Summary: What Garp hadn't interrupted Coby and Helmeppo's conversation when he did? What would have happened if the two had been allowed to talk further? This is my take on the interaction between Coby and Helmeppo while leaving Water 7.
Coby heaved a sigh of worry. His thoughts were completely centered on the wellbeing of the Straw Hat crew. I also gave an inward sigh, but this more of exasperation. I knew the power of the crew just as well as Coby, having seen them at their start and seeing where they were now. 'Those people… their capacity for growth is amazing… and horrifying. To take out CP9 and decimate Enies Lobby…' I glanced over at Coby, growing weary of the conversation. His hair had spilled over to lay across his face in wisps. His eyes were wide with worry and he gazed intensely at nothing, thinking of the future.
"Even if they were trying to uphold justice, nothing good can come of this…" Coby had just finished saying. It was true of course. I was a little worried, but they were still becoming more and more powerful. Moreover, I would have liked it a bit more if Coby were paying a bit more attention to me, rather than those pirates. I still held a seed of anger towards them, but it was masked almost entirely for all the good that had come out of those events in the past. I still held those thoughts of indignation (years of living a certain way cannot be completely stamped out through military training) but they had also given me something… incredible. I let out a small grunt and righted myself, completely done with thinking about the Straw Hat pirates. We were alone and would be, most likely, uninterrupted. I wanted Coby to think of me now.
"Shouldn't you just be happy that they managed to make it out?" I said. Inside my head, I winced. 'Yes, that wasn't at all conspicuous. How very mature you sound today, Helmeppo.' I didn't turn to see Coby's reaction, but a split second later, he gave a small laugh.
"That's true."
"But seriously, all that just to save one of their crew… To start a war with the government… Just how stupid are those guys?" I quickly averted the topic, so as not to further make myself out to be a complete idiot. The sound of Coby shuffling along the ground towards me startled me.
"You were worried about them too, Helmeppo-san! About Luffy-san and the others!" I blushed instantly. I hadn't wanted to seem sympathetic to them! My diversion seemed to have gone astray.
"N-no! That's not what I meant! I don't-" I turned towards him quickly to gauge the damage done and froze. In retrospect, I probably should have realized that being the touchy-feely type of kid he is, Coby didn't have the usual sense of personal space that others did, which is why he was so close to me. Close enough for our noses to touch had I turned slowly and judged my distance. Close enough that with my spastic turning and enthusiasm to right this misinterpretation, our lips were thrown together and our shock kept them there.
It wasn't really a kiss, per se. Our lips were locked, indeed, our teeth sort of resting upon each other. My neck was tilted at an odd angle and our noses were being mashed together uncomfortably. I saw his face flush and his eyes widened and somewhere in my mind I vaguely thought I must look the same. We stared at each other for a long while, processing the situation. I moved first, flinching back. This prompted his moving away, but at the same time his hands clamped down on my shoulders, and like well-rehearsed comedians we tumbled down in a flurry of limbs and curses. The end result was me looking up at Coby from the ground, Coby staring down at me with what could possibly be described as a look of shock. Our legs were tangled somehow, as far as I could tell without being able to see them.
Coby spent another second looking at me, and then, almost as if in a daze, he brought up his hands to frame my face. 'Is he… oh…' Coby kissed me lightly, hesitantly, as if expecting me to push him away violently. Instead, I opened my mouth and very nearly threw my arms around him.
It was passionate and loving and everything I had ever imagined it to be. My hands first gripped at his shoulders, then moved along his back and into his hair. He gave a small whine as I fisted my hands into those pink locks. I used this to deepen the kiss. It couldn't last forever though, and soon we both pulled apart, gasping for air. I must've closed my eyes at some point and I opened them then and nearly choked on my own breathe. Coby was looking down at me with half-lidded eyes, his lips looking red and thoroughly abused, his face flushed. His mussed up hair fell loosely to frame his face, completing the image of the recipient of an amazing kiss, and I couldn't help the swell of pride that filled me. Of course, that wasn't the only thing swelling…
"C-Coby… I, uh, have a bit of a problem… and you are sitting on it." I said. Coby stared at me, not comprehending for a second, before he blushed from the edge of his standard issue marine windbreaker to the roots of his hair. He carefully untangled our limbs before scrambling off to the side.
"We shouldn't do this right now… Helmeppo-san… Someone will be looking for us on deck soon… We have d-duties to complete…" Coby mumbled, blushing and stuttering. He was right of course. I sighed and nodded. 'Oh well. There's always tonight…' At that thought I gave a sly grin, and if Coby's ducked head and red ears were anything to go by, he got the message.
I got up and groaned softly in pain, deciding to first go to our quarters so I could take care of this problem before getting to work. Turning, a walked up to Coby and kissed him softly on the lips before turning to leave.
"I'll see you later…" I said. Coby smiled brilliantly and nodded.
"Uh… sir? May I ask what you are doing up there?" The marine that asked the question was treated to possibly the most horrific sight he had ever seen. Garp slowly turned his head downwards revealing the streams of blood pouring from his nostrils and the most… perverse expression ever seen.
"GET BACK TO WORK! NOTHING IS HAPPENING!" Garp yelled. He jumped down from the mast and hit the deck just short of enough force to permanently damage the ship. The surrounding marines yelled and jumped back, giving the large man enough room to race towards his quarters, leaving a befuddled group of men in his wake.
...It's awful isn't it? D: