A phone vibrated across the bedside table and Kid let out a frustrated groan behind you.

"I got it." You fumbled for the device as he clung to you, nuzzling in between your shoulder blades.

He kept you overnight to decompress a bit. It turned into both of you sleeping the rest of the day and through the night and him using you like a body pillow the entire time. You never thought he'd be such an emotional guy over a breakup but you were very wrong.

"'Lo?" You had a hard time forming the word in your half asleep state.

"(Y/n) you're not home." Killer stated on the other end.

"No, I'm not jailbait." You shifted around to curl up into Kid's chest for the warmth. He let you before nuzzling into your hair.

"...Where are you?"

"The garage."

"Are you serious? I told you not to go there!"

Kid could hear everything and he wasn't liking what was being said. "She's fine Killer...."

"Kid didn't hurt you?" He asked in disbelief.

"No. He wasn't even that scary."

"Was too." Kid retaliated grumpily.

"Shush." You covered the sleepy man's mouth.

Killer sighed on the other end. "Well if things are fine I'll be over later to assess the damage."

"Sounds good, the place needs cleaned up something fierce. I can do a bit to help but I've gotta run a quick errand when you get here."

Kid smirked against your hand and slid his tongue out from between his lips, dragging it across your skin.

"Don't lick me!" You jerked your hand away and wiped it off on the sheets.

"...I'll take my time coming over." Killer hung up, assuming Kid was getting frisky with you.

You wiggled out of Kid's grasp and got out of bed. After sleeping in the same clothes you wore yesterday, you wanted nothing more than to go home, shower, and get into something clean. But you didn't think it'd be a good idea to leave Kid alone. For now you'd just have to wait until Killer came over, which may be a while thanks to the annoying redhead.

"I'm going to see what I can clean up downstairs before Killer gets here."

Kid bared his teeth into a smile as he stretched in bed, the bare muscles of his torso taut and too hard not to stare at.

"Where are you going when he does?"

"Home to shower and change."

"That's not an errand."

"Sure feels like it." You sighed and pulled on your boots, not wanting to step in glass when you got down there.

"I'll go with you."

"How about you help Killer clean up the mess you made?"

He frowned, a look of annoyance taking over his features. "When did you start telling me what I need to do?"

Of course he was going to be difficult. "I just need a bit of time to myself. It'll be an hour, tops, and I'll be back."

You headed downstairs before he could retort. Kid would probably try to argue more when he decided to come down as well but you'd take the minute it'd take for him to do that to find a broom and start sweeping.

After nosing around near the office, you found a push broom hanging from a hook on the wall. Perfect. You grabbed it and started with the shattered glass near the car, pushing it all into a neat little pile. When you began cleaning up all the surrounding dirt and general mess to add to the pile, Kid came downstairs. He was still shirtless but he had on shoes at least.

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you." He snapped. There's the Kid you knew, cranky as always.

"I'm assuming you want this place up and running as soon as possible. I'm just trying to speed that along."

"Don't care. We can't do shit without tools anyway."

"Maybe you and Killer can go get some while I'm gone." You offered, finishing up with sweeping around the car.

"You don't just go get a whole garage worth of tools in one day (Y/n)." He sneered. You wished he wasn't already getting an attitude but you'd let it slide.

"Are you trying to suggest you can't afford more tools? Because I know you can. And I don't doubt that you can find everything you need in this city Kid."

He made a sound of annoyance but didn't argue. You were right. Then he took a seat in one of the work stools and snapped his fingers. You jumped when the metal pieces that were slung across the room began to float and move around like they had minds of their own. Useless scraps fell into a trash bin that was almost overflowing already while the pieces he could still tinker with settled onto the metal table and workbenches in the room. Suddenly it was a lot cleaner than before.

"Did you become a mechanic because of your devil fruit or was it just pure luck that your job and abilities coincide?"

You admired how much faster he made the clean up process. All that was really left was cleaning out the rest of the glass shards from inside the car and fixing it's numerous dents. That'd still take time but this was a good start.

"I've always liked working with my hands. Been putting things together and taking them apart since I was a snot nosed brat." His voice didn't have the same gruff tone it usually held.

That's pretty cool." You put the broom back and got a smaller one with a dust pan to get rid of the pile of glass and dirt.

"How's that?" He asked, snatching them from your hands so he could take over.

Not knowing what else to do, you took his now empty seat and watched him. "Not many people stick with something for so long. It takes real dedication."

"What's that say about you?"

Glass shards rained down on the metal in the trash bin as he emptied the dust pan and tossed it and the broom onto a desk. Kid then slowly approached you and loomed over, not aggressively, he was just too tall.

"What? That I never picked up a skill as a kid? Just didn't have much of a talent."

"No." He bent over, placing his hands on your thighs as his face inched closer to yours. "Isn't sticking it out with me dedication?"

You muddled over it for a second as you searched his eyes. He'd never been so calm with you, so...sincere. His amber eyes reflected the curiosity he held. There was no bite to his stare, no anger. Just the want to know.

"I don't think so. I'm obligated to put up with you."

Kid scoffed, turning his head to the side for a moment as he rolled his eyes and then returned to staring you down.

"We may still have our little deal but you chose to walk through that door last night and come in here. You chose to get in my face, tell me to piss off, and get a hold of myself. That wasn't obligation, it was dedication."

Was he right? Did you feel dedicated to this man somehow? You were able to tell Shanks before, with certainty, you felt you owed him for what he'd done the night you were assaulted. But this was different. Right?

"I don't know what last night was and I don't know what this is." You shook your head and averted your eyes. It was too difficult to look right back at him, you couldn't think straight anymore.

Kid let out a low, sultry chuckle. It was one you'd never heard from him before. His hands squeezed your thighs as he tilted his head slightly and brushed his lips to yours.

"I think you know. You just don't want to admit it."

Your brows furrowed in confusion at the statement but Kid snapped his attention away from you when Killer came in. It gave you enough time to slip out from under him and get to your feet.

"Where's the mess?" Killer asked, subtly dodging the topic of why his boss had you in such a compromising position in the workshop.

"We got it mostly cleaned up." You cleared your throat and snatched your bag. You'd placed it in the office last night before Kid took you up to his room. "I'll be back in a bit."

"It's a weekday, what happened to classes?" Killer noticed the damage to the car and began accessing it, muttering about having to do the work on it for free.

"Winter break. I don't have any for the next couple weeks."

"Right, holidays." He nodded as you walked backwards to the door.

"Hey." Kid watched you, mouth set into a firm line that was neither a smile or a frown. "One hour. If you aren't back by then I'm dragging you back."

"I hear ya." You waved him off as you headed out the door.

When you got back to your place, calling Shanks was going to have to take priority. There was no way you'd risk Kid coming over and catching you talking to him. Only Killer could say what he'd do if that happened and you weren't sure you wanted to know.

----

The walk back was quick and you wasted no time calling Shanks. With each ring you felt yourself becoming more nervous. To ease your tension you got busy picking out something to wear for after getting out of the shower. Just as you had finished tossing clothes on the bed, he picked up.

"(Y/n), I didn't expect a call from you so early in the day. What a pleasant surprise." His relaxed, smooth tone actually calmed your nerves a bit.

"Yeah, there's no school today and I needed to talk to you."

"Is everything alright?" A sliver of worry worked it's way into his voice.

"Everything's fine." You took a deep breath. In and out. "Kid's girlfriend left."

"Great! And you talked with him?"

"Well...no not really. I didn't have a chance for that yet. She broke up with him and it was kind of messy."

"Sounds like he made a bad relationship choice."

For some reason, that comment annoyed you. It wasn't directed at you at all, but still. Something about it sent a pang of anger through you.

"It is what it is. But I think I've made my decision."

"What happened to talking with Kid first?"

"Shanks, I-"

"Don't rush into anything (Y/n). Humor me and talk with him first before you come to a conclusion."

He still sounded calm but something told you he knew what you were going to say and didn't want to hear it. He was still hopeful he'd be more than enough to win you over. But he wasn't. You realized not long after your talk with Marco, you were an oddity in this city. An oddity that Shanks found interesting only because of your circumstances. He was polite, sweet, and would probably be a great partner all things considered. But there was no emotional attachment.

It wouldn't be any different than what you had with Kid now. Except you felt there was something different with Kid. Something had changed and you weren't quite sure yet. But you wanted to find out.

"I'll talk to him but I doubt it'll change the outcome."

"We'll see." Shanks practically purred.

You hung up. We'll see indeed.