"No, it's okay officer Coby, I wasn't expecting any different." You admit, disappointment written on your face that Coby can't see over the phone.

"I'm sorry miss (Y/N), for all the ways the system works, the ways it doesn't, can be frustrating." He admits candidly. "I'll do what I can though, I'm going to at least add a note to the original case file. It won't change the dismissal of the assault, but it'll be a paper trail if things escalate."

"I appreciate that." You say, and you mean it, despite the fact that it doesn't help you right now.

"Are you sure you don't want to file a restraining order?"

"I'm sure. I know it can create an additional paper trail, but I'm worried it'll cause more escalation and less actual protection. Are you sure he's not a registered Devil Fruit User?"

"The DFU's public access, with a few rare exceptions, but he's not listed in anything I have access to. What you described doesn't sound like any effect I'm aware of, but I have some friends who can do some digging for me." Coby states, and you can hear him taking notes as he talks.

"I appreciate everything you're doing, truly. You could just blow me off since the case was dismissed, so I really do appreciate this."

"Aww, thanks Miss (Y/N). I'm just doing what I think is right. Please feel free to call me if anything comes up."

"I will, thank you." You say your farewells to Officer Coby and hang up the phone.

You were in Kid's guest room. It was almost the size of your apartment, maybe a little smaller. There was a large bed against the middle of the far wall, and it at least looked comfortable. Tonight, would be your first night in it. Emma and House had put all your things away for you when everyone got back, and they hadn't teased you too much. You were grateful they had at least given you a little bit of a ribbing, it would've made the entire situation worse if everyone suddenly treated you like you were made of glass.

The guest room came with a couple chest-of-drawers, a nice closet, and an attached bath. A full attached bath, which was really nice since most of the rest of the house was occupied by guys. Guys who you had come to trust over the last few weeks, but not having to worry about any legitimate accidental bathroom moments helped you relax.

You were on the 3rd floor with Kid and Killer. Heat, Wire, and two more guest bedrooms were on the second floor. The main floor was a living room, kitchen, dinning room, den, and game room. The basement was a damned shooting range of all things, spanning from one end of the house to the end of the property line, as far as you could tell. The whole place was huge, and functional more than anything.

There was a workshop separate from the house, but still on the property, a green house, and pool outside. When Kid had said he had a guest room, you had expected a 10 by 10 room tops, with an old bed and a drafty window that was only drafty because no one used the room.

Instead, you walked into an episode of This New House: Metalhead Edition and didn't really know what to do with yourself. There wasn't a big marble hall or anything, but the woodwork – from the floor to the accents on the windowsills, was skilled. Much like Victoria, the whole place was functional and elegant.

The house was further from your place than the shop, but not by too much. Given how quickly Kid and Killer got over to your place the last few times, it was obvious that they had been coming from the shop and not from here.

There was a light knock at your door. "Mouse?"

"Yeah, come in." You say, walking toward the door even as Kid opens it.

He clicks his tongue when he sees you. "No miracle, huh?"

"Not today. Coby did say he was going to look into some stuff as best he could, so maybe later."

"Oh?"

You nod. "Seeing if he's unregistered, adding information about the assault to the original accident file so there's still a paper trail despite the dismissal. Considering he's not required to do any of that, it's comforting."

"Not to be the real bastard that I am, but you don't look comforted." Kid points out.

You offer a sheepish smile, "I'll get there. I mean... in a couple weeks' time I lost my hand, my car, feeling safe in my home, went to court twice, was nearly... um... you know, and I've still got another month before I'll even be able to start adjusting to a new hand. Sure, I'm not fired, and the job I was hoping to get is still holding space for me, so I didn't lose a job opportunity, but-."

Your eyes are on the floor and your vision's blurring rapidly. "I'm sorry."

"Your – what the he-." Kid's voice stops as you wipe away the tears you couldn't stop. You could hear him growl, clench his hands, heave a sigh, and after a moment he speaks in softer voice. "What's getting to you, Mouse?"

"Y-you an' K-Killer have done so much and, and I can't even be cuh-cuh-comforted by it. I feel like I'm sp-spitting on your huh-help." You manage through sobs.

"Tch." Kid grumbles and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, if a guest bedroom and a couple of assholes like me an' Killer were enough to make you feel comfortable after everything you've been through, then I'd be mad at you for not valuin' your own hide enough." There's a sharp tone in his voice at the end, and his right hand comes down on your head and ruffles your hair. "It's fine. I'm surprised you ain't fallen apart more often'n then this, honestly."

"I'm surprised you're okay dealing with a crybaby." You admit, sniffling hard and wiping away the last few tears as you look up at him.

Kid looks away a little guiltily, and seems to take a second before replying. "Someone turning on the water works to be a manipulative bitch is annoying, Mouse. Someone crying 'cause they're stressed or breakin' ain't the same." He clarifies, before looking down at you. "You got the stomach for some grub before bed?"

"... Yeah, I don't know that I can eat much, but I should try."

"Wanna take the fun way down?" Kid offers, smiling down at you with a grin that's inviting and unsettling in equal parts.

You open your mouth, consider your audience, and put your arms up in front of you in an X shape. "Absolutely not."

Dinner with Kid, Killer, Heat and Wire was a little subdued. The guys seemed to have as much on their minds as you did. Killer had made you a salad with some chicken in it, everyone else was having pasta.

"These guys do their best work at night, so I load them up. I hope the salad's okay." Killer explains.

"It's perfect." You assure him. "I wasn't sure I could do a whole meal anyway. Aren't you all up when the shop's open? How late are you gonna be working tonight?"

"Eh, we usually get into things until 3 or 4," Kid explains, having the grace to talk between bites of food and not during them. "Killer does his best work in the morning, the weirdo. He'll be here most nights unless we need 'im for something. Hip and Mosh are going to take up the two guest rooms on the second floor while you're here, Mouse. We'll introduce you tomorrow."

"I'm getting bodyguards?"

"Until we can handle Decken, you get no less than two friends at any given time." Killer explains since Kid's mouth is full. "If we were doing illegal fights, Hip and Mosh would be our headliners.

"Er... I feel like I shouldn't ask, but 'handle' Decken?"

All four of them go silent, and Kid stares at you for a long moment. "You really wanna know, Mouse?"

"... When you saved me, it felt like you were letting me decide if he was gonna live or die." You admit after a moment. "Whatever he wrote in that letter was enough for you decide to make that choice on my behalf but..." You make a face, you're not sure how to put it to words. "I guess, if you're going to kill someone for me, I want to know why."

"What he's done before now isn't enough?"

"I mean..." You manage to look straight at Kid. "I'm not devaluing myself, but no. If it's down to him or me, then I'd rather live, thank you very much, but I'm here now, won't he give up?"

"Some stalkers can wait years," Wire says quietly. "Especially if they have resources and nothing but time."

"And we're not going to go storm his place and handle him tonight," Heat adds. "We're gonna make sure it's the last option left."

"Much as Kid tries to come off as one, we aren't heartless or cold-blooded." Killer assures you, even as Kid scowls. "He'll get his chances."

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"Mouse? You up?" You can hear Kid as he knocks.

You sit up in the bed, you think at least, you're sure the bed is trying to eat you. It's fluffy in all the right ways, and firm in the best ways, and magic. Very magical. You weren't expecting to get any sleep, but you can't even really remember your head hitting the pillow last night.

"Technically." You call out. "You can come in."

Kid opens the door but doesn't step inside. He takes one look at you and starts laughing. You tilt your head, and he laughs harder, to the point that he's just wheezing for air. After a second he steps back behind the door and takes a few minutes to catch his breath.

"What in the hell is so funny?" You question, scrambling out from under the covers and nearly swimming your way out of the bed.

"Fucking mascot," Kid says, trying to explain, but he falls back into a fit of laughter again. To his credit it sounds like he's trying to hold it in and get himself under control. "You looked like a mouse! Like an actual little - Pfft – it's a big bed, but I forget how small you are."

You've covered the distance between the bed and the door and are looking at Kid with half a grin on your face now that you're awake and less confused. You tussle your hair, scattering whatever bed head may be adding to the scene, and give him a few minutes to compose himself.

"What did you wake me up for?" You ask after a moment.

"A couple a reasons," He says. He's bent over from laughing and finally at eye level with you for once. "First, it's after 10. Killer said you were out like a light last night, so you've slept a good bit. Second, I wanted to show you something today."

"Not the 'fun way down', I hope?"

Kid snorts. "Nah, something better. Killer's still in the kitchen, if you want a decent breakfast then you should change and come down. Ah, something you don't mind if it gets dirty, and some boots if you have 'em."

"... Boots."

"Sneakers're fine too."

"I'll be down in a few," you say ducking back into your room.

Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, and your hair into a ponytail, in five minutes you were making your way into the kitchen, and Killer was in the middle of cooking. Kid gives you a quick look up and down and then catches your gaze.

"So, how did you sleep, anyway?"

"I think the bed's magic," You admit with a smile. "I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow, honestly, and if I woke up at any point it couldn't have been for long. I think I slept 12 whole hours."

You sit down and after a few minutes Killer sets an omelet down in front of you. You stop as you go to take a bite and sigh.

"I know I've said this a bunch already but thank you." You say, trying not to let your emotions overflow again. "Like, thank you a lot. I don't know how I'll ever repay you guys."

Kid and Killer exchanged glances and Kid ruffles your hair. "You do say it a lot, but we get it Mouse."

You eat in peace and when you're done Kid takes you to the workshop behind the house. It's certainly a workshop on the inside, but the outside looks more like a concrete bunker than anything else from the outside. There's landscaping and vines tangled all around it, but it still looks like it could survive an impact from anything short of a car-sized meteor.

Inside it was filled with the strong scent of wood, metal and heat. There were a ton of woodworking and metalworking tools, three kinds of welders, and a bunch of different workbenches. Half the scent of "heat" was probably coming from a forge in the backside of the room, and it looked like some serious ventilation was all that was keeping the rest of the area from roasting.

"Wow." You murmur, as you take everything in.

"I haven't even shown you anything, Mouse." Kid scoffs.

"You mean aside from the coolest workshop ever?" You quip. You're not even looking at him as you move around and look at all the things. "I couldn't do things mom decided were 'dangerous', because she didn't want me to heal in front of people. No gymnastics, no martial arts, no shop stuff in school." You let out a dramatic sigh. "All I could do was read books about building cars and doing greasy maintenance work."

You smile, finally looking over at him. "I mean, I survived, and thanks to you I've seen my favorite car and I imagine the shop that restored her. Now I'm seeing... hm... is calling this place 'the heart of it all' too poetic?"

Kid grunts, "it's a little over the top, Mouse, but I guess it's not wrong." He motions for you to follow him. "C'mere."

Eustass walks past a tarp with a door behind it. The door's heavy and has a seal, but he opens it with a smooth practiced motion. "We won't go in here all the way, it's a chore to clean up properly, but I wanted you to see it."

"Eh?" You step through the door and into a wet-room. There's enclosed stalls to shower in, lockers and uniforms. It is really clean, especially compared to the workshop. There's another set of heavy doors, but before those is a thick-glass bay window.

The window shows a Cleanroom electronics style workshop. There's a ton of prosthetics in various stages of completion and use. From arms to legs to hands and feet, it looks like Killer wasn't kidding when he said Kid had a solid side business making custom prosthetics.

After a few moments of rapt appreciation, you look up at Eustass and smile almost wickedly.

To his credit, he looks a little concerned. "What?"

You gesture to the room filled with prosthetics, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here-."

Kid groans before you can even say anything more and you're practically howling with laughter. It took you long enough to get him back for the pun at the hospital, but the setup made it worth the wait.

"Ahh, haha, seriously though, this is all amazing." You admit, wiping tears of joy from your face. "You're a pretty cool guy, Kid."

"Glad you think so, Mouse."

Something in his tone causes you to look up and notice that his ears are turning red enough they're blending in with his hair. His embarrassment sparks yours and your face goes pink. He turns to say something and the two of you are caught by one another for a second before you both look away.

After the most awkward moment to ever dare exist passes, Kid clears his throat. "Hip and Mosh are gonna be here soon, we should head back to the house."

You mentally beat your pounding heart into submission and step back. "L-Lead the way."

Hip and Mosh were distinctive people for very different reasons. Hip looked like she was the person who taught Emma how to fight and Mosh looked like he could lift a mosh pit. Kid was over six feet and Mosh had to be over seven – he was every bit as broad shouldered as Eustass was as well, and that made him look even bigger. When he shook your hand after introducing himself, half your upper arm disappeared into his hand.

Five foot and change hadn't ever felt tall to you, but you also hadn't been regularly hanging out with people who could be professional basketball players.

"You won't have nothin' ta worry about while we're here, (Y/N)." Mosh assured you. His voice was almost a kind of meek alto, but you felt like anyone who mistook that soft voice for a sign of his capacity was in for a surprise.

"Aww, Emma said you really were like a mouse, and she wasn't kidding." Hip says jovially, ruffling your hair. "Once you get your new hand, I could teach you how to fight if you want, us shorter folk gotta know how to take down the big'uns."

"Ah, huh, yes?" The words slip through your lips before you were really registering what was being said.

You heard the sound of skin smacking skin and looked to see that Kid had face palmed. "Hells, Mouse, you didn't just say yes to that." He groans.

You looked between him and Hip for a moment. Something seemed to be breaking in Eustass, as he'd gone a bit pale, and something was causing Hip to smile in the most delightful way.

"Perfect! Perfect, we have an accord, Miss (Y/N)!" Hip says enthusiastically, shaking your hand so much your teeth were almost clattering.

"Cut her some slack, Hip." Killer says, coming out of the kitchen and joining the rest of you in the entryway. "She's been through so much, she probably doesn't realize you were being serious."

"Eh?" Your frazzled brain, still more stuck on Kid blushing earlier than anything else, was speeding through the last few minutes of introductions. "Eh! You'll teach me how to fight?" You grab Hip's hand in return and your whole face brightens. "Really? Really really?!"

"Really really!" Hip assures you, brightening along with you.

"That's perfect. That's -," your face goes red and you're trying not to cry again. "I couldn't slow him down, and all I could think was that there had to be some way of fighting for someone like me."

Hip makes a restrained squeaky sound and just full on hugs you. "Oh, you poor thing! I'll for sure make sure you can defend yourself. It takes a long time to learn how to fight really good, but every second you can buy yourself is a better chance o' someone being able to help."

You heard Kid sigh defeatedly. "Fine, if she wants to learn to fight, then you should teach her, Hip."

You wriggle a bit and look up at Eustass from your continuing hug into Hip. "You don't want me to learn?"

"The captain struggles to win against me an' Emma." Hip explains, as Kid's face breaks into a deep scowl. "I think he's worried you'll be kicking his ass one day."