Forbidden Fruit - Bartolomeo X Kuja Warrior!Reader

Chapter 4 - The Promise

Bartolomeo left her sleeping in his bed; her cheeks flushed and her breathing was slow and heavy, and she looked so peaceful that he was careful not to wake her. Grabbing his bottle of sake, he left his cabin and took a few large swigs as he leaned against the starboard railing with his arms draped over the side of the ship. 

There were still a few hours until sunrise, so the night sky was still fairly dark, but the ship and the sea glowed from the light of the nearly full moon. The air was warm and thick, and the breeze blowing past the captain's face smelled like tropical flowers.

It reminded him of her.

"Fuck."

He took another drink.

Footsteps approaching from behind made him turn and look over his shoulder to find his Chief of Staff walking up to him.

"Where's the girl?" Gambia asked. Bartolomeo turned back towards the sea, eyeing the horizon as he squeezed the bottle tightly in his hand.

"Asleep," he replied. Gambia stood beside him and leaned backwards on the railing, a smug grin on his face as he looked over at his captain.

"Is she gonna be able to walk tomorrow?" He teased.

"Oh fuck off," Bartolomeo chuckled before taking another sip to hopefully calm his heart down.

Gambia laughed softly at him but kept quiet as he looked up at the billions of stars peppering the clear night sky.

Bartolomeo squinted his red eyes towards the sea, his mind racing as he thought about the reason he was here on this island in the first place, and how it seemed so mundane now. He also thought about her, and the way she held him so lovingly, and the soft look in her eyes that was free of judgment or fear. He thought about the sad tone of her voice and the longing in her gaze when they had talked about exploring the open sea, and what life would be like outside of her island.

Even if it wasn't permanent, he thought about the possibility if she came with them on their next voyage. She could teach the crew about archery and hand-to-hand combat, and the different customs and ways of life for an Amazonian. In turn, they could teach her about sailing and swordsmanship, and they would have so many stories to share with each other that the days would never be long or dull. And Bartolomeo wouldn't have to be alone on the hard nights... he could have someone to share his burdens with, and he could comfort her when she missed home.

If he asked her to... would she come with him?

"You want to take her with us, don't you?" Gambia's voice snapped him back to reality.

Bartolomeo eyed his first mate then swiftly finished off the bottle, cursing himself for being so obvious. But Gambia was the one person he couldn't lie to.

"Well, there's still some time before sunrise," Gambia stated.

"Oh, come on, you know we can't take her with us. What kind of a life is this for someone like her? Besides, this is her home, I doubt she'd actually want to leave..." Bartolomeo trailed off.

'No way she'd want to leave it for someone like me...'

Gambia looked at him with concern before he sighed and patted his Captain's shoulder, then stood up from the railing as he began walking off.

"Well, we're ready to set sail at dawn, boss," he called. 

Bartolomeo looked back at the sea that he loved so much before turning back towards his silent cabin door.

"Fuck!"

He shouted before smashing the empty bottle onto the deck.

***