Tides That Bind: Chapter One

Chapter One: The Bombshell set off in Your Heart

A light mid-afternoon breeze flowed through the workshop of Tom & Son's Boat Repair on what had turned out to be a sweltering summer day on the island. A tall, blue-haired man fanned himself as he walked out of the cool store front and into the work area, feeling a little perturbed that he had to wear a suit. He rounded the side of a particularly large fishing boat that floated in the water of the indoor marina and looked down from the upper deck to the lower platform next to the small craft he suspected was his target.

Sure enough, he saw a bit of the tell-tale open Hawaiian shirt and the dark speedo his younger brother wore no matter the weather. The older man felt a bit envious of the cooler attire and let a little more irritation slip into his voice than he intended.

"Oi, Baka-anky! Are you still working on that control panel? We've got two other jobs lined up!" he shouted down to his brother.

The man started, having been in deep concentration when the older man called, and narrowly missed hitting his head on the fiberglass panel above him. He pushed himself out from beneath the wires and glared up at the man who had disturbed his work.

"Well maybe if you hadn't given Paulie and Zambai the day off the same day of your meeting, Baka-berg, we wouldn't have this problem!"

He clambered out of the boat onto the lower deck and looked up at his brother indignantly, his large hands resting on his hips. Iceberg wore a striped jacket and a tangerine collared shirt, and looked like he hated every minute he was trapped within its confines.

He sighed heavily as the bulkier man climbed the steps to the upper deck.

"Duval's been manning the front, and I think Lulu's at lunch…." he mused.

"Tyleston was yelling about a new fuel pump for the engine on the Evinrude, so he's probably in store room," Franky said as he thumbed over his shoulder at of one of the doors in the corner of the large building.

Iceberg raised a hand to his chin as he thought over the situation, knowing full well that they had limited time.

"Nma, we could always get Chimney to watch the store; she knows what she's doing," the elder man offered, "then Duval can get in here and help."

"You better help too, you lazy idiot!"

Franky stretched his arms up over his head, jostling the heavy gold chain around his neck as he pushed his thick forearms together. Uniting the two light blue star tattoos to form one central astral symbol, he let loose a raucous laugh before quirking an eyebrow at his brother.

"This week's me may be prettySuuper, but even I can't finish it all myself."

He held his pose for a moment while Iceberg rolled his eyes, then lowered them and withdrew a pair of triangular sunglasses from his shirt pocket along with a small comb. Shoving his shades up the bridge of his nose, he drew the comb through his vibrant hair in a quick, upward sweeping motion.

The darker-haired man shook his head at his little brother's typical moronic behavior, and began to remove his jacket.

"Nma," he began, throwing the coat over his shoulder as he unbuttoned the shirt beneath it, "let's get this done, I need a drink after today."

Franky nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it. Aunt Kokoro's up at Party's bar. Kiwi and Mozu are running it with Shakky; Makino's kid is sick, poor thing…"

Trust Franky to worry about somebody else's kid, especially one of a friend. Anytime their little cousin had gotten sick when she was younger, he had taken it upon himself to skip work so he could take Chimney a cola and sing for her, much to Iceberg's and her parents displeasure.

Their dad and her grandfather, Tom, had always found it endearing and hilarious.

"So Zambai's probably there, I could drag him in," Iceberg huffed, finally freeing himself from the shirt and revealing the dark blue sleeveless he wore as an undershirt. "I'll go get him and Chimney, you guys try to finish what you can."

Franky posed again, shouting, "You can super leave it up to me!"

He didn't wait for his brother to leave before heading back to his work, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The panel was replaced and the electronics functional by the time Iceberg came back in, Duval, Zambai, Lulu, and, surprisingly, Paulie in tow. Tyleston had gotten back to work sometime after Iceberg had been by, yelling about being finished just as the five other mechanics came in. The seven of them worked on the remaining two projects in the afternoon heat, squabbling over parts and bragging about how quickly they finished their individual tasks. Only Franky and Iceberg remained when the sun started to go down, having let their employees go ahead of them to the bar.

"Where's the combo wrench? I got a loose nut up here," Franky called from the bow.

"Yeah, something's loose up there," Iceberg said as he replaced the cover on one of the rear engines. He tossed the tool at his brother, nailing him in the shoulder.

"Hey, watch it dumbass!" he cried with little malice, quickly tightening the nut in question before slamming the forward panel shut.

Iceberg chuckled as he gathered up his tools, jumping off the boat before his brother could get to him. Franky shook his fist at him as he retreated, vowing to get him back later.

"I'm going ahead, you lock up," the elder man said from the upper deck as Franky wiped oil off his hands.

Franky waved him off, and finished his last inspection of everyone's work. Satisfied, he put away all the leftover equipment and grabbed his leather jacket and goggles from the front office before closing. The night air was still stifling, but the majority of the heat had faded with the sun. He briefly looked up at the first stars of the evening as he removed his sunglasses and looped the heavy leather strap of his riding glasses around his head.

His baby, the newest in a line of motorcycles of his own design, shone brightly in the parking lot under the tall light post and he felt like tearing up every time he saw her. Kuro was bulky like himself; her black, red, and blue body accentuated with large yellow stars on either side, similar to the ones on his muscled arms. He fired her up and listened to the engine purr before blasting up the road to the nearby bar where his friends were waiting.

As always, the small watering hole was boisterous and welcoming; the occupants drinking, singing off key, or playing (in Paulie's case, losing) some variation of cards with money exchanging hands under the well-worn tables. He would normally join in the karaoke party that seemed to spontaneously spring up in the corner despite the lack of any music, his guitar seeming to materialize out of thin air, but he was presently looking for the new Mayor of their town.

He found him in the usual corner booth with their aunt and an old family friend who used to help out their father in the shop. Rayleigh's handsome face crinkled slightly beneath his glasses as he smiled over at him and he indicated the seat next to himself while Franky made his way through the crowd.

"So, what've I missed?" he said as he sat down, waving at Kokoro and lifting his sunglasses to his forehead to rest in front of his riding goggles.

"Nagaga- Iceberg was just telling us about the council," his aunt laughed, taking a long drag from the bottle of whiskey in her hand.

"Oh? Trouble in paradise, Mr. Mayor?" Franky teased.

Iceberg shrugged, making the muscles under his swirling dark red tattoos flex.

"A couple government people came in to do some audit; this real uptight guy that had a weird obsession with pigeons and a bombshell of a woman."

"Heh, if Paulie hears you talking like that, he might cry."

Paulie's crush on Iceberg was just as much of a secret as Duval's affection for Kiwi. Iceberg waved off the comment and continued to use his hands for emphasis.

"No, even he would get it; this woman was a knockout! She seemed nice enough, but both of them made me feel like I was being followed around by some kind of predator." He took a drink from his glass before continuing, "I still feel like somebody's watching me; makes my skin crawl."

"Sounds like we need another round, then," Rayleigh chortled, raising his hand and waving at the bar.

Chimney, who helped pass out drinks while her grandmother was there, came over quickly. Her braided pigtails bouncing, the teenaged blonde skipped up with a big smile and a tray with a couple full glasses along with an empty one and a pitcher filled with something that made Franky's mouth water.

"Two rum and coke's and pitcher of cola for my favorite customer's!" she exclaimed, setting down the drinks for her family and their friend, "Shakky was looking for you by the way, Rayleigh. She said not to flirt too much with Kiwi and Mozu or Zambai and Duval will-"

"Yes, yes," he said, cutting her off.

Rayleigh grinned over at his wife behind the bar, who rolled her eyes good-naturedly as if she'd heard. That woman always seemed to know everything, but didn't seem to mind that her husband liked to flirt with younger women all the time. When Mozu called to the girl from across the room, Chimney took off to help her, leaving Franky to fill up his own glass.

He guzzled down the first glass greedily after the long, hot day, and looked across the table at his brother who was doing the same with his own drink. Iceberg had ruffled his darker hair loose of its previously gelled positioning, and with it now uncharacteristically down, he looked a little like he used to when they were still in their early twenties.

"So other than that, how's things at the office?" he questioned further.

Iceberg shook his head in frustration, and suddenly he looked all of his forty-five years.

"Oh you know, that new secretary is still young, so she's not nearly as efficient as Kalifa was; the police chief was having issues with a couple of his officers fighting so he decided to yell at them outside my office; trying to convince some of the old surf bums to stop trying petition to set up a village on the beach." He sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, "trying to lower taxes, that sort of thing."

Franky raised an eyebrow at the mention of his friend and fellow motorcycle enthusiast.

"Who was ol'Smokey yelling at this time?"

"That Japanese kid with the green hair and his lieutenant were bickering or something, I don't know…"

Franky laughed, just picturing the spunky Asian roommate Luffy had introduced to him a while back and the eager-to-please right hand woman of Smoker's blowing their tops. His friend often said that they would drive him to an early retirement.

They sat in the corner booth for a couple hours, allowing time for their friends to get tired of whatever they were doing and migrate over. Paulie did his usual complaining about rigged games and scandalous women while Kiwi and Mozu tormented him teasingly whenever they could spare a moment. Tyleston and Zambai had met up with Lulu, Kiev, and Tama, and the four of them were belting out terrible renditions of what might have once been love songs. Duval was sighing to himself as he watched Kiwi buzz about the bar, the faraway look in his eye much like the one Paulie directed toward Franky's older brother when he thought no one was looking. Franky just wished that they would get together already; he knew that Baka-berg had no problem with it.

At some point he had joined his younger friends in their singing, dancing and posing atop one of the bar tables as the crowd around him clapped and laughed. But the day's heat finally caught up all of them and everyone began to filter out of the bar, eventually even he felt the desire for a warm bed. It wasn't even midnight before he helped Iceberg sling their by now drunk employee's arm over his shoulder, watching him lead Paulie to the passenger side of his car.

"You two have a suuuper night!" he sang mockingly across the parking lot.

The dark blue hair disappeared into the car before the finger did.

Chuckling before a yawn forced him to stop; Franky put his sunglasses in his pocket band pulled down his goggles again. He sped off into the night with only thoughts of his apartment and his bed filling his mind. He was about a block from the complex he lived in before he noticed some flashing lights in the shoulder up ahead. Some poor soul was pulled over with a flat in the middle of the night, he reckoned, and his heart couldn't bear for him to pass them up.

As he got closer, the mechanic noticed the woman standing on the side of the road with a contemplative look on her face directed toward her right rear tire. She didn't even seem to notice him as he came in behind her and shut off his bike, but she smiled when he approached.

"Are you the rescue crew?" she asked sweetly, her voice like silk. She finally looked up at him, and he was floored by how gorgeous she was.

"Uh, if you need one, Sis," he said, a little stunned by her nonchalance.

"It would seem as though I need another set of hands at the very least," she motioned to the flat, which looked to be halfway removed.

The intriguing woman ran a hand through the long black hair that hung from below the brim of her western-style hat as if to quell a frustration, but her face betrayed no such emotion. She was in a nice purple suit that accentuated her impressive curves, and didn't seem to be uncomfortable despite the lingering heat and the evidence that she had been working.

"I was able to remove all the nuts, but I failed to notice that I didn't have a jack," she explained, turning to her savior, "You wouldn't happen to have one on that motorcycle?"

It was true that most bikes didn't offer much room for such things, but his own design had been thorough to the point that he could fit his entire toolkit and a mini-bar inside it, while still leaving room for groceries.

"Of course!" he assured her, throwing his arms up above his head in his signature stance. She raised an elegant eyebrow at his sudden enthusiastic movement, but didn't question it as he continued, "You can leave everything up to me, big sis, I got it all super under control."

She chuckled lightly, her amused voice music to his ears, "Well, alright then."

He went back to his bike, his heart fluttering a bit as he willed himself to concentrate the task at hand. The beautiful woman was one of the few who hadn't been taken off guard or repulsed by his odd behavior or state of dress, and he was sure that she hadn't been laughing at him. All thoughts of a good night's sleep were replaced with the sound of her tinkling laughter.

He fetched his bag and the hydraulic jack from one of the side storage areas and got to work on her vehicle, replacing the tire for the spare in little time at all. The stunning woman seemed impressed with his speed, and clapped lightly when he finished, bringing a slight heat to his face. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he stood to face her soft smile.

"What do I owe you?" she asked, her hands going to the small handbag she must have retrieved from her car when he was working.

"Oh no, it's no problem," he said with his hands up in protest, "I just hope you have a super night after this."

He winked down at her and she laughed again, making him swell a bit with pride.

"Well, can I at least have my savior's name?" she asked, smirking at him.

"Sure!" he chuckled, extending a hand, "I'm Cutter Flam, but everyone calls me Franky."

"Robin," she said, placing her smaller, feminine hand into his large palm before he shook it delicately.

Franky reached into his bag, withdrawing a card and a pen before scribbling a number on the back of it. He tucked the pen away and handed the heavy paper slip over to her.

"This is?" she smiled quizzically.

"My card," he said, "if you ever need any rescuing, call my cell on the back."

She eyed the Tom & Son's Boat Repair design on the front with interest before looking up at him through her long eyelashes, as if she were intentionally trying to cause his impending heart failure. The frantic heart beat might as well have been audible in his mind, because she leveled him with a knowing gaze similar to the one Shakky often gave her husband. This Robin seemed to be another all-knowing woman.

"Thank you, Mr. Savior," she said gratefully, her light blue eyes glinting with genuine honesty.

"Any time," he said, shouldering his bag as she turned to walk back to the driver's side.

Franky couldn't help himself as he watched the sway of her fluid legs and hips when she walked away, wishing he had continued talking to her a little longer. The blue-haired man smiled and waved as she drove the small sedan away, his mind still a little fuzzy from the encounter.

Despite his best efforts, it took the mechanic a while to fall asleep as he mulled over what he could have done differently in that situation. It wasn't often that he was interested in someone, and his feelings had never bowled him over that soundly.

Whoever Robin was, she had left quite the impression.

The next morning was long and uneventful, the heat finally forcing Paulie and himself to retreat into the office with Duval. Having finished all their pending work the previous day, the three of them entertained themselves in the air conditioned comfort while they waited for another project, and for the people who had commissioned their help to come pick up their sea crafts.

Duval and Paulie had found a deck of cards in the back and were playing a game of Go Fish, while he manned the front desk and grudgingly went over some financial paperwork Iceberg had left.

The chime of the front door made him raise his sunglasses to the top of his head as he cried out an enthusiastic, "Welcome!"

"My, my… " came a familiarly silky voice that made him swallow as he looked up at its owner when she approached the desk, "What a nice little business you have here, Mr. Savior."

He stared, slightly dazed, up at the beautiful woman he had dreamed about meeting again, and tried to string together a coherent thought. Franky's stunned expression finally slipped into a confident smirk as he once again found his voice.

"And what can I do for you, Miss Robin?" he asked, fully aware of the two gaping men behind him.

"What else can I ask of my white knight?" she said smiling softly down at the large man, "I'm in need of rescue."

His eyes widened, but he quite liked the idea of being a knight.

"There's just no helping it, then, my fair lady…" he grinned as he stood. He bent in a dramatic, sweeping bow, "How might I super assist you?"