One Piece One Shots

Stay [Kid x Reader]

He hadn't thought it through. Of course he hadn't. But your skin smelled of berries, and the pain in his heart pulled at all his strings. He had longed for you for too long, just too long, and the alcohol in his veins helped him be brave, helped him say what his brain had always forbid him to.

"Stay," he whispered, his lips hovering over yours like there was an invisible barrier between them.

He had watched you talk to the other pirates in the inn, had seen how they looked at you when you turned around. They would snatch you from his hands in a heartbeat if you'd only let them, and Kid feared you'd agree if they asked.

"Stay with me," he pressed on.

He had gone to your rented room later that night, had let his knuckles rap at the door, and had stumbled in when you opened it. Now his tongue felt heavy in his dry mouth, and he wondered what he would do if you declined his petition.

He had nothing to offer you, nothing to give up worthy of you.

His caramel irises sought yours with tamed nervousness, but he shut his eyelids upon finding them. He couldn't. He couldn't see the disappointment with which you were bound to look at him.

"Kid," you called his name, and he felt the burning feeling of your hand digging in his chest, reaching for his heart.

But he would take that corrosive sensation over the emptiness of your absence any day, so he reopened his eyes and stared at you with adoration despite the pit in his stomach. He watched how your lips curved upwards in a sweet and delicate smile before allowing himself to swallow hard.

You tilted your head to the side and intertwined your fingers with his, and he squeezed them softly, his scorching skin thankful for the coolness yours brought. He let you lead him to the old bed in the corner of the room, allowed you to nudge him towards the sheets, and his irises followed your ethereal moves as you lied down beside him.

He cupped your cheek with uncharacteristic softness, then, and inhaled deeply through his nose before letting out a heavy sigh of almost relief. How long had it been since he had last slept? He couldn't remember, but your soothing presence was a lullaby to his tormented mind, and he found himself having to fight against his exhaustion to remain in the waking world.

"Stay," he repeated, his thumb bravely brushing the corner of your mouth.

He stayed still when you took his hand from your face and placed a warm kiss on his knuckles.

"Ask me again in the morning," you whispered before bringing both your arms down to the cool sheets. "Ask me then, and I'll stay."