Kid had always been unpredictable. A wildcard, as changing as the winds in a hurricane. If you were honest with yourself, it was one of the aspects of his personality that you’d first noticed and been attracted to. Of course, being from a tiny island in South Blue where visitors–let alone pirates–rarely stopped, anything that was out of the ordinary from your drab and repetitive lifestyle was appealing.
When his crew had landed and basically laid claim to the village’s only bar, word of their arrival spread fast and far. The young ones were told to stay in their homes, lest they earn the wrath of these fearsome pirates. Everyone was wary around the newcomers, clearly unhappy that they were here in the first place, hoping that they would take their ship and sail away as soon as possible.
You were…more curious than afraid.
Other than the bartender, who had no choice but to remain in his establishment to serve the rowdy pirates their alcohol, you were the sole resident brave enough to step inside while they occupied the place. Seeing someone new, the noise had quieted, and their attentions shifted to you as you stepped through the doorway.
“You’re pirates, aren’t you?” You’d asked rather redundantly, swallowing past your nerves. Weapons hung at their waists and sat on the stool beside them, within easy reach should they choose to use them.
“Who’s asking?” The redhead questioned with a malicious and amused smirk. His easygoing posture never tensed, clearly not at all worried that you posed any sort of threat to him.
“Y/N.” You said after a moment of heavy silence among those inside. “My name is Y/N.”
“Well, Y/N…” His hand swept to his side and patted the empty barstool beside him, smile never wavering, “come and have a drink with us.”
Your decision to take his offer would be the start of something you could only have dreamed of. When he offered to take you out to sea with him right before they departed your island, you didn’t have it in you to refuse. That easygoing smile and spark of mischief in his eyes awakened a newfound weakness you didn’t know you had.
Sailing the seas fed your desire for adventure, taking you to places you never dared imagine real. And the members of Kid’s crew all took a liking to you easily, despite your inability to fight. None of them held it against you. Your village didn’t exactly seem the type to produce pirates of their caliber. If anything, your role was to provide a morale boost when things weren’t going to plan.
Not only did you make friends, but a lover as well. Kid never forgot the way you’d sauntered into that bar. His interest in you never waned, and you fell just as hard for him. His strength was a safety and comfort you’d never experienced in your tiny village. Then again, neither was his attitude. He was blunt, rude, and a bit cold when he wanted to be. You were everything he wasn’t. For the life of you, you didn’t know what he found so appealing in your company. And when you worked up the courage to ask, he only dismissed the question.
Sailing with him wasn’t easy. Dangerous pirate crews threatened yours and the others’ safety on a weekly basis. Sometimes even more frequently than that. The day months back when not only a pirate crew but the Marines as well had attacked you was one of the worst you could remember. Exhausted and injured, everyone had been forced to fight for a second time against fresh-faced men in uniform.
You realized the further into Kid’s journey you went, the more things began to scare you. Bounties rose in larger and larger increments. Enemies fought fiercer battles, and the seas themselves grew more dangerous. The New World was nothing like the Grand Line after all.
Your growing anxiety was something you never spoke about. Some of the crew may have suspected your doubts, but none felt the need to ask what it was about. Perhaps they figured that your relationship with Kid was just turbulent at the time. Fights between the two of you had grown in number the longer you sailed together.
You’d been wary of the alliance he formed with the other pirates of the Worst Generation, but when you finally felt the need to voice your feelings, Kid did not listen.
“What do you expect me to do, Y/N? It’s already done. I can’t take it back. If we want to face the Yonko, this is the only way to do it.” He’d let out a huffed breath, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “I thought you’d understand that by now.”
The words had hurt, but so had the realization that the two of you had never stood on ground so distant from one another. Kid was going in a direction you were terrified to follow into. This talk of Yonkos and alliances was too much for someone like you to understand. And with the growing fear from everything you’d experienced so far, you didn’t know how much more you could take.
The breaking point came when Kid and the other two pirate crew prepared to disembark onto an island that the Emperor Kaido had last been seen on. He’d told you to bring a pistol, just in case, because he couldn’t guarantee your safety if things went bad. You’d simply stared at his back as he checked over his own arsenal of equipment.
It was all clear now. The buzzing in your chest commanded you to speak.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
The words made him pause, but he didn’t look back at you. Silence spanned the room for several seconds, until all of your feelings blurted out at once, spurred on by a sudden desperation for him to understand.
“I’m not like you. I’ve…never been like you. I’m not a pirate! All I wanted was to sail the seas, to live an adventure and have fun. But you’re wanting to take down Yonkos of the Sea, joining up with dangerous people, people you don’t even trust! I just…can’t do this anymore, Kid…I can’t.”
His head turned enough to look at you from the corner of his eye, watching with an expression you couldn’t read. His lips were pressed in a thin line.
“So this is as far as your loyalty goes, huh?” He asked with a bitter tone, frowning as he spoke. “As far as your feelings go?”
“Kid-”
“Don’t. I’ve heard all I need to.” He cut you off resolutely, facing forward again so you could no longer see his expression. You could see the tension in his shoulders, and the way his fingers clenched the desk he stood before. “Clearly it was a mistake to have ever asked you to come with us.”
You felt the pain like a stab in your heart.
“Get your things and go.”
You did your best to swallow up the grief that was threatening to spill over, but you weren’t entirely successful. A sudden thought occurred to you. “I don’t know how I’m going to get home-”
“Not my problem. If you’re lucky, maybe there’s someone at the port that can take you back to your island.” He said, turning and walking past you without a glance. “Now get off my ship.”
You jumped when the door slammed shut behind him, the final goodbye he was willing to offer.
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