DOMINO - Eustass Kid x Reader

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT: Testosterone

"(Y..Y/N)..?!"

Paulie barely had time to drop the plank he was holding before I launched myself into his arms, sending him staggering back several paces. There were likely a few confused looks from the other workers, but I didn't care.

I couldn't hold him tight enough, and once he had a few moments to realise that he wasn't just seeing things Paulie nearly crushed me against his body, spinning me around and around.
"Surprise..!" I laughed through happy tears, already becoming overwhelmed by how safe and at home I felt being reunited with him.

"Wh..When did you..?! How did you..?! What are you doing here?! What?!" Stammering out partial questions, Paulie finally stopped spinning and set me down, cupping my cheeks in his hands. "H..Hold on, let me take a look at you!"

Paulie liked to think of himself as a tough guy, but he was one of the most sensitive men I had ever known, so I could tell that he was really struggling to not cry in front of his workers.
"Just like I promised! I'm fit as a fiddle, and twice as annoying!" I laughed, wiping at my eyes with the heel of my hand.

Dragging me closer, Paulie kissed my forehead and hugged me again, cheek squishing down against the top of my head.
"I can't believe it..! You've changed so much..." Again, he pulled back to look at me, and I took the time to study him right back.

"You have facial hair now. I can't even tease you about it because it doesn't look half bad." He really had changed, aside from that ill-favoured yellow shirt he wore. He looked older. More mature.

"So...this is that uptight older brother you're always ravin' about?" The moment Kid piped up from behind me I felt my brother stiffen, and when he stepped in front of me I just let it happen.

Here we go.

"Who are you?" Paulie's voice took on a deeper octave, and several of his men banded together behind us, just as much on guard.
"Do you seriously not know who the fu-"

"P..Pauls!" I called out over the top of Kid, knowing he'd only worsen the situation if I had let him continue speaking. "I'd like you to meet my, uh, my friends...You've actually spoken to them on the transponder snail..."

Jaw set tight, Paulie glanced to me before turning his sights back on the pair, brow creasing.
"You're pirates." He stated the obvious, and Kid took a step forward. He was challenging him, just like I had begged him not to.

"Yeah? What of it?" He asked in a taunting manner, smirking at the thought of a fight. "If ya know my name then say it. Go on." I glared at him from behind my brother, annoyed that he'd choose to be an asshole now of all times.

Killer sighed and put an arm out in front of Kid to stop him advancing any further.
"Please excuse my captain. He's all talk right now, and we don't want any trouble. This is Eustass Kid, Captain of the Kid Pirates, and I'm Killer. Your sister is our companion."

Well, cat's out of the bag...

"Killer...Kipper...God dammit, (Y/N)..." Paulie slowly turned to me and scowled, his temple ticking with a quickened pulse and his complexion pale. He was ready to have a full on meltdown. "Do you have any idea how dangerous these guys are?!"

Skittering out from behind him, hoping to serve as a human blockade, I held my hands up.
"I know, I know, you don't approve. I get it...but they're good to me! I mean, they were kind of dicks at first, but now they're my best friends! Just calm down and let's talk like mature adults, hmm?"

Paulie's eyes remained on Kid and Killer, filled with a stressed aggression I hadn't seen in him before.
"Don't approve? Of course I don't approve, (Y/N)! This is crazy! You're asking me to act like an adult when you're being completely reckless and irresponsible! They're pirates! Dangerous ones!"