#soft-ish (non-toxic) but still Kid-Kid kind of fic

[sanaserena]

“It was Luffy’s idea to dress up as pirates!” said Ace, from the living room.  Apparently already dressed.

When he’d arrived, he’d done so in a pair of black knee length shorts, his signature belt and beaded necklace, a dagger sheathed in green, and an orange hat with what you thought were a pair of goggles—one with a smiley face, the other with a frowny face.  The hat itself hung a medallion on his chest.  It was odd to see him without his worn beanie, a beanie that was falling apart with each passing day.

You’d asked what he was.  He’d told you.  And then you’d laughed, asking what sort of pirate Luffy thought Ace was! 

“You should see Luffy’s outfit,” Ace said again. 

“Oh?”  You peeked around the doorframe of your room. 

“He’s mocked up this huge scar on his chest, and put on an opened tshirt, shorts, and he’s wearing his strawhat again, and called himself a pirate.”

“What kind of pirate is that?” you laughed. 

“Your friend Franky is apparently going as a cyborg pirate—sounded awesome on paper!”

You pulled on the last item for the grand costuming idea of Nami’s.  And felt horribly exposed.  If Nami hadn’t managed to convince you that Ace would love it, you doubted that you would have worn it.  You were just glad this was only for Luffy’s Halloween party.

Ace was resting his head on the back of the couch when you walked back in, the fluffy cape of your costume pulled tightly around you.  He spotted you in his upside down vision and turned to face you.

“So,” he said.  “What are you?”

“Well, it was Nami’s idea.”  The mere thought of what was under the cape had your blush raging across your skin. 

This seemed to pique his interest, and he vaulted over your couch to join you.  “Sweet, your blush is telling me things I’m not sure I want others to like.”

“The theme was a pirate in an undercover raid in the enemy’s lair.”

“This enemy must be quite devilish,” he joked, flicking your little black horns on your head. 

“Just a bit.”

He was distracting enough in his limited costume.  You’ll admit that while you were shy about what you were wearing, you always wanted to look good next to Ace.  You knew he didn’t care how you were.  He was always resting his head on yours, and just seemed to think you were cute (not that you could agree on the days when you were hardest on your appearance, and that which you could partly agree on the days when you did like your appearance).  But you just wanted to show others that maybe, you were a physical match to Ace too. 

“I’m intrigued now,” he said, standing back.  “Show me?”

You let out a breath and slowly released the cape, letting it fall at your side.

Ace whistled low.  “That’s some enemy lair.”

It was a very revealing costume.  Thankfully not as revealing as Robin’s or Nami’s.  But it still exposed a vast amount of your skin.  Your legs, your stomach, most of your chest.  You had on a very short black skirt, and a very small crop.  Essentially, the ultimate costume design had you, Nami, and Robin all looking like Satan’s daughters.  All good for a raid on Onigashima!  Or so Nami had explained.

“It was Nami’s idea, but I thought, you know, I’m always really kind of dorky next to you so I thought…”

He raised a brow, then he chuckled, bracing his hands on your waist.  “Who cares what others think?  I happen to think you’re an excellent physical match for me.”

You blushed at that, a small shiver passed through in anticipation.  He seemed to notice, backing you against the wall, bracing an arm above your head. 

Just as he was about to kiss you, however, it took everything in you to cover his mouth with your hands. 

“Uh-uh, I don’t want to waste another hour fixing my makeup.”

“We could skip?”

You feigned a gasp, these days feeling more bold around him, now that you knew he seemed to find your oddness more adorable and interesting than just plain weird.  “And not show our friends how well we match physically?”

He chuckled, more at how red your skin had gotten, at how much it had taken for you to stay still.  He pressed a kiss to your cheek instead, with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes that said, if you were willing, he would help you undress later.  Still new to this part of your relationship with him, you blushed furiously.

~♥~♦~���~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~

"Reader and Ace are ready for the Halloween party" flashback scene from my modern (sports - lacrosse) au fic, A Pair of Reds, over on AO3 (former Portgas D. Ace X reader pairing; Eustass Kid X reader endgame)

[sanaserena]

Christmas day came with another party, this time it was Zoro’s place at noon, as nominated when Luffy’s Grandfather scowled his grandson into non-submission.  You’d marvelled at that exchange, at Mr Garp yelling at Luffy for constantly messing up the apartment, while Luffy asking what the hell did his grandfather want?  It was odd, for it sounded like an argument, but there was clearly no intention to get into any fights unless it involved several fists of love from both sides. 

You sang carols, and discovered that Ace had a terrible singing voice, much to Sanji’s horror.

You split crackers, and found some nasty joke ones courtesy of Usopp, and much to Robin’s macabre delight.

“It’s not halloweeeen!” cried Chopper, eventually comforted by Robin, who gave him an extra slice of cake.

Somehow Sanji and Zoro got into a fight on who could cut the turkey better – Sanji won out because he cooked it. 

And Franky nearly blew up Zoro’s house, much to his horror.  It was a good thing the party was out in Zoro’s garden instead, in the warmth of a Grand Line City summer.

You gave Ace a new beanie, with a shy smile apologising that it wasn’t grander—you were saving that for his birthday.  It was the same as his old orange one, but this one had two smiley faces on the front, two black circles, one with a smile face, the other with a frowning one.  It really wasn’t much.

He put it on immediately.

For you, he had planned an anniversary getaway, the first of which for you both as a couple.

After a few hours, Ace lead you away.  Between the both of you, in many ways orphans, you had such large adoptive families.  And what had once been lonely Christmases for the both of you, in different ways, were now a fight between one place and the other.

It was a good thing that Zoro’s house wasn’t far from where Ace lived.  And together you walked hand in hand back to his place, to join, however briefly, the Whitebeards party. 

There were no people on the streets, except for a few.  The sun was warm, but Ace was warmer beside you.  You knew this because even though you were holding hands, his arm was pressed to yours. 

“It’d be rather nice to drive down this road with the roof opened on a day like today,” you mused.

“I wouldn’t know, don’t own a car.”  Ace shrugged.

“I noticed.  Why is that?”

He looked momentarily aghast.  “And restrict me to the confines of such a vehicle?”  He nudged your shoulder.  “You’re learning to drive.  Why don’t you get one, and then we can cruise to our delight.”

“Maybe.  Or maybe I’ll just rely on you until the end of days.  You and that monstrous bike of yours.”

He chuckled, pulling you to a stop, just to look at you it seemed.  “End of days huh?” he said, tugging on your loose hair, haphazardly curled for today’s celebrations. 

~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~

"Reader and Ace spending their first Christmas together as a couple" flashback scene from my modern (sports - lacrosse) au fic, A Pair of Reds, over on AO3 (former Portgas D. Ace X reader pairing; Eustass Kid X reader endgame)

[sanaserena]

Limping to the door, you looped your bag across your body.  You pulled the door open to see Kid waiting against the rail, one arm folded across his chest, while checking his phone in the other. 

“You’re slow,” he said, sliding his phone into pocket. 

You rolled your eyes as you locked your door.  “Well you could have waited downstairs.”

“And have you trip on your way down, and expect me to take you to the closest doctor?”  Kid grumbled, offering his hand. 

You stared at it for a second.  “It’s okay, there’s a railing.”

It was said with confidence, and with one look at you, Kid shrugged, as if to say, suit yourself.  You just didn’t anticipate how daunting going down the stairs could look on one leg.  You waved him forward, determined to show him that even though your ankle was just a little painful, you could hop your way down. 

You regretted it after the first few steps, when after several attempts at finding the best way to hop down, you nearly slipped—if it weren’t for the rail, and Kid catching you around the waist.

“Whoa,” he said, holding you upright with the mere power of his arm. 

“Just a slight misstep.”

He grunted, the smirk on his lips said he was amused.  There was definitely nothing amusing about any of this.

“It might be best,” you said weakly giving in.  “If you helped me down the stairs.”

His smirk widened.  “Are you telling me or asking?”

“Asking.” You were glad you weren’t the type to hold onto pride at moments like this.  “Please.”

~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~

"Reader has a sprained ankle and asks Kid for a lift" scene from my modern (sports - lacrosse) au fic, A Pair of Reds, over on AO3 (former Portgas D. Ace X reader pairing; Eustass Kid X reader endgame)

[sanaserena]

Oddly enough, today it's spotlight Killer. I was just rereading bits my fanfic (A Pair of Reds) and remembered how much fun it was to write Killer as Kid's best friend and no.1 sidekick/wingman! AND then I remembered I do have a tumblr. So, snippets of Killer being Kid's absolute best friend below showing up in different parts of that fic 👇🏼. Just note, the fic was originally told from reader pov and also Ace's pov, so the snippets are mainly from the reader's pov.

~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~

"Killer appears" snippets from my modern (sports - lacrosse) au fic, A Pair of Reds, over on AO3 (former Portgas D. Ace X reader pairing; Eustass Kid X reader endgame)

~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~

“ZORO THAT’S THE WRONG GOAL!”  someone screamed. 

At one point both Zoro and Killer yelled, “Captain, now is not the time to be measuring the size of your sticks!  They’re the same bloody size!”  

Ace facepalmed.  The Kid Crew should have been having an easier time against the Strawhats, but as history showed, it was never easy playing against Luffy. Ever.

By the time the match ended.  You were on your feet cheering for the barely won victory, along with the rest of the crowd. 

Both teams were exhausted.  Kid looked like he couldn’t believe he lost – again – to the Strawhats.  That it was up to Killer to shake Zoro’s hand.  Luffy would have done it if he wasn’t so busy jumping up and down, cheering with the crowd. 

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

What you least expected as you recovered in this…shop, was the guy currently looking at you with a brow raised that said you’re blocking the door.

Shit! Of all places you had decided to hide, you’d picked an auto parts store.  You wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.  Instead, you lifted your defences, and remembering Zoro’s oddness this morning, you pointed at Eustass Kid, and said, “Don’t you start acting nice to me Kid!”

Then you yanked the door open and when it was clear of Zoro, you left. 

You didn’t see Killer walking round the aisle. Nor did you hear him asking Kid who had just been talking. 

You didn’t hear Kid snapping, “Who the fuck knows what’s wrong with her today.  It’s like yesterday never happened.”

And you didn’t hear Killer say, “Something happened yesterday?”

You were already down the street, but if you had heard it, you might have wondered why Kid sounded more annoyed than usual.

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

“It was Ace’s.  This is my apology,” you said, sounding sorry enough that you’d caused his drink to spill over him.  And it seemed for something else Ace didn’t understand.

But this wasn’t what stopped the conversation.  It was what Killer said while you explained to Kid.

“Spaghetti Aglio Olio, if possible,” Killer said to Sanji.

Those three little words silenced the room.  Even the Heart crew, though they didn’t get the reference.  If the music wasn’t blasting as loudly as it was, a pin dropping would sound loud in the silence.

“You want peppers with that?” said Sanji icily. 

Killer blinked and seemed to hesitate.  “No?”

Kid was halfway pulling on the tank top when he noticed the chilly exchange.  And more importantly when he saw you frozen in front of him.

Looking puzzled Kid said, “Is something wrong?”

The ice that coated you thickly seemed to crack at the sound of his voice.  “Nothing,” you said weakly, grabbing up his soaked top, and walked out the room for a second time, telling Luffy that you were going to borrow his machine.

“I have a machine?”  Luffy said, oblivious to the moment.

“You only noticed this now?”  Nami, Usopp, and Franky exclaimed, smashing the ice and silence to pieces. 

Zoro grunted, though his brow was furrowed.  “Bad day to order Aglio Olio, Hitokiri,” he said to Killer.

Killer just looked baffled, and guilty without understanding why. 

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

The garage was open but no one was manning the reception.  So you rang the bell twice, aware of just one guy sitting in the waiting room.  He looked mildly familiar with his moustache and beard.  If you really thought about it, you might have recognised him.  Killer, however, came in at that moment, at around the same time Wire walked in from the back.

They both greeted you at the same time.

“Hey,” you said, then pointed to Killer.  “It’s okay, I’ll talk to this guy.”

“An unexpected face.”  Killer shucked his helmet, shaking his blonde hair loose.  “Looking for Kid?”

You startled at that, flustered because you’re not sure how to deal with Killer’s spot-on question.   You rubbed the back of your neck, hoping to stem the flush on your cheeks.  “H-how did you know?  I me-mean…”

Killer just looked at you pointedly.

Not willing really to let him get away with it entirely, or get away with thinking he thought he knew you better than you knew yourself, you folded your arms across your chest.  “Maybe,” you said firmly.  “I came to see you Killer.”

It was Killer’s turn to gain a reddish flush in his ears.  “You’re not serious?  Kid wou—” he blanched, and snapped his mouth shut immediately.

“Kid?”  you said.  What had Kid to do with this?  And why did Killer make it sound like it was absolutely impossible for you to come to say hi to him.  You considered Killer a little more than an acquaintance.  Particularly since of the pair, it was usually Killer who talked to you. 

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

“Here,” you said, holding out a pair of new socks, not exactly the same the ones you’d gotten from Kid the other day.  “Kid took a packet from your stash the other day, and I thought I should replace it as my thanks.”

Killer stared for a moment, a hand half raked through his hair.  “Wow, okay.  I’ll admit I didn’t know it was you, so thank you.”  He took them from you, paused, and then flapped the pair in your direction.  “Kid didn’t even tell me.  You know, he let me look around the last few days for where my spare pair went.  Since I’ve been partly annoyed at him, I’ll tell you where he is.”

You raised a brow.  “I was hoping to just leave the top with you.”

“And risk me using it as cleaning cloth?”  Killer grinned darkly.

He had a point. 

“Besides,” said Killer.  “I’ve got this impression that seeing you today might ruin his day.”

“W-what?” you choked, unexpecting that.  “What is that supposed to mean?  Killer!  Are you sending me into the lion’s den on purpose?”

“Lion’s den implies a prey within the predator’s lair.  Kid is unfortunately, in this case, neither predator nor in his lair.  You’ll be fine!  And while you’re there, ask about your car.”

“Your confidence in me is overwhelming,” you said dryly, much to Killer’s amusement.

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

You pulled into South Blue Mechanic shortly after, much to the surprise of Killer, who had been handling a customer at the time.  On the back of Kid’s bike, you caught a glimpse of Killer gaping at the sight, and coins spilling out of the customer’s hand.

As you hopped off the bike, you grinned, and asked Killer, “Did you get my complaints?”

“Yes, and they were nasty!”  He held his fist out for a bump, and randomly dumped fallen coins into the customer’s hand.  The customer grumbled, not that Killer noticed nor seemed to care. 

“Serves you right,” you said grinning.

Kid grunted when he walked past you two, but not without pressing a hand to your back and saying, “Aren’t we here for your car?”  He pushed you forward, to your bewilderment. 

“Uh, yeah…” you said with an apologetic look in Killer’s direction.  The guy merely blinked and shook his head.

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

Looking for Killer wasn’t a terrible chore.  Although he’d moved away from the workroom to the front room again, to deal with another customer, he spotted you before you spotted him.  He greeted you by asking where Kid was, and when you told him, he guffawed.  Not, that you understood what was so funny.  When you said so, he patted you on the back as if you were the poor soul, and said he’d order some food.  You hung around with Killer for a little while as he made the order, adding your choices when you selected them.  And then you waited around until the order came in. 

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

When Kid was done, he tossed the rubbish into the bin, and washed his face when you pointed out that he had oil all over him. 

“Fuck!” he’d said, and you’d waited until he was done before you both returned to the floor.  He shut your bonnet with a bang, and then gestured for you to go pay while he drove the car out.

Killer was incredibly amused when he saw you.  It looked like he was refraining something, and no amount of prodding got him to spill as he sorted out your bill.  You wrote it off as some insider joke and asked if it was anything that mocked you.

“Nah, it’s Kid I’m laughing at,” he said, reassuring you.

That was a relief.  “Then amuse away.”

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

“You’re always welcome to stop by the shop after.  It’s not like Kid has a life.”

You raised your brow, turning back to him while clicking through the windows on the computer screen.  “Kid, no life?  That doesn’t sound like him at all.”  The phone rang and with Lola busy with the next patient, you picked it up.

“Only when it comes to you,” Killer said, halting the greeting that was already halfway out of your mouth.  You stumbled over what you needed to say, somehow muscle memory kicked in and you finish the greeting just as your eyes darted back to Killer in surprise.   “Yup, that’s exactly it,” he said, as if he knew what you were thinking in that moment, as if he knew you were drawing your own wild conclusions about those six little words and they were exactly what he meant.  It sounded as if Killer was saying that Kid liked you.  Like more than friends.  You weren’t even at the friends stage yet!

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

Killer grinned.  “Because you asked me for a favour.  Figured I’d help you out.”

A wild kind of flush washed over you.  You felt hot and not unhappy at the thought of what Killer implied. 

Heat came out then, bandaged up tightly, looking as though he hadn’t just been bleeding out.  He was complimenting the nurse in a slightly nasally tone.  She was neither the youngest of women, nor the prettiest, but she was in fact, one of the nicest.  And Heat had a slightly pink tinge to his cheeks that said he was just a little infatuated.  He wouldn’t be the first.

“Killer!” you hissed, as the guy exchanged a handshake with his friend.

“I’ll make sure he gets this,” Killer grinned, patting his chest as he retreated backwards out of the medical centre with his mate.

“Killer!” you hissed again, jumping to your feet.  “Get back here!”

You were suddenly uneasy about asking Killer for the favour, and about the souvenir, and about everything in general, and wanted to take it back in that moment. 

“Sorry,” he called from the doorway.  “Gotta head back to work or Kid will flay us alive.”

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

It was probably in his favour that Killer came skidding out of the garage then, running into you.  His hands caught your shoulders, with a muttered apology, though he focussed only on his friend.

“Kid, Apoo is here saying that you’re going to look at his car?”  he demanded over your head, releasing your shoulders. 

“I did,” said Kid, though he looked annoyed.   

“Thought you swore never to waste energy arguing with Apoo again over his car,” said Killer.

Kid shrugged, his grin vicious.  “He says it’s urgent.  And he’ll pay anything.  If it’s that urgent, I get to charge whatever the fuck I want.”

“Come on Kid!” Apoo yelled from the inside of the mechanic, having spotted Kid at the entrance.  He waved his arms. 

Both Kid and Killer grimaced.  Killer patted Kid on the shoulder, commiserating with him on his decision.  “Hope it’s worth it,” he said. 

“Damn right it better be,” Kid replied.  He glanced at you one more time, and though he looked like he wanted to say something, Apoo yelled for him again.  Kid scowled, yelling back, “I’m coming, quit yelling.”

“You won’t be late for the game later?”  Killer asked.

“You’re going to the game later?” you asked, surprised.  Then you frowned.  Of course, he said before he would.  And he was as much of a lacrosse fan as he was a player.  But, a glance deeper into the garage said that he looked really busy.

Kid blinked, and for some reason his flush had come back but only around his collar.  Killer noticed you then too. 

Killer’s eyes widened.  “You’re here?  Why are you here?” 

“Isn’t that a little too rude?” You raised a brow, more amused than you should be. 

Killer looked between you and Kid, and his mouth stretched into a grin that put your guard up high.  Nothing good had come from Killer’s grins lately. 

“Go away Killer,” scowled Kid.  “Tell that asshole I’ll be there.”

If Killer was going to disagree, one look at Kid’s face said otherwise.  You got the distinct feeling that Killer was raising his brows under his fringe. 

“Fine,” Killer relented.  “See ya later,” he said to you, as he went back inside, hollering at Apoo to “Get away from that toolbox!”

~♥~♦~♠~♣~

Kid was at the back, half hidden by the bonnet of the car, illuminated by the light above.  The rest of the garage was empty.  A door opened, and Killer stepped in, though he stilled.  Unlike Kid, he caught sight of you immediately.  He mumbled an excuse and tripped back out the back door, slamming it behind him.

“Killer?” Kid called.  The guy peeked around the bonnet, looking confused when he found no one at the door.

He glanced backwards out of habit, to check if maybe he had the wrong door.  And Ace was satisfied to see surprise plaster itself on Kid’s face.

Sabo had made himself scarce off to the side. 

“Hey Kid,” you said.

“What are you doing here?”  Kid grumbled, though he was blushing somewhat now. 

~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~♥~♦~♠~♣~