genessia | [Voice] I Don't Need Any Comrades

*Hold it together, Faye. You are a strong, independent woman*

I'll hold on.

*Because that gives her an excuse to squeeze him tight for a while*

[Sits her down in the back and puts a helmet on her, before taking the front and powering away.]

[Luckily it runs on his own smoke, so he can go... basically forever.]

*Faye holds on to him tightly, arms wrapped around him and her fingers hooked into his belt loop for extra safety. She leans against his back, not paying any attention to where they were going, just holding on*

[For now, Smoker just drives, letting her cling, and after awhile in one of the cities, stops for a little bit and puts his coat on her.] It's going to get colder. [Between wind and the sun going down.] Still want me to keep driving?

*When he stops, Faye smiles up at him weakly when he puts his coat on her. She wriggles into it and reaches out a hand to touch his arm*

Can we...rest somewhere? Stop a while?

*She feels completely pathetic like this, out of her comfort zone, so she doesn't quite meet his eyes*

Yeah, of course.

[Gently kisses the top of her head.] Somewhere like here, the beach, or Attleton's boardwalk or a bar... is that too many options?

*She doesn't want to appear too uncomfortable or unsure of herself, because that is for the weak, so she tries to make it look like she is making an actual decision*

The boardwalk?

*Cause maybe then they can drink and walk and talk. She isn't really fully thinking about it*

Okay. [Nods.] Hold on. [And he takes her over there, a bit more slowly now in case she wants to take in the sights or see anything that catches her attention on the way.]

*Dammit, Faye. Sort yourself out. You're strong and sassy. That's what he likes about you, surely. Behind him, Faye sits up straighter because she needs to show that she's okay. It's all fine*

Hey.

Don't try so hard.

[Picks her up, but actually just sits with her for a little bit when they stop, pulling her head under his chin.]

I lost Portgas and Adela the first time in the same week, barely a month after Kuzan and Tashigi. Namur and Ted dropped by to drink with me until I was able to tell them to scram already and pretend they'd cheered me up. You don't have to pretend with me, Sweetheart, I've been there, okay?

It took me a year to even talk to anyone again. And I got lucky, Adela came back sometimes. Portgas too, even if he didn't remember shit.

It's okay to be fucked up right now.

...really?

*That must have been pretty shit, losing so many people. Faye snuggles in closer to him and strokes his arm lightly*

I just. He's dead. At home.

*Which she understands is the same situation as Ace, from the times she'd hung out with him*

First person from home I've seen here. And I don't think...don't think I made it clear enough how grateful I was for him.

*Like the bitch she is, she thinks. Faye shakes her head, tapping her foot in frustration at herself. Even if it was okay to be fucked up, she didn't like it*

Sorry it's been shit for you too.

Yeah.

[Gently rubs her shoulder and snorts.] Nah. It's worse if I was back there. Portgas is dead, I never would have met Adela, Kuzan is maimed, and on the other side of the law from me, even though he still came to rescue my sorry ass.

[Tucks her head under his protectively!] He still might come back. But I get it. It's not like you want to hope and wait for that, because he might not either.

He might... but if he doesn't -

*Well, Faye knows that statistically this is a far more likely situation, but she doesn't want to admit it, to say it out loud, just in case she jinxes whatever possibilities might actually be there*

I just should've been a better friend. But I'm glad we made up. That was a pretty big bust up, so I'm glad we could patch it up.

*Faye falls into silence as he holds her protectively, and she wriggles and nuzzles a little closer*

I know this is going to sound really gross...but I appreciate you. Right now. Everything else too.

Nah. That's not a thing anyone can do. "Better friend." I mean Portgas and I are mortal enemies usually. By my choice, not his.

[Blinks and laughs, kissing the top of her head.] You're overthinking it. I'm just being me. "A good friend," isn't it?

*Why does being kissed on her head feel so good? Faye lifts her eyes to look up at him. Right. Of course. A good friend. She looks back out, taking in their new surroundings. There might have been inverted commas in his tone, but maybe not. She swallows a sigh - story of her life*

Okay. Still. Thanks. I guess.

*Faye doesn't thank people often, so she isn't very good at it*

Faye...

[Pokes her temple gently.] I don't mean that in the way Shota cucked out, or Namur had his promise.

Ask me the last time I bought someone flowers.

*Faye starts at that poke and finds herself blushing, staring firmly away into the distance. What? No? Why is he saying these things? Inward uncomfortable laughter*

When was the last time you bought someone flowers...?

*Don't be smart, Faye, that was probably rhetorical*

Uh....

Fifteen... twenty...two years ago?????? [THAT LONG.]

[And he did mean it rhetorically, but since she asked...]

Huh.

*She didn't really know how to answer that, so she continued to look around them, but she lifted a hand round to touch the back of his neck affectionately*

[At first he has a mild panic attack worrying she didn't like it, or that she just realized how MUCH older he was, but the touch to his neck reassures him, and he gently holds her close, leaning his head over her shoulder.]

[She got the idea that she was special, right? He wasn't sure how to say it more clearly without belaboring the point by now.]

All right Sweetheart, ready to walk around? Because otherwise I might just end up holding you like this forever. And that's not a complaint.

*Special? It was probably something she could say with a reasonable amount of confidence, but not something she could say with absolute certainty. Self-esteem is a thing with Faye, even though it may appear otherwise*

Mhm. Let's go.

*She says it, but makes no attempt to move, allowing him to hold her for as long as was possible. Or comfortable. The warmth was too enjoyable to break immediately; the warmth of his body, the warmth of these feelings*

[Well.... as long as she's comfy there... he'll just hold her a little longer. She looks good in his jacket anyway.]

[Okay. A minute is as long as he can hold out without getting TOO Self-concious and nearly giving himself a mental attack.]

[He should say something cool. But he doesn't have anything uh...]

Want a cigar? Although you know what that does to me. [Plus her in his jacket, she might as will kill him on the spot.]

*Good question. It means she doesn't have to start by saying something stupid or awkward. She reluctantly rouses out of the way they were sitting and raises her arms in a stretch*

Hmm?

*Faye laughs at his statement, remembering how this whole whirlwind of a thing started with the simple offer of a cigar. That gets her really smiling*

I can smoke a cigarette instead if that helps?

[Her laughing gets an instant pleased grin out of him.] A little, but if I'm going to see a lot more of you I might as well start getting used to it in public.

[Hands her a cigar and a light, her choice what whether to hold onto it. And a stroll down the boardwalk for now.]

*Faye just smiles at his telling comment - that he wants to spend more time with her, and that the time they spend might even be public. She takes the cigar and gives him a grateful wink as she lights it. Then she turns and starts making her way for the boardwalk, lapsing into silence again as she smokes and takes everything in*

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