βͺ Just trying different numbers, didn't think that you'd pick up!
Den Den Mushis are confusing gadgets for 1OP Men... They keep butt dialing you!
the other one seemed to have blown up... so here's another! desperate but not pushy ex-boyfriend 1OP Men is such a silly concept to me. lowercase and minimal use of 'y/n' intended.
PORTGAS D ACE tries to ignore the way his mini den den's been sleeping for the whole week. even after the 2 months since your break up, he still stays up, waiting for any word from you. so when the moby dick erupts in a night-long feast, he drowns himself in every booze and liquor he can find. and before he can stop himself, he's dialing your number !
"why won't you call me? hic is itβ is it the new guy?"
he'd grunt before inevitably falling off his seat and mumbling, "the brunet with the mole under his eye."
you hear a laughter on the other side all while ace continues to pout and whine about some guy he's seen that you're painfully not aware of.
"does he keep you warm like I do? is he hotter than me? is that it?"
before you can answer, another round of laughter arises.
and for a moment, as you opened your lips to answer him, he whimpers. genuinely sobs over the mic of the snail.
"can I come over? I promise we'll just talk, Iβ I just miss you. miss you. s- so much."
"alright, that's enough." thatch's voice breaks through, and you hear ace getting dragged away by someone else. "sorry, y/n. acey had too many bottles."
you don't answer with a word. just a sigh, and it's enough for thatch to realize ace's blunder.
"the cafe's closed on weekends. tell him that."
for a party, you'd expect music and laughter. but after your answer, everyone goes dead silent.
"if he wants to visit.. that is..."
for a moment, the moby dick stills. even the frantic dancing of waves that crashed along the ship calms.
and even when you don't see their faces, you hear their joy when music flares up again along with bottles and glass clinking. cheers and yelps of joy fill the ship.
"i'll be sure to pass the message on." thatch chuckles looking at ace's dazed stare, staring at his crewmate with disbelief when he hears you himself.
"I'LL COME SEE YOU SOON!"
TRAFALGAR D WATER LAW has been fiddling with the cord of his den den mushi, clearly looking at it with disdain. despite having the relationship break off, law still worries about you when you're out of the ship. he reasons that it's because you're still part of his crew. definitely not because he wants you two back together ! so when idly picking on the dial with one hand and writing a report again with the other, he instinctively dials you.
your voice cracks against the silence of his office, and he physically and riotously backs away.
did he do that? did he call you? without noticing?
was his body so used to the fact that he palpably needed to check on you to the point that it literally moves on its own?
you broke him. no, you can't do that. you can't just resort to calling him by his name. you just can't. it does things. painfully, gut wrenching things.
"iβ i'm sorry. i must've dialed accidentally."
your end silences before you speak again.
"it's fine. if you don't need anything, i'll end the call nowβ"
"no, wait!" he interjects before he thinks.
what was he supposed to say now? don't end the call, y/n, i wanna keep listening to you. tell me about your day! where have you been? i haven't seen you on the ship all day.
"the market, just got finished buying groceries."
"i see. are you with someone?"
"ikkaku. she's picking up some cleaning materials."
this felt awfully familiar. talking to him while doing errands. too familiar.
he cuts you off again, "what's for dinner?"
"... i'm pretty sure we're grilling fish tonight."
"sit with me later. i... i'll pick the bones for you."
and for the first time in a while you hear a tenderness in his voice. there wasn't joy by any means. just pure unadulterated softness.
without meaning to, law audibly let's out a breath he's been subconsciously holding. "good. see you."
RORONOA ZORO doesn't trust himself enough handling one of the transponder snails. not when it looks so smug sleeping. not when any moment he could impulsively come calling for you like a desperate little puppy. but he's so lonely with all these bottles of booze. a whole crater of it! and you were so far away from him. an entire ocean away !
"zoro, it's... it's the middle of the night."
you sigh, sitting up on your bed, gulping down half of the water from your nightside glass. "zoro, don't you think we should have this conversation face to face. preferably in the morning? when neither of us are drunk?"
"yuo juz leff.. no warninghhh!.."
"woah, is that y/n?" luffy's voice cuts through the line and it's clear he snatches the mic from the swordsman. "hi, y/n!"
"you called! did you call to check on zoro? he's kinda drunk right now. which is weird cause he's never usually this drunk so it must've took him A LOT of bottlesβ"
there's a ringing in your ear that drowns out luffy's rambling. fatigue, stress, anxiety. whatever it is, you can't focus.
"i think he's drinking a lot because he misses you."
"i know you have your reasons, y/n. but the crew misses you. especially zoro. even if you're not a part of our crew anymore, you're still our friend. so... call us more often, 'kay?"
you purse your lips, rubbing the bridge of your nose as tears fill your eyes. "y-yeah. i'll call more often..."
the boy cheers, "hear that, zoro! they'll call more!"
"... i'll call you back in the morning, luffy."
"'kayyyy!" he ends the call himself, not before you hear a loud and panic grunt from zoro.
BLACK LEG SANJI knows very well how persistent he can be. it's in his nature. but by the gods, your constant absence tempts him to sneak a peak and hear about your day. he respects you enough to just stare at the den den mushi of the kitchen every 20 minutes, just as a precaution if he ever hears from you. maybe he will. maybe you'll call. but he's not patient enough when he overhears the girls chat about you.
sanji hasn't realized he's called you. he was just picking on the dial button and started twirling around the kitchen.
and you haven't had the voice to call him out.
"oh, mon cher, how you've engraved a massive hole in my heart."
"what if they're hurt? worse! what if they're not eating well!"
he wails as he starts chopping the carrots and potatoes, sobbing about how he should've fought harder to make you stay with him and the crew.
"how terrible. they're probably getting hit on by a bunch of weird poeple!"
"sanji! luffy's dunking his head in the aquarium for food again!" ussop wails, only to stop himself as his gaze pans between the cook and the deadpan look of the snail which is clearly on.
"we should all just starve until y/n comes back to the crew." sanji whines dramatically, and for some reason he still doesn't hear the sigh from the other end of the line.
ussop points at the snail, waving another hand over his face. "you should tell 'em that yourself."
sanji freezes, turning his head just slightly to face the snail and it's mirrored boredom from you.
"are you finally done wailing?" you'd speak, a sign for ussop to leave the room. but he can't. the tea is too hot to leave alone.
"i'm gone for barely half a year. a month at most."
sanji puts the knife down, pulls a stool and just stares at the snail.
"now you don't talk. honestly, sanji, if you were just going to moan about how incapable I am of protecting myself, you shouldn't haveβ"
"i thought I'd never hear your voice again in so long."
ussop just scoffs from the corner of the booth where he sat when sanji tears up, "here we go."
"... i'll be back in 3 months. let's talk then."
"but you'll still call right? even when you're not with us in the meantime?"
the silence stretches for a moment, and ussop sucks in a breath through his teeth in embarrassment. but sanji doesn't waver. he straightens his back, waiting for your response.
"i'm free during lunch time."
MONKEY D LUFFY doesn't make mistakes. he does, however, relish happy accidents. nami doesn't trust him handling the transponder snail by himself most times. and he's not bothered to take a miniature one when he's scouting an island alone. you'd be presumptuous to think he'd follow responsible and ethical ways of communication. but sometimes, he just likes to pick on the dial and buzz you a call or two. just to hear you nag him again.
he snickers, picking up the mic closer to his lips.
"how's the island? find any cool stuff?"
you hesitate. despite closing the chapter between you two, luffy insists everything is fine between you both. to him, there's no tension whatsoever.
at least, that's how you see it.
that's how he makes you perceive it.
"uh, yeah, a lot. why didn't you come along?"
now he's quiet. a little too quiet for your taste. "just guarding the sunny. bring me food when you come back, I'm starving!" he snickers once more.
you let out a laugh, one he's too familiar with. one that makes his heart jump a little too fast for his liking.
"you sure do act like everything's okay, huh?"
"everything is okay." he insists. "if everything wasn't okay, you'd tell me."
you smile, huffing a final laugh of resignation. but before you can speak, he butts in.
"i was waiting for you to call me when you got into the market." he's just a little bit quiet this time. a little more than usual. "was waiting for you to tell me about the stuff you find."
"well, kinda weird when i'm not your partner anymore."
"you don't have to be my partner to tell me what makes you happy. we're still friends."
you only hum, and on his end you sound distracted. distracting yourself from him.
"but, i don't wanna be just friends with you again..." he'd mutter, looking away from the snails gaze.
silence hovers you both before you clear your throat to speak, "let's talk about this when sanji and I get back."
FLAME EMPEROR SABO normally never worries. honestly, it would be the other way around. at this point, every commanding officer of the revolutionary army would have a patch of white hair somewhere with the stress they deal with when it comes to sabo. but this time, it's different. this time, he doesn't have a clue as to what he should do. you're capable, you're strong. but unlike before when you'd send the tiniest signal to him through a ping, he's actually fuddled. so when push comes to shove and he finally loses control, he fumbles and dials your number, biting his inner cheek, physically nerved.
"heyβ koala." the lie slips past his lips awkwardly when he hesitates to say another person's name, trying to make excuses.
"i was wondering if you could, uh, bring that report about the thing to my office." he starts rambling about a non-existent event, trying to pass his way through this call.
"hey, sabo, hack's looking for you in the meeting hall."
koalas voice is clear as a sunny day from his line, and you're sure you heard her too. there was no interference.
"don't." he stops you, groaning in embarassment.
and you laugh. you laugh at him and it makes things worse.
"if you're wondering, we're already on our way back." you change the topic, and sabo's grateful, really.
"just wanted to make sure you still have all your limbs in tack."
"yeah, yeah, just a few scratches here and there, and a bullet through my leg, but we're good."
"a what through your what?!"
but sabo doesn't hear you, "this is why i should be accompanying you to every mission! you never actually think your route through. gods, y/n, if i'd known that stuff like this would happen i would've never agreed to let you go!.."
"let you go on the mission!" he pauses, and you hear a thump against wood. but with the way he groans and mutters a small 'ow', you're sure he's slammed his head against his desk
"i didn't get shot, sabo."
he's quiet, but that doesn't stop him from speaking, "still. what if you really got shot?"
"i doubt i'd die that easily."
"... come back safe. we'll discuss your new assignments. prefereably in safer places."
