Archive of Our Own

1.

Killer knows that ever since Kid lost his arm, he’s been struggling with doing basic things. It wasn’t like Kid would do a lot of chores anyways, but he could hardly do any with a whole missing arm. Of course, he had his metal one, although it still just wasn't quite right.

Nevertheless, he managed. It was almost amusing for Killer to see all the creative ideas Kid came up with. But the most enjoyable thing for Killer to watch Kid do is paint his nails. It should be an easy job for him, really, as he only had one hand to paint, therefore reducing half the job… Yet the hothead would get too frustrated with having to find ways to paint the nails of one hand while not having another one to use.

One of those times, Killer was sitting out on deck, simply lounging out with Heat and Wire, enjoying a beer in the comfortable silence.

He gave a content sigh as he took the last sip from his beer, before taking the straw out of his mask and setting the can down on a table next to him, making sure it didn't bump into the other few empty cans settled on the table which Heat and Wire who were sitting next to him had drank.

It was peaceful; an enjoyable silence as the three men gazed out at the sea, each in their own thoughts. Killer was enjoying it, tilting his head back while feeling the wind go in through the holes in his mask and clash against his warm breathe. The feeling was incredibly soothing, almost enough to make him close his eyes and doze off.

It was calm and perfect, almost too good to be true. Moments like these were rare, as usually Kid would be there to ruin the mood.

Usually Kid would be there.

At that thought, Killer immediately stiffened up, getting up and looking around the deck. He figured Kid was in the ship, but he still felt a bit worried. Sure, the redhead was a grown man and fully possible of being mature when needed, yet he still couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t see his boyfriend shouting at something random while making his usual commotion.

As the blonde got up and looked around, Heat gave him a questioning look, however he stayed quiet, taking another sip of his beer.

Killer sighed, feeling the need to explain but choosing not to do so. He turned in the direction of the ship, starting to walk away, as he explained shortly “I should get back on duty. Help yourself with the drinks.”

Wire, still facing forward, without even sparing a glance Killer’s way, nodded in acknowledgment. Heat, meanwhile, simply said “‘Kay, thanks.”

With a nod, Killer walked away from the two and over to the inside of the ship. He’d expected to hear some loud crashing noise which the deck was too far to hear it in, but he didn’t.

Continuing to walk closer to his and his boyfriend’s quarters, in the quiet ship, he could hear the faint sound of grumbling. Not specifically words, just noises and mutters under someone's breath.

Recognising the voice, Killer quickly reached his quarters and knocked on the door before creaking it open and peeking inside, calling out “Kid?”

Inside the room, Kid was sitting in his chair with nail paint everywhere on his hand and his metal one. He was holding the nail brush with the metal arm while attempting to put the paint on his nails, but he was missing every try and and failing miserably at getting any paint on his nails.

The cute sight almost made Killer give a soft chuckle, yet he digressed.

“What?” Kid scoffed at his boyfriend in the doorway, as even if the latter's expression was hidden he could sense him being amused.

“Are you trying to paint your nails?” Killer asked, taking a step in the room and closing the door behind him, earning a pout from the redhead.

Putting the nail polish down, he rolled his eyes at Killer, growling out an annoyed “Yes.”

With a shake of his mask covered head, Killer walked over to the desk and opened a drawer, taking out a bottle of acetone.

“You're painting your entire hand at this point. Be more careful.” He said as he handed the small bottle to the redhead.

Kid, of course, poured the acetone all over his hand and rubbed it with his metal one, making Killer flinch after hesitating for a second to take it, likely annoyed that his boyfriend was trying to help him.

“It’s a bit fuckin’ hard to paint your nails with one hand, y’know,” he scoffed.

“Kid, you-“ Killer sighed, but in the end decided not to comment on the idiotic move seeing that Kid’s skin was barely affected, only the red nail polish leaving it and attaching to the metal of his other hand. Instead, he said “I can see it is quite difficult. Do you need a hand?”

Kid scowled at the unintentional pun, that seemed to have pissed him off. “Need a hand my fucking ass! I can do it by myself.” He scoffed, getting up and starting to walk out of the room to hide the bit of embarrassed blush he had.

Killer smiled softly when Kid snapped at him, knowing the redhead didn’t want to be seen as unable to do something so basic as painting his nails. He simply walked after him, saying “Alright, alright. Let’s wash your hand; it must be burning.”

Looking down at his hand, Kid shrugged, his tone calming down as quickly as it flamed up. “Eh, it ain’t that bad. I’ll deal with it.” He said, shaking it before letting his arm flop back to his side. His tone was a bit disappointed though, and he leaned a bit Killer’s way, clearly wanting affection.

Holding in a soft chuckle, the blonde wrapped an arm around Kid who leaned his head on his shoulder. The two continued walking out, Kid still salty about his unpainted nails, though he couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend as he leaned into him.

2.

Killer was lying down in his bed, maskless, and trying to sleep. It has been a few hours since he and Kid went to bed, deciding to call it a day after the nail painting accident earlier that day, yet he was having trouble falling asleep.

It wasn't that he was having a bad dream or anything like that, but, no matter how long he kept his eyes closed, his conciousness wouldn't fade and he wouldn't fall asleep. It was almost infuriating how he just wouldn't manage to sleep.

He has been so used to sleeping next to the redhead even since they were children that he couldn't even remember the last time he needed to fall asleep alone.

He was sure he was with Kid next to him when he got into bed, seeing that cute little blush on the usually angry man as he closed his eyes... So why couldn't he feel the redhead's warmth next to him like he did every other time?

Eventually, he did reach out his arm to his boyfriend's spot on the bed just to reassure himself that the redhead was still there, yet he did not feel the warm torso he expected to be there. His eyes were still closed, just wanting to have the man next to him so he could snuggle up with him and fall asleep, safe in the other man's arms.

But, he didn't feel him there.

Finally opening his eyes, the blonde sat up straight and looked around for Kid with his sleepy gaze. Not seeing him next to him, which honestly shouldn't have been a surprise by now.

He turned his view to around the room until his gaze slowly found a small, dim light coming from next to where Kid was, the redhead's back facing him.

With a sigh, he got up and started approaching the redhead who seemed not to have noticed he was awake. For Kid not to get distracted by little things must be a miracle- what was he so focused about, he pondered silently.

Taking slow, tired steps closer, Killer attempted to look over his boyfriend's shoulder to see what he was so occupide with. It must be something important, for him to get up in the middle of the night like that- or, what time even was it that the redhead was so quite anyways? He was so confused.

Finally, the blonde got close enough to see Kid was hunched over, leaning onto a desk with his elbow, his grumbling so soft it was barely heard. The curses he was muttering were so incoherent that Killer was sure he had something in his mouth, and it looked like it too.

Something small though, like he was holding it...?

Upon closer inspection, Killer leaned over his boyfriend's shoulder and was able to see the latter's hand. The hand which was covered in something thick and red, making for a terrifying sight to the still very much half asleep blonde.

He quickly grabbed the redhead's hand, bringing it closer to his unmasked face, trying to figure who hurt him.

But, this didn't look like blood.

No... not really, it was far too vibrant...

Killer sighed.

Nail Polish.

Kid flinched as his boyfriend took his hand, dropping the brush in his mouth as his cheeks flushed bright pink at being caught red-handed... Quite literally.

Snatching his hand back with a scoff, he whisper-yelled "Kil'! You'll get it smudged up!" As if the nail paint wasn't already all over his fingers with some even draping down to the rest of his palm, a single drop skipping past his wrist.

"What are you even doing, up at this hour, painting your nails?" Killer asked instead, letting the hotheaded man's hand down.

Kid, not looking too pleased to answer, looked away and begrudgingly admitted “…Tryna avoid ya wantin’ to paint ‘em for me…” with a roll of his eyes.

"Of course," Killer sighed, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes, remembering his mask was off and so if he did, the other would see it.

”You know I can still help you, right? There's no shame in asking for some help, especially in something as simple as this."

With a scoff, Kid put his hand on his hip, effectively covering his shirt with most of the nail paint which hasn't dried yet.

"I don't need help, Kil', m'fully capable by myself, thank ya very much."

Killer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Kid," He started but quickly shut up, deciding not to scold his boyfriend at this hour of the night. Not much good would come out of it, anyway. Instead, he grunted out "...Fine, let's get your hand cleaned,"

Shifting his gaze from his hand to Killer's face a few times, Kid begrudgingly nodded, getting up and stretching his hand over to the blonde with a reluctant "...Ugh. Fine, whatever..."

Not saying anything more and letting a silence sink in, Killer started walking toward the bathroom, facing forwards to hide the soft smile he had at the redhead's cuteness.

He walked over to the bathroom they had in their quarters, one that he remembered Kid insisting they have just for the two of them and built by himself. The blonde held the door open for Kid who walked in, raising an eyebrow at the held-open door, but entering quietly.

It's been quite a while since Killer tried to be gentleman-ly to Kid, mayhaps he should do it more often. However, he quickly shook out of his thoughts as he entered right after Kid and walked him over to the sink, starting the water and moving Kid's hand right under where it poured.

Killer started rubbing the redhead's palm, letting the water wash down and take away the nail polish along with it. Luckily for him, very little of it has dried, so it shouldn't be too hard to get the red off.

It wasn't the first time the blonde saw his boyfriend with his hands stained with red, sure, even though usually it was quite literally the dried blood of his enemies instead of nail polish. It was almost funny to Killer, honestly, even if he still wouldn't express that.

Standing right behind Kid as he washed his hand, Killer couldn't exactly see the redhead's face, however if he tilted his head a bit he could swear he saw a a small blush on his face.

The blonde's gaze went up Kid's cheeks and onto his eyes, their eyes catching for a second, before Kid looked away with a loud click of his tongue and a much more vibrant blush.

Holding back a soft chuckle, Killer looked back down at Kid's hand as he finished washing most of the red off, before grabbing a towel and wiping the other's hand dry. His touch was gentle and soft, trying to give Kid the feel he was delicate and being handled with care, which he was.

Kid sighed, seemingly contemplating something. He then looked down at his hand for a moment, before mumbling something softly.

"Thanks,"

The blonde gave a soft smile, almost accompanied by a chuckle at how cute the other man was acting.

“You're welcome.”

Kid’s face blushed harder and he turned away with a scoff, flapping the towel off of his hand. He then turned to the door and took a step before returning his gaze onto Killer.

The redhead’s face was still flushed, but he said “Whatever, yeah. Can we go back to bed now?”

Killer gave a soft nod, saying “Yeah, we should.” Before joining Kid in walking back into their room while matching his pace, wrapping an arm around him.

Kid’s face flushed more as he felt a hand around him but he just sighed, giving a soft smile as he leaned his head on Killer’s shoulder, closing his eyes as they walked and trusting the blonde not to let him trip.

Not being able to resist one last flirt, Killer kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head, before looking forward again.

Kid simply yawned out an ”Ugh,” and leaned closer to Killer, who happily tightened his grip in return.

3.

Killer was standing in the kitchen of the Victory Punk while making spaghetti, wanting to surprise Kid with an early lunch.

He knows the redhead was likely exhausted from having just fought another crew hours ago, successfully of course, so he figured it wouldn't  hurt to give his boyfriend some extra food. For the energy, of course, definately not to just see his cute little greatful smile.

And besides- it never hurt Kid to have some extra energy to wear out eventually.

After taking some of the spaghetti out of the pot he made it in, the blonde poured it on a plate, sliding a fork in it before deciding it was ready.

It's been a rather peaceful time since the battle, and so he figured Kid got tired and decided to rest for once in his life. Although, he should have known better; Kid and resting are two things that would never collide.

As Killer started to walk towards their quarters, a soft sigh escaped him as he thought again of the last few times the ship was this quiet. It was only midday; usually, everyone was loud and having fun on deck.

But, right now at least, Kid wasn't.

Whenever Kid was quiet, he was up to something, and if he was up to something he had probably messed up his nails.

With a soft shake of his mask-covered head, Killer tried to push the thought aside, but it was so quiet that he had nothing else to focus on.

And still, his boyfriend could just be like that sometimes.

He played with the plate in his hand, swaying it from side it side but not enough for the spaghetti to fall off and fiddling around with the fork as he thought about what Kid might be doing.

Finally, After a few more moments, he reached their quarters and opened the door. He didn’t even bother to knock this time, making Kid know it was him who came in. No one else would dare just barge into the captain’s room, and Killer knew that only he could do so with no consequences.

As expected, there he saw his boyfriend sitting on their bed, his hand covered in dried blood which he tried to scrape off with a wet towel and his metal hand, trying to shape it to make it look like nail paint.

Yet, as soon as his door was opened, Kid immediatly hid his hand. And he scoffed when seeing the spaggheti.

“What do you want?” Kid asked, visibly annoyed as his boyfriend walked closer towards him with the plate in his hand.

Killer sighed, shaking his head softly at seeing Kid’s hand. He made a gesture to the redhead’s hand, asking “What are you doing?”

Rolling his eyes, the redhead didn’t respond, letting Killer figure it out on his own as he continued scrubbing the dried blood.

It was honestly silly how Kid was shaping the dried blood at this point; quite literally scrapping it into his nails and trying to make it look neat.

“So you’re painting your nails with blood?” The blonde mused.

Kid rolled his eyes in agreement, scooting to the side a bit, silently inviting Killer to sit next to him as he explained “Nail paint’s annoyin’… figured this’ll work. ‘Ts cheaper n' shit, anyways.”

Holding back a soft chuckle, Killer nodded, sitting down on bed next to the redhead and placing the plate of spaghetti in front of him, a silent reminder for him to eat.

Glancing down at the plate, then at Killer, Kid sighed. It seemed he knew that Killer was aware he was hungry but wasn’t going to admit it, and was just waiting for him to crack.

However, even if the redhead did want to dig in the spaghetti and give his boyfriend a big thank you kiss under his mask for it, he couldn't deny that it felt kind of weird to eat something with dried blood on your fingers.

Not embarrassment, no, just a little... grossed out.

Kid scoffed softly, clearly not wanting to admit defeat and go wash off the 'nail paint' he's worked so hard to get into shape, but Killer wasn't going to budge.

When Kid just stared down at his hand, a pout starting to spread on his face, Killer took his hand in his and started rubbing the blood off.

At the gesture, Kid was a bit startled, and so he stiffened up, before quickly slumping down again as he realised his boyfriend wasn't going to give up.

Killer even nudged his mask off to get some spit on his thumb, before rubbing it against the nails of the redhead's fingers, trying to get the blood off. It wasn't the first time he had to wipe some blood off of Kid, and likely not the last time either. However, that's just how it was, and he was happy with it.

After a bit, Killer finally let go of Kid's hand, after making sure it was all cleaned up. He stayed silent; simply smiling softly underneath his hand.

Once his hand was released, Kid shook it, before rubbing it on his pants. He should probably still wash it, sure, although another glance at the plate of spaghetti told the both of them that Kid would rather lose another arm than take another minute before eating.

Rolling his eyes under the mask which also shielded his soft smile from his boyfriend's gaze, Killer took the plate of spaghetti and took the honour of shoving it into Kid's hand, with a simple command.

"Eat."

Kid grumbled softly as he took the plate, not bothering to use neither the fork or his metal hand, as he just shoved his face into the food and started eating the spagghetti.

The action made Killer flinch a bit, seeing the redhead eat like a pig and get his makeup all dirtied up with spaghetti and meatballs.

Even so, he couldn't stop the snort escaping him as his boyfriend looked up from the plate and gave a wide, spagghetti-covered grin at him before getting right back to munching on the food, even giving a soft moan of pleasure from how good it tasted to him.

Killer wanted to show his own smile back, and he decided he will. With a swift motion, he took off his mask and threw it at the door hard enough for it to slam shut, before giving a soft laugh that he'd been holding in for long.

To him, that laugh sounded ugly, rough, and irritating. He hated it, he hated hearing it, and he hated the fact that he, as Kid's boyfriend, couldn't have a better laugh; something sweet and calm, something soothing.

However, as Kid heard the door slamming and the broken laugh from the blonde, he gave a soft sigh and leaned his head on Killer's shoulder with his own lighthearted laugh.

Even with his face being buried in the pasta, it was clear he loved that laugh. And god, he loved that man.

4.

Killer yawned as he walked onto the deck of the ship, looking for his boyfriend. He woke up not too long ago and immediately went to prepare food, so he was still pretty tired.

He remembered how that morning he expected breakfast to be as usual, yet instead of eating with the whole crew like Killer did, Kid, Heat and Wire each took a plate of food and ran out to the deck to continue a project they've been working on all night.

It was a little weird to Killer, but he needed to talk with the captain anyway, so he figured he might as well check out what they were doing.

He was having a nice, calm day, not expecting much from it. The crew keeps getting into reckless accidents left and right, being a crew with two supernovas on it, but today was actually rather calm. Killer hummed. He wondered what could ruin this day. -probably would be Kid.

And that's kind of what he was expecting; Kid did something reckless again, now they have to fix something or beat up a bunch of guys. That was what he thought he would see when he walked on deck, or at least along the lines of a pile of dead bodies, blood everywhere, and his boyfriend along with Heat and Wire beating people up over little reason.

What he did not expect, however, was a giant box the size of the captain's quarters in the middle of deck.

"What the actual..." Killer started, mumbling in both confusion and awe as he stared down the giant metal box, seeing all the wires and gears popping out of it and simultaneously breaking or falling, as the machine was clearly in the process of being built.

Before Killer could even finish that thought, though, he was pulled away from the box, right as a gear fell next to him. It still wouldn't have hit him, of course, but better safe than sorry he guessed, and the person who tugged at him would probably agree with that.

"Oi, Killer, you can't just stand there when we're building. Somethin's gonna fall on ya." Heat said, his voice not scolding but more just casual.

"That was too far to hit me anyways," Killer sighed, but he took a few steps back before looking over the giant machine once again.

His eyes traveled over the wires, pipes, gears, and all sorts of metal beams all connected in it. If he squinted his eyes under his mask, he swore he could see it moving a bit. "Why should I be careful from... it, whatever that is?" He questioned.

Heat smiled more now, stepping in front of the blonde as he presented the machine aloud, gaining the attention of Wire and Kid who's heads quickly appeared, peeking from behind the machine.

The blue-haired man than went on to explain to Killer "This is somethin' we're building, when you get inside it you'll be able to see that it's got a small place to put your hand in it, n' it'll perfectly give you both a manicure and a pedicur, colour and polish your nails, everythin'. It's a design we made based on the electric signals traveling through piples, giving notions for every little thing to..."

The blonde than went on to listen to Heat ramble on about it for what he could only assume was about 15 straight minutes of just standing there and listening to him speak, before Heat ran out of breath and stopped for a moment. The blonde took the opportunity, glancing aside while nodding, noticing Kid and Wire working on another part of the machine.

He certainly wanted to tease the redhead about him going through all of this effort just to build a giant machine for a very small task which he could just ask someone to do for him or make it smaller, yet of course, Kid wanted to flex his building skills.

The blonde gave a soft sigh, not wanting to be rude to Heat, but going over to where his boyfriend and Wire were working, the fire breathing man following along.

When he saw the other two, Wire was fixing something on the side and Kid had to lean over inside of the metal box just a bit, giving Killer a perfect shot of the redhead's ass which only he was entitled to.

Deciding to tease his boyfriend just a little bit, Killer put his hand on his hip and tilted his head to the side a bit, clearly staring.

Heat and Wire exchanged glances, along with a chuckle and roll of their eyes perspective as they noticed where Killer’s mask was facing, but they stayed quiet, wanting to watch the show.

Kid, just then, glanced over at the blonde, immediately catching on and stiffening up, yelling “Oi, Killer!” In an angrily flustered tone as he went over to try and hit him on his head.

The blonde suppressed a laugh and stopped Kid’s hand before his fist hit him, giving a playful ruffle to his head. “What’s wrong, can’t I look?” He teased softly.

Kid snatched his hand away, crossing his arm wirh his metal one as he grumbled “Shut it.." with a small pout.

With a sigh, Killer shook his head playfully, although he did glance down at Kid’s hand and noticed that his nails weren’t painted. With the explanation Heat offered earlier which he half listened to, he figured that this huge machine was for the little task of painting Kid’s nails.

“Is that… box, really for painting your nails?” Killer asked, continuing his trail of thought aloud, knowing Kid would catch on.

”Yeah, tt is.” Kid said with a shrug, his frustrated demeanour vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "It's gonna be my biggest project yet, y’know? Except the Victoria Punk itself. It’s awesome, it’ll have a buncha features like-“ “Yeah, I know, Heat told me,” Killer cut Kid off.

Kid rolled his eyes but quickly let it go, as he instead said “So anyways, yeah, we’re makin’ that. It’ll take a bit, but I’ll get it eventually.” He put his hands on his hips, grinning contently up at the less than half built machine.

"You know that you can just ask someone to paint your nails for you, instead of taking the time and effort into building this overly complicated machine, right?" Killer said, suppressing a chuckle.

Kid rolled his eyes at the comment, saying "Yeah, yeah, sure, but-"

It is both a lot more efficient and enjoyable to build this machine instead of asking someone to paint Captain's nails," Wire said, cutting Kid off, "And regardless of that, it is also more impressive."

At being cut off, Kid scowled, about to yell when Heat took the chance of silence to add in "N' also, by building a machine like this we getta show off the fact we built it!" He exclaimed.

Killer sighed fondly, smiling under his mask. "Wouldn't it get repetitive and difficult? You three should take a break, if you've been at this since morning."

"Well, we-" Kid tried to speak but got cut off again.

"You’re probably right, we should take a break,” Heat said as he ran a sweaty hand through his hair, “Do we got any food? M'gettin’ hungry.”

With getting interrupted over and over again, Kid lost it, and yelled “Dude, stop fuckin' cuttin' me off! I swear to god- “Yeah, we have some lemonade out on the counter, too. Help yourselves.” Killer said, innerspring Kid again.

“Lemme fuckin' speak god damn it!” Kid shouted, preparing his fist to send a punch to the blonde. Yet, before he could hit, Killer caught his hand with a sigh.

Killer still smiled softly at his boyfriend, saying “You’re cute when you’re angry, you know?” As he intertwined his fingers with the hotheaded-man’s.

Kid scoffed at that, though his expression softened as the blonde took his hand. He rolled his eyes, saying “Whatever…” Before smiling again, tightening his grip on Killer’s hand and starting to walk off, pulling him along.

Following the redhead, Killer asked “Huh- what’s with the sudden lift in mood?”

“Nothin’. You said we’re takin’ a break, right? Well,  m'taking ya with me.” Kid stated simply with a soft snicker.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Killer asked, raising an eyebrow under his mask.

With a small scoff, in a quieter voice, Kid said “Well, y’know,”

“I really don’t.”

Kid rolled his eyes softly, even pouting at the process. Although, his actions were somewhat playful, proven more by his next words.

“…Cuddles,”

5.

Killer gave a long yawn as he walked towards his and his boyfriend's quarters, feeling tired after he and the crew just had dinner.

Kid had, of course, finished eating first, having licked his plate clean by the time Killer got to his first bite. He'd always eat everything quickly until he was stuffed, not letting a single piece of spaghetti go to waste, and it was clear it was to show appreciation for the blonde's cooking.

Killer smiled softly at that thought, already picturing how tight he'll hold Kid as they go to sleep, just wanting to plop down on the bed and pass out in his boyfriend's arms already. The eagerness was real, even if no one walking past him in the ship's halls could see it.

Finally reaching his room, Killer opened the door, instinctively starting to take off his mask, when he suddenly felt it get shoved back down on his head with a yell of "Wait- stop!"

Shaking his head in confusion as he adjusted his helmet after feeling it get smacked back down on his head, the blonde gazed up to see Kid's hand leaving the helmet, leaving a huge stain of red there. He sighed, seeing Kid's fingers covered in red nail paint, with Heat and Wire behind him looking guilty and sheepish respectively.

In an annoyed tone, Killer asked "What did you do this time?" While gesturing to the redhead's hand.

"Well," Kid started, although he stopped himself with a sigh, rolling his eyes as he gestured to a piece of metal floating in the air with a nail paint brush coming out from it, also covered in red, which was spilling on the floor. He showed it to his boyfriend, half apologetically and half proud of himself from coming up with the idea.

Killer shook his head again, unsure of what to say except an annoyed "Seriously?" As he saw Heat and Wire quickly excuse themselves to Kid as they left the room.

"Yeah, seriously," Kid rolled his eyes playfully, rubbing the paint from his hand on his pants, which earned a scoff from the blonde who knew he'd have to clean that later.

"You know you could always just let one of us paint your nails for you instead of coming up with all these weird ideas that never work," Killer said, trying to offer help. He never understoodd why the redhead wouldn't ever let someone else help him with his nails, but he didn't have much to say as he'd get dismissed most times.

Rolling his eyes again, Kid scoffed, explaining "'Course I can't, I don't gotta. M'fucking capable by myself, thank ya very much." He insisted, waving the hunk of metal with nail paint around to show the blonde, but just staining every one and thing in the room with splashes of red.

"Oi, stop that," Killer sighed, grabbing Kid's wrist to stop him from flying the paint everywhere. "And no you aren't, which is clearly proven by how you still haven't managed to get your nails painted alone. There's no shame in letting me help."

Kid scoffed, pulling his hand back and letting the piece of painted metal to fall on the floor. "Whatever.." He simply grumbled, walking toward his and his boyfriend's bed with no further elaboration.

As the redhead let himself fall down face-first on the bed, he sighed, sitting up to look back at the blonde as he said "Anyways, I just won't wear nail paint. No big deal, it's just not doin' some shit to ma hand, it'll only be better."

Killer sighed, wanting to say something about giving up not being the right answer, but not going to argue with the hothead any longer. He closed the door shut with his leg before taking off his mask, looking at the massive red stain on the top of it that Kid's hand left. He rolled his eyes, tossing it over in the general direction of the trash can in their room.

He then looked back at Kid, considering whether or not to go and ask if something, or if he should quietly get into bed and go to sleep. Nevertheless, he chose not to just leave the redhead like that without him getting his usual comfort, instead calling out "Hey, Kid, I'm sorry,"

The redhead sighed, glancing over to Killer before away again. He gave a soft "Mm," As he, still facing away, started leaning in the general direction of Killer, who quickly took the chance and sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around him.

Kid sighed softly, leaning his side into Killer's front with his cheek pressing against the blonde's chest. He glanced up at him, offering a smile, which Killer quickly matched. He snuggled into the blonde a little bit, before giving another soft sigh, and saying "It's just... y'know. Annoying."

"I get it, but you know you can always just ask for help, right? It doesn't make you weak to ask someone to paint your nails you know." Killer reminded his boyfriend, wrapping one arm around him and storing his red locks with the other.

 6.

Killer was sitting in his quarters, reviewing some maps he wanted to present to the crew's navigator in order to plan to which island the crew should go to next.

It has been quite a while since one of his boyfriend's shenanigans regarding his nails being painted happened, and so he could work peacefully with no worries of the redhead trying another stupid idea any time soon.

He was expecting a nice, quiet day, like the recent last ones have been. And even if not, that would be fine, as he’d just have to deal with another one of his captain’s complex ideas to do a simple task such as getting his nails painted.

Whatever the day was going to be, he expected it to be a normal day of just planning the crew’s next adventure, or at least one as normal as a day on the Victoria Punk could be.

Though, the blonde was snapped out of his thoughts when the door to his quarters opened and Kid stood there, looking annoyed, or even… embarrassed..? Not that it was new to see Kid annoyed at something with a pink flush covering his cheeks, but Killer didn't understand what could be the reason.

Nevertheless, the blonde greeted his boyfriend, saying "Hello, Kid."

"Hey." Kid answered roughly, his tone annoyed, as expected by the light scowl on his face as he walked inside. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't, which made Killer raise a mask covered eyebrow

Getting straight to the point, Killer asked "What's on your mind?" As he set the papers in his hand down, starting to get up.

"N-No, wait," Kid quickly said, getting over to Killer and gently push him back down to his seat by his shoulder right after he slammed the door shut behind him.

Kid's action only made Killer more confused, yet he obliged, sitting down and crossing his legs. "Alright," He said, moving on. "But, what's the matter? You're acting strange." He pointed out, as he put his own hand on the redhead's hand which was resting on his shoulder.

"I, um, y'know." Kid gave a light scoff, as if annoyed by his own inability to express what he wanted. "Just- do that, do the thing."

"...The... 'thing'?"

"C'mon, y'know, the thing!" The redhead was sounding a bit more annoyed now, cursing the fact that Killer couldn't just read his mind and save him the embarrassment.

Quickly calming down his tone, Kid sighed, adding in a quieter tone "Y'know, just.. Help me with something. The thing."

Killer nodded, still having no idea what the redhead was talking about. By the other man's body language, he could see he was feeling nervous, and while that was likely dute to Kid asking for help which he never does, he was still struggling understanding what his boyfriend needed when he was being this vauge.

"Alright," The blonde sighed, shooting a glance over at the door to make sure it was closed before sliding off his mask. "What is this 'thing' you need help with, Kid?"

Although Kid hesitated, once he saw Killer's eyes, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep trying to avoid it. He looked away slightly, taking his hand back to rub the back of his head as he begrudingly muttered out "...Painting my nails..."

"Ah, I thought it was something serious, Faffaffaffa."

Killer couldn't help but chuckle at his boyfriend, finding the awkwardness from his side extremely endearing. It was only cuter that the other man's cheeks flushed red at the chuckle.

With a scoff, Kid yelled "C'mon, don't give me that shit! Just- just help me already, damn it,"

He knew he shouldn't, but Killer couldn't help himself from saying "Sorry, sorry, you're just too adorable when you're flustered. I'll help you."

Kid let out a little huff at being called adorable and put his hand on his hip, yet stayed silent at the teasing. Of course, usually he wouldn't let anyone even think about treating him like that... But this was Killer, his boyfriend, his partner. A little teasing was fine, and he couldn't deny that the blonde was rather cute himself when he complimented him.

Taking the silence as an agreement, Killer slowly stood up from his chair, before taking Kid's hand and examening it. It was clear that he was very unsuccessful in his past few attempts at applying nail paint, as the only remains of it were little scraps of red along his fingernails and hand. However, it just might be dried blood from fights he didn't bother cleaning.

After a few more moments, Killer gave a quick nod, before interwining the fingers of Kid's hand with his own. He didn't find a need to say anything as he went over to open a drawer in which he knew Kid had his nail care equipment, letting the comfortable silence sink in as he simply squeezed his boyfriend's hand softly.

Kid couldn't help but smile when the blonde took his hand, even if it was a flustered and shy smile. He went along with him, waiting as Killer took out the nail paint with a patience even he was surprised he had.

The blonde didn't even bother seating Kid down before starting to apply the nail paint, carefully holding his hand as he did. He stayed silent at first, giving his boyfriend the time he needed to calm down his blush.

"Nice weather we're having, isn't it?"

"Is that seriously the best you can do?" Kid scoffed in an unamused tone.

"If you have a better idea for conversation, I'm all ears." Killer simply said with a shrug. And indeed, Kid did not have a better topic. What would they even talk about in a situation like this?

Although, soon enough Killer broke the silence again, by saying "I'm glad you came to me. For help, that is."

"Oh whatever, don't make a big deal out of it."

"Why not? It's nice to see a small change... Accepting the fact you need help. It's oddly mature of you."

Kid blushed a bit again, though simply sighed it off. "Don't give me that... It ain't nothin' special, I just... can't paint these damn nails, they're broken or somethin'."

It was no secret that the blonde loved his boyfriend's cute little blush, and he even paused the nail painting to look at the other's face, watching as his blush doubled. He then hummed "I know, I know. But still. It's very cute how you blush when I say how mature you're acting, you know?"

"It ain't such a big deal!" Kid scoffed. "Ya ain't my mum, Kil', I just asked for some help with these shitty nails."

"I'm not your mother, but I am your boyfriend, Kid."

"I still love you."

To this, Kid had nothing to say. What could he even do as a response to that besides stand there and let the blonde finish painting his nails, watching the brush delicately coat his fingernails with a deep shade of red, the one that Killer knew was his favourite colour. He didn't trust himself to look anywhere else, fearing having Killer's eyes lock with his own.

After a bit, Killer finished coating the redhead's nails with the paint, before blowing on them just a bit to help the pain settle before bringing the hand up to his face and placing a kiss on the back of it. He smiled at Kid.

"...Thanks," Kid muttered as he took his hand back, however, he didn't snatch it back like he usually would. He took his time, enjoying Killer's touch as it lasted.

The two man then glanced at each other in awkward silence, clearly each wanting to say something but not knowing what to.

It didn't take long for Kid to give in and lean forward until his head crashed into Killer's torso while wrapping his arm around his waist; as much as he didn't like getting teased, it was better than the awkward silence. Besides, why just stand there when he can embrace his boyfriend.

"Faffaffaffa, you're adorable."

Killer wrapped his arm around Kid and pulled him closer, pressing their foreheads together as he let that deep, hoarse chuckle leave him. He hated that laugh, he hated his voice, and he hated the fact that he couldn't have a prettier laugh for his boyfriend. But, Kid loved it.

Kid sighed, letting a soft smile take over his expression as he snuggled up into the blonde. He looked into those deep, lovely blue eyes, before closing his own.

"I love you too, Kil'."