And look who's finally found the motivation to start the KidNa she's always wanted to write! This will basically be interconnected AU one-shots, and centering on a pretty unhealthy relationship (there are some healthy bits, but for the most part, these two will have a very rough go of things). Anyway, without further ado... please enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.
Into the Wolf Den
She was eighteen. Young. Bright. Talented. Maybe a little drunk…
There could be no other reason behind why she was eyeing up the outrageously large crimson haired man across the bar. Her friends were hours into their night out. Lively partying in their corner of Shakky's, but she was sitting there with her calculating eye, picking up every little nuance of his body, his movements, his temper, and most of all the likelihood his wallet would be worth the risk.
His watch was expensive, tungsten and gold plating. There was a gold ring on the pinkie of his right hand, heavy but simple with no stone to distract from the metal. He had a simple black chain around his neck, more fitting to his appearance than the more expensive pieces. She guessed the watch and ring were stolen. That didn't deter her in the least.
His shirt was black, the top few buttons open to expose his heavily muscled chest, sleeves rolled up to show off his strong forearms. That was the only thing that gave her pause. Was he aggressive enough to hurt her, or would he settle on scaring her off if she got caught?
He wore a dark brown vest over his shirt, completely open, more in line with the thrown together look, but she recognized an expensive brand when she saw it, and her hesitance lifted with her renewed greed.
Her appraisal stopped at his black cargo pants. They had seen better days, as had the combat boots he wore, but that wasn't what made her internally curse. Damn wallet chain.
At least she knew exactly where his wallet was- back right pocket- but unclipping it would take a little more grace and he seemed the observant type, no matter how short tempered he was. She'd have to adjust her tactics if she was going to pull this off.
Sitting up straight, she began to unbutton her cream colored top, just a peek of cleavage and, at the right angle, a hint of her red lace bra.
"What are you doing?" Zoro asked beside her, a brow quirked as he tilted his head to watch her. Robin sat on the other side of the booth, chuckling quietly as she glanced to the man Nami had been eyeing.
"I believe she's looking to pay our tab."
Nami ignored them both as she pulled the black clip from her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders before she gave it a small tussle. Wild, a little unkempt, and surely a seductive sight for the man across the bar. Zoro groaned in annoyance when she took another shot (his last one), adding to the pink on her cheeks. A few nibbles of her lower lip, making it puffy and red, and she felt just about ready.
She slid from the booth carefully, smoothing out her flowing, blue mini skirt, and checking that she had her bearings in her creamy pumps. Yes, she had this.
With one last flip of her hair, she ambled toward the bar, to the side nearest the billiards table the man and his friends had claimed as their space for the night. Shakky eyed her knowingly from behind the bar, lips in a faint smirk as she watched the cat thief on the prowl. She never said a word. She knew the life well.
"Rum and coke?" The bartender asked. She knew Nami tended toward vodka in mixed drinks, rum and whiskey she drank straight, but she wasn't asking for the girl's order. It seemed that was what her target preferred that night.
"Please," she smiled, leaning over the bar, chin resting in a palm, while she swayed her hips from side to side. A glance back and she smirked at the gaze that was firmly on her now. "Make that two, Shakky."
She sent a cute little wave in his direction, flirty and beckoning, and he didn't need a second thought before picking himself up from the barstool he sat at, setting aside his cue and heading her way.
"Be careful with this one, Nami-chan," Shakky whispered in warning as she placed the two drinks in front of her.
Nami gave a short nod, but her eyes were glued to the cocky smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth the closer he got. She watched as his eyes raked over her, settling on her legs as she playfully lifted one from the floor for a second before turning to lean her side against the bar once he reached her.
"Saw ya lookin' my way, girlie," he continued to grin, his eyes taking a quick look at the cleavage she so carefully exposed before finally meeting her gaze.
"I might have been," she answered teasingly, purposefully nibbling at her lip after. "You stand out in this place, hard not to notice a man like you."
"I guess not," he chuckled as he propped his side against the bar, leaning in closer to her, filling her senses with his presence.
That wariness was coming back, her instincts telling her that this was a horrible target to pick, but she stuffed down the anxiety with a sip of her new drink to maintain her easy going, flirtatious air. He was even bigger up close, easily towering over her by a foot. His spiky red hair only adding to the effect, even tied back with the black bandana around his forehead. And if she thought he was well built with muscle from a distance, she could clearly see just how large his frame was now; strong, too.
"Want a drink?" She asked, pointing to the extra glass with an innocent smile. "I don't know if you like rum and coke, but it's yours if you want it."
"Hm, what a coincidence," he said, and for a moment she felt panic overtake her as he frowned, studying the glass. "I've been drinking this all night."
"You caught me," she made herself look sheepish, a blush blooming over her cheeks as she looked away with a cute little pout. It came with practiced ease, turning his mind away from whatever suspicions he might have and back on the cute woman trying to flirt with him. "I asked Shakky what you were drinking."
She twirled a finger in her hair as she glanced back over to him, relieved to see him smirking again, his hand picking up the drink to take a sip for himself.
"Subtlety isn't your strong suit, is it?" He teased.
Good, his guard was slowly slipping the more coy and naïve she played.
"I guess not," she huffed, acting defeated. "I never was good at this whole flirting thing."
"I don't know about that. I'd say you're doing a great job right now. You've definitely captured my attention." She had to force down the fleeting sensation of victory when he came closer, within her reach.
"I think you're just flattering me since I bought you a drink," she gave a little wink, stuck out her tongue playfully, and closed what little gap was left between them as she reached out to brush her hand over his forearm. "But I'll take it."
He chuckled again and she was close enough to feel the muscles of his abdomen ripple as he shifted against the counter, laying his arm out alongside her so his fingers could graze over shoulder, returning the flirtatious gesture, and once more giving her the courage to keep going. She saw his gaze flit up toward the corner her friends were at, and she glanced back to make sure they weren't about to give her away.
Robin had Sanji distracted, thankfully. Zoro was drinking another beer, seemingly oblivious, but she knew his attention was focused on her, ready to jump in if things went awry. Franky was comfortable next to Robin, an arm wrapped around her, sipping at a soda. He was their designated driver, and she could see him glance her way, too, just as watchful of her as he would be the rest of their strange family of friends. And then there was Luffy and Usopp being as silly and rambunctious as ever, sitting on the back of the booth doing impressions of all their friends.
"Your friends?" He asked, and she hummed affirmatively as she looked back to him. "Surprised a girl like you isn't already taken up by one of them."
"Nope, they're just friends, none of them are my type." She shrugged and watched as he looked back down at her, a hairless brow cocked.
"And what is your type?" He seemed to know the answer, at least he figured he should as his hand rubbed over her shoulder a little more and his lips pulled up in a hidden smirk as he tilted his glass to them.
"Well I think it would be obvious," she teased, her hand falling from his arm when he raised his drink, but immediately found its way to his abs, his gaze darting from her eyes down to her hand, curious and maybe a little guarded. She paused to nibble on her lip again, drawing his attention back to her face as her fingers deftly traced over to his waist, finding his hip bone through his shirt and dragging her thumb over it. He grunted into his drink at the touch, and the hand on her shoulder tightened. "I like my men strong, and big," she made a point of letting her eyes drink in his frame, not so subtly lingering at his hips and groin before looking back up at him coyly. "They never disappoint where it counts."
It was actually amusing to see him lose his composure for a fleeting second at the bold implication she just made. His eyes widened, and he coughed on his liquor, a short curse muttered under his breath as he stared down at her. She was starting to think up an escape strategy now that her hand had found its way to his hip and was just barely grazing over the chain attached to his wallet, ready to snatch it while he was so flustered, but before she could, they were distracted by someone shouting.
"Oi! Kid!" One of the men from his group hollered, drawing his attention back and forcing Nami's hand to retreat as she peeked around him. It looked like his friend with long blond hair was waving at him. She couldn't see his eyes, his bangs obscuring them, but she felt as if he was watching her. What if he noticed?
"What do you want, Killer!? Can't you see I'm busy?" The man she now knew was named Kid shouted back.
"It's been your shot for the last five minutes! Get back over here or you forfeit!" Killer threatened, and Nami frowned darkly as Kid pulled away from her then.
"Fuckin' hold your horses! I'm comin'!" He hollered, moving to point at another one of his friends, tall and lanky with a long black jacket, a hood pulled up over his head. "Wire! You better not have cheated while I wasn't looking!"
The man just held up his hands, shaking his head, but there was a tiny smirk there. They were joking around, despite the aggressive posturing in their tones.
"Well I guess I should let you get back to your friends," Nami sighed, pulling away and turning to grab her drink.
"Huh?" He glanced back at her, brow cocked again. "Fuck that, you're coming to hang out with me."
"Wha?" She didn't even have a moment to process what he said before she found his arm wrapped around her shoulder, tugging her in the direction of his friends.
"Shakky! Another round over here!" He hollered back at the bartender, Nami glancing back with a slightly uneasy look to see the older woman's amused smirk, though her eyes looked a little wary of the situation the cat thief had gotten herself into. She had been warned, though. "Oi, girlie, what's your name?"
She looked back up at him, her voice failing her for a split second, causing him to glare impatiently until she spoke up again. "Nami."
Shit, she should have given him an alias. Too late now. Shouldn't make much of a difference.
"Nami," he nodded as they got back to his area. He stopped and pointed out each of his friends in turn. "I'm Kid, by the way, and these lowlifes are Killer, Heat, and Wire. Guys, this is Nami. Play nice with the girl, got it."
She blinked, a tad overwhelmed as his arm left her and he nudged her over to his seat. She felt like she was being thrown into a pack of wolves, but felt mildly comforted when she remembered her friends were still across the room, watching her, and Shakky wasn't ignoring her, either. As the older woman brought a tray full of drinks over, Nami smiled and took the seat Kid offered for her, settling in to watch them play their game.
Maybe with a few more drinks in them, it'll be easier to lift that wallet.
An hour had passed and Kid had made himself very comfortable with her presence. She had even relaxed enough to laugh and joke with his friends, the man known as Killer, while intimidating at first, was actually the most level-headed of the bunch, and she easily clicked with him. She almost forgot what she was there for, but as Kid stood at her side, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he whispered some joke about one of his friends in her ear, she realized she might have found her chance to lift his wallet and get away before he noticed.
At this point in time, she didn't even care about the money, it had become a challenge she just had to overcome.
She had wound her arms around his waist, ignoring the fleeting commentary in her mind about how comfortable it felt, while the hand at his back was hooked in the waist of his pants, the gesture only encouraging him to pull closer as he spoke to her. She wasn't even listening to what he was saying, something Killer did once when they were drinking that was horribly embarrassing, but she giggled all the same as her fingers tentatively brushed over his pocket.
"I'm almost ready to get out of here if you are," he groaned lowly in her ear suddenly and she stiffened in his hold when his lips brushed over the shell, his breath fanning over her neck, sending a shiver down her spine before he boldly nipped at her ear. "What do you say, Nami?"
"I say that sounds like exactly what I want to do," she purred, her other hand giving a small pinch to his waist to distract him as she slipped his wallet free. "Just give me a second to run to the ladies' room, then I'm all yours for the night, Kid."
"Don't take too long," he groaned, and with one last nip at her ear, he pulled away.
She immediately jumped from the chair, careful to hide her prize before he spotted it, and walked off to the hallway with the restrooms after sending him one last, little wave. As she turned the corner, she smirked at the hooting and hollering coming from his friends as they teased him about actually getting laid that night. Too bad for him, the back door was right by the restroom, giving her an easy escape once she managed to pillage his wallet.
In hindsight, she should have just skipped the stop at the bathroom and ran out before he noticed.
"Oi, where do you think you're going?" His low voice drawled out as she walked out of the restroom and turned for the back door. She froze as his hand wrapped around her wrist and tugged her back. "Don't think you're escaping me that easily…" She gulped as he trailed off with another sharp jerk of the hand, forcing her to fall back against his chest so he could growl in her ear. "Cat thief."
Shit, she cursed in her head and tilted her face up to look at him standing behind her. She tried to look as innocent as she could in the face of his threatening glare, his eyes dark and the hold on her wrist only tightening in response.
"I just wanted a breath of fresh air," she pouted before she took on a look of insult, acting as though her pride had been attacked. "And who do you think you're calling a thief!? I would never-"
"Cut the crap, Kitten," he growled and twisted her around so her back slammed against the wall. She winced despite herself, cringing away when he leveled his face right in front of her. Her free hand went to push at his shoulder, but he wasn't budging, not an inch, and he quickly grabbed it, pushing it beside her head to pin her completely. "Where's my wallet?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kid," she said flatly, trying to ignore the new nickname he came up with for her. She dropped the innocent act now, taking on hurt and anger at his seemingly false accusations.
"You have some damn guts to lie to my face, woman. I knew there was something fishy about you. No way a brood like you'd be trying to make the moves on me so easily. Now suddenly my wallet's gone, and if I hadn't noticed when I did, my girl would have been, too; right out the door with my money." His smirk was condescending as he pushed here harder against the wall.
Her eyes hardened into a fiery glare. Not only was she caught, but he was calling her his girl, no way would she ever be looked at like a piece of property that belonged to him just as much as his money. She'd had enough of that in her life already.
She twisted her arms in his hold, putting up more of a fight as she angled her legs without him noticing. A swift kick in the balls oughta call him off.
Too bad he noticed.
Just as she was about to swing her leg out, he shifted to the side, lifted his thigh and slammed it against her hip, effectively blocking her kick and preventing her from trying again. His other leg nudged at her still free leg, pushing it to the side, out of reach of his testes.
She couldn't help the fleeting thought that if anyone caught them in that position, it'd look quite scandalous. Kid seemed to have the same thought as his smirk grew and he rolled his hips against her, drawing a gasp from her throat before she shot another glare at him. Like hell she'd let him get away with that.
She struggled vainly in his grasp again, growling under her breath as she fought his tight grip. She didn't stop until his lips were at her ear, an annoyed growl of his own fanning his breath over her skin, and she could hear the familiar sounds of a pleasured groan in the note.
"You'd be wise to stop that, Kitten, or you're going to get yourself into even more trouble," he warned lowly with another roll of his hips against her, bringing her attention to exactly what kind of trouble she was in if she tested him further.
Apparently he liked it rough.
"Fine," she bit out as she stilled completely. "I'll give you back your wallet. Just let me go and we can forget this ever happened."
"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget a pretty little thing like you, kitten. You made one hell of a first impression," he chuckled, but his hold loosened and he stepped away, just enough to give her air, but not enough for her to consider escape. "But I'll forgive the transgression, at least."
"Whatever," she huffed, looking away, and jerked one of her hands to signal he release it. He let it go after a short look of warning, then watched carefully as she reached into her shirt and bra for his wallet. He quirked his brow again, that smirk turning playful like it had been earlier, and she could see that spark of lust still present in his eye as she glanced his way. "Here," she said as she held out his wallet, distracting him from her cleavage so he would take his property back. "Now if you'll excuse me…"
"Not so fast," he grunted and slammed his side against the wall, blocking her path back to her friends as his hands inspected his wallet. She rolled her eyes as he opened it, counting out the bills and checking to make sure his credit cards and identification were still in there. She sighed when he sent her another glare and she pointedly reached back into her bra for the other three hundred she had pulled out, slapping into his awaiting hand. "Good girl."
"Don't patronize me," she growled, "and let me go."
"Isn't that cute," he chuckled as he pushed off the wall, nudging his head back to the bar signaling she can go. "Who would have thought that catching a cat thief red-handed would turn her into such a cold bitch?"
She sneered as she passed by, not deigning his insult worth her time.
He followed after her, and as she passed by his friends, she glanced over to them coldly, noting the amused looks on their faces as they watched her walk away defeated.
"Too bad you won't get her warming your bed tonight, Boss," she heard Wire joke, pulling a loud laugh from the leader of their group.
"Frigid bitch like her can't warm shit," he said loud enough for her to hear. "Better off without her, plus my wallet's safer this way. But hey, Kitten!" He called out to her one last time, prompting her to turn and glare as her friends began to stand, ready to defend her in case something happened. "Next time I see ya, if you change your mind and warm back up, I'm more than willing to show you I won't disappoint."
"Shitty bastard! How dare you talk to Nami-swan like that!" Sanji jumped forward first.
"Oh? You wanna fight, blondie?" Kid growled, and as he stepped forward, pushing away his vest, Nami spotted the gun holstered against his chest beneath. How the hell did she miss that before?
"Sanji-kun," she said firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder to get him to back down. "He's not worth it. Let's just get out of here."
"But, Na-"
"No, let's go." She repeated, looking at her friends' unhappy looks as they glanced between her and the grinning Kid.
Shakky stood back at the bar, watching how things would play out. Nami knew she was prepared if a fight broke out, but she'd rather save her the trouble.
She sent one last glare Kid's way, his grin only widening in answer as he backed down, and she shoved her friends toward the door.
"Shakky-chan, just put it on my usual tab. I'll swing by to pay it off when this place isn't crawling with assholes." She bit out the last part, prompting Kid to bark with laughter again as he turned back to his friends.
"Alright, Nami-chan. Sorry you didn't succeed tonight." The bartender waved her off.
Nami sulked the whole way home after that, completely tuning out Zoro's attempts at lecturing her for doing something so stupidly risky, and further ignoring Sanji's whining about how she shouldn't have put herself in danger.
She had never felt more thankful to be leaving for college at the end of the weekend. She might never have to see that thug again.
So how's that for a start? As I said, these will basically be interconnected one-shots. Don't expected too frequent of updates as I focus on my LawNa fics, but I might have the next chapter out sooner rather than later (just because I need a little break from my usual routine and KidNa is supplying that).
Anyway, reviews are definitely welcomed with my first real foray into this pairing. :)