? Did he stab me in the back?

"G..Guess I gotta grow a pair, huh?" I laughed awkwardly, already feeling the sweat beginning to gather on my brow. Kid sighed and went to retrieve his fur coat, throwing it over his shoulders and motioning for me to follow.
"Never known you to not have a pair."

You've never met my parents...

Once I reached him I grabbed hold of his arm, feeling small and meek for the first time in a while.
"Whatever happens...stay out of it, okay..?" I pleaded, more seriously than I had when it had involved Paulie. "Oh, and could you hold onto this..? Just in case..."

Taking my hat off, I handed it over to him, gulping as I felt his arm fall over my shoulders.
"You'll be fine. How bad can they be?"

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***KID POV***

"OH, MY POOR SWEET BABY GIRL! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

I stood back alongside Killer as the slender woman gushed over her daughter, squeezing her within an inch of her life.
"Hey, Mama..." (Y/N) wheezed, glowering at her brother from over the woman's shoulder. If looks could kill, he'd be a corpse halfway through rotting by now.

"MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?! YOU LOOK LIKE A SCRUFFY LITTLE BOY!" Her mother gasped in shock, shoving her to arms length to get a better look. I took slight offence to that. I'd been the one to buy those clothes for her in the first place.

"Ma, she looks fine. It's modest, and practica-"
"Paul, don't you start! How could you keep something like this from me?! Your poor mother?!"

So it wasn't him? Good. He can live another day.

My eyes shifted over to a stoic gentleman standing a little ways behind the trio. He looked entirely unimpressed, almost angry, and I immediately took a disliking to him.
"Kid, cool it with the scowls." Killer scolded me in a whisper, but it just made it worse.

"At least you're home now, darling. Let's hope you've gotten all that tomboyish foolery out of your system so you can focus on what matters." (Y/N)'s mother grabbed her by the arm and started leading her off, and I very nearly charged in when the girl turned over her shoulder to look back at us. At me.

I would have if Killer hadn't thrown an arm out to stop me in my tracks.

"Don't, Kid. She's not in danger. We can get this sorted out later. Think before you speak." He warned me, though I could tell by his tone that he was having a hard time letting her be whisked away too.

Paulie lingered behind, even after his three family members left Dock 1, cautiously approaching us with a hand rubbing at the back of his neck.
"Before you lot say anything, I didn't tell them she was here." He spoke carefully, as though he thought I'd jump him at any moment. A smart man.

"We believe you." Killer spoke on my behalf, knowing I'd start to get too agitated. "So, how do we go about this? I know you'd prefer her to stay, but if it isn't what she wants then we're gonna have problems."

Paulie seemed greatly irritated, chewing on the nib of his cigar as he thought carefully.
"I'll do what I can, but she's the one that needs to put her foot down. As you guys said...she's an adult."

He was right, I knew that, but after having seen how worried she was down on Scrap Island I wasn't sure if she'd have the guts to. It was easier said than done, which up until recently had been a foreign concept to me.

Sighing, I moved to walk past him, barging his shoulder with mine, just to quell the burning ache for violence that thrummed through my body.

"Just focus on getting my ship ready. By the time we're setting sail, she'll be on it right by my side..."

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***I'm sick as fuck and it's my 27th birthday 🙃 I'm old and dying. Help.

Overbearing parents, alert.

Next Time: Good Little Girl***