#ekwfics

[eustasskiddswife]

Interlinked - Eustass Kid x fem!Reader

Summary: Eustass Kid was never one to believe in soulmates, despite knowing that they’re scientifically real. He remembers being a child and seeing adults gush about finding their soulmates, telling him the same old stories like he gives a damn. All that matters to him is getting stronger, leading his crew, and becoming the king of the pirates. Why would he need a soulmate?

On the opposite end of the spectrum is you, a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. For your whole life, you've been yearning to meet your soulmate. Reading romance novels, writing silly stories about your life with your potential soulmate, you've always been a dreamer, a lover.

What happens when two people from the opposite ends of a spectrum end up being soul tied?

Or, a Soulmates AU in which every person is linked to their souls other half, and soulmates are identified by physical touch instead of a visual indicator.

Words: 1,753

Chapter: 1/?

Next Chapters: 2, 3

Chapter 1: The First Touch - Kid's POV

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Eustass Kid was never one to believe in soulmates, despite knowing that they’re scientifically real. He remembers being a child and seeing adults gush about finding their soulmates, telling him the same old stories as if he gives a damn.

“I was like you, ya know. When I was your age.” The man sitting across from a 19-year-old Kid looks to be in his late forties, judging by the greying hair and the bald spot. Kid and a few of his crewmates, namely Killer, Heat, and Wire, were at a tavern near the docks, drinking off the adrenaline from a recent scuffle with some Marines. Kid glares at the man, his golden eyes narrowing in annoyance.

“Who the fuck are you, anyways?” Kid snarled at the man, taking a swig from the tankard in his hand. He shoots a dark look at Heat, who’d been blabbing loud enough about soulmates to draw attention of randoms in the tavern. He turns back to the man, expression icy. “Do we look like we want to talk to you?”

The man takes a swig of his own drink, leaning against the bar a little way away from Kid and his men. “Names Randy,” the man offers, not reacting at all to Kid’s hostile demeanor. He turns in his bar stool to face Kid.

“Your friends right, by the way.” Randy nods towards Heat. “Just because you think you’re too good for a soulmate doesn’t mean you don’t have one. I used to think the same thing.”

The four pirates go silent for a moment at his words, before Kid scoffs loudly, downing the rest of his drink and slamming the tankard down violently.

“I don’t care if I got one,” Kid tells him, his voice deep and aggravated, “I’m still not interested. I got more important things to do than worry about some bitch. I’m going to be king of the pirates.” He snaps at the bartender for another drink when he’s done talking.

The older man laughs, shaking his head slightly to himself. “Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that.” Randy slides a bill across the bar towards the bartender, paying for his drink before standing up from his stool. Despite the intimidating aura coming off this 19-year-old boy and his friends, Randy claps Kid on the shoulder roughly. “You won’t believe it ‘til it happens to you, son. An’ then you’ll realize you’re afraid of nothing.”

As quick as it happened, the man drops his hand from Kid’s shoulder and walks away, shoving his hands into his pant pockets. Kid gapes after him, his typical anger bubbling just under the surface but silenced briefly by the audacity of the man. Before he can react, however, a loud laugh rings out from beside him. Snapping his head to the side, he sees Heat with a hand on his stomach, bent over with laughter.

“The fuck are you laughing at?!” He snaps, reaching over to slap Heat on the back of the head roughly.

Heat winces and rubs the back of his head, still laughing and not at all offended by being hit by his captain. “That guy,” Heat says, gesturing wildly at the door where Randy just exited the tavern. “He had balls of steel!”

Kid stares at him blankly for a long moment before smacking him up the side of the head again. “Shut up, Heat.” He grumbles. Heat laughs again.

The moment settles, and all four of them fall back into normalcy after the disruption. The peace doesn’t last, however, when Killer decides to speak up.

“He was right, though.” Killer points out casually, gesturing vaguely with the hand holding his tankard. “I mean, what’s your problem with soulmates, anyways? You’ve been like that forever.” At the question, all three sets of eyes turn to Kid, waiting for his answer. Heat looks like a kid on Christmas, his eyes glinting in excitement at the scent of drama, while Killer’s eyes are calm behind his mask, as always. Wire stays quiet but keeps his eyes on Kid curiously as he sips his drink.

Kid scoffs again, turning forward in his seat so he doesn’t have to look at any of them. He stays silent for a moment, muscles in his jaw working as he wars with himself. “You know what my problem is,” he mutters, tone still harsh, obviously annoyed that they’re even asking him about this again. “I don’t have time for it. You know yourself that there’s no place in a pirate’s life for that shit.”

Killer watches Kid’s side profile as he speaks, before making the smallest shake of his head in disagreement, the motion barely noticeable if you weren’t looking for it. “Why not?” He asks plainly. “Why can’t you have both?”

When Killer asks that, Kid seems to pause. It isn’t dramatic. It isn’t loud. He just… stops, going eerily still. Anyone would miss it if they weren’t watching for it, but Killer was. So, when Kid grumbles unintelligibly under his breath, downs his drink, and storms out of the tavern, Killer lets him. When Heat and Wire slide their eyes back from the door of the tavern to Killer’s masked face, he just shrugs one shoulder.

~~~

Life on the Victoria Punk goes on as normal for years after their encounter with Randy. Kid kept acting like whole soulmate thing didn’t apply to him, and the crew continued to let him. Even when one of his men met their own soulmate during a random supply stop, his fingers brushing the woman’s as he purchased something from her stall, Kid just turned his nose up at the sentimentality of it all and ignored it. Feelings are a weakness, he thinks to himself. Just another thing that can be used against you.

With the idea of soulmates completely pushed out of the realm of reality for Kid and his crew, they continue to follow their path, making their way towards the New World. Like many young pirates from the Worst Generation, this path eventually led to Sabaody Archipelago, the gateway to the New World and Fishman Island. Currently, Kid, Killer, Heat and Wire are standing in the back of the Sabaody Auction House, watching as people are auctioned off like objects.

“How about we buy anyone who seems interesting?” Kid chuckles darkly, his arms crossed as he leans against the wall. Heat leans in, voice lowered.

“Boss, look.” He murmurs to Kid, nodding towards the seating area in front of them. “I recognize him.” Both Heat and Kid look down towards the back rows of seats, spotting a man sitting there, elbows resting on the backs of the chairs beside him, flanked by what appear to be his crewmates standing behind him.

“Trafalgar Law from North Blue, Captain of the Heart Pirates.” Heat says. “He’s worth 200 million. I’ve heard pretty bad rumours about him.” As if sensing the eyes on him, the man, Trafalgar Law, turns to glance at them over his shoulder. With a smirk, he flips them off before turning back to face forward.

Kid grins maliciously. “He’s got a bad attitude, too.” He says.

~~~

The next couple of minutes go by in a flash. A Celestial Dragon shows up at the auction house, some greasy, obese rat-looking man dragging his bloodied slave behind him. A mermaid is put up for auction, drawing the attention of said world noble, and suddenly, Straw Hat Luffy bursts into the auction house, most of his crew having already been there waiting. Before anyone can even react, Luffy’s fist is slamming into the Tenryuubito’s face, and all hell breaks loose. When the auction house descends into chaos and is subsequently surrounded by Marines, a temporary truce between the Straw Hat Pirates, Kid Pirates, and Heart Pirates forms as the three captains and their crews fight off the Marines.

Electricity crackles from Kid’s arm as he activates his devil fruit powers, magnetizing the nearby marines’ weapons and ripping them away, forming a giant metal extension on his arm. He swings his arm, knocking down a couple now-defenseless marines. He cackles maniacally, throwing his head back and causing a swarm of metal weapons above his head.

“How do you like that?” he yells, grinning wildly as he looks at Luffy and Law across the battlefield. Law looks unimpressed, like always, and Luffy beams at Kid, eyes wide.

“WOAH!” He yells, pointing at Kid with one stretched-out rubber arm. “That’s so cool!”

Kid smirks smugly, folding his arms over his chest. “Of course it’s cool. It’s my powers.” He brags. The moment causes a lapse in concentration as Luffy praises Kid and Kid soaks it up. Law watches them for a beat, his hand on the hilt of his blade over his shoulder. He rolls his eyes, before scanning the battlefield again. It’s too late when he notices a marine captain making a lunge at Kid, seemingly coming from nowhere.

“Eustass-ya!” Law snaps, unsheathing his blade and stepping forward, ready to step in. In a blur of movement, Law steps forward, Luffy’s grin drops as he stretches his arm back to hit another marine approaching from the opposite side, and the marine captain’s attack is just barely blocked by a third party, the clash of metal ringing out loudly as someone steps in between Kid and the marine. The marine grits his teeth, shifting his blade against the blade of the person who interrupted. Kid notices that it’s a woman, one he spotted with Luffy’s crew earlier.

“If you’re just going to stand around like an idiot, go get yourself killed somewhere else.” the woman snaps, her back to Kid and eyes on the marine as she holds him off. Kid’s expression darkens.

“Huh?!” he asks, glaring down at the back of her head. “And who the fuck are you?” Before she can respond, the marine captain, who’s still blade-to-blade with the woman, shifts his feet and pushes the woman away so he can step back and get his bearings. The force of his shove knocks her backwards into Kid’s chest.

Like a switch being flipped, everything seems to both disappear and get incredibly intense at the same time. Kid’s hearing goes, ears ringing as he gets almost lightheaded. His body locks up and his breathing stops. He can’t hear anything, can’t see anything, can’t even feel anything but the point of contact between the woman’s back and his chest and his hand on her shoulder as he steadies her reflexively.

…what the fuck?

[eustasskiddswife]

Interlinked - Eustass Kid x fem!Reader 2

Summary: Eustass Kid was never one to believe in soulmates, despite knowing that they’re scientifically real. He remembers being a child and seeing adults gush about finding their soulmates, telling him the same old stories like he gives a damn. All that matters to him is getting stronger, leading his crew, and becoming the king of the pirates. Why would he need a soulmate?

On the opposite end of the spectrum is you, a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. For your whole life, you've been yearning to meet your soulmate. Reading romance novels, writing silly stories about your life with your potential soulmate, you've always been a dreamer, a lover.

What happens when two people from the opposite ends of a spectrum end up being soul tied?

Or, a Soulmates AU in which every person is linked to their souls other half, and soulmates are identified by physical touch instead of a visual indicator.

Words: 2,004

Chapter: 2/?

Previous Chapters: 1

Chapter 2: The First Touch - Reader's POV

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Unlike most pirates in your generation, who were raised in a dog-eat-dog world where you either fight to survive or die trying, your story is a little bit different. Your parents are not only alive, but supportive and loving.

You were born on a small island in the East Blue to a fishing family. From a young age, you learned how to be useful on the homefront: gutting and cleaning the fish when the boats come back in, learning how to salt, dry, and store them for the winter, even learning how to cook once you were old enough to be trusted around the fire. Once you hit your teens, after months of pestering, your father started taking you out on the boats, teaching you the basics of sailing, navigation, and fishing.

It wasn’t just your mother and father who taught you and raised you, however. Growing up on such a small fishing island, your community had always been tight-knit. There was never a question of where your next meal would come from, or who would keep an eye on you while you’re parents were busy. No one was forced to struggle alone.

One of your earliest memories of this deep-rooted community was when you were just a toddler at the festival that your island holds once a year, aptly named ‘The Festival of Souls’. The festival, like many others, is a celebration with food stalls and performances and fireworks. Historically, the festival lets joined soulmates celebrate and solidify their connection by taking the time to appreciate having found their missing piece. Those that haven’t met their soulmates yet use the celebration as a time of learning from those that are linked, listening to stories and sharing in the love of others… which is probably why you’ve always been such a romantic.

The people of your island, for as long as anyone remembers, have always held the notion of soulmates and true love highly. Many believe that your soul can’t find peace until you experience the first touch with your soulmate and link with them. And if the emptiness that you’ve felt in your chest your whole life is anything to go off, then this theory must hold some weight. The festival, then, is used to celebrate soulmates and encourage the youth and unlinked to seek theirs out.

On the evening of the festival, you were sat on the grass somewhere in the middle of a crowd of toddlers, your little 6-year-old face bright with amazement as you listened to an elderly couple recount their story.

“The universe created you and your other half from the same atoms,” the woman explained once they were done telling the children how her and her husband met, the details of their first touch as young adults. She turns to her husband, her eyes warm and smile soft. She reaches out and covers one of his wrinkled hands with one of her own. “How lucky we are, to have someone to belong to.”

~~~

From that point on, as young as you were, you’ve dreamt about having a love like the one those two showed that day. You get a warm, giddy feeling in your chest every time you think about the fact that someone, out there, is meant just for you, and you for them. Every festival that goes by as you get older just solidifies your hopelessness and yearning even more.

Years go by and you grew into a strong, self-sufficient woman, working with your mother and the other women in processing the fish, and sometimes heading out on the boats with the men. But despite staying busy, ever since that first festival where you learned about soulmates, you’ve dreamed about meeting yours every night. What do they look like? Are they nice? What will it feel like to finally be whole?

You haven’t thought a lot about the future and where you’ll end up. Aside from fantasies about meeting your soulmate, you’ve never thought about leaving your home. Do I need to travel to meet your soulmate? You’ve never been on your own before, and the fear of leaving everything you know and love to sail the seas alone is too intimidating at your young age. So, you stay at home, working with the fishermen and sticking to what you know. After all, you have to meet your soulmate at some point, right?

Maybe that’s why, when you’re 19, your plans were quick to change when a 17-year-old boy wearing a straw hat, leading a crew of misfits, showed up on your island.

You were already on the docks that morning when the pirate ship pulled up to the island, helping your father and the other men unload their haul. You wore a pair of green overalls over a black t-shirt, your hair pinned back in some sort of messy-bun-turned-birds-nest from the salt water.

“Got it!” you said loudly once you had a good grip on the fish crate that one of the men lowered down to you from the side of the boat. The man let go of the crate and you carried it across the dock to the storehouse nearby. You just put the crate down and dusted off your hands when you heard an unfamiliar voice calling out.

 "HEY! You!” The voice rang out, and you turned towards the doorway, looking outside. “The woman with the fish! You’re strong!”

When you stepped fully out of the storehouse back into the early morning sun, you spotted the source of the voice. A young boy was bounding towards you, a bright grin on his face. He was wearing a red sleeveless shirt and blue shorts. Most notably, however, was the straw hat on the top of his head. You noticed that behind him are four others, three men and one woman.

Before you got a chance to respond, the boy spoke again.

“Join my crew” he said, and the orange-haired woman behind him immediately facepalmed and groaned.

“Luffy, no! How many times do I have to tell you; you can’t just invite every person you meet to join the crew!” she yelled, hitting him in the back of the head. The boy, whose name you smartly deduced was Luffy, just grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Why not?” He asked, before gesturing at you. “She’s strong!”

The orange-haired woman sighed. “Because, Luffy. She’s a stranger.” The other three men watched with varying degrees of interest; the green-haired one watched boredly with half-lidded eyes, his arms crossed; the blond one smoked a cigarette and rolled his eyes at his captain before turning back to stare at you with heart eyes; the one with the long nose eyed you warily, standing behind the green-haired man and peaking over the larger man’s shoulder at you.

At the woman’s argument, Luffy spun on his heel to face you again and shot his hand out toward you, grinning. “I’m Monkey D. Luffy,” he introduced. “I’m going to be king of the pirates!”

You looked between his face and his hand, then the faces of his friends behind him, searching for some indication that this crazy encounter wasn’t some elaborate joke. After a beat, long enough for you to have determined that they aren’t there to hurt you, but not long enough to confirm that they aren’t crazy, you huffed softly in amusement and lifted your own hand, smiling and introducing yourself.

Luffy’s grin somehow widened at your politeness, and he shook your hand enthusiastically. “YOSH! Now you’re not a stranger!” He declared, dropping your hand and putting his hands on his hips as if he just did something impressive by introducing himself. The orange-haired woman facepalmed again.

You had turned down the invitation at the time, having no real interest in becoming a pirate or leaving home. However, after two days of thinking about your soulmate possibly being out there somewhere, you realized that this was an opportunity. To you, meeting the Straw Hat pirates felt like a sign from the universe, leading you to your other half. Being the hopeless romantic you are, when the Going Merry pulls out of your islands dock, you’re on board, waving back at your friends and family on the island.

That’s how, two years later, you ended up at Sabaody Archipelago with your crew, which has grown since you joined. You and some of your other crewmates, including Nami, the orange-haired woman, Zoro, the green-haired himbo, and Sanji, the curly-browed cook, stood at the back of the Sabaody Auction House.

Currently, the moment playing out in front of you feels like it’s in slow motion. One second you’re watching some Celestial Dragon treat his slave like trash and try to buy Camie, the crew’s mermaid friend, at the slave auction. The next second there’s a crash and Luffy is blasting through the roof into the auction house.

When Luffy’s fist slams into the Tenryuubito’s face, the room seems to freeze. You and Nami meet eyes, an exasperated look passing between you at your captains’ actions, before all hell broke loose.

You just finished fighting off some mid-level marine when you hear your captain’s excited voice. Turning your head, you see him pointing at the red-haired pirate captain that Nami told you was named Eustass Kid. You see your captain’s awestruck face as Kid uses his devil fruit powers to create a giant swarm of weapons and metal in the sky, the man’s arms crossed over his chest as he preens smugly at Luffy’s amazement.

You scoff lightly under your breath, rolling your eyes at the egocentricity of it all. Of course they’d take this as an opportunity to show off, you think.

Since the men are distracted and the rest of the crewmates are in their own fights, you’re the first one to notice the marine captain taking advantage of this moment of weakness and sneaking towards Kid.

You shift your feet, changing directions and dashing forward, your own sword drawn. You slide in front of Kid just in time to stop the marine captain’s blade from making contact, the impact of steel-on-steel ringing loudly through the battlefield and sending a shockwave through your hands.

You grit your teeth as pain shoots like electricity through your wrists, and you can feel the red-haired captain’s attention finally turn back to the fight, his taller frame casting a shadow over your back.  

Keeping your eyes locked on the marine captain, you snap over your shoulder. “If you’re just going to stand around like an idiot, go get yourself killed somewhere else.” You shift your feet and keep the pressure on the marine’s blade, not giving him room to breathe or drop his guard as you hold him off.

You hear Kid finally speak from behind you. “Huh?!” his tone is icy, and you know his ego took a hit from being told off by a woman. You can’t help but scoff, even as most of your attention is on the marine in front of you. “And who the fuck are you?” Kid asks.

Before you get a chance to open your mouth to respond, the marine suddenly pushes his blade harder against yours, shoving you backwards so he can take a step back. Since you rushed over to block the hit, your footing wasn’t very good, and you stumbly backwards into Kid’s broad chest.

The moment you two make contact feels exactly like what you always dreamed it would feel like. The cold, hollow crater in your chest begins to fill slowly from the bottom up, the feeling warm and tight and overwhelming. All your senses dull, heightened to the points of contact: his chest to your back, his large hand on your shoulder keeping you steady. Everything beyond the man behind you seems to cease to exist.

Your heart skips a beat, before slamming back into action, beating so hard you know he can feel it. Every inch of your body tingles warmly, and you remain frozen, eyes wide.

…no way.

[eustasskiddswife]

Interlinked - Eustass Kid x fem!Reader 3

Summary: The battle at Sabaody rages on, forcing you and Kid both to put aside the sudden meeting and focus on surviving.

Words: 2,248

Chapter: 3/?

Previous Chapters: 1, 2

Notes: Hi hi!

Thanks so much for sticking with me! Next chapter will be out next week:)

P.S. I added a slowburn tag lol. The more I write, the more I want to add.

Chapter 3: Ill-timed Meeting

https://archiveofourown.org/works/88327106/chapters/234982331

There are many different stories told across all four seas about what it’s like to experience your First Touch. One thing that’s pretty consistent between every variation: the way the whole world seems to fade when you touch your soulmate for the first time, everything hyper-focused on the point of contact.

Some people describe the feeling as a warmth flooding through their chest. A sudden sense of completion. That’s the side that you fell on that day.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, are the people who have been running from this moment their whole lives. People like Kid, who think having a soulmate is an unnecessary, useless fact of life, and that they’re better off without their other half.

When someone like Kid meets their soulmate, it feels like the ground has been ripped out from under them. A deep sense of dread pools low in their gut. Not because they don’t want it. It’s actually the opposite: they spend their lives convinced they don’t need it, but all they can think when it happens is why does this feel so right?

Regardless of which side you fall on, the First Touch is a pivotal moment. It’s terrifying, really. Even if you’ve been waiting for it, the feeling of being connected to someone so strongly is just so… overwhelming.

That’s why both you, the hopeless romantic who’s been fantasizing about this your whole life, and Kid, the hot-headed soulmate denier, remain frozen in the middle of the battlefield. Your back is still pressed to his chest, his heart pounding against your spine as his palm stays hot and firm on your shoulder.

The marine captain is still a few feet away, taking this lull in the fight to get his bearings. Neither you nor Kid notices him. Not even when he takes a breath and moves to attack you again.

You finally snap out of it when you feel your captain yell your name, his rubber arm looping around you and yanking you back out of the line of fire. From the other side, Law steps in to take down the marine captain.

Once you and Kid are separated thanks to Luffy’s interference, the strange soulmate-induced fog seems to slowly release the both of you from its grasp, subsequently allowing the fight to continue.

You go back to fighting with your crew, putting aside the adrenaline from meeting your soulmate to focus on getting out of Sabaody.

 ~~~

Later in the fight, you and your crew finally take down a Pacifista, a cyborg designed in the image of Bartholomew Kuma. The single Pacifista put up an unexpectedly tough fight, requiring assists from nearly all of the Straw Hats before it goes down. Of course, there isn’t a chance to react before Sentomaru appears with yet another Pacifista.

Having spent all your energy on taking down the first cyborg, Luffy calls for you all to split up and run, knowing you simply can’t win this one.

You end up in a group with Luffy, Robin, and Chopper, while two other groups form: Sanji, Nami, and Franky in one, Usopp, Zoro, and Brook in the other. Sentomaru targets your group, and you and Robin watch Luffy’s back as he jumps into action.

Sentomaru easily deflects Luffy’s Gatling attack and lands a particularly hard hit, sending the Straw Hat captain flying. The sound of him hitting the tree, nearly getting knocked unconscious, makes something click in your brain. With a sudden, devastating sense of despair, you only have one thought: we can’t beat them.

You can’t tell what happened to the other groups, but by the sounds of the battles and explosions all around, you don’t think things are going according to plan.

“EVERYONE FOCUS ON ESCAPING!” you hear your captain’s voice ring out. “WE CAN’T BEAT THESE GUYS AS WE ARE NOW!”

You all turn to stare at Luffy for a moment, expressions a mix of terror and surprise, before kicking into gear. All three groups start running, trying to escape from Kizaru, who has been fighting Zoro’s group, along with Sentomaru and his Pacifista.

The next few moments are a blur of chaos. It seems completely hopeless for the Straw Hats, with everyone taking hits and not making any headway in escaping.

Unbeknownst to you at the time, the tides are about to change at the appearance of the real Bartholomew Kuma, who intercepts a Pacifistas attack on Chopper and Zoro which likely would have been fatal.

“If you were to take a trip, where would you want to go?” the giant man asks an injured Zoro, who was sprawled on the ground after being dropped by Usopp.

As he speaks, Kuma slowly removes the glove from his right hand. Zoro grits his teeth, both in pain and at the recent memory of his encounter with Kuma at Thriller Bark.

“Come on, Zoro!” Usopp says from behind him, his voice shaky and laced with desperation. “We gotta get outta here, quick!”

Before Zoro can open his mouth, Kuma lifts his now bare hand, swiping it towards Zoro.

POP!

When Kuma’s large paw-like hand makes contact with Zoro’s arm, the green-haired man vanishes. An icy hush settles over the battlefield at the sudden disappearance, thick and heavy.

One-by-one, your nakama are sent away. Brook. Usopp. Sanji. Nami. You scream, yelling at Robin and Chopper to run as you turn back to face Kuma, blade drawn and expression icy even as your breath comes fast.

But what can you do against Kuma that the others couldn’t?

From further down the archipelago, the Kid Pirates are using the Marines’ focus on your crew as a cover to flee. He freezes as he at the sound of your voice.

Kid couldn’t tell you why he did what came next. Maybe it’s because of the soulmate bond. Maybe it’s because of that hit to the head he took earlier in the fight. Obviously, something is making him act in spite of himself.

Killer and Heat, who were previously flanking Kid as they fled, don’t even have time to react as their captain skids to a halt, nearly losing his balance at the sudden change in trajectory. He turns on his heel, and suddenly his feet are pounding against the dirt in the opposite direction, carrying him towards Grove 12. Towards you.

If you had asked him, he would tell you that he wasn’t in his right mind. That he was being controlled by something else.

Killer and Heat yell after him, completely thrown through a loop by their captain’s sudden change in demeanor. Killer turns to Heat.

“Get back to the ship and get ready to set sail. I’ll get him.” He jerks his head towards Kid.

Killer sets off in pursuit of the red-haired captain, trying to get his attention by calling out to him to no avail. Kid doesn’t stop. He doesn’t even make any indication of slowing down.

Finally, his steps come to a stop when he finally spots you. You’re standing in a fighting stance with your feet spread apart for balance, one foot turned to the side. Your chest is heaving as you stare up at who Kid quickly identifies as Bartholomew Kuma, your blade drawn horizontal in front of you.

He doesn’t notice the fact that over half of your crew is gone. He doesn’t notice anything, can’t notice anything but you, the feral look in your eyes and the terror you’re trying to hide.

He steps forward, ready to step in. Then, he freezes.

What am I doing? He asks himself. Why should I care about some Straw Hat freak?

He knows he should turn around and leave while he’s still out of the spotlight…

But again, his body betrays him. He takes another step towards you, the air around him crackling as he generates his own magnetic fields.

Kid doesn’t get the chance to step in.

He can only watch as Kuma’s large hand lifts towards you, making a swipe in your direction. Your wide eyes dart to the side and lock with Kid’s where he stands some way behind Kuma, his expression mirroring your own terror.

POP!

The man’s large paw-like hand makes contact with your shoulder, and the space that you had just occupied is unexpectedly empty, just like the other Straw Hats before you.

Kid doesn’t move; his eyes stay locked onto that spot. He doesn’t look away or even blink at the following three pops as Robin, Chopper, and Luffy are also caught by Kuma, signaling the complete annihilation of the Straw Hat Pirates.

It’s not until Killer grabs Kid by the arm and drags him away that Kid forces his legs to move, though his eyes are reluctant to do the same.  

“Kid!” Killer growls from under his mask, his fingers digging painfully into Kid’s left bicep. “Snap the hell out of it! We gotta move. NOW.”

Kid stays frozen for a moment longer, forcing Killer to physically drag him away. Kid blinks back into reality, forcing his eyes away from where you vanished and stumbling after Killer towards the docks.

By some miracle, Kid and Killer don’t get caught as they slip away,  since Kuma is seemingly not concerned with anyone but the Straw Hats.

The anchor on the Victoria Punk is already raised thanks to Heat’s earlier arrival, and when the crew spots their captain and first mate approaching, they begin raising the sails.

~~~

The air on the deck of the Kid Pirate’s ship is tense as the crew scrambles to escape the Archipelago. Kid stands at the helm, the cloud of rage surrounding him thick enough to make even the strongest pirate keep their distance.

Unfortunately for Kid, Killer doesn’t give a damn about his captain’s so-called rage. He can see through the tense shoulders and strained vein in his forehead.

When the ship gets a safe distance from the Archipelago, Killer approaches Kid, ignoring the look of warning the younger man shoots him.

“So,” Killer says casually, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a hip against the railing near the helm. “What the hell was that?”

The nonchalant aura that Killer exudes is enough to make Kid’s eye twitch. He hates the way that his first mate isn’t afraid of him.

“Tch. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ bout.” Kid spits, his tone clipped in an attempt to signal to Killer to drop it.

Killer does not drop it.

He tilts his head, eyes narrowing into slits behind his blue-and-white striped mask. “Bullshit.” He says plainly.

Kid’s head snaps to the side so he can glare dramatically at Killer again, trying to intimidate him into silence.

After a long, tense silent standoff, Kid growls angrily. He turns and strides away, his long black coat flailing behind him. Killer pushes off the railing, shoving his hands in his pant pockets and following Kid silently.

Kid stomps down the corridor of the ship, making his way to his private quarters. Kicking the door open, he storms in and sits on the edge of his bed, leaning his elbows on his knees. Killer knows that the open door is as good as an invitation as he’s going to get.

Entering the room, he closes the door behind him before dragging the desk chair across the room and sitting a few feet away from Kid’s bed.

A few minutes later, Kid is still sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor between his feet. Killer sits with his legs stretched out in front of him. He doesn’t speak first, knowing his friend well enough to know that pushing will only make him shut down.

Kid exhales, loud and drawn out, before lifting his head to meet Killer’s gaze. The mask does nothing to muffle the quiet sound of Killer’s breath hitching when their eyes meet.

He has never seen his captain like this. Over all the years of knowing him, fighting by his side, suffering through losses unimaginable, Killer has never seen this.

Kid’s golden eyes, usually so fierce and full of self-absorbed confidence, are raw with a sort of vulnerability that no one thought possible from him. Even when Victoria died, it was never like this.

His brows are furrowed as if he’s in some sort of agony, and Killer notices that his friend’s eyes are getting glossy.

When a tear falls down his hard-headed captain’s cheek, Killer’s eyes go wide behind his mask. His chest clenches in sudden sympathy, but for what he doesn’t know.

Before he can ask, Kid speaks up, his voice hoarse and broken, barely above a whisper.

“…that woman…”

Killer closes his mouth, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

“What woman?” he asks, leaning forward in his chair slightly, sensing that this moment is about to be more intense than he bargained for. “The Straw Hat one?”

Eustass Kid, usually one to run from emotions and hide from vulnerability, doesn’t look away from Killer, even as another tear slips down his cheek. The nod he gives is barely perceptible as the flurry of emotions behind his eyes seems to be tearing him apart.

When he speaks again, both his voice and expression are filled with complete and utter fear.

With wide, wet eyes, the usually loud and arrogant Captain Kid seems less like the ruthless supernova and more like a man who just had his world ripped away from him after learning it existed.

“…she’s my soulmate.”