Corazon's stomach wailed with hunger, urging him to continue through the maze of the ship and to the kitchen. Shadows masked everything in a veil of darkness, creating a series of obstacles for the uncoordinated pirate. Moonlight couldn't reach the inner levels of the vessel and Corazon hadn't brought a lantern for fear of tripping and setting the entire ship on fire. "Ow!" he muttered under his breath. He quickly bit his tongue. He had only been with the Donxiquote Pirates for a few months, so he couldn't risk blowing his cover so soon.
The smooth brass of the kitchen door handle graced his fingers, congratulating him for successfully reaching his destination. Once inside, Corazon made a beeline for the refrigerator, throwing the door open to gaze longingly at the wealth of choices. Various fruits and vegetables created a miniature rainbow and several glass containers held leftovers from the crew's most recent meals. After a couple minutes, Corazon grabbed a small bowl of cold pasta.
He took a couple noodles in his fingers and tasted them; savoring the cool feeling the food gave his burnt tongue. With a shove of his shoulder, he closed the ice box and turned, ready to bring his snack back to his cabin. Fate, however, had a different plan for the clumsy blond. Corazon felt his foot trip on one of the ship's loose floorboards and, as if in slow motion, he watched in horror as his precious meal flew out of his hands and towards the floor. The bowl shattered, leaving small shards of glass in the direction Corazon was falling. His hands caught him from landing face first into the mess, but the glass left cuts in their wake.
"What's going on in here?" an angry female voice rasped. Giolla's heels clicked against the wood and she placed her hands on her robe-covered hips. "Corazon, were you trying to snitch food for yourself? For shame! And with my room right next door too! You know, you could have woken up Dellinger with all that noise!"
The officer paid no attention to her lecture, as he hung his head in defeat. Noodles littered the ground and were now speckled with a bit of his blood. "Don't expect me to clean up after you, Corazon! You need to fix your own mistakes!" the middle aged woman scolded.
"Fufufu, just like old times, isn't it Corazon?" Both of the pirates jumped and turned their attention to the doorway, where an amused Doflamingo watched over them like a pink-feathered hawk. "I never could leave you alone for more than two seconds. Although, your 'grace' makes it fairly easy to track you down." His elder brother knelt beside him, noticing the blood below his kin. "Are you hurt?"
Sitting up, Corazon examined his hands. The cuts weren't deep and the glass had stayed out of the open wounds. He looked up at Doflamingo and shook his head, but the other blond grabbed his wrists and checked for himself. "Doesn't seem too bad, especially for you. Why don't you take one of the dinner rolls from last night and head back to your room, before you wake up the rest of the ship?"
"But Young Master! What about this mess?" Giolla protested.
Doflamingo smirked. "Hm, thank you for reminding me, Giolla. Since you're already here, would you mind cleaning this up while I make sure my clumsy little brother returns to his cabin safely?"
"But I- he should…" she heaved a sigh. "Yes Young Master. I'll get right on it." Her glare returned to Corazon as he stood with the help of Doflamingo. "But don't think that this is okay Corazon! I don't want to hear you sneaking food ever again, you understand?"
The words made him freeze and stare at Giolla with awe. Slowly, a wicked grin spread over his cheeks, making the woman swallow nervously. In the short time he had been with the other pirates, Corazon hadn't shown any sign of emotion, preferring to keep to himself. To her, he was the complete opposite of their captain, but his wild smirk was eerily similar. He gave her a short wave before waltzing out into the hallway.
The following day passed by uneventful, with the exception of Giolla's suspicious glances in his direction. She knew he was up to something, but Corazon was confident that tonight he could get the better of her. Once the sun went down and the rest of the crew had retired for the night, he made his way back to the kitchen. This time, however, he had a secret weapon.
"Calm," he whispered, running a hand through his hair. His footsteps vanished and the sound of his puffs became extinct. The expected squeal from the kitchen door's rusty hinge never came, allowing Corazon to inspect the trap before him.
Giolla had tied various tripwires around the room which were connected to strands of bells hidden on the ceiling rafters. She had anticipated him returning and was ready to catch him in the act. Unfortunately for her, she was unaware of his Nagi Nagi no Mi powers. Despite all his trips and falls from the wires, the bells made no effort to rat him out. The room filled with light from the refrigerator and Corazon licked his lips in excitement. On the second shelf was the last slice of Giolla's chocolate cream pie, still decorated with whipped cream and a single cherry. With a silent chuckle, the man devoured the dessert, leaving only his dishes behind as evidence.
"WHO ATE MY PIE?!"
As Corazon joined the crew for breakfast, Giolla was clutching Buffalo and Machvise by the collars of their shirts. "Someone snuck in here last night and ate my pie! I was saving that last piece for me, so which one of you bozos ate it?"
"I swear I didn't eat it, dasuyan!"
"I didn't either, iin!"
"Stop lying!" the artist screeched. Her eyes narrowed upon Corazon's arrival and she let out a huff. "You should feel lucky, Corazon. If it weren't for your clumsiness, I would have suspected you had something to do with this. I didn't hear any of my traps go off, so it had to have been someone else."
For the rest of the meal, Corazon ate with the smallest, most innocent smiles he could muster.