*Chapter takes place about a week after the last
To Serve at his Command| Fiancée
Luffy stood before the mirror as she buttoned up her uniform, eyes occasionally flickering to Nami's reflection. The new maid watched her, happily so, from the corner of her cot as she did her shoes, offering her warm smiles when they made eye contact.
In the past week, they quickly formed a friendship—surprisingly deeper than Luffy did with any of the other servants. It may have been because Nami was close to her age and the only other female besides Tsuru around, or it may have been because the girl was also a maid; Luffy wasn't sure what it was, but she always found herself at ease around her.
"Would you like to help dress Lady Robin this morning?" Nami questioned then as she got up from the cot, flattening down her own uniform skirts—much longer than Luffy's, draping well below the knees. "She seems interested in you and feels bad she hasn't had the chance to really talk with you."
Luffy glanced back, cocking a brow. It was true that they—Luffy and Crocodile's fiancée—had barely spoken since their arrival to the mansion, but Luffy never found the courage to start up conversation with the woman. Everything about Robin was intimidating, from her position in the mansion to the utter confidence she held when conversing with Crocodile, something Luffy wished she had more of herself. And, most importantly, there was the guilt Luffy had deep down inside about what she had been doing with Crocodile—the woman's husband to be.
If she ever found out…
Even though she realized that she had no idea who Robin was prior to their arrival and thus shouldn't feel as bad, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was in the wrong for everything she did in the past couple of months. If anything, all Luffy wanted to do whenever in the woman's presence was disappear, especially if Crocodile were nearby.
He, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered at all. Yes, since that night a week ago when Luffy declined his advances, he did back off; however, he never bothered to bring the subject back up, to discuss what would happen and what Luffy's place would be now with Robin involved.
So, all Luffy could do is assume that their personal interactions would stop from then on out, no more slipping into his room at night or tending to intimate needs. While the thought hurt, she figured that he wouldn't need her in that way when he now had his fiancé? Perhaps, this entire time, she was merely just a fill-in while Robin was away? And while she was still angry at him for doing all of this to her, she couldn't help but feel sad whenever she saw them two interacting.
Why need me in that way when he has somebody as beautiful, confident, and rich as Robin?
Nami's voice rang through her thoughts. "Luffy? Did you hear me?"
Blinking, Luffy nodded quickly. "If you think she won't mind me helping…" she finally answered, hands clamping tightly together over her chest.
Nami broke out in a giddy smile. "Of course she wouldn't," she answered, taking Luffy's wrist and pulling her towards the door. "Lady Robin is one of the nicest women you'll ever meet—you'll become fast friends with her, just like how we did." The new maid offering her a soft glance and Luffy could only silently nod in response.
Luffy took to brushing Robin's hair, delicately running her fingers through the soft strands before pressing a brush to them. Nami went to work on the woman's dress—a simple gown made of soft cotton and meant to be worn for easy activities, such as walking around the gardens, something Robin seemed to enjoy doing since moving in.
"Luffy, was it?" Robin questioned softly, glancing upwards at the young maid. When Luffy nodded, she smiled before glancing away. "A very interesting name—was it given to you by your mother or father?"
She swallowed, not knowing the answer. "I'm not sure, my lady."
Bringing her hand up to her mouth, Robin laughed softly then, prompting Luffy to halt her brushing. "No need to speak so formally around me, dear. Please, call me Robin—I'd much rather hear that than any of those silly formalities."
Luffy found herself glancing over to Nami, who was smiling softly in return. "Yes…Robin," she answered after a moment, returning her pattern of brushing the hair. It felt odd to say her name so casually, but at the same time, she could see the attraction to her personality. The woman seemed friendly, just as how Nami described, and Luffy found herself not dreading the interaction entirely.
"Nami says you two have become fast friends," Robin began, reaching out for a clip on a nearby vanity. She handed it up to Luffy. "Please, add this once you're done brushing—it was my grandmothers and today I feel like honoring her."
Taking the clip, Luffy nodded before scooping locks of her hair together to form a simple—yet graceful—style.
"As I was saying," Robin continued, "Nami has said a lot of positive things about you…I find it's nice to have friends in such an unwelcoming setting such as this mansion."
Luffy arched a brow as she went to clip Robin's hair. "Unwelcoming…?"
Smirking softly, the woman shrugged. "I've not the faintest idea of how long you've worked here, but you must sense the tone of…let's say, despair that seems to radiate from this mansion, no? I mean, I've only been here a week and I can already tell I'm not wanted here."
Not wanted…? Frowning slightly, Luffy weakly said, "I'm not sure I follow…are you implying that you're not satisfied with your stay?" She felt her heartbeat pick up, worried that she had done something wrong to offend the woman. "Is there something I've done wrong?"
Robin turned in her seat, eyes searching her face. "No," she quickly answered. "No, of course not—not you." She paused to send Luffy a reassuring smile. "Such a sweet girl like you has done nothing wrong, and please, do not think I am angry with you."
Nami arose from fixing Robin's shoes, quickly glancing towards Luffy. "What she is trying to say is that she is unwelcomed by her fiancé." She shrugged then. "We thought that perhaps you would know that feeling, since you've been around him more."
Robin nodded, offering Nami one quick look. "That's it," she agreed before glancing back up to the Luffy. "Surely he mustn't act coldly towards me and me alone—or perhaps that is the case?" She frowned then. "He doesn't seem like an affectionate man."
"Clearly not the ideal man to spend your life with either," Nami added, prompting Robin to nod in agreement.
It was then that they both looked to Luffy to add something to the conversation. Folding her hands together nervously, she inhaled deeply before blurting out what she thought would be best. "He does get easily annoyed."
Robin's expression softened as Nami smirked. "Isn't there anything juicier you have to share, Luffy?" the maid questioned as she pressed her hands to her hips. "Robin has a right to know all about the man she's going to marry."
"Don't pressure her," Robin sternly ordered as she looked to Nami. "She doesn't need to share anything she doesn't want to—just the subject of talking about her employer may put in an uncomfortable position." The woman looked to Luffy and offered her a soft smile. "Don't let this one get you into trouble."
Tilting her head, Luffy found herself taken aback. They seem…negative towards Crocodile, but that doesn't make sense. If she doesn't take well to him, then why marry him? Frowning slightly, she weakly asked, "If you don't mind me asking, but why marry Crocodile if you find him…unwelcoming, as you put it."
Robin's face morphed from a look of curiosity to one of amusement. "Oh, my dear girl," she answered after a soft laugh. "You think this arrangement was made out of love for one another?"
Nami snorted out a laugh then, causing Luffy to tense up.
Shaking her head, Robin reached out for Luffy's hand, soft fingers resting on the back of her hand gently. "The rich rarely marry for love," she explained. "I'm to be his wife simply because he and my mother made an arrangement for such." Pausing, she retracted her hand and glanced towards the floor. "To be honest, due to my age, my mother fears I will never find a suitable spouse; therefore, because of a prior arrangement they had, she set this little engagement up." She glanced back up to Luffy and weakly smiled. "I have no say in the matter."
Nami took a step towards Luffy and added, "And that's why we were asking such questions, just to get a better feel for what type of marriage she'll be entering into."
Standing up, Robin moved towards a window, pulling back a curtain to look outside. "If it were up to me, I would never marry that man." She cocked a glance back at Luffy, expression hard. "He's the kind that nobody could ever love."
"You came in late."
Luffy glanced up to meet Crocodile's hard stare, fingers hovering over the last few buttons of his shirt. It was the first he spoke to her since arriving in his room that morning. "I was aiding Lady Robin dress," she answered softly before glancing back down to his shirt to finish her task at hand.
"She requested you?" he asked then, tone full of doubt as well as curiosity.
She kept her gaze forward. "Yes."
He inhaled and exhaled deeply. "And you figured you would aid her first before me, your employer?" His tone had grown stern and she could feel his gaze hard on her.
Once finished with the last button of his shirt, she pulled away to glance down at his bed where his vest lay. She took it gently and dared to look back up to him without giving an answer.
Tilting his head ever so slightly, he said, "That woman is not your master nor does she have any control over you—she has her own maid, even a butler. You will always choose me over her, do you understand this?"
Expression blank, Luffy gave a stiff nod.
His brows relaxed as his hand reached out for her cheek, causing her to pull away from the caress. His fingers fell to her necklace then, thumb running along the pendant. "Still angry?" he murmured then, almost gently so. When he took a step towards her, Luffy found her back to a bedpost, leaving her no room to move away. His figure loomed over—against—hers, fingers trailing the rim of the necklace fabric.
Her eyes—now wide—searched his, fear beginning to pump her blood a bit faster. She wondered then what was going through his mind, what he was thinking and what he was planning on doing. This was the closest he got since that night she rejected him.
When his hand took to cupping her cheek, she pressed her own atop his, fingers wrapping around the edge of his index finger. "How long are you going to avoid my touch," he questioned softly, thumb pressing down on her finger.
Casting her gaze aside, she wondered the same thing. Earlier that morning, she figured he wanted nothing to do with her now that he had Robin, but after her conversation with said woman, things seemed more complicated than that. There was no love there between those two, yet, she still felt this to be wrong and unfair towards Robin.
She's being forced into a marriage…Who am I to make it worse for her?
But, at the same time, Luffy felt nice when he touched her like that, intimate and close and maybe even a bit affectionate. It wasn't love, not even close, but there were parts of Crocodile that she very much liked, as well as parts she dreaded.
The way he acted a week ago was pure and utter horror.
The way he held her now made her heart flutter.
"How long?" he asked once more, forehead pressing to hers.
When she went to answer, there was a light tap on the door, causing the words to hang dead in her throat. The door began to open and Crocodile was quick to pull away from Luffy, making sure to distance himself from her.
Robin peered in, eyes glancing from the maid first and then to Crocodile. Blinking, she cocked a brow before looking to the vest, expression relaxing. "I'm sorry—did I walk in while you were still getting dressed?"
Crocodile's hard stare fell to the vest and he gave a single nod, prompting Luffy to quickly move over to finishing dressing him. "What do you want?" he asked then, eyes finding their way back to Robin.
Entering the room fully, she watched them, offering Luffy a warm smile when she glanced over to her. "I received a phone call from my mother last night—she was hoping that you and I would choose a destination for the wedding soon, preferably within the next few days."
When Luffy went to button up his vest, he pushed her aside to approach his bedroom desk. "I don't have time to waste on reservations—can't you do that?"
Robin shrugged after offering Luffy a worried look, clearly concerned when he shoved her aside. "I assumed you would want a part in your own wedding planning, no?" When he answered with a dull huff, she went on to add, "I suppose I can pick out a destination, but what am I to do if you don't like it?"
With an annoyed look, he rolled his eyes and finally gave in. "Fine, I'll have Daz take us around town until we find a church nice enough to please the both of us, as well as your mother, as I'm sure she is in a hurry to move things along."
Robin offered him a small smile and he only sent her a grim expression.
"We'll leave within the hour," he informed the woman before turning his attention to Luffy, lips forming a heavy frown. "And you," he snapped, "stop standing around and go do your chores."
Tensing up, Luffy quickly scooted by Robin, closing the door behind her to leave the two alone.
She sat in the shack beside Usopp, watching as the blonde cook paced back and forth frantically. To Usopp's right sat a curious Coby, and in the far corner sat Hawkins, face blank of any emotion.
"Men," Sanji began before quickly approaching Luffy and taking her hand, "and m'lady," he added before kissing it. Pulling away from her, he returned back to the center of the shack, eyes glued out through the window. "If you've yet to notice by now, we've been invaded this week."
"Invaded?" Usopp repeating, eyes quickly glancing over to Luffy, as if searching for an answer. "What do you mean?"
"He means the master's fiancé and her two servants," Hawkins dully answered before getting up. "I don't appreciate being called all the way out here for games."
Sanji quickly gestured for him to sit back down. "Now, wait just a moment," he quickly objected, "you don't seem to understand the full situation at hand. Yes, two beautiful creatures from Heaven have graced us all with their appearance, but I was not speaking of them earlier." Pausing, he inhaled deeply before gravely stating, "We've been invaded by a giant living blob of moss."
"A blob of moss?" Coby said then, clearly being bought in by Sanji's grave words. The boy glanced about quickly before nervously asking, "W-where?"
"Everywhere," Sanji answered with a widened stare. "It seems to get easily lost, what with its dumb face and dumb voice and dumb everything!"
"You're talking about Zoro?" Luffy asked, crossing her legs as she finally put together at what he was getting at. "You're overreacting—he's a nice guy."
Usopp quickly looked to her before scooting away about a foot. "Luffy's already been infected!" he practically screamed, causing Coby to jump up in a panic.
"OH NO!" the boy cried out, hands cupping his cheeks as he looked to her with horror. "WE NEED TO SAVE HER!"
Crossing her arms, she narrowed her stare and snapped back. "I'm not infected!" While she thought their facial reactions were amusing, their—or, at least, Sanji's— reaction towards Zoro wasn't necessary.
He's a nice guy, that one, she thought, curious as to why he and Sanji didn't seem to get along.
From the corner of her eye, she caught Hawkins squeezing the bridge of his nose while shaking his head slightly, clearly not impressed by Sanji's roundup either. "I do not see how this involves me," he commented, prompting the cook to turn his attention to him. "But I am not surprised—the cards said you would find competition soon."
"I knew it," Sanji muttered, more to himself than to any other. Glancing out towards the window, he balled up his fist. "A new male trying to lay claim on my women," he whispered coolly, as if a warrior about to charge out into battle.
The gardener snapped his worried expression away from Luffy's. "What did he just say?" Usopp asked weakly, brow arched up high.
"Something ridiculous," Hawkins dully answered before arising once more. "Keep me out of your silly games," he ordered the fellow blonde firmly before leaving the shack.
Coby was the next to get up. "I think you're losing it, Sanji," he murmured softly before heading for the door. "I thought you were talking about a real monster, not that butler."
Usopp shrugged before returning his attention to Luffy. "You should warn the butler that Sanji might try something soon."
"Luffy would never betray me like that," the cook declared as he wedged himself between the two, arms shooting out to wrap around both of their shoulders. "It's just us three, alright, and we're going to enter a war soon."
"Oh, I'm not getting involved in this," Usopp responded firmly. "You get crazy when you think with your dic—uh," he looked to Luffy quickly, a slight blush breaking out. "I mean, your, uh, feelings? Lusting heart?" The gardener shrugged then, clearly out of ideas.
Frowning, Sanji pulled his arm away from Usopp and pushed him aside to have more room to talk to Luffy. "You're the only one I can trust," he sang sweetly, taking her hand in his own. "Will you cheer me on when I take down that foul moss-head?"
"You're making mountains out of molehills," Usopp snapped, returning the shove to the cook. "You just want to get at those two new girls, don't you?"
With nostrils flaring, Sanji wiggled in his seat as he gushed, "No, how could you think I would do something so low?" Pausing, his brow arched up as he leaned in towards Luffy's ear to whisper something. "If you ever get the chance to help the new Lady of the mansion bathe, you can tell me all the details, yeah?"
Usopp's long nose broke in between them, cheeks redder now from obviously hearing what Sanji had to say. "I second this," he added in a pitchy voice, almost embarrassed for even going along with the cook's request.
Pressing her fingers to her lips, Luffy tilted her head and pouted a bit. "You mean you want tips on how to bathe others?"
Sanji nodded, happily so. "But more specifically about Lady Robin, if you wouldn't mind."
She couldn't figure out the fun in that. Why would he want to know how Robin bathes? Shrugging, she determined she'd never understand his way of thinking, but nodded nevertheless. Maybe he wants to become a butler one day and wants to know how to properly bathe others? That seemed to make the most sense to her. It also explains why he would consider Zoro competition, as Hawkins and Usopp put it. I didn't realize Sanji wanted to move on from his position as cook—he must have a big heart to want to help out Robin so much.
His hand touched her shoulder, expression growing firm. "And if you ever feel under the weather or ill, you can count on me to do your duties as the maid—I'll be willing to step in and dress, bathe, and tend to Lady Robin's needs."
Usopp quickly nodded, eyes growing wide. "And I can help!"
Smiling because she found their offers kind, Luffy made sure to remind them that there were other responsibilities than just tending to the Lady. "Don't forget, you'd have to deal with tending to the master for most of the day."
Their gleeful expression melted within a second, dread taking in.
"I forgot about him," Sanji whispered.
"Waking him up and dressing him?" Usopp whimpered. "That's the same as walking straight into Hell."
Blinking, she watched as they slumped off to a corner, holding onto each other as they continued to mutter horrible things about Crocodile. Did I say something bad?
Crocodile returned late afternoon and about an hour later, summoned Luffy to his room. It was too early of his typical retirement hour but too late for supper, prompting her to worry as she walked down the upper hallway. Is he going to continue our talk from earlier?
She still didn't have a proper answer to his questions, and Robin's sudden appearance only made everything much worse for her. She thinks I was just simply dressing him, but if had opened the door a second earlier, she would have found out about everything…
Maybe if she knew, she wouldn't have to marry him?
The thought intrigued her, prompting her to pause in front of his door as she thought it over some more. From what it seemed earlier, Robin wasn't happy with the arrangement her mother created and made it out as if she would much rather do something else with her life than bind it to Crocodile's. If her mother found out about what Crocodile has been doing with me, then why would she continue to force Robin to marry him?
Shrugging, she decided to think about it more later, when she was properly along with her thoughts. Bringing her hand up, she gently knocked on the door before entering, eyes glancing around until they found him sitting at the edge of his bed. He had a strange object between his knees, a towel in his hand as he rubbed the item.
Closing the door, she arched a brow and stared at the object, trying to figure out what it was. When he moved the towel slightly over, light reflected off of it and hit her eyes.
It was a hook.
Polishing the weapon, he glanced up at her, face utterly relaxed. "Come here," he ordered her before glancing back down to his hook. When she stood before him, he stopped, tossing the towel beside him and lifting the hook up from between his knees. "Take it," he said then, tone blank of any emotion.
She sent him a confused stare and when he pressed it to her hand, she frowned, fingers wrapping around the heavy metal object. It was a bit cold and the point felt sharp. Her eyes left it to find his, brow arching as she waited for an explanation.
Leaning back slightly, he calmly said, "I've killed four men with that particular hook."
It suddenly felt a lot heavier at that moment, her eyes widening as she glanced down at it. She wanted to drop it and was going to do as such until he took it back.
He pressed the smooth arch against her stomach, twisting it to work the tip behind the lower button of her uniform. Pulling her forward just a tad bit, he asked, "How does it feel, now knowing what I've done with this hook?"
Her breathing increased as she stared down hard at the object wiggling behind the button. Her heart pounded hard, mind racing as she tried to figure out his goal. Flicking her gaze up to meet his, she whimpered softly when he barely pressed the tip in towards her lower abdomen.
"You've always known what I've been capable of, haven't you?" he questioned then, voice soft. "Deep down inside, you knew that I've ended the lives of others." The hook tugged her forward some more before he pulled it out from behind the button.
Luffy took the opportunity to pull back, but stopped when he wrapped his hand—and the hook—around her waist and towards her back, pulling her down on the bed beneath him. Crocodile slid the hook up towards the side of her face. "And you realize that I won't hesitate to kill again, yes?"
Her mouth became dry, eyes glued on the sharp point of the weapon as it drew near her face.
"Answer me; you've always knew this, right?" His tone had grown stern, eyes hard as he searched her frantic face.
Luffy nodded, too afraid to verbally answer.
A small smirk came to life under his scar as he pulled the hook away from her face. "Then please tell me how you could so easily come to me knowing that and then find it difficult to do as such when finding out about my fiancée?" He tossed the hook across the bed to free his hand and bring it to her chin. "I can't understand your thought process, little thief."
While the situation was still rather intense, Luffy let out a sigh of relief due to the hook being tossed aside, heartbeat fast, but slowing down. Lowering her brows, she glanced towards the door. "She might walk in again," she answered, tone cold.
Crocodile frowned at that, hand pressing on her chin so that she would look back up to him. "Is it jealousy?" he asked, sliding his hand down to rest along her neck. "Are you upset because you consider her competition now for my attention?" A smile seemed to have formed then, as if pleased with that explanation.
Luffy, on the other hand, found it ridiculous. "No," she huffed out, trying her best to cross her arms beneath him. "That has nothing to do with this." It upset her that he failed to see the main point here. Why can't he figure it out that it's wrong for us to do this now with Robin involved?
"Then what is it?" He pressed his forehead against hers lightly before suppressing a groan in his throat, rolling off of her and onto his back beside her. "I'm losing patience with you," he said, hand reaching up to rub the side of his face.
Luffy pressed her hand to the side of her body, fingers touching the disfigured stump on his arm. Nobody could ever love a man like that…Robin's words rang through in her head. She says that now, but after they're married…they could always learn to love each other—but they can't if I'm in the way. "When you've married her, what will happen to…to us?" she finally asked, tone soft.
"Nothing will happen," he answered as he bent his arm inward, causing her fingers to fall from his stump. "We'll remain the same, doing what we've been doing."
Luffy fought back a frown and sat up to look down at him. "It isn't right, though," she objected.
He smirked, a small laugh escaping him. "A lot of things aren't right about this arrangement, but please feel free to express which part of it is bothering you."
Huffing, she got out of the bed, arms crossing over her chest once more. "You might be alright with people getting hurt, but I'm not!"
Crocodile rolled over to his side to fully look her way. "I forget how naïve you are sometimes," he answered calmly. "Childish and blind to the world—thinking like that will be the death of you, I can promise you that." Sighing when Luffy made no means to respond, he rolled back over and dully said, "You can go now if you don't have any intentions of staying with me tonight. I'm completely done with today."
To be continued…
Next Time: Another week passes by and Robin takes Luffy with her to do some wedding planning. While doing as such is upsetting for Luffy, she soon finds herself developing a friendship with the older woman. Crocodile *tries* to win Luffy back into his arms.
A/N: Hey! So we're reaching 15o reviews on this story soon and I wanted to do another quick side story as a thank you, if you guys would like that. I created a poll with five options on my profile, so please go check it out and vote on the one you'd like to read. If you're anon/guest, you can't vote on the poll, but if you want to vote, fill free to say which one you'd like in the reviews. Thanks! :D
Thanks for reading!
LittleChomper: Oh yes, totally! I'm glad you're liking the little LawLu moments—more shall come! And yes, after I'm finished with this story, I'm going to rewrite that one. Thanks for reading/reviewing!
Cereza101: Haha, I'm with you on that. Although, asshole!Crocodile (when is he *not* an asshole ahha) is fun to write. Thanks for reading/reviewing/and getting angry at Croc!
Stardustadventurer: He is, he really is. It's hard to write his thoughts on the matter since it's all Luffy's POV, but basically, he is: You (Luffy) are the other woman, Robin is the wife, you two do not mix (i.e. two completely different lives). And in later chapters, I'll have him reveal his true thoughts on Robin and their engagement, which might help give an insight from where he's coming from (not to say that he's in the right to think as such, ahah). Everybody in this story will get their proper dues by the end. I'm so glad you feel and think all of this! It makes me very happy/proud of my writing, so thank you. And thank you for reading/reviewing/& ranting about dumbo Crocodile. :D
Zacky: Haha, yes! Thanks! :D
Tigerlilie69: He is an ass. *rages with you* Yeah, Crocodile is going to have to watch that perfect set of buns from now on in this story—don't think imma let him get away with this—karma will eventually come after him, in one form or another. ; ) Mmmm we'll see what pairing, if any, will be standing by the end. Thanks for reading/reviewing!
Starlight555: Mmm, The "D" is hard to answer…only because we don't know much about it right now. I'll try to make it where all the D's are strong willed (or become strong willed by the end of the story), but I'm not sure how much I can go into detail in regards to that. Dragon, yes, will appear in the story, eventually. Thanks for the questions and for reading/reviewing!
TissueCube: Awww, thank you so much! :'D Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from, and I'm glad that this story is keeping you around for some more. And yes, Crocodile is leading Luffy down a *bad* path, but I won't say any more about that. Oh my goodness, your kind words are just amazing and you're amazing and thank you so much for reading this story! It really means a lot to me when readers enjoy my work, so thank you. : )
Milkachocolate: Ohhh, I was just super motivated by all the amazing reviews I received, like yours, so I updated really fast, haha. And please, don't ever feel pressured to review! Just knowing that you read and liked what I put out there already means a lot to me. And nooo, you're making me blush—I just feel that you reviewers put in the effort to review, so I might as well try to respond to the best of my ability. All of you readers are the sweet ones.
While Shanks is kind missing right now, his role will come towards the end. And I've have ideas for Sabo, but I really like your idea about him being a childhood friend—I might do that, if you don't mind : ) aww your review just makes me so happy and thank you so much for the kind words you awesome person, you :'D AH YES HISTORY BUDDIES. Because of school, I know a ton about American history, but outside of school, I focus on European and Australian history (I'm working on an Original story based on the mistreatment of women and aboriginals in 1900s Australia). It's always nice to find a fellow history lover. Anyway, thank you so much for your very kind review!
Anon: Yeah, that is definitely going to throw a wrench in their…relationship, if it could be called that at this moment. Yes, Crocodile is probs the biggest asshole in this story. And the "XX" is only in reference to this being chapter 2o. At chapter ten, I labeled in "X"…I only did this because I thought it would look cool in the chapter tab. I'm a dork like that, haha. Thanks for reading/reviewing!