You wanted to help everyone on the boat, but you could only do so much before the stress would eat you up inside. You would never show your true stress to others, only pushing off your sleepless looks as nightmares or your calloused hands on your weak skin. In truth, you spread yourself thin very quickly trying to keep everyone happy.
"Hey," You heard your name shouted behind you. You turn to see Usopp holding out a fishing pole to you. "Wanna help catch fish for Sanji?" You quickly nod, unable to say no. You didn't have any special skills or Devil Fruit powers that could help out this crew so all you could do was help where you can. "Thanks!" You grip the pole tightly, fishing off the side of the boat Usopp was opposite of. After about thirty minutes, the sun was blistering your skin and your hands were cramping from being in the same position for so long.
"Wanna take a break?" Nami questions from behind you. You nod in thanks and pull the pole out.
"What did you need help with?" You ask with a smile.
"I was wondering if you could help organize the navigation room. I'll take over with fishing." You agree and hand her the wooden stick before heading to the navigation room. Your hands and skin were grateful for the change as you organized fallen books and papers, refilled the ink, and changed the quill tip. Once your were satisfied with your work you exit the room quietly.
"You busy?" Zoro asks from beside you. You spin and shake your head.
"I'm free!" You reply happily.
"I was hoping you could wash these for us," He says as he hands you two armfuls of clothes from the crew. "It's laundry day but I have some training to do." You take the clothes from him without hesitation.
"Of course, I've got you covered." You bit the inside of your cheek, wanting to just sit down, but you knew you needed to work hard to stay with the crew. You head towards the washroom, slowly but surely going through each piece of clothing one by one before finally hanging them to dry. You wipe your wet and wrinkled hands on your pants before hearing your name from the top deck.
"What's up?" You question, poking your head through the door to the stairwell. Robin turns and smiles sweetly at you.
"Can you help me out with moving something," She says softly. You nod and follow her to the artifact room. "I would use my extra limbs, but I can't see exactly where I'm putting it when I do that." You smile.
"Don't worry, I've got it!" You see the giant bookcase she pointed at that was covered in artifacts. She used her extra limbs to remove the pieces carefully from the shelf, holding them with a gentle grasp as you handled the bookshelf. Once it was where she wished, you were sweating from the strenuous activity.
"Thanks!" She yelled happily as she began replacing her items. You shut the door softly with a huff to avoid looking tired in front of her.
"Yo!" You straightened up and held back your pants, smiling as you turned to your captain, who happily bounded toward you. "Wanna help me out?"
"Of course, Luffy," You reply with a shaking voice that was fighting your pounding heart that was exhausted at the moment.
"Awesome!" He drags you behind him to the railing, pointing up at the crow's nest. "Chopper and I were messing around when we- I threw the ball too high and now Zoro won't give it back." You threw your eyes back in a roll and nodded, beginning your climb up to the crow's nest. Once you reached the top, Zoro just stared at you with his foot atop the ball you were sent to fetch.
"So they sent you, huh?" He asks with a smirk. "Idiots were too scared." You just simply nod your head, too tired to speak. Your head was spinning from the movement you've been doing without stopping to rest or drink any water. "Hey, you feeling okay?" Zoro questions, handing you the ball slowly. "You look pale." You shake your head, accepting the ball.
"I'm fine! It's just so high up here the ladder took a lot more energy than I thought." He eyes you suspiciously, but he doesn't stop you from descending from the crow's nest with the ball. Luffy cheers and grabs the object with a quick thanks. Chopper and he continue to kick the ball around as you head for the kitchen for some water.
"Oh, hey!" Sanji greets. "Dinner isn't ready yet." You shake your head at him.
"I just came for some water," You reply.
"Well, you came at a bad time. I just ran out and no one has brought any in yet." Your heart skipped at the sound of dehydration being an option, but you didn't dare complain.
"I'll go get some, then." You walk out to the area that pulls water up, filling a couple of buckets with shaking arms. Sweat poured off your face as you finally got enough to return to Sanji with.
"Awesome, thanks! Should be some ready in about thirty minutes after it's boiled and cooled." You nodded, hiding your frown, and walked out of the kitchen.
"Wanna play a song with me?" Brook suddenly asks, making you spin to him. You returned that big smile to your face and nodded. "Great!" He drags you to the center of the deck as everyone was around you both. Brook began to play, the song being recognizable right away. You began to sing, knowing that the crew enjoyed your voice when it was time to have fun. You enjoyed singing, too, but today you were physically exhausted.
However, if you showed that, you were worried they would look at you as too weak. You belt out the words to where your voice is nearly breaking. Brook finally stopped with everyone cheering for both of your performances. You bow slightly, head spinning when you straighten back up. You walk away, slightly swaying as the crew is too distracted from the encore Brook was playing. A hand comes onto your shoulder and you look up to Franky as he softly smiles down at you.
"Can you come and help me with something real quick?" You don't hesitate to nod before Franky leads you to the top deck. You stand and wait patiently for him to show you what he needs help with, but your knees were weakening. "Be right back. Go ahead and take a seat." You accept the suggestion as he disappears, sitting on the bench behind you. You let out a deep sigh and stare at the ocean, the breeze tickling your face. You smiled at the feeling, not getting to enjoy it all day until now. You close your eyes, taking in the cool ocean winds and salty smell as you could hear the others in the distance. They sounded so far away right now and you couldn't help but melt into the bench.
"Here," You hear Franky's voice break through your thoughts and you open your eyes wide, seeing him holding a cup of water in front of your face. "Drink up." You nod, taking the water and practically chugging it. The cool liquid washes over what would feel like your ribcage and it feels like a refreshing sense of wonder has been returned to you.
"Thank you," You whisper. "So, what did you need help with?" He takes a seat next to you on the bench as he stares at the water with you.
"I needed help with getting you to stop helping." He stuns you, nearly choking you with the water in your mouth.
"What?" You ask with a tight throat. "What do you mean?"
"You're stretching yourself too thin and you know it." He was right. You knew how exhausted you were. "You need to learn to say no." You frowned and played with the condensation that had gathered quickly on your cup.
"I feel like I can't," You whisper. "If I do, then what else am I good for on the ship?" Frankly tilts his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I don't carry any attributes for this ship," You reply with tears forming in your eyes. "If I was to stop helping, what else would I do?"
"Take care of yourself." You stopped your ranting to look at him. "Listen, I've known you for a few months now, this is who you are, and I get that. You still need to focus on yourself every now and then. It's okay to want to help, but pushing yourself to the point you haven't eaten, drank water, or even sat down to relax for five minutes is dangerous. What good are you to the crew if you're dead?" His words struck something in you that made you feel worthy and like you actually did have a role on this ship. Being a helper is a role anyone can fulfill, but Franky made you feel like it was only your position. The smile you hid finally dug it's way up to show on your lips. Franky returns the gesture along with a squeeze on your hand.
"You're amazing," He whispers lowly. "I can't imagine what we would do without you." You wiped at the happy tears that fell and hugged tightly to his bulky torso.
"Thank you, Franky."
