It'd been a few days since the date with Kid. While you liked how much better he was behaving, it was taking a bit to adjust to the change. It was like the break up with Bonney was his wake up call and he was making up for the non-stop attitude he had been giving you for the longest time.

Before, you had found a way to work with him by avoiding him whenever you'd gotten the chance. Using your little free time to unwind and mentally prepare yourself for him. Now, it was much easier to spend time at the garage with the group. Kid didn't snap or give you any sly comments. He wasn't dragging you upstairs to satisfy himself and then pretending you weren't there.

In fact, he hasn't touched you since everything went down. It'd been about a week and it was throwing you off. Kid wasn't one to put off sex when it was readily available. You two have still been sharing a bed and he was clingy as usual, but that was it. That had you a little worried about him, but you ignored that for the time being. There was one important thing you still had to take care of.

It was about time you tried calling Shanks again. You hadn't talked to him since last time you called and he refused to hear your answer. Of course it didn't change. If anything, you were more confident in your choice to stay with Kid. You were really starting to like him and you didn't want to ruin what you had. It took too long to get him to this point.

You left the garage that morning, convincing the guys you'd only be gone for a short while to go do laundry and you'd be back soon. There hadn't been a need for them to follow you around for a while but they liked to tag along from time to time still, Heat and Wire especially.

It was freezing outside as fat snowflakes fell to the ground and piled up on the sidewalk and road. Some buildings had flashing, colorful strings of lights decorating them for the holidays. It reminded you that it might not be a bad idea to get something for each of the guys. Or at least bake something for them. Cake didn't feel right but they might like a pie or cookies. You'd think about it more after the call.

When you got home you tossed a load of clothes in the washer. Laundry actually did need to get done, so it wasn't just an excuse to talk to Shanks. Some of the clothes you tossed in belonged to the guys. They'd strip off layers sometimes and forget their stuff at your place now. It was hard to tell if you were more of a friend or a mother for them.

With that done, you poked your head around the curtains of your living room window and watched outside as you dialed Shanks' number. You didn't want one of the guys walking in and surprising you. He picked up almost immediately. The man had to have been on edge with the wait you gave him.

"It's been a while (Y/n)." Shanks purred. Though he tired to sound cool and collected, you could hear how he almost rushed his words. It made you wonder how many women had this same effect on him.

"Sorry, things got a little busy."

"No worries. When are you thinking of coming over?"

"That's why I'm calling." You gnawed at your bottom lip, rolling it between your teeth. "I can't be coming over anymore Shanks. Kid and I worked things out and I'd like to stay with him."

He sighed on the other end of the line. It was heavy and defeated. He'd lost a fight with Kid he didn't even realize was happening. Shanks thought he had you without even trying up until the break up.

"I was afraid you'd say that. And here I thought we had something."

"I never promised you a relationship, I told you from the start I just needed a companion." You weren't going to fall for a guilt trip, Yonko or not.

"As true as that is, it still breaks my heart."

"Don't kid yourself Shanks, we don't love each other."

"Maybe not. But I did enjoy your company and I know I would've liked more personal time with you even more."

You weren't sure if that was meant to be some kind of compliment, but it wasn't doing it for you. At least you could say with certainty that you were right. He just found you interesting and that was it. You were glad he had the Whitebeard boys over that day. If it wasn't for Marco you weren't sure you would have ever realized it.

"I'm sure you have plenty of women lining up to spend a night with you. Ones much more up your alley than some highschool history teacher."

Shanks laughed. It wasn't the usual one he had when you'd spent time with him. It sounded more like one he practiced in the mirror every morning to make sure it was one people would like. It was like the customer service voice of laughs.

"Are you suggesting I'd prefer a whore?" He asked. It probably did sound like you were suggesting just that.

"I'm saying you'd probably prefer someone who knows more of what they are getting into than me. If that means whore to you, than sure, get yourself a whore."

He paused for a moment, not expecting you to be so blunt. Kid must be rubbing off on you and it wasn't entirely a bad thing.

"I think I've taught you quite a lot about how things work around here." He said smoothly. "It's making you rather brave."

"I appreciate all you've done for me Shanks, I really do. But no, that's not the case." Now you were treading carefully.

You had to pick each word you said to keep him from getting the wrong idea. Nothing would be worse right now than you suggesting you owed him for what he'd done. There was no doubt in your mind he'd use your words against you if given the chance.

"Then what gives you that bite? You didn't have it when we first met."

"I've just learned my lesson on how to deal with you guys. Kid's taught me that whether he knows it or not."

"He is quite hard headed. It makes sense that you'd start to act the same way." It wasn't meant as an insult so you didn't take it that way. Shanks felt he was above insulting people, he'd told you before there was nothing more petty than reverting to them.

"I can't help it. I'm a sucker for overwhelming confidence."

Now he laughed for real. "Indeed you are. Well, I'll miss our time together but it seems there's no changing your mind. For now at least. If you ever decide you'd like to see me again, you have my number. But we won't just be friendly if that happens. I've learned my lesson."

"Thanks for the offer but that won't be happening. Kid's got me in a way I can't explain." Speaking of Kid, he was coming up to the building now. "Sorry to cut this short but I have to go. Thanks for everything Shanks."

You hung up so he wouldn't get any ideas and shoved your phone in your pocket. It felt good to have that all behind you now. You'd been stressing over needing to call him and the weight was now lifted off your shoulders.

Kid would be up in just a few minutes so you busied yourself tidying up the place. The washer was still going and you could use the time to make everything else look decent. The guys weren't quite used to cleaning up after themselves and no matter how much you nagged at them to take care of their trash or not leave the kitchen a mess after using it, they still couldn't figure it out.

So of course there were beer cans and dishes to clean up. Not to mention you hadn't moped in a while and there was obvious tracks through the place from their boots. Dirty pots and pans littered your kitchen counters and blankets were tossed about your couch. Yeah. You had some cleaning to do.

As expected, Kid came in with a friendly look on his face. "Why'd you leave?"

"I told you guys, I had to do laundry." You eyed the numerous messes around the apartment. "Among other things."

Kid grumbled once he saw the place. "How long is this going to take?"

"Maybe an hour or so." You shrugged. Sure the place was a disaster but the nice part about having a smaller home was it was quicker to clean.

"That's too long." He immediately walked into the living room and began picking up the trash. "We gotta talk about something after this is done."

"O-okay." You weren't expecting his help and you never liked hearing someone say they 'needed to talk'.

While Kid cleaned up in there, you got busy in the kitchen. Halfway through scrubbing the dishes, you stopped to work on the laundry a bit. It was a little disturbing to find a pair of jeans in there that didn't belong to you. You don't remember seeing one of the guys leaving without pants on at any point and you weren't sure how something so important could be forgotten.

When you got back to the kitchen, you were happy to see the living room was back in order. You finished up the rest of the cleaning quickly and sat with Kid on the couch. It felt good to have everything clean again.

"So what's up?" You asked.

"Our real work has been a little slow lately and that's going to change soon."

By real work you knew he meant more of the gang operations.

"Okay. I didn't realize that kind of stuff can get slow."

"Whitebeard's had good control of the area so we couldn't do too much. But," Kid gave you a sly grin. "He's getting old and we've got a shot to do more and we're taking it."

"What're you going to do?"

"Push for more territory. See if we can get ahead of the game and carve out more of his land to make it our own."

"That sounds pretty dangerous."

Kid barked with laughter. You liked his more than Shanks. It felt more sincere.

"That's the name of the game. Either way, we'll be starting on that in the next few days and I need you to stay around the garage to avoid getting in any trouble."

"If you're worried about me being alone at night it's not a big deal, I'll be fine."

"That's not the problem." He growled. "I need to know where you'll be in case things get a little rough."

"You think someone's going to try and get me?" You joked.

"Yes." Not the answer you wanted to hear. "Some of these guys like going for family, lovers, friends, it doesn't matter. If you stay put then you're less likely to get nabbed."

"Oh." You never thought about that being an issue but it made sense. You really should have thought about that before. "Okay then, I can do that. There's no school for a while anyway."

"Good." He smiled, painted lips stretching over white teeth. "Now that we have that done...."

Kid pushed you back into the couch and straddled you. He pressed his lips to yours and you could feel the need radiating off of him.

"I haven't touched you in a while." He spoke low as he trailed kisses down your neck.

"I was wondering about that." You almost whispered. He hadn't had anything in probably close to a week since he did have Bonney for a while. It'd been even longer for you.

"I didn't want to push you now that our relationship has...changed." His shirt was stripped away, revealing his pale chest.

"Kid, you've fucked me more times than I can count. You can't use that as an excuse." You ran your fingers along his muscles, letting your nails lightly mark the surface of his skin.

"Fine then." He nipped along your jaw teasingly. "Maybe I just wanted to make you wait for it."

"I think I've waited long enough."