Months. It had been months since you'd last seen him, giving you one last glance behind him before he'd boarded the Marine Warship in pursuit of the Pirate Empress. Him along with dozens of other marines, of course, but still. You didn't care so much about the other servicemen. This one, though, was important to you.
3 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days to be exact.
Not that you were counting, or anything...
And those months, you couldn't deny, had been rough. You'd heard of the legendary strength, of the danger presented in such a prominently-positioned woman. Boa Hancock, who'd turned countless men to stone with a single glance and wink. Her fierce fighters, the Kuja warriors, were famed for their veracity and strength of character, as well as their physical strength.
But Coby was strong, too. You had complete confidence in his ability to protect both himself and those he was sailing with. Full of determination and such conviction for the pursuit of justice, he was just so admirable...
With a sigh, you blink a few times, realizing you'd been staring straight ahead at the wall of your bedroom in the Marine base barracks. Having a desk job had it's perks, since you were boarded in a separate barracks meant for the office staff, rather than the marines out actively hunting pirates. They tended to have a bit more space and privacy.
It felt so empty, having all this space without your partner there to fill it. While he had his own room elsewhere in the base, he spent most of his time there with you. And now without him...well, there was a distinct lack of life.
You missed him. And the best way to distract yourself from the loneliness was to do something, anything. And thankfully there was never a lack of paperwork to complete in a place like this. For every hour of peacekeeping, there was at least a few leftover for filing reports. That's how it felt, at least...
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You were neck-deep in arrest reports when you heard marines in the hall discussing it casually, as if it wasn't a very interesting topic at all. A warship had returned.
And faster than you thought possible, you'd jumped out of your seat and sprinted towards the docks. You passed by several bewildered marines, no doubt wondering what you were in such a hurry for, but you couldn't have cared less, in that moment.
Sure, it could have been any of the dozen or so warships currently out patrolling and hunting for the newly stripped Warlords. Maybe it wasn't his. Maybe he was still out there, still several months from returning, maybe you were getting excited for nothing-
You take a sudden left turn in the halls, your speed never slowing. Perhaps in a less adrenaline-induced state of mind, you'd reason that running at such speeds and in such an unprofessional manner was not a wise career move. But even Akainu couldn't have stopped you from reaching those docks in the next 2 minutes.
Your breaths came out fast and hard by the time you burst through the dock entrance. The unloading crew were there in numbers to help dock the ship as it had landed, though most of the process had already been finished. Marines were already disembarking the ship by the time you arrived, and your eyes frantically searched the faces for one in particular.
You cursed yourself for not having paid attention to who had taken his mission, as none of them looked familiar. You still couldn't be sure this was Coby's ship. It looked just the same as any other. "Damn it..." You mutter under your breath, raising on your toes to try peering over the heads of those heading inside.
Minute after minute of searching turned up nothing. Even as the amount of people milling about lessened until the crowd was only a small scattering of people, there was no sign of your pink-haired lover. The hope that had soared in your chest upon hearing the news was deflating with rapid speed.
He wasn't home yet.
With a dejected turn on your heels, you headed back inside, dragging you feet at a snail's pace.
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By the time you reached your door, you had already decided to sleep away the rest of the day. It was late enough, you supposed. Maybe a light meal from the kitchen after you had a chance to tamper down the disappointment and appear in front of your fellow marines again, of course. The solitude of your bedroom would work in your favor for once.
You push into your bedroom, but come up short as another person stood in the way of your doorframe. The familiar face sported a surprised but delighted expression.
"Oh, Y/N! Hey, sorry, I was just on my way out to find you." Coby's hands went up defensively. "I-I wasn't snooping or anything, just-oof!"
His breath is literally snatched from him as you drive yourself straight into his chest, arms wrapping around his figure in a tight hug. He stumbles backwards, unprepared for your sudden embrace, but he manages to keep on his feet all the same.
"You're back..." You mumble into his shirt, and he gives a little laugh.
"Well, yeah. Of course I'm back. I couldn't be away from my lovely girlfriend too long, Warlords and Emperors be damned."
You're too full of relief and happiness to properly reply, too busy keeping as close to his warm body as possible. You relished every moment as his hold on your tightened, as his chin rested on your shoulder and he inhaled with a contented sigh. Clearly the months of separation had been weighing on him too.
"I missed you, Y/N. All this time away, I..." He sighed, then shook his head slightly. "I just couldn't come back fast enough, once we finished the mission."
"I'm glad you did, another few weeks and I probably would have gone stir-crazy." You admit, and he gives a soft laugh. Oh, how you'd missed that sound.
"Come lay with me for a little while?" You ask after some minutes of standing in his arms, but unfortunately he pulls back a little bit.
"I've gotta debrief with the Admiral, give him my report, you know that." Coby said as gently as he could. "It'll take awhile, given how long the mission was, and..."
His words trailed off, seeing the expression of disappointment falling over your own, and he finally gave you a half-smile.
"...and, I can come back right after and spend all night with you, if that's what you'd like? Not even Kaido could drag me away from you now that I'm back."
Your smile returns, something he was very pleased to see, and you pull him close once again. "There's nothing I'd want more."
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