#a3-op

“I didn’t know you could sing.”

You froze, shoulders going rigid and mouth clamping shut at the unexpected voice. You looked over your shoulder to spot Killer, half-in and half-out of the crow’s nest, mask pointed directly at you.

“I, uh, I can’t. Not really.”

It was the dead of night and you’d been assigned lookout. Everyone was asleep, save for a few oddballs here and there that tottered around the ship, doing who knows what. It appeared that Killer was one such oddball on that particular night, and he’d caught you.

“Sounded like you could to me.” He shrugged, and then hoisted himself all the way in, crowding you. The crow’s nest was decently sized, but with his large frame he took up a large percentage of the space, causing you to push yourself against the edge.

A fake laugh burst past your lips, and you shook your head. “Oh, that? No, I was just messing around, trying to keep myself awake.” You waved your hand dismissively, hoping that the first mate would get the hint and drop the topic.

He didn’t. “What’s the name of that song? I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” You sighed, watching as Killer made no movement and continued to stare at you. Although you couldn’t see his eyes, you could feel them. “…It’s a lullaby from my home. I don’t think it has a name, everyone just called it ‘Lullaby.’” You shrugged. “Never forgot it, I suppose.”

“Can you sing it again?”

Once again you froze, staring at Killer with eyes as wide as saucers. “What? No! Of course not! Why would you ask that?”

Killer shrugged and leaned against the rim of the nest, looking out to the sea. “I can’t sleep, and you said it’s a lullaby.” You opened your mouth to argue, but he cut you off before you could get a sound out. “And you have a nice voice.”

Silence overtook the two of you, then. You clenched your jaw and looked away, trying to calm the racing heart in your chest with deep breaths. Killer thought you had a nice voice? This big, strong, scarred, masked man couldn’t sleep, and wanted you to sing a lullaby to him? It sounded absurd, absolutely and positively absurd.

So, you told him that. “You’re crazy. Why would you want to fall asleep in the crow’s nest, anyway? It’s not comfortable up here at all. Just go do what Kid does and drink until you pass out or something.”

“I wanted to see you.” He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and the overwhelming urge to leap from the nest overcame your body. “But if you don’t want to hang out, I can just go-”

“No,” You cut him off, a foreign panic rising up your throat at the thought of him leaving. You swallowed it down. “Stay. It’s fine. Just… Don’t ask me to sing for you.”

“You got it.” Killer eased back into his spot, well, as much as he could in the tight quarters. How he wasn’t freezing in his shirt and jeans was a question you didn’t want to ask, and to busy yourself, you shifted your focus to the world around you.

A generous amount of time passed in blissful silence, you and the first mate falling into a contentedness to just exist together for the moment. It was rare to experience silence on the Victoria Punk, and rarer still for that silence to be peaceful, so when the opportunity presented itself, you knew to seize it with both hands.

“If you’re self conscious about your singing, you might want to get a bit better at hiding it.” Killer spoke up without warning, drawing your attention back to him. “You know how much Kid enjoys music. If he hears you, he won’t let you just slink off and say ‘no.’ Especially not during karaoke night.”

You groaned and raked your hand over your face. “There’s a reason I hide during those.” You sighed and shook your head. “But really, I don’t get what you’re on about. Kid enjoys good music. I’m tolerable at best.”

“I disagree.” Killer shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. Apparently sensing your prickliness, he rushed to defend himself. "I’m not asking for you to sing, I'm just saying that I wouldn’t be opposed to hearing you again. That's all.”

A warm feeling swelled in your heart at his words. With a huff you pulled your knees to your chest and looked away, pursing your lips into a pout. “Stop trying to sweet talk me, Killer. I’m supposed to be on watch. I can’t get distracted.”

“Sweet talk you?” He echoed, sounding amused. “Well, is it working?”

“You-!”

He chuckled, low and muffled as he ducked his head to hide the sound. The frustrated look on your face melted away as you watched him, an easy smile crawling to your lips as you listened. “I like your laugh.” All sounds and movements ceased from the man, and were you not aware of his complicated feelings towards his laugh, you would have panicked. But you were, so all you did was continue to smile and elaborate. “It makes me happy. It makes me want to laugh, too.” Killer didn’t move, didn’t speak; in fact, you thought he stopped breathing.

In an effort to diffuse the tension radiating off of him, you threw an arm over the rim of the nest and rested your chin on it, looking out at the pitch black sea.

Smooth jazz filtered through the air, mixing in perfectly with the lax attitude of the cafe and the light ringing of the bells above the door.

You liked Sunday afternoons. More specifically, you liked Sunday afternoons in late April to early June. Spring was in full swing, if not beginning to dip into summer, and the light blue sky and quiet breeze exuded an air of calmness into your usually quite hectic life.

Regardless of the season, though, Sunday afternoons were always a welcome respite; the morning rush finished with and the end of the week close on your heels. Suffice it to say, there were many things you liked about Sunday afternoons, but if you had to pick a favorite…

Well, it wasn’t a hard decision.

“Hey, [Name]-san!” Koby greeted you, grinning ear-to-ear. You beamed, heart skipping a beat at his kind eyes. “It’s good to see you, as always.”

“I told you not to call me that, just [Name] is fine! But yeah, you too, Koby.” You looked at the blond, sunglasses-wearing man (why he insisted on wearing them indoors, you would never know) next to him. “And you, Helmeppo.” Just once, once you wished Koby would show up to the cafe without Helmeppo. Not that you didn’t like the guy– he was fine. It’d just be easier to ask for Koby’s number without him there, embarrassment eating you alive slowly.

The blond returned your polite greeting just before Koby spoke again. “Is Luffy-san working today?”

And there it was, the real reason Koby insisted on coming to the cafe every Sunday: Luffy. You knew Koby frequented the cafe on other days as well, though Sundays were the day he always visited, without fail. You weren't a hundred percent sure why, considering Luffy didn't always work on Sundays, but you figured that it had to do with his schedule. It would have been stupid for you to even entertain the idea that Koby was a regular at the cafe because of you, especially since he always asked for your coworker if he didn’t spot him working the register. Plus, you knew he’d been a regular long before you began working at the Thousand Sunny, but still. You could pretend, couldn’t you?

No, of course not, not when he was looking at you so expectantly.

At first you’d wondered if Koby had a crush on Luffy, but then Nami informed you that it was more hero-worship than anything else. Luffy had apparently gotten Koby out of a really bad job and had somewhat indirectly connected him to his grandfather, who took him and Helmeppo under his wing.

It made sense, honestly, for Koby to look at Luffy with such admiration. You couldn’t blame him.

It still stung a little, though.

“Yeah, he’s just in the back bugging Sanji. I’ll go get him for you.” Your smile turned a little sad, despite your best efforts, and without waiting for a response you headed to the back, making your way to the kitchen. Sanji was fending off a rabid Luffy, yelling at him to get back to work and stop pestering him for the meat he was in the process of cooking.

“Luffy!” You called, grabbing both his and Sanji’s attention. “Koby’s looking for you.”

Your interruption allowed Luffy to snake his weirdly flexible arm past Sanji’s block and snag the meat right off the pan, tossing it in his mouth before the cook had a chance to stop him. “Koby!” Luffy cheered through a mouth full of food, launching himself past you to explode through the door. You offered Sanji a sympathetic shrug and ignored the way his expression went from aggravated to concerned, quickly following your coworker back to the front.

Luffy was perched on the counter, already engrossed in a conversation with his visitor, poor Helmeppo trying to get a word in when he could between the two’s rapid chatter. With a quiet sigh you input their regular order into the register and applied the friends and family discount, like you always did, and prepped it for their usual form of payment. Helmeppo noticed, like he always did, and paid as you went to work making their drinks.

A medium iced chai for Helmeppo, and a medium lavender lemonade for Koby. Sweet and pretty, just like him.

You silently made the drinks, the receipt rolling from the machine after the payment had been processed. By the time you turned back to the counter with the completed order, Luffy and Koby had disappeared, though you were quick to spot them in the far corner of the cafe. It looked like Koby was desperately urging Luffy to lower his voice, which you knew would be a losing battle. Despite how loud Luffy was, you couldn’t really make out what they were saying, the ambient noise doing just enough to drown out their words.

“Thanks, [Name].” Helmeppo nodded appreciatively, taking his drink from you while you placed Koby’s on the counter.

With no customers in line or looking to be in need of assistance, you leaned against the counter and folded your arms across your chest, nodding at the two men.

“What’s all that about?”

Helmeppo flinched, which, granted, was a bit odd, but you let it slide; you didn’t often talk directly to the guy, so it made sense that he’d be surprised by your words.

“Koby had something he wanted to ask Luffy-san about.”

“Really?” You frowned.

“Yeah. Just wanted some advice.” Helmeppo took a sip of his drink.

Your frown deepened. “Advice? What for?”

You got a shrug in response, which caused your lips to twist into a pout. You knew it wasn’t any of your business, but you honestly could not think of a single subject anyone would want to go to Luffy to for advice. He was a better soundboard for spontaneous decisions, always willing to support you if you wanted a quick adventure or had an idea you were just a bit too nervous to try on your own.

Faster than you thought possible, Luffy darted away from Koby, jumping over the counter and leaping into the back. You watched with wide eyes, continuously confused by his insistence of never entering or exiting the coffee bar in a normal way.

Glancing back to Koby, you saw that he had gone strangely pale, wide eyes flickering to yours for just a moment. He looked… nervous?

“Hey! Luffy, what are you-”

And then suddenly Luffy and Nami appeared, the former grasping the latter’s hand in a tight grip as he tugged her past the coffee bar and out to the cafe proper, ignoring the annoyed and disgruntled looks of the patrons who, honestly, should have been used to his antics by then.

Luffy dragged Nami to where Koby stood, and then the three began talking. Koby and Nami kept their voices low while Nami slapped a hand over Luffy’s mouth, effectively muffling his words.

Taking a moment to process what just happened, you eventually sighed and pulled yourself away from the counter, deciding it’d be best to just focus on tidying up rather than focus on whatever that was.

Well, at least with Nami present, Koby would hopefully be able to get some decent advice.

Helmeppo remained by the counter, sipping on his drink as he shifted his attention between his phone and the trio in the corner. Fine by you, you weren’t necessarily in the mood for chatting, anyways.

By the time you’d relegated yourself to wiping down the counters, the three had begun to disperse. Luffy had his signature, extremely large grin taking up most of his face, Nami was looking at you with a slight smirk and sparkle in her eyes, and Koby looked like he wanted to die.

At that point you weren’t sure you even wanted to know what had been discussed.

Luffy opened his mouth, but Nami quickly yanked him into the back before he could say anything. Helmeppo and Koby exchanged a few quiet words before the blond straight up left, nodding at you before he swiftly exited the cafe, effectively leaving you and Koby all alone.

“I’m scared to ask, but what was all that about?” You questioned after a minute, tilting your head to the side. “Helmeppo said you wanted to ask Luffy for some advice, which probably isn't necessarily the best idea, unless you were wanting encouragement to just go for whatever–”

“Will you go on a date with me?”

You stopped. Your jaw dropped, all words and thoughts disappearing from your mind in rapid succession. The world stopped spinning, and you’re pretty sure your heart stopped beating for a second there, too.

“Come again?”

Koby looked positively terrified, but you saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed and seemed to muster his confidence. “I’m asking if you’d like to go on a date with me, [Name]-san.”

“Why?” You spluttered out, unable to stop yourself. God, just say yes! Why are you like this?

His face was impossibly red, but he maintained eye contact. “I’ve liked you for a while now, ever since I saw you on that first Sunday we met. I- I thought you were incredibly beautiful, but I didn’t know if you’d ever feel the same way.” His jaw clenched. “Luffy’s been telling me to just tell you, that you liked me too, but I didn’t believe him.”

Luffy knew? Luffy told Koby that you liked him? Luffy had somehow managed to keep his mouth shut about the entire thing for God knows how long?

Oh, you were going to kill him. You were going to ring his rubber-like neck–

“It wasn’t until he brought Nami-san out to confirm that you felt the same way that I was able to build up the courage to ask.” 

Oh my God, you were going to kill not just one, but two coworkers.

Sorry, Sanji. It had to be done.

“B- but if they were lying, and just messing with me, I- I completely understand!” Your eyes refocused, spotting the panic quickly enveloping his demeanor. “I- I’m sorry for bothering you, I’ll never talk to you again if you don’t want me to, I’m so sorry–”

He must have taken your silence as rejection. Your heart twisted in your chest, beating wildly against your ribcage.

“Oh my God, no! No!” You interrupted him, waving your hands in the air and shaking your head enthusiastically. “No! Koby, no! I’m sorry, I was thinking about how I was going to kill Luffy and Nami, that’s all!” You cringed as the words left your mouth. Just how badly could you fumble this opportunity? “N- not because they lied to you or anything! They didn’t! That’s why I have to kill them. I can’t believe they ratted on me–”

“Wait, so you really do like me too?” His words stopped you dead in your tracks, the smallest hint of hope audible to your ears. You took the moment to refocus, taking in the way the panic had begun to ebb away from his features. He was looking at you with a softness that made your knees weak, the corners of his lips twitching into a faint smile.

“Koby, I– yes.” I have been hopelessly crushing on you since we met. “Yes, I like you too, and yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

It felt like you were back in high school, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

The smile Koby directed at you was a reward in and of itself. You’d never seen him so happy, so relieved; you wanted to make him smile like that all the time.

He laughed, light and pleasant and wonderful. “I’m so glad. Thank you, [Name]-san–”

“Wait.” You held up a finger, stopping him in his tracks. His eyes widened. “I will go on a date with you, but only on one condition.”

You felt a little bad, seeing the way he quickly reverted to the meek, nervous Koby from before. “O- okay?”

“You have to stop calling me [Name]-san.”

It took a second, but he smiled and laughed again, eventually nodding. “Fine, I suppose that’s fair.” And there he was again, the confident, happy Koby you admired oh so much. “When does your shift end?”

“In about three hours.” You glanced at the clock, unable to stop the frown from appearing on your lips.

“Perfect! I have some errands I need to run, but would you like to get dinner with me once you're off?”

You looked back at him, cocking an eyebrow. “Just the two of us? No Helmeppo?”

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “No Helmeppo.”

“Then yes, I would love that. But, uh, give me some time to get changed and ready and all that, first. Meet back here in about three and a half hours?”

“Sounds good.” He looked so happy, so pleased with himself and your response. You couldn’t help but attempt to match the brightness of his smile. “I’ll see you then, [Name].” The way he said your name without the honorific made you shiver. “Thanks for the drink.” He grabbed the long-forgotten lemonade and offered you a little wave, one which you happily returned.

“Any time. See you in a bit.”

With one last satisfied nod, Koby exited the cafe. You watched through the windows as Helmeppo attacked, throwing an arm around his friend’s shoulders, mouth moving a mile a minute. You flushed, the events of the past few minutes finally catching up to you, and you suddenly became aware that you were in public.

That entire exchange had been in public.

You wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Yay! I knew everything would turn out okay!” Luffy’s voice appeared from behind you.

Ah, yes. Right. Okay, new plan: murder Luffy and Nami, and then yourself.

“Can I get a large macchiato with whipped cream?”

The somewhat odd order caused you to look up from your screen, a smile flashing to your lips upon spotting the man before you. “Morning, Killer! Hot or iced?”

“Hot, please. With a straw.”

You hummed and tapped on the screen. “Anything else?”

“I’m here to pick up an order, too.”

You nodded and glanced down at the notepad that sat off to the side, the list of orders needing to be picked up and their recipients’ names written in Sanji’s elegant handwriting.

Eyes narrowing you leaned down to get a better look, a slight frown tugging at your features. “I don’t see your name on here, let me go ask Sa-”

“No need, [Name]-chan!” Sanji’s boisterous voice interrupted you, drawing your attention from the paper. He had pushed his way into the coffee bar from the back, a large, pristine white box in his arms and cigarette in his mouth. “I forgot to write it down, that’s all.”

You let out a quiet sigh in relief, turning back to smile at Killer. “The regular?”

“Same as always.” He nodded. Although you couldn’t see his mouth due to the blue and white striped medical-style mask covering the lower half of his face –nor his eyes, thanks to his incredibly soft-looking and bushy blond bangs– you knew he was returning your smile. “And in return…” He swung the military-esque backpack from his back and dug around in it, eventually pulling out three bags of different kinds of pasta.

Sanji excitedly took them from him, looking at the names of the pasta before nodding with a pleased hum. “Pleasure doing business with you, as always.”

“Likewise.” Killer nodded, and Sanji hurriedly made his way back to the kitchen, probably to get started on some sort of spontaneous pasta dish you knew would be absolutely delicious.

You finalized the order and prepared it for payment, flipping the screen around for him to see the total. “Cash or card?”

“Cash.” He shouldered his bag and pulled his wallet from one of the back pockets of his jeans, leafing through it for a moment and then pulling out a wad of bills. He glanced at the screen and then stopped, hand with the money freezing over the counter. “Ah, [Name], I think you put the order in wrong. It’s showing up as less than usual.”

You tried your best to hide the playful smile that begged to be seen, and focused on writing his order on a cup. “Oh, no, I just applied the friends and family discount. No worries.”

You could sense him frown. “There’s no need for that.”

Despite your attempts, you couldn’t stop yourself from snorting in amusement. “I know, but I want to. You’re a friend, aren’t you?” You looked up from beneath your lashes and smiled, sweet and demure.

It was obvious to everyone except Killer that you’d developed some sort of feelings for the guy. Despite only working at the cafe for a little over a month, you had easily integrated yourself into the group and had gotten to know all of the regulars (and semi-irregulars, too) and began building what you would call friendships with most of them. Killer, in particular, had struck your interests, the pasta shop owner arriving every Monday and Wednesday at nine forty-five in the morning without fail to pick up a drink and sometimes his order of cannoli for the store. He and Sanji had created some sort of barter-and-trade system, with Killer supplying the fellow blond with gourmet pasta noodles in exchange for the pastries.

You’d asked Robin to make sure you were scheduled for morning shifts on Mondays and Wednesdays after figuring out the schedule, much to the teasing of your coworkers and Sanji’s heartbreak.

“Hm, I suppose so.” There was a hint of hesitancy in his voice, but you simply continued to smile and took his payment, completing the transaction and handing him back his change. He cleared his throat and shoved the bills into the tip jar. “Is it just you today?”

You chuckled and shook your head, making your way over to the espresso machine, Killer following from his side of the counter. “No, it’s just been slow today so Usopp took his lunch early. He’s in the back for another, hm, ten minutes or so.” Your eyes flickered to the front door and then throughout the cafe, pleased at the small number of customers happily enjoying their drinks and pastries at the small tables. 

“Have you taken your lunch yet?” He asked as you poured the milk into the frothing pitcher.

You shook your head and began prepping the espresso. “Not yet. I was going to take it after Usopp got back.”

“Would you…” He cleared his throat and you paused, lifting a brow as your hand hovered over the machine. “Would it be alright if I joined you for your lunch?”

Well, that you weren’t expecting.

It took a minute for his words to register, but when they did your expression shifted to the brightest and biggest smile you’ve ever conjured. “I’d love that.”

Again, despite being unable to see his expression, you knew he was smiling.

You pressed the button to pull the shot and began steaming the milk, feeling Killer’s eyes on you the whole time. Your heart fluttered rapidly in your chest, heat rushing up your neck to color your cheeks and the tips of your ears. You knew you must look like a flustered mess, but that could be considered part of your charm, right?

You topped off the drink with the requested whipped cream and popped on the lid, grabbing a straw and sliding both over to the masked man who easily managed to hold both the box of cannoli and the drink.

“Thanks, [Name].”

“Any time.” You beamed.

“I’ll, uh, wait for you at one of the tables.” He grunted, awkwardly nodding to one of the empty spots.

“Okay, I’ll head over as soon as Usopp comes back.” You rocked back on your heels, suddenly shy. “Can I get you anything to munch on, in the meantime?”

“No, that’s alright.” He shook his head. “I’m more than happy to wait.”

Another wave of heat rushed up your neck. “O- okay. Well, I’ll be over in a bit, then.”

Killer said nothing else and simply nodded, steadily making his way over to the table you knew was pushed into the farthest back corner, almost completely hidden from view from the bar.

Unable to contain your giddy smile, you went about cleaning off the steam wand and rinsing out the pitcher and shot glass used to collect the espresso, attempting to keep yourself busy until Usopp got back.

You sipped casually on your drink, eyes fanning over the surprisingly bustling cafe before you.

Well, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, really. Valentine’s day was a prime opportunity for couples to go to cute little cafes and eat cute little desserts while drinking cute little drinks.

No, you weren’t bitter. Not at all.

Between you and the two coworkers you’d be working with that day, you were probably the one with the most complicated relationship regarding the holiday. Zoro hardly had a romantic bone in his body and could not care less about the quote-unquote “meaningless holiday,” and Chopper, while you knew he had the occasional crush, was just a kid and focused more on his studies and his job than any romantic aspirations.

You just didn’t want to be left alone to mope in your apartment while your roommate was off galivanting around town.

The sound of multiple cans hitting the counter drew your attention away from the couples, eyes landing on the man standing before you. He steadied the three cans of Red Bull and then turned to the bake case, eyes widening at the broad selection.

“Welcome to the Thousand Sunny, what can I get you today?” You put your drink away and tried not to focus on how handsome he was, even if there was something a little… greasy about him.

“Oh! Hi there.” The man straightened and shot you a cheeky grin, one hand going to scratch the back of his neck. He stared at you for a minute, like he’d been caught off guard or something, and you fought back the flush in your cheeks that came from being singled out in his attention. “Can I get one of those sandwich things with the egg on top, as many chocolate croissants as you’re willing to give me, three lemon bars, and four fruit tarts? Oh, and a medium extra-extra-hot americano with two extra shots in a large cup?”

Your fingers hovered over the screen, mouth open despite your best efforts to hide your surprise at the large order. You blinked, trying to process everything, when a knight in shining armor appeared.

“Ace?” Zoro’s voice came from behind you. You quickly glanced over, relieved that he’d come to your rescue and seemed to know this freckled, Hawaiian shirt-wearing guy. Wait, what did Zoro call him? “What are you doing here? Luffy doesn’t work today.”

“Ah, yeah, I know. I was craving something sweet so I thought I’d swing by during my lunch.” He smiled at Zoro, who moved to take your place in front of the monitor. You gladly let him. “It’s good to see you, man. Thanks for taking care of Luffy while he’s at work.”

Oh God, that’s Ace, one of Luffy’s older brothers.

“If you wanna thank someone, thank [Name]. That ero-cook’s been scheduling them with Luffy more than anyone else.” Zoro grunted, punching in Ace’s order. “Kitchen’s closed today, so no sandwich. Is this all going on your tab?”

“Yup, thanks. Gotta dine and dash today, Pops doesn’t want me slacking off just ‘cause it’s a holiday.” He turned to you then, a polite smile on his ridiculously handsome face. “You’re [Name], the new hire, yeah? Luffy’s told me all about you! Thanks for keeping an eye on him, even if he’s been around way longer than you. I know how troublesome he can get.”

You hesitated and then waved your hands in the air dismissively, shaking your head. “Oh no, really, there’s nothing to thank me for. Luffy’s a big help when it comes to the customers, which has let me familiarize myself with the drink recipes. Really, I should be thanking him.” You laughed airily, ignoring the curious look on Zoro’s face. “It’s uh, nice to finally put a face to the name! I’ve heard a bit about you, as well, though Luffy doesn’t really talk about his family all that much.”

An exaggerated pout pulled at his lips. “Aw, really? And here I thought he never shut up about me.” You almost panicked, but the teasing glint in his eyes told you he was only messing with you. “Well, [Name]-san, I can guess why Zoro’s working today, but why are you? Surely you have better things to do on Valentine’s day.”

Your eyes shot wide open, completely shocked at his forwardness. Was he… was he flirting with you?

Zoro cleared his throat and shoved a large cup in your hands, the order written on it. “Get started on the drink.”

“R- right.” You stuttered, ducking your head and avoiding Ace’s gaze. You scurried off to the espresso machine and began preparing the drink, Zoro and Ace chatting as the former pulled out the requested desserts. You felt your ears burn as you recalled the conversation that had just occurred; why on Earth would Ace of all people flirt with you? You must have been mistaken, there was no way that was even an option. He was probably like Sanji in that respect, always tossing out compliments without really thinking. Yeah, that had to be it.

“Oh, hi Ace!” Chopper’s voice hit your ears– he must have finished his lunch, which meant you’d be able to take your lunch and escape from the situation once you made this drink.

“Hey, Chopper! How’re your studies going? Luffy mentioned you had a big test the other week.”

The sound of the shot being pulled muffled the rest of their words, allowing you a brief moment to collect your thoughts. With the drink made you grasped the cup, your fingers burning slightly as the heat from the extra-extra-hot water seeped through the material, causing you to hurriedly slip on a sleeve. You popped the lid on and took a deep breath before mustering your best customer-service smile, sliding the completed drink across the bar and next to the plated pastries and cans of Red Bull.

Ace beamed at you, immediately stopping in the middle of his sentence. “Thanks!” He chirped, popping the lid off. You watched, eyes widening in horror as he opened one of the cans of Red Bull and poured the contents into the cup. He popped the lid back on and, without hesitating for even a moment, took several large sips of the piping hot monstrosity. Once again your jaw dropped, not sure how to process what you’d just seen. Who in their right mind mixes that much caffeine together? And who on Earth is able to drink something that hot without dying? 

He must be made of fire, or something.

Zoro laughed at your shocked expression, Chopper joining in and grabbing the empty can off the counter and tossing it into one of the trash cans.

Ace pulled his lips from the lid and sighed in content, flashing another beaming smile your way as he held the cup tight. “That’s perfect, thanks [Name]!”

“I- uh- it’s- it’s just espresso and water.” You stuttered, discreetly kicking the back of Zoro’s leg in an attempt to get him to stop laughing. It didn’t work.

“Well, it’s great.” Ace grinned. “Thanks again.”

You hummed and nodded, and then watched as he practically inhaled the entirety of the food he’d ordered. It seemed like everything he did was a surprise to your poor heart, and you weren’t sure how much more you’d be able to take.

You busied yourself with some cleaning and tidying up as Ace, Chopper, and Zoro continued their conversation, doing your best not to think about the man’s earlier words and insinuation. You hardly even noticed when he said his goodbyes and began making his way out of the cafe, barely getting out a polite farewell before the door swung shut.

You could hear Zoro and Chopper snickering behind you, and with a huff you shoved the rag you’d been using to clean into the older male’s hands. “I’m going on lunch.” You grumbled, untying your apron as you made your way to the back. 

Once situated in front of the microwave, lazily watching as your food reheated, you felt the phone in your back pocket buzz. With a quirked brow you pulled it out and then froze.

It was a text from an unknown number.

[Unknown Number: Hey, [Name]! It’s Ace, hope you don’t mind I got your number from Luffy. If you’re not busy with a date or whatever after work, would you like to get coffee or something? I try to make it a point to get to know all of my brother’s friends.]

Your heart stuttered in your chest, trying to figure out how best to proceed.

[You: Hi! No, I don’t have anything to do after work, though I’m not sure you need any more caffeine. We could do dinner, though?]

You hit send without allowing yourself the time to second-guess your words, adding his number to your contacts.

The reply came quickly.

[Ace: I’m always down for food! What were you thinking? There’s this really good barbeque place I know, if you like meat.]

You grinned and typed your response, easily falling into a comfortable text exchange even as the microwave interrupted you with its loud beeps.

“Three sundaes, please.”

As the employee went about creating the ice cream treats, [Name] glanced over her shoulder, eyes raking over the crowd in an attempt to locate her companions. It wasn’t exactly difficult, as one was stupidly tall, and she knew that wherever he was the other wasn’t too far behind.

“Cora!” She shouted, standing on the tips of her toes and waving her hand in the air, trying to get his attention. The blond man perked up at her voice, looking around wildly until he spotted her and grinned. He looked down and said something she couldn’t make out before making his way to where she was, the crowd parting to allow the tall man to make his way through.

Rosinante was holding Law by the back of his shirt, the young boy wriggling around wildly in search of his release. With a grin Rosinante let go, not even blinking when Law barely saved himself from landing face-first.

“What’s this?”

“Food. Thought we could all use a treat.”

“What is it?” Law sniffed, trying to peek over the edge of the cart.

“Ice cream sundaes.” [Name] replied.

“I’m allergic to ice cream.”

“No you’re not.”

“Oi.” Rosinante lightly knocked the boy’s head. “Don’t be difficult. You like sundaes.”

“Since when?” The boy grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away with a huff. [Name] only watched, an amused smile pressed to her lips as she pretended not to notice the way Rosinante was looking at her.

“Alright, here we go: three sundaes for the happy family.” The employee placed the last completed sundae on the cart, smiling. [Name] and Law stiffened, simultaneously opening their mouths to speak in a jumbled mess.

“We’re not a family.”

“She’s not my mom!”

“Thank you very much.” Rosinante smiled, handing some bills to the now-confused vendor. “Keep the change.” He handed one to [Name] and took the other two, bumping Law with a leg to get him to move. “Let’s go find somewhere to sit.”

“We are not a family.” Law hissed, shooting daggers at the adults. “And she is definitely not my mom.”

“Well good, ‘cause I wouldn’t want to be a mom to a brat like you, anyways.” [Name] stuck her tongue out at the boy who huffed and turned his head, a sharp glare directed at the ground.

Rosinante sighed and shook his head dejectedly, plopping onto a bench that had caught his eye earlier. [Name] took a seat on one side and Law took a seat on the other, greedily snatching the frozen treat -now slightly melted- from his hand before digging in without another word.

[Name] peered at the boy from the corner of her eye, frown softening a fraction as she watched him wolf down the sundae he’d claimed to be allergic to only moments ago. As she watched him, Rosinante watched her, a somewhat goofy smile gracing his lips as he took in the company of two of the people he cherished most.

“What’s with that dumb look?” Law scoffed after glancing at the man to his right. “Also you’re spilling your ice cream, dumbass.”

“Oh!” Rosinante straightened, not having noticed the paper bowl the sundae had been contained in had started to slip from his grasp. Law snickered and [Name] let out a brief giggle, placing her untouched sundae on the bench as she stood up.

“I’ll grab some napkins.” Her gaze flickered to Law and his ice cream-covered face. “Looks like more than one of us could use them.”

Rosinante laughed as Law’s face turned cherry pink before ducking his head and shoving the last two bites of the treat into his mouth.

“Witch.” He muttered under his breath.

“Hey, you could stand to be nicer.” Rosinante frowned and lightly kicked the boy next to him. “She hasn’t done anything to you.”

“If she thinks she can replace my mom-”

“No one thinks that, idiot.” Rosinante let out a long and heavy sigh, taking several large bites of his own treat in quick succession. “I don’t even know where you got that impression from.”

“She thinks she can bribe me with sweets and clothes-”

“That’s called being nice, Law.” Rosinante admonished, polishing off his food before taking Law’s empty bowl and stacking it on his own. “There’s not always a double meaning to things.”

“Whatever.”

The conversation ended as [Name] came back, a stack of napkins in her hand. She passed a few to Rosinante, who accepted them gratefully, and then knelt in front of Law who was doing everything in his power to avoid her eyes.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before handing him the remaining stack. “Here.”

Law snatched them from her grip and smashed them onto his face, rubbing them every which-way and not caring that several fell to the ground. [Name] silently retrieved them and held them in her lap, watching the feral child finish attempting to wipe his face clean.

With a dramatic huff he pulled the napkins away from his face, glaring off to the side and still avoiding her gaze. Rosinante watched, intrigued, as a small smile graced its way to her face.

“You missed quite a bit there.” She hummed, Law’s face turning pink once again.

“Did not.” Law grunted. Without a word [Name] leaned over, gently wiping one of the corners of his mouth with a discarded napkin. Law flinched and stiffened, eyes sliding to finally look at her. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning you up.” She replied simply, pulling away once she deemed him clean enough. “There.” It surprised Rosinante that Law didn’t have any snarky come back, the two men remaining silent as [Name] leaned over and picked up her own -now heavily melted- sundae and handed it to Law. “Here.”

“What?” He asked, eyeing the extended sundae suspiciously, as though it might bite him.

“I’m not hungry. It’s for you.”

“[Name]-” Rosinante began but caught himself, stopping as she glanced at him.

“You don’t have to take it if you don’t want it, I’ll just give it to Cora-”

Before she could finish her sentence the gremlin child snatched the bowl from her hand, immediately beginning to shovel it into his mouth. [Name] continued to crouch in front of him, a slightly amused grin sliding onto her face as the ice cream was quickly devoured.

“Make sure you thank her.” Rosinante nudged the boy but stilled when she placed a hand on his knee.

“It’s fine, he can thank me later.” She smiled gently before standing, stretching as her hair shifted in the breeze. “Seems like it’s finally starting to cool down.”

“Good.” Rosinante sighed, leaning back and throwing his arms over the back of the bench. “The heat’s been brutal.”

“S’not so bad.” Law mumbled, handing Rosinante the now-empty bowl. He picked up the napkins and wiped his face off, taking much more care and precision than he had the first time. Rosinante couldn’t help but smile, looking down at Law for a moment before looking up to where [Name] was standing, one hand on her hip and a pleased grin on her face.