One Piece One Shots (Requests: Closed)

Quit Apologizing (Paulie)

~Background
You've been away from Water 7 for years, you don't know that Franky had left or about Kaku and them. You just got back and decide to visit your favorite place, Galley-La. And guess what? It's your best friends birthday!~
You run over to the Galley-La Company and jump over the ropes, "Iceburg-san!"
"Oof," you run into him from behind and squeeze him, "(Y/n)."
"How's my brother? I went to visit, but, he wasn't there!" you pout sadly then you perk up, "How's Kaku?! I need to ask him a few questions!"
"He's... uhh... well your brother's fine. He's out on the sea sailing with his masterpiece ship," he looks at you, "As for Kaku... he's... how do I explain this... I know you looked up to him... but he was... he..."
"What is it?" you furrow your brows and your eyes cloud with worry. Did he get hurt? Is he dead?!
"He... was working with the world goverment... and tired to kill me, and Paulie, and Franky," he whispers, but smiles after trying to cheer you up.
"They tried to kill you?! And my brother... wait! How is Paulie feeling... I know he was really close to them," you look around for him only to come up empty handed.
"He's at his house last time I checked. He might be gambling now though. It's been almost two years since it happened, so he's gotten just about over it. He should be happy to see you," Iceburg turns away and starts talking to another person.
You stand there stunned, until you decide it would be a great idea to visit Paulie. He should be happy to see me. That's what Iceburg says, but I left him when he needed me last time. I doubt he even wants to talk to me, much less see me.
Before you know it, you're on your way to his place. The scenery isn't much different from the last time you made the trip. Without much thought you're on his doorstep. You tuck a (h/c) strand out of your face and take a chance by knocking on the door.
"I told you I-" he opens the door a crack to see you and he stops mid-sentence. He slams the door in your face. You stand there blinking wondering why he did that until you realize he was only wearing a towel.
You hear the door unlocking from the inside and it opens revealing a fully dressed Paulie. His face is flushed a bright red and he looks you up and down. You do the same and your gazes accidentally meet, causing both of you to look away.
"(Y/n)..." he whispers your name, causing you to look back at him to see him looking at you as if you're a dream, "Are you really here?"
You nod and can feel tears threatening to fall out, "Yeah... Paulie... it's me... I'm-"
He pulls you into a hug, "I thought I lost you, that I'd never see your beautiful (e/c) jems again. I thought I'd never get to speak to you again. I missed you."
"P-Paulie?" you stand there awkwardly with his arms around you, "W-what's wrong?"
He hugs you tighter, pulling you closer to him, "I... I... don't know. I'm sorry. I'm better now."
He pulls away from you and you can see his face is still red, "Paulie... are you doing okay? I... heard about... Lucci... Hattori... Kalifa... and... Kaku..."
"Oh," Paulie says softly then steps aside inviting you in, "Why don't you come in and sit? Would you do me the honor of having your presence in my lonely house? Would you like anything?"
"Thanks, I don't need anything, really. Thank you," you walk in and immediately notice he's changed the house around.
You take a seat on the couch and watch as he takes a seat next to you. He's taken down the pictures of Lucci, Hattori, Kalifa, and Kaku.
"I'm sorry," he puts his head in hands and sighs, "About Kaku the most. I know how close you two were. I know you two share a bond... and that you loved him. I... know how upset you must be. I-"
"Wait. What do you mean? I loved Kaku? Did he tell you that?" you furrow your brow and bite your lip. Should I tell him now? You take a deep breath, "Paulie... I only thought of Kaku as a friend. I didn't love him. He... was the reason I could continue acting as your friend even after I found out I... l..... y...."
"(Y/n)? What did you say?" he turns to face you and you avoid looking in his eyes.
"I... forget it," you smile and quickly change the subject, "Hey, look at these pictures I took while I was gone!"
You start digging through your bag to find the photos. You feel him get up and walk away. He comes back in and puts a glass of water in front of you. You glance up and smile a thanks.
You find the pictures and pull them out. You hand them to him, but take out your favorite one. He gives you an unsure glance before flipping through the pictures one by one.
He hands them back silently, "Why'd you take that one out?"
"It's my favorite, it's a waterfall. When I took the picture it had a rainbow inside it. Every time I looked at it... it reminded me of you," you hand it over to him, your hands touching in the process.
"Why?" he looks at the photo, "Why does it reminded you... of me?"
"It's not of you personally. It's more... of how you make me feel," you look down at your hands.
"What?" he looks at the photo and his gaze is fixed on the whole picture, "I... don't get it."
He looks at you and you feel your heart stop, "I... can't explain it... to you."
"Oh," his eyes fall down and trails over you and back up to stop at your lips.
He looks away embarrassed and you look at your hands, "It's a shame."
"What is?" he looks at you meeting your (e\c) orbs, "What's a shame?"
You shake your head and give him a small smile, "Nothing."
An understanding silence swept through the room and you both sit quietly. You take a sip of the water and then take out a much older picture. You hold it up and look between Paulie and the laminated paper. Your face beaming the whole time.
"What are you doing?" he looks at you, turning his whole body.
"N-nothing," you giggle, "I'm just seeing how much you've changed since we were little kids!"
"H-hey! You told me you burned that picture! Give that to me!" he reaches over and tries to grab it out of your hand, but you rip it away which results with him falling ontop of you, "Oh! I'm-I'm sorry!"
He fumbles trying to get up but you put your arms around him and shove his body back down to yours. You hug him tightly, "You don't need to be. This whole time... all I ever heard you say is sorry, or why, or what. You haven't talked to me normally. Why? Do... do you hate me now?"
"No! I don't! I... couldn't hate you. I... ever since you left... I've... been... why'd you leave without telling me? Was I not good enough? Did you not care about me?" he looks up to you and your heart gets stuck in your throat.
You look to the side avoiding his gaze, "N-no... it's not... it was never like that. I... didn't tell you... because... I didn't want you to... I didn't want you to give up on... this."
"This?" he looks confused and you catch a glimpse at his goggles which makes you smile.
"Yeah. This. Meaning... your life... staying with Iceburg-san. Paulie, the reason I left was because I thought I was in your way, the truth is... Paulie, I lo-" you're cut off with his lips on yours.
"(Y/n)... I love you. I know I'm being immature, but... I wanted to be the first to say it. I wanted to be the one who was bold enough to make the first move. I'm so-" you cut him off by placing your mouth over his.
"Don't apologize. Please. Quit apologizing. I love you too," you whisper with a smile on your face.
"Oh," he sits up and looks away from you blushing.
"W-what?" you move closer to him worry lacing your voice, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No... not that at all. Just, after all these years... it's hard to get the notion that the girl you've loved, but thought she was impossible to reach... loves you back. Plus, I just realized you're wearing a pretty showy outfit. C-can you put some more clothes on?" he sinks in the seat, blushing like a mad man.
You can't help but laugh at his childishness, "Sorry, but... I don't have anymore clothes with me. I'll leave, but first I have something for you."
"Really? You didn't have to get me anything... what is it?" he looks at you as you're digging through your bag.
"Hold out your hand and close your eyes," he holds his hand out and reluctantly closes his eyes. You kiss his lips and drop the present in his hand before running out the door, "You can open them now!"
Happy Birthday Paulie.
~
Franky- Wow Paulie! I didn't know you did cute!
Paulie- You should've known! I'm doing your sister.
Franky- Nah! (Y/n) isn't cute! She's super hot!
(Y/n)- Whaaaa?!
~
A/n
Hey guys! Today, the 8th of July, is actually Paulie's birthday! So I wanted to do something to honor him! Sorry if he's OOC. I just wanted something different! I hope you enjoyed it!

~Quit Apologizing End~