Only 1 week left ya'll! Deadline is next Saturday the 12th! I will cut it off at 12 o'clock or 0:00 hours, aka Midnight! So those of you still wanting to put a request in for a try, do it ASAP. I will take a week off to go through all the requests one by one and then start determining which ones make it in! Thank you all for requesting! It means a lot to me! Once I have the slots filled I will put out a update stating who it is, and which request (for those with multiple requests) made it.
This request is for a PaulieXMozuXKiwi. Honestly. I never even knew this was a pairing, and as I said before I forgot who the twin's were originally. They were just "the twins"…I'm not good with names, in reading, and in real life…..this one was a bit of a challenge for me since I didn't really know any of these characters hardly, but hopefully it turned out well! Hope you like it MossHead! And thank you for requesting!
Next and FINAL story before the tourney is an AceXVivi story requested by AdamantiumKinesis. It's nice to see that Ace is matched with someone other than Robin! No offense, love the couple! But after writing so many it get's hard to become original. ^.^ Thank you for requesting and thank you for being a fan! Wait and enjoy!
"HEY! I TOLD YOU TWO TO COVER UP MORE!"
Paulie had caught sight of the two sisters who used to hang around Franky, seeing them still clad in the revealing clothing that made his cheeks flush and his mind go to places he thought were improper. Though everyone knew they weren't the same age, they were still called "the twins" because of how identical they were, and they went along with it without a care. They were chatting with the crew that was working on a new ship, distracting them from their work. Paulie told them time and time again that they needed to cover up because they were showing too much skin. The twins turned their heads towards him, giving him an exasperated look over the same argument they have every day.
"Come on Paulie~" Mozu said, sidling up next to Paulie with a pouting lip.
"We just wanted to talk~" Kiwi added in doing the same to his other side so they flanked him and trapped him in his spot.
They did this constantly to tease Paulie and his innocent ways. He was so different from the flashy Franky that it was fun to watch him explode from embarrassment and try to compose himself….which was exactly what he was doing now. He stumbled out a remark about this being indecent, which only made the twins want to tease him more. They pushed against his arms, letting their chests press on him and wiggled a bit with their butts out, causing his eyes to trail away from the one spot he desperately tried to focus on.
"No!" He shouted, holding up his arms and jerking them away from the twins. He clamped his eyes shut, not letting himself fall into the temptation of the two girls. Rope shot out from his sleeves, making their way around the twins and lifting them into the air. Paulie placed them far from him and his crew and then finally opened his eyes. "You two are not allowed in here until you change your attire to something more appropriate!" He pointed an accusing finger before breathing in a few times to compose himself and then turning on his heel to walk back to his coworkers to work on the ship.
The twins stood their baffled, not expecting him to be so serious on it. Never had he actually pushed them away and literally took them off the construction site. They looked at one another, as if communicating without speaking. Smiles crept over their faces and they shrugged in unison, letting it slide off them like butter. But Paulie was serious. Every time the twins tried to come visit, there were now "bodyguards" blocking the entrance to keep them out. Mozu and Kiwi felt lonely now that they were unable to hang out with the workers. With Franky gone and their old crew doing their own things now, it left them wandering around trying to occupy their thoughts. Paulie and his coworkers were their way of doing that. They were fun to be around and teasing Paulie was always a game that seemed to keep them from thinking of how empty it was around them…..and now even that was gone…What should they do now?
"Oi! Paulie!" One of the workers shouted to the blond as he hoisted up a heavy plank towards the other workers above to fix the ship. "The twins are here!"
"Tell them they aren't allowed in till they wear something proper!" He shouted back, not even glancing over and instead taking a puff out of the cigar that sat on his lips.
"Uh Paulie!" The worker called out again, making irritation hit Paulie at the thought that Mozu and Kiwi were probably trying to worm their way in. "They're already…!"
Paulie jumped and quickly turned around, vein throbbing on his forehead already and mouth open to yell at them to get out. But as he turned around his mouth froze and any words that were about to come out got stuck in his throat. His eyes widened at the sight of Mozu and Kiwi. They were the twins, but at the same time they looked nothing like before. Their hairs were no longer into the funny shaped afros they hand before, and instead both had let their hair down, showing the difference in styles where Mozu had straighter hair, Kiwi had curly hair, and both were much longer than you'd think. But now with their hair down they draped over their shoulders and hit their mid back. They had even taken off their goggles and now you can see the difference in eye colors where Mozu had a slight brown hue that made her eyes hazel, and Kiwi had more of a bright green that reflected the sun. But that wasn't the only thing they changed. They were no longer wearing the showy outfits they had before, but were now in decent clothes. They both fashioned jeans now, and Mozu had on a yellow tank top with a light green short jacket and a yellow belt with yellow heels. Kiwi now had on a pink t-shirt with a blue star on the front that was just like the signature of Franky's he used, and pink heels that looked similar to Mozu's. It threw Paulie off with the sudden change of appearance, and by the silence that was around the yard, he knew it threw the others off in surprise as well.
"Y-y-you…!" Paulie stuttered, moving a pointed finger up and down to show he definitely saw the change. "You're different!"
Mozu and Kiwi let out laughter at the sight of Paulie being more flustered by their new appearance, than he was when they were half bare. This threw them off on their plan, and broke their "cool" composure they wanted to show him.
"You're the one who said we had to change!" Mozu laughed, holding her stomach in a fit of laughter.
"What's wrong? To mature now?" Kiwi teased, wrapping her arms under her chest and leaning forward slightly while wiggling her shoulders. It was an obvious teasing towards Paulie who grew even redder at the sight. He stood with his arms and legs out bent at 90 degrees, making him look like a puppet hanging by strings, and yet it was making them laugh harder and harder.
Paulie realized his reaction was only making this worse, and he coughed into his hand, gaining composure to his face. He rubbed the back of his head, flattening the hair that seemed to be standing on end. His cheeks were still slightly pink, but for the most part he was back to normal. "I didn't think you'd actually change." He muttered quietly, but they still heard him. His eyes traveled to the corners to glance at them, and saw they were no longer laughing at him. "You look better this way." He muttered more, turning back around and tying his ropes around the next large plank of wood to get back to work.
This time Mozu and Kiwi blushed, not expecting such a complement from Paulie who was normally so picky on how women were dressed and presented themselves. They looked at one another and saw the pink across their cheeks. That silent communication was traveling between them now again, and it was as if their chests were thumping loudly with their hearts going wild. They changed clothes just to play a small prank on Paulie and get some reactions out of him again, but never did they expect a reaction like not only from him, but from themselves. Who knew his words would cause such a pleasurable reaction from the both of them.
"Oh Paulie~" "You're so sweet~"
Both of them latched their arms around Paulie's mid section, hugging him from with side and throwing him off. The ropes around the wood that was already mid way up into the air shook and loosened at his flustered mind. But quickly he got control again, straightening the plank and stopping its ascension. "Oi! That doesn't give you the excuse to distract me! You could have killed us!"
Mozu looked up with a smile. "You wouldn't have let that happen." Kiwi looked up next with a smile towards Paulie, the two always in sync. "You would have saved us, right?"
Paulie couldn't do anything but grumble a few utterances of "its too risky still" "It'd be close" "You two are too dangerous" only firing up their mischievous streaks towards him.
"Ah!" Kiwi suddenly gasped, catching sight of Paulie's watch. She stood up quickly and grabbed his wrist, throwing off his concentration with the rope again. She ignored his "oi!" and checked the time she thought she saw. "Crap! Mozu! Our shift is about to start! We gotta go!"
"Bye Paulie! Come visit us sometime!" Mozu shouted out as Kiwi grabbed her wrist and tugged her towards the entrance. They took off running, cutting it close to the beginning off their shift.
Paulie was unsure if he really wanted to go through with this. His lunch break was for an hour, and usually he just bummed around with the guys eating whatever he had brought with him. But this time the suggestion made by Mozu was stuck in his head and his feet automatically took him to the bar restaurant that they worked at. He stopped at the door, his pocketed hands unable to come out to grab the doorknob and enter. He criticized himself internally for falling into their trap and coming here…but why was he falling for their trap now? It's not like it's the first time they invited him over to the bar. It couldn't be because they changed their looks…..but why now?
"Hey, you going in or not?"
Paulie jumped as someone spoke behind him, knocking him out of his thoughts and back to what was making him so conflicted. "Yeah, sorry," He said, finally taking his hand out of his pocket and grabbing the door knob. He opened the door and stepped inside, instantly greeted with sounds of people talking and having fun. He made his way over to the bar and sat in a corner that was slightly off from the large groups of people hanging together.
"EY~ Pretty ladies!" A drunkard called out, waving his hand off in the distance towards someone. "Why don't you take a break and keep me company?~"
Paulie followed his gaze and stiffened, seeing Mozu and Kiwi at the other end of his gaze, but neither of them were paying him a lick of mind. They were continuing their bartender job of filling up drinks. Their aprons were now covering their new clothes, but it was still apart that they changed their hair and styles, no longer showing off their skin, but somehow causing more attention towards them. The shouts of the one drunkard spurred on others in the bar, and soon many guys were crowding around the bar and trying to get them to hang out with them. Mozu and Kiwi however put on smiles and continued their job, and instead bribed the men to buy more drinks.
"Hey~ I know wah yer doin. Yer rejeckin meh." A drunk slurred, somehow catching onto their ways. When they didn't answer him, it only made him angrier. He reached out and grabbed Mozu's arm, dragging her over to him across so she was standing in front of him across the bar. Her hand desperately grabbed at his hand that was locked tight on her. They couldn't fight back against him or they'd make their boss mad. You aren't supposed to harm a customer after all.
"Let go!" Kiwi shouted, trying to help her sister edge away, but it seemed the advancements of the drunk caused another domino effect of the other men trying to get their attention by grabbing at them. Now the two of them were trapped behind a bar with nowhere to escape and men grabbing at them from all directions. This definitely isn't what they wanted when they changed their looks for Paulie.
Suddenly all the men were thrown back and the one grasping tightly onto Mozu had his arm ripped away and held into the air. Around his wrist was a rope, plain as day. More rope shot forward and grabbed his other arm, pulling his stumbling body backwards away from the counter and from the sisters. "I believe they told you to let them go." A gravely voice grumbled, snapping the drunk out of his jealousy and instead creating fear. "You should never force a woman to do anything."
Mozu and Kiwi knew the voice all too well and when they looked up from the group to the rope and who it led to, a sigh of relief came out of both of them. Paulie stood there with eyes dark and angry, showing that what the men had done struck a cord within him. The aura around Paulie was black and menacing as well, instantly making the man regret anything he said or did towards the two sisters. "I'm sorry!" The man shouted, taking off towards the door quickly, causing a few others to follow suit in fear that he'd come after them as well. Everyone knew Paulie, and knew he was no mere weak man, and they also knew he was not one for those who did wrong.
"Thanks," Mozu said with a nod, rubbing her arm were the man grabbed tightly. There was a faint red mark that seemed to grow brighter and brighter as time passed, showing just how tight he was holding onto her. It was enough you could even see where his fingers were.
Paulie reached out and gently grabbed her arm, surprising her by his touch, but he just turned her arm back and forth to look at the mark, only causing his irritation and anger to strengthen. He swiveled towards the other men who were in the group, his eyes furious. "Touch them again and you'll answer to me. Y'hear? You're not allowed to touch them."
The men nodded their heads like bobble heads and quickly shuffled backwards into their own group. Paulie let out a deep sigh and sat in front of the girls, as if he were a barrier between them and the rest of the pub like a wall. Mozu and Kiwi stared at him for a moment before realizing what he was doing, and then realizing he had finally taken up their offer to come visit them. It made their hearts beat fast, and not from the shock of being grabbed by drunk men. They knew it was Paulie that was causing their hearts to beat like this.
"See?" Mozu said, leaning over the counter and grabbing one of his hands that was crossed on the counter and tightened into fists.
"Told you you'd save us." Kiwi added in, bringing back up what they said early as a tease, but this time truly meaning it. She had grabbed his other hand, bringing it in front of her like Mozu had. Paulie was never one to let harm come to others, and now they felt safe because they had his protection in the pub now.
"Oi…!" He whispered in a grunt, cheeks flushing again as he looked at his hands that were being grasped by either sister.
They opened his hands up from the tight fists and touched their fingers to his calloused palm, shutting him up instantly by such a tender touch. He wasn't sure what they were doing, but somehow it was making his mind go into a tornado within his own thoughts.
"Strong hands like these are something we look for." Mozu said, trailing her fingers over the lines of his hand.
"I guess that's why we're attracted to them huh?" Kiwi added in, putting it more as a rhetorical question towards her sister. It was the truth. They were attracted to Franky and his hard working hands, and now Paulie was proving to him his personality was much like Franky's but in subtle ways.
Paulie felt his face explode into red, and the cigar in his mouth dropped as his mouth automatically opened in a panicked way at their secret confession. Mozu and Kiwi looked up at him and smiled, letting out small giggles at his reaction and finding it all the more cute and charming. It'd never get old with making him look like this. They let go of his hands and at the same time, as if they were in sync, they leaned over the counter and placed a kiss on either side of his cheeks.
"Just think about it." Kiwi said in a whisper. "We don't need an answer right away." Mozu added in, hoping to take some of the pressure off of Paulie's mind before he really exploded.
They had to get back to their duties as bartenders, and no other fuss happened again. Paulie however spent his break sitting there in shock and thought about what he should do about the situation. It wasn't until Kiwi and Mozu were waving their hands in front of his face that he finally snapped out of his stupor and was brought back to reality. But then his face exploded into red again and he stuttered towards them. "W-w-w-w-w-what?!" They held back laughter, and instead pointed towards his watch that showed his break was already up…..actually is was well passed his hour for a break.
"Shit!" He shouted, jumping up from the bar seat and racing towards the door. He stopped at the open door and quickly shuffled back to the counter where Mozu and Kiwi were watching him. "Meet me after work at the yard." He mumbled, embarrassment trying to keep the words from coming out. But he was determined to give them an answer. He wasn't going to just leave them wondering how he felt about them. But first…..he needed to figure out how he DID feel about them.
The whistle blew over the yard, signaling the end of their shift and showing the partially completely ship that they were working on diligently. The sun was already setting, casting an orange hue over the ground. Paulie sighed in relief, a small smile on his face at the great work they'd done. "Finally, the day is over!" Silence enveloped him before his mind trailed off to the tiny little voice in his head that reminded him of things too late. "GNH!" He panicked as he remembered that he was supposed to be thinking about his answer for Mozu and Kiwi. He had become so focused on the ship that he forgot about the confession and what he told them. Now the work day was over and they'd be here any moment! Paulie began looking around furiously for something to hide behind so he could think for a little bit longer…..but it was too late.
"Paulie!" The sound of two voices echoing together made him freeze in his spot and let out a choked kind of grunt.
He turned around with his lips clamped shut, nearly pushing his cigar out they were so tight. He could feel the cold sweat gathering on the back of his neck. He lifted a hand shakily, showing them he knew they were there, but it didn't take much for the sisters to see that something was up with him that was making him more than nervous. He was near heart attack nervous he was so bad. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to find the words to explain to them that he hadn't really thought about it and needed more time, but whenever he tried to get the words out they stuck in his throat and wouldn't dislodge. Mozu and Kiwi gave a small sigh and the corners of their mouths twitching into a sad/guilty sort of smile that said 'don't push yourself'.
"It's okay. We know what you're going to say." Kiwi said, holding up her hand and stopping him from trying to fumble for words anymore. It was just making the situation worse for them.
"It would be kind of weird to date girls like us, huh?" Mozu added in, her hand brushing up and down her arm across her chest in a nervous tic. "After all changing on the outside doesn't change much."
Mozu and Kiwi were always full of confidence in what they did and never batted an eye towards anything, and yet the thought of Paulie turning them down proved that even if they did change it was as if they couldn't do anything to better themselves. First Franky leaves to join another crew, and now they can't even become a part of a crew of their own.
"That's not it!" Finally Paulie was able to force some words out. It made his throat raw and had him coughing on the smoke from his cigar, but he got it out. "It doesn't matter how you two look. Whether you're appropriate like this or in those flashy get ups from before. It matters how you two are on the inside." He stopped, letting this sink into them, and stopping them from backing up anymore than they were. He stepped forward, inching towards them slowly with determined steps. "You two are brave and strong. You don't back down from a challenge. You've proven you can change yourselves if you put your mind to it….heck! That's more than most men can say they can do!" He let out a short chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He cleared his throat, getting back to topic. "What I'm trying to say is…..I didn't used to like how you two were, but maybe that's because you were always gawking at Franky. I was someone you wouldn't even glance at hardly. But now….now I have your attention….." He stopped, feeling heat creep to his cheeks. "…and you've worked hard to get mine….." He watched them turn pink this time, their efforts noticed and finally verbalized, making it all the more embarrassing. "But…..grrrrr…what I'm saying is…..! GAH!" He struggled with getting the words out again, feeling them stopping in his chest like the butterflies were unable to get out of him and instead flew around inside his chest and thrummed on his heart. "…..You already had my attention!"
Silence fell around them, the words echoing in the empty yard like it was trying to hammer it's way into all of their minds. Paulie wondered if he was able to get his meaning through. It was a short notice kind of thing, but it was what his heart was telling him to say and not his mind. But as Mozu and Kiwi stood there in silence, he began to really wonder if they understood. He sighed and dropped his head, clapping a hand to the back of his head and rubbing, feeling his embarrassment and irritation mix and mingle into a weird wave of emotion.
"You…" Mozu broke the silence, making Paulie stop his grumbling and look up quickly to the both of them. "You think we didn't pay attention to you?"
"That's….!" He began to argue, trying to think of a different way to put it before they really misunderstood him. They way he put it made him sound like a child vying for attention from their siblings or parents.
"Even when Franky was here, we still saw you." Kiwi added in, her and Mozu closing the distance between Paulie and them.
"How could we not? Everyone loved you. We just…..didn't know how to approach you…." Mozu interjected again.
"But…..I guess we have all come to a mutual understanding then." Kiwi said, leaning forward towards Paulie's face.
He turned bright red and automatically jerked his face back, surprising Kiwi in the rejection. "Don't get the wrong idea! We have to go slow! We can't just skip all the bases!" He fumbled, putting his hands up in front of him to hide his embarrassment with false anger.
The sister looked at one another and burst out laughing, understanding now how Paulie was no matter the situation. "It was just a kiss!" Kiwi told him, realizing he thought they were going towards a different route. "A small kiss won't hurt right?" Mozu asked, both her and Kiwi leaning forward and trapping Paulie before they showered kisses all around his face.
"PAULIE!"
The synced voices of Mozu and Kiwi caught Paulie's attention, again nearly making him drop a plank being hoisted by his ropes. They were hugging him around his midsection, trapping him in place.
"Oi! That was dangerous!" He shouted at them while looking down. That was when he noticed they had changed back to their old fashions. "GAH! You're indecent again!"
Kiwi and Mozu stood up and put fake pouts on their faces, flanking him on either side as they stared him down. "I thought you said it didn't matter what we looked like."
"Hold up Kiwi, I think he's just embarrassed because his wild desire is burning for us!" Mozu teased, clapping her hands together in front of her and faking hopeless love.
"Oh~ I see~ So he just doesn't know how to control himself when we look like this." Kiwi said, loud enough now that people were watching the scene going on.
"Let's see how far we can push this desire then." Mozu smirked mischievously and her and Kiwi jumped on Paulie, rubbing their bodies on his teasingly and kissing around his face. The ropes holding the plank let go, dropping it towards them before Paulie quickly stopped it inches from them.
"Oh~ So you would keep us safe!" Kiwi said with a laugh.
"You two are going to kill me." Paulie grumbled, hearing the laughter from the men on the crew watching the three of them goof off.
"It's about time!" One of them shouted, spurring shouts, hollers, and whistles towards the new romance going on.