Sab pulled her car over to the Barbarian's house, pressing the horn twice. When there was no sign of anyone opening the gate for her, she pressed it a few more times.
Then there's nothing.
Irritated, she got out of her car and pressed the doorbell several times intending to annoy the person living inside. She did not stop pressing it until she heard his voice via the intercom.
"What the actual hell?! You are so damn noisy!" He shouted. Satisfied with her achievement, she answered.
"I've been waiting for ages here. Open the damn gate." She demanded before going back to her car.
The gate opened automatically and she parked her car in the free space right next to his. Slamming the door shut, she walked towards the entrance of the house and was welcomed by a very annoyed Kidd who must have just woke up as he is wearing nothing but sweatpants.
Sab was not prepared to see the sight. It took every willpower residing in her body to suppress herself from blushing. It was a difficult feat, especially keeping her poker face.
"Why the hell are you pressing the doorbell so many times?" He looked like he is a grumpy fellow when woken up from his slumber.
"I thought you didn't hear it, so I kept pressing just in case." She sarcastically said before walking towards his kitchen as if its the most natural thing.
Kidd knew that she did it to annoy the hell out of him. Following behind her, he sat on his usual seat, waiting for breakfast.
"Give me coffee." He demanded.
"Before I do that, could you get dressed first?"
"What? Does seeing me topless bothers you?" His face is full of confidence, flexing his muscles right in front of Sab.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"You know, that would have worked, but you looked ridiculous with that arm sling on. Would you like to accessorize your other arm as well? I can do that."
"Tsk. You're not sexy at all." He grumbled before standing up to leave the kitchen. While he was walking away, Sab has the full view of his back. Damn, he's like a living Adonis.
What the fuck am I thinking? She berated herself for getting ridiculous ideas. Shaking her head, she decided to distract herself from such thoughts by preparing breakfast for him.
She cooked pancakes and eggs for him. Coffee is prepared as well.
As soon as he was back, dressed in a comfortable shirt, she was done preparing his breakfast.
"Where is your laundry?" She asked.
"You're not going to join me? I don't want you fainting while doing the household chores just because you did not eat breakfast."
For a moment there, Sab thought he was being thoughtful. Turns out he's more concerned if she can do the job right or not. This pisses her off.
Getting herself a plate, she sat in front of him while silently getting her share of breakfast. The two of them remained silent while eating their fill. While eating, Kidd can't help but be amazed at how much she could eat. It was quite a lot that reminds him of Luffia and Ann. Shrugging that thought, he decided to remain silent while watching her eat breakfast.
As soon as she was done, she took the initiative to clean up as well. It made Kidd a little guilty. Even though he wanted to annoy the hell out of her, it does not mean that he will act like a spoiled brat. So, he helped by putting the plates in the sink and cleaning up the table.
His actions made Sab raise an eyebrow but did not question it. As soon as she was done cleaning up, she asked him where the laundry area is.
He guided her to the laundry area. She's thankful he has an automated washing machine. She was afraid he's going to ask her to hand wash everything.
"Alright, while waiting for this to finish, I'll be cleaning your living room."
"No need for that. I have an agency that sends a cleaner every two weeks to do general cleaning."
"Alright, then what do you want me to do next?"
"You sound like you are in a hurry."
"I just want to finish this as soon as possible so I could get out here." Sab wanted nothing more than just to sleep for the entire day, but she can't do that. She still has a few things to finish before she could finally take a rest. There are still projects pending, especially with the project in an orphanage which will be in two weeks.
Not liking her answer, he frowned. "Then, clean my room." He said.
Even that surprised him. He never let anyone in his room, not even the cleaner that drops by every two weeks as he cleans it himself. He is strict when it comes to anyone entering his room. No one has ever been there except for Killer.
"Alright, lead the way." She said.
As soon as Sab stepped inside his bedroom, she suddenly felt nervous for some reason. The bedroom is spacious and quite clean, which surprises her a little.
"Change the curtains." Kidd demanded, pointing to the gray curtains that were hanging from the top of the ceiling down to the floor. It was a ceiling to floor glass windows which explains why there is a need for curtains like this.
He pointed her to the new set of curtains to replace the current ones.
"Do you have a ladder?"
"Too short, eh?" He can't help but tease her again before telling her where the ladder is.
Kidd remained seated while watching her take the curtains off. Oddly enough, he feels satisfied just watching her. While she was busy changing the curtains, he turned on the music, and soon enough, OOR's Wasted Nights is playing in the background. It startled him was seeing her bopping her head to the beat while she mumbles some of the lyrics.
'Cause by this time tomorrow
We'll be talking 'bout tonight
Keep doing what we want, we want, we want
No more wasted nights
"You know this band?" He can't help but ask.
"Yeah, I listen to their songs. Pretty amazing." She said while stepping up in the ladder again.
Kidd hummed before nodding. At least they have something in common. He thought there was none at all.
After Sab changed the curtains, she asked if the bed sheets and pillowcases need to be changed as well. Kidd thought for a moment. It was recently changed last weekend so it's not time yet to change it but for some reason, he said yes.
Sab did not question his answer. There was something that stirred up in his chest by just watching her sitting on his bed as she changes the pillowcases. It was odd as he would have been alarmed and bothered by someone sitting on his bed, but when it comes to her, it feels so natural that he can't fathom why.
"Let's go grocery shopping." He said out of the blue.
Sab thought for a moment before looking at her wristwatch to check the time. It's still quite early. She can still do some of her pending works in the afternoon after the grocery shopping.
"Alright. Let me finish the laundry and we'll go. After that, I need to go."
"Pretty demanding considering this is from a slave."
Annoyed at his teasing, she threw the pillow right straight into his face. Kidd did not have time to react before feeling the pillow slammed on his face.
"Call me a slave again and I'll make sure to injure your other arm."
"Oi! That warrants as an assault. You're not satisfied with injuring my left arm? You wanted the other as well?"
"At this point, yes, I want to. You want me to try?" She is standing in front of him, hands on each side of her hips, threatening his right arm.
"Geez. What kind of slave threatens the master?" He murmured.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Doc." He smirks at her suspiciously. There is nothing better to cheer him up than seeing her annoyed.
Cute... Wait, did he just - NOPE! He didn't. No. There's no way he finds her cute. She's an amazon, not cute at all.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Zoro!" Luffia and Zoro both looked up as soon as they heard Nami's voice. They are currently doing planks to see who can last the longest. Their faces are full of sweat while out of breath. "What are you two doing?"
"I am going to prove to Zoro that I can do planks longer than he can!" Luffia shouted while her hands are shaking while maintaining her position. She must have been in that position for a few minutes.
"In your dreams!" Zoro said, still holding on, but just like Luffia, his hands are also shaking, his face sweating profusely.
Nami just looked at them while shaking her head in exasperation. She can't believe that these two are wasting time with a stupid contest like this.
"We are invited for an interview for Forbes Grandline Magazine."
"Why?"
"According to them, they want to interview the founders of SHI and that's the two of you."
"Ugh, decline it!" Luffia shouted while struggling to keep her position.
"You can't always run away from the media, Luffia. At some point, you will have to face them yourselves. How many times do we have to stand on behalf of you?"
"She's right, Luffia. Go to the interview."
Luffia was in deep thoughts. If she and her sisters are going to reveal themselves at one point, they need to get used to the presence of media. Maybe this is the right time to also start accepting interviews like these.
"Fine, fine. I agree."
"Since she's going, I don't have to be there, right?"
Hearing this, Luffia can't help but frown.
"What?! No! That's unfair!" She shouted while snapping her head to Zoro causing her to lose her balance and fell to her yoga mattress.
"Ha! You lose!"
"Unfair!"
"Ahem! So! about that interview, you have to attend, Zoro. There's also another interview you have to attend aside from that."
"Huh? What interview?"
"I don't who made the selection, but you've been named as one of the most eligible bachelors according to Grandline People Magazine." This caused Zoro to snort.
"Ridiculous." He said while standing up to get a towel to wipe his sweat off.
"Kidd was also named as one." Nami said.
"Kidd? As in Kidd fucking Eustass?" It is as if Zoro can't believe what he is hearing.
"Marco too was chosen as far as what I've been told."
"Oh, wow! What a coincidence! It's the three of you!" Luffia shouted in delight.
"Coincidence?" Nami asked. She can't see any connection at all.
"Marco is Ann's boyfriend and I have Zoro." She's basically admitting their relationship now, not that Zoro minds.
"And what about Kidd? Don't tell me he's dating Sab?"
"No. I am trying to hook them up!"
As soon as she heard what Luffia said, she looked at Zoro as if questioning what Luffia is saying, which he answered with his hands raised as if telling Nami that he had given up trying to prevent Luffia from what she's up to.
How is she going to hook them up? That's probably the biggest question Nami has.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
This is the third day of their stay on Sunny Islands. Now that Ann thinks about it, this feels like a honeymoon indeed. They usually spend their mornings chilling and taking a stroll or swim. If not strolling around or engaged in watersport activities, they find themselves in Ann's room, embracing each other nonstop. It feels like it is not enough at all.
"There's something that I want to ask you." Ann said when they were in the floating villa, sunbathing.
"What is it, yoi?"
"I don't know how to ask this." She hesitated. Seeing her hesitation, Marco sat up to face her properly.
"Go on, I'll be listening."
"The paparazzi following you around, what if they found out about us?" Ann doesn't know if she asked the correct question.
"I am sorry Ann, yoi. Once they find out about it, you will be exposed to the public and there might be paparazzi that will be following you around. I don't want that to happen, yoi." This has been bothering Marco for quite some time now. He does not want Ann to be exposed under the unnecessary scrutiny of paparazzi who knows nothing about them. "I'll make sure to be extra careful not to expose you or anything like that, yoi."
"You don't want to publicize our relationship?"
"No, it's not that. I want to, but you might not be comfortable with it. I don't want you to feel any discomfort. If I have to pull strings from the background, I will do so just to prevent from paparazzi from finding out."
"I am not exactly against the idea of announcing it in public. After all, your status is not something ignorable. Also, I'd rather have the announcement to come from us and not from paparazzi."
Marco's eyes can't help but brighten up. His previous relationships were a mess before. He likes to keep his privacy but the women he dated are enjoying the spotlight. Maybe that's where it went wrong.
"But before that, I'd like to keep it private for now until I tell my dad about it. I am sure he will be upset if he finds out about it through the tabloids and that's not something I like to happen." Ann can imagine how her dad will react if that were to happen. He might storm off to Moby Dick Building, armed with a shotgun, and demand Marco's head. Yeah, he might do that, although that's too exaggerated.
"Are you sure? You are not against announcing it publicly?"
"Of course, I'd like to keep it private as much as we can, but it doesn't feel right that we keep hiding it forever until the time a paparazzi takes a picture of us and publish it. At least we were provided with a choice to tell everyone about it."
"Yeah, you're right, yoi. Let's talk more about it after you tell your dad about us."
Now, that's a big problem for Ann. How is she supposed to tell her dad about this? Maybe she can ask for help from her mom.
"To be honest, I don't know how to tell Dad about this."
"Is it going to cause a conflict between you and your father, yoi?" Marco is worried that their relationship might strain Ann's relationship with her dad. He does not want that to happen. As much as possible, he'd like her family to accept their relationship.
"Not really. I am afraid for your safety." This made Marco curious.
"My safety?"
"Anyway, I'll figure it out later. Why don't we take a slide? Come on!" Being dragged by Ann, Marco had no choice but to try the slide connecting to the ocean below them, the topic temporarily forgotten for now.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Why does Monday need to be hectic? Sab can't even understand why.
It has not even 5 hours since she started working and she feels tired already. Add to her responsibilities, she also must partake in a few meetings concerning her joint business with Ann while she's away.
Yesterday, instead of resting, she ends up staying the whole day at Kidd's house. She planned to just drop by to give him his breakfast, she ends up having to drive him around which is pretty annoying.
The bastard enjoyed being a demanding master as after asking Sab to drive him around, he demanded that she stay to watch a movie with him. According to him, he's bored as fuck.
Two movies later, he asked her again to drop him by in one of his bars to check what's going on. She looked like his chauffeur which just added to her irritation.
And now, Monday, she has a lot to do. She does not even know how she survived 10 hours of continuous working, but she's still alive.
It's 6 PM and she has to drop by in Kidd's house to give him his dinner. She is hoping that he's not here right now so she can just leave the dinner and go home. As soon as she arrived, she opened the gate using the passcode he provided. Why he provided her with a passcode to his house, she does not know. Maybe because it is convenient for him when he needs her to run errands for him.
Parking her car in the parking slot, she went inside the house. As expected, he is not here. She went straight to his kitchen to prepare his dinner and as soon as she saw the note on his fridge, she wanted to slam her head on the counter.
It says: 'Wait for me. I need you to help me with something.' That's what it says.
Sighing in defeat, she just prepared the dinner before going back to the living room to wait for that jerk. He's really treating her like a slave. Due to her fatigue, she does not have the energy to be annoyed at this point.
She looked at the time hoping that he will arrive earlier so she can leave, but it did not happen. She ended up waiting for about an hour before she slowly drifted to sleep.
Half an hour since Sab fell asleep, the front door opened, revealing Kidd. As soon as he stepped into his living room, he immediately saw Sab's state, sleeping soundly.
The hem of her skirt was raised a little, exposing her thighs. Kidd immediately looked away and ended up looking at her face. She must be really tired to fall asleep like this. It made Kidd guilty because she had to spend her weekends attending to whatever he demands. Did she stay behind because of the note he left? The idea made him guilty.
Sighing, he walked away, going upstairs to get a blanket for her. As soon as she is covered up, he walked into his kitchen to see the food she brought for him. It feels a bit lonely to eat alone as if he is looking for a companion and he is reminded of someone sleeping in his living room.
Shaking his head, he continued to eat in silence. It's a nuisance to not be able to use his two hands, but there's nothing he can do. If he can use his hands right now, he would have carried her to his guest room. But this reminds him, he has been using his guest room as another walk-in closet since the one he has right now is full. All his coat and shoe collection can't fit inside, so that's not fit to be a guest room anymore. It's not like he has guests staying over anyway.
After eating, he was left with nothing to do except take a shower, got dressed comfortably, and walked around while stealing glances at the sleeping woman. He thought she would have woken up anytime soon, but it did not happen. It's already midnight and she's still sleeping soundly. Her dress is not comfortable to sleep on and even though his sofa is quite spacious, it's not a proper bed to sleep on.
Half an hour past midnight, she stirred from her sleep, groaning a little.
"The sleeping beauty is awake." He said while remained sitting on his couch.
Sab tried to process where she is and was reminded that she only meant to stay here until Kidd arrives to finish whatever he needs her to do.
"Sorry, I fell asleep." Her eyes darted to the blanket placed on her. This made her appreciate it. At least, he's thoughtful enough to let her borrow a blanket. "Oh shit." She muttered while looking at her wristwatch. It past midnight. "I have to go now. I'll drop by to finish whatever you need help with."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"I know you need me to do something, but can't it wait till tomorrow? It's - "
"That's not what I meant, Doc. It's past midnight, you can't be thinking of driving at this hour, do you?"
Sab was silent for a moment, trying to process his words.
"I can drive just fine."
"It wouldn't hurt you to stay here. I don't want to be blamed if you get into an accident. I'd like to have my conscience clean, thank you very much."
"That's fine, I am used to driving at night and - "
"Are you seriously going to continue arguing with me about this? If so, I can argue with you until dawn."
Sab thought for a moment and acknowledged that he might just do it. The argument is going to be pointless and she might not admit this, but he has a point. It's almost 1 AM. If they are going to argue for hours, both of them will lack sleep.
"Fine." She conceded making him smirk in victory. "Let me borrow this blanket while I sleep here."
"You're not serious, are you? That couch is not comfortable to sleep on. I'd get back pains if I sleep there."
"I am the one who's going to sleep here, not you. Besides, you are too tall to sleep on this couch, not for me. This is enough." She fired back.
"I am going to turn off the air condition here in the living room, so you can't sleep here. You sleep on the bed."
Sab can't help but roll her eyes at him. Turns out he's just conserving his electricity consumption that's why he doesn't want her to sleep in the living room.
"Alright, where should I sleep?"
"Upstairs."
"Fine, lead the way."
He stood up and walked towards the stairs leading to the second floor. Sab expected him to let her use the room next to his room but she's surprised that he opened his room instead before signaling her to walk inside. But she didn't. She stood there looking at him with a confused expression.
"This is your room." She said.
"No shit, Sherlock." He answered.
"I thought you will lead me to where I am going to sleep tonight."
"What do you think I am doing right now?" She looked into his eyes to see if he was joking or anything of the sort but judging from his expression, he is dead serious.
"Alright, then where are you going to sleep?" Sab won't believe that he's the type to give up his comfort out of care especially not to her. They've done nothing but diss and annoy each other since they met. For him to suddenly be a gentleman, that's impossible.
"Isn't it obvious? In my room, of course!"
"Wait, we're going to sleep in the same room?!"
"And in the same bed." He smirks devilishly at her, slightly bowing down closer to her blushing face.
Sab is sure as hell that she's blushing. She expected anything but this.
"You can't be serious."
"I am dead serious. Or wait! Are you afraid of me taking advantage of you while you sleep on my bed? Don't worry about it, I doubt I'd ever be tempted in doing that. To be honest, I should be the one who should be worried. After all, I'm defenseless if you decide to molest me while I sleep."
Sab just gaped at him, shocked. She can't believe he has the guts to say that to her! How dare he?! How dare he?!
Smirking in another victory, he walked inside while laughing loudly.
"You're hopeless and conceited." She said as soon as she closed the door. Her earlier tension was replaced with anger and exasperation.
"Before you go to sleep, go take a shower first. You stink." He said while scrunching his nose at her.
Sab grabbed the pillow from the couch and threw it at him. He just laughed even though he was hit.
"Go take a shower but before you do so, let me get clothes you can change into." He said before getting one of his white shirts and sports shorts she could use.
As soon as he gave it to her, Sab walked towards the bathroom, stomping his feet in irritation.
"Make sure to get rid of your smell properly!" Kidd shouted before he could close the door of the bathroom.
"Fuck off!" She shouted back before slamming the door shut making Kidd laugh. It's always entertaining to see her get annoyed.
While she showers, Kidd decided to take the left side of the bed so he could avoid getting his injured hand bumping into her. It didn't take 15 minutes before she walked out of the shower, dressed ridiculously.
His white shirt is too big for her, reaching almost her mid-thigh which makes it looked like she's not wearing shorts at all. Looking carefully, she noticed the sports shorts he provided is on her hand.
"Wait, why didn't you wear the shorts I provided? Don't tell you're - "
"Take your mind off the gutter, idiot. I am wearing my undershorts." Sab feels like she needs to tell him because she's sure he's thinking she has nothing except for her undies. That made her blush for some reason.
"I thought it was your way of seducing me."
The glare she gave him is deadly.
"Better go to sleep. You kept me awake more than necessary." He said before laying down and closed his eyes.
Without choice, she took the space next to him and laid down as well. The blanket smells just like him and this makes her nervous. Why was she in this situation again? She doesn't want to think about it.
With that in mind, she drifted off to sleep. While she's sleeping soundly, Kidd remained awake unable to shake off the presence of the woman right next to him. It was around 2 AM before he finds himself drifting off to sleep.