#healingarc

03. DISTANCE → if they wanted me there, why did they leave?

theme: withdrawal 🌧️

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

You came back slowly.

It didn’t feel like waking up. It felt like being pulled out of something warm and heavy and wrong all at once—like your body was being forced to remember how to exist again.

Air hit your lungs too hard. Too fast. Like it was punishing you for ever leaving. And the first sounds you understood weren’t comfort—they were panic. Your name breaking in someone’s throat. Someone crying like they couldn’t stop.

And when your eyes finally opened, it wasn’t relief that greeted you. It was fear. Not just yours. Theirs too. Like you had come back too close to something that had already accepted you were gone.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ZORO ✦

When you woke up, Zoro didn’t breathe right for a moment.

He just looked at you like looking away would make it real again. Like if he blinked, he’d be back in those three minutes where nothing moved and everything felt wrong.

After that, he noticed the shift without needing anyone to say it. You didn’t come close anymore. Not naturally. Not like before. Even when you stood near him, there was hesitation in your body—like something in you had decided distance was safer than trust.

He could’ve fixed it. He knew that. One step forward, one word.

But every time he thought about it, he remembered how still you looked before you came back. And suddenly, his own presence felt like something dangerous.

So he stayed where he was. Even when it hurt. Even when it felt like losing you in slow motion.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SANJI ✦

When you woke up, Sanji broke before he could even speak.

Your name left him like relief and fear at the same time—like he didn’t know which one was stronger. His hands were already checking you, already confirming you were real, even though his eyes kept shaking like they didn’t believe it yet.

After that, he never stopped taking care of you. Not once. Tea, food, medicine—everything perfect, everything careful, like if he controlled enough details, nothing like that moment could ever happen again.

But you started going quieter around him. Not rude. Not distant in a loud way. Just… slipping away in small pieces. Less eye contact. Softer answers. Like looking at him too long brought back something you didn’t want to feel again.

And he noticed. Of course he noticed.

But he stopped asking because your silence already felt like an answer he didn’t know how to survive hearing out loud.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LUFFY ✦

When you woke up, Luffy smiled like nothing in the world had ever gone wrong.

“You’re here,” he said, like it was simple. Like it was fixed. Like the universe had just returned something it owed him.

But that version of happiness didn’t last. Because you didn’t laugh the same way anymore. You didn’t react the same way. There was a space in you now that didn’t answer him back, even when you were sitting right beside him.

So he tried harder. Stayed closer. Talked more. Like if he filled every gap, nothing else could slip in.

Because Luffy didn’t understand distance.

But he understood what it felt like to lose someone and not know how it happened. And that scared him more than anything.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LAW ✦

When your heartbeat came back, Law didn’t say anything for a long time.

He just stood there, watching numbers stabilize, watching reality return in the most clinical way possible—because if he didn’t make it clinical, he wasn’t sure he could stay standing.

After that, he changed without announcing it. Subtle. Controlled. Distance built into every step like a decision he made to protect both of you.

Because he remembered too clearly what it felt like when you didn’t exist in the room anymore. When there was only silence and waiting and nothing he could fix no matter how precise he tried to be.

So he kept space between you. Not because he wanted it—but because closeness now felt like something that came with a cost he wasn’t ready to pay again.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ACE ✦

When you woke up, Ace laughed too fast. Too loud. Like sound could cover up fear before it showed.

“Don’t do that again,” he said, stepping closer immediately—like if he didn’t touch reality, it might disappear again. But his voice cracked halfway through anyway.

Because he remembered too clearly what came before it. The stillness. The panic. The three minutes where he thought he had lost you without being able to do anything about it.

After that, he stopped realizing when he was stepping back.

Jokes stayed. Smiles stayed. But something in him always paused now—like his body didn’t fully trust you were still here until he looked twice.

So he stayed close enough to see you. Never close enough to feel that fear again.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SABO ✦

When you woke up, Sabo exhaled like he had been holding his breath for days.

“Good,” he said softly. “You’re awake.” But it didn’t sound like relief only—it sounded like something fragile finally not breaking.

After that, he started coming less. Not because he didn’t want to see you—but because seeing you made everything inside him tighten. Relief. Guilt. Fear. All tangled together in ways he couldn’t separate anymore.

He kept thinking about how close he came to losing you completely. About how easily it could’ve gone the other way.

So he stayed away in safer ways. Words instead of presence. Distance instead of risk. Anything that let him care without standing too close to the edge again.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

You felt it before you understood it.

The space between conversations. The way people stopped staying near you for too long. The way your name was spoken more carefully now, like it had weight it didn’t used to have.

At first, you told yourself it was healing. Recovery. Time doing what it always does after something breaks.

But then you realized something worse.

They weren’t leaving you.

They were just afraid of what it cost to almost lose you—and that fear was turning into distance you could feel even when nobody said it out loud.

So you stopped reaching first. Not to test them. Just to see if the silence would finally mean something when you weren’t the one holding it together anymore.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

← previous: 02. FLATLINE ✦ masterlist ✦ next → 04. TRUTH

Gwyneth Berdara: not a hero. she lives between fear and laughter, and in that thin, trembling space, she creates something almost holy.

There’s no triumph in her voice, only truth. And truth isn’t clean. It’s raw, living, shimmering like water that refuses to stay still.

She is not the aftermath of pain, she is what pain became when it learned how to dance.

Gwny’s story is one that shows surviving is also an art form.

✨ NEW STORY DROP ✨

(F1 x Reader | Lando Norris AU | Second Chances + Heartache + Healing)

Title: Ties That Still Bind

Chapter 1: Entanglements

Monaco's most sought-after wedding planner was thriving—tailored suits, client lists full of royalty, and a perfectly curated life.

Until he walked in.

Lando Norris. The one she loved. The one she left. Now sitting across from her… planning someone else’s wedding.

Not just any someone. His best friend. And he has questions.

The kind that unravel everything she worked so hard to bury.

——————————————— 💬 "I was scared." ———————————————

She’s mastered the art of smiling through grief. Of looking untouched while everything inside her still bleeds.

But old love doesn’t die easy.

And this time, he’s not letting her run.

📖 A story of tension beneath pressed linen, love buried beneath ambition, and the unspoken truths that haunt the ones who walked away too soon.

📝 Note from the Author: Ties That Still Bind was inspired by a Harry Potter one-shot titled “Love and All Things Fake” (James Sirius Potter), written by the incredibly talented author everlovingdeer from Wattpad.

I have always loved that one-shot, always going back to it. The way it captured emotion, subtlety, and longing stayed with me. They are a wonderful writer with a whole collection of stories worth reading.

That’s why one day, I said to myself: why not create a version of that feeling, but for someone else? This story still carries the emotional essence of that original fic—the same ache, the same questions—but with different characters, settings, and with a full closure… if you know what I mean?

But if any of you feel that it shouldn’t have been done this way, if it feels too similar, if it disrespects the original, I genuinely want to say I’m sorry. I never intended for this to feel like plagiarism. I just wanted to explore what that kind of story might look like with a different ending. Second chance, healing, and a wedding.

Please feel free to share your thoughts. If this crosses a line, I will absolutely take it down, no hesitation. I mean that. Your comments mean so much to me, and your honesty helps me grow. I never want to hurt any writer, especially not one whose work has inspired me so deeply.

This version is my love letter to that inspiration.

Chapters coming soon. 🥂🧡

Taglist:

04. TRUTH → why would i stay when you already left first?

theme: confrontation ⚡

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

It didn’t come out all at once. It built inside you until there was no space left to swallow it back down.

The silence after you spoke felt louder than anything else. Like the air itself had stopped moving, waiting for someone to pretend this wasn’t happening. But you couldn’t take it back anymore. You didn’t want to.

“I was right there,” you said, voice trembling now. “But it still felt like I was alone.” And saying it didn’t fix anything. It just made the emptiness between you all impossible to ignore.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ZORO ✦

Zoro didn’t answer immediately.

His jaw tightened instead, like your words hit something he couldn’t block in time. Because he understood you too well to pretend he didn’t.

“I didn’t leave you,” he said finally, but it sounded heavier than before. Less like a defense. More like something he was trying not to lose control over.

Then quieter—almost like it cost him something to admit it—“I just… stopped coming closer.”

And that was the truth neither of you said out loud before now.

Not absence. Distance.

Because he was scared of watching you disappear again if he let himself get too close.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SANJI ✦

Sanji looked like your words landed somewhere deeper than he expected.

“I was trying to protect you,” he said quickly—but even he didn’t sound convinced anymore.

Because protection shouldn’t feel like being handled carefully from a distance. It shouldn’t feel like someone standing at the edge of your life instead of inside it.

“I thought if I stayed too close,” he admitted softer, “I’d break something I couldn’t fix.”

His hands curled slightly at his side.

“But I think I already broke it anyway,” he said, voice lower now. “Just differently.”

And for once, he didn’t try to smile it away.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LUFFY ✦

Luffy blinked like he didn’t understand at first.

“But I was with you,” he said immediately. Simple. Certain. Like that should’ve been enough to end the conversation.

But the longer he looked at you, the less certain he became. Because he remembered now—the quiet parts. The moments where you stopped reacting the same way. The places where his presence didn’t reach you anymore.

“I didn’t know you felt alone,” he said finally, voice smaller than before.

And that realization hit harder than anything else for him.

Because Luffy never thought presence could still feel like absence.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LAW ✦

Law didn’t deny anything.

“I kept distance on purpose,” he said finally, voice controlled but not cold. “After what happened.”

Your silence made him continue. Not because he wanted to, but because he couldn’t stop the truth once it started.

“I thought it would make it easier if something like that happened again,” he admitted. “If I wasn’t too close to lose control over it.”

His eyes didn’t leave you.

“But I see now,” he added quietly, “that I was preparing for you to disappear instead of letting you stay.”

And that was the first time his control cracked just slightly.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ACE ✦

Ace tried to laugh—but it didn’t land right.

“That’s not fair,” he said first, rubbing the back of his neck. But even he didn’t sound sure what he was defending anymore.

Because he remembered too clearly what happened when your heart stopped. The panic. The helplessness. The three minutes that felt like something permanent breaking.

“I didn’t leave,” he said quieter. “I just didn’t know how to act after that.”

His smile flickered—but didn’t fully come back.

“And maybe I stayed stuck in that moment more than I should’ve.”

Then, almost like it hurt to say:

“But I was still here.”

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SABO ✦

Sabo exhaled before speaking. Like he already knew this was going to hurt.

“I didn’t stop caring,” he said carefully. “I just thought giving you space was the right thing.”

But even as he said it, his expression tightened—because he could hear how wrong it sounded now.

“I didn’t realize it would feel like I was stepping away,” he admitted softer. “Like you were recovering alone.”

His gaze dropped for a moment before returning to you.

“When you woke up,” he continued, “I thought I was helping you by not overwhelming you.”

A pause.

“But I think I just made sure you healed without me in it.”

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

The room stayed quiet after that.

Not peaceful quiet. Heavy quiet. The kind that sits on your chest and doesn’t move.

You had survived something that should’ve ended you.

But standing there, hearing everything finally said out loud, you realized something worse had happened after survival.

You came back…

but nothing came back the same way you did.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

theme: letting go 🍂

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

It didn’t feel like a decision at first.

It felt like exhaustion. The kind that sits in your bones after too many things unsaid, too many moments where you tried to reach and nothing reached back in the same way.

You watched them after the silence of that night. After the truth. After everything finally broke open instead of hiding underneath it.

And something inside you went still in a different way than before. Not fear this time. Not confusion.

Clarity.

“If this is what staying feels like,” you said quietly, “then I don’t want to keep hurting like this just to be near you.”

Nobody interrupted you.

That was the worst part.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ZORO ✦

Zoro felt it before you even finished speaking.

That shift in your voice. The kind that doesn’t ask anymore. The kind that’s already decided.

“You’re leaving,” he said, not as a question. Just recognition.

His hand tightened at his side, like his body wanted to move before his pride allowed it. But he didn’t step forward. Not this time.

Because he understood something too clearly now—every time he stayed quiet, every time he chose distance instead of honesty, he had been pushing you closer to this moment without meaning to.

And now that it was here… he didn’t know how to pull you back without hurting you again.

So he didn’t try.

That was the first time his silence felt like loss instead of protection.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SANJI ✦

Sanji looked like he forgot how to breathe for a second.

“Wait—no,” he said immediately, but it wasn’t strong. It was broken at the edges. Like he didn’t expect it to come out of his mouth so late.

Because he had spent so long trying to be careful with you that he didn’t realize careful had started feeling like distance. Like absence in smaller doses.

“I can fix this,” he said quickly, stepping forward before stopping himself. Like he was afraid even movement would push you further away.

But your expression didn’t change.

And that’s when he understood—this wasn’t something he could fix with care anymore.

It needed time he hadn’t given you when it mattered.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LUFFY ✦

Luffy didn’t understand it right away.

“You’re… leaving?” he repeated, like the word didn’t fit you at all. Like it belonged somewhere else in a story that wasn’t supposed to be yours.

His hands lifted slightly, then dropped again. Like he didn’t know where to put them anymore.

“You don’t have to,” he said, softer now. Almost uncertain. “We can fix it. I can—”

But even he stopped.

Because he remembered too many moments where “we can fix it” wasn’t enough.

And this time, you weren’t asking. You were telling.

That was what made it real for him.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LAW ✦

Law didn’t react immediately.

That was his first mistake. Or maybe his last defense.

When he finally spoke, it was controlled. “This is not a medically sound decision.”

But even he heard how wrong that sounded in a moment like this.

You gave him a look that said you weren’t something he could analyze into staying anymore.

And something in him tightened—because he knew exactly what this was. Not impulse. Not confusion.

It was consequence.

“I understand,” he said after a pause. And that was the closest thing to begging he allowed himself.

But he didn’t stop you.

Because he knew what happens when someone stays out of obligation instead of choice.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ACE ✦

Ace laughed first.

It came out wrong immediately. Too sharp. Too fast.

“You’re kidding,” he said, stepping forward like distance itself had betrayed him again.

But when you didn’t laugh back, it stopped working.

His smile cracked at the edges before it could fully form.

“Hey,” he said softer now, like volume could fix what words couldn’t. “Don’t do that.”

And that was the first time he sounded afraid of you choosing yourself over staying.

Because he thought surviving meant you’d stay.

He didn’t think surviving would mean leaving anyway.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SABO ✦

Sabo already knew before you said it.

That was the worst part.

He just stood there quietly for a second too long, like he was trying to find a version of this conversation where he wasn’t already losing.

“You’re not wrong,” he said finally. Carefully. Softly. Like every word had to be chosen not to break you further.

But that honesty didn’t stop the weight in his chest from sinking.

“I just wish I had done better before it reached this point,” he admitted.

Not to stop you.

Just to deserve you staying a little longer.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

Nobody followed you right away.

That silence wasn’t empty this time. It was full of everything they didn’t say fast enough.

You stood at the edge of it all and finally understood something you didn’t want to.

Sometimes people don’t lose you in one moment.

They lose you slowly… in every moment they thought time would forgive later.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

← previous: 04. TRUTH ✦ masterlist ✦ next → 06. PLEASE

theme: regret 🤍

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

You didn’t slam the door. You didn’t make it dramatic.

That was the worst part.

It was quiet when you decided. Quiet when you stopped explaining yourself. Quiet when you realized you had already been leaving long before your feet ever moved.

Because somewhere between recovery and truth, you stopped expecting to be understood. And once that expectation died, staying started feeling like begging.

So you left emotionally first. And no one noticed until it was already too late to fix gently.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ZORO ✦

Zoro noticed the silence before anything else.

Not your absence—your presence without reach. You were still there, but not there with him. Like something had quietly closed between you and everyone else.

“Hey,” he said once, rougher than usual. “Look at me.”

But you did. And it didn’t change anything. That was what hit him.

Because for the first time, he realized strength wasn’t what kept people close. And he had been relying on it too much instead of speaking when it mattered.

“Don’t do this,” he said lower. Not command. Not order.

It sounded like he was asking you not to disappear in front of him again.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SANJI ✦

Sanji was already breaking before he spoke.

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, too fast, like if he didn’t say it first you’d never hear it at all.

But you didn’t react the way he expected. No anger. No comfort. Just exhaustion.

And that scared him more.

Because he finally understood that being careful had turned into distance, and distance had turned into losing you without realizing it was happening.

“Please,” he said again, softer now, voice cracking at the edges. “Tell me what to do. I’ll fix it. I swear I will.”

But there was nothing left in your expression asking to be fixed anymore.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LUFFY ✦

Luffy looked at you like you were slipping out of something only he could see.

“Hey… wait,” he said, confused at first. Then louder. “Wait, don’t go like that.”

But you weren’t walking away fast. You were just… not coming back emotionally anymore.

And that confused him in a way physical distance never did.

Because Luffy understood chasing. He didn’t understand losing someone who was still standing right in front of him.

“Why are you leaving?” he asked, voice smaller now.

Not angry. Not playful. Just scared.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LAW ✦

Law realized it in pieces. Too late, as always.

Not when you left the room—but when you stopped needing anything from it.

“You’ve already decided,” he said quietly. Not accusation. Observation.

And that was what made it worse. Because he was right.

“I miscalculated,” he admitted after a pause, voice tighter than usual. “I thought distance would prevent harm.”

A bitter breath.

“But I didn’t account for what it does when it becomes the only thing left.”

His eyes stayed on you longer than before.

Not clinical now. Not controlled. Just… aware that he had been losing you in slow motion without realizing it.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ACE ✦

Ace didn’t joke this time. Not immediately.

He just stared for a second too long. Like he was trying to find the version of this where it wasn’t real.

“You’re really doing this?” he asked quietly.

Then his voice broke mid-sentence.

“No—don’t,” he said suddenly, stepping forward like instinct. Like panic. “Don’t shut us out like that.”

But he stopped himself halfway, fists clenched like he didn’t trust his own body anymore.

“I can’t lose you again,” he admitted, voice lower now. “Not like that. Not like before.”

And for once, there was no laughter left to hide behind.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SABO ✦

Sabo already looked like he understood too much.

Not surprise. Regret recognition.

“I did this,” he said quietly, almost immediately. “Didn’t I?”

He wasn’t asking for comfort. He was confirming damage.

Because he could see it now—the slow withdrawal, the emotional distance, the way you had stopped reaching before anyone noticed you weren’t asking anymore.

“I thought giving you space was kindness,” he said softer. “But I think I just taught you how to leave without needing to run.”

His voice cracked slightly at the end.

“Please… don’t let that be the ending I caused.”

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

You didn’t answer right away.

Not because you didn’t hear them. But because for the first time, everyone finally sounded like they were afraid of losing you in the same way you had been afraid of being left.

And that changed something. Not fixed it. Not healed it.

Just made it real in a different direction.

You stayed still.

Not returning. Not leaving.

Just… existing in the space where both hurt too much to choose immediately.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

10. HOME → finally… everything is okay

theme: belonging 🤍

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

It didn’t feel real at first.

Even after all the apologies, even after all the shaking voices and broken confessions, your chest still waited for something to go wrong. Like peace was just another fragile thing the world could take back whenever it wanted.

But nothing broke this time.

No one left. No one stepped away. No silence turned sharp.

Just… closeness.

Warm, messy, human closeness.

And when you finally exhaled properly, it didn’t feel like giving up. It felt like coming back.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ZORO ✦

Zoro was the first to move closer—but this time, you met him halfway.

His eyes softened slightly when you didn’t hesitate. Like something inside him finally loosened after being tight for too long.

“…You’re really okay with this?” he asked quietly.

You nodded.

And then you pulled him in.

That was all it took for him to break completely in his own way. Not loudly—but deeply. His arms wrapped around you like instinct, like memory, like relief he didn’t know how to carry properly.

“I almost lost you,” he said against your shoulder, voice rough. “And I didn’t know how to fix it in time.”

Your hand slid into his hair gently, grounding him.

And for the first time, Zoro didn’t stand guard over distance. He let himself fall into you completely—forehead pressed to yours, breath uneven, eyes shut like he was afraid to see a world without you again.

And you held him back just as tightly.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SANJI ✦

Sanji looked like he was still afraid to take that step.

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, voice shaking. “I’m so sorry for everything I made you feel.”

But you didn’t let him spiral into guilt this time.

You stepped forward first.

And when your hands reached for him, he froze—like he didn’t expect forgiveness to feel like touch.

Then he broke.

Not into collapse, but into emotion he couldn’t hold back anymore. He pulled you into his arms like he had been holding back a flood for too long.

“I didn’t know how to stay without hurting you,” he admitted, voice cracking. “I thought I was protecting you… but I just made you feel alone.”

You shook your head gently and kissed his forehead.

And that was it for him.

He held you tighter, burying his face against your shoulder, crying quietly like relief didn’t know where else to go.

And you held him through all of it.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LUFFY ✦

Luffy didn’t even try to hold back.

The moment he saw you fully there, he reached for you like instinct.

“You’re really okay,” he said, like he needed to hear it out loud.

And when you nodded, his expression cracked into something overwhelmed and soft.

“I was scared,” he admitted suddenly, voice smaller than usual. “I didn’t know how to fix it when you were gone.”

You stepped closer first this time.

And that made him freeze for half a second before he grabbed you gently—then pulled you in fully, like he had been waiting for permission he didn’t know how to ask for.

His arms wrapped around you tightly, face buried into your shoulder as his breathing hitched.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll stay better. I promise.”

And you kissed his head softly until he finally relaxed into you completely.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ LAW ✦

Law didn’t move at first. Not because he didn’t want to—but because he didn’t trust himself to do it right.

“You’re certain?” he asked quietly. “About this… about me being close?”

You didn’t answer with words. You just reached for his hand.

That was enough.

His grip tightened slightly, controlled but no longer distant. Like something in him finally stopped resisting the idea of staying.

“I miscalculated,” he admitted after a pause. “I thought distance would prevent damage. It didn’t.”

Then, softer:

“I should’ve stayed closer.”

And when you leaned into him, he finally let himself hold you properly. Not as a doctor. Not as someone calculating risk. Just as someone who almost lost you and couldn’t afford to again.

His forehead rested against yours briefly, eyes closed.

And for once, he didn’t step away afterward.

Neither did you.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ ACE ✦

Ace tried to act like he was fine.

“Man… this is kinda embarrassing,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

But his voice cracked halfway through.

And then you hugged him first.

That was it.

He broke immediately—arms wrapping around you like relief had been waiting too long to come out.

“I was so scared,” he admitted, voice rough and unsteady. “I thought I lost you again… I didn’t know how to handle it after you came back.”

You held him tighter, and he let out a shaky breath like something finally gave up inside him.

“I’m sorry,” he said into your shoulder. “I didn’t know how to stay without messing it up.”

You kissed his temple softly.

And he just clung to you like he never wanted to learn what absence felt like again.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ SABO ✦

Sabo looked at you like he was afraid of hope.

“I should’ve been there more,” he said quietly. “Not from a distance. Not after. There.”

His voice cracked slightly.

And when you stepped into him first, he finally stopped holding himself together.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he pulled you in. “For making you feel like you had to survive that alone.”

His arms shook slightly around you—not weak, just overwhelmed.

And then he cried. Quietly. Fully.

Not because he was losing you—

but because he finally wasn’t.

And you held him through it, steady and warm, until his breathing slowed into something calmer.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

✦ YOU ✦

Eventually, everything softened into something real.

Not perfect. Not erased. But held.

You were in the middle of them now—not separate, not distant, not waiting to be left behind again.

Zoro’s arm stayed around you like a promise. Sanji leaned against you like he was finally allowed to rest. Luffy curled into your side like he belonged there. Law stayed close without calculating space anymore. Ace held onto your hand like he had learned what losing it felt like. Sabo rested near you like he had finally stopped running from staying.

And you?

You held them back.

Not because you were afraid they’d leave again.

But because you finally believed they wouldn’t.

And as their breathing slowed, as exhaustion and relief finally won over everything else, they drifted into sleep around you one by one—

safe, tangled, warm.

And for the first time…

you didn’t feel like you were surviving them.

You felt like you had them.

All of them.

And they had you too.

✦ ━━━━ .°• ♔ •°. ━━━━ ✦

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