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Eustass "Captain" Kid was a rough man by nature. He spoke harshly and acted like a true pirate with his crude actions. Yet, I fell in love with him.
And yet, despite facing all of the rough treatment from him, I'm still in love with him. I still fall in love with him over and over again, even over the smallest things.
He could yell at them and glare at them like he does to his enemies and make them fear him and yet—
They would forgive him. Again and again and again. No matter how many times. Because despite his actions, they know he loves them.
does he though?
do they even love him anymore?
of course i do, but that did nothing to erase their doubts. More often than not they'd think that perhaps they were just delusional. Perhaps, rather than love, they just feared him. Feared that if they didn't worship him, love him, respect him, he'd kill them. Feared that he may hate them. Maybe he was just amusing them by agreeing to this relationship.
he wouldn't do that. You know him, he'd never do that kind of thing to you. a part of them said.
Do you, though? You know what he can do, how cruel he can be, another part of them fought.
but he wouldn't hurt his own crewmate, right?
No, he wouldn't. He'd never hurt his own crewmate. They're precious to him. They shut down all of the voices and stood up, opening the door for killer before he could knock on the door.
Killer, unfazed by their observation haki, hesitated before saying, "kid's going on a rampage in the nearby village."
They had a defeated look on their face before walking past Killer.
will this ever end?
Of course, it will.
Eustass Kid may be a rude homicidal red bitch, but he wasn't dumb.
He'd always try to apologize after he'd hurt them, albeit in his own way. He'd often send someone to help them with the bruises, sometimes he'd do it himself and hold their hand until they fell asleep and get some rest. They'd always wake up and find themselves in his embrace but sometimes, when he was needed out there, they'd be greeted by a small gift at their bedside table.
But this situation isn't getting any better for the past four months. They need to talk.
Holding their hands gently after he was done taking care of a cut they got, he sighed.
"Why do you keep doing this?"
Perhaps not the best way to word it, as his significant other flinched.
"Why… are you always tryin' to stop my rampages? It's not your responsibility, and you always end up being hurt. You know I can't control myself when I'm on a rampage."
"I…" They started, "I feel like it is. As your lover, I mean. I feel like I have to stop you—and I want to. If I don't, you're going to hurt yourself instead. I… don't want that."
"I don't care no matter how much it hurts, I'd rather be hurt by you than to see you being hurt."
You looked at the ground as the silence in the room became more suffocating. Perhaps you shouldn't have said that. Perhaps he'd call you dumb next, saying how your actions were unnecessary and reckless.
But perhaps, you'd been wrong about him this whole time.
Kid tugged at your hands and pulled you into his embrace. Both of his big arms circled around you and his head perched on top of your head.
"God, you're such an idiot— I'm such an idiot. We're both idiots. I love you, okay? I love you so much. I may not show it, but I do. And every time you get hurt—every time I hurt you and see you still with me the next day, I feel like I don't deserve you. That you deserve better than me. I'm a bastard, I know. I'm—I'm sorry."
You've always thought that the name Eustass Kid and apologizing never belonged in the same sentence. He would never willingly bow his head to someone else, never thought that the day where he'd apologize to someone else would come.
But it did.
And he apologized to you .
"Wha—you don't have to apologize! It's not your fault—" You resisted vainly in his arms, stopping when he refuted your words.
"It is my fault. I should've held back—should've said sorry to you much earlier than this. I should've stopped myself from hurting you. I could have stopped myself. But I didn't."
You tried to say something— anything , but you were too focused on trying to hold back your tears.
"You can leave me if you want."
Your head snapped up, Kid let go of you and slightly leaned away from you.
"I'm not the best for you, I know. Every time I hurt you, I hurt myself too. But I can't even imagine how much pain it is for you."
Please don't leave me , you thought, desperate.
"I don't want to let you go, but if you want to leave me, you can. I won't fight against your decision."
" No! " You yelled at him, causing him to flinch back at your sudden outburst.
"I don't— I don't wanna leave you . I love you too, I love you so much—I don't even want to think of leaving you."
And it was true. Because despite all of the doubts I had, despite all of the sorrow, I never wanted to leave him, never thought of leaving him.
"You're not the best—but I don't care. I want you, I chose you. You're the one that I love. I love you and your stupid recklesness, you and your stupid hair , you and your strength—"
If it weren't for Kid suddenly tackling you to your bed, you might've gone off on a full on rant about the things you love about him.
"I love you so much. " He whispered into your hair.
Kid didn't say 'I love you' very often. He would always hesitate before saying it, the words making him feel embarrassed whenever he says it. But the way he said that without any hesitation today—multiple times, in fact, made you let out a small smile.
"I love you too."
And when you woke up in the morning—still in his embrace, you thought, we can fix this , before falling asleep once again in his arms.