Again, trust me, I know what I'm doing.
Warning for a lot of vulgarity and crudeness in the first section of this chapter because any time you have Bonney and Kid in the same room, this is what happens.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.
Healing
The first week was the worst. It had to be the worst. He refused to think he could feel shittier than he did right after breaking up with Nami.
It was a good thing he didn't have a job to go to, because he didn't have the energy to drag himself out of bed for days. All those sleepless nights hit him like a freight train after he walked away from her in the park. He barely managed to get down to his room when Killer got him home. He didn't even bother undressing before he collapsed on the mattress and buried his face into her pillow. When he woke up, he was stripped to his boxers with his prosthetic arm removed, tucked under the covers, and clinging to a pillow that didn't smell like her any more.
Killer said he slept for two days straight.
After he woke, he got up long enough to use the bathroom, went back to his room to eat whatever meal Killer brought him, and promptly went back to sleep.
When he woke again the next day, it was to see Killer come into his room holding a box filled to the brim with stuff. His stuff. The stuff he kept at Nami's.
His energy returned long enough to climb out of bed, grab the box from Killer's arms, and storm upstairs to throw the whole thing into the backyard with a barked order for his friend to burn everything. He didn't care that it was mostly his clothes, it was a reminder that what he had with her was over, that he no longer belonged in her space, and that he needed to rummage through the remains of his room to find the things she probably wanted back, too. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to keep everything he had that belonged to her, hoard it all away with some twisted hope that she would be back in his room again someday.
So he went back to bed and slept for another day.
The next time he woke up, he managed to get out of bed for longer than five minutes. He knew he couldn't keep sulking. It wasn't going to get him anywhere. He needed to get his shit together, get a new job, get into the automotive program, and none of that was going to happen while he wallowed in his misery.
He also really needed a shower and food.
When he got out of the shower and found clothes, he ventured up into the house. Wire and Heat stared in shock at his emergence from the basement, while Killer appeared not to be overly surprised as he waited in the kitchen with a bag of food.
Cabbage rolls. From his favorite take-out spot.
Killer hadn't expected to be swallowed in a hug, but he was. It was a short hug, but he squeezed the guy hard enough to crush him if he were half the strength, and lifted him a few inches from the ground. When he pulled away, he snatched the bag and disappeared back into the basement without a word.
He still felt like shit, but it was a start toward remembering how to live his life without Nami in it.
During the second week, he managed to find work after making a few calls to his underworld contacts. It wasn't exactly legal work, really it wasn't even close to being legal, but it paid well and he got to work with cars. And he never gave a shit about the legality of anything he did, so that was the least of his worries.
His new job had him fitting cars with hidden compartments for smuggling, mostly welding and some frame work. The best part, other than the extra cash, was that he didn't have to deal with any shitheads looking to pick a fight with him. He was left alone with whatever cars he was given for the whole day and only had to talk to the boss at the end of the day to get his cut when a customer picked up a car.
It also gave him some great ideas for the day he had his own garage.
He felt like he was making some progress. He hadn't thought of Nami as much as he expected to, at least not while he was at work. She still found her way into his mind from time to time, and it had been a pain in the ass restraining himself from calling her after he got the new job, but he managed well enough. He had gotten to a point where the pain and loneliness was easily buried down with loud music and a few rounds at the punching bag. He finally had Killer beat the crap out of him when the punching bag wasn't enough, and he dragged his friend out back to spar until neither of them could move.
He had a setback in his recovery come the fourth week when Killer finally forced him to go through the house and look for Nami's things. He ended up sitting on the couch, staring at a box of pictures that he had collected from around his room and workshop, while Killer did most of the work gathering Nami's clothes, her extra blanket, a couple of books, and other odds and ends that had become so mixed with his own junk, he forgot they weren't actually his. He didn't hand over any of the pictures he had of her, but he knew Nami wouldn't expect to get those back. Killer had emptied the box of his things weeks before and said that all she returned were his clothes, a couple of his cds, and three movies he left at her place. She kept her own pictures, as well as the stuffed dog he won for her.
Kid hated taking down all those pictures. His room looked dark and dingy without her smile on his wall, and his shop felt that much emptier without the sexy pin-up shots she had gifted him with. Without those last pieces of her in his spaces, his life looked colorless, hollow, and the loneliness of that drowned him. That night was another sleepless one, and he wanted nothing more than to call in to work and spend the day wallowing. Killer dragged him out of bed in the morning, though, and saw that he didn't stop pushing himself forward.
Killer helpfully reminded him that he wasn't going to have a chance to get Nami back unless he got his head straight and life in order. He needed to be alone for a while to do that, but someday, if he found a way to ease his rage and possessiveness, he might be allowed to have her again. If that was what he still wanted. Killer was also sure to remind him that feelings did change, that he might love her now, but with time that could lessen as he recovered from losing her. He might have no choice but to give up those feelings altogether. She might move on, he might lose his shot at winning her back, or the pain of still loving her might drive him so mad that he would have to give it up before he wrecked everything.
By week six his life felt normal again. Dull, but normal. A routine had set in, one that he had to admit was easier without constantly thinking about when he would see Nami. He had changed a lot of his habits over the last few weeks that helped him avoid running into her, thus keeping her off his mind. The coffee shop they both frequented before was out of the way for him on days he had to work, so he didn't go there anymore. He purposefully avoided the park, even if the chances of running into her there were slim. Too many memories with her there – a lot of good ones, and one very horrible one. The school his automotive courses would be held at was on the opposite side of town from her university, so once he started that, there was no chance of running into her there. He stopped going to Shakky's on his nights off, but he had hardly bothered going there over the last few months of his relationship with Nami anyway. He was trying to save money, and Shakky was as likely to rob him blind as Nami was, so he was better off drinking at home with the guys. Eventually he'd go back, but not yet.
Week eight came with news that he was officially accepted into the automotive program, in part thanks to a stellar recommendation Franky had written for him back when he first applied to the school. His excitement was quelled when his first instinct was to grab the phone and call Nami to tell her. He had his phone in his hand, her number right on the screen, when he realized what he was about to do. He quickly cleared her number and then threw his phone onto the concrete floor of his garage before crushing it under his boot.
He got completely wasted that night and fell asleep in a deck chair on the back patio, upside down with a thin blanket Killer retrieved for him to fight off the chilly night air after he refused to go inside. His drunken reason for staying outside was that there were phones inside. Computers, too. He might try to contact her in there. It was better to lock him out than give him that temptation. He woke up with a head cold, but at least he didn't make an ass of himself by drunk dialing his ex-girlfriend like a desperate loser.
It was that weekend when the guys dragged him out to celebrate, that he forced himself to make a real effort to move on from her. He couldn't pine over her for the rest of his life. No matter how much he wanted her back, he knew he couldn't hope for it, especially when he hadn't seen her in two months. She hadn't tried to contact him, hadn't tried to see him. She was obviously trying to move on, too, so he was better off doing the same, even if he was miserable in the process.
The bar they went to was an older hangout they had before everyone began to go to Shakky's. It was small, run down, but had cheap prices and good food, plus plenty of chumps who would end up paying for their whole tab after he kicked their asses at the pool table. It was familiar, but didn't hold any of the memories he had with Nami, so he was at ease and for the most part she was far from his mind. A few girls even tried to hit on him, but they didn't hold a flame to what he had given up, so he brushed them aside without a care and focused on having fun with his friends.
That was his plan until a familiar face came in with an offer he was reluctant to refuse.
Jewelry Bonney was a regular at the casino, as well as the old bar he used to frequent. They were from the same neighborhood, knew each other well enough to sort of get along. Sort of. Most of the time they snarled insults at each other, but there wasn't any malice in them, and there were plenty of nights when he was barely out of his teens that they found themselves on the same side of a bar fight and had a lot of fun beating the crap out of people together.
She was probably a friend. Maybe not a good one, but they hadn't tried to kill each other, and in their old neighborhood, that was pretty close to being friends.
"Yo, asshole," Bonney greeted with a wave as she sauntered in with a few guys later that night. He was buzzed enough to make him lazy, so he didn't give a shit about the insult she greeted him with, just shot her a glare as he tilted back a bottle of cheap beer. "Haven't seen you around in a while, 'specially here. Where ya been?"
"Around," he grunted as she invited herself to sit at his table, pulling up a chair next to him.
She slammed a booted foot onto the table, knocking over Killer's half empty beer bottle. She didn't even look at his darkening glare as she waved down the waitress to put in an order.
"Tsh, what kind of answer is that?" she snapped. "I heard about what happened at the casino. You're better off. That place is crawling with rat-faced bastards who'll burn it down if they don't win."
He rolled his eyes and grunted, unwilling to discuss his old job.
"So, you been spending your free time with that hot girlfriend of yours?" she suddenly asked with a lazy smile. He went stiff, but she didn't seem to notice, not when her beer and a plate of hot wings came out for her to enjoy. That bar knew better than to take long with Bonney's orders. "You're dating Nami, right?" she went on around a mouthful of chicken. "Remember you beat the shit out of that ass hollering at her at the casino one night, and heard some of the regulars mention how lucky you are to be screwing a woman like her. I know if I were you, I'd be spending every second I had in her bed."
He snarled into the lip of his beer bottle and leveled his glare on the wall.
"I ain't dating her," he forced himself to say. "Not anymore," he added with a low growl of warning.
Bonney stopped chewing to send him a look of mild surprise. Her brow rose as she swept her gaze over him. After a second she swallowed her food and sat back.
"What'd you do?" she asked flatly.
"None of your damn business," he growled.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure whatever you did was more than deserving of her dumping your loser ass." She didn't cower for a second when he snarled at her insult. "Still curious what finally made her see that she could do better. She catch you cheating on her or something?"
He slammed down his beer bottle hard enough to shatter it. "I didn't cheat on her, woman. I'd never do that to her. And she didn't dump me, either."
That took Bonney by surprise, her brows shooting up and jaw dropping open. "Wait. You dumped her?"
He hissed and looked away from her to growl at the wall. "Some shit happened. I broke up with her before she could break up with me."
Bonney didn't say a word after he shared that much, merely sat there staring at him. He decided to ignore her thoughtful frown as he waved for another round to their table. After a while, she went back to her dinner, though she continued to stare at him. When she was done with her hot wings, washed them down with a second bottle of beer, and had put in an order for two burgers, she leaned forward to level him with a gaze he thought might be sympathetic. He couldn't say for sure, but at least it wasn't a look that made him want to strangle her.
"You gave her up," Bonney said matter-of-factly. "She must really have meant something to you."
The sympathy in her tone kept him from biting her head off for prying more. He eyed her a moment as he finished off another bottle, trying to judge if she was being sincere, or if maybe she intended to mock him for it. When he decided she wasn't going to be a bitch about it, he looked away with a grunt.
"Yeah, she did," he answered quietly.
"How long has it been?"
"'Bout two months."
Bonney hummed. "I haven't seen her around lately, either. Ran into that idiot moss-head she's friends with a couple weeks ago and asked about her. All he said was that she's been busy. But that guy ain't very chatty."
Kid grunted his understanding as he stared into his empty beer bottle. He wasn't drunk enough to talk about Nami or her friends.
"You hoping to get her back?" Bonney asked just as the waitress set her burgers in front of her.
He shrugged as he snatched a shot glass off the waitress' tray before she could walk away. He hadn't ordered it, but he needed it. They knew better than to say anything about it.
"Tsh, you're pathetic," Bonney muttered. She met his glare with a withering stare. "You're sitting here obviously still hung up on a woman you gave up, rather than doing anything to change that. I get why you're hung up on her. Nami's a great girl, and if I wasn't here to pity your sorry ass, I'd be hunting her down to see if I have a chance with her myself."
Kid's brows furrowed at that image. He didn't know what to think when he wasn't as jealous as he normally would be. Then again, the thought of Nami in bed with another woman was way too hot to actually be upset over it.
"I'll punch you in the balls if you say anything about a threesome, you pig," Bonney growled lowly at him.
He snapped himself from extremely graphic images of Nami twined together with Bonney to glare at the woman with him. "I wasn't even thinking it," he said honestly. "Definitely imagining you in bed with her, but I'm not muddying that fantasy with my ugly mug in the middle of it."
Bonney snorted and relaxed again. "Good, 'cause I ain't very good at sharing."
Kid couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You and me, both. Though, I don't mind too much if you try to hook up with her. Least I know you respect her."
"Thanks for giving me your blessing," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Like I needed it, jerk."
He ignored her as the waitress brought him another beer, along with a shot of something that could probably kill a lesser man, and sank into his drinks. The guys had been playing another round of pool while Kid talked with Bonney, but their game finished up and brought them back to the table. Conversation moved away from Nami, and soon enough Kid had put her to the back of his mind again as their drinking grew more lively.
By the end of the night, he couldn't see straight enough to play darts, though he made an effort. Bonney was still hanging out with him and took sick amusement in every throw that went wide of its mark, doubly so when it landed in some idiot's thigh.
"So, you seen any action since you broke up with her?" Bonney asked suddenly while she tried to eat a slice of pizza while making a throw. She was off-balanced from the liquor, and eating at the same time meant her dart wasn't going to hit anywhere near the board. It hit the wall above the target.
Kid's brow rose when she turned to face him. What the hell did she want to know that for?
"Seriously? You had to have had at least one hook-up if it's been a couple months. Can't see you sitting on your ass all depressed over a girl and not getting back out there, even if it's just for a cheap fling," she said, grabbing another slice of pizza from the plate at their table.
He made an attempt at glaring as he shoved by her to find the darts. There were only two left. They lost the third an hour ago. This time he couldn't find the second, so ripped the one out of the wall above the target as he snarled at her.
"She wasn't just any girl," he admitted. "And I've been busy gettin' my shit in order. Going back to school, so had to find a new job to pay for it. And yeah, I might have been wallowin' a bit, but that ain't any of your business."
She held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, had no idea you actually had those kinds of feelings for anyone. All I've ever seen from you is apathy or anger, figured you'd bounce back easily enough, even if she was special to you."
He growled, but didn't say anything as he turned to squint at the dartboard in front of him. He drank enough for there to be two of them, so it really made aiming a tough task.
And Bonney just had to make it tougher.
"I can always help you out with that," she suggested breezily just as he began to throw the dart.
It fell from his hand and hit the floor barely a foot in front of him. He turned to gape at the woman who was devouring her tenth slice of pizza without a care in the world, as though she hadn't just suggested randomly hooking up with him.
"How fucking drunk are you?" he asked incredulously once he shook away his surprise.
"Drunk enough to fuck you," she said with a snort.
"What about your plans to scissor my ex?" he asked flatly.
"She ain't here, and you obviously need a rebound lay, but don't seem interested in a single woman in this bar." Bonney shrugged. "Or were you thinkin' to have your rebound be with a dude?"
He rolled his eyes at her and threw himself into a nearby chair. "I wasn't thinking about having a rebound at all. I just broke up with her."
"Two months ago," Bonney remind. "For all you know, she's already found someone else to get in bed with."
The jealousy he hadn't felt before came back to claw at his chest just thinking about Nami hooking up with some random guy. Bonney's brow rose when he growled.
"So you have no problem with me making a move on her, but random faceless guys possibly fucking her gets you all riled up? Is it because I'm a woman? You can get off to the thought of her and I doing each other, but not to her with another dick in – "
"Finish that sentence, I'll break your fucking teeth, bitch," he interrupted with a snarl.
Her hands went up to say she was backing off. "That's still pretty fucked up."
"Tsh, like I don't know that already," he muttered and snagged another glass of something he hoped was liquor off a passing waitress' tray. He downed it in one gulp and grimaced at the taste of cheap vodka. "Anyway, I ain't interested in moving on just like that. Don't really want another relationship."
"I never said anything about a relationship, idiot." Bonney sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Listen, I could use a good fuck tonight, and obviously you need one, too, to get over your shit with your ex. All I'm saying is we go take care of each other's needs for a night and walk away hopefully a little better off than we were before. It's just one night. No strings. You can go back to wallowing in your self-pity afterward if that's what ya want to do, and I'll move along to the next fun thing."
He stared at her for a moment, surprised when he actually began to consider the offer. Bonney wasn't unattractive, though she wasn't the type he'd call pretty or cute like he would with Nami, but Bonney was the type to kick a guy's teeth out for complimenting her looks. She only accepted compliments like that from other women. Despite how much food she packed away, she had a good figure. Maybe a little curvier at the hips and ass, and her breasts were definitely bigger than Nami's. She was taller than Nami, too.
"I can see you mentally ticking off every little thing about me that isn't the same as Nami," Bonney huffed, hands propped on her hips. "I ain't got the time or patience to watch you war with yourself. I ain't her. I ain't going to be. All you need to see is that I'm good for a lay, and maybe the next time you drag yourself out of your pit, it'll be a little easier to take another woman home with you. Or another dude, if that's what ya want."
She had a point there. And with Bonney, she knew him well enough not to expect anything after that night. That would make it easy, a clean break. It was just one night. Though, the thought of going home with another woman made his chest ache, and he swore he felt something resembling guilt gnaw at the back of his mind.
"And don't you dare think this is cheating on her," Bonney snapped as his scowl deepened. "You broke up with her. You're single. She's probably moving on, so why can't you?"
He hissed at that reminder and shoved himself out of his chair. Killer was at the pool table again, nursing a beer while Wire took a shot. He stormed over to his friend, ripped his beer out of his hand to guzzle it down. He ignored his friend's annoyed look as he slammed the bottle down and reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
"I'm going home with her," he said, gesturing over his shoulder at Bonney. She was grabbing her coat and waving at the friends she had originally come with before ditching them for his group.
Killer's eyes widened. "You sure?"
"Not really," he grunted honestly as he tossed a few bills on the railing by the pool table. "But if I'm giving Nami a chance at finding someone better, then I gotta do my part in gettin' over her. Bonney's willing and knows the deal. It's just a one-night thing."
Killer frowned at him, but with a sigh, he gave him an understanding nod and hard pat on the shoulder. "Hope it works."
With those words of encouragement, Kid spun away and went back to Bonney. "Let's go," he said as he tossed an arm around her shoulders to pull her along.
She shoved his arm off of her. "Hey, I ain't your girl or anything, don't go treating me like it," she snapped, walking a little faster to lead the way. "And we'll do this at my place. It's closer. But if you start being a whiny little bitch about this, I'll kick you out and go look for Nami."
"Tsh, can't believe I'm doing this with you," he growled. "You ain't even nice."
"If you wanted nice, you shouldn't have dumped your girl… Or fucked things up with her in the first place," Bonney shot back. She turned around to punch him hard in the arm, pulling another low growl from him. "This isn't going to be nice sex, anyway. Got it?"
He hissed, but didn't say anything.
He had to admit, some angry hate-sex sounded pretty good to him right then.
For the first few months after breaking things off, Nami threw herself into everything she could to keep her mind off of Kid. She partied with her friends for her birthday, and then went home the next day to cry alone in her bed, wishing it was all just a very bad dream. After a day of grief, she moved on to anger. Robin came over to watch her rant and rave about Kid's stupidity while she stormed through the house searching for his stuff and tossing all of it into a pile in the living room. In her rampage, she broke a glass sconce, three picture frames, and Robin just barely caught a shoe before it could crash through a window, and then stopped her from demolishing her whole kitchen.
She hadn't thrown a tantrum like that since Arlong was around.
She wanted to hate Kid for doing this to her, for making her love him and then leaving her. She wanted to curse him for dragging her into that stupid relationship when she hadn't wanted it, when she knew it wasn't going to last, that he was just going to hurt her. He had proved her right, and she never thought it could hurt as much as it did. And she still couldn't hate him.
After her fit, she fell to her knees, exhausted and empty, and tried desperately not to cry only to have the tears fall free the moment Robin wrapped her up in her arms.
She left Kid's things in their pile for days after that, pretending they weren't there, even as she did her best to go about her normal routine. Eventually Robin brought over a box and packed them up for her. She even took them over to Kid's house so she wouldn't have to go, and just like that, it was as if he had never been there at all. She only had the pictures and Boss left. And her bracelet. The gift she hadn't taken off once since the day he gave it to her. While the pictures she had packed away and hid in her safe, the bracelet and her stuffed animal were always there, a constant reminder of what she had, but she couldn't give them up or hide them away. They meant too much to her.
He meant too much to her.
After two weeks of hollow misery and struggling to reclaim a sense of normalcy, Nami decided she needed a change of scenery. As great as her friends were in helping keep her spirits up, she desperately needed to get away. And there was only one place she wanted to be, one person she wanted to see. There was one person in her life that was always there for her, never abandoned her, and who knew every hurt she endured, every secret she kept. So, she went home.
She spent two weeks in Cocoyashi with her sister. Her days were filled with tangerines and laughter, and her nights were spent curled up in bed with Nojiko beside her, playing with her hair until she fell asleep. She drove Genzo insane by stealing books and candy like she did as a kid, helped Nako around at the clinic for an hour or two when there were no chores left to do at the grove. She spent a whole day walking around the island, mentally mapping it like she had as a child. She visited Bellemere's grave every night with Nojiko, and forced herself to smile through her pain, just like her mother had taught her. And she stood outside the plot that had once held Arlong's home and was now being cleared for the town to build a new school. Staring at the greatest change her life had seen, and the healing the town had done since Arlong's reign, she remembered just how far she had come since the years of torment she endured with him.
She reminded herself that the pain would be temporary, and that she had no choice but to face it and move on. Kid had done this for her, for them. Their relationship wasn't as healthy as she might have thought it was. He was suffering, and if they stayed as they were, she would be hurting far more than she was now. She knew exactly what his possessiveness could lead him to do, and she knew what it meant for him to actually let her go.
He wanted to be a better man for her. He didn't want to hurt her or take away what she cherished. He wanted her to be happy, even if it was without him.
Someday they might have another chance to get it right. If that was still what they both wanted, of course. And until that day came, she would do her best to keep smiling, to remain strong and look ahead to the better times on the horizon. If she could face eight years working for the man who murdered her mother without giving up and losing hope, then she could face her life after heartbreak.
That night when she visited her mother's grave, she found her smile came much easier and she knew it was time to go back to the life she had made for herself.
When she got back to town, all her friends were waiting for her at the airport. Luffy nearly suffocated her with his hug, but after getting him off her with a few hard punches, she couldn't wipe off the huge smile she wore. It was good to be home. It was good to be with her friends.
After that, she was back to her studies and began to pick up more regular shifts at Shakky's. She had been worried about working at the bar more often, but Shakky told her that Kid hadn't been around in quite some time, so she felt it was safe to be there. And even if he came around, then that was fine. She felt that she could face him again. But for three months since they broke up, he never came around, and eventually she stopped looking at the door every time a new customer came in to see if it was him.
That night she was running late for her shift. She had met with Professor Haredas about her remaining coursework and lost track of time during their meeting. She rushed home to change into jeans and a low cut tank top before hurrying off to the bar. She ran in through the back door to store her helmet and coat in the kitchen, then grabbed a black apron and headed toward the front.
"Shakky, sorry I'm late," she called to the owner behind the bar, distracted with the ties of the apron that sat at her waist. She jumped when the older woman grabbed her by the arm and tugged her toward the kitchen doors. She looked up in surprise and found worry etched in Shakky's expression.
"It's fine, but I should warn you…" she began to say, voice at a hush, before trailing off to glance out at the bar. Nami followed her gaze. Shakky didn't have to say any more as she caught sight of his deep red hair and felt all the air rush from her lungs. He was drinking a beer as he talked with his friends. As if sensing their gaze, he looked up and immediately found her. His eyes widened, mirroring her surprise.
She thought she was prepared to see Kid again, but as she felt her heart beat painfully in her chest, urging her to run away, she realized she wasn't.
"Are you going to be okay?" Shakky asked, stepping in the path of her gaze to break her eye contact with Kid. Nami shook her head and snapped herself out of her stupor. "It's not too busy tonight. You can go home if you can't work with him here. Or I can tell him to leave."
Nami took a deep breath and a step back. She didn't want to ruin his night, but she needed to work. And if they were ever going to move beyond the past, possibly recover what they lost, she would have to speak to him again. She couldn't run away from him. She ran away from him enough in the past. She wasn't afraid of him anymore.
And she missed him.
After another deep breath, she found the will to smile for Shakky. It was a little strained, but it was still coming easier than she thought it would. She was fine. She could do this.
"It's no big deal," she told her boss. "I knew that we couldn't avoid each other forever."
"Alright, if you say so. But if it's too much for you, just say the word," Shakky said, giving her shoulder a tight squeeze. "Now get your ass out there and make us some money."
She laughed honestly, the thought of lining her pockets with cash always did a wonder for her spirits, and skipped out to the bar to get to work.
Nami took her time working toward Kid's table. The atmosphere was tense enough with the bar full of regulars that night who knew all about their relationship, or lack thereof. No one knew what to expect from Kid now that she was there, and they weren't about to test the waters and cause trouble. Only Apoo seemed willing to be his chatty, friendly self with no care of what Kid might think if he made her linger around his table for idle chit-chat.
She tried to ignore the weight of Kid's gaze while she rolled her eyes at Apoo and escaped him to see to other customers. Kid didn't move from his table or shout at Apoo, though, and when she bothered to glance his way, he snapped his eyes away from her and proceeded to sip at his pint as if he wasn't watching her.
With a heavy sigh, she decided that she just needed to get it over with. She couldn't avoid him all night. As she got closer to his table, she caught his eyes flit to her for a brief moment, and then his leg started bouncing under the table. She couldn't blame him for feeling nervous and fidgety, though she was surprised to see him show his anxiety so clearly. Usually he was better at feigning apathy.
"Hey guys," she greeted once she reached the table, focusing more on Kid's friends than on him as she tried to hold her smile in place.
"Nami," Killer greeted with a friendly smile at Kid's side. Wire and Heat glanced at Kid before giving her their own warm smiles in greeting. Killer seemed the most at ease out of everyone there. "How have you been?" Killer asked while Kid kept taking drinks from his glass.
"Good," she forced herself to say. It was mostly true. At least it was becoming more true by the day. "Busy with work and school, of course."
"How's school going?" Killer asked. She saw him shift slightly, and then Kid jumped with a grunt and turned to scowl at his friend. She had a feeling Killer kicked him under the table. She played ignorant to the behavior.
"It's going great. I had a meeting today with my advising professor to go over my last year of courses and application for the Master's program."
"Think you'll get in?"
"Of course," she said haughtily. "I'm a shoe in for it with my research."
Killer's smile widened and then he pointedly glanced toward Kid who was staring at his empty glass. The blond was willing his friend to say something, or maybe hint for Nami to speak to him. She wanted to, but Kid's awkwardness made her feel odd. She shifted from one foot to the other, and then began to turn away for the bar.
"You guys want another pitcher?" she asked.
Killer sighed when he saw they weren't going to speak yet, and nodded at her. "Please. And maybe a few shots," he said, frowning at his friend.
Nami's brow rose. "Any shot in particular?"
"Strongest one you got," Killer grunted.
"Coming right up," she chirped, and quickly made her escape for the bar.
When she got back to the bar, she saw Shakky had been watching the whole scene closely. She blew out a large cloud of smoke and frowned at the men, drawing Nami's attention back to the table in time to see Killer smack Kid upside the head. Kid snarled at his friend and gave him a small shove in retaliation.
"I've never seen that man sulk so much," Shakky said. "You'd think he wasn't the one to end things by how miserable he looks."
"He didn't want to break up with me," Nami whispered as she poured out a new pitcher for the guys. "It was complicated."
Shakky merely hummed thoughtfully. Nami had no idea what the sound meant, but Shakky didn't seem willing to say more.
She steeled herself for more awkward conversation, or probably awkward silence, as she piled their shots and pitcher onto a tray and headed back to the table. The guys thanked her as she passed out the new drinks, and collected the empty pitcher. Kid remained silent, but she could feel him staring at her as she handed out the shots. She dared to look at him when she set his drink down.
He was staring at her bracelet.
He blinked as she pulled her hand from his glass and finally looked up at her. "You're wearing it," he said quickly, surprise in his voice.
She couldn't help it as she curled her hand in to play with one the charms that hung over her palm. "Well, yeah. It was a gift, and…" She shrugged awkwardly. "I really like it." She managed a laugh that she swore sounded strained and shy to her ears, and smiled at him. "It goes perfectly with my bangle, and doesn't clash with a single outfit. So of course I'm wearing it."
Kid finally smiled as he looked down at the shot she brought him. He let out a quiet laugh that almost sounded like a cough, bashful and uncertain.
"Glad to hear it," he said, and then took his shot and tossed it back.
He didn't say any more, and she had more tables to see to, so she just smiled at all of them and went back to work. That small exchange was enough to put her at ease, and she almost forgot all about the ache in her chest that came every time she thought of him.
As the night wore on, the bar got busier and she was able to forget her anxiety over Kid's presence for a while. He and his friends didn't cause any trouble, and they exchanged some light conversation when she brought them their orders.
A couple of hours in, as the rush died back down and she found the time to take a break, she headed back to Kid's table to see if they needed anything else before she grabbed a snack for herself. Heat and Wire had taken to the pool table, leaving Kid and Killer at the table to watch.
"Hey, guys, I'm going on break for a few, do you need anything else first?" she asked the group. Heat shook his head as he lined up a shot on the table, Wire held up a full pint of beer to say he was good for the moment. She turned to the men at the table and found Kid staring up at her with a thoughtful look, but he seemed to have returned to his speechlessness.
"We're fine, Nami," Killer answered when it became obvious Kid couldn't find his tongue. "Go get off your feet a bit."
She forced a smile and began to turn away, but paused when Kid cleared his throat. She stared at him expectantly as he scratched the back of his head.
"Is it cool if we talk a bit?" he asked.
Her mouth gaped open and heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Killer who was far too focused on his beer to actually be unaware of what was happening. She glanced over at Wire and Heat who seemed just as determined to pretend that they weren't listening. Kid cleared his throat again, drawing her attention back to him.
"If ya don't want to, it's fine. Go take your break," Kid grunted, his tone surly and frustrated.
She smiled. "No, um…" She fidgeted, and hated herself for it. They were never this awkward before. "Yeah, we can talk," she said, forcing herself to sound as light and cheerful as she could. He looked at her warily as she slid into the seat across from him and leaned over the table with what she hoped was an easy-going smile. "What's up?"
He hummed, looking down at his drink as he gathered his thoughts. She waited patiently as he chugged down the last of his beer and reached for the pitcher to pour out what little was left in it.
"I never got around to telling you the news," he finally said. She cocked her head, silently telling him to explain. "I, uh, I applied to that automotive program." Her eyes widened in surprise and she sat a little straighter, excited and expectant. "I hadn't wanted to tell you until I got in, but…" He paused to scratch the back of his head again and looked up to let her see a hint of a proud smile. "I start next week."
She felt herself light up at the news, genuinely happy and elated for the first time in months. Her reaction made Kid relax, and she finally had a chance to see his wide grin again. She had missed that grin.
"Congratulations!" she cheered. "I knew you could do it."
He chuckled, the sound coming a little easier than it had before. "Don't say that yet. I gotta finish the program first. Might get kicked out again."
She waved off his reluctance. "You'll finish it," she said confidently. "You're great with mechanics, and from what Franky told me, you would have to murder someone to actually get kicked out of that program. He knows some of the instructors, and he said at least one of them gets a black eye from a student every semester. Usually it's their best students, too. You'll do great. I know you will."
His grin was even wider, and his uneasy gaze had warmed with her words. "Thanks, means a lot coming from you."
She felt herself blush, and glanced down as she swept a loose hair back behind her ear. "So, was this why you were picking up so many hours at the casino before? You were saving up to pay for school?"
He spun his half empty glass in front of him, his smile shrinking a bit at the subject. "Yeah, but I'm glad I got canned. That place was shit and I hated the hours. Found a job at an underworld garage that pays better and is less irritating, plus the guy who runs it is willing to fit my class schedule in so I can keep working. It all worked out fine."
"That's great," she said. "I'm really glad for you. Sounds like you're doing good."
"Yeah…" He said, trailing off as he looked up to smile at her, this time it looked more somber and forced.
She didn't let that get to her as a thought came to her, making her perk up. "I'm sure you and the guys already celebrated, but I think I deserve a chance to buy you drink for it." His eyes widened in surprise as she got up to head back to the bar, and, without thinking, squeezed his shoulder on the way by. "Only this one time, and only because it's you."
She felt him tense and then pull away just before she could release him. She stopped to look at him in surprise. He looked awkward and nervous again, even more than before. What was going through his head?
"I'm seeing someone," he blurted out, and the words hit her like a knife to the heart. She had no idea why he was telling her this, and honestly wished he hadn't as she felt her chest constrict until she thought she might not breathe again. He wasn't looking at her anymore, scowling down at his beer while his jaw ticked uncomfortably. Killer was staring at him from the corner of his eye, mouth hanging open behind the glass he was about to take a drink out of before freezing at Kid's out of nowhere declaration.
"Oh?" she managed to say, struggling to ignore how dizzy she felt.
"Uh… yeah… You know Bonney, right?" he said quietly.
She took a step back, surprised. He still didn't look at her, or say anything more. She shouldn't be so surprised. They broke up. It had been three months. Of course he was seeing someone else. They were supposed to be moving on, even if he said he was going to try to get his head together and maybe…
She shook her head to clear those hopes. He broke up with her. He broke her heart and he was still intent on pushing her away. It was stupid of her to cling to hope.
She forced the brightest smile she could.
"Oh yeah, I haven't seen her around in a while. She's a great girl. I'm happy for you." She had no idea how believable the last part came out, but she hoped it was enough as she spun away. "I'm still treating you to that drink," she called back as cheerfully as she could, intent on escaping the heavy atmosphere around them.
When she got to the bar, her hands were shaking and she was struggling to breathe.
"Kid," she heard Killer snap, and turned to see Kid stand from the table with a dark growl. He shook off his friend's hold when the blond tried to stop him, shoved his hands in his pockets, but not before she could see the tight fists they were balled in, and stormed toward the door with his head down. "Kid!" Killer called to his friend again, but was ignored completely.
She frowned at his retreat, watched him shove by a few patrons who didn't get out of his way fast enough. His friends rushed after him, Killer shooting her an apologetic smile on the way by that she just barely returned. She had stopped shaking. Watching him run away like that left her drained and sad, resigned to the fact that there was no going back to the way things were, not when they couldn't even salvage their friendship without it being uncomfortable.
"Oh! Kid!" she heard Luffy shout outside just as Kid barreled out the door. "I haven't seen you in forever! How's it going?"
"Not now," she heard him growl, followed by Luffy's startled shout. "Out of my way, asshole."
"What the hell's crawled up Eustass-ya's ass?" she heard a familiar voice ask just before Luffy opened the door to lead the way in.
Luffy hummed, unwilling to comment to the friend she hadn't seen in over a year. She was still frowning at the door, torn between her sadness at Kid's escape and the sight of Trafalgar Law sauntering in with her friends.
She made her choice when she felt someone drape an arm over her shoulder and she turned to glare at Apoo's idiotic grin.
"Cheer up, Dollface. You know I'd be more than happy to comfort you and help you forget all about that prick," he offered.
She wasn't in the mood to put up with him and grabbed a tray she had left sitting on the bar.
"Shut up, creep," she snapped as she slammed the tray into his face hard enough to send him tripping backwards, releasing her from his hold.
She spun away and forced herself to send her friends a cheerful wave as she headed toward the door to greet them.
"Luffy!" she called out, immediately gaining her best friend's attention. He lit up the moment he saw her, and she let herself forget the drama of the last few minutes as his grin lifted her spirits. "Why didn't you tell me Tora-o-kun was in town?"
"He didn't know," Law answered for Luffy, glowering at the man snickering beside him. He slammed his hand down on Luffy's head. "I moved back three weeks ago, but was laying low until this idiot somehow sniffed me out."
"You… Three weeks ago!?" she shouted and smacked Law on the arm. She didn't bat an eye when he glared at her. "Three weeks and you haven't once come to say hello. I'm hurt, Tora-o-kun."
He glared a little longer, then it broke with a snort and she was graced with a lopsided smirk. "If I came by to see you, then Straw Hat would have found out I was here a lot sooner than I wanted. He gave me enough of a headache those times he came to visit me."
She crossed her arms and pouted at him. "And what about the guys? Are Penguin and Shachi with you?"
Law chuckled at her as he made his way by to follow Luffy and her other friends to the table. He gave her a pat on the head as he passed. "They should be here in a minute. Shachi's been dying to see you. You can blame me for not letting them visit."
She huffed at him, but then broke into a smile as she batted him away. "We'll have to get together later and catch up, then. You can tell me all about how horrible it was having Luffy as a house guest. I'll go grab you guys some drinks. Whiskey tonight?" she asked him. When he gave her a nod, she turned to her friends as they shoved a few tables together. "Zoro, are you okay with beer? Shakky hasn't gotten a new case of sake yet."
"Yeah, ale's fine," her friend called. Honestly she could put anything with an alcohol content in front of him, and he would drink it.
"Robin, wine?" she asked.
"Riesling, if you have it."
"I think I saw a bottle in the cellar. Luffy – "
"Meat!" he called out, interrupting her before she could even ask.
She rolled her eyes and headed toward the kitchen. The rest of her friends would take beer or cola, either not drinkers or not picky about what they drank, so she didn't need their orders. If they wanted something else later on, they could ask for it.
With her friends at the bar, and more on the way, she threw herself into work and catching up with the friends she hadn't seen in far too long.
And did everything she could to forget the man who ran away from her.
"Are you an idiot?" Killer hissed at Kid when he caught up at the car.
Kid just growled at his friend. He was in a bad mood, and it was only getting worse now that he knew that asshole, Trafalgar, was back in town and at the bar his ex-girlfriend was working at. He knew Nami was friends with the guy, she had idly mentioned him in the past, and Kid knew Trafalgar had been living in Dressrosa and was the one Luffy was always visiting. He never felt comfortable with the thought that Nami was friends with that guy. Trafalgar was a doctor, which meant he had money, Nami's favorite thing in the world. And Kid wasn't blind, he knew the guy was attractive with his dark hair and gold eyes and lean tattoo covered torso, and that damn aloof personality, and he was obviously closer to Nami and her friends than Kid ever was.
If she hadn't moved on yet, she very well could with Trafalgar around. Assuming the guy was smart enough to know a good thing when he saw it. And Kid could say for certain that Nami was a good thing. She was a great woman, and seeing her so elated and happy for him that evening only reminded him of that. She could do better than him, and if she knew what was best for her, she'd take off that damn bracelet and forget all about him, move on to be with her rich, handsome doctor friend, even though the thought of it made his heart hurt so much he wanted to puke.
Fuck, he really was an idiot.
He climbed into the passenger side of his car and slammed his head against the dashboard with a loud groan. He was the stupidest fucking idiot he knew, and he knew Monkey D. Luffy, so that was saying a lot.
"Why did you lie to her?" Killer asked as he climbed into the driver's seat. Heat and Wire silently got in the back.
"Because I'm an idiot," he grunted, and slammed his head to the dash again.
"Obviously," Killer huffed. "You panicked and shot yourself in the foot back there. The whole point of letting her go was to give her a chance to come back to you, and you just shoved her even further away and broke her heart even more by lying to her about Bonney."
"I know," he groaned with another smack of his head.
Killer sighed in defeat as he started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Care to explain what you were thinking when you did that?" Killer asked after a moment.
"She hasn't even tried to move on."
"How do you know that?"
"She's wearing my bracelet."
Killer snorted. "You were happy about that. Don't even lie."
"Doesn't matter if I was happy, or not, she needs to give me up and find someone better." And now she might with that damn asshole back in town. He didn't know how close they were, but his gut told him something could develop. If anyone could warm Trafalgar's frigid prick, it was Nami.
Killer sighed again. "Kid… You're a fucking idiot."
"You don't have to tell me that," he growled at his friend.
"No, I think I do because you don't even realize why I'm calling you an idiot," he said, another sigh lacing his tone.
"'Cause I panicked and lied," he answered.
"While that's part of it, especially the lying part…" Killer glanced at him. "If Bonney hears about this, she's going to come after you and cut your dick off."
"Tsh, yeah, 'cause I probably ruined her chances of gettin' with Nami like she wants," he huffed. "I'll deal with her if I have to."
"But Kid, you're an idiot because you're willfully hurting Nami even more. She was looking good and happy tonight until you went and crushed it," Killer continued to lecture. "She's obviously recovering and healing, just like you, and you probably shoved her back a step by rejecting even her friendship."
"What the fuck are you talking about? I didn't reject her friendship." Kid furrowed his brows. "I still want to be her friend, why the fuck would I do that?"
It was a good thing they were stopped at a red light, because Killer had to lean his head back and rub his temples with his next exasperated sigh.
"Um, Boss," Heat spoke up from the back, leaning between the front seats to get their attention. He glanced at Killer with a tired frown, and then looked at Kid when he turned to him. "Nami was just trying to be nice when she offered to buy you a drink. She was showing that she still wants to be your friend and support you. I don't think she meant anything more by it."
"Even when she touched you, it was probably part habit, but she's like that with a lot of her friends," Wire added. "You've seen how she is with her friends, and even us…" He gestured to Killer in the front. "Didn't she kiss him once?"
Kid turned to glare at Killer at the reminder. Sure, it was on the cheek, and it was to show her gratitude for the flowers Kid told him to buy, but it still irked him. Especially when Killer loved to gloat about it for weeks after.
This time Killer wasn't gloating, he was staring at him with a brow raised, daring him to refute what they were saying. Maybe they had a point.
With an exhausted sigh, he sank back into his seat. "Alright, so I might have misunderstood her intentions and panicked, but…" He groaned. "I don't know how to be her friend, even though I want to be."
"Weren't you guys friends while you were dating?" Wire asked. "It's not really any different if you think about it."
"It's completely different," Kid huffed.
"Because you have to talk to her and be nice to her without expecting her to jump into bed with you," Killer snapped impatiently as he turned down the street to their house. "Nami had wanted to be your friend from the start, and you said you were fine with that, even though you used it as a means to pressure her into more. This time around, you have to be her friend without ulterior motives, and you don't know how to do that."
Kid frowned at the lecture in his friend's tone. He was right. Kid was a total asshole for how he went about getting Nami to go out with him, and he was still being an asshole by rejecting her friendship. He wanted her friendship, even though he doubted he deserved that any more than he deserved her love. If he was going to have any hope of getting her back, he had to keep himself in her life, even as she moved on to another guy and gave up on him entirely.
At the very least, he needed to see her excited smile every time he succeeded at something, just like that night, and he wanted to be allowed to call her to tell her any good news rather than wait until a month later to awkwardly mention it when he happened to see her. And he wanted her to do the same for him. He was proud to hear that she was applying for a Master's program, and he wanted to be one of the first people she told when she inevitably got accepted. He wanted to know what she had been up to over the last few months, how her classes were going, how her friends were doing. He wanted her to come to him if she ever had trouble from that old gang again. He wanted to be there for her, and he wanted her there for him, even if that was all they had. Seeing her that night made him realize just how much he missed having her around, hearing her voice, seeing her smile. Just being in her presence made him a little happier than he was before, and he didn't even think about trying to get into her pants. All he could think about was how beautiful her smile was and how great it felt to give her a reason to grace him with it.
He slammed his head to the dash again and let out a defeated groan.
"Guys… Tell me what to do."
Nami was lucky that Shakky let her leave early to hang out with her friends for the rest of the night. She needed the extra time with them after what happened with Kid earlier, and by the time she was heading up to her bedroom near midnight that night, she could say she had mostly put it to the back of her mind.
At least she had until her phone chirped at her with a new message.
She was just taking her earrings out when the message came, and glanced at her phone assuming it was Luffy or Robin or any one of her friends checking in on her. Her eyes widened and she froze when she saw Kid's name on the display. The shaking to her hands returned as she snatched up her phone to see what he had to say.
'Hey, sorry about earlier,' he wrote.
She frowned at the message and stared at it for a minute, trying to think up how to respond. What exactly was he sorry about? The way he stormed out? The way he blurted out that he had a new girlfriend? That he practically stomped on her already hurting heart? Before she could say anything, he texted again.
'I still want to be friends with you, I just… I don't know how,' he explained. 'I can't seem to tell the difference between your normal friendliness and flirting.'
She snorted in amusement. She supposed she couldn't blame him for that, especially when what little friendship they had before they dated was not exactly a normal friendship for her, and the genuine friendship they developed while they dated was full of flirting and affectionate gestures that weren't apart of her normal friendships, either.
But knowing that he did want to be friends with her, without any possibility of gaining something more, was enough to soothe the last bits of sorrow still lingering from earlier. Kid was still trying, he was just venturing into very uncharted territory with her, and wasn't sure what to do. She supposed the random announcement about his new girlfriend made sense now, even if that still stung. He was trying to tell her there were boundaries, that he didn't expect anything from her because he couldn't.
'It's fine, I understand,' she wrote back, unable to wipe away her smile. This was good, she told herself. They were both moving on, but they could be mature and find a way to hold onto the friendship they had found before, no matter how tough it might be. 'I just want to be friends, too. I was really happy to talk to you tonight and hear how things have been going. So, don't be a stranger, Kid.'
With her response sent, she set her phone back on the bureau and tried to quell the lighthearted giddiness that came with the small exchange.
"Nami-ya?" Law called from the door, a touch amused when she jumped in surprise and jerked her head around to see him leaning against the doorframe. His brow was cocked and lips curled in a lopsided smirk. "I thought we were catching up?" he asked as he pushed off the door and invited himself into her room, heading straight for her to extend one of the glasses of whiskey he held.
She huffed at him and took her drink to set on the bureau. "I said I would be right down."
Law hummed as he slowly walked around her room, taking in every inch of it while she finished slipping out her earrings. Her phone went off again, and Nami quickly grabbed it to see Kid's next message.
'I won't be. Wouldn't mind hearing more of what you've been up to,' he texted, and once again she found herself smiling.
"Who's that?" Law asked behind her, and Nami jumped at how close he was.
She didn't think about it as she locked the screen and glowered at Law. "A friend of mine I haven't talked to in a while." Her tone was short, clipped, telling him it wasn't any of his business. She didn't want to talk to him about Kid, not if he started asking questions and making her rehash the whole breakup.
Law hummed and sent her a skeptical look as he leaned back against her bureau. He took a sip of his whiskey. "When Straw Hat came to visit me, he mentioned you couldn't come because you were busy with school and your boyfriend," he idly commented. She set down her phone and turned to face him with her arms crossed, gaze set in a glare to warn him off the subject he was broaching. Of course her glare didn't bother him one bit as he went on. "And earlier tonight, I heard him whispering with Zoro-ya about you still having a hard time after the breakup."
Her lips thinned into a tight frown. "And?"
Law shrugged. "And… if that friend is your ex, you don't have to lie to me about it."
Her glare hardened. "I don't want to talk about him."
"I didn't ask you to," Law said flatly. "I just said you don't have to lie about him."
She continued to glare at him for another minute, and Law only stared back impassively as he finished off his whiskey. When his brow rose expectantly, she let out a long sigh.
"Fine, it was my ex," she relented, and snatched her phone to quickly text Kid back.
"Are you two trying to remain friends?" Law asked as he pushed off her bureau to continue his exploration of her room.
"We're trying," she said with a shrug. 'We'll have to talk more later,' she texted back to Kid. 'I have a friend over right now, so can't talk. I'll see you around, Kid.'
She didn't know why she felt guilty about the text she sent back. It felt oddly dismissive to her, but she didn't want to leave Kid waiting for a response while she was talking to Law.
When she turned back to Law, she found him at the side of her bed with her stuffed dog in hand, glaring at it.
"Ah! Put him down!" she ordered, going over to snatch Boss from him.
Law looked at her with a raised brow, mildly amused with her reaction. "I wasn't going to hurt it, Nami-ya," he said, chuckling at her pout as she hugged the dog to her chest. "I was just curious about what such an ugly stuffed animal was doing on your bed. Doesn't suit you at all."
She glared at him and hugged the toy tighter. "He is not ugly," she huffed. Law only continued to chuckle at her response. With a growl, she spun away and stomped over to her bookshelf to set Boss on top, nestled among photos of Nojiko and Genzo. "Don't make fun of him."
"You're rather defensive of a stuffed animal, Nami-ya," he said.
"He was a gift," she snapped hotly. "From someone important to me."
Law's amusement waned at the same time her phone chirped at her with another message from Kid. Law glanced at the cell on her bureau, then back at her, and finally nodded. "I see," he sighed. "How long has it been?"
"How long has what been?" she asked, her tone still clipped, while she went to check her phone.
'Alright. Later then, Kitten,' Kid texted, and once again she struggled not to smile. It felt like forever since he called her Kitten.
"That," Law spoke up firmly, a hint of annoyance that snapped her attention away from her phone. He was frowning at her as he came to stand beside her. He snatched her phone from her hand and tossed it to her nightstand, out of her reach, forcing her whole attention onto him. She frowned up at him. "How long ago was the breakup?"
"I thought you weren't going to make me talk about him," she huffed defensively.
"I'm not. I'm just curious how long it's been," he said, this time softer, more patient. The change in his tone made her relax.
"Three months," she said softly as she grabbed her forgotten drink. She needed to hold onto something, and the liquor certainly wouldn't hurt.
He hummed as he watched her tilt back her drink, swallowing it all in one gulp.
"You need to get over him," he said bluntly as he took the glass from her hand and headed for the door. "If he was cruel enough to break your heart, then he doesn't deserve a second of your time. You can do better."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't even know what you're talking about, Law. Don't butt into my personal life."
He glanced at her from the door, brow cocked, and then came back over to her with a sigh. He carefully held their two glasses in one hand, and reached out to gently take her chin with the other. She went stiff and her lips parted in surprise as he leaned in. She didn't know what he was doing until his gold eyes glanced down to her lips…
And then he was kissing her.
It was light and chaste, and before she knew it he was pulling away, only far enough for her to let out a long rush of air as she tried to grasp some sort of coherent thought from the completely fried mess he left her brain in. The only semi-coherent thoughts she could find were that her lips still tingled and his breath smelled like whiskey. And she had no idea how she was still standing, because her legs felt like jelly. She also idly thought that it was a good thing he was a doctor, because she felt like her heart had leaped out of her chest, and she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to do that.
She felt his thumb caress her chin, and his breath wash over her lips. Law was as closed off and unreadable as ever as he held her gaze. She had no idea if the kiss meant anything to him, if it had affected him the way it did her. It had to have at least meant something. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't want to. Why in the world did he just kiss her!?
"Forget him," he commanded. "You can do better."
She blinked as he stood straight and spun to walk out of her room without another word.
As soon as he was gone, she let herself fall to her knees. She continued to gape, staring off at the door he had vanished through.
Trafalgar Law just kissed her.
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
A/N: So obviously the KidBonney part was extremely difficult for me to write since I also ship BonneyNami and have come to a point where I see Bonney as very gay. In this, she's bi with a very strong preference for women most of the time. I had come up with this part of the fic a long time ago, though, before I really got BonneyNami into my head, and so had to keep rolling with it.
I'm not going to get too into these other ships, though, at least not much. Especially the KidBonney stuff. LawNa might get some attention because that's going to have more of an affect on Kid than anything else. And yes, at this point Law and Nami have been friends for quite some time, even if Law hasn't been living in the area until recently. I might go into their friendship a bit in the next chapter, but not much, because I'm not supposed to be writing LawNa, lol. Though, you can thank Luffy for the LawNa in this because he did purposefully track Law down because he hoped that seeing an old friend again would help cheer Nami up, and maybe help her move on. This is probably the closest you guys will ever see me get to writing a love triangle (or square, or whatever this is), and I hope you guys can endure it because you all should know how much I hate love triangles 99% of the time.
Also Kid is very aware that his jealousy is pretty hypocritical when it comes to how he views Nami's potential relationships with women versus her potential relationships with men. He's also less jealous over Bonney because he doesn't view her as a legitimate threat for Nami's heart, he doesn't think Bonney's all that serious in her interest, at least outside of the physical, so it's no big deal to him. Now then, if she was serious about Nami as more than a possible sexual partner, then yeah, he'd start getting jealous. And he might have blurted out the lie about dating Bonney in a subconscious attempt to sabotage her chances. Because he's an asshole.
So yeah, just keep on trusting that I know what I'm doing. And if you want to suffer with me, just listen to lots of Linkin Park (especially Meteora) and Papa Roach, because I spent most of my time writing this with that on and had flashbacks to high school and my first break up. Kid and I suffer together since we share this hobby, lol.
Oh, and I think a few chapters ago someone had asked if this fic tied into 'Family Antics' - no, it doesn't. I've vaguely gone over the start of their relationship for them in that fic, and while it is somewhat similar (because these two just beg for there to be certain types of drama to them), it is definitely not the same. For example, Kid was already a mechanic when he met Nami in that fic. Also Kid gets to have both arms in that one, too. Which reminds me, I really gotta work on the last two chapters of that someday.