The night sky graces everyone's presence, the moon is high up in the air, but that's the least of Sab's worries. The moment she stepped inside her apartment, she felt the chills creeping on her spine. Something is not right. She knows for the rug at the doorstep is slightly misaligned compared to when she left earlier.
There's a footprint on it, indicating that someone came here without her knowing. The training instilled in her roots is taking over her. She feigns ignorance and waited for anyone to attack her and the moment she steps inside, closing the door, she felt someone's hand grabbed her at a lightning speed, pinning her on the wall.
The instinct to fight back is there but she immediately stops herself the moment she breathes the familiar scent.
"You- "
"Hey~" That was her only warning before enthusiastic lips claimed hers, tongue eagerly thrusting in her mouth, exploring places as if it's never been there before. "Hmm, I missed you." He said in between their kisses, his hands automatically cupped Sab's backside, squeezing it before lifting her off the ground so he won't have to lean down while kissing.
They continue without a hitch, finding themselves on the old couch of the apartment with their shirts unbuttoned. Sab's straddling Kidd while he's pulling her white office shirt off her, leaving her with her sleeveless undershirt.
"I haven't - ah - showered." Sab forced her words out of her mouth when she felt Kidd such on her neck, leaving marks all over while his fingers slipped in her undershirt, slowly lifting the white linen, taking it off her eventually.
"It's fine. I don't mind." He's unstoppable, his hands automatically unclasping her brassiere, throwing it out of the way so he can cup the mounds that look as if they're begging to be played with.
And play he did.
He takes his tongue out, licking the perky right nipple that made Sab shiver, before sucking it while the other is being pinched between his fingers.
He's been deprived of her warmth for the last two weeks that he's busy dealing with stuff in his group. This is not the first time they shared this intimacy. They do this whenever they can or when Kidd feels damn horny.
The first time they did, it was the early weeks of their relationship where Kidd has to go somewhere for three weeks. The accumulated desire just exploded and Sab got the first taste of how it's like to deprive Kidd of his wants. That was her first time too.
She's too focused on her work and goals that any kind of sexual activity never crossed her mind, maybe it did in her subconsciousness, but she never thought of doing it with anyone else just for the heck of it.
Kidd was so damn pleased to know he's her first man.
"Let's take a bath first, please." Sab begs when she felt Kidd's hands exploring the lower part of her body, unbuckling her belt to expose the black underwear she's wearing. They had sex without baths before, but that had been when both are intoxicated with alcohol. She'd rather clean the dust off her body first before indulging herself in the pleasure he's demanding.
Just the mere thought of feeling his cock inside her made her whimper. Two weeks is too long to be deprived of sex. He transformed her body to an extent that it will constantly ask for his warmth.
"Fine."
And that's how they find themselves naked in her bathroom, under the lukewarm shower. She should have expected that Kidd won't stop even when they're supposed to clean themselves first. He turned into a ravenous beast as soon as he saw her naked in front of him.
"Nnghh~" She bit her lips as she moans when feeling his two fingers thrusting inside her. Kidd just didn't waste his time to get her wet.
"You look ready to take me in~" He whispers in her ears. Sab's hands are on the cold walls of the shower room, her back against Kidd. "You want it?" He rubs her hard cock on her naked back, letting her feel the girth and hardness. "Say you want it." He demands, still grinding against her, one hand is massaging her breast while the other is busy finger-fucking her to oblivion.
It sometimes makes her annoyed how he wants her to beg for it when he's the one who initiated this. But then again, when she does, he gives it to her hard and unrelenting, just like how she wants it.
"From the looks and feels of it, you also want to be inside. I can sort of feel your pre-cum, ready to cum anytime soon?" She fires back, smirking confidently while reaching for the cock that's at her back, giving it a few strokes that made the red-haired man groan in satisfaction.
Kidd's smirk grew wider, his eyes spark with amusement because only Sab, just her, can ever stir him to this level.
"You're instigating me." He pulled his fingers out but didn't leave the area, instead, it went straight to her clit, pinching the sensitive part before aligning his cock in her entrance in one hard thrust that left Sab's knees weak.
His thrusts are hard and slow, earning whimpers from the woman. He grunts whenever her walls clamp on his cock, squeezing it so tightly.
"Hmm, yes! Ah, Kidd - " Sab had no time to process what is happening because he pulled out of her just so he can change their position, lifting her thigh to hook it on his hips just so he can thrust inside again.
"Yes, baby. You love me when I thrust into you like this, huh?" It's not just his cock that does the thrusting, it's also his tongue when he leans to capture Sab's gaping mouth.
"Shit, Kidd, ah! Slow down, ugh-" But he didn't. Since when did he stop? Her pleas only motivate him to go faster, harder, make her cum and see stars.
They reached their highs fairly quickly. The sexual deprivation may have been a factor as to why since it normally takes an hour before they reach their orgasm.
Kidd pulled out of her before stroking his cock, shooting cum on her stomach that made her glare at him.
To pacify her annoyance, he made sure to wash her clean before bringing her to her bedroom for another round of fucking.
He watches her ride his cock as if her life depends on it. She commanded him not to move at all which is hard, but she enjoys herself on top of him, in control of the rhythm. Kidd doesn't mind the view, he loves it. He loves watching her exposed breasts bouncing when he impales herself on his hard cock, or when she grinds, desperate for friction inside her.
Sab is thankful that in the months they've been together, she managed to get used to his size. The first time they had sex, she remembered not being able to walk for the entire day, well, they were fucking like rabbits the entire night, so there's that contributing factor too, but his size and the hard thrusts are two of the deciding factors whether she gets to walk or not.
"I told you not to come here without telling me." After a few rounds of insatiable sex, they lay on her bed with her head on his chest while his hands are protectively wrapped on her waist with his hand constantly caressing her naked back.
"I was being careful."
"Careful and you don't belong in one sentence. Add the word 'not' or 'reckless', yeah, I will believe it."
"I can be careful, okay?" It's his time to pout.
"Yes, yes. Just kidding... Or not."
They laughed together before asking each other how they have been doing. For someone known to be ruthless in the streets, Kidd surprisingly holds a soft spot for Sab. Only her will get this kind of special treatment, and only her will he ever listens to. There are times when Kidd is headstrong and being stubborn, refusing any suggestions from his members that they have to ask her to talk to him. They trust her to drive rationality into Kidd's stubborn brain, and she did.
As much as possible, she'd like to stay out of the group's decision-making discussion or the matters that only get circulated within the higher echelon, but they just trust her to advise them whenever she can.
"Do you ever have plans to tell him?" One day, Ann suddenly asks this question that made Sab blinking, a little confused. "Kidd. You know, about you."
This also took Luffia's attention, directing her innocent-looking eyes at Sab, waiting for a response.
"About me? To what extent though?" Her life's pretty much messed up. Too many secrets that they need to keep. It's not like she doesn't want to tell him but the question is how much is she willing to share? At this moment, even though she holds him with high importance, her priorities will remain the same.
Revenge.
And that priority remained the same even when she faced one of the hardest decisions in her life.
She landed a job in the Celestial Law Firm right after getting her license. It's one of the most coveted Law Firms in Grandline, the best of the best but the reason she wants to be here is not because of its prestige. She's here to extract information and do an inside digging against the elites of Grandline as well as the secrets that the World Government holds.
Information. Proof. These are what they need.
"This is your first case." One of the senior lawyers gave her a folder. "You've been informed that we specialize in sending Mafia Groups to prison, right?"
"I am aware." She answered.
"Good. Then do your best not to slack and send this headache of a man to prison. The evidence is all there. Should be easy for you, right?" Sab doesn't trust the man's eyes especially the way he delivered the message, so she decided to open the folder only to see a very familiar face and name. "You used to work in a convenience store right next to their base. If you have more information that can help speed up the case, that would be great. Unless..."
Sab fought so hard not to clench her jaw while looking at the man.
"Unless you want to obstruct information and justice. But that wouldn't be the case, isn't it?"
It's a challenge, one that she cannot back down. If she does, everything she worked hard for will be thrown away. World Government will become wary of her and extracting information may be hard to do from now on.
What Sab needs the most is to cement her status in this firm.
Sadly, she must do it at the expense of sending her lover to prison.
Family or lover. These are her choices.
"Of course. I will see through it that this man will in jail for the crimes he committed."
Such memories never stopped coming back to Sab. Everything just came back all at once.
"Heh~ Didn't think you will visit this soon." Kidd's voice rang in her ears. She's now inside his hideout, the same hideout behind that convenience store she used to work for. The building was renovated, but it still feels the same.
"I keep my word." She fired back.
She stands here before him not as Sab, but as Blue.
"Good. Now, what can you offer me?" His manners when dealing with people have changed. Was it because of the time he spent in the prison cell? Maybe.
"Shouldn't I ask you of that? What can you offer me? I have more information than you can imagine. Including the deals behind Kaido and Apoo." She knows she's touching a very sore subject because the moment she mentioned it, Kidd's face instantly turned menacing, glaring at her.
"What do you know about those fuckers?"
"You said we will make a deal. Information for information. Give me details about the list of officials involved in the recent smuggling of slaves in Southern parts and I will give you Apoo's base."
"How can I trust that information?"
"It's a deal, isn't it?" Sab said.
"Yes, but this is our first deal. You see, in this world, you know damn well trust is never easily given. You can very well send me to my death and I could have done the same to you." When he mentioned the word trust, Sab knows that he might be referring to her as Sab, not as Blue.
She has no time to be feeling guilty, not after accepting that job.
"What do you propose?"
"Simple. Accompany me in my visit to that base. What do you say?" Sab scoffs.
"Are you asking me to accompany your raid to his base?"
"Yes, simple, isn't it? In return, I can accompany you to your raids too, if you will ever have one. Do members of your groups do raids? Ah, yes. You burned one branch after all."
"Fine, I will accompany you. But make sure you give me the list. If this is nothing but a scam, I swear, you don't want the Revolutionary Army as your enemy." This is Blue talking to Kidd. No one in Grandline will ever want Revolutionary Army as their enemy, not when their attacks have been nothing but bold against the World Government.
If they dare face the largest association in the Grandline, what more with Mafia Groups?
"It's a deal, then." Kidd stood up, approaching her figure to offer his hand with a smirk on his face.
"It's a deal."
The moment she took his hand, Sab wonders if she's playing with fire once again.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Ann breathes in and out, composing herself before her performance. She's dolled up for the night and the people in the bar's been shouting for her name, just like a superstar.
The roars from the people never stopped when she came out to perform on the stage and it would have been just any night for her had it not been for the person she spotted in the crowd.
He stands out amongst the crowd even though he's standing in the corner of the bar where everyone will see him less. Maybe it's the presence that he holds.
The moment their eyes meet, he instantly smiles at her, waving like an old friend visiting a workplace.
She sings and dances like usual, albeit she tries not to look in his direction even though his eyes are following her every move.
Found you when your heart was broke
I filled your cup until it overflowed
Took it so far to keep you close (keep you close)
I was afraid to leave you on your own
I said I'd catch you if you fall
And if they laugh, then fuck 'em all (all)
And then I got you off your knees
Put you right back on your feet
Just so you could take advantage of me
She dances to the tune, walking from one table to another to incite the crowd to cheer for her. The excitement never died down in this bar when she's performing.
Despite being here to act as a spy of some sort, she enjoys the liberty of performing on stage, seeing the expressions of the crowd pleases her.
And deep inside, she feels like she's above them because just one move from her and she can blow this place up. But not that she's crazy to do that. She knows that there are innocent people here, at least on her list. When she and her sisters started this rigorous journey, they swore that none of them will ever be crazy to kill people who are innocent unless necessary.
"Whooo!"
"Ann! Ann!"
Tell me how's it feel sittin' up there
Feeling so high but too far away to hold me
You know I'm the one who put you up there
Name in the sky
Does it ever get lonely?
Thinking you could live without me
Thinking you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (yeah, I don't know why)
Thinking you could live without me
Live without me
She finishes the song without a problem and it's time for her to start a new one on stage. She's in the middle of the crowd and was about to go back when a drunkard suddenly grabbed her arm, instantly wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Hey." A protest came out of her mouth, glaring at the man.
It's not just one man, but there are about 4 of them. The cheers died down, instantly the regulars were protesting to the four men.
"Oi! Let her go!"
"Don't you know where you are?"
These are just a few warnings coming from the regulars, yet none of them stepped forward because these four are none other than members of the infamous Blackbeard group.
Ann is very much tempted to smack and kill these bastards, but she stayed her hand, trusting that the bouncers of the bar will make a move. The managers must be calling their emergency backups when needed. From what Ann learned, they usually contact the family members in case situations like these arise.
"Let go of me." She said.
"You know... Boss has been asking for you a lot of times already." Jesus Burgess said.
"And I told you no. Several times already. Your boss can go to hell for all I care." Because I will make sure he will go to hell for messing with me.
"You know - " Jesus Burgess stopped talking when all of a sudden, a knife was thrown on the table. Everyone is silent. Even the music stopped. What echoes are the footsteps of a man coming out of the dark corner.
The light coming from the central part of the bar slowly illuminating the identity of the man. And to those who didn't notice, it came as a surprise that such a big name is here in the bar.
Sometimes, Ann hates that just by standing and staying silent, Marco had no problem executing his authority.
"Ah. A big fish is here." Burgess let Ann go.
"Do you want to mess with me, yoi?" Marco folded his sleeves till it reveals his muscled arms.
With the appearance of Marco, the bouncers stepped forward as his backup. Worst comes to worst, it will be a one-sided battle against the four men under Blackbeard.
"Tsk! Fine." Burgess signaled his men to follow him to the exit.
"Your payment." Marco said suddenly, stepping in front of Burgess. "Did you pay for the drinks and food you ordered, yoi?"
"Wiihahaha! Funny guy. Don't be stingy - " Burgess didn't have time to even finish all his words because what came was a fist straight to his face followed by a kick that sent him with his butt on the cold floor.
"We don't tolerate this kind of shit here." Marco said. "You interrupted the performance and you think you can get away not paying for what is due? You got some guts and that pisses me off, yoi. Not in our territory."
Burgess is a man known to not back away from a fight, but he knows fighting here will only get him killed. Not when it's Marco Newgate he's facing. So, he ends up paying double the amount before leaving.
Ann remains standing throughout the ordeal, witnessing once again how fearsome Marco can be when pissed off.
His demeanor looks like a demon from hell, his blue eyes spark with bloodlust that made her shiver. This ought to have made her scared because this is a formidable enemy, but for some reason, it just made her heart beat faster, not in nervousness but excitement.
"You're showing a bit, don't you think? A little overkill." She said, shaking her head.
"Well, can't help it, yoi." He smiles, taking the knife off the table. "Performance is over. Resume your drinking everyone." And he guides her to the back, his hand on her shoulder.
No one ever protested and just resumed with the music that is played by the DJ.
They went straight to the designated dressing room for employees like Ann. The room is empty, save for a few scattered clothes on top of a couch.
"This is why I want you to consider what I told you last time, yoi." It's funny how his voice turned softer compared to earlier.
"They're mostly manageable." She countered. "And I'm used to it."
"It's not reassuring."
"You're pushy, aren't you?"
"And you're stubborn."
The subtle flirtation in their voices is evident. Ann had come to terms with accepting the opportunity presented to him by her enemy. She never made any obvious moves to get close to any of them, opting to work behind the scenes, yet here is one of them, professing his attraction to her.
Who is she to say no?
All she needs is to be careful not to get caught just like she always does. How many deals did she blow for her enemies without getting caught? Countless.
Being inside the circle of Whitebeard, she will be protected while moving from the shadows. Perfect for her.
"Fine. Fine." She feigned a resignation over him. "Only because you're insisting. Also, I have to notify Bay about this so they can find a replacement."
"You don't have to worry about that, I'll talk to her, yoi."
Ann can't help but look at Marco, or more like stare at him.
"What?"
"No... Just, you're doing me too much favor and I'm not sure how I can repay that. Unless you're the type of guy to ask for a date as payment."
"Hey, don't look at me suspiciously, okay? I'm not asking for anything in exchange. Although... now that you mentioned that, it's not a bad idea, yoi. I totally won't mind that." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyes never leaving her, letting her decide what to do.
Had it been other people, Ann would have put an act here and flirted with him aggressively, but a sudden change of attitude will make him suspicious. This man is formidable, any move may place her plans in jeopardy.
"Right..." She looked away for a moment, dismissing his initiative. It made him disappointed. "I'll buy you a meal if I get accepted in that job. As thanks."
"Really?" His smile returned.
"Yes. But don't expect anything grand like what you're used to. And it's only IF I get accepted."
"It's a date, then, yoi." She only raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. And that's the exact moment that someone knocked on the door.
"Ann?"
"Yes?"
The door opens, revealing a very worried Bay.
"Oh, hey. You're still here, Marco."
"Yes."
"Sorry, I was in the other branch. I got a call about that incident. Are you okay, Ann?"
"Yes, no worries. It's all taken care of."
"That's a relief, thank goodness. Why don't you call it a night? Take some rest."
"I'll drive you home, yoi." Marco said before Ann can answer Bay. "I'll wait outside till you've finished changing clothes." And he walks away.
Bay's eyes are on Marco's before it turns to Ann. From the worried look, her eyes changed to a more meaningful one. Her smile is one thing too.
"I'll leave you to change." And she left. When Bay left the room, he chanced upon Marco in the hallway, waiting for Ann. "Didn't think you'll be here without notifying me."
"Not a word." Marco raised his pointing finger, warning Bay not to tell anyone about this, although he doubts he can keep this information to him self given there were several members of the family that are in the bar.
"Hmm, sure, lover boy. But you better warn Haruta who's outside though."
This made Marco roll his eyes because with a Haruta around, for sure, his siblings are bound to know about this incident. He better be prepared to be interrogated and teased to no ends.
A few minutes passed by, Ann stepped out of the room just in time before Haruta arrives where they are.
"Come on, let's go." Marco did not waste any time grabbing Ann's hand, leading him to the back exit where he parked his car. "Not a word, Bay. Not a word." But the woman shrugs it off, letting them leave.
And as they are exiting the building, Haruta saw them, eyes instantly darted to the hands that are clasped together. The youngest Commander of Whitebeard gasped, and Marco can only sigh.
There goes the gossip about to circulate in their family. Although that will be the case, he can't help but feel satisfied that at least, she's warming up to him now.
And that meal? He's damn looking forward to it.
Marco went home an hour later, feeling lighthearted. He has nothing to do tonight which is why he dropped by in the bar out of nowhere. He's glad he did.
But his light mood soon turned sour because an hour after he came home, he received a piece of terrible news.
The yacht that contained some of their firearms has been set on fire. Amidst the commotion that the fire caused, a figure standing on top of a nearby building is smiling down at the scene.
The figure is none other than Firefist.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
PS: Song: Without Me by Halsey
AN: I can't believe I'm already in the 17th Chapter, and have yet to have the major scenes. LOL. slow burn indeed.