When Iñaki and Anika meet on set of One Piece, they make an instant connection, but distance, whether it be physical or emotional, keeps threatening to tear them apart.
[iñaki godoy x fem!oc]
Anika was stood in her kitchen, waiting for her kettle to boil so she could make a cup of tea, when she heard her phone ringing from the living room. She rushed to it, thinking it may have been one of her younger siblings, but was confused when she saw it was a private number.
Nevertheless, she picked it up, thinking it would be a friend pulling a prank, or maybe a spam call. What she didn't expect was a very professional voice, the voice of someone who knew her name.
"Hello?" She asked as she walked back into her kitchen.
"Hello," an American female voice replied, "Am I talking to Anika Baard?"
"That's me."
This call must've been serious, because this was the first ever American to pronounce her name right the first time. She held the phone between her head and her shoulder as she poured the hot water from the kettle into her mug.
"Hi, I'm Libby, one of the casting directors for One Piece. I'm calling to tell you that you got the role of Safiyah."
Anika's jaw dropped open. This couldn't be real. Just then, she felt something scorching her leg, noticing that the boiling water had tipped over her mug, over the counter, and onto her knee, the pain proving that this very much was real, and she really had got the part.
She thanks Libby a million times, before hanging up her phone and cleaning the mess she'd made, hoping that the burn didn't cause any significant damage to her knee. When she got back to the living room and sat down, she was about to FaceTime Taz, but he beat her to it. She picked up, excited to tell him.
"Guess what?" They both said in sync, causing them to laugh.
"You go first," Anika said.
"I got the role!" He exclaimed, "I'm Sanji!"
"Oh my goodness, Taz, that's awesome! I'm so proud of you!"
"Thank you! What about you? Any news?"
Anika feigned sadness, sighing. "Yeah, I didn't get it."
"No, what? But your audition tape was so good! I should know, I helped with it. It's gonna be so lonely in South Africa without you. Maybe you should come with me, anyway, as a holiday. You can show me around."
"Maybe... or maybe I don't need to go for a holiday, because I was totally joking and I totally got it!"
"If I was with you in real life, I'd punch you for messing with me like that."
"Child abuse!"
"You're two months away from being eighteen, it'd hardly count."
"Tell that to the authorities, Mr. Child Puncher."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The actors of the straw hat crew all exchanged numbers through Instagram, and Jacob crated and iMessage group chat for them, which they spoke in pretty much every day, each of them just as excited as each other.
Anika felt like she knew them so well already, but was still incredibly nervous to meet them. What if they thought she was a bad actress? After all, her audition tape was literally a dare. As much as she'd always wanted to act, she never had the confidence. What if the low self esteem got to her. As she was thinking about all of the horrible possibilities, her phone lit up with a text.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
taz🙄
hey bud can you come and help me shut my suitcase please
are you serious
why wouldn't i be come on you know i'd help you shut yours
i wouldn't be stupid enough to pack too much i'm on my way
Anika walked to Taz's place, which was only about twenty minutes away, and knocked on his door. When he answered it, she could see he was out of breath, a bit of sweat gleaming on his forehead.
"God, you've been trying that hard?" She asked.
"It won't shut no matter how hard I try! I've sat on it and everything. I know I didn't pack too much, I packed just the right amount, swear down."
Anika walked into the house and upstairs to Taz's bedroom, where his suitcase sat on the floor. She rolled her eyes and looked at her cousin, a mock disappointed lacing her features.
"You men and your packing," she sighed, walking over to the case and pulling a few things out, folding them the proper way, before putting them back in, leaving plenty of room to zip the case.
"Oh."
"You're twenty-six and can't fold your clothes right?"
"Or maybe you just fold them really tiny. I swear, you just vacuum sealed them."
"Nope, just put them in properly. Now is there a reason you specifically wanted me to come and help you? Because if I remember correctly, your friend lives a few doors down, could've called him."
Taz sat on the bed, followed by Anika. "I just wanted to check in on you. I know how you get worried and stuff, so I wanted to make sure you're feeling confident.
"I think I'll do good. I didn't get picked for no reason. I am a bit nervous, though. I mean, I'm gonna have to kiss that Iñaki guy."
Taz laughed. "You'll never be an actress if you freak out over on-screen kisses, cuz. If you end up being successful, which you will, you'll have a lot more of them."
"That's scary. I've only ever had, like, five real life kisses."
