#No doubt Wheat Flour would be confused at first but she would like it

[cookieofearthbread]

Wheat Flour could be heard humming a small tune to herself as she was watering the plant in the garden... She wasn't quite sure where the tune came from or how it reached the realm in the first place (she even tried to tracking it down however couldn't find the source of it) but....

It was a nice change from the emptiness that filled the realm.

[reddieorrnot]

Richie is a pizza delivery boy and Eddie is in college but is going through a health nut faze. He orders something like thin crust pizza with spinach and the... bread? part is whole wheat. So when Richie takes it to him he teases Eddie about it and bada bing bada boom romance ensues

anon i’m LOVING it

okay so richie takes a gap year to raise some money

because his parents have enough to help him out with college, just not enough for the full ride

but that’s okay!!! richie tells them that he is totally okay with “getting my elbows greasy and making money!”

went tozier does not like that analogy

anyways richie settles on a pizzeria, because he likes to joke to stan that he’s literally “making that dough”

stan does not like that joke

it’s a cool job, he sees different people every day

they don’t usually put richie on chef duty though, considering sometimes he gets so distracted he’ll burn a pizza

or two

what richie is really great at is delivery

he’s quick, makes jokes with customers at their door to make them laugh, and gets a nice tip

he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like his job

one night, things are pretty slow

it’s a tuesday so not many people are calling in for pizza deliveries

richie is just sitting around the pizzeria, eating the occasional bread stick that gets tossed in the ‘non-presentable’ pile

beverly works there too, and is much better at the cooking

she jokes around with richie while trying to not get any flour on her face, which richie takes care of by rubbing some on her face himself

“what the fuck, man!”

richie holds his sides from laughing so hard

suddenly one of the other employees walks into the kitchen, holding up a piece of paper, an order

they look confused which confuses richie and beverly

“so uh... we’ve got an order for you to deliver, richie”

“nice! been pretty slow this night, ain’t it been, chap?”

“sure, beverly... it’s a weird one”

beverly furrows her eyebrows and takes the piece of paper, suddenly bursting into laughter

richie cocks his head to the side and reads the order

it calls for a thin crust pizza, which no one ever gets, only spinach as the topping, and... whole wheat dough?

it’s incredibly odd, especially considering usual orders were much more fattening and calorie full

beverly just giggles and says “this is the first time i’ve ever even thought about putting spinach on a pizza!”

richie shakes his head grinning, “can’t wait to see the wacko who ordered this”

richie stays in the kitchen, waiting for beverly to finish the pizza

when she’s done, he puts on his delivery boy hat, which squished down his curls and makes them come out at the sides of his head

“you look twelve”

“beverly, trust me, if i had looked this hot at twelve i wouldn’t even need to go to college!”

“i doubt that”

he leaves the pizzeria and inputs the address into his gps, noticing that the customers house is actually in an area pretty familiar to richie, and also very close to the nearby university

he assumes this is some weird health freak, probably super fit and tall... and weird

when he gets to the customers house, it looks normal

richie finds this disappointing

he gets out of the car with the pizza box and walks along the front lawn, making his way to their front door

richie then rings the doorbell, awaiting the consumer

“wow, that was really fast!”

it’s all richie hears before he notices the door has been open and holy shit

this is the most beautiful boy richie has ever laid his eyes on

he’s wearing a brown sweatshirt, embroidered with the university name, and light grey sweatpants

his hair is slightly wavy but still neatly done, and richie can’t believe eyes that breath taking exist

they’re warm and chocolate and richie swears he’s drowning in them deeper with every seconds that passes

“well, can’t have a slow delivery boy, can we? pizza would get cold before it even got to you!” richie nervously laughs, feeling too flustered to even remember what he says after it’s left his mouth

but to his excitement, the boy across from him giggles at his remark, and quirks an eyebrow

“you know those uber eats people sometimes eat customers food? i keep hearing about that... you didn’t happen to take a slice from me, did you?”

it’s an obvious joke, and well executed one too, which makes richie feel even more smitten

“if i tell you now, that’d ruin the surprise!” richie teases him back, motioning to the pizza box

there’s a beat of silence before richie speaks again

“okay i’ve gotta ask, what the hell type of pizza do you like?”

the brown eyed boy’s nose scrunches, “what do you mean?”

richie throws his head back in laughter

“this pizza! thin crust? spinach? what are you, some type of rabbit?”

richie usually doesn’t think before he speaks, so he’s suddenly hyper aware that he might’ve been too harsh

luckily he simply receives an eye roll and chuckle

“i’m kinda in a health freak phase, trying to find out what’s the healthiest option for me during cravings for junk food”

richie nods, understanding, “that makes a lot more sense than my secretly a werewolf like rabbit theory”

“that would have been so much more interesting though! god i’m sorry i didn’t live up to your supernatural expectations,”

richie swallows nervously before speaking, “well you definitely passed some other expectations”

he throws in a wink

richie grins when the boy turns pink at his flirting

“trying to rack up the tip?”

“nah, unless that’ll work?”

it prompts laughter out of both of them, and richie watches as the customer turns to go get his wallet as he says

richie stands there, feeling a bit weird when he tries to peer into what he can see of the home in front of him

he’s just interested

everything seems very neat, and calming

there’s a photograph of the boy who bought the pizza and another boy in a flannel hugging

richie really prays to the universe this guy doesn’t have a boyfriend

time seems to go on forever until the brunette is back in front of him, handing over the needed cash

richie takes the money and hands over the pizza box

he bites his lip when he notices he didn’t get any tip, suddenly worried he had come off weird and creepy

“oh! nearly forgot to tip you!”

richie looks back up and sees the guy holding a piece of paper, the pink tint back in his cheeks as he does so

richie takes the piece of paper and reads it

it’s a phone number, and it’s signed with “call me, delivery boy -Eddie <3”

richie whispers into the night air, “eddie.”

and eddie smiles, reading richie’s name tag and whispers, “richie.”

they both stand their stupidly grinning at each other, the quiet not bothering either of them

until richie’s phone goes off

richie apologizes and hastily takes the phone out of his pocket

beverly is calling him, and he knows it’s probably about some other incoming order

he looks back at eddie one last time

“well, looks like i’ve got to head back to the war, darlin’”

“call me when you get out,”

richie can only smile as he nods

“will do”

he starts to walk back to his car, and turns around at one point just in time to see eddie closing his front door with the biggest grin

the same grin dances on richie’s lips as he drives back to the pizzeria

[aaluminiumas]

Millstones

Shanks openly relished the pirate life: he could name one hundred reasons to become a buccaneer, and that oh-so-proverbial One Piece every rookie dreamt about wouldn’t be listed among the first thirty. This man loved listening to waves rustling; he could spend hours admiring the landscape while holding the ship’s wheel and staring into nowhere – but with the same zeal he threw himself into battle standing up for his friends and crewmates. And a good fight is sure to be celebrated by a downpour of sake, a loud burst of laughter and a couple of brazen jokes around the campfire somewhere far away. Isn’t it what happiness is all about?

He long forgot the place he called home. Was it a little windswept archipelago somewhere in the middle of the Grand Line? Or, perhaps, a bustling city that never sleeps? Or, probably, a tiny village on the outskirts of the Goa Kingdom where he tended to return in attempt to remember the good old times and to order a mug of sake while singing a song unanimously with other frequenters?..

Red-haired Shanks grunted under his breath and turned the ship to the left. Out of the corner of the eye the man caught the glimpse of a sea king coming to the surface. Oddly enough, this one didn’t pay the slightest attention to them: the creature had either managed to devour another crew chasing Gol D. Roger’s treasure, or simply took no notice of the vessel. Making sure the ruthless animal swam away, the pirate consulted his log pose – and in a couple of seconds he spotted the familiar sky-line of the Goa Kingdom: a city surrounded by a thick wall with a swarm of windmills in the distance. They moved in the same fashion, clockwise, peacefully and steadily, filling the air with quiet and mollifying creaking everybody was accustomed to. Even the fragrance of this wonderful place was unique: clear, slightly salty and dusty as if abundant in flour that never trickled out of the millstones completely.

Long time ago – a whole eternity ago! – he saved Luffy from a sea king and lost his arm in the process. A ridiculous price for a funny kid who managed to create problems whenever he went naively smiling all the way. Shanks couldn’t put his finger on his behavior: how dared this child roughly as tall as his leg challenge someone much stronger! But despite his obvious paternal affection for the brave boy, there was definitely something else that attracted him to the tavern not far from the biggest windmill.

Although Shanks didn’t have his own kids, he as well as his crew enjoyed talking to Luffy days on end telling unbelievable stories about their adventures. The lad whose eyes were beaming with anticipation caught every word evincing sheer awe and reverence. Listening to the pirates, he imagined himself to be one, and didn’t even doubt he would be lucky enough to get into a bit of a scrape to fight back any offender.

But Luffy wasn’t the only one who delighted pirate tales. The hostess of the tavern, calm and light-hearted Makino, dwelled on every word spoken as if she herself were a little girl. She knew she wouldn’t exchange her settled life for the fierce and unpredictable ocean but the exciting fables soon interwove into her daily routine turning into a significant part of the world she lived in. Every evening Shanks dropped in at the tavern, ordered a whole barrel of sake for his crew – and laughed, recalling the most mind-blowing events that took everybody’s breath away. These were miraculous days, weren’t they?

The red-haired man grinned to himself recollecting the night when Makino, who just started wiping off plates, ventured to ask an odd question – he needed a solid minute to ponder over it and give her a decent reply.

“Shanks-san,” she called him quietly and put the plates on a shelf feeling sheepish, “Aren’t you…” the woman raised her eyes to audaciously look at him, “Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you scared at all?”

He thought for a second, sipped on his drink and adjusted the straw hat that hadn’t yet made its way to Luffy. “Afraid,” he finally deduced and pushed his mug aside, “But not for myself.”

Shanks turned his head in the direction of his friends stuffing themselves with meat and arguing about mermaids. Someone began to sing – slightly out of tune, –and the rest cheerfully took up, though not unanimously at all. The woman got perplexed for a moment or two – and, amazed to a fault, kept staring at the visitor in the straw hat not fully comprehending what he meant by this.

The man laughed, “Just imagine what kind of mess Luffy can make when we sails away! He’s ready to challenge a sea king to prove his strength and audacity,” Shanks bestowed a broad smile on her folding his hands on the table, “But I believe one day he’ll become more cauti–”

At this very moment, ‘the cautious kid’ caused a huge knife to fall. Luffy was about to yell at the top of his lungs – but immediately noticed the heaven-sent hand of the red-haired man and closed his cry-contorted mouth. His orbs sparkled – the boy got charmed again.

However, it wasn’t the only time Makino asked bizarre questions: she was genuinely enthralled by his lifestyle even though she never wanted to be a pirate. He liked that disclosed interest, curiosity to the foreign world of his, and bit by bit such discussions created a tight bond of friendship between them which somewhat impelled the crewmates to shamelessly tease their captain – not unkindly, of course. His comrades didn’t mean anything bad – they simply relished the sight of the normally collected hostess who now smiled meekly and blushed slightly. Taking it as a certain sign, the captain cut the jokes short with a loud laugh and another mug of sake.

Thing ran their course.

It’s been quite some time since then… Ace died almost two years ago, Luffy is already up in arms, and the millstones are working just as steadily, turning wheat into flour. When did he visit the place last time?.. It was simply indecent on his part considering the amount of time he spent there. Is the mayor just as grumpy and meticulous as he used to be? And what about that bandit, Dadan, Luffy told so much about? Is she doing fine? And the tavern where he hung out so often with his crew, is it in the same place?..

For a moment the red-haired man yielded to a vague feeling of nostalgia: the reminiscences goaded him to squeeze out a lopsided grin, and the decision he’d recently made, got its shape: the yonko was absolutely sure of the actions he was about to perform.

“Welcome to the Goa Kingdom!” he declared in a stentorian voice turning to face his boatswain ready to comply with the ensuing command. “Time to have some fun, guys!”

This order was met by a loud explosion of shenanigans: they’d just savored a good fight, and now they were eager to live it up.

*** “Makino been at ‘ome fo’ a week already,” a sprightly old lady reported to Shanks while giving hearty slaps to presumptuous pirates. “’er boy got ill. But drop in at ‘er place anyway, she’ll be ‘appy to see ya. It isn’t too fa’ from ‘ere… Bah! Where ya goin’ bone’ead?!” the old crone quacked and hit someone with a beer mug she was holding. “So, just ‘ound the corne’… those gates. Damn you, Satan!”

The red-haired pirate grinned at the educational methods that old woman employed, gave her a golden coin and left the tavern. His feet brought him directly to the neat small house with huge flower beds in front. The man didn’t get what the bartender meant by ‘her boy got ill’ but the galvanic yearning for the past demanded new memories and Makino indeed was an integral part of the time he spent here and needed so desperately. Shanks automatically noticed that he became the center of attention: those who didn’t know he used to visit the village raked their brains as to why one of the yonkos decided to come while his friends, along with the mayor, were genuinely joyous to see him and greeted the man asking for how long he planned to stay. There were others, suspicious ones, who revealed their growing displeasure and apprehension – but they tended to avoid any eye-contact with the guest.

Makino’s cottage looked even smaller when he approached it: the house reminded him of the tiny huts he saw at the Pigmy Island but seemed solid enough to handle a powerful hurricane. Shanks couldn’t recollect whether he ever paid visits to his friends: there was no point doing it as they met at the tavern every evening to discuss recent local news And now… he felt almost embarrassed.

He knocked – and heard a clear voice.

“Wait a minute!” Makino was certainly busy, “I’m ̶ Shanks-san?!”

Opening the door, Makino froze at the sight of the man at the threshold: the young woman was holding a hefty bundle with a sniffing baby – with the free hand, she tried to do her hair.

“Are you here for long..?” she attempted to atone, her lips smiling irresolutely.

“No… I dunno.”

She adjusted her son to hold him comfortably, pushed the door open and stepped aside letting the guest in. Despite their common past where no one hid anything from the other, currently both of them felt perplexed and confused: Shanks realized he came amiss, and Makino simply didn’t expect to see the man she used to read about emerging in her tiny cottage. Since he became a yonko, she stopped waiting for his loud visits: a man of importance like him – even if a pirate, – probably had more significant affairs to deal with than singing songs somewhere in a godforsaken village.

Closing the door behind him, the young woman unswathed the parcel and made sure the baby felt better. In a moment, she placed him on the floor and gave him his favorite toy – a plush parrot which was immediately seized by a viselike grip of two chubby hands.

“How you doing?” the pirate asked nonchalantly perusing the modest, spick and span room and finally swiveling his eyes to look at the roly poly tyke crawling around. “What a swashbuckling lady replaced you,” he mentioned with a short laugh. “She’s a real smasher. Can kick anyone out of the pub!”

“Oh… Kagurumi-san… she has her own approach to problem clients,” Makino gave out a small but nonetheless genuine smile bit by bit getting accustomed to his company and his manners that didn’t change at all. “What about you? Have you seen Luffy? I’ve read something in a newspaper but… since he… since… that day I heard a number of things but I am not sure what exactly should be trusted.”

“Luffy’s fine. He’s coped with Ace’s death and is ready to make a scoop and win all front pages,” Shanks said firmly instantly getting the facts straight and calling it the way he saw it – he had to be the reasonable one even though Makino had a hard time speaking about the situation. “Don’t worry about him: he’s already striving to get in trouble.” The yonko broke into a smile, sat down on the sofa and pointed to the boy with a subtle nod of his head: the kid had been playing with the dark cloth of Shanks’ coat probably considering it a better toy. “What’s his name?” “Kenta. Kenta, don’t touch it.” Her delicate hand tenderly brushed across the plump fingers. “No.”

“Why not?” the man’s smile grew even broader, and he sat the boy in his lap. “How old ‘re ye, pal?”

“Not… too much.”

The conversation dragged. Makino clearly felt reluctant to discuss her personal life: she was either afraid of mocking and misunderstanding, or instinctively realized she had fallen in love with the man who kept her company during those long nights at the tavern filled with stories about other islands and seas. She loved his tales and his smile; she adored his laugh and sonorous voice – she even found herself enchanted by his manners sufficiently graceful for a pirate. But the woman never thought it could go further anytime soon. Don’t friends see each other as beautiful, kind people? Don’t they acknowledge the best in one another? Don’t they admire each other?..

The woman sat there, motionless and calm, but it was obvious she couldn’t ease the tension even though she tried to seem friendly.

“If I’m unwanted here, I’ll go,” Shanks spotted her nervousness and adjusted the collar of his coat, evidently about to stand up. “We happened to be around, so of course everyone was eager to remember the best moments of the past… to have a look at good ol’ Windmill. I’m sorry if I meddled in.” he said in the same light-hearted voice not holding any grudge against her.

She replied by a tender, smooth gesture – the woman put her hand onto his shoulder. Kenta, not paying attention to his mother’s agitation, examined the stranger awkwardly standing up and trying to reach the flaming red hair. The man looked so extraordinary – he never met anyone like this among his mom’s guests.

“We all were shocked when… this happened,” the smile faded away for a second, and the eyes got hazy. “I mean, Ace and Whitebeard's death. When Garp came, even Dadan wasn’t her usual self – you remember, that mountain bandit who raised Luffy and… the rest.” She didn’t dare call Ace by the name the second time. “But bit by bit everything’s falling into place, and… if Luffy did it, we will succeed too.” The woman stated in the voice laced with confidence, her bright eyes staring at Shanks. “The whole world is reconstructing, and we are not an exception, fortunately or unfortunately. We have to adapt as well. Thankfully, Goa isn’t the place every single pirate darts to conquer, so everything’s more or less quiet here.” Makino eventually managed to get rid of stiffness. “What about you? How are you, Shanks-san?..”

“Whitebeard’s death is definitely a tragedy for everyone,” he drawled pensively automatically playing with Makino’s son. “And it did multiply the number of problems to deal with. But we’re still trying to live the same way and to do whatever we did before the new era: to have fun, to fight and to drink.” He let out another laughter and brought Kenta up to his shoulder. “Look, what a rider you have here!”

The boy giggled and hugged the pirate by the neck.

Makino slightly blushed. “He… likes you. He doesn’t normally trust people so easily but you seem to make a good impression. I’m afraid he’s going to chase you just like Luffy!” she shook her head in a histrionic reproach.

“So Windmill is going to have a pirate dynasty? Our future Pirate King will be happy to know there’s someone to inherit the skills!”

All of a sudden the mood lightened by itself: Makino released herself and relaxed, cheerfully laughing at the crass jokes he always spilled. The balance restored into the universe: the woman no longer shied away from the guest and honestly replied to his simple questions; she even mentioned what she used to be doing before his visit to the village. He listened to her carefully catching every word, japed and reminisced on certain occasions that came to his mind. Sometimes, making Kenta participate in the confabulation, Shanks questioned him as well just to hear a short ‘yea’ or displeased sniff.

The day was declining, but even after lulling her son to sleep, Makino didn’t intend to part ways with the man who returned just to say hello and to check up on her.

“Have you… rented anything?” she requested quietly, taking off her bandanna protecting her head from the burning sun. “If not, you can stay over. Of course if you don’t mind.” She hurried to add wondering whether she’d gone too far.

Shanks quirked his eyebrows and scratched the tip of his nose. “Why not?.. If anything I should pay a little bit more attention to my closest friend. In fact, I was kinda scared I frightened you.” He noticed undoing the laces of his coat.

She emitted a soft laugh grabbing the outerwear off his hand and hanging it on a peg. “I’m not afraid of you, I’m afraid of the changes you’re bringing along,” she answered simply. “But now I understand that we are… protected. We have nothing to be scared of with a friend like you,” Makino said in whisper, in a barely audible tone. Not switching on the lights, she dared give the guest a bear hug – even though it was evanescent and ephemeral, she managed to express her emotions the best way she could – with innate modesty and chastity. “Thank you. If only had I known how to thank you properly…”

Shanks caught her fingers and pressed the narrow pale hand to his lips. “You have provided a shelter. A pirate wouldn’t even dream about a bigger thing.” He let go off her hand and pulled away from her, his smile friendly and cordial and yet exposing some unknown fatigue Makino had never come across before. 

“Good night, Makino. I am glad to know we are friends regardless our long separation. You know, it’s so disrespectful of us to keep each other in the dark. But we didn’t have a choice!” he made a helpless gesture with his hand and disappeared in the room she had prepared for him to immediately fall into deep slumber.

And the hostess after putting her son’s toys in the box, shook her head and covered Shanks with a blanket: the nights may grow cold, and he certainly had enough of chilling wind on board. He deserved the comfort of the settled life he willingly rejected – he would never get used to that anyway…