Leaning against the stone walls of the Kidd gang's hideout, you watched the people walk around below, completely unaware of your eyes on them.

At first you were quite surprised when you finally had a good look at the exterior of the place, after all, where on earth did these guys find a real ass castle?!

You weren't as familiar with history as Robin was, but from what you knew, this place didn't ring any bells other than being styled as a typical stone keep castle that the English couldn't seem to get enough of in their prime days.

The most likely explanation was that this place was built by some eccentric rich guy, as was the usual explanation.

You've circled the whole building but there didn't seem to be any other civilization in sight, no roads either- which did strike as a little odd to you, you mean- yeah, you did kinda space out along the way here, but there was no way the trip was that long, there was no hint of the city at all.

"You that desperate to leave baby doll?"

Without thinking, you swung your arm in the direction you heard the voice, thankfully, Kidd ducked before he was struck, however the wall wasn't so lucky, and you winced as the cold stone cracked harshly under your fist.

The redhead didn't seem to mind the damage- or the fact that his head nearly got flung off his shoulders, and whistled as the limestone crumbled once you slowly retracted your arm.

"Nearly gave me the chop there.. so cold, I thought we were bonding" Kidd gave you a cocky grin, which only made you flush shyly before taking out your notebook.

'You startled me, sorry'

Kidd just hummed with a smug look, "psh, like your little swing woulda hurt me" you sweat-dropped at his arrogant demeanor.

'I've decapitated zombies with my punches.. that pride of your's is gonna kill you one day'

The man snorted, not looking disturbed in the least, "for your information, I am plenty more durable than a rotting zombie that can't even walk right.. I'll never die, especially like that"

Your lips puckered in a mischievous pout.

'Y'know I used to be a zombie, right?'

Finally, Kidd's grin dropped, and the man looked shocked by the confession, "wait- didn't Trafalgar cook you up in his freaky lab?" You tried not to smirk, hearing his softer tone and thinking that your guilt trip tactic hit him spot on.

'No, I was human like you, but then I got bit in the first wave..'

You lowered your head, half of you wondering why you were sharing something so personal with the guy that literally kidnapped you- did you even see him as your captor at this point? You began questioning whether you should tell the whole story.

Kidd made the decision for you by leaning in with an enraptured expression, grunting in the way you came to know as his way to encourage you to continue with the tale without actually making it an order.

'After that I locked myself in my room.. took some painkillers.. and promptly blacked out'

The gang leader was silent, and didn't make anymore sounds to spur you on, but you continued anyway.

'I woke up a week later as a ghoul.. but in that week that I don't recall, I think I was a zombie'

Neither of you spoke for awhile, all you could hear was the rushing of the surrounding winds, you recognized that it was colder than usual, most of it was probably from the height that the two of you were at.

Even so.. besides the involuntary shivers, the cold didn't disturb you as it would when you were alive.

"What.. were you before all of this happened?" You returned your stare to your companion, slightly taken aback by the distant haze in his golden globes, directed out towards the horizon.

'I was still trying to figure things out.. moved here alone with a part time job to meet ends'

Kidd snorted, suddenly flying out of whatever funk he threw himself in, "part timer? That doesn't sound right for you baby doll"

Without warning, the larger man stepped closer to you and clumsily swaddled you with his signature fur coat, with him still in it, hissing as your ice cold body came into contact with his bare chest, "jesus, you're freezing!"

As if the revelation only inspired him, his hold on you tightened, and the coat began to completely engulf you- much to your horror.

"Uauwwu!" Shouting in panic, you gently fought against his good intentions, but Kidd refused to let go or address the drool now soaking his coat's lapels.

"Calm down, I can't just let you freeze up like that- it might not hurt but it can still harm you" the reasonable argument made you want to make a double take, because there was no way that came from Kidd of all people, but instead you focused on freeing your arms so you could communicate.

'You gotta let me go!'

You couldn't see the redhead's face, as it was nestled on top of your head, but you could still feel the way his jaw tightened, "why should I..?"

His arms coiled around your waist, not threatening at all, but you could still feel the way his hands gripped onto his wrists in a way to cage you.

'I don't want to contaminate you!'

Kidd buried his face in the crook of your neck, much to your concern, but all of the anxious screams in your mind silenced as his voice rumbled into your ear, "would that be so bad..?"

What..?

Fighting to face the man, you craned your head up and was taken aback by the seriousness painting his features, "would it be so bad..? To be infected by you..?" You blinked incredulously, not knowing how to respond.

"You're not that different from us- you can eat, laugh, fight.. just like every other survivor on this damned planet except stronger, more durable.. would it be so wrong to join you in that?"

You didn't know what to say.

'Aren't you scared of dying? What if you just turn into a regular zombie?'

Kidd's face contorted into a childish grimace, as if he couldn't come up with a rebuttal for that scenario, in the end he forced you in front of him and hid his face in your neck again.

"If that happens.. then at least I gave it a shot, a lot better then just waiting for one of those things to rip me open like a piñata"

You never thought of it like that..

Stepping deeper into his embrace, you didn't pay any mind to the breathy chuckle that breathed down your neck, but instead mulled over his argument and put yourself in his perspective.

With a tired gurgle, you reluctantly allowed Kidd to completely entrap you with his body, save for your arms so you could still freely use your notebook.

'Fine, I'll loosen the boundaries a little, but I'm not gonna purposefully infect you.. you should enjoy being human as long as you can, being a ghoul isn't all fun and games'

Kidd hooted excitedly, much to your amusement, as he sounded just too dang cute to stay miffed at, "yes! Alright, I can work with this!"

'One condition though..'

The gang leader clicked his tongue, but not aggressively, "of course you have a price for me baby doll.. lay it on me" you steeled yourself as you lifted the notebook to his line of sight.

'My friends.. can I go back to them?'

There was a sharp inhale, and for a hot moment you were afraid the supernova would lose his temper- because hide it as he might you knew he had one, but all the redhead did was run his hands over you softly, kind of like an obsession with him.

"About that.." you perked up, feeling apprehensive to what he was about to tell you.

Kidd sighed, seemingly frustrated, yet resigned at the same time, "me and Killer have been talking about it.. and he's suggested using you as a means to persuade them into an.." Kidd's expression soured, as if he was repulsed by the thought, "alliance.."

You quirked your head, not quite understanding what he was saying, but you were also grinning, recognizing that he was considering an alliance with your two favorite humans, that was a good thing? Right..?

'Why do you sound unhappy with that?'

"I don't like working with other people.. you don't know when they'll stab your back" the gang leader's answer was passionate and cold, making you think that this probably ran deeper than you thought.

'You let me in your hideout.. didn't even shackle me up, and I haven't stabbed your back'

Kidd hummed, an evil smile breaking his face, "no.. but you did just try to decapitate me just now" instantly flushing in embarrassment, you frustratedly roared into his coat and began to playfully chew on it, much to his entertainment.

"Alright, alright, sorry baby doll.. but you're just different from those two" you pouted at his reasoning as he gingerly eased the fabric from your mouth.

'How am I different?'

"You.. we're on equal ground, yeah, the moment you walked in here we've been on the same page, but those two bastards are never settled on something stable- I never even know what they're talking about half of the time" you hummed curiously.

"That nut job leader of your's is always caught up in something insane, and Trafalgar's constantly plotting.. put them together and they make a match made in hell, the last thing I want is to added to the equation and.." Kidd trailed off, looking as if he couldn't quite bring himself to finish.

"Phfthhh..!" blowing a raspberry into his chest, the redhead seemed to have brightened up right away at your goofiness and ruffled your hair, "anyway.. bottom line is they're unpredictable, and we don't get along very well.. if you didn't already know"

You smiled up at him, invitingly.

'True, those two are chaotic in the craziest of ways, but there is a stability in there, but you gotta give them a chance to feel it'

As Kidd mulled over your words, a thought came to you, and a smile painted your face as you wrote the thought down.

'And to be honest, you and your crew are much more chaotic than both of them, and that's saying something!'

Kidd's eye twitched as he stared at the page, but other than that, he didn't react much, as he was most likely still thinking your words over in his head.

"You think it'd be a good idea baby doll?"

'Truth be told I don't know much about your relationship- hell I haven't even known you guys that long either.. but I feel that everything will turn out okay'

Kidd sighed one more time before waddling inside, with you still in his hold, "alright.. let's find Killer and get this shit show started"

You cheered in his hold, and Kidd immediately felt all of his doubts take a back seat, seeing your grin flash dangerously to the point of hurting your cheeks.

He only hoped creating an alliance would be just as easy as getting along with you.