This chapter goes from 'oh the joys of living with a guy' to 'okay can we go back to the joys of living with a guy?'. So yeah, enjoy the emotional roller coaster. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.
The Importance of a Place to Call Home
"You did that on purpose," she accused Kid's reflection in the mirror, emphasizing it with an elbow into his stomach as she brushed through a stubborn knot in her hair.
He grunted at the strike and glared back at her reflection. "Did not," he muttered around a toothbrush and mouth full of toothpaste.
They never made it to her apartment after Kid saw fit to tie her up in his workshop. At the time, she couldn't really complain, save for a few sore spots on her wrist where the ties dug into her skin before he mercifully took them off with a mumbled remark about buying fuzzy handcuffs next time. She had thoroughly enjoyed the punishment she received for teasing him, as ill-timed as it was.
But now it was the next day, and she had to go to school without most of her things, and she was more than a little annoyed with him. Having to fight for space in his bathroom as he got ready to go to work, only made it worse.
"You said you would take me to pick up my stuff," she huffed, shoving him aside to get her toothbrush out.
"And I planned to," he mumbled again, then pushed her out of the way to spit in the sink. He wiped his mouth with a black hand towel hanging to the right, and then turned to her with a renewed glare. "Your fault I got distracted."
"How is it my fault!?" She attempted to shriek while brushing her teeth.
"'Cause it is," he argued.
She rolled her eyes and dismissed him, seeing no point in arguing any further. She wouldn't win, something he proved when he stepped behind her and leaned down to smack a kiss against her cheek.
"Can't argue that, huh, Kitten?" She tried to glare at his gloating smirk, but he gave her another kiss and whispered in her ear. "It's 'cause yer too pretty."
She elbowed him for flustering her with the unexpected compliment; she had nearly choked on her toothpaste because of it. He threw his head back and cackled while stepping over to the toilet.
"Now I gotta piss, so get the fuck out," he grunted.
"I'm still getting ready! At least wait a minute for me to finish brushing!" She shouted after hurriedly spitting out her toothpaste.
"I ain't waitin'," he said while pulling down his zipper. "If ya don't leave, I'll just go with you in here. I don't give a shit either way, just tryin' to be considerate."
"That isn't being considerate, you ass!" She yelled while storming out of the bathroom. She slammed the door just before he started going. "This is why I don't live with guys anymore," she huffed.
"Well get used to it!" He hollered back.
Another roll of her eyes, and she stomped toward his bedroom to grab the bag he packed her things in. After a lengthy argument, she agreed to have him drop her off at school that day, and then pick her up later to take her over to her apartment for the rest of her things. It was a reasonable compromise compared to what he originally wanted her to do, which was check in with him between each of her classes, and maybe send one of his friends to campus to follow her around all day. He was overreacting at this point. As much as the attack shook her, she didn't think she needed an escort on campus all the time. She wasn't completely helpless. She did at least agree to text him over her lunch break, just to keep him from worrying all day.
"Ya ready to go yet?" Kid asked when he came back into the bedroom, tugging on his chest holster over a light blue button down shirt. He slipped a black vest over it to conceal his gun.
"Yeah," she answered with huff. She swung her backpack on and shot him a glare over her shoulder. "No thanks to you."
"Tsh," he sneered. He grasped her hair and pulled, the move gentle, just enough to force her head to tilt back to see him frowning down at her. "What was that, Kitten? If I didn't have t' get outta here too, I'd make ya take longer gettin' ready, so don't bitch at me fer kickin' ya out of the bathroom." Her eyes narrowed on him and he gave another tug to her hair. "Now come on. I need coffee before work, and ya don't want to be late."
"You're buying me a latte to make up for last night."
His surly look vanished with a smirk. "Heh, that's all it'll take? Yer goin' soft." He released her hair as he leaned in for a hard peck on her cheek. "Or maybe it's 'cause ya ain't that mad." When he pulled away, he turned her toward the door and gave a swat to her backside. "If ya got all your shit, then let's go."
"Stop being pushy," she snapped with a glare.
"I ain't," he grunted back as he proceeded to push her forward. Her brow rose, and he snatched her extra bag from her hand with a huff and waved her off. "Just go."
Another roll of her eyes, but she headed upstairs with him trailing behind her, shutting off lights along the way. When they got to the den, they found Killer eating breakfast on the couch, turning an exhausted look their way.
"Are you two going to fight every morning?" He grumbled around a mouthful of shredded, fried potatoes.
"Probably," Kid chuckled. Nami found herself agreeing, despite how annoying it was.
Killer sighed and went back to his breakfast without another word. She pitied him, but at the same time, he was probably expecting that answer.
Kid ushered her out to his car, still impatient and agitated. He was unhappy about their compromise, she knew as much, but he just had to trust that she could take care of herself. Even if there was a chance the fishmen gang would attempt to attack her again, she was honestly more worried about dealing with the school's security staff. If they realized those fishmen had been struck by a large amount of lightning, her professor would likely hear about it and question her. She would play dumb and hope the fishmen hadn't said anything when they came to; they would have a hard time explaining what they had done to prompt her to use that weapon. At least she knew people that might be willing to pull some strings to keep her out of trouble.
They stopped at the café near Nami's apartment on the way to campus. She didn't miss the way Kid glanced around, searching for anyone suspicious. Even as she rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness, she settled against his side when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and practically glued himself to her until they were leaving. It was both annoying and cute at the same time.
"Don't forget to text me when ya have that break," Kid ordered as he pulled up in front of her first class' building.
Her eyes were going to start hurting from how much she was rolling them.
"I won't," she said with an exasperated huff.
"What time are ya done again?" He asked, ignoring her irritation.
"My last class is done at four," she answered as she reached for the handle to climb out. "But then I'm meeting a few classmates to study for an exam next week. I told them I have to leave by seven."
"You guys meetin' in the library?"
"That's the plan. If we decide to go to the commons for something to eat near the end, though, I'll let you know."
"Good," he grumbled, and grabbed her arm before she could slide out. He tugged her across the center console when she turned to him, and gave her a quick kiss. She couldn't hold back her smile as she leaned in for one more, hoping to reassure him. It worked well enough. He released her and gestured that she was free to go. "I'll meet ya wherever yer at tonight to walk with you."
"Are you going to hold my books like boyfriends are supposed to?" She teased as she glanced at his left hand, balled up into a strained fist in his lap. If it were a real hand, she imagined his knuckles would be white from the tension. She was happy to see it loosen slightly with a sigh.
"You can carry yer own damn books," he snorted, but the glint in his eye and that cocky smirk told her that he'd probably carry whatever she asked him to, and not because of some antiquated idea of chivalry.
She stuck out her tongue and slid out of the car. "Later, Kid."
"See ya, Kitten."
She took one last look at his wide grin as she shut the door and sent him a wave before turning toward the building.
"Yoohoo! Nami-chan!" She barely got a few steps from Kid's car before she heard Professor Haredas calling out to her from the steps. "I need to talk to you a moment."
Her back went rigid and she found herself glancing toward Kid as he waited in his car. He wasn't about to leave until she was safely inside, and when he caught her look, his brow raised in confusion. Haredas was pretty easy to manipulate, and Kid being there might be to her advantage.
"Professor!" She forced herself to smile at him. She heard the window lowering on Kid's car behind her, and subtly peeked to see him leaning over into the passenger seat to see what had her so bothered. "What is it?"
"It's about an incident that happened the other night that has campus police a bit baffled." He explained as he hurried over to her. She caught him glancing around her at the car and the man inside. She imagined Kid was glaring at the old man judging by how quickly he turned his attention back to her, a tremble in his hands that wasn't there before.
"What happened?" She cocked her head to the side, batted her eyelashes sweetly, and looked utterly confused. She was pretty sure she heard Kid stifle a snort of amusement in the car, but she ignored him.
"Some fishmen were found unconscious outside the main weather sciences building shortly after the lab section was released. They were taken to the hospital, and the doctors swore they had been struck by lightning, but there had been no storms at the time they were found."
She gasped dramatically. "That's terrible. Are they alright?"
"I imagine they were since they vanished before anyone could question them."
"Well that's good they weren't seriously injured," she forced herself to sigh in relief. She could hear Kid's low growl; he wasn't happy to hear that.
"Yes, that is, but I was wondering if you might know anything."
"Me?" She leaned forward subtly, pointing at herself with an innocent expression. "I don't think so. I do remember hearing some thunder when I was leaving, but…"
"Nami-chan," he cut her off with a look that said he wasn't quite buying it. "You left with your prototype, didn't you?"
"I did…" She sulked.
"Did you use it on those men?"
She heard Kid's car door shut, and the way Haredas suddenly glanced up with a look of surprise told her he was making his way over to her. She kept her attention on her professor, quivering her lip dramatically and sniffling to draw his gaze back to her. He balked at the tears that brimmed her eyes.
"I'm sorry. They came out of nowhere and attacked me." She angled her head so he could see the bruising on her cheek and nose clearly as evidence. "I didn't know what else to do."
"Why didn't you stay and give a statement?" He asked, glancing back at the imposing figure behind her, and then back to her with even more worry etched on his face. "If they attacked you…"
"I was really scared. I didn't want to get in trouble and hurt the department." She sniffled again, feeling her cheeks heat with false emotion. "I was just lucky my boyfriend's roommate picked me up that night. There was another one that he chased away." She sniffled again as Kid took the cue to wrap an arm around her shoulder. "I was even too scared to come to school yesterday, and I asked my boyfriend to bring me today just in case."
Haredas stammered for a moment, attention darting between Nami as she seemed to be breaking down into tears, and the growling and irritated man holding her protectively. "It's… It's okay, Nami-chan…" He forced a smile when she looked at him sullenly, lip quivering as if holding back her sobs. "I understand."
"I'm not in trouble…" She sniffled again, and leaned forward more, tugging uncomfortably at her tank top to distract him further. "Am I?"
"No… No…" She caught him blush suddenly. Kid noticed, too, and his hand tightened over her shoulder as he growled. Haredas jumped at the sound and balked at what she guessed was Kid's heated glare. "Just try not to use that weapon again. We don't want any more questions with the department."
"I promise," she nodded with another sniffle and wiped at her eyes to clear the tears. "You won't say anything to the police, either?"
"No, I'll tell them it was a strike out of the blue. Just very unlucky timing for those men." He reassured and she could have grinned in victory if she didn't have to keep up the act.
She nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Professor. And um… Can I have a minute with my boyfriend?" She rubbed her right eye and gave a struggled smile. "I might be a few minutes late now."
"Oh, of course. I'm sorry to upset you. Take all the time you need." His smile wavered when he looked up at Kid again, and he didn't waste a second turning to head back inside. She sent him a short wave as Kid turned her toward him, pretending to console her just as she hoped he would.
She buried her face against Kid's chest as she sighed in relief. "Has he gone back in yet?"
"Yeah," Kid muttered, "it's clear now." She tilted her face up to look at him with a bright smile, and he snorted in amusement at the abrupt change. "You really played that up."
"I didn't want him asking too many questions." She shrugged and giggled. "I probably didn't need to use the scary boyfriend angle as much with him, but it helped keep him too on edge to think any more. He's seen me use fake tears enough times in the past that there's a chance he might start realizing that they're not real."
He chuckled, arms wrapping her up tight against him. "Glad I got some other uses for ya, Kitten. Though seriously, those tears looked too real. If I hadn't known better, I might have thought you were actually cryin'. Kinda freaked me out at first."
"Aww, can't handle seeing me upset?" She reached around his neck to pull him down for a peck.
"Nope," he mumbled against her lips, snatching another short kiss. "Hope I never have t' see the real thing."
"Me too," she said quietly before he kissed her again. When his tongue traced lightly over her lips, she forced him back to stop him from going further. "Not now, Kid. I have class."
"You heard what he said," he grinned, kissing below her ear on the spot he knew made her weak. "You can have all the time ya need. And what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't comfort you properly?"
"Kid." She smacked his shoulder and pushed him back to glare. "You have to go to work."
"So? I can be a few minutes late."
"No." She said flatly, finger pointing out in warning.
"Fine," he huffed, relenting with a roll of his eyes. "Next time."
She laughed at the thought of there being a next time. "Just go to work," she said, pushing free of his hold.
"Yeah, yeah." He leaned down for one last peck and nudged her toward the school. "Later, Kitten."
She waved over her shoulder and finally made it into the building. She glanced out the window as she walked toward the stairs to her classroom to see Kid only then start walking back to his car. He really had waited for her to get inside.
He was being paranoid, yet still she smiled at the flutter it brought to her chest.
Who knew a man like him could ever care about someone so much?
Her first half of the day went by smoothly. As she walked between classes, she felt safe among the masses of students traveling the campus, though her guard was up the whole time. There were fishmen that went to her school, but she knew none of them belonged to any of the district gangs she needed to worry about. Even knowing that, she still felt on edge every time she saw one, and then felt guilty thinking the worst about innocent people.
At lunch, while making her way toward Robin's office, she sent off her quick text message to Kid, just as promised. Tucking her phone away when she entered the liberal arts building, she turned down the hall holding the history and archeology offices. She had only managed to tell her friends about the broken window at her apartment two days before, but since the attack she couldn't bring herself to call them, nor did she have much time with Kid dominating most of her attention afterward. Her friends hadn't been happy to hear about the first threat, but they grudgingly held onto some calm when she said Kid took care of it and that she was staying with him until the fishmen gang was dealt with.
They were going to absolutely flip when they heard she was attacked on campus, though, and there was no way she would be able to keep them calm after. It was a miracle Kid didn't go on a rampage. If he wanted to, though, he'd have plenty of company with Luffy and the others tagging along.
Breaking the news of the attack would be easier, she hoped, if she told Robin first. She wouldn't act rashly, and she might be able to gather some information to make sure their friends go about dealing with this gang in a relatively collected manner, or at least had a broad plan to keep to…. A plan Luffy would never follow, no matter how much she pleaded.
A deep breath in, that she released it in a rush, mentally preparing herself for Robin's reaction. She stopped at her office, found the door ajar, and knocked lightly as she stepped in.
"Robin?" She called out around packed bookcases and displays housing ancient artifacts Robin had found over the years.
"Nami?" A smooth voice called out before a head popped up from behind a mountain of texts. Robin smiled easily for a moment, then her eyes widened and she was out of her chair. "What happened to you?"
Nami found her face cupped in cool palms the next minute, Robin's gaze sweeping over her, inspecting the bruising with the closest thing to a mother's eye that Nami had seen in a long time. She had been wearing reading glasses, but she pulled them off to hang from a chain around her neck so she could see her face clearly.
"The other day, after someone threw a rock in my window," she began with a heavy sigh, "five fishmen jumped me."
Robin's eyes were even wider, and she rushed to explain the whole event in detail. Her friend released her face as she went to carefully lean against the edge of a desk, frowning through the entire story.
"I'm glad Eustass-san had the foresight to send his friend to pick you up, Nami. But, why didn't you call afterward?"
"I forgot," she shrugged, "and I didn't want to worry you guys. It was hard enough keeping Kid calm."
Robin managed a quiet chuckle. "From what I've seen of him, I can imagine that was quite a task."
"He insisted on bringing me to school today, and he's picking me up tonight. He wanted to have one of his friends follow me around campus all day, though." Nami sighed as she slumped into a nearby chair that wasn't covered in books.
Robin laughed again. "Well, you should be used to that level of protectiveness. If you had called, you would have had Sanji escorting you all day." Nami groaned at the thought. She didn't need a babysitter. "But I'm glad he's watching out for you. I assume you haven't told any of the others?"
"Not yet. I was hoping you might help me with that." Her eyes were pleading as she looked at her friend, she really didn't want to face the guys alone with that news.
"Of course." She smiled. "Shall we grab some lunch, and we'll come back here to use my office phone for a conference call with them?"
"That'd be perfect," she beamed, jumping from the chair. She was famished, and lunch with Robin would be a pleasant break from everything happening around her.
As she turned to lead the way to the door, her cell phone rang. Humming curiously, she pulled it out to see that Kid was calling her rather than texting her back. She wasn't surprised, he seemed to prefer speaking with her if he could.
She sent Robin an apologetic smile and held up the display for her to see it was a call she couldn't ignore, and quickly answered before it cut to voicemail.
"Hey," she answered as she and Robin headed down the hallway and back outside.
"How was class?" Kid asked, his voice a low hush. He must have snuck away from work to call her and was trying not to get caught.
"It was fine," she responded with a sigh.
"Nothing happen?"
"No, Kid." Her tone was more exasperated. He really was paranoid. "And I'm about to have lunch with Robin," she added, hoping that information eased his worries. It was a reminder that she wasn't alone on campus, she had a friend there to keep an eye on her.
He grunted in what she imagined was approval. "You tell your other friends about what happened yet?"
"No, Robin and I are going to call them all after we eat." She paused to send Robin a knowing smile. "I'll see if we can keep them from suddenly inviting themselves over to your house, but I can't make any promises."
"Tsh," he huffed. "Guess I should expect as much. I'd do the same damn thing if I were in their shoes."
"You pretty much did, only you stormed into your own house to see me," she giggled.
He chuckled quietly on his end. "Alright, if it'll keep 'em from barging into my place, I got the weekend off. Tell 'em we can meet up at Shakky's on Saturday to figure this shit out."
"You're actually willing to sit down with my friends to talk about this?" Her brow rose and she shared a look with Robin. The older woman stifled a chuckle.
"Yeah, well we got a common enemy…"
"You sound like you're going to war," she interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Close enough," he huffed. "They know more 'bout these guys than I do, so I ain't against workin' with 'em. Whatever keeps ya safe, Kitten."
She turned her face away from Robin to hide her smile, but her friend caught it and snickered beside her.
"I could probably take 'em out on my own, though." He added, her smile vanishing with a groan.
"I'd rather you didn't," she said flatly. "I swear, all you guys are ready to run straight into a fight the first chance you get."
"Hey, I said I would sit down and strategize first," he shouted. "I'm just sayin' I could deal with it by myself if I had to."
"Of course you could," she remarked sarcastically. "Anyway, I have to go get lunch now."
"Alright, I'll let ya go. Still set for seven tonight?"
"Yeah, I'll let you know where to meet me."
"Later then, Kitten."
She hung up after her own quick good bye and turned to see Robin looking at her with an amused smile. "What?" She asked while pulling open the door to the commons building.
"I'm just glad to see things are going well between you two. And it's rather cute how you interact with him."
Nami huffed, and turned to face forward. "I don't see what's cute about it," she muttered, though she could admit there were plenty of things Kid tended to do and say to her that were very cute and charming, unexpectedly so.
Robin merely chuckled and nudged her with an elbow. "If the boys are okay meeting on Saturday, won't this be the first time Eustass-san meets Luffy and the others?"
"He's met Zoro and Hachi… sort of," she frowned. "But yeah, outside of that night two years ago, it'll be their first time meeting."
The older woman snickered under her breath, Nami glancing out of the corner of her eye with a curious look. "I look forward to seeing how they all get along."
"Something about that look tells me I should be worried," Nami frowned. Robin looked far too entertained with the idea, which surely meant trouble might brew.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Her reassurance fell short, and Nami slumped over with a drawn out groan. She was going to have an exhausting weekend, she was sure of it.
By six-thirty that night, Nami was glad her day was almost done. She nearly missed her first class after lunch, too busy reassuring her friends over the phone. Luffy was ready to storm Fishmen District to find whoever hurt her, Zoro and Sanji happily agreeing, though the third was just as ready to come flying to her school to escort her the rest of the day. Franky and Usopp were unhappy, but fortunately kept calm. Franky was the one who thought to ask about how Kid took the whole thing. Kid's reaction and the measures he took to keep her safe earned some approval from the other guys, though Sanji wasn't pleased Kid hadn't been more adamant about sending her with a bodyguard. Zoro reminded that she could take care of herself, and that if she was ever uncertain, she would say something, and then proceeded to lecture her for not saying something sooner.
Kid's idea to meet at Shakky's was also taken well, the guys readily agreeing. That calmed them completely.
As they began to say their goodbyes, Franky mentioned he would call Jinbei, while Usopp volunteered to call Hachi. They would need to know about what was happening, after all. If anyone might have a chance to quell further violence against them, it was Jinbei, though from what Hachi had told her, she doubted the man had any sway with the gang.
All Nami could do was hope things would blow over, that someone would get the gang under control. The police were rarely of any help, and the fishmen's government leaders could only do so much against a violent group without creating internal conflict; she would have better luck relying on rival groups to take this new gang out.
With her mind clogged with worries, it had been a struggle to pay attention through the rest of her classes. She managed well enough, but as she sat in the commons that night, studying with classmates, she couldn't keep her thoughts focused. Arlong was in prison, and all her troubles should have been gone with him. She knew psychologically she might never heal from what she endured with him, just hearing his name triggered terrible memories, but she had hoped she might be able to move on and live a normal life again.
Her classmates were chatting around her, asking and answering questions about blackbody radiation, but she was oblivious, eyes staring blankly at the book in front of her. She wasn't brought out of her thoughtful stupor until she felt a weight on her head, pressing her down with a rumbling chuckle she recognized instantly. She hadn't realized until that moment just how much of a comfort he had become to her as she found all her anxiety wash away.
"Ya don't look like yer studyin' too hard there, Kitten," he chuckled, arms crossed atop her head as he leaned over her. She giggled, an easy smile blooming, and forced him to pull away so she could tilt her head back. Kid's red-brown eyes shone with amusement as he smirked at her. "Happy t' see me?"
"Actually, I am," she answered honestly. If he was shocked, he hid it well with his growing smile before he leaned over for a quick peck. "You're early," she commented.
"Yeah. Guy pulled a knife on me at work," he explained as he pulled up a chair to sit next to her. She frowned, eyes sweeping over him to look for an injury. "I'm fine," he chuckled when he noticed the concern. "He just slashed my shirt up, and grazed my arm." He pushed back the sleeve of his burgundy hoodie and held up his bandaged right forearm, a few spots of red staining the gauze. She stared disapprovingly at the wound for a moment, but shook off her worry easily enough. One cut wouldn't kill him, after all. "After getting patched up, I took off to change and figured ya wouldn't mind if I came to meet ya early."
"You're right, I don't mind," she agreed with a sigh. She turned to shut her book and saw her classmates staring at them with wide eyes, a few of the guys' mouths were open in shock as they looked between her and Kid. Right, she forgot they were there. "Ah, sorry guys, but I think I need to call it a night here."
"Ya sure, Kitten?" Kid spoke up, brow furrowed as he crossed his arms over the table and leaned forward. "Ya don't have to leave just 'cause I got here early."
She shook her head and gave him a tired smile. "It's fine. I wasn't able to do much studying, anyway."
He stared thoughtfully for a moment, lips set in a stoic frown. He gave her a short nod and pushed out of his chair without a word, watching as she tucked her textbook and notes into her bag. As she turned to wave goodnight to her classmates, she was surprised to feel Kid pulling her backpack from her hold to sling over his left shoulder. She glanced up, but he wasn't looking at her as he stepped toward the door. She smiled at his back and skipped to catch up.
"I thought you said I could carry my own books?" She teased, nudging against his arm.
"Yeah, well…" He trailed as he wrapped his right arm around her and tucked her against his side. "Ya look tired."
She hummed, her head leaning against him as she stared forward. "Just a lot on my mind."
His grip tightened around her shoulder, and she smiled with ease as she wound her arm around his waist. It was getting chilly outside as the sun fell along the horizon, and she was happy to leech some warmth from him as they walked to his car.
"You talk with your friends?" He asked with his thumb brushing over her shoulder.
"Mhm, they liked your idea about meeting on Saturday. I think your house is safe for the time being." She sank closer as his warm chuckle eased her mind. When had he become a source of comfort? He caused her nothing but stress for so long, she couldn't believe he now brought her the opposite. She wondered if he was even aware of the difference himself. She glanced up at him. "Can we stop somewhere for dinner before going to my place?"
"You didn't eat while you were studying?" He looked down, brow cocked as she shook her head. He let out a sigh, his arm squeezing her. "Alright, we can make a quick stop."
At the car, Kid tossed her bag into the backseat while she climbed in the front. She caught him looking around like he had earlier, his guard not dropping for second, before getting in the car. They agreed to get dinner at a nearby sandwich shop. The entire time they ate, Kid asked about her day, details about each class she took, not so subtly trying to get her to confess to anything being out of the ordinary. She kicked him under the table when he asked her about the fishmen that went to her college more specifically, and after a few minutes of silently glaring at each other, he gave up on the topic. She didn't want him suspecting everyone just because of their race, it was only going to create more trouble.
When they reached her apartment building, Nami found herself frowning up at the place that should be safe, should be her home. It seemed strange returning there, even though it had only been a couple of days she spent away from it. The fact there could be any number of dangers lurking there made the place feel unfamiliar, no longer her home, though she desperately wanted it to be again. As welcome as she was at Kid's home, it would never be the same to her.
His bed wasn't as soft and cozy as hers. He didn't have her favorite brand of tea stocked in his kitchen. His room was dark all day long. His bathroom didn't have a tub for her to soak in. If she wanted a bath, she would have to borrow Killer's bathroom and she found that too awkward and imposing, even if she knew the blond wouldn't have a problem with it. The only thing she had in the house that made her feel remotely at home was the small bowl of tangerines that sat on the kitchen counter. Kid had added them to Killer's last grocery list knowing that she would like to have them around, and if she wasn't there to eat them, he would.
She appreciated the thought more than he knew, but it still wasn't enough to make her feel entirely at home there.
"You okay?" Kid grunted as he came around to her side, her empty overnight bag in hand. He wore a worried frown, the same as he had since they left campus earlier. He always seemed to pick up on her mood, especially when it wasn't good.
"Yeah," she sighed. She forced an easygoing smile and slipped her arm around his. "Let's go."
His frown merely deepened, but he didn't push it and pulled her along with a grunt.
She hadn't noticed anything amiss as they walked upstairs and along the corridor, not until she felt Kid's arm stiffen. A growl rumbled in his chest, and he pushed her behind him, shoving the bag at her as he reached inside his hoodie for his gun. When her eyes landed on her door to see the frame splintered and warped, the door ajar, she found herself relieved Kid had come with her, and thought to come armed.
He kept against the wall beside the door, listening intently for any sound within. After a minute, he turned, gun ready, and kicked the door open. If she wasn't so anxious, she might have thought he'd watched one too many cop shows with that move.
"Shit…" He breathed out, eyes wide, and she crept closer to peek inside.
Her mouth fell open, she couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. It would never be her home again.
Her hands shook at her sides as she slowly followed him in, gaze sweeping over the living room to take in the damage. Kid moved off to check the rest of the place as she came to a stop, frozen in place in the middle of her ruined apartment.
The walls were painted red with curses calling her a traitorous whore and Arlong's witch. The words didn't bother her, but the hastily painted tribal shark that Arlong used made her blood run cold, the added mark the new gang was using only intensified the feeling.
The couch was torn to shreds, the coffee table shattered as if someone took an ax to it. Her television was gone- apparently they decided to loot her place while trashing it. The lamp on the table was broken beyond repair. A glance at the kitchen showed the cabinet doors wide open, glass and ceramic littered the floor and countertops. So much would have to be replaced, the cost was going to eat up her savings, but that was what she worried about least.
There was a shelf she kept pictures of her friends and family on in the living room. It was pushed over, all the pictures thrown to the ground and stomped on. She carefully made her way over, still shaking as she crouched to flip over the broken and shattered frames. Her eyes burned with each one she saw destroyed. A picture of her, Luffy, and Zoro was slashed apart. A photo with Franky and Robin was ripped and crumpled. Sanji and Usopp were cut up, too. The pictures she had of Nojiko and Genzo forced a shaky breath out of her at the graphic detail they were cut up.
She fell to her knees and clasped a hand over her mouth to hold back whatever noise she might make as a trembling hand reached for the last one, lying face down in the middle of broken glass. There was a hole in it, so clean she knew it could only have come from a bullet. Bile rose in her gut when she flipped it over, but she swallowed it down with a sob as she ran a finger over the spot her mother's face had once been. She felt the sharp edges of the glass slice into the tip of her finger, but she didn't care, too focused on the blood suddenly streaking over the photo.
"They at least left your room in mostly one…" Kid began as he returned to the living room, but stopped abruptly when he saw her. She couldn't look at him, she had honestly forgotten he was there, and now she struggled to reign in her emotions before he could see. It was too late, she knew as much, and in a heartbeat he was in crouched in front of her, boots crunching over broken glass. He snatched her hand away from the picture. "Oi, stop that… Tsh… idiot, look what you did…" he grumbled before her cut finger was unceremoniously stuck in his mouth.
She could feel his eyes on her as he vainly tried to seal the small wound. She shook her head, a strangled sob escaping. Her shoulders slumped forward and she struggled to take deep breaths, to hold back the tears burning her eyes. It didn't work, she knew it wouldn't.
"Oi…" he prompted softly, pulling her finger from his mouth as he tried to tug her forward.
She sat there stubbornly and choked back another sob. "He shot her…"
Kid hummed, confused. "It's just a picture…"
Her head shook side to side again. "No…. Arlong…." She heard him suck in a breath and his grip on her hand tightened. "When I was ten… He shot her…" Her voice went high as emotions overcame her. "He murdered my mother right in front of me and stole me for his gang."
Her heart ached enough, but as Kid dropped her hand and stood up abruptly, she thought it would break entirely. Her eyes shut tight with another sob when he reached down to snatch the picture away, and she listened to him stomp off with it. She cringed at the sound of the glass breaking more as he slammed the frame down somewhere, and she instinctively shriveled up as his angry steps came back to her. If he noticed her fear, he didn't say anything as he dropped to his knees in front of her.
He stayed silent as he yanked his hoodie off, and her eyes shot open when she felt him wrap it around her shoulders. Blinking through her tears, she saw his annoyed glower as he seemed to be staring at her forehead, or a point just over it, unwilling to look at her closely. He pulled the hood of the sweatshirt up over her head, and that was when he spared a moment to meet her gaze. His lip twisted in a sneer and the next instant his hand was at the back of her head, dragging her against his chest.
Surprised, she forgot to breathe as she stared at the loose black shirt obscuring her view of the room around her. His hoodie only further enshrouded her in darkness, blocking out the periphery. She could hear his heart thundering in his chest as his arm wrapped around her shoulder and squeezed her tight. She could smell the warm spice of his cologne mixed with a lingering scent of metal and sweat that invariably belonged to him. The jacket was warm, and the fur lining was soft on her skin. Her hands reached to dig into his shirt and she sank against him. He filled up her whole world as another sob tore through her, his grip only grew as her shoulders trembled with her grief.
She just wanted to go home.
A/N: Ahahaha, let's just destroy poor Nami's fragile psyche. I shouldn't be so mean to her, but for her to open up to Kid, she needed a massive trigger to make the conversation unavoidable.
Also yes, Law is screaming in my head about Kid's idea of first aid. He's ranting about how he needs to get his diseased spit away from her bloodstream and that he's going to give her an infection, then yelling 'antiseptic' over and over again. It's amusing, to say the least.
Anyway, I have been having a lot of Kid feels lately (and the last OP chapter only made me want to write him more because OMG THAT MAN HAS SHITTY LUCK! Also, Nami is back, yay! I missed her). So, I'll probably be working on the next chapter for this fic before going back to the LawNa fic (I'm sorry for those who were looking forward to that ). The next chapter might surprise you guys, cuz the idea surprised me... mainly because it 100% came from Kid's POV, therefore it was his idea, and I did not expect him to do this.