Over And Over Again

Overly Cautious

Prompt: Katakuri comes back from a mission to learn you're pregnant despite never wanting to be a father.

Requested by anonymous

Katakuri X Fem Reader

Katakuri had been sent on a mission to retrieve something, leaving you alone, having you stand in as the Minister of Flour while he was away. Everything was going well; you had done this plenty of times in the past. But some of the workers had noticed you not eating as much, you’d wave them off without a concern. The concern really came when a cake was being made and just the smell of it made you want to vomit.

         You couldn’t hide it from anyone, you were in the middle of a meeting about the upcoming tea party and what pastries would be served. Everyone forced you to see a doctor, no one wanting to deal with the wrath of your husband if he got back to find you sick.

         And that’s how you ended up in the ward, a doctor running tests and looking you over. Much to your dismay numerous curious eyes also making sure you wouldn’t leave this forced appointment. “And when was the last time you were sexually active?” The question threw you off guard, nearly spitting out the tea that you had been allowed to drink.

You’re face burning red as you whip your head around to look at those who had forced you here. None of them dared to make eye-contact with you, some whistling while looking off in a random direction. They tried to protest when you kicked them out, but you refused to discuss such things in front of so many people. Once the door was finally closed the doctor, who was not too amused asked the question again. “It’s been a little a while, 7 or 8 weeks I think,” Thinking back to the last intimate night you had with Katakuri, he’d been so busy lately that it’d had been longer than normal.

The doctor wrote some notes down and continued with other questions before doing some blood tests. You sat back, expecting this to be a simple flu. That would give you a headache, you’d be forced to bedrest as to not spread it and not slow down progress. The doctor padded his way back into the room, flipping through the papers reading the results of everything he had tested for. “Well, it seems as though you’re pregnant.”

         You took the rest of the day off to think about things. Katakuri had adamantly told you he didn’t want children. He didn’t want to pass down his genes in fear of what could happen, you understood his concerns and agreed to not try. And while you were sexually active, contraceptions were used at every avenue, Birth Control, Condoms, Spermicide, even a Plan B if there was a thought of something going wrong.

         Katakuri would be getting back from his mission in a couple days, so it’s best to just wait until then. Can’t be announcing things like this. As much as you’d prefer to sweep this under the rug, Big Mom was someone who didn’t partake in abortions, wanting a large family and everything, it’d be counter-productive in her mind. So as much as you wanted too, you’d have to go to a different island, and that included having Katakuri with you to avoid Big Mom’s gaze.

         But your plans changed quickly, despite clearly telling the Doctor to keep the news secret, the next day you arrived to the office with banners and some tastefully small cakes. Cards going around with small gifts as though it was common place to celebrate so early on. You tried to get them to calm down, but everyone was overjoyed that their leader finally had an heir on the way.

~~~

         Katakuri stared off into the distance, leaning against the wall as the ship got closer to their homeland. It had been a pointless mission, delivering a letter to a foreign country, demanding there be talks of a marriage. He hated being away from Komugi island for too long, from his normal job as the Minister of Flour. There he’d at least be able to relax a little bit more than normal, and when he was with you, he could let his guard down completely. Trusting you to cover for him or tell him if someone was coming. Being on a ship where he refused to lay down in fear of prying eyes had taken a toll on him, no matter how short the trip was.

         As the ship docked some of his administrators found him, happy as ever with large smiles. He wasn’t listening too much to their words of congratulations, assuming it was just words on finishing the mission, he just wanted to make it home so he could finally sleep on his back.

         As he was bidding farewell to those around him, one of them said something rather confusing, “Ah, tell Y/N that the mid-wife will be around to talk to her next week. I forgot to let her know earlier.” A mid-wife? For his Wife? Katakuri swallowed the lump in his throat, reasoning that it had to have been due to some unforeseen baby boom in the town.

         But as he passed through the halls of his home, he noticed servants scurrying about more than normal. All with excited faces, some with parcels in their hands. It wasn’t until he got to your room pushing the door open to see you sitting at your tea table, a hand rubbing your forehead, “If it’s another gift then send it back. How many times do I need to tell you all to keep this quiet.” Your tired voice brushing past him while you waved your hand, not even looking in the direction of the door.

         You heard the door close and let out a heavy sigh, looking to the already inconvenient pile of baby toys, clothes, and furniture that people of the island had pushed onto you. Nobody in this god forsaken town could keep quiet, which would make things so much harder, if Big Mom got word of this, you were more than certain you wouldn’t be able to pass off a random miscarriage without her knowing the truth.

         “What is all this?” You jumped a bit, hearing your husbands voice. You never even got word of his arrival to the island, much less that he had already come home.

         “We need to talk.” You voice was serious as you looked over at him, he was staring down at you unmoving. “Why not sit down?” He stayed still, crossing his arms for an explanation and you sighed again, this wasn’t normal for him, but you were already too tired to deal with it.

         Your sigh caused Katakuri to take another step further, “I get that you must be doing some fundraiser or gala. But you shouldn’t have these donations in here.” You spit out your drink, looking up at you’re normally smart husband.

         “Excuse me?” The silence as he stares at you hit you hard, “You think I’m doing a fundraiser? And you think all these stupid things are donations? Is that really what you think?!” Your annoyance peeking through clearly. First the news got, then the storm of gifts, and now even your husband seems to be getting on your nerves. “Katakuri I’m pregnant.” You shake your head, stating it out right was best in these types of situations, “So, might I suggest you sit down so we can talk abou-“

         “Your idea of a joke is awful Y/N,” He walks over to the neat stacks of gifts, all of which you were sending back when you got the chance, “I mean really? You think staging some baby items is enough to convince me? This prank is in bad taste.” His regal voice showed no sign of joking and it made you more frustrated than you already were.

         “This isn’t a joke,” You were getting another headache but the subtle glare he shot you made it clear he wasn’t going to listen, “You know what? You just got home, why don’t you rest? I’ll send these gifts back in the meantime.”

~~~

         The next day Katakuri came to his office looking a little more refreshed and prepared for the day. He sits down in the confines of the space and starts looking through the reports, “It seems you fell a little behind while I was away. Why?” His smooth tone showing you he was ignoring everything you said the day prior.

         You had expected something like this to happen so you put the paper with the test result in front of him. “You’re lovely administers made me go to the doctors after some sickness.” His eyes scanned the paper, reading every detail until you could tell he landed on the prognosis. “I’m about 2 months along.”

         Katakuri sucks in his breath, you can tell by the twist of his eyebrow that this isn’t going to be fun, deciding to sit on the couch while you wait for his response.

Honestly, you barely had time to process this all yourself, being pushed and pulled everywhere by workers. The only time you had time to think for yourself was late at night when people thought you’d be sleeping. The first night you had spent just staring into the darkness that was the room trying to figure out the situation. Truly, you could relate to what Katakuri was probably going through.

         You two never planned on being parents. You vehemently discussed avoiding parenthood the natural way, maybe adopting if you’re mother-in-law became pushy. The thing you wanted most right now was a glass of whiskey, but for clear reasons you couldn’t get one. Your body felt so tense since finding out, your muscles aching from the lack of relaxing.

You were hoping that your husband would be the one to make sense of it for you, but seeing how he’s reacted so far, he was in the same boat as you. It stung, your heart dropping slightly as you put on this front of neutrality. But it was the best you could do, if you didn’t maintain this semblance of control over yourself, you felt like you’d break down.

Finally, your husband spoke, although his words didn’t make you feel any better. If anything, it caused you to go further into the downward spiral that was your mind, “Well then whose is it?” His voice was dipped in venom but maintained a single tone, “If you wanted a kid so bad, we could have adopted.”

You bit your tongue, staring at the floor in front of you. He waited a couple second for a response but you couldn’t bring any words to come out before he continued, “You didn’t have to go behind my back like this.” His even tone made every muscle in your body tense more than they already were.

A knock at the door caught both of your attentions, yet your body was still tightly wound as you got up, opening the door to let whoever it was in. Someone with a bunch of papers and a wide smile looked back at you and you ushered them in while brushing your way out of the suffocating room.

Offering small smiles to those you passed as you hurried away from the situation. It was only after you had gotten to a small reading room and locked the door behind you that you slid down onto the floor. Your room was too far away and this was unused enough that no one would come looking here. A hand pressed against your stomach while the other tangled itself in your hair, gripping tightly to feel anything other than the heavy emotions that have flowed through you for days now.

You haven’t let anyone know of your own feelings on this matter, other than wanting to keep it on the down low, everyone assuming it was so you could Katakuri yourself, and yet somehow that one single voiced wish hadn’t come true. The entire island singing praise and you were the center of their attention.

You began panting, your throat swelling up making it hard to grasp at air, feeling your body start to shake. Even Katakuri wasn’t willing to listen. This has to be a lot for him, but I thought he loved me. Your body curling in on itself, the hand in your hair running down to grip at the back of your neck while your nails dug into your stomach. He even suggested I had cheated on him, found another man. The thought itself made you sick to your stomach, your heart beat drowning out any noise around you, and eyes squeezing shut as the world got darker around you. Am I just an object to everyone? You tried, and failed at opening your mouth, attempting to get any air to fill your compressed lungs. The beating of your heart the only reminder of that you were in fact alive.

~~~        

         Katakuri was walking down the hallways. Every time he passed someone who worked with you, he’d ask the same questions. All of them similar stories that made his heart twist with worry, and yet when he went looking for you, you were nowhere to be found. It had been hours since you disappeared from his office without a second glance, the thought of how you left was now hurting him, now that he’s had time to calm down and truly think about everything.

         Since no one could find you, he was the person that people were bringing presents too, all of which he ushered to be sent wherever you had put them, some people asking if he had seen you so they could ask more questions. He hadn’t even been back a full day and yet he was overwhelmed with so much. Stalking back to your bedroom, assuming that could be his one quiet place, maybe even find you again to try and have a conversation about everything.

         His heart jumped into his throat thinking about it, you had been trying to talk to him this entire time and each attempt was met with malice. You were so patient, letting him voice his hate and distrust. Watching you sit on the couch silently, neither confirming nor denying allegations said to you, though your knuckles turned white in your lap. But what else could he think? With every safeguard the two of you had put into place, how else could you had ended up with a child growing inside of you? Walking into your shared room he looked around, the pile of gifts in the corner seemingly doubled in size from previously in the day.         

Yet still, there wasn’t a sign of you anywhere. Katakuri paced a bit, looking for any sign that you had been here after leaving him earlier. But there wasn’t a single thing out of place or used compared to this morning. The realization that no one has seen you for most of the day hitting him with a cold sweat as he calls for security

me joining hellfire just bc I think Eddie is hot but have no idea what dnd is

Dangerously Stupid

Part 1

I wrote this half asleep at 3am and have not proof read this at all, I’m so sorry.

Generation: Bayverse TMNT

Donatello x reader

Pronouns: Gender neutral

Warnings: fighting, blood, injury, not proof read

Summary: You watched the turtles stop the Foot from robbing a bank one night and step in to save Donatello while he’s down. What will happen next?

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Two months. You had lived in New York City only two months before you got caught up in a Foot Clan attack. Just your luck.

You were walking home late from your new, and already shitty job, when you heard loud banging noises from a closed bank up the road. Crossing to the other side of the street as you approached the building, you heard a loud crash of glass and paused in your steps. Waited, and listened. A robbery?

You didn’t have another second to process that thought when suddenly a loud explosion erupted from the building, the shock sending you stumbling back and falling on your butt.

Brick and concrete were strewn across the street, thankfully not being launched far enough to hit you. But then you noticed something from the smoking hole in the building. A quick flash of movement, the sound of a thud and a loud shout. Eyes wide and stunned, you watched as several people in black tactical gear were thrown yelling from the hole in the building out into the street. They had swords?? And guns. They had guns.

Adrenaline kicked in and you scrambled to your feet and rushed for cover in the closest alley way. Shit. Dead end. Quickly creeping back to the entrance you peaked around the corner to the open street. The thugs had started to recover slightly and were raising to their feet, looking around quickly like they were being haunted and drawing their weapons. If you ran out now they would surely see you, so you stood still and watched for an opening.

Suddenly, something large climbed out from the smoking building and the men quickly aimed and fired their guns at it.

Your eyes shot open in horror and brought a hand to your mouth to stifle your gasp as you recognized too late that it was a person- or so you thought. The large being quickly turned around as the bullets came and you watched in disbelief as the bullets bounced off their back. What was that, a shell?! The smooth hard panels reflected light from the street lamp and the flashes from the guns.

A loud thud and a grunt of pain brought your attention back to the thugs. Another large being had dropped down from above and landed behind the men in tactical gear, knocking back two of them and in a flash of metal, sliced a gun in half. This one was a bit closer to you. From what you could see, they were bald… and green? Much like the other guy. You noticed he was wielding two katana, and was making quick work of the thieves.

The other green guy by the building had now recovered and was running over with a rageful battle cry to assist in taking out the last of the goons.

But to your surprise, more people were thrown out from inside the building with a cheerful shout of ‘booyakashaaa!’ and a third large green man jumped out from the building. This one was cheering and swinging around what looked like nunchucks in a flourishing display and made a cool looking pose.

Now you were just feeling comically confused. Your eyes narrowed to observe the orange band around his eyes and take in his outfit, which looked like hard armor on his front and… jean board shorts. Mouth drawn in a tense line, your brain helpfully concluded that these guys were just really weird green body paint wearing commando-type jock vigilantes. Or you just hit your head when you fell back from the explosion and didn’t notice. Either way, you felt yourself relax and mentally shrugged, seeming as the weird giant costumed turtle-looking guys were taking out the bad guys with guns. Maybe you could get home soon and address whether you were hallucinating or not.

It seemed like the battle was just about wrapping up, when suddenly another masked vigilante appeared from inside the building. He quickly pushed the orange one away and shouted “Get back!” just as a second larger explosion burst from inside the building. You ducked for cover as more brick and mortar rained down from the building, and watched as the purple masked vigilante was thrown harshly from the building out into the street. He landed with a groan on his side, not too far from your hiding spot. You could see his shell was equipped with old recycled looking tech, and a long metal pole he seemed to have dropped was laying not too far from him.

“DONNIE!” The three other shelled vigilantes yelled, and started to book it towards their fallen comrade, when suddenly a black van came speeding down the street and rammed into the back of the red masked guy, sending him hurtling forward as the car came to a screeching halt. The doors flung open and more thugs with swords jumped from the car and started to attack the blue and orange masked guys.

You shrunk back more in your hiding place, afraid they would spot you. But then the sound of another car door opening caught your attention. The tech turtle guy was still in your line of sight, unconscious in the street. A woman with black hair and a red streak appeared before him. She pulled out her katana and raised it above her head and prepared to strike-

“NO!!!”

In a flash, you had leapt out from the alley and sprinted into the street. You weren’t thinking, moving on pure instinct as you stood defensively over the prone form of the turtle man and raised up your arm to block the swing of the sword. Somehow, you managed to block the woman’s strike. Your forearm braced against the wrapped handle. The women stared back at you in shock, then turned cold at your interference and doubled down the power in her grip. That’s when you noticed the sharp pain shoot through your shoulder. You groaned as your arm trembled with the strain of the woman still pressing down against your blocked swing. You may have stopped the sword from reaching the vigilante, but you did not have the power to stop the blade from cutting into the flesh of your trapezius.

The woman angrily pulled back, dragging her sword more through your shoulder and you cried out in pain. You stumbled into a crouch in front of the downed turtle, gripping at your wound while she recovered her form. To your horror, she readied to mercilessly strike you again when suddenly, the red masked vigilante appeared from the side and bodily rammed into her, sending the woman flying into the hood of the car in revenge.

“Eat that.” you heard him grumble while he rolled his shoulder. The large red masked turtle turned his attention to you and his eyes regarded you steadily. You were panting lightly and held his eyes for a moment before you both heard the quiet groan come from behind you. You quickly turned around, and saw that the purple vigilante was starting to come around. You placed your free hand lightly on his shoulder as his eyes fluttered open, leaning down a little to get a better look at his face.

“Hey, are you alright?” You asked him. Now that you were this close, you noticed the shape of his face was quite different, and the smooth skin under your hand didn’t feel like paint. You tried not to think too hard on it.

Behind you, Leo jogged over towards Raph while Mikey finished tying up the last of the Foot. Upon seeing a human crouched next to Donnie, he shot Raph a questioning look, to which the red turtle simply shrugged. Leo turned his attention back towards you as Donnie started to pull himself up into a sitting position, and noticed the blood seeping through your fingers clasped on your shoulder.

His eyes widened and rushed over to the human and his brother. “Hey, you’re bleeding-!”

“Wha…?” Donnie was still only half conscious. He thought he was dreaming, opening his eyes to such a beautiful person looking down concerned at him. Carefully, he pulled himself into a sitting position and was startled by his older brother running over to him in concern. At first he though Leo was talking about him, and glanced down at himself quickly to check for any open wounds, but when he found nothing he looked up and saw where the leader’s eyes were leading and found the spot where your hand was pressed over the bloody spot on your shoulder. “Oh dear, let me look at that….” Donnie’s brain fully woke up and he quickly shifted into doctor mode, gently taking hold of your arm to pull your hand away from the wound.

You had shifted your attention and were carefully regarding the blue turtle that had rushed over to crouch next to you, when you were startled by the sudden contact of a large hand enclosing around your wrist. You made a little yelp of pain as your hand was pulled from the bloodied wound, and when you turned back to look at the purple vigilante, your breath caught in your throat by the intense golden eyes staring at you.

Raph came to stand behind you and Leo to overlook the inspection of your wound. “Karai tried to slice up Don while he was down, but this kid jumped in and stopped her.” He supplied a bit gruffly. Raph regarded the small human with mixed feelings. He didn’t wanna trust them, but he had just witnessed this total strange swoop in outta nowhere and save his bro.

The expression on Leo’s face shifted to surprise, eyeing Raph to check he was being serious before turning back to regard the bloodied wound this human had sustained in defense of his brother. He opened his mouth to thank you but was cut off-

“Donnie!! I found your glasses!! -Woah! Bro! Who’s the pretty face?” Mikey chimed in and came rushing over excitedly to join the party.

Donnie was focused on carefully inspecting the wound, and trying his best not to overheat under the gaze of the beautiful stranger whose shoulder he was carefully prodding. The small human flinched suddenly with a small cry of pain when he pulled at the skin a bit to check the depth of the cut. Donnie hissed and pulled back. “Sorry about that- Oh, thank you Mikey.” He reached his hand out and his little bro returned his glasses to him. A little scrapped but still wearable. “Your cut is pretty deep. You should go to the hospital right away. Do you need us to call you an ambulance?”

Donnie was already reaching into his pouch to pull out some spare gauze. His mind was racing a mile a minute, and was trying so hard to stay focused on his task. He didn’t hear Leo and Raph’s exchange. He still felt a little shaken up from the explosion. Slightly bruised, and judging from how flustered and distracted he was feeling, maybe a little concussed. Every time he looked up to meet the stranger’s eyes he felt his heart jump in his chest and his breath catch in his throat. Don decided he just needed to quickly finish patching them up and get home to properly check himself over for injuries.

You, on the other hand, were feeling just as dazed and awestruck at the being that was currently looking you over. You watched this large human turtle work intently on gently applying a pad of gauze over your wound to stem the blood flow, and couldn’t help but feel like you were dreaming. You watched him quietly while your brain helpfully commented on how cute he looked with his taped turtleshell glasses on. But you startled at remembering he had asked you something. “…hm? Oh! A-an ambulance? No thank you. I think I’ll be fine.” You barely noticed the red seeping through the make shift bandage, keeping your attention focused on studying the purple one’s face so you could save it to your memory as he finished up working on your shoulder.

Mikey, who had been waiting intently for his chance to talk to you, had caught on to the tension between you and Donnie. “Broooooo… you feeling alright?” He asked curiously.

Donnie startled at the question and turned away from you, looking a little embarrassed and adjusting his glasses. “J-just fine, Mikey. Maybe a little bruised.” He quickly supplied.

However, a huge grin startled to stretch across Mikey’s face as he connected the dots, and opened his big mouth to tease when Raph’s big hand suddenly smushed into his face and shoved him off away from the scene.

“Come on bozo, give them some room. Let’s go check on the Foot.” Raph had taken pity on Donnie and decided to quickly redirect his hyper little bro. The quicker they could finish up here and head home the better.

Once Donnie appeared to be finished, Leo had gotten up and reached down to offer you a hand up. You were feeling pretty overwhelmed now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. But you quietly took the offered hand and stood on shaky legs, feeling your head swim for a minute you leaned more heavily into the support of the blue masked turtle as you steadied yourself, your shoulder giving you a painful throb.

Leo kept a careful eye on Donnie as the tech genius pushed himself to stand up after you. As he leader he had to make sure there were no outstanding injuries he had missed on his brother while looking after this stranger. But he noted that Donnie seemed pretty dazed, and wouldn’t take his attention off this person who had saved him. He raised a questioning eye ridge in the direction of his brother and looked between the two, letting a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He reached over a slapped a hand down on Donnie’s shoulder to jostle his attention. “Good work Donnie. Now, Mx….”

“(Y/n)… (Y/n) (L/n). Um… thank you for patching me up…. Donnie, was it?” You had to admit you were feeling a little dizzy from the blood loss. But you really wanted to remember this moment, so you did your best to focus on the purple terrapin.

“Donatello, or… Donnie, if you prefer.” Donnie found himself smiling down at the small person. He felt Leo shake his shoulder a bit and shot him a questioning glance.

“Well, aren’t you gonna thank them for saving your sorry shell?” Leo teased his brother, it was clear to him Donnie was developing a bit of a crush, so he thought he’d torture him a bit. “Raph said they stopped Karai from slicing you a new one. You’re lucky they got to you in time.” Leo said a little more seriously. He realized then just how lucky they were you had been here, or else Donnie might be in much worse shape.

Donnie’s eyes snapped wide in shock, his eyes darting between you and Leo. His gaze landing on the cut he had just tended on your shoulder. “R-Really…? You got this protecting me…? I… th-thank you!” Donnie seemed really flustered. He looked guilty, but also a bit awestruck a random beautiful human off the street had stepped in to his defense, and at this moment, didn’t seem scared of him. You just stared up at him, and when he reached out to take your hand to squeeze in appreciation, you didn’t flinch away. “I-if there’s anything you need, just let us know… d-do you need help getting help getting to the hospital….? I mean- the police will get here soon but once-”

You felt your face heat up at the contact, feeling your heart rate speed up a bit, but quickly remembered why you couldn’t take their advice and quickly cut him off. “N-No! Really, I’m fine. I’m just glad you’re okay. I can get there on my own.” You gave him and the other large turtle a reassuring smile, just as you heard the approaching sirens sound out in the distance.

“Okay, time for us to go. Mx. (Y/l/n), thank you for saving my brother. And please… don’t tell anyone about us. We’ll be in touch.” Leo hurried out, leaving your side to tug his brother away from you as Raph and Mikey hurried off ahead to expertly climb up the closest building.

You watched in awe at their skill, seamlessly scaling the fire escape and brick before disappearing above the sky line. But noticed the purple turtle… Donnie, had stopped to turn back and get one last look at you, before disappearing along with his brothers into the night.

“Hm…. Donatello…. I’ll have to remember that.” You said to yourself. You quickly turned to leave, making to start walking home, thankfully in the opposite direction of the sirens. You had no desire to spend the next two hours giving statements to the police and being dragged off to an overly expensive hospital tonight. You just wanted to get home and take care of this cut yourself, and save yourself a decade’s worth of medical debt. Yeah, that’s exactly what you’d do.

You slowly walked down the dark streets and made your way back safely to your little apartment.

And promptly passed out on the couch.

Part 2 coming soon.

No longer locked upon the land but free on the rolling waves

You and Buggy come face to face with himself from the past, and while you’re fully accepting that this is your husband as a child, Buggy doesn’t want to accept it.

Rating: PG-13ish, but just due to some swearing.

Warning: Upset kid, upset husband. Reader is way too nice, doesn’t necessarily take husband’s feelings into account as well.

A/N: A combined request. I did a few versions of this story before feeling like it hit the marks I was wanting to hit. Also, I’m just trying to vibe off what I’ve seen of Kid Buggy. I’m no expert. I’d protect that kid with my life. He’s so adorable. I also like the trope of “Meeting your self from another time” and “gets turned back into kid-self”. This is the former, and I know shit about time travel but I just kind of made something up. This story has also been a lot of fun to work on and the reaction from people has been lovely, thank you! There's at least one more chapter (unless I get a surge and suddenly write way more), but I may write a few one shots about Buggy and his wife because I've come to adore her a lot. Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker.

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @misadventures0fdes @sylum @valen-yamyam16 @dohkyu @fluffybunnyu @skyofsteel @lavalampskyy @gingernut1314 @ane5e

Chapter Four

“Is he mad at me?” Buggy asked when the two of you were in the kitchen together. He was helping you make dinner; you gave him the task of cutting up carrots while you cut up onions and celery to throw in a large pot. Neither of you saw Buggy ever since the kid asked him about Shanks, and that was a few hours ago. He thought maybe he was in trouble, that the captain was mad at him for asking those questions. 

“No, he isn’t.” You assured him as you wiped your knife on your apron. “Shanks is… a sensitive subject for him. I don’t even know what happened, but don’t worry, okay?” You smiled and took one of the pieces of carrot, popping it into your mouth. “I know the captain enjoyed showing the place off to you, y’know.”

“I liked seeing everything, especially those Buggy Balls!” Buggy grinned. “Can we fire one out of a cannon?”

“Oh uh, maybe?” You munched on the carrot as you took what he cut up so far, dumping them into the pot. “We’ll ask the captain next time we see him.”

Buggy nodded, watching the veggies get stirred in the pot for a bit before looking back up at you. “How long do I get to stay with you?”

That was a question you were waiting for but didn’t want to hear asked because you weren’t sure how to answer it. You didn’t know how long he would be with you, but what would get him home? Maybe tomorrow you could head back into town with him, see if anything can trigger his return, but part of you wanted to keep him around. Admittedly, that was a selfish want. He needed to return home because he had his own timeline to live through, and if he stayed here could it mess something up. 

You smiled at him and shrugged. “I dunno, but maybe tomorrow we head into town where we met and see if anything happens. I bet you wanna head home.”

“Yea…” He trailed off, looking back down at the veggies. “But if I could stay… I think I would.”

That was a knife to the heart again, because you would let him stay if you could. You’d give him the love and attention you knew he deserved, support his dreams and endeavors, everything. 

But he couldn’t stay. He needed to return home and that broke your heart. You just smiled at him and tossed some salt and pepper into the pot before pouring in some water.

“If you could, I know you would, and I’d be fine with that, Buggy.” You replied as you gave the pot a good stir before putting the lid on. “But… you have to go home at some point, because I don’t… know what could happen if you stay.” Turning to face him, you suddenly pulled him into your arms and hugged him. “I have loved having you around, you know. You’re a wonderful kid.”

He allowed the hug for a moment before pulling away, crossing his arms as he turned red. You chose not to say anything, instead just smiling and standing back up. He eyed you before bolting out of the kitchen all of a sudden, catching you off guard. What just happened? Did you upset him? 

Your husband entered the kitchen at that moment, looking in the direction the kid ran off too. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know.” You said with a frown. “I hugged him and called him wonderful, then he took off.”

“Huh.” Adult Buggy shrugged and went over to the stove to see what was being made for dinner. As he lifted the lid off, seeing the soup starting to slowly simmer, the kid came rushing back in with something in his hand. Buggy frowned at his younger self. “What’s going on?”

The kid looked him up and down before turning to you, holding something in his hands. He looked smug as he grabbed your hand and placed the item into it. You were confused for a moment, and when he pulled his hand back and you saw what it was, you almost dropped it. You had completely forgotten about the pendant and this was the first time you really got to see it up close and you nearly dropped it in surprise. 

“Consider this my proposal for when we meet again.” He said, looking quite proud of himself as he crossed his arms. Your husband’s jaw dropped and he raised the lid up, looking like he was going to throw it at him. You intervened and pocketed the pendant, kneeling down in front of the kid once more. It was hard not to laugh because the look of pride on the kid’s face was the same one you saw on a certain pirate captain when he asked you to marry him years ago, except you were given a bouquet of flowers with no petals (having been destroyed after he stole them and ran off with them) and a ring with a rock the size of his nose (also stolen). 

“Thank you, it’s lovely.” You told him; your husband grumbled and put the lid back. He wouldn’t risk hitting you with it by accident. You leaned over and gave the kid a kiss on the cheek, choosing not to comment further when his face turned bright red. Instead, you stood up and patted him on the head. “I’ll treasure it, Buggy.”

The kid side-eyed the husband, smirking at him despite blushing brightly. The little shit, he should have at least kept it until he met you later on. It didn’t make sense to give it to you now while you were already married to his adult self, but Adult Buggy didn’t say anything after you gave him that look that told him to keep his mouth shut or there would be consequences since he would likely say something stupid. Grumbling, he decided to take a seat at the table instead, the kid taking the seat across from him. He glared at the kid and the kid just smirked. To you, this was just hilarious but you were doing your best not to start laughing. 

~

You allowed them to fire one Buggy Ball out to the water after dinner and that was it. There was to be no town destroying during this trip and the identical grumpy looks from the two of them was amusing, but you put your foot down. You even stood by, watching to make sure it was just one, and the look of excitement on the kid’s face almost made you cave to allow a second one, but you remained strong. You didn’t cave, even when the two of them gave you doe eyes after your husband asked if they could. 

And you decided to allow it after reminding the captain that it was wasting ammo, and that a demonstration was one thing, but now it was just a waste. He hated it when you pointed those things out. Reluctantly, he decided not to fire off a second one, much to his and the kid’s disappointment.

As it grew later into the evening, you decided it was time to settle in for the night. The kid was easier to get ready for bed than your own husband, but you knew the captain also needed to make sure the crew had taken care of the ship for the night as well. 

The pendant was still in your pocket from the kid’s little proposal, the weight of it a reminder from a moment in your own past. You got the kid ready for bed but you didn’t change into your own sleep clothes, which he noticed and frowned at.

“You’re not ready for bed.” He pointed out as you tucked him under the covers. He reached out and grabbed your arm. “Are you leaving?”

“What? No, no.” You shook your head as you sat down on the edge of the bed. “I promise I’m not leaving the ship tonight, Buggy.” You reached over and touched his cheek softly with your free hand and he let go of you. “I need to go talk to my husband about something, but I won’t leave the room until you fall asleep, okay?”

Buggy wasn’t sure about that. You were constantly around, but now you were going to leave him alone in your room? You saw the hesitation on his face and sighed softly. “Promise I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning, but if you wake up after I leave the room tonight, you can come find me. I’ll just be out on deck with the captain, okay? I won’t be mad if you need me, Buggy.”

That seemed to help. The kid just nodded and settled down under the covers, pulling them up to his nose. You leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before straightening back up. “How about you tell me another story about your time on the Oro Jackson?”

He beamed and nodded, launching into a story about some mischief him and Shanks got into. He yawned a few times while telling it, and it wasn’t too long before his eyes closed and he fell asleep. You made sure he was comfortable, watching him for a few minutes while he slept before getting up and heading to the doorway. You looked back once more, making sure he was asleep before you left the room to go find your husband.

The captain was on deck, arms crossed as several crewmen lingered about, no doubt on the night watch shift. He glanced back at you when he heard you approach, holding his arm out to you to pull you close to him. He shrugged his captain’s coat off, draping it over you as you reached into your pocket and pulled the pendant out, holding it up to him. He frowned as he looked down at it. 

It was an oval shape, cut from a piece of moss agate that when you held it up to the light, it was as though you were looking up at the sun through a thick forest of tall trees. You remember watching your father cut down and smooth the stone out to the shape it was while your mother fastened a chain to it, creating a lovely necklace for anyone who desired it. You remember it being on the table at their booth along with other pieces, but after a group walked past the table, it was missing. You remember being mad that it happened but your parents just shrugged it off, not bothered by the missing piece.

Now you had it in your hand over twenty five years later. 

“What’s this?” Your husband asked as he took it out of your hand, frowning as he looked at it. He studied it for a moment, eyes widening slowly as he started to remember what it was. “This-”

“Mhm, my parents had it on the edge of their table, making it a prime target for anyone with sticky fingers to steal it.” You told him as you took it out of his hand and stuck it back into your pocket. “Didn’t think my husband was the one who stole it.”

“I-I-”

“Buggy, it’s okay.” You chuckled at the look of panic on his face. Did he think you were going to divorce him over something petty he did to your family as a kid? “I wanted to show it to you, but… I wanted to ask you something.”

“Anything.” He blurted out, trying to mask the concern on his face after seeing that pendant. “Whatever you want, babe, just don’t… ask for a divorce, please.”

“No, I’m not asking for a divorce.” You assured him, wrapping your arms around him. “But… I’m just curious what happened to you as a kid. Do you… remember any of this happening?” 

He stared down at you and you tightened your arms around him, thinking he would bolt from you. Minutes went by before he finally shook his head and you frowned. He didn’t remember any of this, really?

“What… do you remember?” 

He hesitated for a moment, checking his surroundings for a moment to make sure no one else was listening. The crewmen paid you no mind, knowing better than to stare or make any comments about the two of you when there was any sort of display of affection between the two of you. After what felt like an eternity, your husband sighed and just shrugged.

“I remember snatching the pendant off the table when we walked past, and I was a few steps ahead of everyone.” He reached up and rubbed his face while you continued watching him, resting your chin against his chest as you listened to him talk. “There was some kind of light and… I walked into it, but there was just a moment of darkness, like I blinked or something, and then I was back and nowhere near the crew without the pendant. They said they lost sight of me for about fifteen or twenty minutes, but they weren’t worried.”

“They weren’t worried?” You repeated with a frown. “A kid under their watch disappears for that long and they weren’t worried?”

“We’re pirates, it didn’t matter-”

“It matters to me.” You said firmly. “Pirates or not, you were a kid who got lost and ended up somewhere new and scary, Buggy. I can’t… I can’t even imagine what that would have been like.” You huffed, releasing your hold on him just a bit. “Were… you scared of the kid because of what had happened to you back then? About not remembering what happened?”

He nodded slowly. You reached up and put your hands on his cheeks, bringing his head down to kiss him. You were trying not to lose your head at that moment because the love you had for him was a lot. You’d level a city to get to him, burn down a town, and if you had the chance you’d go back with the kid and give that crew a talking to about how to handle a missing kid. It wasn’t right, fair, anything and your heart hurt knowing this. Every kid deserved love, to feel safe and protected, and here your husband just told you that the adults he knew just shrugged off the fact that he had been missing for just a few minutes, while the kid in your care had been with you almost three days. 

You really wondered if you could sneak back in the timeline with the kid and give them a piece of your mind.

Your husband pulled back from the kiss first, a grin on his face as one of his hands went to your back, pulling your body closer to his. 

“It’s fine now, babe, I’m fine.” He insisted as his hand slid down your back. “Seeing the kid was just… startling.”

“You threw him overboard.” You reminded him as his hand stopped at the base of your spine.

He rolled his eyes. “Stop bringing that up.” 

“Don’t attempt to grab my ass when I’m being serious with you.” You shot back. 

“Now hang on-”

“What’re you two arguing about?” 

The two of you turned and saw the kid glaring sleepily in your direction. You pulled away from your husband and went over to him, lifting him up into your arms as he wrapped himself around you. With one arm you held him while the other pulled the coat off and draped it over him, wanting to make sure he was warm.

“Are you okay?” You asked him as you hugged him. He let his head drop onto your shoulder, nodding sleepily. “Come on, let’s go back to bed. I’m tired too.”

Your husband wanted to protest, he wanted more time with you, but the kid locked eyes with him and smirked. Oh, that little shit. Buggy huffed angrily, he would not be competing with a kid for your attention, but he was also very clingy of his wife, just like the kid was in this moment, and he would very much be ready to compete for your attention if needed.

“Buggy, come on, time for bed.” You called to him with a smile as you headed to the bedroom. The kid stuck his tongue out at the captain and he bristled angrily, ready to throw the kid overboard again if he needed to. Grumbling something about bratty kids, Buggy followed after you, wondering if he could throw the kid overboard without you noticing. 

only three months late…

This was supposed to be Barto Week: DAY 5, hope it was worth the wait!

Y’all should send me more screenshots you want me to do ;)

😡

Your sixth most recent emoji is how your guardian angel feels about you

happy birthday to me 🍩💗

It's a bit windy today huh

I saw this gifset on my dash and I just

yes.

"I accept!"

redraw of my older art from few months ago