Forbidden Fruit - Bartolomeo X Kuja Warrior!Reader

Chapter 2 - Teach Me To Love

Your heart wouldn't stop pounding in your chest as you took the pirate's hand and he led you up the gangplank and onto his ship. You glanced back at your friend and fellow guard to see her waving at you with a warm smile, making you give her a shy grin in return. You turned back to the tall man who was beaming ear to ear and holding tightly to your hand.

'Oh my stars...'

A man was holding your hand.

Your face grew bright red, but against your better judgement, you didn't let go. His skin was rough and warm, and you had the overwhelming urge to pinch at his skin to see him stretch like Luffy had, but you wondered if he would let you.

You became so distracted that you hadn't realized that you had stopped walking and you were now standing on a pirate ship until the man had squeezed your hand gently to get your attention. When you met your eyes with his, you quickly let go of his hand as if it was hot, causing him to softly laugh at you.

"Welcome aboard the Going Luffy-Senpai," he told you, a wide smile still etched into his features.

"Oh, thank you," you replied, fidgeting with your fingers as you were unsure of how to act on a pirate ship, let alone in front of the Captain.

It was that moment that you realized there were dozens of other men on deck, and they were all looking at you.

You returned their gaze equally fascinated, scrolling your eyes from one man to the next, studying their strange hair and clothes when you suddenly realized they were all carrying some sort of weapon.

'Maybe this was a bad idea after all...'

The Captain noticed when you suddenly tensed up so he stepped forward and quickly barked some orders at his men.

"Oi! Quit standing around and get back to work! Prepare to set sail at dawn, and I want the rest of that saké from East Blue brought to the galley!" The man turned and threw a quick wink at you.

"This fine lady here is my guest, so if any of you so much as look at her funny, you'll have to answer to the Snake Bitch, am I clear?!"

The following shouts were a unanimous 'Aye, Captain!'

"So, I'm sure you heard inside, but the name's Bartolomeo," the Captain offered you his hand again, "Do I get the pleasure of hearin' your name, sweetheart?"

You took a few extra seconds to register everything he had said before you slowly gave him your hand again.

"Y/n, of Amazon Lily, life-long servant and protector of Princess Boa Hancock-sama," you stated proudly. Bartolomeo's grin widened and he bent his head down as he raised your hand up to his mouth.

The following gesture he made confused you; he pressed his lips softly against the back of your hand, an act that sent butterflies into your chest.

"Let me show you around, Y/n."

The next few hours you spent excitedly following Bartolomeo as he showed you around his ship and introduced you to more of the crew.

After a while, you suddenly found yourself in the galley, a half-empty drink in your hand, laughing with a bunch of rowdy pirates. Bartolomeo sat next to you, just as tipsy as you were, finishing a wild story about Straw Hat Luffy as you eagerly listened.

You soon became distracted as some of the men at the table were asking you about the snake that was hugged tightly around your body.

"This is a custom for Amazon Lily, everyone has serpents with them wherever they go to always be ready for battle. He's my bow as well as my companion, and he's been with me ever since I was a child. His name is Aries," you smiled happily as you explained. You set down your mug and stretched out your arm, then commanded silently for your snake to slither down and onto the table where he curled around your glass into a perfect circle.