Chapter Text
The day had been going well, no problems with his mother or siblings, no trespassers, nothing. Making his way to his designated break room he grabbed hold of the door knob and sighed, pushing it open and securing it close behind him. Pulling off his scarf he turned to walk over to the couch when he stopped dead in his tracks at the empty basket and tea cups. His blood boiled and he grit his teeth, the veins in his forehead sticking out. Letting out a loud roar he went to throw open the door when something caught his eye. Walking over to the basket that had a few sprinkles and crumbs in it he saw a folded piece of paper with is name written on it. Crouching down he lifted it up and quickly flipped it open.
'Better hurry up and find me before I eat them all Kit-Kat!'
His murderous intent faded as he read over the last word, the childhood nickname that only one person had the honor of calling him making a smile come to his face. She was back, and up to her old tricks! Yanking up his scarf he dropped the note and ran from the mochi house in search of the female.
Laying back against the tree with one leg crossed over the other you let out a long sigh and took another bite of the strawberry glazed doughnut. Tapping your foot you hummed to yourself and looked out over the water. Swallowing the food in your mouth you went to take another bite when you were knocked to the ground, a strong arm wrapping around you and holding you from moving. While anyone else would be frozen with fear by the two sharp crimson eyes staring down at them you turned your face and gave a large smile at the alpha male. "Took you long enough."
"Welcome home." he said with a small grin.
Now back securely in his mochi house he relaxed, eating his doughnuts and drinking his tea with the company of his best friend. It had been almost two years since he had last seen her, since they had spent time together. Sure he had spoken to her over the den den a few times but that was only for a second. Only a quick 'I'm alive, I'm safe.' Nothing more, couldn't risk the government tapping their call. She hadn't changed much, her blond hair was longer, now coming down to her mid back. She wore a pair of tight fitting dark brown almost black suede pants that laced all the way up the side of her leg from ankle to thigh, giving the smallest glimpse of her skin. A thin long sleeved white tunic adorned her upper half with a loosened vest corset over top that matched her pants. No shoes adorned her feet, per usual, she had never cared for them. He did notice however that her toenails were painted a black color. Looking back up at her he grinned softly, she looked good, a little skinnier than when she had left but good.
Choosing to sit cross legged on the floor beside where Katakuri now laid you went on telling him about your adventure. "... then this huge sea king came out of no where, you should have seen it, had the face of a bear and the body of a shark... it was so cool." you told him with a smile.
Smiling he washed down his food with a drink of tea. "So did you find anything?" he asked and saw her smile fall a little.
"No, it was a dead end." you sighed, picking up your small piece of doughnut and popping it in your mouth. "I don't know Kata, just seems like every time I think I'm close it, every time I think I'm on some kind of trail it disappears.... starting to wonder if it's worth it..." you mumbled, looking down into your own tea.
Furrowing his brows the tiniest amount at the sadness in her voice he sat up and placed his finger under her chin, lifting her sapphire eyes to his red ones. "Don't give up, it's not you."
Swallowing hard at the intensity of his eyes, the warmth from his finger seeping into your skin you felt your heart hammer in your chest and quickly gave him a nod and smile. Needing some kind of distraction you raised your brows, "Oh yea, I got you something..." you told him.
Dropping his hand from her chin he grinned softly and watched as she leaned back to pull something from her pants pocket. Once she got whatever it was out he saw it looked to be a folded envelope. Taking it when she held it out for him he tilted his head and flipped open the flap before grabbing whatever was inside...black braided leather? Holding it up he saw it was a necklace, the cord as he thought, tightly braided black leather with a blackish stone hanging from it. Looking it over he saw dark purples and greens and even pinks shine off the raw crystal.
"It's a tourmaline crystal... they are said to offer protection to the wearer." you said, biting your lip when you started to become embarrassed the longer he stayed silent. Stupid, you knew you shouldn't have gotten it, you knew he wouldn't like it. Looking down you gave a small smile and rubbed the back of your head, trying to play off the whole thing, "If you don't like it just toss it in a drawer or something when you get home."
She had gotten him a gift, a necklace. Smiling he loosened the slip knot and moved to put it on. "I like it." he told her but saw her raise a brow in doubt. "I really do y/n, thank you." he said in a sincere voice and saw her give him that soft smile he loved. Going to put down the envelope he saw her reach for it and pull out a piece of paper. "What's that?" he asked.
"A recipe, thought you might let me borrow your kitchen one day." you answered.
"For?"
Smiling you looked up at him, "Maple. Bacon. Doughnuts." you told him and saw his eyes go wide, a childlike smile coming over his handsome face.
Standing quickly he grabbed her hand. "Let's go..."
Laughing you let him tug you along, "I'm not making them now... you just had doughnuts..."
"But not those."
"Fine..." you sighed with a giggle. "But you will have to take blame for me missing lunch with Bru."
"Deal." he told her firmly. "Ride?" he asked and saw her nod. Holding out his hand he saw her jump into the air, her body shrinking down to her smallest size of only six inches mid air and landing in the palm of his hand. He couldn't help but grin at her tiny 'fairy' form as he called it. Lifting his hand up he felt her perch on his shoulder, her hand holding onto his scarf as he pulled it up over his face. Making sure she was situated and safely on him he opened the door and headed to grab the things she needed to make his special doughnuts.
.................................
It came as no surprise to either of you when Big mom wanted to have a tea party to celebrate your return, the woman loving any excuse to throw one of her favorite events. Walking into the grand room with Katakuri beside you you casually talked about this and that when you tensed at your name being called by the emperor herself.
"MAMAMAMA! There she is! Welcome back Y/n!"
Grinning you made your way over to her with Kata right by your side. "Hello mama, it is good to be back." you told her kindly, giving a polite bow of our head.
"HAAAHAHAHA! That I am sure of!" she said before trailing off and going back to stuffing her face.
As soon as you went to turn around to speak to Katakuri you let out a 'ooff' as you were tackled to the ground. Looking up you saw the little faces of the twins smiling down at you.
"Y/n!!" they yelled in unison.
"Hey there gilrs... look at you both, you are getting so big. Say either of you want to go dunk you big brother later?" you smiled and heard the nine years old laugh.
"Alright you two, get off of her." He said and saw them quickly do as he said. Holding out his hand he helped her up off the floor.
Dusting off your clothes you smiled up at him, "And you wondered why I chose to go big?" you smiled.
Chuckling he nodded, while he preferred her natural size of around five feet he had to admit her devil fruit power came in handy around his family. She was no where near as tall as his own sixteen and a half feet, at her biggest, her ten foot stature did keep her from getting squished. Looking down at her softly he closed his eyes and let out a sigh when he sensed who was coming their way.
"Well if it isn't the wild y/n." Oven chuckled deeply, throwing his massive arm over the female's shoulders.
"Thought you had forgotten about all of us." Daifuku added in, adding his arm on top of his brother's.
Raising your brows you looked from one male to the other, "Forget you two assholes? Never." you grinned.
Chuckling at the small woman's words he looked to his older triplet and saw his eyes holding a small glare. Understanding perfectly he removed his arm, giving Daifuku's arm a small tap in warning.
Raising his chin when his brothers stopped touching y/n he glanced down at her and placed his hand on her back. "Come on, let's go sit down."
Nodding you gave both men a kind grin, "See you both later."
You had sat with Katakuri and Brulee for the tea party, your two favorite out of all the Charlotee children. It wasn't long however until one of the youngest children started easing her way closer and closer to you. Grinning you peaked around Katakuri, who's chair she was hiding behind. "Well hello there." you said softly causing both Katakuri and Brulee to look towards the little girl.
"Joconde what are you doing?" he asked, looking down at his three year old sister. When she pointed towards y/n and tilted her head he understood. "That's y/n, she is a family friend."
"Joconde huh? When I left you were only just starting to walk." you smiled softly. When the girl still looked hesitant of you you looked over her dress, "I like your dress, it's pretty." Seeing the girl smile this time you grinned.
Watching y/n play with his little sister he couldn't help the warm feeling that grew in his chest. She had always been good with children, so good in fact one would think she was an omega. In no time at all Joconde had climbed up into y/n's lap and started playing with the female's hair while they went back to talking.
As the night drew on you felt the toddler fall asleep on you and grinned when Katakuri tilted his head. Standing you held her to you and looked down to Brulee. "Lunch tomorrow?" you asked.
"Promise not to ditch me again." she grinned.
"I told you it was his fault not mine, he took me hostage and made me cook doughnuts." you giggled.
"I did sister, I apologize." he said.
"It's alright, yes tomorrow is fine. Girls only though." she said.
Nodding you told her goodnight and followed Katakuri out of the room and to what you guessed to be Wafer's room. Laying the little girl in bed you pulled the covers over her and then left her to sleep.
Walking her to her usual room he kept his pace slow, enjoying her company. For the two years she had been gone he hadn't had anyone to really talk to. He loved his siblings and Brulee was always there for him but y/n was different, she always had been. Getting to her room he sighed. "I am happy you are home y/n, I missed you."
Happy for the dimly lit halls to hide your blush you smiled up at him. "I missed you too Kit-Kat."
Bringing his hand up to the necklace under his scarf he grinned, "Thank you for this... and the doughnuts. They are definitely my new favorite flavor."
Humming you nodded. "I'm glad you liked them, both of them."
Looking to her lips he cleared his throat. "Well I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight."
Nodding you tried to hide you disappointment with a grin, "Yea, Goodnight." you told him and watched him walk back down the hallway. Opening the door to your old room you looked inside to see not much had changed, not that you ever had much anyway. Still that massive bed was calling your name. Letting you body shrink back down to normal you went to take a much needed shower before calling it a night.
...............................
Sitting in Brulee's home you ate your second bowl of stew as the two of you caught up. Telling her about everything that had happened in your travels you saw her smile when you mentioned the necklace you had gotten her older brother.
"He missed you terribly you know, I swear when you aren't here he becomes even more serious and grumpier than usual." she said making the woman in front of her chuckle.
"I missed him too Bru... and you of course." you quickly added.
Humming she looked across the table and bit the inside of her lip. "Y/n I really think you should just tell him the truth..." she started but saw her shake her head.
"You know I can't do that Bru." you said quietly.
"But why, I know he feels the same way..."
"And what if he doesn't, what if he just thinks we are really good friends? If I tell him the truth it will change everything... I ... even if I told him what I was it wouldn't mean anything and you know it... I have nothing to offer him, I can't give him what he deserves." you sighed, feeling your heart sink.
Looking down Brulee furrowed her brows and look back across at the omega, "You don't know that for sure, just because that self proclaimed medic told you that when we were children doesn't mean it is true, you could have healed perfectly and..."
"And if I didn't, if it was true then I would be taking away one of his dreams, I can't do that Bru... I won't." you told her firmly.
"Alright I won't push the subject anymore." she sighed. Thinking of something she snapped her eyes back up "WAIT! How come Katakuri got a gift and I didn't?!"
Smiling you reached into your pocket and pulled out the bracelet you had gotten your friend. "Did you honestly think I would forget you?" you giggled.
Clapping her hands she looked over the beautiful bracelet and smiled, "Oh it's so pretty. Thank you!"
.........................
Being home was nice, being able to see Katakuri everyday was even nicer. Walking down the street with him you both walked in a comfortable silence. All day you had been helping him with his job, just enjoying each other's company.
Glancing down at her he blinked slowly and then swallowed hard. "What are you doing about dinner tonight?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
Looking up at him you shrugged. "I don't know, was thinking about just hitting up one of the cafe's." you told him.
Reaching up to rub the back of his head he took a needed breath, "We could cook something... back at my house."
Smiling you nodded, "Okay, sounds good. What do you want to make?" you asked him.
"Anything you want." he said in a deep voice.
Quickly grabbing what you needed you headed back to Kata's mansion. Setting everything out on the counter you grabbed a pan, pot and all the other things you needed to make fresh pizza. Seeing the man of the house come walking in with his scarf and vest now gone you figured he had dismissed all of the staff that normally helped keep up his home and cater to his every need.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked, coming up beside her.
Not many people... well probably just you and Brulee knew that the great Katakuri, the man that was feared by all, enjoyed cooking. Smiling you bit your lip, "Would you like to make the dough or the sauce?" you asked.
"Well considering I am the minister of flour I will make the dough." he said with a grin and heard her giggle. Damn how he had missed that sound.
"Fine but no using your devil fruit powers, you make it the ol' fashion way." you smiled.
Nodding he grinned, "Very well but if I can't use mine you can't use yours."
"That's not fair. How will I reach the counter?" you asked him.
Grabbing her hips he lifted her up and sat her on the high counter made to reach him. Giving her a look he watched her shrink back down to her normal size and grinned. While he enjoyed having her closer to his size, her smaller, more petite look made something inside of him stir, this strange feeling like his inner alpha coming out.
"Gonna take forever.." you grumbled but he only chuckled and placed his huge hand on your head to give a few pats. "I used to be taller than you..."
"Yes, when we were five." he huffed lightly, rolling his eyes as he started making the pizza dough.
"Then you hit a growth spurt and never got the memo to stop." you joked and heard him laugh. "Ate all my vegetables for nothin'."
Shaking his head he smiled, he missed this.
A while later the two of you sat on floor of his living room in the pile of pillows and as you ate your pizzas. Seeing him look towards your little one with slices of avocado on it and make a face you grinned and got an idea. "Try one."
"No."
Picking one off your pizza you moved towards him. "Do it." you pushed.
"No they smell gross."
Crawling on top of him you held the avocado to his mouth. "Come on, just one bite." you giggled.
Leaning his head back he kept one hand around her waist to keep her from falling while the other grabbed her wrist.
Wrapping your leg around his arm you held the green veggie to his mouth. "Open up you big baby." you teased.
Growling he easily held her still but when she gave him a pout and he looked into those beautiful blue eyes he knew he could never deny her and opened his mouth enough for her to pop the disgusting green thing inside.
Smiling you quickly moved your hands to cover his mouth as best you could even though you knew he could open it wide enough to eat you if he so wanted. You could feel his sharp teeth but they had never disgusted you, you actually found them cool. Seeing him make a face you laughed and held your hands firm to keep him from spitting it out. "Swallow it."
Grumbling around her hands he did as she said and forced it down his throat. As soon as he did she pulled his hands away and he held out his tongue at the horrible taste. Glaring at her he saw her smiling but still on top of him so he couldn't really be mad. "That was horrible."
"You know you can put them in doughnuts..." you said.
"You put those things in a doughnut and I will lock you in the dungeon for a night." he told her and heard her laugh. Looking up at her he felt that warming in his chest again. His eyes couldn't help but flicker to her lips for a moment.
Now realizing you were still sitting on his chest you blushed scarlet and moved off of him. Taking a sip of your drink you saw him follow and looked towards the clock. "Damn it's already eleven? I need to head back to..."
"Stay here." he said before he could stop himself. When she looked to him with furrowed brows he sat up more and raised his chin. "It's already so late and you have had a few glasses of sake so just stay here." she was blushing he could see it and it wasn't the alcohol but he couldn't say much since he could feel the heat on his own cheeks as well.
"Kata I.... I don't want to impose or..."
"You aren't imposing." he quickly interrupted. "It's just for tonight." he added.
Taking a deep breath you nodded. After cleaning up for dinner you followed Kata to the guest bedroom that was a little down the hall from his own room. Wishing him a goodnight you closed the door softly and made your way to the attached bathroom. Removing your clothes you placed them on the vanity for tomorrow and turned on the shower. Removing the necklace around your neck you glanced back to the closed door and bit your lip as you sat it on the counter by your clothes. Feeling the weight lift from you as it slipped form your fingers you took a deep breath. Glancing again back towards the door you grabbed your clothes and stuffed them under the small crack at the bottom, better safe than sorry. With that being done you stepped into the shower to wash up before bed.
..............................
"Aren't the two of you just adorable.... playing house." Perospero said in a mocking voice as he walked closely by his younger brother.
Growling he glared towards his older brother.
"Would you like me to steal some of our little sisters dolls for you both?" he teased.
"That's enough Peros." he growled through gritted teeth.
"Oh I am only joking little brother. I think it's cute. I do think you should really just ask her to be yours..."
"You know I can't do that." he sighed.
"And why not? Beta or no the two of you are meant to be..."
"You know mother will not allow it." Katakuri said in a low voice.
"You could always ask, we are already going therefor a meeting anyway. Plus y/n's been with us so long she might as well be family and Mama likes her, that a rare find." Perospero said with a shrug and smile.
Taking a deep breath he thought on what his brother said, he had a point, it wouldn't hurt to ask, although he wouldn't know what to do if she said no. "Do you have a clue as to what she called us for anyway?" he asked.
"Not the slightest... probably about those pirates that tried coming into out territory last week." he said simply.
Humming he opened the doors and heard his mother taking with someone. Looking into the throne room he saw others there, a man and two women.
"Ah there he is. Katakuri this is Nebula, she is going to be your wife."
He felt his breath instantly catch in his throat.