Written for the adorable @opfluffzine!! It's a free digital zine that you can download right here ☁️
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[ READ ON AO3 | KO-FI | COMM INFO ]
—————
“Hey, Franosuke, are you married?”
The question didn’t take Franosuke, a carpenter in the Flower Capital of Wano, completely by surprise. After all, a few of his coworkers had just spent the better half of their break complaining about their home lives—how their wives were on their asses about drinking and spending time with geishas instead of helping take care of the kids. Which was entirely in their right to do, in Franosuke’s opinion; a man should take responsibility and help his family, be it wife, kids, siblings, or parents!
But voicing those thoughts would go against his ‘role’, wouldn’t it?
And so, Franosuke simply laughed, shaking his head. “No way, man! I’m free as a super bird!”
“Good for you!” one of the men said, slapping Franosuke’s shoulder.
“Oh, but,” another one noted with a knowing smirk, “I hear you’ve got quite the favourite in old Tsugaru Umi’s teahouse.”
A small choir of ohh immediately followed as all his coworkers turned to look at Franosuke with wide, almost evil grins on their faces. A second later, a barrage of questions followed.
“It’s O-Some, isn’t it?!”
“I bet it’s Kisegawa!”
“The Oiran’s procession is going to be next month, I bet you switch your favourite then! Always happens.”
Honestly, Franosuke had no idea who or what they were talking about… but a happy smile still pulled on his lips as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Because, while his coworkers speculated wildly about who his favourite geisha might or might not be, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering.
Wandering to the silky black hair, two-coloured blue eyes, and mind so sharp it could destroy a man in a second.
Shaking his head, Franky laughed loudly as he brought himself to the reality where he was surrounded by a bunch of dudes with the smell of wood and sweat in the air. “You’re making me feel super weird now, guys! She’s a super lady. I’m not going to replace her because some pin-up girl walks by!”
His coworkers exchanged a confused glance. “What’s ‘pin-up girl’?”
Oh.
Shit, he shouldn’t have said that.
“A beautiful, sexy woman?” Franosuke tried, wrecking his brain for an excuse. “It’s… a dialect.”
Several doubtful looks and murmurs of, “where is he from again?” were his only response and he felt sweat building on his back, his shirt sticking to his skin uncomfortably. What could he say? How did he change the topic without it sounding forced?
What a super dumb slip of the tongue that was…
“Hey, assholes!! Stop slacking or I’m gonna fire you!”
All the men on the construction site jumped at the angry shout, everyone immediately rushing to pick up their saws and hammers and get to work. Meanwhile… Franosuke was never more grateful for Master Minatomo and his awful personality.
—————
Walking down the familiar streets of the Flower Capital, Franosuke marvelled at how easy finding his way was now. After all, it had only been a few weeks since he had arrived here and at first, the roads felt incredibly confusing. Them all being named 1st Street and 2nd Street and 36th Street wasn’t helping either because… 36th from what?
It made no sense to him. The city he grew up in was huge too but Water 7 had never felt as hard to navigate as this.
Now, though, he could walk these streets blindfolded—at least the parts of the city he knew. Actually… how many times had he walked this route? Even his coworkers had started to notice he visited the place often… Some might even say too often; they might say he was pathetic, hopeless, throwing away money for no reason, for a fake dream.
But it wasn’t fake, a dream, or hopeless to him.
Instead, the sight of the teahouse attached to a certain okiya made him feel happy. Excited.
“Sir Franosuke, we’ve been expecting you.” The teahouse worker bowed deeply in greeting before leading him to his reserved room and bowing again.
Franosuke wondered whether this treatment would ever stop freaking him out; it was like he was a nobility whenever he walked in here, it was super weird. But, he supposed that was what went with exclusive patronage—honestly, it was a miracle he was even allowed in here. Not many were, certainly not people who appeared suddenly out of nowhere with no background and no connections.
Yet another reason to suffer old Minatomo and his tantrums; if it weren’t for his patronage of this place, his recommendation, and friendship with the owner, there was no way for Franosuke to even get a glimpse of the garden, never mind getting to walk through the doors to this small, private room.
Well, no reason to dwell on that. He was here and that was all that mattered!
The moment he sat down at the tiny, low table, the door slid open quietly once more. And when he glanced towards it… a wide smile pulled on his lips.
Kneeling on the ground just outside the room was a geisha, her head slightly bowed, eyes turned modestly to the ground. She waited a few seconds before she rose to her feet, entered the room and kneeled again to close the door behind herself, then turned to face Franosuke directly for the first time.
“Welcome… my Lord,” she said in a sweet voice before her eyes turned to the side once more. This time, however, it was in a more of a coy way than anything.
The sight nearly made Franosuke start laughing.
“Seeing you act like this, I feel like you’re about to assassinate me every time, Miss O-Robi.”
Now, it was O-Robi’s turn to quickly cover her mouth with her kimono sleeve to hide her chuckle. “I think Luffy wouldn’t be very happy if he came here with Sanji only to find out his shipwright was now in pieces, being sold for metal scrap.”
Franosuke frowned, crossing his large metal arms over his chest. “Hey! Are you doubting my abilities? I’m not so easy to just take apart and sell, lady!” He paused, then added, “You would make a lot of money with me though.”
This time, O-Robi couldn’t hold her quiet giggle back. She didn’t bother hiding it either as she finally joined Franosuke at his table. “I’ll make sure to sell you to the underground. I know people would pay hundreds of millions of beri for that laser beam of yours, Franky,” she said, her voice light with amusement.
“You’d better,” Franky huffed, nodding to himself. “Those people’d appreciate my super armoured body at least!”
Shaking her head with an easy smile still playing on her lips, Robin grabbed the sake bottle off the table, pouring Franky a cup with practised ease. Up until now, Franky had never realised how elegant such a simple action could be; it was like watching art in motion. Robin’s graceful hands were holding the bottle gently, the sake trickling into the cup with precision, not a single drop wasted. She was leaning forward slightly, the collar of her kimono falling low in the back, exposing and accentuating her long, delicate neck.
Franky jumped when someone tapped his shoulder right then, breaking him out of his reverie—when he turned to look who it was, however, only a detached hand growing out of his own arm greeted him, before it scattered into flower petals.
“Staring is rude, you know,” Robin said, shooting Franky a teasing look.
The man huffed out a laugh as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Robin’s cheek, careful of her make-up. “Sorry, Robin. Just admiring how beautiful my super geisha is.”
“A geisha mustn’t be touched, my Lord,” Robin said sternly, but the corners of her mouth twitched, her eyes dancing.
“Kick me out, then.” Franky grinned and, without missing a beat, kissed her again.
Robin laughed. “You’re impossible.”
Finally, Franky grabbed the sake bottle from her, pouring her own cup for her. With a small thank you, Robin raised her cup to her lips, taking a sip—and then, as if completely letting go of her ‘role’, she leaned into Franky’s side, sighing contently.
For but a second, Franky froze.
But then, something warm spilled inside of his chest and he raised his arm, pulling her closer to him. He almost forgot how it felt having Robin next to him, how comforting and exciting feeling her body heat seep into his skin—numb and hard with metal right underneath—was. The archeologist was so small next to him. Small and beautiful and oh-so deadly.
Franky knew that if she wanted to, she would be able to kill him in seconds. But she didn’t—wouldn’t. Not anymore. And Franky loved knowing that, loved that she chose every day to be here, with the crew. With him. She had gone through so much pain, but she was willing to open herself up and trust them even so.
He would make super damn sure she never regretted that decision.
Letting his smaller, human-sized hand out of his regular hand, Franky reached out, touching Robin’s cheek softly, making her tilt her head back to look at him. Robin hummed questioningly, but Franky only sighed. “I really wanna kiss you.”
“You did already.”
Franky clicked his tongue. “You know what I mean, Robin.”
“You’ll mess up my make-up,” Robin noted.
“And your teacher will yell at you, I know.”
With a sigh, Franky retreated his hand; he really didn’t want a repeat of the first time he came here… Robin wasn’t allowed to leave the okiya for days after that, apparently something about proper geisha manners and perceived perfection and innocence. He didn’t really get it but he sure didn’t need a detailed explanation. Definitely not from the tiny old hag. She looked like she would go on forever given the chance.
Quickly covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve, Robin chuckled at Franky’s disappointment.
But then, Franky blinked when one of Robin’s hands came to rest against his shoulder, another on his chest as she rose to her knees with a soft smile on her lips—and a playful twinkle in her eyes. A third and a fourth hand cupped Franky’s face, gently guiding him forward—and a second later, their lips met, moulding together easily as they kissed properly for the first time in weeks.
Franky grinned into the kiss; the smell of the powder on Robin’s skin mixing with her perfume was tickling his nose, her lips soft against his own. The feeling made his heart race as if this was their first time.
It would probably always feel that way to him. With Robin, every day was like their first—especially now. After not seeing her for two whole years, it was as if he couldn’t get enough of her presence, her voice, her touch, her brilliance.
She was just as beautiful, just as smart, just as perfect as she was when they first met. The only difference was that she was much more herself.
And Franky couldn’t help but love every last bit off her.
When his coworker asked if he was married earlier, Franky wasn’t being entirely honest. But… it wasn’t like he was completely lying either. He did have a wife but they were pirates, after all, and pirate weddings weren’t exactly official. Moreover, they were officiated by the captain. And their captain being Luffy… The whole thing pretty much consisted of Luffy saying ‘Marry you? Yeah, why not. Done.’ and then immediately asking if there was a wedding cake.
Franky hesitated calling that a wedding. More like a super speed run of one. But—
It was enough for them.
Whether they were an assassin and a dismantler, an archeologist and a shipwright, or a geisha and a carpenter, Franky knew Robin would always be right there, by his side.
And Franky would always be grateful for it, ready to love her exactly the way she was in return.
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Here’s my preview for the @bnha-kokoro-zine !! I wrote a fluffy Kamijirou fic for the fluff zine and I’m so proud of it and excited for you guys to see it! It was such an honor to be a part of this project. I LOVED writing this fic <3
You can see my full fic in the fluff zine and you can see all the store options below! Check it out!!
Written for the adorable @opfluffzine!! It’s a free digital zine that you can download right here ☁️
[ READ ON AO3 | KO-FI | COMM INFO ]
—————
Walking around the New Year’s festival in Kano Country’s capital with his wife was somewhat of a challenge. Sai hadn’t expected it to be easy to begin with; even after all these months, Baby 5 was still struggling with her own worth and fear of abandonment.
He didn’t expect it to be easy… but you never realise just how many vendors are out there shouting ‘try our dumplings!’ and ‘play our game!’ until you have to actively stop your flustered wife from following every single one of them. After two hours, Sai had lost count of how many times he had to stop in his tracks and run back to save his wife (and her debt-riddled wallet) from the clutches of someone whose invitations Sai’s ears completely failed to even register.
It was honestly ridiculous how all these shady characters seemed to always circle around her like vultures. Almost like his wife was wearing a big red sign saying ‘SCAM ME’.
“You’re such a pretty young lady! Your hair is so silky and beautiful! This hair pin would be just perfect! Or maybe this one? Oh, how about both? They go wonderful together and match your eyes!”
Sai took a deep breath, willing himself to stay calm as he strode over to the next stall, this one just covered in the ugliest, gaudiest, tackiest accessories Sai had ever seen. Even from a distance, he could see Baby 5’s face turning deep red as her hands flew up to cover her mouth, no doubt mumbling to herself about being needed. In passing, Sai couldn’t help but note how cute her flushed cheeks and doe eyes looked—but the thought was quickly overpowered by the annoyance he felt.
Because past his wife, he could also see the shameless, uncaring intent behind the vendor’s forceful attitude.
“Hey,” Sai growled as soon as he was close enough, bringing both women’s attention to himself.
The vendor’s eyes seemed to harden for a split second before that award-winning, fake sales smile took over once more. “I’ll be with you shortly, sir. Please, feel free to browse the wares while I attend to this lovely lady!”
“No, you won’t.” Sai had to try very hard to keep his voice level as he took a step forward, placing himself in between the vendor and Baby 5.
“Sir, you can’t—” the woman started but, once their eyes met, she froze, taking a step back. Sai wasn’t sure if she was simply taken aback by the way he towered over her or if some of his anger was showing on his face.
Not that the reason mattered to him.
Biting back any aggressive remarks, Sai turned away from the vendor to instead throw a look at his wife. “Five, let’s—”
“Darling!!”
“What—?! What are you doing?!” he cried in surprise when Baby 5 threw herself at him, her small form pressing against him as she hugged his arm tight.
She beamed up at him, her big eyes dancing with what seemed like actual sparkles, a giggle on her lips.
“I seriously don’t get you,” Sai mumbled, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly.
This girl’s mind was so confusing and her reactions so random at times that it left him with his head spinning. But… he was starting to get used to it. At first, he would jump out of his skin whenever Baby 5 would call him darling or start fixing his clothes, massage his shoulders, bring him water during training with Boo—or worse, get him breakfast in bed and try to hand feed him as if he were a toddler.
These days, however, he mostly accepted these things as a part of her. A part that needed to be worked on and toned down to be sure, but one that had become… almost endearing. He would rather sit through one of Cavendish’s three-hour rants about how amazing and beautiful and popular he was than admit it though.
But, Baby 5’s overzealous attempt to help and please him were the least of Sai’s concerns right now.
Throwing one last warning look at the vendor, he took a step forward. “Let’s go, Five.”
“Okay, darling!” Baby 5 sang happily as she followed him, her small hands never once loosening their hold on Sai’s forearm.
Sai didn’t mind.
They walked in silence for a while, simply taking in the sights of the festival—all the while Sai made sure to glare at every sales person who only slightly looked like they were about to swoop in.
Finally, Sai heaved a deep sigh.
“Five, you need to learn that it’s okay to say no when you don’t want something,” he said with annoyance tinting his words, glancing at his wife.
She didn’t look back at him; rather, it looked like she was actively avoiding his gaze. If it wasn’t for the way her hands squeezed around his arm momentarily, and the way her already small frame seemingly shrunk even more, he would almost think she didn’t hear him.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled after a long while, her voice so low it was barely audible.
And immediately, rage started bubbling in Sai’s veins again.
He clenched his fist, the one that Baby 5 wasn’t basically clutching at, willing himself to stay calm. “I’m not angry.” He paused, before quickly rectifying his statement. ”Not at you.”
That seemed to make Baby 5 snap out of whatever mental state she had thrown herself into. She froze for a second, then her big eyes finally turned up to blink at him. “What?”
“I’m not angry at you,” Sai stressed, his brow furrowing. “I’m pissed at everyone else taking advantage of you! It’s like you don’t even know what you want past all the shit everyone else keeps pushing at you!”
“I—I don’t—” Baby 5 stuttered, but then went silent, her cheeks flushing as her eyes shifted to the side again. Looking so guilty.
The sight sent a new wave of anger through Sai. Just how deeply ingrained could one person’s trauma be? How bad would it have been had her so-called ‘family’ not encouraged her bad habits?
It wasn’t fucking fair to her.
Taking a deep breath to force himself to calm down, Sai stopped walking, forcing Baby 5 to pause as well. He ignored the annoyed comments and complaints from the passersby, not even sparing them an apology for blocking the path. He simply looked at his wife for a moment, taking in her small, confused frown, the pink dusting on her cheeks and nose from the chilly air, the way her breath hitched.
Slowly, Sai raised his free hand to touch her cheek. Absent-mindedly, he noted how cold her skin felt.
“Five, just say what you want. No one’s going to toss you away just for saying ‘no’ or ‘I want crab for dinner’. Not here. And if they try, I’ll kick their asses!”
Baby 5’s eyes went wide. And seeing her surprise, the implications of what he had just said hit Sai like a warship.
Retracting his hand as if Baby 5’s skin had burned him, Sai jumped away from her, so abruptly and forcefully that his arm slipped from Baby 5’s grasp. Immediately, both his hands flew up, and he started waving them in front of himself as if he could shove the awkwardness away.
This time, it was his turn to stumble over his own words. “I just—I mean—”
He froze completely when a new sound reached his ears. It took him a few seconds to realise what it was… and when he did, he could only stare in wonder as Baby 5 laughed. Not a giggle, a huff, or a cute little chuckle that sounded almost painfully fake; rather, it was a genuine, happy laughter, so carefree that it startled Sai. He wasn’t sure if he had ever heard her laugh so easily, so openly.
The sight made his heart jump in his chest, something stirring in his stomach. Surprisingly… he didn’t hate the feeling.
Before he could stop himself, Sai took a step forward; one of his hands shot forward, grabbing at Baby 5’s wrist to pull her towards himself. The girl stumbled forward, falling right into Sai’s arms with a surprised yelp, and immediately, Sai’s other hand wrapped around his wife’s waist, holding her close.
“Da—Darling?! What’s going—”
“I don’t know,” Sai said, his voice tight, his eyes closed as heat rushed to his face. Why the hell did he do that? He just hugged her without thinking after seeing her laugh…
But, when Baby 5’s fingers curled into his coat, clutching at the fabric like her life depended on it, her entire body relaxing into him as her face dropped to bury in his chest, Sai’s regret and confusion evaporated. Instead, a strange feeling of rightness bloomed in his chest, making a smile pull on his lips, and his grip on her waist tightened momentarily.
What was this woman doing to him? Just a few months ago, he was engaged to Ooklicia and couldn’t care less about it—or about Ooklicia and her husband harem, for that matter—but now, he couldn’t imagine being married to anyone else. Couldn’t imagine going to sleep every day without Five by his side.
Stepping away a little, just enough for Five to look up at him questioningly, Sai let go of her wrist and waist; instead, slowly, carefully… he cupped her face. He waited a moment, watching his wife’s eyes go wide, before her expression melted, her cheeks turning pink—not from the chill in the air, but from something deeper and warmer. Her eyes fluttered shut then and, as if on cue, Sai’s heart started beating a pace faster. He was now acutely aware of the way her soft skin felt under his touch, her nose a little red from the cold, her breath visible in the freezing air.
Sai’s ears burned for reasons beyond his comprehension. Why was he so nervous? They were married, for fuck’s sake!
Sai took a deep breath—and a second later, their lips finally connected.
It wasn’t a long kiss; it wasn’t sensual or lustful or erotic in any way… and yet, it made Sai feel hot still.
When they pulled away from each other, Sai couldn’t look at Five’s expression. He knew he would only find a happy smile there, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to face it—or more accurately, couldn’t bring himself to face the feelings that would stir inside him at the sight. His face was already burning, he didn’t need to make it any worse.
Turning away quickly, Sai started walking again. He didn’t protest the way Five rushed over to his side to hug his arm close once more as she matched his pace.
“Anyway—” Sai cleared his throat awkwardly ”—what do you want to do now?”
It took Five a few seconds to say anything, and Sai wasn’t surprised; it would probably be a long road before she could express herself freely. He waited patiently while she chewed on her bottom lip before finally… she replied.
“I… want one of the plushies we saw at the shooting game earlier.”
“Alright! Let’s go!” Sai proclaimed loudly, before he turned them around and started walking with purpose.
“We don’t have to go right now!” Five cried, surprised by Sai’s resolve.
Sai huffed. “If we don’t go now, there won’t be any left!”
“But—” Five stopped speaking suddenly, and when Sai glanced at her, she was wearing an expression so flustered and happy that in that moment…
Sai decided.
He would win that plush if it killed him.
—————
By the time they got home that night, Five was hugging a large, fluffy stuffed cat to her chest.
Next to her, Sai could barely see over the mountain of different plushies—the prizes he’d gotten after beating every single game at the festival. He may have gone a little overboard but seeing that beaming, beautiful smile every time he won…
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