DOMINO - Eustass Kid x Reader

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN: Prying

The idea of taking on Shanks and the Red Haired Pirates left a bitter taste in my mouth...

But I was loyal to Kid, so if his goal was to defeat them, then it was mine too, no matter how idiotic. It certainly was on brand for me, but I had never aimed that high.

Sure, I'd tested my luck with higher ranked pirates such as Firefist Ace and Mihawk, but that hadn't been in battle. There was no way that Shanks fellow, an Emperor of the Sea, no less, would back down without one hell of a fight.

We moved through the New World at our usual pace, stocking up on supplies and doing what we usually did, but there was now a tense air about the Victoria Punk. Impending doom, perhaps?

Whatever it was, I wasn't a huge fan of the feeling, and I tried to busy myself with meaningless tasks, such as restacking barrels or scrubbing the maw of the figurehead.

"If you scrub any harder she'll lose her teeth, (Y/N)..." Heat chuckled awkwardly, watching as I retracted the hand I held the coarse bristled brush in.
"Yeah, I know..." I sighed, sitting back on my heels and using the back of my wrist to wipe the sweat from my forehead. "I just need to keep myself busy. Kid's in his weird, barbarian warfare headspace right now, and that's not exactly my favourite genre of Kid, y'know?"

Heat nodded in understanding, holding out his hand in an offering to help me up, which I accepted.
"While we're being honest, it's not my favourite version of him either." It was then that I noticed Missy perched - or rather draped and oozing - upon his shoulder. He was likely the softest, sweetest man I knew, and I smiled as I reached up to rub under the globulous feline's chin.

"Can I ask you a question?" I wasn't sure where I was leading. I had so many questions I could decide from, seeing as the lanky man before me had known Kid infinitely longer than I had. "How long have you known Kid?"

That seemed to be the easiest to start with, and Heat mumbled under his breath as he counted upon his fingers.
"Well...I guess for about ten or so years, if we're talking personally. Thirteen if you count having heard of him."

Oooh, so he knew Kid as a...well...kid?

Bouncing up and down on my heels, I sought more answers.
"Can you tell me about what he was like when he was younger?" I asked curiously, but Heat didn't look very willing to continue the conversation.

"That's...really his story to tell. I don't want my ass kicked..." He murmured, scratching at his chin, and I pouted.
"But he won't tell me anything! He talks about the now, and the future, but never the past!" I complained, but he wasn't going to budge.

Placing a hand down upon my head, Heat gave me an apologetic smile, squinting with his left eye when Missy decided it was the prime place to begin to groom him.

"Sorry, but he'd literally kill me. Boss is...sensitive about his childhood..." He admitted, which only made me all the more determined to find it all out. "For what it's worth, he was just as brash, if not more so." It was something, but not enough. I was greedy, and I didn't find it fair that I could very well be the only person on board who was in the dark.

"That doesn't surprise me, really." I chuckled softly, tossing my scrubbing brush into the nearby bucket before starting towards the main deck. "I'm gonna go hound Killer. Wanna sit next to each other at dinner and sneak scraps under the table for Missy?" Heat nodded eagerly, his stitched smile making me feel all warm and fuzzy.
"Absolutely."

Killer was much harder to locate than he usually was. On any regular day he was typically found in the galley, or his room, perhaps even just hanging out on deck, but this time he was in the last place I looked.