[Fic] Paulie and His Cat Drabbles

[danyellaskyler]

Title: Blackjack
Series: Paulie and His Cat
Fandom: One Piece
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Website: Livejournal, or Fanfiction.Net
Rating: PG
Genre(s): General
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Blackjack
Summary: Paulie seems to have three constants in his life: Ships, cats, and killers. He doesn't seem to be able to rid himself of any of them. Or the World Government either for that matter.
Prompt: 1. Beginnings
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Warnings: Okay there are a couple of original characters in this, one being the tiger Blackjack, the other is a woman named Iria that acts like a demented sister to Paulie. There will be no Paulie/Iria.
Disclaimer: Checks reality meter (It's remarkably Magic Eight Ball shaped). Do I own One Piece? Nope still the right reality. Go eat a tuna sandwich instead. Damn.
Author's Note: I've decided to try and do a 100 Prompts thingy. It seems like a good way to jump around with this thing. They're Paulie centric, with the occasional Lucci/Paulie ones depending on placement. Also they will also be listed for now in the order they were written.
Word Count: 347

Blackjack

It was three months after the Strawhats left Water Seven that Paulie found the kitten. She was a tiny pathetic thing; all fluff and mewling cries, still small enough to crawl around in the palm of his hand. She was so young her eyes weren't even open yet. Even with his recently developed aversion to all things of the feline persuasion he couldn't leave her alone there.

After a fruitless hour of scouring the scrap yard for the kitten's mother he finally just took her back to Galley-la and fed her. It was a surprisingly delicate process that one of the other shipwrights had to walk him through involving an eyedropper and a lot of dribbling, but in the end he managed to get her fed. He was horrified to find out he would have to repeat the procedure in just two hours.

Over the next several weeks Paulie's life consisted solely of work and feeding the newly dubbed Blackjack. This had the positive result of effectively cutting him off from his former bad habits of boozing and gambling, due to lack of time and energy. The workers of Dock One became used to seeing him pulling Blackjack out of his pocket or work belt to pet at random moments.

Time went on and Blackjack started to feed on her own (to Paulie's secret regret) and become more independent, exploring the yard while Paulie worked, though never wandering very far from him. She also grew a great deal more than any of them had thought she would. By the time Paulie was celebrating the first anniversary of finding out the truth about those he had thought of as friends, Blackjack was waist high on him and still not done growing.

Blackjack was a beautiful tiger, all lush white fur, blue stripes, huge paws, with trim lines that she gained from running around the yard and ships, much to the workers' amusement and pride. They had no idea how she got from one of the winter islands to Water Seven, but everyone agreed she was good for Paulie.

O=O=O

Title: New Complications
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: PG
Genre(s): General
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Blackjack, Iria
Prompt: 89. She
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 457

New Complications

A month after Blackjack's first birthday, Iria entered Paulie's life. Some pirates had taken exception to the thought of paying the shipwrights for their work and the situation soon turned into the normal brawl.

Blackjack had just deposited one of the pirates at Paulie's feet after dragging him a good twenty yards when Paulie heard an amused laugh from atop one of the wood stacks.

"Well, well. The Grand Line really does have a little of everything." Paulie looked up with narrow eyes to see a dark skinned woman, clad in black, sitting there swinging a leg idly. "I never thought I'd see a tiger of that breed loyal to a human."

Before Paulie could say anything in response one of the still battling pirates tried to take advantage of Paulie's distraction.

Soon after that the pirates were all tied up and in various states of consciousness and injury. The seething shipwrights were standing around them glaring. One amused dark figure was standing before the pirates' captain and leaning down with her hands in her pockets to look into his bruised and dazed face.

"Mah, mah. You're really not that smart are you?"

"Who the hell are you?" Paulie demanded, stalking over.

Turning her head, the woman pinned Paulie with thoughtful amethyst eyes and gave him an amused smile. "I was just passing through and wanted to see what all the hubbub was about." Straightening up, she gave Paulie an wry grin. "So, you know where there are any good inns?"

"What the hell are you talking about, woman?" Paulie demanded, scowling.

"An inn. You know, a place where you rent a room while traveling?"

"You're looking for an inn in a shipyard?"

"Well no, that'd be silly." She shrugged. "I was actually looking for a place to buy souvenirs but I realized just now that I need an inn first probably."

"You were looking for a... souvenir shop?" One of the shipwrights asked, confused.

"Well I've always found that you get the best souvenirs when you look for the places they usually aren't." She gave him an amused grin. "After all I want to be tasteful not tacky."

"You're crazy, aren't you?" Paulie asked flatly.

"Only in the most technical sense." She heaved a dramatic sigh. "No one appreciates the difficulties in being a marine biologist. Especially in today's world."

"You're a marine biologist?" another shipwright asked in surprise.

She looked over at him and her grin grew. "No. But no one seems to appreciate them properly."

Paulie twitched and glared at the smug, and obviously insane woman that had turned a normal routine on it's ear. Growling, he opened his mouth and proceeded to get into one of the strangest arguments of his entire life.

O=O=O

Title: Too Much Flesh
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: PG-13 for mention of nudity
Genre(s): Humor
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Iria
Prompt: 33. Too Much
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 198

Too Much Flesh

Iria crossed her arms and glared at Paulie as he stood desperately searching for Blackjack. "Paulie."

"Not now."

"Paulie," She said a bit louder.

"Not now."

"Paulie!" Iria yelled angrily.

"What, woman?!" Paulie yelled back as he swung around to see what she wanted only to turn again with a hand clamped over his eyes. "Damnit woman! Are you trying to blind me? A sight like that's liable to turn a man gay!"

Iria smirked as she lowered her shirt back into place from having flashed Paulie. "For that to work you have to have been straight in the first place, Paulie."

"Was there a reason you just scarred me for life, woman?" Paulie demanded ignoring her accusation.

"Iceberg's coming through in three minutes with some investors he's giving a tour to."

"What? You're just telling me now?" Paulie demanded, swinging to face her.

"Well I suppose I could have told you an hour ago when he started the tour," she said thoughtfully, "but I was on break."

"You - I..." Paulie slumped in defeat. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"

Iria just laughed at him and went to join Blackjack up in the current ship's rigging.

O=O=O

Title: Cats and Killers
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Romance?
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Lucci/Paulie
Prompt: 23. Lovers
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 276

Cats and Killers

Paulie lay on his side staring thoughtfully at the carefully folded black suit sitting conspicuously on the dresser. He still found it odd, and sometimes frightening, to think of just who his lover was.

Or maybe it would be more accurate to say who he was the lover of.

He couldn't seem to escape them. Cats or killers. He seemed to draw them, as Iceberg had told him just weeks before he, Blackjack, and Iria had left for Enies Lobby to stay as covert hostages for a year.

He had hoped to avoid the entire traitorous CP9, but instead found himself under their constant watchful eye, and eventually, after a particularly disastrous party, sharing a bed with the deadliest of the group.

Still he was proud in a twisted, he's-obviously-spent-too-much-time-around-Iria sort of way, that it only started under extreme circumstances, and required him to be drugged to his gills with an aphrodisiac to get him to let Lucci into his bed.

For his part, the damned opportunistic bastard hadn't hesitated for a second in taking advantage of... well, taking advantage.

"Deep thoughts?" Lucci's cool, sardonic voice asked.

Turning over onto his back, Paulie scowled over at a nude Lucci who stood in the bathroom doorway.

"Just remembering what a bastard you are," Paulie snapped. "And reminding myself that there's only a month left before I leave."

"Mm," Lucci murmured noncommittally as he prowled over to the bed and crawled over the lounging blond. "Then I should take advantage of that time, shouldn't I?"

"I really hate you," Paulie growled.

"I don't care," Lucci said before kissing the blond and moving on to other, more enjoyable things.

O=O=O

Title: Yellow
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: G
Genre(s): Humor
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Blackjack
Prompt: 13. Yellow
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 148

Yellow

Paulie walked into his kitchen blearily and almost stumbled over Blackjack in his quest for coffee, or maybe tea, depending on what Iria set to brew the night before.

Yawning, he looked down at her only to freeze mid stretch as he took in the mountain of fur that was supposed to be his sleek white and blue tiger, not this... "Jackie?"

Blackjack looked up at him with soulful ice blue eyes and rumbled in displeasure, before flopping down to lay despondently on the floor.

"I... huh?" Paulie rubbed his eyes and looked at Blackjack again. "This is..." he paused before shaking it off, "I don't want to know, I just hope you had a good time earning this."

Shaking his head he stepped over the slumped head and forelegs of the now yellow and green tiger to continue his search for something sane. Or at least normal.

O=O=O

Title: Business as Usual
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: PG
Genre(s): General
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Blackjack
Prompt: 57. Lunch
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 151

Business as Usual

Paulie stood checking the blueprints for the current job with the pirate captain that he knew was going to try and shortchange them when he felt a heavy paw land on his shoulder. The other man's words stuttered to a stop.

Turning his head, Paulie was unsurprised to see Blackjack's familiar striped face next to his. "What?"

She gave him a look and a stern grumble.

"It's that late already?" Paulie asked in surprise.

Blackjack gave him an affectionate rub of cheek against cheek before she lowered her paw again and sauntered off with a lazily flicking tail.

Turning back to the pirate, Paulie started rolling up the blueprints. "Looks like it's time for lunch. We can continue this later."

"Sure. Whenever you want," was the dazed reply.

Tucking the papers under his arm, Paulie went to get the lunch Blackjack had brought from one of the takeaway places for him.

O=O=O

Title: Shopping
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: G
Genre(s): General
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Iria
Prompt: 12. Orange
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 104

Shopping

They were shopping in the market for a gift for Iceberg's birthday when she saw it.

Iria's eye's lingered for a long moment as she argued with Paulie over the latest suggestion, before her eyes drifted away again.

Eventually, after a lot more time than either of them liked, they finally settled on a gift that all three of the bizarre family could agree on, that they thought Iceberg would like.

Iria never mentioned it, or even drew attention to it, but that night she was surprised and touched to find the orange stuffed frog that had caught her attention sitting on her bed.

O=O=O

Title: A Day in the Office
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: PG
Genre(s): Humor
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Paulie, Iria, Iceberg
Prompt: 37. Sound
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 211

A Day in the Office

Iceberg was leading a prospective client past Paulie's office when a knife suddenly flew out and embedded itself in the wall just inches in front of where his head would have been.

"I'm serious, Paulie!" Iria's voice yelled from inside.

"So am I!" Paulie snapped back. "I can't believe you want to do that!"

"Oh, don't be a wuss. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Paulie demanded incredulously. "Are you crazy, woman?!"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Iria asked suddenly calm.

Paulie didn't even pause, "I'm not doing it, and there's no way Iceberg would agree either."

Iceberg raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'I wonder what Iria's up to.'

"Yes he will. It'll be great."

"Iria, let me explain to you what's wrong with your idea," Paulie growled. "You want to make a collage, on the Dock One gate, of our customers. All our customers."

"It'd be a great promotional tool. All those satisfied customers."

"Just one problem with that."

"What's that?"

"Most of those customers were pirates!" Paulie yelled with much thumping.

Leaning to peak around the door, Iceberg was unsurprised to find Iria entangled in Paulie's rope again. "A collage? Really?"

"Don't worry; I'll beat the idea out of her." Paulie ground, out glaring at his supposed secretary.

O=O=O

Title: Awkward Sights
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Rating: PG
Genre(s): General
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Lucci/Paulie
Prompt: 40. Sight
Beta: bronzetigress & dark_liandrin
Word Count: 157

Awkward Sights

Paulie glared viciously at Lucci. "Well fuck you and your damn parrot too!" he snarled before storming out of the room.

Five minutes later a now queasy looking Paulie stumbled back in and slumped against the wall. "I take it back. Can you kill me now?"

Curious, Lucci got up and looked out the door. Eyes widening slightly at what he saw, he pulled back in and looked over at the blond. "Not until you get good enough to kill me first."

The two men stood there trying to forget what waited on the other side of the door.

"Fine, then can you do something to drive the image of that from my head?" Paulie asked, turning hopeful eyes on the assassin.

Never one to waste an opportunity to turn down an offer like that, Lucci pinned Paulie to the wall, and proceeded to see just how quickly he could turn the blond into a moaning toy.