===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Koala, it's too damn early for your interrogation." Sab said as soon as she saw her best friend walked into her office.
"It is not. The earlier this will be dealt with, the better."
To be honest, Sab prefers to avoid this topic. Last night drained all energy she has. Just thinking about it is giving her a headache.
"We argued. That's about it."
"I bet you said something rude to him again. Your tongue knows no bounds when you're pissed off." Okay, that hit the mark. Sab doesn't want to admit it but she was pretty harsh when she was answering him last night.
"Alright, maybe I was, but I was just telling him that it's none of his business."
"What made you pissed off anyway?" This is the most important question that needs to be answered. What made Sab pissed off?
Thinking about it again, Sab can't help but groan. After arriving home, she had the time to cool her head, and slowly, a lot of things came to her mind. It was nervewracking.
"Well?" Koala pushed for answers. Sometimes, Sab needed to be pestered for answers, lest she will never deal with it. She's a psychologist who often deals with people's problems, but when it comes to her own, she avoids it as much as possible.
"Nothing."
"It can't be nothing. Sab, you were immature which isn't like you. In the years that I've known you, this is the first time that someone affected you this way. Whatever he said can't be nothing for you to react that way."
Sab remained silent. As much as possible, she doesn't want to admit this.
"You're the type of person that turns mean when you are upset about something. The problem is you won't even say why you are upset in the first place!"
"Maybe I am! So what?! What happened already happened. Let's leave it at that!"
"Leave it at that? Sab, you're running away. You're running away from what you are feeling. You always tell your patients ways to deal with issues and you're doing the opposite! Why don't you start admitting your feelings for Kidd, huh?"
"I have nothing but dislike for that bastard!"
"Dislike? If you dislike him, you wouldn't be feeling upset right now. You won't even bother to do the house chores for him. You won't bother being upset about whatever he said. Admit it. You're attracted to him!"
"No, I am not. That's just your illusion."
"Really, now? I don't think so."
"I told you, I am not." Sab insisted.
"Alright, fine. You're saying you're not attracted to him, but my question remains the same. What made you upset last night?" Koala gave up insisting on her question. Maybe this is not the right time. The time is not ripe yet, this is still in the denial stage for Sab. And for Kidd as well.
Sab groaned while burying her head with her hand.
"I don't know." She said, feeling defeated.
"You know, you have to stop being mean to Kidd. At least for once, try to be civil with each other. The more I look at the two of you, the more I am convinced that the sexual tension is thickening every second." This earned a glare from Sab which Koala just shrugged off. "Glare all you want, but that's how everyone sees it. If you won't accept it and want to avoid it, fine. That's your discretion, but mark my words, it will come knocking back one of these days."
That was Koala's sentence before leaving the office - leaving Sab with a lot of to think of.
As soon as she left the office, she called Killer.
"So, how did it go?" He asks.
"Still in denial, but at least I left her with something to ponder on. And on your side?"
"Oh, same shit. Let's just look forward to this weekend. It will be a blast."
Both of them are anticipating what will happen. Koala was shocked when Killer told her that they are friends with Luffia. And that's when she was able to connect dots.
It's as if heavens willed it for Luffia to pick the most brilliant idea of the century. That is to hook them up. Judging from how the two of them are still acting, this weekend may not go as smoothly as they want to, but what all of them are hoping for is progress. Yes, they need progress.
God knows how frustrating for all of them to see the sexual tension in the air.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Stop giving me that look." Kidd growled at Killer.
"After what happened last night, you know I can't."
"That's rich coming from you given that you treated my bar like a damn hotel."
"Yeah, yeah. While you and Doc Sab are cockblockers." Hearing the name made Kidd moody.
"Seriously, what happened last night. I've never seen the two of you argue like that."
"Don't ask me. It was her!"
"I bet you told her something that pissed her off." Killer said.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, I just told her that she doesn't need to do the chores anymore. Then, I told her to stay out of trouble because they are planning to visit the other bar to do whatever shitty investigation they are doing."
Killer is not a love guru, but it seems that there was a miscommunication there. He just can't point it out.
"You know, Kidd..." He starts with a serious tone. "Your sexual tension last night is thicker than ours." Killer expected Kidd to deny it but he did not. He remained silent as if contemplating his statement. "Maybe it's time to admit that you are attracted to her."
"What the hell are you saying?"
"Admit it or not, you like her. You won't react like this if you weren't."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Maybe you should consider asking her out."
"After what happened last night? I doubt it." That made Kidd's mood turn sour. "Besides, you know I don't date."
"Yes, you don't but that's because you haven't found the right person to date. Come on, Kidd. Maybe it's time to get past the stage of your trust issues." Killer is threading a very sensitive topic, but he has to do this. "If you don't make your move, someone will. Sab is a great catch and if you keep on denying that you like and refuses to make a move, don't blame me if one day you will find her dating someone else instead of you."
That hit Kidd harder than he thought. Just the thought of it makes him angry. And this is not jealousy! Okay, maybe a bit. Maybe he likes her more than he wants to admit.
But this dating idea has never been his thing. It involves commitment and trust. Kidd knows himself better than anyone else. He knows his tendencies to be possessive. He knows that once he gives in, he will give his all. It's all or nothing and that scares him.
And what's scarier is the fact that deep inside him, he knows that he is threading the path - the path to give in to his feelings for the blond doctor.
He'd like to avoid it as much as possible, however, given the current circumstances, he might not have a chance to avoid anything. It will come knocking at his door sooner or later.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Ann can't help but give her twin sister a side glance during their breakfast. Last night, she was drinking water when Sab arrived home, looking exhausted and stressed out. The older brunette wanted to ask her if she's alright but prevented herself from asking.
Sab is not the type to tell her anyone anything, especially if the incident causing her stress is still fresh.
At breakfast, she looks like she's still feeling stressed.
"Are you okay, Sab?" The question did not come from Ann. It came from Luffia instead.
"Yeah, I am fine. Don't worry about it." That was her usual answer which could mean that she does not need help. Regardless if she doesn't want help, the least Ann could do is to ensure that they won't be doing anything to add to her stress.
Her worry did not lessen even when she's busy catching up with the pending work she left when she was on a vacation. After lunch, she decided to call Luffia to say that she's dropping by.
When she arrived, she saw Sab in there for practice. Seeing how she performed in the simple maneuvers confirms that she's not doing alright. Whatever happened last night is still affecting her.
"Lu..." Ann called out to their youngest sister. "Could you not proceed with your plan this weekend?"
"Huh? Do you mean to cancel the party? But I already told my friends that there will be a party!" Ann figures that it will be inconvenient to cancel the party since most of Luffia's friends are looking forward to the party.
"You can continue the party. What I mean is that you should halt your plans to try to hook Sab with Jaggy." Ann is pretty sure that Sab will not appreciate it if Luffia were to do something like that. Maybe she will be forgiving on normal days, but not right now as far as what Ann can see.
"It will be alright! Shishishi!" That was Luffia's answer before leaving Ann to go do something fun. The eldest sister can only sigh. As her eyes landed on Zoro, she thought of something. "Zoro!" She called out.
Hearing his name, Zoro immediately looked to whoever called him and saw Ann walking towards him.
"Can't you do something about her?" She asked without hesitation.
"Luffia? What did she do this time?" This is not an uncommon occurrence. Most of the time, if Luffia doesn't listen, the twins will immediately seek Zoro to straighten her up. She usually listens to Zoro.
"Talk Luffia out of her plans to hook Kidd and Sab."
"Oh, that. I don't think you need to worry about that plan. It's a good one if you ask me." This shocked Ann. Hearing Zoro agreeing to this idea is shocking because he is not the type to adhere to this kind of idea.
"What do you mean it's a good idea?"
"For once, Luffia is doing something quite right."
"No. No. You don't understand. Sab looks stressed about something. Going through that plan is not good."
"Ok, don't get me wrong. At first, I disagreed on that idea but, after Killer told me that Kidd and Sab knew each other, I think it might not be a bad idea." Zoro shrugged.
"They know each other? How?" As far as Ann is concerned, Sab never knew Kidd and vice versa.
"I am not the best guy to tell you the details, but from what I've heard, they knew each other. You might want to ask Law about it since he knew more than I do. He agrees, too, by the way."
With that information, Ann just nodded while frowning.
"Law is upstairs in Chopper's office. You can go to him." Zoro added.
It's a good thing that Law is here. It will make things easier. Navigating her way to Chopper's office, true to what Zoro said, he is there, discussing something to Chopper.
"Ann! Hi!" Chopper immediately greeted.
"Someone is back from the honeymoon, I see..." His greeting is making Ann roll her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hey, Chopper. Could I borrow Law for a bit?"
"Sure. We are mostly done, anyway." The younger doctor smiled. That's what Ann needed to hear before dragging Law out of Chopper's office.
"Oi! What's with you?" Ann did not answer but continued to drag him towards the meeting room nearby. "What's going on?"
"Tell me about Kidd and Sab." There's no point in beating around the bush.
"Oh~ I see what you're getting on now." One look from Ann, Law immediately sighed in defeat. Ann wants a direct answer. "Fine. You must be worried about Luffia's plan to hook them up. You don't. They need to hook up. The sexual tension is too much when the two of them are together."
"Sab and Kidd?!" It was surprising. For some reason, Ann can't imagine how the two of them have sexual tension between them.
"Sab was the one who injured Kidd, by the way. And she's been doing household chores for him for a week." This made Ann gaped. "Yeah, I know. As per Killer, Kidd never let anyone in his house aside from a very few people."
"So, you're telling me that Kidd let Sab in his house?"
"Yes. Exactly. And he even gave her the passcode."
"Wait, how do you know these things?" She never knew that Law can be a gossiper. Since when?
"If you're telling me that I gossip around, please don't. Killer is the gossiper here. He created a group chat with me and Zoro so he can tell all the details between Sab and Kidd."
Okay, that was kind of unexpected. Three tall and well-built guys in one group chat just to talk about their friend's love life - Ann did not expect this at all. She thought only women do this, apparently, guys do it too.
"If Zoro is in that chat, why is he not saying anything? He even told me to go to you!"
"Please, that neanderthal doesn't backread conversations. Plus, he's always with Luffia and is rarely looking at his phone. The only time he uses it is to call Luffia." Yes, Ann can imagine that.
"Alright. Tell me, does Kidd - "
"Nope!" Law interrupted. "He doesn't know that Sab is Luffia's sister. Luffia doesn't know that both of them know each other, so we might want to keep it like that. Wouldn't it be entertaining to see their reactions this weekend?"
Ann sometimes forgets that Law can be devious. But she agrees. Now that she knew this information, it doesn't sound so bad at all. It looks like Sab will be in one hell of a situation.
"As interesting as this is, I am still skeptical. Sab looks stressed since last night."
"That's because she and Kidd were in an argument. According to Killer, Sab and Kidd were in a heated argument last night." So, that's why Sab was so stressed.
"How will Luffia hook them up, though?"
"Beats me. Knowing Luffia, she will just lock them in a bedroom for a week until they hook up." Ann winces a little at that idea. Yes, knowing Luffia, she might just do that.
While Law and Ann are talking upstairs about the instigator, said instigator received a call from Koala.
"Hi, Koala!" She greeted. Although it is rare for Koala to call Luffia, she just did not question it. Maybe Koala wants to ask her a favor.
"Hello, Luffia! how have you been doing?"
"Doing well! We're here in Sunny Building to practice. Isn't that great?"
"Is Sab with you?"
"Yes, but she's on the field. Her practice records are not doing great." Luffia said. It is rare for Sab to make mistakes during their practice. Maybe she's not feeling well. Speaking of Sab... "Oh! Oh! Koala! I have something to tell you!" Luffia ran towards the corner to avoid anyone hearing the conversation.
"What is it?"
"I am going to introduce Sab to my friend! Then hook them up! It's great, isn't it? Shishishi!" For Luffia, this idea is the greatest idea of the century.
"That seems to be a great idea! When are you going to introduce them?" Koala's definitely smiling from ear to ear this time. She called Luffia to ask about that party which she heard from Killer. Hearing the whole coincidence is just so damn funny. What a small world, indeed. Who could have thought that Luffia and Kidd are friends? Koala did not expect that.
"This weekend. Do you want to join?"
"Of course, I'd love to!" This is Koala's goal. She figures that Sab might not invite her to this party, so, she needs to think of ways how to attend this weekend party. No one in their right mind wants to miss the scene where Sab and Kidd meet again.
"Great! I'll see you this weekend!"
"By the way, how exactly are you going to hook them up? I am curious."
"Lock them in Sab's bedroom, of course!" There was a silence that followed after that statement before Koala burst out laughing.
"I don't think that will work very well. You know, I have an idea. Why don't we do this..." Then Koala proceeds in providing her cliche idea to Luffia who was listening very intently. She looks like she is trying to hear a plan that could cost her life.
The conversation continued for a few minutes and as Koala gives all her ideas, Luffia's smile turned bigger and bigger.
"What do you think?"
"I love it! Let's do that!"
Luffia's mood remained brighter than ever after that conversation with Koala. Even when they were decorating the house for the party.
It's Saturday morning and she asked Sab to help decorate the pool area with balloons. There are letter balloons read as "JAGGY".
Right now, there are about 20 people attending the party. The whole Straw Hats will be present as well as Luffia's other friends.
Sanji will be in charge of the food, so they won't have to worry about cooking for a lot of people. He knows how much the sisters can eat, so he'll probably cook dishes that can accommodate twice the number of attendees.
"I can't wait for the party~~~" Luffia was singing out of tune while fixing the decorations. Sab had never seen her sister this excited for a party.
What is there to be excited about?
"Come on, Sab! Get dressed! Get dressed! It's a pool party! You have to wear a swimsuit!" Luffia was shouting at Sab after they finished the decoration.
"I know it's a pool party but I am don't plan to take a dip in the pool." Sab reasoned out. She was planning to greet Luffia's friends before finding her chance to go back to her bedroom and sleep.
"NOOO! It's a pool party! You have to!" Luffia insisted with a pout that made Sab hesitate. No one can say no to her when she insists like this.
"Fine! Fine!" That was her answer before going upstairs to change. Ann was already in her swimsuit. It was a two-piece bikini, but she wore denim shorts on. Sab followed the same thing. She chose a blue string type of bikini.
As soon as she's done, she went downstairs where she saw Marco with Ann, Nami with Sanji, Robin with Franky, Usopp with Kaya, and Luffia with Zoro. She never hated being single but this time, she despises it because she's the only one who doesn't have a partner while all of them are flaunting their partners right in front of her.
"Someone feels lonely." Sab looked at the newly arrived Law, who's wearing comfortable khaki shorts and white shirt.
"Same to you." She said. He only answered with a very meaningful smirk that made Sab suspicious. Seeing Law with that kind of smirk is dangerous.
"Hi, everyone!" The greetings surprised Sab because she did not expect Koala to be at this party at all.
"What are you doing here?"
"Koala! Hello!" Luffia ran to hug Koala which is kind of suspicious. As far as Sab is concerned, Koala and Luffia are not that close with each other. How come they are acting so friendly now?
Ding dong! Ding dong!
As soon as the doorbell rang, Luffia's eyes immediately lit up.
"It must be Jaggy!" Luffia ran so fast to get to the gate. Shrugging off her attitude, Sab looked at Ann who was looking at Sab. For a while now, Sab feels like all eyes are on her, but it must be her imagination.
Ignoring her tingling instincts, she decided to start a conversation with Kaya who is also a doctor.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"I don't know what's the big deal about throwing a party just because my arm sling was officially taken off." Kidd grumbled while driving on his way to Luffia's house. He's never been there because he's not the type to visit people's houses. The houses he's been in was Killer's and Zoro's.
"This is Luffia we are talking about. She will throw a party every chance she got. Besides, it's not like you will be troubled about this party." Yeah, no trouble at all... Killer thought to himself.
It didn't take that long for them to arrive at their destination. Killer rang the doorbell to the house. It's fairly large, but that's to be expected since there are three people living here as far as Kidd knows.
Luffia opened the gate so Kidd can park his car. As soon as he got out, he noticed a very familiar car beside his. He frowns.
"Kidd, is something wrong?" Killer asks.
"No, it's nothing." Kidd said. The car just reminded him of Sab, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
"Jaggy! HI!" Luffia is already dressed for the pool party. Bikini top paired with cotton summer shorts.
"You're so damn noisy." That was Kidd's usual greeting.
"Come on! Come on! Let's get inside!" Luffia literally dragged Kidd inside the house. He did not even have time to look around since Luffia dragged him towards the bathroom. "Get dressed! It won't be a pool party if you are not going to swim!" She said before pushing Kidd inside the bathroom.
The red-haired man can only roll his eyes at Luffia's antics, but it's not like he has any choice. He quickly got dressed in a swim short that cuts right in the middle of his thigh paired with a tank top.
He was surprised to see Luffia right when he opened the door of the bathroom.
"Come on! I'll introduce you to my sister! Let's go!" Again, Kidd was dragged towards the pool area of the house. There are a lot of people already but he can't greet them properly because Luffia dragged him towards the pool area where there are three women standing while conversing with one another.
"Sab! Meet Jaggy!" Luffia literally pushed Kidd in front of Sab. Now, they are standing a few feet apart while staring at each other wide-eyed. "Jaggy, this is my elder sister, Sab! She's the one I was talking about!" Luffia moved away from Kidd so she's standing beside the two of them.
Sab can't even process everything right now. Her mind short-circuited. What was Luffia's introduction again? This man is Jaggy? But why? How? How is this possible? Meeting him now after that shouting incident is just embarrassing. She's not prepared to meet him again, not when her mind has not settled down.
Kidd is in no better state. Both of them looked like they had seen a ghost. It hasn't been three days since their heated argument and here he is, finding himself in front of her. He was very determined to avoid her at any cost - to run away from thinking about their situation, but here he is, a few feet away from her. His eyes can't help but roam around her body. Damn it. It's very distracting.
Deciding to avert his eyes away from Sab, it landed on Killer's. His traitorous friend only smirked at him, so as Law who is beside Killer. They were giving him a thumbs-up sign. What's worse is that Zoro even joined in. Damn them.
Sab, on the other hand, looked at Koala who was covering her mouth - looking as if she was shocked. Yeah, right. As if that acting will work on Sab. Koala knew that Kidd will be here. She knew that Jaggy is Kidd. What a traitor.
"Why are you not shaking hands?" Luffia asked innocently while expecting the two of them to greet each other. "Shake hands!"
The two of them look like they don't know what to do. Here they are, not knowing how to react to this sudden meeting, then there's Luffia who wants them to shake hands? What is the world coming to?!
"Uhh..." Sab cannot form a proper sentence right now.
Feeling impatient, Luffia grabbed their hands and clasped them together. This made Sab and Kidd looked at each other again.
"This is how you shake hands!" Luffia scolded the two of them.
While the two of them are lost in their world on what to do with the situation, Killer, Zoro, and Law are trying to contain their laughter. The whole situation is funny. Even Ann can't help but blush while trying not to laugh. She hid behind Marco to hide her laughter. Now, she knows why Zoro and Law are giving Luffia the go signal.
Koala, on the other hand, was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. Seeing Luffia clasping their hands together looks like a priest during a wedding ceremony.
"Since Jaggy is here, let's get the pool party started!" Luffia shouted before her hands moved fast enough to push Kidd and Sab in the swimming pool.
"Wha- Luffia - " Sab can't form a sentence before she finds herself in the pool area.
There was a splash of water before the people around started shouting 'OOOHHH' as if to signal the party to start before all of them dived in the water, splashing it everywhere.
Sab can only close her eyes as she felt the water spattered on her face and eyes. Finding her bearings, she failed to notice the person right behind him. Her back made contact with his sturdy chest.
Thump... Thump... There it is again, her heart beating erratically. She is being desperate right now. She can't look at her back for fear of facing him. As her eyes landed on Koala's she can only see nothing but amusement in her smile.
I will kill you.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
AN: I planned to drag the meeting to the next chapter, but I have to get past this arc so I can continue with the other arcs. Still have a lot to write, but look forward to it!