Ah...This is awkward...

I squirmed uncomfortably as I sat beside Killer, our backs against the splintering interior wall of the Scrap Island shipwreck. The very same wreck where Kid and I had done the dirty deed for the first time all those months ago.

Oh God...It happened like three feet away...This is so weird!

"You okay? You're all twitchy." Killer placed a large, comforting hand upon my knee, and I nearly flinched, which was something he took immediate notice of. "Don't worry, Paulie will be back soon, so-"
"It's, uh, not that..." I spoke over him, but before I could explain myself, I heard him release a sigh.

"Is it because you and Kid spent the night in here last time we were on Water 7?" It wasn't exactly a question considering he obviously knew the answer already, and I puffed out a long breath, sending some loose sand scattering from the curves of my knees.
"How the heck do you always know everything?" I mumbled out in a half-laugh.

"I hardly know everything, just things that are glaringly obvious. Like that." His hand didn't stray from my knee, and I appreciated his touch. In truth, I actually wad a bit worried about Paulie, and the fact that I may very well never be able to return home again after this.

"If...it makes you feel any better...you're way better tha-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there." His hand momentarily slid to my inner thigh to drag me closer before returning to its original place. The action was both intimate and almost possessive. "That stuff doesn't bother me, but that doesn't mean I want to talk about it."

I don't deserve this man. Why did I have to go and drag him into my shit?

"Okay...Uh, well, we could pass the time-"
"This isn't the time for that, and if your brother walked in on that kind of a scene, I think he'd explode and wipe out half of the Grandline with him." Killer chuckled, just a little, leaning down until the scruff of his chin tickled my ear. "Just be patient, you horny little brat..."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

A shiver ran up the length of my spine and he moved his textured arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer into his warmth.
"Aw, is someone cold?" He teased, offering me a shit-eating smirk.
"Fuck you. Now I'm scareoused. Asshole." I half-heartedly scolded, limply batting at him. "Pauls is taking forever...I hope nothing bad happened..."

Scrap Island was quiet, but not oddly so. The waves lapped passively at the shore, and the shipwreck lightly creaked around us as the salty breeze caught rotting wood.
"He's probably just being extra careful. Could even be filling Iceberg in, or trying to find us a ride." Killer hummed, repeatedly scanning the area through the curtain of his scruffy bangs.

"I guess we're going back to Kid and the guys, then..?" I questioned, not exactly sounding thrilled with the thought as I leaned further back, ignoring the slight pinch and scratch of aged splinters.
"I mean, that's up to you..."

Wait, what? Up to me?

Killer was still on alert, scanning the wreck like a guard dog as I looked up at him, confused.
"I thought you needed to get back to the crew..? Things to be done, and all that..? It's been like six months..." I truly felt bad about keeping him away for so long, but it wasn't like I had forced him to.

"Not without you. Kid's a big boy now, he doesn't need me breathing down his neck twenty four seven anymore. I-"
"Are you saying that I do?! I totally don't need supervision! Why would you think I do?! More than Kid?! I-mmmfffff!" Killer easily slipped his hand over my loud mouth, barely glancing to me as he stayed on alert.

"Hush up. I was going to say that I love you and want to stay by your side, but now that you mention it, you're a mouthy little shit who does need supervision. There's a reason why you're banned from setting foot on Dock One. I've seen plenty of your unhinged escapades first hand, and heard of several dozen more."

He lowered his hand once he was sure I wasn't going to hoot and holler again, and I opened my mouth to quietly whime at him.
"I plead hearsay. I am completely innocent of all charges and accusations." I insisted, pouting up at the side of his ridiculously pretty face. "I've never done anything wrong in my entire li-"

Danger.

There was a very sudden, very strong pulse that shot throughout my body, starting at the very centre of my chest and spreading all the way to my fingertips. It almost knocked the wind right out of me. I had never felt anything like that before, but I immediately knew that we were in immediate danger.
"Killer," I lowered my voice to a taut whisper. "we have to-"
"I know. Run."

We didn't leave even a second to think before we were on our feet, Killer grabbing a jagged metal rod from the sandy wreckage to use as a makeshift weapon. I, too, grabbed a piece of scrap to defend myself, though I had very little confidence in my close combat abilities.

"THERE THEY ARE! GET THEM!"

Well, we were royally screwed. Marines had swarmed the island, blocking the only path of escape via the stone bridge. There were, what, about twenty of them? Thirty? An easy sweep if we had been lucky enough to have our weaponry on hand, but we had literal junk, and we were out of practice, at least in my case.

"You're shit at close range, so I'll hold them off while you swim for it." Killer instructed me, readying his stance, slightly crooked rod gripped tightly in his hands.
"Uh, excuse me? Fuck you? This is my fault for not shooting that little prick right between the eyes on day one!" I barked, glancing over my shoulder and feeling my guts twist. "Besides...that isn't a much better option..."

Of course they had blocked us in with a ship. Killer was a well-known member of the Worst Generation, after all, so it checked out that they would pull out a few extra stops to get him into government custody, even if they were only acting on the suspicions of a miserable little cadet.

"Fine, if you're gonna be stubborn then you better have the swing to back yourself up!-" Killer lurched forward as he spoke, striking the closest Marine soldier upside the head, the sheer force almost bending his metal rod into some kind of stretched out boomerang. The man went flying, landing with a few extra sickening cracks and crunches in a pile of rusty, discarded metal. It would be a miracle if that guy ever walked again, let alone lived at all.

"Stubborn?! Me?! Take a look in the mirror, pretty boy!" I proved myself as I made my own swing, numerically one-upping him as my weaponised scrap smashed right into the lower ribs of a Marine, sending both him and the unlucky gentleman to his left crashing off to the side.

Hah! Suck it!

Our eyes met for a few short moments before the next lot of them reached us, and a toothy smirk stretched across Killer's face. He would never openly dare to admit it in front of me, but it was obvious. He really liked it when I was stubborn, and when I wasn't afraid to get violent. I had seen the ways he looked at me when I picked fights, and it was pretty hard to misinterpret.

The more we beat down, the more that seemed to spill in onto the island of junk. My shoulders were beginning to ache from taking swing after swing, and I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before I couldn't keep it up any longer. I wasn't built for close ranged combat like Killer was. Put me far away from the action, sniping enemies into cheddar cheese any day of the week.

"Just how many of these bastards are there?!" I yelped, narrowly avoiding a sharp stab of a cutlass before Killer smashed the guy in the throat with his pipe.
"A lot." Killer paused, his eyes widening for a split second before his brows pinched once more. "You know I love you, right?"

Narrowing my eyes, I glanced at him from my peripherals, nodding slowly.
"Uh, yeah? I love you too? Why?" I was now even more concerned. Killer wasn't usually sentimental during fights, so he was either about to try and pull some kind of self sacrifice, or do something that would piss me the hell off.

"Take a deep breath." Before I really had any time to react, my feet were no longer on the sandy shore, one of Killer's hands on my scruff, the other gripping the seat of my pants.
"KILLER, DON'T YOU DA-"

My words turned into a screech as he did a one-eighty turn to put more oomph into his throw, tossing me high into the air and out towards the water that separated us and the Marine vessel. Naturally, and very much ungracefully, I flailed mid-air, squawking profanities before I landed head first in the ocean.

But I didn't sink.

My body seemed to stop moving once I had been submerged to my waist, upside down, and for a good while, though likely only a second or two in reality, I panicked, thinking I had been caught. That was before I felt a strangely familiar tug on the buckle of my belt.

The metal buckle of my belt.

As that realisation slowly began to register with me, my body was yanked right on out of the water, and I hacked and wheezed in a deep breath whilst I shot backwards through the air. The salty water stung at my closed eyes, so I couldn't see what on earth was going on, but the second I landed in something simultaneously warm and cold with a loud squelch, I somehow knew exactly where I was.

"Nice save, Boss!"

"Fished her right outta the drink!"

"Yeesh, Killer really threw her ass like it was nothin'!"

"Guys, shut up! They're about to have a moment!"

My chest squeezed tight before I even opened my eyes. Beside my head I could hear the rum-pum-pum of a heartbeat that matched the speed of mine, and the slight tickle of fur against my shoulder. Slowly, cautiously, I opened my eyes, and the chaos came to a complete standstill.

"Looks like you two could use some help, aye, brat?"

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***Writer's block is KILLING me.

I wanted to add some pics of some new Kid and Killer stuff I got, but it won't let me ;-;

Next Time: Been A While***