One Piece One Shots

Trust [Paulie x Reader]

Notes:
-It's been a while. But the recent chapters of the manga reminded me of some characters and has made me fall all over again for the Water 7/Enies Lobby characters, so here's summa that.

<<>>

Paulie's changed since the whole incident. The betrayal of so many of his trusted coworkers—friends—had made him distant. They had hurt him so much, physically and mentally.

You noticed him keeping you and the other Galley-La workers at arm's length, plus farther, keeping interactions at a minimum, avoiding any contact at all.

You couldn't blame him; you were hurt too. Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, even Blueno the bartender, you thought you knew all of them. Now, none of you could know if any of the others were a secret agent, still there to keep an eye on things and backstab the others when the need arose. And because you two were so close, the paranoia seemed greater between you two. You wanted him to trust you again, and you wanted to trust him again. And you felt like you did, but at the same time, it didn't feel real.

"Hey, Paulie," you greeted one morning. He was inspecting a ship that was damaged by pirates, and you were delivering some materials to his area.

"Mornin'." He raised a hand in greeting, but didn't look away from his work. It was only when you set down the box of nails and planks next to him that he looked up and met your eyes.

"Didja need something?" You frowned. Usually, he would look somewhat annoyed at being bothered while he was in the middle of something, but quickly becoming casual and laid-back to relax in your company. Now, however, his expression remained annoyed as he waited for whatever you were going to say to him.

"Yeah," you finally said after a pause. "You."

He gave a puzzled expression before becoming flustered and turning back to his work. "Yeah, right. We're short of hands since those bastards abandoned us. I gotta work extra hours these next couple days in order to catch up on the orders. Who knows when we're gonna get new hires that are both capable and trustworthy enough." He gestures towards the ship he was working on now. "Plus the occasional damaged ones that come in in an emergency. The money's worth the ASAP request, y'know?"

You grabbed his wrist before he could take his hammer and start working again. "Franky's family and Iceberg are hosting a party tonight. Come join me." After the Strawhats left, there wasn't much time to just spend time together. Most of everyone's free time was spent on helping to build the Thousand Sunny to thank the Straw Hats. And it didn't help that there was a feeling of suspicion everywhere. This was a chance to clear it up.

"I'm busy," Paulie replied, trying and failing to shake your hand off his wrist. He was being gentle about it. He sighed. "Look, it's just... I can't. I'm not feeling it."

"Please," you insisted. When he didn't reply, you let go. You both stood there silently without moving for a moment, before you turned and left without a word.

<•>

Everyone was having fun, dancing and singing, eating and drinking, making a fool of themselves. You were tempted to join in, many members of the Franky family offering you a dance or a drink or two, trying to get you to loosen up. Maybe forget about everything, at least for a little while.

You weren't feeling it, just as Paulie had said. It didn't feel right, without him here with you.

Perhaps you shouldn't've came here, you realized, suddenly feeling a sense of regret and embarrassment. You were alone here. The others must be pitying you. That's why they kept trying to talk to you. After all, the only friends you had before that were so close to you were the coworkers that betrayed you. And Paulie. Well, he wasn't here now.

You sighed again, then stood up. No one noticed as you quickly and quietly left the loud party house. It they did, they didn't try to stop you.

It was dark and quiet outside, with a new moon in the sky. These two factors made it difficult for you to spot the figure by the railing looking out to the sea. Only the smell and the small spark of light from a cigarette caught your nose and eyes.

"Paulie?" you still asked, not quite wanting to raise your hopes up. Your eyes were still adjusting to the dark after being covered in the bright lights that were inside the house.

"Yeah?" Paulie's voice replied, and he turned to look at you. His expression was softer than this morning, sad and regretful.

"What are you doing here?"

He sighed, a puff of smoke rising out from his mouth. "Couldn't decide if I should go in or not. Probably shoulda." His eyes gaze at you up and down. "I guess I left you alone, didn't I?"

"I wasn't alone," you said immediately. "The Franky family was very welcoming. They're great, not to mention absolute maniacs." You let out a light laugh, but you weren't fooling anyone.

"I'm sorry."

The sudden apology caught you off guard. Before you could say anything, he continued.

"It's... I just... I'm having a hard time trusting again, y'know?" he said. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "You know how it is."

"I do," you admit. It was strange; you felt like you shouldn't be trusting of anyone anymore, but for some reason, you still believed in Paulie. "But I still trust you."

"Why?"

"If everything we've been through together was fake, if it was all for show, if there was no meaning to this..." You reached out to touch his hand. "Will you trust me when I say this?"

He stopped his gazing at the sea and made eye contact with you. For a moment you couldn't tell what he was thinking—his expression was blank, almost a hurt look from recent painful experiences—but it faltered when he took in your look of calm determination. 

"It feels wrong to trust you after all that happened, but despite that, I feel the need to trust you. I love you, Paulie. And I don't think I could stop loving you if this was all a lie."

There was a moment of silence and stillness before he took your hand. "Neither could I."