Chapter Text
Whitebeard grumbled under his breath as he made his way through the back alleyways of the city.
It was strange to feel so small, the buildings looming over him. Not that he was normally bigger than a building but they weren't usually this tall either.
He grimaced at the reminder.
Marco's lecturing voice echoed in his mind. This is what you get for being so careless, yoi!
Who would have thought the most laid-back son he had by far would have grown into such a worrywart? It was like his twenties and the new role of First Division Commander had turned Marco into a mother hen, constantly plucking at people.
Although, Edward had to admit to himself, maybe this time he wasn't that far off .
There had been a fight, nothing serious, the enemies were small fry. Edward had perhaps been just a little reckless, mowing them down with impunity. When he'd seen a shiny ball thrown at him, it was thoughtless instinct that made him catch it, intent on lobbing it back.
Instead, he'd suddenly started shrinking, the ground seeming like it was rising up to meet him. Edward had been so startled that an enemy was able to close enough to make a swipe at him. It was an easily avoidable attack and he'd been able to dodge it but half of his mustache hadn't been so lucky.
By the end of it, Edward had found himself shrunken down to a measly inch taller than Marco and the devil fruit user had gotten away. The thing he was most upset about was the fact he'd had to shave off his mustache. He was completely unrecognizable now—short (to him, although Marco bristled when he complained about it) and lacking his trademark.
And to top it all off, it was a few weeks later and they still weren’t any closer to finding the user in order to change him back.
Edward had begged off when they'd gotten to this island, wanting to escape the constant nagging of Marco and the pitying looks of the rest of his sons. He was getting a bit irritated by all the attention, he knew. So he left the search to the sons better suited for the job and started wandering the city.
It wasn't really helping his mood but then again, nothing was by this point. Even alcohol tasted bitter.
His thoughts were broken by loud sniffling. Blinking with surprise, he turned a corner to see a woman with her hand braced against the bricks of the building, head bowed as she slowly walked, awkwardly carrying some bags, sounding almost like she was crying.
"Hello? You okay?" Edward asked with concern, coming closer. Immediately the woman's head shot up, and he was startled to see her eyes completely covered with bandages. He hadn't noticed at first with her head down.
"Please!" she said, tan face flushed a bright red. "Can you help me??" Her voice was high-pitched with anxiety. The woman dropped her bags and took a step towards him, hands stretched out, searching.
Immediately Edward reached back and the moment their hands brushed she launched herself at him, grabbing around his waist and sobbing into his chest.
"Whoa," he said, trying to draw back a step but she wailed.
"Don't leave, please !" her voice was desperate, cracking at the end.
Feeling a touch awkward, Edward rubbed at her shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing manner.
"There, there," he said softly. "What's the matter?"
The woman shook her head and attempted to talk but it came out in a stuttery, choked-up watery mess that he couldn't understand.
"Just let it out, you're fine," Edward ordered, moving his hand to pat her back. "You're fine. There's no rush."
They stood there for several minutes, Edward staring at the wall opposite as he idly stroked the mystery woman's back while she cried into his chest. Once her cries had died down into hiccups, he put his hands around the back of her arms and drew her back a few inches. She reached out to grab onto the front of his green shirt and he let her.
"Now then, what's all the fuss about?" he asked gently.
"I'm so sorry," she said immediately. There were no tears on her cheeks but her nose was runny and cherry red. She rubbed it on the back of her hand. "I'm just really scared. My friends—they left me after grocery shopping and directed me on the way home but I got lost and I can't find my way and no one was around..."
Edward scoffed. "Some friends then. Come on, let's get you home." He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his shirt. She let go reluctantly but switched her hold to his forearm and he allowed that. Together they walked to her pile of discarded grocery bags and he bent to pick them up.
Some items had spilled out and he put them back. "Seems like a lot for one person," he muttered carelessly, without thinking. He had seen the way she struggled to carry it all before, she shouldn't have gotten so much in one trip.
She bent down with him, one hand still gripping his forearm as she reached out with the other as if to help, hand searching the ground.
"I was expecting them to help me carry everything home," she answered, sounding embarrassed.
Anger flashed but Edward pressed it down. "Assholes," he muttered darkly. "That's fine. We'll get you back, what's your address?"
She opened her mouth but was interrupted by her stomach growling loudly. Gasping, she covered her mouth with embarrassment as Edward roared with laughter.
"Didn't eat, huh?" he asked with a smirk that she couldn't see but he was sure she could hear it in his voice. He straightened and she stood as well, looking tiny next to him. Even in his smaller frame, she only came up to his chest, and barely at that. "Name's Edward, by the way."
"Bee," she said with a pout. "I thought we were going to lunch but..." Bee sighed with defeat.
"Your friends suck, let's get some food."