...something Like That.

　　　　❝ ...something like that. ❞

　his voice still remained unfocused, sounding as if it were coming from somewhere off in the distance and not from his own throat. the scent of smoke brought him back, and he realized the ominous quality of what he had just said. he felt exposed, like he was wearing too much of his heart on his sleeve in the moment. he panicked.

　❝ not... not the 'cooties' part, the 'going after his bounty' part. ❞ wait, why did he say that? of course she wasn't serious about the first partーshe was joking. sigh. clumsy body, clumsy tongue, it turns out. he tried to tamp down his embarrassment, shifting focus to his coworker's face.

　❝ i don't think i could. at least not on my own; my fruit isn't really cut out for direct combat, and the higher-ups say he's a monster. apparently, he ran a gang with territory stretching all over the north blue islands since he was a kid, and i guess he just wasn't satisfied with that. makes me wonder what he's after. ❞

"You don't have cooties, do you?" Such sarcastic questioning was followed up with a long inhalation as the crimson-haired marine stepped beside her companion. Grey eyes scanned the posters, landing on the one she thought he might have been eyeing. "Ugly bastard, isn't he? Thinking about going for his bounty and ridding the world of one less shitty pirate?"

Taking down pirates- bad pirates- not one's that fought for a better life for everyone- were the entire reason she had become a marine in the first place. Her one eyes drifted away from her fellow marine had been eyeing to move to that of Shiki. The moment she'd heard news of his plight and looked upon his mug she knew what she wanted to do with herself for the first time in her life.

two drafts left, time to add more.

❤️ for a thing.

　　❝ that's nice people speak for 'is being neurotic', ❞ he quipped.

　rosinante scratched his face. suspecting was one thing, but having his suspicions vindicated in plain language to his face was a strange feeling. conflicting. it stirred up those memories again, and he could have sworn his old bullet wounds were starting to hurt. itch. he nodded along, his dull red eyes conveying an understanding, yet sad: 'thought so.'

　❝ i'm more civilian than marine nowadaysーhonestly, if sengoku quits one of these days, i won't even bother reporting on pirate activity that i see when i'm up northーbut i get your point. would be a bit strange for you to drop everything you're doing and telling your crew you're off visiting some hermit in the woods, wouldn't it? ❞

❝ Not neurotic. Just...a tad bit overbearing. ❞ he remarked, a smile on his usually stoic features.

Drake appreciated it. He sighed. Shit, he was in a tough place. He knew he could trust Rosi, that he wouldn't tell anyone, that they'd act as if everything was going according to the mission and the plan. It was one thing he could count on. What else was there? Especially if he might not make it back anyways?

The former Rear Admirals stood, walking over to the blonde, before sitting down beside of him, pulling over a chair, taking a deep breath. ❝ I can't go into too much detail, Rosi. Not many even know what I'm doing. To a lot of people, I'll be deemed retired. A traitor. A Marine turned pirate. A Member of the Worst Generation. A man with a target on his back. But...what I'm doing now...is a mission. If anyone asks, act like you didn't know. I can't promise to visit. This will take years. I might not even make it back. But, just know, I'll do everything I can to return alive. You cannot follow me, no matter what. Got it? Wouldn't look too good. ❞

　　❝ yeah. i knew everyone, in a way. at least in the old days, not so much now. my adopted father used to be in a pretty high position with the marines, so i got shipped a lot of places and worked with a lot of people. ❞

　it genuinely had been so long since rosinante had spoken to anybody about his former life with the marines he often didn't know where to start. but not here; bellemere was a focal point, a rare connection he had with this girl and her story. somehow, he knew everything he wanted to say, but had no idea what to say at all. would this be stressful? comforting? cathartic for him, but painful to her? was he pushing too much to even want to bring this up?

but he couldn't help himself. when the subject came to law, oh, he could talk for hours.

　 ❝ my kid found me, actually. we didn't... start off in the right place, though. i doubt it was as sweet a story as it was with your mom & your sister; i kept trying to get rid of him for two years, i wasn't planning on getting attachedーfor his own good, he shouldn't have been around meーbut it just... happened. it was hard, and i... almost died a couple times, but i don't regret a day of it. i'm sure your mother didn't either. ❞

Talking about her mother always brought a sickening swirl of emotions. Happy, sad, anger, bitterness. It was odd, wasn't it? That she and Law each had a marine in their past. She had never attempted to talk about it with him --- neither of them were particularly the types to open up about that sort of thing, on the other hand. Nami only did, when people asked --- and it just so happened, Rosinante was one of the few brave enough to do so.

Her hands placed politely on her lap --- occasionally, she reached to stir the tangerine tea, although she didn't feel much like drinking it. She was much too captivated, by the thought of speaking to someone who had memories of her mother. They were so hard to come by, now, especially since she was so far away from Genzo and Nojiko. Even when she had shared a village with them --- Nami was permitted to only rely on her own memories. Some of which, were the memories of others --- stories passed around the village, which she had caught wind of, by happenstance.

"Did you know her? --- My mother, I mean..." Nami questioned, eyes lighting up. Despite how large the institution of marines were, she couldn't help but hope that Rosinante knew her. That he had stories to tell, about his time with her. There was only so much Nami could squeeze from the Cocoyashi villagers.

"A kid came along for you, too... hm, don't tell me you found yours in a war-torn, destroyed village, too." A sardonic tone and a soft smirk. She handled it in the only way she knew how: a wry sense of humor. A little good will went a long way, too, but there were several reasons she chose not to open up about her past. It was a quick way to make anyone uncomfortable.

THE MANY MEANINGS OF "HEY.": A PROMPT LIST.

i often have these ideas that have no real origin, but i can actually tell you precisely why my brain wanted this: i was listening to "hey, soul sister" by train on a loop and i got thinking abt the fact that we really do just say "hey" for so many reasons. and i wanted to make that your thought of the evening! so happy november, bon appetit, wrap up warm, DO NOT ADD TO THIS LIST, and enjoy your writings!

[ GREETING ]: sender says "hey" as a greeting to the receiver.

[ ATTENTION ]: sender, having just noticed something strange or remarkable, calls for the receiver to get their attention.

[ REASSURE ]: in a bid to steady the unsettled receiver, the sender lightly says "hey" to help them calm down.

[ ANGER ]: the sender sharply snaps "hey" at the receiver, clearly angry about something the receiver has just done or had done in the past.

[ IDEA ]: having been presented with a predicament, the sender suddenly unravels a solution, introducing it to the receiver by saying "hey…".

[ GUILT ]: having just done something that they know the receiver won't be pleased with, the sender sheepishly greets them once they arrive to see the damage.

[ GOSSIP ]: the sender turns to face the receiver conspiratorially, clearly eager to share some new gossip with them.

[ URGENT ]: the sender rushes to the preoccupied receiver, desperately shouting "hey!" to get them to focus on a far more pressing matter.

[ SOOTHE ]: after finding the clearly distressed receiver, the sender pulls them into a careful embrace, gently murmuring "hey…" to try and soothe them.

[ SMILE ]: the sender (who hasn't been smiling up until they actually see the receiver in front of them) lights up with a smile as they greet the receiver.

[ TEARS ]: the sender greets the receiver while very clearly in tears.

[ FAKE ]: alternatively, the sender (who has just been crying in private) hastily wipes away their tears and tries to greet the receiver casually (to varying degrees of success).

[ WARNING ]: when the receiver begins to say things about subjects that are off-limits to the sender, the latter gives them a warning by saying "hey…".

[ LAUGH ]: having found the receiver to be decidedly unhappy, the sender lightly catches their attention before doing something to make them laugh, or at the very least, grin.

[ PROTEST ]: after the receiver does or says something that the sender deems to be unfair, the sender tries to exact justice by saying "hey!".

[ BREATHLESS ]: having clearly just sprinted down to the receiver, the sender tries to catch their breath while greeting them.

[ SAVE ]: after just saving the receiver's life in a very heroic fashion, the sender smoothly greets them while helping them escape.

[ FLIRT ]: the sender meets the receiver in a social setting, and attempts to flirt with them with the very traditional pick-up line: "hey.".

[ APOLOGY ]: the sender, having recently done something that hurt or upset the receiver, reunites with them and addresses the elephant in the room by greeting them with a sincerely apologetic tone.

[ AWKWARD ]: after a particularly rough first encounter, the sender meets the receiver again, and awkwardly greets them with more than a touch of embarrassment.

[ GENTLE ]: having found the receiver in an emotionally compromised position, the sender closes the door and approaches them carefully, gently saying "hey…" to try and get them to communicate what has upset them.

[ HARD ]: preparing to deliver what they both know will be bad news, the sender tries to prepare the receiver by quietly greeting them in a solemn tone.

[ WAKEN ]: walking into the receiver's bedroom, the sender gently shakes their shoulder to waken them, and whispers "hey." to encourage the process along.

[ WHISPER ]: the sender gently whispers "hey" to the receiver to discreetly get their attention without drawing the attention of others.

@chillin-at-partys-bar ❤️'d for a thing. (smoker)

　❝ i'll be lucky if i don't get discharged for that, never mind demoted. ❞

　rosinante dangled one leg off the side of his bunk while the other was curled up to his chest, gripped tightly as he subconsciously tried to tamp down his anxieties.

maybe he was being a bit hyperbolicーafter all, being the adopted son of an admiral awarded him way more leniency than others in his ranksーbut sengoku could only save him when he screwed up so many times, surely. only so many times he could convince rosinante's superiors that his son's tendency to accidentally light his surroundings on fire when he tries to light a cigarette totally doesn't make him a liability. rosinante was just waiting for the day it happened at this point.

❝ but something that flammable shouldn't have been on the tween deck at all if they're gonna complain about it. everyone knows that's the best place to smoke. ❞