best wishes, warmest regards

Under the Protection of an Emperor

Benn spots Marco and Deuce dock on the island the Red Hair Pirates are currently staying on. He calls Shanks over as he watches Marco approach. He can see the stress radiating off of both former Whitebeard Pirates. 

Shanks starts to greet Marco but is quickly interrupted. “(y/n)’s been taken. Do you have any word of where she may be?” 

Shock starts to line Marco’s face at Shanks’ lack of reaction. “I know where she is.” He looks down to Deuce preparing the ship by himself. “Where is her crew?” 

Marco starts to grow restless at Shanks’ concernly calm demeanor. “I have word they’re in Wano. If you tell me where she is, I can go get her. Deuce is preparing our ship, the two of us can go. She’s on Trafalgar Law’s crew. I’m sure they’re searching for her now.” 

Shanks finally looks back up to Marco. “I told you she’s under my protection. No matter her affiliation, no matter who she sails with, (y/n) is under my protection. My crew will help. I’ll provide transportation for both of you and her crew.” 

Marco’s eyes slowly widen, shock now very evident on his features. “Are you willing to infiltrate a closed nation under the rule of another emperor to get them? We could get her ourselves. Return her safely when they leave Wano.” 

Shanks sighs, internally weighing the option. “She’s on the crew of a former warlord, we can’t leave him out of this. Go get Deuce, load onto my ship. We’ll stop by Wano on our way. We leave in ten minutes.” 

Shanks and Benn watch as Marco heads towards Deuce. Benn turns to his captain, confusion in his eyes. “Boss, why not just tell Marco now that she’s at New Marineford? He’s right, we could do this without her crew.” 

“If she’s going to continue feeling safe with Trafalgar’s crew, they need to be there to help save her. She has to know that they believe she’s worth saving. The rest of us will just be support.” Benn nods as the two watch Marco head back with Deuce.

There’s No Fighting On This Ship

Wano is still large on the horizon as Shachi has to pull Penguin off of Sanji. The Heart Pirates land hard on the deck, Sanji on the ground near them. 

“I know I messed up. I know and I’m trying to help get her back.” Sanji’s head is in his hands, knees pulled up to his chest as the guilt eats away at his heart. 

Pen sits up out of Shachi’s hold, anger starting to soak his words. “It’s too little too late. Why did you let her get taken in the first place?” 

Deuce walks up to the group before Sanji can even begin to think of a response. “If she didn’t see you fight for her when she was taken, she probably thinks no one is coming for her.” All three pirates on the ground look up to Deuce. “She’s never believed herself to be someone worth saving.” 

Pen’s eyes widen as he looks back to Sanji. “You did try when she was on the ship, right?” 

Sanji looks down, away from the three sets of staring eyes. His voice is quiet as he replies. “We needed to get back to the rest of the crew. We needed the whole crew.” 

Shachi gets up, pushing himself close to Sanji. “You needed the whole crew? You can’t do anything by yourself? Your entire crew isn’t even here now!” 

Sanji’s voice is still quiet, trying desperately to defend himself. “We just work better with-” 

Deuce starts to interfere, to lose his shit on Sanji, but the rage seeping through Penguin’s voice stops him in his tracks. “No. Stop fucking talking. You let her get kidnapped and then you did nothing. You did absolutely fucking nothing. You have lost all rights to speak to anyone on my fucking crew.”

Sanji opens his mouth to reply but the three glares in his direction temporarily shuts him up. It only takes one extra moment for the need to defend himself to surface, his voice slightly louder than before. “You let her leave your crew, did you not?”

Penguin is back on Sanji, straddling his waist as his fist slams into Sanji’s face. He tightly grips the straw hat’s jaw and forces Sanji to look up at him. Nami rises from her place across the deck, wondering if she should step up but terrified of the anger radiating off Deuce and the Heart Pirates. 

Pen’s voice is quiet enough that only Sanji can hear but the rage he feels radiates off of him and can be sensed by everyone. “She wanted to help save you. She felt you were worth the effort to save. None of us would hold her back from what she wants or needs. But if you ever get in trouble again, we will sail away.” 

Benn walks up to the group and lifts Penguin off of Sanji before the latter can respond. “There’s no fighting on this ship.” Pen fights against Benn’s hold, forcing the older pirate to hold him tighter and not let him go until he calms down. 

Sanji doesn’t hear Benn, anger brewing as his eyes follow Pen’s. “It’s not my fault she wanted to leave you for me. It was your responsibility to keep her-” 

Sanji’s sentence drops off as Shachi’s fist hits him right in the jaw. He grabs the front of Sanji’s shirt, lifting him off the ground. He doesn’t even see the tears start to fall down Penguin’s face at the thought that you might not come back to the Heart Pirates. You really have the fucking audacity to not only shit on my crew, but also suggest that you could actually be a better choice for (y/n) than Penguin? To suggest that her helping to save you was her leaving him for you? Are you fucking kidding me? “She didn’t leave anyone for you. She did that for herself because she still fucking cares about you. She was always coming back to our fucking crew, to her home, until you fucked everything up.” 

Usopp walks down to the deck, reaching out to Nami before sighing and approaching Sanji and Shachi. He puts a hand on Shachi’s shoulder. “Hey man, we can-” 

Shachi drops Sanji as he slaps away Usopp’s hand. “Get the fuck off of me.” Sanji pushes himself back off the ground but before he can shove Shachi away from Usopp, Hongo grabs Shachi, dragging him away from the Straw Hats. 

“I thought I heard Benn say there’s no fighting on this ship.” Shachi fights against Hongo’s grip before he finally looks over at Penguin, completely defeated and in tears in Benn’s hold. 

Before Shachi can get his attention and try to calm his friend down, Sanji speaks back up, confident now that the Heart Pirates are restrained. “With how much babysitting the two of you need, I’m shocked she didn’t leave earlier.” 

Deuce shoves Sanji, landing on top of him, gripping his shirt to raise Sanji’s upper body up to his face. “They got her through her grief and kept her safe for over two years. You couldn’t even keep her safe for one day.” 

Lucky pulls Deuce up and off Sanji, letting him go as Law walks out. The anger radiating off Law as he leaves a conversation between the captains quiets the deck. “What is going on out here?” He looks over to Shachi and Penguin, wanting an answer from his own crew, noting the anger on both of their faces and the tears on Pen’s. 

Sanji stands up straight, hopeful that now that a captain is on deck the violence against him is over. “Your crew can’t control their anger and won’t admit that maybe they would have lost her, too.” 

Law’s eyes narrow and he glares as he turns to Sanji. “What did you just say about my crew?” 

Penguin tugs again against Benn’s holding, trying to get the tears to stop, not wanting his captain to have to join a fight he started. Shachi encourages Law to get involved. “Beat his ass, Cap!” 

Eyes around the deck widen as Sanji has the audacity to keep talking. “I said, your crew-” 

Law calmly walks over to Sanji but the anger on his face scares Sanji into silence. His eyes are wide, heart beating very fast as Law pulls it out of his chest. “Say one more word about my crew and I will crush you.” 

Luffy walks out to deck, also abandoning the captains conversation. He takes note of everything happening, his eyes settling on his cook’s heart in Law’s hand. “Sanji.” 

At the anger and annoyance in Luffy’s voice, and knowing what has been getting discussed behind closed doors, Law returns Sanji’s heart after giving it a tight squeeze. He turns away from the Straw Hats and looks to Benn and Hongo. “Let my crew go.” 

The Redhair Pirates drop the Heart Pirates as Luffy walks up to Sanji. 

Sanji wishes Luffy would just be mad at him, that he’d punch him and scream at him, let Penguin and Shachi loose, let Usopp use him as target practice. Anything but the disappointment dripping off his captain’s words. “I am deeply disappointed in you, Sanji. For how you could let (y/n) get taken off my ship, for how you’re handling it now, and how you’re treating our allies. You are staining the reputation of this crew. She was always safe on our ship, with our crew, and now she’ll never feel that again. How can I be King of the Pirates if I can’t even keep my friends safe on my ship? ”

Zoro comes up onto deck, Marco and Shanks closely behind. 

Sanji struggles to respond, staring at the disappointment on his captain’s face and very aware of the stares of everyone else on deck. 

Luffy cuts off Sanji’s opening to respond. “Don’t do anything else to help while we’re on Shanks’ ship. Let the rest of the crew deal with this and leave Traffy’s crew alone.”

Luffy steps away from Sanji, moving past Zoro and signaling his first mate to follow him below deck. 

Law approaches Penguin and Shachi as they hit the deck, ensuring that both are physically okay. Shanks cuts him off before he can ask any questions. “Law, you wanted a word privately?” He nods to Shanks before turning back to Pen and Shach. 

“Don’t get into anymore trouble. Save this energy for the fight to get her back.” Law’s eyes focus in on Penguin’s face, taking in the fear and sadness under the anger. “We will get her back.” 

Shachi moves toward Penguin as Law follows Shanks back below deck.

If Your Crew Needs Anything

Shanks sits at his desk as he watches Law slowly walk into the room, having expected to return to the galley where the captains meeting occured. “It’s not where we were before but I respect that you want to speak privately. Your crew can feel comfortable anywhere on my ship.” 

Law hesitantly sits across from Shanks. “Thank you, Shanks. For that and for helping to save (y/n). I appreciate that you came to get us first. She’s on my crew and is my responsibility and I regret that I couldn’t keep her safe. We are all very appreciative of having extra support.” 

Law flinches slightly as Shanks laughs. “It’s not a problem at all, Law. I would show up for any of your crew. As (y/n)’s family, your entire crew is under my protection.” The shock on Law’s face makes Shanks laugh once more as the younger pirate doesn’t know how to answer. “Here. If any of you ever need me.” Shanks hands Law a den den mushi with three scars over one eye. 

Staring in shock at the snail now in his hand, Law tries to find the words to turn it down. “I can’t-” 

“You can take it. You’ll still be your own crew, I don’t want you sailing under my flag. Just call me if your crew ever needs anything. My crew will be there.” Shanks shoos Law out of his office as he starts digging for maps. Law pockets the snail on his way out. “Law?” He turns back to the emperor. “Gather everyone in the galley. We need a plan for when we arrive.” Law simply nods as he continues out of the office.

-%-%-% New Marineford Battle %-%-%- 

Her Favorite Storytellers

Usopp leaves Shanks’ cabin, pride and joy lining his features. He spots Deuce leaning on the railing looking out to the sea. 

“Hey! You’re Deuce, right?” Usopp lands next to Deuce along the railing, back to the sea. 

Deuce bites the inside of his cheek, annoyance lining his features as he turns to look at Usopp. “Yep. And you’re a straw hat.” His eyes return to the sea. 

“I am, but don’t blame all of us for Sanji’s mistake. I’m also annoyed at him. (y/n) was my best friend when I first joined the crew. I want her safe again as badly as you do.” Deuce returns to facing Usopp and spots the worry behind his eyes. He sighs and turns around to lean against the sea. 

“None of you saw the changes from before she was taken the first time. To know everything she’s gone through and to have seen how it affected her, I can’t-” Deuce stops talking, his face falling into his hands as the tears start to fall. 

Usopp hesitates, not sure the best way to show support. He opts for his go to method. “Did she ever tell you about the adventure we went on in Little Garden? The dinosaurs we saw and giants we met?” Deuce glances up, giving Usopp just enough acknowledgement to continue his story. The pair ends up sitting against the side of the ship, sharing stories about their times sailing with you. Smiling through the tears as they hope the love the people on this ship hold for you will be enough to save you. 

Deuce is in the middle of a story about you and Ace on the Piece of Spadille when he stops talking. Both him and Usopp follow the yelling and see Sanji storm out of the kitchen, knocking over Shachi and Penguin on his way out. 

They share a look, missing Penguin enter the kitchen. “I should go make sure she’s okay. I haven’t talked to her since we got her out.” Usopp nods and lets Deuce head over to where Shachi is.

My Home is Your Home

Deuce storms back below deck and runs right into Law. Both men back away with their hands raised. Deuce’s eyes raise of the ground and meet Law’s. They both drop their arms but neither makes a move to leave the hall. 

“Hey umm..” Deuce scratches the back of his neck as he tries to bring rise to any emotion except anger. “Thank you for keeping (y/n) safe and giving her a new home. She seems genuinely happy and I haven’t seen that since way before Marineford.” He swallows his emotions as his hand falls. “I’m truly sorry for any anger between me and your crew. I wasn’t aware-” 

“You don’t have to apologize but thank you. I apologize for your losses over the years. I’ve seen how it affected (y/n) and it must of been incredibly difficult not knowing how she’s doing.” Deuce nods. “You always have a home on my ship if you ever need it.” Law awkwardly reaches out to shake Deuce’s hand, securing the friendship between him and the Heart Pirates. Deuce takes his hand but pulls him into a quick hug instead of shaking it. 

The shock on Law’s face matches the shock on Deuce’s, neither of them expecting Deuce to hug him. “Umm.. Shanks knows how to find us if -” 

“(y/n) gave me a piece of her vivre card.” Deuce takes it out of his pocket and holds it up. Law nods, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

Deuce smiles back before heading somewhere to cool off.

Your Crew Brought Her Back To Life

Marco walks into the kitchen and spots Law leaning against the counter and spinning an empty can across it. He quietly approaches and stands opposite Law near the island. “For someone who just saved one of their crewmates, you seem really disappointed.” 

Law looks up at Marco and his eyes widen. His stoic demeanor breaks as tears start to line the bottom of his eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep her safe. You gave her to my crew and told us to keep her safe.” Law’s face drops into his hands as he lets the can roll off the counter. 

Marco waits for the can to hit the floor. “Is that why you haven’t spoken a word to me this whole trip?” Law nods without looking up. “She wasn’t even with you when things went wrong. Did anything ever go wrong in the almost two and a half years she’s been with your crew?” Law shakes his head, still not looking up. “I just talked to her and she seems happier than I’ve seen her in a very long time. Thank you for giving her a new home and keeping her safe from herself during the aftermath of Marineford.” 

Law finally pushes himself off and quickly wipes away the tears. He tries to force the stoicness back but Marco sees right through it. “She always speaks so highly of you. I swear she talks about you more than she talks about Ace. About her big brother on the Moby Dick and how he’s always looking out for everyone. It always reminded me of what you told us when you left her in our care. I didn’t know how to approach you when I lost someone you made us swear to protect.” 

Marco leans himself on the counter, lowering to be eye level with Law. “Did you force her to go with the Straw Hats to Wholecake?” Law shakes his head. “If she chose to do that by herself, you did a really good job keeping her safe and helping her come back to herself. The (y/n) I know, the one Deuce has always known, is always going to do exactly what she wants to do and nothing else. Law, you brought her back from the edge.” 

“But I-” 

“You brought her back to life and that is a debt no one on this ship will ever be able to repay.” 

Law pauses, making sure Marco is done talking. “It wasn’t me. It was my crew. Penguin, Shachi, and Ikkaku brought her back. I did any medical procedures that were needed but they made her feel alive again. I can’t take credit for that.” 

Marco genuinely smiles at Law, feeling extremely grateful for the crew you ended up with. “Spoken like a true captain. I’m sure you’ll get this from Shanks, too. But as her family, if any of you ever need anything, I’m on Sphinx Island.”

Leave That Monkey to His Own Circus (Bonus Wano Scene)

You swing your katana at another enemy, your back against Shachi’s as you both fight to help the samurai. Your sword falls as you hear Sanji’s voice coming through the building. 

“I’m on the third floor!! In the great banquet hall!!! I’ve been taken prisoner!! I’m sorry!!!” 

Shachi lowers his sword and turns to look at you, your eyes glued to the staircase that would lead you there. His voice level increases the more of Penguin's name gets out of his mouth. Shachi reaches out to grab you but Pen’s already turned and right in front of you. 

“Hey. No.” He reaches out and grabs your face, forcing you to look at him. “His own crew can get him. That’s not our job.” 

“But…they’re our allies..we can’t..” Tears start to line the bottom of your eyes as you raise a hand towards the stairs. 

“No (y/n). We’re leaving him. Let his crew deal with that.” The anger lining his features scares you but your hands land on his forearms anyways. 

“Pen we can’t… he helped save you, we can’t just-” The tears start falling down your face. 

His grip on your face tightens as his thumbs subconsciously wipe away your tears. “He was repaying you for Wholecake. You don’t owe him anything.” You start to say something else but he doesn’t let you. His voice quiets and softens. “I’m not letting you get hurt because of him again. Let the Straw Hats deal with it.” 

Your head starts to fall towards him, but he falls first as you spot the deep red seeping out onto his suit. His eyes quickly close and he bites the inside of his cheek in agony as the panic rapidly grows on your face. Your hands leave his arms and start to move to his side when you hear the voice of the attacker. 

Hamlet drops back to his own human feet, letting the knife in his hand fall to the ground. “Oh poor little Ace’s girl. It’s time to pick between your boys. You can only save one.” His cocky smile draws your attention. 

Your eyes move from Hamlet to Pen’s face, down to the wound, the deep crimson a painful contrast on the white. “My fiery girl, don’t listen-” Your arms move to support Pen’s weight as he falls into you, hands falling off your face as his arms drop to your waist, drifting slightly in and out of consciousness. 

You let Shachi take Pen as you move in front of them both, keeping them closely behind you. “Oh. Looks like the Heart Pirates won. That’s unfortunate for-” Pen grabs your calf, the only part of your body he can reach, not wanting to let you get any further away from him. 

“Don’t touch my crew!” Shach watches and Pen feels the subtle vibrations radiate through your body and out towards your hands before everyone in a ten foot radius is knocked out. 

Hamlet manages to sit up, having not been knocked unconscious. His eyes are wide as he stares at where Pen is holding you. “But how… that was supreme king haki, how did you not get…?” Hamlet struggles to wrap his mind around how Pen and Shach are entirely unaffected by the wave of energy that just coursed out of you. 

Your energy is depleted as you fall back on to the two. Bepo’s quickly at your side and grabbing all three of you. Shachi’s the only one who hears him speak. “The ceiling is falling, we have to go!” 

Shachi is silent, one arm around you and one around Pen, as Bepo carries you all back to the Tang.

The First Night

Penguin helps Shachi as you fight against his grip. Your words can hardly be understood through the sobs as you watch Marco and Deuce leave you. The grief is suffocating and you don’t understand yet why they need to return to the battle but you don’t. All you know is that Ace is gone and your two closest friends just walked away. 

Shachi and Penguin get you to their cabin, trying to keep you sheltered from the noises and sights of the battle. 

As soon as they are through their door, Penguin turns back and tells Ikkaku to lock them in. “We can’t let her leave until she’s calmed down. We’ll be okay.” Ikkaku nods before closing the door behind Penguin and locking the three of you in the boys’ cabin. 

You get loose of Shachi’s grip and fall to the ground. You get to the door, slamming your fists and banging your head into it. Ikkaku sits against the outside of the door listening to you screaming Ace’s name. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Law comes by as soon as the ship has submerged to check in. He begins to speak but stops when you starting screaming. 

“Pen says they got it. What are we supposed to do, Cap?” Ikkaku looks up from her spot on the floor, tears in her eyes as Law sees the defeat already on her face. 

“We try to give her a new home.” Ikkaku slowly nods at Law before he extends a hand down to her. “Come help with Straw Hat, don’t listen to this.” She takes his hand and support to stand before they both head to the medbay. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Penguin and Shachi share a look before they try to get you away from the door. Pen slides himself on the floor between you and the door, causing your fists to hit his chest, your head slamming into his shoulder. He hides the pain on his face as he grabs your own, wiping at your tears with his thumbs. Shach grabs your arms, pulling them back so you can’t keep hitting. 

Your eyes meet Pen’s but you don’t see anything, your brain isn’t processing any of your senses. “Let go of me! I have to get Ace!” Getting out of Shachi’s grip, your hands are pushing you over Penguin’s body to grab at the door knob. It doesn’t turn. “Let me out! We can’t leave him there!” Pen turns around, wrapping an arm around your waist, trying to pull you back from the door. “Marco and Deuce can save him. We have to go get him!” 

You fall backwards, grip slipping, landing on top of Penguin as he hits the ground with a grunt. His grip on you tightens and you can’t pull yourself back up. Your voice quiets, no longer screaming as you see the door move further and further away from you even as you stay still. “Ace… I was right there…” Your hands cover your face and sobs start shaking through your body. Pen loosens his grip and Shachi pulls you up as you wrap yourself into a ball. Shach pulls you against his body as your sobs worsen. 

“Shach, what are we supposed to do?” Penguin pushes himself up, heart aching watching you break down in his friend’s arms. 

“I think we let her feel it.” Both boys sit there on their floor, eyes on you as you sob in Shachi’s arms for the next forty-five minutes. 

Shachi’s hold on you loosens as he hears the sobs stop. You sit up, eerily calm for someone who just spent the past hour and a half completely freaking out. 

“I need a bathroom.” Both Penguin and Shachi point to a door behind you. They’re both quiet as they watch you get up and go into the bathroom, closing the door behind you. 

It takes a few minutes before they realize their mistake. “Pen… I don’t think we should have let her go into a different room by herself.” 

Penguin’s already up, trying the knob and dropping his forehead against the door when he finds it locked. His voice is calm, trying to be comforting as he speaks. “(Y/n).. can you let me in please..?” He continues after you don’t respond. “Please, we’re here to help you, we just want you to be okay, please let me in.” He hears you scoot away from the door before he looks back at Shachi. 

Shachi shrugs before Pen decides to go for it. His shoulder hits the door and his hand grabs the frame before he falls onto you. His eyes drop to the blood on the floor, covering your thighs and stuck under your nails. He looks around the room, trying to figure out what you used, as Shachi comes up behind him. “Shit.” 

Your bloodshot eyes look up and meet Penguin’s. “It’s my fault he left. I need the cuts to go away.” Both Pen and Shach are frozen in place as your hand goes back down to scratch at your thigh again. Penguin drops to the ground next to you, taking your wrists in his hands. 

His voice is stern, anger disguising his pain, as he forces you to look at him. “Stop that. That won’t bring him back and he would be pissed if you joined him.” Your tears start again as you finally see the man in front of you. Your eyes move up to Shachi before you speak. 

Your voice is quiet, Shachi can’t even hear you from the other side of the room. “It’s my fault. It’s my fault.” You repeat yourself, voice getting quieter every time, as Penguin pulls you into his arms. 

His voice is almost quieter than yours. “It’s not your fault.” 

He slides next to you, not loosening his grip, as you cry into his chest. Shachi grabs a first aid kit from the bedroom before he bandages up your thighs as well as he can. Cap can fix it later. 

Law enters Penguin and Shachi’s cabin while the two are watching you sleep. It took three hours of keeping you from hurting yourself and hurting them, listening to your screams and pleas, and trying to calm you down before you eventually cried yourself to sleep. Both boys are keeping their eyes glued to you, worried about what’ll happen when you wake up. 

When you wake up, you’re completely defeated. You don’t say a word to either man in the room. You go through the motions of changing into the clothes Shachi hands you, of going to the bathroom (door open cause neither of them trust you), of following them out to the galley to get food. Not a word is said, and it’ll be a long time before either of them hear you speak again.

Make Her Laugh

Early on in month two of your stay on the Polar Tang, Penguin enters his and Shachi’s room and almost falls on his ass trying to rush to Shach’s bed. “Woah, Pen, slow down. What’s up?” 

“Cap doesn’t get mad at us if what we’re doing makes (y/n) smile or laugh.” 

Penguin and Shachi both quickly start taking advantage of this, making sure you’re in the room whenever they want to annoy Law. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

A few weeks later, Shachi finds Penguin trying to sneak in Law’s office. “Pen, what are you doing?” Pen holds up a slip of paper and Shachi takes it, reading tongue sticks written in your handwriting. 

“She asked for them. I need them. She apparently has something that could annoy Cap.” Shachi helps him sneak into Law’s office and grab a box of tongue depressors. They quickly leave and Shachi follows Penguin back to where he left you. He notices Pen’s huge smile when your face lights up. He leans against the door frame and watches the two of you start building what looks to be a very dangerous, chaotic, and messy contraption. 

He grabs Pen’s arm and pulls him away from a minute. Your eyes follow them before you resume your very important and completely not chaotic task. 

“Cap’s not even here, what are you doing?” 

“Trying to make (y/n) laugh.” 

“Pen, you have no reason to do that right now.” 

“I know, I just want to.” Shachi smirks at Pen before his friend returns to you. He watches the joy grow on Pen’s face as he rejoins you in the chaos.

Wake Up First

Penguin sneaks into the navigation room and steals maps from Bepo. Maps of the Grand Line, the East Blue, and the North Blue. They’re already in the New World, Bepo won’t miss these. Right? 

He’s got the maps laid out across the foot of his bed, laying down beside you as he watches you carefully draw the two different paths you have taken into the Grand Line with Ace and Luffy. You finish drawing the line from the East Blue up to Alabasta and hand Penguin the marker. You point at him then to the map but he already knows. 

You watch his line start at Swallow Island in the North Blue. It travels through the North and heads into Paradise, journeying throughout the Grand Line until he stops at Marineford. 

He hands the marker back to you. “How did you get to Marineford after Alabasta?” You look up at him, taking the marker, before tracing the path you took on the Moby Dick. Your newest line ends at Marineford and Pen watches the tears start to line your eyes before he takes the marker back. 

He draws a smiley face where your lines meet before turning to look at you. He smiles at the small smile that plays at your lips. He turns back to the map and follows the path you’ve taken with the Heart Pirates. 

“Where do you want to go next, fiery girl?” Pen smiles and holds the marker out to you. Your eyes go wide as you stare at it. Where do I want to go next? As in the future? 

You hesitantly take the marker back and stare down at the maps of the New World. You hover the marker over Wano before pulling your hand back. Pen rests his chin on his hand and patiently watches you, curious to know where you want to go. 

You eventually circle Wano, along with a couple islands you know Pops took care of. You hand the marker back to Pen and raise your eyebrows. He takes it and circles Zou. “It’s where Bepo is initially from before he ended up in my hometown.” Before he can circle another island, you take the marker from him and draw a second circle around Zou. 

Before handing the marker back, you look down at Drum Kingdom on the Paradise map. Pen’s eyes follow your line of sight and he looks back at you with his brows raised. You draw a smiley face next to the island. You write Chopper’s name next to it. 

Pen takes the marker and circles Swallow Island, writing his own name and Shachi’s. He circles Flevance Kingdom and writes Cap. He hands the marker back as you circle Dawn Island, writing Luffy and Ace. “What island are you from?” His eyes meet yours, watching the shock appear on your face. No one’s ever asked me that before. Pen looks down to your hand as you circle a small town in the Kingdom of Frauce. He watches as you draw the missing mountains on the island and a small smiley face next to them. 

You and Pen spend quite a long time drawing on the maps, planning out your future adventures and drawing little faces by all the islands you’ve been to. It breaks Pen’s heart when you draw a frowny face next to Orange Town. Before too long, you both fall asleep on top of the stack of maps. 

Pen wakes up first after a couple hours and looks down to see himself holding you like a teddy bear. He smiles to himself before pulling you closer and drifting back to sleep. 

You wake up a few hours after Pen and are confused by the weight around your body. Jumping up, you push the weight away before realizing who it is. Pen jolts awake and watches as you jump off the bed. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, fiery girl. Are you okay? I didn’t mean for us to fall asleep, we should’ve done this-” 

You interrupt him by grabbing his hand and squeezing it. He looks up at you and you give him a small smile before running away to your own room.

Do You Trust Me?

On a rare day off on an uninhabited island, you and Kaka sit in the sand watching most of the guys on the crew swim in the sea.

Kaka catches your yearning look out to the water and leans over to follow your line of sight. She points right at Penguin. “You either want him…” You violently shake your head, bringing a smile to Kaka’s lips. “Or, you want to swim.” You nod and turn to meet her eyes. 

“You can go join them, they’d all be happy to have you.” You look back out towards the ocean and shake your head. “...you do know how to swim, right?” You shake your head and slowly look back up to her. “Do you want me to teach you?” Kaka smiles as you nod. 

Both of you take off your boiler suits and boots, before you follow Kaka into the water. 

Uni smirks at Pen blatantly staring at you as Shachi yells out. “Hey Kaka! Hey (y/n)! Glad you finally joined us!” Shach swims up and grabs Kaka’s arm but she swats him away. 

“Not today, Shach. I’m teaching her to swim.” Shach backs off, hands raised in mock defense as he smiles at you both. 

He heads back over to Pen and gets right in his face. “Penguin.” His eyes finally snap off of you and land on Shachi. “Kaka’s teaching her to swim, go take over. Kaka can’t swim for shit and we all know you’re the most patient person on this crew.” 

Pen looks back to see you and Kaka both laughing, almost fully submerged. “I can’t, Kaka’s alrea-” Shach ducks under the water, pulling Pen down and dragging him closer to you. 

Shach comes back up and yoinks Kaka away from you. “Pen’s a better teacher. Be safe.” He smiles at you before dragging Kaka away, whispering in her ear and drawing giggles out of her. 

Pen gets himself back up and awkwardly scratches the back of his neck as you smile up at the hair sticking to his forehead. You stand up out of the water and Pen freezes as he watches the water drip down your body and feels your fingers run through his hair, pushing it off his face. 

“I can go get Kaka back from Shach, I know you were doing this with her and if you don’t trus-” Pen stops talking as you pull him down until you’re both just floating heads. Pen’s voice quiets as he continues speaking. “Do you trust me enough for this?” You eagerly nod, giving him a soft smile. “If anything’s too much, just-” He stops again when he feels your hand snake up his arm and you tap three times. He finally smiles back at you.

Take You To The Top

The Polar Tang is currently docked on an island with a mountain at its center. The crew is out in the town stocking up on supplies. 

“Where did (y/n) go?” Pen’s head snaps up at Uni’s words. You were with the group. Where did you go? 

Before the panic can rise too far in Pen’s body, Kaka points across the town square. “She’s right there.” 

You approach the group, face buried in a piece of paper no one can see. “Cap, will we be here all day? I want to hike the mountain and one of the shopkeepers gave me a trail map.” You take your face out of the map and look at Law. 

“We can stay if you want to do that. Take someone with you.” 

Pen’s hand shoots into the air like anyone else was going to offer to hike a mountain. “I’ll go, Cap!” 

You smile at Pen before leading him back to.. the ship..? Confusion lines Pen’s features as he follows you below deck and into his cabin. You take off your boiler suit and put on pants, his extra work boots, one of his tank tops, and one of Shachi’s button-ups, noticeably unbuttoned. 

It takes Pen a few minutes to follow suit and he changes while you grab your backpack from your room, emptying its contents onto your bed. 

Pen is pulling on a light jacket when you meet him back in the hall. “Grab your waterbottle.” He backtracks into his room before following you to the kitchen. You take his waterbottle from him and fill it before dropping it into your backpack. You do the same with yours before grabbing snacks and a mini first aid kit. 

Zipping your backpack shut, you look up to Pen with a smile. “Let’s go.” He smiles back as his heart melts. 

The hike starts off not too bad. But at about 200 feet above sea level, Pen is dying and chugs half his water bottle. He recovers after your first break. 

At about 400 feet, you start struggling to breathe and you both take another break. “I used to hike all the time, I don’t know why this is so hard.” 

Pen wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into him. “Living underwater for over a year will make it harder to breathe above the surface. Do you want to keep going?” You nod and stand back up, reaching a hand out to pull him up. 

At about 600 feet and the first lookout point, you find a spot on top of a boulder to look out at the greenery of the island. You’re overwhelmed and struggling to breathe, squeezing the life out of Pen’s hand as he lands his head on your lap, looking up at you. 

“We should just head back. I can’t do this.” Pen hears the defeat in your voice and sits up, turning your body to face his. 

“We can’t head back yet. We can stop as many times as we need, but I know we can make it to the top. We’re not giving up.” You softly nod , his support tugging at your heart as you take a drink of water and try to regain your composure. 

As you’re approaching 1000 feet above sea level, you spot a lookout ahead, a boulder above the trees, and run ahead of Pen, getting yourself to the top of the boulder and looking out at the island below and the ocean. 

Pen slowly gets himself up the boulder, struggling slightly to steady himself as he stands next to you. Once he’s at your side, a hand on your arm to hold himself up, you point out the Tang along the shore. “We can see home from here.” Pen smiles at you, admiring the glow emitting from you and the pure joy on your face. God, how do I become the reason for that look? 

You turn away from the sea and look up to the rest of the mountain. “We’re so close, Pen. Let’s go.” You help each other off the boulder before continuing up the path. 

Your second wind hits you and Pen struggles to keep up as he follows you to the peak. He quickly decides this has all been worth it when the glow emitting from you brightens and you give him the biggest smile before wrapping your arms around him. “Thanks for coming with me up here.” 

“Anything for you, fiery girl.” 

Pen leads on the way down the mountain, which should be fine, right? You’re just going down the path you hiked up. 

After about an hour, you stop. “Pen, we should’ve made it down by now. I think we’re lost.” 

He turns towards you and takes the map from you. After looking at it with furrowed brows, he drops his head on your shoulder. “Shit. We took a wrong turn almost 100 feet above this. I’m sorry, fiery girl, should’ve let you lead.” 

You pull his head up, taking his face in your hands. “It’s okay, Pen. Just means we get to adventure longer.” He smiles in your hold. “Plus, we are going down. We’ll make it back to the sea eventually and then we’ll find the crew.” You smile back and take his hand in yours, leading him further down the wrong path. 

When you finally make it off the trail and out of the forest, Pen drops your hand as both of his land on his knees. “Ughh, that was a lot.” 

You smile at him before going into a nearby shop and buying you both cold drinks. 

When you return to his side, you hand him his drink before taking his arm and slinging it across your shoulders. “I got you, Pen.” 

Being in a different town than you know the Tang is docked in, you both slowly trudge across the island, supporting each other’s tired bodies as best you can. 

Making it back to the Tang, you stay on deck to enjoy a little more sun as Pen disappears below. 

Shachi watches as Pen comes in and collapses onto the closest piece of furniture. 

He smirks as Pen groans. “Hey Pen.. regret agreeing to do that?” 

“No.” Pen’s face is buried in a pillow and his voice is muffled. “Not even a little bit.” 

Shachi laughs. “Are you sure? I’ve never seen you look so defeated.” 

“It was worth it to see the look on her face when we made it to the top. She’s okay, Shach. That makes it worth it.”

The New Heart Pirate Shipwright

Law summons you into his office one morning when you’re supposed to be with Shachi. “Oh shit…what did you do?” You smile at Shachi’s teasing as you head out to the medbay. 

“Hi Cap!” You sit in the chair across from him. “Bepo said you wanted to talk.” 

Law sets down the work he was looking at as he turns to face you. “Just curious about what jobs you’ve had on previous ships. It’s a bit cruel to make you follow Shachi and Penguin around forever.” 

He pulls out a notepad to jot down the jobs you tell him. “I don’t mind working with them, Cap. But I’ve been a shipwright on all my previous crews. I can also navigate, cook, and work in the boiler room.” He stops writing and raises an eyebrow at the last thing, knowing this is the only ship you’ve been on with a boiler room. “Shach and Pen have shown me how to do everything there. I can do whatever you need, Cap. It’s the least I can do in return for everything you’ve done for me.” 

“Helping you was easy. You don’t have to repay me for that. I’m going to add you to the shift rotation for next week. Just let me know if anything is too much.” 

“Will do. Thank you, Cap!” The ghost of a smile crosses his lips as you leave the room.

A Night Off

The day Law leaves for Punk Hazard, Kaka sprints into your room, jumping onto your bed and knocking your book out of your hands. “It’s party night, get ready.” 

“Kaka.. what?” She gets off your bed and starts to rummage through both of your clothes. 

“Cap’s gone. We’re partying cause he doesn’t like it when we do so we have to do it when he’s gone.” She throws you a cute tank top and one of her skirts. “Get dressed. We’re partying.” 

You change into the tank top then hold up the skirt. “Kaka, I can’t wear this. Find me pants or something.” 

She hands you a cute pair of shorts and her voice calms. “You know everyone here is your family, right? No one will judge you for anything from your past.” 

You softly smile at her. “I know, I just don’t want to ruin the fun.” 

Kaka’s energy shoots back up as she starts changing into her own fun clothes. “Oh, it’s going to be so fun! It’ll be the best party you’ve ever been to.” 

You can already hear the music blasting from the galley as Kaka drags you out of your room. “C’mon, raise the energy girl. We’re having fun tonight.” She takes both of your hands in hers and forces you to start swaying to the music as you make your way to the galley. 

Kaka immediately drags you right into the middle of the room and her grip on you is tight until she catches you starting to dance on your own. Clione comes over with three cups. “Would either of you care for Hakugan’s special mixture?” He raises an eyebrow at you as Kaka takes one of the cups and chugs it. 

“C’mon, (y/n), you’re safe here. You know that, right?” You give Kaka a smile nod and Clione a soft smile as you take one of the cups. The drink tastes absolutely disgusting but you get about half of it down before you and Kaka start dancing again. 

By the time the song’s over, your drink is gone and Uni has come up with more. His speech is significantly more slurred than Clione’s, evidence that he’s had a few of Hakugan’s special mixtures. 

You and Kaka are six drinks in each, dancing to the tenth song? You’re not sure, you lost track of anything happening three drinks ago. Penguin and Shachi finally join the party, grabbing cups from Hakugan and leaning against the counter. 

Shachi leans into Pen’s shoulder as he catches his friend watching you. “Hey man, go dance with her.” Kaka spots them and waves them both over. Pen makes zero effort to move. You are entirely lost in your own world and don’t notice any of this. 

Shach pushes himself up off the counter and turns to his sulking friend. “If you won’t dance with her, I will.” He smirks as Pen just glances over to him. 

Pen watches as Shachi walks over to you and pulls you into him to dance together. Pen continues to sulk, glaring at Shachi, jealous of the joy he’s pulling out of you. He misses your confused and sad glances towards him. 

Clione comes over. “Hey man, she’s staring at you. She clearly wants you over there instead of Shach.” Clione sighs as Pen doesn’t react at all to his words. He shoves him in your direction. 

Pen trips over his own feet stumbling towards you and you move away from Shach, wrapping your arms around Pen’s neck, catching him before he falls. Your words are slurred as you greet him. “Hiiii Penguin. Why were you just standing over there?” Pen drops his head. Oh god, who let you drink any of Hakugan’s cup of acid? 

His arms wraps around your waist, his face going into your neck. “Didn’t want to interrupt.” 

You pull back and grab his hands. “You could never interrupt anything, silly.” You give him a drunken, lopsided smile as you force him to dance with you, the same way Kaka was making you earlier. He softly smiles at you, his face going slightly red. 

The song ends and Marry You by Bruno Mars comes on. Pen looks over to his crewmate manning the music and glares at him. Out of all songs to play right now? Really?  

The implications of dancing with Pen to this song go right over your absolutely wasted head as you sing the lyrics to him. He lets you move his body and blushes as he admires you. “Hey, babyyyy, I think I wanna marry youuuu, ohhh i’ll go get a ring, let the choir bells sing…” The words come out a lot slower than Bruno sings them and Pen laughs everytime you mess up. 

At the end of the night, after many more drinks, and many more songs, Penguin pulls you off the dance floor to get you into bed. “Hey Penguin…” He looks over at the very mischievous look on your face.

“Yes, fiery girl?” His head drops to the side, a little nervous for what you’re about to ask. 

“Can I stay with you tonight?” You give him the sweetest smile you can, a small giggle getting out in the attempt, pulling right at Pen’s heart. 

“No, fiery girl, I’m sorry.” His heart aches as you pout at him. His hand moves up to cup the side of your face. “You’re not thinking straight right now. You had way too many of Hakugan’s drinks. Maybe a different night.” You continue pouting and Pen has to look away before he caves. He takes your hand and leads you back to your room. 

He helps you get ready for bed and actually gets you into bed before anything else happens. He’s leaned over you, grabbing your book off the bed, when you push yourself up with the same mischievous smile you gave him earlier. Sadness seeps out of his heart as he figures out what you’re trying to do. He takes your face in his hands and kisses your forehead before you can kiss him. “Goodnight (y/n).” You pout but let go of him as he walks towards the door. 

“Pen?” He turns right before leaving the room. “Thank you.” He softly smiles at you, heart aching, before closing the door. He slumps against it as he sighs. He drops to the ground, running a hand through his hair. Fuck, you’ll be the death of me, sweetheart.

It's Her, Right?

A few days after the party, you’re working with Shachi. 

“Hey Shach?” He looks up at you, away from the work he’s doing, waiting for you to say more. “Does Pen like girls?” 

Shach smirks at you before looking back to his task. “He likes one girl in particular.” 

“Oh.” 

Shach looks back up at your frowning face, his brows furrowed and a smile tugging at his lips. “(Y/n). You and Kaka are the only girls on the ship. Why are you sad?” 

“No, fiery girl, I’m sorry.” 

You push yourself up in bed, excited at how close Pen is to you right now. But before you can close the gap, his hands come to the sides of your face and he kisses your forehead instead. 

“Cause it’s her, right?” Shach bites back a laugh before shaking his head. You furrow your brows at him, pausing your task to try to figure out his reaction. 

“You two are ridiculous.” Confusion lines your face as you wait for anything else from Shach but he’s not willing to say any more.

Unrequited Crush

The Polar Tang is almost to Zou when you crawl into Kaka’s bed one night. 

“Kaka, can I tell you a secret?” 

She pushes herself up with one arm, turning to give you her full attention. “Of course.” 

You swallow your nerves and your voice is quiet. “I kinda have a crush on Penguin…” 

Kaka just stares at you, waiting for literally anything else. After a minute, she sighs. “Well no shit, I thought you guys were secretly dating. The whole crew did except Shach.” 

Your eyes go wide and you stare back, not sure what to say. “Um.. no we’re not like.. dating or anything. He’s just my best friend on the ship.” 

Kaka pushes herself all the way up until she’s sitting and pulls you with. “I am your best friend on this ship.” You feel the need to nod at the sureness in her statement. “Penguin is obviously so much more. He’s had a huge crush on you since like your second month here.” Kaka pulls away from you, using her hands for emphasis as she continues. “He started making moves months ago. Did you not notice?!” 

You’re silent as you think back on the past few months. “No but… I… it hasn’t even been two years since Ace… I shouldn’t even have a crush right now, it’s not fair to his mem-” Kaka grabs your face, forcing you to stop talking. 

“(Y/n), it’s okay to like someone else. It doesn’t mean Ace wasn’t important. We all know he’s important. Pen isn’t going to try to replace him. He just really likes you.” You’re quiet as you stare at Kaka, trying to process all of this. “He likes you, but he’s not going to push you. Take your time with it, he’s not going anywhere.” She waits for you to nod. “But if you call him your best friend again, I’m going to lose it on both of you. Being your best friend is my job.” 

Kaka smiles as you laugh, pulling you into a hug.

We'll Find You

Before Ace leaves to avenge Thatch, he pulls Deuce to the side. 

His hands land on his friend’s shoulders, gripping tighter than he probably should. “Deuce, if something happens to me, you have to find her.” 

Deuce matches Ace’s strength, gripping his biceps. “Don’t let anything happen to you, Ace. Come back alive, we’ll find her soon. Be here when we do.” 

Ace drops his head, looking at the space between his boots and Deuce’s. “Please, man, you have to find her and take care of her if anything happens to me. Promise me, please.” 

Deuce’s hands move up to Ace’s neck, forcing him to look up as their eyes meet. “I promise, Ace. You forget too often that she’s as important to me as she is to you. Be safe and come back. We’ll find her together.”

We'll Pass the Message

Ace trudges up to the base of Bighorn and waits by the gate until Dalton recognizes him. 

“Ace! Welcome back.” Maria comes out first and pulls Ace into a hug. “What brings you back?” 

“I have a message to leave for my brother, and I need to ask if you’ve seen (y/n) since she was here with my crew.” Ace steps back as Maria lets go of him and he turns to face Dalton. “My brother, Luffy, should be arriving soon. I have word that he’s recently entered the Grand Line. Tell him to meet me in Alabasta.” 

“I will keep an eye out. You have my word.” Dalton peers at Maria before continuing to speak to Ace. “Why are you looking for (y/n)? Is she not on your crew anymore?” 

Ace knocks his hat off, leaving it hanging around his neck as he runs a hand through his hair. “She went missing a few years ago. Deuce and I have been searching the entire Grand Line ever since but we can’t find her. I’m running out of islands to check. You haven’t seen her?” 

Sadness lines Maria’s face as her eyes drops to the ground. Dalton shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Ace, we haven’t seen her since she was here with you. We’ll keep an eye out for you.” The sadness threatening to show on Dalton’s face is exponentially more than Ace’s, starting to give up hope that he’ll ever find you. 

“Thank you, Dalton.” Ace shakes the man’s hand. “Thank you, Maria.” Ace accepts the hug she gives him before turning away from Bighorn.

Find Your Way Back Home

Ace drops his hat on your head as you walk away from the Straw Hats. His arm tightens around your shoulders as you lean into him. 

“Is the whole crew here?” Your eyes watch as the excitement on Ace’s face falters. “We’re going back to the Piece of Spadille, right?” 

“We’re going home, but home is a bit different now.” Ace’s voice is quiet and he pulls you around a tree at the edge of the island. “Stay here for a minute, please.” He hands you his bag and you peer around the corner as you watch him destroy seven ships filled to the brim with Baroque Works agents. 

He turns with a smile on his face as he waves you over to a small boat he has docked on the island. Huh?

As you approach, Ace reaches for both his and your bags. You hand them over without thinking, still confused about the ship. “Ace, where’s.. why.. what are you doing on such a small ship?” 

Ace looks away from you, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “Err.. Pops sent me on a mission by myself but we can head back to the crew now. I just want to be safe and at home with you.” He drops your bags in the boat and wraps his arms around you. You tightly hug him back, face buried in his chest. “We’re part of the Whitebeard Pirates now. I burned the Piece of Spadille when I pledged my loyalty to Pops.” 

You pull back, hands staying on Ace’s waist as his arms stay around your shoulders. Your mouth opens and closes a few times, trying to wrap your head around this. 

“The whole crew is part of Whitebeard’s now.” He leans forward to kiss your forehead and you melt back into him. “Don’t worry, north star, everyone will still be there to welcome you home.”

She's a Good One, Son

Pops sits in his office with Marco, discussing plans for the next island, when Ace walks in with you. Pops gives Marco the cue to leave, and he shuts the door on his way out. 

“Pops. This is (y/n).” Pops sees the pride lining Ace’s face and the grip you have on each other’s hands. Oh, she’s the one. I’m glad to see you happy, son. “I’m hoping, if you’re okay with it, she was a member of the Spade Pirates and you took us all in-” 

“Welcome home, daughter. I would be happy to have you on my crew.” You smile at Pops and look over to Ace as you squeeze his hand. Ace starts to look down at you but you’re ripped out of his grip before his eyes land on yours. 

Pops smiles as he watches the door open and you get ambushed by an old friend.

Hey Brother, There's an Endless Road to Rediscover

Deuce looks up from his desk as Marco walks into the medbay. “Ace came back with someone, he’s introducing her to Pops. I didn’t catch her name but…” Marco barely gets into describing what you look like before Deuce is sprinting out the door to find you. 

He throws Pops’ office door open, forgetting the normal respect he pays towards his captain. “(Y/n)!” He finds you and pulls you right out of Ace’s hold and into his arms. His head settles into your neck as you wrap your arms around him. 

“Hi Deuce! Sorry it took so long for me to get back.” Deuce pulls you back and takes your face in his hands. He starts inspecting you like he doesn’t fully believe it’s you. 

“It’s her, man.” Ace wraps his arms around you from behind while reaching out to mess up Deuce’s hair. “It’s her.” Ace’s head settles where Deuce’s was as Deuce leans back in, sandwiching you between your boys.

Welcome to the Family, Sis

Neither Deuce nor Ace lets go of you as they guide you to the medbay. “Ace, I was with Chopper, I’m fine, I don’t need-” 

“You have to meet Marco.” You looked over, confusion lining your features as you begin to ask Deuce who he’s talking about. 

Ace is pulled away from you as he’s pulled into the arms of a muscular but lean man who you have to look up to meet the eyes of. You quickly notice the fluffy blond hair only at the top of his head and catch how tired he looks. “Ace! Glad you made it back safely!” He tightly hugs Ace before turning to look at you. “Hi, I’m Marco! Deuce didn’t have a chance to tell me who you were before running out.” His arms drop off of Ace. 

“Hi Marco.. I’m (y/n). I used to be a Spade Pirate.” Ace drapes an arm across your shoulders, settling his head against yours as Marco spots the pure admiration on his face. 

“(Y/n), it’s an honor to finally meet you. Your crew has told me many stories.” He chuckles at the horror starting to line your features. “All good, don’t worry.” 

“Pops is letting her join, she’s one of us now.” Ace’s smile grows as your hand travels up to grab his. 

Marco smiles down at you. “Welcome to the family, sis. I’m the first division commander, here if you need anything at all. Or if the second division commander” he peers at Ace “gives you any trouble.” 

You smile back at him. “Thank you, Marco.”

Get You Flustered

Ace is helping you prep a snack as you tell him about your time with Luffy’s crew. “Sanji was always really flirty but I just smiled and waved it off.” 

“Yeah sure, north star, you totally didn’t get flustered by him.” Ace laughs as he looks towards you. 

You stop your movements and turn to face him, chest almost touching his. “I do not get flustered.” 

“Wanna prove it?” He stops his movements and turns to meet your gaze. He smiles at the determined look you’re giving him. 

He reaches behind you to set something on the counter, trapping you between his arms. His eyes are on yours as his hands move to your waist and slide up your sides. “Don’t get flustered, my north star.” He smirks before his lips meet yours. You kiss him back as your hands move up to his neck, one sneaking up to tangle in his hair. You both smile into the kiss before he deepens it, pushing you further back into the counter. 

It’s mid afternoon when Deuce walks into the galley for a snack and finds you and Ace with your tongues down each others’ throats. He clears his throat, failing to get your attention. “What’s going on here?” Ace jumps back as you readjust your shirt and you both turn to Deuce. 

“Hi.. ummm Ace was just trying to prove a point…” You try to force down the nerves clawing at you, not wanting to give Ace the satisfaction of being right. 

“It feels like I just did.” You turn to see the smirk on his face. 

“Not yet.” You step away from Ace and walk towards Deuce, who looks mildly horrified before you grab his face and kiss him. You miss the sadness creeping onto Ace’s face as he watches you kiss his best friend. You pull back and drop your hands off of Deuce, turning back to Ace. “See, not flustered.” You turn and walk out of the room. 

“What did I just walk into, Ace?” Confusion lines Deuce’s face, uncomfortable with everything that just happened. 

“Umm… my first kiss with (y/n)... but she then kissed you.” Ace turns back towards the counter, landing his elbows on it before dropping his face into his hands. 

“You two are ridiculous. Make her favorite snack and go find her. Straighten this shit out. I don’t want someone I view as a sister kissing me again.” Ace just stares as Deuce leaves the room. 

Deuce finds you on deck and pulls you away from the conversation you were forcing. 

“What was that?” His eyes are wide, emotions impossible to read. 

“I’m so sorry, Deuce. Ace was trying to prove that I get flustered and I didn’t want to let him be right but I shouldn’t have dra-”

“Sorry to disappoint, sis, but you’re not hiding your crush on Ace very well. Figure this out. Talk to him about it. It didn’t look like just a proving a point kiss to me.” Deuce drops his hand off your shoulder and leaves you alone with your thoughts.

I Love You and I'll Say It This Time

You and Ace run into each other on the stairs. He hands you a bowl with your favorite snack without looking up at you. 

“Ace, can we..?” You take the bowl from him and before you can finish your question, his hand is holding yours and he’s pulling you towards his room. 

He doesn’t say a word until the door is closed and you’ve set the bowl on the desk. He turns to face you and he looks nervous. “Hey so I umm like you.. Like a lot. I really really like you.” 

“I like you, too, Ace.” You sweetly smile at him as you back up to lean on his bed. His nerves worsen as he watches your smile grow. 

“No, that’s not right. I don’t like you. No, I do but that’s not right. I love you, my north star. I love you so much.” Ace’s face goes bright red as he looks down, refusing to meet your eyes.

“Ace..?” You move closer to him, taking his hands in yours and sneaking your face under his, forcing your eyes to meet. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I wouldn’t have joined your crew if this wasn’t going to happen.” 

He breaks into a huge smile and his hands move up to hold your face. “If I kiss you again, are you going to go kiss Deuce?” 

You laugh in his hold. “No, I never want to do that again. That was gross, he’s like my brother. But, I think I just proved you wrong. You’re the one that gets flustered.” 

Ace laughs back before pulling you in.

Our Nights At Sea

Your nights on the Moby Dick are all spent with Ace and none are spent sleeping. You spend the quiet hours on the ship sharing stories of your time apart. Ace tells you about all the adventures the Spade Pirates had after Sabaody, about how much he searched for you, and about his journey to joining Whitebeard and becoming his second division commander. You tell him all about your adventures with Luffy and the horrors you experienced with the Buggy Pirates. 

Your first night on the ship finds Ace sitting up in bed, leaning against the wall, with you on his lap. You’re tracing the features on his face as he admires the details on yours. His voice is quiet, telling you about the Spade Pirates’ journey in the New World and all the shenanigans he got up to with Deuce. “It would have been so much more fun with you, north star.” 

Your finger traces down his jaw before you cup his cheek. “Why did you start calling me north star? You never did that before.” 

Ace softly smiles up at you, his hands running along your sides. “Because you’re the light that always guides me home.” 

Scrunching your face, you try to hide your small smile. “But I haven’t been here for even a whole day, how did I-”

“You are my home.” Ace spots the tears threatening to fall and pulls you down into his arms. “You’ve always been my home.” 

The next night, the skies are clear and Ace brings you up to the crow’s nest. You’re sitting crossed legged, knees touching, hands threatening to touch as you tell Ace what you went through with Buggy. Ace’s hands come up to your cheeks, wiping away the tears streaming down them, as your hands tightly grip his wrists. 

Ace can’t hide the anger and agony as the tears stream down his own face. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve found you before he took you out of the Grand Line. I shouldn’t have-” 

You force your eyes to meet his. “You did find me, Ace. You found me, and that’s all that matters.” 

Ace’s mouth draws into a line as he takes in the fear and sadness in your eyes. “I love you, I’m so sorry.” He pulls you in and holds you tight as you continue to cry. 

On your third night, you and Ace decide to raid the galley. It’s late enough that you’re hoping no one interrupts you like Deuce did earlier today. Ace lifts you onto the counter, kissing you softly before turning to make you a snack. Tonight, Ace is telling you about his complicated journey to joining Pops. 

“Marco told me early on that Pops’ takes care of poorer islands, that’s way he doesn’t have anything fancy on the ship. All of his money goes to the communities he protects.” 

You softly smile at Ace’s back. “Sounds a lot like your brother. Although Luffy would never admit to helping people. He just wants adventure and to be King of the Pirates.” Ace turns around, saying the last four words with you. 

“He’s always wanted to be King of the Pirates. What was he like on his own crew?” Ace smiles at you, eyes trying to stay on you while he finishes your snack. 

“He’s a lot like you with a little less anger at the world. He reminded me a lot of you, Ace. I missed you a lot when I was with him.” Ace’s smile falls as he watches the sadness come up on your face. 

Ace comes up to you, handing you the snack and burying his face in your chest as he tightly wraps himself around you. “I’ll never put you in a position to miss me again.” 

Your fourth night, and most nights for the next few weeks, you find yourself laying on your back in Ace’s bed with him laying directly on top of you. His hands hold your face while he covers it in kisses, constantly interrupting whatever story one of you was telling. Your arms wrap around him, squeezing him so tightly that there’s no part of either of your bodies not touching the other’s. Every night of your shared journey on the Moby Dick ends with you falling asleep in each other’s arms.

She'll Be Okay, She Has To Be

Deuce’s arms wrap around Ace’s torso, his own tears landing on his friend’s back as he tries to drag him away from you. He gets Ace off your body so Marco can get to you and Ace lands on top of him as a sob shakes through Deuce’s body. 

Skull comes in after seeing Marco carry you out. He lands on the floor near Ace and Deuce, the latter clinging to the former as Ace fights to get out of Deuce’s grip. Skull’s hands land on Ace’s shoulders and he shakes his crewmate to get him to stop screaming. “Marco’s got her, Ace. She’ll pull through.” 

Deuce’s forehead lands on Ace’s back as the panic seems to fade out of Ace and into Deuce. “She has to be okay, Skull. I can’t lose her again. I just got her back. I can’t-” 

Skull moves his hands up to Ace’s face and tightens his grip. “She’ll pull through. Believe in her.” 

Ace slowly nods as he grips Deuce’s arms, feeling his friend’s sobs shake his own body.

I've Got You, Hold On

Marco works with a frantic calm as he stops your bleeding and stitches up the cuts. The nurses are at his side, following every word he says, doing everything in their power to save you. Ace and Deuce are on the floor next to the medical table, sobbing into each other’s arms. 

Marco does all he can, leaning back in his chair, staring at your blood covering his hands. Deuce hears the silence fill the room before Ace and quickly stands. “Marco.” 

“I think she’ll be okay. I did everything I could.” Marco’s eyes meet Deuce’s bloodshot ones before his own tears start to fall. “What happened?” 

Ace slowly gets up, leaning on Deuce for support. “We let her get kidnapped. We lost her for three years and she wasn’t okay at all.” Ace fights through the tears as he tells Marco and Deuce everything you told him. Ace doesn’t get very far into the story before him and Deuce fall to the ground, Marco coming to sit near them. Your three friends breaking down on the floor beside your bed as your body fights to keep you alive.

Go Son, We'll Keep Her Safe

The next morning, Marco has to tell Pops what happened. He speaks through the silent tears he can’t fight back. He swallows the sobs threatening to come out. 

Pops finds Ace in the medbay, the only person still at your bedside, and tells him to come to his office. 

Ace begrudgingly gets up and leaves your side, running into Deuce as he comes back from the bathroom. “Pops wants a word. Can you wat-” 

“I got her, Ace.” Deuce solemnly nods as he returns to your side, sitting in Marco’s chair and landing his head on the bed. 

Ace trudges towards Pops’ office and drops into the chair opposite of his captain without closing the door or acknowledging Pops. 

“Ace, my son.” Ace slowly raises his head until Pops’ eyes meet his bloodshot ones. “Marco did everything he can. She’ll be okay. We’ll all keep her safe. But, son, I need you to work through the grief, pain, and fear. It will eat you alive and she needs you to be strong. If not for yourself or for your crew, for her.” Ace sighs, face dropping into his hands as he forces away the sob that threatens to come out. “Ace, I need you to continue your previous mission. Can you do that? Complete it and come back to us. She’ll be okay when you return.” 

His head shoots back up. Leave you? Right now? When you need him most? “Pops, I can’t. I have to stay with her, she can’t-” 

“Ace, this is not an offer. You need to work through this. Go son, we’ll keep her safe. Everything you’ve been looking for is on this ship now. Come back when you’re done.” Ace pushes himself up and leaves Pops’ office in anger, not stopping by the medbay again on his way out. 

Deuce finds out after he’s already left that Pops sent him away.

I Don't Want Family, I Want Him

You wake up the next day, early in the morning. Turning, you see Deuce using your arm as a pillow while he sleeps. You pull your arm back, harshly waking him up. 

“(Y/n)!” He jumps onto the bed and pulls you into his arms. “You scared us so much, don’t ever do that again.” You gently hug him back, body not fully awake and functioning yet. 

“Where’s Ace?” Marco comes back in as you look around the room. 

Deuce pulls away, his hands running down your arms until he’s holding yours. “Pops uhh…” 

“Ace had a mission he had to complete, he’ll be back soon.” Marco keeps his voice as calm as possible as he comes over to check on the bandages on your thighs. 

“He left…?” Deuce moves up in the bed to keep you in his arms without being in Marco’s way. He feels you deflate as you ask. “But… I didn’t mean to- it was only supposed to be a little… he left because of me?” 

Marco looks up to see the tears starting to fall as Deuce tightens his hold on you. “Hey.. no he didn’t leave because of you. Pops sent him out to finish what he was doing when he found you. He’ll be back in no time.” His hands come up to hold your face. “He didn’t leave because of you.” He wipes away your tears and presses a kiss to your forehead. “He didn’t leave because of you.”

Sorrow on the Moby Dick

The wounds finally turn to scars as you and Deuce are hanging out in his room. You’re on his bed with a book and he’s at his desk with an open journal when both of your heads snap up to the door. 

“Pops! You have to see this!” “Don’t let Deuce or (y/n) hear!” “What do we do, Pops?” 

You both hear your crew yelling for your captain, and your eyes meet before you both stand. Nerves spreading through you, you reach for Deuce’s hand and he gladly squeezes yours back. 

As you approach the galley where most of the crew has gathered, every set of eyes in the room lands on the two of you. The sadness, fear, and sympathy in everyone’s eyes worries you as you watch a newspaper get quickly covered. 

“What are you hiding?” Deuce’s voice is stern, disguising the fear seeping through his body. He steps closer to the table, dragging you behind him. The empathy on Pops’ face, the guilt you can see lining his features, you already know this is about Ace. 

“Pops…what happened to him…?” Your voice cracks as you speak and you swallow to try to stop the tears. 

“Nothing yet.” Marco watches Pops’ subtle nods as he responds. Marco pushes the newspaper towards you and Deuce. Pops’ continues speaking, voice louder as he tries to get through the sobs wrecking through your body and blank stare now on Deuce’s face. “We’re going to get him. We’ll get him out. I won’t let anything happen to my son.” 

Marco comes around the table and pulls you both into a hug, falling to the ground with you both as the sobs finally shake through Deuce’s body.

I See You, I'm Here

“Marco, it’s my fault he left. We’ll get him back, right?” You’re standing between him and Deuce as the Moby Dick prepares to surface at Marineford. 

Marco takes your face in his hands. “It’s not your fault. We will get him back. Stay near me, okay?” You nod and fight the tears away as Marco kisses your forehead. You both turn to face the front of the ship as you take Deuce’s hand in yours. He gives you a squeeze. 

As the Moby Dick surfaces, you immediately spot Ace. He’s chained down to the execution platform and you see him start to fight the restraints as his eyes meet yours. He’s still alive. We made it in time. I’m coming Ace. We’ll get you out.

Oh, Sweetheart

Marco rounds up what are left of the Whitebeard Pirates back onto the Moby Dick as they leave Marineford. The crew is down, this is the biggest loss a crew could possibly experience. Pops is gone. Ace is gone. You’re gone. 

Deuce is inconsolable and everyone leaves him be as he sits in your and Ace’s room with the door open. Sobbing on your bed. 

Marco finds your journal in your bag, leaning against his desk in the medbay. You were nervous about your first big battle. You packed all your stuff and came up to him, not sure if you should take it with you. His heart aches as he reaches for your journal. You shouldn’t have had to experience that. He shouldn’t have had to leave you in the hands of another crew. He should’ve been the one to take care of you now. 

Marco opens the journal to the newest and final entry. 

Ace, 

I’m so sorry that you left because of me. That you lost because of me. I know this is my fault, even if Marco tells me multiple times a day that it’s not. I’ll do everything in my power to make this up to you when you come back. We’ll get you out and I’ll do everything to fix this. I love you so much, Ace. We’re here, we’re getting you back. I’m your north star, right? Follow me back home. 

Marco finally lets himself feel everything in his body and he drops your journal as his head falls into his hands.

The Silent Duo

“Welcome to the crew.” Zoro’s posture could not be straighter as he stands near the door looking at you. His hands are resting on the handles of his three swords and his back is against the door frame. 

“Thank you.” He simply nods in response and looks away from you. “Thank you for saving me, too.” You give him a small smile as he turns back to you. 

“It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He gives you a small smile in return and leaves you alone with Nami again. 

“He’s not a big talker either. You’ll probably get along well.” Nami smiles at you as your eyes stay on the door. 

That evening, you find yourself in a mostly empty kitchen. Zoro sits on the bench by the table and silently watches you dig through cabinets looking for anything edible. “What do you guys eat?” 

“We mostly eat on islands. None of us can cook.” 

You find a box of pasta in one of the cupboards and continue your search for a pot. “How are you sailing without a cook?” 

Zoro just shrugs before turning his head towards the window. You busy yourself with making pasta. It’s not the best meal for four people but it will put food in all of your stomachs. 

As the four of you sit down to eat, Zoro plants himself in the seat next to you. He doesn’t watch as you struggle to get the food down, throat swollen. He does block Luffy every time he tries to reach for some of your food after his is gone. 

“You already ate yours, Luffy.” 

Your friendship with Zoro continues like this until Alabasta. You both exist in each others’ presence, not expecting conversation out of each other, but you both are at each others’ sides in moments of need. He becomes a safe space and your silent protector.

Welcome to the Family, I Think

Luffy, contrary to Zoro’s introduction, jumps onto the bed when Nami finally lets him in. Nami pushes him off before he’s able to fully bear hug you. “You’re awake! Nami says you’re quiet but I know you’re a good person. You have to join my crew.” 

“Luffy, let her breathe.” You smile as Nami looks down. He has as much energy as Ace. 

“Hi Luffy.. thank you for saving me but I have to get back to my old crew..” 

“Of course! We’ll help you find them!” Your cheeks hurt at the smile that grows on your face, the muscles not being used for a very long time. 

Luffy gets you out of bed and shows you around the quite small boat. His body is carelessly thrown over or wrapped around you for the next few hours as you both watch the ocean and he tells you all about his plans to become king of the pirates. Oh, Ace. You would love Luffy. 

You leave Luffy to stay watching the ocean as you go hunt for food. 

Luffy asks the next morning, and afternoon, and night if you would join his crew. “Luffy, I can’t. I have my own crew to get back to. They’re probably looking for me right now.” 

“Oh, right! If they’re looking for you, they should find you soon! The East Blue isn’t that big!” Your eyes widen and Luffy cocks his eyes, brows furrowed, as he looks at you. 

“Are we in the East Blue…?” Luffy nods, smile growing again before he turns away to something else that caught his attention. The East Blue? Oh no, Ace how are you going to find me here?

I'm In

As your group plans to leave Syrup Village, Luffy tells Kaya of his plans to become King of the Pirates and sail to the Grand Line. You lean against Zoro and whisper to him. “We’re going to the Grand Line?” He looks down long enough to nod before looking back up. Okay. Ace, I’m coming. 

The Straw Hats’ new ship, the Going Merry, is departing Syrup Village when Luffy walks up to you, draping an arm across your shoulders. “So, (y/n), will you join my crew? At least until we find your crew.” 

You smile before turning to face him, nodding before leaning into his shoulder. His smile grows exponentially. It’s not the Piece of Spadille, but this may be the next best home until I get back.

A New Best Friend

During your conversation with Luffy, Nami pulls Usopp to the side and tells him that you don’t talk much, that they saved you from being captive in a different crew, and that he shouldn’t push. He accepts every point Nami brings up and agrees to treat you with a soft respect. 

As your crew of five sits down to dinner - you have real food now, courtesy of Syrup Village - Usopp starts talking about the tales of adventure he’s experienced before the Straw Hats arrived. 

Nami and Zoro both smile with shakes of their head as they eat. Luffy is immensely impressed with everything Usopp says. 

Usopp looks over and sees you, eating much slower than the rest of the crew, eyes on him as you intently listen to his stories. He catches your small smiles at the funny parts and the subtle pride when he says anything that would’ve been dangerous if he had done it. He decides right then and there that you are his favorite person on the ship. Oh Deuce, you would love Usopp and his stories.

Can You Hear Me?

Nami calls for Usopp and Luffy, leaving you alone at Zoro’s bedside. You take a seat in the chair next to the bed, hand hovering near his, elbow on the bed. Zeff said you should all talk to Zoro, keep him tethered to this reality, but you have no idea what to say. 

“Hi Zoro.” You’re quiet for a few minutes. You haven’t said more than maybe fifteen words at a time in years. How are you supposed to talk to Zoro for multiple minutes? “Umm… I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say right now.” You finally land your hand on his, not grabbing his, just a quiet pressure. “Usopp has his stories, Luffy has his dreams, Nami has her books. I just have memories of a life I lived before being captured.” You sigh, dropping your chin onto your hand. “I miss Ace. And Deuce. And the rest of the crew. I don’t even know how long it’s been. I watched them leave Sabaody and heard Deuce say that they’ll look for me on other islands but that was in the Grand Line. They can’t find me if I’m stuck in the East Blue.” Tears start silently streaming down your face as you finally squeeze Zoro’s hand. “You’ll pull through, Zoro. You’re the strongest swordsman I know. You’ll pull through.” 

You stay silent, squeezing Zoro’s hand and watching his face, until Nami comes to take another shift.

Sail Away With Me

Nami has her maps for the entrance to the Grand Line land out in front of her, you, and Usopp. She’s explaining how she thinks the river works but you can see the stress building on her features. Usopp tries to help, pointing out other potential ways to go. 

“We can’t travel through the Red Line, it’s a giant stripe of land.” Nami sighs as she answers Usopp. 

“What if..” Nami and Usopp both listen as you explain how you think the currents will work and your finger traces the exact line you should take. “That’s what my old crew did and we made it. We just have to be careful to steer right and not…” 

“And not die. Sounds simple enough.” Usopp nervously laughs as he finishes your thought. 

Nami drops her head in her hands as she sighs. “Nami, you are an incredible navigator. You’ll get us through Reverse Mountain. I promise.” She nods before she looks up at you, giving you a small smile. 

Nami stands back up and Usopp leans back over to ask you a question about the last time you did this when Sanji walks up, setting a plate directly in front of you.

He's Your Captain?!

As the Merry is on track to Reverse Mountain, you and Luffy sit on the masthead. 

“If that’s your dream, to be with your old crew again, I think you should do it!” His smile doesn’t falter at all as he speaks and it warms your heart. “Who is your old captain?” 

“Oh.. someone who set sail into the Grand Line a while ago. I don’t think you’ll know who he is.. Portgas D. Ace.” Luffy’s face lights up as your brows furrow. 

“He’s your old captain?!” Luffy turns and grabs your shoulders as a smile tugs at your lips. “Ace is my brother!” Your smile quickly grows to match his. 

“Ace is your brother?” He aggressively nods. 

“I knew you were awesome when we saved you. Of course you sailed with my brother! Was it fun?!” Luffy’s excitement rubs off on you as you talk about your time on the Piece of Spadille. “Of course you have to go with him again! We’ll find him in the Grand Line! I can’t wait to see him!” You pull Luffy into a hug as your mutual excitement continues to grow.

Aches and Pains

The morning after your first night with Sanji, you wake up sore from the ship repairs you did with Usopp. You don’t say anything at first, not wanting to worry Sanji, but then Luffy jumps on top of you both. 

As you leave the boys’ cabin with the clothes Usopp grabbed for you, you grab his hand and bring him with you. 

“Hey (y/n), are you okay?” After pulling him into your cabin, you pull him into a hug. 

“My whole body hurts from yesterday.” 

“Oh yeah, mine does, too. But what can we do? We’re in the Grand line now. No time to relax.” He smiles as you pull away and look at him. 

“We could cuddle.” You smile at how flustered he immediately gets. “Not like that, just as friends.” 

“Oh, yeah, no I knew what you meant. Obviously. Yeah, we can do that.” You set down the clothes he grabbed for you and pull him towards your bed. You hop up and pull him into your arms, your chest pressed against his back, legs tangled. It’s not long before you both fall back asleep. The pressure from each other’s bodies in the perfect spots to ease the tension. 

This is Your Fault

As the Going Merry departs Alabasta, Zoro walks into the galley with an air of anger that has been growing since you left with Ace. “You know this is your fault, right?” 

Sanji sets down the knife he was holding and turns to look at the swordsman. “What was that, mosshead?” Zoro didn’t give any context but Sanji knows exactly what he’s referring to. 

“You heard me, curly brow. It’s your fault she left so quickly. She didn’t look back once.” Zoro slams his hand on the table and Sanji’s grateful there’s a physical barrier between them. “We worked hard to make her feel safe here and you ruined it all choosing a woman in a bar over her.” 

Sanji’s quiet, glaring at Zoro, not knowing yet how to respond. 

“I told you to be careful. I didn’t want to clean up any messes. But now there isn’t even a mess to clean.” 

Sanji slams his own hand onto the counter, trying to size Zoro up. “I was working on it. We were rebuilding. She gave me her vivre card when she left! Don’t yell at me like she’s gone forever.” Sanji’s voice drops to almost a whisper. “We’ll see her again.” 

“Giving you her vivre card means nothing. She might not have left in the first place if you didn’t fuck up so badly.” Zoro aggressively pushes himself off the counter, storming out of the room, as Sanji stares after him.

Oh, He’s Cute 

Your favorite stall owner nudges you to look down the street. Turning, you see another stall caught fire and a light blue haired blue pushing his very cute friend in your direction. 

“Umm.. hi.. my friend just..” He stops talking as flames start to erupt from his hand, almost catching your favorite stall on fire. 

You reach for his hand, moving it away from the stall, and shake it. “Hi, I'm (y/n). Do you want to go get some lunch and cool down? My favorite cafe is nearby.” 

His face turns as red as his flames as he shakes your hand back. “I would love that, sorry no not love umm…. I'm Ace.” 

He finds you the next day. And the next day. And the next day. And each day you take him to another place you love in your town. 

On the fifth day, he shows up in a panic. “(Y/n), my crew is ready to leave, I have to go, please come with me.” 

A smile pulls at your lips at the stress lining his features. “Come with you where? What crew?” 

“I'm a pirate, my crew's headed to the Grand Line. Please come with us.” 

Your smile grows as you look at the town square behind you. Looking back at Ace, you make up your mind. “I'd love to.” His smile grows to match your own.

I Regret My Decision

Deuce instantly regrets his decision to push Ace towards you. It happens before your home island has even dipped over the horizon. 

You're shocked to see the immediate switch up that happens once you're in Ace's home instead of your own. 

His arm confidently lands around your waist as he guides you through the entire ship, showing you around. 

He's incredibly smooth with everything he does. Fixing things on the ship, directing his crew, shamelessly flirting with you. Some of the crew, namely Deuce, is hesitant to ingrain you into the Spade Pirate family, but Ace is friendly enough that you feel at home on the Piece of Spadille almost instantly. 

Ace’s arm is still around your waist when you approach the final stop on the so called tour of the ship. He guides you over to a table in the galley. “And this is my first mate, Deuce. He’s a writer.” 

Deuce looks up to you, looks towards Ace, and then returns to his journal. “I’m busy.” 

“He’s a little grumpy but he’ll warm up to you.” You look away from Deuce and back up to Ace, smiling at the joy radiating off of him. You both leave Deuce alone, heading back up to deck, but this isn’t the last time Deuce gets interrupted while writing. 

It happens every. single. day. and it drives Deuce insane. He can’t get more than one sentence written without your joint laughter wafting into the room, one of you falling on top of the other and into the table, the two of you pulling pranks on him. He swears you came onto the crew and Ace assigned you as the ‘annoy Deuce’ person. 

And he swears he does not care about you. He only cares that you’re important to Ace. He swears.

Disaster on Drum Island

Deuce gets badly injured while your crew is exploring Kyuka Island. Bad enough that you sail as fast as possible to the next island, quickly dock the ship and head into town, and practically beg the townspeople to help you. 

“Welcome to Bighorn. What can we do for you?” A man and a woman stand side by side at the gates to the town. 

“Please we need a doctor. Our friend is gravely injured. Please, anything at all that you can do.” Your eyes are on the man’s as you plead, hoping to appeal to any of his sympathy. Most of the crew stayed at the ship. It’s only you and Ace holding an unconscious Deuce between your bodies. 

The woman whispers something to the man before he speaks again. “We have a doctor, but she will not be easy to get to.” You and Ace both aggressively nod. 

“We’ll do whatever it takes.” You continuing nodding as you turn towards Ace, agreeing with him a hundred percent. 

“My name is Dalton, captain of the civilian guard. This is Maria. Let’s see what we can do for you.” The two walk over and try to take Deuce from you, but neither you nor Ace loosens your grip. 

“It’s okay, we got him. Where do we need to take him?” You silently follow Dalton and Maria as Ace talks to them. Being surprisingly more trusting of them then you think he should, Ace tells them where you travelled from, who you both are to him, what happened to Deuce. Anything he thinks they need to know to help you. 

Dalton and Maria lead you both to the bottom of a mountain. “Our only doctor is at the top of this mountain. The storm is blocking most paths up to her, but if you think you can do it, you can climb the mountain.” 

After a small argument between you and Ace, and a bit of help from Dalton and Maria, Deuce is securely tied between you and Ace. The two Bighorn residents watch as you and Ace start to climb. The hand holds are solid, there’s room to grip and you feel confident in your ability to climb. 

About halfway up the mountain, a sharp snow coated wind blows in your face and you struggle to see as Ace’s hand wraps tightly around your wrist, helping to hoist you up to the next foot hold. You secure yourself before pulling him up. You try to be careful as it terrifies you every time one of you swings too hard and Deuce swings into the mountainside. 

Close to the top, you start to reach for Ace’s wrist but feel him slip, starting to drag all three of you down. “ACE!” You hand tightens around his wrist and you tighten your grip on the mountain, holding all three of your bodies up. Ace struggles to find purchase with his other hand, knowing you can’t hold all three of you to the side of a mountain for long. 

Your hand starts to slip and you and Ace both scream as you start to fall. A not quite human hand comes over the side of the mountain and grabs yours. You tighten your hand around Ace’s wrist as you’re all pulled over the top and into a heap. 

You look up and see who saved you all. Ace looks at you and both of your eyes go wide as you watch a human looking reindeer slowly turn into a cute little reindeer. “Hi…I’m Chopper. Do you need a doctor?” 

Aggressively nodding, you turn to look at Ace as he speaks. “Yes, I’m Ace. This is (y/n), and our friend Deuce needs a doctor right away.” Chopper moves closer and inspects Deuce’s injury. 

“Bring him and follow me.” You and Ace share a look before getting back up and supporting Deuce between you, following Chopper into the castle. 

You stay wrapped around Ace’s arm as you both stay against the wall watching Chopper and Dr. Kureha fix Deuce’s injury. It takes far too long for Kureha to turn towards you both. “He’ll be fine. What brought you all to Drum Kingdom?” 

Ace leads you both to sit by Deuce’s bed, across from the two doctors. Ace tells Kureha about your journey to get to Drum Island and the concern the crew feels for Deuce. As he’s telling the end of the story, you hear a door open and look up to see Dalton walk in. 

“Good to see you made it.” He nods at the doctor. “Kureha.” 

“Dalton. Sending strays to my door now?” 

“Only these ones. They seem like good people.” Your hand moves to grab Ace’s and he gives you a squeeze. A silent thank you he won’t get to say until you’re sailing away from this island. But you hear it anyways and lean into his arm. 

“Thank you, Dalton. And both of you, Kureha and Chopper. I owe my crew’s life to your island.” 

“Of course, my dear. You and your friends have been a pleasure to care for. We need to let Deuce rest now. Relax, he’ll be okay.” Ace lets out a breathe he didn’t know he was holding as you relax against his body.

You’re My Sister Now, Okay?

You find yourself in the kitchen with Kureha and Dalton, talking about your crew and their island. Bonding over the things you have all experienced and your ideas of what the world should be. 

Ace comes in after a bit, draping his arm across your shoulders before smiling at you. “He’s awake. He wants to talk to you.” You give Ace a small smile back before going back into the room Deuce is in. 

He smiles as you approach the bed and sit near him. “Ace said you helped save me.” You nod and his smile fades. “And put yourself in danger to do it. Please don’t do that again.” 

“I would do that a hundred more times if it meant you were safe.” Deuce takes your hand in his as he draws his mouth into a line. 

“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I woke up and you weren’t here anymore.” His eyes meet yours. “Please don’t put yourself in unsafe positions to keep me safe. I should be keeping you safe.” 

“Deuce, you don’t-” 

“(Y/n), I would terrify the heavens and intimidate hell to keep you safe. You’re not just important to Ace, you’re important to me, too. You have always felt like a sister to me and I would not survive if something happened to you.” Tears are lining your eyes and threatening to fall as you move up to the bed and pull Deuce into a hug. 

“I’ll always be safe, Deuce. As long as I always have my brother with me.” 

“I’m always with you, (y/n).”

Hang on Me

After leaving Drum Island, you have a permanent pirate hanging off your shoulder. Ace’s body manages to find a way to drape over yours no matter what you’re doing. Deuce laughs every time he spots you in this predicament and you always smile back, not wanting to be anywhere except with your boys. 

If you’re trying to make something in the galley, Ace is hanging over your shoulders. Trying to fish? His arms are around your waist and his head is on your shoulders. Did you use to enjoy your own cabin? Ace now finds his way to draping fully across your body every night. 

On this particular day, you’re on a new island, restocking for the next leg of your journey. You have a bag, a pocket full of berry, and one fiery pirate captain draped across your shoulders. You are all set to go buy food for the ship. The next few hours are spent dragging Ace around the market, stopping at almost every stand as he sees something he likes or something that would make the crew happy. 

“Ace, you have to carry the bags if I’m carrying you.” 

“Oh course, my dear. Anything for you.” Shopping gets slightly easier once Ace is the only thing you’re carrying. 

As you make it back to the ship, Ace moves off of you to follow you to the galley. He happily helps you put away all of the food and lay out the fun gifts for the crew on the counter. 

His arm lands back across your shoulder as the rest of the crew returns to the ship and meets in the galley. 

“As a token for our journey so far, I have gifts for all of you. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you all. Let’s go take down the emperors!” You laugh into Ace’s side as the crew cheers.

I Love You, Obviously

Shortly after meeting Shanks, you find yourself standing near Deuce on deck, listening to Ace’s speech about travelling into the New World. “We’re gonna charge straight upward to reach the pinnacle of this sea!!” 

Deuce notices very quickly that Ace didn’t look at a single member of the crew except you during his speech. He smirks over at you before you head off back to your previous task. 

Ace comes down from the crew’s nest and over to his first mate. “Almost to the New World!” 

“We sure are, Ace. Did you remember to tell anyone except her?” Ace gives Deuce a confused look. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean you never once looked away from (y/n) during the entire speech.” 

Ace’s eyes widen. “That’s not true! I-” 

“Hey man, it’s fine. But I’m pretty sure you love her.” 

Skull overhears and decides to butt into the conversation. “Hey Ace, Deuce is right. You definitely like her. Like a lot.” 

Ace’s face goes bright red as he looks between his two officers. “I don’t… but she’s…” 

Deuce’s hand lands on Ace’s shoulder, trying to kept the flames from burning the ship down. “It’s okay, Ace. Pretty sure everyone knows. Maybe act on your feelings.” 

“Before it’s too late.” Skull walks away from the two, laughing at the predicament his captain is in.

Disaster on Sabaody Archipelago

After a few days of partying and drinking at Sabaody, you, Deuce, and Ace end up in the slums. The boys are slumped near each other on against a wall with you draped over them, head on Ace’s chest, legs across Deuce’s. 

Not too much time goes by before you see Marines approaching. Ace passes you off to Deuce and stands in front of you both. 

Vice Admiral Draw presents Ace with an invitation to join the Warlords of the Sea, which Ace promptly refuses. Draw insists that it’s Ace’s only option and refusing is a sure fire way to be a wanted man. 

Deuce stands next to Ace, sword drawn, before Draw is able to begin fighting. The two marines and your two friends are quick to enter a fight and are fully distracted when an arm sneaks around your waist and a hand comes over your mouth. 

You try to scream for Ace and Deuce but you can’t get anything out as a third hand comes around your throat. 

Ace and Deuce quickly defeat Draw and after Isuka lets them go, they turn around expecting to see you. 

Ace screams your name, running between the alleys in the slums looking for any sign of you. Deuce has a blade to Draw’s neck. “Where did she go?” The Vice Admiral denies having any idea and upon seeing the genuine confusion in his eyes, Deuce lets him go. 

Deuce chases Ace around the Archipelago for days, searching every house, shop, restaurant, every corner of the island looking for you. Saber and Cornelia catch up with them as Deuce is trying to stop Ace from breaking into the auction house. 

His hands are on his captain’s face, forcing eye contact. “Ace, she’s not here. Whoever took her, took her off the island. We have to go find her somewhere else.” 

“No! She has to be here. She didn’t just vanish!” Saber and Cornelia help Deuce grab Ace as they all drag him back to the ship. “Deuce, she wouldn’t leave! Someone took her and we have to find her! We can’t leave her here!” 

As Ace screams your name one last time before his crew gets him onto the ship, Buggy laughs to himself before turning to see you trapped in Cabaji’s arms. “Oh, we’re going to have fun.” Ace come find me, please.

Pen’s hands stay on your waist, making sure you don’t fall as you straddle him on his desk chair. Your hands are around his neck and tangled in his hair. Pen’s careful to keep his hands over your clothes, not going lower than your waist, not doing anything at all to make you uncomfortable. His mouth is on yours as you push him further back in the chair. 

You sit up in his lap and his lips chase yours before you speak. “Hey Pen?” 

He pulls back and reaches up to cup your cheek. “Everything okay, sweetheart?” 

You nod, looking down and Pen bends his head down to try to meet your eyes. “Can we…um…go further?” 

He watches you for a moment, waiting to see if your face gives away any of your thoughts. “We can do whatever you want. Just tell me if you need or want to stop, okay?” You nod but that’s not enough for him right now. “Sweetheart, promise me you’ll tell me if we need to stop.” 

Your eyes finally meet his again. “I promise, Pen.” He finally smiles again before leaning back in and reconnecting your lips. 

Nothing changes at first. Your arms stay around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. His hands slide back down to your waist and he pulls your body closer to his. One of his hands slides up your back under your shirt. Pen smiles against your lips as you shiver. 

His hand comes back down your back before he lets go of you, pulling away from your face as he smiles at the way your lips chase his. He quickly takes his shirt off, throwing it across the room before grabbing your face and pulling you back in. Your hands are on each other’s necks as he bites your lower lip. Your tongues fight for dominance as his hands move down your sides and grab the bottom of your shirt. 

He pulls away with a smile, looking at you through hooded eyes as he pulls your shirt off. Your shirt joins his as he pulls you back in. His lips attach to your neck, moving until he hears a moan slip through your lips. He smirks against your skin before he gently bites down. Your grip on his hair tightens as he chuckles before pulling back and taking your face in his hands. “Are you okay, sweetheart?” 

You let a breathless “yes..” out before your lips meet his. He whimpers as you pull his hair and you take advantage of his mouth falling open to let your tongue explore it. His hands are on your neck and he pushes you away before his mouth lands on your collarbone. He moves down to the accessible parts of your chest before looking up with pleading eyes. 

His hands move to your sides, fingers running under the sides of your bra. “Sweetheart, can I-” You beat him to it, pulling your bra off. Your hands tangle into his hair as his mouth continues to move down your chest. One of his hands joins his mouth as the other moves down to your hips. His fingers pinch at the same time he bites down as he smiles against your skin when he hears you moan. His own moan slips out when you tug on his hair. 

He kisses back up your chest and neck, kissing you softly as his hands land on the sides of your face. He pulls back and meets your eyes. His thumbs run slow circles under your eyes and you can see the adoration in his. His voice is soft as he speaks, betraying the pressure you can feel near your core. “Are you okay?” You nod and give him a small smile. He smiles back, eyes watching you closely to try to spot how you’re feeling. “Is it okay if we move to the bed?” You hum in response as you nod again. His voice hardens slightly as he tightens his grip on your face. “Use your words, sweetheart.” 

Heat spreads through your body, settling at your core, and your voice is quiet when you answer. “Yes, Pen.” He smiles and kisses you once more before carefully lifting you up. He sets you fully on the bed before climbing on after you. His hands find your neck and his lips land on yours as he guides you to laying down under him. One of his hands stays on the back of your neck as he holds his weight off of you. 

One of your hands tangles into his hair and you hesitantly let your other hand roam down his chest. He smirks against your lips as his hand roams down your side and around your back. His lips move across your jawline and down to your neck, finding your sweet spot before he lightly sucks. He smiles as your moan slips out. Moving back up to your mouth, his hands come to your face before he pulls back. “Are you okay if we take pants off?” 

“Yes.” You nod and smile in his hold. 

“Are you more comfortable if I take mine off first?” 

“Yes pleaseeee.” He smiles and kisses your forehead. He reaches down and slides his pants off, leaving him in his bright yellow boxers. You’re already giggling when he looks back up at you. 

“Babeeee you know all my boxers are yellow.” He fakes a frown before moving his hands back up to your face. He softly smiles down at you before attacking your entire face with kisses, desperately not wanting the giggles to stop.  

Your hands find his face as you try to push him off. Your attempts all fail and it isn’t until his lips find yours that you’re free of the attack and your giggles stop. His forehead lands on yours and one of his arms lands on the bed next to you. “I love you so much, my fiery girl.” The giggles start to come back as you move a hand into his hair and pull him into another kiss. 

Pen pulls back to catch his breath and his face goes bright red when you place a gentle kiss on his forehead. You move down and kiss his nose. “Could you umm..” His eyes follow yours as you look down to your pants. 

The blush leaves his face as his eyes come back to yours. “Of course, sweetheart, only if you’re comfortable.” 

His smile returns when you respond. “I am.” His lips find yours only briefly before they slowly move down your body. He pauses, hands on your hips, setting his chin just below your stomach before looking back up at you. He waits until your eyes meet his to slowly pull your pants off. His eyes don’t leave yours while he throws your pants off to wherever his are. He finally looks down before his eyes and hands slowly roam up your body. 

As his hands land on the sides of your face, he pulls you in for a quick kiss. “You are so beautiful.” He smiles and kisses your nose as you break out in giggles. Your hands find the sides of his face as he moves back enough to look into your eyes. “There’s a version of me that would’ve ignored you. I’m so glad he didn’t get the chance to meet you. You are everything to me, my fiery girl, I love you so much.” 

Your smile grows and the giggles get a little worse. “I love you so much, Penguin.” His smile quickly matches your own as you push yourself up to meet his lips. When you pull back to catch your breath, Pen moves down to your neck and chest. Your hands slide into his hair just before he moves back to your lips. 

“Sweetheart, is it okay if I take your underwear off and taste you?” Your eyes widen and you don’t respond for a minute. Pen’s voice quiets and he tries to gauge any of your emotions from your eyes. “Hey..” He presses a soft kiss to the side of your mouth. “It’s okay to say no.” He kisses the other side of your mouth. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He pulls back and watches your eyes as they trace his mouth and jaw, your bottom lip between your teeth. 

Your eyes move up to his, your voice quiet. “Can we try it?” 

“Of course. Tell me if I need to stop, or yank my hair, or hit me.” He smiles as you laugh. “There’s my fiery girl.” He presses a soft kiss to your forehead. “I’m serious.” He pulls back and his eyes meet yours. “Tell me if I need to stop.” 

“I will, Pen.” He smiles and his lips briefly meet your own before he slowly kisses down your body. His eyes are on your face as he slides your underwear off, making sure you’re still okay. 

Before he even looks at your core, his lips are on your thigh, softly kissing the recently healed tattoo. Your hand comes down to reach for his and he gladly grabs it. His other arm wraps around your thigh as your other hand tangles in his hair and pushes it out of his face. 

A shiver runs through your body and a whimper slips out as Pen runs his tongue through your folds. You tightly squeeze his hand as his lips find your clit and he sucks a moan out of you. He keeps at it until he feels your body start to shake and you tug at his hair. He moans against your cunt as he glances up, watching as you fall apart under him. He happily licks you clean before kissing your clit and setting his chin on your lower stomach. 

His fingers on your thigh slow start tapping and he squeezes your hand. “Sweetheart, how are you feeling?” His voice is soft, desperate to make sure you're still okay. 

You look down at him, heart melting at his smile as he pulls your hand close enough to use as a makeshift pillow. “I-I'm good.” You struggle to talk as you try to regain your composure. 

Pen's fingers stop tapping as he starts slowly rubbing your thigh. “Do you want to keep going?” 

You hum, shifting slightly under him. “Yes.” 

“Can I use my fingers this time?” He watches your brows furrow as you contemplate. 

Nodding at first, you remember before he can remind you to use your words. “I wanna try that.” 

His smile softens before his lips move back to your clit and he runs a finger through your folds. His eyes stayed glued to your face as he slowly inserts his finger. He smirks against you as you let out a gasp and tighten your grip on both his hand and his hair. 

He only gets up to two fingers, keeping his eyes on your face, lips on your clit. He moans as you pull on his hair and revels in the sounds leaving your mouth as he watches you fall apart under him again. 

After your second orgasm washes through your body, Pen finally lets go of your hand to push himself back up. You look down to see his huge ass smile on his face deeply coated in your juices. His hair is badly disheveled. “God you taste amazing.” Before you can truly react, his lips are on yours, your taste ending up on your own tongue. “Are you still okay, sweetheart?” 

He pulls back and you let out a breathless “yes” before your lips chase his. Your hands tangle in his hair and he returns to the spot on your neck that makes you squirm. 

Your hands tighten in his hair as he kisses, sucks, and bites. Both of your moans mix in the quiet of the room. “Hey Pen? I can return the favor for-” 

Pen pulls back, brows furrowed, eyes meeting yours. “This is about you, my fiery girl, we can do that a different day.” His lips meet yours and you can still faintly taste yourself on his. “Do you want to go all the way? Or do you want to save that for a different day? I'd be happy to stop he-” 

“Today please.” He smiles at the eagerness showing on your face and kisses you again as he pushes his boxers down. 

“Lift your hips, sweetheart.” Pen grabs a pillow and tucks it under your raised hips. “For extra support and comfort.” You nod, bottom lip between your teeth. He places one of his hands along your jawline and uses his thumb to pull your bottom lip free. His lips meet yours briefly before he pulls back. “If it hurts at all, tell me to stop.” 

“Okay.” Pen watches you nod and sees the nerves you're trying to hide. His thumb rubs across your cheek and he tries to decide if he should keep going. “I'm okay, Pen, I promise.” Your soft smile calms his own nerves and he slides his hand between your bodies, lining himself up. Your hands come up to grab his wrist as he slowly slides in, carefully watching your face to make sure you're not in too much pain. 

He bottoms out and holds there, letting you adjust. “Are you okay?” His voice is quiet as he watches you nod despite the slight agony on your face. “Is it too much…?” He watches you shake your head as his anxiety increases. “Sweetheart, talk to me please…are you okay?” His heart aches, worried he's causing you pain and he's terrified to move. 

Your words finally come out as a groan, laced with need. “I'm okay, please move.” Pen finally cracks a smile and kisses you as he slowly slides out. You moan into the kiss as he thrusts back in. He starts out slow, wanting you to get used to the feelings, until your hand moves into his hair and you tug. He moans into your mouth and his hips involuntarily thrust a little too fast. 

Your forehead falls onto his as a louder moan leaves your lips. 

“You're doing so well, sweetheart, such a good girl for me.” His voice is strained as he kisses you once on the lips before moving to your neck. He speeds up his thrusts, keeping one hand near your face, lips staying on your neck. He only pulls back when he hears your voice. 

“Pen..I feel weird..” He comes up, moving both of his hands to hold your face. He can tell by the way your body's reacting and the lust in your eyes that it's a good weird. 

“Shh you're okay, just let go, I've got you.” He keeps a hand on your face, lips on yours, as one hand moves between your bodies to rub slow circles on your clit. 

He feels you clinch around him and ride out your orgasm before he slows his movements and pulls out, pumping himself a few times before he finishes on your stomach.

He kisses you a few more times. Your arms loosely wrap around his neck as he collapses on top of you, head on your shoulder. “Are you still okay?” 

You smile at him. “Yes, Pen, thank you.” 

His eyes meet yours. “Did it feel good?” 

His face lights up as you giggle. “Yes, it felt good.” 

A lazy smile lands on his lips and his eyes fall closed. Your hand comes up to brush his hair out of his face. 

After a few minutes and you being convinced Pen has fallen asleep on you, he pushes himself up and off the bed. Your eyes follow him. “C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up.” The strain in his voice is gone and he’s back to his normal goofy self. He sees the confusion lining your features and moves to grab your face, hands still a bit sticky. “Are you okay if we take a shower together?” He smiles as he watches the excitement fill your face. 

“Yes!” His hands slide down your arms to your own as he pulls you out of bed. The second your feet touch the ground, his hands move back to your face as yours find his neck. You both smile into the kiss before he pulls back. He litters your face in quick kisses, smiling at the giggles he pulls out of you as you cross the room to the connected bathroom. 

He backs you up towards the toilet before pulling away from your face. “Go pee. Cap would kill me if I gave you a uti.” You laugh before kissing him one more time. Both of your hands fall off of each other as you sit on the toilet and Pen steps back in the bedroom. 

Pen comes back with his water bottle, straw in his mouth as he watches you struggle to stand. He slides an arm around your waist helping you stand before he holds his water bottle out. “Drink some water.” His lips find your temple while yours find the straw. 

He sets the water bottle on the counter as he wraps his arms around you, pulling you tight to his body. “Pen?” He hums against the top of your head while your arms wrap around him. “I thought we were going to shower.”  

“We are. Just wanted to hold you first.” You smile against his chest and hug him a little tighter. He kisses the top of your head before loosening his hold on you. His arms slide down as his head lowers to your chest. He kisses the center of your chest before looking up at you. “Hey sweetheart? Jump please.” You happily oblige, legs wrapping around his waist and arms going around his neck. 

Pen keeps one arm wrapped tightly around your waist as he walks you both into the shower. 

He carefully sets you down, and you grip his arm to steady yourself as he turns the water on. He takes his time cleaning every inch of your body, coming back up every two minutes to kiss you and make sure you're okay. 

The fifth time he comes up, you grab his face and hold him up. “Let me clean you, too.” 

Pen melts against your touch as you carefully clean his body. Coming back up to his face, you pull him into a soft kiss. One of his hands moves to your waist as he turns the water off. 

Carefully lifting you out of the shower, Pen grabs your towel and dries you off before wrapping it around his waist. He pulls one of his shirts over your body as you grab a pair of his boxers to slide on. 

Pen pulls a pair of sweats on as he looks over at you, content that you are adequately covered to go out of your room. His hands move to your face and he melts at the smile you give him. “Are you comfortable in this?” You nod. “Let’s go get you something to eat.” He starts to turn towards the door, hand in yours, but stops when he senses you not following. A soft smile tugs at his lips as he takes in the sad puppy eyes you’re giving him. He comes back and squats in front of you, letting you climb onto his back. Your legs wrap around his waist, arms around his shoulder, chin settled on his shoulder, as his hands grip your thighs. 

He sets you on the counter when you arrive in the empty kitchen. He turns in your arms and places one hand on your neck, letting his thumb run along your jawline. “Thank you, sweetheart.” 

Your arms wrap around his neck and you lean into his hand, brows furrowed, smile at the edge of your lips. “For what?” 

“For trusting me enough for tonight.” You pull him in, burying your face in his neck as his face lands in yours. His arms wrap tightly around your body. 

After about five minutes of leaning into your hold, Pen stands back up, hands resting on your hips. “We came here for food. What would you like, my fiery girl?” 

As you watch Pen work on making a snack for you both, the door to the kitchen opens. Turning, you see Bepo. You both smile at each other before Bepo's eyes widen. 

“Hey (y/n), what happened to your neck? Are you okay?” Your own eyes widen as you and Pen turn towards each other. 

“Oh shit.” Pen comes back over to you, hands on your face as he looks at what he did. Bepo leaves, mumbling something about getting Law. “I'm sorry sweetheart-”

Ikkaku walks in and looks at your neck. “Oh. my. god.” She runs back out with a huge smile on her face, yelling for Shachi. 

Pen lands his forehead on your shoulder. “Shit. I did not mean-” 

You wrap your arms around him, pulling his body into yours. “It's okay, Pen. But maybe we leave the kitchen before they come back with more people.” He pulls back and smiles at you. 

“Yes, on it, mi'lady.” He kisses you and turns back to finish your snack as fast as possible. 

He's already turning back around when Kaka and Shach both run into the room. Shach looks at you before laughing his ass off, grabbing onto Kaka as she laughs with him. 

Before either of them can say anything, Bepo returns, Law in tow. “See Cap, I told you, there's a bruise, something happened.” 

Pen drops his head into your shoulder and wraps his arms around you. You giggle into his shoulder as you wrap yourself around him. 

Shach's laugh gets louder as Kaka talks. “Yeah, Pen happened.” 

An exasperated sigh leaves Law's mouth as he heads out of the room and back to bed. 

“Grab the snacks, babe.” You quickly grab the bowl as Pen lifts you up and carries you out of the room, hiding his face from Shach, Bepo, and Kaka. You happily smile at your friends as you start snacking. 

Pen gets you back to your room, kicking the door shut behind him and setting you on your bed. He fully buries his face in your neck as you keep snacking. 

“Pen, baby? Do you wanna eat, too?” 

“No, already did.” He mumbles into your shoulder and you run a hand through his hair as you finish up the snack and reach over to set the bowl on your desk. 

Pen does not pull his head away from your neck until he's already laying down with you on top of him. When you push up, you see his face bright red. “I'm sorry, sweetheart, I didn't mean to-” 

“It's okay, I don't mind, I promise.” He nods, lifting you back up so he can lay down and pull you down on top of him. Your head lands on his chest and your arms wrap around his shoulders. “I love you, Pen.” 

“I love you, my fiery girl.” Pen kisses the top of your head as you drift to sleep in his arms.

After a quick reunion with the rest of your crew, you, Pen, Shach, Bepo, and Law have to change into Wano fits. You learned upon arriving that this is a closed country and no one can know you are all outsiders. 

Ikkaku wraps you in a hug after helping you change. “I’m so glad you’re back. Don’t ever leave me alone with all these boys again.” 

You laugh and hug her back. “Never again. I promise.” 

She pulls back and grabs your shoulders, looking down at your outfit. It was decided you would be a geisha with Robin. “Pen is going to freak out when he sees you.” 

You look down at your outfit and back up to her. “They’re just clothes. And he sees me every day.” 

Her eyes widen as she waits for you to look up at her. Her words slow down as she speaks. “He has seen you every day in a damn boiler suit. He’s about to fall in love all over again.” 

It’s your turn for your eyes to go wide. “Kaka, he’s not in love with me, he can’t fall in love again. It would be the first time.” 

She laughs at you as she pulls you into a quick side hug. “Yeah okay, he’s totally not head over heels for you. Shach told me what he did for you at New Marineford. That boy is whipped.” 

You stare after her as she leaves the room first. That’s the second person to mention what you did. What did you do, Pen? 

You slowly follow Ikkaku out of the room, lost in your thoughts until you hear the gasp leave Pen’s mouth as his jaw drops. Your eyes meet his but he’s struggling to look at your face. “Pen…?” You try to get his attention as you move closer to him but you seem to be failing until you’re close enough for him to touch. 

His hands grab your face and he lets out a breathless “Hi..” before he kisses you. You wrap your arms around his now very visible neck as his hands slide down to your waist. He pulls back, landing his forehead on yours as your eyes move down to his fit. “You are so beautiful.” He kisses you once more. “I am so lucky.” He laughs as he sees you peek down the opening in his yukata. 

“Hey lovebirds, we gotta go!” Pen groans before moving down to kiss your neck a few times. 

You tangle your hand into his hair as you start to giggle. “Pen, I really think we have to go. There’s a plan, remember?” He accidentally lets a quiet moan out as you tug his hair and his face is bright red when you can see it again. “We gotta go, Pen.” His smile quickly matches yours as he kisses you one more time before he lets his hands drop and one grabs yours. 

“Yeah… okay… let’s go.” His hand leaves yours surprisingly fast after he glances down at your outfit again. His arm wraps around your shoulders as he drops his head onto yours. You giggle again as you end up half carrying him back to the group. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

You’ve stayed with your own crew since arriving in Wano but now Nami is begging you to come with to the bath house. 

“It will be so relaxing. You deserve a break after everything. Plus, it’ll be safe. Robin’s coming, too. We won’t let anything happen to you.” 

Your head turns back towards Pen and you can see the hesitation on his face. Robin sneaks up to him and tries to convince him. “She’ll be safe at the bath house, Penguin. Nothing will happen to her there and we’ll bring her right back to you.” 

You pull Pen to the side and his forehead lands on yours as he grabs your waist. “I don’t really trust any of the Straw Hats right now.” His eyes move to the ground and you can tell he’s fighting himself in his head. You reach a hand up to scratch at his scalp. Some of the tension in his body leaves. “I trust you. Do you want to go with them?” You bite your bottom lip as you nod. “Stay safe for me please.” He pulls back to press a kiss to your forehead. “Will you be okay with the burns?” 

You nod again. “I’ll keep them covered.” 

He nods as his eyes fall closed and his forehead falls back onto yours. “Stay safe, my fiery girl.” 

You catch his hat before it falls off the back of his head and carefully put it where it belongs. “I will. Stay safe, Pen.” You give him a quick kiss before waiting for his answer. 

“Don’t worry. I’m always safe.” His hands come up to cup your face as he kisses you one more time before letting you go off with Nami and Robin. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Watching Nami and Shinubo soak in the bath, you sit along the edge, legs swaying in the water while you stay wrapped in your towel. “I’m hesitant to get into the bath in public. If anything should happen…” You appreciate that Robin is also not in the bath but you know she’s more nervous about the potential dangers. She’s not self conscious about her body and the scars that litter it. 

Your eyes scan the room but sharply avoid the row of men oogling your group. You follow behind your group as they move towards the wash room. Shinubo is telling your group more about the history of Wano but you aren’t listening. Your full attention is on the octopus scrubbing your back. 

Nami reaches a hand over and places it on your thigh. The contact snaps you out of your daze and you turn to face her. “(Y/n), are you okay?” You nod before both of your heads turn towards the door. 

“This is a raid!!” You hear someone yell that Hawkins and Drake have shown up. You, Nami, and Robin hide behind Shinubo, hoping that Hawkins doesn’t spot you as he enters the wash room. 

“Is someone hiding back there?! Show yourself!” 

You’ve seen the wanted posters for the Straw Hats. No one’s looking for you on this island. You hold Nami back, and step out yourself. Robin whispers to you before you do. “I’ve got your back if anything happens.” 

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to hide!” You raise your hands as high as you can without letting the towel drop and force a smile. “I’m just a simple…” 

“That woman..” Hawkins sends out his straw sword and rips off your towel. Tears line the bottom of your eyes as you hear the reactions of everyone around you. Hawkins peers down at your thighs before smirking up at you. “Ace’s girl, aren’t you?” 

Before he can do anything else, someone appears in the center of the room and flies backwards. Using the distraction, you pick up the towel and wrap it tightly back around yourself. You look over at the man and feel the urge to bash your head into the wall. Of course it’s Sanji. Why wouldn’t he end up here the one time I’m naked? 

“Sanji?! Why are you here?!” You hear your annoyance echoed in Robin’s voice. 

“What’s that outfit? Is this a joke?!” Nami looks away from Sanji to check back in with you, worried about what just happened. 

“It’s Germa 66. I think his family gave him his suit.” Sanji stands as you speak, waiting for you  all to throw robes back on before he grabs you all and flies you out of the bathhouse. 

Sanji talks to the four of you like the events of the past ten minutes didn’t happen. “It’s no good that they learned about the ankle tattoos! And there’s one other bad piece of information…” You struggle to hear Sanji over the wind, still trapped in your mind as you try to wrap it around everything that just happened. His words become clear as soon as he mentions your crew. “Bepo and his friends have been captured!!” 

Your grip on Sanji fails and you would’ve fallen if Robin didn’t catch you. The panic is evident in your voice and Robin struggles to keep a hold on you. “What!? Sanji, where are they? We have to get them! Take me to Penguin!” 

Nami grabs your face and forces you to look at her. “We have to get Traffy under control before he plunges the city into chaos.” 

Your eyes widen as you process her words. “Where is Cap?! We have to go to him! Me and him will save them. We can’t let them hurt Pen.” You start sobbing in Nami and Robin’s hold as Sanji remembers the bite marks on your wrist. Shit. I need to help her get him back. I can’t let her hurt herself to get him back. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

“That little bear and his friends must have spilled all the secrets to our operation!” Shinubo is up in Law’s face as the two argue. 

“Bepo and the others would die before they talk!! Don’t insult my crew!!” He turns away from Shinubo and grabs your hand as he heads towards the door. “We’ll get to the bottom of this once we rescue and ask them!” 

The Straw Hats in the room yell at you both to stop but you don’t until you hear Shinubo speak again. “Eliminate the ones who were captured! Silence them for good!” 

Law stops walking and turns back to her. “What did you say?!” Before she can answer him, you are already back across the room. 

Your fist is slammed into her face before another word can leave her mouth. “I don’t care how you do things here! We’re not leaving our crew behind!” You yell in her face before your fist comes down again. 

Law grabs you by the back of your shirt and drags you away, towards the door. “We don’t need them. C’mon. Let’s go get our crew.” You struggle to get back onto your feet as your captain maintains his hold on you. He turns back to the rest of the group before leaving the room. “Don’t forget the fact that you doubted the loyalty of my crew. If we can’t trust each other in moments like this then I can’t expect to entrust my safety to you when the fighting is fierce!” He continues to drag you out the door, rage at Shinubo still seeping off of you. 

Sanji follows you out. “I’m coming with you.” 

Law stops walking, drops his hand, and you finally get yourself back up. “Why do you want to come with us? My crew doesn’t exactly trust you, or like you.” Law’s words cut through the air as they travel to the cook. 

Fear and guilt enter Sanji’s eyes. “I want to help get your crew back.” He looks away from Law and over to you. “It’s the least I can do for you, pretty girl.” The anger and fear in your heart eases slightly as you see the same care Sanji showed you on the Merry now reflected on his face. 

Law catches your expression soften slightly before he turns back to Sanji. “Fine. But you’re staying behind us.” 

Sanji quickly nods at Law before turning back to you. “Let’s go save your boy.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

“Captain… will believe in us… he’ll come save us…” Shachi’s voice is quiet, the pain evident in his words as he, Bepo, and Penguin sit slumped against a wall, blood and bruises covering all of their bodies. 

“I know (y/n) will come too…” Bepo’s the only one to respond to Shachi, Penguin breaking down at the bear’s words. He covers his face as he starts to cry. Oh, my fiery girl, please don’t come here. You can’t come here, you have to stay safe. Let Cap deal with this. I’ll come back to you, I promise. I can’t keep you safe here, sweetheart. Please don’t come here. 

Both Shachi and Bepo’s hearts ache as they can do nothing but listen, tears falling down their own faces, as Pen sobs next to them. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

“Well, there we go. Traffy and (y/n) got mad and stormed off. Let’s hope they decide to come back! And we lost Sanji. Way to go, Shinubo! Hope you’re happy!” Usopp stews in his anger next to Nami. Finding out after the fact that you ran into danger stresses him out beyond belief. He’d go to bat for you as one of his best friends but you all took off before he even knew what was happening. 

Nami sits next to him, mildly annoyed at how angry he’s getting. “I don’t like that (y/n) ran after them, either. But Sanji will keep her safe. You understand why Shinubo’s frustrated, don’t you? They’ve been waiting 20 years for this plan to come together.” 

“Nami, do you understand my anger at all? It’s not just Traffy’s crew that’s in danger right now. It’s (y/n)’s. Do you not still care about her? I’m not going to blame Bepo and the other guys if they did let the secret slip. If they did, they had their reasons.” Usopp’s anger bounces right off of Nami’s ears. Both so immersed in their own heavy emotions, both deeply worried about you for vastly different reasons, they sit next to each other on the bench in silence. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Sanji follows behind you and Law as you approach the public cells. Law quickly glances over before turning to Hawkins. Pen’s eyes meet yours and you can see the pain behind them. Oh no no no, my fiery girl please leave. Please get back to safety. Please, I can’t lose you. 

“There was one more. A polar bear.” Law uncovers his face as he speaks. 

“You could easily help them escape with your powers. Only a fool would place all of the hostages where you can see them.” Hawkins turns to look at you. “You’re both going into that cage to join them.” He unsheathes his sword and holds it up to his arm. 

You tear your eyes away from Penguin and turn towards Hawkins. As your eyes meet, he lowers his swords, smirking at the pain and anger behind your eyes. Pen screams your name as you approach Hawkins, knife coming out of its sheath and swinging at Hawkins. You see it break skin, you swear. But Hawkins doesn’t react and there’s no blood. Instead, you hear Shachi yell out in pain and Pen yell his name. 

Law looks at you and the two of you share a horrified look. It dawns on you what exactly you just did and your eyes go wide as you run over to the cell. “Shachi, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.” The tears start falling and you want to reach through the bars to Shach but guilt eats at you. Shachi responds but you don’t hear him, panic is clouding your senses. 

Hawkins notices Sanji as his eyes draft off of Law. “I’m guessing you’re not here for Trafalgar’s subordinates.” Sanji’s eyes betray him as they drift over to you. “Oh darling, you couldn’t save Ace, what makes you think you can save any of them?” Hawkins’ words cut through the panic and go straight to your heart. The area around you quiets and your mind fills with the memory of watching Ace fall into Luffy’s arms. 

You look up at Pen and see him frantically trying to talk to you but you don’t hear a single word he says. His eyes move away from you but his panic doesn’t subdue as you feel something pull at your chest and leave out your back. “Hawkins! Leave her alone! She’s got nothing to do with this!!” He turns back to you, reaching out through the bars of the cell to grab your face. He whispers your name as he runs his thumb down your cheek and to your lips. You blink once before Shachi and Sanji’s panic near you comes back at full volume. Your eyes widen and Pen forces a soft smile. “There’s my fiery girl. Hey, we’ll be okay. We’ll get out of here.” His thumbs move up to wipe away your tears. 

Shach and Sanji both look back up to Law and Hawkins. “Well Trafalgar, you cannot defeat me. I have five lives in my possession. You can only strike me down for good after your four subordinates are dead.” 

You start to reach your hands through the bars to grab Pen’s face when you see a flash of metal in the corner of your eye. There’s no time for you to think before Pen moves. His arm wraps tightly around you while he pulls the knife out of your belt. There's a loud clank of metal on metal as you get pulled up against the cell. Your back would be flush to Pen's chest if it wasn't for the bars between you. One of your hands finds his arm as the other covers your head, terrified of everything happening right now. 

Carefully looking up, you spot what the metal clank was. Seeing Sanji's foot land back on the ground, you see one of Hawkins’ crew hit the ground, his sword clattering against the pavement. Pen lowers your knife and your hand comes off your head and finds his, not caring that your knife hits the pavement as he intertwines your fingers. 

“Oh. I see.” Hawkins smirks as he spots how tightly Pen is holding you. “So Ace’s girl got a new boy. This should be fun.” Both yours and Pen’s eyes widen as you watch Hawkins slip a knife out and slowly bury it into his own side. 

You feel Pen squeeze you tighter as his forehead hits the bars of the cell and Shachi screams his name. The warmth of Pen's blood slides down the pavement and runs down to your leg. Law is frozen in place, watching Hawkins hold his knife close to his own heart. “Do it, Trafalgar. Make a move.” 

Sanji's at your side, Shach at Pen's, as both boys try to get Pen to let go of you. “No. I'm fine. We have to get out.” You bring your joined hands up to your face, pressing his hand to your lips as your knees come up to your chest, trapping Pen’s other arm around your waist. 

Pen is not letting go of you while you're sobbing in his arms. Or while you have a death grip on him. You come first. Always. 

Law turns to Hawkins, arms raised in surrender, sword dropped to the ground. “Hawkins, let my crew go. You can have me.” 

“Cap, no!” “Captain you can't!” “No, Captain!” You, Pen, and Shach all yell at Law at the same time but he doesn't turn. He glares at Hawkins, waiting for him to make a decision. 

After a painfully long time, Hawkins lowers his hand and looks over to his subordinates. “Free them.” Guards come up and pull Shachi and Penguin away from the bars. 

Pen's arms get pulled away from your body and he screams your name. Sanji pulls you away from the bars before anyone else can reach out of the cell and grab you. 

After a few minutes of silence, of sitting at Sanji's feet and sobbing, of Law not moving as he stands in front of Hawkins, guards finally come out with your three crewmates. All three of them handcuffed. All three of them bloodied and bruised. Your eyes settle on the blood seeping through Pen's yukata and down his leg.  

Sanji spots Hawkins raise his knife back up by his heart, eyes glued to you, and he puts an arm down across your chest, stopping you from moving closer to Pen. “Don't move. Hawkins still has you all hostage.” Your eyes move up to his and you see that he's serious and he's scared. Okay. Not Moving. 

“Get out! Your lives are bargaining chips. If you refuse, Trafalgar Law will choose to come for my life, and that includes all of yours.” You don't see Hawkins’ eyes look to all four of you. Your eyes have moved back to Pen's side and have not moved from the constant flow of blood coming down his leg. “These four lives are yours. Now you are fully released. Does this meet your demands, Trafalgar?” 

You finally tear your eyes away as you turn to your captain. Hawkins returns all of your souls. The handcuffs get taken off your crewmates as Law turns to face you all. “Listen closely. Keep quiet about this. Don't tell Straw Hat and the others that I've been caught!!” No. We can't lose Cap right now. We can't wait. We won't make it to Chopper in time. We need you, Cap. I got you, Pen, hold on just a little longer please. 

Your crewmates yell out to Law as you stand, Sanji at your side in case you fall. You feel the anger rise in your chest. Rage surfacing at the thought of having Penguin taken from you, the same rage you felt when Big Mom was destroying the Sunny. The need to let the anger out seeps into your arms and down to your hands. 

Your crew figures out what's happening and all drop to the ground. Bepo grabs Pen and pulls him into his fur, the white slowly turning a dark shade of red. Sanji stays standing next to you, not aware of what's about to happen. You scream Hawkins’ name as a wave of energy leaves your body, blowing down Hawkins and every single one of his men. 

Sanji looks up from the ground next to you in shock as pride grows on your crews’ faces. Law takes the opportunity to room you all up a hill in the distance, as far away as he can see. All six of you land with a thud and you quickly get yourself over to Penguin. 

Pen clings to you the second he can reach you. Arms wrapped tightly around your body, he buries his face in your shoulder and you feel the tears soak your top. You wrap an arm tightly around him while you tangle your hand into his hair under his hat. “Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry you had to, I’m supp-” 

“I love you, Penguin, of course I saved you.” Sanji glares at the man in your arms as Pen pulls back. Sanji's heart finally shatters into the smallest possible pieces. Pen's face lights up despite the obvious pain as he looks at you. Taking in the smile on your face, he leans his forehead against yours and moves his hands up to your face. His hold on your face has noticeably less pressure than it normally does. 

“I love you so much, my fiery girl.” His voice is quiet and you feel him start to fall as he pulls you back into a hug. His hold on you fails and he collapses into you before you push him back up. 

As soon as his body isn't leaning on yours, his head falls forward. Your eyes widen and panic is present in your voice. “Pen?” You fix his hat and pull him back in, hugging his now unconscious body close to yours. The rest of your crew turns to you, your panic reflected in their features. “No, Pen baby, no. We got you out. You can't leave now. I just found you again, don't leave.” Sobs are wrecking through your body as Shachi pulls you away from Pen. 

Sanji hears your words and remembers you saying that to him, your tears staining his own clothes as you said them before. Shit. I can't leave him here. 

Bepo starts to move towards him but Sanji beats him to it. Lifting Pen’s body and getting one of his arms over his shoulders, Sanji gets him up and starts to move. He looks around at all of you and notices that not a single one of you is moving. “I got him.” Sanji's eyes land on yours. “I promise. Now let's get out of here.” 

You watch Sanji start to walk through tears as Shachi, Bepo, and Law all share a look. They don't have time to argue, they have to go. 

Shachi carries you as your tears soak his yukata and your fighting leaves bruises on his back. “We're getting him out of here. He'll be okay, I promise.” As he talks, Shachi's anxiety rises. He has no idea if Penguin will be okay. 

Law stays at the back of the group, his eye staying on the straw hat pirate, as Bepo leads you all back to a safe house. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Law does what he can to fix Pen's wound before your crew sets him up in a bedroom in one of the allied forces’ safe houses. Shachi takes a seat next to you as your crew leaves the room. 

“He wouldn’t want to you sit here staring at him the entire time. Come get some food.” You shake your head without turning your gaze away from Pen. 

“I need to be here when he wakes up. He can’t be alone when he wakes up.” 

Shachi gives you a ghost of a smile before wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pulling you into him. “I’m gonna bring you some food, okay?” You nod against his chest before he lets go. He kisses your temple before he gets up. 

Pausing at the door, Shachi watches you grab Pen’s hand with both of yours and lay your head on top of his thigh. You have to pull through, Pen. I’m not sure we can get her through another loss. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

The next day, Pen has not moved. His state has not changed even the slightest bit. After cleaning Pen’s hat of all the blood and dirt, you found some thread and a needle. Trying to fix the holes in his hat proves harder than you thought and a frustrated sigh leaves your mouth as Usopp walks in. 

“Hey (y/n)...are you okay..” You aggressively shake your head, hands not moving off of Pen’s hat, as Usopp sits down next to you. He watches you continue to struggle for a few minutes. “Stop working for a minute.” He grabs your hands and forces you to stop moving. 

You finally turn to look at him and see the concern lining his features. He sees the dried tears on your cheeks and the fresh ones lining your eyes. His arm comes around your shoulders and he pulls you into a hug. You cry into his chest for a few minutes. 

He holds you in silence, his eyes on Pen, trying to will the man awake. His eyes fall back to you when he hears your voice. “I was right there. I was holding him, and I still couldn’t keep him safe.” 

Usopp pulls you back, moving his hands to hold your neck, forcing you to look at him. “Hey. Don’t say that. You got them out. You got him out. Traffy fixed him. He’ll be okay. He just needs to rest.” You eyes move back over to Pen and a quiet sob escapes your lips. “(Y/n)?” Pressure from Usopp’s hand on your neck forces your gaze back. “He’ll be okay.” You slowly nod in response, swallowing another sob that threatens to escape. 

“Thank you, Usopp.” He loosens his grip on you as you turn back towards the hat. “Do you know how to sew? I’m struggling to fix this.” You look back up and see Usopp nod. 

He waits until you hesitantly hand him the hat and he takes a look at the damage. “Okay, come here.” You scooch closer and lay your head on his shoulder as you watch him fix it. He works slow and careful, making sure to show you everything he’s doing and let you try so that you can fix it next time. 

Once he’s done, Usopp carefully places the hat back in your hands. “All done and ready for him.” 

You give him a small smile. “Thank you, Usopp.” 

He smiles back at you and starts to stand. “Anytime.” 

Before he can get too far, you grab his hand and pull him back. “Usopp, can I give you something? I don’t want all of your crew knowing you have it but I want you to have it.” 

“Of course.” He sits back down next to you as you take your vivre card out. You carefully rip a piece off of it and hold it out to him. “Oh, are you sure?” 

“I’m sure.” You place it in his now outstretched hand. “Don’t tell your crew about it, please.” Usopp nods, knowing exactly who you’re talking about. Don’t tell Sanji, got it. 

“Thank you.” He pulls you into one last hug before he steps away, leaving you leaning against the bed watching Pen sleep. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

When Pen’s eyes open, it’s dark. He rubs the sleep off his face as he lets himself adjust to the lack of light. Once he does, he looks down and sees you using his uninjured side as a pillow. He hears your soft snores and smiles to himself before wincing from the sharp ache on the other side of his body. 

He starts to reach out for you but spots his hat and detours to grab it. His brows furrow as he lifts it up and notices that it’s in perfect condition. It looks better than he ever remembers seeing it. 

He sets it back down and moves to readjust you so you’re laying on his thigh. He sits up, careful not to wake you as his hand moves to your upper back. He starts to rub slow circles between your shoulder blades while his eyes stay on the hat. “Oh sweetheart, what did I ever do to deserve you?” He swears his voice is extremely quiet but he still feels you start to stir. 

His eyes move back to you as you raise your head and look at him. “Hey sweetheart, sorry if I woke you up.” Your eyes widen as you get up on the bed next to him and pull him into a hug. Your face buries into his neck as he moves you so you’re straddling his thighs. He snakes his arms around you and buries his own face in your neck. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Pen.” Your grip on his body tightens as he feels your tears start to fall. 

His heart aches and guilt starts to eat at him. “I’m so sorry I scared you.” You shake your head before pulling back, settling on his lap, and reaching for his face. He grabs his hat and puts it on your head, pushing it back slightly so he can still see your whole face. He reaches for your hands, bringing them down to your lap. “Sweetheart, did you fix my hat?” 

You nod as you intertwine your fingers with his. “Well.. Usopp did most of it. I had no idea what I was doing but he showed me how to fix it if it gets damaged again.” 

Pen watches you in awe for a moment before moves his hands up to your face. “Thank you.” His lips find your forehead before you speak again. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.” His eyes widen, brows furrowing, as he pulls back and forces you to look at him. 

“(Y/n), what are you talking about? I saw you use haki again to take down Hawkins. You saved all of us. You saved me.” Pen wipes away your tears as fast as they fall, not knowing why you think you didn’t save him. 

“I couldn’t get you out though. You passed out in my arms and Sanji had to carry you back. I couldn’t get you out.” The gears start turning in Pen’s head as he follows your backwards logic. Sanji helped? He wraps his arms back around you and pulls you in tight. 

“You saved me. I know you did. Thank you, my fiery girl.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

While your crew prepares to depart from Wano, Pen tells you he has to go do something quick. “I’m not going far. I’ll be right behind you, sweetheart.” He plants a kiss on your forehead before you walk back to the Polar Tang with Ikkaku. 

Pen drops his hands in his pockets and begrudgingly walks over to the Straw Hats. “Hey Sanji, can I talk to you for a sec?” A few of the Straw Hats give Pen a dirty look but Sanji nods and follows him. 

Once the pair is away from the group, Pen turns to face him. “Hey man, thanks for helping to save me.” 

Sanji scratchs the back of his neck, not sure where this conversation is about to go. “(Y/n) did all the saving. I just carried you away.” 

Penguin turns back with a smile to watch you disappear into the Tang. “Well, thanks anyways. And for keeping her safe when I couldn’t.” 

The pairs’ eyes meet as Pen turns back. “Anything to keep her happy.” Sanji smiles after he speaks. 

Pen raises an eyebrow. “If you’re about to threaten my crew, I swear-” 

Sanji raises his hands in defense. “I wouldn’t do that. I know she’s safe with you.” 

A cocky smile finds Pen’s lips as he turns and heads back to the ship.  

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

As soon as you and Ikkaku make it below deck, you’re grabbing all of your stuff out of your shared cabin. 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay with Shach as a new roommate? Pen says he snores.” You look over to her as you both set your stuff on Pen’s floor. 

“If he snores in my room, I will be throwing things at him.” You laugh as you both start to pick up all of Shachi’s stuff. “Seriously though, happy to let you and Pen have a space of your own.” 

“Thank you, Kaka.” Shachi’s stuff gets dropped on the floor right outside Ikkaku’s cabin. “I’m gonna miss bunking with you.” Ikkaku pulls you into a hug that you happily return. 

“Awww stop, you’re gonna make me cry. You’re only heading across the hall!” 

Pen’s search for you ends as he finds you and Ikkaku hugging next to a pile of Shach’s stuff in the hallway. He peeks into the room he now shares with you. He sees your stuff already moved in and smiles before turning around. 

“Alright, Kaka. Give me my girlfriend back.” Pen comes up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist before he yoinks you out of Ikkaku’s arms. You both laugh as Pen kisses your neck and carries you away. He walks into your room, kicking the door shut behind him, and falls onto your now shared bed. You land on top of him before turning around in his arms. Your hands find his face, one of them slipping behind his head to tangle in his hair, as you move down to kiss him. One of his hands sneaks up to the back of your neck while the other stays on your waist and he quickly deepens the kiss. Safe to say, you’re both in that bed for a while. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

As promised, the next stop on the Polar Tang is to see Ace and Pops. The crew stays behind on the ship. You and Pen go off onto the island to find Ace. 

The second it comes into view, you stop walking. Pen feels his arm raise as you fall behind and he turns back. He sees the tears already falling down your face and pulls you into a hug. “We’ll only go as close as you want to.” 

“I need to go all the way.” He nods against the top of your head before pulling back and taking your hand again. You sniffle before leading the way up the hill. You stop. Standing in the same exact spots Shanks and Marco were in years before, you and Pen stand, looking up at the memorials. 

A sob escapes your body as your eyes land on Ace’s hat, shortly falling to your journal, leaned against the pole holding it. Pen lets you slip out of his hand as you slowly walk over and place a hand on it. Your fingers move to run along his beaded necklace before you collapse in front of the gravestone. 

Pen comes up and wraps around your body. Not saying anything. Not doing anything. Just holding you. He knows he can’t fix this. He knows this is just something you have to feel. But he’s not letting you feel it alone. 

Pen sits there, holding you, ignoring a cramp in his leg, ignoring the ache in his side, for over an hour. He does not move a muscle until your sobs slow and you lean yourself away from him. He loosens his grip and watches as you slowly stand. Your fingers return to running along Ace’s beaded necklace and your other hand reaches for your own necklace. Pen stays on the ground until he hears your voice. 

“Hey Pen?” He rises and stands next to you. “Thank you for bringing me here.” His heart aches before he speaks. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring you here sooner.” Your hand drops off your necklace as you lean into Pen and reach for his wrist. He watches as you start to run your thumb along the gemstone on his bracelet. 

“He would’ve loved you.” Silent tears stream down your face as your eyes stay on your fingers tracing the outline of Ace’s hat. I’m sorry, Ace. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you sooner. I’m sorry. You peek over at your journal once, deciding to leave it here. Part of me will always be with you. 

The sun starts to set as Pen wraps his arm around your shoulders and sets his head on top of yours. Thank you, Ace, for letting me love your girl. 

The sun approaches the horizon and turns the sky into a bright fiery orange. “The sky kinda looks like Ace’s flames.” Pen feels another sob shake through your body as you speak. He slips his hand up to hold yours as he brings them up to his lips. He kisses the back of your hand as you both watch the sun dip below the horizon.

Penguin has you tightly held to his body as him and Shachi leave the marine base and walk back through the battle. Your tears are staining the shoulder of his suit as Pen whispers what he hopes are calming and supportive words. “I got you. I’m not letting them anywhere near you again.” He presses his lips to your temple as Shachi starts signaling to all of their allies to retreat. Pen’s got you.

Moving his head back, Penguin makes eye contact with Sanji. Acting only slightly out of pettiness, Pen moves his hat off his own head and onto yours, and the poor cook crumbles. That should be him holding you. Pen looks away as one of the marines takes advantage of Sanji’s distraught state and knocks him over. Luffy grabs Sanji’s arm and throws his crewmate over his shoulder as he drags him away from the battle. As Luffy starts heading back to the Red Force, he spots Barto’s ship approaching in the distance. “Usopp, take Sanji. I need to go thank Cabbage and Barto.” Luffy passes Sanji carefully over to Usopp before heading to his subordinates’ ships. 

Sanji watches Penguin carry you all the way back to ship, his hold on you not faltering in the slightest. As he walks up the ramp, your eyes meet Sanji’s. He sees the pain and fear behind your tears. His heart sinks. Why couldn’t he be the one to save you? 

As Penguin steps onto deck with you, he falls, twisting his ankle as he ensures you land on top of him. “Fuck.” His arms fall off of you as his hands find his face. 

“Pen?!” You carefully push yourself up and look down. Your eyes widen as you see the pool of blood coming off a stab wound on his leg, deeply staining the white of his suit. You land at his feet, hands hovering over his calf, not sure what to do. He tries to sit up, groaning in pain as he does. Usopp and Sanji make it onto deck, Law closely behind. 

Sanji reaches out towards you, wanting to.. support you? keep you out of the way..? make Penguin watch someone else hold you when he’s already down…? Sanji’s not sure but he reaches out until Law glares at him. None of the Heart Pirates are forgiving Sanji for letting you be taken anytime soon. Usopp starts to say something about Law glaring at his crewmate but Sanji holds him back. Law has the right to be angry at him right now. 

Law’s demeanor falters as he lands next to you. “Go keep him calm.” You nod through the tears as you move up to Pen’s upper body. One of your hands finds his cheek and you run your fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his face. 

His eyes move down to see what Law is doing but you’re quick to move his face towards your own. Your voice is quiet. “Pen.. what happened?” 

He smiles despite the pain as his eyes trace the features on your face. His voice is just as quiet as yours. “You should see the other guy.” You drop your forehead on his as one of his hands lands on the back of your neck. “I’m so glad I got you back.” You finally smile back. 

Someone else lands on deck but you don’t notice until their hand lands on your shoulder. Forcing yourself to move away from Penguin, you turn and see Reiju standing behind you. “Glad you’re alive. Stay safe.” She smiles before she leaves the ship again, glancing at Sanji only briefly. 

You look over and catch Law’s eyes following her off the ship. “Was that-” 

You smile at him. “Yes Cap, that was Poison Pink. Met her on Whole Cake Island.” The ghost of a laugh leaves your lips as Law forces his attention back on Pen’s injuries, while you turn back to his face. His hand comes back to your neck before pulling you down to him. He adjusts his hat so it’s resting further back on your head before he kisses your forehead. Your hands move back to the sides of his face as you rest your forehead against his. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

During your first month on the Polar Tang, Penguin and Shachi decide they need a way to know if you need something. 

“If you need to leave a situation, we want you to give us a sign, okay?” You nod at Shachi before turning to Penguin. 

“One of us will always be near you, so if you need to leave, can you tap our arm three times?” Penguin smiles at you when you nod. 

A few weeks later, you’re between the two at dinner with the crew. A couple of the guys on the opposite side of the table start laughing and joking around a little too loud. It becomes overwhelming and you need out now. You remember the conversation about the safety signal and reach for Shachi’s arm. 

The second he feels the third tap, he’s up, hand in yours, as he excuses you both and takes you to a different room on the ship. He turns and lowers himself to your level. “Is everything okay?” You nod and move your hands up by your ears. “Was it too loud?” You nod again and let him pull you into a hug, quickly hugging him back. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

About a month after you start talking to Penguin and Shachi, they decide the safety signal needs an upgrade. 

“Hey, fiery girl, you know how we have a nonverbal signal if you need help?” You nod and peek at Penguin out the corner of your eye. “We should pick a verbal signal, too.”

“Okay.” You look around the room even though you know there’s no one else here. “Should Shachi be here for this?” 

“I can let him know later.” Your eyes finally land on Penguin as he smiles at you. 

“Okay.. Did you have a word in mind?” Penguin shakes his head. 

“I wanted to see if you had a preference. But we could come up with one together?” His voice starts to lower. “If you want to.” 

You finally smile back at him and his nerves ease. Your eyes move up to his hat as your mind wanders. “We could do a type of penguin.” His smile grows. “Too bad we can’t do emperors. We use that word too much.” 

Penguin hums as he thinks. “Macaroni?” You laugh and his heart aches. “Maybe not.” 

“What about gentoo? They kind of look like emperors but less yellow.” 

“Let’s do gentoo.” You smile at each other before returning to your previous tasks. 

A week later, the Polar Tang is docked on a new island and the crew is out exploring. You and Penguin branched off from the group and are walking past a row of shops when you sense someone watching you. 

Turning, you see a flash of green and your anxiety spikes. “Hey Penguin, you really like gentoos, right?” 

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool.” Penguin grabs your hand and quickly leads you out of the town and back to the ship. It’s only when you’re on deck that he turns to face you. “Are you okay?” You nod before he pulls you into a hug, looking out to the island, wanting to know what happened but not wanting to pry. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

After Law fixes up Penguin’s calf and ankle, the three pirate crews on the ship leave you and Pen in Shanks’ cabin. Most of them having seen Pen’s reaction to finding out you were missing, no one is willing to be the reason the two of you are separated again. Shachi spends the journey back to Wano heavily insistent that the two of you need to be alone. He fails to keep others out only a few times. 

Penguin has you sitting on the edge of the bed, standing between your legs as he holds the back of your neck and carefully wipes the blood and sweat off your face. “Pen…?” He hums in response, his focus entirely on making sure he gets every last spot on your head clean. “I think I’m clean.. Can you let me clean your face now..?” He hums once more and shakes his head. 

After he starts to wipe off your nose for the third time, you sigh and grab his wrist before taking the washcloth from him. “Hey, I wasn’t-” 

You let go of his wrist and move to hold his face, making him actually look at you. “Let me take care of you.” He melts against you at your words, wrapping his arms around you and burying his head in your shoulder. “Pen.” He hums and shakes his head, not moving from his place wrapped around you. “I can’t clean your face if you’re hiding it.” He hums once more before you try something else. Weaving your fingers through his hair, you give him a slight tug to try to get his face back in front of yours. 

His head jerks back in your hand as his arms freeze around your body. He lets out a ragged groan and his eyes are wide when you finally see his face again. “Hey fiery girl, what was that?” His voice is strained as his eyes find yours. 

“I needed your face.” Determination lines your features as you loosens your grip on his hair and start to wipe all the blood off his face. He’s silent as you get his face as spotless as you can. “Pen?” He blinks once before realizing you stopped wiping off his face. His eyes find yours. “Who stabbed you?” His brow furrow. “On your leg. Who did that?” 

His eyes drop to where Law bandaged his leg. “Oh umm.. it was just some random marine in the battle.. nothing personal or anything. I’m not sure who did it.” His eyes slowly move back up to yours and he hopes you believe him. You don’t need to be reminded of Cabaji, sweetheart. I’ll be okay. 

You glance down at the bandages before letting your eyes meet. “Does it still hurt?” He frowns, giving you a small nod before you scooch back on the bed, making room for him to join you. You scooch yourself against the wall before pulling him onto you. He rests his head on your chest and wraps his arms around you. He sighs as his legs tangle with yours. 

After a few minutes of Pen quietly basking in your warmth, he looks up to you. “What are the bite marks on your wrist from?” 

“Oh.” Pen furrows his brows and pushes himself up on his elbows as he watches sadness start to line your face. 

“Oh what?” One of his hands reaches up to your face. “Who bit you?” 

Your voice is quiet as you respond. “I did.” Confusion lines Pen’s face and he has no idea how to respond. You continue, your voice not getting any louder. “The Big Mom Pirates had me, Luffy, and Nami chained inside a book and I was trying to get out.” A deep frown lands on Pen’s face as he reaches down to grab your wrist. He presses his lips to your wrist and adjusts your bracelet so the penguin on it covers the worse of the marks. Of course it was for that ungrateful asshole on the straw hats. 

Pen sits up and pulls you up with him. “I’m sorry you were put in that position.” He pulls you into a hug as you mumbled a response he can’t hear. 

You pull back as Penguin begs you to let him check you for other injuries but you refuse at first, desperate to tell him about Whole Cake Island. You’re sitting on the bed facing each other, legs crossed, leaning slightly towards each other, when you tell him you used Supreme King Haki to knock Big Mom off the Sunny. Penguin’s face lights up and he jumps up onto his knees before grabbing your face. “Are you serious?! That’s so cool!!! I knew you were incredibly strong!!” His lips find yours in a much more passionate kiss than you shared in the marinebase, your hands grab his wrists and you feel his smile against yours. His smile grows exponentially when he pulls back and sees you giggling in his hold. His voice returns to its normal volume as he looks in your eyes. “I’m so proud of you.” He presses a kiss to your forehead. 

His eyes move down as he spots a dark spot on your suit near where he knows your Ace tattoo is. Your eyes follow his and his heart falls as fast as your tears. Both of your smiles disappear as his eyes move back up to yours. “Sweetheart, what happened?” You shake your head, tears falling faster and Pen can only wipe them away so fast. Torn between comforting you and checking what’s wrong, he opts to help you lay back down. He quietly says your name. “Is it okay if I check…?” His hand is hovering over your suit’s zipper and he waits for your eyes to meet his and for you to nod. 

As he uncovers your tattoos, your body starts shaking with sobs. Pen’s heart shatters as he takes in the burn marks cutting through both faces on your thigh. His hands hover above you and his mouth opens and closes a few times, not knowing what to say or do. The shock is present on his face as the tears start to fall. 

You start to get flashbacks of Akainu using his devil fruit to try to forcibly remove Ace’s tattoo but Penguin pulls you out of them. His hands are on your face, his lips on your forehead and you can feel his tears fall onto your face and mix with yours. “I’ll go get Cap, he can help.” He starts to move, one hand still on your face as he’s almost off the bed. Taking your hands off your face, you shake your head as you grab onto Pen’s arm before he can move too far away. 

“No, I just want you.” He freezes and looks back at you. He can see the desperation in your eyes and nods, carefully sitting on the bed beside you. Your voice drops to a whisper as Pen lays down next to you. “I just want you.” He wraps his arms around you and carefully pulls you close to him, letting you bury your face in his chest as you sob. He settles his lips on top of your head as his eyes fall closed and his own tears fall. 

Pen's still awake when he feels you fall asleep in his arms. He carefully lays you on your back and slides himself out from the bed. 

Getting to the door, he cracks it and sees Shachi chilling on the floor. “Hey, Shach?” He looks up and starts to stand seeing the dried tears and bloodshot eyes on his friend's face. “Can you get me first aid stuff?” Shachi waits a moment, sensing Pen will say more. “And maybe grab Cap?” 

“Yeah man, of course.” 

Penguin shuts the door again and walks back to the bed. Squatting near you, he rests his head along one arm and brings his other hand up near your face. “Sweetheart, I'm so so sorry. I should've fought to keep you with us at Zou. You would've been mad at me but at least you would've been safe.” 

Pen sits up and wipes the tears off his face when he hears Law open the door. “Hey, Cap.” Law can hear the complete and utter defeat in Pen's voice and he moves over to the bed. 

Law freezes before he gets too close. “What happened to the tattoo?” His eyes move to Penguin. 

“I don't…I don't know, Cap. She hasn't been able to tell me yet.” Pen lets some of the tears fall as Law moves closer and starts to take a look. Pen reaches for your hand again, running his thumb across the bracelet on your wrist, as he waits for Law to be done trying to fix the burns. 

“I can fix the tattoo back on the Polar Tang. But we have to let the burns heal first. When she wakes up, tell her I'm sorry.” Pen looks up at Law and sees the tears threatening to fall from his captain's eyes. Law shakes his head, letting his stoic front return. 

“Thank you, Cap.” Law simply nods before leaving the room. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Law walks back to the galley where most of the pirates are. He has zero regard for any conversations that were happening. “Who would have burned her?” 

Shanks looks up, giving Law a confused look. “What are you talking about, Law?”

“Someone burned her. Severely. She has first degree burns. Who would have done that?” 

Luffy's voice is quiet as he speaks, anger starting to rise in his body. “Akainu would have done that. He has a magma devil fruit. It's what he used to kill Ace.”  

The room goes silent. The anger radiating off of Law's body frightens most people in the room, freezing them in place. Usopp stands. Luffy grabs his wrist and forces something into his sharpshooter’s hand. “Make sure she gets this.” Usopp nods at his captain before he leaves the room without anyone resisting him. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

When Usopp makes it to Shanks’ cabin, you're awake again, back against Penguin as he holds you tightly to his chest. Pen's sentence drops off when Usopp walks in. 

“Usopp!” Pen lets his arms also drop upon hearing the excitement in your voice. Usopp walks over and pulls you into a hug before sitting on Shanks’ desk. 

You turn in Pen's lap so you can face both boys. Once settled, Pen wraps one arm back around your waist. Usopp notices the bandages on your thigh and the jolly roger on the other, but says nothing about either, quickly looking back up as you speak. “Pen, this is Usopp, I've told you about him, he was my best friend in the Straw Hats.” Penguin nods, genuinely smiling at him. “Usopp, this is Pen, he's my…” Your voice drops off as you realize you don't know what Pen is to you. He's your crewmate, sure, but he's so much more than that. 

Penguin sees the panic start to rise behind your eyes and stops it. “I'm her crewmate in the Heart Pirates. Nice to officially meet you.” He starts rubbing soothing circles along your thigh as he reaches a hand out to Usopp. The two shake hands before Usopp turns back to you. 

You both excitedly share stories of your adventures since separating in Alabasta while Penguin leans back against the wall, both of his hands ending up on your thighs, mindlessly drawing shapes, grateful that you get to be happy and excited for a bit. He sits up, pride beaming off his face when you get to Whole Cake Island in your stories. As you tell Usopp about using Supreme King Haki, he slides off the desk, standing in front of you. 

“You did what?!” He turns to Penguin and your boy nods at Usopp, confirming the story. Usopp turns back to you, his smile matching your own. “That is so cool!!! Oh my god!! I'm so proud of you, (y/n)!! You've gotten so much cooler since being on the Merry!!” Penguin drops his hands as Usopp pulls you into another hug. 

Your voice quiets as Usopp holds you in his arms. “Thank you for being such a good friend to me all those years ago.” Usopp's heart aches a little as he pulls back, hands moving to your shoulders. 

“You are the easiest person in the world to be friends with, you do not have to thank me for that.” He smiles at you before remembering something Luffy wanted to tell you. “Oh, Luffy wanted you to have this!” You watch Usopp take a vivre card out of his pocket. “It’s Luffy’s. He wants to make sure you can always find us if you need us.” You tear up, carefully taking it in your hands. Oh, Luffy. He pulls you back in for one more hug before mentioning that he has to make sure the captains in the other room don't drag them into a war. 

Your smile follows Usopp out of the room. “Good luck, Captain Usopp!” He smiles back at you once more before Shachi pulls the door shut behind him. 

You turn back in Pen's lap to face him, placing Luffy’s vivre card in your pocket before your hands go up to his face. His hands land on your hips and pull you closer to him. Running a finger down the front of his nose and to his lips, your eyes move up to his. “What do you think of Usopp?” 

He jokingly bites your finger causing you to giggle and pull your hand back before he responds. There's a joking tone to his voice as he answers. “I guess not all the Straw Hats are bad…” He drops his head back, rolling it across his shoulders as he drags out ‘all’. His head moves back into your hand as his eyes meet yours and you scrunch your nose at him. His voice softens. “I'm serious, he seems cool. I'm glad I got to meet him.” 

You smile and return your hand back to tracing his features. “He is cool. He’s really sweet, too.” 

Your hand moves down to cup his jaw and he smiles in your hold. One of his hands comes up to the back of your neck as you close the gap. Pen lets the kiss be soft and quick as you pull away. “Pen, I’m kinda hungry.” 

He hears your stomach growl before moving up to kiss your forehead. “Let’s go get you some food, my fiery girl.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Despite his protests, you won’t let Pen carry you to the kitchen, worried about his calf and ankle. Instead, he ends up slightly draped over you, arm around your shoulders and his head leaning on yours. 

Sanji looks up, holding a plate of food and seemingly oblivious to your crewmate draped against your body. “Hey, my pretty girl, I made your favorite. I was about to come find you.” Your eyes follow the plate as it lands on the counter. Huh. I haven’t had that in years. Penguin glares at Sanji as he moves to the island counter. 

Pen's voice is flat as his eyes move down to the plate and back up to Sanji. “Can you make us onigiri instead? She would like that more.” 

Sanji looks hurt and slightly offended. You quickly glance back to Penguin and see the anger growing on his face before looking back. “Sanji, can we talk?” He nods slowly as you turn back to Penguin and he lifts his head off yours to look at you. He groans and rolls his eyes as you give him the best sad face you can. 

Pen’s grip on your shoulder tightens before he spins you around into his chest, smiling at the giggles he pulls out of you. He hugs you before he pulls back and his hands find your face. He kisses your forehead before leaning his against yours. “I’ll be right outside, okay?” You nod before he slowly lowers his hands, loosely holding one of yours until he’s too far away, and leaves the room. 

It’s awkwardly silent in the room after Penguin closes the door. You turn back towards Sanji as you both hear Pen lean against the door. Neither of you say anything for a few minutes. When you finally do, you both speak at once. 

“Sanji, you can’t-” “(Y/n) I’m so-” You both stop talking and it’s quiet for another moment. 

“Sanji, you can’t come back after three years and just act like I never left.” There’s a strain to your voice as you talk. I shouldn’t have to be saying this. Why did you come back like this?

“I didn’t think we left on that bad of terms. You gave me your vivre card when you left, you said to come find you!” Sanji takes a step closer but is careful not to touch you. 

“That was before Ace died. I wanted you to find both of us. I thought you and the rest of the crew could come adventure with me and Ace. The vivre card wasn’t about you and me.” Your voice quiets for the last sentence. Your voice wavers as you talk and if there were any tears left in your body, they would be lining the bottom of your eyes. Sanji, I don’t want to break your heart, stop making me do this. 

“I know.” Sanji drops to his knees, pleading through his eyes as the tears start to fall. He knows where this is going. Please, my pretty girl, give me one more chance. “I know things changed when Ace died. We had all gotten separated on Sabaody right before that and I saw it in the papers and I swear I never stopped looking for you after I saw. I never gave up, I swear you were worth the effort to search for. You’re worth the effort to love.” 

“You didn’t start looking for me until Ace died?” Sanji slowly nods, worried that your voice calmed when you asked. “Sanji, are you sure you care about me like you used to?” He freezes. “Or did you just want to be the one to save me?” 

Sanji’s getting desparate. Is that not what Penguin did? Did he not swoop in right after Ace died and save you? “Is this because of Penguin?” 

“What?” You take a step back, anger starting to rise as Sanji backs up a few feet, rising to stand in front of you. “This has nothing to do with him.” Tears start to fall down your face as you talk. “Sanji, do you not remember Whisky Peak? Do you not remember what our relationship was like when I left? When I left, we were friends, nothing more. I don’t owe you anything.” 

“You were just friends with Ace when you left him, and you went running right back into his arms when he found you.” You take a step back as you hear Penguin push off the door and the knob rattle. He’s bringing Ace into this? Is he seriously bringing Ace into this? 

“Sanji.” He’s going too far. “I was taken from Ace.” You choke back sobs as you speak through the anger. “I was kidnapped. I was assaulted and abused and raped for three years. I didn't chose to leave Ace. I chose to leave you.” You hear Penguin let go of the door knob, settling back against the door. You’re both quiet for a minute, the emotional tension in the room making it hard to breathe. “Sanji, can you give me back my vivre card and leave?” 

He doesn’t leave. He drops back to his knees, hands reaching for your legs as he tries to get you not to kick him out. He spots the bite marks on your wrists and remembers Nami telling him how hard you fought to get him out of WCI. He spots the bracelet over them and remembers the matching one on Penguin’s wrist. Here goes my last ditch effort. “(Y/n), no, please. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned Ace. I know that was different. I know I know I know. I’m sorry. Please, pretty girl, I can’t live without you.” 

You swallow another sob as you look down at him. “If you can’t live without me, why aren’t you dead?” 

You both hear Shachi chuckle outside the door as Sanji’s heart shatters. He stands, reaching into his pocket and handing you the vivre card, unable to look at you as he pushes past Pen and Shach on his way down the hall. Both of your boys turn to look at you as you fall to the ground in tears. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Pen walks out of the kitchen, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. Shachi looks over from his spot leaning against the wall. “Are you worried Sanji will convince her to go back to the Straw Hats?” Pen’s quiet for a minute. He sighs and closes his eyes, dropping his head back against the door. 

“Sanji, you can’t come back after three years and just act like I never left.” 

Pen lifts his head at your words. He hums. “No, I’m not worried about that.” 

The pair is quiet, listening to the conversation to make sure you don’t need help getting out of it. 

“You’re worth the effort to love.” 

Pen groans in annoyance at Sanji’s words. “Is he serious? It doesn’t take any effort to love her.” 

Shachi looks back over at him, eyebrows raised and a small smile pulling at his lips. “Pen, do you love her?” 

After a deep and long sigh, Pen responds, voice quiet. “Yeah man, I think I do.” Shachi smiles at his friend before looking away. 

“Or did you just want to be the one to save me?” 

Penguin and Shachi both look to the door before looking at each other, eyes widen. 

“Is this because of Penguin?” 

Shachi speaks first. “Sounds like he’s worried about you.” 

Pen’s eyes move back to the door, waiting for your response. 

“You were just friends with Ace when you left him, and you went running right back into his arms when he found you.” 

Penguin pushes himself off the door and reaches for the handle. Shachi stops him. “Shach, he can’t bring Ace into this, this has nothing to do with him.” 

“She’s got this Pen, trust her. She’ll say the word if she needs us.” 

“I was kidnapped. I was assaulted and abused and raped for three years.” 

Pen can hear the pain in your voice as he drops his hand and slumps against the door. He buries his face in his hands and Shach can hear that he’s trying not to cry. “God, she didn’t fucking deserve that.” 

“If you can’t live without me, why aren’t you dead?” 

Shachi accidentally lets a laugh out before Sanji comes through the door, pushing both Heart Pirates out of the way as he goes past. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Penguin comes to your side and lifts you into his arms. He sets you on the counter, standing between your legs and holding you close. You wrap yourself around him, burying your face in his neck. “Hey, sweetheart, I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have said any of that. I’m so sorry.” His arm tightens around your waist and his hand holds the back of your neck. He presses a kiss to your temple as you shake your head. 

Leaning back in his arms, you wipe away the tears and take a deep breathe. “That should have ended years ago. I don’t know why he came back like that. I’m sorry, Pen.” 

“You don’t have to apologize to me. It was kinda funny that he thought he had a chance.” Penguin moves his hands to your face to wipe away the rest of your tears before he pulls you in. Purposely missing your lips, he kisses your nose, and chin, and cheeks, and forehead, waiting until you’re giggling in his hands to kiss you on the lips. His voice quiets as he pulls back with a smile. “We came to get you some food. What would you like, my fiery girl?” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Nami watches as Sanji leaves the kitchen and storms up to the deck. She notices the tears streaming down his face as he goes past her and up to the back of the ship. She slowly follows, knowing Sanji doesn’t like to talk about his feelings but also not wanting to just stand by and watch one of her crewmates in pain. 

Sanji doesn’t say anything as Nami settles in next to him. “Hey Sanji.. Are you okay?” He just shakes his head as he pulls out a cigarette. Lighting it, he turns briefly to Nami before looking back out to sea. Oh. “Sanji, if she-” 

“I lost her. When she left in Alabasta I was never getting her back. She already picked that heart pirate.” Nami hears the anger and heartbreak in his voice and lays a supportive hand on Sanji’s shoulders. 

He shakes a little before falling into her embrace, Nami wraps her arms around her crewmate and hopes she can hold him together. “We’re still allies. We can still be her friend.” 

“I don’t think I can after what I just said.” The first sob leaves his body before he stands back up, trying to hold his composure as he leans back against the railing. 

“You’ll find a way to make it up to her. She’s never been able to stay mad at you for long.” Nami gives Sanji a sweet smile before leaning on his shoulder, not letting him be alone right now. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Shachi closes the kitchen door and turns back towards the hall to run right into Deuce. “What just happened? Why did Sanji run away angry and crying?” 

Shachi smirks at Deuce. “Oh, (y/n) just broke his heart. Give them a minute, she’s sad about it. Penguin’s cheering her back up.” Deuce looks at the closed door than over to Shachi before deciding to lean against the wall next to him. 

When Shachi hears you start to giggle he pushes himself up and reaches for the doorknob. “Good luck in there.” He jokingly salutes to Deuce before letting him walk into the room. 

“DEUCE!” You almost fall off the counter as you try to get down. Pen turns away from the snack he’s making you and helps you off before you run over into Deuce’s arms. 

He hugs you tight, the side of your head is against his chest and he rests his head on top of yours. He looks to Penguin. “Hey man, I’m sorry I freaked out on your crew. I left her with you guys, just kinda assumed you were the ones who lost her.” You shake your head against his chest. 

“No, it wasn’t us. I don’t know what happened but the Straw Hats came back without her.” 

You pull your head back and look at Deuce while you talk. “It wasn’t all the Straw Hats. Not all of them went with to get Sanji.” You and Deuce both drop your arms before Pen reaches out and pulls you back into him. He sets a bowl in front of you and hugs you tightly from behind with his face half buried in your neck. Deuce pulls a stool out and sits on it, leaning against the counter. 

“Who was it?” Deuce sets his chin in one of his hands and waits to hear what you experienced. He doesn’t trust what the Straw Hats have told him. 

“Umm.. I was on the upper deck of the Sunny, the Straw Hats’ ship, with Sanji after we sailed away from Whole Cake. We were headed back inside to where everyone else was and Sanji headed down the stairs first, someone came down a like trapeze line or something and grabbed me from above…” Tears line the bottom of your eyes. Pen tightens his hold on you, and you move an arm down to hold his. “And just pulled me up and I was gone. I know I was back on Buggy’s ship but I don’t remember anything that happened… I just knew everything hurt and I was scared and then Pen showed up.” Deuce’s eyes finally move away from yours and over to Penguin’s. 

You feel the intensity of the look the boys share. “Sanji isn’t a bad person! He just made a few mistakes.” You proceed to tell Deuce more about your relationship with Sanji before you rejoined him and Ace, ending with more of Whole Cake, including when Katakuri grabbed you. Penguin’s anger grows along with Deuce’s when you mention Katakuri. 

Pen tenses around you as Deuce responds. “He let you get taken multiple times in a single day. That doesn’t sound like a few mistakes.” He puts air quotes about the last three words. “A few mistakes is like the time Ace kept burning our food and we ended up not eating for a week.” Pen feels your small laugh at the memory and the tension in his body eases. 

“Okay maybe they were more than mistakes but I should have been able to take care of myself. I shouldn’t have to be babysat all the time.” 

Pen buries his face a little deeper into your neck, and you look down at him the best you can. “It’s not babysitting. It’s caring about someone.” 

“He’s right.” You look back up to Deuce. “Did you not see the quantity of people who showed up to get you out. A lot of people care about you, (y/n). Not a single one of us is trying to babysit you. We know you can take care of yourself, but you shouldn’t have to all the time.” 

All three of you are quiet for a minute as you eat some of your snack before you remember what Sanji gave back to you. “Hey Deuce?” He turns so his full attention is on you. “Can I give you something?” Your hand comes off Pen’s as you reach into your pocket. 

“Of course.” He leans further over the counter as him and Pen both watch you rip Sanji’s old piece of your vivre card in half. You hand one piece to Deuce before repocketing the other. 

“Just in case.” Pen gives you an extra squeeze as Deuce smiles at you. 

“Just in case.” Deuce grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze before he takes the vivre card from you and puts it in a safe place. “Thank you.” 

“Thank you for being my oldest and most important friend.” Deuce smiles at you before getting up. 

Pen lets go of you as Deuce hugs you one last before heading out. “Easist job in the world.” He pulls back and pulls Pen into a quick hug before turning back to you. “I’m glad you were able to find someone who loves you as much as Ace does. You two make a cute couple.” You can’t see Pen’s face beaming with pride as you give Deuce a confused look. “Just noticing how happy you seem.” He just smirks at you before leaving. “Glad to see you haven’t changed.” Pen wraps himself back around you as Deuce heads out. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Deuce’s smile drops as soon as he leaves the kitchen. He storms up to deck and finds Sanji and Nami leaning against the railing. Nami backs away as Deuce yells. “Sanji, are you fucking kidding me?!” 

Sanji turns against the railing as Deuce’s fist slams into his face. “It’s not that hard to keep one person safe!” He gets another punch in before Sanji makes the stupid decision to respond. 

“Hey man, did you and Ace not lose her on Sabaody?! Stop being mad about this!” Both Deuce and Nami’s eyes widen and Deuce almost springs on the cook before Marco grabs him from behind. 

Marco’s hold isn’t strong enough. Deuce gets out and drags Sanji to the ground. His hands are gripping Sanji’s suit and pulling his face up. “She never felt unwanted in either crew me and Ace were in. She never doubted that we cared about her. Never felt that she could be replaced. Don’t ever compare yourself to Ace again.” He slams Sanji’s head back on to the deck before standing and storming away past Marco. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

“That was funny.” Penguin hums in response before kissing your neck. He backs his head away as you turn in his arms. 

His hands move to your waist. “What was funny?” His brows furrow and you’re confused that he’s not reflecting your smile. 

“Deuce saying we make a cute couple. We’re not…” Your voice trails off and your eyes drift off of Pen’s face. Wait… 

“What would you say we are?” He smiles as he watches you get flustered. 

“Umm…” You glance back up at him but quickly look down. Oh god. “But we never… we were just…” 

Penguin starts to pick up on your thought process. “You’re right, we never talked about it. It just kinda happened. But it is happening, right?” His voice lowers on the question as he waits for your nod, his confidence wavering as he’s a tiny bit worried you won’t agree with him. Once you nod, his smile grows. “Well, my fiery girl, do you want to officially be my girlfriend?” 

Your smile grows to match his and you nod. “Yes, Pen, I do. Do you want to officially be my boyfriend?” He doesn’t answer verbally. His hands just find your face and he quickly pulls you into a kiss. 

Only when he pulls back does he give you an answer. “I would love nothing more.” 

“Oh.” Pen pulls back a little more as you frantically reach into your pocket. “I kept half of this piece so you could have it. I hope you never need it but just in case.” 

Pen smiles and takes the piece of paper before his gaze moves up to his hat on your head. “I’m gonna need my hat back so I have somewhere safe to put this.” 

Your hands fly up to cover your head. “No, this is mine now.” He slips the vivre card in an inside pocket on his suit as he laughs. 

“Okay, fine. It’s yours.” He kisses your nose before wrapping his arms back around you. “Do you want to go up to deck? We don’t get much time above the water.” You nod and wrap your arms around him, hugging him tightly before he leads you out of the kitchen. 

You make it to the upper deck at the front of the ship before you run into Marco. “Hey sis!” Your hand gets pulled out of Pen’s as Marco pulls you into a tight hug. “I’m glad we got you and you’re safe.” He pulls you back and holds onto your shoulders. “Are you okay?” You nod and he continues. “Are you going to introduce me to your new crew?” He eyes the hat on your head with a smirk. 

“Hi Marco! Thanks for coming for me.” He smiles as you’re careful to answer everything he said. “I’m okay. This is Pen.” You turn slightly and reach out to grab his hand. “He’s part of my crew and is my boyfriend.” You giggle as Pen beams with pride. “I’m sure you’ve met Cap. We can find Sha-” You stop talking as Marco pulls Pen out of your hand this time. 

Pen looks at you, confusion in his eyes as he hesitantly hugs Marco back. “Thank you for saving my sister. I saw what you did for her back there. I know Pops would’ve approved of you.” Pen smiles at you as your eyes line with tears. Marco lets go and Pen steps back, hand subtly moving closer to you. “You’re family now. If either of you ever needs anything, I’ll be there.” 

“Thank you, Marco.” You pull him into another hug. 

“You two are cute.” Marco hugs you back and looks up at Pen. “Keep her safe.” Pen rapidly nods. Marco pulls back and grabs your shoulders again. “Ace is proud of you. We’re all proud of you.” He places a kiss on your forehead before he heads to the lower deck. 

Pen comes up in front of you and grabs your face. He wipes away your tears before pulling you into a hug. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

You and Pen are leaning against the railing on the back of the ship as it arrives in Wano. “Are you ready to go?” You nod at him and push up off the railing. He takes your hand and follows you to where Shanks is standing, making sure everyone gets safely off his ship. 

He turns to the two of you as you walk up. “Hey darling, glad to see you!” He pulls you into a quick hug before you step back. Pen stays behind you as he wraps his arms around you, head landing on your shoulder. 

“Thank you for coming for me, Shanks.” 

“Of course, anytime.” He smiles at you before his voice gets serious. “Have you been to Ace’s resting place yet?” 

Pen feels your shoulders fall and hears the sadness creep up into your voice. “His what…?” 

Shanks tells you where it is. “(Y/n), you have to go see him.” 

Pen can feel the sob threaten to escape you and takes to answering the emperor himself. “We’ll go as soon as we leave Wano.” He voice drops so only you can hear him. “I promise.” He presses a kiss to your neck as Shanks prepares to help you both leave. 

“Stay safe, you two.” Shanks smiles and waves as you both leave the Red Force. Pen tightens his grip on your hand. I won’t let anything happen to you here, my fiery girl. It doesn’t cross either of your minds that something could happen to Penguin.

Penguin was up before you today, already gone from the room by the time you woke up. You roll over, arm landing on the cold empty spot next to you. Before you could let an annoyed groan leave your lips, you sneezed. The sinus pressure rapidly shows up and you start getting a severe headache. 

An annoyed groan leaves your lips for a different reason. Oh great, I'm sick. You sniffle as you push yourself out of bed and pick up the water bottle on the desk. Pen, where are you? 

Refusing to deal with this alone, you pull the sweatshirt closest to you over your head, slip on a pair of socks and the closest pair of shoes, and head out to find your boyfriend. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Penguin drags himself out of the early meeting Law made him attend. He's been sad all morning after having to leave you in your cozy bed. If it was up to him, he never would've gotten up. 

He's working now in the boiler room, doing some basic maintenance when he hears the door open and his name dragged out as someone paddles over to him. Before he can turn around and greet you, you wrap yourself around his arm and lean on his bicep. He looks down and smiles at his extra work boots and sweatshirt covering your body. 

Pen's hand moves to the back of your neck and his lips find your forehead before he quickly pulls back, moving the back of his hand to your forehead instead. “Hey sweetheart? You feel really warm.” His words are laced with concern. 

“I know.” You look up at him through slightly swollen eyes and sniffle as you lay your cheek against his arm. “Come back to bed?” 

He hums as he pulls you into his chest. “Gotta see if Shach can do this first.” You nod against his chest, wrapping your arms around him. He bends down in your arms, hands finding your face. “Sweetheart, I gotta carry you if we're going back to bed.” You nod and move your arms above his shoulders. He takes the opportunity to grab your ass as he lifts you up, waiting for you to wrap your legs around him before he's off to find Shachi. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Pen finds him quick and all but tells him to go handle the maintenance in the boiler room. He carries you back to your room and sets you on the edge of your bed. He takes his shoes off of you, and helps you lay down before stripping off his boiler suit and boots

Pen grabs extra blankets from under the bed and wraps your shivering body up tightly before getting into bed with you. 

Pulling your comforter over both your bodies, Pen pulls you in tightly, heads resting against each other's shoulders, your body covering his. 

“Pen, you're gonna get sick, too.” 

“I don't care. It would be just karma for leaving you all alone this morning.” A giggle and sneeze both escape you at the same time and Pen's heart aches. “Get some sleep, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere this time.” He kisses your forehead and rubs a soothing hand across your back as you drift off back to sleep.

About a year and four months into your stay on the Polar Tang finds Penguin laid back against a stack of pillows, hands on your knees as he looks up at you straddling him. “You don’t have to tell me, fiery girl. It’s okay.” Whatever the Buggy Pirates did to cause you to be crying at the thought of it, they deserve worse than hell for it. 

Penguin watches you wipe the tears out of your eyes and swallow a sob before landing your hands on top of his. You stare at his stomach, too scared to look into his eyes while you tell him. “No, I have to.” Pen starts to open his mouth to say you don’t but you keep talking. “It’s all stuck in my head right now and it feels like I’m still trapped. Like they still have me and I can’t get free.” The tears start again but you don’t wipe them away. Penguin turns his hands over, letting you grab them when you’re ready to. 

He’s quiet, watching your face as you tell him everything Cabaji did through sobs. He fights the urge to let go of your hand and reach up to your face. It pains him to watch the tears fall and not be able to do anything about it. You have a death grip on both of his hands and he knows it’s what’s grounding you through this. He sniffles as his own tears flow heavier. 

You’re quiet when you’re done. Penguin waits until your grip loosens before sitting up and pulling you in, one hand supporting your lower back as his other hand rests just below your neck. It’s a few minutes before you wrap your arms around him and settle your head into his shoulder. When you do, his hand sneaks up to the back of your neck. 

“I’m so sorry, my fiery girl.” Your sobs get heavier and Penguin sinks into the mattress as his heart falls to his stomach. “I will never let that crew anywhere near you again. If I ever meet them-” 

“Thank you Penguin.” You cut him off and he’s okay with that. He’s never letting them anywhere near you again. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Buggy leans back in his chair, feet on his desk, transponder snail in his hand. He waits for Akainu to pick up. “Buggy. Why are you calling?” 

Buggy laughs into the snail. “I have someone you would love to get your hands on. Someone with a bounty. Someone I stole right off of that little shit Straw Hat Luffy’s ship.” 

He smirks, awaiting the Fleet Admiral’s response. “Who do you have?” 

Buggy spins in his chair, turning to face you. He revels in the fact that you’re tied to a chair, tears streaming down your face, cries going unheard under the tightly wrapped bandana on your mouth, fear filling your eyes more and more everytime Cabaji reaches out to you. “I got Ace’s girl.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Penguin looks up as soon as Shachi mentions that Luffy’s group is returning from Whole Cake. He instantly notices that they have the same amount of people they left Zou with. He jumps out of his chair as they get close. “Where’s (y/n)?” 

The group of Straw Hats looks incredibly sad, all looking towards the ground. Nami speaks first. “We don’t know…” 

Brook has a little less sadness in his voice, but he is a skeleton, what can you expect? “She went missing from the ship.” 

The tears start to slip from Sanji’s eyes as he quietly speaks. “We lost her..” 

Penguin is on Sanji before anyone can process him moving, pinning him to the wall, Pen’s knife out of its sheath and on Sanji’s neck. “She went there for you. Where. Is. She?” He speaks through his teeth, rage radiating off of him in waves. The anger clouds his vision and he doesn't see the slingshot aimed at his head or the katana against his own neck. Sanji doesn’t fight back, guilt eating away at his heart. 

Bepo’s up and pulls Penguin off of Sanji. Usopp and Zoro drop their defenses, backing off but alert to any more threats against their cook. Shachi pulls the knife out of Penguin’s hands and blocks his view of Sanji. “We’ll get her back. We’ll find her.” Penguin’s eyes fall over to Shachi’s and he sees that Shach is just as scared and angry as he is. 

Shachi’s attempts to calm Penguin’s anger fail as Nami speaks and ruins it. “Wait Sanji, you still have her vivre card, right? We can find her with that!” 

Penguin’s eyes widen as Sanji pulls it out. Shachi and Bepo let go of him, both in shock themselves. “You… what?!” Penguin’s back on Sanji, hands grabbing the front of his shirt and lifting him slightly against the wall, his crewmates not stopping him this time. “Why do you have that?” 

The Straw Hats don't have time to react before they spot someone walking up, light blue hair flowing behind as he quickly walks towards the group, anger radiating off of him. 

Sanji doesn’t have time to answer before Deuce slams his fist into Shachi’s face and Penguin’s instantly off Sanji, shoving Deuce away from the Heart Pirates. “Hey man, what’s your problem?!” 

Deuce steps to the side to stand in view of your whole crew, gesturing to them as he speaks. “You all are! I told you not to let anything happen to (y/n)!” 

Penguin backs off, hands raised. “It wasn’t us.” He points right at Sanji. “It was them.” Deuce sees the pain and anger in Penguin’s eyes, spots the bracelet on his wrist, and chooses to believe him. 

Before Deuce and Penguin can double up on Sanji, Law walks up and places a heavy hand on Penguin’s shoulder. “What’s going on here?” 

“The Straw Hats lost (y/n).” Shachi points right at Sanji while he accuses him and the cook’s hands fly up in defense. 

Law glares at Sanji as his hand drops off Penguin. “What?” He turns to Luffy and takes a step closer to him, finger pointed right in Luffy’s face. “I told you, if my crew is going with you, you keep them safe. Where is she?” 

Rage is seeping out of Deuce and all of the Heart Pirates when Marco walks up. Everyone goes silent, turning to face him. 

Deuce is the first to break the silence, being the only pirate present who has sailed with Marco. “Hey Marco, what’s the word from Shanks?” 

Marco takes in the emotional states of everyone present before his eyes land on Deuce. “He’s on the move.” His eyes move up to Law’s. “He’s willing to pick up your crew if you want to join the fight.” 

Law nods. Shachi responds, hand on the back of Penguin’s neck as his friend tries to hold himself together. “Yes, we’re all with him a hundred percent. When will he be here?” 

“He’ll be here as soon as I call him.” Shachi’s hand flies up to cover Penguin’s mouth, not letting him interrupt Marco. Penguin bites Shachi’s hand, needing to tell Marco to call Shanks right now but Shachi doesn’t budge. “She’s being held at New Marineford and was handed over to the Marines by one of the Warlords. Anyone have any idea which Warlord would’ve done that?” 

A few people start to shake their heads as Penguin gets out of Shachi’s grip and is back on Sanji. “YOU LET BUGGY GET HER AGAIN?!?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!” 

The Straw Hats and Heart Pirates do nothing about Penguin as the dots connect in all of their minds and eyes start to go wide. 

Marco pulls Penguin off of Sanji this time, pulling Pen’s hands off from around Sanji’s throat. “We don’t have time to fight each other. Get ready to leave. I’m calling Shanks.” Marco hands Penguin over to Bepo and steps away. 

Luffy speaks up for the first time in the past handful of minutes. “My crew is coming, too.” 

Nami starts to argue. “We can’t just go run into a marine base, Luffy, we would need a plan.” 

Usopp speaks up next. “Nami, what are you talking about? We have to go save (y/n)!” 

Franky agrees with Nami. “Luffy, we have the plan here in Wano. We can’t abandon one plan for another.” 

Luffy shuts down the arguing, not willing to let you go without a fight. “I am the captain of this crew. We are going. Gather everyone else and prepare to leave.” Luffy looks to Sanji as his cook deflates against the wall. 

Bepo has been holding Penguin down the whole time the Straw Hats debate. Penguin is fighting against him, screaming for him to let go. “Let me go, Bepo! I’ll go get her myself! I can’t wait for some stupid emperor! I don’t need him! I’ll go get her!” 

Shanks walks in with Marco and the group goes silent again. “Is this everybody? Follow me.” 

Deuce, the Heart Pirates, and the Straw Hats follow Shanks and Marco back to the Red Force. The Heart Pirates and Straw Hats careful to keep Sanji and Penguin away from each other. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

Shachi gets up from the table and walks out of the Red Force’s galley, where most of the group is making a plan for when they get to New Marineford. He walks up to the deck, running a hand through his hair before pulling his hat back on. 

He finds Penguin leaning on the railing. As he walks up, he can tell Penguin is stewing in his anger and fear even though his face is buried in his hands. 

“You know I’m behind you a hundred percent, Pen. What’s our plan?” Penguin’s hands drag down his face and he straightens his back, hands dropping to the railing, as he tells Shachi the plan for when they arrive at Marineford. 

Once their plan is set, Shachi and Penguin both lean against the railing. “We’ll get her back, Pen.” Shachi raises his fist and waits for Penguin to bump it with the side of his own and slowly nod. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

As the Red Force approaches New Marineford, Luffy and Sanji spot allies approaching from the sides. Luffy sees Cavendish’s ship and Sanji spots Germa 66. You must have left an impression on Whole Cake Island. Glad my family likes you, my pretty girl, even if they don’t like me.  

Everyone disembarks from the ships right into a battle with the marines. The marines were ready. They caught word that Shanks was on the move. They knew someone would show up to try to get you back. 

Penguin and Shachi hang back on the ship until the fight picks up. Once it does, they disembark and walk straight through all the battles happening in the streets. They walk past allies and enemies alike, not sparing anyone even a first glance. They don’t have time to waste in stupid fights. 

Penguin’s getting to the base. He’s getting you out. 

After about ten minutes of walking, Penguin spots Buggy in the distance, standing right in front of the gate he needs to walk though. His face hardens, possessiveness lining his features and Shachi’s eyes widen upon spotting the rapidly increased rage. The second Buggy spots Penguin and sees how angry he is, he runs, leaving Cabaji behind to guard the gate alone. 

Shachi stops walking about five feet from Cabaji, letting Penguin get his anger out before they get to you. You don’t need to see him like this. His fist slams into Cabaji’s jaw, knocking the acrobat on to the ground and wiping the smirk off his face. Cabaji gets a few hits in before Penguin’s straddling him. Blow after blow after blow from Pen breaks Cabaji’s skin and bones. Cabaji tries fighting back, pulling out a knife and stabbing Penguin in the calf but he doesn’t feel it and it doesn’t stop the punches from coming. 

Every blow from Penguin comes with more screams in Cabaji’s face. “Do you feel like a fucking man when you break her?! She’s found a new life! Leave her the fuck alone! She’s already fallen through the fucking floor! She’s had enough, leave her alone!!” Penguin tightly grips Cabaji’s jaw, forcing him to look in his face. The screaming stops, this is personal. His voice is eerily calm and his words cut through the air. “If you ever go anywhere near my girl again, I will have you begging for mercy. Do you understand?” He waits for Cabaji to nod, fear filling his eyes, before he pushes Cabaji’s face to the side as he lets go. For someone with no devil fruit and who doesn’t use Haki, this kid is terrifying. 

Penguin’s still slamming his fists into Cabaji’s face after he’s already lost consciousness. Pen does not care. There is not enough pain in the world he can inflict on this man to make up for all the pain he’s caused you. 

Shachi’s arms come around Penguin, pulling him off the unconscious pirate and turning him away. Shachi grabs his shoulders and shakes him. “Hey man! She’s right behind these gates. You got him. Let’s go get her.” 

It takes a minute for Shachi’s words to get through to Penguin and the former has to drag him through the gates. They almost round a corner but Shachi pushes Penguin back behind him as he peers around, watching Akainu leave a cell, seemingly leaving the room unlocked but laughing as he does. Once Akainu is clear of the hall, having left to join the fight outside, Shachi drags Penguin down the hall and they both peek into the room Akainu left. 

Penguin practically falls through the door and lands on the ground in front of you. His hands hover near your face as he takes in your condition. Shachi’s at your side a second later, untying the ropes around your wrists and waist. Pain and worry bury the anger in Penguin’s chest as he starts to cry, hands finally finding your face and relief rushes through his body as he convinces himself that you’re actually in front of him again. His eyes move all around your body, trying to figure out what injuries you have. 

“Pen, you came for me?” Your voice is quiet, sore from the screaming as Akainu tortured you. He nods a little too aggressively. 

His eyes finally move back up to yours. “Of course I did.” Shachi takes this as his cue to give you both a minute and stand watch at the door. 

Penguin’s hands drop and he starts frantically looking through his pockets. “I have to give you something. I should’ve given it to you on Zou but I chickened out. And I know this is a horrible time but I have to- I can’t- I didn’t know if we would find you.” His hands come out of his pockets as yours find his face, starting to try to wipe the blood and tears off. He meets your eyes again and you look down to see what’s in his hand. It’s a beaded bracelet with an emperor penguin in the center. You spot the matching bracelet on his wrist, with a burnt orange gemstone. 

“Pen.. I can’t.. I don’t deserve that.” Penguin’s heart drops to the pit of his stomach. 

“(Y/n), look at me.” Your eyes move off the bracelets and up to his. “I made this for you because you deserve it and so much more.” Tears start falling down your cheeks. “You deserve the world, my fiery girl, please let me give it to you.” His eyes drop back down to the bracelet. “I would’ve gotten you a necklace so I could be close to your heart but I know you have Ace’s and Ace will always hold that spot. I don’t want to replace him. No one can ever replace him. The place around your neck is his. But I want to always be connected to you and I want you-” You pull his face back up so he’s looking at you. His voice lowers. “I umm.. I want you to always know...”

He swallows his nerves as you lean in and your lips meet his. He swears it’s the softest kiss he’s ever experienced. His hesitation lasts not even half a second before one of his hands finds the back of your neck and he holds you close, kissing you back. You’re both slow and careful, holding each other like you’re made of glass. When Penguin pulls back to catch his breathe, he places his forehead against yours as the hand that was on the back of your neck moves to grab one of your wrists. He pulls your hand off his face so he can put the bracelet on you. 

As he’s putting the bracelet on, he spots the bite marks on your wrist right where he’s tightening the bracelet. That doesn’t look like Akainu or Cabaji. His eyebrows furrow slightly but your voice pulls him out of it. “Thank you, Pen.” He looks up and sees the soft smile on your face. He can deal with the teeth marks later. 

His eyes drop back to your wrist in his hand and he runs his thumb over the bracelet. His voice is soft. “See, now I’m always near your pulse, I’m always with you. We’re always together.” You lift your hand out of his and wrap your arms around him. He pulls you tightly into his chest for a moment before you pull back. 

Shachi turns around and spots you both just staring at each other, soft smiles on your faces. “Okay guys, we gotta go. Are you ready?” You look at Shachi and nod, a small smile on your face. 

Penguin tries to help you stand but every time you get onto your feet and start to take your own weight, you fall back into his arms. The failed attempts cause you to start sobbing as you think of the reason why you can’t support yourself right now. 

Penguin wraps his arms around your waist and picks you up. “I got you, I got you.” Tears start falling down his own face as one of his hands moves up to cup the back of your head as it falls into his shoulder. “I got you.”

Hearing you ask him not to leave, Sanji's heart breaks, shatters, implodes into millions of pieces. And every single piece is in your hands. You hold his heart and he hasn't wanted it any other way since you walked into Baratie. 

His hands find your face and he fears you'll step away from him like you used to but your forehead finds his instead. God what has he ever done to deserve you? 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

The plan isn’t going quite right, Big Mom is in a trance…? You spot members of her family around the Vinsmoke family and change your path. Sanji wants them safe, saving them will make Sanji hurt less. It’ll take two minutes and then you can go back to the fight. Plus, Cap would be stoked to know I’ve met Germa 66 from the Sora comics?! 

As you approach the table, you notice all five Vinsmokes stuck to their chairs, all three of Sanji’s brothers seemingly not caring that they have guns aimed at their heads. 

You see Katakuri attack Bege, and Luffy finally get the destroyed picture in front of Big Mom’s face. You’re quick up the table to each of the Vinsmokes, popping ear plugs into all of their ears. You make it to Ichji last, putting the second plug in right as Big Mom screams. 

Sanji appears behind you and grabs your waist to move you off the table. You watch from behind Ichji as Sanji’s feet catch fire and he burns the candy holding his family down. Chopper climbs up to the table and hands each of the Vinsmokes their raid suits. 

Sanji’s siblings all look shocked and Judge starts crying as they all watch their neglected brother and his friends step up to save them. 

Reiju catches your eye before you turn away from them and rejoin the fight. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

The plan goes to complete shit and the entire force opposing Big Mom find shelter inside of Bege. Most of the group is safe inside except you and Sanji, having had the furthest to run. His hand was in yours as he ran ahead of you but he let go right before he got to safety. He let go right as Katakuri caught up to you. He let go right before you were lifted into the air, now held hostage by the second son of Charlotte. 

His hand is wrapped around your waist as he effortlessly picks you up right off the ground. You scream for Sanji but he’s already inside Bege. He’s already safe. I guess that was the whole point of this trip. I’m so sorry, Penguin. I don’t think I’m making it out of here.

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

Germa 66 stands to the side in the main room of the Bigfather. Reiju looks around and quickly notices that you are missing. She turns to her family and tells them. “She’s the one that saved us. She came here to save Sanji. We can’t leave her out there.” 

Judge turns away from her after asking his children to wait a moment. “Answer me one thing, Sanji. Why did you save us?” 

“Because my father would be sad if I were still fixated on the childhood hatred from my past. He would be astonished that I had turned into such a small man that I would laugh off the death of my own family…” Reiju starts to tune out Sanji and Judge, turning to her other brothers. 

The four Vinsmokes siblings quietly agree on a plan and turn to start to head out. Before they get too far, Judge turns to the door. “Open the gate! Before you are taken to safety, Germa will save your last soldier, and until you are all taken to safety, we will serve to guard you!” 

Sanji looks around. Who are we missing? His eyes scan his crewmates before they go wide. (Y/n). Sanji turns to run after his family but Chopper catches him. “They’ll bring her back!” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Before you fully accept your torture and death, Reiju appears out of nowhere and knocks Katakuri hard enough that he drops you. Landing in someone else’s arms, you look up to see Yonji holding you and flying you back to Bege. You’re quickly thrown into the hall before Ceasar is thrown out. Bege shrinks and you are all flown off the top of Big Mom’s castle. 

Sanji lands next to you after you crash into Nami, both of you landing with a thud. You barely process Nami sliding you off of her or Sanji’s placing his hands on your face. “I’m so sorry, my pretty girl, I thought you were right behind me. I should’ve never let go.” Chopper comes running over and checks on you for injuries, noticing the daze you’re in as you stare at the door. “I’m so sorry. I’ll be right back, okay?” Sanji places a kiss to your forehead before leaving. 

Chopper waves a paw in your face and the trance you were in after being dropped into Yonji’s arms fades away. You just watch as Sanji walks away from you. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Big Mom climbs out of the hole she was knocked into and everyone pauses, thinking maybe they got her down. She yells for cake and everyone starts running again. Pudding and Chiffon come by Sanji on their flying carpet and make a plan to bake a new wedding cake.

You’re running near Nami when Sanji turns to the group. “Luffy!! Let’s rendezvous at sea!!” Your eyes go wide as they find Sanji’s. Yelling his name is pointless cause he’s already looking at you. “I’m sorry, my pretty girl!! I’m only leaving one more time! I’ll see you soon!!” 

Again. He’s leaving again. Just get us out of Big Mom’s territory. Just get us to Wano.  

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Big Mom catches up to the Sunny and as she lands on deck, she starts pulling up the railings and walls of the ship, destroying the home the Straw Hats have made themselves. 

Jimbei distracts Big Mom, bringing her attention to the upper deck as they argue. You run over to the falling walls and do your best to savage what can be saved, and try to keep more from falling. You may have only been on this ship for less than a week but you know how important this ship is to your old friends. 

You know Luffy sits on that masthead, looking out to the islands they’re going to. You know Sanji cooks in that kitchen, excited to be able to express his love to his friends. You know Zoro trains on this deck, preparing to do anything to keep his crew safe. You know Nami sits by the tangerine trees, working on her graphs as she maps the world. You know Usopp works in his factory, tickering with his slingshot and making new weapons to use on enemies. 

You know they love this ship. It’s their home. You can’t let it get destroyed like this. 

They saved you. They got you out of Buggy’s hold. Big Mom can’t get away with destroying the Sunny. 

Anger is seeping out of you. Your body is shaking with rage. You feel the need to throw something or punch someone as you turn to Big Mom. Screaming her name, your eyes widen as you feel a force leave your body and watch her seemingly get pushed over the edge of the ship and into the ocean. 

Jimbei’s eyes widen as they meet yours. What on earth just happened?  Jimbei moves towards you, coming down from the upper deck. “(Y/n). Since when can you use Supreme King Haki?” I just did what?!

“I umm.. Is that what I just did?” Jimbei nods but neither of you have time to discuss further as the Big Mom Pirates continue approaching the ship. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Bege’s ship approaches the Sunny with the new cake on board. The attacks from the Big Mom Pirates stop and you all watch as Big Mom start to follow Bege’s ship as it heads away from the battle field. 

The flying carpet Sanji left on earlier comes past the Sunny and Sanji jumps off, landing on the deck. “Yo. I’m back!!” You watch Nami and Brook run up and hug him. 

There’s no time for other reunions as you all discuss what Bege is doing with the cake. Sanji looks around the ship and comments on the damage, apologizing for not being able to prevent it or stop Big Mom early enough.

“(Y/n) got Big Mom off the ship. We would be in much worse condition if not for her.” Jimbei beams at you as he speaks. “She’s unlocked Supreme King Haki and she did it at the perfect time.” 

Chopper, Nami, Brook, and Sanji all look at you with shock and pride lining their features. “My pretty girl, you used haki?!” You finally let what you did process and you nod, a smile slowly forming on your face. Nami hugs you as Chopper and Brook freak out over how cool you are. After Nami steps back, Sanji comes over, placing his hands on the sides of your face. “You are so incredible, my pretty girl, I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” 

Your smile falters as Sanji starts to lean in and you quickly turn your head, causing his hands to fall off your face. “Jimbei, how do we get away from Big Mom’s forces now?” You don’t see Sanji’s head drop or his smile disappear as you look to Jimbei. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Sanji’s gone back with Pudding to save Luffy as the rest of you help Jimbei navigate out of this unwinnable battle. You just have to get to Cacao Island to pick them both up and then you can leave and head to Wano. You’re almost done in Whole Cake. Penguin, I’m on my way.  

Sanji’s voice comes through the transponder snail and you all prepare for him and Luffy to land back on deck. After a few minutes of watching the battle from a distance, you see Niji fly out from the fight and to the ship. He drops Sanji and Luffy on deck before locking eyes with you and flying back. 

There’s little celebration at their return as you are all quick to sail out of Big Mom’s territory. Chopper is tending to Sanji and Luffy’s wounds as the rest of you watch Germa 66 and the Sun Pirates fight to clear you a path. Wadatsumi holds the ship in his mouth as he gets you all safely out of Big Mom’s territory. You made it. Penguin, we’re coming. We got out.  

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

As everyone else on the ship celebrates in the galley, you find Sanji at the back of the ship.. You’ve sailed far enough that the islands of Whole Cake are nothing but dots on the horizon. Leaning against the railing next to where he stands, you address Sanji for the first time in what feels like days, although it’s only been a few hours. “Are you okay?” 

“No.” He turns to look at you, admiring every small detail of your face, sad at the changes and growth he’s missed over the past few years. “But I’ll be okay. I’m sorry about Ace. I tried looking for you. I’m sorry you had to go through that alone.” 

“Oh.” You turn away from him, watching the sun dip under the horizon. “I had my new crew. They got me through it.” You fold your arms onto the railing and set your head down. Sanji’s heart falls. Your new crew? 

“Who’s your new crew, my pretty girl? It’s not Traffy’s crew, is it?” Sanji watches your brows furrow as you turn your head slightly to look at him. It’s dark enough now that neither of you can make out a ton of details on each other’s faces. It’s dark enough that neither of you spot the ship approaching the Sunny. 

“That’s not his name, he hates being called that. But yes, Law is my captain.” Sanji’s heart lands in the pit of his stomach. 

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re allies, right? Lets me help you during fights. I can keep you safe. You know you’re always safe with me, right pretty girl?” Sanji tries to hold the positivity in his voice. 

Relief floods through him as he hears the smile in your voice. “Yes, I know, Sanji.” You pause for a moment, turning to face the sea below you. “I’m glad our crews are allies.” 

You’re both quiet for a moment, listening to the soothing sound of the waves. 

“Do you want to go get some food, my pretty girl? I can make you your favorite.” Sanji can make out your nod as he takes your hand and leans you away from the railing. Your hands slip apart before heading down to the lower deck. 

You watch Sanji head down the stairs first but before you can follow, you feel an arm wrap around your waist and a hand cover your mouth. You try to fight back but can’t as you feel yourself get pulled up, almost like you’ve been grabbed inside a claw machine. You try to scream Sanji’s name but fail. His name dies on the hand that covers your mouth as Penguin's name floods your thoughts. You know this hand. Cabaji. Tears start streaming down your face as you realize it's happening all over again. Pen, I'm so sorry, I'm not making it to Wano.

Your body aches as you cling to the top of the giant tree carrying you, Nami, and Luffy. “There they are! Germa 66!” Luffy sits up between you and Nami as the tree speaks. 

“Can you see Sanji?!” You stand as Luffy asks, using his shoulder to keep yourself steady as you squint, trying to see across the field. Apparently, Luffy spots him. “Heyyy! Sanjiiii! Haven’t seen you in a while!” 

Luffy jumps off the tree and is running towards the carriage carrying Sanji’s family. 

“It’s Sanji! Thank goodness, we made it in time!!” Nami’s excited but you’re a little nervous. Are we sure we made it in time? He’s in his family’s carriage. 

Luffy jumps and lands on the side of the carriage, clinging to the door. Oh boy, I forgot what Luffy’s like. 

Nami hops down from the tree and you hop down near her, staying a little to the side. Before either of you can determine what’s happening in the carriage, Luffy comes flying out of it. 

Sanji stands at the opening addressing Luffy, and not noticing Nami or you yet. “Get lost you miserable, inferior pirate!” His face is stone cold and you can see his brothers laughing behind him. This isn’t Sanji. What’s happening? “My name is Vinsmoke Sanji. And I am a prince of Germa Kingdom!” Oh no no no. He raises his arm as he continues talking and you spot a gold band on his wrist. 

You turn to Nami and whisper to her. “Nami. Did Sanji start wearing a gold bracelet?” She shakes her head, only mildly confused about your question before she returns her attention to Luffy and Sanji. Hmm. 

“I’m amazed you actually came all this way. Poor sap… Just go..whatever your name is.” 

“Hell no!! What are you talking about?! This makes no sense!” Luffy looks ready to rage war right now and you and Nami stay back, not getting involved unless absolutely necessary. 

Listening to Sanji fully disregard all Luffy has done for him, claim that he doesn’t have what it takes to be king of the pirates, it breaks your heart. This isn’t Sanji. 

“Stop joking around, Sanji!! What’s gotten into you?!” Sanji looks up and glares at Nami as she screams. 

“Sanji!” He turns to look at you and his resolve crumbles for a moment before forcing himself to bring the anger back. “If this is what you want, just go!”

Sanji’s quiet for a moment. Why are you here? He can’t push you away, you have to know this is all an act, right?! He can see the heartbreak under your cold exterior, yet again his fault. 

“So, what you’re saying is you’ve been lying to me all along?” Sanji turns his attention back to Luffy and he does everything he can to drive his captain off. Hitting Luffy with Diable Jambe, the shock is heavily present on yours and Nami’s faces as Luffy does nothing to dodge or block it. You can see the shock fighting to show on Sanji’s. 

“I’m not going to fight you!!” Sanji hits Luffy again, trying to drive him away. Luffy needs to leave before his family completely destroys him. He needs to leave before you and Nami watch Sanji completely destroy him. 

You watch as Sanji jumps into the sky. Damn since when can he do that?! Nami screams to Sanji that you’ll all leave before Sanji falls, landing a fire kick on Luffy’s head. The pirate captain collapses as Sanji catches your eye for a brief moment before he turns and walks back towards his family. 

Nami stops him, smacking him right across the face. “Goodbye. Sorry for overstepping our bounds.” She turns away from him and his eyes fully meet yours. You glance down at his wrists and back up. He follows your line of sight, and you catch the fear and sadness in his eyes before he forces the coldness back over. They have him trapped. 

As the carriage heads away, Luffy gets up and screams after it. Sanji sits on the edge of the bench, head in his hands. Why can’t Luffy just leave? His family has him trapped, he can’t go anywhere. His foot hurts. Having been forced to attack his captain, the tears start to fall. His sister asks if they should stop and Sanji rejects the offer. The tears fall heavier as he remembers meeting Luffy at Baratie. He remembers the nights spent with you in the Merry’s galley. Why did Luffy bring you here? Why are you here? His pretty girl. Germa will destroy you. 

The carriage gets far enough away and Luffy collapses on the ground. “Sanji will come. I’m waiting here.” 

“Luffy.” You wait until he looks up at you. “Sanji’s not coming. He’s trapped. His family is going to do very bad things to him if he tries to escape. We can’t wait for him. We have to go get him.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

“In a way, all the people I met are my saviors. I just want to vanish without hurting any of them.” Sanji thinks back to the heartbreak in your eyes after he tried to tell Luffy to leave. Vanishing won’t stop the pain any of his crew will feel. It won’t stop him from breaking your heart again. 

“I promise, Sanji, I won’t let out marriage be hell to you too!” Pudding watches as Sanji’s face softens slightly. She fails to register the heartbreak in his eyes, the fear that he almost got you back and this is what pushes you away again. He can’t do a single thing right with you and it’s breaking his heart. 

“You are… my salvation.” Sanji chokes the words out, trying to convince Pudding, and maybe himself, that this is the right decision. He needs to break you again to keep you safe. He hopes someone on the crew will pull back. Will get you back to safety. Won’t let you stay in this horrible place. “Let’s get married tomorrow.” 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%- 

Shachi walks in to his and Penguin’s room and sees his friend on his bed, bent over the box of beads he bought last year. “Hey Pen, what happened to the one you already made her?” 

Penguin turns slightly, holding the bracelet he’s currently working on in one hand as he reaches for your bracelet under the box. “Hers is here. I want my own. I want matching bracelets with her.” Pen’s voice is quiet as he talks. Your bracelet took him almost three months to make and his needs to be made much faster if it’s going to be done by the time he gives you yours. 

Shachi watches the concentration on Pen’s face as he struggles with the next bead. He pulls a chair up next to Penguin’s bed. “How can I help?” 

Penguin pauses and looks up at Shachi. “Umm.. can you find the colors I need to finish the pattern?” Shachi looks at the bracelet in Pen’s hand and nods before starting to dig through the box. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Insisting that you go get Sanji instead of waiting for him is what has landed you, Luffy, and Nami cuffed to the wall inside of a book. Dammit. You’ve been tugging against the cuffs since being thrown in here but when Pudding whispers to you and Luffy the plan to kill all of the Vinsmokes, you fight even more to get out. 

Nami’s screaming at you and Luffy to stop as she watches Luffy try to pull his hands off and you try to chew off one of yours. You don’t need both hands. Not willing to lose anyone else, not when you’re this close, you’re willing to give up a hand if it means saving Sanji. Nami screams your name, trying to kick you and get your attention. I won’t lose anyone else. I can’t when I’m as close to Sanji as I was to Ace. I can’t fail again. 

Flames suddenly erupt around the book and it starts to melt it down. Ace? Jimbei appears between the flames and starts undoing all of your cuffs. When he gets to you, he speaks for the first time after sighly deeply. “Oh (y/n). I’m glad to see you alive. Where have you been the past two years?” 

He pulls your hands away from your face as he undoes the cuffs. You shake the thought of Ace away. “I’m a Heart Pirate now. I’ve been with my crew.” He nods and smiles as he moves to Luffy. 

After all of you are free, Luffy tries to leave both you and Nami with Jimbei, asking Jimbei to keep you both safe. “Luffy, I’m not staying here. I’m not leaving the fight.” Jimbei sees that you carry Ace’s fiery spirit and insists that you go with Luffy. He’s not willing to waste time putting up a fight and you both take off to find Sanji. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Luffy is running in front of you as you both attack every single person you come across, demanding someone tells you where Sanji is. The running stops as you both get pulled into a bedroom you run past. 

You recognize the woman in the room from the carriage and go to attack her. Luffy holds you back, long arms wrapping around your body and forcing you to the ground. “We can trust her. Don’t attack.” You struggle against Luffy’s hold as you wait for the woman to explain herself. 

“I see you recognize me, (y/n). Let me explain myself. I’m Reiju. The first born of the Vinsmoke family and Sanji’s older sister. There’s a bigger plot at play than either of you realize.” 

You interrupt her, not patient enough for any of this. “Oh the plot to kill your entire family at the wedding? Or your plot to blow Sanji’s hands off if he tries to leave? Which plot are you going to use to get us on your side?” Luffy’s grip loosens as he realizes how trapped Sanji is right now. 

“His hands won’t blow off. I swapped the bracelets. He can take them off with no problem. Me and him have a plan, he’ll get out.” Luffy decides after this to go back to the field where he promised Sanji he’d wait for him. 

“Stay safe, (y/n). Come back to the Sunny, we won’t leave without you.” You nod at Luffy before turning back to Reiju. 

“Luffy may be willing to leave this palace without Sanji but I’m not. Where is he?” 

Reiju deflects. “I recognize you from the wanted posters. One of the Whitebeard Pirates. Weren’t you Ace’s girl? Why are you trying to save my little brother?” 

You deeply exhale, anger and pain spreading through your body. How dare she mention Ace. You’ll find Sanji yourself, you don’t need her help. The door slams behind you on your way out. If you could survive Marineford, you can survive Big Mom’s territory. 

You pull your vivre card out and start to follow it, hoping it leads to Sanji, hoping he still has his piece. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

As Sanji runs away from Bobbin, the food he made in his hands, he runs right into someone. Knocking them over and falling on top of them, he looks up and sees you. The bento box falls to the floor next to you as his hands find the sides of your face. 

“My pretty girl, I must be dreaming. Why are you here? You have to get to safety.” One of his hands moves off the side of your face to trace your features, completely in awe of the fact that you’re under him right now. 

You don’t have time for this right now. “Not without you, Sanji. I already lost Ace, I won’t lose you, too.” Sanji finally sees the pain in your eyes, he catches the years of mourning and his heart aches. His hand freezes. You shouldn’t have had to go through that alone. “Let’s go.” You push him up off of you and stand, grabbing his hand and lifting him off the ground. He grabs the bento box before you both take off. 

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

The two of you make it out of Big Mom’s palace and Sanji leads you to the field that Luffy will be waiting at. When you arrive, the field is covered in the bodies of those who fought earlier. It makes you sick to your stomach and you fight back the tears as you both search through the bodies, looking for Luffy. 

The agony is clear in Sanji’s voice as he speaks. “He said he’d be waiting for me right here!! Where is he?!” 

Despite knowing it’s a rhetorical question, you respond. “Luffy, Nami, and I were all trapped in the palace, Jimbei freed us and we all got separated. I don’t know where anyone else is but Luffy said he was coming back here.” 

You both continue looking in silence and you feel horrible watching the tears stream down his face as he looks for his captain. It’s been so long that you don’t remember how to comfort him, how to help right now. The relief only spreads through your body when Sanji spots Luffy. 

“I didn’t tell you to wait. If you can eat this, eat.” Sanji drops the bento box at Luffy’s feet. “I dropped it along the way. So it’s all crushed. And it got rained on, so I’m sure it’s terrible.” You watch Sanji’s face as he speaks and he looks angry. He moves to sit on someone’s body, back turned to both you and Luffy. 

All three of you are silent as Luffy eats the food, life returning to his body. “That’s goooood! This food’s the best!” You can see as his shoulders drop that Sanji’s resolve is starting to crumble. “This thing’s got all of our favorites in one box! Man, it’s tasty!” You move closer to Luffy and see that Sanji included your old favorite food, too. 

You freeze next to Luffy as Sanji speaks. “Liar.” His voice is ice cold in the rain, laced with anger. 

Luffy continues talking, seeming to have not heard his crewmate. “That was good! I nearly shriveled up there!” 

Sanji keeps his back to both of you as he raises his voice. “Are you done? Now leave! Both of you!” You collapse on the ground next to Luffy, shocked but not surprised that Sanji doesn’t want you here. You’ve been gone for years and left with no hesitation. Why would Sanji want you here? 

Sanji tells you and Luffy that he can’t go back with you because he insulted Luffy despite no resistance from him, Zeff is being held hostage in case he doesn’t play along, and his family is walking into a trap. “They’re scum of the earth to whom I owe nothing but my hatred but I cannot bring myself to abandon them to their fate and run away!” If he’s willing to fight for his neglectful family, there’s no way he wants you gone right now, right?

Luffy returns the list of reasons to abandon the Straw Hats with a hard slap across the face. Your hand flies to your mouth as you watch from behind Luffy. Watching Sanji fall to the ground, you see the pain on his face, you see the injuries, you want to help but you’re still scared that even if Sanji doesn’t truly want Luffy to leave him, he does want you to. 

“Tell me how you really feel!!” You move to stand next to Luffy, a little scared of his anger but still feeling safe next to him. You both await what Sanji will say. 

The anger and determination on Sanji’s face fade into sobs as he responds. “Luffy, I want to go back to the Sunny! But I just… don’t have the guts to run away!” 

As Luffy tells Sanji he’ll help him crash the wedding and save the Vinsmokes, you run up to Sanji and pull him into a hug. You don’t care if he wants you here or not, you just need to hold him before this fight. Relief floods through your body as he hugs you back. You only say one thing to him after Luffy’s done talking. “I just found you again, don’t leave.”

The group stops running and Usopp grabs your arm to keep you with them, almost knocking you over as you turn around. Sanji’s standing face to face against Page One and your eyes widen, fearing spreading throughout your body. Sanji, no, we can’t do this now. Retreat please! 

“Yeah, it’s nice to increase our ranks but we can also decrease theirs.” Turning and catching your eye, Sanji smiles before holding up the canister in his hand. “You guys go on ahead!!” He winks before turning back to the dinosaur. “As long as they don’t find out who I am, right?” 

“Sa-” Usopp’s hand wraps tightly around your mouth, stopping Sanji’s name from getting out. No one on this island can find out who any of you are right now. It would jeopardize the plan. 

Usopp holds you back as Sanji opens the canister, a blast of energy surrounds him as his robe flies off and a black cape appears in it’s place. What is happening? 

The shock you all experience causes Usopp’s hand to fall from your face, your jaw dropping with it. 

Franky and Usopp both marvel at the transformation as Law announces the name of the Sora character that Sanji is allegedly dressed as now. 

Your jaw is on the floor, hearts in your eyes, your heart is about to beat out of your chest, and heat pools at your core. Your eyes slowly move up his body as he starts fighting Page One. The boots, the tight black pants, the jacket, the gloves, the cape, the bandana around his neck, the mask, the ear covers, the hair. You swear you’ve never been more attracted to your boyfriend than right now. Guilt threatens to surface, knowing how much he hates his biological family and knowing this is from them. But god is he unbelievably gorgeous right now. 

Sanji moves so fast that you can’t see him but the image is burned into your brain. Law tells you all about the comics and Sanji’s current powers but you’re not listening. Knowing Sanji as well as you do, you followed his movements and your eyes were already on him when he became visible again. His eyes catch yours and you can see the smirk under the mask. Oh. Shit. 

A gasp leaves your lips as you watch Page One throw Sanji throw a building, but your yearning gets significantly worse when you see him standing on top of the rubble, seemingly unharmed. 

Page One seems content believing he took out the enemy but your eyes quickly find Sanji in the sky?!? Your brain,heart, and body can’t keep up. Your boyfriend can fly now?! 

Franky picks you up, starting to run out of town, as you watch Sanji land the final blow, causing an explosion. The raid suit is staying on tonight.