A/N: AHHHHHHHHH~! GOMEN, GOMEN NE, GOMENASI~! I am truly, dearly, and dreadfully sorry. I really really really really really really really really wanted to have this posted up before September was over, but then life showed up.
Life: Hey SoiArt, guess what…? I'M GOING TO FUCK YOU UP~! MAWH HA HA HA~!
ME: Noooooooooooooooooooooo~! Why Life-sama Why?!
Life: It's what I do aaaannnnddd I do what I want~ *insert ominous music*
I was sick for two weeks and then I had more tests piled up than EVAR. My internet decided to go die but I was able to by time by working on cosplay. Yay~!
September was one crazy ass month... but hey HALOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE~! So that's something to look forward to… right? Plus I get to go as a pirate *wink wink*
Thanks to all who reviewed and followed. 3 I love you 3
As Always:
Warnings: Rated M for language so far, but I'm picking up the pace :)
Also some characters are OOC so BE WARNED.
Parings include implied LucciXKaku and of course PaulieXIceburg.
Disclaimers: Nope, no nopeity nope will One Piece ever be mine… I do however own Erikson, my lovely red headed OC who happens to have inserted himself into the story at the spur of the moment. (Gomen to those who hate OCs, I do too, but Erikson has a tiny role so don't worry.)
Anyway, without further adieu here is the story continuation you've (hopefully) waited so diligently for…COMPLECATED HESITATION~!
ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ~!
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~Time Skipping with a DON~
It had been five years since that fateful day. Five years since Iceburg-san first laid eyes on our blond protagonist and five years since Paulie began to work full time and live at the Galley –la Company. It took a while for Iceburg to convince the blond that living at the company would be a great convince without alerting him in any shape or form that he was Paulie's mystery man. Thank goodness the blond didn't look into it and accepted the offer as a stoke of good fortune. For if he had, had looked into the matter he would have realized the actual truth behind Iceburg's actions and said blunette would have had his work cut out for him.
Ever since that day Galley –la was now a world renowned shipwright organization that contained a large variety of respectable shipwrights all skilled in vast and seemingly different areas of shipbuilding.
One of which as previously stated was the newly assigned Dock 1 foreman, Paulie the blond.
It also turned out that Iceburg was right on target. Not only was Paulie easy on the eyes, but he also was a fast learner and a natural when it came to fixing ships of all sorts. After two years with the blond on board, production tripled in the company. Paulie had even assisted in training new recruits in order to hold their own against unreliable customers (Galley –la's pirate customer percentage grew as the company's name became known throughout the grand line). Iceburg was also happy to note that Paulie's acquaintances, Lucci and Kaku, also showed similar development. Both men being exceptionally talented in their fields of work were later hired without question.
Anyone good enough for Paulie was good enough for him, was Iceburg's reasoning concerning the matter.
As the company grew and reached new heights, personally Iceburg fell into a severe depression. Relations with the blond never crossed the employee/employer boundary and it wasn't likely they ever would. Sure Iceburg still had feelings for the man, and sure he wanted to pursue said feelings… but in all honestly he did not want to pressure Paulie and break his trust since Iceburg knew Paulie held him in the highest of regards.
It wouldn't sit right with Iceburg, consciously, if he suddenly announced his undying love (And yes he'd been pining over the blond all these years) for the younger male and expect an honest reaction. Paulie would interpret his feelings for something else or could even put up an act humoring the mayor. Plus Iceburg didn't even know if the other man was gay, let alone accepting of his feelings.
All these pent and bottled up emotions and frustrations had resulted in the longest and maddening five years of Iceburg's life.
'Maybe,' Iceburg thought to himself, 'I should just give up on the blonde permanently…'
Recently Iceburg would have these gloomy thoughts. Maybe he and Paulie were just something out of a fairy tale and he was going against fate by trying to make anything happen, relationship wise, between the two of them.
"WAIT!"
As if on cue, from outside Iceburg's large window, Paulie's loud baritone voice could be heard all the way from Dock one as he bellowed orders out to the other shipwrights.
"TILESTONE, COME ON I NEED THAT WOOD DOWN BY THE DOCKS...NOW! STOP GOOFING OFF KAKU! DAMN IT, LUCCI WILL YOU GET THAT IDIOTIC BIRD AWAY FROM THE PAINT BEFORE IT SHITS IN THE CONTAINERS!"
"IT HAS A NAME BASTARD…" Iceburg heard Hattori squawk out an angry reply.
Iceburg shook his head solemnly while he 'tsk'ed at the scene. It seemed that all of Paulie's friends were quite lively (weird) and loud (he counted Hattori and Lucci as the same individual). He wondered why the blond surrounded himself with such animated and interesting characters when he himself had enough energy to fuel puffing tom.
Iceburg laughed as he watched Paulie scratched the back of his head in frustration while taking down the measurements for the large marine vessel on his trusty clipboard.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS ERICKSON, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE BY NOW WITH THE DELIVERIES!" Paulie's vile language rang through Iceburg's ears.
'Maybe I SHOULD confront him about the matter,' Iceburg thought his voice laced with optimism.
To the outsider it might look as if Iceburg was worried about the blonde's language and how the outside pubic would react however it was quite the opposite. Iceburg loved everything about Paulie. From his famed orange goggles which were now slung over his shoulders to even his denim…everything. He even loved his profane mouth that made Paulie…well…Paulie.
The matter Iceburg was thinking of specifically was whether or not to come out of his shell and tell the blond the five years long truth.
'Nma, this is going to be troublesome...' Iceburg mused as he shuffled files and papers; Kalifa had been so kind to deliver just moments before.
'Damn that harlot woman…' He chuckled to himself as he remembered the familiar reaction of a certain blond.
'God, I have it soooooooooooooo bad.'
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Rob Lucci, newly recruited Galley –la shipwright, was pissed off. Not to be confused with his normal and natural hatred of everything and anyone, but a separate and distinct rage all together. And unlike most scenarios, currently Lucci's anger was perfectly justified.
Lucci has always counted himself of being observant and rational but seriously, how the hell was he (along with any other reasonable person) supposed to just sit back and watch as Iceburg (who was obviously Otonashi Mihakarau, seriously that was the worst disguise ever, how Paulie hadn't put two and two together was beyond even him) slowly killed himself over the idiotic blond. The man looked worst and worst as the years dragged on and the citizens of Water 7 were starting to notice the slight changes in their beloved mayor.
It was one thing to fall in love with an idiot, but to punish your self was going waaayyyy too far. Even with dumbass Kaku, Lucci had to draw the line on multiple occasions…wait…what… nothing was going on between him and Kaku… where did that come from…?
Anyway, what he meant to say was that, Iceburg's feelings were not one-sided. His inattentive, dim witted, asinine ass of a colleague shared similar if not stronger feelings for the blue haired mayor. And the fact he didn't act on said feelings were starting to irritate the brunette.
Lucci recalled just last year when he approached and confronted the man, only to have Paulie to deny (while blushing profoundly) that he was in no way a homo, and couldn't like men even handsome, dignified men like Iceburg-san.'
The entire situation made Lucci's blood boil over especially since he was in the FUCKING middle of the two. He tried getting Kalifa's opinion and even attempted to persuade her to help him try to get the two men together, but Kalifa just scrunched her face in disgust and called Lucci up on sexual harassment charges. Lucci decided this was just her jealousy talking and brushed off her actions off as nothing more than a plain nuisance. However this meant that it would be up to him and that squared nose freak of nature to force the two together whether they were ready for it or not. The mission's completion would be threatened if Iceburg killed himself over such a trivial matter.
Nodding at his genius idea Lucci set out to find his lover- umm no not lover, Kaku, yes dumbass Kaku...
Anyway moving on, Operation Complicated Hesitation would now commence. (Kaku decided that the operation name would be most fitting since the relationship between the two men was quite complicated and neither was brave enough to pursue it hence the 'hesitation').
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Paulie searched and searched the entire dock, but he couldn't locate Lucci or Kaku anywhere.
"God damn homos," He snarled under his breath, "Probably fucking somewhere..."
Paulie had nothing against the gay community (He wasn't gay…he just… umm… well Iceburg-san was sexy and umm that was something both sexes could appreciate…right?), but Lucci and Kaku's violent tendencies were something to be feared, though they could hide it well, Paulie knew both men well enough to know they were deeply smitten with one another.
'If only it was like that with him?'
If only what?!
These past five years have not been easy on Paulie. Of course he was living out his dream working at galley la, but something always felt amiss.
He'd catch his eyes glued to Iceburg-san, following his every movement. When the Mayor would speak to him, Paulie would divert his gaze and blush deeply. His body wouldn't listen to him and his heartbeat would race when the blunette smiled in his direction.
He was sure the other man hadn't caught his change in his behavior, (Lucci had though…Damn it just what he needed outsiders butting in) nevertheless, Paulie was agitated. The feelings (he wouldn't dare say love this early in stage) were so new to him. He'd never been one to want to jump a person's bones, however just being in the same room as Iceburg, it was as if it took every fiber in his being not to rape the older man.
Five years…
FIVE FUCKING YEARS OF THIS SHITTY TORTURE!
Could he make a move? Should he say something…anything…?
Should he resign and let the older man be?
"ARGH!" Paulie felt like pulling at his hair just by thinking of it.
"WHY IS THIS SO FUCKING COMPLICATED?!" He screamed not caring who was around to hear. A bunch of the older shipwrights snickered while the newly recruited, unaware of Paulie's brash personality, fell silently into their work.
"Hey, dude chill!" Paulie heard Erikson yell as he ran into the dock pulling a chart full of wood in tow.
"FINALLY!" Paulie exclaimed, regaining his calm façade, "You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago."
Erikson shrugged let out a deep throaty laugh, "Gomen ne Paulie-san, won't happen again."
"You're damn right it won't!" Paulie felt bad for taking his frustration on the other man, but he just couldn't help it.
"Umm Paulie-san, Iceburg-san wants you to umm come to his office...immediately…"
Paulie froze, 'What could Iceburg want? The work day wasn't even half over?'
"Umm okay...?" He realigned his goggles to sit at the top of his head and handed the clipboard to the other. "If you see Lucci or Kaku remind them that they actually have a job to do."
"Will do sir" Erikson saluted and raced to join the fray of bustling shipwrights snickering under his breath as he did so. He wondered why Lucci and Kaku had begged him to lie so bluntly to the blond. However he suspected it had something to do with the fact that the foreman and mayor were completely oblivious to the feelings they shared for one another.
Oh well, no time to dwell on that, he had work to do and whatever Paulie-san did on his own time had nothing to do with him…
Still unknown to said blonde, this was actually phase one of Operation Complicated Hesitation:
Trick Paulie into going to Iceburg's office without alerting Iceburg-san in any shape or form.
Not only were things moving smoothly, but the end result would surely be beneficial to both parties as well amusing to the two intriguingly, mysterious CP9 members.
Oh this was going to be fun…a blast maybe… but fun nevertheless…
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A/N: I didn't really feel this chapter and honestly I thought I could have done better… but laziness triumphed… so yeah... *laziness~~~~~*
Please Review (and chastise through PM) so I can know how I did, or if you have any ideas for Operation Complicated Hesitation message me and I will get back to you...
I have some, but hey, even geniuses need help once in a while.
Thanks a Bunch for reading and following… I'm overwhelmed with intense joy…
3 I Love You All So Much3
Watshi wa mina-san ga daisuki desu ne~!
~Soi 'The Daringly Ironic And Miraculous' Art~
