The Wrong Number - NellanaSylveon (2024)

Chapter 1: Stranger Danger

Chapter Text

Tea mug in hands and eyes focused on the screen before you, you were trying to decide which course to adopt for your next scene when your phone suddenly went off.

It was at times like this that you were thankful to only ever have your phone on vibrate setting, because the unexpected buzz was nearly enough to make you jump and spill your half-emptied mug on your keyboard.

With a sigh, you put your tea back on the desk. There were only two people who were susceptible to call you at three in the morning on a Friday.

Well, Saturday, technically.

You didn't even bother to look at the number and directly accepted the call, preparing yourself to a drunken rant about either Cavendish or Bartolomeo's latest shenanigans and how it was impossible to keep a relationship with such a dumbass.

They'd forgive and forget everything the next morning, but always needed to rant and cry and whine to you about it. Because that was what happened when two overdramatic idiots fell in love and started a relationship.

By now, you were more than used to it.

Which is why you were wholly unprepared for the whiny and completely new voice you heard as soon as the call connected.

"MIMIIIIIIIII where are youuuuuu !!? You pr'mised you'd come this tiiiiiiiime ! C'me ooooooon we got the booze and all ! Leave yar edgy goth walls and join the paaartyyyy !"

You blinked several times, and it took you a minute to realise what was happening, during which the unknown man's voice kept asking whoever he thought he was calling to join him at a party.

At some point though, he stopped – to breathe or drink, you weren't sure – and you managed to speak back.

"I think you have the wrong number."

There was a moment of silence on the other side, and you bit your lips to avoid chuckling at the obvious drunken confusion the man was feeling.

"You don't sound like Mihawk," the voice accused in a way you would almost describe as pouty, but then a gasp followed. "Holy sh*t are you Mimi's girlfriend !?"

This time you did end up laughing, but hastily answered to avoid any misunderstanding between this man and the friend he had attempted to call.

"I am not Mihawk, nor do I know anyone going by this name, sorry," you chuckled.

"Aww that's too bad, I wanted to meet his girlfriend… Wait, are you single ? You should join us !"

You grinned and shook your head, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see you.

"You're lucky I even answered, most people are alseep at this hour. Your friend probably is too."

"Pff , it's not that late, 'tis just… wait, the clock's all blurry, it's… uuuh…"

"It's past three in the morning," you replied helpfully after a few more seconds of him failing to read the time.

"Three ? Weird, I'm sure it was midnight when I checked two minutes ago. Wait," he said suddenly, like he just had a sobering revelation. "What're you doing awake at three if you're not drunk and partying ?"

At that, you glanced at your screen, then grinned and decided to have a little fun with your answer. You adopted your softest, sultriest voice before replying honestly.

"I'm trying to decide whether my prisonner will have a clean death or a painful one."

You heard a choking noise on the other side and immediately started laughing freely, happy with your little joke. "I'm talking about a character in my book, don't worry. No need to call the Marines on me."

"You could be a serial killer and I wouldn't give a sh*t as long as you keep talking to me with that voice, sweetheart," was the flirtatious answer the man gave you, and somehow you could almost hear the grin in his voice.

"I'm afraid I don't do real life crimes," you replied.

"But you just stole my breath a minute ago."

"You did not actually say that."

"Hey ! It's a good line !"

"And how many times has it actually worked ?"

"You'd be surprised, sweetheart."

"A bit early for the pet names, don't you think ?"

"Well if you give me yours, I won't have to come up with new ones, princess."

You chuckled again, thoroughly amused by the banter and the surprisingly quick retorts of that man, especially if he was as drunk as he sounded. Part of you wondered how smooth he'd be once sober.

"Nice try, but I know better than that. Enjoy your party, mysterious stranger, and try to be more careful with drunk calls."

"Aww you leaving me already, sweetheart ?"

"Yes. Goodnight," you said gently, and prepared to end the call.

"Wait !"

"What ?"

"Your character's death, make it quick and brutal. You'll have a good mix between clean and painful."

You blinked, thought it over for a couple seconds, and hummed before a few options came to your mind.

"That's… actually a good idea," you admitted, then took on your soft and sultry voice again. "Thank you very much, my dear stranger, may the rest of your night be pleasant."

"Oh fuuuuuuck-"

You ended the call with a click, chuckled to yourself, and quickly joted down the new ideas you had pictured thanks to your mysterious stranger's suggestions.

"What do you think, Mephisto ?" you asked your cat.

Said cat was currently asleep, buried like a purring burrito – a purrito, as you and your friends called it – in the blanket you had put on the sofa for that exact purpose. His black fur with a small dot of white on the forehead had almost disappeared under the layers of fabric, and you sighed fondly.

"Yeah, you're probably right, I should head to bed too. Although…"

You debated with yourself for a minute. You knew the dangers of strangers online as well as everyone, but the drunk man had helped you, after all. In the end, you shrugged, then saved his number under "Stranger Danger" and forwarded him the recipee of Zeff's hangover cure.

You had interviewed the renowned chef a few years ago for research purpose, and the man had ended up giving you several useful kitchen tips and recipees. His special hungover lemonade cure had never failed you, and you had a feeling this man was going to need it whenever he'd wake up.

After that, you stretched, hearing your back pop in several places, and took a quick and warm shower before jumping into your comfy pyjamas and then your bed.

The second you felt the blissful sensation of your comforter cocooning you, your exhausted mind shut down for the night.

Your last thought was the sound of a man's voice, a little slurred but definitely pleasant as he tried a lame pick-up line.

-o-oOo-o-

You woke up at ten thirty, courtesy of your darling Mephistopheles walking on your stomach to demand cuddles. You pushed the little devil aside gently – after giving in, you weren't a monster – then got up and went to fix yourself a solid brunch. That way, you'd be able to keep working on your scene with no interruptions aside from refilling your cup of tea.

And indeed, you managed to get back to your notes from the night before and get at it for a solid three hours, managing to get a pretty good first draft. It would end your chapter on a dark and shocking note, perfect before a change of point of view to keep your readers wondering what the hell had just happened.

Satisfied with your progress, you wondered whether Saul, your editor, would berate you for working on the weekend if you sent him a mail with your new chapter. In the end, you decided to let it rest for now and use the afternoon to clean your appartment, do some yoga, and laze in front of a show Bartolomeo had recommanded to you.

It was when you checked your phone after the yoga that you saw the missed call and several texts waiting for you, all from your new contact.

Stanger Danger

You're a f*cking angel

A miracle worker

A gift from the gods

If you were with me right now I'd kiss you

Well the others would try too but I called dibs

You blinked in surprise and chuckled, apparently the recipee you'd sent last night before going to bed had been put to good use. Before you could rationally think about it, you typed a reply.

Y/N

Happy to help ! I figured you'd need it today and you gave me a good idea for my scene, after all.

You put your phone back beside you, and devoted your full focus to the show and Mephisto who was purring up a storm against your belly.

A few episodes later, your phone started buzzing again, and this time you weren't even surprised to see the name Stranger Danger appear on the screen. You glanced at your cat, who gave you a judgmental look, paused your show and accepted the call.

"Hello ?" you said cautiously.

"Hello angel," the man all but purred, and the rumbling, smooth voice confirmed your earlier assumptions. His sober voice was dangerously attractive. You could see how women and men alike could fall for that kind of voice if he had the looks to go with it. "Got to say, that's a hell of a thank you for a little advice."

"Don't mention it," you replied easily. "Your advice was useful."

"If that's the kind of thanks you give for it, I'd be more than happy to help you again."

You rolled your eyes at the flirty tone, but your lips still stretched in a smile.

"Shouldn't you be more careful about contacting a stranger whom you know spends her Friday nights writing about cold-blooded murder ?"

"You could spend the next Friday night in my bed instead," he quipped back cheekily, and you laughed at that, startling your cat who shot you a disapproving glare.

"Sorry Mephisto," you said quickly, adjusting your position as to not disturb him further.

"I was going to say you have a very pretty laugh, but now I need to ask why you called me Mephisto ?" the man said, sounding halfway between amused and confused.

You ignored the comment about your laugh and the slight blush it caused in order to focus on the question.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Oh. Boyfriend ?"

You rolled your eyes again.

"Very subtle. Not that this is any of your business, but Mephistopheles is my cat."

"Good. For a minute I thought I'd have to fight for your attention."

"Don't worry, there is no competition here," you reassured him and paused a second, then grinned. "Mephisto will always be my top priority."

"Ouch, I'm hurt. After everything we've been through, you still put the cat first ?" came the reply.

"Yep," you said, popping the P with amusem*nt clear in your voice.

"I was going to ask for your name, but now I think I'll just put your number under Fallen Angel, since you're so mean to me."

"Fair enough, you're under Stranger Danger."

"You're kidding."

"Nope," you replied, popping the P again, grinning widely.

"Maybe I should go with Miss Terious then," he answered.

"That's a terrible pun," you chuckled.

"Still made you laugh, didn't it ?" was the cheeky reply.

You shook your head, still smiling, but before you could speak again, the man changed the subject. "So, how did you kill the guy anyway ?"

Usually, you wouldn't discuss your manuscripts with anyone aside from your editor or closest friends without an NDA, but since this man didn't know your name and it was just a detail, you figured you could probably make an exception.

"Beheading. I'm just unsure yet if it'll be with a sword or an axe, the sword would be more coherent with my story but I'm not sure if it's actually possible for a human to behead another with a sword in one go when the one wielding the sword is standing and the other is kneeling on the ground. I mean, slitting his throat would work well and be doable, of course, but I really wanted to go with something more… showy, more dramatic, you know ? And I know it's feasable with an axe, but it'd be a little out of character for the murderer to not go for his usual weapon just for that one kill and I'd have to find a believable reason for him to use an axe in one scene when he's never bothered before, even if technically he's been martially trained and has experience with various weapons, but I wanted this scene to really make his lack of empathy shine, to enhance the coldblooded part of his personality, and using his sword just makes sense, so I really hope it works the way I described it, but I'll have to talk it through with my editor once I send him my chapter and maybe do some reasearch to confirm-"

You cut yourself off abruptly, then groaned and roamed the hand that didn't hold your phone against your face.

"Sorry, I tend to ramble when I talk about my stories, I didn't mean to bore you."

"You weren't boring me at all," he replied immediately, and you could hear a hint of awe in his voice. "I love how passionate you sound."

"Oh," you answered, a little taken aback. Usually people either cut you off or ignored you when you went on with your rambles about the details of your stories.

"And it works," the man added.

"What ?"

"Beheading someone with a sword when you're standing and they're kneeling on the ground," he explained.

"Really ?" you asked excitedly. "You're sure about that ?"

"Positive. Well, for a swordsman strong and skilled enough with his blade, that is," he added with what strangely sounded like smugness.

"Awesome ! That's going to make things so much easier !" you exclaimed. "Thank you."

"Hm, anytime, sweetheart. Told you I'd be happy to help."

"I'm afraid I only had one hangover cure recipee though," you chuckled.

"Pity, I'll have to settle for something else then… how about your name ?" he asked with a smooth voice and you could almost see him wink at you.

"Not happening, Stranger Danger. You've already learned my cat's name, I'm not giving you any more information about me."

"You drive a hard bargain, Miss Terious," the man laughed on the other side, and you noted how happy and carefree it echoed through the phone. Like freedom and sunshine encapsuled in a single sound. "Then how about a promise to keep the conversation open between us ?" he suggested.

"I suppose that's acceptable," you agreed without thinking, a happy smile on your lips.

"Unless you want something more than just casual conversation, of course… say, what's your stance on sexti-"

Another voice on his side of the call interrupted him, and you only heard a whiny and annoyed aww come on, do I have to ? before your interlocutor talked to you again.

"Got to go, princess, don't miss me too much until next time !"

"Bye, Stranger Danger," you chuckled before the call disconnected.

You smiled at your phone, then saw the very unimpressed look Mephisto was giving you and frowned.

"Don't look at me like that, I know what I'm doing."

He kept staring.

"Well, mostly."

A slow blink.

"Okay, so maybe I like his voice and he's been nice and funny so far, but I'm not going to do anything stupid."

Mephisto started to groom his fur, and you groaned, aknowledging defeat.

"Fine, I'll talk about it to Cav and Barto tomorrow, you happy ?"

A resounding meow was your only reply and you went back to your show, grumbling about bossy cats.

-o-oOo-o-

You were done retelling your phone encounter to your two best friends over chinese take-out in your living room, and processed to focus on your dish with extreme concentration to avoid their incredulous looks.

"Wait wait wait Y/N, let me get this straight-" Bartolomeo started.

"Babe, nothing about you is straight," Cavendish interrupted him, making you snicker.

The green-haired man turned toward his boyfriend, ready to protest, when he seemed to think the words over and nodded begrudgingly to admit their veracity.

"Yeah, good point. So let me get this gay-"

"Better," Cavendish approved while trying to get your black cat away from his white clothes.

"A guy drunk-called you by mistake, you talked, you gave him your magic hangover potion-"

"Not a magic potion, Zeff's recipee," you pointed out.

"No, he's right, it's definitely a magic potion," Cavendish intervened.

"ANYGAY he texted and called you again and you answered and he flirted with you and you saved his number !?" Bartolomeo was low-key screeching by the end, and you grumbled a vague positive answer.

"Y/N, darling, you know we love you very much, right ?" Cavendish sighed. "But that's SO stupid."

"Hey !" you protested. "I know what I'm doing !"

"Girl, he confirmed he knew enough about beheading to tell you your idea worked, and instead of questioning how he knew something so specific, you thanked him."

You opened your mouth to retort, then closed it. That was a decent point to make, but it wasn't your fault your stories and their exactitude tended to rank higher in your priority list than your self-preservation.

"He could be a writer too ?" you tried lamely.

Both men looked at you in disbelief, and Cavendish snorted.

"Honey, you're the best-selling, and best period, mystery novellist in all of Grand Line City. No way another random writer would just happen to know something specific about murder that you don't."

Beside him, Bartolomeo was frantically nodding in approval, and you grumbled about them using unfair logic against you.

All three of you were writers working with the same publishing company, and had somehow managed to be assigned to the same editor despite having very different styles. Bartolomeo, while looking like a punk with his green mohawk, his piercings and his horrendous sense of style (who combined purple, orange plaid and green, seriously ?) was into fantasy and working part-time at a comic store. Cavendish, who tried to look like a prince charming with his long perfectly coiffed blonde curls and his propension to wear white anywhere and everywhere, was unsurprisingly all about romance, and worked as a model for a pretty good agency from time to time.

You were the only one who had opted to go full writing, no second job on the side, and had dedicated yourself to mysteries. Although you had divided your works in two major series, one for adults, and one for kids. The latter contained mysteries that were much less gruesome but would still encourage children to use their brain to find the solution. Both had been very well received by the public and the critics alike from the start, allowing you to live pretty comfortably and adopt Mephisto from a shelter early on.

"Look," you sighed, "I know it's not exactly smart, but it's not like I plan to tell him my name, or where I live, or agree to meet him, okay ?"

Bartolomeo was looking at you suspiciously as he finished wolfing down his chicken, then blushed beet red.

"You know, if it's just because you have, uh, you know, needs, we could always just go out one night and, uh, wingman yo-"

"Oh my god no !" you denied vehemently, choking on your rice.

"Wait, how long has it been since the last time you got laid ?" Cavendish asked. "Because if that's all there is to it, you can just put on that sexy dress I made you buy when we went shopping last month and it should be enough to just sit at a bar and wait for guys to fall at your feet."

"You are the worst and I hate you both," you declared while pointing your chopsticks in their direction.

"Thank you," they answered with matching proud smiles.

You all finished your dishes, then Barto offered to help you clean up while Cav was trying to fend off a cuddly-feeling Mephisto. With your kitchen being open on your living room, it was a quick affair to sort out the trash and go back to the sofa and comfy chairs with a bottle of rum and three glasses to finish the evening.

As often, you ended up talking about your writing projects, Cavendish and Bartolomeo adding anecdotes from their other jobs here and there. You went through a couple glasses each before they called it a night, deciding to call a cab rather than use your guest room for once.

"I'm opening the shop tomorrow morning," Barto had complained, and you had just shrugged it off and walked them to the door.

They were ready to go when your phone buzzed with an incoming call, and both your friends immediately zeroed on it. Cavendish managed to steal it before you could so much as protest.

"Stranger Danger ? Oh, so that's the guy ! Perfect."

"Cav, give me my phone !" you warned.

You couldn't even try to get it back before Bartolomeo used his unfair height to block you in a bear hug, preventing you from reaching his boyfriend.

"Go on babe," the green-haired man sang happily.

Cavendish smirked, ignored your screamed Don't you f*cking dare you knock-off Ken doll ! and answered the call.

"Hello, you've reached my best friend's phone, who are you and what do you want with her ?" he asked with his patented Prince Charming voice. Less than a second later, his composure broke and he looked at the phone in disbelief. "How drunk are you ?"

"What did he say ?" Bartolomeo chimed in, almost vibrating with curiosity.

"He, uh, asked whether I thought it was easier to fight fifty duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck," the blond said, blinking incredulously.

"Oh spirits," you muttered. "Release me and give me my phone back, you two !"

"Fine, fine, sorry I took it," Cavendish muttered, but Bartolomeo snatched the device before you could.

"Listen here, if you hurt or stalk or do anything bad to my wonderful, adorable, precious, perfect best friend, I'll find you and kick your ass !"

Then he smiled brightly at you and put your phone in your hand as he ran away from your appartment, his boyfriend hot on his tail. You stood there for a second, phone in hand, and inhaled loudly before closing the door.

"I'm going to kill those idiots," you muttered, and heard a wild laugh from your phone. "Oh god I'm so sorry about that," you immediately apologised to your interlocutor, bringing the device to your ear.

"Don't be, t'was hilarious. You got good friends," came the reply, still shaking with laughter.

"I have nosy idiots that I wouldn't trust with a house plant who somehow managed to carve their annoying way into my life," you retorted, flipping your hair as you made your way back to the sofa.

"You sound like Mimi when he talks about me !"

"Maybe I should try to befriend him rather than you, then," you replied, a mischievous grin on your lips when you heard an offended gasp. "By the way, did you manage to get his number right ?"

"Huh ? Oh yeah, suuuuure, no problem. But his voice ain't as sexy as yours," the man added in what was a rather seductive way for someone obviously inebriated again.

You sighed loudly, trying to convey what you thought of his flirting without using words.

"Wow, that was harsh, angel."

"Fallen angel," you corrected without missing a beat.

"So you're the reason hell's so hot then ?"

"Do you only know lame pick-up lines ?" you shot back, amused despite yourself.

"My pick-up lines are perfect !"

"Keep telling yourself that," you chuckled. "I'm going to bed, make sure to drink some water and eat something before you do the same."

"Well if you're inviting me in your bed…"

"Goodnight, Stranger Danger," you deadpanned and ended the call.

A few seconds later, you received a single text from him, and opened it as you went into the bathroom to brush your teeth.

Stranger Danger

Rude !

You chuckled, then proceeded to your nightly routine and cuddled with Mephisto until you fell asleep.

Chapter 2: Meet and Greet

Chapter Text

Two weeks passed in relative peace, and your exchanges with the stranger kept going. Sometimes just through texts, but he still called you at least every other day, which was enough to make you wonder how often that man was drinking and how his liver could actually keep up with his consumption.

You also learned that he had lots of friends, one of which had ended up apologising to you on behalf of them all after one too many really awful pick-up lines. You were confirmed the same night that he definitely was a ladies' man, and that all his friends were baffled at this distance thing you had going on with him. Apparently, they also used it to tease him relentlessly, which had you grinning and giving your full approval to keep going.

You kept working on your current mystery as well, Saul being happy about your plot choices but berating you for not taking time off writing.

Out of spite, you dragged Bartolomeo and Cavendish to a karaoke session in East Blue where the three of you happily ended up butchering disney songs after a few too many drinks. You wisely opted to order a cab to get you back to your home in North Blue, and all three of you ended up in need of Zeff's hangover recipee the next morning.

You still kicked Barto in the shin when he muttered the words magic potion.

Life was pretty good.

Which was precisely why you were staring suspiciously at Saul on a cloudy autumn afternoon, sitting in one of the chairs in his office, Bartolomeo and Cavendish present as well and looking equally suspicious.

The gentle giant of a man that was your editor looked uncomfortable. After a few moments spent in awkward silence, he put his hands in front of him in a placating gesture, nevermind that with his fire red hair and beard on top of his height and widely built stature, he'd always look more intimidating than reassuring.

"So, it's going to be time for you to do your second book signing meet and greet of the year."

Three coordinated groans answered him.

"Already ?" Bartolomeo nearly cried. "Please ! Have mercy ! I can't do it again !"

"I'll be modelling that day," Cavendish immediately declared despite no date having been proposed yet.

Before you could add your own protest – you were planning on poisonning yourself and hide in the hospital for a couple days at least – Saul continued his little speech.

"Come on, this time the three of you will be together ! And it will only be a ten to five with an hour break at twelve for lunch ! And there'll be security !"

"After what happened last time, there better be," you muttered.

Some creepy guy with absurdly long earlobs had tried to use a taser on you after you had declined his offer to take you out on a date, and it was only thanks to the quick reflexes of a black-haired man wearing a purple kimono and a full-face make up that the creep had been stopped in time.

You had profusely thanked the man, a certain Izou, and offered to give him a free signed copy of any book he wanted as a token of your gratitude. He had been delighted to get personal messages on his signed copies for his father and (apparently very many) brothers, and even stayed a bit longer to ensure you were fine with the rest of the crowd.

But it had still been too close for comfort, and you weren't looking forward to similarly unwanted encounters with people who felt entitled to you simply because they had read your books.

"And it's the bookshop my goddaughter works at in East Blue !" Saul added. "You know Robin would never let people disrespect authors in front of her !"

"Your goddaughter is f*cking terrifying," Cavendish muttered with a shudder, and you hid a snicker. Robin had a dark humour that many found unsettling but that you were perfectly fine with, and her history knowledge was second to none. You still had her contact for whenever you needed specialised information about obscure cultures or tribes or rites, and you often ended up recommanding books to her.

It took two hours for Saul to finally manage to convince all of you to agree to it and find a day that would work with your respective schedules, but he did it anyway. You still cursed the way he had to find the right thing to say to make you cave and agree ("You'd be giving children the chance to meet the person writing their favourite stories and encouraging them to use their brain to follow their dreams !"). But you also knew he cared about all three of you, and not just because you were some of the most popular novellists in your respective genres.

You bid goodbye to Cavendish and Bartolomeo, who had planned a dinner date after that, and opted to walk back to your home. You weren't living that far away from the agency, maybe thirty minutes on foot, and the fresh air would do you good. Plus it wasn't that late anyway, even if the daylight was fading, so you were confident you would be fine.

Which you were, until a group of men noticed you from the other side of the street, pointed in your direction and started to catcall you. You ignored them, figuring your grey jeans and black trench coat wouldn't be alluring enough to make them following you. Hopefully, at least.

But when the whistles didn't decrease in volume as you walked, you felt the anxiety creep up your spine. Going through all the strategies you had read about in a flash, you fished your phone out of your pocket and called the first number on your most recently contacted list, praying that he would answer.

After a few excruciating seconds, the call connected and a happy, familiar voice greeted you.

"Hey angel, it's not often yo-"

"Hey babe," you said loudly with forced cheer in your voice. "I just got out of my meeting, sorry it took longer than planned ! I'm on my way home."

"Wait- you- babe !? Uh what's- no wait a minute, are you alright ?"

"Oh no, not really," you answered, still trying to sound cheerful but hoping he'd understand you were actually distressed.

"sh*t," you heard him curse on the other side, his voice turning serious in a way you had never heard before. "Okay, stay with me, what's happening and how can I help ?"

"Ah yes, I thought I'd just walk home, since you're always telling me I should get out more, but the weather's a bit chilly, there's almost no one outside."

"f*ck. You've got someone following you but no one around to help ?"

"Got it in one," you laughed, but your voice was shaking.

"Okay listen to me, angel," he said, his voice steady and calm, a reassuring presence even with the distance. "Find a shop, get inside, ask whoever's at the counter to let you stay for a while and have them call a cab for you, and no matter what happens, stay on the line with me."

You look around you as discreetly as you could, and noticed a bakery that was still open. Relief spread to you and you beelined toward it, keeping up your act at the same time.

"Tell you what, there's this bakery you like, how about I bring back your favourite pastries to make it up to you ?"

You thought you heard a muttered oh thank f*ck on the other side, but the little chime of the bell as you entered the shop drowned it out. A man with pointy star-shaped grey hair smiled warmly at you from behind the counter

"Hello, I'm Hatchan, welcome to- wait miss are you alright ? You're very pale," he said, his smile disappearing behind a concerned expression.

You looked at him, your hand still gripping your phone like a lifeline, and didn't even manage to muster up a smile. "I'm sorry sir, there's this group following me and I needed a place to-"

"Oh my god say no more miss, come here, I'll call you a cab, you can stay here until it arrives," the man said and gestured toward him, while grabbing his own phone at the same time.

"Thank you sir," you said in relief, walking to the counter.

"Hey angel, you still with me ?" you heard on the phone.

"Yeah, I think I'm safe ? I'm inside and the baker is letting me stay behind the counter, he's calling a cab for me."

"Good," he answered. "Listen to me, okay ? You're going to be fine. Everything will be fine. Just listen to my voice, all right ?"

"I can do that," you chuckled weakly.

He then proceeded to talk to you about his day, how his friends had been so mean to him when they had dumped an entire barrel of water on him to shake the last of his hangover off, how he had gotten them back by putting their stuff in jello, and so on.

A few minutes later, the cab called by the baker arrived, and the kind white-haired man even checked the street to make sure your followers had left before you got out of his shop. He then gave you a little bag of sweets, telling you it was on the house despite your protests, that you would need the sugar anyway, and that it didn't make any difference to him.

In the end, you accepted and thanked him for his help before getting into the cab. You put the speaker of your phone off as you gave your address to the driver, and put it back on right after.

"I'll be home soon now, maybe five minutes," you told him. "Thank you for staying with me."

"Don't thank me for that, princess. If you'd sounded any more scared I would've come and rescue you myself."

You huffed a laugh, but still, the words reassured you enough to get back into your usual banter. "Somehow I can't picture you as a knight in shining armour."

"Hey, I could pull off an armour," he protested, but you could hear the smile back in his voice.

"Good thing I can pull off a gown, then."

"Wait, for real ?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I've had to attend a few official events where everyone has to dress up, of course I've worn a gown before. They're not the most comfortable, but I think I look pretty good in them," you admitted. Receiving awards for your books had been – still was – an honour and a source of pride, but the impossibly boring galas they came with as a package deal had never really been your thing. Too much hypocritical schmoozing for your taste.

"Damn, now I really want to know what you look like wearing one. Pretty sure you'd be even more stunning with nothing on, though."

"Keep dreaming, Stranger Danger."

"Hey, after today I deserve an upgrade !" he replied in a pouty voice.

The cab arrived, so you paid the driver and then took the lift to your appartement, too exhausted to use the stairs.

"Actually, I think you're right. I'll think of something new and let you know."

"Well if you need ideas-"

"I'm not taking any suggestions from you," you cut him off immediately, knowing where his mind would inevitably go.

"You're always so mean to me, what did I ever do to deserve such cruelty ?"

Several voices rose up in the background, quickly followed by a shouted shut up lads, no one asked you ! and you chuckled freely, petting Mephisto who had come meowing as soon as you had opened the door.

"I'm home, by the way. And… thank you again."

"Anytime, angel. Really. Even if it's the middle of the night," he answered, his voice a calming balm on your nerves.

With the adrenaline and panic leaving your blood, you found yourself exhausted all of a sudden. "I think I'm going to take a nap," you mumbled after kicking off your shoes and dropping your purse on the floor.

"Sounds like a great plan. Give Mephisto some cuddles for me, will ya ?"

"Will do," you answered with a yawn. "Bye, sunshine."

You fell asleep on the sofa before you could hear the spluttered answer the new nickname had earned.

-o-oOo-o-

The day of the meet and greet and signing session arrived, and while you weren't particularly happy about it, you were somewhat relieved. You had your friends close to you (Cavendish's table was on your right and Bartolomeo's on your left, Saul overseeing you three from behind), security guards around, and Robin making sure you were comfortable (which mostly meant an endless supply of delicious tea).

It had been a week since the Following Incident, and you had changed your mysterious contact from Stranger Danger to Sunshine. When asked about it, you told the man how the first time you had heard him laugh, you had pictured sunshine and freedom, and that he seemed to have a perpetual sunny disposition, hence the new nickname. You left out that by now, you thought of him as a friend.

But you started to give him more little details about your life.

For example, how you weren't one for public social events where you had to meet an ungodly amount of strangers, especially without alcohol or the legal option to tell some of them to f*ck off.

That last one had had your friend laughing himself off for almost a full minute. Still, he had wished you luck, which you gladly accepted. Maybe this time you would really be lucky and there wouldn't be any creep among the people asking for a personal message or a picture.

A girl could dream.

You had at least made an effort to look decent. You were wearing a f/c blouse on a black skirt with a pair of s/c tights and black heeled boots, you had let Cavendish style your hair in something a little more elegant than usual, and you had even put on some light make-up to enhance your looks in a discreet yet efficient way.

It said something about your lack of a lovelife that you put the same effort for a professional event that you would put into a date.

Nonetheless, the doors opened at ten and people started coming in.

An hour later, you were still stifling a laugh at the prim-and-proper mother who had been scandalised to discover her teenage daughter's favourite fantasy author was a punk guy sporting a mohawk. The mother had nearly fainted when Bartolomeo had very happily agreed to do a double middle finger as he posed for a picture with the girl, who seemed to have the time of her life doing the same.

On his side, Cavendish had already told half a dozen women that while he understood why they had fallen for him, he didn't reciprocate their interest at all.

By the time your lunch break had arrived, you had had a few… interesting encounters yourself. A tall blond man who managed to trip on seemingly nothing but air and blushed when you looked him in the eyes, a young and stuttering pink-haired guy who almost spelled his name wrong with how stressed he was, and a man even you knew of as the head of the Marines, Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself. His imposing aura had been a tad diminished when he had embarrassingly asked for three signed copies of your children books series, explaining he wanted to surprise his grandkids.

You laughed about those encounters as you ate, all three of you having received a lunch box prepared by a guy who was apparently a friend of Robin. Said guy turned out to be Zeff's adopted son, whom you remembered meeting when you had interviewed his father. His effusive way of complimenting all women had not diminished a bit since then, and you politely declined his advances.

You had always been into men who were older than you, never younger, you explained with an amused expression. Robin chuckled and readily admitted she was of the same opinion, much to Sanji's heartbreak.

Soon the hour allotted to your lunch ended, and you went back to your table, with pens, books, and polite smile at the ready.

After a few people though, you had a pleasant surprise and your smile turned much more genuine.

"Izou ?" you called, recognising the man who had rescued you at your last meet and greet.

"You remember me ?" the black-haired man exclaimed, seeming just as surprised as you were. A tall man with blue eyes and a tuft of blond hair chuckled on his right, while a man with an impressive pompadour was gaping on his left.

"I wouldn't easily forget a man whose reflexes saved me from being on the receiving end of a taser," you chuckled.

"Holy sh*t Izou, when you said you'd met Y/N, you didn't say she was hot !" the man with the pompadour exclaimed suddenly.

You raised your eyebrows and the blond man went behind Izou's back to smack the man's head. "Sorry about him, miss Y/N, my brothers tend to lose their manners when they meet a pretty girl-yoi. I'm Marco, and this idiot is Thatch," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," you smiled, more amused than anything by their antics. "What can I do for you three ?"

The three men exchanged conspiratory glances, and you immediately suspected a prank of some sort.

"So you see, one of our brothers is a bit of an idiot who's not really into long and complicated stories," Izou started.

"Ace is a hothead with the attention span of a butterfly on crack," Thatch added.

"But he's also the youngest of the family, and when Izou mentioned that you wrote children's mystery books as well…" Marco finished with a lazy smirk, and you couldn't help it, you laughed when you finally understood where they were going with their idea.

"Oh, count me in !" you said with a conspiratorial grin of your own. "Did you already have an idea of which book you wanted to give him and what kind of message you wanted me to write ?"

You spent almost ten minutes chatting with the three men, not noticing how Cavendish and Bartolomeo had tensed when they had come in, nor Saul's protective stance behind you the entire time they spent at your table.

But you did notice how all three of your friends relaxed after the little group left the bookshop in high spirits.

"Is everything okay ?" you asked your friends, concerned.

"Just, uh, didn't know you were in good terms with the Newgate guys, but it's cool, really !" Bartolomeo said with a smile that radiated nervous energy.

"The who ?" you frowned, and turned to Cavendish, whose jaw clenched.

Saul approached you and while his smile was a bit forced, he was still projecting a calm aura. "Just keep in mind that those guys can be dangerous, okay, Y/N ? They're powerful people, not to be crossed, but they seem to like you well enough so don't worry too much about it."

"What are you talking ab- oh sorry, I didn't see it was your turn sir," you said to the next person, finally noticing the man with orange hair and a long nose, who smiled warmly at you and brushed off your apology with a laugh and a quip about his own discretion.

The afternoon continued, with only one person trying to hit on you having to be escorted out – a guy who introduced himself as Bellamy and didn't seem to have read a single book in his life – when a man who looked right out of a mafia movie walked in, and you felt Robin tense as she brought you another cup of tea.

The man was tall, with slicked black hair, a scar marring his face horizontally, and a cigar that he had at least had the decency to extinguish before coming inside the bookshop.

His eyes hold Robin's for a while, and you could feel the tension mounting. Bartolomeo eyed the man before making a deliberately slow gesture with his hands for some reason, Cavendish made to reach something under his table, and Saul came closer.

The security guards seemed to just recoil from the man in fear.

Then he turned his attention on you, and his eyes widened slightly for a second. You hold his gaze, no matter how heavy it felt, before turning your head back to the person who was talking to you, a pink-haired young woman named Rebecca who wanted a signed book for herself and another one for her grandfather.

When you handed her the books with a smile, you glanced again, and the man had apparently joined the line for your table, the tension abating a little.

A few minutes later, two men entered, and you heard Cavendish curse on your right before muttering what the f*ck is going on today ? and gripping his pen to the point where his knuckles were turning white.

On your left, Bartolomeo seemed to be sweating bullets and he kept glancing in the direction of the three men who apparently knew each other and had exchanged greetings in clipped voices.

The glimpse you had seen of the newcomers had revealed one wearing a long black and red-purple coat on black slacks, with equally black hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. The second had grey hair despite looking in his thirties, a light purple coat with blue swirls on it with a black t-shirt and a yellow sash over grey pants. And of course, both of them were also queueing for your table.

Of course.

When it was the turn of the mafia man, you kept your polite smile on, your back straight and your attitude confident and open, only sparing a quick glance to the golden hook replacing his left hand.

You would wonder about it later.

"Miss Y/N," he greeted you in a deep voice. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I must say, the quality of your work is unparalleled."

"Thank you, sir," you answered politely. "I put a lot of effort and research into my books, I'm happy to hear the result is appreciated."

"More than appreciated, my dear, I assure you," he added with a slow eyeing of your face and bust, something that made you uneasy enough to have to repress a shiver. All your instincts were screaming danger, but you fought to keep your smile on nonetheless.

He produced a copy of your second novel, A Jewel in the Sand, and smirked as if an inside joke was going on.

"I would be deligthed if you could sign me this book."

"Of course. To… ?" you waited for him to complete.

His smirk grew a tad wider, and he stared right at you while answering.

"Crocodile"

You blinked, then took it in stride and signed the copy in front of you, deciding that whatever was going on with that man, you were better off not asking any questions. Not while he was in the room, at least. You gave he copy back to him, and made sure to avoid any contact with his hand when he took it.

"Tell me, miss Y/N, are you free this evening ? I would love to treat you to dinner, a mind like yours is the kind of company I enjoy greatly."

You kept a polite smile on your face as you replied. "Thank you for the offer, but I have plans already."

Said plans included Mephisto, a bottle of wine and some culinary contest show you would probably end up falling asleep watching, but he didn't need to know that.

"Then maybe some other time ?"

"Crocodile," a low voice said behind him in a warning tone.

With an annoyed click of the tongue, the man turned and had some sort of staring contest with the black-haired man. Then he huffed, put your book somewhere in his green coat, and left a business card on your table.

"Feel free to call me anytime, miss Y/N," he said and then left the shop, a good part of the tension leaving with him. You exhaled a shaky breath you hadn't noticed you were holding when the door closed behind his silhouette, and you stood up abruptly.

"My apologies, gentlemen, I'm afraid I need a small break, I'll be back in a minute," you excused yourself with a hasty bow, barely waiting for a response before you disappeared in the bathroom.

Once inside, you let yourself slide down with your back to the wall, and tried to get your breathing under control.

In for one, two, three, four, five. Hold for one, two, three, four, five. Out for one, two, three, four, five. Repeat.

You did it a few more times, until you felt you had a grip on yourself once again. Then you got back up, checked your reflection in the mirror to ensure you still looked fine, plastered a serene expression on your face, and left the bathroom.

The line had grown longer in your absence, this time with more women than men, and you felt yourself relax a bit.

You came back to your chair, adressed a quick smile and a nod at your worried friends to let them know you were fine, then took your pen again.

"Sorry for the delay, I was-"

"Don't apologise, miss, ya did nothing wrong," the grey-haired man interrupted you with a hand raised up. You wondered for a second why his voice ticked at your memories, but brushed it aside just as quickly. You had probably heard a vaguely similar voice on the radio or something recently.

"Indeed," the black-haired man approved, his intense golden eyes scrutinizing you. "That man was trying to pressure you. I dare say you handled it better than I expected."

"I hope you will accept my gratitude for your intervention anyway," you offered with a sincere smile, and he nodded gracefully. "Now, what can I do for you, gentlemen ?"

"I would like a signed copy of The Ghost Bride, for Perona," the black-haired man said in a tone that you would almost describe as suffering. You wondered if this Perona had forced him to get it for her, and bit your lips to avoid a chuckle. "As well as a signed copy of Steel and Stones, for myself. My name is Dracule Mihawk."

You were reaching to get the two books when the second name made you freeze. You finished your gesture, a light frown on your face. Both men seemed to notice your reaction, and you made a vague gesture of the hand to dismiss your trouble.

"Please excuse me, I just… it's not a very common name," you answered lamely, not wanting to admit it reminded you of your mysterious friend and the person he had tried to call on that fateful night a few weeks ago.

No chance in hell the man in front of you was the Mihawk your sunshine friend called Mimi during his drunken rants, though. You couldn't picture anyone calling this stern-looking, vampire-like, scarily-intense man something as childish as Mimi. It was a simple coincidence, nothing more.

Plus, you weren't stupid enough to ask him something like Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a friend who gets drunk at least three times a week, calls you Mimi and knows a frankly concerning amount of ways to kill someone with a sword ?

You signed the two books quickly, then turned to the other man. "And for you, sir ?" you smiled.

"I was told you also wrote books for kids, with mysteries adapted to their age, is it true ?" he asked, a bored expression on his face but a spark of playful pettiness in his eyes.

"It is," you answered honestly. "Every book addressed to children contains several short stories, between four and six depending on the book."

"Then can I have one with four stories, signed and with a personal message for Shanks ? Somethin' along the line of finally findin' a worthy challenge for his intellect."

You could have sworn you saw the man named Mihawk smirk for a fraction of a second, but beside you, both Bartolomeo and Cavendish suddenly seemed to choke on air and went into matching coughing fits.

"Sure, no problem," you answered, and grabbed a copy of the second children mystery stories you had published. "I'm assuming this Shanks is a friend of yours and you're aiming for a prank ?"

The grey-haired man smiled widely at you. "Damn right, miss."

You chuckled, wrote a quick teasing message on the first page, signed it, and gave the copy back to the man.

"Actually… would you mind takin' a picture with me ?" he added as he put the book away somewhere in his coat.

Your eyebrows rose and the man explained further. "He didn't want to come with Hawkeyes, that's Mihawk there, because popular authors are always ugly old men," he quoted. "So if I come back with a picture of a stunnin' gal like you…"

"He'll be even more frustrated that you got this opportunity and he didn't," you completed with a laugh, feeling flattered by the compliment. "I'm in, do you want a selfie or a picture taken by someone else ?"

"Allow me," Mihawk said, and the grey-haired man gave him his phone as he bent over your table to get closer to you. You smiled brightly, one forearm on the table, the other hand holding a pen next to your cheek as you pushed yourself a bit closer to him.

"There," Mihawk said. His friend took one look at the result and grinned.

"Perfect. Thank you miss, have a nice day."

"You as well," you chuckled.

Once they were out of the shop, both Saul, Cavendish and Bartolomeo seemed to finally relax completely. You wondered for a second what had been up with them all day, but kept going with your autographs, pictures and discussions.

A few minutes before the end though, when only you still had people lining up – the perk and curse of writing stories so many people seemed to enjoy – a woman with long black hair, gold snake earrings, and the most revealing clothes you had ever seen outside of a magazine walked in with the imperious attitude of a Karen demanding to see the manager.

Saul gaped, Bartolomeo walked into a wall on his way to the bathroom, and Cavendish let his head fall on his table with a muttered you've got to be kidding me.

By the time it was her turn, the woman looked at you in a way that was both extremely haughty and somewhat respectful. You had no idea how she could pull it off, but she did.

"I want a copy of all your books. For me. And have it delivered to Amazon Lily Estate."

You blinked, a bit amazed at her beauty, but then caught on with her words.

"I'm afraid I'm not the one responsible for deliveries, nor do I know your name, miss… ?"

Her eyes went wide, as if she had never not been recognised before. Yet somehow it seemed to cause a complete revirement of her attitude and she smiled warmly at you.

"Boa Hanco*ck."

You nodded, trying to ignore how her smile made her give off a sparkling effect you were certain – up until then at least – couldn't happen in real life.

"Miss Hanco*ck, I'll be happy to sign any copy of my books, but when you say all of them, do you mean all my adult series, all my children series, or both ?"

"You have written children stories !?" she exclaimed, looking immensely pleased for some reason.

"Yes, I adapted the mystery genre so it would be more kid-friendly in the substance, but still appealed to their observation and deduction abilities," you explained with a smile of your own.

"That's simply wonderful ! I must have them too, have them signed and delivered as well ! How refreshing to see what women can achieve without pitiful men to hinder them !"

You blinked a couple times, taken aback by her sudden outburst against men. "Erm, I… I suppose ?"

"I have to go, but here, take this," she said and got a business card out of her décolleté. "I'm sure we'll get in contact soon. Goodbye !"

And she left like a swirling hurricane, leaving everyone in her passage starry-eyed and yourself very confused. You turned to Saul, who was blushing behind you, and just coughed awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, you just sign the books for her, I'll have them delivered."

"Right," you said, then sighed and proceeded to get a copy of every single one of the books you had published so far in order to sign them properly.

"Looks like she was the last one," Robin noticed as you finished, a few minutes later.

"Thank the spirits," you muttered. "My wrist was starting to hurt."

"Thank you all for coming today," Saul said brightly. "I know it took a lot of energy and patience out of you three, but it's important to keep doing these events. Look how happy people were to meet you !"

You turned to stare blankly at your editor, until he started to fiddle uneasily with his thumbs. "Well, aside from the, uh, unusual characters who popped up, that is."

You sighed loudly. "I'm going home and sleeping for a week. If anyone tries to contact me before that, keep in mind that I know more than a few methods to make a body disappear."

"Does that apply to your phone boyfriend or- OUCH !"

The pen you had sent flying toward your friend's head fell on the ground after hitting its mark, and you sent Bartolomeo a sickly-sweet smile. "You were saying ?"

"Enjoy your time off with your cuddling demon my dearest friend !" the green-haired idiot declared, then grabbed his boyfriend by the sleeve and ran off.

"Would you like a ride home ?" Saul offered, wisely ignoring your best friend's remark.

"If you're offering," you answered, then yawned, and your editor chuckled along with his goddaughter.

Chapter 3: New information

Chapter Text

By the time you were home, you felt exhausted. Still, you took the time to send a single text to Sunshine that evening, something quick that you figured was a good summary of your day.

Y/N

People are weird and I'm tired

-o-oOo-o-

The next morning, you woke up to your cat's tail on your face and a few unread texts.

Sunshine

Awww do you want to come rest in my bed ?

Or I could come in yours

;)

Just rest, sweetheart

I miss your voiceeeeeee

The others are mean to me again !

Even Mimi was mean

They said I was dumb

Well more like implied

But it was mean !

You shook your head fondly. Your Sunshine was an adorable idiot. Then you sobered up from your sleepy state and scratched the thought immediately. Not going there. Nope. Never. Sunshine was a drunken call turned cautious friend who also happened to drink his weigh in alcohol on a weekly basis and was enough of a Casanova to have probably slept through a third of Grand Line City by now.

Silly distanced friendship was good.

You answered nonetheless.

Y/N

I will not partake in this debate

O:)

The next three days were spent lazily, enjoying the calm of your appartment, your cat, good food and the occasional glass of wine – damn it, Sunshine was a bad influence on you – until Wednesday afternoon, when Bartolomeo and Cavendish came knocking at your door.

They immediately put a bag full of your favourite sweets in your arms and you let them in with a glare.

"Okay, spill," you said once everyone was comfortably seated in your living room with a hot chocolate and the sweets were displayed on plates on the coffee table. "What have you done ?"

The couple exchanged a glance, Bartolomeo grimaced, Cavendish started playing with his hair nervously, and you were about to tell them to get the f*ck on with it when Cavendish caved.

"Fine ! Fine. It's just… a lot. To take in. For you."

"I plot five-star reviews mystery novels for a living, I think I can handle whatever it is you're starting to freak me out about," you retorted.

"Grand Line City's divided among Marines and Emperors who are criminals and Warlords who are criminals too but approved by the Marines and all those have their own territories and crews and you're possibly in danger but it's not sure because a lot of all these people are interested in you !" Bartolomeo blurted.

Cavendish punched his boyfriend's arm and started screaming about tact, to which Bartolomeo replied in kind about being nervous, and after five minutes, they noticed you had not moved at all, or even said anything, your face entirely blank.

Bartolomeo gulped.

Cavendish watched you nervously.

You blinked.

"Also there are devil fruits that can give you powers but then you can't swim anymore and I ate the Bari Bari no Mi so I can create barriers and Cavendish is a swordsman and Saul used to be a Vice Admiral in the Marines but he resigned to protect his goddaughter," Barto added very quickly.

You blinked again.

"Show her, dumbass."

Your green-haired friend gulped, looked at you like you were going to be mad at him, then recreated the same movement with his hands that he had done at the meet and greet. This time however, a glowing green barrier appeared in the middle of your living room, scaring the hell out of Mephisto who ran away in the direction of your bedroom.

Your eyes went wide, but all you could manage after your best friend of almost ten years took down the green translucid wall was a single, deadpan, and heartfelt what the f*ck.

When they opened their mouths, you raised a hand to silence both of your friends. You stood up, brought back a bottle of rum, poured a generous amount in your hot chocolate, emptied your cup in one go, then poured more rum in your now empty mug, sat back again, stared at your friends, and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Okay, that's fine, I've got it. My best friend can create barriers from nothing, my other best friend can fight with a sword, my editor used to be a high-ranked Marine. Magic powers exist and you gain them by eating a devil fruit but then you lose the ability to swim. This city is divided in territories ruled by either Marines, Marine-sanctioned criminals or outright criminals, and somehow I'm screwed because…" you stopped there, unsure of what should follow.

Cavendish fidgeted on his seat.

"You're taking it really well, you know."

"Oh I'll have an existential crisis about it later, don't worry," you said flippantly. "Now can you please go back to the part where I'm in danger and why ?"

"Wait, let me get some pen and paper !" Barto said and scrambled to the nearest blocknote and pen among the ones scattered everywhere in your appartment.

Then he wrote EMPERORS/YONKOS on one piece of paper, WARLORDS/SHISHIBUKAIS on another, MARINES on a third, and put all of them on the coffee table.

"How surprising," Cavendish noted. "An idea of yours that isn't entirely stupid. I'm impressed, babe."

"Hehe thanks hon- wait what did you just say !?"

"Now let's get into the Who's Who of all this," Cavendish continued. "And more importantly, which ones could be a problem for you or put you in danger."

You took another deep breath, another gulp of rum, and nodded.

"Lay it on me."

-o-oOo-o-

About an hour later, you were starting to have a good grasp of the situation. And from what you understood of it, you better lay low for a while and hope everyone would quickly forget about you.

Having the Fleet Admiral and other varily ranked Marines as fans of your books was pretty good. You wouldn't be targetted for something so fiddle as being an author they liked, but they wouldn't give you any trouble. So you were in the clear on the Marines' side.

Things were more complicated with the Shishibukais, or Warlords. There were apparently seven of them, three of which had been there in person at the meet and greet.

Boa Hanco*ck despised men but was mostly focused on her people, women and young girls she protected with her title. As a successful woman yourself, she would be bound to appreciate you as long as you didn't try to compete with her authority. The worst she was likely to do, according to Bartolomeo, would be to invite you to Amazon Lily for other fan-meeting sessions. So nothing too bad on that side, as long as she didn't use her devil fruit who could turn people attracted to her into stone against you. You had still needed a gulp of rum to recover from that last little detail.

Dracule Mihawk, better known as Hawkeyes, was considered the World's Greatest Swordsman, but tended to keep to himself and focus on his skill. Since he apparently liked your books, Cavendish believed you had nothing to fear from him as long as you didn't oppose or offend him. Which you didn't plan to do.

Crocodile, on the other hand, was a much more serious matter. Not only was he a successful businessman at the head of the Rain Dinners casino chain, he was also running an organisation not unlike mafia and dabbled in various sorts of shady trades. Both of your friends were adamant that you should not, under any circomstances, get close to him.

"He'll either try to f*ck you, use you, kill you or all three and I don't want you to die !" Bartolomeo explained with tears in his eyes.

"He's also a powerful devil fruit user," Cavendish grumbled. "Suna Suna no Mi, a Logia type, he's made of and can manipulate sand."

In your slightly hysteric and partially inebriated brain, you suddenly got the inside joke the mafia man seemed to have made when he asked for a signed copy of your desert-themed novel.

"Plus he's always competing with Donquixote Doflamingo, and you do NOT want that particular devil to have his eye on you. Never," Cavendish added, almost paling at the mention of the man. "He's even worse than Crocodile. He's a psychopath that relishes in chaos and manipulation. If you ever meet him, get the hell away as fast as you can."

You weren't sure what this Doflamingo had done, but you had no intention to dig deeper about a man who had your friends so close to shiver in fear.

"Okay, so Hanco*ck and Hawkeyes are clear for me to speak to if the occasion arises, but I need to be careful not to piss them off," you started to sum up. "Crocodile and Doflamingo, I avoid like the plague. The other three ?"

Barto swallowed his slice of brownie, and shrugged. "Jinbei's supposed to be a pretty chill guy, the honourable kind from what I've heard. I don't think he'll bother you, that's not his style."

Cavendish nodded in agreement. "Kuma is the same, maybe a little rougher when he uses his devil fruit, but if you don't get in his way and the Marines don't give him an order to take you out, you've got nothing to fear. And since the Marines have nothing against you, upstanding citizen that you are, you're good."

"Thank f*ck for small mercies," you muttered, petting Mephisto who had come back after his fright and was now rolled in his favourite plaid.

"That leaves Moria, who's… errr… a kind of Doctor Frankenstein ?" Barto said while picking his nose. "He's a devil fruit user too, something about shadows or ghosts, I think. But he doesn't give a sh*t about anything that hasn't got to do with freaky science experiments, and since that's not your brand, he probably doesn't even know you exist."

So that only left two men to truly avoid, only one of them potentially interested in you. Hopefully not enough to actively pursue you.

"Okay, so those three are pretty much neutral territory for me," you summed up, and your friends looked at each other in a silent conversation before nodding to you.

That left the Emperors, or Yonkos.

You took another gulp of your spiked hot chocolate – Cavendish had been gracious enough to make you another one so you wouldn't only drink rum for the rest of the afternoon and evening – and looked at the makeshift map your coffee table was now displaying.

Grand Line City was divided in four official areas : North Blue (where you lived), East Blue (the closest to where you lived), South Blue, and West Blue. But it was also divided in much less official concentric circles.

The Holy Lands right at the center, where no one but a social, economical and political elite lived and called themselves the Celestial Dragons (which sounded both stupid and pretentious to you). Then, a sort of buffer area where both Marines and Shishibukais shared power and influence. Then, the last and biggest circle was everything outside of the buffer zone, where apparently each of the Blues were under a different Emperor's rule.

South Blue to Kaido, which your friends had described as an ungodly psychopath who would kill you for no reason and forgot about it the next minute, someone who only dealt in shadowy and morally compromised stuff.

West Blue to Big Mom, a woman who had more than eighty children – you had spat your drink at the number – that she used to forge alliances through marriages. She was rumoured to be as gluttonous as she was strong, and vicious when she wanted something.

North Blue to Whitebeard, also known as Edward Newgate, the Strongest Man on Earth, who had a large family of adopted sons. He was absurdly powerful, but much more reasonnable than the other two, although he was said to never forgive someone who had hurt his family. You had spat your drink again when Barto told you that the three men at the meet and greet, Izou, Marco, and Thatch, were division commanders. Which meant they were among the most powerful members of Whitebeard's crew.

East Blue to Akagami no Shanks, who had the reputation to care for… nothing that wasn't booze and sex, but could become more dangerous than all of Hell's armies combined in a heartbeat if he wanted to. You felt close to fainting when you realised you had written a teasing note about his intelligence, but your friends assured you that since it was one of his men who had asked for it, he was unlikely to hold it against you.

"So, two of the Emperors don't know I exist or don't care about me, one knows I exist but is unlikely to even read the children book he received as a prank, and the one whose area I live close to… I'm on pretty good terms with a few of his sons ?" you asked, the rum making thoughts more complicated to process.

"Sounds about right, yeah," Bartolomeo said, then made big puppy pleading eyes at you. "We didn't want to put your wonderful being in danger and say anything, but with all the people coming to see you the other day we were so scared something would happen to you !"

Cavendish said nothing, but was uneasy enough to adopt one of his Prince Charming model poses and keep it.

You sighed loudly, roamed both your hands on your face then through your hair, and let yourself fall against the sofa.

"Can you two just… leave me alone for a while ?"

"Yeah, yeah of course. We're not worthy of your presence anyway," Bartolomeo sniffed sadly and got up, Cavendish following him without a word.

As they got to the door, you called to them from the living room.

"We'll be okay, I promise. I just need time."

"We're not going anywhere, Y/N," Cavendish replied, then amended awkwardly. "Well, figuratively, I mean."

You huffed something that might be called a laugh if one was feeling generous, and didn't move until you heard the click of the door. Then you turned your head to your cat, who was grooming his black fur without a care in the world.

"What the absolute f*ck, Mephisto."

You looked at the coffee table, all the notes dispatched with names and titles and places, the remains of the snacks and the three mugs, yours the only one not entirely empty, and the now two-thirds down bottle of rum. You took one more gulp, grimaced at the – now cold – spiked hot chocolate, and grabbed your phone.

A thread of unread texts from Sunshine greeted you.

Sunshine

Does it count as cheating if I'm reading someone else's book when you won't tell me what you write aside from murder scenes ?

Cause well, this one's pretty good

Pretty fun too

You've probably read it though

Or maybe not

Do writers read stuff from other writers ?

Wait that's a stupid question

Of course you read other books than yours

Do you even read your own books ?

Does that count as mind masturbation or something ?

You chuckled. The way this man's mind worked would forever amuse you. For some reason though, seeing those texts in your current wreck of an emotional state almost made you cry, and you felt a sudden need to hear his voice.

You tapped on the call button before you could think your decision through, and downed the last of your cold rum-chocolate as it started ringing.

"Hey angel !" came the happy, carefree greeting.

And that was enough for the tears to start rolling down your face.

"Hey sunshine," you said weakly, then felt a sob escape you.

"So does it count as- wait are you crying ?"

"Kinda ?" you chuckled pitifully while wiping your cheeks with the sleeves of your shirt.

"Do I need to kill someone ?"

"What !?" you exclaimed, the shock of the answer enough to startle you out of your sad mood. "No ! Why would you even say that ?" you replied while sitting straight on your sofa.

"Princess, as far as I'm concerned, whoever makes you cry deserves to die," he said in a tone that was weirdly nonchalant.

"I'm a bit concerned about myself for finding that more sweet than creepy," you said, frowning at the bottle. Then you decided that f*ck it, if there was one occasion to get drunk, it was having your world turned upside down. "But that might be the rum speaking."

"I'll be damned, you started drinking earlier than me. Can't have that."

In the background, you heard him shout to someone to bring him something to drink. You snorted, then waited for him to be back with you to speak your mind.

"How come you're always asking other people to bring you stuff instead of going yourself ? You can't be so clumsy that no one allows you to do anything on your own."

"Hey, what's the point of being in charge if you can't have other people doing the work for you ?" he replied, and you could hear the smug grin in his voice. "But don't turn this on me, sweetheart, what's got you all sad and crying ? If it's your boyfriend breaking up with you, my offer still stands, you know."

"Oh f*ck you," you protested weakly, going on a little rant without thinking. "You know I'm single and the only men I've talked to in the past two years outside of meet and greet sessions are either my very gay best friends, my very I'm-not-attracted-to-him editor, my very non-human cat and you."

"For the record, I wasn't entirely sure you were single, you sound way too pretty for no one to have snatched you up already," he retorted, sounding pleased by the news. He then obviously took a big gulp of whatever drink his friend had brought him. "So what's the big deal ?"

You opened your mouth, closed it, and wondered how in the nine circles of hell you were going to explain what you'd just learned. If he didn't know about the fruits, emperors, and warlords stuff, he was going to think you were crazy. Or well, crazier than someone staying up all night writing about the best way to cook a body to make it disappear and avoid justice. You sighed, poured some more rum in your mug, and opted for another angle.

"My best friends stopped by today. Turns out there are a lot more things going on than what I was aware of, and they hid it from me for the entire time we've known each other."

"That sucks," sunshine answered bluntly.

"And now I'm sad and mad at them and mad at me because I think I understand why they never told me, I mean, I get they wanted to protect me or at least keep me away from dangerous stuff because I can be stupidly curious sometimes and forget about things like self-preservation, but still !" you ranted, and started pacing in your living room, your phone in one hand and your mug in the other, feeling the anger rise now that the shock and sadness were mostly gone.

"Now just because some hotshots have shown up to get a signed copy of my books, suddenly they dump all of this on me, and I feel like a stupid, oblivious idiot for never noticing ! Except that now that I have, I also have to accept things like magic fruits are real and guys who rule most of Grand Line City are f*cking criminals and 'oh actually some of them might be interested in you for some spirit-forsaken reason so try not to do anything to interest them further, okay girl ?' Ugh ! It's not like I even want to meddle with Warlords and Emperors and what else, for f*ck's sake, all I want is to write my stories in peace !"

You paused for a second, took a gulp, a breath, realised what you just said out loud, and cursed. "sh*t. I didn't mean to dump all this on you too. f*ck, I'm sorry, just forget I said anyth-"

"You didn't know about the real power balance of Grand Line City until today ?" Sunshine asked, sounding astounded.

"Wait, you did !?" you exclaimed. "Am I the only one in this whole city who didn't know !?"

"Uh, no, I think most people don't. But I thought you did. Wow. sh*t, I'm gonna need stronger stuff than that," your friend said, and you could picture him waving to one of his friends.

"Yeah, that was my first thought too when they explained everything to me and I had only prepared hot chocolate. Warm cozy stuff isn't enough to deal with that level of what the f*ck."

"Can't and won't disagree with you on that one, sweetheart."

"Please, you don't disagree with anything if it means you get to drink to it," you snorted.

"Okay, that was just plain rude."

"Am I wrong though ?"

"Not the point."

You chuckled, then took another swing of your rum.

"I just… I'm just confused. And a bit lost. My world just became a lot scarier than it used to be and I'm not sure how to deal with it," you admitted softly.

"Well you could learn how to fight. I'd be happy to teach you some hand-to-hand techniques, if you want," Sunshine offered flirtatiously, and you rolled your eyes.

"I'll think about it the day your mind gets out of the gutter."

"For real though, learning a little about self-defense is a good start. I guess you've got no Haki training either ?"

"I've got no what now ?"

You could hear the silence stretching between you through the phone despite your inebriated state.

"Ah," Sunshine awkwardly said after a while. "Your friends probably forgot to tell you about Haki."

You inhaled deeply, then exhaled deeply. Then did it again. Then gave a few pets to Mephisto. Then gulped down the rest of your mug.

"Are you telling me," you started in a dangerously calm voice, "that there is more than devil fruits who give magic powers but take away the ability to swim, more than Marines choosing seven criminals to serve as buffer in exchange for legal immunity, and more than four stupidly overpowered people ruling the biggest parts of the city I've lived my whole life in ?"

"Depends, are you going to get mad at me if I say yes ?"

"Give me a minute, I need to scream."

Without waiting for an answer, you took the nearest cushion available and screamed incoherently into it for a dozen seconds.

"Okay, I'm back," you said after picking up your phone, ignoring Mephisto's judgemental look and the laugh of your friend on the line. "So what's this Haki thing ?"

"Well basically there are three types, Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and Conqueror Haki. Don't bother with the third one, you've got to be born with it and it doesn't concern a lot of people. The other two do pretty much what their names imply."

You blinked, then started chuckling, until it evolved into a full belly laugh that took you by surprise and left you with tears in your eyes. Once you regained your bearing and were no longer struggling to stand on your feet, you went back to sit on the ground near the coffee table, and poured the rest of the bottle into your mug.

"You're lucky I like your voice, because you suck at explaining things."

"Hey ! I don't- wait, you like my voice ?" the protest quickly turned into surprise and then smugness.

"Wouldn't have answered your second call if I didn't, sunshine," you smiled and took another sip, ignoring how your brain-to-mouth filter had seemingly disappeared. That would be a problem for future you.

"Well, ain't that interesting news, sweetheart," he purred and you felt a shiver run down your spine.

"Don't let it go to your head, your ego's big enough as it is," you retorted, trying to hide how flustered you felt.

"Hm, I could always use more compliments from my favourite gal."

"That's not very subtle, mister Casanova," you chuckled.

"Come on, please ?" he asked.

You sighed, but it was more fondness than exasperation. You let your voice get a little lower and a little softer, with the slight slurr due to the alcohol adding a more heated component. You could play the seductive game too.

"I love the way you laugh when something funny happens but you weren't expecting it. It's wild and free and untamable, and it matches your personality better than anything else. I adore all your stupid questions and how creative they are, they always put a smile on my face no matter how upset I can be. Also, the way your voice changes when you get all serious is both the calmest thing and really hot, it's like a commanding presence I can feel from miles away, and I know everything will be fine as long as you're the one saying so."

You stopped there, and heard a defined gulp followed by a heavy breath on the other side of the line.

"Damn, angel," he eventually said with a breathless chuckle, "didn't know anyone could make romantic stuff sound so hot."

"Hey, you're the one who said I could be a serial killer and get away with it if I talked to you like that," you giggled.

"And I stand by it. f*ck, d'you think you could say something a little sexier for me with that voice ?"

"Why would you wan-wait," you cut yourself off, your rum-fogged mind slowly putting two and two together. "Are you… Are you asking me that so you can jerk off to my voice ?"

"Does that really surprise you ?" he asked in a roguish, challenging way.

"Coming from you, not really," you replied. "But I'm pretty sure drunk phone sex is a bad idea."

"Now who's saying that they like my voice enough to jerk off to it, hmm ?"

You blushed a deep red, realising too late you had played right into his hand. Curse you for forgetting how smooth that man could be. Still, the thought made you bite your lips. It would be a really, really stupid thing to do.

But at the same time… it wasn't like you were taking too many risks, right ? And you would be able to blame it on the alcohol tomorrow morning. You could also try to be somewhat responsible and only talk to him without doing anything to yourself. Yeah, that sounded like a good, reasonable idea.

"Angel ? You still with me ?" Sunshine asked, and you realised you had stayed silent for too long.

Oh well, go big or go home after all, and you were already home. You focused on keeping your voice low, fighting the alcohol-induced slurr just enough to keep it balanced between understandable and sultry.

"Do you have anything… specific, you want to hear me say ?"

You heard a sharp breath on the other side, immediately followed by a curse and a few noises, until a sound that seemed to indicate your mysterious stranger had let himself fall on a bed. "f*ck, anything, just keep talking baby," was his breathless answer, and you assumed he had put you on speaker.

"Hmm, I could get used to be called baby," you purred. "Actually, I think I could get used to a lot of things with you…"

"Yeah ? Like what, baby ?" he challenged you, and a muffled sound in the background let you know he was either already stroking his dick or at the very least palming himself through his clothes.

"Like seeing you come undone under me, all hot and breathless from a little teasing. And something tells me you would just love to see me riding your dick until I can't move anymore, until even my arms are shaking on your chest, until I have to beg you to help me keep going, because you just feel that good inside me," you described, getting a little breathless and flustered yourself as your mind started to paint a vivid picture of the scene.

"Oh fuuuuuck… yeah baby, f*ck you'd look just perfect on my co*ck, I just know it," he replied, the harsh breaths intensifying.

"Hmm, I have no doubt about that… I bet you're a really vocal one in bed, aren't you, babe ? The kind that talks and groans and won't shut up unless his mouth is put to better use," you teased him, resisting the urge to put your free hand in your sweatpants as warmth started to pool low in your belly. You reminded yourself that this fantasy you were depicting was for him to get off, not you.

"But even if I think you would look absolutely sinful between my legs – and I know you would put that flirty tongue of yours to good use down there – " you purred the words then smirked as he groaned a vaguely approbative answer, "I would love even more to have you mark me all over, until you've given me so many hickeys and love bites that no one could ever doubt who I belong to, would you like that, baby ?"

You heard a moan and a garbled mix of yes, f*ck, mine, sh*t through the phone, and you kept going, raspy voice kept low and a little breathless.

"And when I get so tired and lost in pleasure that nothing can keep me up anymore, I think you'd love to put out of me. You know, just so you can hear me whine and beg you to put your hard dick back in my puss*. But then you wouldn't be able to resist it either, would you ?" you smirked, knowing thanks to the harsh pants and slick skin on skin noises that he very much enjoyed the scene you were depicting in this sultry voice he liked so much.

"And that's when you would move me around like a pretty little doll, until you have me pressed against you, my back on your chest, and you can thrust your co*ck back into me as hard as you want, while all I can do is take everything you give me."

You listened carefully to his increasingly shortening breaths, to the litany of curses and moans and praises, guessing that he was probably getting close to his climax by now.

"And when I think I can't take it anymore, when I already know you have ruined me for anyone else, that's when you start playing with my cl*t. And you have me screaming your name when I cum around your dick, my puss* clenching you and sucking you in. But you know I can take a little more, just a little more stimulation so you can keep pounding in me while I'm cumming for you, so you can get your own org*sm, and you're so close, aren't you ?"

"Yeah, yeah f*ck baby I'm going to-"

"Cum in me, sunshine," you moaned breathlessly in your phone, and were rewarded by a very loud curse and a deep groan on the other side.

You gulped, then took a large sip of rum to soothe your parched throat, before putting your mug on the coffee table and fanning your face with your hand. You were both attempting to will your deafening heartbeat into a slower rythm, trying to keep your arousal under some sort of control, and wondering when it had become so hot in your appartment.

"f*ck angel, that was something," his raspy voice laughed after a minute.

"Hmm, sounded like it, sunshine," you replied in your normal voice, and soon followed with a yawn. "Guess I'm a little tired though, I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Aww, you're not up for another round ?" he pouted, and you chuckled.

"You know I'm going to blame the alcohol tomorrow and pretend it never happened, right ?"

"You regret it ?" Sunshine asked, and the sudden concern in his voice sobered you faster than a cold shower.

"I'm… not sure," you answered truthfully. "You're important to me and I'd rather not just be another one-night-stand you ditch after the sex, I guess."

"Princess, when all I want is sex, I don't keep talking to a girl I've never met for weeks, ya know ?" he told you in a fond yet amused voice. "This is just a bonus. A very nice bonus. A bonus I'm totally down to get again, actually. Like, anytime."

You giggled, reassured that things didn't seem to change too much despite what had just happened.

"Don't count on it, I'm confident I'll be mortified when I wake up."

"Well that's a shame," Sunshine sighed. "Guess I'll have to find a way to get that side of you again at some point."

"You're insufferable, you know that ?"

"One of my many qualities," he replied cheerfully.

"If you consider that a quality, I'm scared to ask about your flaws."

"What flaws ?"

"Oh my god."

"Hmm, guess you could call me that too."

You blinked at your phone, wondering if he had truly just said that with the amount of confidence you had just heard.

"Okay, I think I've reached my quota of you for one day, I'm going to bed before you make me want to bash my head in the nearest wall."

"Oh come on, that was funny and you know it !"

"Good night, sunshine," you deadpanned and ended the call.

You looked at the time, at the rum left in your mug, and downed it before putting the mug back on the coffee table. Your appartment was a bit more blurry and moving than you were used to, especially in the dark, but you were fairly sure turning any light on would blind you and prove to be a counterproductive action.

Thinking about future you and what she would have to deal with, you decided to soften the blow by gulping a large glass of water, brushing your teeth and taking a quick shower before heading up to bed.

A single text was waiting for you as you got into bed, and you opened it quickly.

Sunshine

Sweet dreams, princess

You fell asleep with a smile on your lips.

Chapter 4: First meeting

Chapter Text

Whoever had invented the very concept of morning deserved, in your humble opinion, to go f*ck themselves with a rusted baseball bat covered in equally rusted barbed wire.

Your head was pounding, and your only saving grace was the darkness of your room. Along with, maybe, the relatively clean state of your body.

Still, it took a solid hour and about five glasses of magic potion – damn Barto and Cav for putting the term in your head – before you started feeling human again. And by then you remembered what had transpired the previous night.

You briefly considered throwing away your phone and never make another call in your life ever again.

It was a very tempting option.

But then all the devil fruits, Haki, Warlords, and Emperors stuff came back as well and you realised you had bigger problems than shameless drunk phone sex with a friend you had never even met.

A flurry of texts sent throughough the day seemed to confirm that Sunshine didn't have any regret at all, and was only concerned whether you did. Once he realised you did not, he was more than happy to suggest another round, going as far as offering to repay the favour by doing all the work this time.

You were pretty confident to have never blushed as red as you did when you read some of his suggestions. You had to threaten to permanently block his number if he didn't calm down with the sexting to get him to go back to more casual flirting.

At that point, you even considered asking him if he had eaten a devil fruit making him perpetually horny, but figured you were better off not knowing the answer.

Instead, you focused on cleaning up the mess from the day before, then cuddle with Mephisto. Said cat seemed pretty content with the program.

At some point, you sent a message in the group chat you had with Barto and Cav, to let them know you were feeling better, that you still loved them very much, and that you would like them to teach you the basics of self-defense. Sunshine was right to suggest it, after all, it would be better for you to at least know a few ways to protect yourself should the need arise.

And truly, it wouldn't even reach the top three of weird and random things you had learned along the years for research purpose. Most people didn't believe a writer would actually bother to learn lockpicking and pole dance routines in order to adequately describe those in their books.

To be fair, maybe most writers didn't, but hey, you weren't a universally acclaimed best-seller author for nothing.

-o-oOo-o-

Winter came, and with it, Christmas frenzy.

You considered yourself lucky to only have two friends to shop for, and no family aside from your cat who would be happy to receive a few new toys to play with.

Perks of being orphaned by the time you turned two years old, you usually joked when someone started to look at you with pity in their eyes.

Saul only asked for a batch of your special Christmas cookies every year and you were happy to oblige him, so truly, it was only a matter of finding presents for Barto and Cav. The latter was actually pretty easy to please, any kind of gift card for a spa trip had him over the moon. So unless you had a better idea flashing through your mind at some point during the year, you usually went for that, knowing he would both appreciate and use it. Barto, on the other side, could be a little more complicated.

Thankfully, you had managed to find through Robin someone specialising in rare comic books, and after some sneaky snooping in your green-haired friend's collection, you had found a few titles he didn't have but was looking for.

And that was how you found yourself, an early evening of mid-December, well into Whitebeard's territory where cabs were apparently reticent to come, with the sun having set a while ago, walking your way home alone, with a purse big enough to carry the carefully packaged comic books you had bought from an individual who insisted you were not to exchange anything other than money and comics, especially not names.

Not. Sketchy. At all.

Truly, the things you would do for your friends.

Still, you were a little uneasy in this situation despite your self-defense lessons going pretty well (turned out having tried different sports all your life and kept a half-decent routine of yoga helped a lot). And so, you decided that it wouldn't hurt to add a little more safety by being on the phone with someone else as you walked.

And if you chose a number that wasn't either of your best friends, it had nothing to do with your rapidly increasing heartbeat or your desire to hear a certain voice at all.

Nope.

Not one bit.

"Hey sweetheart," you were greeted with the usual cheer.

"Hey sunshine," you replied in kind. "Any chance you're free to stay on the line with me for a while ?"

"For you ? I'd keep the call going for the rest of eternity," he replied smoothly, and you rolled your eyes while telling yourself the pink hue on your cheeks was only a by-product of the cold.

"Your pick-up lines are becoming less horny and more corny these days," you teased him. "Are you getting soft in your old age ?"

He spluttered indignantly at the innuendo and you laughed freely, forgetting where you were for an instant.

"You're a menace and I'll have you know I'm not even forty !"

"Thank you for the compliment and I'll have you know that I'm not even thirty." You replied cheekily, stocking away the little bit of information he had just given you about his age, and how it seemed to suit your personal preference in men.

Not that you planned to tell him, of course, not when you still heard about his many conquests all the time. But you weren't made of stone, and with every day that passed, you felt your defenses crumbling bit by bit under this man's relentless cheer, humour and flirting.

"That so, princess ?" he hummed in response, sounding contemplative and more than a little pleased.

"Mh-hm," you confirmed, trying not to get your hopes up.

In the background, you heard someone yell get a room and you chuckled. "Tell everyone I say hi ?" you asked, and while your sunshine grumbled, you heard him relay your message, quickly followed by a chorus of hi angel being screamed along with laughter and a few whistles.

"So, aside from being awfully mean to me for no reason whatsoever, why do you need me to keep the call going on this fine evening ?" he asked lightly, and you could almost see his carefree smile and the beer in his hand.

"Well…" you started, trying not to sound guilty. "I may or may not have done something that could possibly be considered a little stupid by reasonable standards."

"What do you mean ?"

"You see, I needed a special kind of gift for one of my friends, and the only place to get it was a slightly shadowy guy's house deep into Yonko territory and since cabs don't want to come here and public transports have stopped circulating after the fight there was with the Marines in the area earlier today I have to walk all the way home now." You got the words out as quickly as you could, a little grimace on your face.

"YOU WHAT !?"

You heard what sounded like a table being flipped over and maybe some plates or glasses crashing in the background, and cleared your throat before talking again.

"Well I did warn you it might be considered a bit stupid by-"

"Which one ?" he interrupted you, his voice serious and alarmed.

"Huh ?"

"Which Yonko territory ?"

"Oh, erm, Whitebeard's, why ?"

A relieved breath left him at your words, but his voice still sounded tense when he answered. "Okay, could be worse. Now listen to me princess, what you're doing is actually, and I don't say this lightly, beyond stupid."

It was your turn to sputter indignantly.

"Excuse me ? I couldn't anticipate a fight between the Marines and an Emperor's crew and I've done everything I could to limit the risks !"

"Oh really ? That's why you're alone in Yonko territory, on foot, at night, with what I'm assuming is something monetary valuable in your bag, when you're barely able to defend yourself !?" Sunshine retorted with enough irony that you were tempted to end the call right here and there, and might have done so if not for the obvious concern in his voice.

You breathed deeply, refusing to get angry too, much less in your current situation.

"Look. I get that I'm not a hundred percent safe right now, but that's why I called you in the first place ! I couldn't go back with public transports or cabs, everyone I know who has a car is at least a four hours' drive away for the weekend, and I was not about to stay in some shady guy's house until they arrive, assuming they'd even pick up my call to begin with when they're probably busy !" you argued, using the cold logical part of your brain you usually reserved for your plots, and took a deep breath before continuing.

"So yes, I actually am doing everything in my current power to limit the risks. I keep to the main streets, I have a hand on the pepper spray in my bag, and I have someone I trust on the phone. There is not much more that I can realistically do at the moment."

You only heard what sounded like muffled conversation for a few moments. In the end, you barely understood a harsh then f*cking call him and get moving ! and some running noises before the sound came clearly again.

"Sunshine ?" you asked with uncertainty.

"Share your location with me. I'm coming to get you."

You stopped walking, freezing completely, mind going blank.

"What ?" you asked, certain you had misheard.

"Angel, princess, sweetheart, I need you to listen to me and do what I say. Share your location with me, stay in the main streets where the lights are, and wait for me to come and get you," he insisted, using a commanding voice you had rarely ever heard from him.

"But…"

"Please, angel. I know that's probably not how you wanted us to meet, but I can't take the risk of something happening to you."

"You… you really think I'm in that much danger ?" you asked weakly, your confidence crumbling away and anxiety slipping in through the cracks as you tried and failed to make it sound like a joke.

"I know that every Yonko's territory comes with its fair share of people who won't think twice about taking the life of a woman walking alone at night. Trust me on that, if on nothing else."

Your hands started shaking a little, wondering whether it was a good idea or not to go through with what he was saying. This was the first time since your first contact, almost five months ago, that he had seriously asked to meet you in real life. And you trusted him, you truly did. But a small part of you still believed that you would be fine on your own, after all, you had been fine on your own your whole life, right ?

Yet, the warnings both he and your friends had given you aligned to much to be disregarded, and just because you had been lucky so far, didn't mean you would be lucky this time. You took your glove off, and tapped your phone's screen to get to the option you needed.

"Okay," you whispered as you shared your coordinates. "But I'll freeze if I don't move, so I'll just… keep walking in direction of my place and keep the signal on, if that's alright ?"

You heard a huge relieved exhale on the other side after a little ping indicated he had received your message.

"That's perfect. I'll be with you as soon as I can, just stay on the main street, and keep talking to me so I know you're okay. I'll be there in… Oi, how long ?" he asked to someone else, whose answer you didn't make out, but your sunshine didn't seem happy with it. "Make it less," he commanded.

You frowned and started walking again as you protested. "Don't do something stupid, I don't want you to get a ticket because you tried to get to me too fast."

An incredulous laugh was your first reply, quickly followed by a breathless admission. "I don't give a sh*t about tickets, sweetheart."

"That doesn't sound very responsible."

"I'm not considered very responsible," he retorted easily.

"Can't and won't argue with that," you replied with a small smile as you kept walking. "Hey, isn't it supposed to be a little too cliché for dangerous areas to have so many dark alleyways ?" you asked suddenly.

"Princess, don't you f*cking dare-"

"I'm only asking because this is like the sixth one I walk by in less than fifteen minutes, relax, I don't plan to go into one. I'm not stupid or suicidal enough to try something like that, even for book research. Although I probably should try to get a closer look on satellite view one of these days in case I ever need more visual details for a description…" you mumbled absentmindedly.

"Not that I don't like it when you dive into your passionate book rambles, angel, but now's not exactly the best time to do it," he interrupted you with fond exasperation.

His remark got you off of the plotting space your mind was drifting into, and you shook your head sheepishly.

"Sorry, got distracted."

"Don't worry about it," he said, then changed the subject. "So, wanna tell me about that gift you went all the way there to get ?"

"Special edition of a few comic books almost impossible to find these days."

"Of course it was books, why did I ever expect something else ?" he teased.

"Hey, don't blame me !" you chuckled. "I'll have you know that the other gifts I planned are respectively a spa day, cat toys, and Christmas cookies. Okay, and maybe I had something for you too but now it's going to be useless."

"You were going to get something for me ?" he repeated, managing to sound both floored and elated at the idea.

You hid your blush in your white scarf, despite no one being around to witness it. "I wanted to send you a selfie of me and Mephisto," you mumbled. "And tell you my name."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Guess I'll have to think of something else, now," you added with an awkward chuckle. The silence stretched for a few seconds, then someone else's voice yelled you broke him before being told to shut the f*ck up and drive faster, and finally your sunshine's voice came back.

"That's, uh, yeah, that would've been awesome. Sorry to ruin it. I mean not really, I'm happy to meet you sooner, but, uh, sh*t how do I phrase it without sounding like an idiot-"

"It's a bit late for that," you giggled. "But I get what you mean. I'm not sure if I'm more happy or nervous to meet you so soon, especially with the, erm, the circ*mstances being what they are."

"You mean you scaring the hell out of me and the lads by walking like a little lamb right into the wolves' den ?"

"You're never going to let me live it down, are you ?" you sighed.

"Not a chance in hell."

"I thought you were used to go down there ?"

"They asked me to leave, I was too hot and the fire felt self-conscious."

"Bonus points for creativity on this one."

His laugh echoed on the line, and you smiled happily, shaking your head with fondness.

Which was how you noticed the sudden movement coming your way from the seventh dark alleyway on your left.

You barely got the time to scream and get your pepper spray out of your bag before a dark haired man with black stubble and missing teeth jumped on you to grab your arm, a bloodstained knife in his right hand.

"Zehahaha ! What a pretty little thi-AAAAAAARGH !"

You emptied the spray in his eyes, then your body moved on autopilot with the moves Barto and Cav had spent the past weeks drilling into your head. You aimed for the guy's nose with your free hand in a palm strike, realising at the same time that you had dropped your phone when he had attacked you.

Still screaming, the man tried to bring both hands to his face, letting the knife fall in the process. You immediately used the opportunity to deliver a solid kick to his crotch, causing him to howl in pain and stumble before falling on his knees.

Between the blinding and the pain, you knew you had a precious few seconds to act before he would recover. In a split-second decision, you grabbed both the knife and your phone from the ground. Then you frantically looked around you to find the nearest place you could hide into to run in its direction before your assailant could see where you were going.

Fortunately, there was a perfect hiding place near you.

Unfortunately, it also happened to be the dark alleyway the man had come from.

If your sunshine didn't kill you when he got to you, Cav and Barto sure as hell were going to. A shame, you hysterically thought as you hid behind a stinky dumpster, you were almost done with your latest novel and it wouldn't do to publish an unfinished manuscript as your last work.

You could still hear the pained screams coming from the street and tried to stay as quiet as possible in the shadows, hoping with all your might that the man wouldn't go back into the alley. Then suddenly, your right foot bumped into something limp and squishy behind you.

You turned your head slowly, grimacing at the kind of rotten thing that it could be. But when you realised what it was, you slapped your hand on your mouth to avoid screaming.

A f*cking bleeding person.

A f*cking bleeding person who might even be dead.

A f*cking bleeding person who might even be dead in a dark alleyway from which a man had jumped out with a bloodstained knife.

Screw screaming, you were going to throw up.

You fell on your knees, unable to notice the myriad of trash dirtying your jeans and coat, and barely managed to keep a grip on the knife to avoid it dropping from your hand. You were unable to hear any noise over the deafening beat of your heart, the thump thump of your own blood echoing loudly in your ears.

But then the bleeding person on the ground moved his head, one visible eye blearily looking in your direction, and tried to speak.

"H… He…l… p…"

For the second time in a span of five minutes, your brain shut down to activate the auto pilot. You knew first aid. Theoretically, at least.

The man was lying face down, so you relied on his clothes to determine where he had been stabbed, and despite the lack of light, you quickly located a rip on the left side of his upper back. Still moving as silently as you could, you put your phone and the knife on the nearest trashbag, then took off your scarf and coat. You used the former to apply pressure on the wound, and the latter to try and keep the man warm.

But that wouldn't keep him alive for long without real medical help.

An engine roared into the main street, and you heard the man who had attacked you laugh again and yell out for everyone to hear.

" ZEHAHAHAHA ! WE'LL MEET AGAIN, PRETTY THING !"

You clenched your jaw, willing your hands to stop shaking, and risked a glance behind you as the man got into a car, the vehicule driving away as soon as the door was closed.

You waited a few seconds, then tried to reach for your phone single-handedly, only to be faced with a black and broken screen who wouldn't turn on no matter what you did.

f*ck.

f*ck, f*ck and triple f*ck.

You couldn't call for help anymore.

And you had no idea how long it would take for your sunshine to arrive, or if he would even find you now that your phone was broken.

Your mind was working overdrive, trying to think of something, anything, to save the man who was bleeding out next to you.

To buy some time, you tried to move him on his side while keeping pressure on his wound, so you could then attempt to lift his feet and get whatever blood remained in his body to go to his heart and brain.

But once you could see him, you froze and felt your own blood leave your face.

The dying man you were trying to help was Thatch.

The man who had been at the meet and greet session with Izou and Marco to get a children's book as a prank for their younger brother.

One of Whitebeard's commanders.

A weird ringing noise startled you out of your shock, and you realised it came from Thatch's pocket. You rushed for it with your left hand to pick up the call before the other person would end it, making sure you were still applying pressure on Thatch's wound.

You got a single glance at a cartoonish flame as the caller ID picture before your shaking fingers tapped the green button.

"Hey wher-" a voice started.

"HELP !" you screamed, uncaring of how terrified you sounded or how loud your shaky voice was, the idea of someone helping was enough to make you lose the grip you had forced yourself to keep on your emotions while you were alone. "Please ! Thatch needs help !"

"WHAT !? Who're you !? What the f*ck have you done to my brother !?"

"Please," you sobbed, trying to keep your hands from shaking and disturbing the wound further or dropping the phone that was your only lifeline at the moment. "He's been stabbed and there's so much blood and I'm putting pressure on it and lifting his feet but I don't know how long he's going to stay conscious or even alive and I'm f*cking terrified-"

"Wait- you- oh sh*t- POOOOOOOPS ! MARCOOOO !"

You heard a lot of running and screaming until a booming voice told everyone to shut up and someone else started talking to you.

"Hey, I'm Marco, I'm a doctor, can you-"

"Oh thank the spirits," you cut him with a relieved sob, ignoring the tears blurring your vision. "It's Y/N, Thatch is- he's been stabbed by a guy, he's lost so much blood and I'm putting pressure on the wound, it's on his back, left side and up, and he's still breathing but there's so much blood everywhere and I don't know what to do and I'm alone and scared so please, please help !"

"Okay, sounds like you're already doing everything you can. Keep applying pressure on his wound, I'll be with you in two minutes tops, try to keep him conscious if you can-yoi."

"Okay, right, yes, I- I'll do that, but please hurry !" you begged.

"Hey Y/N, it's Izou, Marco's on his way but I'll stay on the phone with you in the meantime, alright ?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," you took a shakky inhale. "I'm scared, I'm so f*cking scared, and I think I might throw up any minute and the f*cking knife is still beside me and- sh*t that sounded- I didn't stab him ! I promised ! I- I know there'll be my prints on it but that's only because I took it away from the scary guy who tried to attack me and-"

"Wait, breathe, Y/N, as slowly and deeply as you can, no one here thinks you tried to stab Thatch, okay ?"

"Oh right, yes, sorry, it would be stupid to try to save him if I did," you laughed wetly. "Even for an alibi it'd be a sh*tty trope, and I don't write that kind of cliché."

You heard a few laughs on the other side of the phonecall, and you realised you were probably on speaker. For some reason, that kickstarted the part of your brain devoted to manners, and you found yourself speaking again.

"Ah and uh, hi everyone, sorry to meet you like this !"

Before you could hear a reply though, a wall of blue flames fell from the sky into the alley, turning the black night into a blinding inferno in a second. You dropped the phone, somehow managing to only gasp in surprise instead of screaming.

Then the flames turned into the tall guy with blonde hair and blue eyes with wings on fire instead of arms, only wearing an open purple shirt and blue capris despite the cold, and the next second he only had the flames in his hands and was kneeling next to you.

You were feeling very much light-headed.

"I've got this-yoi," he said in a firm voice, and moved your hand just as he spoke loud enough to be heard through the phone, wherever it was on the groung. "I'm with them ! Get the med bay ready for transfusion and prep for surgery !"

"You. Uh. Flames. Flying." you stuttered, your brain struggling to make more than single words.

"Tori Tori no Mi, mythical Zoan, model Phoenix. Healing flames," he answered curtly as he put your white scarf – now tainted red, spirits, you really were going to throw up or faint or both – aside and put his flame-covered hand on Thatch's back.

"Of course. Sure. Makes sense," you replied in a daze. You were on your knees in a dark alleyway in Yonko territory at night, surrounded by stinky dumpsters and trashbags, and a guy who could turn into a blue phoenix was healing a man who had been stabbed by putting his flame-covered palm on his back. At that point, you weren't going to question reality anymore. "Thought it was the tears," you remarked absentmindedly.

Marco chuckled, but didn't stop whatever he was doing. "They work too, but flames are easier to control-yoi."

"Makes sense," you said again.

There was silence for a few moments, then you saw Thatch twitch on the ground, eyes unfocused but still open.

"Is- is he going to live ?" you asked in a whisper, fear echoing in every word.

"Can't say yet. But thanks to you, he's got a chance."

You mustered a sad, watery smile. "I didn't do much."

Marco looked up at you for a second, his lazy smile and chilled attitude gone and replaced with absolute certainty.

"You did perfect first aid, called for help, and kept him alive, warm and as conscious as possible until I arrived. Don't belittle your actions-yoi. Without you, my brother would have died tonight."

Your mouth opened in a shocked but silent oh, before you closed it and nodded resolutely. You had done your best with what you had, and now you could only hope it would be enough. Thinking about it, you looked around and picked up both the knife and the phone, putting them closer to Thatch, who was already looking a little more clear-headed.

"Heeeeyyy M'rcooo…" he slurred, then seemed to finally register you and smiled groggily. "Hey sexyyy… M'Tach, ya single ?"

Your eyebrows shot up and Marco groaned in exasperation.

"Stop flirting when you're dying, idiot !"

"Ne'er !" Thatch protested, then winced. The pain was probably starting to register despite the cold.

"Okay, I've done what I can for now, he's stable enough for me to bring him home-yoi," the doctor declared as he pocketed the phone and knife, and you nodded.

"Can you stand up ?" Marco asked you.

You blinked. Could you stand up ? What a silly question, of course you could-

Your trembling legs protested the second you started trying to use them, which was also when you started to realise that without your coat and scarf, you were f*cking freezing. Mid-December nights were no joke, and the fear and shock certainly were not helping.

"Uh, gi- give me a moment and I- I'll be fine," you said and cursed the way the cold made you stutter.

A flicker of indecision appeared in Marco's eyes, and he clenched his jaw. Understanding in a flash what was going through his mind, you tried to smile reassuredly and forced yourself to somehow stand up, cold and shock and fear be damned.

"H- he needs help m- more than I d- do. Go. I'll be f- fine "

The factual tone you used and your determined – if slightly unsteady – posture seemed to convince the doctor to some extent, and he accepted your decision with a serious nod.

"Just stay hidden here, my brothers must be on their way to get you. I promise we won't let anything happen to you on Pops' territory."

Before you could reply, the sound of several cars coming to a screeching halt in the main street tore through the night, quickly followed by blinding headlights illuminating the alley you were in, and several car doors being slammed.

A group of men all but ran into the alley. You had to squint to make out any distinctive sign, your eyes still blinded by the sudden light, but Marco tensing beside you and turning his arms into wings on f*cking blue fire did nothing to reassure you.

"Now's not the time, Akagami," the doctor said in a calm yet warning voice. "I'm taking my brother and miss Y/N back to the Moby Dick, they need medical attention-yoi."

"W- wait," you breathed and felt your unsteady legs become even more unsteady. "Akagami, as in, the- the Yonko ?"

You were so not leaving your appartment ever again after tonight.

If you managed to get back to it alive, that was.

The man who was at the head of the group took a few more steps toward you and you could indeed start to make out his deep red hair, along with a rather handsome face and holy sh*t was that a sword in his hand !?

You were quietly starting to freak out, your breaths becoming increasingly shorter, when the man who could absolutely and definitely kill you with a flick of his finger started talking.

"You can take your brother, but she's coming with me."

Wait.

"No offense," Marco replied in the same warning tone with his wings-arms on fire still very close to you, "but she saved my brother. She's coming with us."

"I wasn't asking," the Yonko declared, sounding more than a little pissed.

Wait a damn minute.

"She's the reason I came here tonight," he kept going, his sword still drawn but thankfully pointed to the ground.

You knew that voice.

"And she almost got f*cking killed on your territory," the red-haired man nearly growled.

Oh no.

"So I'm taking my girl back with me," the most dangerous man in East Blue decreeted then turned his gaze on you, eyes softening a bit.

Oh no no no no no.

"Hey angel."

You had no idea what expression you were making, but it was probably somewhere between shocked half to death and scared sh*tless, because even though there was a man covered in blood at your feet, everyone suddenly looked at you as if you were the one about to keel over.

Your mouth opened, but you didn't manage to get a single sound out, your throat suddenly drier than a desert and your brain functions deserting one after the other.

Your shaking worsened and even your short breaths became difficult to maintain.

It took what seemed like an eternity to find enough air to speak, and even then, you barely managed to get one word out.

"Sunshine ?" your voice was barely above a whisper, but it seemed to be enough for Marco to look at you with wide eyes and for the f*cking Yonko to give you a bright grin.

The sudden change of expression from a man who could f*cking kill you and oh god you'd complained about Yonkos to his face and teased him and spirits you'd had phone sex with a f*cking Emperor what the f*ck, going from threatening to happy in a second, proved to be the last drop for your emotionally drained mind.

You stared at him one more second, blinked, then proceeded to promptly pass out. Black invaded your sight, your body fell limp, and you didn't even register that people around you were yelling.

Chapter 5: Lies and truths

Chapter Text

You came back to a pounding headache, a sore throat, and the absolute certainty that whatever bed you were in, it was not yours. Your pillows were nowhere near this plush, the mattress nowhere near this soft, and your sheets did not smell like that.

After a few more minutes of sleep-induced confusion, you opted to try to somehow wake up by opening your eyesin order to solve this problem. Hopefully, you would be able to go back to sleep once you had the solution.

Step one, opening your eyes, was met with reasonable success.

Step two, figuring out where you were, was not.

It was definitely not your bed you were tucked in. You blinked a couple times, your eyes adjusting to the dim light of the room provided by a bedside lamp, and you slowly managed to get yourself in a sitting position.

The room you were in was… very red, with a cozy feeling to it and with the kind of organised chaos that you were used to see in your own home after a few days of feverish binge writing. You noticed a few clothes on a chair, to perhaps be put again during the week, notably a pair of pants you were pretty sure were men's wear. A circular glance confirmed the room was sparse in terms of decoration, yet it still somehow felt lived-in.

But you still had absolutely no idea where you could possibly be. Even the windows were covered by curtains, obscuring any outside view that might have given you a clue. Still, you stretched your arms and back with a few satisfying pops, which led you to believe you must have been sleeping for a while. And that was when you finally noticed a very important detail.

You were wearing your bra and panties, but over those was a half buttoned white linen shirt way too big on you, one that you knew with absolute certainty wasn't yours.

What. The. f*ck.

You took a deep breath, tried to ignore the pounding in your head – you noticed a glass of water on the bedside and gulped it, which helped with your throat – and tried to remember what had happened to you. You got as far as oh sh*t a scary guy with a creepy laugh and a bloodstained knife attacked me when the door opened on a man you had never seen in your life, with dirty blond hair tied up in a small ponytail. However, he was wearing an open white lab coat.

So, presumably, a doctor.

You could work with that.

He seemed surprised to see you conscious, but gave you a smile before closing the door behind him.

"Good to see you awake, miss. How're you feeling ?"

"Pounding headache, currently trying to remember what happened to me, and a bit confused about where I am and who you are," you answered truthfully.

The doctor grinned, then came closer to you, picking up a pitcher on his way to fill up the now-empty glass on the bedside. He took two pills out of his pocket and handed them to you.

"Thought you might need the painkillers when you'd wake up. I'm Hongo, by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you," you answered automatically, then gulped down the pills with the water, ignoring the little voice in your head scorning you for taking unknown substances from a stranger. "I'm Y/N."

"I know who you are, miss," he smiled. "Now take it easy, you've been through quite a shock or three and you still need to give your mind some time to adjust. You've been asleep for almost thirty hours."

You blinked incredulously.

"I'm sorry, did you just say I've been sleeping for the past thirty hours ?"

"Sure did. It's about midnight right now."

You opened your mouth, closed it, decided the what the f*ck was obvious enough, and went instead for the next thing you realised about yourself.

"That explains why I'm feeling hungry."

That got a laugh out of the man- doctor- Hongo.

"Sure does, miss. But I'd rather have the painkillers take effect before you eat something. Your memories should come back soon, so I'll leave you alone for a while, okay ? Just keep in mind that you're perfectly safe here."

"The fact that you feel the need to say it out loud makes it much less reassuring, you know," you deadpanned.

That got out another grin out of the doctor, and he walked back to the door.

"Doesn't make it any less true, miss. Rest, someone will bring you food in a bit."

He got out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving you with a slightly less sore throat, the promise of your headache receeding soon, a couple answers and a lot more questions. You turned your focus back on the bed, rearranging the pillows a bit so your back wouldn't lay directly against the wooden headboard.

"Back to trying to figure out what the hell happened, I guess," you sighed, and felt relieved that Mephisto's food and water were automated to ensure he would receive kibbles at regular intervals. Your darling cat would be fine without you being at the appartment for a couple days, he would likely just be worried about you being absent for longer than usual.

You closed your eyes, hands folded in your laps, and focused on your breathing to keep unrolling the events that had led to you sleeping for more than a day.

Scary guy attacking you.

Your self-defense lessons kicking in – you made a mental note to thank your friends the next time you would see them.

Phone dropped and broken, knife grabbed, running to hide in the alley.

Finding a guy bleeding out – that part made you shiver.

Scary guy leaving with a parting threat.

Trying to save the man bleeding out at your feet.

Oh sh*t yes, he wasn't just some random guy, he was Thatch, one of Whitebeard's sons that you had met before.

His phone going off, you calling for help while trying to keep him alive.

Another one of Whitebeard's sons you had met before falling from the sky in a ball of blue fire because he had eaten a fruit allowing him to turn into a phoenix.

At that point, you took a minute to open your eyes and take a few deep breaths. You really missed the time where that kind of sentence would only exist in Bartolomeo's novels. Still, you closed your eyes again, and kept going.

Healing blue flames to make Thatch's injuries stable enough to transport him.

Then the cars, East Blue's Yonko and his crew stepping into the alley.

Akagami no Shanks stating you were coming with him and calling you his girl.

Akagami no Shanks being the man you had called Sunshine for the past months.

Your focus gradually came back to the room, hands grasping the sheets covering your lap with enough pressure to have your knuckles turn white. The man you thought of as a friend, as perhaps even more than a friend, the man you trusted enough to reveal your identity to, was the Emperor known to care for nothing but booze and sex.

Dear lord, you felt like such an absolute fool for not connecting the dots sooner. To think you wrote mysteries for a living. You couldn't even decide whether you were more scared about what it meant for your life, mad at yourself for letting rose-tinted glasses cloud your supposedly sharp brain, or pissed at him for lying to you about his status.

You remained like that for a minute or two, lost in a sea of raw emotions you didn't feel equipped to process at the moment. Then you heard a commotion outside the door, like several people shouting or fighting as they made their way closer.

Fear reared its head, but you didn't move.

It only took a few seconds before the door was slammed open, a man barging his way inside with his back half-turned on you. He was trying to free himself from several people attached to him, all of those seemingly intent on holding him back.

The man had deep crimson hair, long enough to hide part of his face as he wrestled his way in. A white shirt half-open on his tanned chest that looked suspiciously like the one you were wearing, and grey-brown pants. A pair of determined black eyes, three small parallel scars over his left one. A light stubble on his face.

Akagami no Shanks, Yonko of East Blue.

"Captain !" a man with dreadlocks shouted while staring at you, sounding a little panicked as he clutched the Emperor's leg.

"Get off me guys ! I need to see her !" the red-haired man shouted as well, a surge of dark purple aura suddenly coming off of him like a rolling wave.

When it reached you, you felt like a sudden and huge pressure on your mind, like a mighty presence imposing itself on you and commanding you to yield. You gasped harshly, your hands rushing to your chest to clutch the white fabric of the shirt, holding onto consciousness for dear life.

Your breathing turned into halted pants, and you remembered what your friends had told you, coming to the conclusion that this had to be the famous Conqueror's Haki.

Not. Terrifying. At all.

When you looked up again, all the intruders had stopped moving and were staring at you in various stages of shock, a few more gaping at you from the other side of the door.

The status quo remained untouched for a couple more seconds, and was only broken by the Emperor himself.

"sh*t."

You were inclined to agree.

"f*ck angel, are you okay ? Didn't mean to do that, I just- "

"Okay ?" you cut him off in a furious whisper, your mind quickly forgetting the fear when a mix of shame and pain fueled a tidal wave of betrayal and righteous fury. When your eyes caught his, you felt a spark of vicious satisfaction at his obvious surprise. He clearly hadn't expected you to be angry.

Well, too bad. You were currently running on emotional exhaustion, thirty hours of sleep, two glasses of water and a headache. You might not be ready to fight god, but a Yonko ?

Yeah, Akagami no Shanks could go to hell.

You took a deep breath, then got out of the bed, ignoring the slight wobbling of your legs as you made your way toward him.

His men had retreated to the door at that point, which left only the red-haired Emperor inside the room. Said Emperor looked very unsure of what to do or say as you walked the short distance between you two with a scowl on your face.

At some point, you decided that you didn't even give a f*ck about decency with a bunch of criminals who had definitely seen worse, and put the shirt off you, sending it flying to the bed. No way you were keeping his clothes on your body one more minute.

Shanks' eyes widened and he gave you what looked like a very detailed once-over, his attitude relaxing into an easy grin.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that kind of than-"

SLAP !

The sound echoed in the room for a second, your hand still in the air after striking his face. You weren't strong enough to truly hurt him, you knew it, and his head had barely moved under your slap, but the shock in his eyes was almost as rewarding.

"You're a f*cking asshole," you stated through gritted teeth, fury and pain radiating from your voice and eyes watering despite your intention to keep the tears in a little longer.

Then you turned toward the door, uncaring that you were only in your underwear, staring down the dozen men or so that were still gaping at you.

"I want my clothes and stuff back, then I'm leaving," you declared in a seething voice, daring any of them to say anything.

That seemed to jolt the man behind you, because he suddenly grabbed your wrist and turned you around so you would face him.

"Wait, angel, it's not safe for you to lea-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME !" you roared, freeing your wrist and jerking away from the Yonko, who looked as if you had slapped him again. "And don't you f*cking dare try to use my safety as an excuse to make me stay ! If you truly gave a sh*t about my safety, you would have told me the truth when I said I didn't want to meddle with Yonkos and Shishibukais !"

You took another deep breath, and turned away, leaving behind the man you had once thought you could trust with your heart.

"Go f*ck yourself, Akagami. We're done."

The doctor who had given you the painkillers murmured to follow him for your cleaned clothes, and you did, ignoring the men who were giving you a wide berth and were still stunned silent. No one commented on the tears that were now running down your face. You were sad, pissed, upset, and everything in between on top of still feeling exhausted, and you couldn't wait until you were back at your place, cuddling with Mephisto and inhaling a pint of ice cream.

-o-oOo-o-

You had accepted a ride home from Beckman, the grey-haired man you had seen at the meet and greet and who was apparently Shanks' second in command. He had thankfully remained silent all the way to your appartment complex, after asking for your address.

It was only before you got out of the car that he spoke to you, dead serious as he looked you in the eyes. You absentmindedly noticed that the light of the street lamps was giving a weird orange halo to his stern figure.

"Shanks didn't tell ya who he was because he knew ya'd stop talking to him. I ain't saying he didn't f*ck up, 'cause he did, but he cares about ya a lot."

You clenched your jaw and didn't answer the thousand barbs that were on the tip of your tongue, opting instead to open the car door and getting into the building. As soon as you got inside your appartment, Mephisto ran at you with loud meows, rubbing himself against your legs and butting his head against your hand when you crouched.

You ended up taking him in your arms right after you had shed your coat and kicked your shoes somewhere, your bag long since abandoned on the floor. You walked with him to your room, where you fell on your bed and let the shaking and crying go wild, Mephisto purring against you in fluffy reassurance that you would be okay.

-o-oOo-o-

You awoke well after noon, feeling exhausted, hungry, possibly dehydrated, and overall like a freshly resurrected corpse. Mephisto was still curled against you, sleeping without a care in the world, and you booped his cute little ears before finding the will to get up, if only to go to the bathroom.

It took you two more hours to feel a little more human, along with a long shower, a huge bowl of pasta, and an ungodly amount of tea. And even then, you only had the energy to attempt saving your sim card from your dead phone, hoping it would still work and thanking whatever deities were up there for having kept your old one.

Thankfully, the sim card was salvageable, and after a couple hours charging, your old phone painstackingly turned on.

Which is how you saw a huge amount of missed texts and a few missed calls.

Rather than read everything Cavendish and Bartolomeo had sent you, you opted to call them. Barto answered his boyfriend's phone in less than two seconds.

"Y/N ! How've you been, darling girl ? You won't believe what this blond asshole said last night, he had the gall to say that my-"

"Can… can you and Cav come to my place ? Something happened and I… f*ck, I need to talk about it and I don't want to be alone," you interrupted him with a still slightly distressed voice, which your best friend noticed immediately.

"f*ck, are you okay ? Wait, I'm stupid, you're not okay, don't worry, me and the wannabe Ken doll will be at your place in a flash !"

"Thanks, Barto. See you in a bit."

You ended the call, browsing quickly through the other notifications and ingnoring the ones coming from Sunshine for as long as you could, until they were the only ones left. You weren't sure what to do about those. You discarded the missed calls, noting there were three voicemails left, respectively at one in the morning, three in the morning and half past five in the morning.

And then there were the texts.

You let yourself fall further on the sofa, burying yourself under the blanket and ignoring Mephisto's offended look at the shameless thievery.

"Should I read them ?" you asked your cat, who just meowed indignantly and tried to steal his blanket back.

"Yeah, I don't know either," you muttered. "Maybe I should just wait for Barto and Cav and ask them what they think of this mess."

It took you ten more minutes to muster the energy to stand up, bring three mugs, three glasses, your teapot and a full bottle of rum to the coffee table. You weren't sure what the discussion would require at that point, and you would rather avoid unnecessary pauses.

-o-oOo-o-

It took Bartolomeo twenty minutes to stop crying and screaming about not being worthy of your friendship when he realised you had been in danger because of the Christmas present you wanted to get him.

Still, when you finished your story, both your friends stared at you in a mix of awe and worry.

"Holy sh*t, girl, how are you still alive ?" Cavendish finally asked, his usual perfect looks undermined by absolute bafflement. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you managed to defend yourself and saved Thatch and were rescued and all, but you faced a guy who managed to take out one of Whitebeard's commanders and slapped a Yonko !"

You made a face at the summary, but couldn't decently argue. For most people, each of those actions should and would have meant an immediate and possibly very painful death.

"Guess I was lucky," you said with a shrug and a tired smile.

"I still can't believe your phone boyfriend was Akagami no Shanks," Bartolomeo added, eyes still red from his crying and looking just as floored as Cavendish.

"Not my boyfriend," you replied harshly, your hand tightening on your mug.

Your green-haired friend winced immediately. "Sorry, forgot he's not really the, uh, dating type. It's just that we could see how much you talked to that guy and how happy he made you and well, we thought that maybe, you know, with time…"

"Yeah," you whispered sadly, bringing your knees against your chest. "So did I."

"You liked him a lot and he turned out to be a lying prick and it hurt like hell to find out that way," Cavendish said, and moved on the sofa to give you a big hug, Bartolomeo immediately joining in on your other side. "We're so sorry about it, darling."

"He doesn't deserve you anyway," Bartolomeo stated in a haughty tone. "You're way too good for him."

You snorted at that, but Cavendish booped your nose. "Listen to the dumbass, he's right for once."

"Who're you calling dumbass, dumbass !?"

"You're just proving my point, idiot, you can't even come up with another insult on your own !"

"Guys !" you stopped them. "No couple fights at my place, remember ?"

Twin sheepish expressions appeared on your best friends' faces, and they muttered a couple of apologies about forgetting that rule. You sighed, bit your lips, and kept going.

"Anyway, I also wanted to ask you… he left me some voicemails and a bunch of texts, do you think I should delete them right away or see what he wanted to say ?" you asked them, uncertainty rolling off of you.

Cavendish hummed hesitantly. "Well, from a regular ex or stalker, I'd say delete them right now, but…"

Bartolomeo grimaced. "He's a Yonko so maybe don't piss him off too much ? He didn't kill you but you never know with those types."

You leveled your green-haired friend with a deadpan stare. "Wow, that was so reassuring. Thank you for pointing out that he might change his mind and come kill me anytime."

Bartolomeo gulped and tried to give you a reassuring smile with thumbs up, which had your eyes rolling. You didn't even need to look on your other side to know Cavendish was mouthing threats in his boyfriend's direction. Still, you had your own reasons to bring to the plate, which you did.

"It's also that he said something about my safety, before I left. At the time, I thought it was a sh*tty manipulative trick to force me to stay with him, but in hindsight, I'm not so sure."

Both men sobered up immediately and exchanged a serious look.

"If you're in danger, we need to know," Cavendish stated.

Bartolomeo nodded approvingly. "Yeah, he's not worthy of your attention, but I'll make an exception for this time if it's to keep you safe."

You took a deep breath, nodded as well, and reached for your old phone. You were relieved to have your friends with you for this, because you weren't certain you could listen to that man's voice again without crumbling down and turning into a pathetic crying mess. Even with both of them close to you, you might still end up a mess.

"Beep. Message received at one am and four minutes." The robotic voice stated, quickly followed by another, much more familiar one, that had you shiver on the sofa for a reason you didn't want to think about.

"Hey angel, it's me. Beck just came back, said you're home safe and sound. I wanted to tell you… yeah, no, forget it. But you need to know the guy who attacked you is someone I've fought before, his laugh is not one I've forgotten. His name's Teach, he gave me those scars over my left eye. Last I knew he was part of Whitebeard's crew so I'll talk to the old coot about it, but as long as he's not dead there's a chance he'll try to get you again. So until then, you need protection. That's why I wanted you to stay with me for a while. Well that and… f*ck, doesn't really matter anymore, I guess. I'll make sure you're safe until that son of a bitch is six feet under, but just in case, make sure to be extra careful for a while, okay angel ? I know you're pissed at me right now but please just let me know that you've heard this and you'll be careful."

You realised during the following pause that his voice had been strangely subdued compared to his usual cheerful disposition.

"For what it's worth, I'm… f*ck, I'm not even sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Guess I didn't want to bring a dealbreaker into that thing we had. Bye angel. Tell me when you get this message."

Cavendish wordlessly gave you a tissue, and you briefly thanked him before blowing your nose and wiping away your tears. Bartolomeo rubbed your back in silence, and they both waited until you were a little calmer, the voicemail application on hold for now, waiting for you to start the next one.

"Well," you sniffed with a watery smile and no small amount of irony, "at least he wasn't going for the manipulation angle when he was talking about my safety."

"Y/N…" Cavendish said, eyes full of a compassion you really didn't want to see right now. You got a shaky breath out, then steeled up your nerves and clicked on the button starting the next voicemail.

"Beep. Message received at three am and fourteen minutes."

This time, you noticed immediately how the words were a little more slurred and the voice much more tired sounding.

"Hey princess, it's me again. Just thought I'd let you know the guy you saved is gonna make it. The old coot is on board for making sure you're safe until the bastard is dealt with, but I've also got bad news. Turns out Teach backstabbed the other guy to steal a devil fruit, don't know which one yet, but that means he's more powerful now so I really, really need you to be safe and frankly even if you hate my guts I'd prefer if you stayed with me. You won't even have to see me, promise ! You'll have your own room and everything. Unless you change your mind and want to stay in mine. You're always welcome in mine. f*ck, I miss your voice. If there's something I can do so you'll talk to me again, just say the word and I'll do it. Anything. Just… f*ck, please just call me back."

The voicemail ended there, and this time you didn't wait to start the third and last one. You weren't sure you would be able to convince yourself to listen to it if you waited. You could feel Barto and Cav's flabbergasted looks on either side of you, but kept your eyes on the device.

"Beep. Message received at five am and thirty-nine minutes."

This time, there was no doubt about the highly inebriated state of the Yonko. You had to focus to make out some – if not most – words, and the regular pauses with stumbling noises or gulped sounds confirmed he was still drinking as he called.

"Hey sweetheart, still me. Hah, 's funny how I can't even bring m'self to use your name. That suuuuucks 'cause your name's really really pretty. Didn't even get to hear ya say mine bef're you left. I really wanted to hear ya say mine, y'know ? My name, I mean. Been dreamin' of it a lot. Been dreamin' of you a lot. And y'were so f'cking hot in my bed and my shirt. Even hotter with't it, though. Gonna be dreamin' of that sexy ass of yours for a loooooong time, babe. Even ya slappin' me was kinda hot. Well, bef're you broke my heart, 'tis. f*ck, I want you back. I want ya back so bad. Please babe. I'll do any-f*cking-thing t- OI BECK WHAT'RE YA-"

There was a lot of curses and wrestling noises, and then the gruff voice of Beckman was the one heard on the phone.

"Sorry miss Y/N, Shanks' drunk. We're going to keep him away from his phone and put him to bed, he hasn't slept in 'bout two days so he'll probably be out for a while. I think he forgot yar phone's dead. So, erm, goodnight to ya."

You stared at your phone, completely astounded.

"Did I just have a very convincing auditory hallucination," Cavendish asked, sounding as floored as you felt, "or did a Yonko known as the king of one-night-stands really just said that my best friend broke his heart ?"

"EEEEEEEEEEHHH !?" Bartolomeo screeched, making you wince at the amount of decibels invading your eardrums. "What the- How the- Why- HAAAA !?"

That sounded like a pretty good summary to you as well. What in heaven, Earth and the nine circles of hell had you just heard ? But then the logical part of your brain kicked in and you took a deep breath, pushing all kind of hope and yearning far away from your poor heart.

"You heard Beckman. He was drunk and sleep-deprived. I don't think we should take that last voicemail seriously. It's not like he was saying anything important, anyway," you argued.

"Yes he was !" Barto screamed.

"No. Plus I told him I wanted nothing to do with Emperors and Warlords and the likes," you stated, reminding both your friends of that very important fact. "That hasn't changed. Even if he really was interested in me like that, which I seriously doubt given who he is and his reputation, I can't… I don't want to be involved in that kind of things. That's not the life I want," you added quietly. "Especially when he'd be likely to just get bored in a matter of weeks at most, and leave me behind without a backward glance. I don't want to be left with a target on my back and a broken heart just for a few weeks of sex, no matter how great."

That silenced your green-haired friend immediately, and Cavendish sighed heavily on the other side of the sofa.

"You know we're supporting you no matter what, girl. But at this point, you're already involved in their business. The Newgates probably think they owe you a debt for saving one of them, Akagami is at the very least intent on getting into your pants, and there's a guy out there who might try to get revenge on you for kicking his ass."

Bartolomeo kept rubbing circles on your back with his hands, and tried a reassuring smile so obviously fake that it almost made you snort a laugh.

"Hey, look on the bright side, you've got two Emperors willing to protect you !" your green-haired friend said with such nervous cheer that you did end up chuckling a bit.

"Guess it could be worse," you admitted with a little smile.

"See ? You're gonna be fine and that f*cker's gonna be dead and everything's gonna go back to normal !" Bartolomeo declared with almost comical confidence.

Yet, the idea of going back to normal, as in back to before you had met your sunshine, sent a pang of pain into your heart. To never talk to him again, never hear his silly questions and his either smooth or hilarious pick-up lines, to not receive any more three am calls to talk about anything, to not hear his laugh or being able to ramble about your plots and have him listen and give you his honest opinion, to not…

f*ck, you were going to miss all that.

You were going to miss all that so much.

It was so unfair of life to have him be one of the few people you couldn't get involved with.

"Oh, girl…" Cavendish sighed, and put an already-purring Mephisto into your lap. "You've got it bad, don't you ?"

"What gave it away ?" you huffed among your tears, immediately starting to cuddle your fluffball of a cat.

"Well," Bartolomeo said, then started counting on his fingers, "the tears, the way you've been blushing and giggling at every text for months, the way you look like you'd rather carve your own heart out than never talk to him again, how betrayed you are by his lie after you literally trusted him with your life, the obvious hope you felt when he said he'd do anything to get you back, the-"

"That was a rhethorical question, idiot !" you stopped him and threw a cushion to his face, startling your cat in the movement. "Sorry, Mephisto."

"The point is," Cavendish took over, "he's totally your type and you feel like a mess right now because you hadn't planned for your crush to be one of the most powerful men in Grand Line City."

You grumbled something about not being completely wrong, your attention focused on giving belly rubs to your little ball of black fur. Both of your friends gave you a very judgemental look, which was rude and entirely undeserved as far as you were concerned. Especially after you had had to endure their mutual pining for almost two years.

"Can we just focus on my safety for now ? I'll sort out this… situation later. You know, when there's not a guy out there who's crazy enough to get on the bad side of two Emperors and might target me."

Bartolomeo grimaced. "Yeah, good point. First thing, you can't live alone anymore, that's just asking for kidnapping."

"I really want to say that my address isn't that easy to find out, but these days it doesn't mean much," you begrudgingly admitted. "But I'm not going to live with Sunshi- with him either. We don't know yet if that Teach is gunning for me or not, and living with an Emperor will be like a giant neon sign asking for trouble."

Cavendish took his chin in his hand, thoughtful. "You're right. Same goes for Whitebeard, if he offers. You'd be advertising yourself as an obvious target."

"I know !" Bartolomeo exclaimed and hit his fist in his palm. "We'll just move in with you for a while !"

Both his boyfriend and you looked at him in disbelief.

"Think of it, it's perfect !" your crazy best friend insisted. "We'll just say there's a problem at our place and we're crashing at yours until it's fixed, nothing weird about it ! And between the two of us, we can protect you and Mephisto ! We'll just take your guest room and make sure there's always one of us with you at all time, and we can even do grocery shopping and stuff together without it looking suspicious !"

You remained silent for a dozen seconds, your mind racing through the various aspects of this stupid idea, the main objection being your absolute certainty that you wouldn't be able to live a week in the same place without one of you attempting to murder at least one of the others.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Cavendish replied before you could, "but that plan actually makes sense."

"Now wait a god damn minute-" you protested.

"Seriously, Y/N, think about it. You can't stay alone, but we don't want to make it look suspicious. We're the obvious solution. And your appartment is more secured than ours, and easier to get to and out of in case of emergency," Cavendish laid out, with his boyfriend nodding frantically and making big hand gestures to manifest his approval. "And I for one would actually be grateful to have a perfect excuse to not spend Christmas with that idiot's cousins."

"Hey !" Barto protested.

"Babe, I love you, but your entire family is composed of dumbasses who'd make a rock look smart, and it gets worse when you're all together."

You winced at the harsh description, but didn't come to your green-haired friend's defense. You had been at one get-together with Bartolomeo's family, and while all of them had been very nice and respectful to you – his grandmother had given you a huge amount of amazing cleaning tips – they were, without question, a bunch of dumbasses.

The couple started bickering, and you retreated in your plot zone to think the idea over. Was it truly a good plan ? Not really. Was it the best one in your current situation ? Unfortunately, it appeared so.

"Fine," you said, cutting in the middle of their argument. "Let's do this before I change my mind. And thank you guys for being here for me," you added with a soft smile.

"Aww honey, we're not worthy of your friendship !"

"We're here for each other, darling, always will."

You ended the afternoon as one big cuddling pile on the sofa, drinking tea and re-enacting The Princess Bride as you re-watched it for the thousandth time, the three of you knowing all the lines by heart at this point.

Chapter 6: Meeting Whitebeard

Chapter Text

You were half-way through the movie and thinking about ordering take-out when there was a knock at your door. All of you tensed at once, and both Barto and Cav adopted suspicious expressions.

"Were you expecting someone else ?"

"No," you answered uneasily.

"I'll get it," Bartolomeo said, and got up from the couch. "If it's someone dangerous, I'll put on a barrier."

You nodded, and straightened yourself on the sofa, Mephisto in a protective hold against your chest. Cavendish stood up, watching his boyfriend walk up to the door with his jaw clenched.

Bartolomeo opened the door ajar, and peeked in the corridor, only to immediately relax and start exchanging a few words you couldn't hear with whoever was on the other side. Then he opened the door in full, letting two men inside your appartment.

One of them you recognised as Izou, the other one being a rather young man you had never seen with a mop of black hair and a lot of freckles on his face. You were a bit surprised to see him only wear a red t-shirt and capris. Seriously, what was the problem with people not wearing proper winter clothes these days ?

You stood up, your expression surprised but no longer nervous, your cat still in your arms.

"Hello Izou," you greeted him. "And I don't think we've met, mister… ?"

"Just call me Ace, miss, we talked on the phone when you found Thatch," he answered with a bright grin. "Pleasure to meet you, you're hotter than the guys said you were."

Izou immediately smacked the back of his head, Cavendish tched and Bartolomeo nodded wisely.

"So you're the hothead with the attention span of a butterfly on crack ?" you asked with fake innocence, earning a laugh from Izou and a splutter of indignated protests from Ace. "Not that I'm not happy to see you two, but what brings you to my appartment ? Also, do you want something to drink ?" you offered, your manners kicking in.

"Thank you miss, but no," Izou declined politely. "We're here to take you to Pops, he wants to talk to you about what happened."

You took a deep breath, and put Mephisto back on the sofa, where the little devil meowed unhappily at you for a second before rolling himself into a purrito.

"Your cat's the cutest fluffball I've ever seen, can I pet him ?" Ace asked with awe in his voice.

"Knock yourself out, he loves cuddles," you answered, and the young man didn't need to be told twice. He almost jumped to the sofa to offer his hand for sniffing, then started happily petting your cat who was soaking up the attention.

"Should I be worried about meeting him ?" you asked Izou while Ace was cooing over Mephisto.

"What ? No ! He's- we- look, we'll explain once we're at the Moby Dick, but mostly we're all grateful for what you did and worried about your safety," the man in kimono told you quickly.

You sighed, not surprised but still a little tired after everything that had happened in the last two days.

"Fine. Barto, Cav, can you keep an eye on Mephisto and start planning what we talked about while I'm gone ?"

"Sure can, girl," Bartolomeo answered with a double thumbs up.

"We'll stay here until you come back," Cavendish added, flipping his perfect blond curls over his shoulder as he did.

You nodded, then went to your room to put on warmer clothes than your comfortable sweatpant and old t-shirt, namely a warm winter dress with a pair of tights thick enough to fend off the cold, especially paired with boots. A combination that was simple, warm, and presentable. You added a scarf just in case, then deemed yourself ready and went back into the living room to grab your phone, coat, and shoes.

"Okay, I'm good to go," you stated, and watched as both Izou and Ace blinked in surprise at your change of attire, Ace in particular whistling appreciatively.

You raised an eyebrow at him, and he grinned cheekily.

You rolled your eyes. Boys.

-o-oOo-o-

You spent most of the ride reading the texts Shanks had sent you, which were in substance what he had said in his voicemails. The last few ones were barely legible, though, and appeared to be closer to random drunk keyboard smashing than actual words.

You hesitated for a long time and started typing a dozen sentences before settling for a simple and efficient one.

Y/N

I'll be careful.

You didn't receive a reply, and truthfully, you weren't expecting one. Not with the man probably still sleeping off the result of some heavy drinking and sleep deprivation. After that, you put the old phone back in your pocket, and did your best to distract yourself from the painful feeling ensnaring your heart.

"Did you ever read the book they gave you ?" you asked Ace, who seemed delighted to get a chance at conversation, and ended up describing in details which story he had preferred among the five, and why, and how he didn't know some people were allergic to bananas, which led him to list all his favourite foods and somehow falling asleep mid-explanation, much to your surprise.

"He's narcoleptic," Izou explained while driving. "You get used to it."

"Does he do that often ?" you asked, intrigued by the unusual disorder.

"Pretty much, yeah. But his sleep schedule is beyond f*cked, so we simply let him sleep whenever he does, we just make sure he won't hurt himself. He does that often enough when he's awake."

"Part of me wants to know more about that, but I'm also a bit scared to ask," you admitted with a smile, to which Izou chuckled, then proceeded to tell you about some of the most embarrassing stories concerning his various brothers.

You were laughing yourself silly by the end of the third, and when Ace woke up, he happily added his own anecdotes to the mix, ending up with all three of you arriving at the Moby Dick Estate with smiles.

Even at night, it was obvious the place was massive, and you were properly impressed. You couldn't recall much of the only other Yonko's place you had seen, mostly because of your emotionally drained state and the night hiding most of the features. But this place felt more like a huge mansion surrounded by several big houses, and as you got out of the car, tightening your coat against yourself to fend off the cold, Izou and Ace told you a little about it.

"A lot of people live inside the main house, but each of the sixteen divisions have their own quarters. Helps with the cohesion both inside and outside of your division."

"That makes sense," you hummed, observing around you.

They led you inside, putting your coat on a rack that seemed ready to collapse under the sheer amount of clothes on it. Then you passed through a few hallways and corridors brightly lit, people staring at the three of you as you walked and immediately starting talking in badly hushed whispers.

Izou and Ace finally opened a huge set of double doors, revealing the biggest ballroom you had ever seen, complete with a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and what almost looked like a throne on the far end of it. Or at least, you thought it was a ballroom, but it looked more like a mix of a dinner area with plenty of tables and chairs along the walls, and a wide living space with a lot of people running and shouting around, some of them singing raunchy pirate songs.

Yet, all eyes turned to you as you walked in, and you had to take a deep breath to straighten your back and keep a calm expression on your face.

You kept walking until you got closer to the big chair at the far end of the room and the huge man sitting on it, who was holding a naginata in one hand and what looked like a huge bottle of sake in the other. You felt very much intimidated by his presence, and only partially relaxed when you saw Marco on his right side – who was giving you his usual lazy smirk – and a beaming Thatch a few steps away. Close to them were maybe a dozen other men who seemed to be more important than the other persons in the room, and that you assumed were the other division commanders.

"Hey Pops !" Ace said cheerfully when you were finally facing the man.

You spent half a second wondering why he was called Whitebeard when it was really his crescent-shaped mustache that was his most impressive facial feature.

Izou and Ace stepped aside to join their brothers, leaving you alone in front of a man who was also known as The Strongest Man On Earth.

"Hello sir, my name is Y/N, it's an honour to meet you," you introduced yourself politely with a bow of your head.

"I know who you are, little one," Whitebeard said, his voice booming like thunder in the silence that had overtaken the room, and turned his eyes fully on you.

You felt the pressure of his gaze, the weight and intensity of his power, of a man who could level entire districts in a matter of seconds if he so wished. Still, you hold his eyes, remaining as calm as you could and reminding yourself that you had – theoretically – no reason to be afraid.

The exchange and tension kept building for about twenty seconds, then the Yonko's face broke into a big grin and he threw his head back in a fit of laughter.

"GURARARARARA ! You've got more balls than half the men in this city, child !"

You blinked, unsure what this was about, and looked around you for answers, founding one in Marco's grin. The doctor took one look at your confused face and explained.

"There aren't many people who can hold Pops' eyes like you did without sh*tting their pants-yoi. Especially when they're just civilians."

Understanding downed on you and you adopted a small smile, finally relaxing. You were wholeheartedly ready to believe that.

"Welcome to the Moby Dick, little one," Whitebeard declared, his grin happy and confident. "And thank you for saving my son. I won't forget that."

"Truth be told, neither will I," you chuckled. "I think I went through enough shocks that night to last me a lifetime or two."

That earned you a few laughs among the room, but then Whitebeard talked again and your smile dimmed immediately. "I already talked to that brat of yours about Teach, but you're the one who faced him. Anything you remember will help."

You closed your eyes briefly at the mention of you and Shanks being in any kind of relationship, and then had to repress a shiver at the memories flashing through your head.

"I'm afraid there is a little misunderstanding about the nature of my… of what is between me and Akagami," you finally opted to say, going for the less traumatic one first. "He and I aren't… there is nothing between us."

Whitebeard turned to Marco and they exchanged what looked like a silent conversation, before the phoenix man raised an eyebrow in your direction, his gaze obviously dubious.

"I clearly remember him calling you his girl and you having your own cute nickname for him. And he was very insistent about keeping you safe when he called Pops last night-yoi."

You clenched your jaw. "It's complicated. Long story short, he called the wrong number five months ago and I only learned who he was when he walked into that alley. I would have cut all ties much sooner if I'd known I was talking to a Yonko," you added in a somber tone, ignoring the way your heart clenched at the idea.

"Oh sh*t," someone said, and you weren't going to argue with that reaction. When you chanced a quick glance around you, you realised most people were looking at you with wide eyes. Even Whitebeard seemed somewhat taken aback at the reveal.

You cleared your throat, and pushed to the next subject to dissipate the rising awkwardness.

"When it comes to Teach, I'm afraid I can't tell you much. I was walking by when he jumped out of an alley with a bloodstained knife in his hand and tried to grab me. My friends have been teaching me some self-defense though, so I emptied a pepper spray in his eyes, did a palm strike on his nose, and kicked him in the dick before grabbing his weapon and my phone and running into the nearest hiding place, which was the alley he'd come from. That's where I found Thatch."

You made a short movement with your head in direction of the man as you went on. "He was bleeding on the ground. I was getting started with first aid when I heard a car stopping in the main street, and the man who had attacked me got into it, laughed and yelled that we'd meet again," you shivered at that chilling memory. "After that I focused on keeping Thatch alive, but my phone was broken and I was only able to ask for help when Ace called his phone and I could answer. You know the rest."

Whitebeard seemed pensive, most commanders had clenched their fists and there was a rumbling sound of chatter among the rest of the room.

"So he wasn't acting alone," Whitebeard ultimately stated, his hand abandonning the bottle of sake on the ground to stroke his chin pensively.

"I'm going after him," Ace said, looking absolutely furious. "He was part of my division, his betrayal is on me. I'll leave tom-"

"Are you out of your mind ?" you exclaimed, turning toward him with your hands flying to your sides in disbelief.

The freckled young man looked at you, apparently stunned by your outburst.

"Huh ?" he asked, and you facepalmed.

"Oh my god, use your brain ! You may have had a good idea of his skills and abilities while he was in your division, but since he's got new powers you don't know about, going in blind when he has allies you know nothing about either isn't just stupid, it's borderline suicidal !" you explained, feeling like some primary school teacher and missing the flabbergasted looks you were receiving from everyone else.

"And on top of that," you kept going, "if he's been going as far as betraying a Yonko known for never forgiving someone who hurt his family, it means he has a long-term plan ! One that likely involved infiltrating said Yonko's crew in the first place, probably because he thought it was his best chance to get what he wanted, which, I'm going to guess, was the one particular devil fruit that Thatch found. Do you realise what that means ?"

"Uh-" the freckled division commander said, putting his hands up in a placating gesture as you walked angrily toward him.

"It means that whatever this fruit allows him to do, he estimated it was powerful enough to risk Whitebeard's revenge !" you continued, full on analysing the situation like one of your mysteries. "And it also means that he had people ready to back him up knowing he would end up betraying the crew he currently lived with, so I'm betting on the kind of trashy human beings who are both somewhere on the sad*stic or psychopathic spectrum, and already powerful enough in their own right to be confident that together, they'd stand a fighting chance against an Emperor !"

"Well-" he tried again, taking a step back as you moved closer to him with a finger pointed in his direction.

"Ever heard of divide and conquer ? That's how you win against powerful groups like a Yonko's crew, you separate them into smaller units that can be defeated individually ! So you're going to tell your misplaced sense of guilt to go find someone else to bother, because if you go after Teach alone and under-informed, you're going to end up either dead or captured no matter how strong you are, mister hothead. Are we clear ?"

Ace blinked at you, his hands still up in front of him, looking somewhere between chastised and a little afraid, then nodded frantically.

"Yep, we're clear, totally clear."

"Good."

You went back to face Whitebeard, only then noticing all the staring and gaping at you. Even the Emperor's eyebrows were raised, his expression one of surprise. Finally, it was Thatch who broke the silence.

"I can't decide if that was crazy scary or hot as hell," the man with the pompadour said in what sounded like awe, and you saw most commanders nodding and mumbling things along the theme of yeah, same.

You frowned. "That's just basic deduction. I can come up with more complicated plans than that with two hours and a few cups of tea."

"Crazy scary it is," one of them muttered, a short brown-haired guy wearing a ruffed green outfit, and found himself on the receiving end of an elbow from the man on his left.

"GURARARARARA !" Whitebeard laughed again, then hit the ground with his naginata, his grin wider than before. "That's quite the brain you have, little one. How about you joined the family ? I've always wanted a daughter."

You blinked. Then ignored the gasps his offer had provoked in the room. Then stared at him. Then wondered what the hell was up with the universe. What part of you wanting nothing to do with Emperors and Warlords and the likes was so hard to understand ?

"Thank you for your generous offer, but I decline," you told him as politely as you could. "All I ever wanted was to happily live my life writing mysteries, I have no interest or desire to join a crew, even a Yonko's."

"You could still come live with us for a while-yoi," Marco suggested in a way that was a tad too innocent to be honest. "Just the time to get Teach out of the picture, so we're sure he can't get to you. There won't be a safer place for you than the Moby Dick-yoi."

You looked at him and raised an eyebrow, letting him know without words what you thought of his relatively subtle attempt.

"Thank you, but I decline as well. My friends and I have already come up with a solution to ensure my safety that will be much less suspicious than moving into the heart of a Yonko's territory. Giving you my number is as far as I'm willing to go, and only because the circ*mstances make communication necessary," you conceded reluctantly. You were stubborn, not completely stupid.

When the noise in the room started getting to unbearable levels, Whitebeard stood up.

"BOYS !" he tonned, his voice resonating like thunder int the bright room. There was immediate quiet, and he turned to you. "If that is what you wish, child, we'll respect it. But let it be known that you will always be welcome into this home, and no harm will befall you in my territory."

You bowed gratefully at his words, expressing your gratitude through body language, and he sat back on his chair-throne. "You're free to go, I'll talk with that red-haired brat about keeping a few people close to your place at all time until Teach is dead."

"Thank you," you said softly. "For your understanding and your protection."

He chuckled, and then dismissed you with a gesture of his hand. Izou made to reach you, but Marco beat him to it, stating that he would drive you back to your home.

Unsurprisingly, you weren't in the car for more than five minutes before the doctor started the conversation.

"So, you and Akagami aren't a thing anymore," he stated, and you had never wished for a drink so much. What was it with curious people and your lovelife ?

"Are we really talking about this ?" you asked tiredly.

"Well, ideally you'll do the talking and I'll just get to sate my curiosity-yoi," he smirked, his blue eyes sparkling with playfulness.

You sighed loudly, and stared at the December night sky through your window. There were too many clouds to see the stars.

"I already told all there was to it. He called the wrong number, the conversation kept going, and then I realised he was one of the people I specifically stated on multiple occasions that I wanted nothing to do with," you summed up, leaving aside the two am debates about whether it was better to eat peas with chopsticks or soup with a fork, your rants about uncooperative characters, his stupid innuendos that always made you laugh or blush or both.

"Hmm. You know, I've known him for a while, what with being Pops' first mate for so long-yoi. I've never seen him so determined to keep someone safe. Or so obviously smitten-yoi," the phoenix man said, his eyes glancing minutely in your direction. "And you don't look like it was just friendship to you."

"It wasn't," you admitted quietly. "I liked him. I never told him, not when he was still bragging about the girls he picked up from bars every other night, but he means-meant a lot to me. I had even planned to reveal my identity soon," you huffed with irony.

"That's a big step for people who've never seen each other."

You only hummed at that, remembering with bittersweet nostalgia your own doubts about you being a highly successful author and how it might impact the relationship you had with your sunshine.

"So you just told him that his status as an Emperor was a dealbreaker ?" Marco pushed further.

"You really want to know what happened when I saw him after waking up from a thirty hours traumatically-induced nap with the worst headache ever ?"

"If you don't mind telling me."

"I slapped him," you said bluntly, causing the doctor to choke on air and almost lose his grip the wheel, "then told him he was an asshole, that if he truly cared about my safety he would have told me who he was when I first learned about Yonkos, that he could go f*ck himself and that we were done. And then I left."

Marco used a stop at a red light to stare at you in disbelief.

"Okay, I was not expecting that-yoi."

"I don't take lies or betrayals lightly," you said in a whisper that contained more hurt than anger, your eyes looking through the window at the rather boring scenery.

"I can see that-yoi," the doctor chuckled with a small smirk. "You're one hell of a woman, you know ? I think you're he first person I've ever met to say no to both Whitebeard and Akagami and live to tell the tale-yoi."

You snorted rather inelegantly at that, sporting a tired grin of your own. "You have to be a little crazy to be a writer."

"For real though, why are you so opposed to Yonkos and Shishibukais ? Do you have like, family in the Marines or something ?" Marco asked you as he took another turn, getting closer to your appartment complex.

"I don't have family, period. Unless you count my cat," you said, and cut the words before the blond man could start with them. "My birth parents died before I turned two, I don't remember or miss them, and my life at the orphanage wasn't the worst. So don't bother with sorries and such."

"Okay, so then…" Marco prompted you.

"I don't want to live my life as a walking weakness for someone else, or be targeted because of who I'm sleeping or living with. I'm not a fighter, I don't want power, I just want to be left alone and write my stories in peace," you explained, still looking rather sadly through the window. "And I know that if I put one foot into the world you're living in… there won't be a way out."

Marco frowned, and you saw from the corner of your eyes that his lazy grin had disappeared as he thought seriously about what you had just said.

"Being an Emperor's partner would actually be a better way to be protected from any kind of danger-yoi. You'd have a bunch of people ready to defend you at any given time. And frankly, it'd take a special brand of idiot to even dare attack Akagami's girl."

"And what do you think will happen to me when I'm no longer his girl ?" you countered easily.

"If that happens," he retorted just as quickly, "Pops' offer will still be on the table and you can stay with us."

You blinked incredulously at him. "Somehow I doubt it's possible to just jump from one crew to another as easily as that."

"Oh it's almost impossible, but you know, every rule has an exception-yoi," Marco said, his lazy smirk back in full force. "Also what Pops said tonight basically makes you an honourary member of the family, so really, you'd just be coming home."

"Wait," you said, straightening in your seat with wide eyes and staring at him. "Come again ?"

"Pops said you were always welcome into the Moby Dick and that you were protected on his territory. That means you're as good as family-yoi," the doctor said, grinning wider as you facepalmed and muttered about unwanted adoptions and underhanded methods. "Also, you saved Thatch's life and prevented Ace from doing something stupid. You kind of doomed yourself with that-yoi."

"I hate all of you," you mumbled grumpily.

"That's the spirit," Marco chuckled.

You looked at him incredulously, wondering how much of a madhouse the Moby Dick had to be for the laidback blond man to be so cheerful about that kind of statement.

"But seriously," the doctor said gently, "think about it-yoi. You don't have to take a decision now, or even tomorrow. But consider that our world, as you put it, comes with a lot of perks too-yoi."

You stared at your lap, fiddling with the hem of your coat. You could see his point. Maybe. If you squinted. And purposefully ignored your stupid heart reminding you of one very wonderful perk with red hair and a nice voice, who had come all the way to another Emperor's territory in a heartbeat when he had realised you might be in a dangerous situation.

The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence, you deep into your thoughts and Marco seemingly good with the – probably rare – quiet.

As you got out of the car, you thanked him for bringing you home, and both of you quickly exchanged phone numbers so you would have one direct contact with Whitebeard's crew.

Then, you proceeded to endure Bartolomeo and Cavendish's incredulous reactions when you told them you had basically just been unofficially adopted without even realising it.

The three of you still watched the end of your interrupted movie with pizza and ice cream, though, so you considered it to be a pretty good evening.

Chapter 7: Christmas time

Chapter Text

Christmas came, and you spent it with your best friends and your cat. Surprisingly, the three of you had managed to cohabit without too many death threats so far – although you had invested in a pair of earplugs after the first night – and you had even managed to polish the final version of your new novel, sending it to Saul two days before Christmas and feeling free to enjoy the festivities.

You had also gone to North Blue's Christmas village with Cavendish, and enjoyed the different foods, drinks, and animations, as well as buying a few little trinkets for your Christmas tree to replace the ones Mephisto diligently destroyed every year. You had crossed paths with some members of Whitebeard's crew that you recognised, and probably more that you didn't.

From what you had heard, there was no news on Teach's side. The man was laying low somewhere, probably bidding his time.

Your exchanges with Shanks were… stilted. He kept you informed about his search through voicemails, and you confirmed you were being careful with one daily text, but that was the full extent of your communication. It was awkward and you hated it.

You had also lost count of the amount of drunk, pleading voicemails he had left you – the quality of his voice better than ever since you had bought a new phone – and how much each of those brought you closer to rethink your stance on maybe-perhaps-possibly consider the idea of trying to talk to him about a relationship. Marco's words had really given you a lot to think about.

And that was why, on Christmas morning, after opening your presents and while you were lazing around eating Christmas cookies and watching The Grinch, you took a picture of Mephisto playing with one of his new toys and sent it to Sunshine with a few words.

Y/N

Image.png

Merry Christmas, Shanks

You put your phone away after that, feeling your heart in your throat and nervousness turning your stomach into a roller coaster. Cavendish and Bartolomeo looked at you knowingly from their entangled pile of ugly Christmas clothes – trust Bartolomeo to find assorted hideous punk Christmas sweater and sweatpants – but said nothing.

You didn't get an answer until almost an hour and a half later, when you had switched to The Holiday, Cavendish's favourite Christmas rom-com.

Sunshine

So that's Mephisto

He's cute

Merry Christmas, Y/N

You bit your lips, unsure about what to do.

"Just call him, girl," Cavendish smirked from the other side of the sofa, Bartolomeo snorting a laugh from his boyfriend's lap, and you grumbled about nosy idiots while fighting back a blush.

"Be right back," you muttered, and got up to walk to your room for at least some privacy, under the whistles and laughs of your friends. You contemplated briefly reminding them of your extensive knowledge on disembowelment, but ultimately decided otherwise.

You plopped yourself on your sea-blue sheets after closing the door, and tapped the call button before you could talk yourself out of it. Everything was fine. You were just calling a guy you had told you never wanted to see again after slapping him and had basically ignored for the past ten days.

No reason to be nervous at all or feel like a pining fool.

sh*t that was a terrible idea. Maybe you could still end th-

"Angel ?" Shanks' voice sounded baffled, but it was still his voice, and that was enough to put a small smile on your face.

"Hey sunshine," you whispered, hoping your own voice wasn't shaking as much as you felt it was.

"Wow. So that's not a butt dial."

That had you choking on a small fit of surprised laughter. "No, and before you ask, I'm not drunk either."

"And I'm no way near drunk enough to imagine you calling me to confess your eternal love and beg for phone sex. Wait, are you alright ? sh*t if you're in danger I'll-"

"I'm fine," you cut him off with a calm and slightly amused voice. "I just… wanted to talk to you," you admitted softly.

"Oh. Yeah, sure, what about ?" he still sounded baffled, but more pleased as the conversation went on.

You took a deep breath. You could totally do this. You were a mostly functional adult with a cat and a successful career, you could talk honestly to a man you liked.

"I've been thinking about… about that night. And I realised I never thanked you for coming to my rescue, bringing me to a safe place and taking care of me. So thank you."

"You're welcome, princess," he replied, and you could hear the smile in his tone.

"I also wanted to-" you stopped, breathed, and reminded yourself that you could do it. "To apologise. I was mad at you for hiding the truth, but I what I said to you was unnecessarily cruel. The traumatic experience and emotional exhaustion didn't help, but it doesn't excuse my actions. So… I'm sorry. And if you still want to talk to me, I'd be happy to go back to what we had."

You felt like a weight had been lifted from your chest. Come hell or high water, at least it was out there. Now it was just a question of whether or not Shanks would accept your apology, but that was entirely left to him and you would not-

"OI LADS !" he yelled suddenly, sounding further away from the phone, and you blinked in confusion. "Why'd you put the strong stuff in the grog ? Don't look at me like that, Lucky, no way I'm that drunk already with just- what do you mean you used the regula- OI BECK NOT AGA-" you heard wrestle noises, a couple things being broken, a very stern hold him ! and then the now almost familiar voice of Beckman.

"Hello ?"

"Hello Beckman," you greeted him, still confused but polite anyway.

"Wait. Miss Y/N !?" he asked incredulously.

"That would be me."

"sh*t, did he drunk call ya again ? I swear we've been-"

"No, not at all !" you quickly corrected. "I called him."

"… what."

"I… I wanted to thank him for coming to my rescue that night. And apologise for what I said to him before I left. And ask if he wanted to go back to what we had," you repeated, your voice a bit unsteady but still clear.

There was a moment of silence, and then you heard Beckman as if he was away from the phone as well. "Lucky, what the f*ck did ya put in that grog !?"

From afar, you heard Shanks shout something along the line of see, I told you ! and there was a bunch of confused yelling for a few minutes before someone else took the phone.

"Hello miss, it's Hongo."

"Hello, erm, not that I mind talking to you, but could you tell me what is going on ?" you asked, feeling well and truly lost at that point.

"Apparently there's something weird in the grog Lucky Roux made because they're hearing things, and I'm the only one who hasn't downed a tankard of it yet, so…" the doctor sighed.

"Oh," you finally realised what had happened. "Yeah, I guess it came a little out of the blue from my side. I called to express my gratitude for my rescue, apologise for what I said to him before I left, and ask if he wanted to start talking again."

"Oh sh*t," Hongo stated, seemingly taken aback by your admission. "Yeah, no wonder they all think they've been roofied. Captain's been miserable for the past ten days and everyone was pretty much convinced we'd never hear from you again."

"I wasn't sure you would, to be honest," you admitted. "But I've been talking with my friends and… other people, and thinking a lot, and well. Here I am, I guess. If he still wants to talk to me, that is."

There was a sudden bonk noise, as if the phone had been dropped, followed by more yells – seriously, could no one in this crew talk at a decent level – until you could understood some of the words exchanged.

You're not drunk she really said that-

What the f*ck-

Wait she's really-

What do you mean IF I still want to-

And then suddenly Shanks' voice was back on the line.

"So I'm not dreaming and not completely wasted yet, apparently," he said, still sounding like he didn't entirely believe what was happening, which made you feel like you had just kicked a puppy in need of love. "You really said what I think you said."

"Yeah," you sighed. "Look, my mind is still a mess, and I'm not sure where I stand anymore on a lot of things, but I've been more or less adopted by Whitebeard-"

"YOU WHAT !?"

"- and Marco made some not unreasonable arguments about being part of your world-"

"HE WHAT !?"

"- and Barto and Cav pointed out that Yonko or not, you made me happier than they'd seen me be in years-"

"I WHAT !?"

"- and could you stop screaming everytime I say something please ?"

"You- I- what the- f*ck it, oi Yasopp, bring me the strong stuff !" your sunshine said, and you sighed disapprovingly. "Don't you ugh me, angel, not after dropping bombs on me like that."

"Fair enough," you conceded. "But just so we're clear, Whitebeard offered me a place in his crew and I declined. He just decreeted that I was always welcome to the Moby Dick, and that no harm would befall me on his territory, and apparently him saying that on top of me saving Thatch and preventing Ace from doing something stupid means I've been adopted as an honourary member of his family," you sighed. The old Yonko had been completely unrepentant when you had called him to clear things out. "Apparently he put my number under favourite daughter in his contacts even if I'm the only one he has."

"Cunning old bastard," Shanks muttered. "Should have known he'd try to steal you away."

"Oh puh-lease," you replied and rolled your eyes. "If I hadn't said yes to you, there was no way in hell I'd say yes to him, or anyone else for that matter."

Then you realised what you had just admitted and slapped your free hand on your mouth.

"Oh ?" the Emperor said, sounding like the cat who had gotten both the canary and the cream.

sh*t.

"Care to tell me why that is, angel ?" your sunshine purred.

"Uh," you replied, blushing and thankful it didn't translate through a phone call, then cleared your thoat. "I mean, we've been talking for months."

"Mh-hm."

"And I was ready to trust you with my identity."

"I see."

"And I- erm, you were- I mean-"

"Is my lovely writer of a girl at a loss for words ?"

Throwing your phone against the nearest wall and screaming into a pillow appeared more and more like a marvellous idea.

"You're the worst and I hate you," you mumbled in the least convincing way possible, which earned you the carefree and wild laugh you had missed so much.

"So," Shanks said after being done laughing, seemingly merciful enough to change the subject, "do you have any plans for New Year's Eve ?"

"Yeah, Barto, Cav, and I have had this stupidly complicated tradition for years," you chuckled fondly. "We're setting up a karaoke and DDR platform at either their place or mine, we put on a random playlist of the songs we all know, and add a really sh*tty judging performance app. Whoever loses the duel drinks whatever our homemade wheel says, it goes from shots to water to fruity co*cktails to a bottle of beer and everything in between. We do that until midnight, then watch the fireworks from the balcony, then we all do a few more shots to welcome the new year. And then, each of us try to cook a ridiculously complicated recipee one of the others has picked for us, and we eat whatever the result is while drinking some more and watching the first sunrise of the year together. And then we usually pass out and swear ten hours later to never drink again."

There was a pause for a few seconds on the other side. Then Shanks spoke in a dreamy voice.

"That. That is the most amazing, most perfect, most wonderful New Year's Eve tradition I have ever heard of. In. My. Life. Give me a minute, I need to tell the lads about it, we're changing our party plans !"

"Wait what ? Sunshine no ! sh*t, forget what I said !" but you heard more yelling in the background, until somehow Beckman got a hold of the phone through means you didn't want to ask about.

"So." The single word was a statement and an accusation all in one.

"I'm sorry," you half-apologised, half-laughed.

"I ain't paid enough for this."

"Probably not," you agreed.

"I'm startin' to see why ya two hit it off."

"How about a deal to make up for the chaos I accidentally unfolded ?"

"I'm listenin'."

"Give me your number and I'll send you, not him, a video of drunk me singing his favourite disney song in a sh*tty karaoke set up and sexy dress, to use as a bargaining chip whenever you need it during the evening."

There were a few seconds of contemplating silence, on top of a notification with a new number, that you quickly wrote on the closest notebook you had.

"What d'ya want for that ?"

"A video of him singing or dancing on a really silly song."

"Deal. Pleasure makin' business with ya, miss Y/N."

"Likewise, Beckman, but please drop the miss," you chuckled.

"You got it, Y/N. And thanks. For givin' him a chance. We'll keep ya safe, I swear."

"Thank you. You think I can talk to him again before ending the call ?" you asked.

"Sure thing. Oi, Captain ! Ya girl wanna say bye !"

"Hey princess," was the next thing you heard, a grin obvious in the way he spoke.

"Try not to traumatize your friends too much ?"

"Pfff, they've seen worse."

"I'm not even going to ask," you said, shaking your head with an amused grin of your own. "Bye, sunshine."

"Bye, sweetheart."

You ended the call, feeling way happier than you probably should, and ready to squeal like a highschool girl. Then you breathed in, saved Beckman's number, composed yourself and walked back into the living room to see the next Christmas movie – Home Alone – already started. You ignored Barto and Cav's smug grins, barely telling them you had basically sorted things out with the red-haired Yonko of East Blue.

-o-oOo-o-

Did you remember anything about New Year's Eve ?

No.

Was it for the best ?

Probably.

Did you receive the promised video of Shanks being absolutely wasted on Witch Doctor ?

Hell. f*cking. Yes.

-o-oOo-o-

The launch date of your latest mystery novel was confirmed as the first big book release of the year in mid-January, and Saul insisted you did at least three interviews about it.

You said you wouldn't do any, and somehow compromised on one interview and a photoshoot.

Much to your dismay, Saul managed to have it done by Big News Morgan himself.

You almost considered strangling your editor when he told you the so-called good news. Instead, you ranted about it to Shanks and then Marco for an hour each, on top of complaining about it to Cav, Barto, and Mephisto. In the end, you did the stupid interview and the photoshoot, and handled every minute of it with as much grace as you could muster. Wearing empowering clothes in blacks, reds, and purples with assorted make up that made you feel like the Queen of Mysteries you had been dubbed as in the article was nice, though.

Some of the questions you were asked, however, had Shanks getting an ego boost even you hadn't anticipated, but that radiated in his voice during the call that had followed the interview's release.

"So your latest mystery novel is dedicated to your sunshine, huh ?"

"You were there for me when I ranted about my characters and asked for advice on swordsmanship, you deserve it."

"Hmm, but you've asked for specialised advice from different people for years and the last person you've dedicated a book to was Mephisto, sweetheart. And before that, only your editor and best friends."

"So what bout it ?"

"So… why me ?"

"Fine, I only dedicate my books to people who have had an impact on my life and changed me in a good way, people I think make me a better author, a better person, and whom I can't imagine my life without anymore."

"You can't just say stuff like that, sweetheart."

"Why not ?"

"Because you asked me not to jerk off to your voice anymore."

-o-oOo-o-

And somehow, on February twelth, you found yourself doing your first meet and greet of the year as part of the promotion of your book. There was a ridiculously high pile of your newest novel – already acclaimed by both the public and the critics as your best so far – in a major bookshop situated on the border between North blue and West blue.

Which meant you had to deal with an ungodly amount of idiots hoping to get a signed copy of your latest book for their girlfriend, in the desperate belief that it would save them from being dumped within the next two months. And that was when they weren't trying to use the opportunity to ask you out for Valentine's Day.

What a joy.

To top it off, you were without your best friends and Saul had been bedridden with a bad case of flu for the past two days. So it was just you, in a bookshop you had never been to before, without any security, and only two cashiers obviously way in over their head with the event.

Or rather, it would have been, were you not under the more-or-less official protection of two Emperors.

One of Whitebeard's division commanders, Vista, was behind you on your left side with a pair of swords on his belt. Behind you on your right side was a man with long blond hair that was part of Shanks' crew and who introduced himself as Limejuice.

Their presence combined meant that so far, no one had bothered you too much. Not without finding themselves on the receiving end of two very intimidating glares you couldn't see but were undoubdtedly efficient.

Them being here wasn't really helping your attempt at keeping your relation to both crews discreet, but when the Emperors had learned about your meet and greet and the lack of security and friends, it had been all you could do to prevent Whitebeard from sending an entire division to guard the building and Shanks from coming himself.

You hadn't seen him since the night of the incident, both of you agreeing to keep things on the down low until Teach was caught and killed, but you were also both getting a bit impatient. Impatient enough for him to convince you to agree to a few rounds of phone sex, which had left you a panting mess on your sheets. And that had been without him even saying your name. By some unspoken agreement, you were both waiting to see each other in person to do so for the first time.

Either that or your sunshine was just a tease and you were reading too much into it.

You had also talked about where the Yonko and you standed with each other exactly. You had agreed to try an exclusive relationship with him, which according to Beckman had resulted in Shanks grinning like a loon for three days straight, when he wasn't whinning about not being allowed to see his girl.

You had told your sunshine you were considering staying at the Red Force after the release of your novel – and the unavoidable meet and greet signing event that would follow – since it would be the last time you would truly need to be out in public for several months. Shanks had been over the moon when you had said so, and promised to make up for all the time lost being appart.

You weren't expecting to be left out of his arms for more than a few seconds at a time for a long while.

But moving in temporarily with him was part of the reason you had agreed to have major players of both crews protecting you today. If you were going to leave your appartment soon, you could afford to let the rest of Grand Line City know where you stood on the political chessboard.

And it was pretty fun to see some people recognising the two men acting as bodyguards and stare at them, then at you, and becoming a confused mess once it was their turn. Although that one Marine with his cigar and red suit had been pretty rude when he outright asked if you were held hostage. Admiral or not, that man had been very unpleasant and you weren't looking forward to seeing him again.

By the time your lunch break rolled, you had also met a few of Big Mom's children, all very… colourful. In different ways. Mostly, you remembered the intense presence of a huge man with a scarf hiding half his face, who was accompanying a bunch of his sisters. He had exchanged looks with Vista and Limejuice, and the three men had apparently come to a silent understanding about their similar mission.

Meanwhile, you had signed more than two dozen books since the girls, teenagers and women wanted to bring copies to their siblings. They had also asked whether you planned to ever make a mystery happening in a bakery, to which you said you would think about, maybe for one of the stories in your next children's book.

Needless to say, they had been extatic to hear that.

Things were going relatively well, but you knew the afternoon would be a bigger challenge. There were always more people coming in the afternoon, and weirder ones too. Still, you put yourself back at your table, surrounded by books, a few pens, and a bottle of water that made you miss Robin's tea fiercely.

And as soon as the doors opened again, you were proved right about weird people.

A tall blond man with sunglasses and the biggest, pinkest feathery coat you had ever seen walked in like he owned the place, a big smile on his face that screamed trouble from a mile away. You heard Vista and Limejuice straighten and come closer to you, confirming wordlessly that this man was not your usual bookworm.

"Fufufufufu, no need for such… hostility, we're all friends here," the man said, and yep, you were calling it right now, he was a manipulative asshole. The way he turned his phrase and immediately put the accusation on the other people was enough to send big red flags flying in your mind.

But he hadn't done anything wrong yet, so as far as you were concerned, he could have his signed copy and be on his way. Quickly, if possible. Polite smile on, you took a pen in hand.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you ?"

"Hopefully a lot, my dear miss Y/N," he replied in a flirtatious tone, his smile widening. "After all, you piqued my interest," he told you as if it were the greatest honour known to man.

You slowly blinked, unimpressed, and waited for him to state his business or leave. Preferably leave.

"To think a woman as lovely as you can come up with such… vicious, convoluted ideas," he said, licking his lips. "I simply had to meet you. And you seem to be the kind of woman who also knows when to remain silent, despite the curiosity burning in your eyes about my intentions."

You clenched your jaw, your smile tensing with it, and willed yourself not to answer his provocation disguised in what he seemed to believe was a compliment.

"But I'm willing to give you… say, a chance to sate some of it," he offered, almost purring as he bended to bring himself closer to you. "How about you and I ditch this place to get better acquainted ?"

You kept your tense smile on, and replied with the kind of sweet and polite tone you used when you were wishing you could tell someone to get the f*ck out of your sight. "I decline, sir. Now please tell me whether you wish to have a signed copy of my book or a picture and leave, there are other people waiting for their turn."

"Fufufufufu, what a feisty little thing you are. I'll settle for both now, and dinner tonight."

You picked a copy on the pile, and replied without missing a beat. "I have plans for tonight," you opened the book on the first page, and looked up. "To whom ?"

You had a little satisfied moment when he seemed surprised that you even needed to ask. Then his grin came back full force.

"My name is Donquixote Doflamingo, but please darling, just use Doffy."

Ah. So that was the man you were supposed to avoid like the plague. No need to tell you twice. You signed the book with his choice of name, and pushed it toward him. "There."

"Now for my picture-"

"Touch her and you'll lose a hand," Limejuice warned from behind you.

"Or an arm," Vista added.

There was a moment of tension, and you could see the anger simmering in the blond man on the other side of your table, his suave mask cracking for an instant to reveal a rather murderous intent. It was gone in a flash, but you had seen it nonetheless.

The Warlord fished a bright pink phone out of his pocket, took a quick selfie, his signed copy, and left without another word.

"Thanks, guys," you breathed as the next person walked forward, a young woman with long wavy light-blue hair pulled into a ponytail, and a bright happy smile.

You kept going for half an hour without any more creepy or dangerous people. You had been nervous for a second when a stern man with a bad case of resting bitch face despite his soft-looking white fur hat with cute black dots had come forward. However, he turned out to be perfectly polite and introduced himself as a surgeon, which led you to ask a few questions about hospital protocols and the likes.

Then you spotted Dracule Mihawk coming in, this time joined by the embodiement of a goth lolita who seemed to radiate enough emotion for the two of them. When it was their turn, he simply nodded to the two men behind you and let the young woman do the talking.

"You're so cute !" she squeaked happily, and wait a second, was she… floating ? You decided not to ask, and merely smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Thanks, I think you're really cute too. That dress looks beautiful on you."

"Holoholoholo !" she giggled and hid herself behind her hands, definitely floating as she moved around. "I love your books ! My favourite's The Ghost Bride, it was so cute ! Mihawk even got me a signed copy last autumn as a surprise !" she said and turned an adoring gaze on the man, whose stern looking behaviour seemed to soften ever so slightly for a second.

You smiled warmly. "I'm glad it made you happy."

In the end, you signed a copy with both their names and even added a little cartoonish ghost with hearts instead of eyes next to your autograph, which had the young woman – Perona, as she insisted you called her – squeezing you in a tight hug and declaring you were her favourite person in the world after Mihawk.

The Warlord took a picture of the two of you, then they were on their way.

"They're pretty cute together," you chuckled with a smile as the couple walked out of the bookshop. The two men behind you seemed floored that the World's Greatest Swordsman could be in a relationship, much less with someone so expressive.

But coming from someone whose best friend was Shanks – you had choked on your drink when you had been told that yes, Hawkeyes was Shanks' friend Mimi – you found it rather coherent.

Another duo surprised you a little while later, a man with ash-blonde hair and two cigars in his mouth, and a black-haired woman with glasses. The former looked like coming here was physically painful and the latter asked you a million questions about the kind of research you did for your books and how impressive it was that you actually got the legal and scientific protocols right instead of rushed.

They confirmed they were both Marines, and were even rather subtle in the way they looked at the two men behind you and then asked with concern if you were okay. Contrarily to the rude Admiral, they were careful and respectful about it. And when you soothed their worries, they relaxed and moved on.

Things were calm for about forty minutes, and then you almost bashed your head into the table when you saw half of Whitebeard's division commanders walk in with big mischievous grins on their faces.

"Hey sis !" Ace exclaimed, pushing his brothers to get to you first. "You got more of those kid stories you write around here ?"

You let out a long, exhausted, painful sigh. "Honourary sister. And yes, but you didn't need to come today to buy them. What are you all doing here ?"

"Well, we're here to support our one and only sister of course !" the one you had learned was named Rakuyo smiled. "And get our signed copies of your new mystery ! Can mine say-"

"No ! Sign mine first !" Thatch yelled, trying to get closer. "And I brought you snacks !" he added and gave you a little bag of chocolate chip cookies.

You chuckled. "Thank you, I'm definitely going to need them to hold on until tonight."

The chef smiled smugly, and half of his brothers shot him jealous glares. "So can I have a message that says I'm the best brother ?"

A chorus of no's ! followed, and you finally understood what was going on, facepalming then noting Marco's lazy smirk as he watched the chaos unfold from the side. You exchanged a glance with the doctor, grabbed two copies of your novel, wrote a quick note on each, and hold them for him to take.

"Oh come on !" Vista protested from behind you, and crossed his arms on his chest in a pouting stance. "That's unfair !" he added, gaining the attention of his brothers and gesturing vaguely in Marco's direction.

"Wait what ?" Izou asked.

The phoenix man's smirk turned from lazy to smug as he read what you had written on the first page. "To my favourite brother, Marco. Thank you again for your advice."

Ace and Thatch seemed close to tears and looked at you with twin puppy eyes and brokenhearted expressions. "Sorry boys," you shrugged. "Marco's the reason I got together with my man in the end. He wins by a landslide."

"Damn it," Izou grumbled. "Can't compete with that."

"Who's the other book for ?" Rakuyo asked. The man seemed to have gotten over his defeat pretty quickly.

Marco opened it before you could answer, took one look at what you had written, and immediately started laughing.

"It's for Whitebeard," you declared before they could try to steal the copy away, giving time for the blond man to recover and read your note again, out loud this time, with only a chuckle interrupting him.

"To the sneakiest dad with questionable adoptive methods, Edward Newgates."

That had all of your honourary brothers laughing themselves off for a solid minute, and you even heard Limejuice snicker behind you. When you glanced at him, you saw the blond man grinning and typing something on his phone. You raised an eyebrow in a curious yet silent question.

"I got the moment where you called Captain your man on video, just sent it to the groupchat," he explained, and you blushed immediately, muttering about being surrounded by cunning people.

It took twenty more minutes for you to get the division commanders to leave, after ensuring each of them would receive a signed copy of one of your books, plus a few for the ones who couldn't come see you today. And when they insisted to take pictures, you limited to one each and nothing too silly.

You almost punched Ace when he tried to make a pose while using his fire, reminding him that he was in a bookshop and books were very much flammable.

You took a quick bathroom break after they left, if only to get a breather.

When you came back, the line seemed to be composed of slightly more regular persons, so you felt yourself relax. Then you prayed it would stay that way for the four hours left until you were done with the event.

Chapter 8: Unexpected appearance

Chapter Text

In the end, your prayer was mostly answered. You had seen Boa Hanco*ck again, this time joined by her sisters and a few other women, and exchanged relatively pleasant conversation. She was still against the very concept of men, and seemed put out by your polite but firm rejection of her offer to come live at Amazon Lily with them all.

There had also been a touchy moment with a fiery red-head who seemed to have the worst temper imaginable, but turned out to only have tagged along with his best friend. The masked man with impossibly long blond hair was apparently easily flustered by pretty women, but a big fan of your work.

Other than that, things went well.

Suspiciously well, one might even say.

About an hour and a half before the end, a man came in, and you had to do a double take at his appearance.

He was… for a lack of better word, flashy.

You didn't know what was the most unusual between his blue hair coming out of either side of his tricorn, his round and bright red nose, his crossbone face make-up, or his brightly coloured clothes.

Oh well, he couldn't be worse than Doflamingo.

When it was his turn, you noticed that he hold himself like he was both confident in himself to the point of arrogance, and a nervous mess.

You also quickly learned that his default voice volume was on deafening.

"HIIIIIIII MISS Y/N !"

You winced.

"Hello sir," you greeted him nonetheless, mustering a pained smile back up, and heard Limejuice cough like he was hiding a laugh behind you. "I assure you there is no need to scream."

"Oh, right, yes of course, pffff, I knew that !" he bragged, and you blinked as you saw one of his hands detached itself from his body and fly away before coming back.

So he was a devil fruit user, go figure.

He didn't say anything after that, striking a pose like he was in the middle of a show, and a few seconds were spent in awkward silence.

"Erm, sir ?" you asked.

"You know who I am, of course !" he exclaimed. "The great, awesome, unique, the wonderful Captain Buggy the Clown !"

You blinked again, then answered truthfully. "I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with that name."

"What !? Impossible !" he nearly shrieked, looking both floored, sad, and offended before recovering. "Well, I'll give you a chance to correct that ! You have been chosen by me personally to become my flashy Valentine !"

You could feel the headeache coming with every word screamed your way, no matter how amusing his antics were.

"That's not going to be possible, sir," you told him with a gentle smile. "Now, are you looking fo-"

You cut yourself abruptly, your eyes glued to the figure who had just walked into the bookshop.

Red hair falling on either side of his face, three parallel scars over his left eye, tanned skin, wearing a white shirt with brown pants and a black coat, tall and handsome, a confident grin on his face, Shanks found your gaze right away and hold it.

You were up from your chair before you could realise what you were doing and barely aborted the movement to get around the table in time, feeling yourself flush. You addressed a small smile to the Emperor, who grinned wider.

Unsurpringly, he ignored the queue and walked straight to your table, stopping only when he was in front of it, his eyes never leaving you.

"Y/N," he said, his voice rumbling around your name in a way that had a shiver run down your spine and made your next breath difficult.

"Shanks," you murmured softly as a reply, and his pupils dilated.

For a moment, it was just the two of you in a bubble away from everything and everyone, and you couldn't help looking at his lips, the tension brewing fast between you.

Then the other man punched Shanks on the shoulder and started shrieking again, breaking the bubble of sexual tension and bringing you back to the present.

"OI SHANKS ! Wait for your turn like everyone ! And don't bother-"

"Buggy, been a while !" the Emperor smiled and greeted him like an old friend, which surprised you. "Sorry sorry, couldn't see you there with such a beauty taking all the spotlight."

"You two know each other ?" you asked curiously as you sat back, your heart still racing in your chest.

"Oh yeah, we're friends !" Shanks replied with a carefree grin. "Started our careers in the same crew and all."

"Oi asshole, didn't you hear me !?" the self-proclaimed clown kept slapping Shanks' arm with no effect whatsoever. "Back off, it's my turn to talk to-"

"I'm not staying long," Shanks interrupted him, and winked at you. "Just thought I'd drop by to see my girl."

You rolled your eyes fondly and smiled. "You could just admit you wanted to hear me call you my man live after that video."

"Eh ?" Buggy said, then seemed to realise what was going on between Shanks and you, and half his body cut itself in slices levitating all over, bulging eyes almost out of their sockets. "EEEEEHHHHHHH !?"

"Maybe I did," Shanks agreed readily, going back to ignore the blue-haired man beside him. "Come on babe, you can't blame me for not being able to wait until tomorrow."

Behind you, Limejuice muttered something that sounded suspiciously like just get a room already, and that you chose to ignore.

"I probably should," you countered, your wide smile making your words sound a lot less convincing. "But I'm too happy to see you right now."

"Hmm, so am I, angel. So, do I get boyfriend privileges with what you're doing here ?" Shanks asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Depends on what you're asking for," you chuckled. "You already got to ignore the line, after all."

"Just a picture with the writer, that's all. I'm a very reasonable man."

You raised an eyebrow, then stood up from your chair again to be closer to his height. "That's almost too reasonable coming from you, but sure."

To your great amusem*nt, he sat on the table before taking his phone out, and grabbed you by the waist so you would be pressed against him for a selfie.

"Ready, sweetheart ?"

"When you are, sunshi-mmmh"

Right before taking the picture, Shanks turned his face toward you to capture your lips in a searing kiss, leaving you too surprised to react in a way that was not closing your eyes and melting into it. The way he kept going even after the click had you breathless in seconds, and you brought your arms around his neck to steady yourself, until the lack of oxygen demanded you got away from each other, your mind happily dazed.

His forehead touched yours in a surprisingly tender move, and you waited one more second to open your eyes, immediately finding his adoring gaze on you.

"I've wanted to do that for months," Shanks finally whispered.

It was all you could do to chuckle a breathless same.

You stayed like this for a couple more seconds, utterly lost in each other. Then Buggy started sobbing loudly, making you realise you were still at a very public event. You flushed bright red, and untangled yourself from your suddenly pouting man.

"Aww come on babe, I'm sure the picture is all blurry with the way you moved, can we take another one ?"

"Not today," you retorted, going back to sitting and fixing your hair. "I still have a little over an hour left here, and if you stay I'm never going to be able to focus on my job."

"I'm not that distracting !"

"Yes you are, and you know it."

"I'll be extra quiet, you won't even notice I'm here !"

You stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed fondly and raised your hand to caress his jawline, your gaze never leaving his face as he closed his eyes to enjoy your touch. "Sunshine, you'll have me all to yourself starting tomorrow," you reminded him softly. "But right now, there is no way I can focus on anything or anyone with my man in the room. So please, let me finish my work ?"

"That's unfair," your red-haired Emperor mumbled with his eyes still closed. "I can't say no to you when you ask it like that."

You chuckled, and let your hand fall back on the table. Shanks opened his eyes, sighed dramatically and get himself off the table with a pout. "Fine, I'll get going, your majesty the Queen of Mysteries."

You rolled your eyes at his use of your press-approved title, and were rewarded by a cheeky grin. Then he turned to his friend who was still sobbing while staring at the two of you, and patted his shoulder with a happy smile. "T'was good seeing you again Buggy ! Be kind to my girl, will ya ? Bye !"

Shanks winked at you one last time and you jokingly blew a kiss his way, that he pretended to catch before leaving the bookshop. You chuckled happily to yourself, and turned your attention back to the blue-haired man in front of you.

"Whyyyyy !?" Buggy cried, asking no one and everyone at once. "Why always him !? It's not faiiiiiiiiir !"

You looked at the overdramatic man, and promised yourself to never let him meet Bartolomeo. Their combined dramatics would be impossible to bear for more than five minutes without resorting to drastic measures. Still, you smiled reassuredly at him.

"I'm sure you'll find someone who will make you happy one day."

It took a few more minutes for the clown to calm down, and he kept sniffling sadly as he left with his book and picture.

Behind you, Vista turned to Limejuice. "How many does that make it ?"

The blond man looked at his phone. "Twenty-eight. We might still reach thirty before the end."

"What are you two talking about ?" you asked curiously as a young woman with short light blue hair and bright eyes came to your table.

They waited until you signed the book for Nami, who was apparently the woman's younger sister, to reply.

"The number of people who tried to hit on you or ask you out today," Limejuice explained with a grin. "There's a betting pool in place on both crews."

You turned toward them and stared. "You're kidding."

Vista smiled widely. "Nope ! Pops bet it'd be over thirty by the end of the event."

"Oh spirits," you muttered and started massaging your temples, before picking another cookie in the bag Thatch had brought you. You were not dealing with that level of nonsense without chocolate.

-o-oOo-o-

They were at thirty-two when the event finally ended, freeing you from public appearances for the next few months and apparently declaring Whitebeard and Beckman as the winners of the respective betting pools. Vista also let you know that your adoptive father had loved his impromptu gift and laughed a lot at the message you had written for him. You had an inkling you would have to put the old Emperor on speaker during your next weekly call with him, just to avoid being deafened by said laugh.

Despite not exchanging that much with Whitebeard since you had met him, you were ready to admit – only to yourself for now, but it was a start – that it was pretty nice to have a father figure in your life. And he did make a pretty great dad from what you could tell so far, kind and strict and looking out for his family. Although he did have a tendancy to overprotectiveness with his children, even if Marco insisted it was mostly a recent development and exclusively aimed at his only daughter.

Overprotective or not, you were seriously considering getting him one of those World's Best Dad mugs for the next father's day. And no, that had nothing to do with his promise that no matter what happened, you would always have a place to stay at the Moby Dick. Or his insistance that you called him Pops, even if you weren't a member of his crew. Or his assurance that should Shanks ever make you cry again, the old Emperor would happily earthquake him into oblivion. Nope, not at all, no matter what Cavendish and Barto said about it. It was just nice to have someone to think of as your father on the phone every now and then.

You pulled yourself out of your thoughts as you finally left the bookshop. The night had fallen by then, and while Thatch's cookies had helped tremendously, you were still feeling hungry and tired.

"Do you guys want to stay at my place for dinner ?" you offered to your two bodyguards. "Cav and Barto were planning on ordering something, you could join us if you'd like."

Limejuice smiled, but shook his head. "I think Captain will skin me alive if he learns I've been to your place before him."

"And I still got reports to write for Marco," Vista said with a grimace. "We'll drop you at your place and then leave, but thank you for offering."

"Suit yourselves," you smiled as you put your hands in your coat's pockets and started walking to the car the three of you had shared to come. "Thank you for today, by the way, it was a lot less stressful with you two protecting me."

Both men immediately reassured you it was no trouble at all, and actually pretty fun to see all the different kind of people who would come to a meet and greet session with an author.

Engrossed in the retelling of their favourite encounters of the day, neither of you noticed how the shadows on the street progressively turned darker. Then, as you were close to the car, a laugh from the street on your right made you freeze in fear.

"Zehahahaha ! I told you we'd meet again, pretty thing !"

"TEACH !" Vista yelled, drawing his swords and putting himself in front of you.

Limejuice had his staff in hand already. But as he made to reach for you, a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere to grab your arm.

"Wha-"

You didn't even get to finish a single word before you felt yourself being zapped, then reappeared somewhere else with your stomach protesting and your sense of space entirely altered.

For a few seconds, you could barely stand on your legs, and unfortunately, it was enough for the man – brown hair, weird glasses, black cape, you couldn't distinguish more – to zap you a second time.

This time you found yourself on your knees, nausea threatening to make you throw up, and only a harsh cold wind managed to convince the content of your stomach to remain where it was supposed to.

Then you realised you were on a rooftop, overlooking the street you had previously been walking on, which was now partially obscured by some sort of black dome.

"Oh spirits," you breathed out, properly scared.

"Huh, you haven't vomitted," the man noticed from your side. "Not bad. But yo-OOUUUUUUCH !"

Without thinking, you bended your leg to kick the side of his knee as hard as you could, causing him to abandon his grip on your arm. You struggled to get your balance back for a second, then ran to the center of the roof where there was a door leading inside the building. Before you could reach it, however, tendrils of darkness surrounded you, hiding everything from your sight.

It only lasted a few seconds, but as soon as they dissipated, you noticed Teach standing between you and the door. The man who had teleported you was by his side, grimacing in pain and still using his hands to massage his knee.

"Zehahaha, you're a wild one !" Teach exclaimed with a creepy smile.

You didn't answer, instead trying to think of anything that might help you, your eyes darting left and right to find a solution.

"But you're not getting away this time !"

The darkness surged toward you like black fire, faster than you could ever hope to run. As the first tendrils touch you, cold and heavy and inescapable, all you could do was open your mouth and scream.

-o-oOo-o-

You came back to your senses on the floor of what looked like a cliché dungeon cell, complete with exposed grey stone, a wooden cot against a wall with a single old sheet on it, and metal bars separating you from a depressing corridor with a single light bulb. And of course, it was cold. As suddenly grateful as you were to have opted for black jeans, black boots and a long-sleeved blouse for the meet and greet instead of a skirt or dress, the lack of your coat and scarf were making it difficult to stay warm. On top of that, your body felt as if you had been thrown into a rollercoaster that had derailed mid-course.

You took your time to sit, mindful of the shock, cold, and light nausea you were still feeling, then proceeded to slowly stand up in order to reach the cot. Wood was less cold than stone, and maybe the sheet would help too. It took you longer than you were comfortable with to accomplish it, but once it was done, you forced your mind to kickstart in order to remember what had happened, where you were, and figure out a way to escape.

Because contrarily to the time you had woken up in Shanks' bed, you had a feeling whoever had brought you here did not have your safety in mind as their primary concern. Your pockets had obviously been emptied and there was nothing in the cell susceptible to help you get out of it. After a minute, you clenched your teeth and were forced to admit you couldn't remember anything past the darkness reaching you, which led you to think that you had either lost consciousness or somehow been kept in literal darkness for some time.

Teach was the one who had abducted you, and the man was manipulating shadows or darkness at will, although you were pretty sure it was the latter rather than the former. He had been helped by a man who could teleport himself along with whatever and whoever he touched. You spared a worried thought for Vista and Limejuice. Hopefully they had been left alone once Teach had gotten to you. You didn't want either of them to get hurt or worse on your behalf, bodyguard duty be damned.

You also took a second to vow that if- when you were getting out of here, you would learn to defend yourself better than that. And try to learn at least the basics of both Armament and Observation Haki.

"Okay," you murmured to yourself, and looked around you again. "I know who kidnapped me. Now think, girl, why did he want you and where the f*ck are you ?"

You breathed deeply, closed your eyes, and let your mind lose itself into the different possibilities and their likeliness in the same way you would immerge yourself into a pool. You could do it to plan a perfect crime, you bloody well would do it to save your life.

-o-oOo-o-

You were unsure how much time had passed when you finally managed to narrow it down to one major theory and several plausible ones. But you knew it could not have been long between this realisation and the moment you heard a door being slammed open, quickly followed by footseps and a voice that had your blood run cold.

"…'t you curious about the pretty thing ? I'm even generous enough to show you the royal accomodations she's sleeping in, zehahaha !"

You straightened yourself, letting the sheet fall back on the cot, and stood up in the middle of the cell, arms crossed on your chest. Whoever that asshole was talking to, you would not give him or them the satisfaction to see your fear.

You had faced Warlords and Emperors, had told them no and I decline and even go f*ck yourself on one memorable occasion, had survived an encounter with a murderer and saved his victim. You were the Queen of Mysteries.

You would not yield to some wannabe conqueror planning to use you for power and greed.

"Just wait for me to change the cameraaa… and there we- WHAT !?"

When Teach arrived in front of your cell, you noticed he was actually having a video call at the same time he noticed you were awake, standing up straight and glaring at him.

Game time.

"Well, if it isn't the wannabe murderer I took down with pepper spray and a kick in the dick two months ago," you stated with a calm composure and a touch of arrogance you hoped was convincing enough to hide your nerves. "I must say, kidnapping me because of your bruised ego is rather pathetic and tells more about your lack of confidence in your own abilities than anything else."

You saw the man's jaw clench and his eyes radiate fury for an instant, and during the few seconds you bought as you spoke defiantly, you observed him, trying to notice anything that could help you.

Messy long curly hair, short black beard, tall and wide, tanned skin, missing teeth, black shirt open on his chest, three pistols half-hidden in a yellow sash, green pants, and holding a phone that looked suspiciously like… yours, you realised suddenly.

"Zehahaha !" he laughed, his anger turning into arrogance after you obviously recognised the device. "You're not as smart as you think you are, pretty thing !"

You frowned, the very picture of confusion with a sliver of doubt peaking through. "What do you mean ? If not for revenge, why did you kidnapp me ?"

"Ain't it obvious ?" he said and pointed to the phone. "Say hello to daddy dearest and your sunshine, pretty thing !"

Your eyes widened in genuine worry, your arms uncrossing as well. "What ? Wait no ! Leave them alone, they have nothing to do with-"

"Oh, but they have everything to do with you, zehahaha !" he cut you off, looking smug now that your composure was faltering. "They've been Emperors long enough. It's time for people smarter and stronger to rise !"

"As if you could ever hope to reach Pops and Shanks' level," you retorted with a glare and made sure to put emphasis on the names. "Even with your new powers, what are you going to do ? Turn off the lights and pretend to be the boogeyman ?"

"My powers are greater than you could ever imagine !" He bragged in a condescending tone. "I can do things you can't even dream to comprehend !"

"Oh, so that's why you hid away like a coward for two months and then targeted me, the newest and weakest link you could find to both crews. Yes, clearly that makes perfect sense for someone with such great powers," you said with no small amount of sarcasm.

A thunderous noise suddenly resounded in the corridor as Teach threw a fist against the bars, and you jumped backward with a barely-repressed scream. His black eyes were screaming murder and his creepy smile was nowhere to be seen, but tendrils of darkness started to emanate from his body.

"You better show me some respect, pretty thing," Teach growled. "I waited years to find that devil fruit, even since I learned of its existence ! You have no idea what I have planned for you, how useful you will be to me now that we've gone through enough trials to ensure success !"

The slip of the tongue was not lost on you, so despite the fear at his strenght and scary darkness devil fruit powers, you kept your antagonizing angle. Your main theory was almost certain now, you just needed a little more information.

"Even with my ties to two Emperors, I'm still a regular citizen and a public figure, you can't do anything to me or the Marines will get involved too," you declared with a faltering confidence, forcing your eyes to take a watery sheen.

"Zehahahaha !" Teach laughed, obviously convinced that you were getting desperate. "The Marines can't do anything to save you here !"

Bingo.

"That's such a cliché villain's speech," you chuckled weakly, the perfect picture of the terrified damsel in distress attempting to look brave. "Even at the orphanage, my friends wrote better stuff than that, and let me tell you both Shelly and Mary lived for the clichés."

"Cliché, heh ?" he asked, his smile back and darker than it previously was. "Then let's make it a little more real. What do you think, Akagami ? How about I teach your precious angel a lesson ?" he asked to the phone.

You tensed when he made a movement to pick something in his pocket, real fear taking over when you noticed it was a key. You walked back to the far end of the cell, despite knowing how useless it would be against a man who could control darkness.

"You should hear them scream, zehahaha !" Teach laughed as the key opened the door in the bars, and it was only then that you noticed the wireless headphone in his left ear.

You clenched your teeth. You had to keep giving Shanks and Whitebeard clues to find you, without alerting Teach that you knew more about your situation than he thought.

"I'm not scared of the dark," you lied as well as you could while he entered the cell, blocking the door with his body. "It takes more than the cold stone walls of a haunted house and monsters hiding in shadows to undo a mystery novelist of my calibre."

"Don't worry about monsters, pretty thing, soon you'll be joining them !" he claimed as dark tendrils jerked toward you, blocking your wrists to the wall on each side of your hips and doing the same to your ankles a few inches above the ground.

Okay, so maybe the yell it took out of you was genuine and you were completely terrified by now.

You saw him use your phone to show your face through the video call, your now-real terror no doubt in full display. It was all you could do to keep the tears at bay for now, but you still tried to come up with something else to say to Shanks and Whitebeard.

And then Teach used his free hand to get something out of a hidden pocket behind his back, and you felt any and all colour leave your face as your main theory was confirmed in the worst possible way.

No.

No no no.

He wouldn't.

You started jerking your arms and legs however you could, trying to free yourself from the darkness and their oppressive weight, to no avail. You barely even heard him laugh and say something to the two people he was calling, who couldn't yet see what you were seeing.

Then another tendril crashed against your throat, making you gasp, and a fruit was pressed into your mouth. Teach's hand forced you to bite and then swallow a mouthful of it until you couldn't even spit it.

You barely registered the awful taste of the thing before your body seemed to change on his own accord, as if trying to adapt to a new skin, but the hand pressed against your mouth radiated a pulse negating all its attempts, and excruciating pain took a hold of you like cold fire pouring in your veins.

Your screams were muffled to some extent, but tears were running free on your face and you were now contorting in pain, your arms and leg shaking uncontrollably in the vain hope it would make it go away.

"ZEHAHAHAHAHA ! How does it feel to gain power and have it denied at the same time !?"

You couldn't answer, both your mind and body were panicking at the changes so vital for you to make but impossible to follow at the same time, leaving only pain and fear to run through you like a scorching wildfire.

"Say goodbye to daddy and sunshine, pretty thing !" Teach ordered. He put his hand off your mouth just as a blood-curdling scream escaped your lips, then bashed your head against the wall, making you lose consciousness.

You barely had the time to hope your loved ones would understand your message and rescue you before it was too late.

Chapter 9: Chance encounter

Chapter Text

First of all, it wasn't even that late.

Second, Mihawk had promised he would come. Possibly. Or Shanks had declared he was coming and Mimi hadn't protested, which was as good as promising he would come.

His best sword buddy had even given him his new number after that weird phone crushing accident or whatever, and if that wasn't a proof !

Okay, so maybe Shanks was a teeny tiny bit drunk, but who cared ! He wanted his best friend there to party !

The numbers on the paper were a tad blurry, but he could totally read them and type them right on his phone, easy peasy, no problem.

So then he waited for his best sword buddy to answer, because it would be rude not to answer a call from your best friend and Mimi wasn't rude. Well, most of the time. Or at least not rude rude, but not the poin-

The call connected.

" MIMIIIIIIIII where are youuuuuu !!? You pr'mised you'd come this tiiiiiiiime ! C'me ooooooon we got the booze and all ! Leave yar edgy goth walls and join the paaartyyyy !"

Shanks barely took the time to breathe and kept going. "It lacks ladies but y're too borinnnnn' to get laid now with that g'rl at your place so who caaaaaaares just come and have fun with me ! We don't got wine but the rum is totally worth it after a few tankards and uuuuuh you didn't forget right ? sh*t did I forget to tell you when we were having a party ? Naaah plus we party all the time so come oooooon join us !"

The red-haired man stopped talking for a second in order to down the rest of his rum, and almost spat it back when he heard a lovely woman's voice replying.

"I think you have the wrong number."

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks woke up the next day with the blurry memory of some hot girl's voice teasing him and his head throbbing under the painful effect of a hangover.

Unfortunately, he was very much alone in his bed.

Weird.

He could have sworn he had flirted with a girl last night.

Still feeling like his head had been run over by a truck or several, the Emperor grabbed his phone from wherever it had ended on his bed and checked it, temporarily blinding himself with the artificial light and groaning.

And aside from the time – about three in the afternoon, a reasonable hour to wake up if you asked him – he had one unread text from an unknown number.

Weird again.

He opened it, only to be faced with a picture of what seemed to be a recipee called "special hangover cure" and found himself confused.

Not displeased, but definitely confused.

Shanks shrugged it off after a few seconds. He might as well get up and give the recipee to Lucky Roux, with any luck it would help reducing the pounding in his head.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks stared at both his crew, his glass, and his phone in absolute wonder.

Whoever was the woman he had drunkenly called last night and had sent him this miracle, he had half a mind marrying her already.

A gal with a sexy voice who stayed up until three am and laughed at his jokes and teased him and shared magic hangover lemonade recipees ? No way he was letting her go after just one call.

"f*ck I could kiss her right now," Beckman mumbled. Shanks' first mate was looking at his glass like it was the Holy Grail.

"Same, whatever angel gave us that, I wanna kiss her," Hongo added and poured himself another one.

"I'm putting this recipee on top of my favourites," Lucky confirmed, downing his third tankard of the stuff. "And I'd totally kiss that girl if she was here."

Shanks grinned. "Come on lads, I'm the one who called her. I got dibs on kissing our angel."

Everyone else groaned and protested but hey, he was Captain. It had to come with perks at some point, aside from making Beck do most of the paperwork.

He had sent a few texts to this mysterious lady to express his baffled gratitude after his first glass of the magic stuff. And maybe his enthusiasm was a little too obvious, but who cared, she deserved it. Shanks put his phone aside for the time being, and focused on helping a bit with the after-party cleaning for a while.

He checked his phone again some time later, mostly to find something to do that would allow him to avoid any more chores without Beck nagging him for being lazy.

To his surprise, he had gotten a reply from his mysterious woman.

Unknown Number

Happy to help ! I figured you'd need it today and you gave me a good idea for my scene, after all.

Oh sh*t, that was adorable. Shanks felt himself grin, which didn't escape the rest of his crew, and immediately called her.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks was not pouting. He was an Emperor, one of the strongest men in all of Grand Line City, and as such, he was above things like pouting. He was merely expressing his displeasure at having been forced to end a phone call with the most interesting girl he had talked to in a while.

Completely different.

And for a group of arrogant rookies who could have been dealt with by Yasopp alone in ten minutes tops, to boot. As far as the red-haired man was concerned, his current mood was completely justified.

And since no one in his crew agreed with him – the lack of respect he had to face in this house ! – he called his best sword buddy to complain.

Although he made sure to type the numbers right, this time.

"What do you want, Akagami ?" Mihawk answered in his usual bland tone that was actually his I'm-already-tired-of-your-sh*t nuance. Shanks was very good at reading the different nuances of Hawkeyes' voice. Especially this one. He had a lot of experience with it.

"Mimi ! My best friend in the whole world, the only man to ever-"

"No."

"Oh come on !"

"Whatever it is you plan to ask me, my answer is no."

"What if I just wanted to talk to my favourite sword buddy ?"

"I would open a bottle of wine and mentally prepare myself to hearing you complain childishly about whatever it is you wanted to whine about for the next two hours."

And that, in Shanks' opinion, was why Hawkeyes was the absolute best. The Emperor took a sip of his sake and dived straight into the subject.

"So I kind of met this girl last night," he started, and immediately heard a heavy sigh on the other side followed by the sound of wine being poured into a glass, "because I wanted to call you, since you know, you said you were coming to the party and then you didn't show up ?"

"I do not recall agreeing to anything. And I have made my opinion on the retelling of your sexual adventures clear enough over the years."

"Hey, I didn't sleep with her !" Shanks protested.

There was a pause on Mihawk's side.

"Well this is certainly unusual," the Warlord admitted.

"I know, right ?" Shanks nodded. "The thing is, I was trying to call you, but then I got the wrong number and that girl answered and we talked, and I flirted a bit, you know how it goes."

The red-haired man heard a muttered unfortunately and completely ignored it.

"Turned out she was writing a murder scene at three am and I gave her some advice after she used that sexy ass voice that almost got me hard-"

"Skip that part."

"Rude, Mimi !"

"I will end this call right now."

"So anyway she was funny and a bit of a tease and I thought she was your girl for a minute, but then she didn't recognise your name so I really just had the wrong number," Shanks explained, then took another sip of his sake. "And when I woke up today, she'd sent me a magic hangover lemonade recipee. The stuff got everyone back on their feet in fifteen minutes, can you believe it !?"

"I do not have a girl, as you so elegantly put it. But I am curious about this recipee," Mihawk replied, and even sounded a little less annoyed at the second part.

"Yeah, I'll send it to you later, and you totally have the hots for that chick you fake complain about having around in your castle" the Emperor said dismissively. "But the thing is the lads and I were all pretty much ready to kiss that girl-"

"I thought you only talked to her on the phone ?" the Warlord interrupted, but Shanks ignored him to continue.

"So I tried to call her and sent a few messages, and she answered with the cutest text ever, so of course I called her again, and she's f*cking amazing, Mimi."

There was a pause on Mihawk's part, where Shanks assumed he was sipping his wine as well, and there was the barest hint of a smirk in his voice when his best friend answered.

"She must be, if she has gained your interest without falling for your tricks."

"Oh shut up you old son of a gun," Shanks grumbled, then went back to dreamily describe his mysterious angel. "She's smart and adorable and funny and a little sh*t all wrapped in a pretty voice and I think she's single. At least the guy she was talking to at some point turned out to be her cat and she didn't mention a boyfriend when I asked."

"You had to ask ?" the Warlord said, and he sounded very much amused by Mihawk standards.

"She didn't even give me her name."

"Did you give her yours ?"

"She put my number under Stranger Danger," Shanks begrudgingly admitted, which earned him a small chuckle from his best friend. "I put hers under Angel. But you don't get it, I asked how she killed her character in the end and she went on and on about her scene and the details and her doubts about coherence and stuff and she was so f*cking passionate about it ! I didn't even know it was possible to talk about beheading someone with a sword and sound so… I don't know, so adorable and fascinating. I could feel how much love and work she was putting into her scene to make it as perfect as possible. Could've listened to her for hours."

"And you did not, because… ?"

"She stopped herself at some point, she thought she was boring me," the Yonko explained, rolling his eyes at the absurdity. "I still told her the way she wanted to do it worked, though."

"You told a woman you had talked to twice so far that you knew enough about swords and beheading to confirm her fictional murder could realistically be executed," Mihawk clarified, his voice back into the you're-an-idiot range. "I am not surprised she did not want to keep the call going, much less give you her name."

"Actually she was really happy with my help, even agreed to keep the conversation open between us as a way to thank me," Shanks retorted smugly. "But then some idiots started to stir sh*t in East Blue and Beck said I had to deal with it and I didn't even get to ask if she wanted to try sexting with me ! And they weren't even that strong in the end, just a group of rookies that could've been wiped out without me so I had to stop talking to my angel for no real reason !"

Shanks huffed and took a sip again. Seriously, it was unfair. Especially since even he knew it was too soon to call her again. So now he was just really curious and really interested and couldn't do anything about it, except complain to his best friend.

"She sounds like a very… peculiar woman."

"Yeah, I know," the red-haired man sighed in awe, and could feel a dreamy smile stretch his lips. "Can't wait to talk to her again."

"You do realise she could be a potential threat to you."

Shanks snorted. "Mimi, she literally put my number under Stranger Danger and told me I should be more careful about contacting someone who spends her Friday nights writing about murder."

"So she is more responsible than you are," Hawkeyes sighed. "Not that you set this particular bar high to begin with."

"Hey !"

"But I suppose it was only a matter of time before you found a woman who would both pique your interest and be immune to your charms. I will admit that I had not expected it to happen like this, though," Mihawk said between two sips of wine, and he seemed to be amused again.

"You're one to talk, Mimi. How're things going with that goth lolita of yours ?"

"Perona is annoying and loud. And almost twenty years younger than me. She is only staying out of necessity, not because she wishes to further any kind of relationship with me the way your depraved mind seems to believe."

"Yeaaaah suuuuuuure," Shanks grinned. "Come on, Mimi, who gives a sh*t about age anyway ?"

"Are you saying this because your mysterious angel could be half your age as well ?"

"Wow, you're awfully defensive for someone who says he's not interested in the little lady staying in his home," Shanks laughed. "But hey, if it means she's single and ready to mingle, d'you mind giving her my number ?"

There was a second of silence, and the red-haired man grinned widely. Then grinned even wider when the World's Greatest Swordsman spoke again with steel in his voice.

"If you touch a single hair on her head, I will put an end to your life."

"Threatening an Emperor and your best friend over a girl, what has our friendship come down to ?" Shanks laughed. "Relax, Mimi, you know I'd never do something as sh*tty as sleeping with your girl. Give me some credit."

"She is not my girl," Mihawk retorted, sounding less angry than three seconds before and closer to his usual level of annoyed.

"Hm, whatever you say. But I'll be the one saying I told you so this time, just you wait ! It's high time you found yourself someone to settle with, and I want nephews and nieces !"

"In the unlikely event I become a parent, rest assured that no child of mine will ever be left alone with you."

"Hey, I would totally be the cool uncle !"

"I cannot imagine trusting you with a house plant, Akagami, much less a human child," Mihawk huffed. "And I thought you wanted to talk about this woman that has you wrapped around her finger after only two conversations ?"

"Did I tell you she has a very pretty laugh ? Because she does. And she also-"

Shanks was positive Mimi was his best friend precisely because he kept talking about his mysterious angel for the next hour, and his favourite sword buddy let him go on as long as he wanted. The Warlord also might have stopped really listening at some point, but hey, at least he didn't end the call.

-o-oOo-o-

Talking to his angel's friends was a blast, from Shanks's point of view. It was also pretty reassuring to know she had people in her life willing to defend her, even if it was very unlikely either men would be able to hurt him in any way. Oh well, it was the thought that counted.

And his angel kept her promise. She rarely initiated conversation, but she always answered his texts and calls, no matter the hour as long as it was before four in the morning. He even got to hear Mephisto meow on a couple occasions, and that cat did sound like a cute little fluffball.

It was about a week after his first call that he made another one during a heated debate in the middle of a party. As always, she was still awake, and answered pretty quickly.

"Hello-"

"Hey angel, quick question to settle the score because the lads and I are about even, is it better to fly or breathe underwater ?"

"To fly, of course," she replied without hesitation or even asking why he wanted her opinion on something like that at half past one on a week night. Dear lord, what a woman, and she wasn't even done with her answer.

"Breathing underwater is cool when you work with or live close to water and don't fancy drowning," she kept going, "but a good training in apnea can help and there are technological ways to dive underwater for long periods of time while retaining great mobility. The same cannot be said about flying, which makes it the most useful ability to gain out of the two options."

"Wow," the Emperor said, close to speechless. That kind of factually logical reasoning had no business sounding as hot as it did.

"Anything else, stranger danger ?" she asked, her voice now coloured with amusem*nt.

"Uh, yeah, do you think a giant hedgehog could defeat a regular sized tiger ?"

"Depends on your definition of giant, but if you mean the hedgehog would be as big as a tiger, I don't believe he would even try to attack the tiger in the first place. But in the event that he did, I think the tiger would win, the same way regular cats will push against pointy things until they find a softer side to sink their claws in. Predator instincts and all that, you know ?"

"Aww, c'me on princess ! I wanted the hedgehog to win, why d'you have to make sense with your logic ?"

"It's kind of my job to ensure things make sense in the end, you know ?" she chuckled.

"You know what else makes sense ?"

"Yes."

"You and- wait. Did you just-"

"Prevent you from using that line ? Yep," she laughed.

"That's cheating !"

"Impossible. I'm not the cheating type."

"Then how come no matter where you fall asleep, you always end up in my dreams ?"

"Oh spirits, that was terrible," she chuckled again. "I'm going back to my scene. Good night, stanger danger."

"Nighty night, princess."

The call ended and Shanks was faced with the very mocking stares of his crew, only then remembering he had put her on speaker because no one believed he wouldn't try to twist her words in his favour.

"Captain's whiiiiipped !" Lucky sang, then started to laugh around the meat he was eating.

"What- No I'm not !" Shanks sputtered. Him, Grand Line City's most popular Casanova ? The undisputed king of one-night-stands ? The man whose reputation alone ensured he had his pick every night they went out ? Ridiculous ! His angel was the one under his spell, not the other way around.

"You soooo are," Yasopp barked in laughter as well.

"Don't worry Captain," Hongo smirked, "it's okay to be attracted to people out of your league."

"Excuse you !? She's not out of my league !"

"Captain's right," Beckman said, but before Shanks could thank his first mate for finally siding with him, said first mate grinned. "That gal's got brains, I'd say they aren't even playin' the same sport."

Seriously, the absolute disrespect he had to face.

Shanks totally ended up complaining about it through text to his angel.

He just left out the part where he was supposedly whipped for her. He wasn't, after all.

-o-oOo-o-

Listening to his angel complain for fifteen minutes straight about a plothole and ultimately talking herself out of it was one of the most amazing things Shanks had ever had the pleasure to witness. And the way she sounded so surprised and happy once she had a solution was contagious enough to put the biggest smile on his face for the rest of the day.

And no, he was not smug as hell when she called one evening to ask him more questions about swordsmanship. Shanks was just appreciating at its correct value how this wonderful, smart woman thought of him as a reliable source on this specific subject. Anyone who said otherwise was just a jealous lying liar who lied.

Plus it was really flattering to hear the way she praised his knowledge and paid attention to every word he said as he answered her many – and increasingly specific –questions. She waited everytime until he was done with a description or an explanation to ask about a detail in particular. The only downside was that she completely ignored all his innuendos and lines as long as she was in her plot space.

Which was a pity, because talking about swords gave a lot of opportunities.

-o-oOo-o-

"Bye, sunshine."

"Yo- uh- sunshine !?" Shanks spluttered, and waited a few more seconds before he realised his angel had fallen asleep.

He ended the call and finally noticed the sh*t-eating grins of his crew, a few of them having their phones out and pointed at him.

"Didn't know you were still able to blush, Captain," Limejuice said in a light tone.

"What are you talking about ? I'm not blushing, pff, that's-"

"Uh, yeah you are," Yasopp said, and showed him the picture he had just taken.

Shanks took the device, blinked, then did a double take. sh*t. His face did look a bit more red than usual and he clearly hadn't had enough to drink to justify it.

"So, sunshine, eh ?" Beckman smirked. "That your new nickname ?"

"That's quite the upgrade from stranger danger," Hongo noted with a beer in his hand and a completely fake innocent expression.

"And it only took what, three weeks ?" Limejuice laughed.

"Two weeks and a group of assholes who better pray I'll never meet them," Shanks muttered, his mood darkening.

The fear in his sweet angel's voice as she tried to not make it obvious to the trash following her that she was calling for help was carved into his memory. It had been a long time since the Emperor had felt powerless, and he didn't like the reminder one bit.

She might not have taken him seriously when he said he would have come himself if she had sounded any more scared, but Shanks truly had been one second away to do it. A single word from her and he would have been on his way, no matter where she was, and ready to burn everything in his path if he had to.

She had been lucky to find that bakery open with a good guy inside willing to help her. Even with that, the whole event had been entirely too close for the Emperor's taste.

"She's fine," Beck put a hand on his shoulder, and only then did Shanks noticed his Conqueror's Haki had started manifesting. "Ya heard it yourself, she's home safe and sound with that cat of hers."

The red-haired man sighed loudly. "Yeah, guess we're good. We aren't going out tonight, lads, everyone find something to do."

A chorus of aye, captain ! answered him, but Beck came back almost straight away with two tankards and handed him one without a word.

"She ain't just some random gal anymore, eh ?" his first mate asked knowingly once they had both taken a good swing of ale.

"Don't think she ever was," Shanks chuckled, then roamed his free hand on his face and then in his hair. "But f*ck, Beck, the way she sounded… she wasn't safe. And I couldn't do sh*t. I'm a f*cking Yonko and I couldn't do sh*t."

"She was scared and ya were here to reassure her. It ain't nothing," Beck countered.

"It's not enough," Shanks muttered and drank some more.

"Eh, she's safe now, ain't she ?" his first mate shrugged, then lit up a cigarette and took a drag before saying the rest of his piece. "But if it worries ya so much, just tell her who y're. Y'know, meet her and all. Put her under real protection or somethin'."

Shanks snorted and downed the rest of his ale before answering. "As if she'd f*cking trust me enough for that. She's a smart gal, no way she'd believe the drunk idiot she's talking to is an Emperor," he smiled and looked into the empty tankard. "I mean, today's the first time she's called me something else than stanger danger, and it's because she was f*cking exhausted after being followed by a bunch of creeps !"

"Actions speak louder than words," Beck shrugged again. "Wouldn't surprise me if she started to trust ya more from now on."

"Would be nice," Shanks hummed, a smile coming back on his face at the idea.

It would be very nice indeed.

-o-oOo-o-

"Sooo, why sunshine ?"

"Hmm ? Oh, because the first time I heard you laugh, it made me think of freedom and sunshine. And you're always… sunny, always cheerful. I thought it was fitting. I guess you could say you make my days a little brighter," his angel chuckled.

And Shanks was left gaping, utterly speechless for the first time in… he couldn't remember.

Then he noticed the snickers and flashes going on around him, and promptly went back to flirting. Sue him, he was not prepared to hear that level of romantic sh*t directed at him. Well, maybe not romantic romantic, but. Sweet. Just… disarmingly sweet.

Now if the rest of his crew could stop sharing pictures of him blushing like a dumb teenager, that would be nice too.

-o-oOo-o-

Mihawk had come to visit one Saturday afternoon, but hadn't even agreed to stay for a drink, which Shanks was feeling very offended by.

"You are an excuse so I can go to a meet and greet discreetly," Hawkeyes stated. "Three authors are signing their books together today in East Blue. Big names who only make that kind of public appearance once or twice a year."

"Like who ?" Hongo asked.

"Ugh, who cares ?" Shanks complained. "Popular authors are always ugly old men !"

"I thought the woman you were talking to was an author ?" Hawkeyes said with no inflexion in his voice.

"That's different !" the red-haired man immediately protested. "She's not like, popular. I think. I mean she always changes the subject when I try to ask her, so I guess she's not a big shot or anything."

Though she had mentioned something about a public event soon, Shanks realised. sh*t, wasn't it today ? If so, he hoped it wasn't in East Blue. He might not be very aware of how things worked in the publishing world, but having an event the same day some big names had one of theirs sounded like a surefire way to failure.

"I'll go with you," Beck said to Mihawk. "I could use some time away."

"If it's because of the painting accident-" Shanks started accusingly.

"Yes."

"Oh come on ! It was funny !"

The doubly unimpressed stare he received was completely undeserved, as far as Shanks was concerned.

But then, both his first mate and best sword buddy came back a couple hours later with matching smirks.

"Thought I'd get ya something while we were there," Beck said, and gave him what looked like a… book ? Shanks sat a little straighter in his seat to grab it and stared at the cover, frowning confusedly until the dots connected.

"Is that a kids' book ?"

"Mystery themed children's book, contains four stories," Beck precised, smirking like a little sh*t. "Signed by the author herself just for ya, she even agreed to write a very personal message."

Shanks raised an eyebrow and opened up the book to the first page, his eyes falling on a handwritten note that he read out loud.

"To Shanks, in hope this will finally prove to be a worthy challenge for your intellect."

Laughter exploded all around, and even the red-haired emperor cracked a big smile. Okay, that was a good one.

"You should be flattered, Akagami," Mihawk added in his neutral-yet-smug voice. "Y/N is the undisputed queen of the mystery genre, getting a signed copy of her books is a privilege."

"Stunnin' gal to boot" Beck added as he got his phone out. "Very nice, even agreed to pose for a picture, check it out."

Leaving the book on his lap, Shanks took the phone, and his eyes promptly widened.

"Well f*ck me," the Emperor agreed. The gal was stunning indeed. From the way she smiled brightly to the mischievous gleam in her eyes, with lips begging to be kissed and just enough of her body visible to hint how f*cking gorgeous she was from the tip of her hair right to what looked like a damn fine pair of legs, she was one hot chick.

"Wait a damn f*cking minute," Shanks said when he managed to take his eyes off her and noticed Beck in the same picture, bending to get closer to the woman over the table and grinning like the smug asshole he absolutely was. "Did you do that just to prove me wrong about the ugly author thing !?"

"Well, t'was also to show ya what ya missed," Beck shrugged while still looking very happy with himself. "Real cute gal inside and out, impressive too. Hold her ground against a Shishibukai almost without help."

Shanks immediately lost his good cheer to frown. "The f*ck was another Warlord doing in East Blue ?"

"Crocodile was getting a signed copy of Y/N's book and trying to pressure her into accepting dinner with him, apparently," Mihawk replied. "She declined and he left after I gave him a warning."

"Wait," Limejuice asked with a frown, "just how big of a deal is that girl to have a Warlord trying to snatch her ?"

Mihawk put a hand on his chin, thought about it for a minute, then answered.

"In the mystery genre, she is the best in popularity and quality. Both her children series and her adult series are best-sellers, and each of her books has received at least one award. She is very private, though, despite her influence. She keeps out of the political chessboard, no known affiliation to anyone. I suppose you could say she is the equivalent of an Emperor in the publishing world."

Several impressed whistles followed, and Shanks felt his eyebrows raise up. Damn. That did sound like one hell of a girl.

"How d'ya know so much about her ?" Beckman asked curiously.

Mihawk's mood turned into something that almost looked like he was slightly embarrassed. "She is… Perona's favourite author," Hawkeyes admitted through gritted teeth.

Needless to say, they spent the rest of his time at the Red Force teasing the World's Greatest Swordsman, even if Shanks was delighted to know his best friend was thinking about making a move before the end of the century.

However, all thoughts of the gorgeous mystery queen were pushed aside when he received a text from his angel. No matter how successful or rich or powerful or hot this Y/N was, Shanks knew the girl he was talking to had ten times the passion this best-seller writer could ever hope to feel.

He might still give that book a try, though.

Chapter 10: Hopes and dreams

Chapter Text

Shanks was not feeling like a f*cking liar and a real piece of sh*t.

Nope.

Not one bit.

It was not like he had experienced an extremely pleasant round of phone sex with an obviously drunk and distressed woman, right after she admitted just learning about Emperors and Warlords, and stated in the same breath that she wanted nothing to do with them, after all.

f*ck.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks lost count of the amount of occasions he had to tell the truth to his angel.

He also quickly lost count of the amount of times Beck told him he needed to come clean and respect her wishes.

But every time the opportunity arised, all Shanks could do was change the subject or flirt and deflect. The idea of not hearing her voice anymore, of losing her laugh and chuckles and serious answers to his stupid questions, of never again listening to a rant about uncooperative characters or be asked obscure questions about swordsmanship… he couldn't stand it.

And that was before she started to indirectly get along with his crew, asking him to tell everyone she said hi or ask how his friends were doing. And it didn't help either when the lads started calling her his girl or his angel.

Still, Shanks had a plan. Somewhat. If he could get her to trust him as her sunshine – and he did not have a possessive kink, f*ck you Mimi – and they got close enough before they inevitably met – because at this point, it was when they would meet, not if – chances were good she might be able to… overcome the Emperor thing. Probably. He hoped so, at least.

And no matter what Mimi and Beck and everyone said, he was totally making progress in the seduction part of his plan ! So what if he was stupidly whipped for her and she only started flirting back the tiniest bit after four months ? It totally counted as progress. And he made her laugh all the time and they chatted every day and she said she liked talking to him.

And as pretty as she sounded, and as smart and passionate as she was, there was no news of a boyfriend or girlfriend or any kind of partner in her life. Unfortunately, they also never got to try phone sex again, which was a shame in Shanks' opinion.

So the Emperor kept having fun and chatting and flirting, ignoring the slight pang of guilt in his chest every time his angel mentioned Yonkos or Shishibukais.

Things would be fine.

-o-oOo-o-

Things were not fine.

Shanks' grip on his phone was almost strong enough to break it as he kept staring at the distance left between him and his angel. He had put her on speaker in order to keep checking her location and hear her voice at the same time, as soon as Beck had been done warning Whitebeard of their short incursion in his territory.

They were stil about twenty minutes away from her current position and why couldn't Yasopp drive any faster ?

"Special edition of a few comic books almost impossible to find these days," she replied to his question, and Shanks found himself smiling despite the nerves.

"Of course it was books, why did I ever expect something else ?"

"Hey, don't blame me !" his angel chuckled, the carefree sound doing a lot to soothe his worries. "I'll have you know that the other gifts I planned are respectively a spa day, cat toys, and Christmas cookies. Okay, and maybe I had something for you too but now it's going to be useless."

Shanks blinked, all thoughts of danger thrown out of the window at the last part. Had he heard that right ?

"You were going to get something for me ?" the Emperor repeated, unable to decide whether he was more elated or flabbergasted. He couldn't picture how it would even be possible to exchange gifts with her.

"I wanted to send you a selfie of me and Mephisto. And tell you my name," she mumbled in a flustered voice.

Shanks felt his brain stop working altogether, barely managing a oh in answer and definitely not able to hear what she said next. His sweet, wonderful angel trusted him to the point of revealing her identity as a Christmas gift.

Holy sh*t.

He hadn't seen that one coming at all.

"You broke him !" Yasopp yelled from the front of the car with laughter in his voice, which kickstarted Shanks' brain again, at least enough to answer that particular intervention.

"Shut the f*ck up and drive faster !"

Then he put the phone closer to him again, and attempted to put words together into something coherent enough to be called a sentence.

"That's, uh, yeah, that would've been awesome," the red-haired man said, even though awesome didn't even begin to cover it. "Sorry to ruin it. I mean not really," he corrected himself quickly before it could be interpreted the wrong way, "I'm happy to meet you sooner, but, uh, sh*t how do I phrase it without sounding like an idiot-"

"It's a bit late for that," she said with a giggle and seriously, his princess had to stop doing such things to his heart. Shanks let himself fall into the backseat and ran a hand through his hair. "But I get what you mean," she admitted softly. "I'm not sure if I'm more happy or nervous to meet you so soon, especially with the, erm, the circ*mstances being what they are."

Happy nervousness sounded like a good description for him as well. Shanks still had no idea how his angel would react to his status, but right now, he couldn't afford to worry about that part. Her safety came first, everything else could be dealt with later. Instead, he focused back on her bashful admission and went back to their usual banter.

"You mean you scaring the hell out of me and the lads by walking like a little lamb right into the wolves' den ?"

Beck and Yasopp made face at that, but didn't deny it. His entire crew had been ready to fight the second Shanks had flipped the table he was sitting at. They were already moving by the time they had understood his girl was walking alone at night in the middle of Whitebeard's territory with basically no protection.

"You're never going to let me live it down, are you ?" she sighed.

"Not a chance in hell," the Emperor said in a cheerful voice, meaning every word.

"I thought you were used to go down there ?" she teased him.

"They asked me to leave, I was too hot and the fire felt self-conscious." Shanks grinned cheekily.

"Bonus points for creativity on this one," she deadpanned, and that was enough to make the Yonko laugh and relax sligthly.

Then she screamed.

Shanks' world stopped moving.

"Angel !?"

"Zehahaha !" a laugh echoed on the other side, turning Shanks' blood to ice. "What a pretty li-" the rest was interrupted by a crushing sound and both the call and location sharing ended abruptly.

No.

Not him.

Out of all the possibilities-

"Get us there NOW !" Shanks roared, and the car accelerated suddenly.

It was still too slow.

"Shanks," Beckman called.

"I'm going to kill him," the Emperor said, eyes darkening with hatred and heartbeat going wild with sheer panick.

He didn't even hear what Beck said next, everything around him was just background noise.

Teach had attacked his angel.

His sweet, funny, smart writer, who had only started to learn self-defense a couple months ago, was now at the mercy of the man who had managed to scar him.

The one woman Shanks cared for in this world, the one who held his heart in her palm, was in danger, and he could do nothing but hope she would survive until he reached her.

She had to make it.

She had to.

Anything else was unacceptable.

His right hand found the handle of his sword and gripped it.

Hold on, angel, please. I'm coming.

Before the car had even stopped, Shanks was out and running into the dark alleyway where his Observation Haki indicated three people, quickly followed by the rest of his crew.

As soon as he saw the blue wings of Whitebeard's first mate burning protectively near a woman, however, his fear receded.

A fraction of it, at least.

"Now's not the time, Akagami. I'm taking my brother and miss Y/N back to the Moby Dick, they need medical attention-yoi."

Shanks kept walking in their direction, barely taking time to notice the man lying down on the ground and the name of his angel that he was pretty sure he had heard before. If that burning chicken thought he was leaving with his girl, Shanks would happily cut him until even his healing powers couldn't bring him back.

"W-Wait," a feminine breathless voice said, sounding familiar and terrified and trembling and entirely perfect and alive- "Akagami, as in, the- the Yonko ?"

Shanks forced himself to keep his attention on Marco for now, his sword still drawn as he took a few more steps toward the little group. He had to make sure Whitebeard's second understood what was happening.

"You can take your brother," Shanks stated, "but she's coming with me."

"No offense," the phoenix replied in a warning voice, "but she saved my brother. She's coming with us."

Shanks clenched his jaw, and his grip on his sword tightened.

"I wasn't asking. She's the reason I came here tonight," he said, watching the way Marco's eyes widened slightly as understanding downed on him. "And she almost got f*cking killed on your territory," the Emperor growled.

"So I'm taking my girl back with me," Shanks ultimately stated with all the authority of his status, and finally turned his gaze to the woman, his eyes softening immediately at the lack of obvious injury on her. "Hey angel."

His relief was short-lived, though, because his angel looked ready to faint any second – and on the verge of a panick attack – on top of shaking from the cold since she wasn't even wearing a coat.

But worst of all, she was staring at him like she was absolutely terrified.

Like she was scared of him.

Shanks felt his heart break a little, and clinged to the hope that the shock she had been through meant she hadn't recognised his voice yet.

Her mouth opened for a few seconds without a single sound getting out, and even from where he stood, Shanks could see the trembling in her legs worsening.

"Sunshine ?" she whispered after a minute, and Shanks couldn't help it, he grinned brightly.

He had dreamed of this moment too many times to let even the sh*ttiest of circ*mstances ruin it, stinky dumpsters and near-death encounter be damned. He was going to sheathe his sword and walk to her when she blinked.

And then collapsed.

"ANGEL !"

Marco caught her just in time, his wings turning back to human limbs in an instant.

Shanks was with them in two strides, his sword back at his side in a second so he could take the passed out woman in his arms. "GIVE HER-"

"I'm a doctor, Akagami !" Marco shouted, and kneeled while lowering her body.

Hongo and Beckman were with them in a hearbeat, Hongo crouching with Marco and Beck trying to prevent Shanks from reaching her by tackling him against the nearest wall.

"Captain, it's their job !" his first mate yelled as he tried to hold him back.

"What's happening to her !? Where's she hurt !? f*cking DO SOMETHING !" the Emperor screamed, his eyes stuck on the unconscious face of the young woman.

"She's fainted, that's all," Hongo said after checking her vitals.

"More than fainted-yoi," Marco corrected. "She's been through too much tonight, her mind has shut down to protect her. She'll probably be unconscious for a day or so-yoi."

"No other injuries that I can see right now, though," Hongo added. "But yeah, I agree, the shock's been too much for her."

Shanks felt relief flow through his veins and immediately stopped fighting Beck's hold, opting instead to put a steady hand on his first mate's shoulder and give him a decisive nod before turning back to the doctors.

"She's coming back with us," the Emperor stated again, steel in his voice. "I'll keep her safe."

Marco looked at him, then at the two bodies on the ground, then nodded. "Take care of her. And let Pops know when she wakes up-yoi. We owe her."

"Will do," Beck answered.

Marco turned into his phoenix form in a blink, took his brother in his talons with deliberate care, and flew away from the alley. Shanks kneeled next to Hongo, who was still holding the upper body of the young woman off the ground.

"I'll take her," the Emperor whispered. "Hongo, you're coming in the car with us, Beck, you drive. Yasopp, Gab, look for her stuff and bring it back to the Red Force."

A few aye captain answered his commands, but Shanks was only focused on the woman now in his arms, taking her off the ground like a princess, her head carefully tucked against his chest. Her breathing was slow and regular, her body completely lax, yet he couldn't find it in himself to enjoy the feeling of her skin on his.

This really wasn't how he had planned for them to meet.

And Shanks couldn't get her scared expression out of his mind.

He really hoped it wasn't how she would look at him once she was awake.

-o-oOo-o-

"Captain, you really need to sleep," Hongo sighed for the tenth time, or was it the twelth ? Shanks had stopped counting a while ago.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"We'll wake you up as soon as she does, promise !" Lucky added. "C'me on, you haven't slept since we came back."

"I said I'm fine," he silenced them both with a glare.

How the f*ck was he supposed to sleep when the gal of his dreams was still unconscious in his bed, anyway ? Shanks stared at what was left of his coffee, and debated for a minute whether it was worth it to get up from the couch and go to the kitchen to pour himself another one.

It had been more than a day since he had brought his angel back to the Red Force, and there was no sign of her waking up yet.

The first couple hours had been the most stressful, with her body being so cold and the need to get her out of her dirty clothes to avoid her freezing – and f*ck if this woman wasn't absolutely gorgeous – but once that had been taken care of and his princess was safely sleeping off the trauma in his bed, the realisation had sunk in.

The girl he had been talking to for the past five months wasn't just some upstart, passionate writer. She was the f*cking queen of mystery novels Mihawk and Beckman had gone to see at that meet and greet months ago. The girl who ranted about green beans not being in season at the time of her scene and cooed over her cat and indulged every stupid question he asked her at two in the morning, was the woman universally aknowledged as one of the greatest authors alive.

At least, that had explained why and how she had kept herself out of the political chessboard of Grand Line City. She simply hadn't been aware of it until a few months ago. And now she had just been thrown head first into the very waters she wanted to avoid.

f*ck, the situation was a mess.

There hadn't even been a single trace left leading to Teach so far, and Shanks found himself really unwilling to risk his angel's safety by letting her go back to her appartment. Hopefully, once she was awake, he could convince her to stay at the Red Force for a bit. At least until Teach was dead.

-o-oOo-o-

"Go f*ck yourself, Akagami. We're done."

Shanks stood stricken where he was, his body unable to move as the woman he would do anything for walked away from him, crushing his heart with every step.

f*ck.

The next thing he knew, the Emperor was slumped on the kitchen table, downing a bottle of sake in the stupid hope it would numb the pain in his chest, and ignoring the awkward atmosphere of his crew.

"Beckman's driving her back," Hongo announced when he came back from wherever he had led her after that sh*tshow.

Of course Beck was driving her home. His first mate was awesome and reliable like that.

"Captain…"

"She could handle my Haki no problem without training right after she woke up, can you f*cking believe it ?" Shanks cut him off, looking at the bottle with a smile he knew was pathetic.

"Took us all by surprise," Yasopp admitted, sounding as awkward as Hongo did.

"Didn't even hesitate to slap me," the Emperor kept going, and put a few fingers on his cheek, just for the phantom feeling of the brief instant her hand had been in contact with his face. "Or yell at me. Even after learning who I was, she just… f*ck, she's just…"

Words escaped the red-haired man for a moment, then a sob made his way through his smile and he took another huge gulp of sake to push the words out. "She's just so f*cking perfect. And now she f*cking hates me."

"Well… you kind of screwed up big time," Limejuice muttered. "What ? He did !" the blond protested when the others told him to shut up.

"Yeah, I did," Shanks chuckled wetly, the same sad pathetic smile on his lips as he stared at the bottle once more. "And now she's gone."

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks woke up in his bed with a pounding headeache, a shirt clenched in his fist and no memories of what had happened the previous night.

He initially groaned about it, but then the memories came back.

sh*t.

Was it too early to go back to drinking ?

He fumbled for his phone, ultimately finding it on the nighstand, which only made sense if Beck had stolen it away at some point during the previous night. Which he probably had if Shanks' memories about that last voicemail were accurate.

After blinding himself with the light, however, the Emperor sat straight in his bed in shock, eyes wide and heart beating a mile a minute.

One unread message from Angel.

He struggled a second with his phone and cursed, until he finally got to the app and opened it.

Angel

I'll be careful.

Any hope the Emperor had felt at the sight of the notification crumbled in a second. A bitter smile stretched his lips. After lying to her for months, bringing her to a place she didn't know while she was unconscious, using his f*cking Haki on her, and leaving a drunk voicemail about her ass, he should consider himself lucky she had answered at all.

Screw his hangover, he needed more booze.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks spent the next days mostly drunk off his ass.

And it still did nothing to help with his heartbreak.

Even Mimi had dropped by unanounced at some point and had looked almost concerned, which was really sweet of him.

"You f*cked up," the Warlord readily confirmed once he had the full story, then frowned in confusion. "However… I have to say, I am surprised a woman of her standing somehow retained enough consideration for you to confirm her safety through text once a day, despite your drunk voicemails about her physical assets and… other qualities."

"Can't even find the piece of sh*t who attacked her," the Yonko grumbled, his hand reaching for another bottle. "Only thin' I can still do for her, and I'm f*ckin' it up."

"Even I have heard nothing about Teach's whereabouts so far," Mihawk reminded him. "Wherever he is hiding or whoever is hiding him, they are doing a great job at laying low."

Shanks mumbled something vaguely complaining, and heard Mimi sigh before his best friend turned to Beckman.

"How long has it been ?"

"Since she left, so 'bout a week now," his first mate answered, sounding more tired than usual. "Whitebeard's been helpin' with the search and protection, but…"

"There is no helping a broken heart," Mihawk completed.

"Yeah."

"Can still hear ya, y'know ?" Shanks protested, tried to get up, blinked when each of his friends came in three moving silhouettes, then squinted and let himself fall back into his seat for the time being.

"At this point, we're all gunnin' for a Christmas miracle," Beck sighed after a long drag of his cigarette.

Mihawk's silent doubt was very audible, in Shanks' opinion, and completely warranted.

A Christmas miracle, as if.

-o-oOo-o-

Christmas came, and for the first time in ten days, Shanks decided to make an effort, if only for his crew. So by midday, he was up, had taken a shower, and only drunk two tankards of grog so far while staying in the common room, where everyone else was chatting about one thing or another and wearing ugly sweaters for the fun of it.

But he was still brooding alone on a couch by a window, remembering bitterly the last nice conversation he had had with his angel, when she had told him about the gifts she had planned for Christmas. For a few minutes, Shanks let himself daydream about a world where that night hadn't happened and he would receive anytime soon a picture and a text as a surprise gift from the most amazing woman in Grand Line City.

It was a very nice dream.

Unfortunately, illusions could only get him so far, and with a sigh, the red-haired man picked up his phone to see if he had any news from any of his contacts about Blackbeard.

But when he saw the two unread texts from the one contact he had been dreaming of a minute ago, Shanks' eyes went wide.

Angel

Image.png

Merry Christmas, Shanks.

What the f*ck. What the f*ck. What kind of Christmas miracle sh*t was that !? Shanks put his tankard on the nearest flat surface to stare at his phone, his hands slightly shaking. It was a picture of a black cat with a small white dot on his forehead, playing with a stuffed mouse and visibly having a blast sinking his claws and fangs into it.

She had sent him a picture of Mephisto.

And she had used his name. Not sunshine, not akagami, not asshole, his actual name.

Shanks gulped nervously. Okay, he could do this. No reason to freak out. The gal of his dreams had just kept her word about a gift she had planned to do before he screwed up enough to make her hate his guts, no big deal, that was just the kind of person she was.

He clearly shouldn't read too much into it, right ?

But he also had to reply. That was the proper thing to do.

Shanks ignored the little Beckman-like voice in his head stating that after all the drunk-fueled sh*t he had said in his voicemails, propriety was the last of his worries.

So he sent a few texts back. Two about Mephisto and one to mirror her merry Christmas. That was safe. Probably.

f*ck, what if he had screwed up again by answering at all ?

The Emperor let his phone fall back in his lap before pocketing it, and grabbed his grog again, gulping the rest of it in one go. He then stood up to get a refill, and almost dropped his empty tankard when his phone started buzzing with an incoming call from Angel.

f*ck.

By the end of the conversation, Shanks was absolutely convinced of three things.

One, Christmas miracles were real.

Two, he was the luckiest bastard in all of Grand Line City.

Three, this woman wasn't just the gal of his dreams, she was the f*cking love of his life.

And he was even considering adding a fourth one about not being able to stop smiling anytime soon.

Chapter 11: Hot and cold

Chapter Text

Did Shanks remember anything about New Year's Eve ?

No.

Was it for the best ?

Probably.

Did he save the video of his girl in a sexy dress being absolutely wasted while she sang his favourite disney song ?

Hell. f*cking. Yes.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks was ready to admit he had been curious about the kind of photoshoot a writer would do to match an interview promoting their latest book.

He had spent the days after Christmas getting his hands on all the stuff his girl had written so far and reading it, much to the lads' teasing. And yes, he preferred her kids' stories, they were more fun, sue him.

But he was not ready to see his girl looking like a f*cking model, with the kind of dresses and make-up he would usually associate with sexy vampire or sexy witch Halloween costumes, when the interview finally appeared in the newspaper.

Holy sh*t.

That smouldering gaze she was giving the camera in the last picture, where she sat on a f*cking black throne, a black tiara in her hair like the f*cking queen she was, with that red-and-black gown slitted high enough to reveal her leg, a book in one hand and a writing feather in the other ?

jerk-*ff material.

Beck took one look when he walked behind him and whistled.

"Damn. Didn't know ya girl could look like that," his first mate said.

"Guess she wasn't lying when she said she could pull off a gown," Shanks grinned, then stood up and walked in the direction of his room with the newspaper in hand. "I'm gonna be busy for a while, lads !"

A chorus of groans answered him, along with a few remarks about not needing to know when he was going to rub one off. Which was completely… well, completely warranted, actually. But Shanks also planned to read the interview before enjoying his me time, and perhaps call his angel too, so they were still a bit wrong ! Mostly right, sure, but still.

Maybe she would even be in a good mood and he could make her re-think her stance on phone sex. That sexy voice of hers would be very welcome while he looked at that way-too-sensual picture.

-o-oOo-o-

If Teach wasn't found and dealt with soon, Shanks was pretty sure he was going to die of sexual frustration. Phone sex was great and he knew enough about his own body to satisfy his needs – especially with some nice fantasies provided by his lovely lady – but damn.

It wasn't even just the sex, he was a physically affectionate kind of man, and he wanted to be able to hug his angel, cuddle with her, even just hold her hand or put his head in her lap for a nice long nap !

And also eat her out until she couldn't remember her own name, but well. That was a given.

The point remained that he was frustrated and making it everyone else's problem, according to Beck. But Beck was also leading the teasing about him finally being in a mutually exclusive relationship with a woman he hadn't even kissed yet, so his first mate totally deserved to deal with the whinning.

Shanks was loudly complaining about wanting to see his girl and not being allowed to do so for the fourth time this day, when said girl called him, turning his mood upside down instantly.

"Hey sweetheart !" the Emperor smiled.

"Hey sunshine," she greeted him. "How are you doing ?"

"Much better now that I can hear your voice," Shanks replied with a grin, and ignored the shouted sap ! coming from the next room. "To what do I owe the delight of a call so soon ? I thought you had a meeting with your editor today ?"

"Yeah, about that…" she sighed. "We fixed a date and place for my first meet and greet of the year."

"What about it ?" the red-haired man asked, not surprised by the lack of enthusiasm in his angel's voice. With the kind of people coming to see her when she was doing those public events, it was no wonder they weren't her favourite part of the job.

"It's going to be at a bookshop in West Blue, really close to North Blue's borders, the twelth of this month. So next week," she explained. It seemed a bit short notice for a meet and greet, but his girl was a huge name in the industry, so Shanks assumed she was the kind of public figure who could totally get away with last minute announcements.

"Cav and Barto have already made reservations that day for the spa trip I gifted them, and Saul told me the publishing company refused to hire security for the event since everything went perfectly well last time,"she obviously quoted, sounding pretty annoyed. "So I'm supposed to be alone there from ten to seven, maybe with Saul if he's free."

"They told you what ?" Shanks repeated in an incredulous voice.

"Yeah, I'm a bit mad about it, but there's nothing I can do. Anyway-"

"No no no no no, we're not anywaying this, angel," the Yonko cut her off and made his way to the common quarters. "You are not spending an entire day in a bookshop half across town with no protection. Not on my watch. Send me the address and I'll spend the day there with you."

"What !? Sunshine no !"

"Sunshine yes."

"You can't just come all the way to play bodyguard for me at a meet and greet !"

"Watch me."

"Oh spirits," she muttered. "Do you realise the kind of signal it will send to everyone in this city, including Teach, if you're the one assuring my personal protection at a public event ? Not to mention that the presence of an Emperor might scare some people away, especially parents who are bringing their kids !"

Shanks winced. He always forgot how difficult it was to win an argument against his angel. Mostly because she was usually right. And smarter than him. More logical, too.

"Okay, I kind of maybe see your point," he reluctantly admitted. "But you still can't be there on your own for so long. Even if Teach doesn't use the opportunity, there are other people who might try to attack you."

"I know, last year a guy tried to tase me when I refused to go on a date with him. Izou stopped him before he could get me, but still, it was pretty unpleasant. And Crocodile trying to pressure me into accepting dinner with him last autumn is not an experience I'm eager to repeat either."

Shanks looked at his phone in disbelief, the picture from the photoshoot looking back at him in all its Queen of Mysteries hotness.

"But you still can't come in person," his princess insisted while he was too busy wondering how she had avoided being dragged into Warlords and Emperors' business for so long with that kind of encounters happening twice a year.

Shanks sighed, then looked around to see the rest of his crew staring back at him. "Then one of the lads will go play bodyguard for you."

A bunch of wait what ? and dibs ! fused as soon as he said the words, and Shanks motionned them to shut up with his free hand. They would probably end up drawing straws to decide who would go, and whoever that was would absolutely be on the receiving end of his pranks for the next week for getting to spend time with his girl before he could.

"I…" she hesitated, seemed to think it over for a while, then finished her sentence, "yeah, I guess that would work."

Shanks grinned happily, but before he could reply, she talked again. Her voice sounded a bit flustered this time, which immediately piqued his interest. "Actually, I also wanted to tell you something- well, more like ask- although technically you mentioned it first-"

"You know you can ask me anything, right angel ?" the Emperor grinned. "No need to be shy. At all. Not when I already know what you sound like when you cum," he added with a suggestive voice and ignored the groans of his crew around him.

Shanks could hear a spluttered mess on the other side of the line for a while, before a few grumbled words about him being impossible and her having lackluster taste, and only after that, a proper response.

"So. This meet and greet is the last time I need to be out in public for several months, so after that, I…" she started, and almost sounded hesitant. "Well, I was thinking that until Teach was dealt with, maybe I could, if the offer was still on the table, of course, it's perfectly fine if it's not-" she stopped herself, groaned, and Shanks was getting increasingly confused about what it was she wanted to ask him.

Not that he planned on refusing, whatever it was, but her obvious embarrassment was unexpected. She took a deep breath, and said words the Emperor never thought he would hear, or at least not so soon.

"I thought that maybe I could… live at the Red Force for a bit ?"

Shanks was left gaping for a solid three seconds, then felt a beaming smile appear on his face.

"I would love that, angel," he answered happily. "You can stay as long as you want, I promise you won't regret it. We'll make up for all the lost time," the red-haired man added seductively, and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath that went straight to his dick. Oh yes, as soon as she walked through the doors, Shanks was kidnapping his angel and locking both of them in his room for a week straight.

"I can't wait, sunshine."

Maybe two.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks may or may not have threatened Limejuice with toilet cleaning duties for a month if he didn't keep him informed about the way his angel's meet and greet was going.

And he was not annoyed by the fact that Whitebeard had sent one of his sons to play bodyguard too, not one bit at all, really, he had no issue whatsoever with that. The cunning old bastard had claimed she was his daughter and therefore under his protection too, which was technically fair.

And no matter what Beckman said, Shanks was absolutely not jealous of everyone who got to spend the day with his girl. He was merely getting a bit impatient after almost two months of separation, that was all.

"One more," Hongo announced, which had Gab drawing one more stick on the board. "And they're taking a break for an hour."

"Damn, eleven already ?" Lucky complained when he came back from the kitchen with a mountain of sandwiches. "It's barely lunchtime !"

"Told ya fifteen was too low," Beck shrugged. "That gal's hot."

"Hot, rich, smart and successful," Yasopp corrected while playing with a pen. "And it's almost Valentine's Day, of course everyone's trying their luck."

Shanks wasn't really sure who had come up with the idea of a betting pool on how many people would try to hit on his girl or ask her out, but he had to admit, it was kind of fun. Especially when Limejuice managed to get them on video.

And damn if the way his angel rejected every single offer without even a hint of hesitation wasn't hot as hell. Although it might have had to do with that very pretty blouse and the way she had styled her hair and how her ass looked f*cking divine in those jeans.

His own pants had become a little uncomfortable after watching a video where she all but told an Admiral to f*ck off in the most sweet-and-proper way imaginable.

Shanks reminded himself that she would be in his arms – and his bed – in less than a day. And that he had promised to behave until then, which mostly meant he wasn't allowed to send her anything sexual while she was at the event. A shame, really.

They had to wait more than an hour to get new messages in the groupchat. When the first two did, Shanks' grip on his ale turned crushing, before relaxing as the next ones followed.

Limejuice

Doflamingo came in

He asked her to ditch the event and go with him

Her "I decline" was masterful

She asked what name to put on the book lol his face was priceless

I told him he'd lose a hand if he touched her and he left

There were a few laughs, then Hongo motioned to the board. "He might be a Warlord but it still counts."

"You okay, Captain ?" Beck asked with a raised eyebrow after adding a stick to the count.

Shanks grinned lazily, then lifted his ale in a toast. "Can't f*cking wait to let everyone know she's off the market," he replied, and waited for everyone to cheer along before continuing. "But if that pink bastard tries to make a move on my girl again, he's gonna lose more than a hand."

His first mate nodded. "Fair."

Things were pretty calm after that, until they received another video, this one of Hawkeyes and a pink-haired goth lolita who was floating around and looking absolutely delighted to be there. Shanks' eyes widened when the girl squeezed his angel in a hug before stating she was her favourite person in the world beside Mihawk, who looked much less constipated than usual. The Emperor's face broke into a big smile.

"I'll be damned, Hawkeyes finally made a move !" Shanks laughed, then switched to his private conversation with Mihawk to send him an all caps I told you so ! complete with a bunch of stupid emojis, and then asked when they could start doing double dates since their ladies were already getting along.

He received an answer about ten minutes later and barked a laugh when he read the texts.

Mimi

I truly fail to understand what she sees in you.

But I suppose the idea is not entirely without merit.

That was definitely Hawkeyes' talk for I'm whipped for my girl and I know it'll make her happy so of course I'll do it. Eh, that was fine, they would have all the time in the world to go on double dates and… do whatever it was people did on those. Shanks was pretty sure he could come up with a few ideas, or ask his girl for hers. Actually, she would probably be better at that.

The next interesting moment was when Limejuice warned them that about half of Whitebeard's commanders had arrived. There was nothing for a few minutes, until the next message had everyone suddenly looking at their phones.

Limejuice

@everyone make sure to film Captain when he watches that

Video.mp4

Shanks rolled his eyes good-heartedly and ignored the way both Yasopp and Hongo raised their phones in his direction. As if whatever dumb thing Whitebeard's sons were about to do or say could get any reaction from him outside of a laugh. Really, the lads should know better than that by now.

The video started with a chaotic mix of the commanders trying to shout over each other, apparently trying to get his angel to declare one of them the best brother. Said angel had just facepalmed, from what was visible of her face through the camera angle.

After that, she seemed to exchange a look with Marco and grabbed two books, wrote something in them and gave the copies to the phoenix. Then the others realised what had happened, Marco read the message that declared him his angel's favourite brother because he had given her some good advice, and she laid back in her chair, shrugging off the others' disappointment.

"Sorry boys," her lovely voice said without an ounce of regret in it. "Marco's the reason I got together with my man in the end. He wins by a landslide."

Shanks' eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped. Holy sh*t. He was not prepared for the immediate rush of desire hearing her call him my man had triggered. Damn it, why did it have to sound so hot when he couldn't do anything about it ? The Emperor swallowed uneasily, those two little words looping in his head and going straight to his co*ck.

sh*t, he might actually have a possessive kink after all.

"f*ck it," Shanks groaned, then got up. "I'm not waiting until tomorrow, give me ten minutes alone and then someone better drive me there !"

Shanks left the living room under a shower of teasing and laughter, but frankly, he couldn't be arsed to give a single damn about it. He needed to see her again or he was going to die of blue balls.

Plus it was not like showing up now would have any consequences, anyway. Not when she was moving in the next morning.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks got back to the Red Force in high spirits, even if he would have preferred to stay with his angel until the end of the event. That kiss was still seared in his mind – and his phone, it was a nice picture he had immediately picked as his new wallpaper – along with the way she had looked at him.

He wasn't planning to tell her anytime soon, but he might have been a teeny tiny tad anxious about surprising her. After all, the last – and only – two times he had seen his angel without her expecting him to show up had not exactly gone well. But the way she had lit up today when she noticed him ?

That was the stuff he had dreamed of. Bright eyes and beautiful smile and looking so damn happy to see him, like she hadn't even realised she was up and moving in his direction for a few seconds.

Really, it was a testament to Shanks' self-control that he had managed to only kiss her once, and leave after that.

Granted, it was also because he was entirely wrapped around her finger and when she had gently caressed his face and spoken in that soft – dare he say it, loving –voice of hers… she could have asked for the moon and he would have found a way to bring it to her.

So even if he was teased to hell and back when he walked into the common quarters, it was worth it a hundred times over.

"You look like a sappy fool," Beck told him after a while. "More than usual, I mean."

"She tasted like chocolate cookies," Shanks replied with a grin.

"Didn't need to know that," his first mate groaned.

"Hey, they're done with the event," Hongo told everyone from his seat, his phone in hand. "So how much does that make it ? Also everyone on Whitebeard's crew agrees that Captain doesn't count."

"Excuse me ?" Shanks spluttered.

"The betting pool was about people trying to hit on her or ask her out," Yasopp said from his perch on the couch's back. "But you're already with her, so it doesn't count as trying."

The Emperor thought about it for a minute as he plopped himself on said sofa, and ultimately had to admit that it made sense. Still, he grumbled a little about it as Lucky handed him a tankard.

Shanks hadn't participated himself, partly because he was pretty sure his angel would not have appreciated it, and partly because he was equally sure that anyone with eyes and no romantic partner would try their luck if they weren't completely stupid. And no, he wasn't biased. His princess really was that amazing.

"That makes a total of… thirty-two !" Gab announced. "Damn it, Beckman wins."

"Told y'all it'd be above thirty by the end of the day," his first mate bragged and collected his winnings among a bunch of grumbling people.

"Limejuice says he and Vista are dropping her at her place, he'll come right back here after that," Hongo informed them all, and Shanks wondered briefly if his crew's doctor had spent the entire day on his phone. He probably had.

"Vista's left a car at her place or his brothers are driving him back ?" Gab asked, to which Hongo shrugged with a vague no idea.

-o-oOo-o-

Two hours later, Shanks saw his phone light up with an incoming call from one of his angel's friends. He was a bit surprised at that, since none of them had ever bothered to call him so far and had barely exchanged a couple texts with him to ensure they had each other's number, mostly in the event his angel's phone died or something.

"Hello ?" Shanks answered.

"Hey, is Y/N with you ?" the voice of the one called Cavendish immediately asked, and Shanks frowned as the man continued. "Because if you changed plans at the last minute to bring her to your place tonight, a head's up would've been nice !"

A bad feeling settled in the red-haired man's stomach.

"No, last I heard she was done with the meet and greet and on her way back with Limejuice and Vista, why do you ask ? Isn't she home by now ?"

"That's the thing, she's still not here and she doesn't answer her phone," Cavendish replied, sounding anxious now, and Shanks immediately turned to his first mate, putting his own phone on speaker at the same time.

"Beck, call Limejuice. Something's wrong."

"On it Captain," Beck said, already dialing the number.

"Bartolomeo is on the phone with Marco and the Newgates, they're trying to contact Vista," Cavendish told him. "Look, I'm not saying I'd be happy to ruin your evening for no reason, but I really hope we're making a big deal out of nothing."

"Yeah, me too," Shanks muttered.

"Limejuice's phone is off," Beck told him after a minute. "I'm sent straight to voicemail, that ain't normal."

"sh*t," the Emperor cursed. "Limejuice's not answering, how about-"

"Vista's phone is off too," Cavendish replied, sounding close to panicking. "f*ck, something happened to them."

"Lads, get the cars, we're moving !" Shanks commanded, then turned his attention to the conversation on the phone as he almost ran to get his sword and coat. "The two of you, grab Mephisto and go to Whitebeard's place, you'll be safe there until we know what's going on."

"On it. And, Akagami ?"

"What ?" the Yonko asked as he climbed in the car.

"Find my best friend. Please."

"Believe me, I plan to," Shanks replied darkly, then ended the call.

Whoever had dared to attack his girl and a member of his crew better be ready to face hell. Because they would not live for much longer once the Emperor of East Blue got his hands on them.

-o-oOo-o-

They were still in the cars when Shanks got another phone call, this time from Marco.

"You better have good news," the Emperor said as soon as he accepted the call.

"Her friends and cat are at the Moby Dick, safe and sound," the phoenix answered, and Shanks supposed that counted as good news.

"But we've also found Vista and your guy, they're alive-yoi," Marco added, and Shanks' blood turned to ice when the list stopped at two names.

"Where ?"

"Two streets away from the bookshop-yoi. They're injured and just regained consciousness, nothing fatal or permanent," the doctor replied, and while it was a relief, it still did nothing to appease Shanks' heart.

"What the f*ck happened to them and where the f*ck is my girl !?"

There was a short silence, then a single word pronounced with more hatred than the Emperor had ever heard in Marco's voice.

"Teach."

f*ck.

A surge of dark purple energy flooded the car, causing even Yasopp to tense as he was driving.

"Shanks, calm the f*ck down !" Beck yelled.

Shanks closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to remember the feeling of a soft hand caressing his cheek. His Haki came back under his control, at least for now, but when the Emperor opened his eyes again, they were burning with the promise of murder.

"We're on our way," he told Marco, and ended the call.

Teach had his girl.

That f*cking piece of sh*t had his girl.

Shanks dialed his best friend's number, and Hawkeyes answered quickly.

"What do y-"

"Teach got her. I'm cashing in that favour you owe me."

There was a moment of silence.

"I will see what my contacts have to say and remain on standby in case you need me. If there are no news by morning, I will come to the Red Force to help you however I can."

"Good."

"Shanks," the voice of his best friend made him pause. "We'll find her."

The Emperor's voice was caught in his throat for a second. The fact that his best friend felt the need to reassure him was both working and making the situation ten times more terrifying.

"Thanks, Mihawk," Shanks managed to say and ended the call.

Before he could focus on the road again, his eyes fell upon the picture he had put as his phone's wallpaper a few hours ago and his jaw clenched.

If Shanks' impulsive visit was the reason his angel had been abducted, he would never forgive himself.

Chapter 12: Girl power

Chapter Text

The clock was getting close to midday, and there had been no news whatsoever from anyone so far. Shanks was going crazy with anxiety, and the four hours of sleep he had managed to get – under the promise that someone would wake him up at the slightest clue – had been restless and filled with nightmares.

The red-haired man couldn't even bring himself to open a bottle and drink his fear away, not when doing so might cost him a chance to find his angel.

"Kaido didn't even know who Whitebeard was talking about," Gab reported, looking both annoyed and relieved. "Guess that's the lesser evil."

"I've just got an answer from Big Mom's second son," Beck said as he came back from his own call. "Katakuri says Y/N hasn't been seen in their territory since the end of her meet and greet, and a lot of his siblings like her stories so they're all pretty annoyed that someone would kidnap her."

Shanks wouldn't put both Emperors out of his suspect list yet, but it was a start. He was more inclined to trust the old hag to not have anything to do with it, since Limejuice had confirmed after waking up that several of her kids had come to the meet and greet, and had seemed to like his angel well enough.

Plus that wasn't Big Mom's modus operandi. If she truly was interested in the Queen of Mysteries, she would have attempted to pressure her into a highly publicised marriage with one of her sons. Working with Teach to abduct his angel and take the risk of pissing off two other Emperors in doing so was not something Shanks could picture the old hag doing. It was simply not her style.

"Captain," Hongo came in, interrupting his thoughts. "Hawkeyes' here."

Shanks left his eyes up from the table and the map of Grand Line City just in time to see his best friend walking in the common quarters, with his girlfriend floating beside him.

"I want to help," the pink-haired girl stated, looking rather annoyed and absurdly determined. "Whoever kidnapped Y/N is not cute at all !"

Shanks exchanged a long look with Mihawk, who hold his gaze, after which the red-haired man sighed and motioned them to take place around the table. At this point, any help was welcome.

"Any news on your side ?" the Emperor asked his best friend, who nodded briefly.

"Sengoku has put an alert for her in all Marine bases, he will call me the second they have a lead" Hawkeyes said, then developped at the surprised looks such a statement had elicited in the room. "It appears your girlfriend is his grand-children's favourite author and he was rather unhappy to learn about her abduction."

Shanks couldn't repress his fond and exhausted snort, then roamed a hand on his face with a tired smile. Of course his girl was also in the Fleet Admiral's good books, why was he even surprised anymore.

"When it comes to the Warlords, things are unfortunately more complicated," Mihawk declared with a frown. "Hanco*ck is furious and searching her territory as we speak, just in case. Jinbei is doing the same and keeping in contact with the Whitebeards. Kuma has offered to keep an eye out, but he has not heard of anything unusual happening in his area. I can affirm she is not in my territory either."

"That leaves the two assholes who tried to hit on her and Moria," the Emperor mumbled darkly.

"Crocodile and Doflamingo have denied knowing anything about it, but coming from them, it does not mean much," Hawkeyes admitted, and walked closer to the map. "Moria did not even answer his phone, but he rarely does. I do not believe he would notice or care for things that are unrelated to his experiments."

Shanks roamed a hand on his face. Even with all the areas they could safely cross, there was just too much ground to cover, most of which would inevitably provoke a fight or several. He could not take the risk of going after the wrong target and losing more time and resources for nothing, even with the Whitebeards weighting in the game as well.

"f*ck," the red-haired man cursed, rubbing his eyes. "And all we managed to get so far is that the asshole with teleporting abilities working with Teach is a guy called Van Augur, escaped from a high-security Marine prison a few months ago."

There was a quiet agreement after he spoke, and they all went back to studying the map. Maybe if they-

Shanks' phone started ringing with an upcoming video call, and his eyes went wide when he saw the caller ID.

Angel

"Everyone shut up !" the Emperor commanded, and the room went entirely silent in the next heartbeat.

He accepted the call, immediately noticing Whitebeard on the corner of his screen, and started recording as soon as he saw Teach as the one holding the phone.

"Zehahaha ! It's been a while !"

"Where is my daughter !?" Whitebeard demanded with a booming sound following right after, his face looking as furious as Shanks felt. "What have you done to her !?"

"She's sleeping and safe… for now," the walking piece of garbage answered, his smile widening into something threatening. "She wouldn't be very useful to me dead, you know ? Zehahaha !"

"What the f*ck do you want, Teach ?" Shanks asked, barely repressing his own fury.

"Isn't it obvious ? I want to see you fall !" Blackbeard replied, his eyes manic as he started walking, the background indistinguishable and giving no clue about his location. "Got to say, I wasn't sure she was the best tool for that, but after that adorable show of sibling love and that sweet little kiss, I knew she'd be the perfect instrument for my rise to power !"

Shanks' heart stopped beating for a moment. f*ck. It had been his fault. If he had just waited a few more hours, if he hadn't been so f*cking selfish-

"And really, I never thought you of all people would become such a devoted boyfriend, sunshine," Blackbeard mocked him, and Shanks saw red.

"Don't you f*cking dare use that name !" he growled, and the wood of the table cracked under the pressure of his anger.

"Zehahaha ! Do you know she kept all your voicemails ? T'was hilarious to listen to those !"

"Listen to me you f*cki-"

"ENOUGH !" Whitebeard roared. "Either tell us where my daughter is or end this call, Teach, but do not doubt that we will find you either way !"

Shanks heard a door opening in the background but couldn't tell which side it was coming from.

"End this call so soon ? Come on, aren't you curious about the pretty thing ? I'm even generous enough to show you the royal accomodations she's sleeping in, zehahaha !"

Shanks clenched his jaw and his fist, while trying not to break his phone with the iron grip he had on it. f*ck, if there was a chance to see her alive, he couldn't end this call.

Teach kept walking in what was probably a dark corridor for a while, his crazy smile taunting them.

"Just wait for me to change the cameraaa…" he said as the rest of the corridor became visible instead of his face, which was a definitive improvment, and slowed down as he arrived to a barred cell, "and there we- WHAT !?"

Shanks' breath caught in his throat.

His angel was standing in the cell, tall and proud like the queen she was, with her arms crossed on her chest and glaring in what he assumed was Teach's direction.

She was alive.

She was alive and awake.

She was alive, and awake, with no obvious injuries.

Although the immediate relief Shanks felt was quickly followed by another realisation about his girl.

She was alive, awake, without obvious injuries, and f*cking pissed.

"Well," she said with a calm tone and a touch of arrogance Shanks couldn't decide if he was more impressed by or attracted to, "if it isn't the wannabe murderer I took down with pepper spray and a kick in the dick two months ago. I must say, kidnapping me because of your bruised ego is rather pathetic and tells more about your lack of confidence in your own abilities than anything else."

Holy f*ck.

If Shanks wasn't already head over heels for this woman, this would have sealed the deal.

Although it probably would be better for her to stop antagonizing her kidnapper.

"Say goodbye to daddy and sunshine, pretty thing !" Teach yelled and put his hand off her mouth just as she let the worst, most horrible pain-filled blood-curdling scream escape, only stopped by Blackbeard's fist bashing her head against the wall and knocking her out.

"NO !" Shanks screamed, eyes wild and Conqueror's Haki out of control, but the call disconnected right after that.

"SHANKS !" Beckman shouted, then tackled him to the ground assisted by Mihawk.

"Get yourself together !" Hawkeyes yelled. "You will not save her by destroying everything around you !"

"HE FORCED A f*ckING DEVIL FRUIT ON HER !"

"And we'll kill him for that !" Beck replied, keeping him in a headlock. "But right now ya need to keep ya head straight !"

"THAT f*ckING-"

"Perona !" Hawkeyes called.

"Negative Hollow !"

Holoholoholoholo !

A ghost passed through Shanks, who suddenly lost all rage and only felt profound despair. He was a piece of sh*t. Worse than a piece of sh*t. He only wanted to curl on the ground and become a louse.

"Wow, that was useful," someone said, possibly Beck.

Shanks didn't know what was useful and didn't care unless it could turn him into dirt.

"Thank you, my dear."

"Holoholo, it was nothing ! But it won't last long, maybe a few minutes."

Maybe that was enough for Shanks to disappear into the ground and become one with the dust, that sounded like something he might be worthy of in a couple of years.

-o-oOo-o-

Ten minutes later, Shanks was feeling a little more balanced, which meant that he was now pacing the room like a tiger in a cage, but wasn't either ready to burn the world down or kill himself, possibly both.

Progress was progress.

Whitebeard had called them while he was in his hollow-induced negative state – and damn, that was some powerful sh*t Mihawk's girl had in store – and his crew had put several screens and cameras in place for a sort of improvised video-conference, with a major one showcasing Old Man Newgate himself and his immediate surroundings.

Said immediate surroundings included a subdued Mephisto on his lap, all his division commanders, and Y/N's friends who after been made aware of the call and how it had went, looked… pretty much like Shanks felt right now.

Which is to say, like sh*t.

"I don't get it," Cavendish was sobbing on a chair, surrounded by several commanders handing him tissues and looking supremely awkward doing so. "Why did she kept antagonizing him ? She knows better than that !"

His boyfriend was a crying mess on the ground beside him, and Shanks could relate. His status as Emperor and his determination to find a way to get his girl back were the only things keeping his back straight, at that point. And only because the rest of his crew plus his best friend and said best friend's girlfriend were in the same room.

"Maybe she was trying to force him to make a mistake-yoi," Marco suggested from Whitebeard's side.

So far, they were pretty much repeating the same things and not getting anywhere. There was nothing in the video call that had given them any clue about where Teach was keeping his prisonner.

And now Shanks' angel was at the mercy of a mad asshole who had only targeted her because of her ties to him and Whitebeard.

f*ck. He was feeling like sh*t again and he didn't think it was Perona's powers acting up.

Everyone started talking again at the same time, trying to come up with explanations and ideas, and it was only because he was desperately looking around him in hope of some epiphany that Shanks noticed Mihawk's concerned expression. With a little more focus, Shanks realised his best friend was actually looking worriedly at his own girlfriend, who was frowning and mumbling in a corner, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

Suddenly she gasped, and floated high above the sofa to gather everyone's attention.

"Wait ! What if… what if she was trying to talk to us !?" the young woman exclaimed.

Her idea was greeted with complete silence.

"Querida, could you perhaps developp your idea a little bit more ?" Mihawk asked patiently.

"Yeah, uh, no offense, but she was clearly talking to Teach all along," someone said from Whitebeard's side.

"And why would she even talk to us ?" Gab asked with a confused frown. "That makes no sense."

"Shut up, you're not cute !" Perona yelled, and starting floating in circles using her umbrella as a pointer while she sent judgmental glares in everyone's direction – except Mihawk's, of course.

"You are all forgetting that she's not just an Emperor's girlfriend or an Emperor's daughter ! She's Y/N ! The Queen of Mysteries ! The greatest mystery novellist alive ! If there's someone who can figure out where she is with almost no clue it's her ! And if she could figure out where she is and knew both Shanks and Whitebeard were listening-"

"Then she was trying to send them hidden messages and antagonizing Teach was only a distraction," Hawkeyes completed, his eyes slightly widened. "That is not just plausible, it is brilliant, querida."

Perona blushed under the compliment and floated back to him, curling herself against his chest. And damn, Shanks had half a mind hugging her too with that genius revelation.

"Why the f*ck didn't we think of that !?" another division commander exclaimed, possibly Thatch, Shanks wasn't really paying attention.

"Let's rewatch the call," Whitebeard declared with a loud hit of his naginata on the ground. "Akagami, Cavendish, Bartolomeo, Perona, you know her and her books the best out of everyone here, we'll pause and rewind as often as you need it."

Shanks took a deep breath. He didn't like Old Man Newgates bossing him around, but at this point, they needed to cooperate as seamlessly as possible. Pride was a small price to pay for his beloved angel's life.

"Let's do this" Shanks commanded, marking his agreement with Whitebeard. "Lads, play it again, from the first time she speaks."

Watching the love of his life being terrified and tortured on loop was going to be hell.

But if it meant they had a chance to figure out what she was trying to tell them, Shanks would do it a thousand times with no hesitation.

-o-oOo-o-

Twenty minutes later, Shanks had caved and poured himself a drink.

"Okay," Cavendish stated, his right hand holding a marker and the left one pointing to a board behind him. "So we all agree that until she knew Akagami and Whitebeard were the ones Teach was calling, she was only setting up the antagonizing theme. That means she was still preparing herself to gather information, especially with the way she was trying to taunt him into revealing what his goal was in kidnapping her."

"Agreed," Perona nodded, close to a board as well, although Mihawk was the one holding the marker for her and was staring at his girlfriend with the kind of intense and focused gaze that clearly meant you-look-f*cking-amazing-right-now and if-we-weren't-in-public-I'd-kiss-you. They were relatively new nuances of Mimi's blank expression but Shanks knew his best friend well enough to identify them easily.

He also very much needed all the distraction he could to avoid thinking of all the danger and pain his own amazing girlfriend was currently in.

"There's something that bothers me about her boogeyman reply, but I can't put my finger on it," Bartolomeo muttered, frowning. "Can you replay that one ?"

Her voice rose once again in the room.

"As if you could ever hope to reach Pops and Shanks' level. Even with your new powers, what are you going to do ? Turn off the lights and pretend to be the boogeyman ?"

Shanks snorted in his glass, a little spark of pettiness coming to the surface. "I'll tell you what's wrong, she put the old man before me !"

Everyone turned to stare at him with various disapproving looks, until the green-haired man gasped. "HOLY sh*t THAT'S IT ! That's what was bothering me ! She put a lot of emphase on both names but didn't say yours first, and she always puts you first ! That has to be deliberate !"

"Huh," Shanks blinked. sh*t, that actually made sense. And wait, was that true, was she really always putting him first when she talked about the Emperors she knew ? He filed the question for later. Preferably for when she was safe and he could ask her directly about it. "Okay, so there's something about… reversing the order of things somewhere in the discussion ?" Shanks suggested.

Perona nodded, and Mihawk wrote it on the big board next to her, Cavendish doing the same in the Moby Dick's main hall. "Okay, play the next exchanges," the goth lolita asked. "Hopefully we'll find out what she was referring to."

They pressed play and Shanks downed the rest of his glass.

"The Marines can't do anything to save you here !"

"Stop !" Cavendish called. "Look at her expression when he says that !"

Shanks stared at the face of the woman he loved, admiring how fiercely she was fighting for her life in the only way she could : using words better than anyone else and confusing the hell out of everyone listening.

"She looks amazing," the Emperor sighed with a smile. "Like she knows what she's doing."

"Exactly !" Cavendish approved, and wow, Shanks was not expecting to be right again. Maybe spending so much time talking with a smart writer had had more impact on his brain than he thought.

"Think about it," the blond insisted, "she just learned the Marines can't save her, and she's not surprised ! More than that, she mentioned the Marines right after Teach used we instead of I !"

"She was confirming her theory about his ally's identity ! Like the duch*ess does in The Ghost Bride !" Perona squeaked. "So if it's someone the Marines can't attack, not won't attack, then that means Teach is hiding-"

"With a Warlord," Mihawk completed. "It is the only logical explanation."

Whitebeard stroke his chin pensively. "So that only leaves six areas, since we can discard yours, Hawkeyes."

"Five," Mihawk corrected. "Hanco*ck would never hide a man planning to use and hurt another woman."

"Four, I really can't see Jinbei allying himself with Teach-yoi, especially not when he knows Y/N is Pops' daughter," Marco added, then adjusted his statement. "I think we can even cross Kuma off, he's loyal to the Revolutionary Army and they have no interest in kidnapping a writer or making an enemy out of Emperors-yoi."

"So the only options left are Doflamingo, Crocodile, and Moria," Beck stated. "That's doable."

"Let's play the next part," Perona said with determination. "I'm sure there is more to discover !"

"Okay but seriously, I know she's a writer and all," one of Whitebeard's mustached commanders muttered before he pressed play, "but just how f*cking smart is that woman !?"

Shanks smirked at that. Yeah, his girl was the absolute best. But it was still awful to see such a masterful display of her skills in such a horrible situation. He poured himself another ale and sat back in the sofa, watching the screen intently as his angel started talking again, a weak chuckle in her pretty voice.

"That's such a cliché villain's speech. Even at the orphanage, my friends wrote better stuff than that, and let me tell you both Shelly and Mary lived for the clichés."

"Stop !" Bartolomeo exclaimed, his arms moving around frantically. "That's impossible !"

"What's impossible ?" Shanks asked, sitting straighter as the video was paused again.

"Look," her green-haired friend declared with a seriousness Shanks hadn't seen in him so far, "Cav and I have known Y/N for a long, long time, okay ? She never, ever, mentioned other people writing at the orphanage she was in, and I've never heard her talk about a Shelly or a Mary either. That whole sentence makes no sense !"

The blond man beside him nodded approvingly. "I don't recall it either. I don't know why she would invent those names or insist about them writing clichés, but there is definitely something she's trying to tell us here."

Everyone stopped talking in order to attempt to crack the code, and Shanks sighed, feeling just as confused as everyone else. He ran a hand through his hair, and suggested out loud the only thing he could think of.

"Maybe we should use the reverse thing now ? Like she wasn't really saying Shelly and Mary, but Mary and Shelly or som-"

"What did you just say ?" Perona cut him off, eyes wide and propulsing herself over his seat until her face was right above his.

"Uh, that we should revers-"

"No, after !"

"That it could be Mary and Shelly ?" Shanks said, thoroughly confused by now.

"That's it ! She wasn't saying random names ! She said Pops and Shanks so we'd know to change the order of Shelly and Mary ! Oh my god she's a genius !" Perona squeaked happily as she floated away, and seriously, was Shanks really right for the third time in a row without even doing it on purpose ?

"Hawkeyes, no offense," Ace asked from the screen, "but are you sure your girlfriend is sane ?"

Mihawk glared at the camera, and the young man promptly shut up. The Warlord then turned to the pink-haired girl who was apparently lost in a fit of fangirling frenzy.

"Perona, my dear, could you explain to everyone how this makes sense to you ?"

"Don't you get it !?" She asked excitedly as she floated back to Mihawk. "She's talking about other people writing because she means another writer, and what do you get when you reverse Shelly and Mary ? One of the most famous science-fiction writers of all time, Mary Shelley ! The author of Frankenstein ! "

"FRANKENSTEIN !?"

Everyone jumped when both Cavendish and Bartolomeo abruptly yelled and stood up with twin expressions of understanding.

"But that means-" the blond started.

"f*ck it can only be-" Bartolomeo chocked.

"I can't believe she remembers that-" Cavendish said with his eyes wide.

"I can't believe you remember that-" the green-haired man exclaimed.

"Hey shut up yo-"

"BOYS !" Whitebeard called, stopping their bickering sharply. "Do you know what this refers to ?"

Both men suddenly stopped glaring at each other to turn to the Emperor, and started nodding frantically, looking properly scared of the Strongest Man on Earth currently staring them down from his massive chair.

"Months ago," Cavendish gulped nervously, "when we sat Y/N down to tell her about Emperors and Warlords, we also told her what little we knew about them all," he trailed, waiting for his boyfriend to take over.

"And I described Moria as a shadow-devil fruit user who was a sort of Doctor Frankenstein and only cared about his freaky… science… experiments… oh no," Bartolomeo paled, then fell on his ass.

Crash !

Shanks stared at the screen, unable to process the pain in his left hand after crushing his glass. His angel was in the territory of a mad scientist. And Teach had forced her to eat a devil fruit.

The Emperor didn't need his girl's deduction skills to put those two facts together and come to a conclusion. He barely registered Hongo starting to disinfect and bandage his hand, muttering about superficial bleeding and not needing sutures.

"Let's hear the rest of her speech," Whitebeard declared, the furious tremor in his voice barely audible to the untrained ear. "There might be one more thing in there to help us narrow her location down."

Shanks took one very deep breath.

He was not going to go on a rampage right away.

Not until he had a clear destination.

But as soon as he f*cking did-

"I'm not scared of the dark. It takes more than the cold stone walls of a haunted house and monsters hiding in shadows to undo a mystery novellist of my calibre."

"Moria lives in a supposedly haunted medieval castle," Hawkeyes declared matter-of-factly.

"Wait," Ace asked, eyes wide with shock, "did she literally just describe where she was and who had captured her ?"

"Looks like she f*ckin' did," Beck swore. "And she fooled us all by puttin' it like some myste-"

"Everyone gear up," Shanks cut him off and stood up, his sheathed sword in hand and fury burning in his eyes. "We're storming Moria's castle."

There was a single second of absolute silence, where everyone stared at him. The Emperor had a pretty good idea of the kind of monster he looked like in this instant, so he left the room without a word, knowing his crew would follow him.

"You heard the brat, sons !" Whitebeard yelled as Shanks walked through the door.

It was time to remind these assholes why he was the youngest Emperor of Grand Line City.

Chapter 13: Wait, what ?

Chapter Text

You came back to your senses feeling strangely weak, like the energy was sucked out of you somehow.

You blinked a couple of times, then instinctively tried to bring a hand to your head and immediately realised the problem. A pair of handcuffs were encircling your wrists, and they seemed to be the reason you were feeling so depleted of your energy.

You remembered in a flash the lenghty discussion you had had with Bartolomeo about devil fruits and how they worked, and the famous sea prism stone that cancelled a devil fruit user's powers and leaving them weak and vulnerable.

And you were a devil fruit user now.

You clenched your jaw. If you managed to get your hands on Teach somehow, you were seriously going to reconsider your stance on real life crime.

To think that bastard was planning to turn you into a weapon against your boyfriend and adoptive father. The thought alone had you feeling somewhere between sick and furious, most likely both. Hopefully they would manage to decipher your message and come get you out of this wretched place before whatever experiment Teach had in store for you would happen.

A dejected sigh escaped you. Then a small, almost amused smile stretched a corner of your lips. It was already the third time you were counting on your sunshine to help you out of a dangerous situation, and you were starting to get a little tired of waking up from unconsciousness after a stressful encounter.

Granted, most of those had more to do with bad luck than your own actions, but still. It was not the most pleasant experience, and you could still feel a throbbing in your head and soreness in your limbs from your pain-induced trashing. If only you knew what kind of powers you had gained, you might be able to start planning some sort of escape plan, but as things were, you were stuck.

It was only after this introspection that you noticed the room you were in wasn't your cell anymore, but some sort of weird laboratory. The walls were still in that castle-like grey stone, and your handcuffs were linked to a hook in one of those walls by a relatively long chain. Everything else in the room was in a green, black, or purple colour, with a lot of scientific equipment probably not up to code.

From what you could gather, the result seemed to reflect the mind of someone who hadn't been able to decide between chemistry, zoology, and medical. And maybe creepy fashion too, with the amount of strings and needles you could see on a tray near the operating ta-

Wait.

Huge metallic needles.

A grin appeared on your face.

A few minutes later – and after you had to use all your flexibility and creativity to reach your objective without disturbing the other things on your way – you finally had two of the biggest needles in your hands. They were approximatively the lenght of your index finger, and pretty thick.

It wasn't exactly the tools you had learned lockpicking with, but it would have to do. Hopefully, you had enough time to unlock the cuffs before Moria or Teach would arrive. Since they were devil fruit users as well, the sea prisme stone would affect them too and give you enough time to escape.

Hypothetically, at least.

-o-oOo-o-

You were done with the right cuff – still leaving it on your wrist for now – and getting started on the left one when you heard footsteps getting closer to the door, and quickly hid the needles in your jeans' pocket.

Which proved to be a good idea since the two men who entered the room a few seconds later were Teach, and who you assumed to be Gecko Moria. He looked every bit the mad scientist with no morals and an inflated ego, at least.

You glared at them both from the wall you were sitting against.

"Zehahaha ! You really recover quickly, pretty thing !" Teach laughed as he walked closer to you.

You had half a mind spitting in his face, but instead, you just stared at him with as much contempt as you could muster.

"You realise there is no way you're winning this, right ?" you told him with your chin hold high, looking down on the man even with the height difference. "You pissed off two of the strongest men in Grand Line City. If I die, so will you. Both of you."

"Kishishishishi !" Moria laughed creepily, "You're not going to die ! Well, not really, at least. You'll soon become our most accomplished weapon, the result of years of research and our combined powers !"

You raised an eyebrow. Well, if this creepy doctor Frankenstein was arrogant enough to go for the big long villain monologue and explain his entire plan to the poor damsel in distress he clearly believed you to be, you were not going to stop him.

"Using me as a bait for Shanks and Pops will not work. They'll kill you before you can even utter a single threat on my life," you declared, knowing very well that looking dumber than you were was in your best interest right now.

And indeed, both Teach and Moria had a full belly laugh at that. The Warlord started walking closer to the operating table in the center of the room, then moved to the huge container on its right side.

"I can't believe everyone praises you for being so smart when you're such an idiot !" the mad scientist cackled. "We're not using you as bait, do you really think we would have wasted such a powerful devil fruit on you without a greater plan ?"

"Then why-"

"Once we're done with you, pretty thing, you'll be the one fighting Akagami and Whitebeard," Teach announced smugly. "See, you're not a fighter, but once we drown your mind in darkness and give your body to the shadow of another person… you'll become the perfect killing machine !"

"What ?" you gasped, your eyes widening appropriately at the very unsurprising revelation that they planned to weaponise you. "That's impossible !"

"Kishishishishi, it's very much possible ! All we need for that is the shadow of the person who will gain control of your body, and we've got the perfect candidate. Meet the braindead Crescent Moon Hunter, Catarina Devon !" Moria said and opened the container in a dramatic fashion, revealing the preserved body of a huge woman.

You did not like where things were going one bit, no matter the fact that her name was entirely unknown to you, but Moria wasn't done explaining his plan.

"The thing is, I've been perfecting my zombies for years now, but deceased bodies are still slower and less coordinated than living people, even with the shadows of powerful humans inside them," the mad scientist complained. "But if I put shadows inside a living person, the living person is not under my control, they just gain more power !"

"And that's where the Yami Yami no Mi comes into play !" Teach bragged. "I can suppress consciousness in living bodies, turning them into puppets for the shadows ! It only took us a few dozens of experiments to perfect the technique. See, we realised that the more similarities there were between the shadow's original owner and its new host, the greater the control was !"

Your eyes turned to the glorified refrigerator and the breathing body inside it in immediate understanding. "So that woman…"

"Was the previous user of the devil fruit we've given you, zehahaha ! And possibly the cruellest serial killer in Grand Line City, she liked to collect pretty girls' heads as trophies. I had planned to recruit her, but she died for a few minutes when she tried to kill that bitch of Boa Hanco*ck and I could only get my hands on a braindead living body instead," Teach grumbled.

You kept your gaze on the container, feeling both relieved that such a woman was as good as dead, and sick at the idea that anyone would be that deprived of any moral sense. You were not thrilled by the concept of such a psychotic person controlling your body to attack your loved ones.

But your capture made a lot more sense with those informations. You had had trouble picturing how exactly they were going to force you to fight an Emperor in a way that would result in something else than a humiliating defeat for you. Putting the mind of a serial killer in your body after ensuring she would be able to rely on the power she had wielded in life did sound, admittedly, like a dangerously efficient plan.

A dangerously efficient plan you were very much not on board with.

"So let's get started, pretty thing !" Teach smiled threateningly. "Don't worry, you won't feel the pain for long, just th-"

BOOM !

A huge crashing sound interrupted him, as if someone had destroyed part of the castle in an explosion or a very powerful blow, and you were projected on the ground while the two men struggled to remain on their feet.

"What the f*ck was that !? Moria !" Teach barked angrily.

"I don't know ! She's the only experiment scheduled today !" the scientist shrieked back and got a phone out of a pocket just as it started ringing. "Absalom, wha-"

There was a few seconds of silence, then Moria's eyes widened in shock. "EEEEEEEH !? You're sure !? Both !!?"

"Oi Moria, what's going on !"

The Warlord ignored him to clench his fists. Then he smiled creepily as he gave orders to whoever was on the phone with him. "Then use all the zombies !! And get everyone ready to fight too !" then he ended the call and rushed to the door. "Akagami and Whitebeard are here with their crews ! I'll lead the zombies on the court to keep them busy, make sure she's ready for me when I come back ! We're becoming Emperors sooner than planned, kishishishi !"

Your heartbeat increased to what felt like a potentially unhealthy rythm, but you didn't care. Shanks was here. Now all you needed to do was ensuring you would stay alive and with your mind intact long enough for him to get to you.

According to the way Teach turned to look at you with a threatening expression, however, you had a feeling that it might be more of a challenge that you were ready to take on.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks had left the zombies and other opponents to his crew and Whitebeard's sons in order to follow Perona inside the castle, barely taking the time to let Marco fully heal his left hand. He and Mihawk had cut through the two main towers of the old creepy building as soon as Perona had confirmed his angel wouldn't be in either of those.

And damn if learning that Hawkeyes' girlfriend had worked with Moria for a while and ran away because he had planned to experiment on her had not put both sworsdmen in an even worse mood than they already were.

"On the left !" Perona said and floated into another corridor, the two men following her lead immediately. "The cells are in the dungeon, it's onl-"

Mihawk slashed the air before the canonball could reach his girlfriend. The two halves went into the walls, making huge portions of the stone crumble under the small twin explosions.

"The treacherous princess has returned, how surprising !" someone mocked, his voice and presence clear despite no one else being in the corridor.

"Absalom !" Perona shrieked and got closer to Mihawk. "He can turn invisible and Moria's given him a lot of animal parts to enhance his body !"

"Can't waste time on him," Shanks stated and reaffirmed his hold on his sword. "We need to get to the cells now !"

"You're too late, Akagami !" the voice laughed. "Your pitiful woman is being turned into a glorious weapon as we speak, bahah-"

Shanks flooded the corridor with his Conqueror Haki before the man was done laughing, resulting in the sound of someone gasping and collapsing, but remaining conscious enough to stay invisible. The Emperor lifted his hand, but Mihawk put a hand on his arm.

"We'll deal with him, go find her."

"The lab is underground too ! Take the stairs at the end of the corridor and it'll be the third door on the left !" the pink-haired woman indicated, before focusing on creating several ghost to surround the red-haired man in a protective barrier.

Shanks nodded and started running. Whether it was the effect of his attack or Perona's negative hollows around him, the invisible opponent did nothing to prevent him from reaching the stairs. The ghosts left him as he ran down the first steps, but the Emperor barely noticed it.

His mind was stuck on what that Absalom had said.

Moria and Teach were planning to turn his girl into a f*cking weapon.

Those insane bastards were planning to use her against him.

The Yonko clenched his jaw as he remembered what Blackbeard had said about her being more useful alive. That asshole was banking on the fact that Shanks wouldn't be able to bring himself to fight back against the woman he loved, much less kill her.

He hated how right that reasoning was.

The Emperor ran down the stairs with barely a glance to his surroundings, and focused on his Observation Haki to confirm where the people he was looking for were.

Third room on the left indeed.

Shanks slammed the door open, sword at the ready, and froze.

Blackbeard was facing the entry of the laboratory, tendrils of darkness surrounding him and a dagger on his angel's throat.

She was kneeling on the ground, wrists cuffed in sea prism stone and hands jerking in small movements on her lap, but staring at him with hope. Shanks felt the tiniest bit of relief at seeing the proof that her mind was still her own.

"You move, she dies," Teach smirked, and pressed the dagger closer against her skin, causing her eyes to widen in fear.

sh*t. Shanks wasn't sure he could be fast enough with either his Haki or his sword to kill or disarm that piece of sh*t before Teach could seriously injure her. He couldn't take that risk against the powers of a logia he didn't know well enough. Especially not with his angel between him and his target.

The Emperor settled for a furious glare, and did not move.

"Zehahaha ! I didn't think it would be so easy to take you down !" the asshole laughed. Shanks felt his rage reach levels making his control dangerously close to slipping, and Teach wasn't even done talking. "Hey pretty thing, you got one last thing to say to your sunshine ?"

"I… yes," she said in a sad, almost resigned voice, and her hands slowly rose until they were joined on her chest. Shanks' own heart dropped at the sight.

"Angel, no, there's no need, we're not saying goodbye, I'll get us out of th-"

"Shanks," she said softly, and the Emperor immediately stopped talking. "Do you remember the first time we talked ? When you helped me with my scene just because you could ?"

"Zehahaha ! That's so romantic, pretty thing ! Ending your relationship with the first memories you have of it," Teach mocked.

But while Blackbeard could only rely on her voice to interpret her feelings, Shanks could see the determined and intense expression his girl was looking at him with. And if there was one thing he had learned these past hours, it was that there was always more to his angel's words than it seemed.

And of course he remembered.

But if she was truly asking him to kill her rather than letting Blackbeard turn her into a weapon, Shanks already knew he would not do it. He would do anything for her, anything except taking her life. The Emperor clinged to the hope there was another meaning he would manage to understand before it was too late, and nodded, his jaw set in a grim expression.

"Yeah, I do."

She suddenly adressed him a knowing grin, which took both his breath and ability to think straight away for a second.

"Perfect."

And the next thing Shanks knew, she had grabbed Teach's wrist and put the sea prism stone handcuffs on him, making the darkness around them disappear instantly.

In the same movement, she twisted the hand to make the dagger fall, and in one fluid turn, she threw what looked like an extremely painful elbow hit in Blackbeard's crotch.

By the time Shanks had blinked, she had jumped away from Teach, who was falling on his knees while trying to simulteaneously get the handcuff off his wrist and reaching for his dick.

The Emperor didn't hesitate a single second, and coated his sword in Conqueror Haki before slashing the air in Teach's direction.

"DIVINE DEPARTURE !"

Shanks threw the full force of his hatred in a single black and red arc of raw power.

Teach's head rolled on the ground.

The wall behind him was cut in half and most of the ceiling crumbled on the various equipment, destroying it in seconds.

Shanks sheathed his sword in a heartbeat and ran to the love of his life.

-o-oOo-o-

You were barely able to stand up before a strong pair of arms sweeped you off your feet and you were pressed against a sturdy chest, encased in a protective hold.

Shanks had his face against your neck and inhaled deeply, before raising his head to look at you. You had barely a second to smile at him before he crashed his lips on yours, with a devouring sense of urgency that had you losing your mind in a second.

In an instant, all the stress and fear of the past hours flooded your mind and you just felt a powerful need to be close to him, to feel his body against yours, and you kissed him back with the same desperate passion. Your hands climbed up from his torso to his neck and then lost themselves in his hair, just as he moved his own to your waist and ass, making you gasp in surprise.

He immediately used the opportunity to deepen the kiss in a way that tore a moan from your mouth. Shanks groaned at the sound, making heat pool in your belly.

In the maelstrom of sensations, you vaguely felt a weird change take hold of your body. However, before your lust-filled mind could realise something was happening, there was a poof ! sound and you gasped, jerking away from your Emperor in the movement and unwillingly breaking the kiss.

"What the- ah !" you exclaimed as you felt yourself lose balance.

It felt like you had gained a new body part or several somewhere around your lower back – with your clothes remaining intact somehow – and you had trouble adjusting to the sudden weight and movement. Plus it felt as if there was something different about your head… and were some of your teeth suddenly a little more pointy or was it just your mind finally falling into insanity ?

Thankfully, Shanks still had an arm around your waist to steady you before you could fall on the ground, and when you looked up to meet the red-haired man's gaze, you saw complete wonder, a heavy dose of lust, and a touch of guilt.

"f*ck, you're beautiful," he whispered before realising what he had just said and winced. "sh*t, no- I mean yes you're beautiful, you already were, but that makes you even hotter- f*ck no forget what I said, I know you were forced to-"

"Sunshine," you interrupted him, "can you just tell me what is… oh," you stopped yourself as something white and fluffy came into sight, and you blinked. Then focused on it and the other similar things you could feel at your back, and saw what seemed like seven… no, nine white long fluffy tails protectively curling around you and Shanks. You blinked again, then raised a hand to your head, and felt what you guessed was a fluffy ear in your hair. The sudden feeling of your finger on it had you twitching both appendages in reflex with a little frown for a second.

Nine tails, pointy fluffy ears, small fangs, while retaining a human form. There was only one creature you knew of that fit this specific bill, and you let your head fall against your boyfriend's chest with a groan.

"Am I seriously a f*cking kitsune now ?" you complained.

"Well I'd seriously like to be f*cking this kitsune now- ouch !"

You raised your head with a less-than-impressed stare after having slapped his arm. Of course that idiot was flirting even now. And of course you were stupid enough to find it endearing.

"Get out of here first, f*ck later," you declared. "We're not having sex in a creepy lab with two murderers' corpses in the room," you added when it looked like Shanks might try to negociate.

"Two ?" the Emperor asked with a frown, and brought you closer to him once again, which had you melting against his strong body. Spirits, it felt so good to be with him again.

"Yeah," you sighed, and took a deep breath, still not looking in the direction of Teach's decapitated body or the container. "They wanted to put the shadow of a comatose serial killer named Catarina Devon in me and use the result to attack you and Pops."

Shanks' grip on you tightened, and you could feel his aura darkening for an instant before his free hand grabbed his sword and made a quick movement, immediately followed by the sound of metal being broken. You guessed the woman was dead for good now. Still, Shanks kept you firmly encased in his arms, as if you would disappear the second he let go.

"Sunshine, it's okay. They're dead," you said softly, unconsciously putting more of your tails around him in reassurance. "And we're both safe and sound."

It took a few seconds, then the Yonko sighed a brief yeah, you're right and relaxed his hold, distancing himself the tiniest bit to look at you curiously.

"How'd you do that thing with the cuffs, by the way ?"

You blinked, then grinned wide enough to reveal your new fangs, and put the needles out of your pocket so he could see them, your tails moving around you gleefully.

"I stole those from the tool tray before they came back into the lab," you explained as he looked confusedly at the two sharp bits of metal. "Then it was just a matter of remembering the lockpicking lessons I took when I was writing A Jewel In The Sand."

Shanks stared at you for several seconds with the utmost floored expression, and you giggled. But then he stopped gaping and took both your hands in his, making you drop the needles in the movement. The Emperor was looking at you like you were the most amazing thing in the universe, a dreamy smile on his lips.

"Marry me."

Your eyes widened and you felt your jaw drop in surprise. Had he really just-

BOOM !

The castle shook under an earthquake, and you only managed to remain standing instead of falling in a mess of tails thanks to Shanks' arm keeping you against him.

"Damn it," the red-haired man muttered, "the old coot's getting serious, we better go."

"You- uh- I- wait what ?" you sputtered.

"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you, everyone's here. I'm not sure this castle will still be standing in a few minutes," the Emperor said lightly, then took your hand in his, unsheathed his sword with the other, and led you away from the room.

Meanwhile, you were feeling understandably shocked. It took until you were at the staircase for your brain to finally manage to reboot, and you found yourself somewhere between extremely flattered and very annoyed.

"Did you seriously just propose to me in the middle of a rescue operation !?"

The Emperor started climbing the stairs and looked at you with a sh*t-eating grin. "Babe, I've known you were the one for me since Christmas. What's the point in waiting any longer ?"

"You really don't see why- wait, since Christmas ?" you asked with your eyes going wide. "But that's when we- wait, nope, not the time," you scolded yourself, and cursed his shining eyes and bright smile and puppy-like enthusiasm wrapped in the body of a sex god with the power of an Emperor. That man was a menace and way too good at distracting you. "We're definitely going to continue this conversation later, sunshine."

"So that's a yes ?"

You stumbled for words, went through all the shades of red known to mankind, facepalmed, and only found an answer to give him once you reached the top of the stairs.

"It's a not now but I'm not opposed to the idea in the future," you mumbled and tried to will away the blush colouring your cheeks. "I want to spend more time with you and see what it's like to… be with you, live with you, before I accept."

You barely had the time to prepare yourself before you were turned toward him and kissed senseless once again, if only for a few seconds before your Emperor broke it, looking you in the eyes with a heated gaze.

"Works for me, angel. I plan to thoroughly convince you of how great an idea it is."

You could only imagine how much your own pupils dilated, and had to remind yourself that a battleground was neither the place nor the time to let yourself become stupidly aroused because of this ridiculously smooth man.

Probably.

In a fit of pettiness, however, you brought one of your tails to his cheek with one hand on top of it, caressing his skin before lowering the fluffy appendage slowly down his throat and then his torso.

"Promises, promises," you purred.

You saw him gulp and take a heavy breath. "f*ck, sweetheart, you can't just-"

"MISS Y/N !" someone screamed in what sounded like joy.

You turned your head toward the nearest corridor just in time to see the pink-haired woman – Perona – you had seen with Mihawk at the meet and greet the day prior floating toward you at great speed, and smiled brightly.

"Perona !" you said, and opened your arms to welcome her in a hug. "What are you doing here ?"

"I came to help with your rescue ! You were so amazing with all the hidden messages, it was incredible ! And you- wait, those tails and- you're a- oh you're so cuuuute !" she squeaked in obvious admiration.

You chuckled fondly at her enthusiasm. "Thank you. It's going to take a little getting used to, but I suppose there are worst things to become than a kitsune."

"It is good to see you unharmed, miss Y/N," the deep voice of Hawkeyes followed as he appeared behind Perona. You could see his sword drawn as well, the huge black blade appearing almost weighless in his hand.

"Please," you smiled, "just Y/N. After everything that's happened, you've more than earned it. Both of you," you added to Perona's benefit.

The Warlord nodded gracefully. "Then please, call me Mihawk," he said as he got closer to his girlfriend, who seemed ecstatic at your offer, and you nodded in agreement as well.

"Teach ?" Mihawk then asked both Shanks and you.

"Dead," the Emperor said at the same time you answered "Shanks beheaded him."

Hawkeyes frowned. "A logia type-"

"Can't do sh*t when my amazing girl lockpicks her seastone cuffs to put them on him," Shanks cut him off, and while you had the distinct impression that he was bragging on your behalf, you just smiled it off with a fond sigh.

Then another explosion happened outside, making the ceiling shake above your little group and a chandelier crash on the ground only a few steps away from Perona.

"How about we continue this little chat outside ?" you suggested ironically.

Chapter 14: In the end ?

Chapter Text

The four of you got out of the castle and you felt your stomach churn at the sight welcoming you. The main court of the castle was a bloodbath with corpses' parts everywhere and the fighting was still ongoing, devil fruit powers in full use alongside all kinds of weapons.

Spirits, this part of an Emperor's life was definitely not for you. Shanks seemed to notice your palor and overall distressed state, because he was quick to squeeze your hand in reassurance.

"There's a lot of zombies fighting this one, angel, don't worry, there aren't many real people getting-"

The body of the teleporting man who had kidnapped you with Teach fell to the ground two steps in front of you, a huge gash almost cutting his body in two halves from his right shoulder to his left hip. You faltered at the sight of the gruesome injury and oh f*ck was his intestine falling out of the wound ?

"-hurt here… okay, guess we're getting you out," Shanks grimaced.

"Let's go left and keep close to the castle to avoid the worst," Perona suggested, and floated closer to you. You wondered for a second why she wasn't affected, but ultimately decided the myriad of questions popping in your mind could wait until you were in a calmer environment.

On the bright side, you were getting first-hand material in the event you ever decided to write a huge battle scene. You would make sure to indicate the deafening chaos of noises surrounding you – metal clashing on metal, gunshots, roaring flames, screams – as well as the diverse kinds of awful smells – rotten bodies, blood, burned flesh – that were permeating the air to the point you had a hard time keeping the nausea at bay.

You made it half-way through the castle court without too much trouble. Shanks, Mihawk, and Perona were confirming to everyone they came across that you were out and alive, and Teach dead. Both news spread like wildfire through the battlefield, with a lot of people shouting your name happily to the point you even managed to crack a little smile.

But then Moria seemed to get wind of your escape as well. Through some ungodly technique you did not want to know about, he managed to get close enough to your group to grab Shanks' shadow when Ace's flames provoked a big show of light from behind you.

"I can still steal your power, Akagami !" the Warlord screeched as he produced a huge pair of scissors, and you saw red.

That mad asshole was not attacking your mate. Not on Your. f*cking. Watch.

Instincts you didn't realise your new body had took over. Your eyes started glowing white and you jumped in front of Shanks, your nine tails raised behind you in a perfect half circle to protect your mate from sight.

"FOXFIRE !" you roared, and a pillar of white flames erupted from your hands and tails to fly straight to Moria, creating a column of blinding light dispersing all shadows around him.

The Warlord screamed as the source of his power was destroyed, and right as the flames dissipated – without leaving any scorched mark on the ground or any real heat lingering in the air, you noted absentmindedly – Hawkeyes' sword slashed twice in Moria's direction. The deadly precision of the attack sliced the mad scientist's throat and cut through his gut, thus putting an end to his life.

You barely noticed the blood and injuries, since the sudden effort you had just produced seemed to have consumed the last of your energy. You fell on your knees, hands on the ground and head low as your breathing became erratic.

You jerked your head up when a hand touched your shoulder, and your eyes immediately dived into a pair of concerned black ones.

"Hey angel, look at me," Shanks said, his voice calm and steady, anchoring you to the present. "Can you take a deep breath for me ? There, try to copy my rythm," he said as he gently took one of your hands and put it on his chest so you could feel his breathing.

It took a few minutes, but you finally managed to bring your heartbeat back to a reasonnable rythm. When you did, you felt your fangs, ears, and tails disappearing back where they came from with the same little poof ! they had appeared with.

You smiled tiredly at Shanks, who seemed both relieved to have you back and amazed by what you had accomplished a few minutes ago.

"Before you ask," you chuckled fondly, "I have no idea what that was. He was trying to hurt you and I… I guess I just lost control."

"Well whatever it was, it was hot as hell," the Emperor grinned.

You stared blankly at him for a moment, then dropped your head downward again with an exhausted groan.

"You did not make that joke."

"You love my jokes."

"I love you," you corrected without thinking, then froze.

Oh well, you thought as you relaxed just as quickly. It wasn't like it wasn't true, after all, and you had no intention to take it back. Still, the absence of an immediate reaction made you a little nervous, and you looked up.

Shanks was staring adoringly at you, as if you had just given him the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the nightsky for good measure.

You smiled at that adorable idiot.

"I mean it," you added softly.

His hand brought the one you had on his chest right above his heart, while the other cupped your jaw with an amount of gentleness you weren't expecting. The Emperor lowered his head until he could give you a soft and tender kiss.

"I love you too," he whispered against your lips.

-o-oOo-o-

You woke up a few hours later, alone, in a bed that was unfamiliar but not unknown. You smiled as you stretched your arms and legs, feeling your back being much happier with the soft mattress than it had been with the cold stone floor.

Spirits, you had really needed that nap.

After your confession – you still didn't know whether to be mortified about admitting your feelings in the middle of a battlefield or elated beyond measure that they were returned – Shanks had led you to the car, going as far as princess-carrying you when it became clear that you were too exhausted to walk straight anymore.

Whitebeard had taken one look at you, barked a laugh, and told the two of you to get going and leave the end of the fight to him and his sons.

He might also have said that you had done well and he was proud of you, which might have caused your kitsune features to pop back again, but that was neither here nor there. It wasn't your fault that hearing those particular words from a parental figure, no matter how recently aquired, had soothed a deep feeling of uncertainty and need for validation in your chest.

You were definitely getting him a World's Best Dad mug for the next Father's Day.

The drive back to the Red Force had been spent with you almost falling asleep on your boyfriend. Although you weren't sure if you were supposed to call him your boyfriend, your fiancé, or your mate – the latter being something your newly acquired instincts were very insistent about. But the happy fluffy cuddles until your tails had disappeared had been very nice and you could definitely see yourself getting used to them.

Shanks hadn't even given you a choice when you had arrived at the mansion and just carried you to his room in his arms, stating that you needed a nap and then some food, and, well.

There you were.

You looked around to find your clothes and grimaced. Your jeans were miraculously intact and somewhat clean enough to wear again, but you couldn't say the same for your blouse. Hell, after what had happened, you were considering just burning it. Still, you needed to wear something over your bra. You frowned until your eyes landed on a white shirt discarded on a chair, and you grinned.

You dressed quickly, rolling up the sleeves of the shirt and leaving the first few buttons open. You hadn't thought you would find yourself in the position of stealing your boyfriend's clothes so soon, but the occasion was just too good to pass up. To top it off, the second it was on you, you felt a deep possessive instinct manifesting its satisfaction in the form of a happy purr in the back of your mind. It seemed the demon fox in you was ecstatic at the idea of staking a claim on her mate by wearing his shirt. And well, if you were being honest, you were fairly confident that Shanks wouldn't mind in the slightest to see you in his clothes.

You opened the door and let the sound of voices guide you to the common quarters, noticing in the process that your senses of hearing and smell seemed to have vastly improved since eating the devil fruit. At least, it certainly explained why the sounds and scents of the battlefield had felt so overwhelming to you. A large-scale fight was not the best environment to have as your first sample of the world after gaining heightened senses.

Soon enough, you arrived into a wide open space, brightly lit and very welcoming, with lots of comfy chairs, several couches and two walls being almost exclusively made of floor-to-ceiling windows showing a terrace and huge park.

After your customary curious glance, you walked further into the room, gaining everyone's attention in doing so.

"Y/N !!" two voices yelled, and you saw both Cav and Barto running to you.

Two seconds later, the three of you were a laughing mess on the ground, with Barto crying at the same time and Cav blabbering about missing you and being scared to death and telling you to never f*cking do that again !

You hugged them back just as fiercely, laughing all along. It was so good to see your friends. The group hug lasted a while, and after one last squeeze, all three of you got up from the floor.

Which was when you saw Shanks waiting for you with an amused grin. However, his eyes widened when he noticed what you were wearing, and his gaze immediately turned heavy with desire. It was so intense that it took you a few moments to tear your eyes out of his, which was when you finally noticed a very happy looking Mephisto in your Emperor's arms. You felt yourself melt and fall in love all over again at the adorable sight. When they noticed your expression, Cavendish and Bartolomeo smirked knowingly.

"First thing he told us after learning you were in danger was to grab Mephisto and get to safety at Whitebeard's place," Cavendish declared like the smug fiend he was.

"And your fluffy demon hasn't left him since we got here," Bartolomeo added with a sh*t-eating grin.

"Is that so," you murmured, and got closer to your man and your cat, both of whom looked equally delighted to have you close again.

"Hi sunshine," you told Shanks as you scratched Mephisto behind the ear, making him purr happily. "I figured you wouldn't mind me stealing your shirt."

"You already stole my heart, angel, I think I'll survive the loss of a shirt" Shanks replied with a wink. His grin turned smug when you blushed and turned your attention down to Mephisto, who was now butting his head against the Emperor's chest, looking very at home between the two of you. "Looks like your cat loves me," Shanks added smugly.

"That makes two of us," you replied with a soft smile, and were rewarded with a light blush and some awkward sputtering from your Emperor.

"Oh my god," someone said gleefully, which was when you finally noticed all the other people in the room and several phones filming your interaction. "Endless blackmail material !"

"Shut up lads !" Shanks protested.

You couldn't help it, you laughed at his embarassed reaction.

-o-oOo-o-

"So, let me get this straight," Cavendish said when everyone was seated again and discussing what had happened after your group had left Moria's castle. Apparently, Mihawk and Perona had gone back to their own home soon after you arrived at the Red Force, but the rest of Shanks' crew and your best friends were here.

"Babe, nothing about you is straight," Barotolomeo cut him off smugly.

Your blonde best friend turned to his other half with a glare while you were trying your damnedest not to laugh. Shanks was lying on the sofa with his head on your lap, his eyes closed as you gently played with his hair, and looked like there was nowhere else he would rather be at the moment. Behind you, Mephisto was napping on the sofa's crest with his head resting on your shoulder, occasionally stretching but keeping a paw on you at all time. In short, you were pretty much stuck.

Very happily stuck.

Especially with Beckman and Lucky Roux being kind enough to bring you a glass of water and snacks to sate your hunger, putting them on the small table aside the armrest. That way, they were in range of your free hand for you to grab easily, without disturbing either of the two beings currently using you as their personal cushion.

"So," Cavendish said again, disapproval and sarcasm dripping from his voice and overall attitude, "let me get this gay."

"Better," Bartolomeo intervened again like the little sh*t he was when his boyfriend was involved.

"Teach is dead and so is Moria and both their crews, Shanks' bounty has increased, Whitebeard's too, Hawkeyes' canceled one too somehow, and Sengoku already appointed Buggy the Clown as the replacing Shishibukai ? It's only been three hours since the end of the fight !"

"The Marines have a monthly updated list of potential Warlords to replace the current ones," Yasopp shrugged. "It's not unheard of for them to move on so fast, especially with Sengoku being pissed that someone targeted his grandkids' favourite author."

"Yeah, Moria had it coming," Limejuice added with a nod. "I'm not surprised Sengoku picked someone who is on good terms with Captain and unlikely to cause any real problems to anyone."

"So… everything's good for us all ?" Cavendish summed up questioningly. "That's it ?"

"Well, the underground is blowing up with offers and demands about the woman who has two Emperors backing her up to the point of annihilating Moria and Teach to rescue her," Hongo said with his eyes on his phone, and you tensed briefly.

"What kind of offers and demands ?" you asked with a touch of worry in your voice, which had Shanks automatically opening his eyes and looking at you.

"Information, mostly, though there are already a few kidnapping contracts here and there," the doctor developped. "Not the big names yet, those are probably waiting for the information to come out first before they decide whether or not to make a move."

You closed your eyes and sighed tiredly. Looked like you had been right after all. One foot in this world, and there was no way out.

"Angel ?" Shanks asked from your lap, and you opened your eyes to look at him.

Your sunshine, the man who made you laugh and smile more than anyone had ever done, who looked at you like you were the hottest, most amazing woman alive, who made you feel safe and cared for and loved.

You supposed Marco had been right too, when he mentioned the perks this world had.

Still, remaining at your appartment did not seem like the best idea anymore. Especially since it wouldn't be long before your relationship with Akagami no Shanks would be made public, whether you liked it or not. The same could certainly be said for your status as Whitebeard's only daughter. So, truly, there was one very obvious solution to all this.

But it was a huge step, and you were uncertain Shanks would even be on board with it, no matter how many times he had joked about it. One glance toward the red-haired man, however, and you decided to try and ask anyway, promising yourself you wouldn't be disappointed if he refused.

"I don't want to hide our relationship, not anymore," you declared. "Look, I know we only talked about… well, about that particular option as a temporary thing when Teach was a threat, and it would be a huge step really fast so I'll understand if you prefer to wait, but…" you trailed and ultimately closed your mouth frustratingly, unable to force any more words out of your throat.

Shanks frowned in confusion, then moved to sit up as he stared at you with gears visibly turning in his head to decipher what you were talking about.

On the other side of the room, Bartolomeo and Cavendish suddenly gasped in understanding and put both hands on their mouth, eliciting a few confused frowns and tilts of the head from the rest of the people present.

You could see the very moment the Emperor came to a conclusion, his eyes widening before the biggest smile stretched his lips.

"You want to move in for good ?"

"If you're fine with it," you replied with a light blush on your cheeks.

Your sunshine immediately engulfed you in a hug, until your head was on his chest and his chin on your hair, his arms holding you close against him. "More than fine, princess."

A huge wave of happiness surged through you, and before you could control your body, there was a poof ! and you were in your kitsune form again.

"Damn it, I really need to learn how to control those powers," you grumbled as your tails pushed you away from the back of the sofa, moving Mephisto from his comfy spot.

Your cat started an indignant meow that stopped mid-way as he stared at you in shock for a second, causing everyone to laugh. Then your little fluffball seemed to realise you were now fluffier than him and possibly warmer and more comfortable too. With no warning whatsoever, he jumped on the tail nearest to him, happily diving into the appendages with a mix of exalted purrs and cheerful meows you had never heard from him before.

While still in Shanks' arms, you tried to focus on your various tails like you would on your fingers and managed to create a little nest with the three tails further on your right. Your cat gleefully curled himself in it and started purring like this was, for all intents and purposes, the happiest day of his life.

You smiled brightly at your little success, only to be met with an entire room full of envious expressions directed at your cat.

Unsurprisingly, Shanks was the first one to voice his desires out.

"Please tell me I can nap on your tails."

You blinked, then laughed and nodded, motioning him to lay in your lap again after you curled another couple of tails to form something vaguely resembling a cushion above your thighs. As soon as your mate's head was on it, he groaned in pure bliss. "f*ck that's perfect. I'm never moving again."

You chuckled, then lowered your head to put a kiss on his forehead and whisper a few words in his ear, with the sultry voice he always asked you to use on the phone.

"I'm not against using them in the bedroom as well, you know."

Shanks' eyes shot open, his gaze filled with an amount of lust and love you didn't think you could ever get enough of, and a knowing smirk stretched his lips.

"I'm so glad you brought it up first, angel," he all but purred with a hand caressing to your face, his thumb tracing your bottom lip slowly.

A bunch of annoyed groans echoed around you, quickly followed by several get a room for f*ck's sake ! that you tried very hard to pretend you were not thinking about taking literally.

However, Shanks seemed to have none of your reserve and got up from the couch like it was the best suggestion he had ever heard.

"Great idea lads ! Now excuse us, we're gonna be unavailable until… eh, not sure, just don't need us anytime soon !" your sunshine declared happily as he hold a hand for you to take.

You stared at him with a hint of reproach, but damn if you weren't on board with that plan. No incoming threat, no expectations, nowhere you needed to be anytime soon, and your gorgeous partner very obviously stating his desire for you ?

Well, you were a fool, not an idiot.

You put Mephisto gently back on a cushion, letting him glide from your fluffy tails to soften the transition.

Then you grinned, took Shanks' hand, let him pull you up from your sitting position like you weighed nothing – and wasn't that hot as hell – and winked at everyone before using your tails to wave them goodbye and follow your mate to his bedroom.

-o-oOo-o-

Shanks put an arm around your waist and brought you closer to him in spite of your half-hearted protest about being sticky and sweaty, until your naked bodies were pressed against each other. Your head was on his heart, your legs tangled with his under the sheets, and the two of you spent a few moments basking in the afterglow of the last of a series of spectacular org*sms, simply rejoicing in the physical contact that you had both spent months yearning for.

This realisation kickstarted a train of thought that led you to fondly remember your first conversation with a drunk stranger on the phone. Then you suddenly thought of something and chuckled.

"What's in that pretty head of yours, angel ?" your lover asked as he started drawing mindless shapes on your still-sensitive skin with his fingers, making you shiver in the process.

"I just realised something silly," you smiled, and kissed his chest in retaliation.

"Care to share ?" the Emperor hummed with a smile as he continued his sensual exploration of your body, his hand getting lower and lower with every circle of his fingers.

"I was thinking of the night you drunk-called me for the first time, and the first thing I said to you," you said and raised your head to meet his eyes, a little spark of mischief dancing in your own gaze.

"What about it ?" Shanks asked curiously, then glanced at your lips for a second, a different and implied question you were just as happy to answer.

"In the end ?" you admitted as you closed the distance, offering the next words just before your lips met for another kiss. "I think you had the right number."

-o-oOo-o-

THE END

-o-oOo-o-

Chapter 15: Epilogue

Chapter Text

Marco landed in front of the Red Force, two little figures gliding off his back and running toward you with excited screams as soon as the Phoenix touched the ground.

You kneeled and smiled widely at your children, catching them both in your arms for a big hug as they laughed and tried to outtalk each other to tell you all about their weekend at their grandfather's place and how big was the Moby Dick and how high Grandpa had sent them jumping in the air and how funny Ace was and how yummy Thatch's cookies were and so on.

You listened to them both for a while with a smile and the appropriate surprised exclamations at all their activities, until they noticed someone else arriving behind you and yelled in concert.

"DAD !"

"My little pirates !" Shanks exclaimed as you released your four and six year old kids so they could go tackle their father and talk his ear off as well. Said father was already listening with rapt attention and sounded almost more enthusiastic about their weekend than they were.

Spirits, you loved that man.

Still, you turned to your favourite brother – Marco had kept his title throughout the years, much to all your other brothers' dismay – and smiled gratefully as he walked closer to you.

"Thanks again for keeping them this weekend," you said.

"You know we love having them over-yoi," the doctor chuckled happily. "I think Pops was pouting more than they were when I said it was time to go back."

You chuckled as well, that sounded like something your adoptive father would absolutely be capable of. "Maybe he wouldn't be so grumpy about it if they weren't his only grandkids," you teased the Phoenix, lightly bumping his arm with your own in a familiar gesture.

"I'm too old to have kids," Marco grinned as well, the words coming out with practiced ease.

It had started when you had announced to Whitebeard – and the rest of your siblings present in the main hall of the Moby Dick that day – that you were pregnant with your first child. Your adoptive father had beamed brighter than the sun and yelled a booming "FINALLY !" before laughing happily for a solid minute and congratulating you. He had then turned to his sons to state he expected them to follow your example and give him lots of grandchildren soon.

All commanders had pointed to Marco, claiming he was the oldest and therefore he should be the first one to get on with it, to which the Phoenix had raised a dubious eyebrow and stated he was too old to have kids. An argument that was immediately shot down by Whitebeard when he pointed out that Shanks wasn't that much younger than his first son. Marco didn't even get the chance to argue back before you mentioned that Perona and Mihawk were thinking about having children of their own as well.

The betrayed look the doctor had sent you in that moment had been hilarious, and since then, it had become an old rehearsed argument between you and Marco. Still, you had noticed that he was always quick to change the subject, and this time didn't deviate from your usual pattern. "How was your weekend ?"

"Wonderful," you replied with a smile. "I spent all Friday night at the spa getting pampered with Perona and Cavendish, it was a dream. And Saturday… well, I guess you saw the pictures," you chuckled.

"Yeah, looked like one hell of a party-yoi."

"It was great to be able to go all out without worrying about waking up the kids," you admitted with a chuckle. "Today was more relaxed, though."

"Oh yeah, I have a pretty good idea of how you and Akagami relaxed-yoi," Marco said with a knowing smirk and a pointed look at the hickey on your neck.

You slapped his arm lightly, but between your grin and your blush, you didn't even bother denying it. Sue you, your husband was a sex god, and a very smooth and persuasive one at that. And you totally blamed your Zoan devil fruit for your own libido.

"Do you want to catch up for a bit and have a drink with everyone ?" you offered politely to the doctor, knowing Hongo and him were always glad to have an occasion to exchange about their common field of practice.

"Tempting," Marco answered after a couple of seconds thinking about it, "but without the kids to keep everyone busy, I better get back to the Moby Dick before Ace and Haruta's prank war burn it down-yoi."

You laughed at that. Those two were still about the same mental age as your children, no matter how many years had passed since you had met the chaotic division commanders.

"Suit yourself," you smiled once you were done laughing, and stretched your arms above your head. "Sparring session Wednesday afternoon ?" you asked to see if nothing had come up to postpone your weekly training.

"You know it-yoi," Marco smiled.

Since your kidnapping years ago, you had kept your word about learning to better defend yourself. Your Observation and Armament Haki weren't flawless by any mean, but you had reached a decent level of mastery with both by now, enough to give you an edge should the need arise. Your hand-to-hand combat had vastly improved as well – although you had quickly learned that any attempt to practice that with Shanks would end in a very different kind of physical activity.

Out of everyone, however, Marco had been the greatest help to master your mythical Zoan devil fruit powers, what with him being one of the rare people in a similar situation. As you had suspected after using them instinctively against Moria for the first time, your white flames had turned out to be of a different nature than regular fire.

Marco, being in a similar situation with his own blue flames, had given you a lot of pointers and advice to unlock and then control the special ability they granted you. Through hours of practice, you had learned to use your white flames to create illusions. The better acquainted you were with the subject you planned to copy, the more realistic your illusion was.

Even without being a fighting member of either crew, such a power had come in handy more than a few times, and ultimately earned you the title of best story-teller in the whole entire universe. Or so your children and husband claimed.

And your tails were absolutely perfect to ensure your kids – and at times, your mate or even your brothers – would be stopped before doing something stupid. At least, it delayed the inevitable for a few more hours, when it would usually become someone else's problem.

And of course, there were a few more private uses of your devil fruit abilities and powers that Shanks and you had been more than happy to experiment with as well.

Something crashed inside the Red Force, jolting you out of your thoughts, and you rolled your eyes.

"Looks like I have my own misbehaving family to go handling," you sighed fondly. "See you soon !"

"Bye, little sister-yoi," Marco said and spread his wings, taking flight right after. "I'll tell everyone you say hi !"

"Thanks !"

-o-oOo-o-

Later that evening, with your kids finally done with their bath and Shanks offering to tuck them into bed, you took the time to pour yourself a glass of wine in the common quarters. You were facing the park around the mansion as it was slowly painted with the colours of a late summer sunset, feeling relaxed and content.

You were also on the phone with Perona to finish planning for her and Mihawk's twin daughters' birthday party next weekend, and petting Mephisto. Your now older cat was sleeping on a comfy chair by a window and basking into the last warm lights of the day.

"Look," you told your friend through the phone, "I'll make sure Shanks won't bring alcohol, but you know I make no promises about him finding some once we're at your place. But we got the gifts ready, all four of us agreed on what to get for your girls and the kids even helped wrapping it last week."

"That's so cute of them ! I'm almost done planning the decoration," the goth lolita replied excitedly, "and Mihawk said he'd handle the cake. He totally plans to show off," she giggled, and you joined her with a little laugh of your own.

Shanks and Mihawk had seen their rivalry evolving somewhat since the birth of their children, making them compete to be the best dad on top of the best swordsman – although they both kept denying it vehemently – much to yours and Perona's entertainment. You had lost count of how many times you and the woman you now thought of as a younger sister had teamed up to use said rivalry to your advantage.

"Well, the World's Greatest Swordsman's baby girls are turning five, that's a big deal," you smiled, and took a sip of your wine. "How did your dear husband enjoy his bonding time with his daughters on Friday night, by the way ?"

"He found easy-to-make healthy snack recipees, if you can believe it, and they all had a great time in the kitchen. The pictures were just so cute, I'll send them to you later ! And of course he ended the night with reading the girls a couple of their godmother's stories," Perona teased you.

"How many times do I have to tell you there are other children books than mine to read to your kids ?"

"Holoholoholo, they have others, they just prefer yours ! They're my daughters, after all !"

"You're a terrible influence," you replied with an amused smile and a completely fake reproachful tone, and turned toward the kitchen just in time to see Beckman making signs to you. "Looks like I'm needed here, bye Perona !"

"Bye girl, see you soon !"

You disconnected the call and turned to Shanks' second in command curiously.

"You're needed with the kids," Beckman simply said, and you facepalmed.

"What has he done this time ?"

"Don't know, Captain just said it was vital that you joined them for bedtime."

You sighed loudly, then shook your head in defeat. You weren't even truly surprised, not with who you had married and how both of your children took after Shanks in terms of enthusiasm and being easily excited by anything and everything. The three of them in the same room, even after a day full of activities ?

Yeah, you probably should have known better.

You downed the rest of your mostly empty glass of wine and put it on the nearest table.

"Don't move it," you told Beckman with a knowing look. "I have a feeling I'm going to need it again when I'm back."

That earned you a laugh from the grey-haired man and everyone else who had heard you.

You walked to your children's shared bedroom, the most soundproof room in all the Red Force. With the kind of life everyone lived here, you had insisted on it very quickly after learning you were pregnant, and it had turned out to be one of your best ideas so far.

But now, the door was ajar, and you walked in with a smile.

Shanks was in the middle of explaining something with big gestures and exagerated grimaces, which had both your kids laughing themselves silly on their respective bed.

"So, what is going on here ?" you said to announce your presence, and your husband turned with a gasp and a hand on his heart as if he hadn't felt you approach, all sheepish smile but roguish charm on. You waited a few seconds for him to state why it was so necessary for you to be here, especially when he had been the one to assure you he would handle bedtime.

"Y/N," Shanks started with an innocent expression you didn't buy for a second.

"Hmm ?"

"Angel. Princess. Sweetheart."

You raised an eyebrow.

"Love of my life."

You raised your second eyebrow.

"Mother of my children."

You closed your eyes and pinched your nose.

"Only woman to ever hold my heart."

"What did you do ?" you asked with a tired yet affectionate smile of your own while your kids were badly trying to stiffle their giggles at their father's antics.

"Dad says we can choose tonight's story !" your eldest exclaimed happily.

"We want how you fall in love !" your youngest added with a bright smile.

Your heart missed a beat at their request and similar hopeful expression, and you found yourself understanding your sunshine's attempts to soften the blow.

That wasn't a story you told your children often, and for multiple reasons. The main one was the obvious need it required to edit the most gruesome parts of it in order to suit their young age. Not to mention that it required both Shanks and you to tell it, which could make things a little… chaotic.

Another important reason was that this story was also an official family cuddling time using your Zoan form, meaning that all four of you snuggled a big fluffy pile on one bed. While nice in theory, it meant the evening systematically ended in a nightmare to disentangle your tails from all four of you without waking up your children. It also required you to use your flames in order to artistically recreate some of the scenes, and like most children, yours tended to enjoy some more than others and ask for them to be replayed up to a dozen times in a row.

And of course, there was the one side effect you would never mention to your kids. Retelling the way your love story had begun always put Shanks and you in an emotional state that would inevitably lead to a rather… intense night. And you had already spent most of the day in bed with your husband, leaving you a bit sore.

"Mom ?" your six-year-old asked again in a small voice, lips trembling and looking one word away from having his heart broken by your refusal.

You knew it was a trap, but a part of you reasoned that they had been away for the weekend, and Shanks was looking at you with big pleading eyes, so of course you caved.

Your tails and ears appeared with a poof ! and both your kits and mate – children and husband, damn those Zoan instincts – shouted in victory before scuffling on your eldest's bed. After a few minutes of moving around to find a way to put everyone in a comfortable position, you finally managed to make everyone happy. Your Emperor and you were propped against the pillows, both children laying between your bodies. Your tails were half under you and half over you, to ensure everyone was able to cuddle at least one or two.

You looked at Shanks for a second, and saw reflected in his eyes the love and affection that were shining in your own. Your sunshine mouthed I love you over your children's heads, caressing the tail closest to his hand, and you mouthed it back silently as you used said tail to caress his forearm.

White flames appeared above the bed with a flick of your wrist, and you made them take the forms and colours you needed to illustrate a party at the Red Force.

"It all started when your Uncle Mimi changed his phone number," Shanks declared in a very dramatic voice, which had your kids giggling, "and I tried to call him one night so he could join me at a wonderful party !"

You smiled, then used a much softer yet no less dramatic voice to continue the story, just as another burst of flames appeared near the Red Force's common quarters, quickly taking the shape of your old appartment.

"But then, the person who answered dad's call wasn't Uncle Mihawk. It was a mysterious woman writing a book…"