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

When I woke up the next morning, Killer wasn't there.

In an instant I went from relaxed and happy to internal dread. Launching myself to my knees upon the bed, I wasn't sure why I threw the sheets and pillows into the air, as though he would be hidden beneath them, but I didn't know what else to do.

He was supposed to leave today...He wouldn't have left without saying goodbye, would he..?!

Leaping from the bed, nearly dying when my ankle tried to roll and send me head first into the dressing table, I blindly threw on whatever clothes I could find and burst into the hall, fearing the worst.

I knew he had to go back. I wasn't stupid, of course I knew that, but so soon? After what had happened between us? Without so much as a whisper? I wouldn't be able to cope with that.

Overthinking and building myself into what felt like a borderline panic attack, I had to cling to the bannister as I flung myself down the stairs, uncaring if I ate complete shit or not. I was honestly about ready to collapse and bawl my eyes out once I approached the kitchen, but something stopped me.

"I don't know how I could make myself any more clear. I'm staying here for a while longer."

Killer's voice.

Breath held in my throat, I sprinted into the kitchen to find the blond leaning on the counter, his transponder snail sitting in front of him, face angry and pinched. He glanced to me, holding up a finger for me to wait. I was glad he did.

"So you've just decided to play shipwright and ignore what we've been working towards our whole damn lives, hah?!" It was Kid. It had been so long since I had heard his voice, it was like a direct punch in the guts, but I kept silent, despite wanting to sob in relief knowing that Killer hadn't abandoned me.

"If you can tell me what we're currently doing that would need my immediate attention, by all means, go ahead, but I was under the impression that you're still fucking around at the base, sorting yourself out." Killer sighed, obviously not wanting to deal with his captain's attitude so early in the morning.

"You...I ain't fuckin' around! Things are in the works! What, are ya sick of me or somethin', is that it?!" Hearing Kid speak caused a deep pang in my chest, but I tried to ignore it. "You still pissed that I fixed my priorities and put my goal first?!"

Killer's fist balled against the counter, his teeth audibly grinding, but he was doing well at keeping his cool. If he hadn't had time away, I wasn't sure he could have.
"Yeah, Kid, I am sick of you. Your attitude, your selfishness, your complete disregard for our emotions. I need a break, otherwise I'm not sure I can keep it up for much longer."

He really is over it...

There was a long silence following Killer's truth, and I settled to lean on the wall behind him, chewing on my lip as I waited, heart still racing from my prior panic, and now this.
"How is she..?" Kid finally spoke, and his words were like the direct punch to the gut he had delivered on the day we met.

Killer turned a little to meet my eyes, but I didn't know how to react. It hurt. Of course it would hurt, hearing him ask after me like that.
"I'm looking after her." It was short, and to the point, but there was something so strikingly obvious in the way the blond pirate had said it that I doubted even Kid could misconstrue it.

"Right...Okay then..." Kid spoke a lot softer than he originally had been, the slight crackle through the transponder snail muffling something on his end of the conversation. "If ya need time, fine, then take it. I need ya home soon though, and...if (Y/N) wants to come back, she's needed too..."

My entire jaw clenched tight and I threw my gaze to the tiled floor, tracing the grout in a futile attempt to distract myself. How could he say that I was needed after what he had done? After I had only just made a step away from him?

"Thanks, and I'll let her know..." I could feel Killer's eyes on me, but I didn't look up. "Take care of yourself, Kid. I'll check in regularly and figure shit out." The sound of the snail disconnecting came before the faint thud of footsteps, his boots coming into view.

Upon his intake of breath to speak, I quickly wrapped my arms around his middle, squishing my face beneath his pectorals. Killer welcomed me in with not a moment of hesitation, hands gentle as one melted into my hair, the other on my back.

"I thought you left..." I whispered, realising quickly that my voice was pitched and threatening to crack. Immediately his arms curled tighter around me, the warmth of his breath spreading from where his nose pressed to my scalp.

"You know I wouldn't do that. I couldn't." Killer murmured, finally peeling back and effortlessly lifting me onto the counter so we could be eye to eye. "I...wasn't sure if you'd regret what happened last night, so I thought it would be best to come down here, then Kid called, so-"

"I don't regret it!" While I could understand why he would consider that possibility, I still hated hearing him say that sort of thing.
"Then are you crying because you thought I left, or because you heard Kid's voice after so long?"

Crying?

I didn't realise tears were rolling down my cheeks until Killer tenderly reached to wipe them away, but I wasn't sure how to answer his question. Not without the risk of hurting him.
"It's okay." Killer kept one hand on my hip and used the other to brush my hair from my face so it wouldn't stick. "I understand, so don't go worrying your bratty ass about it."

Tilting my head back, I dried my own eyes, sniffling back anything else threatening to spill before I looked back at him. He knew better than I did that I still loved Kid, but at the same time I loved him too. The only difference was that Kid had done something I couldn't forgive, and time hadn't had enough of itself to heal those wounds as of yet.

"I'm not a brat..." I muttered, scrunching my nose when Killer leaned forward to nuzzle it, a small smile on his usually stoic face. It was still so strange, seeing him without his trademark helmet, which sat upon his bedside table, untouched.

"You really are. The ultimate brat. I do love you for it, though. Most of the time." He puffed through his nose instead of laughing properly, and for a moment I thought back to the unique laugh I had heard the night before. That memory then continued into everything else that had happened between us.

"Uh, l..last night you, um, said that you'd done that a thousand times in your head..." I murmured, flustered by the recollection. "When did that start..?" The curiosity was killing me.
"I did say that, didn't I..?" Killer exhaled, letting his fringe fall back over his eyes in an attempt to quell his embarrassment. "I'm not quite sure. I think I started falling for you that first time we brought you to the base...then I guess the, uh, mental scenarios started not long after that..."

I had been oblivious to his feelings up until our kiss on Water 7, and I felt horrible about it. If I had known, then maybe I could have made the right decision to begin with and spared myself the heartbreak Kid had caused.

No, Kid wasn't a wrong decision. I wasn't dumb enough to think that. He just wasn't ready for what a relationship entailed, or maybe we weren't compatible. For all I knew maybe he really had been playing with me. Shaking my head, I decided it didn't matter. Not right now.

"So? Did I live up to your expectations..?" Kind of hooking my legs around his thighs, I trapped him as close as possible, tilting my head to the side. Throwing his embarrassment to the side, Killer dragged me further to the edge by the waist, his smirk ghosting over my lips as his baby blues gazed back at me.
"What do you think?"

His kisses were different than what I had gotten used to, announcing a respectful hunger instead of pure greed. The fuzzy tuft on the end of his chin tickled, and I very much liked it.
"Hmmm..." I hummed as I pulled back, just a little. "You're gonna have to walk me through some of those fantasies of yours at some point."

The grip on my waist tightened a bit, enough to show that Killer was very into what I was saying, and it made me giggle.
"Well, technically...I don't have to work at Galley-La today, so it'd be something to do..." He all but purred before closing the gap between us again.

"Oi, (Y/N), has Kipper left yet, or-"

Mid-kiss, Killer and I slowly turned to find Paulie standing in the doorway to the kitchen, frozen with a horrified expression upon his face. Internally, I counted down the seconds until his outburst.

Three...two...one...

"HANDS OFF MY BABY SISTER! WHY ARE YOU FORNICATING IN THE KITCHEN?! WHERE WE EAT?! I TURN MY BACK FOR ONE SECOND AND YOU'RE SLURPING EACH OTHER'S TONSILS?! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN WEARING?! DO YOU WANT TO SEND ME TO AN EARLY GRAVE?!"

Killer just sighed and took a step back as my brother sprinted over to lay a nearby teatowel over my lap, covering my boy-leg shorts.
"Pauls, brochacho, remember those breathing exercises Mama made you learn way back when? Maybe try that out, huh?"

Instead of continuing his absolute freak out, Paulie stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing.
"How long has this been going on..?" Glancing to the clock on the wall I took a few seconds to do the math.
"Like, I dunno, nine, ten hours? Unless you meant this specific make-out session, then like a minute or so."

He didn't need to snap at me for me to feel his internal tirade.
"Go get dressed. I wanna talk man to man for a minute" It wasn't a question, and once I made sure Killer saw my apologetic look, I hopped down from the counter and headed out the door without argument.

Sorry, Killz...You're about to get an earful...

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***PAULIE POV***

The moment my sister was out of the room I turned to face Killer, making a failed attempt to puff myself up and match his stature. He was an intimidating guy, with or without his usual pirate get-up, likely without even realising it.

"I'm not gonna ask if you love her, because you've made that pretty damn clear on a number of occasions..." I sighed, trying to avoid letting my overprotective nature run rampant and cause issues. "Won't this cause problems for your crew, considering..."

I didn't need to mention Eustass Kid, Killer knew exactly what I was getting at, and he turned to lean his back where (Y/N) had previously been seated.
"Honestly? Yes and no. Kid still loves her, whether he's realised that yet or not, and he won't be happy, but he wouldn't cause problems, either. No more than he already has." He explained, head tilted back a little so I could see his eyes.

That's definitely a plus, but...

"What about (Y/N)? I'm not saying she'd screw you over, but-"
"If she ultimately chooses him in the end, I'll cope. I'm no child, Paulie. They're the two people in this world I would do anything for, so I'm prepared for that." I appreciated his honesty, but it was kind of sad to hear him say that kind of thing.

Folding my arms loosely across my chest, I looked him up and down, at least trying to play the part of a big brother who was deliberating whether I'd allow them to continue or not, despite already accepting their relationship.
"If you ask me, you're better for her. No offence to your captain, but he's aggressive. Violent. You...not so much. Your bad rep seems to be mostly from association."

Killer snorted through his nose, slowly shaking his head as though what I said had been some kind of joke.
"They call me Massacre Soldier for a reason. Believe me, my reputation is by my own making." He wasn't trying to unerve me, I knew that, but it was still unsettling to think about. "It's not up to me or you if I'm good enough for her. She's gonna choose who she wants, and that's fine. I have her in this moment, and I'll love her regardless."

This honestly might be the first time I'm not worried about one of her relationships...

Nodding slowly, I was about to vocalise my blessing when (Y/N) returned, fully dressed and glowing. I definitely didn't need to know why that was.
"Okay, stop testosteroning all over the place and let's get a move on! The day is young! I don't know about you guys, but I'm probably gonna go find Kiwi and Mozu so we can-"

"No. No more terrorising the city. You, you little goober, need to find yourself a job. A normal, legal job." I reached out to seize her by the scruff the second she looked like she was going to run, and she pouted, just like she used to when we were kids.

"Ugh, fine. I'll see if Iceberg will hire me to be Tyrannosaurus' bodyguard..." She sighed, groaning when I lifted her a bit, causing her to start curling in on herself. Now I knew why everyone had said it was entertaining. "Okay, okay! Real, totally legal job! Put me down!"

Satisfied with her forced compliance, I set her back down and she jabbed me in the ribs, quickly moving to Killer and grabbing hold of his arm. She started complaining to him, and he just nodded along, happy to listen to her.

I was gladdened by the sight. (Y/N) had always been such a handful, and often made terrible choices, but she was starting to settle into herself, and he was helping, it seemed.

I can only hope that this will actually last...

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***Absolute mess with zero substance because writing is a struggle atm xD

Sorry for the wait, I've been working/nebulously existing. It'll pick up again from here!

Also, it was again Killer hours because my big boy came...

I will not stop until I have every Killer in existence.

Next Time: With Interest***