I commissioned tesstessgreen (bluesky | twitter) to bring this passing little moment from chapter 27 of my fic A Little Bundle of Drama to life and I couldn't be happier with the result!! Just look at them, so soft and cute and just 🥺🤍
Do not reupload and go support the artist, they are absolutely incredible and deserve all the love!! 🤍
My piece for Märchenstunde, a fairy tale-themed Law/Luffy zine @strawhearttaleszine 🐯👒Aftersales are currently open so check it out if you haven't yet!!
((Law is actually a vodnik but I'm calling him a water imp for ease of reading.))
[ Read on AO3 ]
—————
Grabbing his fishing rod like he did every Friday, a wide grin spread on Luffy’s lips. For some reason, he’d always loved the lake behind their village—loved the calm, soft hum of the water, loved playing in the shallows with his friends, and he loved the fish swimming happily below the surface.
They were the tastiest fish ever.
“I’m off!” Luffy announced to no one in particular.
“Luffy, wait!” Sabo called after him, voice full of alarm. “You know you can’t go today! No one has time to go with you!”
Luffy simply grinned wider, looking back at his dishevelled, clearly distressed brother. “I’ll be fine! Stop worrying, you’ll get wrinkles,” he noted, sticking his tongue out at him.
“Luffy, I swear—” Sabo growled, voice low and dangerous as his hand curled into a fist.
Before he had the chance to say anything more, Luffy was gone, his carefree laughter the only thing lingering in the space he had vacated.
Quickly running to the door, Sabo yelled after his runaway brother, “Luffy, if you fall into the lake again and die, I’m going to kill you!!”
—————
It was a day like any other for Trafalgar Law, the local water imp. He woke up in his bed on the lake floor, had breakfast, then grabbed one of the human anatomy books he had gotten from Shachi and Penguin—two young men from the nearby village whom Law had, begrudgingly, come to call his friends—over the years.
A perfectly normal, boring day.
Until a loud splash came from above.
He tried to ignore it—probably some idiot trying to throw a coin in to ‘make a wish’ and dropping their entire savings—but that soon became impossible when an entire human body came floating down, right into the middle of Law’s living room.
Law closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He was sure that if he pretended this wasn’t happening, it would go away. There was no way someone was stupid enough to drown in this lake of all lakes, much less right in the dreaded water imp’s goddamned house.
There was absolutely no way. He hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately; he was just imagining it, he was sure of it.
“Um, Captain? Are you going to let him die?” Bepo the catfish—his best friend of over twelve years—spoke uncertainly.
Law sighed deeply.
So, it wasn’t just some ridiculous hallucination.
Finally opening his eyes, Law took in the sight before him. The young man was still struggling but his movements were growing weak, strength quickly leaving him as more water entered his lungs. His short, black hair was flowing gently in the water, partly hiding his face but even so, Law recognised that straw hat and the scar under his eye. A guy who’d been coming to the lake nearly every day, sometimes with friends, sometimes with his brothers, sometimes alone just to look out at the water surface, splashing his feet and humming a song to himself, completely off-key.
No, Law hadn’t been watching him.
Not at all.
He simply…noticed him, that’s all.
“Seriously.” Law groaned, rubbing at the bridge of his nose before he snapped his book shut and got up from his couch.
Taking two steps forward, he came to stand above the drowning idiot. He gave him one last incredulous look before he raised one of his hands.
“Room,” he said curtly.
The water swirled under his palm for a moment before it shot out in all directions, forming a dome around the two of them, a column at the top leading all the way to the surface. Once air filled the space around them, Law flicked his fingers.
“Tact.”
A second later, the idiot lying at his feet started coughing as the water followed Law’s command, making its way out of his lungs and back out his mouth.
It didn't take long for Straw Hat to fully regain consciousness then. There were tears in his eyes when he rolled onto his stomach, shakily getting up to his knees as he heaved, spitting out the last few drops of water. Only then did he look up, turning his head every which way with eyes blown wide, staring in awe at the water dome around him.
And finally, his eyes fell on Law.
"You're the fish dude," he said, sounding…strangely excited.
Law stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to wrap his head around what the hell he had just heard. He wasn’t surprised the idiot had noticed his existence after all the visits to the lake but…
"Fish dude," he repeated, voice void of any emotion.
"Yeah!" Straw Hat nodded proudly with a painfully bright smile on his lips. "I'm Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy."
Law rubbed at his temples, already feeling a headache coming. He didn't like any random person knowing his name but if the alternative was to be called 'fish dude'… "Trafalgar Law."
"Traf-Tura-Torao. Hey, did you save me?" Straw Hat asked, apparently satisfied with the completely butchered name.
Law didn't even care anymore.
"Yes," he sighed. "But just so you know…" Law trailed off, gesturing with his hand and releasing his power, causing the water to crash down around them and submerge the lake floor once more.
Straw Hat—Luffy—yelped, his arms flailing in panic; maybe thinking that if he tried hard enough, he could keep the water away from himself. Law simply watched in mild amusement as he struggled for a while longer until the realisation dawned on him.
"I can breathe," Straw Hat muttered quietly.
"Yes. A handy side-effect of my power touching you. As a matter of fact, it’s a sign that your soul is bound to me and if I actually cared, I could keep you down here for the rest of your life as a slave. But, luckily for you, I do not care. So, if you would kindly leave now…" Law gestured in a random direction, giving Straw Hat an impatient look.
"This is amazing!" Luffy laughed as he looked around, taking a deep breath as if to appreciate his new ability.
"He's totally ignoring you, Captain," Bepo noted.
"Did that catfish just talk?!" Straw Hat was gaping now, staring at Bepo with wide eyes.
Bepo's gaze dropped as he muttered, "Sorry."
"That's so cool! Do all fish talk now?!"
Law groaned. This was going to be a long day.
—————
If you asked Law how he liked to spend his days, he would say studying medicine, reading, chatting with Bepo, or hanging out with Penguin and Shachi by the lake. Maybe going to the village library if he was bored enough to actually bother turning his pointy ears, sharp teeth, and green skin human.
The answer certainly wouldn’t be sitting on his couch with some guy sprawled next to him, listening to said guy chatter away, and answering a hundred-plus-one questions about his life, his abilities, the lake, his damn coin collection. And yet, here he was.
And he hated to admit that he was actually having fun.
“How can you keep so many books here?” Straw Hat asked, pulling out a random one from the bookcase.
Law had to bite down a laugh when Luffy quickly put the book back as if it had burned him once he realised it was a Latin dictionary. “I can control the water here, in case you didn’t notice,” Law answered, careful not to let his amusement show.
“Oh, right. Do you have anything that’s not super boring though?” Luffy gave him a look as if he was judging him and Law puffed up.
“Like what?” he hissed.
“Some adventures! Something exciting! All you have here is just…studying. Don’t you want to have fun?” There was an inquisitive look in Luffy’s eyes while he questioned Law’s taste in books, one that completely froze Law in place.
Luffy’s eyes seemed…hungry. Like he was dying for something, a caged bird who ached for adventure. For freedom. Yet, there was determination behind the yearning, a fire burning just behind those large, expressive eyes—a fire just as warm, just as bright, just as enticing as the sun far above in the sky.
And just like the sun… Law wanted to bask in that gaze.
“Torao?”
Suddenly brought back to reality, Law shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. What was that? He’d never felt the urge to just…follow someone into the unknown—much less a human person who had literally crashed into his life only hours earlier.
Ridiculous.
“Sounds like you’re the one who wants to go on an adventure, Straw Hat-ya,” Law noted, his words not betraying his confused thoughts.
Immediately, a wide, impossibly bright grin spread on Straw Hat’s lips. “Yeah! And you’re coming with!"
A beat passed while Law blinked, staring at Straw Hat as if he’d grown a second head. “Excuse me?”
"Yeah! I still don't have a ship but once I do, you’re sailing with me." His eyes seemingly looked past Law, somewhere far ahead—further than Law could imagine—, a quiet but powerful determination burning behind them.
Law gulped heavily, biting back the urge to agree on the spot. He would be lying if he said this tiny lake and little village weren't boring. Much too small for Law's taste. But this idiot couldn't just know how much Law wanted to get out.
There was simply no way.
"Why the hell would I?" Law asked after a long stretch of silence.
Straw Hat tilted his head to the side at the question, a small frown on his face as he gazed back at Law with confusion.
Adorable.
Law startled at the thought before he quickly chased it away.
"Why?" Straw Hat repeated. "’Cause I like you and you're obviously bored. Of course I'm taking you out of here," he announced, a wide grin on his lips and Law…
Law hated the way his heart skipped a beat.
Those words, those eyes, that smile…this whole man was dangerous.
Dangerous, because Law wanted to know more about him; to see more of his smiles, hear more of his laughter, witness how far that reckless determination could take him.
Even these thoughts were dangerous.
It didn’t matter how easy he was to talk to or how comfortable Law felt in his presence—and that he was cute, well…
That mattered the least of all.
“Yeah, no,” Law refused flatly.
Immediately, Straw Hat let out a drawn out whine. “Torao, come on!”
“No.” Law waved his hand dismissively, making the water swirl around Luffy’s head to indicate the conversation was over.
Straw Hat, however, didn’t seem to agree. He puffed up his cheeks before powering through the stream towards Law—who only smirked and strengthened the current before turning away.
A grave mistake, as he had learned a moment later when arms wrapped around his shoulders, Straw Hat draping himself over him. “To-ra-o! Don’t be mean. Go out with me!”
Law froze. Did he just— “Are you asking me on a date, Straw Hat-ya?”
Luffy snickered at Law’s completely flat tone. “Might as well, if it gets you out of this place for a day.”
Law sighed. This idiot really had no idea what he was saying at any given time, did he? Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, Law realised that there really was no point arguing with him.
“Whatever. You’re going back to your brothers.”
“Why?!” Straw Hat cried, his arms tightening around Law’s shoulders.
“Because I’ve had enough of your shit for a lifetime,” Law hissed, shrugging the arms off. He only missed the warmth for a short moment before he turned around to glare at Straw Hat.
Luffy stared back for a moment but then he pointed an accusing finger at Law. “Torao, you’re embarrassed!”
“I’m most certainly not,” Law snapped, clicking his tongue and trying to ignore the way his breath caught in his throat at the bright smile he was given.
“I’m going to make you admit it.”
Law scowled. Why did he save this idiot’s ass again?
“Goodbye, Straw Hat-ya. Shambles.”
“Tora—”
Straw Hat’s protests were cut short, a piece of wood replacing his wide eyes, his open mouth, and his hand reaching out as if to grab for Law. The imp could hear water splashing and people shouting—no doubt Straw Hat’s brothers who had been yelling and running around the lake for a while now.
Finally, some peace.
—————
Relaxing on the couch the next day, Law closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the serene atmosphere of the bottom of the lake. It was as if the day before had never happened; there was no loud laughter now, no intrusive questions, no accidental date invitations.
Maybe he really had hallucinated all of yesterday.
“It’s so quiet,” Bepo muttered where he was swimming in circles above Law.
Law cracked one eye open to give the catfish an unimpressed look as he scoffed, “Don’t tell me you miss the noise.”
“I’m just saying!” Bepo cried defensively. “Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologise for,” Law replied automatically but then he sighed. He couldn’t deny that his friend had a point. It was strange being in his house alone with just Bepo again.
No, it wasn’t lonely. Just weird.
Definitely just weird.
He should just read something. Did he have any fiction? Maybe he could take out his Sora, Warrior of the Sea comics…
Law groaned; what was he thinking? Did he actually take Straw Hat’s words from yesterday to heart? Ridiculous. But… It had been a while since he’d read the series…
The moment he stood up to go look for them, a loud splash came from above and Law froze, his head whipping up to stare at the large…object that was currently sinking to the bottom of the lake and straight on top of his goddamned bookcase. Law refused to acknowledge what he was seeing. Refused to see the flailing arms, the flowing black hair, the scar under his eye, the straw hat.
If he closed his eyes, it wasn’t happening.
“Straw Hat! You’ll mess up the books!!” Bepo cried in panic before he shot forward to push the not-drowning idiot out of the way.
Law heaved a deep sigh. Of course it was real.
“What the hell are you doing?” Law asked, voice full of exasperation.
“I thought I’d swim to your place but I couldn’t!” Straw Hat whined, sounding out of breath—probably from where Bepo had crashed into his stomach at full speed.
“Oh.” Law had totally forgotten about that. “Yeah, you can’t swim anymore. Total anchor now. Sorry.”
Straw Hat hummed, sitting up on the floor with a thoughtful expression on his face. But then, he snickered. “Eh, I couldn’t swim before either so it doesn’t really matter!”
Law’s eyebrows shot up at. That explained how he had managed to nearly drown in a shallow lake like this but…really? After coming to the lake almost every day for years? Unbelievable.
“I mean, what are you doing here?” Law asked instead of doing something ridiculous like laughing. “There’s nothing interesting for you here.”
The moment their eyes met, Straw Hat’s face split into the brightest grin Law had ever seen. And somehow… Law knew what Straw Hat was going to say and he knew that this time—
“You’re here, Torao. And you owe me a date.”
—he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
This story is very very loosely inspired by Karel Jaromir Erben's poem Vodnik (minus the...you know...kidnapping and brutal murder)
click here for A Little Bundle of Drama (RivaEre mpreg) masterpost
Until We Drown
One Piece, LuLaw
Set in the One Piece canon, this series explores the relationship between one omega Trafalgar "I'd rather jump in the sea and drown than have sex" Law and alpha Monkey D. "Sex is an interesting concept and all but have you heard about literally anything else" Luffy.
Part 1: Falling
The timing for Law's heat couldn't have been worse; their attack on Doflamingo was just days away, and here he was, too busy fighting tooth and nail against hormones and disgust. Law would really rather jump into the sea and drown than deal with one minute of this.
artwork by SATSSCARLET (twitter)
Part 2: Until We Drown
When the Straw Hats call you claiming an emergency, it can mean anything from 'We're surrounded by Big Mom, Kaido, Blackbeard, and the Navy, send help' to 'Luffy ate the last piece of cake and now there's chaos' and honestly, Law's long given up on trying to figure out where he stood on the emergency scale.
But, well, bringing over as much food as he possibly could wasn't the weirdest request they've ever made of him anyway.
artwork by @ FERIOWIND
Part 3: At the bottom of the sea
Kid never would have believed there was a person crazy enough to actually mate with Straw Hat Luffy, the biggest, most selfish idiot on the seas. But seeing as the mating mark on said idiot's neck was very real, Kid had only one question:
Who the hell is Torao?
artwork(s) by @ YUMENOFUDE
Shine
Attack on Titan, EreRi
Set in SnK canon divergent AU a few years after Eren & Co. join the Survey Corps, this series follows the developing relationship between Levi, sex-repulsed asexual omega, and Eren, an alpha who doesn't really get it but who is there to love Levi exactly the way he is.
Part 1: Shine for me
When Eren’s lips clumsily landed on his own, Levi thought absently that he should have expected it. He should have known it would come to this, should have seen it coming the moment their eyes met for the first time in that dark, dirty cell in Trost all those years ago. Should have realised it was inevitable the moment Eren gave him that bright, beautiful smile for the first time, since Levi spent an hour in the kitchen teaching the young alpha how to make proper tea, since the first time they shared a quiet conversation in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep.
Since Levi laughed in front of him for the first time.
Levi should have seen it coming.
And maybe he did. He simply pretended he didn’t.
Part 2: Shine bright
In the two weeks since Eren and Levi sorted out their feelings for each other, Eren made sure Levi understood that his lack of sexual desire changed absolutely nothing between them.
And so, when the omega didn't make it to breakfast one morning due to a sickness, there was no reason for Eren to hold back his worry...was there?
Part 3: Shine like gold
When Levi had told Eren he would not mate him, Eren had assumed it was because he had asked too soon. They may have had technically been together for years, but they did only make it official two months earlier. It was soon, Eren could admit. That was why he had accepted Levi’s rejection without a fight.
What Levi was telling him now, however…
That was a different matter entirely.
“It’s fine if you sleep with someone else.”
Part 4: Shine through this night
Levi always hated parties, and being an unmated omega surrounded by drunk alpha and beta bastards only made the experience that much worse. He wasn't exactly expecting not being unmated anymore to make everything worse, though.
So, if I opened drabble requests in July for a bit, would you guys be interested? It would be OP and SnK, both gen and ship, but only simple one-two word prompts (say "Mihawk at Baratie" or "Jean/Mikasa highschool AU")
Jinbe chuckled at Luffy’s unmistakable shout, one full of excitement and hunger for food. And sure enough, when the fishman looked up, the young man himself was already bouncing towards a dango stall, demanding ten sticks before he even made it close enough for the cook to see him.
Jinbe was about to call out to his captain but then Luffy stopped abruptly before he turned on his heel and called, “Torao! How many do you want?”
“Just one’s good,” came a tired response from somewhere around the corner.
Here's the art to go with my story Young Love written for the @newscoozines Calendar project!! Check the zine(s) out and go give Florakitz some well deserved love!! (Artist's Twitter | BlueSky | Instagram)
This silly, chaotic little story was brought to you by @fumiiigation who picked it from my list of ideas!! Thank you for your support and patience 🤍
[ READ ON AO3 | KO-FI ]
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Bepo loved his job at the hospital, loved being a nurse. Despite the grueling hours and the both physically and emotionally exhausting work, he loved helping his patients and he loved the people he worked with—both the doctors and his fellow nurses.
Sometimes, however, he wished he wasn’t a man in a largely female population of the nurses’ office. Their topics of conversation could, on rare occasions, be… uncomfortable.
Especially when he walked in on them without anyone noticing.
“I swear, they should stop making men so hot if they weren’t going to put a nice personality in there, too,” one of the girls, Mina, muttered as her eyes followed one Trafalgar Law as he walked through the emergency room public area.
“I know, right?” Tate, the head nurse, agreed. “Trafalgar is so nice to look at but then he opens his mouth and he’s like that… Thank god he’s a surgeon and doesn’t have to talk with the patients all that much. His bedside manner is just…”
“Godawful?”
“Come on, guys, he’s not that bad. Just… blunt,” Tristan tried.
“Easy for you to say, you don’t have a big fat crush on him. That intern of yours under Doctor Kureha… What was his name, Tony? He’s much nicer. You should ask him on a date already.”
Immediately, Tristan flushed deep red as she muttered something incoherent before burying her face in her hands in embarrassment.
Bepo cringed, trying to convince himself he couldn’t hear anything; after all, not only was the topic not something wanted to participate in at all, but… that was his best friend of over twenty years they were talking about. Even though Bepo could admit they weren’t wrong, it still didn’t make him very happy to hear.
Clearing his throat to alert the girls to his presence, Bepo watched as guilty looks flashed across all three women’s faces as they greeted him. But, it only took a second before Mina shook the shame of being caught off like a pro.
“Hey, Bepo,” she started slowly, “you’re friends with Doctor Trafalgar, right?”
“Uhm… yeah? Sorry.” Bepo eyed her warily as certain eagerness found its way to her eyes.
“Does he have a girlfriend? What does he like? What’s his type? He never talks about himself!” she finished with a whine, staring up at Bepo like he was her only salvation.
Taken aback by the flurry of questions, Bepo blinked, his mouth falling open even as words all but escaped him. Where did he even start…?
“Next patient please!”
Inadvertently, Bepo looked up at Law’s voice, before his gaze was drawn to the people who stood up… and his eyes went wide. He knew that green hair and earrings shaped like katanas. And he most certainly knew the guy with a clearly broken arm who was reluctantly trudging after him, black hair and scar under his eye, looking so guilty as his friend all but dragged him behind the curtain to see the doctor.
Bepo closed his eyes, silently praying to whoever was listening to let this pass peacefully.
“Bepo…?”
His eyes snapping open, Bepo looked at Tate, giving his superior the most sincere apology that he could muster in advance. Then, he turned to Mina. “I think you’re getting your answers in about ten seconds…”
A beat of confused silence passed but before any of the girls could voice the questions that were clearly on the tips of their tongues—
“What the fuck?!”
“It was an accident!”
Taking a deep breath, Bepo’s expression twisted into a grimace. He knew peace was too much to hope for…
“It’s always an accident with you, Straw Hat-ya! I swear to fucking god, the second I take my eyes off of you, you break something! Do you think you’re made of rubber or some shit?!”
Bepo flinched at Law’s angry yelling. He couldn’t help but notice how he reverted back to the old nickname—a sign that he was really, really angry.
Three identical looks of bemused shock turned to Bepo, wordlessly asking for all the answers in the world. Understandable, but Bepo wasn’t looking forward to explaining—and excusing—this very public mess.
Finally, Tristan spoke up, her voice quiet and almost scared. “Bepo, what’s going on?”
Bepo looked at her, a strange kind of pain in his chest as he opened his mouth to answer. “Straw Hat, the patient who just walked in, he’s—”
“No, don’t I-love-you me when you have a fucking bone sticking out of your fucking arm!”
“—Law’s husband,” Bepo finished, feeling completely and utterly defeated.
“Well…” Tate drawled, slight annoyance making its way to her voice. “Nice way to get a glimpse into Trafalgar’s life.”
Bepo’s head dropped. “I’m so sorry, boss.”
----------
As he stood in front of the door to the examination room where Tate had banished Law and his husband after Straw Hat’s X-ray was done, Bepo tried to gather the courage to knock. Law was really mad earlier, after all; an anger born of worry, but still anger nonetheless.
Was it safe to get in the middle of that yet? He didn’t hear Straw Hat blaming Roronoa and anything else he could think of, nor was Law yelling about ‘falling in love with idiots’ and ‘dumbass fucking ideas’ or telling Straw Hat he was sleeping in Onigiri’s bed tonight anymore, so… probably?
Taking a deep breath, Bepo finally raised his hand to knock, waiting for a moment before cracking the door open.
“Uhm… Guys? It’s Bepo, sorry. Can I come in?”
After Law’s tired reply, Bepo pushed the door open all the way, taking the scene before him in for the first time.
The two of them were sitting in chairs next to each other with Straw Hat leaning back casually, a carefree grin on his face as he happily greeted Bepo as if nothing was wrong, while Law gingerly examined his forearm. Bepo actively chose to ignore the way Straw Hat’s shirt was suspiciously wrinkled around his neckline as if someone had grabbed him to pull towards themselves, as well as the slight mess that Law’s hair was now. He really didn’t want to think about that.
Instead, Bepo turned his eyes to the thing that got them in this situation in the first place.
“Do you need any help with the treatment? Do we have to operate?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Torao just overreacted,” Straw Hat replied before Law could so much as open his mouth.
Law clicked his tongue in annoyance, his fingers that were holding Straw Hat’s arm twitching. “Sure, Luffy, blame me for being pissed to find you in the fucking ER for the fifth time just this month.”
“Not true! It’s the second time at most!” Straw Hat retorted as he stuck his tongue out defiantly.
“Want me to pull out the records?” Law deadpanned, shooting Straw Hat a look before sighing. “One day I’m going to find you on my operating table and then fucking what am I gonna do?”
Bepo flinched. There it was, the heart of this entire issue. Bepo couldn’t say he didn’t see where Law was coming from; after all, Straw Hat did find himself in the hospital almost as often as the people who actually worked there and it wasn’t good for Law’s heart.
And, judging by the guilty, sad look that flashed over Straw Hat’s face, the man knew it, too.
“I’m sorry, Torao…” he muttered, leaning over to squeeze Law’s knee with his good hand.
Law looked up at him, something heavy and so very loving in his eyes and suddenly, Bepo felt incredibly uncomfortable.
Clearing his throat awkwardly to remind them he was there—not that that had ever stopped those two from being sickeningly in love with each other even after all these years—, Bepo watched as the strange tension broke and the both of them went back to what they were doing as if nothing happened.
“Bepo, can you please go grab a brace and the paperwork?”
Bepo nodded, giving the two of them one last look before leaving. As he closed the door after himself, he saw them exchange a slow, tender kiss and he couldn’t help but smile.
They really deserved each other. Despite all their differences, even now, fifteen years later, they still looked just as happy as the day they started dating. Just as happy as they looked on their wedding day. And Bepo was happy for his best friend.
Although, he would certainly appreciate if they stopped subjecting him to scenes like this on the regular.
A fun little three-part zombie/zombie story written for @truffyfest based on Kuinasghost's prompt :) Had so so much fun writing this story and I still love it a lot 🤍
[ READ ALL THREE PARTS ON AO3 ]
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Running out of medical supplies was about the worst thing that could happen to a person during a zombie apocalypse, Helmeppo knew. He had seen enough zombie movies to know that. And no, Koby, the fact he never managed to finish any of them did not matter! The fact stood that not having disinfectant and clean bandages and medicine was bad news and his ability to sit though I Am Legend until the end had absolutely no impact on that fact, alright?
And so, when his little group of survivors realised they were almost out of those life-saving supplies, it became their number one priority to find some. Obviously, all pharmacies had been long since picked clean, which left… hospitals.
Hospitals, which were the epicentres of the zombie outbreak, and thus were always crawling with zombies.
But, for some reason, this particular hospital seemed to be… serene.
Empty.
The group had been staking the place for a week and it didn’t seem like there was a huge amount of zombies anymore, only a few of them going in and out, and it seemed like it was the same ones every time—almost like a group of zombies had made their cosy little rotten home in there. They had also seen some humans going in there and returning unharmed, so it didn’t seem like an impossible mission to sneak in there, grab some stuff, and sneak back out.
Still, Helmeppo wasn’t all too happy about it. There was no way around it, however, if he didn’t want to die from getting a cut from a rusty nail.
And so, the five of them—Helmeppo, Koby, Hibari, Kujaku, and Grus—finally made their way inside, all senses on high alert. The whole place was quiet, the hallways blissfully deserted, so they soon decided to split up, each of them going in a different direction to cover more ground and hopefully gather enough medical supplies to last them for a few months.
That was how Helmeppo found himself tip-toeing through what used to be the cardiology department, nervously clutching a kukri knife and a flashlight in each of his sweaty hands while carefully opening one door after the other. So far, all the rooms he tried were patient rooms in varying stages of disrepair. He was almost starting to lose hope and head somewhere else when he reached a large, double-wing door that promised all the supplies he could carry. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he pushed the door open—and paused, frowning slightly at the sight that met him.
It was… clean.
All too clean.
A warning bell went off in the back of Helmeppo’s mind but he forced himself to ignore it. This was zombie land; there was no way the place was operational, or being used in any way.
Shaking his head, Helmeppo pushed forward, peeking into the offices and ORs he passed in search of the place where they would have kept all the instruments and medicine.
Finding a dark room he couldn’t at a glance identify, Helmeppo carefully opened the door and walked in—only to immediately freeze when his flashlight illuminated the shelves. He blinked, trying to process what he was seeing. They were jars, he knew that.
Jars full of chemicals of some kind, medical instruments placed neatly on trays, papers and files strewn all over… Jars? Chemicals?
Wasn’t there… something else in those jars?
Helmeppo closed his eyes tightly. No. No, it couldn’t be.
There was no way someone was storing… pieces in here.
Those definitely weren’t human hearts and lungs and brains and hands and—
Nope.
Turning on his heel, Helmeppo was more than ready to just leave and forget he ever saw any of this, but just as he was to take his first step forward, the wing doors leading to this cursed place all but slammed open, followed by what sounded like… flip-flops?
Panic taking over, Helmeppo dived under one of the tables and held his breath. He only barely remembered to turn off his flashlight as he prayed for whoever it was to just pass by this room and go somewhere else so that Helmeppo could get the hell out.
But of course, it wouldn’t be Helmeppo’s luck if the door to this room didn’t fly open only a moment later.
“Trrrghao!” came a loud growl immediately and Helmeppo’s heart sank.
A zombie. Of course it was a zombie. At least it looked… young. A guy a little younger than Helmeppo, dressed in ripped jean shorts, a red shirt, and actual flip-flops. There was also a straw hat hanging off its neck. Helmeppo gripped his knife tighter, gulping heavily, willing his heart to stop beating so loud.
Thankfully, the zombie didn’t seem to notice him, running inside the room with purpose… only to crash into one of the small tables with wheels at full force, sending some huge jar to the floor. The sound of glass shattering rang loudly around the room, the echo seemingly continuing forever while the zombie gave a full-body cringe, a look that almost seemed guilty crossing his face. Not that Helmeppo paid him all that much attention as he had to bite on his hand hard to keep the surprised yelp in.
And then he had to bite down harder when another growl came from somewhere deep inside the room, possibly from behind a door at the other end of the room. This growl sounded lower, angrier, and much more dangerous than what the straw hat zombie gave earlier…
Did Helmeppo almost walk in on a zombie boss or something?!
A shudder ran through Helmeppo as he watched with wide eyes as the straw hat zombie walked—at a much slower pace—towards the source of the growling, something that almost looked like pout on its lips as he growled something back.
Taking a deep shaky breath, Helmeppo searched for a way to escape. It… didn’t look good. There was glass everywhere now and those two zombies were growling angrily at each other in the other room with the door wide open. Helmeppo was stuck. Stuck and scared and sweating bullets.
How good was a zombie’s sense of smell anyway? He was sure they were going to find him any second now.
Even though they looked quite busy with each other right now; Helmeppo could vaguely see the straw hat zombie shoving what looked like a plastic bag in the other’s face, followed by more vicious growling and the other, taller zombie taking it… before he leaned down and bit the straw hat one in the face.
Helmeppo didn’t think he ever saw zombies attacking each other in this way, and he wasn’t ready! He wasn’t ready to die either! Oh god, why, why did he have to walk in here?! Why did they have to go to this hospital in the first place? Why did they have to split up? Biting back a pathetic whimper, he kept watching the scene, unable to tear his eyes away like it was a metaphorical car crash, his heart beating in his throat and white noise humming loudly in his ears.
He prayed to any deity that was willing to listen to let him get out of there in one piece after those zombies were done with each other.
But, to his surprise, when the taller zombie pulled away, the one with the straw hat didn’t collapse to the ground, nor did he retaliate. Instead, the tall zombie grunted something that made the straw hat look down at his arms and shrug—which in turn made the tall one put the plastic back somewhere before he… took the other zombie’s arm and dragged him back into the room where Helmeppo was hiding.
If Helmeppo thought his heart was beating too loudly before… it was nothing compared to what it was doing right now. It was honestly a miracle they hadn’t noticed him yet.
He was probably beyond lucky they were so preoccupied with each other.
Closing his eyes momentarily, Helmeppo took a deep breath, trying to calm down, telling himself it was fine. He was fine. As long as he stayed quiet and made sure he knew where they were at all times, kept his distance…
With that thought in mind, he opened his eyes again. He watched carefully as the straw hat zombie sat cross-legged on a bed that Helmeppo hadn’t noticed before, while the tall zombie—Helmeppo could now see it had short, dark hair with sideburns, sporting a small goatee, and arms and hands covered in tattoos—sat down in a chair in front of it, taking hold of the other one’s arm.
There was movement almost as if a bone in the arm was being reset, before what could be nothing but a legit, medical brace was placed on the shorter zombie’s forearm.
It was… bizarre.
Never would Helmeppo think he’d ever witness zombies… giving each other medical attention?! What was even going on anymore?!
But then, after some more growling was exchanged… Helmeppo’s brain had to have completely given out.
Because he could swear those two zombies were…
Were…
Kissing.
Tongue and all.
Oh. God.
He couldn't. He couldn’t watch at all anymore. Slowly, as quietly as he could, he placed his kukri knife and flashlight on the floor before burying his face in his hands and closing his eyes tight for good measure. He just couldn’t do it. He didn’t care if those zombies found him and jumped him anymore. He just wanted to disappear and forget about all this.
It took about an hour before the two zombies left together to god-knows-where, and another twenty minutes before Helmeppo was capable of moving.
When he rejoined his friends—completely supply-less, white as a sheet, and feeling more shaken and traumatised than he had ever felt before—he still wasn’t able to say a single word. Although, even if he was able, he still wouldn’t dare explain what he had witnessed.
If he said he had stumbled into a fucking rom-com in that goddamned hospital instead of becoming a minor character of Resident Evil 10, he was sure Grus would off him right there and then, convinced he had breathed in some weird gas or something.
No; Helmeppo would take that experience into his grave.
To celebrate, I've decided to open drabble requests for today only! These would only be up to 500 words so keep it simple please 🤍 (and no smut as always, thank you ahaha)
You can also request snippets from my existing series (for example, a drabble set in the Until We Drown verse)!! 👀
You can send me an ask, DM, or reply to this post!
ONE PIECE
- gen
- any canon/canon ship
ATTACK ON TITAN
- gen
- Levi/Eren
- Jean/Mikasa
- Armin/Annie
- Ymir/Historia
REQUESTS OPEN FOR JULY 1 ONLY, ENDING AT MIDNIGHT CEST
I will work on them throughout the day and, if I get more of them, the rest of the week 🤍
