Killer slumped back down on his bike after hearing your decision.

A relieved sigh left his lips and his shoulders dropped, losing all their tension. "Are you sure you don't want to think it over longer? You've got a bit more time."

"No, I'm sure." You answered. "I'll stay with you but you've got to promise you won't hide things from me. I won't stay if I can't trust you."

"I understand." He held his hand out. "I need your phone real quick."

That puzzled you, but you handed it over anyway. He flipped it over and pulled out a pocket knife, wedging the blade along the seam carefully until the back popped off. Then he pulled out a tiny black square. If you would have pulled the phone apart and saw that, you'd think it was just another piece of it. But as soon as he had it out, Killer tossed it on the ground and smashed it under his boot. When he put the phone back together he handed it back to you.

"That was for tracking." He explained. "I could see where you were and have access to all your messages and anything else you were doing on there. That's how I was able to find you."

That explained a lot. The day he "dropped by" your place and Delilah never mentioned him and when he saw you in your dragon form. He knew exactly what you were doing both times.

"Is that everything? There's nothing else you were hiding from me?"

"The guys who trashed your place were part of the gang. I beat the shit out of them for it. And that's it." Killer answered firmly. "Everything I know, you know."

"You sure? This is your last chance to bring up anything else." You crossed your arms and stared him down sternly. If any one thing wasn't mentioned now and you found out later, you'd leave and never look back.

"I promise that's it." There was a shared silence as you nodded and Killer waited for you to say something else. But that was it. You were good as far as you could tell. "Can I touch you?"

You nodded again. In all honesty, you were itching to touch him, to just throw your arms around him for a hug, or pull him down for a kiss, but you had to put up the tough girl front so he knew you were serious about it all. Now that this was all done, you were okay with giving in to those urges.

He took one step towards you and was able to close the distance, wrapping himself around you. It felt nice, enveloped in his arms and scent. He kissed you tentatively, happy when you didn't jerk back or turn him down.

"Lipstick huh?" He started to grin as he took in you with a full face of makeup. "Did Ivankov do all this?"

"Yeah, she said I needed a confidence booster."

"I thought they were they?"

"I'll have to explain the enigma that is Ivankov to you later." You giggled. "For now I'd like to pay off the landlord and then hurry up and deal with Kid."

"Always so responsible." Killer teased. "I like it."

----

Two hours later and you were sitting with Killer in his, and now your, apartment complex common room. He insisted that you keep his shirt on so any hopeful men would get the message that you were already taken. And as if that wasn't enough, he had you sit with him in an armchair. It was a big one, but you were still easily halfway in his lap. Someone would have to be blind to not understand you two were lovers.

People from the crew had piled around the room, most of the standing so those with higher ranks could sit. That ended up being some man with a mohawk, Heat, Wire, and Kid of course. There was still plenty of room on the couches for a few other people but the rest of the men didn't dare to fill the spaces.

"Blue." Kid leaned forward with a delighted smirk. He had the feather he plucked in his hands, flesh fingers grazing across it's smooth, iridescent surface while metal ones held it in place. It was as long as he prosthetic was and just as wide. "It's nice to hear the dragon is willing to join my crew."

"I've got conditions." You glared back at him, half tempted to snatch your feather back.

"Name them."

"I don't kill and I refuse to change that."

His lips twitched into a frown at that but he didn't object.

"I have the right to turn down who I work with on jobs."

A nod.

"And I will not be manhandled. No riding or pulling out feathers or tugging at wings. Nothing."

"I can't have a dragon and not ride it." He objected with a snarl.

"Newsflash, I'm not a pet. I'm not your dragon."

"No, you're Killer's." He said with a smirk.

"Girlfriend." Killer corrected.

"Does he get to ride you?" Kid asked, voice thick with annoyance and attitude.

"Not like that I don't." Killer answered with a devious smile.

"Killer!" You snapped, a deep blush forming as a few men snickered.

"Compromise." Kid demanded. "It's probably uncomfortable for you, we'll get you used to it and I'll up your pay a bit."

You nibbled at your bottom lip in thought before agreeing. You planned on paying Delilah's rent with the new pay and the little extra bit would be nice.

"Fine, but not anyone gets a damn ride."

There was a collective groan of disappointment from the men standing around. It seemed they all had their hopes up for flying into battle on the back of a dragon. You couldn't blame them, but the answer was still no.

"High ranks only." Kid agreed with a toothy grin. You assumed that only meant everyone sitting. That was doable. "Tell me your skills and such so we know what we're working with."

"Um, well basics first I guess." You started off, counting off each thing on your fingers as you listed them. "Flying, fire breathing, strong talons and teeth, independently moving tail..."

"Details?" Kid raised a hairless brow. "It can't be that simple. My devil fruit has its limits, yours has to as well."

"Well, I haven't tested my flight limits yet, haven't been able to so I'm not sure on that. My fire is limited. I actually produce an extremely flammable fuel that ignites on contact with oxygen but when the reserves are empty they take time to refill, usually just a day though. I haven't found anything my fire can't melt through yet."

Jaws were dropping and eyes were sparkling, even Kid's. Nothing was cooler than knowing the ins and outs of how a dragon functioned. The attention was actually.... interesting. You kind of liked the admiration.

"I can cut and bite through metals like steel with a bit of effort, anything weaker is easy. And my tail is kinda like a monkey's. I can move it however I want and use it like a whip or to grapple. The fan on the end helps with flight."

You though for a second before lighting up with more information.

"Oh! Dragon skin is super hard to break through so I'm also bullet and blade proof. And I'm technically fireproof too in my dragon form. As I am now, I have good tolerance to high temperatures and even better as a dragon. I'm not so great in the winter though, I guess it's a bit of a trade off. I'm terrible against the cold."

"So you'll bitch if you're cold and your fire doesn't magically appear, that's not bad for drawbacks." Kid snickered. "How about haki? Ever used it."

"No." You frowned at the cold comment but didn't say anything back. "Never thought about practicing with it."

"It'd be useful for you. You'll have to learn it so you can protect yourself against it, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the only thing that could really damage you."

"I'm guessing other people are going to know about me now too." You said with a resigned sigh. Just as Ivankov said, it was a matter of time.

"We won't go blabbing about it but if someone learns they learn." Kid grunted.

That was a better answer than you hoped to get so you'd take it.

"So what now?"

"Now we train you up on a couple things and plan out your debut as a new member of the Kid gang." Kid chuckled like it was some funny joke. "As soon as the city knows who you're with, you're welcome to go about as the dragon whenever you like. Until then, we keep it under wraps."

That...didn't sound bad. New skills and the ability to move relatively freely.

"As for tonight," Kid stood up and glanced around the room. "WE CELEBRATE!"

The room was filled with cheers of approval and Killer pat your thigh happily, leaning you back a bit so you could hear him over the din.

"You did good. Hope you can keep up with these party animals."

"They can't be that bad." You were questioning your choice of words as you watched the men jump around and whoop, a few coming by to give you a passing pat on the shoulder or a "welcome to the gang."

"Oh you have no idea."

----

A few of the men came by your's and Killer's apartment after a while, arms full of food. It had you all kinds of confused as you were taking a quick nap at Killer's suggestion before the gang festivities. One minute you were out like a light, the next you were waking up to bellowing laughter and loud banter. Going back to sleep was impossible so you joined them out in the kitchen, sitting at the large island as you watched them all cook and goof off.

Killer was one hell of a cook, you already knew that, but apparently for celebrations of any kind, he was the guy in charge of making sure all the food was good and up to his standards. The guys all talked to you like an old friend and that was hard for you to get around. They didn't know you but they were so friendly. Your partner just gave you encouraging looks, occasionally adding comments here and there to avoid you getting super snarky.

When they'd made enough food to feed half the city, it all got taken back downstairs to the common area where the rest of the gang was already gathered and drinking. All but one of the pool tables ended up full of food and drink. TVs had gaming consoles hooked up to them for people to play. The noise was almost deafening and that brought forth the question, how do all the residents that aren't part of the crew handle this?

It was like Killer could read your mind. He bent over you, a hand lingering on your waist. "It's only our gang living here, we don't bother anyone with all our bullshit."

"How long does everyone party?"

"Until they drop." He grinned. "But when we're ready to call it a night we can head up. Can't hear a thing from the top floor."

That explained why he lived up there. Killer was the second in command. The only person who got anything better than him was Kid.

"Hey Blue!" You looked over to see Wire, Heat, and the mohawk guy waving you over to one of the TV's.

"Go on." Killer nudged you towards them. "I'll be there in a minute."

You walked up to the men, the third giving you a wide, inviting smile while the other two were as hard to read as ever.

"Blue was it? I'm Hayate." He introduced himself. "We're getting ready to start up a game, wanna join?"

"What game?" You asked as you watched the title appear on the screen. Mario Kart.

"Drunk driving." He chuckled.

"What's that?" You'd never heard it called that before.

"It's Mario Kart with beer." Killer came back with a whole unopened case. He knew exactly what game was going to be played. "You have to drink one every race but you can't be driving while you're doing it and you have to drink it all before finishing the race."

You giggled. "Okay, that sounds like fun."

"How many controllers do we have?" He asked the guys.

"Six." Heat answered.

"Perfect." Kid purred behind you, launching himself over the back of the couch to sit in front of the TV. "Count me in."

Hayate handed you a controller from what you recognized to be a switch while Killer handed out beer bottles to everyone. You'd never worked with this console before so your partner had to walk you through the controls a bit. Mario games weren't usually your thing either so you had no clue if picking any particular character would effect how it all played. But you were able to find the character you liked the most and customize your cart how you wanted.

"I hope you all are ready to get your asses kicked." Kid barked with laughter.

"You're a little confident, aren't you?" You asked, waiting for the first race to start.

"This involves two things I'm good at; drinking and driving. Of course I'm confident." He scoffed.

"I hope you don't do this in real life." You rolled your eyes.

The game started and you were confused to see everyone starting with there alcohol immediately. No one else touched their controls but you. As each man finished his drink, they started playing, far behind in the race at this point.

"You gotta drink that before you finish." Wire grunted a reminder as he slammed his empty bottle down.

"I know, I'm doing it differently." You defended yourself.

The short few minutes without them in the running gave you some time to get a better hang of the controls. You were taking each turn like a champ in no time but the guys not only caught up, but overtook you soon enough.

"What the fuck?" You grumbled as you fell behind with the NPCs. "I was doing decent I thought."

"Decent don't cut it here." Kid sent another snicker your way as you decided to stop and drink your beer.

Chugging alcohol wasn't your thing, but it seemed necessary for this game. So you did that, finishing your beer and adding it to the pile of empty ones left by the guys. You got back in the race and ended up finishing it in last compared to the guys. You were dead set on beating Kid at least once though.

The more rounds were played, the more everyone talked shit to each other. The men handled their alcohol well and you did decent, but not for long. After four rounds, you were pretty tipsy, but funny enough, you were also doing better on the races.

"Alcohol is supposed to have the opposite effect Blue." Heat said with a frown as you passed him.

"Want another?" Killer offered in hopes of slowing you down long enough to send you back a few spots.

"Only if you drink another too." You giggled.

"Deal."

He popped caps off of two beers and you both tipped them back. You were getting the hang of getting your alcohol down fast and finished before him, getting back to the game and regaining your good position quickly.

"That didn't work Killer." Hayate complained.

"I tried." He shrugged, shooting you a quick smirk.

When you passed by everyone and hit the finish line first, Kid shot out of his seat and tossed his controller to the ground. "That's bullshit!" He roared.

"Don't be such a sore loser~" You cooed drunkenly.

"Maybe you should get some food in her." Wire suggested to Killer. "I haven't seen her eat anything yet."

It was a hint to get you away from Kid and keep from aggravating him further but Killer frowned as he realized something.

"Have you eaten at all today Blue?" He asked.

"Not really? It's been a busy day so I forgot."

"Who the fuck forgets to eat?" Kid looked at you with horror. You didn't doubt he put away food like the rest of the men in his crew which probably made you not eating yet seem all the worse.

"I do. Sometimes." You got up with a huff.

Killer took that as his cue to lead you off to find something to eat. "I'll probably take her up." He told his friends. "She has had a busy day, I think she needs a break."

"I can hear you." You grumbled.

"Good." He smirked. "I don't have to say it twice then."

Killer filled a couple plates to the brim, piling on food for the two of you before sending you ahead of him, back to the apartment. The quiet back upstairs was welcoming. You didn't realize how noisy it really was down there until now.

Your partner waited until you were both seated at the kitchen island to start talking.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

"Why?" You started in on your dinner. The first bite making you realize you were very hungry.

"I lied to you (Y/n)" You appreciated him not using your real name in front of the crew. They'd learn it eventually, but not yet. "I told the guys your secret and made you change your entire way of life."

"It would've happened eventually. Either because of you or someone else who caught wind of things because I wasn't careful enough."

"That doesn't change that I should be in the dog house right now."

"I'm still not settled with all this and it'll be a while until I am." You turned your attention away for your plate to face him. "But if you can prove that I can still trust you and give me time, I know things will work out. I'm not angry, I'm trying to adjust and right now it'd make more sense for me to have us share a bed."

"You'd be more comfortable with that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Killer shook his head. "Did you want me to buy you something then? Pay for my mistake financially?"

You laughed. He was dead set on you doing something against him for this and you were still tipsy enough to agree to draining his finances a bit.

"Well today did make me realize I really need new clothes since most of mine got ruined when my place got trashed."

"We'll buy you a whole new wardrobe then." He agreed.

You usually didn't accept handouts, but you actually needed it this time. And besides, Killer did tell you to drop the tough girl act and accept help once in a while. Look at you, learning to adapt.

(A/n)

Hayate is not the mohawk guy's real name as far as I know. I just picked it because it sounded like it'd fit him. I seriously wish we'd get a bit more insight to Kid's crew.