"Do I look beefy to you guys?"

Lifting my shirt to just below my bra, I twisted and flexed my torso a little before it was yanked back down so hard it nearly ripped.
"We're in public, you agoraphile!" Paulie hissed, head whipping around to make sure nobody saw my scandalous navel.

"We're literally at the beach. You're lucky I wore clothes at all." I stuck out my tongue, having to push at my brother as he tried to catch me in a headlock.
"Pauls, calm down." Guppy shooed him back a few steps before studying me, head tilting to the side. "I wouldn't say beefy, but you've definitely muscled up. Pretty soon, you'll be a certified brickhouse."

Picking up a large, rusted gear, I rolled it around in my hands, humming in thought.
"Brickhouse (Y/N), huh? I guess it's more intimidating than Cloak and Dagger Domino..." I wasn't sure if I liked the thought of being jacked. It hadn't been intentional, and whilst I wasn't monstrously muscular, I wasn't the weedy little brat I had been before.

"I could always fatten you up if you'd prefer?" Killer gently took the gear from my hands as Paulie and Guppy wandered ahead, rummaging through the scrap metal.
"Oh? You secretly into that? Is that why you're so good at cooking?" I smirked, eyes following the gear as he tossed it aside, flitting back to his as he moved closer, hands settling on my hips.

"I like all body types..." He lowered his voice, lest he gave Paulie some kind of brain bleed with his words. "...but I can't lie, the extra muscle is hot as hell. There's just something about a woman who can kick my ass..." When he pulled me flush against him there was a muffled squeak from my shirt, and out popped Tyrannosaurus from my cleavage, ears flat back. "My bad, didn't realise you had a passenger."

Chuckling, I gave the little mouse a scratch on the head, pecking a kiss to the scruff of Killer's chin before stepping around him.
"Iceberg had meetings all day, so it was my duty as Tyrannosaurus' stepmother to ensure he's not bored." I explained, lifting the rodent to sit atop my shoulder so he could enjoy the cool breeze off the water.

"That would insinuate that you and Iceberg are, or have been, married." Was that a hint of jealousy I heard? If so, I liked it a lot. With a smirk pulling at my lips, I turned to walk backwards, almost immediately tripping over a half buried chunk of driftwood.
"In spirit, yes...but that could all change if you embraced our engagement as something more than just a ruse to benefit your Kipper persona."

It had become such a natural thing, referring to Killer as my fiance. He had started it by using it as a scare tactic to get Timbley to back off at the bar the first time, but it became the norm. I was mostly teasing, bugging him to make it official, but there was always a part of me that yearned for it.

"You bitch about that cadet being persistent, then do the exact same thing." Killer scoffed playfully, following along and tilting his head a little to signal me to step to the side whenever I almost tripped again. "Be patient. You never know what tomorrow will bring."

It was always the same. 'You never know'. It was equal parts ominous and annoying. The one thing I did know was that I loved him, and that wasn't going to change. Still, I had to admire the fact he was remaining steadfast in his decision.

"With any luck, it'll bring Mihawk here so I can swipe that sick coat of his." Tyrannosaurus held onto my earlobe when I turned and hopped up onto a clump of metal, and Killer held my hands so I wouldn't lose my balance.

"Don't even start with that. The only reason you have that stupid hat is because he probably took one look at you and felt bad." Paulie returned to us carrying a sandy rudder, and I internally flipped him off due to my hands being preoccupied.
"One, it's not stupid, it's authentic. Two, fuck you, I'm awesome. You're just jealous that I have style and you've worn the same stupid shirt since you clawed your way out of the womb."

Paulie began to mutter about delusional I was whilst simultaneously covering up the big white target on his front, but before I had the opportunity to really go for the throat with my fashion critique there was a loud, shrill whinnying sound from the coast, and we all turned to find two very large, very funky King Bulls pulling up, alongside some very familiar faces from the Franky Family.

"Oh my god, hello my sweet little babies!" I sprinted to the very edge of the water, welcoming two warm, wet snouts under each palm. "Sodom, Gomorrah, have you two grown?! Such big, strong boys!" As I complimented the bulls I swore I heard Killer huff behind me. God, it was cute when he got all pouty and jealous like that.

"Good, was worried we weren't gonna find you guys!" Zambai called out from Sodom's back, and I noticed Gomorrah was carrying Kop, yet another familiar face. "Now, don't freak out...I'm talkin' to you, Paulsie...but there's a bunch'a Marines at your house, (N/N)."

Shit.

Timbley must not have been bluffing about his threat, and suddenly, not for the first time, I wished I had done more than just knock him out way back when. What was his issue? Why did he want to get married to me so badly? I was no catch. Quite the contrary, people often expressed their condolences towards Killer regarding our relationship. Hell, even Eustass Kid's ugly-hot ass hadn't wanted me long-term.

"THERE'S WHAT?!" Guppy had pre-emptivly placed a calming hand on my brother's shoulder to keep him standing during his inevitable outburst. He spun to face me, finger jabbing in my direction. "YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

I'm not even mad. This would be so on brand for me.

"Actually, much to even my own surprise, this ain't on me for once." I raised my hands in lazy defence. "Thank that Marine dweeb our parents seem to love so much." Looking up to Zambai, i pressed for some more information about the predicament.

"All I know is that they have your place surrounded, about a dozen of 'em. Schollzo heard something about a wanted pirate and some arrest warrant for the both of yas." He explained as I continued to love on Sodom and Gomorrah, my brow furrowing.

So home isn't even safe anymore? Fuck this for a joke...

There wasn't anything incriminating at our house. Killer's helmet was still resting on the bedside table back at Iceberg's, and so were his gauntlets. They were acting purely on he said she said right now, very much without the latter. That tracked for the Navy.

"Killer..?" I turned to question him with nothing more than a look. It was entirely his call. Not once has his judgement failed me, so I wanted him to make the choice as to what we should do.

"We have three options." He started calmly, his long fringe whipping in the coastal breeze and giving a peek at his eyes. "We can skip town for a couple of weeks and hope it blows over. We can stay and hopefully avoid a fight...or..."

...Or we can go back to Kid...

At this point I wasn't sure if my pride could take a hit like that. I had also grown used to being back home on Water 7, with my big brother and my friends, my job. If we fled, then there was a big chance that I would never be able to return. That scared me.

"No fighting! Absolutely not!" Paulie had approached me, no longer openly freaking out, but his eyes were on my partner. "Killer, you need to get yourselves as far away from here as possible. Give me half an hour to grab your crap, and we'll find you a boat. Worst comes to worst, we can borrow one of the Kings and ge-"

"I don't want to run!" I went to smack him in the arm, but he caught my wrist with ease, expression stern and taut when he looked down at me.
"Yeah, well, I don't want you to get tortured to death in Impel Down, or worse, married off to that little shit!" He barked, expression immediately softening when I flinched down.

"He's right." Killer spoke up, giving Paulie a nod. "If we pick a fight then not only would we be putting ourselves at risk, but Paulie and Guppy, too. Not to mention Iceberg. Guilty by association if they're caught helping us in any way. Two against twelve, twenty, fifty...We don't know how many. It isn't something we can do right now."

Why do you always have to be right?

Deflating, I just nodded, letting my head fall against my brother's chest, his hand moving to the back of my hair to stroke it.
"You two hide out here, in the shipwreck, where it's covered. Anything else you need me to get?" He asked us, and I groaned, pushing back off of him and collecting Tyrannosaurus from my shoulder, pressing a kiss that took up his entire face before setting him upon Paulie's hand.

"My guns...and Iceberg's a-"

"If you say ass I will actually hand you over to the Marines myself."

"....ss."

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***Fuck you, Timbley.

I went to a con today (dressed as the lizard Ace bullied in Alabasta) and got a pretty good haul.

And some other crap non-OP related. Super bummed that there's never any Killer stuff ;-; At the very least one of my mates got me the alt Ichiji card.

Next Time: Well This Is Awkward***