Part 4!!!! >:3 (Final part, but I promise it’s peak)
He stared at a wall blankly. The breeze still went strong. He had finished all his work, and now he had nothing to keep his mind off what had happened. [reader’s] hand had felt so comforting, nice, and warm. What was he thinking?! Why was he thinking of that fish’s hand! He buried his face in his hands. Oh god, how was he going to face him? He could already feel the heat radiating off his cheek. What was wrong with him? The waves smoothing the ship gave no sense of grounding anymore. Was this some sort of sorcery? But sorcery always needed an object like that trigger they pulled on the island that shot out smooth rocks. But [reader] had only patted his head. He had never felt so excited yet terrified in his life. What was he even scared of? [Reader] was just some shortstack. He could beat that guy in a fight any day. That shortstack was especially petite for a guy after all. Yet when he thought about walking up to him, his heart raced. Something was definitely wrong with him.
Gen was peaking around the corner, watching Moz have this existential crisis. He had asked François, apparently [reader] had patted Moz’s head and offered comfort. He should have trusted his gut and stayed up that night! That would have been gold to watch! But now all he could do was play matchmaker. He felt like a little drama was necessary on this boring raft. Plus, Senku had him working to the bone, so a little entertainment was NECESSARY to his sanity! It was only fair for moral! His shoes made purposeful steps against the wood of the deck as he strode over.
“Hey Moz!” He smiled warmly, looking at the warrior sitting on the crate.
Moz straightened up, leaning against the wall behind the crate.
“What do you want?” Moz sighed. He was not in the mood for Gen’s tricks, but it was still a welcome distraction from what he would be thinking about if no one was here.
Gen studied the man. Obviously, he was distraught. Moz wasn’t exactly known for a poker face.
“You know, I heard [reader] has a secret,” Gen whispered.
“What are you trying to say, mentalist?” Moz glared.
“Oh! Don’t worry! It’s nothing bad! I am only suggesting you should watch her very carefully. In fact! Why don’t you go meet her right now! She is at the bar right now!” Then, before Moz could inquire on why he was calling [reader] a she, Gen slipped away.
Moz watched Gen disappear around the corner. At first, he had assumed the metalist was trying to say something bad about [reader.] Now, he was just confused. Why had Gen been emphasizing [reader] as a girl? He sighed. He couldn’t avoid [reader] forever. It was almost dinner time. The entire day, he had been tiptoeing around the paths he knew [reader] usually went on throughout the day. But maybe [reader] didn’t notice?
She had in fact, noticed, and she was “slightly” ticked off.
It wasn’t hard to spot a guy who was almost 6ft, shirtless, and muscular, trying to sneak around like they didn’t look like a fucking tower. And she didn’t appreciate being ignored, even when she attempted to call him over to help her with crates he had scurried away. He usually would help and maybe throw around a few jokes, but today, her afternoon was practically dead silent. He was also acting weird. She wasn’t the only one who noticed either. She had asked Kirisame where Moz was in the morning after she found he wasn’t in his usual spots. Kirisame had remarked he had been acting oddly, and she had 0 clue where he had gone.
She took a swig of her apple juice, sitting at the bar, tapping her foot against the deck. She leaned forward onto the counter, balancing herself on the stool.
“Could I get another glass, please?”
François poured the glass full, yet again.
“You sure you would not like to eat? Dinner was passed out a while ago, but I have only seen you drink.”
Oh, right. She looked down at her bread and butter. She had not touched it since it had been served. She just didn’t feel like eating. Not that there was anyone who would steal it now.
“Thank you, I just don’t have an appetite at the moment.” She slipped the bread into a small pouch and stowed it in her pocket. She would save it for later that night.
She stared at the cup in hand, it swirled with the twist of her wrist. What was up with Moz? Why was he avoiding her?
He spotted [reader] seated. Hopefully, he wasn’t drinking. He wouldn’t know what to do with a drunk shortstack. He slid into the seat beside him.
“Hey,” He flashed a grin. She rewarded him with a glare.
“Don’t look at me like that! What did I do, fish?” He tried to lighten the mood to no avail. He sighed, deciding it was better to look forward than focus on the death glare he was getting.
“Can I get a drink, François?” They slid him a drink, which he immediately swigged.
He glanced back at [reader]. They now stared straight ahead as well, sipping their own drink.
“Are you upset at me that much?” He gave a weaker smile, trying to ease the obvious tension.
“Yes, Moz. You deliberately ignored me all day.”
“But I helped the crew a lot more than usual. Carried a bunch of crates and all that. Doesn’t that get me any sort of forgiveness?” He sighed, looking back at his drink. François had left to go do something; it was strangely quiet. He would have preferred a little background noise.
“What did I do?” Her voice was shaky.
He looked up from his drink. [Reader] looked hurt; it saddened him.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just-” Then suddenly a bright flash of light sprang across the horizon, disappearing as soon as it had appeared in a loud crack.
“Storms here! Everyone get indoors!” Ryusui shouted. François hurried back, taking their cups and securing them.
She stood up. She wiped her face quickly as she made steps towards the cabin. She didn't let him see her face.
“We will talk about this inside, come on.” They walked indoors together in a sort of awkward silence. Ryusui waited for François. No one seemed to panic except the usual worrywarts like Ginro. This would be their first storm on board. At least they had not gotten wet since the storm was just making its way to the ship.
She walked with him below deck, passing windows presenting raging waters outside. He had never seen such a sight before on the island, but now was not the time. He focused on [reader], who was walking in front of him. He was obviously still upset and it wasn't the usual slight annoyance he got from pestering him. The boat rocked slightly, but not too badly yet.
“Where are we heading?” He inquired, trying to relax his tense muscles to no success.
“Just one of the common rooms, we will wait for the storm to pass.”
She steadied herself against a railing as she made her way down the steps. She hated storms. This one had come out of nowhere. She disliked the unpredictable. Especially when the unpredictable had usually negative results. Then why was she even humoring this guy? He was like a storm most of the time. He fought hard and preferred to beat someone up before asking questions. She remembered when she had first seen him. When she had seen him walk out of the water after following Amarylis all the way back on Treasure Island. He looked like a sneaky bastard, with that evil grin, and her assumption wasn’t wrong. If Gen wasn’t there, would he have just killed all of them? He had betrayed his first community; would he betray the Kingdom of Science as well if given the chance? Did he even care about anyone? Was he following her around just for his entertainment? Who was she kidding, their whole relationship had begun because of honey; he was just here for the benefits, not her. Maybe he was getting bored; that’s why he had ignored her. Just as she was starting to open up to him-
“Hey [reader],” his voice was unusually soft.
She turned to look at him, stopping her walk.
“I am sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck, not looking her in the eyes.
She blinked, genuinely surprised. She wouldn’t have expected that in a million years.
“It isn’t your fault at all, and I am sorry for avoiding you. It’s me, okay? So stop looking so upset.”
“Alright, I forgive you. Care to explain the problem though?”
“Well, uhh, it’s just that-” He sputtered, trying to figure out how to explain his feelings.
That's when a big wave hit. Sending her tumbling. Since she had just reached the bottom of the stairs, she had let go of the railing. A mistake that sent her flying back. He luckily caught her before she could hit her head on something. She held on to him, and he held her by the waist. The boat swayed violently for a few seconds before finally calming again.
He waited for a few moments, expecting another huge rocking, but it had stopped. That’s when he realized. [Reader] had quite a small waist; in fact, they had a lot of curves, like a girl. That’s when the realization hit. His jaw literally dropped. He stared down at her, who was still holding him tightly as if any second the boat would rock again. Now that he realized, he was beginning to notice she had a lot of feminine features. So that’s what Gen was hinting at!
She looked up to see him looking ridiculously flabbergasted.
“What are you looking at?”
“YOU WERE A GIRL THIS WHOLE TIME?!”
“Yeah. You just figured that out?”
He was stunned for a few seconds. But then he began laughing, actually laughing.
“I thought I was going insane! I kept thinking about you as more than just a friend! I thought I might have started liking guys!”
Her face immediately flushed, and she quickly sent a jab to his ribs. As usual, it was soft. Though she didn’t let go of him.
“Ooooo, are you blushing shortstack?~”
“First off, you seem like the type of person to not care about gender as long as there is a hole. Second off, I told you to stop calling me that!”
“If you're so upset, let go of me, fish.”
“I won’t because of safety!”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” he teased. Man, was he glad he got that off his chest. That also meant he had a chance! Thank god!
Everyone gathered around the main deck. The storm had finally passed, and everyone was back to their work, getting ready to continue sailing. But two members were still missing.
“Hey, where are [reader] and Moz?” Suika looked around. She sat on the top deck, looking past the railing at people working. The two usually were quite easy to spot with how boisterous Moz was, and how [reader] usually policed Moz to help. Moz had become less scary-looking with the nice [reader] by his side. But the duo seemed to be missing.
Kohaku tilted her head, walking over beside Suika.
“You’re right! I will go check the decks!”
“Now hold on a second, lioness.” Gen cooed, walking around the corner in front of Kohaku.
“They are both safe and sound. In fact, I can assure you they are better than before.”
Kohaku tilted her head, clearly confused. Gen sighed.
“Come along, but be quiet.”
Gen lead the way, Kohaku and Suika following behind. They all peered past a doorway. Gen gestured to a common room. Moz was sitting beside [reader.] They were talking, as usual, Moz was teasing [reader] while [reader] scoffed, though there was no true annoyance. She even giggled a little. But unlike previous times, they were quite closer. Moz had his arm wrapped around [reader’s] waist as he poked at her cheek with his other hand. Smirking at her the entire time with a teasing grin. Meanwhile, [reader] leaned on him, rolling her eyes but with her own smile, deciding to shut him up with a bit of bread from her pouch. Which he clearly enjoyed.
Kohaku hit a realization, whispering to herself.
“So that’s why he stopped bothering Minami and me!”
Gen smiled mischievously.
“I will tell you the tea later, now let's go so we don’t interrupt their moment.”
He smiled slyly, walking off. Suika and Kohaku followed suit, going back to their own work.
