Oof, oof. This was supposed to be up a few weeks ago but I got caught on the last two scenes. They just wouldn't come out how I wanted them to, no matter how much I rewrote or rephrased them. Even now, I'm not entirely sure about them. I ended up deciding to take a break from it- since I'm actually doing Summer Classes right now so I'm busy- and then, I made the mistake of getting interested (again) in Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.
It's bad guys.
I didn't like it when I was younger cause I don't like all the death but- now. I have 5 chapters of a fic (admittedly, poorly put together, I'll probably rewrite and edit them 'cause it's bothering me) that I don't even know if I'm gonna post. AaAAgh. So much for a break! (It has actually helped. I think I just needed to focus on something else for awhile.) And working on the second chapter of a My Hero/BNHA fic that I'd had planned for awhile. Hopefully, if I do decide to post them, they won't take away from this fics update schedule.
Anyways, I got some awesome reviews on the last chapter and this fic is officially caught up (to Chapter 13) on AO3. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
She's screaming.
Quinn can't exactly blame her, fingers twitching away from her arm. Trying to not let her voice waver with tension as she says, "Are you sure you want me to do this? I mean, I know first aid, technically, but it's not as if I'm certified or anything… And this is very, very, very different compared to that."
She'd taken a first aid and CPR class for extra credit, though it hadn't gone anywhere, not even a potential addition to her resume, not as old as it was. Even then, the class was getting vague and she'd never gone and taken a renewal course. And they didn't exactly cover things like dislocations- it was unimportant compared to bleeding, shock, and respiratory problems. You know, more immediate and deadly emergencies.
(Quinn didn't say that it was also taken because she was worried for her abuela's health. The woman was getting older in years when she'd decided to take it and a younger teenaged-her naively thought she could prevent the inevitable.)
A messed up arm didn't qualify.
In fact, if she was remembering correctly, they'd specifically said to not try and fix a dislocation because it could end up doing more harm than good, especially if they didn't leave it up to a professional. Keh, which she certainly was not, and she very much didn't want to do this. It didn't help that they were in a boat. Shaky and unsteady, at least it hid the shaking of her own hands.
But Salt was insisting despite Quinn very calmly trying to explain to her why it was a bad idea.
Okay, that was a lie. She wasn't explaining it calmly per se.
...She was just arguing with her.
Quinn felt her eyes flash and spark with annoyance, "If I make it worse, you're not allowed to sue me."
That certainly gets Salt giving her a weak laugh. For some reason, the annoyance sparks up again. "G-Geez, the bartender was right. You really are an ex-noble!"
Ah, so that's why.
There goes all her apprehension for this situation, gone- right out the window.
"Alright then. On one, two, and-"
"You're an ex-noble?"
She doesn't go through with it.
"No!" She grimaces at the suggestion, already whipping around to deny. And can't help but feel bad when Kat, who was already jumpy, seemed to turn even more skittish. She sighs, rubbing her temples. "Damn it, don't bring it up. That bartender was just jumping to conclusions." Quinn didn't even want to think about it.
"Heh, worried about being sued at a time like this," Salt chortles like she finds it funny, "what else would you be?" Salt's aware that she's a little out of her mind right now. Can't even tell if she's whimpering or giggling and it's why she doesn't feel the slightest bit intimidated by Quinn's normally effective glare.
"That is… unless you want me to break it?"
She does manage to stop after that fact though.
And Quinn takes a deep breath to actually start eyeing the… uh, wrong arm. It was intimidating. If it wasn't for Salts insistence that someone take up the mantle to help, she wouldn't even be thinking about touching it. Instead, now she had to figure out how the hell she was going to reasonably go about this. And Kat was no help. Finding himself oddly squeamish-
"Ew, ew, ew. It would be better if it was an open wound but that's just g-gro-oss looking!"
"Ahaha, thanks! Really helpful!"
"A-Ah, I mean- That is to say-"
"Don't worry about it, Kat," Quinn muttered, "you did your part already."
-he just couldn't work himself to even look in her direction for longer than a few seconds, now that he was starting to lose all the pent up adrenaline that'd been keeping him going, he could only stick out his scarred tongue in disgust before looking away. Then rinse and repeat. Enough times that it was starting to turn more comedic than concerning.
"You better be sure about this. I'm not exactly qualified." Quinn warns. Again.
It's Salt's turn to be annoyed, gritting her teeth. "Already- guh. Already better than what we'd have to beg for. I'm not-" She yelps at her prodding touch, tears already streaming down her face. "I'm not askin' my sister to beg for me."
Quinn grimaces.
Attempting to ignore the fretting and, growing increasingly, panicked Kat hovering over her shoulder. The boy was very out of his depth right now and his stress was starting to seep out and make her feel stressed. And none of them needed the calm one to lose grip right now- "The hell? What does that mean?!"
Augh, he just shouted in her ear!
"The factory has a-"
Quinn stares at her arm for a long, hard moment. Gently placing her hands on the place that she thought was right and would, at the very least, bring her the most images. Drawing up images and media of people fixing dislocations and hoping that they were at least semi-accurate.
"-vice-grip on all this kind of stuff. Doctors, medicine, other things, sure, but mostly food. If- If you want anything outside of what they'd… gurgh, deigned to give you," she says that last part sarcastically. It falters when her eyes flick to Quinn's hands with a tad of nervousness. She's, as gently as one can, trying to roll it into a better place, attempting to realign the socket with just how it feels beneath her fingers. The raspy breath in response tells her that it's already incredibly painful, but then again she was assuming that it would be. "A-And they'll make you b-beg for it. Why do y-you think people leave? I'm not going to… not gonna make my sister beg on my behalf. I'm not putting her through tha- YEEARGHH?!"
Kat bites his tongue in his shock, "Oh shi-!"
Quinn lifts her unsteady hands off her arm carefully. It's popped back into place, she thinks. Salt had paused to look away for just a second and that's when she'd known to jump on the opportunity. It'd made an uncomfortable sound that was, thankfully, not so loud that she was worried that she'd completely messed it up. But she's too anxious to really let her worries stop. "Does that feel right?"
Unfortunately, Salt doesn't answer.
It takes her another minute to realize that it's because she's passed out.
"Oh, that's probably not a good reaction…"
Kat pales.
"W-W-Why would you do it so suddenly like that?" He sputters with a heavy heart, utterly confused.
And she's more confused about why that's his takeaway.
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Quinn is already scavenging around for something to make a sling out of, or at least wrap around the arm to keep it from falling back out. "Do it when they're not expecting it? Takes away all the fear and anticipation, right?"
"B-B-Bu-"
Kat raises a finger but can't even disagree with that logic. He opens and closes his mouth.
He deflates.
"...Did you do it right?"
She considers the question realistically. And begrudgingly has to admit, "Probably not," but, then again, she'd made many warnings about her lack of skill. And experience. So Salt would really only have herself to blame if it didn't turn out okay. "But… it looks good enough for now." She squints. She didn't want to even touch her anymore, it'd only make it worse if she tried to overwork it or fix mistakes where she didn't know the problem was. "Can you help me make a sling?"
Kat is, of course, all about that.
It's a wonder watching him immediately jump to attention and start digging through all their things. Kat was a little too eager to please. And she wasn't sure if that was worrisome or something to be grateful for.
He eventually pulls out a small and old-looking vest and asks, "Will this work-?"
Quinn frowns. "Isn't that one of your…?" She doesn't finish the question before narrowing her eyes, hands on her hips, scowling. "Why would you want to give that up?" More like, be willing to. "You're the kind of person who's so nice that other people like to step all over you, aren't you?"
"I don't know what you mean?"
And that was answer enough.
He scratches the side of his face, careful of his gils. And is pointedly trying to not make eye contact with her, blush creeping over his cheeks. She can guess why- it's not something that they'd discussed, or even brought up. Not even once. And Quinn was sure the only reason she'd made the connection was because she'd recognized the bits of it peeking out from under his muscle shirt. Of course she would. She was already entirely aware of what it could be, other than just being another layer that he'd added on.
(She wasn't sure if Ace noticed. Or was even aware of it as a concept… Probably not. And she didn't think he would care beyond thinking it a little interesting.)
Which is why it alarmed her somewhat to see him offering it, especially since she knew that Kat did not have the same opportunity as everyone else to have nice things on his island.
"Well, I mean, the canvas in it might help, you know, to keep it supported? And we can cut and tie it like a sling, so it-"
"That's too important for you to just ruin." Quinn immediately cuts into the little bit of logic.
He perks up. "Im-Important?" And he smiles in a sort of shy and hidden way that tells her that he had been slightly expecting her to either snap at him or be utterly ignorant to what it was. The realization that she wasn't going to fall into either category had him feeling a little warm and fuzzy on the inside- but that may be because of internal bleeding, he doesn't know. He still insists, though, "I- I have extra? I mean, the one I'm wearing right now."
No. No, no. That definitely won't do. She wasn't letting him even think about sacrificing something like that, especially when he had so few. "I'd rather use one of my own sleeves. We'll find something else, so you can put it away and…?"
Oh.
She can't help but trail off.
Quinn hums, staring at him from the corner of her eye. It has him nervous all of a sudden.
"Hey, when you jumped in the boat… you were holding your ribs, weren't you?"
"Geh!"
Ah, he got caught.
Kat whines. It worsens at the almost maternal glare that he gets from her and the exasperated, "Kat…"
"Yeah, I know. Mom." He adds on snidely. Not thinking.
It takes him a second.
When Kat registers what he'd said, he quickly covers his mouth. "A-Ah, w-wait-" He didn't mean to say that out loud. "N-No, that was- I didn't mean to- Oh, oh no-!" Yes, sure, Ace had essentially told him to start treating her more like a friend, more like how he did, but Kat wasn't a fool! That wasn't how pirate crews worked- there was honor and seniority and- She was his superior and he shouldn't be talking back to her, he- he was horrified! "I-I'm sorry- I didn't-?!"
S-She's laughing. Why is she laughing?
"Kehehe~!" Admittedly, it's just a quiet chortle. And she's not even looking at him to notice that he was even panicking over the little sarcastic slip-up. "So long as you're being safe, call me whatever you want."
She… doesn't care.
Not at all.
He suddenly feels very stupid for assuming otherwise because… Ace was right. It was Quinn. She wasn't the type of person to care about that sort of thing- she didn't seem to care about anything! Well, unless it was trying to kill her. Or them. Mostly if it's trying to kill them.
...Honestly, it's probably because it's always them trying to kill them.
Kat wipes his forearm furiously across his face. Ah, he was definitely feeling all warm and fuzzy inside because of how happy he was. "O-Okay," he… um, well, he tries to hide the stars in his eyes. "B-But I don't like taking it off in public 'cause people will notice and I don't-?"
"Here. This is big enough on you that it'll hide everything."
That's why she bought it. So she could disappear into it.
Kat watches as she hands him her jacket. Completely without a moment of thought or hesitation. And he tries not to feel like his heart is bursting in his chest just because of it- It's a simple gesture. It probably doesn't mean anything to her.
But for someone who'd spent so long without a kind gesture sent his way…
It- he feels his lips quirk into a deeper smile -reminds him of the comfort the piece of fabric had brought to him while they were searching for their way to find Ace on Sixis. Like a hug that wasn't going to go away. No matter how hesitating it'd felt that first time. "T-Thanks."
"No problem." She turns around so he can change, covering Salt's face in case she wakes up, unaware of him biting his tongue and feeling fee~lings. "There's gotta be something here that'll work…"
He winces as he removes his shirt and the piece underneath. Even as he gingerly peels it off he can feel his ribs ache and the realization that his breathing was even more labored than he'd first thought has him mentally thanking Quinn in his head that she'd been knowledgeable enough to remind him to remove it. The adrenaline and bruising had made him forget himself for a moment and now his bones could sigh in relief.
Kat prods the soreness. At least they're not broken.
He's quickly tossing his shirt back on and zipping up Quinn's jacket, just as Quinn raises up a white shirt and says- "Ah-ha!"
Thankfully, she doesn't have to use her sleeves. For that, Quinn sighs in relief. It'd felt like her heart was bound to stop at the uncomfortable thought of taking them off in public. They, instead, pull the white old t-shirt out from the bottom of her bag, discovering a supportive band that runs along the stomach that would be more helpful compared to any loose fabric that they'd have to tighten. Odd. She didn't even recognize it.
Quinn flipped it over-
Oh, it was one of Roddie's, no wonder.
She rolls her eyes at the crossed out Marine symbol on the back. She must've grabbed it by accident when Ace and her had been running from Garp. Well, it's going to get cut now.
Kat watches with fascination over her shoulder as she pulls out her scissors from her sewing kit and carefully ties the sling in place on Salt's arm. The girl doesn't even twitch in her state. Quinn frowns and double knots it just in case. It would be short if she was any taller but, given her already kinda small-for-her-age size, it was good enough to work. She'd take the small win.
He, in looking at Salt, he can't help but feel bad. It wasn't his fault. He knew that much. She wasn't his responsibility and the Mime had gone out of his way to hurt her. But he felt like- he felt like he could've done more. That he could've figured out what to do and, maybe not… defeated the Mime, but at least kept other people from getting hurt.
If… If it had been Quinn there, or even Ace, though him getting hurt like that was admittedly much harder to imagine, especially after seeing the gunshot go… straight through him, he- Uh, he didn't know what he would've done.
He just doesn't like the thought of either of them getting hurt.
Not when he could've prevented it.
"What's wrong?"
He feels his teeth drag over his tongue and looks away. "N-Nothing…"
It's an obvious lie. Quinn notices immediately and raises a brow. "You sure about that?"
"I- You probably don't want to hear it." He laughs a little nervously. "It's stupid."
She frowns. "You know, somehow I don't think it is." He's got a weird and uncomfortable look on his face, and something tells her that it's got something to do with the attack. It- She's probably biting off more than she can chew once again, she wasn't good at this sort of thing- the whole 'offering a shoulder to cry on department'. But, then again, she couldn't just not help him out. "Or do you just not want to talk about it? 'Cause that would be excellent also-"
Was she trying to get out of it? Yes.
"N-No. That's not it. I trust you."
Does she now feel bad? Also yes.
Quinn smiles in another direction, just so he doesn't see it. The guilt outweighing the- huh?
She blinks a bit in her surprise.
He… trusts her?
That's… nice to know.
"But, well," he refuses to make eye contact, too busy rubbing the back of his neck, "Ace said that it's better to keep your emotions to yourself."
Quinn's expression flatlines.
"...Please, never listen to Ace's advice ever again."
Kat laughs.
"Why? Don't you do it?"
Oh, ouch. Kat, don't call her out like that.
She can't even try to deny it. "Well, I mean, yes. But that doesn't mean it's… good…" She tries to tell him, feeling very uncomfortable saying it because she really isn't one to talk, shoulders coming up to hug her neck as she hunches over and puts all her things away. "And Ace shouldn't be doing it either."
He's not convinced. Which, admittedly, she finds fair.
Quinn is of the firm belief and knowledge that instructions like that are… very, very dumb.
And unhealthy. But that was more a fact than opinion.
(Oh, she's aware that she's being hypocritical, she's self-aware enough to know that easily enough. She just doesn't care. Because she's always been a person that is very much one to swallow everything down and keep it all bottled up and, should anything start to seep out, that's when she got another bottle and more duct tape to keep the first one sealed for sure.)
(Yes, it's bad. She knows.)
(She also knows that bottles can burst.)
Kat doesn't seem to believe her. And he doesn't say it out loud, so she can't exactly know what to say to convince him. As far as he's concerned, he hasn't seen anything telling him otherwise. Well, maybe the stressful feeling starting to build up and the tension in his shoulders but- eh. That's probably because of something else and not the fact that he was still currently losing his mind over the Mime- and Salt's arm- and, wow, he suddenly remembered that he'd left Cona behind and, oh god, what if she dies, it would've been his fault and-
Kat grins, tries to hide the tension in his cheeks, and chirps, "It's manly!"
"Uh-huh, sure is."
Okay, the sarcasm is strong in this one.
"Hey! It is…" he trails off, and Quinn knows a conflicted and suddenly questioning look when she sees one. "Isn't it?"
"I'm not a man, so I wouldn't know. You can figure that out yourself." Kat frowns, well, that's unhelpful. She notices the look and laughs under her breath. Oh, she's going to be a little manipulative here, isn't she? She is. Quinn taps her lips, as if in thought, and offers him a smile, "I don't know, but I've always thought that it was much more manly to always be true to your feelings. Everything else just seems unmanly in comparison." And- Blegh. It sounds like she's spouting some motivational garbage from some promotional advertisement aimed at kids in the hopes of making a quick buck.
So, like- something from Disney.
Unfortunately, she also knows that she's right- even if she would never be able to follow her own advice.
Quinn shrugs. "But that's just me. You can do whatever you want."
She turns around to find Kat giving her words more thought than she figured he would. The boy crossing his arms over his chest and lips pursed in what she thinks is him being thoughtful, until he perks up and says: "Should I tell Ace that you don't think he's manly?"
"Oh god, no."
Yikes. That would be a mess just waiting to happen.
He'd start going out of his way to prove her wrong.
And Quinn didn't want to imagine the hijinks he'd get up to.
Kat tries to hide it but he's laughing at her reaction. "Hm, I guess then…" He eventually stops at her unimpressed look and rubs the back of his neck in a spot of embarrassment. "...I can let you know if there's anything bothering me?" He tentatively tries. "I m-mean, it that's not too much, if it is I c-can just-"
"Hah? Isn't that what I was offering?"
"Well, I wasn't sure if you were serious-"
"I wouldn't say it if I wasn't serious." She pauses. "No, actually, that's a lie. I would probably say it if I didn't mean it. But I'm being serious this time, if that helps." Quinn tucks her things away and pulls her bag over her shoulder, pointing ahead before he can say anything more, in the direction the ship had been steadily drifting since they left. "Now might not be a good time though- we're almost there."
He looks up.
…
…
Hunting Chang.
They pulled the boat onto the grey and muddy sands, trying to ignore the fact that they were slipping and sinking everywhere they stepped. The only thing keeping them from going down was their hold on the ship itself, but even that was starting to lose effect. "Damn, you're the lucky one right now, Salt…" Quinn muttered at the still unconscious girl, they'd had to leave her at the bottom of the boat for the moment. "...Any idea where we're going?"
It gets a shake of the head.
Nope, nada, not a clue from either of them. She figured as much but it still didn't stop her from groaning and rubbing her face. "Yeah, okay then. Great." They're getting looks from people that can see them from the main town and she glares until they look away. "Let's grab her and see if we can figure out where to drop her off and find Ace."
If he was even here.
"She said she had a sister, didn't she? We can find her."
"Hopefully…"
Quinn wasn't too optimistic that they'd be able to locate them.
There were a lot of people here from the looks of it. As bright as Ace was, finding one person in all of the crowd seemed like it was going to be more of a chore; especially if they're looking for someone they don't know the name of and don't know the look of- in regards to Salt's sister. Finding directions to a doctors office seemed much easier. Then again, given what Salt had said about the, um… begging, she wasn't so sure about any of it anymore. Damn it.
"Geez, we need like… a tracker for Ace or something. I don't want to spend days looking for him again…"
And she'd told him not to make them look again. Ugh.
She'd do it, sure. But she wasn't gonna be happy about it.
"I've got Salt!" Kat chirped and carefully hefted her onto one arm, shaking his head when Quinn went to offer her help. "Don't worry, I can take care of her by myself. I carried her all the way here anyway-" He stops short and looks around her.
She follows his gaze.
Quinn makes a face.
They were being approached.
Glaring doesn't seem to be turning them back so, instead, she welcomes them with a raised brow. Pretending like her fingers aren't inching into her bag, finding the hilt of her new (and freshly stolen back from Cona) knife. It's a motion that has her twitching in surprise over herself, actually. It feels more unexpected than it should. After the fiasco that was the Mime about to… about to kill her-
And she knew that that was what it had been. About to happen, she means. There was something like her stomach dropping and the death that creeped slow in a startling manner. It was more terrifying than she'd thought it'd be, in that moment.
Distantly, she wonders why. Because the thought of death had never really scared her before. Not so… viscerally.
Quinn bites her lip and stops before it breaks open the scab and starts to bleed.
-It made her more paranoid. More tense. It definitely wasn't fair to the man coming down to greet them but Quinn couldn't bring herself to care or feel bad.
Even as he timidly gets closer to them, even if he's likely just another person of the town and not a threat. An older gentleman with short, grey hair that may be natural actually and not the result of age, a thin figure tucked into a blue dress shirt and a suspendered suit that was just slightly too big for him, all pulled together by a bright yellow bow tie. A large pair of frames sit across the bridge of his nose, which he was nervously pushing back up, "Um… Ex- Excuse me…?"
All in all.
He looked like a nerd.
Or a teenager going to his first ever job interview, not realizing that he was completely overdressed for the occasion.
"Oh, hey! I like your bowtie-!"
She drops the knife. And wants to giggle at Kat but manages to keep it together, eyes flashing at his presence with a cold look- albeit utterly amused, breaking whatever tension was over her. "Can we help you…?"
"Tiberius." He fills in quickly. Nervously. His loafers are sinking into the muck. "And yes! Actually, um." His eyes flicker between them and he swallows, gaze eventually zeroing in on Salt's hanging head. "May I ask, w-why are you with Miss Salt? Is she… Is she…" He flinches at the sight of her arm. It's looking more normal than it was before but it was definitely starting to turn a gross yellow and purple color, much like Quinn's face. "...okay?"
Quinn raises a brow. "...Miss Salt?"
"We're gonna take her to her sister!"
"Oh!" Tiberius is… well, neither of them can tell exactly. There's a spot of relief that crosses over his face and something else that they can't put their finger on. He fixes his glasses, it disappears. "O-Oh, then- then whom might you be? I'm sorry but… I know everyone in this town and I'm rather certain that I've never seen either of you here before. Are- re you newcomers from Starving? We can get you set up in the factory as soon as possible, we always need new workers-"
They both scowl.
He notices, turns sweaty. "O-O-Or are you someone else-?"
"We're pirates, we're not supposed to work for others…"
Kat's muttering under his breath gives them away and Quinn watches him turn pale faced and squeak. "Look, Tibby-"
"U-Um, i-it's Tiberius."
"Whatever. You seem to know… Miss Salt and her sister," he confirms the unspoken question with a shaky and reluctant nod, "and seeing that she's currently indisposed and, as you've pointed out, we've never been here, we don't know where she could live. So, how about you lead us big and scary pirates where we need to go and we won't do the things typically associated with piracy."
Oh, it's an empty threat and an empty promise. She probably doesn't even need to do it anyways but watching his soul try to leave his body is the tiny bit that almost has her scary-facade breaking into laughter.
"Y-Yeah, okay," his voice cracks, "I can do that!"
Kat taps her on the shoulder. "Was that really necessary?"
"...No. Fun? Yes!" He shoots her a raised look and all she can do is shrug. "Kehehe~!"
They let the skittish Tiberius lead them into town, catching him mouthing 'help me' at a few people who took one look at them and ignored the group. Ah, yes, the power of carrying an unconscious child over one's arm, the intimidating duo they cut was only missing the addition of their local fire-hazard.
Speaking of Ace…
Tiberius brought them up to a small house. The door was strangely wide open and Kat had them walking inside before she could check that it was even the right place, watching Tiberius run off as soon as they turned their backs and… ugh. She wasn't going to chase him or anything, rolling her eyes as he went jogging around a corner and out of sight.
She jumps as Kat hisses at her under his breath, looking too delighted and too amused for his own good. "Pst, psst… Quinn, get over here…!"
"Ah."
She let her eyes drift up. Unable to keep her lips from spreading into a smile, though she tried- she really did. But- Ace, he-
She snorts.
And it's what has their Captain looking up, and ooh~ He's embarrassed!
"Keheheh," she was almost purring, the teasing lilt of her voice making his cheeks flush an even deeper shade of pink, "That's a cute look on you, Princess."
It's not everyday that you discover your Captain, sitting criss-cross applesauce, covered in glitter and a pink robe with a fake tiara on his head, sitting across from a just adorable little girl pouring fake-tea, and-
He sputters.
Oh, this makes up for everything!
Unfortunately, it's a short lived movement.
Because the little girl looks up to see their out-of-it companion and her voice cracks with a sudden wetness, "...Salt?"
-0-
Ace found that a little girl trying to stomp on his toes was surprisingly hilarious.
Said little girl found it rather infuriating.
Especially since he wasn't even letting her think she could hit him, moving his feet out of the way each time.
"Hey, get back here and take it!" Pepper stomped harder with each new attempt, face screwing up. "No! No way, nuh-uh! You're not allowed! He's not joinin' anyone's crew!" Ace laughing at her expense definitely wasn't helping. But there's just so much pent up offense in her tiny six year old body that he half expects her ears to start whistling and that image, coupled with the growing redness in her face, was something he couldn't help but to laugh at.
"Chehaha, why not?"
"He's mine!"
Ace just laughs harder.
"So…" Spice steps back to lean against the wall by the window, arms crossed over his chest, "Who is he?"
Cinnamon has to cover her mouth to hide her smile as Pepper turns to her, as if to ask for help, before realizing that she was much too amused to even consider it. Cheeks puffing and tongue sticking out before turning back to the young cowboy with even more fury in her steps. He'd let her get just close enough that she thinks she might be getting somewhere before being completely sidestepped and swept under foot, the cowboy hoping a few paces further and leading her around in a wide circle.
It has her laying her elbows on the sil, head in her hands.
"Portgas D. Ace. A Pirate Caption."
"Pirate, huh…?"
She trusted her brother and who he willingly chose to associate with. He was strong enough to protect them and himself from most, sure, but he was a good enough judge of character that she knew he wouldn't even think about bringing anybody worrisome to their home. Still. A pirate. It was certainly out of the ordinary, they didn't get many of those.
"If he's the Captain, where's the rest of them?"
"Said something about Starving. I wasn't paying all that much attention."
"...Should I be worried?"
"No, he's harmless." The pause after he says that is certainly brow raising. "For the most part, don't let him near anything flammable." That only leads to her wanting to ask more questions. She doesn't, he's not done. "He's got two crewmates from the sounds of it. A man and a woman."
"A pretty lady?!"
He stared at her, amusement palpable, even from just the side eye.
Cinnamon coughs into her shoulder and shakes off the starry eyes she'd developed, she… may have perked up a bit too quickly there. "R-Right, um. Ignore that." He doesn't say anything but she can tell from that look. "Ignore that!" Thankfully, he only spares a few more seconds before going back to watching Ace lead Pepper in circles. She grumbles, leaning back onto the sil. "...He wants you to join his crew." She says it quietly, matter of factly.
"He does."
"And you're thinking about it."
She tells him. It's not a question.
The amused look disappears. His expression turned flat and neutral and she met it with her own, unimpressed one. "No. Such thoughts are not to be entertained."
She purses her lips.
"What-? Cin. Be pragmatic."
"I didn't say anything!"
But, oh. She knows that he's interested. The sea is a place that they'd never realistically entertained, it was a fantasy that their mother told stories about from her time there. When the pirate age didn't exist and Pirate Kings and Government weren't as strong- weren't as bloodied and desperate.
Momma rolls over in her sleep.
She glances back and can't help her small grimace.
Those stories seem so far away now. "But… if I was to say something," she watches him twitch and frown, "it would be that you shouldn't get rid of every possibility that might come your way. Besides… he looks like he'd be a fun Captain to have. And we both know you already like him."
It turns to a scowl. It's slight but it's there.
"No, I don't."
So stubborn, her stupid brother.
"Sure you do! You wouldn't have brought him back if you didn't!"
They're interrupted by Pepper howling and diving to tackle Ace's legs out from under him. It ends with him simply hopping over her, leaving only the ground beneath her and a face full of dirt in waiting. He has the decency to at least wince at the incredible fail. "Y-You…" She whips up, wiping at her face furiously and he makes a face at the sight of tears springing to her eyes. "You're not allowed to s-steal my brother!"
Ah, she's about to start crying, isn't she?
Ace opens his mouth to-
And gets interrupted. "Hey, how about we put a pause on the roughhousing for today? Pepper's certainly covered in enough dirt as is." Oh, it's everywhere on her sister. Under her nails, caking her cheeks, and it's all muddy too considering the downpour over the last few days. "Come inside. You too, Mister Cowboy!"
He seems surprised as she waves him over, then delighted when she adds: "We've got snacks!"
Spice stills.
"That may not be such a good idea-"
"Thank you for your hospitality!"
He hangs his head. This isn't going to be good for the fullness of their cupboards.
Oh, Spice. He doesn't know how right he is.
…
…
"...Why didn't you tell me he was a blackhole…?!"
"I tried."
"...You can't just say you tried! You barely did- Oh, Ace, are you done already? I must say that with you around we'll never have to worry about not having cleaned plates!"
Ace doesn't notice the dimple on her cheek twitching as she chirps with too much enthusiasm for someone who is internally mourning the empty shelves and kitchen cabinets of her home. All that food, all that food gone- the only solace she had was that at least it didn't go to waste.
What Ace can't help but take notice of is that all their snacks seem to be something from a giant forest bug, fruit and berries and mushrooms that he recognized as being forest dwelling species and, on the rare occasion, something more like what he's used to- crocodile, fish, or tiger. All of it was something that could be found or scavenged from the forest and he wonders how much Spice must sail over to Nest to collect it all.
The large backpack he'd been lugging around suddenly makes more sense.
Cinnamon comes out of sobbing in her head to notice his curiosity, and what's caused it. "Ah, yeah. None of us work for the factory so we don't get rations like the rest of the people here and, since we don't work, we don't make enough money to buy anything from the shops which have to pay…" She raises her hand far above her head. "...incredibly high taxes in order to stay running. Everything is just- expensive. So Spice goes and hunts for us at Nest and, I mean, sometimes I join him but bugs are-"
She shivers.
"Gross."
Ace snickers, "If they're gross, how do you eat them?"
"I can handle them dead. But when they're alive and they're crawling around… with all their legs… Augh!" She hugs herself, turning paler and paler with just the thought. "I can't do it!"
It was just too much to handle. All the legs, the creepy monster-like walking, the eyes, and the weird itchy feeling that only appears when one was crawling across her skin- Yeek. Just thinking about it had her stomach turning over. The only bright side about Nest, since they were so impossibly huge, she never had to worry about not being able to tell where they were. It was the only good thing about the massive size, all the better to avoid them.
"Chehaha-" Ace turns to Spice. "-what about you then?"
He's got his own look of semi-disgust that mirrors his sisters, all wrapped up into one virtually blank package. "...Icky."
It has him cracking up even more. "But it's good though, right?"
"After we're done cooking it! We can make anything taste good," and she's being a braggart even though she knows that Spice probably bragged enough for both of them but, hell, if it isn't her turn to stick her nose in the air. "There's nothing that stands a chance against our skills!"
Ace is immediately interested and doesn't even try to hide it. "Oh, you're a chef too?!"
Cinnamon practically preens.
"Bet on it. Learned everything we knew from our mother, the best chef this world has ever seen!"
Spice looks to the ceiling. It doesn't take a genius to figure out he was annoyed. "...You don't need to tell him that."
"Shoot. I can tell him whatever I want."
"But it's not important."
"And, as i've said… I can say what I want…"
Oh, they can both already feel the argument coming on. Cin's side eye is strong from immense practice and Spice's hasn't gone a single day without use. They stare until both their lips press into a thin line. He doesn't like it when she overshares and she doesn't like it when he interrupts her.
"You don't need to mention it-"
"Don't tell me what to do-"
"Just stop and-"
"Maybe if I could finish my thought then I'd have time to listen to you-"
Ace watches the back and forth and feels his eyes light up as it just devolves into harsh whispering that he can't barely make heads or tails of. It's not the same sort of arguing that Luffy and himself would get up to- oh, they were much more verbal and prone to fists, especially if it was something silly -but it's funny watching other siblings get into it. "You guys are a riot!"
They both open their mouths to argue against that claim but don't get a chance as-
"I'm all clean now!"
It's Pepper. Coming rushing in from washing up with bare feet and still glistening with water, wrapped up in a, now damp, dress that's long enough that it's beginning to trip up her every step. "Can you tie it for me?!" Ace blinks as she shaves past his leg to turn her back on her brother, not even waiting for an answer. "I can't reach it."
Spice lets out a sigh. Familiar to Ace in a way he can relate, something tells him that Pepper does this a lot. And he can just barely hear him mumble a quiet and almost indecipherably soft, "Why do you always choose this one? You know it's too long for you… pass the ribbon here." Fingers carefully start tying the bow at her back, bunching up the back so the bottom hem didn't quite get caught on her toes. At least, not as badly.
"'Cause it's the prettiest!"
As if on cue, Cinnamon chirps, "Aw, such a pretty girl~!"
Pepper flushes. "Sto~op," she whines, "you have to say that- you're my sister! You always tell me and every girl you see that we're pretty!"
"That's because every girl is a pretty girl!"
She's about to say something, cheeks red, but her eyes flicker and catch sight of Ace and she lets out a sudden and angry puff of air. "Wait- what's he still doin' here?!"
"Be nice-"
That gets a stuck out tongue.
Spice pinches it and Pepper shrieks. "HEY?! T-That's not fair-!"
"Then don't do it."
She glares at him from the corner of her eye- it's nowhere near as effective as her siblings -and holds her mouth.
Ace cackles. Something certainly tells him that she doesn't like him all that much. "Chehaha, okay, okay," Ace crouches closer to her height, arms hooking around his knees so he could thread his fingers together and offer her a bow of his head. To be better at playing polite seeing as, if he did it standing up, he seriously doubted she'd even be able to see it. As tiny as she was. It was a stark contrast to her much, much taller than average siblings. And she'd probably see it as him mocking her. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, it would be most kind if you would allow me to accept your siblings' offer to enter your home."
Huh. Ace couldn't help it, staring at her, wondering if Luffy was ever as small as she was.
It was hard to remember a time when his brother was a seven year old, even if he had been tiny compared to a ten year old Ace, it's hard to actually- think that his brother had ever been such a small person. Ace couldn't even imagine himself being that small, ever, in his whole life. It was weird.
But- eh, whatever. Trying to recall just draws up blanks and he barely reminds himself to pull out of his thoughts so he can offer her what he wants to be, at least, a pleasant smile. Because it wouldn't do to have her, who is undoubtedly a beloved sibling of his future crewmate, hate him. "Is that alright with you?"
Now, Pepper is six.
Everything she sees is very much through a child's eyes. Every person she'd ever gotten to meet in her whole six years of life were often fleeting strangers or the friends she played with when they weren't having to run off to the factory or sick in bed from injuries they'd sustained from it or worse. Most people were hardly staples to her life, outside her immediate family, and having siblings were, well… they don't exactly take the time to think about their youngests opinion when they already decided on something.
Which was fair, it was hard for them. She understood, even as a six year old, that she shouldn't get up to too much trouble that would cause them to stress. It was just hard sometimes. She tried talking to Momma about it but she'd never gotten any words out of her… just grumbles.
Sometimes she wished Momma hadn't had to change.
She missed hearing her sing and speak.
(But that was selfish, wasn't it? Pepper didn't want to be selfish and Momma was still there, just like she'd promised.)
(...She just didn't like it when she would sometimes hear Cin cry at night.)
So when Ace did two things that she had never even known she wanted, erm, well, Pepper felt her feet get absolutely swept out from under her.
First, he let himself drop down to her level and actually asked for her opinion- not only her opinion, but her permission! Nobody ever thought to ask her what she wanted! N-Not about serious things! It was like she was an adult and not the lame kind. The lame kind were always telling her, 'oh, don't go roll in that dirt' or 'Pep, you can't just go tell strangers that their hair sucks' and- and- She liked dirt, thank you very much! And people's hair here always sucked, it was like they never thought to put any care into it at all.
The second thing Ace did was… well.
Be unaware of himself.
Because, unfortunately, that meant that, when Ace smiled charmingly at her, she was completely unprepared for it and was immediately disarmed.
-What? The majority of people she's met in her life had been from around the island. This is the first time she's met an honest to god newcomer and... Okay.
Look. Ace is already much more attractive than a large percentage of the world's population. Seventeen year old Ace is boyishly handsome in a way that already usually had people enchanted and thinking; cute, pretty, or about how drop-dead he'll be in a few years. And all of that was without him trying to be or- or even really being aware that he was good-looking.
A kid, with him actively trying to get them to like him, really stood no chance.
But Pepper was a trooper and toughed it out.
It didn't stop her face from heating up in a mixture of sudden shyness and embarrassment all rolled into one unnecessarily neat package as she buried her face in her brother's leg as soon as he was done tying the back of her dress together, not knowing why all her anger and fury had suddenly evaporated. Seemingly into thin air. "M-Maybe I'll forgive you for tryin' to steal my brother… if… if…" She inches further and further behind said-brother's leg. "...if you let me do your hair!" She blurts.
Oh, well, Ace blinks, he can agree to that easily enough. "It's only fair?"
There's guffawing.
Spice deadpans at her. But she- she's dying- Trying desperately to keep it all inside and stop b-but- one look at her sister has it erupting again. "Get the camera, get the camera, get the camera," she hisses into his ear, ignoring Ace's confusion, "this is a scrapbook opportunity!" It's hardly helped her in her attempt at smothering her laugh and elbowing Spice just has him stepping back and utterly bemused.
"What for?" He whispers back.
He doesn't know why they're whispering. Ace and Pepper can both definitely hear them. Pepper even squeals a quiet "nooooo" into his pant leg. Looking mortified at the suggestion.
She drags him away, so they can't hear. "I can see the title now: Pepper's First Crush!"
"She's six." Cinnamon pointedly looks at their flustered sister then back at him. Spice makes a face. "...I'm sure she has better taste than that."
Ace doesn't hear what they're saying but he just got the feeling he was being dissed.
"Just do it."
Cinnamon's not leaving him any room for argument.
He catches the tailend of Spice muttering something under his breath as he's being ushered off, "...At least I hope she has better taste…"
Well, that tells him nothing.
Pepper's sputtering certainly doesn't help to clear it up and before he can even think to ask she's clasping his hand and dragging him away. "C-Come on, I'll s-show you m-my salon!" To which he raises both his eyebrows and follows her into probably the largest room in the entire house, directly opposite to the kitchen, and to a small with an old mirror set up on the wall, a pillow, and a tall stool that Pepper immediately hops onto. "Take a seat!"
Somewhat bewilder. He does.
And suddenly she's chattering about hair and this and that and asking questions about products Ace doesn't even recognize the name of and has absolutely no idea how to answer over half of them- I don't know. I don't know. I just use whatever bar of soap I have?" Apparently that's the wrong answer because Pepper looks a little like she's dying on the inside at the response.
He doesn't know why, that's not weird is it?
"Okay! Okay! Stay here. I can work with this, I think!" She squeaks and hops off her stool. It's not long that he has to wait before she's skipping back into the room. "I hope you don't mind if Momma joins us. She likes meeting new people!"
He blinks, turns around.
"Don't care."
Ace expects to see an older woman looking much the same as the rest of her children, as they are all clearly related that he doesn't think adoption is exactly in the cards. What he instead finds as Pepper comes bustling in with her arms full is a small Basset hound with stubby legs wandering at her heel.
He opens his mouth.
Cin and Spice magically appear in the doorway, a scrapbook and camera in each of their respective arms, and glares just challenging him to say anything.
Ace closes his mouth.
…
…
Look, even Ace doesn't know how this happened.
The only thing he knows is that it's getting harder and harder to keep his suffering inside. A twitching mess that looks ready to take off running or light himself on fire, the latter of which would be all too easy. Ace feels his eye twitch continuously, to the point that it was getting irritating.
While Cinnamon and Spice watch from across the room and-
Damn it!
Really-?! A camera-!
"Is… Is this really necessary?"
One minute he was letting the kid play around with his hair, she'd admittedly done an amazing job, taking out the braids and redoing them into three on each side before pinning them back with a pair of clips with whales on them. There were a number of sprays and things that had him coughing or his eyes watering and the air smelling like a conglomeration of flowers, thankfully she'd stopped once she'd noticed his face. It wasn't a look he'd ever imagined for himself and it felt weird to not have his bangsobscuring his vision- however slight it usually did.
And then she'd pulled out glitter and it all went downhill from there.
"It matches your freckles! Mine too!"
Was her only excuse.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
"Yes." Spice deadpanned and- wow. He was really going to town with the pictures. Ace felt his eye twitch. Shit. There was glitter in his eye. "You know, I've never seen a pretty pirate before."
Ace opens his mouth-
"Don't look at the camera."
He looks away, but it's not long before he's struggling to not glance back.
Spice is deeply amused and keeps snapping pictures. The polaroids then get handed to Cinnamon and waved in the air until they come out. Before Spice is grunting and muttering an annoyed, "Oh, I can do better than that," and starting the process all over again. Ace feels his back straighten uncomfortably every time he hears it click.
"Why do you even have that anyway?"
He shrugs.
And Cinnamon answers for him: "He uses it to document recipes, he's working on a cookbook!"
"You don't have to tell him that."
Ace sighs as they start arguing under their breath again. Pepper hums like she doesn't even hear them as she, in her face tiara, stuffed animals at her side, starts brewing the imaginary tea for all of them. Handing Ace a china plate covered in small, finger foods that were, at the very least, real. He stuffed them into his face.
Not acknowledging the small whines and paw placed on his knee, the old dog's crying for food. And if he looks away he won't break to the teary, round eyes.
"Hey, so, uh…" The dog grumbles and huff at him and the paw starts to press down harder and harder with each snack that he devours. Ace pointedly stares in the other direction. Spices and Cinnamon's eyes sharpen and tell him that he should choose his next words carefully. "What's with your…" He struggles for a second, glancing between the dog and Spice before settling on a strange sounding, "...mother?"
It's hardly a word in his vernacular, he doesn't even think he's ever used it in his life. And applying it to a dog just throws him for a loop.
It does have Spice relaxing though.
Pepper perks up. "That's our Momma!"
"Uh-huh. Sure." Ace nods slowly. "Um, you're aware she's… a dog, right?"
She's organizing her teacups when her cheeks puff out. Funny, neither Spice or Cinnamon try to speak up to clear up the matter. In fact, he glances back over his shoulder, both are suddenly very interested in sticking their noses in Cinnamon's scrapbook. "Oh, right," her expression sours and, for a moment, her little crush on him disappears to be replaced with a flat tone of voice, "Are you gonna make fun of me? You are, aren't you?"
Over his shoulder, Spice holds up a picture of him and tears it in half. One of his brows raised in a threat that has a shiver running up his back.
"No, no, of course not."
He drops the photo and goes back to staring at the scrapbook.
"Why would I do that?"
It's not like this whole thing is weird or anything.
Pepper pretends like the assurance doesn't have her crush coming back in full force. "M-Momma… wasn't always our Momma!" She scratches the dog behind its ear. "It's because Momma promised to always watch over us and this was the only way she knew how to."
"Ah, I see. I see."
He does not see.
When she looks away he turns to the older siblings and mouths, "For real?"
Both huff out a sigh through their noses, oddly in sync, and shake their heads.
Ah, so it's just her then.
That- at least- makes more sense then all of them believing it.
Pepper hugs the dog and, for a six year old, her eyes turn sad and soft in a way that really doesn't suit her face. "Momma... kept getting sick. Ever since she had me." Her voice is quiet and pitched in a way that sounds like she's trying not to cry and Ace quickly raises both his hands in surrender because he really didn't need to know. Not if it affected her like that. "S-So she had to go away but she promised that she'd still watch over us and- and our dog- Momma- was the only one here that's always been with us. SO- um- So she has to be a dog now, you know?"
He has to fight off the urge to tell her- no, no that's not right. But something tells him that Spice wouldn't appreciate him breaking his little sister's heart.
"Well! Enough of that," Cinnamon slams her scrapbook shut with a loud slap of the pages. "That really is saying way too much. So how about we go and get some actual tea started!"
"Erm, can I…?"
They shoot him hard smiles. "How about you watch each other for just a moment, we'll be right back!"
He opens his mouth to say, uh, no, thank you, he'll be okay doing… anything else. But doesn't get the chance before Pepper is chirping, she was shaking off the bout of sadness without even a second to recompose herself, like she'd done it before, "Okay! I can watch him for you guys!" And Ace has never deflated so fast in his entire life.
"I don't think she meant-"
Spice interrupts on his way out. "No. Pep is right. We mostly meant for her to watch you."
Ace raises a finger in offense.
They're gone before they really see it.
And he sags into his seat, figuring that he might as well hang around until they get back. Playing Pepper's little game and trying to keep his confusion and bemusement off his face. He only partially succeeded.
It would've all been fine, too.
If it wasn't for Kat and Quinn walking in.
Kat was open mouthed and staring and very, very obviously delighted by the entire sight. But Quinn- O-Oh, Quinn was who he really didn't want to see him like this. There was just something inevitable about it however and- and...
Ace felt himself turn hot in mortification.
She was openly laughing. Eyes lit up so brightly and already- yeesh, that was fast -teasing him before she was even done cackling at his display. "T-That's a cute look on you, Princess!" And wow, does his face heat up fast at that comment.
"SH-SHUT UP!"
If anything, it just makes her laugh harder, to the point she was holding her stomach.
He sputters.
Then Pepper looks up, confusion palpable, until it all comes crashing down with the sight of the girl slung over Kat's shoulder, her voice cracks with tears, "...Salt?"
And Spice and Cinnamon walk in to see the commotion.
-0-
There was a time where she thought she was strong.
It wasn't very long ago.
Naively, she thought that, if she just tried hard enough, she could be as big and strong as her brother. As her sister. That once she had the chance to prove herself- she could do anything.
And she had begged him, just begged, for Spice to take her to Nest- to let her fight and do her part. So she could be the one to help and not just- Not just the one that could read manuals before she could talk, who could look at a device and see a puzzle to be solved, and solve it. She could fix the oven if it broke down, could fix any device she got her hands on, but that didn't mean anything.
Not when he was so far ahead of her.
"Augh-!"
It doesn't work out the way she imagined.
She gets hurt and Spice has to save her. He doesn't even use his sword to do it, just kicks the baby mantis with his heel, and drops down in front of her. "I see that you were just going to lay there and take another hit."
Salt grits her teeth.
"Nothing that practice won't fix. I can-"
"What does it matter-? I'm useless."
"You're not useless, you're just bad at things." He paused, realizing how that was not helping. How it'd sounded. "Bad at this."
The look he gets tells him exactly what she thinks of that.
"I should just give up… I can't do anything right."
"Mn, yes, with that attitude."
Salt snorts, "Oh, please, we've been at this for hours, I haven't done anything but get in your way." She can't hear his thoughts as he turns to gaze around the forest, otherwise she would hear him fail to figure out how many hours, how many days and nights, he'd spent on Nest. He couldn't even remember his first day on the island, not anymore. It was sometime when he was young and his sword had been an impossible weight on his shoulders.
"To give up so soon, how are we related…?"
"All I'm good for is- is being a cheap mechanic."
"Now that's not true. You're hardly cheap."
"I'm being serious."
"So am I." Oh, she's going to shout his ear off later, that's for sure. Spice sighs. "So you're not good at this. That doesn't matter." She doesn't believe him and it has him rubbing his forehead and falling on one knee to help her up. "It's just not your thing. That doesn't mean you're useless, you know that, right?"
"Doesn't it?"
"You wouldn't go up to the baker down the street and tell them that they're useless for baking bread all day, would you?"
It's rhetorical but she still answers, "...No."
"There you go."
And that's that, or at least, Spice assumes so, dragging Salt to her feet. Her grip on his hand remains tight as he goes to pull away and she's… gritting her teeth. "But… you're strong, you don't… you don't know what it's like. To see you an' Cin do everything while I'm… stuck at home watching Pepper."
He frowns.
"...Do you really think that I was never your age?"
Her face sours. "There's people getting hurt or dying every other day because of the factory and we… None of what we do to help them matters. Because the factory is still going to be there at the end of the day." There was a time, when she was trying to figure out the inner workings of an oven, that she had gone to one of their neighbors houses and discovered theirs broken. It'd had a couple wires burn and had only taken her an hour to fix after digging around for parts to replace it with. It hadn't meant anything to her but to them- it had meant everything.
And she had been so proud, so completely wrapped up in her own head, that she didn't realize that it had meant everything because the family had been using it to warm their house during the winter and couldn't afford to replace it. They're son was sick from an infection from an injury he'd gotten working at the factory and the cold, it would've killed him.
"Is that what this is about? You want to help," he rubs the side of his face, "is that why you've been going around trying to fix everything?" There was only so much she could fix before it began to become wearisome. "Have to say, I admire the tenacity. You should use it more often…"
She's got rage for miles and it's wiped from her sails with just a look.
"That's good, at least you're not weak-minded."
Salt drops her hand and kicks at the ground.
"...Look. You may not be able to lift my sword or pull a trigger on a gun. But that shouldn't matter. We're not here to solve all the world's problems."
"B-B-But- T-That-"
"If you want to help, just keep doing what you're doing. I am a chef. You are a mechanic. There's a lot you can do to just brighten someone's day." Spice smiles a little. "It means a lot to people if you just try a little."
She feels her insides curdle. Is that really it?
She didn't want to try. She just wanted to fix the problem already.
The stupid, irrational, too arrogant for her own good, part of her: it comes up with a plan to call for help. And it's a stupid dream of her made from naivete and a selfish need to try and be involved in everything.
Salt wakes up.
With those memories and thoughts playing through her mind it has her failing to register the standoff in the room, the tension as she's still stuck on Kat's shoulder and feeling nothing but shame and self-loathing. As she lifts her head to meet her brother's surprised gaze. The one she'd wanted to impress the most. "I'm sorry…" tears pricked her eyes. "I- I thought that I could do my part but I… I'm too weak to accomplish anything…!"
Spice's face turns cold with fury.
His voice doesn't shake with it but there's an edge, like a blade- and they all don't need to see him wield that sword to know that he is a swordsman. "Excuse me," he mutters, "I need to... speak with someone."
-0-
"You know, all things considered, that's actually a good look on you, and what is that-?" She tilts her head with a sniff. "Roses? You seem more like a lavender kind of guy-"
"Quinn."
She stops. Not before dragging a hand through her hair and over her face. Eyes feeling heavy. Another day and she's already much too tired. Something tells her though- between looking at Kat, who's resting on a pillow with a dog sniffing at his face, and seeing the teary-eyed Salt breaking down in the arms of her two sisters, who seemed like they were caught between worry and just straight up fury, because after the sudden rush of their brother leaving the home she was left hiccuping with breaths wet from tears -there's still a lot of time left in the day. "Sorry, sorry." She's not sorry. Quinn crosses her leg over the other and leans back against the doorframe, it presses into her bruises and brings out a low hiss that she ignores. "Just…" Ace was in a similar position across from her, trying to shed the parts of dress that Pepper had forced onto him if she could manage it. "...trying to lighten the mood, I guess. It suddenly got really drab in here…"
"Wonder why." He's got his arms crossed over his chest and a serious expression. It's ruined by the purple glitter decorating his eyelashes and cheeks in… very unsubtle ways. What? Did he get it dumped over his head? Quinn was closer in that assumption than he'd be willing to admit. "What happened there?"
He gives a nod to both Kat and Salt, the two nursing their different injuries the best way they knew how- Kat, biting his tongue, and trying to sleep it off; and Salt, crying and cursing intermittently. Ace watches Quinn grimace and her eyes flick to his face. "I…" She bites her lip, brows furrowed until it makes her forehead wrinkle and a shadow fall over her face. "...made a mistake."
The admittance is- She doesn't want to tell him.
Thankfully, or un-thankfully, it depended how she looked at it, Ace didn't say anything.
So she continues, chewing on the flesh of her lip as she does so. "To leave him by himself, I mean." Even if she's not looking at him she can still see him from her periphery, watching his expression shift to something unreadable that has her nerves fraying. "Should've been with him. He, uh, went looking for Salt and Cona while I went to get some things. Speaking of which-"
It's an awkward transition and a shockingly sudden change of subject as she quickly starts to root around her bag.
"-I got you this."
"You thought of me?"
"Yeah, of course."
He seemed surprised. And touched as he accepts the offered bag she pulled out with a small smile on his face, the paper crinkling in his grip, "What is it?"
"Smoked, spicy jerky."
It's already halfway to his mouth. "You know me so well."
It gets a roll of her eyes. "Kehehe." Ace has eaten enough, by this point, that all he can really do is chew on a few select pieces and savor the onslaught of flavors and spice threatening to burn his mouth. The best choice she could've made, he loved spicy food. It was what kept him smiling, even as Quinn drooped back onto the doorframe. "Yes, well," she was caught up in her own head again, the mime like a nightmare she was forced to remember, "as I was saying, there was a… man."
"Man?"
"A mime to be more exact."
He doesn't sound like he believes her. Which, she gets, but c'mon.
He was born into this world. He should have a good grasp on how weird it was. "I'm being serious." It only serves to further amuse him. "I met him earlier. But I didn't realize that he was looking for us. Otherwise I would've done something…"
Not that she knew what.
There were just so many things that could've gone wrong. The more she thinks about it, the more she finds. Especially if she'd been the one to get attacked first. There- There would've been no coming back from that. And, yeah, she didn't like the outcome that resulted in a beat up Kat- Salt getting hurt, however, she could stand to deal with- but a for-sure (probably) dead-her didn't sound all that great at the moment.
Quinn's lip stung and she paused in her chewing. "I- I, uh… hadn't realized. When I met him. That he was searching for us. Because, I don't know, for whatever reason, he didn't attack me. I'm not sure if it was something I said or…"
Ace snaps off a bite of jerky with a sharp tug.
"Or… my attitude…?"
Maybe it had something to do with the fact she hadn't exactly been acting like a pirate? But no, that doesn't feel quite right either.
The over the top and almost zealous application of apology and offers of kindness had felt drastically out of character. And it'd felt odd, faking a smile. Like something she'd fallen out of practice with and was only just remembering that she used to do. That explanation was far closer to the truth- she realized with a half second of surprise. There hadn't really been any need to truly fake a smile ever since she'd jumped into Ace's boat. And that was, well.
Food for thought.
It takes her another second to realize that she'd fallen silent and a silly smile had begun to stretch over her face. It gets a curious look from Ace and she snaps it to a frown just as quickly as it'd come.
"I'm not sure what it could've been. Maybe he just didn't recognize me?"
Oh, that guess is definitely not true and she knows it. It hadn't been her paranoia that drew him over to her. And her features already felt out of place without someone looking them over with a terrifyingly scrutinizing gaze. The acting is what got him to leave and- Huh. Now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't exactly been acting like a Noble either- as everyone seemed to claim she did in her spare time. Well, Salt and the bartender at least.
...Hey, so did that mean that one of them sold them out- That Bitch!
"No use thinking about it now. There's no reason to regret something you didn't even know about. I'm sure you did your best."
Oh, it's meant to reassure her. It doesn't.
Realization aside, she's got half a mind to run back to Starving to slap the woman, teeth grinding down hard together, the funny thing is, she very much doubted that she did do her best. But she doesn't know what she could've done to do any better. At least he was right about one thing- there was no use thinking about it. Not right now.
"...I was being serious, you know."
"Huh?"
"'Bout the hair." She raises her eyebrows, grin turning cheeky. "You should get me in touch with your hairdresser. If they can make you look good, I wonder what they'll do with mine. It's always been just a nightmare." She's already got her hand tangled in the wispy black mess to show it off, fingers getting stuck in the back of her ponytail. "I could stand to not include the glitter though." Quinn had once spilled a bottle in third grade and sometimes she could just swear that she was still finding it on her.
He rolls his eyes and knocks into her. She can't help but giggle. "Well, it's the kid, so good luck with that." Quinn blinks. Yeah, she can see that. The girl's got rubber bands and scrunches covering her forearms, pushed all the way up to her elbows. "I don't think she likes us- or, er, me."
Oh, Ace, hopelessly wrong. Doesn't even know it.
"What makes you say that?"
"She spent the last twenty minutes trying to kick out my shins-" He's interrupted by 'the-girl-who-doesn't-like-him' suddenly hugging his leg. They share a quick glance over her head and Ace just turns more and more awkward the longer and harder she squeezes. She doesn't seem to be stopping. "Uh?"
It's got Quinn snickering and Ace at a loss. She takes a chance to steal a bite from his bag of food. "Yes, I can certainly see how much she doesn't like you."
"Oy."
Pepper makes a noise in the back of her throat. It's the start of a word that she can't quite get up and they're forced to wait for her to work up the courage to come up with an explanation for the hug. It's got her rubbing her face and blushing up a storm of red color. "...Th…" She scuffs her feet against the ground, "...Thank you for… for bringing my sister back…"
And she was… thanking Ace.
Wow.
Quinn chews on a piece of jerky. "What are we- chopped liver?"
Kat all but groans, "No, that's cool-! I did nothing. Not like I'm nursing a couple bruised ribs over here or anything." It loses all sarcastic affect by the sight of their dog snuffling against his face and trying to lick him. He throws an arm over his face, dramatic whine bubbling out. "I'm not in pain at all!" As if on cue, his side starts to throb and it has him hissing in pain.
Pepper's blushing face doesn't calm in its redness. "B-But he's the Captain, right? Doesn't that make him your guys's boss?" And, well, it's not like she's wrong but it still has Quinn and Kat's lips pressing together in sourness. Because they can't really argue with that logic. "So that means I thank him… right?" She seems honestly confused but all Quinn can feel is like they're being sassed.
"My crew can do whatever they want." Is Ace's attempt to clarify. "Quinn and Kat can do whatever they want to. Otherwise, what kind of pirates would we be-?"
"I don't get it."
"Pirates are supposed to be free after all-"
It doesn't seem to be working. If anything, it seems to be making it worse.
That is, until the older sister, around Quinn's age, gets fed up and swipes at her head. She hits nothing but empty air but it's enough to have her squeaking and jumping away. "Pep, say thank you properly!"
"B-But I did!"
"To the pretty lady-"
Quinn pauses in her chewing and she almost instinctively looks around the room to try and figure out who she was referring to, before. "-Oh! Right. Me." That gets an amused snort from Ace over her shoulder. "Hey, how am I supposed to know-?"
"And the pretty boy!"
This time Quinn actually does. Gaze shifting between Ace and Kat. She knows it's Kat, given the context, but, she squints, it's really not a distinguishing factor. "...That could be either."
Ace gives her a flat look.
"Wha- I- Fine." Pepper huffs.
There's a determined look coming over her.
And Quinn is quick to raise both her hands, stepping away from any potential hugs that might come her way as she gets made out to be the first target, "Oh no, I don't want some pity 'thank you'." Pepper doesn't stop. "No- No! Stop it. Hey-!" Her legs get hugged. "Oh… kay… this now."
Her aversion to it must show on her face because Ace is laughing at her.
She's not really irritated.
She's just uncomfortable. And the longer Pepper holds on the more antsy she gets.
Kat comes to her rescue. And she sighs in relief as Pepper hops away, "Don't worry, I'm selfish. I'll absolutely accept any pity 'thank you's' that come my way."
He gets a pity thank you.
It's especially pitiful when Pepper figures out she can't even attempt to give him a hug. Too bruised. Instead offering a consoling pat to his shoulder. With a chirp of, "Thank you!" Even as pitiful as it is he's still got a blinding grin on.
It's the sugar on top of a burnt dish.
(He still gives her a proper hug later. When he stands. And she can tell that it has his ribs aching even though he mutters, "Worth it!")
Because it's the first thing that has Quinn relaxing, even as Ace insists that they have to go after the pissed off swordsman, and Kat begrudgingly follows, pulling his arms into her jacket and practically disappearing into the fabric.
...Then Ace sets someone on fire: "Not again!"
"Again?!"
…
…
It took all of three seconds to figure out what happened.
One, because his first instinct had been to cleave the two pirates in half at the sight of the injured and unconscious Salt hanging from their shoulders, gut feeling telling him that they- they were the ones responsible.
The second one was taken to hold himself back and realize that- no. That was wrong. (They should be relieved, he can see the sudden tension in their faces and the flicker of shock, completely unprepared.) And taking the chance to look over Salt's coming-awake form, easily enough he quickly finds her injuries. How could he not? With the color they were already festering.
The third was to take it all in.
To note that Ace had tensed and was stepping up, starting to watch his every move, wide eyed and fully aware of the sudden spike of murderous intent towards his crew. Even as it faded, he still wasn't letting up in his vigilance. Spice let himself apologize for that, if only in his head. Because it was obvious that it wasn't their fault, he recognized those bruises- the type that they were- on both his sister and the red headed gilled one, who he (correctly) assumed had stopped them from being even worse. The two pirates before him would have never been able to cause such a distinct and long handprint.
He barely registered that he'd even said anything as he left.
Only hearing the gasp of breath the two released. As the red head whisper-shouted to his companion, "I thought he was about to kill us!" Receiving a slow and unsettled nod agreeing with him.
But he's gone before he can hear any reply from their Captain, even if he feels the stormy grey eyes following him as he leaves. He sees, from the corner of his eye, the red head drop off Salt with his sisters and collapse to the floor in a heap of oversized sweatshirt. The woman watching him fall immediately turns away to greet her Captain with a tap of her fingers against the brim of his hat, a familiar gesture that brings a smile to the cowboy's face. It reminds him of how Ace had talked about them all- Spice shook his head.
There was no point in thinking about it.
Especially since, as always, the crowds part before him. And soon his house was out of sight.
At least, this time, he knew why they were avoiding him.
The aura he gives off is deadly and even if he doesn't want to give the civilians a reason to fear him, he knows that they don't like it, enough that they don't want to get in his way. Really, only an idiot would get in his way.
Unfortunately, the factory employs some rather idiotic people.
It's not good for his mood.
"Oh- Oh no, please, d-don't- Ah!"
There's a crash.
He's already on edge but it's enough to have him pausing in the middle of the street, stopping in his tracks.
And sighing.
"This man needs new material."
There's another crash.
"It's Escher- he's tearing the bakery apart-!"
"Where's Tiberius-?! He's supposed to be handling him-"
Yes, yes, he doesn't even need the context. He already knows who it is and knows why he's causing trouble. It means that Tiberius had decided that he was better off elsewhere and that actively ignoring his job was a good plan for the rest of the day, all too wrapped up in his own head to keep the man he was supposed to be watching in line. And Spice wants so badly to just keep walking. Straight to the factory, not sparing a thought to the idiotic man labeled the enforcer of the factory, one that he simply doesn't want to deal with, because he's already so angry- so filled with rage -that he knows it'll only make him worse to deal with Escher amicably.
Then again… Maybe he didn't have to be amicable this time. After all, testing his blade would grant him a momentary reprieve, wouldn't it?
He tilts his head.
It's not like he doesn't deserve it.
…
…
Escher is not… Not a good man.
If you can even call him that.
More a bastard child trapped in the too large body of something close to a sumo wrestler. His line of thinking can probably be summed up by three things: eat, fight, and fight some more. Admittedly, not the worst of things. And, for some reason, Spice thinks that may also apply to the pirate captain he'd unfortunately taken a liking to, but, er- Esher had the intelligence of a cricket, the charisma of someone that's never interacted with a real person in his life, the face of a shaved bulldog, and the emotional capacity of a pissed off pomeranian.
It's why he's kept on such a short leash by Tiberius.
That leash gets lost more often than not.
Tiberius thought himself above such a menial job and better than work in general- and all were left punished by his arrogance.
"Sourdough-! Give me sourdough-!"
He can already hear the bellowing, the voice dripping with pulled syllables and a dullness only brought on by a lack of thoughts as he demands food. He gets what he wants, takes a bite, and, as always, he tosses it aside.
"Not good enough!"
Some part of Spice shrivels up and dies at the sight of the mutilated bread, cast aside on the floor.
His mutter is low. "The flour, the water, the yeast… that cost more than a family makes in a week under the factory." He clicks his tongue, voice slow and steady and deceptively small and left unnoticed by the bumbling man almost twice his height. "Have you no respect? Have you no honor? Have you no… appreciation for the hand that feeds you?"
He knows the answer already, it's all very much rhetorical.
It's a wonder how none of them have noticed him yet. How Escher continues to berate the baker and toss things around without a care. Two windows have already been broken, so has a table, and the kitchen is in such a state of disarray that it would bring shame to any chef that let it get to such a point- and the baker is looking shamefaced and horrified to match it, even though it's clearly not his fault. His livelihood desecrated in mere minutes.
Spice feels the rage slide over him in waves, it's cool and calm and-
He wanted to slam his sword into Escher's ribcage.
Absolutely murderous.
"Make more! And make it good this time!"
"R-Right away!"
Even the pirate captain had finished his ravenous devouring of bugs, even as unusual an ingredient it was.
But this is a norm with Escher and there's nothing really normal about it. He wasn't even a citizen of the Twin Isle's, just one of the two brought to the island by the Marine Captain in charge of overseeing the Celestial Dragons plant. The Mime and Escher. The two destructive menaces that were only slightly better than the Captain himself, if only because they mostly operated under orders.
Briefly, his memory draws up how the Captain had 'convinced' the majority of the people that the factory was a good idea, playing on their fears, and how those still reeling from having to abandon Nest to the insects, had fallen for the propaganda when it'd promised work and prosperity and other things.
And that those- even those honored by the Marines -were shamed and ridiculed for noting that the system they'd suggested was not… good.
"Escher…" He turns at his name, mouth hanging open like he didn't know how to close it, drool dribbling past his lips. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Tiberius- Tye-" He blubbers with the name, mind fumbling around the difficult syllables. "Tibby-" He settles on. "Tibby took off to go meet some strangers at the beach so now I can do whatever I want!"
Strangers…?
Those two pirates. Quinn and Kat. They were the only ones he could think of that Escher wouldn't at least know of. It brings up the question of where Tiberius was now, because he definitely wasn't with them now and Tiberius was not a man that he would allow in his family's home. That man desecrated everywhere he stepped.
"Now, bread! Bread! Bread!" He claps with each repeat of the word. "Hey, wait a second… You're a chef, aren't you?! You cook me food too!"
"There's no need to. You won't be eating."
It takes a moment for him to work through the words. Apparently they were too complicated. It was almost as Spice had been speaking an entirely different language and it was just completely incomprehensible, Spice wouldn't be surprised if that was how it sounded to Escher. The more seconds that passed, the more it seemed as if it were the case. Watching Escher's face screw up, turn red with thoughts failing to chug along, was a lot like watching a snail crawl.
Well, at least with a snail, Spice knew it would reach its destination eventually.
With Escher though… he wasn't quite so sure.
"That's a no?!"
Oh, will you look at that, he got there.
Spice's brows raise. Surprising.
Even if he doubted he understood all of it, probably only figuring out any of it because it was a resounding, 'No'!
And, much like a bratty child, he didn't like being told no.
"Why's that?" He spits. "Cook for me or I'll-"
Spice has his hand on his swords hilt.
"Simple, really."
It would be so easy to just cleave through him. To cut and maim and leave it at that. But the bakers watching and stuttering and he knows that it'd only be used as an excuse by the Marine Captain to torture them if he actually kills Escher. And, as a side note, he doesn't think the bakers would appreciate the copious amounts of blood staining their store. Still. He pulls his sword free, twists until he can look at his reflection in the flat of it's length.
He sees himself smile.
"Your jaw's going to be too broken."
It's not quite successful in blowing off steam. That would be all too easy. But it does help to get him thinking straight and maybe not on a one-way path to carve a Marine Captain in two- one that he knew he wouldn't be able to beat. Not with his Devil Fruit.
(The shitty, useless Devil Fruit that was just one big headache.)
It doesn't stop him from marching into the factory, wiping a smidge of blood off his cheek, the baker still thanking him profusely under her breath as he leaves, and slamming the door to the Captain's room open.
The syllables of his name like a curse on his lips. "Ki-gu!"
…
…
It scared him.
She knows.
To see Salt like that.
Pepper had never seen her brother so afraid. And she's scared to. Because this is the first time she'd seen one of her sisters get injured, her brother was always there to protect them. And he- She knew he got hurt sometimes too. But he never showed her his injuries even when it was obvious something was wrong.
And so she doesn't know what to do.
Because she's so used to it not being a big deal. But this is a big deal and Salt is crying and-
She shoves Momma into her sisters arms, even though it elicits a doggy grumble and whine. "Mo- Momma always knows what to do! She'll help you!"
It's the most she can think of doing. She can't hug her. Salt had almost tore her voice from yelling when she'd tried. The pain is unbearable. And Pepper feels tears dripping down her face once again.
Cinnamon mutters, "If only we had pain killers…"
At least those pirates that brought Salt in were nice. They didn't seem to hold it against Spice when it looked like he was about to kill them. She thinks they understood that he was just afraid too.
They ended up leaving not long after him. She hopes that they can find her brother. They- She doesn't want Ace to take him away, but he's… Pepper thinks he's okay. He's not going to outright steal her brother, she doesn't think, not without her permission.
Pepper thinks that made him a good guy.
And the black haired lady had patted her on the back when she left, even though she'd acted like she was adverse to the idea of touching her. And the redheaded boy with the weird teeth and scars had given her the warmest of hugs she'd ever received. It felt like it was the first hug he'd ever gotten.
They seemed…
Nice.
And she thinks Spice could use a little nice. Even if it made her heart ache.
"I don't want-" Pepper scrubs her arm across her face as Salt grits her teeth, hard enough that they can hear them creak. There's a lot of emotion written on her face. And it's mostly anger and frustration- "the stupid dog!"
"I-"
Pepper feels her heart stop.
Watching Salt shove Momma off. The dog doesn't even seem bothered, rolling away and back to her bed. But that's not the problem.
Glistening eyes blink. Slow and deceptively calm.
"B-But… she's not just a stupid dog…!"
"Yes, she is! Mom's gone! Stop pretending that she's here, you're not helping anything-!"
Salt feels herself regret saying it the moment it leaves her mouth. But she can't bring herself to regret it enough to try and take it back, or apologize. Because she was sick of pretending that everything was okay and good and that they could be happy. It was all just a delusion- trying to extend the peaceful illusion that nothing was broken beyond repair.
"She's dead and there's no way we can fix it! So stop trying too!"
Cinnamon looks pale.
Pepper feels a breath escape her, almost imperceptibly shaky. She thinks she might look like Spice in that moment, trying desperately to be strong, but it's quick to fall away. Her bottom lip wobbles. "Tha… That's not true…" Salt throws an arm over her face and doesn't say anything. "You know that-" she sniffles- "s-she promised, after all!"
"...She promised a lot of things, huh?"
It's the last straw.
One that has her stumbling away, as if she's been scorched, and she feels like she's going to throw up. "Oh, Momma, I know it's not true." She sniffs as she finds the old lady curled back onto her doggy bed, unable to do anything but bury her head into the dark fur. "Salt's just… Salt's just being stupid 'cause she got hurt."
The fur tickles her nose and she sneezes.
"I'm used to people tellin' me I'm wrong."
It happened a lot. When Pepper first started to claim that her dog was her mother. No one believed her then, especially not the other islanders, and they'd made it known every minute of every day. And she's not sure how- but at some point they stopped saying anything anymore.
(Naively, she thinks it's because they started to believe her.)
But to hear her sister tell her that it's all fake. That- That hurt the most.
Pepper's eyes squeezed shut, so tight that tears stopped escaping. Arms wrapping tighter and tighter around Momma until her shoulders were shaking from more than just tears. A low, shuddery breath is let out against her side. It sounds wet and thick and she's trying to not be upset- or give any thought to Salt's words- but, she chokes, she can't help it. Salt couldn't be right, could she?
"You'd never break a promise to me, r-right?"
It has Momma groaning and plopping her head deep onto her bed.
There's no answer.
Pepper never expects any- anymore.
...
...
"Hey, what're you up to, Pep?"
She's three.
And there's not a lot she remembers. She was hardly able to speak properly, let alone really parse together memories and images on a linear timeline that made sense. She just knows that she's small and her mom seems so, so far away. It takes all her concentration and strength- tongue sticking out between her lips -as she props up the purple stool and kicks off the ground to get up. "I wen' outside and it was really cold and dark and I almost didn't see it, but the moon helped, and I had to jump around and-" She's babbling. It's stilted and awkward and said in one really long breath. "But I named him and-"
"Is that a frog?"
Her tongue twists and she finally- Finally! -manages to pull herself into her mother's lap. "Uh-huh!"
And she's looking up at her, showing off the small frog clasped between her cupped fingers. Just tight enough to keep him from jumping free and- Pepper doesn't remember her face.
But she remembers the laugh she lets out. It's soft and light and it makes her own cheeks swell with the force of her smile. It tapers into coughs before long. She remembers those too. How, whenever she wanted to see her mother, she could only get a few minutes of talking out before the coughs started to rake her body.
They've been getting louder recently. And she hasn't been able to talk to her as much.
Pepper doesn't think anything of it. At the time.
Because her mother had always been like this. There wasn't a time she didn't know of where she wasn't stuck to a bed and coughing through the nighttime. Where her eyes looked tired and she wanted to do nothing but sleep, not even able to stomach her own food anymore. Apparently, she had gotten sick a lot in the past few years. The doctor that came by sometimes said that it had something to do with her im… imino… It was some big world that Pepper couldn't say. And it was keeping her from getting better.
Pepper just knew that sometimes her mother's skin felt like ice as she wrapped her arms around her. The hugs had been getting weaker and she missed the way she used to squeeze so tight that it felt like she might stop breathing.
Her mother's smile is warm. She remembers. It always was. No matter how small or weak it got.
"I named him Jasmine!"
"Ohh~ That's a girly name. Why'd you choose that?"
She babbles.
It makes sense to her but her mother smiles in that silly way that tells her that she doesn't really understand even though she's listening. "'Cause of your favorite tea- the one that the man brings sometimes!" He didn't come so much anymore. Pepper thinks that they're angry at each other. She doesn't know why, grown ups can do whatever they want, she doesn't see what they have to be upset about. "He's white like the man's hair and he's got yellow on like his-!"
Her mother coughs and she stops.
"Aa, I see…" She doesn't sound like she's all too happy. Whether that's because Pepper brought up the man or she doesn't like the name, she can't tell. "You know, I'm not really friends with that man anymore." She says gently.
Pepper snorts.
She knows that. That's the problem!
"Why don't you say sorry? You miss him, don't you?"
"Mnh. I do," she sighs, "he was a much better man a long time ago. Handsome too."
"Gross!"
"But, you should know, people change. Especially when they think they're in the right." Her mother boops her on the nose. "And I have nothing to apologize for. Because I know that I'm right."
"What're you even fightin' for?"
She gets squeezed a little tighter around the middle. It only lasts for a second. "Grown-up stuff." She pouts. That's not really an answer.
Pepper's frog tries to escape.
"No!"
Her mother's hand jumps out, faster than lightning, and the frog is caught in the air. Delicately handled. She lets out a breathy laugh, "Oh, don't let this one escape, you wouldn't want the dog to eat it, would you?"
She bounces in her lap as she gets handed the frog back. "I'll- I'll keep him forever and- do you think he needs food? What do frogs eat- I want to-"
She's laughing.
And it sounds- she didn't know the words then- angelic.
"No, no, no," her fingers curl around her own, the frog doesn't try to jump away again, "you know, you'll have to release him, don't you? He's a frog. He belongs in nature… or in soup."
Pepper gasps.
"I-I mean. Not soup. Just nature."
She's got a fast recovery time.
Her three year old attention span definitely helps keep her mother from getting caught in the mistake. It gets a sigh of relief and a quiet mutter, "Ouu… Well, now I know you don't have the same sense of humor as your brother…" It sounds almost disappointed. "But Pep, we can't take things from nature unless we're using them for something. It's important to only take what you need and to use every little bit of it."
"B-But frog…!"
"Especially not butt frogs."
Pepper squirms. "No- Stupid joke!"
"Yes, yes, very dumb. You like calling me out, don't you?" Her mother squeezes her as she muses, her eyes twinkling. "So why don't we let the frog be free now?"
She's pouting and a tantrum is definitely coming on. But when her mom starts coughing, trembling with the force of it, she forces herself to stop before she begins. It would only make her upset and her coughing worse.
Pepper waits for it to subside.
"...I don't want to let him go, he's nice…"
Her voice is small, quiet.
Her mother smiles- it's weaker than it was, much more tired than before. "I know. Sometimes you have to say goodbye to the nicer things in life." The frog is pulled gently from her hold and she doesn't try to stop her as she leans against her mother's stomach. The window is opened and it's placed on the sil. There's moonlight bouncing off its body, bathing it in blue, as it takes it's chance to hop away. "See? He's happy that he's left."
And something in her little heart aches. Aches more than anything she's ever felt before. Even more than whenever her mother collapses while trying to work, wanting nothing more than to cook- to continue acting as she had before she was sick. Apparently, she had been teaching Spice and Cinnamon to cook. Had promised Salt that she would teach her too. But that had fallen through as it became more and more obvious that she wasn't going to be able to carry herself anymore.
Salt had been upset that day. Pepper remembered it very clearly.
(She hadn't known she was there but Salt had destroyed her room in tears. It'd taken her days to put it back together but she didn't stop crying the whole time.)
(Salt got upset a lot.)
(It always made Pepper feel bad for her because it never seemed like she could do anything to help.)
"Salt says-" she wipes her arm furiously across her face- "that you're going to have to go away too. 'Cause you're sick."
She draws up in alarm. "Salt said that…?" She seems frustrated.
Tentatively, she draws her arms away from her embrace. "Does that… Does that mean that you'll be happier when you leave us? Like the frog?"
The breath she lets out is slow, shaky, and despairingly sad. "Oh, Pep, no. I- I'm only ever happy when I'm with all of you guys, you know that, right?"
"You're leaving us."
She kisses her crown. "Not like that."
"But Mom-"
She gasps in fake offense. "Don't call me a butt mom!"
Pepper squirms again. "No, it's a stupid joke-!" It defuses the tension though and her mom laughs and laughs. "Mom- I mean it!"
"I know, I know." She giggles. It slows down to nothing and Pepper buries her face against her. "I don't… want to leave. I wouldn't if I could." She states slowly. Her voice drags with a tired lilt that makes her sound sleepy. "If I could promise to always be by your side, I would in a heartbeat. "
"Y-You can though! You don't have to leave and-"
She's hushed.
"I'm sorry, but I do. It's not something I can… stop anymore." There's a pain in her voice. Deep and sorrowful and incomprehensible to her young ears. "It would be unfair to promise you anything… not after all that I've failed to keep."
She thinks of Salt and her anger and frustration.
The torn pillows and destroyed room.
Pepper doesn't want to feel like that.
It made her flinch and hide away under her covers so she didn't have to hear it.
But she doesn't want to give up hope more. "I don't care! You can promise me-" Pepper hugs so tight that it makes her arms ache- "I know you won't let me down! I just want you to stay! Forever an' ever!"
It's not done out of malice. Or out of humor. Or even with a thought. No, to her it's simply trying to hang onto her mother. And to her mother, who coughs and feels bad and just wants to give her a semblance of peace of mind, no matter how fleeting it would be- Sighs. "...Alright, Pep. Are you sure?"
Is she sure? Of course she is!
She doesn't really weigh the consequences that her mother is trying to get across.
"Okay, okay," her mother's smile is watery, "Maybe in another life. I'll be able to keep all my promises."
"What'd'you mean?"
She laughs. "Maybe I'll become one of the Nest Island bugs and I can seek petty revenge on the factory."
Her nose wrinkles. "Ew. Bugs are creepy-lookin'! Cinnamon said so!"
"Oh, I guess you're right. What would I know? I'm just a butt mom." She groans in response. "I'll stop, I'll stop! Your reaction is just too funny- a three year old shouldn't be able to have that much contempt." Oh, she's laughing. The noise is bell-like. "My pretty face deserves to be on something cuter, don't you think? Maybe I'll become a cute, little dog."
"A... dog?" She doesn't get it. "Why would you become a dog?"
"So I'll always be there to watch you. Dogs are cute and they've got a good sense of smell-" She perks up. "I'd be able to find some tasty ingredients if I was able to sniff them out, huh?"
Pepper is so excited. It feels like she's about to vibrate out of her own skin. She doesn't get to see the pain in her mother's eyes or how desperately she wants to be able to squeeze her as tight as possible or how she fights back another coughing fit that threatens to push through her. "You're going to become a dog?!"
It's a joke. But it goes right over her head. "I'm not sure. A dog would be fun though." Her mother giggles. "So, how about that promise? I promise that, no matter what, I will never leave you. We're family, after all, we have to stick together. There's nothing anyone could do or say that would make me want to leave, got that?"
"Got it!"
Pepper crushes her into her own hug. Because she's gotten her mother to promise- promise that she'd never leave! And she had one thought on her mind…
She couldn't wait for her to become a dog!
...
...
"Momma…" She moaned between hushed sobs.
It felt like regret in her chest.
Why- Why would she choose something that couldn't speak back?
All that she would get were barks and yipps and growls. And she just wanted to hear her voice again- her real one. Because, while it had been fun at first, now she just- "I miss you…" She whimpers. "Even though you're still here. It's like you're not. I want you to go back to normal! That way… That way you can at least talk to us… like you used to!"
But, of course, it's all for naught.
-0-
It's an unnecessarily dark room.
Which, normally, wouldn't be something that caught anyone's attention.
But Tiberius had been a part of this factory since it's beginning and he knows enough about what kind of man the Captain is- enough to know that the only reason it's kept dark is because it's a power move. To let the shadows fall where they may. And the one in-charge left to bask in others fear of what's unseen.
The fact that the Captain quickly hides the flashlight he'd been using to read only solidifies that fact even moreso.
"A-Ah, Tibby!"
He feels his insides die a little with the use of the nickname.
That pirate wench had used it earlier and he'd have punched her if not for her companions.
(He wouldn't have. Not because he didn't want to. But he was not a man known for fighting. He- He thinks he would break his hand if he ever tried to punch.)
(When you make a fist, your thumb is supposed to go on the inside, right? Right?)
"S-Sir, please, I am not a child… do not call me that."
"Remember to knock next time." It's cheeky and playful and threatening, all at once; Tibby swallows in a nervous mess. Not liking the way he's unable to say anything more, there's a knot in his throat and like always when dealing with confrontation, he can't help but freeze. The Captain- Kigu -gives a dark chuckle. "Good."
He waits.
And, when Kigu finally waves his hand in a signal that he's allowed to speak, he chokes out the words as quickly as he can, afraid that he might not get the chance to say them out loud. "The Mime failed to eliminate any of the people you ordered him to." It gets a pause out of Kigu, at least. And, internally, he dances with joy. Because it's working and-
"Hm. I trust the Mime to get the job done," he taps his papers into an even stack, "I'm sure he's just toying with them a little longer than usual. You know how he is. Always playing with his prey."
His hopes were crushed in an instant.
The Captain had always given the Mime the benefit of the doubt.
Tiberius puffs up, trying to rally to the occasion. Even if following the mime train-of-thought was a lost cost, he still had more that could work. He just had to be confident that it would. So long as he put in his best effort, everything would work out. Or, that's what he liked to think. "That's not all! Salt…" He gives a dramatic pause. "Was with the pirates."
"...Who?"
He deflated.
"You know, Salt!"
"The… ingredient?"
"N-No." It doesn't seem to be ringing any bells. Ugh, he forgot that the Captain was hopeless with names. It took him forever just to remember Tibby. "The second sister of Spice that you ordered to be taken care of."
"Oh, right, right." At least that seemed to have jogged his memory. "What of it? The Mime was sent on the job and, as we established, I'm sure he's doing just fine with taking care of them all. How hard will it be to take care of-"
He squints down at a crumpled report. And it's dark enough that he can't really see it so he wheels around in his chair, trying to hide the fact that he was using a flashlight to see the words. Tiberius felt his eyes roll before he could stop. Kigu's antics were getting ridiculous. He wheels back around, face blank, as if he hadn't done any such thing out of the ordinary.
"-a cowboy pirate, a traitorous noblewoman, and a… fishman? Huh. Be one of that guys crew. Arlie? Arlo?"
"Arlong, sir."
"Right! That pirate!"
Tiberius licked his lips. They suddenly felt very dry. What he would give for a cup of tea right now… "You're right, sir. About the mime getting them all, I mean."
"Of course I am. I'm always right."
"However-"
Fear.
It falls over him. Heavy, like a wash. A crippling weight only emphasized by the oppressive darkness and he struggles to speak- "Sir, please, let me ex-ex-explain!" He stutters. "It'll ma-make you ha-happ-happy! I'm sure of it!"
He gasps as it disappears. Like waking up from a nightmare. And while he doesn't sigh in relief, or relax, or even stop the tears from pricking at the corners of his eyes, it's enough for him to actually speak. "The- The pirates- They already made a show of attacking people affiliated with us-" He grunts. "-W-What do you think Salt is doing with them?!" It's rhetorical and the Captain doesn't answer. But his arm lowers a bit.
Before it was stretched out in that threat of overbearing power-
He didn't want to think about what it would do to him.
"And if Salt is conspiring w-with pirates, what do you think Spice is doing?"
It all seemed to come back to him. Didn't it?
"You know how much of a pain his mother was, when the factory was first getting implemented. Do you really think her ideas died with her?"
Because, really, it's not so much that he's gone and done anything against them. It's the fact that there is an insignificant and annoying blip on their radar. A potential for problems. One's that they would rather not deal with if they didn't have to. But they can't outright attack him-
Spice was too beloved by the island. They would riot if some injustice befell him.
And, as strong as the Captain is, his power isn't suitable against a group of people. And he knows it all too well too. No matter how much it pisses him off.
Kigu grinds his jaw, "You're always trying to get me to go after him, aren't you, Tibby? It's got me thinking you're trying to cause something." He quivers at the suggestion. "If you want him dead so much, why don't you do it yourself-? Invite him and those pirates to tea. You're good at that, right?"
Stricken, he tries to come up with words to respond.
"S-Something tells me p-pirates aren't all that open to tea."
"Well, you never know."
He opens his mouth. Closes it.
He feels… sick.
(After all this time, you'd think he'd get used to the feeling.)
Tiberius jumps as doors slam open behind him.
"Ki-gu!"
Kigu perks up, laughter bubbling, thick and tense. Already crooning, "If it isn't the man of the hour, for what do I owe the pleasure-?!"
It's Spice.
Tiberius brightens. Yes, everything was coming together. Not as he wanted. But this was just as swell. Because if Spice was angry enough to come all the way into the factory looking for the Captain then maybe, just maybe, he would be pissed off enough to actually kill the- "Tch. Hang on." Spice grunted.
He flips on the light switch.
"The audacity!" Tiberius gasps, horrified, hoping to egg Kigu on.
Unfortunately, he's too busy trying to hide his flashlight to pay attention.
He deflates. That figures.
It wasn't as if everyone didn't already know that the dark was just for aesthetic purposes.
(He thinks they were all hoping that he'd ruin his eyes and go blind from the strain.)
Honestly, if it was such a big deal, what do they even have that switch for in the first place?
"Is the light blinding? Does it just make your eyes tear up? Maybe you wouldn't have such a problem with them if you weren't always hiding up here in the dark," Spice stalks forward, snarl baring his teeth, "making others do your bidding 'cause you're too much of a coward to do it yourself."
"You've got a bad attitude today."
"I wonder what could have caused it? Maybe I ate some bad meat. Maybe I stayed out in the sun too long. Maybe that's it. I got heatstroke. It's just all gone to my head, making me delusional. So-" Spice bites. "Wanna tell me if I'm right? Was it a delusion of mine that saw the Mime's prints all over my sister? Was it a delusion that her arm is rendered useless? Just one of your little nightmares that made her cry?"
Oh, he's seriously pissed. That was probably the most he'd ever heard him say all at once. Tiberius tenses, he doesn't know how the Captain can remain so lax.
Especially as Spice stomps closer. Until he's all but bearing down on them both.
"Hm? Oh, I don't know what you mean." Kigu chuckled and looked over the papers in his hand. "Wait-! Here." He taps the report on the pirates. "It says that we got word from Starving that your dear little sister was colluding with pirates! Now, as a Marine Captain, I can't possibly look past such a crime-"
Spice glares. "Oh, I'm sure you're doing the best you can. As we all now, the Marines are known for their astonishing capabilities." He snipped. "Tell me, when was the last time you weren't at the top of the bell curve? Really, exemplary work. And-" He gasps a little; it's so obviously fake. More a straight up deadpan. "What's this? You did it all by yourself. What a big boy!"
"Watch your mouth, Spice. We don't have a problem right now-"
"Except we do. Don't we?"
"...if you'd like, I could make a bigger one."
"Here I thought you were always too afraid to."
"I'm not the one scared, am I?"
Spice is staring. Empty. But his fingers twitch in threat.
Tiberius licks his suddenly dry lips. Doesn't like this at all. Because this wasn't how he imagined it- He wanted… a fight. Not a standoff with himself too afraid to move away. Fearful that the slightest move would catch either of their attention and end with him beheaded or caught in one of Kigu's nightmares.
Spice's voice is low as he speaks.
"The Mime can't beat me. Escher-" He smirks and there is the realization that there is blood on one of his shoes. "-is certainly unable. It's odd then. That you're so difficult. The only real thing you've got going for you… is your cowardly nature. Chances are that I'll lose whatever fight I pick with you." His hand slowly raises and it brushes over his hair, smoothing it down. They're eyes linger… it's awfully close to his sword hilt. "Thing is, though, I find myself unable to really give a shit right now."
The blade is pulled. Tiberius throws himself down and-
Kigu yells.
It stops just short of his neck.
(Fear. Fear… So much fear.)
Ah, so close. Just another inch and it was likely that his head would be gone. Tiberius feels himself shaking.
(It's the fear that binds us. Holds us down. Makes it hard to breath.)
It's not odd. To see Spice blank faced.
But there's a glaze there that shouldn't be there. It has his whole body shuddering and a shaky hitch of breath is the only sign of life. He looks… dead. On his feet. Like something crawled down his throat and tore him apart from the inside, leaving him dead and empty and- Just a husk.
(It's the fear that has his head in a scene from a nightmare he'd rather not see.)
Tiberius looks away.
Eyes flicker, flutter, and umber skin turns a distinctly green color. They hear a slow swallow. The attempt to not be sick. And Spice manages to power through it. Rigid, frozen in place. Forced to tough out whatever it is he's seeing- something that's not there. But is all too real.
(The Nightmare Nightmare Fruit is a rather simple one. It creates nightmares. And the more scared someone is, the more real it seems and the deeper fears it can create. Overpowered then, because if he just repeatedly uses it, he can build his own fear off of the layered nightmares. Twist new ones from the horror and adrenaline- make them so much worse. So much more real.)
This is why Tiberius hates Kigu.
He closes his eyes. He's lucky enough to have not been on the receiving end just yet, but- He's terrified enough by the possibility of what he might see.
Kigu laughs. It's cold. And he's sure it cuts through whatever nightmare Spice is in the midst of.
"Do you really want to see this dream become reality?"
His hand drops and so does the Devil Fruit power.
The sword is still held where his neck had been but Kigu had jumped far out the range that would allow for Spice to attack. So long as he could see him, he could just put him in another nightmare before he could even take another step towards him. A long range opponent with something that couldn't exactly be dodged…
Spice didn't have the reach to beat him.
"It's not very smart of you. To come here when you're so scared. Others may not be able to see it but I always know- like I know everything." He clasps his hands together and Spice swallows thickly. "You know it only makes your fears more… real. Because while those two may not be able to kill you- they can certainly kill your sisters. And, let's face it, you're too straightforward a guy to be able to defeat me. Even though you're stronger."
It sounds like it's killing him to even admit it.
"So- how about we make a deal? Since I can't kill you without the islanders throwing a little hissy fit. It's rather hard to replace that many people, especially on such a short notice, and would only serve to piss off the Celestial Dragons." Who would then, very likely, thirst for his own death. Unfortunate that it would only require the death of all their not-quite slaves.
"A… deal."
He repeats slowly. Carefully. If he tried for more than it would reveal the quiver in his voice.
(Blood. Death. Screaming. All his fault.)
"I'll call the Mime off and won't wipe the remaining members of your family off the earth if you never step near this factory again. Or ever oppose it. We're rather fond of creating more jobs for our workers," he smiled, "and we'd rather not have the ideas of a dead woman mucking up our factory."
The tension is thick. It could be cut with a knife.
Seconds tick and nerves get even more frayed.
Abruptly, Spice nods.
Turns on his heel and walks out without another word exchanged.
It feels rather anticlimactic in all actuality. Kigu grins.
"Oh, what are you still doing here, Tibby?"
Trying not to wet himself, Tibby thinks. "N-Nothing, nothing," is what stutters out from his place, collapsed and frozen on the floor, shaking like a leaf from head to toe, "I-It seems that my concerns were… unneeded. Just as you said." He scrambles to his feet. He- He needs to get out.
He needs to leave.
Staying here, he was terrified-
"Ooh, Tibby~!"
And he's sure Kigu can smell it.
He stops, just short of the door. Careful not to look back. He thinks if he turned around all he would see was a nightmare waiting to unfold. He waits, eyes squeezed shut, for it to start. For Kigu to take his anger out on him.
He doesn't.
"Turn off the light before you go."
Somehow he feels even more terrified. Especially when the dark corners of the room only seem to grow darker.
He walks out of the room.
In a daze.
Not knowing how much time had passed until he was deep down into the factories halls. Floors from the surface, pretending like there wasn't sweat dripping down every inch of his face. Tiberius leans up against a wall. Takes a deep couple of breaths. They feel ragged, even though they shouldn't. "...definitely not going to work…"
Spice was too scared of what might happen to his sisters to make the final push. Too scared that he might lose, make a mistake. And the people he was trying to protect would be left alone or, worse, get hurt because of him.
He pulls the many charges from his coat and sighs.
"Tch. Explosives are just way too overkill. Why is getting a good position in this factory to open up so hard?"
…
…
It's gotten calmer. And, for that, she's beyond thankful. Even if she still feels the tension in her muscles beginning to bunch up beneath her skin and making her whole body ache. "Do you think… Are there any coffee shops around here?" It gets her a look thrown over Ace's shoulder, amused. It helps to ease the tension in her even further.
Especially when he scoffs at her.
Playful.
"I still don't believe you, there's no way that it's like Luffy and his meat. I just can't see it."
There's a wicked gleam that appears in her eyes and it takes everything he has in him to not comment on it.
"A-Ah, that's right! You didn't see her this morning, did you? I was starting to get…" Kat makes a face like he doesn't know exactly what to say, scratching the back of his head as he gets tongue tied. "...worried."
She makes a noise. It really wasn't that bad- she's seen other people who were way worse.
"I- You can't be serious." Ace's eye twitches. Giving her a once over that has her pursing lips and looking head on into it, utterly unimpressed with the action. "I'll only believe it when I see it." It was just too hard for him to imagine her going wild over something.
Her tongue clicks. "Oh, eventually, I'm sure."
They don't find a coffee shop. Then again, they're not really looking for one either. Well, she is, a little bit. Only somewhat serious about the suggestion in the first place and there didn't seem to be anything that appeared capable of making a good cup anyways. There were mostly just people's homes and the like. Nothing too… eye-catching.
Or, well, not that she really had a chance to look around in the first place. All her focus was being stolen by Ace.
Being the one thing she wasn't allowed to take her eyes off of.
"Kat."
It feels like it's the tenth time she's had to sigh his name in the last five minutes. Though it's the first time that they've actually managed to catch it in time.
"Already on it."
He's got water tossed to stop the flames that take hold on the back of someone's shirt, stream intent to snuff the fire before it got out of hand like it did for the other few that had the unfortunate luck of bumping into Ace. At the very least, it was going to be good practice for Kat, being on their crew. What with Ace just being a general fire hazard and- "Ah! It got worse?!" Kat's incredulous hout and gasp in disbelief has Quinn turning just as the hissing embers burst out into an even higher intensity compared to what they were before.
They grab Ace before he can apologize. Speed walking away from the crime scene.
"Why does this keep happening?" He muttered under his breath.
Quinn grimaces, "The hell…? Are these people covered in oil or something?"
"Chehaha, that's it, isn't it? Spice said they all worked in a factory. That's got to have a lot of flammable liquids lying around, right?"
"Tch. But with them it's almost like they've been bathing in it."
But that's the first thing that's made even a semblance of sense all day so she just groans and assumes he's right. He probably is. That sounds like it's just their luck. To land on an island where the general population was flammable. Pretty par for the course actually. She was sure there were… weirder happenstances in this world.
"Just… C'mon over here. We don't need to piss off another island so they can chase us off again." At this rate, she wouldn't be surprised if they were already coming with pitchforks and- well, with them, they couldn't exactly carry torches safely but she was sure they'd find a nice alternative. "Everyone… keeps attacking my face too. It's gonna make me self-conscious because, at this point, it's almost like they have something against me…"
It receives a snort from both of them.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
And she ignores it in favor of catching Ace's elbow at the same time Kat does the other, the pair looping their arms with him in an almost practiced unison.
They can feel his confusion as he steps up to their sides.
Thankfully, he doesn't pull out of either of their grips, even as they purposely guide him to stand firmly at their sides. Letting out a chuckle as soon as he finds himself sandwiched between his two crewmates. The pair not letting anyone get within range of bumping into him and setting themselves on serious fire. It was a nice idea. Still. He raises a brow, "Aren't you two worried?"
"About the fire?"
"Uh, we're not covered head-to-toe in oil, Ace."
He's suitably sheepish.
To anyone that saw them, it would look almost as if they were protecting him- shoulder to shoulder and arms so firmly hooked together at the elbows that it would've been hard to tell who was who, if not for the green and brown skin tones differentiating him from them. Quinn felt dimly like one of those groups of highschool girls that would walk through the hall in a raw, rather than a line, purposely getting in the way of everyone trying to hurry to their next class as the minutes counted down. Kat was absolutely beaming from cheek to cheek and Ace thinks that he might be cutting off circulation in his arm, he was holding on so tightly. The jumbled bunch of them are already getting looks.
And Ace doesn't care even a bit. Already unable to keep the wide smile from breaking across his face at the warmth provided by them being pressed so close on either side of him. Admittedly, it was a little weird. But he couldn't say that he honestly didn't enjoy it-
Che. Funny. The islanders thought it was to protect him but had no idea that it was actually to protect them.
"Hey, Ace?" Quinn leant down to his ear, eyes flickering over the faces of the people around them. He hummed in response. Feeling himself twitch away on instinct. Her breath was close enough that it tickled and Kat squished closer on his other side to get a listen too. "What was that swordsman's name again?"
"Spice. Why?"
She jerks them to a sudden stop.
"I think he's left us quite the trail of breadcrumbs to follow."
"What do you- Oh, that's literal."
"Yeah…"
Ace just takes one look and laughs. "With that guy- what isn't?" He's absolutely delighted and they can feel his whole body shake with the strong bubble of laughter that's soon to come out. It takes all their balance to keep their feet as he suddenly tears forward, them holding him by the elbows suddenly feels like a terrible idea. "Hey-" He hollers. "-what's going on over here?!"
It lays before them.
A half smashed bakery. Bread strewn about in chunks and pieces, uncaringly. And a… large, large man unconscious thrown through a table with bloodied teeth and a presumably broken jaw.
"...Something… happened here." Quinn deadpanned airily, stating the obvious.
"Yeah, no shit."
They step over glass and broken pieces of wood and are greeted by a woman in an apron, sweeping the floor with an old broom. It didn't seem like she was making much progress in her efforts to clean up. If anything, it almost seemed like she was making it worse. The tears threatening to spill from her eyes certainly made it look as if she was coming to terms with that fact. She whipped around as soon as they approached. "I- Customers?" Seemingly startled. "I'm… I'm sorry, this place… it's a mess right now."
She goes so far as to bow in apology. Wow. That's weird.
Quinn made a face.
Even if it was more sent to Ace, being the ringleader, it still felt way more uncomfortable than she expected it to. Fortunately, they seemed just as bemused as she was. Though Ace had the decency to bow back and introduced himself, ever the polite one- well, to all but them.
"A-Ah, not customers, we really don't have much money-" Quinn raises a slow finger.
"The only thing I can offer is maybe a cup of coffee!" She shouts, still bowed and… tears streaking down her face. Very obviously not listening to any one of them, too caught up in her own emotions. "I'm so sorry! We apologize for the inconvenience."
"It's quite alright," she untangles herself from Ace and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Now let's talk coffee. I'll take three cups. I don't care what they have." She's never been so happy that someone wasn't listening to her!
Kat mumbles. "Just water would be great for me…"
And Ace rolls his eyes at Quinn. "I've never had coffee before. So I'll take one!"
…
…
"PPPPFFFFFFTTTTT-?!"
This is it.
This is how she dies.
Not by anything actually dangerous but from the ridiculous look on Ace's face.
"What is this-?! It's disgusting!"
She's wheezing. All the coffee has gone down the wrong pipe and she's covering her face because- Holy shit. It's dripping from her nose. Oh god. It burns. "O-Oh, my- I c-can't-" She really, really can't deal with this right now. Choking and cackling all in the same breath. It's killer on her lungs but…
"Quinn?!" Her name gets long and drawn out, a bold hiss of the singular syllable; his eyes are narrowed now and he sounds just… oh, so flabbergasted. It has her laughter doubling and her sides aching even more. Oh, it hurts. "How can you like this crap?!"
She sputters.
Ow, ow. She was laughing harder than she had been when he failed his first fire fist attempt. It was just-
She sucks in multiple deep breaths, trying to calm herself back down. "Oh, ow- ow- ow, you're just- a riot-!"
Ace doesn't respond to that comment. Too busy wiping furiously at his face. Where coffee dripped down his chin from where he'd been completely unable to swallow. The bitter taste sitting on his tongue and making his mouth taste all weird and… just gross. And Quinn had already downed her own cup-! Not even being phased by the steaming heat that should definitely be affecting her because she didn't have heat resistance like he did and- Coffee was freaking disgusting.
She bites her lip, the smile still strains through. "It's an acquired taste. I assure you." And starts on her second cup just as Kat swallows his own peels of laughter.
He makes a face.
Oh, she's not packing it in like Luffy- he would be trying to drown himself if there was such a thing as meat juice- so it doesn't spark the same disconcerting feeling that he was sure he gave other people whenever he went to town on his own meal. Or maybe it did. And this was how other people felt watching himself eat.
He can't say that he understood. But he understood.
(He was used to Luffy eating everything and anything but that was Luffy. He didn't expect it from Quinn, who was straight laced and proper- okay. That was a lie. It was more like she was used to being forced to act polite and nice and she was trying to branch away from it.)
Quinn just seemingly took a sip from her cup, only for him to realize that it had been entirely drained in that half-a-second that it took her. It was different compared to the ravenous tearing and chewing that Luffy did- but still.
Ace coughs. "It's… horrible." Already pushing his cup away as far as physically possible.
"Well, seems I get to enjoy a fourth cup then." He, thankfully, hadn't spit it back into the cup when he was caught unaware by the taste. Bitter food was definitely not in his palate.
She steals it before it can reach the edge of the table and before he can really say anything. Which, she imagined, would only be a quick, "Good riddance." Honestly, he was too busy trying to hold back his gagging.
"Oh, it's not that bad. Quit being dramatic." She snorts. "You spent hours last night mixing drinks that, I'm pretty sure, would kill a normal man even on a good day. Seriously. If it wasn't for the fire probably burning it off inside you or even just the hours of purging, I think you might have been dead right now. Best be careful with that."
(But who is she to talk? She's already getting dangerously close to a poisonous amount of espresso. If it wasn't for the fact that she was used to drinking such incredible amounts, her heart might actually stop.)
(Not that she was really aware of that fact.)
(Stupid. She stopped counting.)
Kat squawks. "Ace! I didn't realize it was that bad!"
"Don't remind me." He groaned. Looking a little green just thinking about it. Not the drinks themselves but the… reaction after. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for- It was like, once he started, he couldn't stop. The only saving grace was that it didn't have any lasting effects into the morning- like a hangover- like Quinn said it might've.
"...I think both of you have a drinking problem."
Yeah, not yet. Exactly.
"Did you hear that, Ace?" Quinn's voice suddenly cut through, a few octaves higher than its usual tone, an odd mimic of what they could only assume was supposed to be a concerned parent. "A drinking problem. We're such a bad influence. Think of the children."
There's amusement flashing over his face and Kat's jaw drops. "I don't know, Quinn, I heard that it was good to teach them when they're younger. Teaches them respect when they get older."
Kat's visibly abashed. "'Kay, I'm just gonna… head out." Dramatically, he goes to take his leave but falls back down as soon as they fall into chuckles. "You two are so mean!" He whines, dropping his head to the table. It doesn't garner much more of a response but that's fine. He absently sips at his water. It feels good to be able to just watch them smile and laugh, free and open, even if one of them was dreadfully bruised.
His heart swells. Because he's a part of it.
And it's different. Compared to when they were on the ship.
Mostly because he expected them to part ways as soon as land allowed it. Not out of malice or anything like that, of course, but weren't people supposed to get sick of each other if they were stuck together for way too long? And sure, Ace had run away a little, when he snuck off to Nest, but that hadn't felt like him… taking a break from them and more a- Just a little excursion. That's all it was. It wasn't like he was sick of them at all.
That- Was a nice feeling.
"What's got you in a good mood?"
If anything, his smile just doubles in force. "Just you guys." He chirps, almost sweetly. "Being you."
They both blink. Share a look. Blush.
"You- You don't know what you're talking about…!"
"Y-Yeah, what she said."
Kat straight-up giggles at them.
There's cracking glass. It interrupts whatever direction their conversation would have been headed next because it looks like the big guy is finally waking up. The baker woman that brought them their water and coffee squeaks and rushes away, broom clutched tightly to her chest, and ends up next to their table that sits outside the bakery, trying her damndest to hide behind them. It was the only table that had been free of debris and broken shards. "Oh no, oh no," she whimpers, "and Tiberius isn't here to stop him yet!"
"Tiberius…?" Quinn mumbles in confusion.
The baker still hears it apparently. And thinks it's simple curiosity instead of recognition.
"He's supposed to be his retainer! Escher goes wild if he doesn't have someone to calm him down. Tiberius is the only one who figured out how to without resorting to violence!"
"Ooh?" Ace leans back in his seat, feet kicked up on the table. He's just staring. More curious than anything. And they all watch as Escher picks himself off the ground, bloodied face groaning. He doesn't seem all that aware of himself at the moment. Definite concussion. He's not looking too good- not, hah, that any of them thought he would have looked good before. At least the blood helped to cover up some things. "He seems confused."
"Maybe it's his natural state of mind."
"Quinn, that's mean! And he might hear you."
"No, no, she's right," the baker stops Kat's worried hiss in its tracks, "that's pretty accurate, all things considered."
"Ehhh?"
Ah, they really should stop dissing people. They're going to do it to the wrong person one of these days.
Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be Escher.
Who doesn't look like he's aware enough to hear them at all actually.
The baker begins to quietly beg under her breath, and Ace is all but ready to take the guy back out if he so much as looks in her direction. She'd given them food after all- even if it was just shitty coffee. "Please don't destroy the shop… please don't destroy the shop… we can't afford to fix it as is, please don't destroy it anymore…!"
Escher roars.
Like, literally roars.
They raise unimpressed brows. Or, at least, Ace and Quinn do. Kat just feels himself shiver. He doesn't know whether to be concerned or not. Apparently he doesn't have to because Escher just continues to roar, even as he steps out the bakery's broken window and rushes away. Vaguely, they think they hear him shout, "Spice, I'll kill you!" But, really, it could've been anything.
"Oh no," the baker moaned, twisting the handle of her broom nervously in her fists, "I hope nothing bad happens because he helped us out…"
"So it was Spice that beat that guy up."
"Do people on this island not like him or something? People seemed like they were going out of their way to avoid him earlier."
"Huh? What do you mean?" The baker seemed horrified by just the thought. "No! Spice is- Him and his family are some of the most beloved members of this island. I don't know why people would be avoiding him!"
"They were all giving him a wide berth earlier, like they were scared."
She looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Maybe she couldn't. Her jaw dropped. "Scared…? I- I mean, he's strong but they…" They watch as she blinks suddenly and her mouth forms an 'O'. "I know what you're talking about! It's just the opposite. People don't bump into him because that's rude-!"
Ace gives a bemused smile. "They do it to me more often than not."
She blushes. "-Y-Yes, well. They don't care about you like they do Spice."
Quinn hums an empty tune into the hollowness of her cup. "What'd they do to become so… beloved?" She hoped Salt was just the bad apple because if they were anything like her then it was hopeless to imagine it. "I mean, the whole family?"
"I guess it all started with their mother. She was a lovely woman and the best chef in the entire world, I still remember the taste of her food…" She sucks in a slip of drool and quickly wipes her face, looking decidedly embarrassed. "She was from Nest before the insects all got dropped on the island. She was a kid when she went out to sea and- I believe that she worked as a chef for the Marines for awhile. She collected ingredients and tools of the trade from all across the world and then came back and shared it with the people of Hunting. We- Starving had been struck by a famine and we were soon to be next, but she put a stop to it by teaching us how to gather our own food from the land."
"The… dog?"
"Oh, you know about that?"
The baker laughs. It sounds like she's trying not to wince at the same time.
"No, that's just… Poor Pepper was too young to rationalize her death and I suppose that it's gotten to a point where everyone is too afraid to say anything. We don't want to break her heart."
Quinn scowls. "Isn't it more cruel to let her keep living a lie?"
"I-I suppose. But… it's not really our place. We're waiting for Spice or Cinnamon to find a way to break it to her." She shakes her head and then points to where Escher had run off. "And- Well, you saw him. Spice helps protect us from those in-charge at the factory… they have a habit of getting violent. And the Captain has a Devil Fruit! We couldn't hope to defend ourselves."
She felt Kat lean into her side, automatically wrapping her arm around his shoulders. He was certainly feeling like he was defenseless too. Especially after his run in with them. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of Devil Fruit could make the Captain more threatening than the Mime.
"B-But Cinnamon and Salt help around the island a bunch too!" The broom is being squeezed, like she wants to hug it, as she speaks. "Cinnamon feeds anybody that doesn't have enough food with what Spice hunts on Nest. A-And Salt is good with tools so she helps fix anything that's broken or mechanical, she's really good at it! Also… Pepper did my hair the other day and I think it came out really cute…"
"I- Okay, okay, you don't need to defend them or anything. We were just curious."
She huffs and nods.
She'd been getting quite passionate and mutters loosely under her breath, "Of anyone on this island it's Tiberius that people don't like…"
Quinn jumps in on that train of thought. "You mentioned him before. What's up with him? Kat and I met him earlier but he ran away. For no reason." She adds that last part really quick. As an afterthought. If the baker notices the tension in her voice she doesn't say anything.
Instead, she snorts. "That sounds like him. He used to be a respected member of the community. He was a herbalist and he made just the best teas…" She looked almost wistful. "You know, he used to meet with Spice's mother every week for tea. Well. Back before the factory. They argued a lot over it's implementation but then- She started to get sick and they had one big argument and stopped meeting after that. I think by that point their friendship was unsalvageable. And they made such a good pair too…"
She shakes her head. Blushes.
"S-Sorry, I went off on a tangent there, didn't I?" And perks suddenly, adjusting her broom. "I- You're all friends with Spice then? I'm sorry but I'm afraid that I don't recognize any of you."
"We're pi-"
"They came from the other Isle."
They look back as the baker squeaks in surprise.
It's Spice.
Looking down at them with cool eyes.
"Oh! Spice! Let me go get you some coffee and some of our leftover bread as thanks! We would've lost the whole bakery if you hadn't come when you did," the baker rushes off without another word tossed their way. Spice doesn't remove his eyes from them.
They sit in silence. Just sizing one another up.
Until:
"So what are you exactly?" Quinn asks after a quick swallow, brow raised. Spice doesn't seem to know how to take her question. Which is fine, because Ace is all too ready to jump in with his own declaration.
"He's going to be our new crewmember!"
"Aah, really?"
"No, I'm-"
Kat looks so excited that it almost looks like he's about to jump out of her skin. "Welcome to the crew!" He all but chirps, grin splitting over his face. "I know we had a bit of a rough start earlier but I'm sure it'll be okay. You're the first crewmember that I actually get to see join!"
Spice stares.
Turns to Quinn.
She's got a grin quirked over her face and he- Spice has three sisters. He could spot that mischievous glint from miles away. "Incited this on purpose, didn't you?"
"Maybe."
It's the mirth that dances in her eyes that makes him sigh.
"...How kind. I see that you're just all about first impressions." Then again, his weren't exactly any better. Spice halted Kat's joy in it's track with a deadpan and completely insincere, "My apologies. But I'm not going to join your crew." Whatever reaction he was expecting, he didn't get. Because, instead, all it did was have Kat looking confused and Quinn hiding her- growing even wider- grin behind the brim of her cup. She could almost hear the words in her head as she glanced between him and Ace- 'Are you sure about that?'
"We've certainly got space for one more."
Total. Complete. Lie.
They barely had space for the three of them as is.
Not to mention their boat was falling about.
Quinn let out a huff through her nose. They really needed to find better, more reliant means of transportation.
Unfortunate, in that aspect, that Ace looked to be growing even more and more determined by the second. The more Spice tried to pull away the more polarized of an attitude he got. It really wasn't conducive to ending the beginning of the argument at hand."If it's your family, then just talk to them. I'm sure they'll understand if you want to come. Cinnamon seemed reasonable!" Besides, Quinn knew that look in his eyes. It was a strange one- like a kid looking through the window of a candy store he was about to rob. (Maybe not the most… apt description but it worked.) It was getting more and more recognizable the more she saw it. Considering that she's only seen it twice though-
Well. It's stronger.
He'd looked at her, like that, when they were running from Garp. And, then again, when Kat was fighting The Beast.
...Ugh.
Did that mean that trouble was afoot as well?
She'd be willing to bet on it.
"That is based on the assumption that I would even want to."
"Don't you?"
The lack of answer was extremely telling.
But Spice remained undeterred. "If you think that I would abandon my family for a silly group of pirates…" His lips thinned and his eyes narrowed. "Then you are not a Captain I would want to be under."
Quinn and Kat both winced.
Harsh.
And Quinn felt something like annoyance pierce through her. "Are you insulting my Captain…?" She growled. And, oh, he could cut her head off in a flat second, she was sure. But that didn't really seem like it mattered. Spice met her glare head on, his own carefully blank. "You should watch that attitude of yours."
A warm hand on her shoulder stops her short of doing anything.
Ace's expression fell unreadable. Or something close to it at least. If Quinn leaned forward and searched his gaze she could spot a hint of… understanding, there. Like he got where Spice was coming from. But also a heavier amount of annoyance. He understood, but he didn't like it. Not one bit.
And normally such a snappy tone would've gotten him more riled up then he actually was at the moment.
(Silly? They weren't silly. And he'd never force anyone away from their family, not in a million years. Not if he could help it.)
But there was also something weird. Because even knowing Spice for as short a time as he had, the clipped response didn't sound natural coming from him.
He was upset. Not at them though.
"Something happened."
It's not a question.
Even if it was, Spice wouldn't have answered.
Quinn takes a long, slow slip from her third cup. It burns. Though it does help to take away from the uneasy feeling starting to fester in the pit of her stomach. She was right. There was trouble afoot. And Ace was about to get them caught up in the center of it, wasn't he? Keh. That was assuming that he hadn't already. Quinn takes another sip. Doesn't say anything, even though she wants to. Well, she also wants to bash her head against the table because she really, really, really wanted today to just end already.
Kat shivers against Quinn's side and she offers a comforting squeeze, feeling his hands tighten around her waist. She had a feeling his mind went where hers did. To the Mime. Who was still out there. Though, hopefully, still on Starving.
Maybe if they left soon they wouldn't have the chance to run back into him…
"As I said. I won't be joining your crew."
He turns on his heel and begins to walk the way they just came from. He's headed back home.
"Hey," Ace calls, "Wait up-!"
Quinn tries to stop him. "Honestly, just let him go. We can find someone else." If he was going to insult Ace in their second meeting then she didn't really want him to join. "We don't need someone playing hard to get with us."
"No way! Spice is going to be our chef," he tugs himself free, his eyes are on fire, (though not literally), "I just need to convince him and his family that he should join us. I can do it. I know it."
"I'm sure that you can, but-" Ah. He's running off. "-is it worth it? Damn it. Ace! No means no! Just listen to the guy-"
Oh, wow. Kat chugs the last bit of water in his glass as Quinn follows after. He doesn't think he can run right now. He stands up and- "Urk-!" Even the suddenness of that action had his ribs aching and him clutching his sides, trying to keep his groan down. "Aw, c'mon guys, wait for me."
He's stopped before he can take more than a single step.
"H-Hey, where'd Spice go?" It's the baker. Looking confused. "Did he head back home already? I- I wanted to give him a thank you gift. I k-know it's not a lot but…"
Kat feels bad for her. She looks like she's about to start tearing up again. "Um- Miss Baker, I can take it to him. They all went to his home. I think I remember the way." It has her brightening.
"R-Really? Thank you so much!"
And that's how he found himself with a basket of bread, limping down the street after his friends. Trying to remember the direction that the house was located. It was strangely nice. It-
His face was free to be seen by all but, aside from a few odd looks here and there, nobody made a comment on his green spotted skin or gils.
It was the first time since he was a child on Fishman Island that he could walk freely and without jeers being tossed his way. And it… made his heart swell. Because- Was this what it felt like to be normal? It was an impossibly uplifting feeling. There was even an old lady that he asked for directions to Spice's house and gave him a lollipop once she realized that he was delivering a gift for someone. "Such a nice young man!"
Nothing could stop the happiness in his chest.
Well. That is.
Until it did.
"... W... What happened…?"
Because the house was demolished.
And smoke was drifting up into the sky.
There wasn't anyone in sight. Not from what they could see. It was like everyone had cleared out as soon as they spotted trouble. And, dimly, Kat realized that the little girl's things were strewn about and there was blood dripping on a piece of wall that somehow remained standing in the midst of all the destruction.
Quinn shook her head as he opened her mouth. But he didn't even know what he would've said.
Spice had collapsed to his knees in front of it and… Kat swallowed as Ace stepped up to the swordsman's side. The rage in his voice, thick with contempt, face shadowed by his faded hat, "It's that guy, right… The one you went to see. He's been threatening your family, that's why you can't leave." It doesn't come out like a question. "If I take him out, you won't have to worry about them anymore-!"
.
.
.
Me, having to reread this entire chapter thirty times over because I can't remember what I've already explained and said and done: "Killl meee." The only thing that made this bearable was that I could search for keywords and figure out if I'd already said it (let me know if I repeat something way too many times, if ever, I will scream at myself. My memory is really bad, always has been). My Drive is just chugging with the length of this chapter. I have to write in multiple documents because my browser can't really handle anything above 15k.
Can anyone guess what was up with Spice's Mothers death? 'Cause there's definitely something suspicious about it and I want to see if anybody can figure it out based off the hints in this chapter alone. Because the next might completely give it away.
(Hope I paid respect to Kat by the way. It's always been a part of his character but I didn't want to come right out and say it because he'd rather not call attention to it himself and, as someone's whose own gender can be described with a sort of wishy-washy hand motion, I'll try and use my own experiences to give a more realistic perspective on this piece of the characters identity. Also, I always hate it when there's a trans character and someone makes it out to be a big deal. It makes it feel... almost mocking, honestly. Or, like, that's all that person is defined by. And that's just disappointing and feels like a cash grab.)
(This was more a moment of Kat testing Quinn's reaction. Since he's closer to her than he is to Ace and well... He didn't want to get kicked off the crew immediately if he could help it, on the off-chance that Ace's reaction was- negative.)
(Also- I got a couple people asking about his backstory? So, let me confirm here... yeah. There's more to it than what's in Belle. It'll be awhile before we get to it. But I have a lot of plans for his character!)
Also- I can't wait for the next two chapters. I've had parts of them written since I started this fic and they still haven't changed and aaaa- I can't wait to put them all together. Ooh, and we're getting close to the end of East Blue! My guesstimate is three to four. And, now, I'm realizing how much I can't wait to write those too! I can't wait to get to Logue Town and Reverse Mountain. It's going to be the first Canon-destinations (if you don't count Sixis and Gaimon) and I have so many ideaaaas~ Anyways, please leave a review to let me know what you think!
