Chapter 4 – Fix It Up
On their way to the place of the wreckage, Killer had given her a bit of input at to where they were headed as well as some information about where she was. She didn't recognize any names of islands which confirmed her fears of being in a whole different world which neither had any clue still how that was possible. He had even questioned her about possible Devil Fruit abilities but she was completely unaware as to what that was.
Killer had a knack for explaining things and was rather patient with her and her questioning but their discussion was cut short once they had arrived at the scene of the crime, Kidd already there, working on the repairs. He had taken off his long jacket and was wearing a scruffy, old shirt instead. Skyler couldn't help but notice that the shirt did very little to hide how toned his body actually was and noticed especially that his arms were very defined. He took care of himself and the bulk he had, showed her that he didn't just sit in the side lines.
Those were not muscles for show, they were used and they were used properly as well.
"Are you going to sit there gawking all day!?" Kidd roared at her, snapping her out of her trance. "You have to take all this shit out." He gestured to the broken boards on the floor.
"Sure thing, buddy." She mumbled under her breath receiving an annoyed 'Ah!?' from Kidd. She held back a smile that threatened to appear and went straight to work, both her and Killer bringing out of the room the broken boards that Kidd had pointed out. In the meantime, the captain was bringing in new boards to substitute everything.
Looking around Skyler noticed that the room was kind of a workshop, there were various carpentry tools hanging on the wall, some small storage cabinets as well and a large workshop table that, luckily, had escaped the damage of the fall she had taken with Killer.
"Hey Skyler, come here." Killer called out to her and she nodded, going to stand next to him. He was looking up at the broken ceiling. "Can I give you a boost? It'll be easier to take out the damaged boards from the top."
"Can't I just use the stairs like a normal person?" It wasn't that long of a distance if she had a bit of a boost, but she couldn't make the jump by herself. "Plus, my leg is still injured."
"It's faster this way and you can always use your other leg." Killer informed and she scrunched her nose still in doubt of the jump because of her injury. "I'll be gentle with the lift."
"This is a dumb idea but alright… If this shit opens up again, you'll be the one stitching it up again!" She pointed a finger at Killer to make sure that he understood that she was talking about him in particular.
"Even though I am not a doctor?" Killer pointed out, a smile appearing on his features, hidden away by his mask.
"Tough shit. You ruin it, you'll fix it!" She highlighted again, trying to push away the memories of how warm his touch had felt when he had inspected her wounds earlier. "Give me a second." She headed towards the wall where multiple tools were hanging, and went to pick up a hammer.
"Hey, hey! Don't touch my shit!" Kidd grabbed her wrist, preventing her from taking his hammer with her.
"I need it to take the nails out!" She explained, yanking her wrist from his grasp. "Or do you want me to fuck up your ship a bit more by kicking the boards down?" She knew she hit a weak spot. The way he had spoken about having to repair the ship, saying the name of the ship, showed that there was sentimentality involved. His reaction towards her taking the hammer showed that he was the main user of that workshop and that, the highest probability, was that he either had a big part in the construction of the ship.
"Fine…" He almost pouted, as if she had just stolen one of his toys. Maybe there was more emotions to him besides anger.
"Thank you." She gave him a smile, trying to calm down the beast that was Kidd and headed for Killer. "Can you give me a boost?" Killer nodded and crouched lightly, intertwining his fingers to give her a platform for her. She placed her foot on his hand and placed her hands on his shoulders, not noticing that her chest was almost glued to Killer's masked face. His breath hitched and, trying to compose himself, looked up to at least not stare right towards her boobs. Instead he was staring straight up to a blushing Skyler that was looking down at him, waiting for him to boost her up. "Hm… Killer?"
"Yeah, I know. On three." He tried to hide the embarrassment in his voice and counted before helping her up. She got onto the top deck with ease, years of strength building helping quite a bit and got back to work, pulling out the nails and always calling out whenever she dropped a board to the lower level.
Despite paying attention to his work, Kidd did sneak glances up at Skyler. He had convinced himself that he was doing that only because he had to make sure she wouldn't ruin anything around the ship. At the same time, he had to at least appreciate the efficiency and speed she was removing the broken boards and was mindful to give a heads up whenever she was throwing them down. What he still hadn't managed to convince himself of was that he was also sneaking glances because her clothes were baggy enough that he could notice, every once in a while, her cleavage.
He had to mentally slap himself, trying to persuade himself that he was not some horny man that drooled at the sight of clothed boobs.
Once he noticed most of the broken boards had been removed, Kidd made his way up to deck, to where Skyler was and knelt down next to her, bumping his shoulder against hers. She almost lost her balance.
"Hey! Watch it!" She warned him, her hands holding onto the edges of the hole, preventing her from falling back down.
"Move it, this is the part you stop before you ruin my ship." Kidd grumbled, taking the hammer from her hands. Using his Devil fruit, he attracted a few nails from the workshop below them and called for Killer to start handing him the good boards to start closing up the hole.
Skyler stared in awe at his magnetic ability, seeing the nails float up with this purple light surrounding it. This did not go unnoticed by Kidd, who felt his ego grow even more than what it already was.
"How on earth do you do that?" She asked but regretted immediately when she saw the hubris this man was spilling out. He was going to speak but she stopped him with a hand in the air, an expression of annoyance on her face. "Never mind. I'll ask Killer since he doesn't have an ego the size of the world."
"What the fuck did you just say!?" Kidd shouted at her.
"Who says I don't?" Killer called out from below them, earning himself a smile from Skyler. Killer knew that he always tried to keep himself humble but there were moments, he knew for sure, that his ego spoke a lot louder than reason. A lot of that confidence came whenever he fought. He trusted his skills in combat and knew his body well so he had all the reason to let his ego get as big as it was. But, unlike Kidd that proudly boasted about his abilities even if outmatched, Killer kept it filtered, toned down, unless the situation called for it.
"Listen here," Kidd called her, drawing her attention back to him, his hand managing to snake behind her neck, holding her still and locking his red eyes to her green ones. Her eyes widened and she had to fight against her body's response to throw him down to the workshop. That is, if she managed to throw him down given that he looked to be very heavy. "What I have is confidence, and I am very confident in the things that I can do. Don't test me on it or you'll regret it." Despite his low, threatening tone, his lips were adorned with the widest grin she had ever seen. There was but a moment of tension between the two as they started at one another, Kidd noticing how her nostrils widened as her breath hastened. He noticed her cheeks were flushed from the work she had been doing, maybe even from his touch on her neck. Clicking his tongue, he let her go and went back to work. "If you're curious, just ask." He mumbled those words, barely audible for her ears but she managed to understand given the proximity between the two.
Skyler looked down, hands on her knees as she tried and steady her breathing and her heart that chose that time to beat faster than usual. She tried to push away whatever she was feeling in her chest but she couldn't ignore how his touch felt like it burnt her skin or how his eyes seemed to pierce right through her, holding her gaze in a hypnotic trance.
She coughed to try and shake away the feeling and tried to distract herself by organizing her hair in a high, tight bun to pull away whatever stray hairs that had fallen over her face.
"Right, so… how did you do that?" She didn't look at him but felt his gaze on her as she reached down towards another board that was handed up by Killer. She knew well she couldn't hide her blush from both of them but at least Kidd wouldn't see it and berate or mock her for it. On the other hand she didn't like much the idea that Killer could see her face red as a tomato but she didn't have any other place to turn to. She was helping with repairs, there was no escape from those two.
As Kidd dived into the explanation of his devil fruit, understanding that it worked basically like a magnet, the trio continued with the repairs at a good rhythm. What Kidd had told her about his abilities was archaic at best, he did not have much of a knack for explaining, but Killer would complement with whatever information it was deemed useful for her to understand better. This only left her with more curiosity for this world and the possibilities of what other devil fruits could offer.
At the same time, she did not enjoy that the cost of eating a devil fruit would be to lose ability to swim and become incredibly weak when in touch with water. But, from what Killer explained, there was no clear explanation as to why Devil Fruit users were 'rejected' by the sea. But there seemed to be some inconsistencies with how this weakness worked given that they had to be submerged in water, whatever water it would be, but the rain wouldn't have that effect because the devil fruit user would not be submerged. This whole explanation and uncertainty of some aspects of devil fruit users was leaving Skyler's brain in a knot and, to some extent, even Kidd who didn't pay much mind to all the peculiarities of the devil fruit itself.
Still, Skyler now had a better idea of, at least, one aspect of this new world she found herself in. A world so different from hers, having a fantasy side to it that was so interesting but could be so dangerous at the same time. Still, some things don't change, even in different worlds, and it seemed that the ambiguity of human nature was a constant.
And even in a world that seemed foreign to her, there was still hospitality that could make her feel welcome, even within the unknown. Killer had told her he would help her to try and make her stay on the ship, possibly helping her go back home. Quincy had greeted her and taken care of her with such joy and energy that Skyler had been needing.
She was grateful there were a few people that were on her side, trying to help her in her current state of affairs. Skyler was a question mark to the pirates but some had greeted her warmly while others remained wary, understandably so. There was no fault to being careful, especially when they were considered outlaws of society, being chased down by the figures of authority, the Marines. There was nothing that could prove that she was not part of the Marines and still Kidd had, at least, agreed to take her to land once they arrived at the next island, risking his neck if she was a marine officer.
This show of character was something that Quincy had mentioned and Skyler could understand a bit as to why she would follow this man. There was something endearing to him as well but she would never openly admit that, not wanting to risk him showing off like a peacock.
The trio finished the repairs by the time the sun was setting and it was a beautiful view when in the middle of the ocean. Everything had a beautiful tone of red and orange and Skyler couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it. It was a different experience to see the sun setting whilst in the middle of the ocean when compared to standing on a beach. The light refracting from the water surface was more intense and seemed to shine brighter.
"Oi, you'll burn your eyes out." Kidd spoke out, gently smacking the back of Skyler's head.
"At least I wouldn't be looking at the mug of yours." She teased, sticking out her tongue and angering the captain.
He knew well she was just trying to get on his nerves, but she did have a talent to do that with very little effort. He grabbed her jaw with one hand, right below her chin, and squeezed her cheeks, giving her a smug grin.
"I am much better looking than you." He teased back, that grin growing wider as he saw her brows furrow into a death glare. "Plus, you'd miss this face."
He was right about being good looking, Skyler was sure of that. He had a charm to him and he was handsome as well but what got to her was the intensity he had in his eyes. There was confidence and it wasn't from being cocky, she could see he had reason to be confident in his abilities. It wasn't just that, it seemed that everything about him was intense, almost as blinding as the setting sun around them and, much like the colours that the sea and sky had changed into, everything about him was red and hot.
"At this rate, you'll miss dinner as well!" Killer spoke out from the door that led below deck, snapping the two out of the staring contest they were in. Kidd released Skyler's face rather abruptly and immediately rushed down to the lower deck, towards the location where the promise of food awaited him. Skyler let out a "humph", crossing her arms over her chest, pretending to be annoyed but found endearing how childish Kidd was towards the prospect of dinner. As if he suddenly forgot their bickering and was reduced to a caveman answering the call of his stomach. And she should do the same because, as she was thinking that, her belly started to grumble. "You better hurry, otherwise Kidd will eat the whole kitchen clean."
"I'm going!" She limped to his side, walking as fast as she could, and headed down as well.
Looking ahead to where she had disappeared, Killer's mind was replaying the image of her blushing face and couldn't help the flutter he felt in his chest. He pushed it down, not wanting to dive into whatever he was feeling at the moment.
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A/N:
Another chapter down and I feel like everything is going along well. I am enjoying more the changes that have been done and with the rhythm of the story itself. I have pushed certain plotlines I had already written to a bit later so as to have time for the other characters of Kidd's crew to show up.
I am taking my time with the rewrite but it's mostly proofreading to make sure there are no mistakes. I've notice that there are a lot of words that are missing because I write too fast and can't keep up with what I am thinking of.
I am sorry with this taking a bit longer than expected but I do want to take my time to make sure I do a better job than before.