#and then in honor bound when he was kinda realizing it but in denial

[starzzify]

you don’t kill someone as a substitute!!! you don’t load a gun, close your eyes, and shoot!!! you don’t kill a man!!! to buy a clue!!! this is not a plan, lawmen can pursuit!!

[bangbangchanie]

New Year's Love ~ Mark Lee

Summary: The new year brings a new love confession

Pairing: Mark Lee × Reader

Warning: I don't think there's any??? Kinda cheesy though

Word Count: 1.6K

~ Admin Peachy🍑 (your friendly neighborhood mark lee enthusiast/lover)

♡♡♡♡

A soft thud pulled Mark out of his sleep. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew that it was too early after he went to bed well after midnight after ringing in the new year with friends. Letting out a groan, he rolled over onto his stomach and pulled his blanket over his head.

Another thud, this time louder. What was going on? His parents weren't home...they went to Jeju for a little vacation. They had been a bit sad at first to not ring in the new year with their son, but they knew his friends from college would be more than happy to have a party at their house. 

The thought that someone had stayed over crossed his mind, but he clearly recalled saying goodbye to the few people he invited. It hadn't been a wild party at all. 

"Mark!" he faintly heard his name being called out. It sounded muffled. "Mark! Wake up!"

Sitting up, he turned his head as he tried to find the direction of the noise. Another thud, but this time he was able to see what it was; snowballs against his window. He watched it slide down as he climbed out of bed. A fresh layer of snow had appeared overnight, but he didn't care about that. Instead, he was entirely focused on you.

You looked adorable in your oversized coat. Your cheeks were tinged pink from the cold and you had a wide smile on your face as you waved your arms at him in greeting. 

Unlocking his window, he slid it open. "Nice pajamas," you giggled.

Glancing down, he realized he had forgotten he wasn't wearing a shirt. He was quick to cover his chest, feeling his cheeks heat up from embarrassment. "Shut up," he whined, turning back to grab a shirt and pull it on.

The two of you had known each other for a long time, so you never knew why he was so embarrassed about going shirtless around you. Even when you guys would go swimming, he'd seem hesitant to take his shirt off.

"Come out and play with me!" you exclaimed, referring to playing in the snow. 

Of course, he couldn't refuse you. It was rare for him to turn you down...he hated to see you unhappy. "Okay, give me a second."

Shutting his window, he went to grab socks and his own coat and gloves. He put them on before bounding down the stairs, shoving his sock clad feet into his boots. Going outside, he met you at the side of his house.

"When did you get home?" he asked after giving you a hug.

You had gone to Busan for the holidays and couldn't make it for his party. He had been bummed about it, but what could he do? "Just a couple of hours ago. I was gonna come then, but I figured you'd be too tired."

He felt his chest tighten with happiness. The first person you wanted to see was him? Truly, he felt honored. "Miss me that much?"

His tone was playful but the question was genuine. "Pft, you wish," you joked, beginning to make a snowman.

A smile appeared on his face. Even if you didn't say it, he knew you had. "You so did," he chuckled, going to help you. 

Glancing at you, he could see a small smile on your face. Your cheeks looked pinker than before, but he wasn't sure if it was just because of the cold or something more.

Your snowman turned into some sort of evil snowman. You guys didn't have much to work with, so you ended up using rocks for eyes and seeds for teeth, making it look a bit more evil. Mark snapped a picture of it before he felt something hitting his back.

Turning around, he found you a bit behind him, trying to hide your laughter. "Oh, you're so dead," he breathed out as he began making a snowball.

Many snowballs were thrown, only a few actually hitting either of you. Your laughter probably woke up the neighborhood, but neither of you cared. It was wholesome fun and you were enjoying yourself. 

As you were running from Mark, you tripped in the snow, falling on your back with a laugh. He rushed over, sinking into the snow as he stood over you with the ball. Falling to his knees, he thought about how it was a perfect moment to kiss you. If only you guys were dating.

Your laughter died down as he dropped the snowball, falling onto his back next to you. "Yukhei told me he likes me last night," you confessed after a small period of silence.

Mark froze. He knew Yukhei liked you...it was the main reason he had yet to confess his own feelings. Even though he had liked you long before either of you met Yukhei, his tall friend had told him about his feelings for you. After that, he knew it was pointless. Yukhei was far better than Mark. He was tall, unfairly handsome, and the two of you seemed to get on amazingly well. 

"Oh?" he questioned, panting slightly still from all the running. "What...what did you say?"

Honestly, he was terrified of your answer, but his curiosity outweighed his fear. "I turned him down. I felt bad and I still do, but I like him as a friend."

That made Mark feel a bit better, but only just a little. If Yukhei wasn't good enough for you, there was no way Mark had a chance. 

"You want some hot chocolate?" he asked, standing up.

You blinked up at him, somewhat surprised by his sudden change of topic. He held his hand out and you took it as he helped you up. "S-sure," you stuttered out before following him into his house. It was quiet as you removed your jacket. "Are your parents still gone?"

He nodded as he finished taking his boots off. "Yeah. They're coming home tonight, though."

Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed two mugs. You followed after taking your own shoes off. Something about Mark's actions and movements as he made the hot chocolate seemed frazzled and almost rushed. 

"Are you okay?" you asked. He seemed lost in his own thoughts as he didn't show any sign of having heard you. Reaching your hand out, you placed it on his, halting his actions. He looked up at you. "Is everything okay?"

He took his hand away from yours and turned away from you. "I'm fine," he mumbled, filling the kettle with water.

You frowned. Something was obviously bothering him. "Mark, you know you can tell me anything, right? I mean, what are best friends for?"

"No, not this time. This is...this is different."

How was it different? Sure, there were things that Mark didn't feel comfortable sharing with you, but he would have told you that. 

It was almost frustrating. "What can you possibly not be able to tell me?" you asked, sounding baffled.

"I like you, Y/N," he suddenly confessed, shocking you beyond belief. "Not as a friend or a best friend, but as more. And I didn't want to tell you because of Yukhei...I couldn't tell you."

You didn't know what to say. All you could do was sit down and try to understand the new information given to you. "I mean, it doesn't matter anyway. If you turn down Yukhei, why would you even bother with me?" he added in a helpless tone.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked at him. "What? What is that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged slightly. "I mean, Yukhei's perfect. He's tall, handsome, has the body girls go crazy for, and x, y, and z. I'm nothing compared to him."

"Don't say that! You're not nothing...you're my best friend and I think you're amazing," you told him. "And I don't care about that stuff. I turned Yukhei down because I like you."

His head shot up in your direction. "You like...what?" he questioned, seeming in denial.

You nodded. "We're like Chandler and Monica...at least I've always felt that way. There's always been something between us but our moment hasn't come yet."

"You're, like, my lobster," you added with a sweet smile, making his heart pound wildly.

He had pictured this moment about a million times. Sure, he never imagined it to happen like that, but that didn't matter. "What about Yukhei?" he asked.

Despite everything, he would never want to hurt his friend. "He knows I like you; I told him last night. He supports us. I'm not sure just how much his heart is into it, but he told me he always thought you liked me back and that I should go for it. I guess he was right."

That made him chuckle. He was glad to have such a cool and understanding friend like Yukhei.

"I-I know this isn't romantic or anything like I wanted, but will you...will you be my girlfriend, Y/N?"

You smiled happily, glad he finally asked you. "I'd love to, Mark," you told him, making him smile such a cute smile that you thought your heart would melt.

He finished making the hot chocolate before the two of you went into the living room to watch movies. It wasn't surprising that Mark seemed shy to go beyond your typical cuddling, so you took matters into your own hands.

"Mark," you spoke, making him turn his head. Immediately, you placed your lips on his own.

At first, he was shocked, but his eyelids soon fluttered shut and he began to kiss you back. Not only was it the first day of the new year, but it was also the first day of you two.

[whereistheonepiece]

Random, but do you have any headcanons you like about chaka/pell or either character individually? Thank you and have a great day!

Ah! What a lovely surprise to wake up to! I love asks like this. They make me think because while I enjoy Chaka/Pell, I haven’t really developed any headcanons about them because back when I was watching Alabasta I wanted to see if there was any interest for the ship or the characters and... I didn’t find much. So I kinda just let it be. But your ask got me thinking.

A note: I haven’t seen Alabasta in a hot minute, so this is all just a gut reaction. I went onto the wiki for a refresher, but it turns out I didn’t really need it because, well, we don’t see all that much of Chaka and/or Pell. My city now, basically.

I’ve said before that I ship them and that their marriage is law on this blog, so we’re starting with that. And I’m nothing if not a romantic, so watch me trot out some of my favorite tropes.

There was a lot of mutual pining in the beginning. There was this unspoken agreement between the two for the longest time that duty came first. The king and their captain Igaram would never allow it. Serving the royal family and their country came before personal feelings, and that was that for a long, long time.

So you know what that means? Emotionally charged silence, meaningful touches, looks of longing from one when the other has his back turned and they think no one can see.

I mean. Everyone who worked around them knew. Cobra and Igaram knew. But we’re going to stick a pin in that and come back to it later.

They like playing chess/go/whatever the Alabastan equivalent of a strategic game with game pieces is. Keeps their minds sharp and allows them to relax with each other. (Leads to witty/flirty banter.) Also makes for a good excuse. “No, no, we’re playing because the game forces you to think! It’s for work!” An excuse that no one buys, but they leave them be because these weekly games of theirs clearly make them happy.

Cobra and Igaram have had slightly very inappropriate conversations about Pell and Chaka’s personal lives. Igaram remarks that both of them seem to think that Cobra and Igaram would disapprove of a romantic relationship between them. 

This leads to shenanigans out of a romantic comedy/fanfic where Cobra and Igaram try to “nudge” them into a relationship. The idea is to put them into romantically tense situations to the point where both realize they can deny themselves and each other no longer. It’s also fun for Igaram and Cobra to gossip and generally behave inappropriately and unprofessionally.

It works. Kinda.

Chaka and Pell spend the night together after years of longing and denial, but it doesn’t turn out like Igaram and Cobra wanted. Instead of bringing them together, Chaka and Pell both agree that they have to come to their captain and their king and ask both for their forgiveness and offer to resign from the guard if either of them think it’s necessary.

So Cobra and Igaram panic. Like no no no no, it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.

Cobra and Igaram come clean and apologize to Chaka and Pell for interfering to the degree that they did. They admit that they should have been upfront about it from the beginning.

Honestly, though. They should have known better. They did know better. Putting aside that they’re all adults, Chaka and Pell are some of the most honorable men you’ll meet. Of course they’re going to put duty before their own happiness.

With the captain and the king’s explicit approval, Chaka and Pell take it from there.

There’s a little bit of uncertainty. It’s an adjustment, knowing they’re free to pursue each other, after years of yearning.

Chaka’s a true romantic, though. He tells Pell that he wants to woo him, now that he has the freedom to do so. Pell smiles at him warmly and tells him that he did that long ago. Chaka laughs and tells him that he wasn’t even trying, that Pell should see him when he’s trying.

“Very well. Woo me. Sweep me off my feet.”

They remain professional on the job, but out of work Chaka lavishes Pell with tiny gifts. Pell isn’t the type who needs gifts to feel loved, but he recognizes that gift giving is one of Chaka’s love languages, and they’re so personal. And it’s nice to know that Chaka’s thinking of him when Pell retires to his room after a long day and finds some of his favorite fruit and a love poem from one of the country’s most famous poets waiting for him.

Chaka knows calligraphy. I’ve decided. He copies poetry that moves him in a delicate hand and leaves them for Pell.

Pell has all of the poems Chaka gifted him during their courtship. He had them bound into a book. Chaka’s eyes lit up when Pell showed him. He vowed to give him more poetry, enough to fill up another book.

They enjoy nightly strolls around the palace grounds. Chaka has kissed Pell in one of the palace gardens under the light of the moon on more than one occasion.

They call each other beloved. Chaka calls Pell his sweetheart/sweetie.

They both propose to each other at the same time. Pell asks first. Chaka laughs and pulls out the ring he’d been intending to offer Pell that night. They share a laugh and a loving kiss before they exchange rings.

It’s a small, intimate ceremony. Just them, the royal family, Igaram, and a few of their close friends from the guard. Igaram officiates the wedding.

So. This means I get to talk about Pell’s sacrifice.

Pell and Chaka both understand that their job comes with certain risks. It was something they had to address when they both had a talk about being together. 

But knowing this doesn’t make the loss Chaka feels any less devastating. His love. His partner. His light. Gone.

They’re quiet when Pell makes it back to the palace and they finally have time alone. They gravitate to each other. They stand there, holding each other for the longest time.

Chaka does not begrudge Pell’s decision, but damn it, he’s so relieved to have him home.

These two deserve a vacation, just like Vivi deserves a vacation. Igaram deserves a vacation. Cobra deserves a vacation. They all deserve a family vacation.

And, uh, I think that’s it. Wow, when I first sat down to write this I thought I was gonna come up with three headcanons, tops, but here we are. Hope you liked it. ^^

I’m always up for answering asks like this, by the way. They’re fun and easy.