Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prompts

Day 1 - New beginnings (Massive spoiler for the 1100s!)

Day 2 - Kid pirates as kids

Day 3 - Victoria lives AU

Day 4 - First island

Day 5 - Card games 

Day 6 - Feast 

Day 7 - Masks

Day 8 - Music 

Day 9 - Get ready...

Day 10 - Captain's birthday!

Day 11 - Relaxing / Winding down

Day 12 - Modern AU (or different outfits)

Day 13 - Horror AU - Modern AU for me

Day 14 - Minks or Kemonomimi AU - Modern AU for me

Day 15 - Role swap AU - Modern AU for me

Day 16 - Band AU - Modern AU for me

Day 17 - Steampunk AU - Modern AU for me

Day 18 - Cowboy AU - Modern AU for me

Day 19 - Sparring or playfighting - Modern AU for me

Day 20 - Undercover or "undercover" - Modern AU for me

Day 21 - Haircuts or New hairstyles or Hairstyle swap  - Modern AU for me

Day 22 - Genderbend those punks! - Modern AU for me

Day 23 - Piercings / Tattoos / Body modifications - Zombie Apocalpyse AU

Day 24 - Album Cover - Introduction to my OC Pound

Day 25 - On the news! Or bounty posters - Isekai! for me

Day 26 - Sleep / Dreams - Isekai! part two!

Day 27 - Nostalgia 

Day 28 - New places

Day 29 - 40 years (I recommend you to skip this one if you like being happy)

Day 30 - 60 years (same as above)

Day 31 - Eustass Kid as King of the Pirates!! 

SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS!!! 

I'm going to need to write down my characterizations and everything I'm attributing to the specific non-descript crew members here to make sure I stay consistent with them: 

Actually I'll add the official descriptions from the wiki too just so I can check back in over here as well. 

Kidd - plays the bass, backup vocals, killed the leader of the rival gang that tried to take over Kutsukku and was the only one strong enough to take them down so he became leader

Killer - plays the drums, started wearing his helmet when Victoria got injured and never stopped because he feels insecure about his face and laugh, crew's chef

Heat - lead singer, Heat has long light blue, shaggy hair. His mouth stretches to the sides of his face like a Glasgow smile. He has black sunken eyes and visible bone ridges on his forehead. There are stitched scars at his chin, mouth-line, and the high point of his cheeks. Tattoos resembling thorned vines run along his shoulders, arms, and neck. He wears a dark blue corset laced with red string, red pants with an armored pad over his right leg, and long brown boots, Heat finds acts of crying or pleading to be pathetic, despite this, Heat proved to be a hypocrite as seen when he pleaded to Shanks for his captain and crew to be spared after the latter was defeated by him, Heat has the ability to breathe fire, wields two swords 

He wears a dark blue corset laced with red string, red pants with an armored pad over his right leg, and long brown boots.

Wire - tall, used as a ladder a lot; Wire is a tall member of the Kid Pirates, being about one meter taller than Kid and Killer. He wears a dark brown headdress like a cloak, a wire shirt, black shorts, and black fishnet stockings. He has the crew's Jolly Roger over his chest and a necklace with small ax blades on it. He has droopy eyes, regardless of his expression. Wire is taciturn and usually, he does not show any type of emotion, as he is often seen standing in the background with a mopish expression in his face. He did, however, express shock when Kid was attacked by a Pacifista and after hearing about Big Mom and Kaidou's alliance. He is sympathetic to Killer for what happened to him, fights with a dark red trident but also kicks his opponents, After witnessing Shanks defeat both Kid and Killer, Wire was terrified and begged for them to be spared, and the crew offered up their Poneglyph rubbings

Dive - Dive is a relatively short woman sporting lipstick and large braided pigtails. She wears round sunglasses over her forehead, a ragged shirt, a necklace and a pair of stockings coupled with high heels, she fights by biting her enemies, Doctor of the Kid pirates

Quincy - lead singer, is dating Pound, good at organization, not superstitious, Quincy is a slender woman with curly hair and wearing an elaborate outfit consisting of a round, crown-like hat, a checkered jacket, a giant ribbon around her waist and a light-colored skirt.

Victoria - superstitious, scarred, blind on the left eye, wore the same helmet as Killer for a few months after her injury, first mate 

Pound - likes organizing things, is dating Quincy, OC character

UK - UK is a tall man with a prominent gut, while also sporting a mohawk that is combed back, long, thin sideburns and black lipstick. He wears a ragged dark shirt decorated with smiley faces over a fishnet one, as well as a pearl necklace, loyal to Killer, his weapon is a saber

Hip - writes songs for the band, sister of Hop, styles her hair like Victoria because she admires the first mate so much, (definitely has a major crush on her), Hip is a woman with short light colored hair. She wears a short sleeved dark shirt and a light tank top with some writing on it, she wields two swords, is okay with retreat

Hop - writes songs for the band, sister of Hip, Hop is a woman with long light colored hair tied in a high ponytail. She wears an open dark jacket and a skirt, carries a sword, is okay with retreating

Compo - Compo is a large muscular man. He wears a short sleeved shirt, a bandana, a beaded neckless and several bracelets on each forearm, is okay with retreating

Emma - Emma is a woman with light colored hair that is stylized with a mohawk on top and two bangs on each side of her face. She wears an open dark jacket, a frilly skirt and high heels.

Disc J - Disc J is a stocky man. He wears many dark colored barbed accessories over his entire body. In the anime, he was shown to have dark blue hair, and wore a tight black shirt, with his accessories colored green with yellow details, is okay with retreating

Moai - Moai is a large man with light colored hair tied in a ponytail. He wears a tattered light color tank top, a beaded neckless, a dotted bandana, a beaded belt and low hanging pants, is okay with retreating

Jaguar - Jaguar is a large muscular man with light colored hair. He wears a tank top which right side is dark colored and the right is light colored with dark circles, and an image of a panda at the center, shorts and boxing gloves

Papas - Papas is an average-sized man with a pointy nose. He is seen wearing a sleeveless hoodie over his head that has vertical stripes on the front, admires Kidd

Mosh - Mosh is a very large man, comparable to Jean Bart in size.^[1] His hair is light-colored and arranged in a ponytail, with a prominent bang covering the left side of his face. He wears a feathered coat adorned with spikes at the shoulders (similar to Kid's own captain coat before the timeskip) and a shirt with the picture of a guitar printed on it, wields a katana with a long handle

Boogie - Boogie is a man with wide shoulders and long arms in comparison to his legs. He also sports a prominent, jutting jawline, parted light hair that covers his right eye and dark lipstick. His attire consists of a leather vest adorned with small spikes over the shoulders and worn over a horizontally striped shirt, he's emotional, managed to protect Kidd from Gifters

House - House is a woman with wild hair, with some of it arranged in the shape of a small pair of horns above her head. She wears a leather jacket over a knee-length dress, which sports a cross design printed on its front, is okay with retreat

Reck - Reck is a slim man with curly, parted hair and sporting eyeliner. He wears a leather jacket and knee-length pants, is okay with retreat

Bubblegum - Bubblegum is a tall, lanky man who wears eyeliner, dark lipstick, with hair growing from the sides of his head in a zigzag pattern. He wears a small, spiked helmet, a long-sleeved, light-colored shirt, a chain belt and a necklace, geeks out over robots, looks up to Killer, is friends with Bepo and cheers Law on, his weapon of choice is a saber, saved Killer by carrying him out together with UK and Pomp after his fight with Hawkins

Pomp - Pomp is a short man with a stocky build, a bulbous nose and sporting dark hair with a prominent bang to the left side of his face. His clothes consist of a spiky beret in military camo colors and a studded leather belt around his torso, along with studded cuffs and dark gloves. He wears dark eyeliner and lipstick, looks up to Killer, 

Gig - Gig is an obese man sporting liberty spikes and a crooked smile. He wears a pearl necklace and a leather jacket, he fights "hand-to-hand" (whatever that means)

Chapter Text

Pain. He’s in so much pain. There’s blood smeared all over his body and he’s pretty sure that there’s something wrong with his left eye, his vision is blurry at best and black spots keep dancing in front of him. Nevertheless, he pushes himself off of the cold shore he stranded at. This must be some cold winter island, the ground he laid on felt completely frozen, leaving his skin where the clothing had been shredded to burn painfully.

Where are the others? The thought strikes him with a searing intensity. He’s captain, he shouldn’t be focusing on himself more than his crew. He grimaces, his neck hurting when he turns his head to look around.

There’s nothing. Just this awfully cold surface that feels like ice but not entirely. Some freakish oddity of the New World, or so he assumes.

This supposed “ice” raises high into mountain-scapes far taller than the Victoria Punk, circling around at the end like waves. The Victoria Punk. What happened to her? Her and the crew. Did they make it out? Are any of them even still alive? He curses, the sound fading to nothing in the vastness of the space he’s in. Where the hell is he gonna go from here?

This island doesn’t look inhabitable in the least. Unless there are some sort of animals living on this ice, he’s gonna starve to death if he doesn’t freeze first.

But even if there are any animals, he’s going to have to be careful. He glances down at his left arm, ending right below the arm stump where his metal arm had been before that cursed battle. Judging by the look of this island he’d be lucky to find any metal in the vicinity to build anything with.

He tries pulling any closeby metal to him, but stumbles back when he’s met with a metal presence so strong it feels like he’s the one being pulled towards it instead of the other way around. He narrows his eyes, staring into the direction of where he can feel the presence’s location, but he can’t see anything. Thick clouds hang low over the island, making sure he can only see the mountains around him.

He's never felt a presence that strong. The metal must either be of a special quality, imbued with some type of Haki or devil fruit he’s unfamiliar with, or just be really incredibly large.

But maybe he can use this phenomenon to his advantage. Looking back, there’s nothing but the empty, wide ocean around him. Not even any signs of the Victoria Punk having been wrecked, no debris swimming around and most worryingly, none of his crewmates either.

He focuses on pulling the metal towards him again, and just like he suspected, he’s actually the one being pulled towards it. He intensifies the pull, until it’s so strong that it actually starts to overcome gravity in pulling him upwards.

This might be a terrible idea, but what has he got to lose at this point? He’s barely alive as it is, if he doesn’t find help soon that’ll be it for him.

Given his state of exhaustion it’s difficult, making sure the magnetic pull is strong enough to pull him in while also not crashing into any of the ice mountains and blocks around him in his flight. He has to take longer and longer breaks as his journey continues.

Eventually he’s made it far enough for the clouds not to intercept his vision anymore. An involuntary tremble of a mix of both excitement and fear runs through him as he views the large longsword before him in the distance.

Large isn’t even the right expression. It’s so huge that Kidd has to crane his neck to follow its sheath upwards, and even then the continuation of the sword is obstructed by green foliage.

Just where the hell is he? Is he even still alive? Is this all just a dream or a fever hallucination caused by the severity of his injuries? There’s no way a sword that large should exist. Because if there is a sword of that size, there would need to be a forge large enough to house it. Beside the smith needing to make it and a wielder to carry it.

Even giants wouldn’t be cut out for the task, and Kidd absolutely hates how small and insignificant this huge-ass longsword is making him feel.

But nonetheless he carries on, letting himself fly towards the large sword which he later learns goes by the name of “Sumarrbrandr”, a sword which would shape his destiny more than he’d ever have had the gall to imagine.

Chapter Text

“Ow!”, he yells, immediately drawing back the finger which he’d gotten squeezed in between two metal parts of his newest invention. He curses as he puts his finger under freezing cold running water to soothe the pain. The piece he’s currently working on has been incredibly hard to make, but it’s all going to be worth it. Now if these damn joints just finally stopped popping off…

Three hours later, he’s bathed in sweat but entirely content with the end results. He tests out the fluidity of the motions before making sure to pack his newest invention carefully, after all it’s a gift for a very special person and he definitely doesn’t want anything to fall apart on his way to her.

When he arrives, he does so at the same time as Killer. They’d both ridden their old run-down bicycles here. Killer also has a big package with him, but by the smell of it, it’s more of the edible kind.

While Killer is part of a rival gang on the island, Kidd doesn’t really dislike him. Killer’s pretty cool, actually, Kidd just can’t say that to his face or he’ll think he’s all that.

After a short dispute of who gets to go through the door first, they finally arrive at the hideout of the one and only Victoria. This place is a peace-zone between all the four gangs led by Kidd, Killer, Heat and Wire on the island, where Victoria reigns supreme.

Kidd and Killer, who are both in love with her, have been trying their damned hardest to get her to join their respective gangs, but to no avail so far. Every single time Kidd asks her to join his gang – and he asks her that a lot – she says that him and Killer should merge their groups, and then she’ll join. Which of course Kidd can’t do. Asking Killer to do that would basically mean submitting and asking anything of Killer. Which would put Kidd in a lower position than Killer, and there’s no way he’s gonna have anyone above him in the hierarchy.

Not even if said person makes some killer food. Pun intended, or so Killer says every time. Kidd rolls his eyes each time he has to hear that, but somehow that bastard makes Victoria laugh with his cheesy lines. 

Which is totally stupid. Kidd should be the one making her laugh, not that freaking long-haired, blonde good-for-nothing. Seriously, what self-respecting man has long hair like that? Totally stupid. Not that he's ever gonna say that again.

The first time he'd done that, after getting into a huge fist-fight with each other Killer hadn't shown up at their meetings for a whole week, after which he'd reappeared with hair that he insisted he hadn't cut, but it was pretty obvious to everyone that he had. 

The peace between them is rather fragile, but for the most part, they manage to get along. Even though they're constantly fighting over it, they're somewhat okay with sharing Victoria's affections. Begrudgingly. Kind of. 

________________________________________________________________________

But things change with time, as they always do. A group of criminals docks at the island, trying to take control over Kidd's island. Well, the island he technically shares with Killer, Heat and Wire. But still, mostly Kidd's island. He's the coolest out of the four of them, after all. 

Things take a turn for the worse as the newly arrived criminals start terrorizing the towns of the island. Kidd calls in for an emergency meeting with his gang, receiving intel on these new threats from his trusty scouts. 

The criminals don't seem particularly organized, but they have the numbers, plus they're all grown-ups, which gives them a boost in strength over his own group. It might be time to do something he'd much rather avoid. 

________________________________________________________________________

Once they've all assembled around the table at Victoria's place, Kidd stands up and speaks up. He fixes Victoria, Killer, Heat and Wire with a passionate glare. "We need to do something. These criminals are terrorizing the towns. Towns that are ours to terrorize. Not theirs. I propose an alliance. We can't just stand and watch as they ruin everything." 

Heat and Wire exchange a look, nodding in agreement. They had already spoken to one another about something of the sort, but hadn't been brave enough to approach the oftentimes volatile Kidd.

Killer frowns. "An alliance. Then who's gonna call the shots? One person will have to. If we just command our respective groups on our own it'll be chaos."

Kidd immediately preens. "Well, obviously that should be me." Heat and Wire speak up loudly in protest and everyone starts arguing until Victoria slams her hands on the table. "Shut up! All of you." 

The boys fall silent but keep glaring at one another. Victoria sighs. "You're the same as always. Bickering and bickering for no good reason at all. I'm gonna call the shots." 

Everyone turns and stares at her in complete and utter bewilderment. Heat sputters. "B-but... you're a girl. What do you know about fighting?", prompting him to immediately receive two hits from both Kidd and Killer who glare at him furiously. 

Killer: "She's twice the man you are, bastard!"

Wire tries to deescalate. "Calm down, both of you. What Heat's trying to say is that all four of us have experience in leading our gangs. Victoria doesn't." 

Victoria nods. "Yeah, but while that's true, me not leading one of your gangs means that I don't have my head full of nonsensical competition, like all of you do. And what we need to beat these little shits is unity. Which none of you are capable of, I'm pretty sure. Hence I'll be our shot-caller."

Kidd clearly wants to protest, but he doesn't know how to do it without being as offensive as Heat was, so he stays silent, his head progressively turning more and more red. 

________________________________________________________________________

Things somewhat work out. The four gangs manage to unite and defeat the intruders, but Victoria takes a serious hit during the course of the battle because she had insisted fighting at the front like all of the other gang leaders. Beyond countless broken bones she loses sight in her left eye, giving her a nasty scar right on her face. 

Her recovery is slow and gruelling, but she does recover, much to the relief of Kidd and Killer. 

She starts to hate the way she looks now, trying out some eyepatches to cover up until finally deciding to wear a helmet instead. Kidd never tires of telling her that she's still beautiful even with the large scar and her blind eye, now fogged over and staring into nothingness, but Victoria doesn't listen. 

Killer tells her the same things, but once she decides to don the helmet, he gives up on trying to fix her self-esteem, and instead makes another helmet just like hers, which he then starts wearing. He makes some for Kidd, Heat and Wire as well. Heat and Wire wear them at first but grow tired of it, while Kidd doesn't want to hide his face away like a coward in the first place. 

As the island returns to a somewhat peaceful state, Kidd manages to convince everybody to start a pirate crew and leave home behind. 

Seeing as he'd been the only one strong enough to take down the leader of the invaders Kidd gets to become captain, while Victoria becomes first mate, with Killer, Heat and Wire all getting to be officers. Kidd promises them that once they're a big crew they'll get to lead the divisions of their grand fleet. Though he makes Killer promise that he'll always stay on the main ship, because he'd rather not be missing out on his awesome cooking skills. Or his best friend, but that part is left unsaid. 

Besides, they are both kind of dating Victoria now, so it'd be unfair to send Killer off elsewhere. As much as Kidd wants her all for himself, he cares for his best friend way too much to want to ruin things between them. 

Victoria undergoes plenty of training to become strong enough to be worthy of the position Kidd bestowed upon her. 

But even with plenty of training under her belt, she still doesn't take the helmet off. 

Her and Killer become known as the massacre soldiers, a formidable duo of sword fighters that tend to fight back-to-back, only surpassed in strength by their captain alone. 

Chapter Text

They've made it to the New World. It's been one huge hassle trying to get here, but they're finally here now. 

Kidd is currently crucifying some moron who had wanted to go back home from the New World. 

What had even been his plan? Take the perilous journey through Fishman Island once more without anyone to coat his ship for him? Beg the nobles for a safe passage across the Red Line? 

What a moron. Kidd's basically doing him a favor by crucifying him. 

Victoria's off to the side, drinking beer through a straw going through one of the holes in her helmet. Killer's sitting beside her in silent companionship. 

Kidd lets out a sinister laugh as his victim screams out in pain. Victoria rolls her eyes and sighs.

"You just have to be this loud, don’t you?" 

Kidd frowns and strolls over. "What's wrong? You don't usually mind this kinda stuff." He waves his hand, gesturing to the man flailing on the crucifix. 

Victoria shrugs. "I don't care, I just don't understand why you have to be so damn loud about it. Just get it over with. It's not like you've gotta put a show on for anybody."

Kidd exchanges a quick glance with Killer. Usually Victoria would be the first to terrorize victims with him. 

Killer scoots a little closer to her on the bench and puts a reassuring hand on her back. "Talk to us, Vicky." 

She grumbles for a bit, but eventually relents. "Fine. It's just... another headache. I swear there's something wrong with these islands." 

Kidd and Killer exchange another, longer glance. She's not being doing well ever since they entered the New World, the different magnetic fields of the islands somehow affecting her body. 

Once he'd found out about it, Kidd had been doing research by raiding libraries as well as torturing scientists of islands they came across for information, but to no avail so far, at least not in that regard. He has been learning a lot of really neat things about island magnetism that he's still working on integrating into his devil fruit usage in the future. 

Killer sighs. "None of the other crew members have been experiencing this. But you don't have a devil fruit, so I don't get how you would have any sort of connection to these islands. Hell, if it is even the islands. Maybe it's something else altogether." 

Dive, who's been coming closer, beer mug in hand, chimes in. "A lot of the boys got diver's disease from our trip up from Fishman Island. I've managed to treat them, but maybe Vic here has something similar. It only started after we entered the New World, after all." 

Victoria grunts and shrugs, dismissing their concern. "Whatever. I'll be okay. Not like some headache's gonna hold me back. Just stop being so fucking loud all the time and I'll be fine." 

She heads off towards her tent, leaving her two worried boyfriends and the crew's doctor behind. Kidd sighs. "God dammit. We need her to get better soon. Things are dangerous enough as is without our girl haivng some mystery disease." 

Killer nods. "Maybe you should give her a break from being first mate for a while, let me take over temporarily. Maybe she's just stressed? I don't fucking know." 

Dive snickers. "She'll bite both of your heads off if you do that." 

Kidd snaps at her. "Yeah well then you recommend something if you know better." 

Dive falls silent at that and quickly scoots back to the rest of the crew. 

Kidd sighs. "Fuck, Killer. I hate not knowing what's gotten Vicky down so bad. How can I protect her from mysterious headaches? I can't fight those." 

Killer moves over to sit beside him, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders. "We'll figure it out eventually. I'm sure of it. Until then, lessen her duties a bit. Let's see if her being less stressed makes anything of a difference. And if nothing else helps..." 

Kidd looks at him scrutinizingly, trying to see through that damned helmet. "Then what?" 

"Then we should get in contact with that other Supernova. The Surgeon of Death. Let's face it, Dive doesn't have that much of a clue of what she's doing, she's never had any proper training, her knowledge is purely from combat experience. Maybe someone with actual medical training can figure this out." 

It goes over about as well as he expected. Kidd jerks up to stand upright, spilling some of his beer through the quick motion. "Beg that spineless bastard for help? No way. He's become a government dog recently. One of the seven warlords. No way am I going to crawl to him begging for help. Over my dead body." 

Killer sighs. "What's more important - your pride or Victoria's health?" 

Kidd grumbles for a while but eventually settles back down. "Hmpf. Maybe if we just send him a message asking to pay for his services. Like a neutral business deal. Not begging that asshole for shit." 

Killer chuckles faintly. "I never said you should." 

Kidd smacks him on the head. "Yeah well whatever. Hopefully Vicky stops getting those damn headaches so we don't need to get in contact with him in the first place." 

Chapter Text

The first island they had encountered after leaving their home island had been one situated in the South Blue. 

Victoria had had a lot of pent up frustration from having to lay still and heal for the past two weeks (during which they'd waited back on their home island, they didn't want Victoria to miss out on the joys of her first voyage across the sea.)

Once they'd finally arrived at their first island, everyone steps off their small nutshell of a boat with sighs of relief. They're all pretty glad that they hadn't had any storms seeing as the small boat would have tipped over the second the waves got too large. 

Building a new one or improving their current boat was the first directive the newly formed Kidd pirates agreed on. 

While Kidd knew how to build a lot of things with metal, he didn't know much about how to build a ship. Heat thankfully did, and through the flame-spitting ability he was born with he made sure to char the surface of the wood they built with to carbonize it. 

Kidd grumbled plenty about knowing better about ship building than Heat did (which he didn't), his ego didn't take too kindly to having to accept help, especially with Heat being a former rival gang leader. 

The Kidd pirates would need a bit of time to really grow together as a crew and start trusting each other. 

They ransacked the local workshops for the materials they needed, giving everyone who tried to stand in their way a rough beating until they were left alone to take whatever they wanted. 

Eventually, Killer says what they've all been thinking. "We need an actual ship-wright. We can't just wing this. If our ship is no good, we're as good as dead out on the open sea. Especially once we get to the Grand Line." 

Victoria giggles, the sound echoing in her helmet. "You guys are all idiots. You've been so hell-bent on building your own ship, you didn't even stop to think of the easiest solution." 

Everyone bristles at the insult, but Heat and Wire have learned their lesson from ever insulting Victoria again. (Even playfully, a story the bruises on their body tell all too well.) 

Kidd huffs. "Then what's the great plan, Vic?" 

Victoria shrugs and gestures towards the harbor. "Easy. We wait for the next big ship to dock, and then we steal it." 

Wire pipes up. "You sure this is a good idea? What if it's a marine ship?" 

Victoria rolls her eyes. "Oh, grow some balls already, Wire. We're pirates now." 

The next ship that docks at the harbor of the island is neither a marine nor a pirate ship, but a luxury cruise ship. It has a large swan head as its figurehead. Stealing it from the civilians isn't so hard, the leftover employees are quickly thrown overboard as the Kidd pirates make themselves comfortable on their new ship. 

Kidd immediately sets out to change the swan figurehead ("That's not manly enough!") into a dragon, although it mostly just ends up looking like a ugly snake-bird with scales and bulging eyes. 

The five of them argue a lot over what their jolly roger is supposed to look like. 

Kidd wants nuts and bolts, Killer wants his and Victoria's helmet and some blades, Heat wants fire and Wire wants some wires on their logo. Victoria is fine with anything so long as it has a really cool sword on it.

They end up all painting the flag on the main mast together, so the end result is completely unrecognizable. While they had all agreed on Kidd's design in the end - with him being captain - they'd all secretly decided that they were going to paint their own design. The end result being one large mess, that is sure not to intimidate any foes. But maybe confuse them into a strategic retreat? Or so Wire suggests. 

Chapter Text

Quincy slams her cards down on the deck and yells. "ARGH! Can you just NOT cheat for once in your damn life?" 

Pound shrugs and grins at her, not an ounce of regret on his face. "You have no proof." 

Quincy throws two of her throwing knives, aiming them at the sleeves of his sweater, making his ace cards fall out as the tips of the sleeves are cut off. 

Pound's grin widens. "Huh! I wonder how those got there? That's weird." 

Quincy gets up and yells at Victoria who's standing on deck a couple meters away. "Yo, Vics! You're first mate, get this lousy cheater to actually abide by rules!" 

Victoria comes over but doesn't seem to want to do anything. "He's your man. You gotta raise your boys well." 

UK, another one of the card game participants, giggles. "Yeah. You gotta do it like Victoria. She's got captain and Killer at her beck and call." 

Pound grins, gets up as well and hugs Quincy from behind, mumbling into her ear. "Y'aint ever taming me, babe." 

She grunts and rams the back of her elbow into his stomach. "That's for cheating. You're such a crappy loser." 

Pound doubles over and clutches his stomach. "OW! Fucking hell, Quince!" 

Quincy and Victoria high five each other and head off, talking with each other about how their boys barely listen to anything but direct violence. 

Chapter Text

Whereever the Kidd pirates go, they bring chaos. Be it due to them raiding local shops for useful gadgets and berri, or due to them torturing and killing civilians. 

Right now, most of the crew are in the local renowned restaurant. Jaguar, Hip and Mosh had a lot of fun beating up the place's security, and now the crew's settled into the place comfortably, legs on the table, feasting on the dishes that the chefs and waiters keep cooking for them. 

Pound and Killer are in the kitchen together with the chefs to make sure they don't rebel, poison the pirates or run away. Killer is just silently browsing through the local recipe books while Pound keeps making comments that unsettle the chefs greatly. 

"I'm sure your head would look good on one of those fancy platters." 

"How about we use your blood as a spice? Might make your crappy cooking taste a bit better." 

"Oi, you almost chopped your finger off. Are you struggling to concentrate? Are you scared? Are you a big coward?" And then he distracts the chef in question, who's trembling in fear already, by stepping up right behind him to intimidate him even more. Pound's never been shy of physical contact. 

Killer, busy scouring through the recipes doesn't bother correcting his behaviour either. 

Meanwhile, Victoria and Quincy are strolling through the town, exploring the other sights. They come across a large tent with the large letters "MADAME FORTUNA" written on top. Quincy scoffs. "Wow. How clichée. How hard is it to come up with a good name when lies and manipulation are your entire business?" 

Victoria stops in front of the tent, giving Quincy a sharp look. "I'd like to go in." 

"Seriously? Do you believe this kind of superstitious crap?" 

Victoria shrugs. "Eh. I bet most of them are scammers, but you never know, right? What with devil fruits and haki being a thing. Maybe there's actual fortune tellers who have such insane observation haki they can see the future." 

Quincy groans. "Ever since Kidd read up on haki that's all you guys talk about. Jeez. Damn tryhards." 

Victoria immediately defends him. "Oi, he's our captain. He needs to know his stuff. You know damn well he takes our safety seriously. So be fucking grateful." 

Quincy rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, princess." She loves mockingly using Kidd's nickname for Victoria whenever the two bicker. 

"Go on ahead without me. I'm not asking you to do this with me.", Victoria orders, stepping inside the tent. 

Quincy sighs. She'd love to do just that, but she knows that if she runs into Kidd or Killer and they find out she left Victoria behind on her own, they'll have her head on a spike. Figuratively. Maybe literally? She's not so sure with those protective psychos. 

They do trust Victoria to handle herself, or so they say, but they've instructed the crew to protect Victoria with their lives. Which is totally favouritism, but noone's really brave enough to argue with Kidd or Killer. 

Grumbling to herself about her crew being led by absolute morons, Quincy steps into the tent after Victoria. 

The place looks pretty expensive, with velvety walls and carpets laying around. The walls of the tent seem to be rather thick, as it's pitch black inside, safe for the small table shortly above the floor, dimly lit up by a table. 

Of course there's a clichée glass ball and a set of tarot cards laying on the side of the fortune teller. Quincy scoffs, already thinking to herself that this must be another charlatan.

Victoria's already sat down on her knees in front of the fortune teller. She seems suprisingly calm and almost solemn, a state Quincy has never seen her in before. Not that it's easy to read Victoria's moods whenever she has the helmet on. Which is practically always. 

When Quincy steps closer, she finally gets to see the fortune teller, previously having been blinded by the candle right in front of their face. 

Not that their face is visible in the first place. It's hidden away behind a mask, and a creepy one at that. 

The eyes of the mask look like somebody took a pencil and drew manic circles over and over and over until the mask broke in at the center. 

The mouth of the mask is large and unnatural, teeth painted on with plenty of lipstick present around the masks lips. 

But the probably worst part is the stench. Quincy would have expected for a fortune teller to have some sort of scented candles around, some decently smelling herbs, or just, anything appeasing to clients. 

Instead it stinks worse than it does in the boys' crew quarters (and that's to say the smell is so bad you could pass out from it if you had a weak stomach). 

It stinks of decay, rotten eggs and like the fortune teller hasn't bathed in at least one year. 

Quincy is absolutely disgusted, but Victoria seems almost entranced as she's waiting for the fortune teller to speak. 

At least the voice of the fortune teller sounds like what you'd expect, a deep, velvety female voice. "Take off your mask, child. Bare your soul to Madame Fortuna." 

To Quincy's endless surprise, Victoria abliges. Not even a word of protest leaves her mouth as she takes off the mask she's been wearing for a few months now. 

Even in the dim light Quincy can clearly see the abhorrent scar marring Victoria's left side of her face. It's the first time Quincy is seeing Victoria without a mask since Quincy only joined the crew two islands ago, so she can't help but gasp in horror at how bad it looks. 

She can only imagine how bad it must have looked immediately after the injury. The skin is still red and welted, the stitches on the outlines of it ugly and obviously not done by a professional. 

Quincy feels sad for Victoria. She's always admired the fierce woman, but Victoria must be feeling absolutely terrible about herself to have been hiding her face from her own crew for this long. Quince wonders if she even takes the mask off when in private with her two boyfriends. 

And yet, despite apparently being so eager to hide her face, she's taken the helmet off in front of this stranger. It automatically makes Quincy grip her throwing knives. Never know when foul play is present. 

The fortune teller herself doesn't give an audible reaction to Victoria's looks. She puts her hands on the table and demands: "Give me your hand, child". 

The hands of the fortune teller are decidedly old and wrinkled, sporting ugly dark-green splotches that look very unhealthy. Quincy's starting to assume that the foul stench in the air might in fact be portruding from the fortune teller. 

Once more, Victoria obliges wordlessly, holding out her hand for the strange woman to take. 

The terifying mask leans closely over Victoria's hand, her long, slender fingers stroking Victoria's hand in a way that makes the hair on Quincy's neck stand up. 

"Ahhh yes, my child. You are with death." 

Victoria tenses up, but her voice is unmistakably shaky as she asks. "With death? Explain yourself, old hag." But the insult lacks the bite it would usually have. 

"Your life line. It's thinner than I've ever seen before. You're not supposed to be alive. Death will come to you soon." 

Victoria jerks her hand back towards her own body. "That's bullshit. I'm young. Not gonna just topple over and die." Quincy's pretty sure she can detect fear in her first mate's voice. 

"Fear not, my child. Death is but the next step. The stars cannot discern whether it is your death that will come to you or the death of one of those two men close to you." 

That's not something Victoria would ever tolerate hearing. It sounds like a barely veiled threat against Kidd and Killer, so she pounces on the fortune teller, knocking aside the table and candle to hold a blade against her throat. "How do you know about the two men?" 

The fortune teller cackles, a haunting noise that makes Quincy and Victoria even more uncomfortable. "I know more about you than you know about yourself, Victoria Shiruton Doruyanaika." 

Victoria flinches, accidentally drawing blood with the blade. "How the fuck do you know my name?" 

The woman cackles again. "I know everything. That's why you came to me, after all. You know I have the answers. You can feel it too, can't you? The omen of death looming over your head." 

Victoria stands up abruptly, pushing the fortune teller away with her foot. "Quincy. Come. We're done here." 

It's becoming rather urgent that they leave, granted that one of the carpets and now the walls of the tent have caught fire from the candle toppling over. 

Quincy looks at the woman laying in the corner. "Are we-"

Victoria cuts her off with a wave of her hand. "Let's get out of here." 

The fortune teller doesn't make a move to stand up, just laying there, keeping up her ramblings. "Deny it all you want child. Your demise is imminent. Think of me, in those final moments. I will welcome you into the afterlife." 

Quincy and Victoria head out of the tent quickly, the entire fabric now on fire. 

Quincy tries to peer inside but they have to step back to avoid the smoke getting into her lungs. 

Something inside the tent explodes, and they can hear the fortune teller scream in pain. Quincy is about to run back inside and kill the woman to not have to listen to her screams anymore at least, when the pained screaming suddenly turns into loud, manic laughter. 

"VICTORIA!", the fortune teller yells between her fits of manic laughter. "Your omen of death has already brought death to this island! You will join me soon!" 

Quincy drags Victoria away by the arm. Victoria seems somewhat dazed, eyes glazed over. 

Quincy advises her to put her helmet back on before somebody sees her, but when Victoria slowly starts to want to put it on, Quincy's suddenly knocked back in a flurry of red hair and a waving black jacket. 

It's Kidd, quickly holding onto Victoria's arms, shaking her slightly, worry flashing in his eyes. "Vicky. Vicky, what happened? Why aren't you wearing your helmet? I saw the explosion." 

Victoria shakes her head. "I'm okay. Don't worry about it." 

Quincy, gathering herself and getting back off the ground from the rude shove, scoffs. "Had a freaky run-in with a fortune teller. They knew Victoria's full name. And about you and Killer." 

Kidd's body tenses, not liking this at all. "That's not good. Quince, get everybody. We're leaving this island. If they have intel like that on us without us even having bounty posters yet, this might be some form of trap. Make sure everyone's accounted for." 

Quincy heads off to do just that. 

Kidd, who's a bit unsettled by Victoria's dazed expression and getting to see her without her helmet for once, pulls her closer and kisses her desperately, trying to snap her out of it in the only way he knows how (that doesn't involve slapping her, at least). 

It's like he can feel the life return to her during the kiss. Eventually she breaks it off and shakes her head as if to clear some bad thoughts. "Huh. Sorry, Kidd. Didn't mean to scare ya." 

Kidd grunts. "Yeah. Don't do that again. Fucking hell. You okay? You didn't get hurt?" 

Victoria shakes her head. "Purely emotional damage." 

She musters a small smile when she sees Kidd's furious expression. "I'm kidding. That fortune teller just seemed a bit too legit. Creeped me out a good deal." 

Kidd nods and looks at the tent of the fortune teller, now reduced to a pile of burning ash on the ground. "Not very good at her job if she couldn't foresee her tent burn down. And she was still in there? Didn't try to get out?" 

Victoria shrugs, before donning her helmet again. "She was. We heard her screams. It was creepy as hell." 

Kidd nods and grabs Victoria's hand roughly. "Come on. Back to the ship we go. This place is starting to creep me out too." 

Thankfully the Kidd pirates had all managed to get off of the island unscathed. Kidd mentioned Victoria's strange adventure to Killer not long after, and it made the two of them even more protective towards her. 

Chapter Text

One morning, as Killer and Victoria wake up next to one another (Kidd having been particularly grouchy and not wanting to join them the previous night), Killer wants to address a topic that has been weighing heavily on his mind. 

"Vic. Do you still feel uncomfortable showing your face around the crew? You know you can trust everyone here."

She sighs, looking up at him, sleep still heavy in her eyes. "I don't want any sympathy." 

He caresses her face, thumb lightly grazing over her scar. "You know that they won't pity you. Noone even talks about Heat's scars, and he has plenty." 

She huffs. "Are you asking me because you're sick of wearing the helmet too? I never asked you to. You know that." 

Killer shrugs and smiles faintly. "I don't really mind. I'm used to it at this point. I just want you to be happy with yourself. That includes your looks." 

He supports his words by planting a light kiss on her scar. 

She lays her head back down, leaning her forehead against his chest. "It's gotten better. I was thinking to maybe stop wearing the helmet soon." 

K: "Good. I'm glad." 

V: "You're starting to like it for yourself, aren't you? I saw your reaction when those marines mocked you the other day. You practically went feral on them." 

Killer sighs. "Yeah. I can't stand that they all think they have any right to make fun of us. Just cause we're a new crew."

"It wasn't just that. They were particularly insulting you and your looks. Kidd and I love your looks, and we're the only ones that matter in this. Well, besides yourself." 

Killer shudders involuntarily. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not wearing it around you and Kidd, I just- I can't help it. My negative thoughts spiral every time someone insults my face and my- my laugh." 

"Oh, Killer." Victoria doesn't say much else for the rest of the morning, just showering him with affection, trying to show him just how beautiful she thinks he is through her love alone. 

Chapter Text

Sometimes, the Kidd pirates don't attack the civilians on the islands they dock at. Well, not at first at least. 

Sometimes they start things off by giving a concert. Which a lot of the folks living at these islands are too scared to attend, so the crew members head out to force them to watch their concert. 

Killer's the band's drummer, Kidd's on the electronic bass, Victoria and Heat are the lead singers, Quincy and Kidd are backup singers and ocassionally UK will come in on the saxophone. 

Mostly it's just about having fun and getting to fuck around with the type of music these punks like. 

Pound is usually the one responsible for setting up the stage and making sure everything's going to work fine for the Kidd Pirate's next concert. 

Eustass Kidd Playlist in case you'd like to listen to it! 

https://youtu.be/GeluACGmvl4?si=pBN4p9CvHJVM2D4i

Spotify variant: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3IIPOD2kRplW8GixP91FyQ?si=4tBrM04CR3CtD_iKAD5tJw

Chapter Text

So many preparations have been made. The Kidd Pirates have locked Kidd in his room so he can't see anything until everything's ready.
Which he's been rather mad about, but none of his complaining and cursing made any difference.

Seeing as they're all still kids, it can be very hard to reach the ceiling to put decorations up, so they use Wire's taller stature a lot to have him hang things high up and when they need to go even higher, Heat's usually the first to sit on his shoulders and put the decorations up.

Killer has been hard at work baking a cake for the past few days. It's going to be human-sized and resemble a large, open treasure crate with "coins" - golden-coloured baked goods - spilling out.
It's the most difficult cake Killer has ever set out to bake, and he's been laying awake at night worrying about the cake's structure collapsing in on itself or his greedy crewmates not being able to keep their fingers off of it.

Victoria, in the meanwhile, has been making sure to go ahead and raid the local junkyards on the islands the Kidd Pirates have docked at to get the best and most useful stuff before Kidd got his grubby hands on it. Because of that, she now has a large collection of gifts to give to Kidd (she's even sold some of the parts to her less-prepared crewmates, making good profit off of their lack of planning). 

Pound and Quincy - as some of the more responsible and mature members of the Kidd Pirates - have been tasked with organizing everything for Kidd's birthday. They have a whole schedule of games planned as well as an outing by their band with songs that the siblings Hip and Hop wrote for the special ocassion. Usually planning and structure is very much not the Kidd Pirates' approach when it comes to partying, but they're all dead set on making it work for once to make their beloved captain and good friend happy. 

(talking about the big day tomorrow in bed at night)

Chapter Text

Kidd's birthday is a roaring success. 

No matter if Quincy's and Pound's planning was mostly for naught and the band members all got so drunk that they totally butchered all songs but the first (the first song being "Happy Birthday", they couldn't possibly butcher that one!). 

Kidd had been like a dog possessed by a scent when they've finally let him out of his room come midnight and the day of his birthday. 

They'd all wanted to congratulate him but he'd just gruffly thanked them abruptly and then went off, nostrils flared, searching for Killer and the huge cake he already knew he'd made. 

Unfortunately, he had startled Killer so much by creeping up on him shifting around some decorations on the cake that Killer had almost fallen into the cake himself. 

Kidd had managed to grab Killer and pull him back just in time. Killer would have blamed himself for ruining the cake for years to come if he hadn't, even though Kidd mostly just appreciates the amount of effort put in - and whether it's going to taste good or not! 

It does in fact taste amazing. Kidd doesn't even know where to start eating - whether to eat the cake in form of a huge treasure crate, or to eat the baked goods pouring out of it first, but Killer had cut him down a slice of the crate and grinned that he should just see which one he liked better for now. 

Once Kidd's stomach had been sated, he'd finally felt ready to welcome all of the congratulations, so everyone wished him a happy birthday, even the ones that had already. 

Kidd was never a tolerable person to be around when he was hungry, and the other Kid Pirate kids respected that. 

They all give him a big hug - except for Victoria and Killer, whom he receives a kiss from (Mosh tries to get a kiss as well, but he smacks him down quickly) - and then everyone starts talking all at once about what decorations they've put up, wanting to show all of their craftwork off all at once like the proud children that they are. 

Frankly they're all talking over one another and Kidd can barely make out what anyone is saying, but once he's got a beer and his birthday cake in his hand he's more than happy to just grin and nod at whatever enthusiastic story his friends are telling him. 

Once they've all had a slice of cake, Kidd is led to a large table with copious amounts of presents on it. It's huge, and he's not sure he's ever been gifted so much stuff in his life. 

He gets super weird about it, continously saying that nobody had to get him anything and that they're stupid idiots for getting him so many gifts, but the blush on his cheek and the sparkle in his eyes betrays his absolute excitement at having so many gifts to open. 

Every new treasure he uncovers under the wrappings gets a squeal followed by a manly "Damn, this is kinda nice" together with one out of various insults towards whoever gifted him the gift in question. 

Overall, the birthday party is chaotic as all hell, but Kidd loves it to bits. While he's not so good at showing gratitude, he couldn't feel any more of it if he tried. 

When the day grows late and the crew plays a bit of spin the bottle and Wire dares him to make out with Victoria, the two start snogging like there's noone else in the room. 

That they've both already drunk plenty of beer definitely adds to their lack of shame, and the other participants of the game just start to play on without them as Kidd ends up falling asleep snoring like a chainsaw on Victoria's lap, completely spent, content and happy with the world. 

Chapter Text

The day after Kidd's birthday is marked as "hangover day" in the calendars of the Kidd pirates. Well, that and every other day following one of the crew's birthdays, but they always celebrate Kidd's birthday the most. 

It's not that they appreciate one another any less, but he's their captain, after all. He's the greatest and coolest and so his party needs to be the greatest and coolest as well. 

Cleaning up the mess of the party, however? Neither cool, nor great. 

Which is why nobody ever bothers doing so. 

Victoria lets them get through with it on the day after the party - feeling the effects of the hangover plenty herself - but on the second day she starts kicking the lazy butts of her crewmates and starts assigning clean-up duties for everyone. 

The one's that grumble the most have to do the most work, Victoria tends to be a little evil in dishing out cleaning chores. 

Because of this, Killer usually ends up with the least amount of work assigned to himself, but he doesn't mind so much as some of the other crewmembers, so he can usually be seen helping out even when he's already done with his own load. 

Kidd, being the birthday boy, gets to do nothing whatsoever. Victoria did get him a silly cheerleader outfit for him to cheer on the crew while they work, however. It looks absolutely ridiculous and at first he yelled at her to put that crap on herself, but then he got curious how it'd look. 

It's completely in blue, so it's not a total pink embarassment at least, but did Victoria really have to give him a cheerleader skirt? Looks so stupid. 

But when he does put it on he finds that Killer is very much into the outfit and will start doing even more niceties for him than usual, and Kidd is certainly not above using Killer's new-found simping to his own advantage. 

Later on in the night, when the three are all snuggled up together and Killer's already asleep, Kidd asks Victoria. "Did you know? That Killer would be so into the outfit." 

Victoria chuckles. "Yeah. He mentioned it to me while he was drunk a while ago. Though he said he wanted to see me in that sort of outfit, I didn't know if he'd be into you wearing it too." 

Kidd snorts. "Damn good idea, Vicky. Might need to put it on more frequently if it makes him so happy. But don't tell him I said that." 

She presses a kiss to his cheek. "I won't. Maybe once all the cleaning's done we should both wear matching outfits. Although he might faint if he sees that." 

Kidd laughs quietly. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." 

Chapter Text

Kidd's been having a crappy day. His boss made him stay at the garage late, so he missed the football match watch party that had been organized between him and his three best friends. 

The fact that they sent him images of them having a good time - trying to include him - did not improve his mood in the slightest either.

When he gets off of work and sits down in his car, he's eager to at least get home, pop a few beers and relax to forget about this shitty day. 

So when he turns the key in the ignition and isn't rewarded with the loud roar of the engine, his mood sours even more. 

He tries a few times before stepping out of the car and kicking a trashbin standing nearby, loudly yelling "FUCK!". 

Sure, he's a car mechanic, but he just can't be fucking arsed right now. He kicks the trashbin a few more times before looking under the hood of the car to try and figure out what's wrong. 

He can't find anything immediately amiss but assumes that it might be the car's battery which has caused him a lot of grief before.

It's a cold winter night, and his fingers go numb quickly as he replaces his car's battery with one from the garage. He rubs them together to create some friction and warmth, but it barely helps. 

It has been snowing since the early afternoon. Kidd hates the cold. He hates wet things, he hates cold things and he hates freezing. Winter is his personal enemy. 

Even with a replacement battery, the car won't come to life. Kidd curses loudly once again. It's already been dark out for quite a few hours and he's sick of freezing.

He grabs his bag from the back of the car to get his phone and call a taxi. But the battery's empty. Of course it's fucking empty.

Fucking Heat, sending him all those pictures from the football match that he missed. Well, really it's the fault of the fucking internet provider for being so damn garbage. If downloading things didn't take a damn eternity then his phone wouldn't always run out of battery so quickly either. 

Kidd's the only person left working in the garage at this hour, so there's noone else he can ask to phone a taxi for him either. 

At least he's familiar with this town. He's been living here for a whole nineteen years already, after all. Born and raised in this moderately small town called Kuttorini, he's been aching to make enough money to just leave this place behind. 

Unfortunately it is still a small town, so the only place still open at this time of day is the gas station - too far to walk as it's located outside of town - and the local pub. It's still gonna be a good 25 minutes on foot, but it's not like he has any choice. The garage's rooms are all too large to properly heat up and the building isn't isolated well enough to keep the cold out. There's no way he can sleep here tonight, unless he wants to become a popsicle. 

Worst thing is, he left his gloves at home today as well. They'd been in the washing machine yesterday and not fully dried today yet so he'd left them at home in the morning. A decision he greatly regrets now, hands shoved into his jacket's pockets to try and preserve any sort of warmth that might still be in them. 

Once he's made the necessary money, he'll go south. Somewhere where you can't even tell its winter. Not this stupid north of the country with its mountain-adjacency and awfully cold temperatures. 

He wishes Heat was here now. That man always carried an extensive amount of pocket warmers around during the cold times and he was always happy to share them with his friends. 

The guys aren't even gonna worry about him still not coming home to their shared living space. They'll just assume he's meeting up with his stupid girlfriend. He could freeze to death and they'd never know until he thawed out in spring. That'd be one helluva surprise for whoever found him first. 

He shakes his head, trying to shake off the morbid thoughts. Get a fucking grip Eustass, he tells himself.  

Chapter Text

He steps through the streets, upset with the world and the cursed snow he has to step through, draining his energy. 

But the worst is yet to come. When he gets to the pub, no lights are on. Everything is eerily quiet, just as it has been on his way here. He's barely seen any folks out and about, but no wonder with how much it's snowing. Any reasonable person would be at home in front of their fireplace at this time and hour. 

He tries the door to the pub, but it won't budge. There's a paper hanging on the inside of one of the windows which he steps closer to read. 

"Closed over the christmas holidays." 

Are you fucking kidding me, he thinks. Closed over the christmas holidays? That's the perfect time for a pint with friends once you're sick of sitting on top of each other's heads during the national holidays. Shitty fucking pub management. What the hell's he supposed to do now? Feels like the entire goddamn world is out to get him today. 

He bangs his fist against the door a few times forcefully, hoping against hope that there might be somebody inside regardless. 

"Shitty tiny fucking town, I swear to god!", he yells in frustration. He doesn't know how long he stays there and feels sorry for himself. 

The crunching of boots on snow can be heard, interrupting his thoughts of self-pity, and an amused female voice sounds behind him. 

"That desperate for a drink, huh?" 

Kidd turns around, glaring at the woman before him. If he hadn't heard her voice he wouldn't be able to tell that she's female, she's covered from head to toe in thick winter garments, only her eyes are peeking out beneath all those layers of scarf and clothing. "I'm not fucking pining for a drink. I need to call a taxi." 

"Your girl set you out on the street or something?" 

He's half-tempted to punch that awfully smug, belligerent tone off her face. Just his luck, of course he'd run into some smart-ass who thought she was funny. 

Kidd has to make a deliberate effort to remain friendly as he replies. "Nah. My car broke down. Phone's out of battery so I need some other way to get home. You got a phone on ya, miss?" 

Her tone finally stops being as infuriating as before as she shrugs and replies. "Tough luck. No, sorry. Never take one with me when I walk the dog."

He groans. Of course she's not only making fun of him, but also entirely useless. But before he can go down that thought any further, she adds. "We're almost done with our walk though. If you wanna you can warm up in my flat and call someone from there." 

Kidd sighs and huffs, crouching down to let the large Saint Bernard dog sniff his hands. The mutt's giant, but it definitely doesn't seem to mind the cold as much as he is. A bit of slobber drops down from the dog's mouth onto his hand as he scratches its neck. Kidd quickly wipes his hand on the dog's fur. The dog wags his tail slightly but doesn't seem to be too interested in him otherwise. 

He contemplates. It's the best bet he's got. He'd be an idiot to refuse her offer, even if the first impression he got of this woman is pretty crap. She's a bit smaller than him and doesn't appear threatening, so it should be safe enough too. He works out enough to be able to handle about anyone in hand-to-hand combat. 

"Yeah. Alright. Thanks for offering, miss." 

"Hannah. The name's Hannah. And this here is Ricky. He's a good boy, eh, Rick?" Ricky woofs in agreement even though he's more interested in sniffing a lamppost right now. 

"My name's Kidd." 

"So like an actual child?" 

"My mom lost a dare when she was pregnant." 

"Wow. You're really not a very fortunate individual, are you?" 

"Shut the fuck up." 

Hannah leads- or rather, Ricky leads- them for a short while, until coming to stop in front of a large house. 

"Thought you said you lived in a flat." 

Hannah chuckles. "Oh, these are flats. Just, one flat for each floor. Else I'd never have enough space to live together with this hairy man." She pats Ricky's back, who wags his tail a lot more enthusiastically whenever Hannah is the one petting him. Not like Kidd's paying attention to that. Why would he? It's just a mutt. He doesn't need affirmation by a damn dog or anything. 

When Hannah unlocks the door, Ricky already charges in ahead. She chuckles. "We live on the ground floor so I let him run free. The other people that live here all love him so it's not an issue." 

When she unlocks the door to the ground floor apartment, warm air wafts out from inside. Kidd takes a shuddering breath, desperate for the warmth from within after all the horrible cold he's had to endure on his walk here. 

Chapter Text

Kidd sighs in relief when he steps into the warm flat behind Hannah. She rushes forward and starts yelling at Ricky for trying to steal some biscuits off of a countertop. 

"You already stole the last batch! Stop being so greedy!" 

Kidd can't help but grin as he watches the scene, Hannah lecturing the very unrepentant dog who wags his tail slowly, trying to remain in her good graces despite his criminal tendencies. 

"Oi, don't give me that look. You're a wolf in sheep's clothing, you are!" She pats his head, earning her an enthusiastic bark full of feigned innocence. 

Kidd clears his throat as he steps closer to them in the kitchen. "He's quite the rascal, huh?" 

Hannah, unwinding her scarf from her head, finally allowing him to properly see her face, grins. "Yeah. He's my little angel." 

Kidd can't help but raise an eyebrow at that, trying to estimate how heavy a dog that size must be. He'd definitely rather not have Ricky sit on his lap, that's for sure. 

Hannah takes off her jacket - or rather, her three jackets, that woman was seriously prepped for walking the dog. "Would you like some tea? You look cold. Better to warm up before you go out there again." 

"Yeah. Sure. Thanks." He's not sure what to do with how familiar she's acting. He's still a total stranger to her. Shouldn't she be at least a little bit more weary? Does she not value her own safety? 

His thoughts must have been written on his face because Hannah chuckles. "You look like you think I'm crazy for just letting you in here." 

Kidd licks over his lips before looking at her back as she prepares the tea. "Well. You're a girl, after all, and you're just inviting some man in like it's nothing." 

Hannah pours the tea, gesturing for Kidd to sit on the comfortable sofa. "Well, Ricky here is a trained professional, actually. One command and he'd attack you without any hesitation." 

Kidd blinks. "Oh. Right. That makes sense, I guess." 

Hannah settles down opposite him, putting down a mug for him in front of him on the coffee table. "He's a Search and Rescue dog. Him and I, we work for the mountain rescue. We're a great team, eh, Rick?" Rick jumps up on the sofa beside Hannah, laying down on his back, tongue lolling out, waiting for chest rubs which Hannah quickly provides. Kidd's never met a dog owner who talked to their dog so much while other people were in the room with them. He assumes she's got to be a bit lonely to talk to Ricky that much. 

Kidd can't help but grin as he sips on his tea, coming to a realization. "Guess I'm another rescue to you then." 

Hannah's eyes are surprisingly serious as she regards him again. "Honestly? Kind of. Your lips were already a bit blue earlier. I've seen the signs all too often." She sighs and looks down to Ricky, rubbing his chest some more. 

Looks like there's quite the backstory behind that, judging by the haunted look in her eyes. 

Chapter Text

Kidd warms his hands on the warm mug provided, his fingers tingling uncomfortably from finally becoming warmer now after all that time out in the cold. 

Ricky swaps position to lay his large head on Hannah's lap as she nurses her own mug. 

Kidd doesn't feel in a particular rush to get home. The friends he shares his flat with are probably all drunk and having fun after watching the football match together, and he's not one for having company when he's annoyed by the world. He decides to break the comfortable silence. "So, you live here alone?" 

Hannah nods. "Yeah. Well, it doesn't feel very lonely, though. Not with Rick here." She smiles down and strokes his head tenderly in a soothing motion that earns her a few deep grunts from Ricky. 

Kidd chuckles. "He's pretty vocal about what he likes." 

Hannah tilts her head slightly as she looks at him scrutinizingly. "So you said your car broke down. But you were wandering out there without any car in sight. How long have you been out there?" 

He shrugs. "Half an hour. Maybe a bit longer. Felt like forever in this damned cold." 

She whistles, half-impressed. "Geez. Dressed like you are, I'm surprised you don't feel worse right about now." 

Kidd huffs. "I'm dressed just fine." He's not, but something in him just has to refute her smart-ass opinion. 

He sips on his tea which tastes a bit like cider, and can't help but sigh in relief. "Thanks for this. Feels good." 

She gives him a small smile and nods. "Yeah, no problem." 

Chapter Text

Hannah suddenly sits up a bit straighter. "Right. I guess you want to call somebody to pick you up here." 

Before he can stop himself, Kidd exclaims. "Wait! No." 

She blinks at him owlishly. "No? What do you mean, no?" 

He coughs, trying to hide his quickly forming embarassment. "Uh. Just. Uh. Don't rush yourself. You know? I'm in no hurry to get back." 

She leans back a bit again. "Oh. Do you live alone too, then?" She sounds almost excited, like she's eager to find a kindred soul in him.

Kidd shakes his head. "Nah. I live with my friends, but... they're a bit much, from time to time. Especially on a crappy day like this." 

Hannah almost seems dejected. "Oh! Yeah. Right. That makes sense. I'm sure that can be a bit annoying. Heh." 

Kidd looks down. "We do get along well. It's not like that. But they're gonna try and cheer me up when I get home and I'm not in the mood for that." 

Hannah giggles. "Yeah? You'd rather wallow in self-pity for a bit?" 

He snarls. "Oh shut the fuck up." 

She gets a little more serious. "Nah. I get it. Sometimes you just wanna feel bad for a while and get it out of your system." 

"Do you feel that way too, then?" 

Hannah nods. "Yeah. Sometimes I even yell at poor Rick here when I feel crappy. But I make up for it with plenty of cuddles." She scratches him behind the ears, earning another very happy sigh from the large dog. 

Kidd sighs, staring into his rapidly depleting tea, feeling a little lost now that he's admitted to something so personal in front of a total stranger. 

Hannah smiles. "Well, even if you don't wanna call your friends yet, you said your phone's battery was dead, right? You can charge it here." 

Kidd nods gratefully. "Yeah. Sounds good. Thanks." 

After a bit of searching for a charger, Hannah plugs his phone in. Kidd leans back against the backrest of the sofa comfortably and exhales. "My boss made me work late today so I missed a game I wanted to watch with my friends. That's how it all began." 

"A game? What kind?" 

"Football." 

"Ah. Right." 

He feels a bit judged by her intonation on those two small words so he opens up one eye to regard her lazily. "You got something against football?" 

Hannah shrugs. "Never really cared for it. I'd rather play a game myself than watch others play it." 

He huffs. Just like a girl to not care for football at all. "I wouldn't wanna go outside in this shitty weather." 

Hannah laughs quietly. "It's not that bad when you dress properly. Ricky and I basically do that for a living, after all." 

Kidd shudders involuntarily. "Sounds like a damn nightmare. Always looking for folks not knowing if they're even still alive, and the mountains are just always cold." 

Hannah grins mischievously. "You know, you sound like a total baby. Oh noooo it's a bit cold out! Whatever will you do! The horrors!". She giggles again. 

Kidd scoffs, having had it up to here with her attitude. "Piss off. I just prefer the warmth, alright? Is that a crime?" 

Hannah chuckles again, a little more subdued this time. "Calm down, big guy. I'm just used to the cold so it's funny to me." 

Kidd grumbles something that sounds suspiciously much like "cold-hearted bitch" but Hannah is smart enough not to pay it any mind. 

Chapter Text

The two of them engage in a bit of smalltalk for about an hour before Hannah yawns. 

"You tired?", Kidd asks. 

She nods and covers her mouth as she yawns again. "Yeah. Sorry. Was out on a rescue mission all weekend, I'm still trying to catch up on sleep." 

He frowns. "Right. I should call my friends then so you can go to sleep." 

"It's fine. It's not that bad." 

But he feels horrible knowing that she's not had enough sleep and yet is willing to entertain him regardless. "Bullshit. I'm imposing on you. I need to stop indulging in your hospitality. Sorry 'bout that." 

"Like I said, it's fine." 

Kidd rolls his eyes and heads over to where his phone is charging. 30%. Good enough. He should probably call his girlfriend instead of any of his friends. They'd come pick him up, but they'd definitely drive while drunk, and he's not too eager to deal with that. He's already texted somebody on the local taxi application, but they're out of commission while the snow is piling up higher and higher. 

So he calls Victoria. She must have not read his name on the screen before picking up, because she sounds downright pissed. "Yeah? What do you want?" 

Kidd clears his throat. "Hey, babe, it's me." 

"What do you want?" Apparently she did know it was him. Why the hell is she being so rude? 

"Uh. I kind of need your help to get home. Do you have time?" 

"I'm busy. Get a taxi or something." 

Kidd takes his phone away from his ear, staring at it in shock. What the hell is going on? Why's she being like this? "I already tried that, but there's no taxis available in this weather." 

"Not my problem, is it?" 

"Babe? Why are you being so rude?" 

"Like I said, I'm busy." A quiet, male voice can be heard in the back of the phone call and an ice cold hand seems to wrap around Kidd's heart as he recognizes the voice. That damn bastard Hawkins. 

"Who's that with you?" 

"Someone who's not neglecting me to go watch football with their stupid friends." 

Kidd immediately bristles. "My friends are not stupid, you dumb brat! I never even watched football with them to begin with! Besides, I fucking invited you but you said you had other plans already, so don't act like this!" 

Victoria groans. "I so don't have the energy for this." 

And then, just when Kidd is about to reply, she hangs up on him. He stares at the phone in horror. She's never been that cold and callous to him before. Sure, she's been a bitch every now and then, but never this downright rude and just straight up refusing to help. 

Besides that, why the fuck is Hawkins with her? She actually declined his offer to watch the football match together to hang out with that blonde bastard in his stead. 

Sure, she'd never gotten along all that well with Killer because she said his laugh creeped her out, but she'd have told him if that was the reason for her not to want to hang out with everyone. Right? 

Chapter Text

Kidd just stands there, frozen. He doesn't know what to do now. He could still call his friends, but he feels like dealing with them even less now after the phone call. 

Just as he's about to turn around and head back to the sofa, his phone beeps with an incoming text message. 

He already feels like he's not gonna like this when he sees blonde hair on the preview, but his stomach starts churning with a mix of disgust, horror and a deep sense of betrayal when he actually clicks on the message and the image loads. 

It's Victoria. Laying against Hawkin's bare chest with a huge smile on her face, eyes closed. Above her, a very smug grin by that very same blonde bastard. 

The image is captioned: "Nice girl you got there." 

Kidd balls his fist around the phone and shoves it into the pocket of his pants before he ends up breaking it by accident. Is she cheating on him? Surely not. Right? 

But she didn't bother pretending she cared one bit either. What the hell's he supposed to think, hearing a man during the phone call with her? Especially that bastard Hawkins. He'd never said anything to Victoria about her friendship with that cockroach before, because he wanted to trust her. 

But look where that got him. He curses under his breath and Hannah speaks up behind him, sounding concerned. "What is it?"

He puts the phone back down and turns around, grimacing. "Guess my girl's not going to come pick me up. And the damn taxi service is down cause of the weather too." 

Hannah frowns. "Crap. That's not good. A huge snowstorm's going to hit the town soon. There's a good chance we'll be snowed in again, like last year." 

Kidd's eyes widen in horror. "No. Anything but that bullshit again. Gah, fuck this shitty cold country. I hate it here so damn much." 

She rolls her eyes in response. "It's really not that bad, get a grip. But I don't know how to get you home now. You don't have anyone else you can call?"

Kidd shakes his head. "My friends are all pretty drunk after watching the game, based on the pics Heat sent me. Most of my other friends don't live close by." 

Hannah sighs. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that my flat is so spacious then." 

"Wait... you don't mean?" 

"Yeah. You can stay for the night. It's already pretty late anyways. Hopefully we won't actually get snowed in." 

"Yeah. Hopefully." He stands there awkwardly for a bit. "Uh. Thank you. You're being very generous. You don't even know me." 

Hannah chuckles. "Remember, rescuing people is my whole job. I don't mind. Just don't stab me in my sleep, alright?" 

Kidd finally manages a grin since that disastrous phone call with Victoria. "No promises." 

But then his smile falls and he looks at the phone charging on the side table again and sighs. "Dammit. I thought I could count on my girl." 

Hannah nods. "What'd she even say? You looked pretty pissed earlier." 

Kidd scoffs. "Apparently she's found her way into another man's arms. Cheating bitch." 

Hannah's face falls. "Oh, shit. I'm so sorry to hear that. Fate's absolutely beating you down today, huh?" 

Kidd grimaces, a mockery of his former grin. "Guess you said it right when you called me an unfortunate individual earlier." 

Hannah clears her throat and looks away awkwardly. "Yeaah, I guess so. Anyways, I'll go fetch some blankets and pillows for you. You don't mind sleeping on the sofa, right?" 

Kidd shrugs. "Better than the dog's bed." He gives a pointed look towards the object in question. Honestly, he could almost fit into that given the size of dog that it was made for. 

Hannah nods and hurries off to fetch everything. Ricky raises his head, yawns widely, revealing an impressive set of canines. 

Kidd gulps but tries not to feel intimidated by the sleepy gesture. "Looks like I'll be staying for the night, buddy. You don't mind, right?" He crouches down to look a little less threatening. 

Rick gives him a short, uninterested glance and then looks after where Hannah had disappeared to. 

Once more Kidd can't help but feel a little jealous. He's trying to be friendly here, what's the damn dog's problem? He's always been great with animals, yet this mutt just can't be arsed to pay him any sort of attention whatsoever. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, Kidd wakes up pretty disoriented. 

Once he's properly come to, he recognizes the surroundings. Right. That stranger woman who'd taken him in last night. He sits up, pushing the hair strands back that have fallen on his face and yawns. 

The yawn dies in his throat whenever he looks out of the windows of the living room. Not like he CAN look out of those windows. All he can see is a thick layer of white, not even permitting much light to come into the flat in the first place. 

"No, no, nononononono...", he mutters as he gets up and puts a hand against one of the windows before leaning his forehead against it. 

"God dammit!" 

After checking his phone and seeing no new messages from Victoria or his roommates (okay, they could at least have asked where he was, no way Killer had gotten that drunk) Kidd sighs. The fact that there's noone out and about yet makes him assume that Hannah is still asleep for now. 

Even Ricky appears to be a late sleeper, judging by the fact he's not running about either. Already 10 AM, judging by his phone screen.

Not that the sunlight outside would be able to give it away. If there even is any sunlight. It's all damn blocked out by the snow. 

He really feels like showering. He'd slept in his clothes last night and feels a bit filthy. He wonders if she would mind. Surely not, right? Especially if they're snowed in together now. Always a much better impression when you don't stink like a dead rat. 

He finds the bathroom to be in an almost scarily clean condition. Does this woman even live here? Killer tries to keep their place clean too, but it's never this damn spotless. Maybe she's one of those cleanliness freaks. 

It makes him feel a bit awkward as he undresses in the bathroom, putting his clothes over the towel holder. The shower has amazingly hot water - something he's not used to from Heat always showering for ages and using up all of the warm water - and he sighs happily as he just stands there and lets the hot water run over his scalp. Finally he can get rid of the last remnants of cold that had seeped deep into his bones yesterday. It hadn't exactly been cold in the living room but he did like his rooms just a little extra warm. 

Once he's done showering, he frowns at his clothes. Maybe Hannah would have something for him. Not that he'd be likely to fit into her clothes, granted his bulky physique, but if she did he could at least wash his clothes before putting them back on. 

Given the lack of options, he wraps a towel around his waist and heads out of the bathroom barefooted.

Chapter Text

When he walks out of the bathroom clad in nothing but the short towel covering his waist, he freezes in his step. 

Somebody else has let themselves into the flat while he was in the shower. That somebody is tall, lanky and clearly pissed to see him there. 

"Who. Are. You." The man hisses out. The disapproving glare towards his towel covered hip does not go unnoticed by Kidd. 

Kidd clears his throat, trying to feel a little more confident even if he's almost naked in this situation. "Uh. Name's Kidd." 

"That's a stupid name. What the fuck are you doing here?" 

Kidd glares at the strange man at the insult. "I could ask you the same thing." 

"I have every right to be here. Explain yourself." The man waves towards his attire.

The intense standoff is interrupted by Hannah walking into the room yawning, Ricky charging ahead into the kitchen beside her. 

She breaks out into the smile when she sees the man. "Law! Hey! I didn't know you were home at the moment." 

"Hospital forced me to take a break.", the man called Law grumbles. 

Kidd looks between the two of them, feeling increasingly awkward. "Uh. Morning." 

Hannah blinks at him a few times before smiling in recognition. "Oh! Right. Hi. Kidd, was it?" 

He feels even more awkward now as the man's eyes bore into him even more intensely. Shit. If he's locked in here for the time being and this is some jealous lover he's gonna be fucked. 

"Yeah. That's right.", he finally manages to say. "Uh. Do you have any clothes I could borrow? Mine aren't all that fresh anymore and..." 

Law rudely interrupts him. "I still want to know why you're here. Hannah. Explain." Law turns his seething glare towards Hannah whose smile never stops even at the harsh glare. "Calm down. I took him in last night."

"You. Took. A. Total. Stranger. In? Am I hearing this right? Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Law steps closer to Hannah, towering over her. Hannah's smile finally drops. Kidd decides to interrupt. "Uh, look, dude, it's not what it looks like, alright?" 

"No? So she didn't take a total stranger in?" 

"Well, she did, but still. I ain't trying to poach your girl or some shit, alright?"

Hannah suddenly starts giggling at that, leaning on Law's shoulder with her arm. "Damn. You better be careful or I might just let myself be stolen, Law." 

Law rolls his eyes. "Haha. You're such an immature child. Are you ever going to grow up so I don't need to babysit you anymore?" 

Hannah giggles again and grins at Kidd. "Law here is my big brother. He's usually too busy pulling shifts at the hospital to look out for me so he gets extra protective the few times that he's actually around." 

Law scoffs. "Stop trying to guilt-trip me. You're gone a lot of the time too." 

She grins up at him smugly. "But you take it to heart so much. It's fun messing with you." 

Kidd rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh. Right. Your brother. Cool. So... about those clothes...?" 

But Law's apparently not done with him yet. "No. Why the hell are you naked in my sister's flat? Explain yourself." 

Kidd sighs, getting a bit fed up with being questioned. "I took a shower, okay? You literally just saw me come out of the bathroom. Hell's your problem?" 

Law glares at both of them one after the other. "My problem is that my little sister lets some weird fire hydrant haired stranger sleep in her flat. Without even letting anybody know in advance. You're an adult, for god's sake! Is it really too much to ask for you to have a basic idea of common sense?" He's practically yelling at Hannah at the end, who sighs in return. "Nothing happened, you know? I'm alive and fine." 

Law inspects her suspiciously. "Are you sure? He didn't try anything?" 

Kidd grunts. "I'm right here, you know." But Law ignores him completely. 

Hannah reaches out to ruffle Law's hair. "No. I literally just took him in cause he was freezing his balls off outside." 

Law scoffs again. "He doesn't look like the type to have any to begin with. You could have left him outside." 

Kidd bristles at that. "Oi, shut up, you bastard."

Hannah interrupts them before they start insulting each other some more. "I'm glad you're home, Law. It'd suck for you to be snowed in at the hospital." 

Law's eyes narrow. "Then I'd at least be able to assist the patients."

"Yeah. And work yourself to death. No, some break is going to be good for you." 

Law rolls his eyes once more. "Whatever. I only came to check if you had enough supplies to last you for however long we'll be snowed in. Guess it'll be even worse now that you'll have another person diminishing your supplies." The glare he shoots at Kidd looks like he makes him personally responsible for the weather outisde. 

Hannah frowns. "Good point. I have a few supplies but I've been putting off restocking for a while now. Might have to scrunge a bit." 

Law groans at that. "You're so irresponsible. Unbelievable. Thankfully for you, I always stock up for both of us. Seeing as I know you have your head in the clouds far too much to actually prepare well for just about anything." 

Hannah pouts. "I was just out on a mission. You know this." 

"Always have some excuse or another. I know you." 

Kidd clears his throat. "Hannah. Please. Some clothes? It's, uh, starting to get a bit cold." 

In fact he's freezing his ass off standing here stark naked only clad in his towel as the two siblings have been bickering in front of him. 

Hannah's eyes widen. "Oh! Right. Law, give him some of your clothes." 

"What?! No way!" 

"Well mine won't fit him!" 

"Neither will mine! They'll get tears, have you seen how much of a fridge that fire hydrant is?" 

"Stop complaining or do you want him to stand around naked even longer?!" 

"Tch, fine!" With that Law heads off to find some clothes for Kidd, grumbling all the while. 

Hannah smiles apologetically. "Sorry about that." 

Chapter Text

For being locked in with a total stranger, the days pass surprisingly fast. 

Law sticks around for a huge portion of the time because apparently he expects Kidd to just pounce on his little sister or something, which Kidd finds very stupid. 

In fact, he'd much have preferred for Law not to be there. 

Whenever she's not being a sassy smartass and driving him up the walls, Hannah is surprisingly tolerable. 

The boys finally check in with him through phone calls, having noticed that he's actually still not home even though everyone's snowed in now. 

Victoria doesn't text him a single time, and he doesn't bother texting her either. As far as he's concerned, they might as well be broken up now. There's no way he'll tolerate somebody so blatantly cheating on him, even though it hurts like damn hell. 

Kidd assumes that it's because of this hurt that he ends up being so openly vulnerable around Hannah, too. 

He finds himself reminiscing of the past with Victoria to her, Hannah thankfully not being (too much) of a smartass when he talks about Victoria. 

While Hannah hadn't stocked up on supplies for being snowed in, she does thankfully have ice cream in the freezer, a blessing that Kidd is all too happy to take advantage of as he does some very cathartic ice-cream-crying. 

Coincidentally, that happens to get rid of Law, so Kidd finds some sort of perverse satisfaction in letting out his feelings and getting rid of the constantly grumpy, angry man in turn. 

The snow lets up and he manages to shovel their way out of the house before a week is up, some of the other people living in the house helping him as he clears the pathway while the other weaker members of the house cheer him on. 

Ricky keeps jumping into the snow every time he's pushed it off to the side, clearly having the time of his life ruining Kidd's hard work as it makes a huge mess every time. 

But honestly, he's just so relieved to finally be able to go outside again that he doesn't really mind. He didn't realize how much he would miss being outside until he found himself cooped up inside for so long. Even if it's fucking cold outside. Hannah has supplied him with mittens, a scarf and a self-made knitted hat which looks absolutely stupid having some sort of cat ears peaking out on top (how embarassing!), but at least he's much warmer than he was when he was stumbling around outside a few days ago. 

Killer picks him up with the car, and he feels almost wistful in having to leave this place now. It's crazy how fast he's grown accustomed to Hannah, Ricky's and even Law's presence. In fact, he wouldn't have minded getting to spend even more time with Hannah. Not that he's gonna tell her that. 

She says goodbye to him with a hug, telling him not to freeze to death if he can avoid it. He huffs and grumbles, thanking her for taking him in so willingly. She says not to mention it and waves him goodbye as Killer drives him away. 

A cold sweat runs down his back when he realizes he hadn't even asked her for her number. The least he could do is invite her out to dinner for all she's done for him, but he doesn't even have her damn number. 

Killer gives him a knowing grin. "Pretty cute saviour you got there." 

Kidd gives him a brief glare. "Shut up. Don't make it weird." 

Killer gets a little more serious. "Seriously though. Seems like a nice girl, just taking you in like that. Thank god she did, with how long we've all been snowed in for and everything." 

Kidd nods and grumbles. "Yeah. She's alright." 

Killer sighs, focusing on the slippery road a bit more. "So you said on the phone that things are over with Victoria?" 

"Yeah. I think she actually spent this whole time snowed in with that bastard Hawkins. I don't even want to know what those two did together, honestly." Kidd sighs, feeling exhausted. Having gotten to talk about his feelings a bit hasn't dulled the aching pain he feels when he thinks about the woman he once loved so dearly. 

"I'm sorry, Kidd. You don't deserve bullshit like that.", Killer says quietly, eyes remaining on the road. 

Kidd appreciates that about Killer. He'll never be too intrusive in his care, but care he will and deeply at that. 

"Thanks."

They finish the rest of the car drive in silence. Once they step inside their flat, Heat and Wire are hollering loudly. "The forsaken son has returned!" "We're all snowed in and you're out there scoring ladies, what a lad!" 

Kidd scoffs and waves off their enthusiasm. "Shut up. I did not score any ladies, idiots. Didn't even get her phone number." 

Killer groans and looks at him disappointed. "Seriously. You had five days with her to get her number, and you just... don't? Come on, Kidd. We'd at least like to thank her for saving your ass." 

Later on in the evening, when he's putting his clothes into the basket for the washing machine, he notices a package of tissues in the pants of his trousers that hadn't been there before. 

He looks at it in confusion, seeing that there's a small note stuck inside. 

Grateful that he'd noticed in time before washing the pants and ruining the note, he unwraps it carefully. 

In delicate handwriting, it says:

"Call me."

Nothing else, except a phone number. His heart does a happy little sommersault in his chest. So she'd like to stay in contact. Maybe even more? He'll see. 

Thankful that nobody else is in the laundry room, he leans forward and kisses the note, which faintly still smells like her. He may be acting like a lovesick fool right now, but he doesn't care. She wants to stay in contact. She actually wants to stay in contact! 

Having been out of the house for a few days thankfully means he hasn't re-applied his lipstick, or else there'd have been a large mark on the note. 

He's definitely gonna take her out for dinner. He'll have a look online for what restaurants in the area allow dogs, as he's got a creeping suspicion that she's the type to take Ricky everywhere with her. 

When he returns to the boys, they notice his suddenly much happier attitude and enthusiasm, but he refuses to elaborate. He saves her number into his phone in the quiet of his bedroom, not wanting any of the others to know about this. This'll be his secret for now. 

He doesn't need any of them to feel the need to play wingman when he's not even sure if that's something Hannah would want. Sure, she gave him her phone number, but he's not gonna fumble this. She's been such a huge support for him for trying to get over Victoria, the least he can do is treat her well. 

Chapter Text

Kidd can't help himself. He texts Hannah that very night once everyone has gone to bed. 

Kidd: "Hey. Thanks for giving me your number." 

Hannah: "No problem. Somebody had to take the initiative ;)"

Kidd: "So, uh. You fancy grabbing some food soon? I wanna repay you for your kindness." 

Hannah: "And here I thought you might be interested in me. Oh well. Sure!"

Kidd stares at the text dumbfounded. She's gonna be that bold about it? What the hell's he supposed to reply to this now? 

But before he can, another message comes in. 

Hannah: "I'm just kidding. No pressure, aye?" 

Kidd: "Yeah, sure, no pressure." 

He proceeds to suggest a restaurant that allows dogs inside, making extra sure that it's not an issue by even calling the place. 

The date goes over pretty well. Turns out Kidd letting himself be so emotional and vulnerable around her with the whole break-up fiasco has made being around her far more comfortable, especially now that he's over the embarassment that had come with being so honest with her. 

She seems a lot more relaxed and bold than before too, making a few really funny and flirty jokes directed at him. 

When ordering their appetizer a few snacks are brought to them as well, one of them being a ring-formed piece of... Kidd honestly isn't sure what it's made of, he's never seen anything like it before. 

Hannah reaches out and pulls his hand towards her, which he'd had laying beside his cutlery on the table. When she proceeds to put the strange food object around his ring finger, he can't help but stare at her in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?" 

She has the audacity to grin boldly and shrug. "What do you mean? Don't you know that old saying? If you like it, put a ring on it." 

Kidd's seconds away from withdrawing his hand but he manages to stay still somehow. "Don't you know that a first date is a bit soon to propose somebody? What would your brother say?" 

Hannah chuckles. "Eh. You can just eat the evidence." She points at the ring-food-thing. 

"Oh har har. Very funny." Kidd continues eating a bit of his appetizer before he manages to ask. "So, you like me? That what you're saying?" 

"I've got no plans of being subtle about it at least." 

Kidd scoffs, unable to hide the wide grin spreading on his face. "God damn you're cocky. I love that about you." 

"Now who's rushing things along?" She winks at him joyfully.

Chapter Text

"Seriously, you never listen to me. You're suppposed to pick Stevie up from kindergarden today." 

"Babe, I told you, I'm working late today. I gotta finish up today's job, the client's been all over my ass for this, he's been hounding me for the past week non-stop." 

"How is your job more important than our ONLY son?!"

"That's not what I'm saying! But I'll run into big trouble with my boss if I just ditch work today!" 

"It's not what you're saying, but actions speak louder than words. You spend every single day at that damn garage. Do you even know what your son looks like anymore?"

The conversation replays in Kidd's head over and over on his drive to work. Of course he cares for Stevie. Of course he does. His wife Becka just doesn't realize how hard he works every single damn day to pay the bills for both of them. Not like she knows what that's like, she's been staying at home to care for Stevie for the past few years. Which honestly, he resents her for a bit. He'd rather get to spend some time off of work and in the company of his son too. She's right. He knows what his son looks like of course, but he feels so damn estranged from him that it makes him want to punch something. Shitty fucking money and the need to earn it. 

It's not even that he dislikes his job. He loves being a mechanic, but his boss is a proper asshole. Kidd's been dreaming about opening up his own mechanic workshop for years. The "Damned Garage", he'd call it. That way all the wussy clients would be scared off by the name alone and he wouldn't get as many idiots coming to his garage. That was the idea at least. 

During his work day, he manages to forget about the argument by throwing himself into his work. Usually his lunch break is around 1pm, but he puts it off by two hours, having felt the need to make sure that he finish one particularly stubborn piece of repairs first. He grabs his lunch and phone, sitting down in the workers' room at the table, biting into his sandwhich heartily as he turns on his phone to check for anything new happening. 

A sharp feeling of guilt stabs through him when he sees five missed calls from Becka. Shit. What if something had happened?

Without bothering to read his messages first, he calls her immediately. It takes painfully long for her to pick up and boy does she sound pissed when she does. 

"Kidd. Why the fuck didn't you respond?!" 

"Becka. I'm so sorry, I only just saw. What's wrong?" 

"Everything is wrong. Stevie is sick. I called you to pick him up. But of course you didn't fucking answer." 

"Sick? What do you mean, he's sick? What's he got?"

"I don't know! I'm at the doctor's. His breathing is really shallow." Her harsh tone finally mellows as a choked sob comes through the phone. "I'm scared, Kidd. He collapsed at kindergarden today and he's barely conscious. I don't know what the hell is going on. He seemed fine this morning. The caretaker said he sounded like he was choking on something before he collapsed." 

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Which doctor? I'm on my way." Kidd leaves everything where it is, grabbing his car keys and making his way to his car. He'll explain this to his boss tomorrow. 

Becka gives him the address of the children's doctor she's at. When he sits down in his car, it won't start. 

Why won't it start? He's a mechanic, he regularly checks over his car, almost religiously. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Start up you damn bitch!", he yells and slams his fist against the dashboard. Somehow, that makes the engine splutter to life. Sounds like it's got some issue, but that's the last of his worries right now. He needs to get to Becka and Stevie. The car damn well better hold out til then or he'll hijack any that he comes across. He doesn't fucking care right now. He grew up as a lowly street thug and he's not shy about using that knowledge when it counts. 

The streets feel oddly crowded for a tuesday afternoon. It shouldn't be rush hour yet, yet he gets stuck in one jam after the other. He clenches his fist so tightly that his nails start digging into the palm of his hand painfully, leaving angry, red marks. The pain distracts him from his worries at least a little. Just collapsed. Why would Stevie just collapse? If he was choking on something, maybe it was an allergy or some shit? Not that he was aware of Stevie having any. Then again, it was usually Becka, who prepared the meals for both of them, who knew this kind of shit. 

His fingers drum against the steering wheel impatiently. Fuck, fuck, fuck. If only he had his bike here, he'd be able to weave through the traffic without having to wait so damn long. 

It takes him what feels like hours to get even just two blocks further. That's when he sees a couple on a motorbike on the lane to his right. This is his chance. 

He gets out of his car, ignoring the incessant honking that follows him as he makes his way over. Before either of the two notices what's happening, he's pushed them off their bike. 

"Sorry, emergency!", he yells, but he doesn't feel very sorry as he revs up the bike and starts on his journey towards the doctor's address. 

He leaves his car standing there in the middle of traffic. Fuck if he cares, he just needs to make sure that Stevie's okay right now. The police'll be all up his ass over this later anyways, it won't be any issue returning this bike. It's a good bike, he reckons, nice bit of horsepower below him. 

The couple had been some idiot goody two-shoes anyways, respecting the traffic rules to much to weave in between the jammed cars to get to their destination. He definitely deserved it more right now. 

When he finally gets to the doctor, it feels like something out of a nightmare. People are screaming as they're running out of the building. 

"What the fuck is going on?!", he yells at the passers-by, but none of them are willing to answer. He curses once more, running into the building, calling up Becka's number once again. 

Fuck. "Cell phone service not available", his screen reads. Then why the fuck is he paying them a damn fortune for his contract every month?!  

Inside the house it's chaos too. Everyone seems to be trying to get out all at once, making Kidd need to punch his way inside. 

He gets yelled at for this plenty but he's easily able to block off any punches and kicks that come his way in retaliation. None of these people actually know how to fight, unlike him. 

"BECKA?! BECKA!", he screams once he's inside. "BECKA, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

But he's not sure that she'd be able to hear him over the chaos all around in the first place. He keeps shoving people out of his way as he makes his way to the first floor. Something in his gut tells him that if Becka isn't one of the people running outside - and he hasn't seen her amongst those, at least - then she'll be at the epicenter of whatever the fuck is going on right now. 

She'd be slowed down anyways, having to carry their son. He's sure he would have spotted them if they'd been part of the crowd rushing past him seeing as his tall frame is towering over most of the panicked individuals, but he can't be perfectly sure. 

Most of the people seem to already have cleared out of the first floor when he finally makes his way up there. He tries again. "BECKA?! BABE, ARE YOU HERE?"

He doesn't hear anything in response, but what he can hear is what sounds like the pounding of fists against a wall and muffled sobs. 

He makes his way towards the source of the location, his gut churning with worry. This feels like a damn fever dream and not reality. 

When Kidd gets to the room the noises are coming from, he stops dead in his tracks. There seem to be a half-naked man and child pounding against a door? 

"Oi, what the fuck are you-", Kidd starts up, but stops as they turn around when they hear his voice. 

Their faces are all but covered in ugly green pustules, red around the edges and oozing something that's either blood or pus, he's too disgusted to want to look closely. 

Yet he can't bring himself to actually look away either. They just stand there, staring at him, not replying, not responding in any way and Kidd's pretty sure that this is the eeriest thing he's ever experienced. 

His face falls on the young boy. Must be around Stevie's age, though it's hard to make out any of the boy's features granted there's a giant, welting pustule right above his left eye, covering all of it and even some of his skin below, amidst a face that looks almost burnt in how red and wet the skin looks. 

Kidd's just barely able to keep down the retching motion that his throat wants to make at the sight. He's seen some shit - especially during his time on the streets - but never something quite as disgusting as this. 

"Daaaaa.... ddy?" The boy suddenly says. Kidd freezes in his tracks. The voice sounded so slurred, so wrong, like the words had been forced out with great strength. But he'd recognize that voice anywhere. 

"S-Stevie? Is that..." He can't bring himself to finish the sentence. It can't be. This must be some kind of really fucked up nightmare. It can't be true. 

The boy walks towards him slowly, dragging his feet, one of his arms spasming uncontrollably at his side. Fuck. What the hell kind of disease was this? Where was Becka? 

If only he'd had his fucking phone turned on. He should have been here so much sooner.

And who the fuck was the man whose shirt was torn apart at the front, standing beside this monstrosity that bore Stevie's voice? 

The man still hadn't said anything. He tries to now, but all that comes out is a weird, indecipherable gurgle. Kidd wants to run, run as far as he can and leave this shitshow behind. 

But what if that is in fact Stevie? He can't just leave his baby boy behind. Not when he's clearly suffering from whatever kind of fuck-ass disease this is. 

Kidd crouches down, trying to not appear as disgusted as he feels. "Stevie, baby. Where's mommy?" 

"Daaaaaaaaddy." Again, the creepy, slurred voice. Stevie can talk full sentences, so what the hell is this about? Is the disease affecting his brain in some way. 

"Yes, baby, it's me." He nearly has to throw up as he accidentally breathes in too deeply, the rotten scent filling up his senses and making him dizzy with disgust. 

"Kidd?", a female voice suddenly sounds, slightly muffled. It sounds like it's coming from behind the door that Stevie and the man had been pounding against. 

Kidd feels like he can suddenly breathe a little easier. "Becka? Shit, is that you?"

"Yeah. Be careful. The doctor attacked me." 

"Wait, that fuckass dude is a doctor?", Kidd asks. 

Just then, the man tries to speak again, but it's a weak gurgle once more. Even Kidd's kid can speak better while afflicted by whatever the fuck this is. 

Kidd tries to ignore him, focusing on Stevie. "Baby. We'll take you to the hospital, okay? 's gonna be alright. Please don't be scared." 

But taking his focus off of the man seems to have been a mistake. As Kidd is still crouching down in front of Stevie the man seems to undergo some sort of change, his entire body convulsing seemingly at random where he stands, odd, disturbing noises coming out of him. 

Before Kidd can really react the man's suddenly flung himself at Kidd. Thanks to his well-honed reflexes, Kidd manages to let himself fall backwards to do a roll and get out of the man's reach just in time. "What the fuck is your problem, dude?!", he yells at the apparent doctor. 

But when he sees the doctor's face, a cold shiver runs down his spine. His eyes are turned so far back in his head that only the white can be seen anymore and he's coming for Kidd yet again. Kidd lunges for the stool standing in the middle of the room, needing something to defend himself with so as he won't get in direct touch with the disgusting pustules covering all of the man's face and upper torso. 

When the man lunges for him once again he crashes the stool into him, the flimsy wooden construction breaking apart and leaving Kidd with nothing but its two legs in hand. "Fuck!", he curses once again. 

The man seems momentarily paralyzed but goes for Kidd again immediately after recovering his bearings. 

"I'm gonna hurt you if you don't stop this shit!" Kidd's warning feels redundant at this point, but part of him still wants this shitshow to just stop, for the man to calm down and everything to return to normal. 

Kidd parries the man's uncoordinated yet strong attacks by smashing his two sticks against the man's attacking arms. He doesn't even make any sounds of pain, doesn't seem to react much to what must be brutal bruises forming on his arms, he just unrelentingly tries to attack Kidd further. 

A part of Kidd that isn't focused on the fight right now but on protecting Stevie is devastated that his little boy needs to see this shit, but it can't be helped. 

When the man simply refuses to abate in his attacks, Kidd starts bringing down the stool legs on his head repeatedly, jumping out of the man's reach any time he tries to grab him, desperate not to want to get in touch with whatever this fucking disease is. After countless brutal hits and the man's head actively starting to be deformed, he finally goes down. Kidd's arms are hurting from how much power he had to exert as he stands there panting, a disgusting mix of blood and whatever else was coming out of the man and his pustules on his makeshift weapons. 

He lets them fall to the floor as he then turns to open the door that Becka had been hiding behind. Becka jumps into his arms, holding onto him and sobbing desperately, clearly having been terrified out of her mind. 

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.", she keeps repeating, trembling wildly. 

"Is okay. I've got you.", Kidd reassures her, holding her in his strong yet exhausted arms. "I'll always protect you." 

Becka takes a while to calm down in his arms, but he needs that time nearly as much as she does. This is certainly not how he'd expected a visit at the doctor's with Stevie to go. But if Stevie had the same thing that the doctor had...

He can barely finish that thought as Becka suddenly gasps in pain. 

"Becka?!" Panic floods him within seconds. Becka stares down in horror, looking at her leg, which Stevie had bitten into with all of his might. 

He was so small and yet he seemed to have exerted so much force that he'd not only bitten through the fabric of her trousers, but into the skin underneath as well, drawing blood. 

"OW!", Becka yowls, kicking her leg to try and throw Stevie off in panic, but to no avail, he's latching on like a rabid dog. 

"FUCK; KID!", Kidd yells and grabs Stevie, trying not to get in touch with the disgusting stuff covering his body but unable to avoid it entirely in how much force he needs to exert to drag Stevie off of Becka. Even then he needs to grab his mouth and pry it apart to get Stevie to stop biting into his mother. 

He throws Stevie off, positioning himself in front of Becka in case Stevie tries to go for her again. Why the hell does he need to fight his own kid? What the fuck? 

Becka hisses in pain, trying to inspect her leg. 

Normally Kidd would never speak to his child like this, but he's so angry and overwhelmed that he can't keep his cool. "What the fuck, Stevie? How could you attack Becka!" 

Stevia doesn't seem particularly dazed at having been thrown off, getting back up, his one visible eye rolled back, only the white visible. "Mommyyyyyyy...... hurts....." 

Kidd can't help the tears welling up in his eyes at seeing his son in this condition. He'd hurt him. He'd hurt his beloved Stevie. But he had to defend Becka. What choice did he have in this impossible situation? 

"Becka, are you alright?", he asks over his shoulder, trying to keep an eye on Stevie even as he checks in with her at the same time. 

"Hurts like a damn bitch, but I'll live.", is the quick reply. 

"The fuck do we do?", Kidd asks her. What could they even do? 

"We need to lock him in somewhere and get help. I don't know what's happening to him. I don't know how to help him." 

Kidd can't see Becka's face either, but by the tone of her voice, she's definitely crying too. 

"Fuck.", he curses. "Stevie, do you understand what I'm saying?" 

He pushes Becka backwards a bit behind him as Stevie keeps approaching them again. "Huuuuuuurts....", the little kid groans. 

He doesn't know how to do this. If he grabs Stevie there's a good chance he'll be bitten too. With the doctor from here already on the ground unconscious - or in the worst case, dead - it might be a while before they were able to get help again. He needs to make sure he'll stay as uninjured as possible to take proper care of Becka, who might already struggle to walk with her leg now. 

So he picks up one of the stool legs again, a grim expression on his face. 

Becka nearly chokes on her spit as she sees this. "Kidd. Kidd, oh god, no. You can't hurt him!" 

"He's not going to listen to us right now, babe. I need to protect you." 

"That's our baby!", Becka pleads desperately, grabbing the back of his shirt to shake him. 

"I'll be careful.", Kidd replies gravely, shaking her off. 

Stevie tries to lunge for him but because of Becka's location being right behind him he can't dodge, so he has to block the attack with the stool leg. Part of him crumples and dies at having to hurt his own flesh and blood by beating against his wildly flailing arms and legs like this, but his survival mode lets him focus on the fight at hand first of all. 

Kidd goes on to take the initiative, pushing Stevie back towards the room Becka had previously been in with a flurry of feigned and real attacks. 

Stevie doesn't respond to the feigned attacks at all, not flinching back from them at all as one normally would have based on their reflexes. 

Kidd has already seen enough to know that something's seriously fucking wrong, but that's the nail in the coffin for him. 

He can only push Stevie back into the room by actively hitting him. Normally his little boy had been so weak, never one for being super sporty and preferring to draw and sing when the other kids ran around yelling and having fun, so he has no idea where all of this strength is even coming from. 

He can't bring himself to think about how much he's injuring the poor little child's frail bones, how much this will hurt Stevie when he's back to normal. 

Finally, he manages to slam the door shut right in front of Stevie's face, turning the keys over quickly. 

He hadn't even really noticed it during the fight itself, but now he realizes that tears are streaming down his face, actively blurring his vision. 

Kidd turns back around to Becka, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, but she backs away hobbling from him when he gets closer. "You monster! How could you attack our little boy! You filthy, filthy pig! You bastard!" 

She keeps screaming, hurling insult after insult at him. 

Kidd just stands there and takes it. It hurts him deeply to see his wife saying such hurtful things to him, but he can't blame her. God if he doesn't hate himself for doing what he's done just now as well. 

"Becks...", he starts up but is quickly shut up by her screaming at him again. 

He can tell that she's starting to work herself into a state of hysteria so eventually he can't take it any longer, walks up and wraps his arms around her in a hug, even as she starts pounding her fists against his chest, still screaming at him for being such a horrible monster. 

She continues for quite some minutes before finally calming down, her screaming quieting down into miserable sobs. 

"I'll always protect you.", he mumbles into her hair, breathing in the scent desperately to try and calm himself, to find some semblance of normaly in this fucked up situation. 

He hadn't wanted any of this. He hadn't wanted his promise of protection to turn against the very product of their love, their only child. 

He surpresses his sobs, only allowing his tears to stream down freely as he holds Becka with all of his remaining strength. She needs him right now, more than she's ever needed him before, more than she ever would have needed him in a normal life without this kind of fucked up situation. 

Chapter Text

Another stale hot summer day without a single gullible customer in sight. Pound sighs and wipes the sweat off of his thick eyebrows. 

But maybe that's about to change for the better when he notices a girl with orange and yellow curly hair walk by. 

As this girl - a woman he'd later come to know as Quincy - walks by Pound's shop, he whistles appreciatively. "Damn, girl, look at those hips!" 

Quincy stops dead in her tracks, turning around to face the man who just called out to her so disrespectfully with a death glare. 

The girl accompanying Quincy covers her mouth underneath her hand, snickering. "Oh boy you're in for a ride!"

Pound straightens up, flexing his muscles and letting his shoulders roll. "Oh, I give the best rides. I've earned my name fair and square."

It's his usual line to prompt the other person for his name, but unfortunately for him Quincy is not in the mood for any games today. 

"Pathetic.", she scoffs. "Do you know what I like to do with men like you?"

Pound purrs like a tiger (or tries to, it doesn't sound as attractive in reality as it does in his head) and waves her over invitingly. "I'd love to find out, sweet cheeks."

Quincy gets closer slowly, a seductive smile on her face. Pound can feel himself get excited the closer she steps. He's not used to his conquests being quite this easy - usually he needs to lay on his charms a lot thicker than this, but he's not complaining.

Hell no he's not complaining, god this girl's hot. He really meant his compliment, the sway of her hips is doing things to him that he can't even put into clear thoughts anymore now. 

He holds out his arms widely, smiling down at the girl who's a little shorter than he is. 

He is unfortunately not prepared at all as she suddenly swings her leg back to bring it back forward with a rapid swing. 

Her foot connects with his groin with such force that Pound, despite being a ridiculously muscular and tall individual, goes down onto his knees gasping for breath. 

"Wzzzzzhphhhhhfgrglgll...", is the only thing he manages to get out as he lowers his head, hands clutching at his groin in a futile attempt of protection that is far too little and far too late. 

He barely even notices through the pain at first but when the demon of a woman speaks to him he raises his head again, noticing that she's raised her leg once more and placed her heel on his shoulder. His nerves are definitely overloaded with pain, else he'd have noticed immediately. 

Quincy grins sadistically. "That's what I like to do with men like you."

He can't let this be the end of the conversation. He's gotta gain back some dignity even if it kills him. 

Pound is still breathing heavily as he replies, cowering on the ground before her as he is. "Yeah?... well... that's pretty hot, gotta say..." 

It'd have a far better effect if he wasn't on the ground defeated, but regardless he seems to earn a bit of respect with the demon woman, her eyes softening even if only fractionally. 

"Usually I get cussed out right about now.", she states, putting her hands on her hips, looking down on him. 

Pound uprights himself even though everything still hurts like a bitch, trying to flash her a crooked smile even if it's nothing but a pained grimace in the end. "Yeah? Well I ain't that type a guy. I mean what I say. I say you're hot, you're hot." 

But then he goes down again as fresh pain pierces through him and he can't help the pathetic whimper that escapes his lips. 

Quincy turns towards her female friend. "I feel like our idiot captain would like this guy." 

The friend giggles again, that seems to be her standard modus operandi. "Don't lie. You're impressed by him. YOU would like him with us." 

Quincy scoffs and flicks her friend's forehead. "Bullshit. You know that our captain is a muscular idiot brute. He gets along great with other muscleheads so long as they don't start any pissing contests." 

Pound groans, looking up again. "Do I get a say in this, ladies?" 

Quincy grins down at him. "Nah. You surrendered your say when you catcalled me." 

Pound can't help the witty reply. "You keep getting hotter and hotter." 

Quincy sighs exaggeratedly as if she was really getting fed up with Pound, but seems mostly amused when turning to look at her friend again. "These musclehead idiots only have a few phrases they can repeat. Come on, let's take him with us, I'm sure Kidd will like this one." 

Her friend elbows her. "WOW you really like him. I haven't seen you this excited about a new recruit since Jeremy." 

Quincy furrows her brows. "Do NOT speak of Jeremy to me." 

Her friend backtracks, holding her hands up placatingly. "Fine, fine. No Jeremy."

Before Pound can protest, both of the girls have grabbed one of his forearms respectively and start dragging him off. 

"OI! You can't just fucking kidnap me! This hurts!", he yells in protest, but the two women give him the silent treatment for a few moments just to make him suffer a little longer. 

Then Quincy speaks, sounding pretty excited all of a sudden. "Wrong. We're pirates. We do whatever the fuck we want." 

"Demon woman.", Pound grumbles, but incapacitated as he is he can't help but let them drag him off. 

Chapter Text

Fuck this shit. You get up from your desk, ignore Stacy at the reception and walk out. You're sick of your boss. Sick of your work. Sick of having to endure your shitty wage that's significantly lower than your colleague's just because you're a woman. 

Which is made even worse by the fact that your colleague constantly piggybacks off of your hard work, claiming your successes as his own. When you protest and tell your boss about this you become the bad guy for trying to "stir up company drama". 

You're sure this is going to have some legal consequences that will bite you in the butt. It's not like you're particularly well off either, in fact you're piss poor, so you're in desperate need of this - or any other - job, but that dependency and lack of an alternative is what finally caused you to snap. 

Fuck this shit, you repeat internally once more. There has to be some other way. The constant weight on your chest fuelled by anxiety and existential dread has become so heavy as of late that even breathing feels like a hassle. Stepping out of the stuffy office and into the daylight alleviates some of that burden, even if the reprieve may be nothing but temporary. 

Should you go back in? You've pretended to be a smoker to get cigarette breaks for the longest while, so if you're only gone for a short while, it'll be excusable. But you don't want to. You really don't. 

Almost randomly, your thoughts drift to your favourite series, One Piece. What would Luffy do in your shoes? You're sure that he wouldn't let himself be chained down anywhere. In fact it brings a huge smile to your face when you think about how Luffy might beat up your boss for oppressing you - you just had to buy Luffy lunch in return. 

Fuelled by that thought, you head to buy yourself some lunch. Every step further away from the office feels like a step towards freedom. The nagging voice in the back of your mind keeps saying "then how will you pay rent? food? utilities? meds for your dog?" but everything inside you screams at you to keep stepping towards freedom. You'll find another way. You have to. 

When you've walked for a few minutes, it finally hits you. You leaving means you're gonna get fired. Which means you'll never have to see your awful colleague or boss again. Never again endure their degrading remarks and mean comments about your work which you know are only meant to bring you down, yet hurt regardless. You'll never have to smell your colleague's disgusting aftershave or take any of Stacey's snide remarks.

The thoughts keep piling up, a huge grin spreading across your face. Freedom. Actual freedom. Fuck everything. Maybe you should steal a boat and become a pirate. Wouldn't that be fun? Beyond the fact that you have no idea how to handle motorized boats as you only went sailing with your dad in the past during happier times. 

When you take the next step forward on the pavement, your favourite lunch place already in sight, you step into nothingness. You look down in surprise, and see some clouds beneath you. The momentum of your movement doesn't allow for you to stop so before you know it you fall right through the hole in the pavement, suddenly finding yourself in the middle of the sky. 

What the fuck? It takes a few moments for you to realize what's happening as you start plummeting down through the clouds, but you're quick to start screaming. 

Passing through the clouds in a blink, you can see a lake? the sea? beneath you, a huge body of water stretching out as far as you can see. 

Fuck, what's the best way to land from this height?!, you panic and decide to try to be as rigid and upright as possible, bracing yourself for the fall as the waves of what must be the ocean come closer and closer rapidly. 

Right before you can hit the waves, something massive and cold closes around your body, your entire torso being held like a vice by what seems to be some kind of metal construction. Where did this even come from?! 

Chapter Text

You try to wriggle free out of the metal construction, but it's impossible. 

The... thing, for lack of a better word, is holding on to you impossibly tightly. 

Then, it starts to move. Rapidly you are flown through the air, towards a ship that seems to be a good hundred meters away. 

Its figurehead is a massive yellow skull, the size of which is making your stomach squirm. It also seems oddly familiar. Just not in this kind of size. 

In fact it looks an awful lot like the miniature Victoria Punk you have standing on your shelf back home in your tiny apartment. 

The ship that is home to the Kidd Pirates. Did some crazy fan build it in real life? The closer you get, the more impressed you are. 

The black sail is massive - even if massive seems to be an understatement for how impossibly large it is - and the skull looks so realistic that there's a nagging doubt in the back of your mind - it could surely only look this real if it was in fact real.

But from the little you knew about paleontology, you're pretty sure that dinosaurs with this kind of head size never existed. Sure they'd been huge, but you'd stood next to a teen tyrannosaurus fossil reconstruction once. This figurehead / hull seemed  to be ten if not a hundred times larger than that rex's head. 

The object has you flying towards the deck and the sight of what awaits you there has your jaw drop into the ocean below you. 

On the deck stands the most amazing group of cosplayers you've ever seen. 

You have one absolutely massive and muscular man cosplaying the captain, Eustass Kidd. The cosplay is so true to the anime original that you can't help but keep staring even as you're dropped on the deck unceremoniously. From those beautiful salamander pants with the purple ruffles to the two sets of belts to the scars adorning his face and open chest to the metal arm. Which looks like it hasn't been finished yet, but most Kidd cosplayers you know don't even bother making a metal arm because it's such a hassle to make and then subsequently carry around. 

Besides this wonderful cosplayer whom you already want to ask for all kinds of cosplay advice, stands somebody cosplaying Killer. Again it's an incredible muscular man with a chest so large it'd make every woman you know green with jealousy. The helmet is spot-on and the blue shirt he's wearing is sporting that particular Killer Jolly Roger that you've always wanted to know the origin of. This cosplayer too has taken the effort to make the weapons, the spinning blades that Killer is so famous for. When you look at them closely you can see the metal reflect the bright sunlight, making you blink in confusion. Usually cosplayers weren't allowed to bring actual weapons to conventions, but you were on a strange cosplay ship after all, so maybe the rules were lax or different here? 

You're unapologetically staring at everyone and are about inspect breathtakingly accurate depictions of Heat, Wire, Dive and Quincy as the Kidd cosplayer jolts you out of your thoughts. "Oi. What the hell were you falling out of the sky for?"

You hadn't known what to expect, having watched One Piece in both the English, Japanese and German dub. A deep and growly voice like Daisuke Namikawa's? More like Justin Cook's? Or perhaps more like the super manly sounding Ole Pfennig? 

This Kidd cosplayer's voice was nothing like any of them. Deep and manly sure, but with a quality that was impossible to pinpoint and name, making it quite different from all the voices you'd known to associate with this character.

You only knew a little about accents but you thought it kind of sounded Scottish. Which was a really fun touch, considering Oda had said in an SBS that Kidd would be from Scotland in real life. You're getting more and more impressed with these cosplayers - they really knew their stuff. Maybe they'd been that muscular beforehand, lending their bodies well to cosplays of their respective characters, but learning an entire accent just to adhere to something Oda had said in an SBS? Wow. You wished you were that dedicated to... well, anything, honestly. 

Seeing as you still haven't responded, being as starstruck as you are, Kidd's voice rings out again. "Ye think yourself too good to reply, lassie?" 

Yup, definitely Scottish. Kidd's been one of your favourite characters for as long as you can remember, so it takes everything for you not to fangirl. This is just a cosplayer. Don't be weird about this. Don't be weird about this. 

You try to tame the massive grin spreading on your face and speak in a somewhat subdued tone. "No. I just. Wow. You guys look so fucking amazing!"

Surely they must get this kind of reaction a lot. Not every cosplayer was vain, but all of them appreciated getting complimented on the hard work they'd invested to look like their favourite characters, at least in your personal experience of attending the few conventions you could actually afford. 

The reaction of this Kidd Pirates cosplayer group is nothing like what you'd expect, however. Killer goes rigid, Kidd starts to scowl, Wire looks like he's about to throw his trident into your throat and is it just you or does it look like Heat's about to roast you alive? 

"The fuck's that supposed tae mean?", Kidd snaps at you. 

"W-well, you know, like, your cosplays look really good, and you even have the accent and-", you stammer, intimidated as the large man gets up close into your personal space, towering over you as his eyes glower dangerously. 

"The fuck are ye on about?" Kidd seems to be getting more angry by the second. "Are you making fun of us?" 

You blink in absolute bewilderment. "What? No! Of course not! But like, your scars for example, they look so good they might as well be real!" 

The next thing you know, you're falling backwards onto the deck, your chin suddenly hurting like a bitch. 

"Take this weirdo to the brig. I'll talk to her later.", Kidd commands as somebody - maybe UK? Papas? Disc J? (you can never remember the names of the other Kidd Pirates, no matter how much of a fan you are) - starts dragging you off. You're still so confused. Why would that cosplayer hit you? You hadn't meant to offend him in any way. You'd just wanted to genuinely praise them!