Realization

by EllowynTheNotKing

Summary:

When Garp kicked open the doors to his own office, he wasn't expecting much more than a fight. What he saw inside completely knocked the fight out of him and left something else growing in its place.

When Helmeppo heard rumors about what happened in the vice admiral's office, he only wanted to protect his friend. The truth rocks his whole world and view of his friend.

Notes:

WARNING TRIGGER WARNING/SPOILERS

GO TO END

20% of the inspiration for this was my friend going, "Wait he broke the table? that's so hot"
20% more was my brain going "Coby/Garp?"
20% after that was another was my friend going "Coby/Helmeppo?"
and then solidly the rest was me and the second friend all but outlining this fic while I was waiting for my ride to therapy.

I'm fairly certain I'm missing tags so feel free to comment if I should add any.

Chapter 1: Garp is never going to emotionally recover from this

The firefight was long since over with; the Going Merry sailed off almost as soon as Luffy and that swordsman had appeared on deck. There were casualties but no deaths. 

Garp had to count the small mercies. 

One of which being his grandson wasn't a rapist.

Before this, the thought had never even crossed his mind, but when he'd walked through those doors...

He'd put the cadet through all kinds of hell, and he'd never heard him make much noise before, let alone scream like that. 

Fear was something he'd faced many, many times throughout his career, but there wasn't anything in fear that matched what he'd felt then. The moment when he couldn't see the cadet's hands and could only see the way Luffy's hands had held him in place. The way his body arched like he was trying to get away. 

The sound was the worst part, the scream with the fracturing of the desk. 

Garp doesn't know what he would have done if the swordsman hadn't been there. But his grandson wouldn't have survived long enough for him to get what happened out of Koby.

They were headed toward a port for desperately needed repairs. The ship wasn't in danger of sinking, but the damage was extensive and would likely be costly. 

His doors to his office were just two of the many things that would need replacing but would have to wait. 

He'd sent most of the men away. This corridor was rarely used outside people who needed to speak to him directly. The green-haired brathad good instincts on where to look for Luffy. He hadn't even tried too hard to kill any of the marines he'd faced, knocking the majority of them unconscious and moving onward. Garp would have been proud of his skill if it weren't for the fact that so many of those men would be unable to work for a while. Down hands, down sails, down doors. 

Nearly down a grandson. 

Almost certainly down the cadet. 

That scream wasn't, couldn't have just been pleasure. When he came around the table, he'd been shocked that there wasn't blood. He was sure there would be. 

Despite the situation, he'd felt the heat rise in his face at the sight Koby made on his desk. Sitting right on display, right at the perfect level for, well, a lot of things. His hands still loosely grasping where he'd managed to break the table with the force he'd mustered in his hands alone.

In his hands alone. 

Garp shook his head. He couldn't think about his subordinate like that. The boy was traumatized. He'd taken the lad to the sick bay even though there was still some cannon fire, still wounded coming in and demanded someone check him over. 

He didn't want to leave him alone. He wanted to hear from a doctor himself that the boy was alright, that it was all some kind of a vision or a hallucination. That he hadn't actually seen Koby getting eaten out on his desk, sensitive enough that he'd cried after. 

The desk would never be the same. That was obvious just by looking at it. The cracks from Koby's hands went halfway across the surface, leaving them at slightly different levels. Even if he got it repaired, the signs of what had happened to it would be obvious. 

He hadn't had time to come back to his office after dropping Koby off. He'd led the men in scouring the ship for any other pirates that might have gotten waylaid within and then figuring out what was to be done next. 

Now, though, now he sat and wondered at the strength the lad had and that he hadn't immediately thrown Luffy to the wolves for his own actions. 

It would have been so easy for him to claim that it was against his will that Luffy had forced him onto the table and kept him from escaping. Koby was strong, but Luffy more so, and the abilities the devil fruit had left him with would make it nearly impossible to escape from him. Instead, Koby told the truth or something he claimed to be the truth, that he'd wanted it, that Luffy hadn't hurt him. He was sure Garp would court-martial him for that, and he'd still told the truth. 

God-almighty Garp hoped it was the truth. 

And if it was...

Leaning back in his chair, Garp looked at the table. Sat in the chair that Luffy had sat in hours previous. 

Luffy was the age where boys became men, in that form at least. It was a matter of time until he did that with someone. And based on the swordsman's reaction, it wasn't the first time. 

He had barely seemed to care that he was drug away but had still called back to Koby cheerily.

Koby had twisted and bent under his hands, his face red, his ears, a red flush over most of him. Garp had thought he'd been trying to get away. But the throws of passion sometimes looked like that. Garp had thought he looked embarrassed, but anyone would be at being caught mid-act. Except, apparently, Luffy. 

He'd made eye contact with Garp right before he came. 

Did it mean anything?

Did Garp want it to mean something?

The thought of him as anything more than a cadet, than Luffy's friend, hadn't really passed him before. The lad was smart, brilliant really, and, with a bit of proper tutelage, would likely surpass the speed at which Garp himself had risen through the ranks. He'd stood up for Luffy and his dream, had stood up for his own dream in spite of what had brought him there. He had stood up against Garp, even though it was quite possibly a losing battle. 

Koby was strong in will and in dedication to what he cared about. And he was strong in body. He might not be anywhere near what Luffy was at, what Garp was at, what most of the marines were at. But this, his damaged table, was proof that he had potential. 

Garp leaned forward, running his hands over the cracks. They were small in width, and the boy had small hands, especially compared to Garp, but the sheer damage was alarming, attractive. 

He rested his hands on the table, right where Koby's were. 

A spark of excitement ran through him. It was so sudden and surprising that it hurt. 

His eyes rose from the table to the hallway outside his office. 

The hall was empty. No one would say a damn thing anyway, but was he really about to jerk off to this?

He leaned back, and the steadily increasing discomfort in his pants was a good reason to. 

He ran his hand over the bulge as he ran the situation over in his head, trying to think of it, not with the terrified, angry first lens. He tried to look at it like he knew what he would find in that room. He'd known going in there that Koby was an active participant.

He'd chased the swordsman down the hall, the man willingly relinquishing ground as he went, never turning his back on Garp but moving more than fast enough in his search anyway.

He'd turned his head for a second to one of the windows in the hallway, a moment's distraction that had allowed Garp to punch him through the doors. That hadn't been his intention at the moment, but the results were quite handy. 

Pulling his cock out, Garp closed his eyes to better see what awaited him in his office.

The sight on the desk still shocked him, there was no way it wouldn't. Even though he knew that Koby would be in there, that he and Luffy would be there. 

There was no way he could have planned to find Luffy slobbering over him on his desk.

So Garp still froze. Still watched how Koby twisted, but now he saw that it was Koby pushing against Luffy not to get away, but to get more, to get closer. Now he saw the soft pink offset by red, and it wasn't fear or exertion from fighting Luffy. Now, it was embarrassment or arousal. Or a fair mixture of both. 

Luffy pulled Koby closer when he screamed, burying himself closer between those milkwhite thighs, his hands pressing so hard into the flesh that his nailbeds were white. 

The swordsman had stood for a moment, was it that shocking for him too? Or had he also admired the perfect arch Koby's back had formed?

He'd pulled Luffy away, red on his cheeks as they ran. The sound of Luffy pulling out wasn't something he would forget anytime soon. So loud in that sudden silence after Koby had screamed. He was sure he'd heard something else, but then they'd run past him. Luffy's face was wet, maybe it wasn't all saliva, maybe it was from Koby, showing just how much he'd enjoyed their actions. 

Garp's hand slowed, remembering the heartbreaking sobs that had escaped Koby. Even with what he knew now, what he might be able to imagine, he couldn't make that any better or forget the fear in that sound. 

But the sight was something else. 

His hand jerked faster at the sight, even if he wished he could forget the sound.

Luffy had left him half hanging off the table, his legs unsupported and spread, looking for stability. His hole was visible, soft pinkness alluring and dripping. His thighs twitched with his every breath; the pale pink hair down there soaked a much darker color with all the liquid. 

In the moment he was sure that Koby had been attacked, but now he knew better, knew that Koby was just panicking for another reason. Not from the act itself. 

He'd wanted that. 

Wanted to be eaten out until he was dripping wet, til he'd broken the surface he lay on from the pleasure. 

Garp had tried to protect him, wanted to help him hide what had happened. He looked at the bright red spots on each of his thighs and cursed Luffy in his head.

But now, with his hand stripping his cock, long after the fact and with a little knowledge, he still half wanted to curse Luffy for tasting that first, not him. He wants to have pushed Koby back further, held his legs apart, and see if he could get him to scream again. He'd been so loud, but they'd been in battle. Garp doubted that anyone had heard him. But this time, maybe he wanted them to. 

Wanted to see if he could replace Liffy with himself and bring him to the edge, see if his grandson had gone further, or if Garp himself would get the chance to teach Koby that. 

Garp gasped, spilling at the thought. 

He panted in the suddenly still room. This was certainly new. 

And something to think about. 

After he'd cleaned himself up.

Chapter 2: Neither is Helmeppo

Summary:

Helmeppo over hears some very concerning things, and decides to check on his friend.

Notes:

This chapter was a bit of a struggle to write, couldn't figure out why, checked the wordcount at the end, OH, THAT'S WHY! It's literally twice the length of the first one!

So yeah, enjoy!

Helmeppo hadn’t noticed when Koby left the deck. He’d been below decks helping move the cannonballs and hadn’t known anything was amiss until the scream. 

He’d heard more than his fair share of screams in his life and wasn’t one who actively avoided it either, but even though he’d never before heard Koby scream, he’d immediately recognized it as his. 

He started moving towards it when one of the men barking orders nearly ripped him a new one just for standing. 

It might have been the middle of battle, but he was going to make sure Koby was alive.

The man refused him, forcing him back to his station. But before he could load the cannon another time, the ship they’d been firing on, the Going Merry, had turned, taken on two additional passengers, and then sailed off. The vice admiral had hollered not to follow it, but they still fired until it was out of distance.

He still wasn’t allowed to find where Koby was, to see how badly he’d been injured till after the ship had been checked over twice. 

They weren’t sea-worthy, and if they hit even slightly rough water, it would be over for them. Over for all over them, not just Koby, that was.

The vice admiral announced that there were no deaths, just injuries, which relieved some of his ongoing fear. Koby was alive, at least. 

Though that kind of scream wasn’t made by someone who was “alright.”

There were a lot of injured, though, a lot of them. It seemed to be nearly half the crew. He’d been stuck helping clean up the mess, as he wasn’t injured and wasn’t skilled enough to help patch up the ship. 

Helmeppo had put his all into it, all of his worries, his fear, his hatred of the pirates. His particular hatred of Luffy and Zoro. 

The going Merry wouldn’t have attacked them first unless he was somehow involved, and despite Koby’s warm and fuzzies toward the pirate captain, Helmeppo would rather see him in custody. 

For now, though, he would have to suffer that and more. But it would be an excellent tool to distract him no matter how badly he was injured. 

Once the worst of the mess was cleaned up, he was sent to move supplies around. The sick bay had used nearly all its stock and then some. There were auxiliary supplies scattered throughout the ship for cases like this, but there was also a good chance that lots of the auxiliary supplies were damaged or unusable. 

The first news he got about Koby specifically happened by chance. He’d dropped the supplies and crumpled into a seated position by the door to the room, outside, where no one could see him and scold him for not working, but close enough that he could hear the conversation being had by two nurses nearby.

“Garp delivered him himself, demanded he be checked immediately.” Said the first one, a man around Helmeppo’s age, who wasn’t usually much for gossip but managed to have looser lips than most of the crew put together.

“I saw that. Tell me something I don’t know.” The other was a slightly older woman known to be a gossip, and while she didn’t share names, the details were usually more than enough to guess who was involved.

“He wasn’t taken into surgery. Kat took him into the back office.” Helmeppo tried to remember which one was Kat. He didn’t know any of the nurses, only seeing them on the rare occasion that someone thought he might be broken. 

“The back office? But I thought that was-” The woman seemed more concerned than confused, which Helmeppo wondered at.

“Yeah. I guess there was a pirate already on board. Vice admiral sent that cute second of his to secure him, and he got loose .” Cute second? Koby?

“Oh, by the blue. I hope he’s alright.” 

“I saw the paper, some meds  just in case -” The woman gasped. “Apparently, he had some nasty bruises on his legs and a whole bunch of splinters in his hands. And had a bit of damage, if you know what I mean.” 

Dear god, what happened to him?

After a moment of silence, silence for the sick bay, where many people were injured, the woman asked, “Do you think he’s going to quit?” 

“Can’t say for sure. If you’re not safe from that on a Marine vessel, where are you safe?” 

“And Garp brought him in. I’m surprised we don’t have a dead pirate on our hands for that.” She tsked. “I wouldn’t blame him for quitting. Has he left the back office yet? Who else knows?”

Helmeppo waited with bated breath, trying to figure out what had happened to his friend. Even if he’d lost a limb, the other boy wouldn’t know when to quit. What could have happened that would send him running?

“He’s left already, ’bout as fast as he could after being examined and given the meds. But, anyone who reads the charts is going to know.”

“Poor boy, maybe we ought to do him a favor and rip it up? Keep it from being public knowledge?”

“Might be for the best. Though we should wait, those emergency contraceptives can have some serious side effects, and if someone doesn’t know he had to take them, he might not be taken care of properly.” Emergency contraceptives? Helmeppo had that term before but didn’t know what it meant. Where had he heard about those before? And he hadn’t ever heard of it for a medical emergency. What were they for?

He stood as silently as he was able, wanting to go back to their room to check on Koby, but he had work to do still and didn’t know what state he was going to find his friend in.

There were still lots of medical supplies that needed delivering. Helmeppo would finish that, see if he could find out what the contraceptives were used for, then go to their room and check on Koby before passing out for the next century.

He’d passed the area where the vice admiral’s office was, noting the absolutely destroyed doors with a complete lack of any other damage nearby. 

He snuck closer, looking for any sign of a fight, but the only other evidence was the damage to the desk, which was otherwise clear. 

The man had some books in there, but Helmeppo could guess there wouldn’t be any books with medical information in them. The man didn’t seem like the type. 

After delivering the last of the supplies, Helmeppo stopped at the small and bare library the ship had, probably less than a hundred books; there were still a couple of medical books in there. Most were kept in the sick bay as resources, but these didn’t have much in them, and most were broad swathes. 

He checked the glossary first and nearly dropped the book at the explanation. 

“Medications or devices used to prevent pregnancy when taken shortly after unprotected sexual intercourse.”

He read it again, then another time. Then, once more, to be sure.

Unprotected sex. Bruises on his legs. Splinters in his hands. Garp brought him in. Pirate on the ship before the attack. 

Unprotected sex, bruises on his leg, splinters in his hands, Garp brought him in, pirate on the ship. 

Unprotected sex, bruises, splinters, Garp brought him in, pirate. 

Unprotected sex, bruises, splinters, pirate.

In an instant, he knew. 

He half heard the sound of the book hitting the floor, but by that time, he was already gone, already running back to the room he shared with Koby, needing to find him, to check on him, to see if it was true. 

He dodged past people, running as fast as possible toward their rooms. Helmeppo needed to know the truth. At the very least, he needed to check on Koby.

Skidding to a stop outside the door, Helmeppo huffed, trying to get his shaking hands to grab the door enough to open it.

When he could, when he did, he tried not to slam it open, not sure what was waiting on the other side.

Would Koby leave?

What would Helmeppo do if he did?

He knew the answer even thinking about the question. He’d go with. And if Koby didn’t want him there with him, then Helmeppo would still go. Maybe he’d join the swarms of pirate hunters and get revenge for Koby.

But when he opened the door, there was Koby, asleep on top of the covers of Helmeppo’s bunk. It looked like he’d sat down for a moment and fell asleep.

That’s… Good? Helmeppo thought.

If Koby was sleeping, that meant he was resting, and if he was resting, then. Well. Then Helmeppo could take a little more time to prepare for what would happen next.

He dropped to the floor, leaning against the bunk and looking at Koby.

He’d been too tired to take off his shoes before sleeping. His pink hair was a ratted-up mess. His glasses were beside him on the bed, probably knocked off at some point while he slept. His shirt crumpled and had risen to reveal his lower stomach. The skin on Koby’s hands was a bit raw looking; a few places had the awful-smelling antiseptic stuff. His pants had some stains. Helmeppo wouldn’t have noticed them if he hadn’t deliberately looked Koby over.

Ripping his gaze from the stains, Helmeppo decided he wouldn’t think about that right then.

He tried to think of something else and focused instead on Koby’s soft noises when he exhaled. Not quite a snore, too quiet for that. But a noise that only happened when he slept on his back like he was now.

How many people knew that about him?

Turning, Helmeppo reached out to unlace Koby’s boots. They weren’t that dirty, but sleeping with them on couldn’t be comfortable.

Surprise of surprises, though, the tug of one of his boots was enough to wake Koby, who jerked into a sitting position while kicking out wildly.

“Stop! Koby, stop! It’s just me!” He nearly fell against the floor, trying to dodge the flying feet.

“Wha- Meppo? What are you doing?” Koby squinted at him, probably unable to make out his face.

“Your glasses are next to the pillow.” He directed Koby, and then, while the other was distracted, he stood up and continued, “You fell asleep with your boots on. I was trying to get them off so you could sleep better.”

“Oh.” Koby blinked at him. “Well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The two stared at each other. Helmeppo wanted to say something, anything. But how did you start this conversation? Koby just blinked at him slowly.

“Are you,” Helmeppo finally started, “Are you going to leave?”

“Leave… Where?” Koby asked before apparently realizing he was still in Helmeppo’s bunk and immediately started to get up. “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep in your bunk!” 

“Wait, wait, that’s not what I mean.” Helmeppo stopped him, “I mean, I-I heard.”

Koby stopped, “What? Heard what?”

“That, that you were-” Helmeppo couldn’t control how his voice dropped on the last word, “attacked.”

Koby’s face went through a dozen different expressions before landing on embarrassment. “You- Who- What- How- Who! Who told you?”

“No one told me. I-I heard it. I needed. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Who told you? Was it Garp?”

Helmeppo paused, “No, no one told me. I was in the sick bay. I- It wasn’t hard to guess who they were talking about.”

“I’m fine. I’m not. Nothing happened. I’m fine. Garp was overly concerned, and then so was everyone else.” Koby shook his head. “I’m fine, Meppo .”

“The bruises? They had you take an emergency contraceptive, and you’re saying you’re fine?”

Koby stared at him, slack-jawed.

“If you- There was a pirate and you-” Koby was staring at him, getting redder, and Helmeppo wished he’d had some kind of plan for any of this, but he wasn’t sure what to say. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, that, that you’re not leaving. That you know I’ll help, no matter what.”

“Meppo, it’s not what you think.” He stopped, “I’m okay. I was. I’m okay. The doctor just wanted to make sure because Garp brought me in. I didn’t need the contraceptives. I wasn’t attacked.”

“Then where did the bruises and splinters come from?” He looked over every inch of Koby that he could see, but other than the minor cuts on his hands, there wasn’t anything visible. “If you weren’t attacked, what happened.”

Koby looked down, away from him, “I wasn’t attacked. We both got a little, little too excited. He held onto my legs too tight, and I held onto the thing I was holding too tight. And it broke.”

“Can I- Can I see? Please? Just see for myself that you’re okay?”

Helmeppo wished Koby would look at him so he could get some idea of what he was thinking.

Eventually, Koby muttered, “I’m fine. Why does everyone want me out of my pants so bad?”

Helmeppo’s own face flamed at the comment, but he just waited.

Koby shook his head, “Fine, fine. Okay.”

With shaking hands, he unbuttoned his pants. He didn’t look at Helmeppo.

Helmeppo couldn’t help that he watched Koby’s hands, then the skin that Koby revealed. His underwear stayed up, but as soon as his pants hit his knees, Helmeppo could see what they meant by bruises.

On top, over the fronts of his thighs, were two almost perfectly hand-shaped bruises. At the ends of the thumbs and fingers, they were darker, deeper, obviously where he’d been held tightly. They were still red in some places but were already fading to a dark purple in others, and the edges were bleeding black to the sides.

Helmeppo gasped. Koby might have said he was fine, but there was only one pirate that Garp wouldn’t have killed outright for this.

He didn’t get the chance to say anything because Koby looked at him and said, “Don’t. Whatever you’re thinking, stop. I wanted this. I, he didn’t do anything I didn’t want.”

“It was Luffy, wasn’t it?”

“Meppo-”

“He’s the only one Garp wouldn’t kill for doing this to you.”

“It’s not like that, Meppo, I’m okay. These are just bruises. They’ll go away.”

“Don’t cover-”

“I’m not covering, Helmeppo! I wanted it! Luffy wanted it! He ate me out, and I liked it!” Koby yelled at him, and Helmeppo’s brain froze at that and the mental image of the obscene act. Koby dropped his voice again, “Nothing more. Nothing less. He offered, and I said yes. And now he’s gone.”

It took a moment for him to say anything. “He didn’t rape you.”

“No, Helmeppo. Despite what everyone else seems to think of him. He’s not that kind of pirate. I’m a Marine. If I can choose to do this, then I can choose to have sex with someone.”

“I’m sorry.” Helmeppo coughed, worry at Koby using his full name for the first time in a very long time, warring with the flickered images of what Koby just said going through his mind. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re just worried, I know. I’m going to, I’m going to go to bed now, for real.” Koby turned away from him, and somehow, the bruises seemed more obscene from the back, where Helmeppo could easily see where they wrapped around to nearly touch.

“You should get a shower. Most of the crew is asleep, on duty, or injured; if you want to clean up, now’s the time to do it.” He paused, “If you don’t want anyone to see those, I mean.”

Koby looked down at himself, then paused.

Helmeppo could see the tips of his ears turn red. “You’re probably right. You should get some sleep, too.”

Nodding before realizing Koby couldn’t hear him, he said, “Yeah, I’ll get there. Sooner or later.”

Koby breezily brushed past him to the door, but before he went out, Helmeppo managed to say, “I’m, I’m glad you’re okay. That you- That you wanted it.”

He didn’t turn around to see Koby’s response, but he heard him stop momentarily, pausing before opening the door. He didn’t know what the other boy was thinking, but finally, he said, “Good night, Meppo.”

“Night, Koby.” A vice in his heart lifted at the use of the nickname; no matter how mad at him Koby was, this was fixable.

The door opened and shut again, and Helmeppo all but fell to sit on his bed.

Running his hands over his face and hair, he tried to work his way through, well, everything that had just happened.

Koby was… fine.

Bruised, sure, and apparently tired of people assuming things about him, them, it, but, fine.

It was definitely Luffy.

Which was, well, actually more of a surprise than anything else. Koby had mooned over the pirate for as long as Helmeppo had known him despite their adversarial paths. How long had Luffy known Koby before he’d joined the Marines? If he’d wanted Koby as a friend or something else, wouldn’t he have at least tried to get Koby to join his crew?

Was it a new choice? What happened? What led them here?

And the bruises?

Helmeppo took off his boots. The bruises were-

They were horrible. They were.

They were also- damn appealing.

Koby had such delicate, pale skin, and those bruises were so dark, so obvious, so very, very obvious.

Part of him wanted to look for more, see if Luffy had left his marks elsewhere.

And the rest of him was slightly horrified.

But not enough to stop the hardness rising in his pants thinking about the bruises.

He was a monster.

And he wanted to see how easy it was to mark up Koby’s skin.

Helmeppo eyed the door. There weren’t any locks or anything in the room he could push up against the door. If he did this, he could be caught easily; worse, it would likely be Koby who caught him. Shame flooded him at the mere thought of it.

And yet.

It was now or never.

Dropping back against the bed, Helmeppo made quick work of unbuttoning his pants and pulling his cock out.

Covering his eyes, he could feel how hot his face was, the heat almost scalding his arm as he licked his hand to have a little something more than his dry palm.

He kept an ear open for Koby’s return, but most of his focus was on the Koby in his mind, pale skin on display, laid out across his bed. Pale pink hair, pale pink skin, and pale blue eyes on his white sheets.

Helmeppo hadn’t tried to see Koby outside his uniform, but the room was small, and they both had to change. Koby’s body wasn’t unfamiliar to him; he’d never gotten the chance to map it, chart it, actively explore it.

Now, though, he thought about it in depth.

In his mind, he covered those bruises with his hands and kissed his way up Koby’s body.

Nibbling and kissing the thin skin he was sure would drive Koby insane, breathing in his scent. He’d make sure that the only name Koby could remember was his.

Who cared about Luffy?

Not him, and absolutely not Koby when he was done with him.

Helmeppo turned his head, breathing deeply; he thought he could just catch a hint of something he was sure was just Koby.

Pulling himself faster, he thought about how Koby would sound, how he would squirm. Koby didn’t have those bruises for nothing. Luffy didn’t seem like the kind of person to exert that kind of excessive force unless he had to.

His hand slowed almost involuntarily at the thought of the pirate.

How could Koby have gotten that from the floppy idiot?

No, he deserved better.

Helmeppo would do better, treat Koby better, make him cum so hard he couldn’t see straight, and then do it again.

He’d make sure Koby never wanted another and forgot the pirate even existed.

Koby wouldn’t want for anything. He’d be sated before Helmeppo even thought of himself. Luffy ate him out? Helmeppo would do it every day before breakfast.

Luffy got to hear him moan?

Helmeppo would ensure he was the only one to do it for the rest of their days.

His hand moved faster and faster, and he tried to breathe in the minimal trace of Koby from his bed and used it to fuel his imaginings. There was something about it, about him, that just made Helmeppo want to follow him to the edges of the maps and further. He did it, just to stand beside him every day, and he’d worship at his alter every chance he got as long as Koby let him.

He thrust into his own hand, thinking of everything he’d do if he got the chance, starting with kissing him.

The hot feeling rushed out of him, and Helmeppo gasped for air.

He really needed a shower now. He wiped his hand off his shirt, pulling it off and dropping it on the floor. It would be in the laundry before Koby got back. He just needed a minute to reorient himself.

To figure out when exactly he’d gotten so obsessed with his friend.

Chapter 3: Blissfully Unaware

Notes:

This was supposed to be the next chapter with some other stuff, and instead, Koby stole the show and the bed.

Limping along, a week after the firefight, they finally managed to get the ship to a port where it could be repaired.

Koby and Helmeppo’s argument was almost forgotten the next morning. He’d expected something from Helmeppo afterward.

Maybe embarrassment?

But Helmeppo seemed to be acting more or less normally. The only real change was, well, was that he was clingy now.

Clingy wasn’t quite the right word. He wasn’t literally hanging off of Koby. In fact, he hadn’t even touched Koby since the attempt to take off his boots. He’d just been, constantly nearby at nearly all times. Hovering. 

Which Koby didn’t, dislike, really. It was nice to have his friend around at all times, but it did make getting private moments significantly harder.

And Helmeppo had started joining him when he and Garp were together.

Koby didn’t mind, but it seemed that Garp had issues with it, though he never said anything outright to Koby or Helmeppo about it. The man would often greet Koby directly, with barely more than a muttered “Cadet” in Helmeppo’s direction. He’d offer Koby a seat, but Helmeppo often sat himself somewhere without waiting for direction.

It was a bit sweet initially that Helmeppo didn’t want to leave him alone.

Then humorous, because he didn’t know what Helmeppo was trying to do, but that he was willing to irritate the vice admiral to keep close to Koby was something he appreciated.

And then it became irritating. Koby knew that Helmeppo’s actions had to do with what he believed happened during the firefight. Even if he thought Koby was attacked, that didn’t explain why he was acting like a barnacle now.

The complete lack of free time, free space , was wearing on him.

He needed time to himself, not in the showers. And not while Helmeppo was asleep.

Something had woken Helmeppo up the one time Koby had tried with him in the room. And even if he thought about it and planned to when Helmeppo went to shower, it just wasn’t enough time for him.

Koby was suffering and just needed a bit of privacy that he wasn’t getting.

Garp wasn’t helping either. However, his own form of hovering seemed to be limited to making sure that Koby was constantly improving. Fighting, cartography, strategy, if it was an area he could grow, the vice admiral made sure he was. It was punishing and grueling work but also freeing in a way.

A lifetime ago, he never would have been allowed to do any of this, to learn about any of this, but now, he was rapidly improving and learning. The best thing was that he could share it with Hemleppo, and Garp seemed exceedingly interested in his continued success.

The only thing that was bothering him at this point was the desk.

Whenever he entered Garp’s office, he couldn’t help looking at that damn desk.

Heat bubbled in his stomach just looking at it, then pooled in his cheeks because he was sure that his thoughts and memories of the situation were visible on his face.

But Garp never brought it up while they were underway. And he was sure that Helmeppo didn’t know he was the one to break Garp’s desk. But the thing was, even though they’d docked and the ship, the entire ship, it felt like, was being repaired, the desk wasn’t replaced.

It had disappeared for a bit, but when it reappeared, it wasn’t replaced. It was repaired.

Thick strips of lighter wood stitched the wood back together, and the wood was covered with some clear polish that made it look new and shiny. Still, the cracks from his hands weren’t just visible; it was like they were the focus of the desk now.

He could see exactly where his hands had been, where he’d laid under Luffy’s attention.

When he and Garp sat to play Go most nights, he could see exactly where his hands had fallen to either side of his body, and now he sat with Garp, who would rest his hands on the table, absolutely dwarfing the space that Koby had taken on the table. The heat at the thought of Garp in the same place Luffy had been, Garp where Luffy had not only touched Koby, but had brought him over the edge, twice, faster than he’d thought possible.

Helmeppo had commented on the desk only once, and Koby couldn’t control himself. He’d had to leave the room to save what felt like the little bit of dignity he had left.

Helmeppo had apologized later, not knowing what he’d done, but Koby had brushed it off as something else. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about it or even that he didn’t want to discuss it with the blond, but he couldn’t handle it right then and there.

Garp had sent Helmeppo away the next time they joined him in his office, not cruelly, just to get something from the kitchen for the three of them. It was the first time that the vice admiral had spoken to Helmeppo intentionally, more intentionally than just calling him cadet and more or less ignoring his existence.

They’d played a round of Go while waiting, not saying much, but as they cleaned up for the next round, Garp finally spoke.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

Koby blinked at him momentarily, trying to figure out what he might have been talking about. After a moment, Garp knocked a hand on the desk, a peek of red on his ears as he tapped at the repair done to the desk.

Koby shook his head, feeling his face flaming before saying, “No, Sir. It’s your desk, if you want to keep it, you should. I feel worse that I did so much damage to it.”

Setting a marker in the middle to start again, Garp nodded, “It’s been through a lot over the years, by me and others.”

Koby places his own marker on the table, carefully avoiding Garp’s gaze and avoiding thinking about the implications of the sentence. “I’m surprised you didn’t replace it with everything else.”

“I could have, but admittedly, it’s grown on me.” Another marker on the table.

Koby placed his own, and as he did, it felt like he and Garp were playing another game, a verbal one underneath the game of Go. “Hopefully, it didn’t cost too much to repair.”

Another piece on the table, another piece in the conversation, “More than the higher-ups would prefer, I’m sure. But it was worth it to me.”

What did it mean to Garp? Why? Another piece on the board, but the verbal game didn’t have rules that Koby understood. He didn’t even know what the other was trying to do, what would happen when, if, one of them won.

He kept silent, thinking about his next step in this odd game. 

In the past, Garp had admonished him for overthinking, and he knew that he did better when he didn’t think too hard about all of it. But here and now, he couldn’t help it. He didn’t know anything that was going on, what could happen next if it was something he even needed to think this hard about. He wanted to know, to know more, to understand the rules of the game that was going on here in secret. But part of him wondered if he asked the rules of the unspoken game, it would be over, so he held his tongue and hand over the board, ready to place the piece when he figured out what would be the right one.

He saw Garp opening his mouth, what for he didn’t know, but Helmeppo saved him from whatever was going to happen by returning. He paused at the doorway, and Koby turned to him with a half-grateful look.

“I got it. Took longer than I thought it would.” Helmeppo places the food, something local, in front of Koby first, then Garp, ignoring the standard rules of the situation. He sat beside Koby, looking at the board that didn’t have nearly enough pieces for the struggle Koby was undergoing, “So who’s winning?”

“Just started, I’m afraid,” Garp told him, leaning back from the desk (when had he gotten so close?) “no clear winner yet.”

Whatever the second match had been was over, and with the lightness from it leaving, Koby could focus once more on the match on the desk.

He tried not to think about it as he and Garp kept playing, Helmeppo throwing out nonsense plays for both of them. It wasn’t helpful, but it made Koby laugh when Garp followed it once and lost the next turn.

Soon enough, a late hour announced the changing of the guard and the fact the three were up far too late for any of their good health.

The clang of the bell was enough to startle him, and only then did he realize how tired he was. He yawned, a massive thing that felt like it would split his face in two, and stood. “Apologies, I think it’s very much time for me to go to bed.”

“It’s alright, lad. The time got away from me as well.” Koby was determined not to shiver at the word. Just because Garp hadn’t called him it since that night didn’t mean a thing. And he didn’t want to make it a thing by reacting. “Off to bed with ya. I have it on good authority that you won’t get in trouble if you head off to bed now.”

Koby nodded, moving toward the doors, “Goodnight then, Sir. Come on, Meppo, we should get some sleep.”

“Actually,” Garp cuts him off, “I’d like to have a word with him. It will take a minute. You should get to bed anyway, though.”

Cocking his head, Koby looked at Helmeppo to see if the other knew why he was being asked to stay, but the confusion there matched his own, “Al-Alright then. Um, Goodnight.”

He stuttered a half step toward the door, and when Garp nodded, he kept going. He paused at the doors but kept on when Garp told Helmeppo to close the doors behind him.

If there was a good thing about this, he might have a moment to deal with the privacy issue he’d had the last little bit.

Stripping the moment he got through the door to their room, Koby scrambled up into his bed. He didn’t know how much time he had, but at the very least, he could try in the little time alone he did have.

Reaching under his shirt, he pressed his hands against the slighter bruises Luffy had left, lifting him onto the desk.

Then he reached down past his underwear to the still dark and ugly bruises Luffy left on his thighs. They’d only gotten worse in the days after, and he’d understood Helmeppo’s concern when he finally saw them in the showers.

Pressing on the bruises didn’t do much, just reminding him of the feeling when Luffy held him still.

He reached into his underwear, not surprised that he was already a little wet at the thoughts running through his head. He spread his legs as wide as he could, then dropped the leg closest to the edge of the bed, giving himself all the space he wanted to work. Even though he knew it was only a matter of time until Helmeppo returned, he didn’t care and wanted to take advantage.

The memory of Luffy looking up at him, the feeling of his little licks around his pearl and hole, almost real again as he ran his fingers over and around himself, trying to capture the memory and sensation again.

Koby’s fingers didn’t quite match what Luffy could do, and as he hitched his leg up, pressing against the bruises, he dipped a finger into himself.

It wasn’t the same, but it still felt good.

Arching his back, he pressed onto his own fingers, thinking about how Luffy had felt, how he’d filled Koby up so much and so well.

It was good and hot and hard to replicate, probably impossible, but he still worked his fingers faster, deeper, pressing another into himself, trying to get that feeling of fullness.

A soft keen escaped him.

He couldn’t stop it. Part of him didn’t want to; he’d muffled himself with Luffy, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to be loud and see what Luffy would have done to him with a little more time.

Rolling his hips helped, though it took away from his memory of the situation. He’d barely been able to move, mostly moving his whole torso, trying to get a little closer, feel a little more. Koby could feel the edge creeping up on him.

The first time with Luffy was a surprise; the second time had hit like a cannon blast.

The look in Garp’s eyes returned, and he couldn’t help the shiver that ran through him.

Had he really been shocked? Garp had looked so surprised; his usually stormy eyes looked frozen, and they had been. On him even.

Maybe he’d been shocked by finding the two of them, but maybe it had been less what he’d seen and more by who. He’d looked at him while Koby had fallen off the precipice and hadn’t moved until after Luffy was gone. Garp had looked at him and hadn’t been angry, shocked, yes, but not angry, and not at Koby.

Maybe the pink that had covered his face was-

Well. Maybe it was because of Koby.

Maybe he wanted Koby, too.

Koby moaned at the thought. The strong man would likely leave more bruises than Luffy did; he was sure of that, but he also had experience. Maybe he’d want to spread Koby out on his desk, too.

Why else would he want to keep it so much?

Jerking at the thought, Koby flinched into himself, the hot spike of pleasure shaking him to his core. Even as the pleasure disappointed, he rocked his hips, focusing on the full feeling for a moment longer.

The sound of the doorknob rattling was all the warning he got before Helmeppo opened the door.

Rolling onto his side, away from the door, Koby couldn’t help gasping as he pulled his fingers from his core. He feigned sleep as Helmeppo closed the door behind himself.

“You still awake?” The blond asked, but Koby couldn’t answer, wouldn’t, trying as hard as he could to breathe like he was sleeping. “I guess it is late. Goodnight, Koby. Heh. I can’t believe he fell asleep on top of the covers twice now.”

Koby listened to the other get ready for bed and wondered at how close he was to getting caught.

What had he been thinking? There was no way that Garp would want him that way. He should focus on someone, something else. And stop thinking with his sex. There was time to do that when he was established somewhere.

Chapter 4: May the Best Man Win

Helmeppo sat after closing the rolling doors behind Koby.

He didn’t know what the vice admiral wanted to tell him, but he sat in the seat that Koby had recently left and wondered at the dark and somewhat concerned look on Garp’s face.

“What’s this about?” He decided to just get it over with; if Garp really had an issue with his actions over the last week, he probably wouldn’t have waited this long to talk to him about it.

Or to talk about it at all.

He was more likely to have a “special” training session with someone he needed to talk with, where he’d beat the crap out of them.

“I’ve heard some… reports over the last week.” Garps started slowly, another bad sign.

Helmeppo opted to remain silent. He didn’t know what the man heard and wasn’t about to suggest anything. He was reasonably sure that the other Cadet he’d fought a couple days previous wouldn’t say anything to anyone either; he’d likely get in more trouble than Helmeppo anyway, so it probably wasn’t about that. His mind flicked through other potential options. He knew there was one thing that Garp might specifically be talking to him about, but he didn’t know if the other would talk about it with him. Or at all.

“Maybe you know what I’m talking about?”

Helmeppo did his best to look nonchalant, “I can’t say I do, Admiral.”

Garp sighed, pensively looking at the Cadet, resting his elbows on the desk. “Are you sure?”

“Fairly sure.” Even though part of him wanted to know, wanted to ask if the only reason Luffy was alive was that he was Garp’s grandson, but Helmeppo kept his mouth shut.

“Because from what I’ve heard, you’ve been Koby’s shadow since we were attacked by the Going Merry. Add to that a fistfight with a fellow Cadet and verbally attacking multiple others. I think you know exactly what’s going on.” Garp dropped his hands to the desk, his lands resting on the repaired wood.

Helmeppo couldn’t help the slight blush when he looked at it. Certain he was nowhere as pretty as Koby had been when he’d laid eyes on the desk, well, any of the times he’d noticed the desk recently. “I’m always with Koby, sir. I don’t see how that’s changed at all. And the fights were just disagreements. Everyone’s been on edge with the state of the ship.”

“But not everyone rooms with Koby. And not everyone would get in a fight because their roommate was called a ‘pirate whore.’” Garp had an intense look in his eye, and his usually booming voice had dropped to barely above a murmur. Helmeppo couldn’t help but bristle at the statement, “So I’ll ask you again. Are you sure you don’t know what I’m talking about?” 

Helmeppo gulped. Apparently, he did know what it was about. But he refused to let himself be intimidated by the vice admiral when the fault could be laid at his feet. “He’s the best this ship has to offer, people in this room included. I’m not going to stand by and listen to people insult him, and neither should you when it’s your grandson’s fault he’s in this situation. And it’s your fault he was even on the ship in the first place.”

Garp leaned back, a small smile playing on his face, “Koby’s lucky to have someone like you in his corner. And you’re right. He is the best this ship has. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in charge of this whole mess one day. I’m not going to punish you for the fight; the other Cadet has already been spoken to. Nor for the verbal matches either. No, I want to know why . Why you’re trying so hard to protect him. What do you have to gain from it?” 

He looked away from the other’s piercing gaze. The heat climbing his neck and face surely gave him away, but Helmeppo still managed to say, “I don’t want to gain anything from it. Koby’s my friend, and even if the rest of the world is against him, I want him to know I’m on his side.”

“Is that what you honestly believe or what you’re telling yourself to sleep at night?” 

Helmeppo was standing before he’d made the choice to do it. His fists slammed onto the table before he realized what he’d done, and he leaned across toward Garp, a part of his that sounded suspiciously like his father was demanding that he make Garp pay.

Another part was asking him what the deep he thought he was doing, but he couldn’t stop.

“How dare you. How dare you! He’s my friend and-”

“And you want to have sex with him.”

“What does it matter to you?” Helmeppo needed to lower his voice, but the rage and indignation kept him from doing it, “Why do you care?”

“Who said I did?” The slight smile was gone from Garp’s face, and Helmeppo knew he’d hit on something.

“I did, just now. Because you wouldn’t be asking if something wasn’t in it for you.” Helmeppo flipped through everything he could think of that Helmeppo’s own interest might prevent. “What is it? You’re hoping to use him to lure Luffy in? Or maybe you’re hoping to make the perfect grandchild that Luffy couldn’t be. Use Koby’s idolization to get what you want out of him, and I’m standing in the way of that, even if I’m just standing beside him.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Cadet.” Garp’s lowly growled words should have scared him back onto the path, but instead, they made him angrier.

“ Then why do you care? Why do you care if I want to?” Helmeppo leaned in closer, his fists resting on the slight raises in the desk where it had been repaired. “Why do you care? It’s not like I would hurt him.”

Garp rose from his seat, angry red flooding his face, and Helmeppo remembered just how dangerous of a man he sat across from.

But he couldn’t control his tongue as another thought crossed his mind, “Maybe you don’t want him to replace something or for Luffy. Maybe you just want him.”

Garp froze; the color drained from his face, and Helmeppo knew he’d struck gold.

“Oh, you do. You do want him…” Helmeppo breathed, every other emotion draining from him.

Only to be filled with fear as the much older man grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the desk.

“You’ll speak of this to no one.” Garp hissed into his face from inches away.

“Of course not!” Helmeppo couldn’t help the way his hands grasped at Garp’s hands, fleeting memories of his father passing behind his eyes and deeply ingrained habits took over, “I mean, I don’t know why you’re worried; I think you could just say the word and Koby would get with you. I mean, he fawns over you so much it wouldn’t surprise me if he were interested, and who am I to compare? I’m nothing and no one. Even if he was interested in me- which I’m sure he’s not- I could never compare. You’re strong, a leader. I’m just his roommate I-”

“Shut up.” Garp let go of him, and Helmeppo did his best to put as much space between them as possible with the desk between him and an escape. The edge dug into his legs as he leaned back and away from the man.

The rage was gone again, and Garp looked pensive.

Helmeppo didn’t trust him not to strike if he tried to leave, so he stayed where he was, as still as possible, trying to avoid drawing his attention again.

“How much of that is true, and how much of that is you trying to save your own skin?” He hadn’t moved away from the desk, keeping Helmeppo trapped.

“What?”

“How much of that is true? Or are you just trying to keep me from killing ya?”

“I wouldn’t- I mean, I-”

“Spit it out.” Garp leaned in again far, far too close to him.

“I think he would, I mean. He practically follows you everywhere; he comes here nearly every night, and he’ll follow your every word. The only time he’s disagreed with you has been to try to help people. If you wanted, if you asked, I think he’d want to be with you.”

Garp leaned away, grabbing the arm of the chair to drop heavily into it. “When you say it that way, I almost believe you.”

Helmeppo couldn’t help how his eyes dart, trying to figure out if it was safe to put a little space between him and the vice admiral, “I’m not- I’m not lying.”

“I don’t think you are. Sit down.” Garp turned, pulling a couple short glasses and a dark bottle from near his desk. Filling them both, he gestured at the chairs across the desk. “Sit. Drink.”

He scrambled around the desk, thankful for the space between them, and carefully didn’t think about the slight tightness in his pants as he sat again.

Taking the glass left on his side of the desk, Helmeppo sniffed it, trying to figure out what he’d been given. Whatever was in the glass smelled strong, and he took a drink to have something to do with his hands.

Garp swirled the amber liquid in his glass, “If you’d asked me a few hours ago, I would have thought the same for you.”

Pausing, Helmeppo tried to figure it out before saying, “What do you mean?”

“That if you asked, Koby would be interested.”

Helmeppo blinked at him, lost for words.

“He’s always with you. He looks for your opinion even if he’s going to make his own way. He cares for you. Requested you to be his roommate when we assigned rooms.” Garp took a small drink, “If it hadn’t been for the, ah, incident I walked in on a bit back, I may have assumed that you were already involved.”

“He wanted us to be roomed together?”

“He did.”

The two men sat. Helmeppo wondered if he was going to be reassigned. As much as the words were said in panic, he was still very sure that the other would follow through.

He downed the rest of the glass in one go. “I think this means that we’re in a bit of a situation.”

Garp huffed a laugh, “You could say that.”

“There’s a solution,” Garp looked at him, curiosity twinkling in his eye, “We could each try, see who wins Koby’s heart.”

“I think Luffy already beat the both of us there.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But even if he did, he and Koby can never be together, not without one of them giving up their dreams. Neither will, and so our chance still remains.”

“You sound awfully sure about that.” Garp leaned fully back in his chair, seeming for all the world like they weren’t talking about anything significant.

“I am. How many times now has he been with Luffy? How many times has he had the chance to leave this behind and join Luffy’s crew? How many times did Luffy have the chance to leave his crazy dream behind and join the ranks here? I don’t know how long-” Helmeppo gestured at the broken desk, “-that has been going on. But they’ve both had ample opportunity to pursue it if they were inclined. That they haven’t is good enough for me.”

“You make a good point. Several of them, in fact.” Garp also drained the rest of his glass, dropping it on the table. Then, he offered Helmeppo his hand, “May the best man win his heart.”

“May the best man win his heart.”

Notes:

This one took a little longer than I thought it would, there were a lot of things that needed rewriting to get it somewhere close to right, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Though I did feel a little weird not having someone jerk off in this one.

Chapter 5: No One Here Knows How To Date

While the days remain the same, Garp, with some trepidation, prepared himself for the undertaking he’d somehow agreed upon.

The ship was eventually able to get underway, but there was the problem of how he would manage to seduce the younger man. He was nearly always at the older man’s side anyway, and it was hard to get him to notice if anything was a little different.

But in spite of his… feelings. Garp still maintained that the Cadets needed to learn to fight, to be better, stronger than they were.

That it would increase Koby’s specific strength was purely a coincidence.

What Garp struggled with was keeping his feelings out of the training.

The younger man quickly improved at impressive speeds, taking up new skills with vigor, practicing the acts even when he had a bit of free time, and quickly moving to the front of the pack when it came to sparring. Garp had to hand it to him; he was determined, and it showed.

Still, his feelings crept from him, uncontrolled. His hand on Koby’s shoulder at the end of a good bout. A whoop when the young man managed to knock down an opponent. Compliments dropped from his lips without his say.

It was unbecoming at best and made him too obvious at worst.

The smiles that his praise brought to Koby’s face made him feel like he could conquer the seas. But if he couldn’t control himself, then he wasn’t fit to lead. Koby might be capable, and he was quickly becoming far more than merely capable, but Garp was still his commander. 

He wasn’t supposed to show this blatant favoritism. 

Attempting to tamp down the feelings did nothing. The boy was getting more impressive every day, and Garp would get caught with his pants down if he didn’t do something soon. 

Literally. 

 

-------

 

Helmeppo was glad he wasn’t at the center of the vice admiral’s gaze most days. He was an absolute taskmaster on a good day, but since they’d come to their agreement, it was like his only goal was to put Koby, and, by extension, Helmeppo, through a meat grinder. Or maybe a flattener. Some kind of press, at least. 

But something had changed about the old man. He wasn’t slowing down and wasn’t getting lighter in their training, but it was like he was getting more into it. 

It was almost backward how he went about everything.

Helmeppo watched the way Garp interacted with Koby. He was probably harder on Koby than anyone else, and even Helmeppo was spared the worst of his attention. 

Koby practically flourished under the attention, though, negative as it often seemed. 

It would be something to laugh at if he wasn’t sure this was part of Garp’s methods. And something that seemed to be working. 

But, worst of all, Helmeppo suspected it was also working on him. 

He didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to even acknowledge it. But something in him positively preened at the vice admiral’s off-handed or backhanded compliments. Seldom directed at him, enough of them were flung Helmeppo’s way for the pleasantly warm feeling to take him through the days. 

Koby, though, didn’t seem to care. Or if he did, he never reacted much.

He’d smile sometimes, a private thing that still managed to show off all his teeth. He’d look oh so pleased with himself. The older man’s approval didn’t mean too much to him. It was his mastery of the skills that brought a smile to his face. 

That lovely smile managed to still look half surprised, half pleased. It was probably a good thing that Koby wasn’t too confident. Helmeppo was sure he wouldn’t survive seeing Koby’s smile at full blast.

Helmeppo was also sure he needed to stop thinking about Koby’s smile in the communal showers, or he would quickly have a different problem. 

“Hey! Cadet Morgan!” Helmeppo didn’t turn to look at whoever was talking. There were too many people in the showers when he’d gone in, but he was sure there’d be more if he waited, and the stink of his own BO was getting to him. The room had cleared a fair amount since he ducked into one of the stalls, with only a couple overly boisterous men remaining. 

“Morgan!” A hand reached out, jostling the mountain of aches that was his shoulder.

He reached out blindly behind him, smacking at anyone in arm's distance. His hair was still covered in shampoo, which bled into his eyes stinging horribly, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to touch people in the shower?”

A hearty chuckle sounded, followed by, “Oh come on, mate, we’re just trying to settle a bet.”

“A bet?” Helmeppo asked, trying to rinse the soap at least out of his eyes to see which idiot was breaking shower etiquette. “Why would I care about the resolution of your bet?”

“That’s what I told ’im!” Another of the cheery cadets. Helmeppo thought he recognized this one, though he didn't know his name. “You’re too busy being one of the Vice Admiral’s favorites to partake in the betting with the rest of us.” 

Helmeppo sputtered, unsure what to say, when the other spoke again, “See now, that’s why I’m saying he’d know! You’d know, I mean.”

Finally cleaned off the soap, Helmeppo looked at the two men, “Know what? Exactly?”

“What died and crawled up the Vice Admiral’s ass!” The first man laughed, and the second snorted. 

“What Taren means, of course, is if you know why he’s gotten so gung ho about training in the last little bit.” He shook his head, “I swear, we’ve done more hand-to-hand since we got out of port last week than we have in the entire rest of the time we’ve been in the Marines.”

Helmeppo paused, thinking. He was pretty sure it had something to do with Koby, but he was unsure what it was exactly. 

Before he could answer, though, the first man, Taren, spoke again. His voice is lowered and conspiratorial, “I think it’s got something to do with the pirates we dealt with last fortnight. I heard that the ones that got onto the ship were responsible for most of the injuries.”

“I heard it was cause none of the men managed to even lay a hand on the one with the swords.” The second added, voice similarly lowered. 

“That’s probably right,” Helmeppo told them evenly. 

The first looked like he was about half a step from stomping his foot, “Aw, now you’re hiding things! Come on, if you know the real answer, you gotta spill.”

Both men leaned in close, too close for Helmeppo, considering neither had their clothes on. 

“Now, now, that’s as good a reason as any. I’m not privy to what happens in the Vice Admiral’s head. Nor would I want to be, the man’s a loose canon. You’re probably right, most of all, about something having crawled up there and died. As it is, though, I wouldn’t call myself ‘one of his favorites’ or even particularly well-liked by the man.” Helmeppo sighed, “Koby’s the one he’s setting up to take over from him. He’s probably the only one the man thinks has real promise. And given you two are too busy making bets to get to your duties, I think he might be right.” 

Helmeppo tried to breeze past the men, both probably half again his size across, but they stopped him. “Now, what’s that supposed to mean?” 

“If you were aiming for higher than Cadet, you’ve got work to do.” Helmeppo wasn’t sure where the bravado came from, and given the immediate darkening of the men’s faces, he’d prefer it went back immediately.

“Are you calling us stupid?” 

“Obviously not, or you’d have caught on by now.” His tongue was going to be his death. Helmeppo was sure of it. 

The first man slammed Helmeppo back against the stall wall, “Now, why would you go and say something like that?” 

Wishing he knew, Helmeppo tried to gasp something out, anything really. Something that would save him from the pickle he’d found himself in. But all the air had left his lungs, and all that was left in him was panic. 

“I think I got an idea for a new bet, Taren.” The second man said, a cruel look creeping up his face, “If Morgan here isn’t one of the Vice Admiral’s favorites… How long before he noticed the little prick went missing?” 

Clawing at the hand holding him to the wall, Helmeppo hoped by all the seas that anyone would come into the room. Anyone at all.

The first shoved Helmeppo a little harder, keeping him from drawing a full breath. “Well, if he doesn’t notice the whiny little shit’s missing in the first few hours, I doubt he ever will.”

“Easy money that. Does he notice he’s missing? Will he even care?” The second half sang.

“Meppo?” Came the voice of Helmeppo’s unexpected savior. “What’s going on in here?”

Immediately, the hand holding him against the wall dropped, and both men stepped back. “Just having a little fun, we are. Aren’t we?”

Helmeppo would never admit how grateful he was to see Koby then. He rushed out of the stall as fast as possible without glancing at the two men. “Loads. Come on, Koby, let’s get out of here.”

Grabbing Koby by his arm, Helmeppo picked up the pile of his clothes. He paused to wrap a towel around himself, then dragged Kobe away from the communal showers.

“Meppo, what’s going on?” Koby asked, without fighting Helmeppo at all.

“Don’t worry about it,” Helmeppo answered, adrenaline flying through his veins. He wanted to do something stupid, something life-affirming. He dragged Koby back to their room, throwing his clothes on when the door closed.

“Seemed like it might be something to worry about.” Koby grabbed Helmeppo’s arm, holding him still. “You’re probably going to have some bruises on your back.” 

Helmeppo froze as Koby’s hand traced his back, ghosting over his shoulder blades where he could already feel bruises forming. 

“It was just a disagreement. And anyway, what were you doing there?” Helmeppo spun. 

Koby’s eyes lingered for the shortest second on Helmeppo’s chest before rocketing to his eyes with a slight blush, “To shower?” 

A small, slightly confused smile curled his lips, and Helmeppo realized the ridiculousness of his question. His face heated, and he was sure it wasn't anywhere near as appealing as the gentle pinkening of Koby’s blush, “Well. I mean- That’s. Good.”

Helmeppo’s certain he couldn’t sound more like an idiot if he tried, but Koby still had that soft smile. 

“Well, it would be if you hadn’t dragged me away.” 

“Right. I did—do that. Didn’t I?” Helmeppo shook his head. “I thought you were meeting with Garp.” 

“I was, I mean, I am!” Koby said, rubbing his shoulder, “I was just hoping a shower would help with some of the sore muscles I’ve got.” 

A thousand thoughts and images flew through Helmeppo’s head—most of the kind that he wouldn’t even think to hint at imagining when all alone, let alone with Koby staring right at him. The flush that flooded his face was painfully hot, and his jaw dropped open as he tried to figure out what to say. 

He wanted, so badly, to be half as brave as Koby. 

“You should probably shower, then. I mean, it’s probably emptied out by now.” Helmeppo managed past his sandpaper-dry tongue.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Koby nodded and started back out of the room. He paused to add, “You should join me to talk to Garp tonight.”

Helmeppo struggled with his dry mouth and nodded to get Koby out of the room. 

Changing faster than he previously thought possible, he wondered if joining the two would be in bad taste. He was invited, technically. Last minute, though, it might be.

But what if this was Garp making his move? Was it fair to join when he was almost certainly unwanted? Would it be in his best interest to join and keep Garp from winning? 

 

-----

 

Garp wasn’t cleaning his office. 

He didn’t need to; it was his domain, and he’d left it in far worse states than it’s current one of the years. 

But a little tidying wouldn’t hurt anything. 

Koby was running behind, which was unlike the boy. Normally, he didn’t have to worry about him. Garp told him to be somewhere at a specific time. He’d be there before Garp arrived, at least five minutes earlier. 

But Garp was expecting him, and he wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Maybe he’d fallen asleep or forgotten? 

It didn’t seem like him. Even with all the extra work and practices that Garp had been piling on the cadets, Koby had seemed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed through all of it. He’d even taken on helping the other cadets when it seemed like they were falling behind. He was even rubbing off on Helmeppo to some extent. 

Maybe he should use a different phrase. 

He’s fairly sure that if that were true, in a nonmetaphorical way, it would have come up somehow. The other cadet probably would have told him even if Koby hadn’t.

So what was going on there? 

He knew, on some level, but he needed to figure out if it was something he really needed to worry about or if it could be stopped so that Garp could spend more time with the boy.

Debating whether he should call for dinner, Garp sat behind his desk. 

This was one of those situations where he could very likely be caught with his pants down if he wasn’t careful. And he was very sure that if he acted without thought, he’d lose his chance with Koby completely. 

Still, he couldn’t help palming his cock anyway. 

He wasn’t a young man anymore, though; he risked too much if he thought too hard about any of it. 

And that’s what this all boiled down to. It was all a young man’s game, and if he kept on this course, there would be a lot of chance for real heartbreak. 

Not just his own. 

Admittedly, Koby and Helmeppo made an attractive pair. Garp could admit it.

Though he was very, very sure that Koby could do better than Axe-Hand’s brat. 

Helmeppo might have been shaping up into a fine seaman; he was still too proud for his own good and too cowardly to last. If it hadn’t been for Koby, Garp was sure he might have disappeared already, looking for another path to feed his need for attention. 

Sinking into his seat, Garp wondered if that’s what he was looking for from Koby. If he needed the boy’s attention like he seemed to need it from authority figures, would Koby’s attention be enough?

Garp kept his hands over his pants as he sunk lower into his seat and deeper into his thoughts. 

Koby was quiet but very sure with his hands. Once he had an idea in mind and knew what he was doing, he followed through. When ready, he’d be a force to be reconned with. 

But how would that translate to the bedroom?

Would he still be as sure? Would he want to touch? Would he hold himself back or dive right in?

What would he do with Helmeppo? 

Garp half froze at the thought but wondered where it would lead him. It should make him angry, right? Jealous maybe? 

But instead, it stoked a fire within him. Though he was supposed to be at odds with the other cadet in a competition to win Koby’s heart, he couldn’t help but think that they would be, could be, very attractive together. 

All long pale limbs, soft skin, muscle growing quickly, but none too obvious. 

He’d never seen Helmeppo naked, but he didn’t have to imagine them together. 

Someone knocked at his door. 

It had to be Koby. It couldn’t be anyone else.

Garp straightened, pulling closer to the table. His bulge would be obvious if he didn’t, but he doubted Koby would notice if they got to playing immediately. 

He called for the lad to come in and hoped he would notice anything.

Garp nearly swallowed his tongue when Koby entered with Helmeppo.

Chapter 6: Somewhat Aware

Koby pulled the Go pieces from their hiding places. The vice admiral didn’t move from the desk; he barely said a word, actually, once Koby and Helmeppo entered. 

Wondering briefly if he’d done something wrong, Koby tried to catch Garp’s eyes. 

But he wasn’t looking at Koby, strangely, but at Helmeppo. And if Helmeppo noticed the eyes on him, he didn’t say or do anything out of the norm. He sat in his usual chair comfortably, with almost no indication that he didn’t feel as comfortable in these chambers as in his own. 

The only difference was that he leaned more towards his side than to the back, but given how hard Koby had seen him slammed against the shower wall earlier, he wasn’t surprised. 

However, Garp remained silent, looking at Helmeppo like he had the answer to some question that plagued him. Koby hadn’t seen the older man like this before and wondered if he should say anything. 

Or about the men in the shower. 

Garp didn’t tend to hand out a lot of punishments. From what Koby had seen, the man liked to get his message across hands-on. Which could be more than a little troubling from the sidelines, as it had been watching him and Luffy. But it was probably more likely to stick in the minds of his underlings that way. 

It certainly stuck in Koby’s mind, seeing some of the repercussions. But now, Koby was sure that they’d been undergoing even more, even worse actions than what Garp inflicted as the new “training,” which he was also very sure was his fault. 

He didn’t know how he was so sure about it, but if it wasn’t his fault, it had to be because of the whole incident with Luffy right before. 

So, it could also possibly be considered Luffy’s fault. 

Koby wasn’t going to ask Garp about it, though. He actually felt good, really good, about all the training they’d received. He felt stronger; he’d been fighting guys almost twice his size on the near-daily, and it just felt right, like he was actually succeeding as a Marine. 

And that was hard for him to regain after the incident with Luffy and all the talk that had come after. No one spoke of it now; almost all of them were too tired to do more than front at him most days.

It was good, it was really good. 

Koby sat in his customary seat and watched Garp for his turn, but the man was still distracted. 

He looked distant now, hunched somewhat in his seat.

A glance at Helmeppo showed he sat similarly, silently.

What was going on here, he wondered, and how were both men involved?

Koby played the first piece. 

 

-----

 

Helmeppo didn’t join the vice admiral and Koby the next night. In fact, Garp had cornered him specifically while training to request that he didn’t. 

The game had started, and here he was on the back foot. 

Shaking his head, Helmeppo marches the deck of the ship. He just needed to move, to get out of their tiny, but somehow very, very empty cabin. Koby had once again been summoned, and Helmeppo was certain it would be hours before he reappeared, if he did at all that night.

Why didn’t he try anything? Why didn’t he do anything? He could be the one with Koby right now, and even if he wasn’t, at least he could be almost certain about getting to be with Koby.

But he had to wait. It wasn’t a certainty that Garp would win. 

The man might have the upper hand in many ways, but he wasn’t giving up, not on Koby.

He paced the decks. Typically, Koby returned to their rooms at about midnight, but if he hadn’t returned by then, was that a sign? Or did they simply get distracted? 

Did Helmeppo want to imagine what they could possibly get distracted by? 

In his mind’s eye, Koby was flushed and pink, smiling that sweet, oh-so-pleased smile. Like the cat that got the cream, a little bit too many teeth. But that worked for him. Big doe eyes and a pleased little smile. 

He would probably crawl into Garp’s lap, hesitant at first, until Garp encouraged him, then he’d be sure of himself. Holding onto Garp’s shoulders as he made himself comfortable. Again, he was hesitant until he was sure that Garp had no issue with his weight in his lap, and then he settled in comfortably. 

Garp, though, would be grinning that half-feral look of his, like when he’d realized Luffy wasn’t going to give up on being a pirate. He would be excited, terrified, and ready to see what came of the terrible decision being made. 

So similar and so different from the rough and tumble of the melee mats, Koby would still look flushed, accomplished, and proud of himself. After all, wouldn’t that be proving something that he’d always wanted? To be a Marine? The only thing better would be being with one as well. Garp was certainly an example of a Marine. 

But unlike in their training, it would be Koby on top of Garp. 

It would be Koby getting in too close. 

What would Garp’s hands look like on Koby? 

His hands were heavily tanned and would be so large on Koby’s frame. He’d probably be able to span most of his back with one and the other… Maybe holding Koby’s face? Maybe it would dip down to pull Koby’s ass against his bulge? 

Helmeppo tried to shake the thought from his head. There was no certainty in any of it. It might just be a normal night as well. 

He was just overthinking it; that’s what he was doing. 

Shaking his head again, Helmeppo needed to figure out what he would do. What was his response to this overt attempt on Koby? 

They’d be heading to port once more. Some less urgent repairs still needed doing. Maybe he could take Koby out of the ship. A simple date, perhaps something away from the crowds. It would be easier to get his intent across if he didn’t need to keep Garp from interfering. 

The man had the unfortunate advantage of having his own space, which he could likely transform into a more romantic atmosphere. Helmeppo had only the communal spaces and their cabin to work with.

Midnight comes all too fast and the bell signals the end of his shift, and the all the high likelihood of returning to an empty cabin.

But Helmeppo won’t let himself mope too much. 

Opening the door none-too-gently, Helmeppo is surprised to find Koby’s there already. 

“What are you doing here?” Is somehow the first thing to escape his lips, instead of something that would likely sound far less damning. 

Koby looks at him from where he’s reading on his own bunk, “I sleep here?”

Realizing his mistake, Helmeppo half backtracks, “I mean, I thought you were going to be out with Garp, uh, much later than this.”

“It’s already midnight, Meppo.” He sits up a hair, “Are you feeling alright? Didn’t you hear the bell?”

“I’m fine. I just thought that you were going to stay out late tonight.”

“Maybe another night, but there was some issue with the lights in Garp’s cabin.” Koby flops back, “And the galley crew brought up food twice tonight on accident. My eyes started to get tired after a couple rounds of Go by candlelight, so I figured I’d turn in a little early tonight.”

Accident Helmeppo’s ass. But he wouldn’t say that, as it sounded like Garp’s attempt hadn’t gone well. “Hm. Yes. Very odd. Well, here’s hoping the issues in his cabin get fixed at the next port.” 

Helmeppo sat so Koby wouldn’t see his little fist pump of success. “Yeah, I hope so too.”

A moment passes, then two. Helmeppo knows he’s still in the game, but he’s got to act. He takes his boots off while trying to figure out what his own plan will be.

Koby yawns, a huge, jaw-cracking thing, “It was kinda weird that you got guardshift tonight, too. I’ve gotten kinda used to you joining us at night.”

“Yeah, luck of the draw, I guess.” Or deliberately done by Garp to ensure he and Koby had time together. 

“Yeah.” Koby closed his book, tucking it away. “Anyway. Goodnight Meppo, sleep well.”

“You too, Koby.” 

 

-----

 

Being in port meant there was a lot of shit that needed doing, and all too often, Garp was the only person who could do it.

There was paperwork to be signed off on, crates and barrels to be offloaded, supplies to be onboarded, and a million and one people who seemed to forget how to do their jobs without his explicit instruction.

It was the worst part about all of it.

In addition, there was still entirely too much of the ship that needed repairs, and each and every one of the repairs required his signature. 

In triplicate.

This was why he’d never aim higher. 

Why he’d always be content with ‘Vice Admiral’ and never reach the heights that so many of his superiors wished he would. 

It might also make their lives a little easier if he wasn’t out there personally hunting down man, pirate, and monster alike. Whoever ended up rising to fill his position wouldn’t be half as efficient, though. Possibly more by the books, but nowhere near as efficient. 

Except perhaps Koby, but he wasn’t ready for the young man to replace him just yet. 

Their dinner had been a complete failure. 

Garp was a lot more out of practice either way than he thought.

He thought it’d be simple that he’d be able to give them a nice atmosphere, good food, and maybe a little conversation outside the norm. Even getting up two meals for their should-have-been date had been easy. But it seemed that all of his efforts were for naught.

Koby hadn’t even noticed.

Well, he had, but he’d almost refused and refuted all of it. 

The main lights being ‘out’ had led to serious concerns about the ship's electrical system. Getting two meals sent up had made the boy wonder if there was some kind of mix-up in the gally that they should worry about. Attempts to discuss anything other than battle strategies and plans for the ship were met with a bit of confusion. 

Admittedly, Garp found discussions of future plans significant, but not so much when he tried to woo someone.

It didn’t seem like it had been this much work the last time he’d tried.

And Now Koby and Helmeppo were both on shore leave. Supposedly, they would return later in the day, but Garp was sure it would be much later than planned. 

He’d missed his chance, or at least his first chance. 

There was a chance that Helmeppo would do well and would manage to get it all done. But more likely, he would fumble something. He was more willing to take charge away from a perceived authority figure, but that often changed when Koby was added to the equation. Sometimes more brash, sometimes more quiet. 

In a situation like this, would he be able to take charge? Would he be willing to be as bold as he needed to be?

Garp nearly growled at the thought. 

He didn’t want to imagine Helmeppo getting his possessive little paws all over Koby. Once he did, it’d be a lot harder for Garp to do, well, anything. Even just enjoy his time with Koby in peace. Even now, the older brat rarely let Koby come alone. 

If Helmeppo didn’t succeed today, which Garp was sure he wouldn’t, Garp needed to step up his game. 

Being straight-up about it wouldn’t work out well. Especially given that there was always the chance that Koby wasn’t actually interested in Garp. He needed to be sure that the cadet was interested in him before doing anything too obvious, anything that might get either of them in too much trouble.

Rising through the ranks himself, Garp had heard stories of more seasoned officers using their power for personal pleasure. 

At a point, he’d even been close to another who’d been put through that ringer. The funeral had been small. His fellow cadet hadn’t been well known, and their commanding officer hadn’t seen fit to show up. 

The man retired well before Garp had had any command power, but he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t do something reckless if he saw the man now.

Suffice it to say that Garp would never accidentally or intentionally put someone into that position. 

Hopefully, if Koby ever found himself even approaching that kind of situation, he’d do something about it. 

But the thought remained in Garp’s head that the boy might not. Or might go along with it because of his own past. Or, worst of all, they might simply disappear, leaving Gerp and Helmeppo alike wondering what had happened to him. 

He wasn’t sure which idea sounded worse, but Garp would prefer that Koby was safe over all of it.

Chapter 7: They're Really Trying

Being in port really brought something out in everyone.

Granted, it mostly seemed to be foolish tendencies, but some of the people aboard the ship also seemed to be filled with life. They probably weren’t meant for a life at sea, but at this point, no one had the chance to leave unless they managed to move up the ranks or get switched to a permanent outpost. 

It also really brought something out in Garp and Helmeppo. Koby couldn’t tell what it was. 

They just seemed more energetic, really. They’d both been inviting him to do all kinds of things. 

It was really sweet of Meppo to get him off the ship for a little while. The last time the boat had been in port, Koby was trying to avoid everyone, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a picnic. 

Probably before Alvida had taken him.

They’d sat in a little park inside the limits of the city, eaten some food Meppo bought from one of the shops, and just relaxed for a little bit.

The park wasn’t somewhere that most of the crew from the ship would go, and the locals didn’t seem to think there was anything strange about the two cadets enjoying their food. They probably didn’t mind because they weren’t causing any kind of a ruckus. It was a nice break from the norm, though. Even though it was like most of the lunches they had together. 

But it seemed like there was always something going on that he wanted to see, and he fell back, ignoring their invitations to things. 

It seemed the vice admiral wanted Koby in his office at all times. Every day so far they’d been in port, the man had something new for Koby to see, do, try, or help him with. Even with all the places Alvida had pillaged, he’d never had this variety of food options. 

It was a little insane, and all of it definitely cut into his other duties.

Koby didn’t mind much, though. He still managed to get his duties done, though he had to trade a couple of times when Garp kept him late. 

And Helmeppo seemed to want him off the ship constantly. He kept inviting him to see things around the town, to join the others in going out drinking or eating, or just to take a little walk around the harbor. 

Which Koby also enjoyed. Don’t get him wrong, but Koby didn’t have any time for himself between the two men. 

Helmeppo might not be following him around like he’d been before, but the feeling still remained, and it was very, very, very much so getting onto his nerves. And now it seemed like Garp had been bitten by the same bug.

So Koby did the only thing a person with insufficient free time and too many social commitments could do. 

He let them spend time together instead.

Dirty and underhanded? Certainly. 

But Koby still had his own duties and needed them to find other people to spend time with for a little while. He was sure that as soon as they were underway again, it would stop or at least drop back down to manageable levels. He still wanted to partake in his studies; he just needed more time than the others gave him. 

It was just for a little while. 

Really. 

 

-----

 

Helmeppo hadn’t thought twice about taking over Koby’s round that evening. His rounds usually ended pretty early, and since Koby already agreed to go out to one of the bars with him, that just meant that they could spend time together sooner.

He hadn’t realized that Koby’s round had ended early because he had also dropped Garp’s dinner off.

Of course, he thought that meant he was off early.

The vice admiral did cut an attractive figure, carefully balanced in a sharp suit overlooking some map or another on his desk, candles softening his features. 

Unfortunately, the man was obviously shocked when Helmeppo saw him looking very attractive, leaning over his maps, his face softened by the candles, which ruined the look just a little bit. 

Dropping the plate onto the desk, Helmeppo dropped into Koby’s usual chair, where another still-warm plate sat.

“Special requested he drop off your dinner, huh?” Helmeppo asked, knowing in his heart of hearts that he already knew the answer.

Garp sighed, walking to his own chair. “That I did. Didn’t expect you.” 

“Me neither.” Helmeppo shrugged, “If I’d known this was one of your attempts at wooing him, I wouldn’t have agreed to cover for him tonight.”

"Do you think he’s noticed any of it?" Sitting in his chair, Garp digs into his own meal. He gestures at the other plate and adds, “Might as well eat.”

"Nope," Helmeppo answers, dragging the plate closer. "How many of these 'dates' have you had?" 

"Too many." Garp grunts, “You?”

“Also, too many. We were supposed to meet tonight to go to one of the bars in port.”

“You don’t think he’d still join you?” Garp asks around a mouthful.

Helmeppo rolls his neck, “If he was, he probably wouldn’t have sent me to what is obviously a dinner with you.” 

“Are we sure he doesn’t realize these are supposed to be dates?” 

“If he did, I think he’d be acting a bit differently.” Helmeppo meets Garp’s gaze with a raised brow, “Don’t you?” 

He nods, “I think we’re just going to have to tell him.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Helmeppo freezes, “What if-”

“What if he doesn’t take it well? Or hates us? Or leaves the Marines?” 

Helmeppo sputters, “Well, yes!” 

“Well, I think it’s just a chance we’ll have to take.” Garp shrugs, shoving another bite into his mouth. 

“And what do we do if we lose him?” Helmeppo asked, his voice barely loud enough to be heard. “What do we do if he leaves us and we never see him again?”

“Then we live with the consequences. I don’t think Koby will leave just like that, though. It sounds too much like giving up for the man we know.” Garp shakes his head. “Eat. We’ll devise a better plan with food in our bellies.”

 

-----

 

He’d come up with better plans over the years. Garp was sure of it. 

This one was probably one of the slapdash he’d ever thought of, partly due to Helmeppo's help.

The boy panicked far, far too easily, and that had bled into their plan.

But here he was, waiting for Helmeppo and Koby. 

This was the exact kind of thing he’d been hoping to avoid, forcing his feelings, his and Helmeppo’s feelings, onto Koby. Ultimately, they were making him responsible for where it all went, though, in theory, it should have been all his choice anyway. 

This, though, was far different from their more subtle plans to try to seduce him. This was, to put it bluntly, very blunt.

Garp decided tonight had to be the night to do it. They were going to be leaving in the morning, first thing. If it all went wrong, if he had, in fact, misjudged Koby and the lad decided to leave, it would give him the time to do it under the cover of darkness. And if he wanted to leave officially, from the Marines or simply from this ship, Garp would sign the paperwork. 

Koby wouldn’t feel trapped if he had anything to say about it.

But if he thought on it or took too much time, they’d be out at sea, and he’d just have to wait for the next port to leave. 

Garp looked over a couple of maps of the area. Few Marine ports were in the area, and the few that were were far between. This one happened to be friendly to Marines, but that wouldn’t always be the case. 

They’d kept half following Luffy’s path across the East Blue, this time not to try to drive him from his path but to clean up whatever mess he left behind.

Usually, the people left behind were happy, freed from whatever regime they’d been trapped under. But they needed help in some form, usually the long-term help a free-spirited pirate like Luffy couldn’t provide. 

It had also made the Marines a few enemies, but that wasn’t something that Garp would have to deal with all the time. 

A knock sounded at the door as Garp jotted down the names of a couple ports.

There wasn’t any certainty that they might be hospitable in the near future, but it was better than not having any idea of where to go. “Enter!”

“You wanted to see us, Sir?” Ah, the fantastic sound of Koby’s hesitant voice. 

Garp put the maps away slowly, not stalling, never stalling, “I did. Sit. Please.” 

He could see the confusion in Koby’s frame as he sat, and Helmeppo didn’t. 

The older boy instead came around behind Garp’s desk to grab some of his good whiskey and pour a few glasses. He dropped one next to him - likely only doing so because he was closest and not out of any genuine respect for his position as a leader on this vessel - and then placed one in front of Koby. He hovered a tad awkwardly with his own glass, looking like he wasn’t sure where would be the best place to sit.

“May I ask what this is about? Sir?” Koby picked up his own glass but didn’t drink from it. Instead, he held it like a child holding a favored toy. 

Garp shook that from his head. 

This was hard enough; he didn’t need to make it more complicated by comparing Koby to a child. 

“Sit, Morgan.” Garp brought his drink to his own chair. He’d almost have preferred Helmeppo being on his side of the desk, but that would only complicate things further.

Worse might make Koby feel like he’s being ganged up on.

Garp took a deep breath, then drank the whiskey to fortify himself. “Before anything else. I just want you to know that you’re a capable lad. You’re a good Marine, and you’re a good man already.”

Unsure of what exactly he’d expected, the slight blush and pleased look on Koby’s face was a good start. The heavier blush on Helmeppo’s face was something interesting to note for later. But now wasn’t the time for that.

“You should also know that if this makes you uncomfortable, you can leave if needed. No black mark will be left on your record, and I’ll even ensure you have a good reference no matter where you choose to go.” 

The pleased look was replaced by confusion, and Koby looked confused. Helmeppo finished his glass soberly and reached to pour himself a second one. 

Garp gave him a look, but that only caused him to pause for a second before continuing. 

“What’s this about, Sir?” Koby looked more confused watching Helmeppo, and Garp wasn’t at all surprised about it. 

“Well, it would seem that Cadet Morgan and I are— Well, we're both interested. In you.”

If possible, Koby only looked more confused, “Interested?”

Garp coughed a bit, “Interested romantically. We’ve both been trying to show our interest, but I can’t tell if you were simply being too polite to tell either of us off or perhaps just didn’t feel comfortable enough to say whether or not you were interested.”

Koby’s gaze flipped from one man to the other, flush crawling up his face as he searched for something.

Helmeppo picked up for Garp, “We both understand the other might be appealing for different reasons; if you choose one, we won't fight or anything. We just want you to be on the same page as us because everything else we tried hasn't worked." 

Koby was still looking between them, "Since when?"

“What?” Garp asked, Helmeppo looking as confused as he felt.

“How long? Have you been… interested? How long has this been going on?” Koby’s gaze focused on Garp’s for a moment, steely.

“For a while now,” Garp answered, pausing to take a long drink. “Longer than I care to admit.”

“And you? How long, Meppo?” 

Helmeppo chose to drain his glass again instead of answering immediately. When he reached for the bottle a third time, Garp dropped his hand on top of it, keeping him from lifting it. This was really a conversation to be had sober, but it was called liquid courage for a reason. 

Garp noted that Koby didn’t even sip from his own glass. 

“A while.”

“How long is a while?’” Koby asked again, the steel creeping into his voice. 

“I don’t know, a while?” Helmeppo looked nervous, horrible, blotchy, embarrassed, red creeping over his face, alcohol likely adding to it. “Why does it matter?”

“It matters to me. And how long is ‘longer than you care to admit?’” Koby’s eyes had a sheen, but he wasn't crying despite it. 

“Since about the time you started beating me in Go,” Garp said easily, aware he’d probably let too much go.

Koby’s eyes widened, “That long?” 

Garp took a drink, nodding rather than risking actually answering.

“Why’s that important?” Helmeppo’s looked between them now.

“Because that wasn’t long after we first set sail,” Koby said, a little surprised, softening his voice.

“I’ve wanted you since you let Luffy go.” Helmeppo blurted, and both men looked at him, and the splotchy red covers his face, “I know you did it intentionally. I don’t know who actually knocked me out, but I’ve wanted you since a little after that. You were just so sure that he was in the right, that he was actually helping that girl. Though I admit, the concussion probably helped a little with all of that.”

Garp huffed a laugh, “You’ve got whichever of us you want, Lad.” 

He tried to keep his face open, but he didn’t survive this long as a marine without still being a bit guarded in his softer moments. 

“I don’t know. I really, I just-” Koby shook his head.

“You also don’t have to pick either of us. I understand if you’re not interested. We won’t push you; we just want you to be happy. Though I admit, I would really prefer if you at least chose one of us instead of someone else.” Helmeppo added, none too helpfully.

“What he means is that we both care, and we won’t treat you any differently if you pick one or the other.” Garp placed his drink down before he leaned across his desk, offering Koby his hand, “And if you don’t pick either of us, we’ll understand that, too. But you’re important to us, and we want you happy most of all.” 

Koby looked at his outstretched hand and then down to the places on the table that still carried the mark of his incident with Luffy. 

Garp leaned back, his hand resting lightly over the place where the wood had been repaired. 

He wondered if Helmeppo had been wrong, and the only person Koby held a flame for was speeding toward the Grand Line. 

His gaze drawn toward the marks on the table, Garp wondered if anything could be said. It was all in Koby’s hands now, and though he didn’t want to make the lad uncomfortable, they needed some kind of answer. Even if it was just that Koby needed time. 

Helmeppo mumbled under his breath, clearly not expecting anyone to hear him, but still too loud in the quiet that had overtaken the cabin, “I feel like if you were that pent up, you should have just come to one of us.”

Garp laughed but didn't disagree; his gaze darted to Helmeppo, who realized that it came out a bit louder than he thought, then to Koby, who turned bright red.

Sputtering, Helmeppo managed to say, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Don’t lie now, boy. You did mean to say it.” Garp cut him off; he attempted to make eye contact with Koby, but he seemed too mortified to do so. “And there’s nothing wrong with being a little pent up.” 

“I swear I didn’t mean to,” Koby said eventually.

“Of course you didn’t!” Garp cut him off, too; quirking a brow, he added, “But that’s not what this is about.”

Koby shoot his glass, “I’m not saying I’m not interested, and I’m not saying that- that I want to pick. But I am interested in both of you. I just need to think about all of this.” 

“I would expect nothing less. We’ve given you a lot to think about tonight. Take your time on it.”

“We’ll deal with it no matter what your answer is.” Helmeppo turned something like overgrown puppy dog eyes onto Koby. “Just, please don’t make us wait too long.” 

“And if you choose to leave, tonight’s the night to do it. No judgment.”

“I’m not leaving.” Koby stood, looking at both of them with a slightly awestruck smile. “What kind of a Marine would I be if I left just because things got slightly surprising?”

“This isn’t a challenge, Koby,” Garp said, trying not to let the seriousness of the situation seep into his voice too much. “This isn’t something that you win or lose. Or that you should feel you have to prove yourself in.”

“I know. I just need to think about it all.” Koby left the room, closing the doors behind him.

Helmeppo sighed, then snagged the whiskey bottle from Garp. He could stop the boy, but he pushed his glass over for a refill instead.

“Welp, that went about as well as it could have.”

Chapter 8: The Conundrum

Koby returned to their room, knowing it was a matter of time until Meppo returned. 

He couldn’t believe that both men were interested in him, and they both seemed very serious about it. Even though it was still a possibility that they were joking or messing around with his feelings, neither man had done that in the past. 

So maybe they really were serious? 

They really wanted him?

Him? Of all people that they could want? 

It wasn’t that he doubted their feelings, but, well, he actually was a little bit. 

They both claimed it had started so long ago, but why wait till now to talk about it? 

Koby wondered if it had anything to do with, well, his time with Luffy. Maybe neither had thought he was interested in men? Or they just hadn’t realized that he could be interested in men? 

It was something that he’d thought about before, how hard it would be to find a partner. But here were two people who were actually interested in him, and he wanted to be with them.

But how was he supposed to choose? 

It was selfish, but he wanted both of them. Koby didn’t want to choose. He was happy with everything being how it was. He was happy with the status quo of pining after both of them and not expecting anything in return. He was happy just dealing with being “pent up” with his own hand and not needing anyone else for it.

But they didn’t want things to stay the same; they wanted things to be different, and they wanted him to choose between them.

Could he choose Meppo? His only real friend since he’d gotten here? Someone who’d sat with him after nightmares, who’d supported him and pushed him all in one go?

Could he choose Garp? The vice admiral, the leader of this whole vessel? The man who made sure he was his best and constantly pushed him to be better? 

He was sure there was more than just that in his choices. 

But what was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to choose. 

Maybe they'd just lose interest if he didn’t pick one or the other?

This wasn’t why he’d joined the Marines though, he wasn’t here to swoon over men, to be a prize to be won. He was here to help people, save lives. And he couldn’t do that if he was too busy mooning over his friend and his commanding officer.

For now, he’d focus on being all that a Marine was supposed to be. If either had an issue with it, well, that would be the end of it. 

But there was also something more that Koby wanted out of it. 

Koby hadn’t been in, well, any kind of relationship before. He was too young before Alvida and then had no chances when he was with her. Not that he’d want a relationship with the kind of men that Alvida preferred the company of.

But there was still some basic human part of himself that wanted. 

Just wanted. 

There were plenty of people who would name that want “sex” or “attention,” but neither of those labels really fit the need that had settled into Koby’s chest like the seagulls that nested on the highest parts of the ship. 

Its wings beat against him when Koby was with Luffy, not just desire; he knew what desire was. And it raged when Helmeppo had stood beside him at Orange Village. 

But when Helmeppo and Garp - mostly Garp - had confessed to him, it had gone strangely quiet. 

He didn’t know what it meant; he didn’t know what he felt or why. 

The wanting returned almost as soon as Koby had left the room and left the two men behind. But he didn’t know what it meant anymore.

 

-----

 

In the days since they’d returned to sea, Helmeppo had become certain he was going to die of blue balls.

Koby was in his bed with him, and he didn’t know how long the other had been there. 

Sure, blue balls weren’t something that people could actually die from; no one had actually died from a lack of sex, ever. But he might die from doing something stupid, waiting for Koby to make up his damn mind. And in the meantime, he was apparently expected to suffer with him in his bed.

Being pressed up against the wall was almost enough to make it not worth it to stay, but Koby’s slow, soft, even breaths kept him from moving or even doing more than freaking out internally. He wouldn’t have chosen to be the little spoon, but at the moment, it kept him from possibly scaring Koby off. 

This was the longest he’d gone without since he’d discovered what his cock was for, and he was very, very keen on breaking the dry spell. 

It was up to Koby, though, what happened, when, and with whom. 

And since he wasn’t coming to Helmeppo about it, maybe he was going to Garp? 

But that didn’t seem right. If Koby was going to Garp, then he’d probably be spending more time with the man. He hadn’t been, though; Koby was spending the same amount of time with both men. 

Probably less if he thought about it. 

That didn’t explain why the other was here, in his bed, arm casually tossed over Helmeppo’s middle, keeping him close. 

Helmeppo was still invited to join the other two for their games most nights. 

Koby didn’t act differently to either of them. If anything, he was throwing himself into his training more than ever before. He was fast becoming a menace while sparring. No one had a chance against him anymore. Often, he even left the training ring without a mark on him. 

Really quite impressive. 

Wishing he could say he was doing the same, Helmeppo was instead a tapestry of bruises. 

Even just crawling into bed at night left him wheezing. 

Now, though, the pain seemed nonexistent. The soreness, tightness of muscles remained, but all he could focus on was Koby’s body against his, though not in the way he’d like, and how close Koby’s hand was to his straining cock. 

If that hand dropped even an inch or two further down, Helmeppo would probably spontaneously combust or implode. 

Something like that. 

Then, to add to it all, Garp seemed to be paying him more attention than ever before. Early in their voyage, Helmeppo had been able to get by, commanding the other Cadets and largely avoiding doing the work himself. It wasn’t a possibility anymore.

Now, though, Garp had his eye on Helmeppo, and there was no avoiding the work or the training.

Koby still held the vast majority of the vice admiral’s attention, when Koby was up the man’s eyes never strayed. But when Helmeppo was up, the man was suddenly full of suggestions and tips, making sure that Helmeppo was doing everything right. 

Helmeppo wondered if Koby had made up his mind. If maybe there was some way that he’d won Koby’s favor over Garp. But that didn’t seem possible. It was long odd in an ocean of them, and if he let himself think too far along those lines, he might do something he wasn’t proud of. 

And that alone might send Koby running. 

But here, now, laying like this in this too-small bunk, Garp couldn’t matter less. 

It was just the wall, Helmeppo, and Koby here together. 

Things had changed, some of them, a lot. Before, there was no mistaking that Koby was their commanding officer’s favorite, but now, Helmeppo was starting to see why other cadets might think he was one. 

He wasn’t. Helmeppo was sure of it. There was no way that Garp actually liked him. There was probably some ulterior motive to it, like showing Koby that Helmeppo wasn’t actually good enough for him or that he was a superior fighter and thus protector. Or maybe it was, on the off chance that Koby did choose him, that Helmeppo would be able to protect him and stand beside him in all situations.

That probably wasn’t it, though. 

Helmeppo wished, for once, that he had someone he could talk to on this ship. Someone he could tell everything to. 

However, the only person he would even want to talk to was Koby, and the only person who would possibly understand was Garp. 

Going to Garp’s office wasn’t something that he normally did without Koby; in fact, he’d never gone there without Koby. The only times he’d gone, he’d been requested to either by Koby or with him. 

But he didn’t know what else to do. 

And he didn’t know how he was going to get out of bed without waking Koby.

 

-----

 

At the end of the day, Garp often had a lot on his mind. 

Reports from other ships, things that came up as they sailed, people under his command, and what the next day might bring. Any one of them might turn into an issue if he was underprepared, but he also knew if he thought these potential problems to death, he’d never sleep, and that really would mean death.

The boys were shaping up nicely. They were fairly good seamen when Garp had ordered them onto his vessel, but now they were actually getting to be respectable. 

If Garp didn’t think there would be interest in it, he’d put both of them up for promotion. 

Though there was likely to be interest in it no matter what. 

A knock at his door was a surprise. 

There shouldn’t be anyone awake at this hour but the night watch, and even then, there was no reason for them to come down here short of an emergency, and that knock was far too light for anything like that.

Garp walked to the door himself instead of calling for whoever might be there, wanting to be ready in case of attack. 

Instead of an attacker, a very small-looking Koby stood in front of his doors. 

“What are you doing here, Cadet?” Garp asked, exhaustion more audible than he’d intended. 

Koby looks surprised, and somehow, possibly smaller than he had a second earlier, “I was- I was hoping to sleep here- tonight. If you don’t mind. Sir.” 

Garp blinked.

Of all the things he expected, could have expected to happen tonight, this wasn’t one of them.

All the things he wants to say clog his throat, but Garp manages to step aside, giving the boy a chance to enter his quarters before leading the way to his cabin.

His cabin was still fairly small, not much better than what most of the crew had, but it had the luxury of a bed big enough for four men to sleep abreast. Garp never slept particularly well while they were actually at sea, though. He may trust that the men could keep the ship moving but didn’t particularly trust they’d keep it floating. 

Koby looked at the bed, then at Garp, before stripping off his outer layers. 

Suddenly thankful for years learning to keep his emotions in check, Garp stopped Koby, “Hold on a second, boy. I need to know what’s going on in your head.”

Koby, down shoes and tie already, looked back at Garp with wide eyes. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, are you here just to sleep? Or for… More?” 

A flush dusted Koby’s face, but he didn’t look away, “I’m here to sleep. Nothing- Nothing else.”

“Are you. I mean. Have you made your choice?” Garp knew better than to hope, and yet, here it was. 

“I don’t, I- I. Not yet.” Koby looks away from him, suddenly seemingly overcome, “Is it alright, that I request to sleep here even when I’m not sure?” 

Garp wanted to say no, wanted to say that he wasn’t sure he could control himself, that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from ravishing, ravaging Koby’s body if he stayed the night. But he wasn’t a wild animal, an uncontrolled beast. And he so desperately wanted this. It’d been a long damn time since he’d shared a bed with anyone, and even though he desired Koby with nearly every part of his being, he wouldn’t try to scare him off or make him choose. 

“I have one more question before I answer yours.” Garp kept his eyes locked on Koby’s, looking for any sign, anything at all, that Koby might lie to him. “Have you shared a bed with Helmeppo?” 

Koby looked caught, like a rabbit in a trap, but he answered quickly, “I did. Last night.”

“Did you have sex with him?” 

“No!” Koby shouted, looking suddenly afraid. Garp tried to keep his face passive, “I mean, I didn’t, all we did was share a bed. I just, I was curious.” 

“And?” Garp asked.

“And, what?” 

“Was he a good bed partner?” Garp was genuinely a bit curious; the brat seemed like the kind to hog the covers. 

Confusion, out of all the emotions warring for a place on Koby’s face, won. “I, guess? I mean, he didn’t kick or anything.”

“Well, that’s good. I should warn you, I tend to snore if I’m sleeping on my back.” Garp started unbuttoning his suit, “But that’s not generally a problem if I’m sharing.” 

“You- does this mean I can stay?” A smile crept onto Koby’s face.

“Yep. You want to sleep by the wall or by the edge?” 

“Uh,” Koby paused, “Is it alright if I sleep by the edge? I’d rather not feel… trapped.” 

“Fine by me. I like having my back against something sturdy.” Garp hung his jacket, carefully not watching Koby take off his remaining uniform. 

The boy left his shorts and undershirt on, along with his socks. Garp was just glad he wouldn’t have to deal with icy toes in the middle of the night. On a normal night, Garp only really took off his outermost layers. But with a bedfellow, he stripped all the way down to his own shorts. 

Koby didn’t hide how he looked at Garp, looking him over with a small hint of wonder. 

He knew he was in good shape, but an appreciative eye never hurt. Koby stayed standing while Garp crawled into the bed.

“Well, lad? Are you waiting for a written invitation?” Garp held the sheets up, waiting for Koby to join him or flee.

A second passed, then another. Garp was sure that the boy was in shock or preparing to run when he nearly launched himself into the bed. 

Koby didn’t press himself against Garp or even get particularly close, but he did quickly make himself comfortable, dropping his glasses atop the small table beside the bed. He looked at Garp with squinted eyes, like he wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking at, “This is still ok, right?”

“You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want you to be.”

Koby seemed to accept that, rolled to face away from Garp, and blew out the light in the room. He laid down, still so far from Garpm, and his whole body tensed like he was about to get into a right. 

Waiting to see if it would be too much for the lad, Garp just watched him for a moment. See if his nerves would get the best of him. But he didn’t leave. He didn’t move much either, though, not closer to or farther away from Garp. Just there, stiff as a brick.

Seconds ticked on, and Koby didn’t relax. 

Made Garp nervous to have his bedmate this tense. 

“‘S’alright if I touch ya?” His accent came out thicker than he’d expected; maybe he’d been more relaxed than he thought. But he still knew better than to touch or grab if the other person wasn’t expecting it. 

Koby glanced over his shoulder at him, but it was a very, very quick thing, “Uh, alright? I guess?” 

Garp nodded, aware the boy couldn’t see him, probably at all, and reached over to pull Koby a little closer to him, to the middle of the bed. Still not close enough to touch, but closer. 

Resting his hand on Koby’s middle and the lovely little dip that was only very apparent when he was lying down, Garp muttered, “Relax, Lad. I’m not gonna bite.” 

Impossibly, Koby only tensed more. 

Sure he’d overreached, Garp started to pull away. Then, in the smallest of measures, Koby began to relax. 

With the steady rocking of the waves beneath them and the quiet sounds of the water lapping at the ship, Garp felt himself relax in turn. Koby’s breathing was evening out along with his own, and Garp wondered how long this peaceful moment would last. If the boy would stay through to the first bell or disappear like a spirit while the halls were still dark. 

He didn’t know and would only find out when he woke.

Notes:

My favorite this about this fic so far is my beta reader spazzing about Koby's life choices

Chapter 9: Chance Encounter

Helmeppo hated beyond measure being stuck stuffing cannons in the midst of battles. 

At any moment, a wall could explode, and he’d be dead. 

A cannonball to the chest would kill him instantly. 

Not some, but Helmeppo knew that the difference between life and death could be as small as a few feet down here. 

It wasn’t something he enjoyed in the slightest.

This time, he’s escaped with only a bit of shrapnel to the arm, better than dead. Better than the cadet next to him, who’d be lucky to walk again. The cannonball exploded the wall next to him, filling him with so much wooden shrapnel that it was a miracle he didn’t bleed out before being dragged to the infirmary. 

It wouldn’t be a surprise if he died anyway. 

They were close to a port when the pirates spotted them, and didn’t give them a chance to ignore or engage. 

Gone now, though. They’d gotten too big for their drop of the ocean, and a few lucky hits near the waterline left the ship to be consumed by Mother Ocean. 

They were still tallying injuries but had pulled the ship into port anyway. The sun was just settling across the horizon. They knew they needed somewhere to stop, as no one was sure if it would last the night after the last couple of battles. It would probably need a lot of work, and there was no telling how long that would take. 

Helmeppo’s injuries had mostly been shoved off, given he’d been able to walk into the infirmary under his own power. 

After a lot of needling on his part, the chatty nurse pulled the chunk of wood from his arm, calling it nothing more than an oversized splinter. Helmeppo was very sure it wasn’t “just a splinter,” the damn thing was as big as his fist and as long as his hand spread. And it had felt like it was only stopped by bone. 

The nurse was very sure that he was just complaining, though, and had sent him on his way with nothing more than a tight bandage and a slap on the ass. 

He was very sure that this was not professional medical conduct.

But he would overlook it for now.

A siren song of sleep was calling him, and there was a chance that Koby might join him in bed tonight. 

They still hadn’t moved further than sharing a bed and a bit of cuddling. Though Helmeppo desperately wanted more, he didn’t want to risk the fragile balance they’d fallen into. He didn’t even mind that Koby spent just as many nights in the vice admiral’s bed because he always returned. And he never had new bruises or smelled of sex when he returned to their cabin, so he had to be actually sleeping there, too.

Was it Koby or the vice admiral who was waiting? Was Koby waiting for Helmeppo to make a move first? What if he never did? What if Koby never did? 

Their room was dark when Helmeppo returned, which wasn’t a complete shock. 

Koby had probably opted to sleep in Garp’s bed tonight. He hadn’t been among the wounded, at least. And probably didn’t know of Helmeppo’s injuries. 

It wasn’t something he really wanted to admit, but Helmeppo might have hoped that Koby would take a look at the wound himself. It wasn’t that the nurse didn’t know what she was doing when she wrapped it, but there wasn’t even a lick of sympathy from her when she looked at it. 

Koby would probably at least have something to say about it, maybe have a smile to give him for his first “real battle scar.” 

Not that Helmeppo needed that from Koby. It would just be nice to be able to get some proper rest. 

Something that was admittedly much easier when there was someone else in his bed, keeping him from falling out in the middle of the night. 

 

-----

 

Even after everything had settled down, Koby’s heart still pounded in his chest. 

He wanted to move, wanted to fight. 

But everyone else was just exhausted, and after everything, most of the other crew just wanted to sleep. There was a rumor that one of the cadets-a man whose name Koby recognized but that he couldn’t put a face to-had been killed. Though it was still just a rumor, it still dampened everyone's energies. The real work would start in the morning; there was a lot of damage, and they’d need to get it fixed as soon as possible. 

If anyone let him, Koby would start on that right now, but the late hour crept on, and no one was about to let him start construction in the middle of the night.

Koby checked in with the guard on watch- a boy not much older than himself who looked to be having trouble standing up, let alone staying awake- and then disembarked the ship. 

It was late, and even though he really should have been sleeping, Koby wanted, no, needed to get this, whatever it all was, out of his system. And he didn’t want to go to bed. Not right now. Not with Garp, who wanted to hold him close, too close, and slept like a log, surprisingly. And not with Meppo, who moved in his sleep more than Koby realized and had nearly shoved Koby out of bed on more than one occasion. 

Around the docks were a silent, but obviously well taken care of market. Further on were businesses and houses and bars and other businesses for those inclined toward night life. 

A beautiful woman with nearly nothing on beckoned Koby toward her doorway, but that wasn’t what he was looking for at the moment. 

At least, he didn’t think it was what he was looking for. 

A dark but still fairly active-looking bar was tucked in near the woman, and that looked much more Koby’s speed. If he couldn’t spar with anyone on his crew, maybe there’d be someone in there willing to get in a fight. 

Taking a moment, Koby tied his uniform shirt around his waist and wondered if his hat was going to turn up on the ship or if he’d need a new one.

Ruffling his hair a bit, he entered, looking around for trouble. 

Some loud men were playing cards, and a few more were thumping each other close to the door. A topless woman walked around with a tray, touching men and passing out drinks, occasionally slipping a few beri from the tables into her skirt. 

That was sure to start a fight eventually. 

Koby walked to the bar like he owned the place. He was not at all comfortable but still sure of himself in spite of that. 

He couldn’t hear the bartender, another beautiful and topless woman, and just shouted something at her that she seemed to understand. A moment later, she returned with a tall glass filled with something dark, and Koby wondered what exactly he’d chosen. 

Watching the room while sitting at the bar was easier said than done; Koby felt like a strange toy, swinging his head from left to right, hoping to spot any sign of trouble. 

Despite his attempts to watch the room, Koby’s still startled when Luffy’s second, the former demon pirate hunter turned pirate Roronoa Zoro, appears beside him, casually leaning against the car, facing out towards the rest of the bar. 

“You know, this isn’t really a safe place to be.” Zoro tells him with a barely there sideways glance, “Especially not for a marine.” 

Koby shrugs, looking into his half-drunk drink, bitter but surprisingly good, “That’s what I was hoping for, honestly.”

“You looking for a fight?” Zoro’s brows both raise as he turns his focus a little more on Koby. 

Koby didn’t know if he’d be able to take Zoro in a fight, but if the other was offering… “And if I am?” 

“You’re probably going to die here.” Zoro turned to the bartender, simply holding up a hand without requesting any drink. “But who am I to stop you?” 

“A very good attempted friend of a friend?” Koby offers with a small smile.

Zoro picks up the drink that had appeared next to his hand, “I’ll drink to that.”

Both men nod and drink deeply from their own glasses. 

Koby turns to face the room like Zoro does, but he feels distinctly less impressive than the swordsman next to him. 

The room is, unfortunately, settling down. The gamblers given up, and the boisterous group leaving, likely to the brothel next door if Koby were to guess.

“So, uh, Luffy,” Koby looks at Zoro, not sure what the other is going to say, but ready to defend his lack of relationship with the other. It’d been weeks, a couple of months now, since that incident. Taking a drink, he thinks, will give him a moment to figure out how to deal with whatever the other says. “He sure knows how to use that tongue of his, huh?”

The bitter drink comes flying out Koby’s mouth, covering the better part of his front and the floor in front of him. “What?”

Zoro chuckles, a low sound, “Oh, come on, I was there-” 

“No! I mean-” Koby winces, “ah, you too?”

Zoro drinks the rest of his own drink, signaling for two more. “Yeah, calls it, what was it, ‘appreciation?’”

“Is it… I mean, are you?” Koby wants to know if Luffy meant more by it but finds the words sticking in his throat, “You know…”

Zoro takes one of the drinks, handing Koby the other, “Luffy does things his own way. I think he’s got a few screws loose, but he’s determined.”

“That’s for sure.” Koby sniffs the drink before trying it. It’s a lot stronger than the first, and he can’t help his grimace.

“Never drank something this strong before?” Zoro asks, pulling it back as easy as breathing.

Koby shakes his head, “I think the shots I had were stronger, but not by much.” 

Zoro looks a little impressed, “I didn’t think you were much of a drinker.”

“I’m not-” Koby knocks back the rest of the drink in one go. “This is the second time I’ve ever gotten drinks.”

“Wait, ever?” Zoro turns to face him completely.

Koby just nods, fighting back the sensation of his skin trying to worm away from the alcohol. 

“Well then, let's drink up!” Zoro turns to flag the bartender down, and Koby has a sinking feeling he’s just made a huge mistake. 

 

-----

 

If people could just stop blowing holes in his ship for five minutes, Garp might actually be able to get some things done. 

But no.

Now, instead of spending the day in port restocking and maybe spending some time with Koby, he was going to be stuck arguing with whoever was in charge of the shipyard and doing enough paperwork to sink a ship. 

If there was anything Garp hated more than bureaucracy, it was paperwork.

It was only a matter of time until he finished it all, and at least he hadn’t been the poor sod who’d had to write it all up originally. 

All the crew were accounted for, though in the morning, Garp would have to announce the passing of one of the cadets. He hadn’t stuck out much in his time aboard the ship, firmly middle of the pack when it came to, well, everything. Even his name was in the middle of the list. It was one you’d pass over about a thousand times because nothing about it ever stood out. 

And now he stood out in the worst way, the first death of the voyage.

A real shame. 

On a night like this, Garp would like someone, anyone, to be there with him. 

Not out of sexual desire, but just to be reminded that he was alive, and so was someone, anyone else. That he wasn’t, wouldn’t always be all alone.

But it didn’t feel right to ask that of Koby, not when he was also probably feeling extremely from the situation. But maybe it would be better to ask it ok Koby anyway? To let him know that seeking out comfort in others wasn’t weak?

But that would require Garp himself to be able to find the boy. 

And he didn’t know if he was strong enough for that. 

After all he’d thought, all he’d done, he really wasn’t sure he could do that.

 

-----

 

“How am I supposed to pick?” Koby half wails, blood rushing to his face from alcohol or embarrassment or both. Because he’s more worried about picking than anything else. “How do I know?” 

Zoro’s just nodding solemnly at him, but he’s obviously affected by the many, many drinks as well. “Which do you like more?”

He likes them both and relationships are choices and he’s indecisive and would rather just sleep with the straw hats then have to pick.

“I don’t know!” He groans, “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know…”

Zoro grunts, closing his eyes thoughtfully, or to sleep. It’s hard to tell. 

“How did you choose?” Koby asks, “I mean, you choose Luffy, right?” 

Zoro grunts again, but Koby can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad noise.

He wishes that he knew what to do and drops his head against his folded arms. 

The counter was sticky, and he was sticky, and his arms were sticky, and so were his clothes.

He wished he knew what to do or had something else to change into.

Did one of them treat him better than the other?

Not really; both tried to take time with him alone and seemed to care about his desires and wanted and interests. They both listened to him and strangely neither had pushed him to move faster or pick faster. 

Neither had tried to have sex with him either. But he was pretty sure they both wanted to. 

A few mornings, he’d woken to Garp holding him close, lazily rubbing against him but never going further. He’d kept his hands in safe areas and always kept at least two layers between them. He’d look at Koby sometimes, and Koby would feel his hunger, but he never acted on it and never said a single thing about it.

Helmeppo would look at him sometimes, and he’d feel pinned in place, like a piece of art in a gallery or a museum. He’d look at Koby like he wanted nothing more than to memorize his every move, every feature. Sometimes, when they lay together, Helmeppo would turn in Koby’s grasp and nuzzle into him as close as he could.

Zoro snored, and Koby wondered when the bar had gotten quiet enough for him to hear it. 

 

-----

 

Helmeppo had wanted… something. Want was probably the wrong term, but there was something in him that needed to know where Koby was. 

The vice admiral’s quarters were most likely, but he’d wanted to check for himself.

Somehow, this had resulted in him dozing against a snoring Garp in the man’s bed. 

He wasn’t entirely sure how he’d gotten there, but it was certainly different. Then he’d expected. Not that he’d been expecting to end up in bed with the man, not even a little bit. But it was kind of nice. 

The man’s arms were as strong as they seemed, and Helmeppo actually felt quite safe wrapped in them.

Though he wished he’d hit the head before getting into bed.

How the two of them had gone from looking for Koby together and finding out he’d left the ship, to sharing a bed though was a bit of a mystery. Helmeppo was quick to blame it on a mutual need of Koby, and a lack of him ruining the men. 

But that was a problem for the next morning or possibly even mid-afternoon. 

He hoped, needed, Koby to be alright, but they wouldn’t be able to organize a search until the next day anyway.

And there was a chance that Koby had just taken their first time in port to flee.

It didn’t seem likely, but they hadn’t really given him enough time to leave initially. Of course, a whole night sounds like a lot of time, but if you’re panicking, it might not be.

And a massive ship battle was a great time to really consider your priorities.

So maybe he’d gone.

Maybe he’d left Garp and Helmeppo to deal with each other. 

That would be fitting; after all, neither of them got on well with anyone, really. They’d be a perfectly hellish match.

Chapter 10: A Rudely Kind Awakening

Light streamed right onto Koby’s face, hurting his already aching eyes and disorienting him. 

Since when was there light coming into his room like this? Usually it didn’t shine high enough to wake him up. 

Was he sharing with Garp again? 

No… the man liked to sleep with one hand resting on Koby’s waist and Koby as the little spoon…

Koby was draped over someone. 

They were too muscular to be Helmeppo but not muscular enough to be Garp.

Koby cracked an eye, unable to see much.

There was a definite green blur, though…

Who did he know who was green?

Koby shot up, looking for his glasses, trying to figure out if he’d slept with Luffy’s first mate.

There were a couple new bruises, he thought. But mostly on his knees and hands, nowhere that was sex-related. And he still felt exhausted and sore, but again, not sex sore.

“Here.” Zoro rumbled, voice thick with sleep.

His glasses were good; he slipped them back on, thankful they weren’t broken.

Zoro looked… good, actually, really good. Shirtless, with thick thread still binding up his chest wound, he looked a little dangerous. But he was obviously still sleepy and didn’t seem too concerned about unexpectedly having someone in his bed. 

“Did we-?” Koby asked, head pounding along with his heart. He didn’t think so, but he still wanted to check with the only other person who might be able to remember.

“No. You woke me up from the nice dream I was having in the bar, and then couldn’t remember where your ship was, so we came back to the Going Merry.” That sounded familiar, but that didn’t explain why Koby didn’t have any of his clothes on. “We were both covered in beer and didn’t want the shitty cook to hear us, so we snuck in. Unfortunately, we weren’t very good at it, so he tossed us in the shower and told us to scrub.”

Koby remembered that the cold shock was a slightly sobering surprise, but, “Where are our clothes? I mean, my uniform?” 

“Cook took them to give them a real scrub and said he’d hang them to dry. Don’t know where, though.” Zoro slid out the other side of the bed, causing the whole thing to swing and revealing his nakedness in its entirety. “Nami’s on ‘official business,’ so we took her room.” 

“Tight- I mean right. Sure.” Koby’s holding the sheet to himself, like that’d do anything to cover the fact that Zoro probably saw everything, and so did the cook as well.

His head hurt too much to think much further about any of this. 

Zoro meandered around the room, obviously not in any kind of hurry, and Koby watched, not sure what else he should do or want to do. 

Boldness struck him, and he realized the chance may never come again.

“So, uh, does Luffy ‘appreciate’ you often?” Zoro’s head whipped around to look at him, and Koby flinchef back a little but doesn’t stop, “Being his first mate and all?” 

A smile twitched in the corner Zoro’s mouth, “Yeah. He does. He’s probably gotten better since the last time you got to experience it.”

Koby could feel heat climbing in his face, “I bet he has, any chance you want to teach me a little about it, too?” 

Jaw dropping a faction, Zoro stalked back to the bed, “You sure about that?” 

Koby just nodded, leaning toward Zoro with apprehension in his stomach but a desire to learn.

Zoro lifted a hand to his face, tilting it a bit this way and that before he plucked Koby’s glasses off. Koby’s eyes closed almost before he could think too, a great kindness to the pounding behind his eyes, and then Zoro’s lips were on his own. 

He’s good at this, really good at this, Koby thought, though he didn’t have a frame of reference. 

Zoro pulled away, but Koby could still feel him close, so close, “Are you still sure?”

This was his chance to back off, but he didn’t know if that was what he wanted, didn’t know who he wanted. Zoro was here, and real, and offering. 

But did Koby want it?

“I don’t know.” Koby leaned back in.

And Zoro leaned away.

“If you’re not sure, we shouldn’t do this.” 

Koby tried to look at him. He wanted to blame him for his inability to choose, but really, it wasn't on him. “Touch me, please.” 

Zoro leaned in, this time bypassing Koby’s lips to nibble on his jaw, down his neck. 

Koby held on, not sure how far this was gonna go. Not sure how far he wanted it to go, but he thought Zoro would stop if he asked. 

The bed swings a bit under them as Zoro leans in a little more, pushing Koby back toward the bed. 

The kisses were nice—Koby liked them—and leaning back until he was laying against the bed again was nice. It helped with all the aches that had popped up only once he was vertical. The morning breath wasn’t great, but Koby was sure his breath wasn’t much better. 

Zoro leaning over him was nice, the kissing was nice, but he was too close, too much too everywhere. 

Koby pushed him a bit, not sure if he’d actually move, not sure if he’d be able to move the other if it came down to it, but Zoro slipped right off. 

He started to ask something, but Koby stopped him with another kiss, pushing him more till Zoro was lying on his back, and now Koby was on top. He couldn’t see anything, but he was intimately aware of Zoro’s cock resting between the two of them. 

Squinting, Koby grabbed his glasses and pulled back so he could see the man underneath him.

The blurs resolved themselves into green hair, a flushed face, a flush running down his chest, the still healing wound a dark red, and his cock flushed and hard, liquid beading at the top. 

It was one thing to feel it, where it had felt, big, really big, but it was another thing entirely to see it. 

Koby reached out with an inquisitive hand, touching lightly and tracing the large vein that ran along the underside. 

Zoro shivered at that, dropping his head back to the bed. 

Taking that as permission, Koby continued his investigation. 

Rubbing his thumb against the head, he could feel the sticky-slimy texture of the fluid and impulsively brought his thumb up to his mouth to taste. 

Bitter, salty, but not entirely unpleasant. 

Zoro panted underneath him, waiting for Koby to decide what he wanted to do. He knew what jerking off was supposed to be, how it looked, but he wasn’t entirely sure how to make it feel good. Similarly, for blowjobs, he wasn’t sure if he could get Zoro’s cock to fit in his mouth either. 

And even though he could feel the wetness at his core, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that with Zoro. 

Moving forward so he sat over Zoro’s cock, where it could slide between his folds, Koby started rocking. Slowly at first, just marveling at the feel of it. He was pretty sure it was too big for him and also very sure it was smaller than Garp’s, but it still felt good. Better when the head bumped against his pearl. 

Below, Zoro had twisted his hands into the bedding, apparently trying with everything he had in him not to move, but still, his hips thrust minutely to meet Koby.

The two moved like that for a long minute, Koby figuring out how to even out his movements and Zoro holding onto his tenuous grasp of sanity while trying to let Koby take what he needed from him. The gentle waves knocked them into each other a little more regularly, a little better rhythm, though not much.

Hot and hard, Koby wondered what it would be like if it were Helmeppo under him or Garp. 

Garp probably wouldn’t let him do this. 

Helmeppo would, though he’d probably grasp onto any part of Koby he could reach, try to keep him close, closer, get him to move faster. Helmeppo didn’t like to waste time on anything.

Garp would probably turn this into exquisite torture. 

Rocking faster, Koby wondered if Garp would try to hold him still to control the movements. Would he stay flat like Zoro but still control every movement Koby made? He liked it when Koby went his own way, though, sometimes, so maybe he would let Koby experiment with what felt good.

Zoro gasped beneath him and rose his hands to Koby’s thighs, then further to his hips. Koby froze, but Zoro moved him a bit, matching the movements with his hips. 

Going with it felt a little mechanical, but in a matter of time it all just felt so good. He never wanted to stop. 

Suddenly, Zoro lifted him by the hips, keeping him from making contact at all. 

A breathless whine broke from him, and he opened his eyes to see that Zoro was looking at something at the door. 

Koby looked there, too, only to see Luffy staring at them in shock. 

Suddenly aware of how he must look, suddenly aware of how naked he was, Koby tried to flee, but Zoro kept him in place with his grip on his hips. Koby wanted to grab the sheet to cover him and them, but it lay on the floor where he’d dropped it earlier. 

“What are you doing?” Luffy asked, a small grin sliding onto his face. 

Koby wasn’t sure how to answer. He looked at Zoro, only to find an easy grin resting there: “Koby asked me to teach him a little bit of your method of appreciation.”

“Oh!“ Luffy didn’t seem upset at all, but Koby wasn’t sure if that meant he actually wasn’t or not. “Can I help?”

Zoro’s gaze slid back up to Koby, “You okay with that?” 

Koby had no idea what that would mean, but the prospect excited him. Maybe, maybe, he could have both men? And maybe Luffy and Zoro could teach him what to do with two. 

He nodded. 

 

-----

 

Garp woke to find his little bedmate sprawled over his chest. 

Normally, Koby kept firmly to his side of the bed; he rarely, if ever, got close to Garp without Garp pulling him over himself.

But the thatch of hair drooling onto his chest wasn’t Koby.

When had he let Helmeppo come into his private room, let alone invited him to his bed? 

At least he still had clothes on.

It would probably ruin their chances if they ended up sleeping together before either of them had gotten anywhere with Koby. 

However, that might be a solution to the long, extremely long period that Koby had taken to decide. 

Garp didn’t even really blame him; it was a big ask. And, well, they weren’t even really considering if he’d left under the cover of night. He really hoped the boy hadn’t left the marines, left them. If he saw it as his only option, Garp would understand, but he didn’t have to like it. 

They needed to get up, figure out if Koby had returned sometime in the night, and if he hadn’t, see if anyone in the town remembered seeing him. 

There wouldn’t be any search parties other than Garp and likely Helmeppo, giving Koby the chance to leave if he wanted. But they’d still look around a little, just to be sure he wasn’t dead in a ditch there. 

Nudging the cadet to wake him up, Garp was surprised at how slowly the other roused, apparently deep in the depths of sleep. 

 

-----

 

Zoro held Koby to his chest, facing away. They were both kneeling on the bed, both braced against the chains holding the bed up. Luffy kneeled in front of them, looking up with stars in his eyes, eagerly waiting for Zoro or Koby to give him the go-ahead. 

With his cock between Koby’s thighs, which he kept pressed together, Zoro slipped against Koby’s core with each thrust from that position. 

Koby’s glasses nearly hung off his nose as he leaned into the sensation, wanting to feel more. 

Soft keens escaped him. He’d tried to hide them initially, but Zoro and Luffy both kept him from covering his mouth, encouraging more noise from him. Luffy seemed most excited about his noises, softly complimenting him and Zoro when a new noise was pulled from depth Koby didn’t know he had. 

It was good, so so good. 

Koby never wanted it to end. 

Luffy’s breath puffed against him, against the wet space between his thighs that Zoro was making with both their arousal. 

Waiting there, so excited, a grin on his face watching Zoro’s cockhead appear. 

Zoro’s thrust stuttered, pressed all the way against Koby. 

“Luffy…” He groaned, half warning, half pleasure, from Luffy licking his cockhead when it peaked out. 

“Can I? Please?” Luffy asked.

Nodding frantically, Koby could only moan as Luffy popped his mouth onto Zoro, his nose planted firmly against Koby’s mound, his hot breaths heating him more. Zoro’s thrusts continued stuttering against Koby as Luffy’s tongue wrapped around Zoro, sliding against his pearl and releasing a drizzle of slickness from Koby.

Koby moaned, pushing against Luffy’s tongue and allowing Zoro to pump against him a little more, sliding a little more of his cock into Luffy’s mouth.

Luffy’s tongue toyed with Koby’s hole, and that was enough to have him clenching against it all. 

Though neither man stopped where they were, Zoro’s thrusts only increased in speed and strength, and Luffy tried harder to take more of Zoro into his mouth and possibly slip more of his tongue into Koby.

Riding the waves of pleasure, Koby reached back, anchoring Zoro to him, pulling his head to where Koby could press wet kisses to him, too uncoordinated to actually kiss his mouth. 

Too soon, not soon enough, Zoro grunted, pulling Koby tighter against his chest and freezing. 

Koby felt his cock pulsing and Luffy pulling back. 

He wasn’t ready. 

Koby held Luffy’s head to his mound, trying but unable to ask for what he wanted. 

Luffy knew, though, unwrapping his tongue from Zoro and pressing further into Koby. 

The band of muscle around his waist loosened and then dropped, Zoro’s hand moving to press then rub his pearl, the wet mess between them perfectly slick for it all. 

Too soon again, he came and finally relaxed. Letting both Zoro and Luffy be free from his grip.

Zoro chuckled as Koby dropped back against him, mostly boneless. “I think we all need a shower.” 

Koby adjusted his glasses, squinting at Zoro, who was covered in an attractive sheen of sweat, and down to Luffy, who was obviously drenched in Koby’s arousal. 

Embarrassment and laughter warred in Koby’s chest, but he chose to laugh, not wanting to kill the soft, floaty feeling.

Chapter 11: An Argument

Notes:

Fixed this chapter!

Thanks to the kind person who pointed out I'd double posted.

Garp would admit his self-control got a little away from him during training. The Cadet had barely fought him, while Garp put his hands all over him and used the training as an excuse to rub against him shamelessly. 

At first, he thought the younger man had missed what he was doing or didn’t realize, but a flip that left him facing Garp revealed his interest in the situation. 

It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed or realized; he’d been enjoying it and hadn’t fought against it. And it wasn’t that it was embarrassment or something similar that kept him from saying anything because if it had been just that, he probably wouldn’t have been so pliant and so willing in Garp’s hands. 

He’d liked it.

Garp didn’t know if it was him, the crowd, or something else he liked. But he’d liked it.

Koby was his first thought and concern, but if Koby didn’t return, Helmeppo apparently enjoyed a little of his attention.

It was early afternoon now; they still had a few hours before sundown, and Garp was planning to go out and see if he could find Koby himself. He had nearly a full day of lead on them if he wanted out, and if Garp didn’t find him by sundown, he’d assume he did. 

But there were a few things he needed to do in port, and once he was done, he would go look for Koby. 

More time for Koby to leave and more time for him to return to the ship if he was hoping to avoid getting in trouble. 

Helmeppo is, honestly, the best person for the job.

Other than himself. 

Closer to Koby than anyone on the ship other than Garp himself, between the two of them, they’d be able to find him if he wasn’t hiding too hard. And if he’d decided to switch sides, Helmeppo would have fewer witnesses if he chose to go with. 

Not that Garp liked that option, but he wouldn’t fight it. 

Koby was pretty stubborn when he wanted to be, and while Helmeppo was fairly easily swayed by the threat of violence, his loyalties were firm.

 

-----

 

Nami twitched and shoved Koby between a couple buildings. 

“What’s-” Koby tried to ask, or shout really, but Nami covered his mouth, pressing both of them against the wall. 

Nami shushed him, looking around the corner toward the direction they’d been coming from for something. Koby froze, wondering what she might have seen. A bounty hunter? A pirate? A Marine?

Her hand dropped, holding onto Koby’s shirt as she leaned further out. 

Nami’s entire body was pressed against his, and Koby was using that time to rethink his previous opinion of not being attracted to women at all. 

This very specific situation was very hot. 

His voice dropped to a murmur; Koby asked, “What is it? Are we in danger?”

“Maybe I thought I saw someone I knew.” Nami’s voice is equally low, nearly enough that Koby can’t hear her.

“I’m going to assume that’s a bad thing?” 

Nami shot him a look but stayed where she was. 

Seconds crept into minutes, and Koby was suddenly very glad that he didn’t have a cock, or this situation would be much, much, much more uncomfortable. 

“Coast’s clear,” Nami finally pulled back from looking around the corner, “But something tells me that you’d rather it still wasn’t.”

Koby’s already warm face heated up even more, and he knew he’d been caught. He didn’t say anything, just nodded, knowing Nami would probably prefer that.

She pressed a little more, and Koby realized she was trying to feel for his reaction. “Into it but not?” 

Koby coughed and managed, his face still heating up, “Very into it, just not as obvious as other guys.” 

To his complete surprise, Nami reached around to unbutton his pants, sticking her hand in and immediately finding his underwear soaked. “Oh.” 

Koby wanted to be embarrassed, but it was hard to be when Nami seemed excited about his arousal and about how wet he was. 

“Are you?” He wasn't sure what he wanted to ask or what there might be to say, but Nami quickly shut him up by pressing against him.

"Don’t worry about it. Ya know. We could share a little appreciation, too." Nami looked at him, and there was a very light blush on her cheeks and a wicked smile on her face, and he was already very appreciative.

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her if she let him. 

For a moment, they kissed, and it was very different from Zoro or Luffy. There was a small pang in his heart cause he didn’t know how Garp or Helmeppo kissed, but as soon as he got back, he was going to find out, preferably from both of them. 

Nami pulled away just a little before dropping her head to kiss Koby’s neck. Using her other hand to tap his leg, she murmured between kisses, “Lift.” 

“What?” Koby asked, leaning back against the wall a little more, feeling like the world was going to fall out from under him if he wasn't stabilized. 

“Lift your leg. Give me better access.” Nami dragged her teeth over his throat, and he was there for it, gasping, his leg lifting to her hip almost without his approval. 

“Please,” he gasped breathily, “please.”

“Please, what?” Nami asked, and Koby draped his arms over hers.

“Please do whatever you want to me. Just don’t stop.” 

He could feel her grin against his skin, and her hands moved a little more, pressing more surely against him. 

Koby wanted to make her feel good, too; he felt like he’d been receiving too much and should give it back at some point. Leaving one arm thrown around her neck, he dropped the other one to try to fiddle with her shorts, but she slapped his hand away. “I’ll have my turn.”

Gasping loudly when she bit into his neck, Koby nodded. She bit him hard, hard enough he was sure she was going to break the skin. She moved so slickly against him, and he could feel her hand moving even easier after the bite. 

“Who?” Nami asked so quietly that Koby wasn't sure she said anything. 

He didn’t respond, mind overburdened by pleasure.

“Who?” She asked again, more forcefully, nudging his pearl at the same time, drawing a gasp out of him.

“What do you mean 'who?'” He gasped, trying to move into her hands, her mouth more. Nami continued her path, nibbling down his chest. How she’d managed to get the buttons open was a complete mystery to him.

“Who do you want here instead of me?” She asked, still a little too loud, a little too forceful.

Her voice startled him, and he suddenly remembered they were in public and that anyone could catch them if they were too loud. But he couldn’t look away from her. “What?” 

“Which of your would-be lovers would you want to do this to you?” Nami’s eyes flashed up at him like she was trying to tell him something, but he didn’t know what; his whole mind was clouded by her.

“How could I ever pick between them?” Koby sobbed as Nami caught one of his nipples with her teeth.

“Come on, you know that’s the wrong answer.” She told him, rubbing more insistently and Koby knew he was going to cum soon, just a little more, but she was distracting him away from it, “You have to do something; leading them on is just stressing you out, Koby.” 

“I’m not trying to!” Koby’s breath was coming too fast now, frustrated tears coming to his eyes as Nami kept him on the precipice and kept trying to make him choose. “I just wish I could pick both!”

Koby pounded his fist into the wall behind them, frustration bleeding from him as the masonry crumbled at his movement. 

"Have you tried asking them?" Tears escaped his eyes, bleeding down his cheeks as Nami seemed to take pity on him. 

"No, I doubt either would want it. Me." She shook her head but tugged at his nipple with her teeth, nudged his hole with her fingers; it was all too good, but he was losing it; it was all so, so so good, and it rattled him to his bones. 

His fist went through the wall behind them as his other clutched at Nami with everything he had.

 

-----

 

Helmeppo hadn’t expected the sight he’d, they’d find when he came around the corner, hearing a woman near shouting, “Who?”

Seeing Koby like he was, red-cheeked and held against a wall by one of the straw hats, was almost too much, but then he realized they were talking, and the fact that they were talking in the middle of the act didn’t seem to matter to the girl too much. 

“How could I ever pick between them?” Koby sobbed, and Helmeppo checked back in, seeing the tears forming in Koby’s eyes, but felt stuck. Like it was something he wasn’t supposed to interrupt. Garp obviously felt the same, as he had frozen right next to Helmeppo, watching the same sight. 

“I just wish I could pick both!” Koby gasped, and Hemleppo realized it was an option, one they hadn’t offered, but one he wasn’t against opposed to. 

The girl’s eyes flashed over. She was looking right at Garp and Helmeppo; she knew they were there and was doing this on purpose. "No, I doubt either would want that."

And Koby shook apart in her arms, tears coming freely, and the irritation bled out of him. 

Dropping his leg and pulling her hand out of his pants, Helmeppo didn’t understand why he stayed away from them. He could have come to them, either of them, for this or even just to talk.

He was talking before he’d even realized it was him, “You keep going to those pirates for sex, but we are right here. We’re willing to do anything for you.”

Koby pulled back from the girl like he’d been shot, wiping his eyes quickly. The blush that had stained his cheeks with arousal now turned his whole face red, and he looked… bad, unhappy, scared, even.

“Meppo, it’s not what you think-” Koby gasped, sobs still shaking his body.

“That you’re seeking out pirates to get your fix?” Garp rumbled from beside Helmeppo, and if possible, Koby looked scared. 

Then Koby sobbed harder; the girl seemed to take this as her queue to get out and pushed Koby toward the other two. Garp caught him, but the girl disappeared before Helmeppo could catch her. Leaving the two of them to deal with the situation. 

“Why didn’t you just talk to us?” Garp rumbled, voice quiet. 

Helmeppo wished he could add something or ask something, but he was too distracted by the bright red bite mark on Koby’s shoulder and the trail of hickeys leading down his chest. 

Again, he’s not given the chance to leave marks himself, and again Koby’s been marked up by thrice damned pirates. 

“I didn’t- I couldn’t- I don’t want to lose you.” Koby sobbed, taking the comfort offered in Garp’s arms. Helmeppo rubbed his back, looking up at Garp to see if he could read the expression there.

“You’re not going to lose us, lad.”

“I love you, Koby,” Helmeppo told him, realizing it’s true as soon as he spoke. “It’s going to take a lot more than you being greedy for possibly the first time in your life to scare me off.”

Garp nodded, though he’s apparently unable to say it as well. 

“You didn’t have to go to the pirates. You could have come to us.” Helmeppo sighed. 

“I didn’t ‘go’ to the straw hats for anything.” Koby managed, voice clogged with mucus, “I just kinda stumbled across them.”

Helmeppo’s got a lot more questions, but at this point, he’s just glad that Koby isn’t leaving them to be a pirate.

He doesn’t know what he’d do if that was the case.

 

-----

 

Garp thought of all the ways he’s probably been had by the pirates and what’s happened while he was out of Garp’s sight and out of his protection. 

How much had he learned while Garp was trying to give him space? 

Was this the first time? Or had there been others? 

He wondered if they should stop by the infirmary on the ship.

The girl had lured them there; she’d tried to get Koby to pick where it was safe, where he wouldn’t be judged by the men who weren’t quite fighting over his heart anymore. 

She placed him perfectly, so it was immediately obvious what they were doing. Marked Koby up in ways that would make him loud. 

Maybe she had something to gain from Koby no longer being available. 

Maybe she’d just wanted one last hurrah before sending Koby to the people who’d either kill him or take him off the market.

Either way, Garp was a little thankful because now he didn’t have to broach the topic, and he knew for sure that Koby wasn’t someone who avoided sex.

They could wait till Koby stopped crying to go back to the ship, but this was a conversation that was likely to be long and very exhausting. And he could still smell the slight waft of booze coming from Koby’s pores, though he’d obviously showered and had his clothes washed in the meantime. 

At least the straw hats had taken care of him while they had him. Meant he didn’t have to kill them all.

It would be better to do this on the ship, in his quarters, and preferably over food.

Chapter 12: Excitement-Relief

Summary:

The end is upon us, but all is not lost, instead, gained.

Helmeppo rushed from the galley back to the vice admiral’s quarters. Garp had barred everyone but the three of them from the rooms and had functionally told everyone to leave them alone unless the ship was on fire or under fire. 

Any thoughts about what was going on would probably be spread everywhere by the next day, and Helmeppo wondered how many rumors had already sprung up. 

Bogard was to be bothered for anything in the meantime, and even the man himself seemed surprised that the vice admiral wasn’t taking any visitors. 

He didn’t care too much, though. He just wanted to get back to Garp and Koby, and the sooner, the better. 

Swinging the doors open without bothering to knock, he was treated to the sight of Koby sitting on the desk in front of Garp, completely and utterly free of clothing and fidgety. Koby’d tried to cover himself when Helmeppo entered, but Garp held his hands and forced him to place them back on the table.

Where they sat right over the damage that had previously been done to the desk.

Knowing in an instant exactly what had happened made Helmeppo a little lightheaded as all his blood rushed elsewhere. 

But he had something he needed to do before he could think with his dick.

“Just me,” He muttered, closing the doors behind them and flipping the latch to keep anyone else from coming in uninvited. Then, barely slowing down to drop the plates on the desk, Helmeppo joined the vice admiral to look Koby over. 

There were a lot more marks on Koby than he’d been able to see in the street. 

Yes, there were marks almost certainly from the girl, “Nami,” Koby’d called her, but there were also large hand prints, very large, much larger than her hands on Koby’s hips. A few more marks on his neck could be covered by a collar that had to have been placed by someone who’d been behind him. A few more scattered bruises, another handprint near his knees, and some hickeys on the insides of his thighs. 

The ones on his chest, scattered around his pec and going to touch the plain scar below, were still blood red and hadn’t had the chance to properly turn into bruises. The bruises on the back of his neck and his hips were obviously a little older, turning black or purple already. A few of the more scattered ones, ones that looked more or less random, were a little older as well, probably from the firefight the night before. 

It would be a while until they all went away. Until the pirates’ marks were gone. 

Helmeppo reached a hand out, petting over the bite mark, his touch light to avoid hurting Koby. “What was this one’s name?” 

Garp looked at him but also waited for Koby’s response.

“Nami?” Koby answers after a second, looking a little confused. 

Helmeppo nodded and leaned forward to kiss the bite mark.

“What about this one?” Garp asked while Helmeppo was distracted. 

“I think that was from last night's firefight,” Koby answered.

“This one?” Helmeppo asked, petting over Koby’s hip.

“Zoro.”

Garp chuckled, a low, dark sound that had Helmeppo’s hair rising. “Not just pirates and Marines, then. You like pirate hunters, too?”

Koby gasped as Helmeppo leaned down, pressing gently against the bruise even as he kissed it. “It’s not like that—”

Koby gasped again as Garp pressed on one of the hickeys on his thighs, “No?” 

“No, didn’t- I mean- it wasn’t supposed to go like that!” Koby sighed as Helmeppo ran a hand up his side. 

“I was joking about Luffy, and then it all kinda got out of hand.” Koby gasped when Garp’s hand rose a little higher, its back rubbing against him.

Garp cocked a brow, and Helmeppo wondered if the table would support him and Koby, “Would you like to share with everyone else what kind of joke you were making about my grandson?”

Koby shivered at the drop in Garp’s voice, and Helmeppo was suddenly reminded of something he wasn’t supposed to know.

“I wanted to know if he was as likely to share his, ah! His ‘appreciation’ with his crew as he did to me.” Grap switched how his hand rested against Koby and was now rubbing with a bit of purpose. “I didn’t think it would go so far, and I didn’t think he’d join in.” 

Garp stopped, “You had sex with Luffy today?” 

Frozen as well, Helmeppo waited as Koby shook his head. “No! No, we never got that far; I didn’t want to go that far.”

Throwing caution to the wind, Helmeppo went back around the desk to climb up behind him. Kneeling behind Koby, he could see the shocked look on Garp’s face, but he was able to feel the tremors in Koby’s body better. 

“And what, exactly, kept you from that?” Garp asked, the hand that was on Koby’s core moving once more and his other hand sneaking around to rest on the swell of Koby’s ass. “He’s already tasted you, hasn’t he? Why keep him from feeling you, too?” 

“Cause I don’t want him. I want you- oh, you two. I don’t want anyone else.” Koby tilted his hips toward Garp but leaned against Helmeppo, “Please, I only want you two.”

Helmeppo met Garp’s eyes over Koby’s shoulder.

He believed Koby but didn’t know if the older man did. 

“And what would you do for us?” Garp asked, sliding his hand further into the cleft of Koby’s ass, apparently finding something because Koby’s whole body jolted. “What would you do?” 

“Anything, Garp, please, anything?” Koby gasped, the last word sounding like a question the way Koby’s voice rose.

“Would you ride me? Here in this chair?” Garp asked, and before he could even finish asking, Koby nodded. “Would you let Helmeppo hold you down and take whatever he wanted?” 

Koby paused, as though he wasn't sure.

But Helmeppo didn't want that, and he broke the silence, “Would you let me eat you out? Would you kiss me while making love?” 

Koby nodded quickly as Helmeppo wrapped himself around him, feeling the hand going behind Koby bump into his bulge. 

Kissing Koby’s neck, he realized he hadn’t actually kissed the smaller boy before and brought a hand up, “Can I kiss you now?” 

Immediately, Koby turned to him, he nodded just once. 

Their kiss was hot, awkward, and it was a little wet and tasted like tears. And somehow, it was perfect. There was nowhere he’d rather be than right there and right then. 

It took a moment for them to break apart. Helmeppo didn’t want to pull away; he wanted to feel Koby’s soft lips over and over. Even breathing seemed underrated compared to the feel of the boy in his arms. 

“Can I?” Garp asked, quiet like he didn’t want to interrupt the two, though his hands still worked Koby over. 

Koby leaned forward to kiss him, nearly falling into Garp’s lap.

He’d been right; seeing the complete shock of difference between them was beautiful. Garp’s hands were so dark against Koby’s skin, so big they nearly spanned him even with all the muscle that Kody had put on. 

Helmeppo took the chance to strip off his shirts, dropping them behind him off the desk, and admired the fair and smooth spread of skin in front of him. 

Nearly every time he took the chance to admire Koby, he was struck dumb by the sight. He was beautiful and more than happy, more than willing to be with them. Even after all the stress, even with the variety of options he'd apparently had, he'd come back to them. Choose them above all.

Like this, Helmeppo could see Garp’s finger teasing Koby's asshole and wondered if Koby could take either of them if he wanted to. 

He was so beautiful.

Garp released Koby's lips, but it still took him a moment to lean back. 

Koby panted between them, and Helmeppo was sure there was nowhere else he'd rather be than here, giving Koby pleasure. 

“Would you-” Koby paused, catching his breath, “Would you two want to…” 

“You want us to kiss?” Helmeppo asked, figuring it was where he was going. 

Koby nodded, then looked between Garp and Helmeppo like he wasn’t sure if either would do it.

“I’m not against it,” Garp said, a smile hinting at wanting more. “Helmeppo?” 

Draping himself over Koby was an easy choice, “I’m game if you are.”

Garp nodded and pushed himself closer to both the younger men. 

Kissing with someone between himself and his partner was a novel experience but one he could only hope to get used to. The soft whine as they connected gave Helmeppo pause, thinking for a second that it had come from him. Before Koby nuzzled against Garp and started kissing his fuzzed jaw. The beard was also new. Helmeppo hadn’t been with a man before, far more used to the touch and admiration of women to think about trying to hunt the hunter, but the bristles, too, were a welcome chance to it all. 

“Tell you what.” Garp pulled back, pulling his hands from Koby, pulling a whine from him.

Helmeppo hummed, unable entirely to put to voice his feelings or curiosity. Koby was latched onto his arms, one hand holding onto Helmeppo’s thigh like it was his only lifeline.

“How about, I go down on Koby until he comes, while Helmeppo kisses him?” Helmeppo already liked this plan, “Then, Koby rides Helmeppo’s mouth while I get his ass ready for me. When he’s ready, I can fuck him while Koby rides him.”

He didn’t have any words for how much he was into that and not at all ready for it. But Koby spoke for both, merely saying, “Please!” 

Helmeppo wasn’t sure where to go. "Off the table, lad, it’ll be easier if you’re not behind him.”

Nodding, Helmeppo slid from Koby, immediately missing his body heat. But soon, Koby laid back, ass at the edge of the table, and Helmeppo was able to kiss him. 

It was even better without the twinge in his neck. 

 

-----

 

Soon, Garp had Koby’s legs over his shoulders. The boy didn’t seem to notice at first, busy as he was with the other. 

If there was one thing Garp loved about sex more than any other, it was going down on his partners. It let him know what they liked, and he liked focusing on them unabashedly. He’d get his own eventually. It was the least he could do. And Koby was especially pleasant, with a unique but clean taste. Strong, intelligent, delicious, what wasn’t there to like about him?

Koby squeaked, a startled, high noise when Garp started. When he kept going, Koby's legs clenched reflexively, trying to hold the older man in place. 

The boys slipped together as Garp went to work, moaning against each other as Garp worked Koby over and noticed how Helmeppo had freed himself from his pants to roughly stroke.

“Drop it, boy.” He barked, “Don’t you want to be good for Koby?” 

A flush overcame Helmeppo, and he dropped his cock like it was on fire. 

“Attaboy. Now play with his chest; I get the feeling he’ll like it.” Given how much Koby started squirming immediately, Garp was sure it was the right choice. And Helmeppo’s reaction was certainly food for thought. 

But later, he wanted to focus on the squirming mess in his arms first. 

Garp was confident that Luffy might have had an advantage or two when it came to going down on someone, but Garp had years and years of experience on his side, plenty of which he was willing to pull out now to get Koby closer to the edge faster. 

The sooner he did, the sooner Garp could watch him ride Helmeppo’s face.

And sooner than he thought, the pink-haired boy came, sweat slicking his skin and hair, leaving him glistening in the cabin's lights. 

Wiping a hand over his beard and the sticky mess therein, Garp gave the boys a minute. Hot kisses gone a little cooler, a little sloppier. Koby held onto Helmeppo’s neck and kept him from pulling too far away, Helmeppo’s hand covering most of the left side of Koby’s chest. 

Dropping Koby’s legs, he once more saw the sight that ignited it all, that kept him awake and forced an ancient hunger from its sleep. 

Pale legs with dark bruises lay spread, barely holding themselves up. A soft pink core twitching, pink hair darkened considerably by arousal and saliva. 

This time, there’s no sobbing, no fear, and no confusion. There are just three people who care about each other and love each other. 

Notes:

Thanks for reading this far! If you liked this please Comment or Kudos, and if you really liked it consider following me on Tumblr:
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Have a nice day and may you always find exactly what you're looking for!

Notes:

TRIGGER WARNING/SPOILERS
IMPLIED/REFERENCED NON-CON
Non-con doesn't actually happen, the whole situation was consensual! But at the beginning of this fic Garp believed that's what he walked in on and Helmeppo believes that it happened.
NON-CON DID NOT ACTUALLY HAPPEN, JUST APPEARED TO IN AN ALREADY STRESSFUL SITUATION

Spoilers over, I just want to make it loud and clear.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of All The People Who Make Plans Couldn't Have Planned For This