Work Text:
It was still early into the night when she'd slipped away. A bout of melancholy catching her with the first wave of tipsiness.
How did we get here? Delly thought sombrely.
They'd all been friends for years, but after each party, get together, and celebration, it became more and more obvious they were all idiots.
Honestly she couldn't remember a time she hadn't been completely enamored with Mihawk, so she supposed, she was the first idiot. The first to fall, the longest to stay.
Mihawk had never really addressed her feelings and for a while she'd hoped he might return them.
Then Shanks brought Liya to a gathering.
Mihawk was never the type to trample after a woman like an excited puppy, but she'd been friends with him for so long, any deviation from his normal behaviour were like earthquakes in her little world. He lingered at Liya's side, his eyes sought her out more often then others and the final nail in the coffin had been the day he'd smiled at her.
Delly had wanted to walk into the ocean that day. Was that overly dramatic? Yes, embarrassingly, tragically, humiliating so. But so was the way her chest had clenched so painfully that breathing felt laborious.
Had she been younger she probably would have resented Liya.
Her beauty would have made it easy too. Liya's long blonde tresses had at times made her brown waves feel boring and unruly, her own sea foam eyes sometimes felt dull and lifeless when compared to Liya's bright sky blue ones.
Not that she wasn't confident in her self, but realizing someone you longed for, loved another had a way of putting a very vulnerable mirror in front of you.
Liya was kind too. The type of kind that would probably get her in trouble in worse company.
Resenting the woman was impossible.
After all, she saw the way Liya looked at Shanks. She could almost feel the way Liya's heart stuttered when the red head looked her way.
Like he personally hauled the sun into the sky each morning and brought life and warmth to the world. It was hard not to enjoy Shanks company, even if he wasn't really your type. He had a way of making people feel important, heard.
After so many years of watching the emotional control of Mihawk's stoic demeanor, Shanks could feel somewhat deceptively open. His jovial nature and openness felt loud and chaotic.
From the docks, where she'd snuck away from Shanks searching eyes, she could hear the party carry on without her. The booze and gentle rocking of her ship made looking at the stars feel hypnotic and peaceful.
"You okay Miss Delly?"
"Beckman, you sneaky... You scared the hell out of me!" Delly exclaimed willing her heartbeat to slow. "To answer your question, yes, I'm fine. I'm... fine." She finished lamely.
Beckman hummed in acknowledgment.
"You know don't you?" Delly asked flatly.
Thankfully he didn't try to feign ignorance, spared her the shame of attempting to explain, he simply chuckled. "I think the whole ship knows. Bit hard not to when you all get together. Miss Liya I understand, she's a romantic idealist, but the rest of you..." There was a huff of amused incredulity.
"Pathetic lot aren't we." The silence carried on and it made Delly itch.
"Say it Benn, I can hear you thinking."
He chuckled. "If you want something to change, it'll have to be you. No one else is going to budge. Liya has stars in her eyes that won't let her consider other possibilities, namely Mihawk, and him well, you know Mihawk better than most."
She did, he'd rather be alone than be so disrespectful as to treat her like a consolation prize.
"And the Captain, if he thinks patience might get him what he wants, you'd be surprised how content he is to simply wait." Beckman smiled. "You though, You're practical and not patient enough for the long game. It's gotta be you."
"No pressure."
"None from me. The Captain though? He's just spotted us."
"Well." Delly grumbled. "Couldn't hide forever, at least not from him. Thanks for the talk Benn, it was... enlightening."
Several drinks and a couple hours later the four of them had congregated at a table. She'd tried moving around the party, but every move had Shanks trailing after her and where Shanks wandered Liya was soon behind. Eventually booze and pettiness had brought her to Mihawk's table. After all, if she had to suffer through this why shouldn't he?
Which led her here, staring into her tankard. Looking to her right gave her full opportunity to stare pathetically at Mihawk, like she needed a chance to look more pitiful on that front and looking left would encourage Shanks and that made her heart ache for Liya.
We're grown adults for crying out loud, this is ridiculous. Delly thought, losing track of the conversation around her once more. I could just run away. Is it even running away if you're a fully autonomous adult? Where would I even go?
"Del, Delly?" Liya smiled from across the table.
"Sorry Ly, I was somewhere else for a second there, what did you say?"
"I asked where you were headed after this?"
"You know, I think I might go home." Delly told her thoughtfully, back to staring at her tankard.
"Home?"
She looked up to find she had the tables attention. Which was probably fair considering she'd never spoken of home before. It wasn't anything earth shattering, she just didn't have anyone left and didn't want to dwell on it.
"Yeah, there's this kind of pilgrimage that my people do. It's supposed to... bring clarity? I suppose. Most of my people do it when they come of age, try to work out their future I guess. I always thought it was kind of silly, but then I knew where I was headed. Now though? Not so much, I figure a year walking through the gardens might not be so bad."
"A year of walking through gardens?" Liya seemed rapt. "Is that what you do on the pilgrimage?"
"More or less. There's a island off the west coast of the main village, it's comprised of fifty two ever-blooming gardens. You stay a week in each, using your time to explore and discover the flowers, on the last day of the week you pick the flowers that speak to you most and move on to the next garden. At the end of the year you hand your basket to the matriarch, when I was there last it was Mother Evening, and they tell you about your selections. It's all up to you from there."
"That sounds lovely." Liya sighed wistfully.
An idea bloomed and Delly grinned.
"You should come with me."
Liya looked to Shanks and Delly moved her tankard in her line of sight. "Don't look at him, you don't need his permission, besides he's got an entire crew he's responsible for. You and I? We're free and what better way to celebrate our freedom then by spending a year in some of the most gorgeous plant life this world has to offer. We can take a couple barrels get absolutely hammered and lay in the hot springs, and the best part? It'll just be us girls, we can leave these cursed bustiers on the boat!"
There was some minor choking noises coming form either side but she ignored it as she grabbed Liya's hand.
"Come on, Liya." Delly couldn't help but grin at the other woman. Convincing her felt like mischief, adventure, like they were conspiring to cheat Destiny out of some stupid lovelorn fate.
Liya looked like she was bubbling on inside, eyes sparkling, a smile burst across her face.
"Let's go pack my stuff!"