Another day, another town.

You never liked to stay in one place for too long.

But at least this place is pleasant enough, it's a small town with a small marketplace, there's a bunch of stalls neatly forming a circle so you can hop from one to the other without missing any or getting lost in the process.

There's one that's selling pumpkins in the spirit of Halloween, it's run by a cute guy with black hair and freckles, not to mention his smile that could surely light up an entire town. There's one beside him being run by an adorable girl with long pink hair, she's wearing formal Victorian-styled clothing and seemingly selling Halloween costumes. Beside her is a buff male with short burgundy hair, a scarf covering his neck and mouth, he's seemingly selling candies - it's all too clear that this town highly supports Halloween.

Damn, I wish I lived here as a child.

The other stalls are quite ordinary though; selling clothes, music, foods and knock-off jewellery. 

You notice how the two clothing merchants are glaring holes through each other too - one is being run by a girl with ginger hair and the other by a tall woman with blonde hair, the two clearly have a high distaste for each other.

Of course, upon glancing at the names of their stalls, it becomes all too clear why. 

One reads; "Nami's goods."

While the other reads; "Kalifa's better goods." 

Yep, a bit of obvious rivalry going on there.

Suddenly you feel an odd presence by your back, a sudden shift in the air that puts your whole body on guard.

Who--?

"How do you fancy making some easy money?" A gruff yet confident voice murmurs from behind, clearly trying to keep quiet and that just causes you even more discomfort. 

You've been in these situations before and although you don't always make money in the most respectable ways, you've never had sex with somebody to gain your fortune and you do not plan to do so now.

"I'm not sleeping with you. Fuck off." You calmly hiss while peeking over your shoulder at the mystery man but when you see him, apart of you wishes that you had acted as a prostitute, just this once.

He is hot. He's buff as hell, red hair, pretty pale but it only makes his make-up stand out more; black eyeliner and possibly some eyeshadow with a touch of dark lipstick. You've always been a little weak in the knees for men wearing make-up honestly, when you were a teen you had a bit of a thing for Johnny Depp but this man...this redheaded brute is drop-dead gorgeous.

No, [F/n], pull yourself together! You will not become this pervert's sex toy!

Despite scanning his face, you somehow managed to miss how his expression fell into complete bewilderment when you refused to sleep with him, his golden eyes burning holes through your features as he grumbles somewhat in what could be either confusion or irritation, perhaps even both.

"I'm not trying to fuck you, lady. You're not my type." He simply states and just like that, you feel like an arrow had been shot out of his mouth and pierced straight through your heart. "I want a favour from you, a simple one, really."

This bastard thinks he can hurt my ego then ask me to do something for him, what the fuck?!

"Screw you!" 

"That's not very nice, woman." He calmly responds, his eyes drinking in your height and posture observantly as a dangerous grin tugs on his painted lips. "What I'm asking is something simple, I can tell you've done it before." 

Huh?

Well, that catches your attention. Your eyes staring warily into his as your grip tightens on the strap of your backpack - it contains the clothes you take on your travels, although there's only two other outfits in there...you like to travel light. 

Not to mention your toothbrush, toothpaste, phone and money.

Oh, and your switchblade, just in case anybody tries anything shady with you. 

You have little need for anything else.

"How would you know what I've done before, you've never even met me." Your response does little to phase the man before you though, instead he looks just as confident as before, only offering a lazy shrug of his shoulders before he speaks again.

"I know you're not from around here, I've never seen you before...and I know everybody in this town. You're clearly not a spoiled rich kid, you look too trashy." Once again, he stamps on your ego and has you tempted to stamp on his throat. "But you've got enough money to travel to a new town and check out the market so you're clearly not poor, if you had a job that paid well then you wouldn't have the time to explore so I can only assume that most of your money is dirty."

What the hell...?

The redhead's grin only widens at your silence, his golden orbs taking in your stumped appearance and likely being able to read the 'oh shit' look that must be plastered all over your face right now.

"Relax, we're kindred spirits." That response has you weakly tilting your head to the side, confusion decorating your face as you hum a simple 'Huh?' to yourself. "My name is Eustass Kid and I'm the king of thieves, I own this town so don't bother telling the police, they're all in my pocket. And you are?"

This shady bastard!  

"My name? It's...Shadow." A slight lie but you've got no intention of telling this strange man your real name at all, goosebumps already spreading across the skin of your arms as you stare into the man's golden eyes cautiously. "What do you want from me?"

That question earns you an immediate chuckle, the hot bastard pressing a pale hand to your back and ushering you toward an empty stall, it's filled with CD's and old records, the sight causing a puzzled frown to etch itself into your features.

If this is the shit he's selling, no wonder why he needs to resort to thievery. 

"I need you to frame that pretty little blonde over there." The redhead lowly murmurs, gesturing toward Kalifa's stall with a small movement of his head. "Y'see...Nami, the ginger chick, she paid us handsomely to remove her competition and let me tell you, that woman doesn't simply give handouts so when she's paying for something to be done, it's in our best interest to deliver."

Your eyes instinctively scan Nami's stall before shifting to Kalifa's, then back to Nami's, a clear pout etching itself into your features.

"If she's so greedy with her cash, how do you know she won't just refuse to pay once the job is done?" Your question only causes Kid to snicker to himself some more, giving you a strong pat on the back and almost winding you in the process.

Stupid brute.

"Because she's also rather cowardly, she knows when she's outmatched and she will not double-cross me, I can guarantee you that...Shadow. So are you in or not?"

With a final sigh, your eyes skim the two woman for one last time, they're practically launching themselves any customer who passes by them and trying to force their clothing onto the poor soul.

"Hm...Fine, I'm in." 

Your acceptance only earns you a cruel smile as the redhead pulls you in closely to his chest in order to lowly murmur your instructions into your ear, your face falling more and more with each word.

He wants you to steal a necklace from Bonney's jewellery stand and slip it into Kalifa's handbag that's always sealed away inside a locked cupboard in her stall, once that's done then you've only got to return back to Kid. Then Nami will report Kalifa to the market's overseer for stealing which will get her fined and her stall suspended, apparently it's rare for vendors to make a comeback after such a thing which suits Nami just fine.

"You come back here when it's done and we'll discuss your payment." Kid finally rasps, releasing you from his warm embrace which only causes a frown to make a reappearance on your face as the cold autumn air hits your body. 

"I want 70% of the cut since I'm clearly the one that's doing all the work." 

Your bold demand only gains you a snort from the redhead as he mockingly shakes his head, his arms folded over his chest. "You're not even a member of my crew, you should be grateful that you're even getting half. Now run along, I'll cause a distraction for you."

I'm getting half? Shit, that's fairer than I was expecting!

Making your way toward the women's stands, you freeze in your steps, doubt beginning to seep in. 

How am I gonna do this?

"Hey, Rocinante! What are we lookin' for today?" You hear Kid loudly voice from behind, drawing in your gaze just in time for you to catch him pat--no, more like slam a tall blonde man a little too hard on the back, sending him stumbling straight into his own stall.

CD's and records flying everywhere and drawing in everybody's attention as Kid blurts some dramatics like; "Oh my God!" and "My livelihood!" not that it sounds at all convincing to you, it seems more like he's just taking the piss out of people who really are working to make a living.

But alas, it works, the other vendors are all rushing to help the blonde back to his feet and some even helping pick up Kid's records which gives you the opening you need. You swiftly rush over to Bonney's stall and swipe the most expensive necklace you could lay your eyes upon before hotfooting your way over to Kalifa's stall but the only problem is; the cupboard's lock. 

There's no key for it in sight which causes you great distress, sweat pouring down your face as your anxiety kicks in, your eyes flickering all over the small stall and hastily looking for something else you could use to pick the lock with.

"The stall is on fire!" 

Huh?

"Damn it, Rocinante!" 

Taking a discreet peek outside the stand, you come face-to-face with the ginger girl, causing you to jolt as your soul seemingly leaps from your body and a weak yelp escapes your throat. 

"Jesus!" 

Of course she doesn't waste another second in plain view, grabbing your arm and briskly forcing you back into Kalifa's stall, in the background you could vaguely see that it was in fact Kid's stall that caught fire and that it's nowhere near Kalifa's so you've still got plenty of time to spare.

"What the hell is taking so long?!" Nami whisper-yells at you with a face like thunder, urging you to glance down at the locked cupboard with furrowed brows and a pout on your lips. 

"It's locked." All your answer receives is a groan from the organette though as she reaches into her hair and pulls out one of her bobby pins before harshly handing it to you. 

"Here, pick the lock with this and do not lose it in here! And be quick, this distraction won't last forever!" And with that, the girl is gone again, swiftly making her way back out and toward the crowd of other vendors, leaving you to pick the lock. 

It doesn't take you long to get the cupboard open at all though, if there was one thing that Kid was right about, it's that you've done things like this before. 

What can you say? Girl's gotta eat. 

Opening the door, you slip the necklace into the handbag, leaving just a tiny piece of silver hanging out of the top before closing the door again and rushing out of the stall while slipping Nami's now-broken hair grip into your pocket.

You spot the vendors all clearing up Kid's stall to the best of their abilities but the tarpaulin that acts as a shelter for his items is burnt pretty badly...something that surprises you since it's not meant to be a material that catches light so easily. 

But then, Kid does seem like the sort of person to dip his stuff in gasoline so if it catches fire, he could easily sue you for it. 

Bastard...a hot bastard though.

"When you're a walking fire hazard, you really shouldn't be wearing a feathered coat, ya know?!" Kid's gruff voice catching your ears once again and drawing your gaze toward him as he roughly pats down a blonde man, the same guy that he pushed into his stall.

As if you're really gonna blame this on him...

As you make your way over to the pair, Kid's golden eyes shift to meet yours, a small grin tugging on his lips as he ushers Rocinante along swiftly. "There, you're fine, run along now!" he carelessly grumbles to the blonde before waltzing over to you and wrapping his arms around your waist, much to your surprise, pulling you into his chest. "Hey babe!" He chimes almost cheerfully before his voice lowers into a whisper; "Just play along."

Although you're a little stiff from the shock, your arms still hesitantly lift to wrap themselves around the redhead's torso, returning his affectionate gesture as the vendors all go back to their own businesses. 

What the--?

"They'll wonder why I'm speaking to a random stranger in this town," Kid voices quietly in your ear, almost as if he's reading your mind while he teasingly brushes his lips against your cheek, the sensation causing a shiver to rack your spine and your legs to tremble as he continues. "If they think you're my girl then they won't question why we're speaking."

"Must you just grab me without warning?! I could have a boyfriend for all you--"

"If you did then you wouldn't be travelling alone." He boldly murmurs over your hushed protests, tugging you into a more secluded spot within the marketplace, a smirk tugging on his lips. "And if you were here alone but had a boyfriend, you would've checked your phone for messages by now."

"...Right."

He's surprisingly pretty smart for a thief.

"Anyway," He voices confidently but still making sure to keep his tone reasonably low, you can hear Kalifa getting searched in the distance, the poor woman protesting that going through her bag without evidence is harassment and an invasion of her privacy. The ruckus bringing a satisfied smile to Kid's lips at least. "You've done it. Nami will give me the money at the pub later, we could meet there or you can simply stick with me until then, if you don't trust me."

"Obviously I'm gonna stay with you until we get paid, I wasn't born yesterday!" 

Your response surprisingly earns you a chuckle from the handsome male as he stares down at you, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, possibly mixed with something else but you can't quite work out what. 

"Join my crew."

And there it is.

"What?" You are admittedly rather bewildered, your whole body stiffening as your wide eyes stare up at the redhead questionably and your mouth falling ajar. "A-Are you serious?! You don't even know me!"

"I know your name isn't Shadow, it's actually [F/n] [L/n] and you're over 18." Eustass casually murmurs whilst plucking your ID out of his pocket with a cheeky smirk spread across his lips. "When I said I was the king of thieves, I wasn't kidding."

He...? He stole my ID from my backpack...WHEN IN THE HELL DID HE DO THAT?!

"So, [F/n], will you join my crew or not?"

Staring up at the man before you, you cannot find it within your heart to refuse, you've always gotten by on your own but can you even begin to imagine - a band of misfits like yourself? A place where you'll finally fit in? 

It's awfully tempting. 

"Maybe...Fine. But if I don't like how you run things, I'm out! Okay?"

Your feisty remark only brings a taunting grin to redhead's face as he calmly nods his head, his golden eyes seemingly speaking thousands of words but all he says is; "Okay."

Looks like this opens a whole new chapter within your life.

A thief working under Eustass Kid...how interesting. 

"One more thing though, [F/n]."

"Yes?"

"If you join my crew, you're mine. Nobody else's." 

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