Expectant Time Chapter 2
Title: Expectant Time Chapter 2
Rating: T
Category: Drama/Romance
Pairing: Tashigi/Zoro, Tashigi/Smoker (sort of)
Summary: Tashigi faces the consequences of some actions. She does not face them alone.
Spoilers: Mentions of many things before the time-skip.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I'm not making any money. Please don't sue.
Week 16
Tashigi felt like she was being stalked. Not by any one person. No, that would be easy to put a stop to. Once word of her pregnancy got around, it seemed like every soldier on base was watching her every move. She couldn't count the number of times this week that some young shipman had opened the door for her while gazing at her with sparkles in their eyes. Or, had what she was carrying taken out of her hands and her errand run for her. And, every single time she had stumbled, someone had rushed to catch her before it could turn into an actual fall.
It was driving her crazy. She had worked too hard for too long to have them treating her like some delicate thing now! She was barely even showing!
All of this made Tashigi want to push them, herself and the men, harder in daily training. She could no longer participate in foreknown combat activities but she could make sure that all of the soldiers were as prepared as possible. All exercises and drills now had to be performed faster, harder, and more accurately. Pushing them would have been much more satisfying if it didn't make the men gaze at her with even more sparkling admiration.
The last straw was when Smoker caught her while they were walking. A large group of the men had seen. As the billow of smoke righted her to her feet, Tashigi glanced toward the onlookers. The sparkling admiration took on an impish tint and she could see things… occurring to them. This was made worse when Smoker put his hand on her shoulder to lead her back toward their destination. She looked at him in confusion and saw him looking back at her with determination in his eyes. Then he smirked. Smirked!
"Come on, Lieutenant. Let's get you back to the office where you can sit down."
Tashigi mentally swore a blue streak and bit her tongue to keep from cursing at her CO. When she finally did let loose on a group of petty officers in the mess who practically danced around her, pulling out her chair and offering to get her food, the men started sharing commiserating looks about dealing with pregnancy tempers. They began giving Smoker sympathetic glances (when he absolutely, absolutely could not see… they weren't suicidal.) And, when it was back to the training ground, the sparkle in their eyes seemed to have doubled.
Week 19
Tashigi came back to the office after her weekend to find her desk covered in books. Again. How many books about pregnancy and babies did a woman need? Shuffling through the stacks, she looked for any that she didn't already have from last week's load. Or the load before that. Who was sending all of them? Some came with notes or engravings but half of them had nothing attached. It was like everyone she had ever met was sending her advice. Sighing, she kept the ones addressed to her and the ones that were new. The rest would get donated to the local hospital.
Ah! There was one about maternity yoga! That one might be useful.
Week 20
A new picture frame sat on Tashigi's desk perched on a stack of baby books. It had, displayed for all to see, an ultrasound picture. The pink lettering on the bottom was labeled "#1 Daughter."
Week 24
"Hina is curious."
Tashigi glanced up from her paperwork to the waiting officer seated on the couch.
"About what, ma'am?" she responded automatically.
"About how true the scuttlebutt she has been hearing lately about Lieutenant Tashigi is."
Tashigi's face burned as she tried to calm herself and respond as coolly as she could. She had been dreading the possibility of this conversation ever since the rumors had started. Black Cage Hina was one of Smoker's oldest comrades and knew him well enough to tell that he would not normally be inclined to spend time with his second-in-command in a way that would produce a child. Usually, Tashigi really admired her CO's friend but Hina could be a relentless in finding out information. Knowing she couldn't put it off forever, she still tried to stall for time. "You'll have to be more specific… there's a lot of that going around right now."
Hina raised a perfect eyebrow and gave Tashigi a look. "Hina means the rumors that tell the identity of Tashigi's child's father."
"Ahhh…" Stall more! "You'll still have to be more specific… there's a lot of those too."
Hina's look hardened. "The ones where~…"
"Oi, Hina! Quit harassing my subordinate! Don't you know she's delicate right now?" Smoker walked into the office with a smirk on his face. He breezed through, purposely ignoring the aura of embarrassed anger tinged with relief that Tashigi was putting out. "Tashigi, why don't you go somewhere else for the rest of the day… you've been pushing yourself too hard and the doc's gonna have your head if you don't take it easy."
Tashigi scarcely kept herself from glaring as she took the dismissal.
Week 24 cont.
Hina left the next day without being able to corner Tashigi again. Smoker had been able to monopolize her time with whatever actual business she had come on. Tashigi breathed a sigh of relief that she would not have to face the other woman for a while. But, that left her with the other business that she had been dwelling on. She waited until the end of the day, when the office was almost deserted, to walk into her CO's office.
"Sir," she said and waited for him to look up.
"Yes, Lieutenant." He looked at her in an annoyed, curious way.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" He nodded. "I have begun to suspect that you are purposely leading those around us to believe that this is your child."
"So you finally figured that out."
"Sir, it's not necessary for you to do that!"
"I think it is Lieutenant. It is very important that they believe that. As long as they have that "knowledge," you will be above suspicion."
"But, sir, the regulations on fraternization…"
"Would only be a problem if our superiors cared to call me out on it. Which I doubt. Scuttlebutt has reached them and the only remarks have been dirty jokes and congratulations."
Tashigi turned red in embarrassment and looked away. "But, sir…"
Smoker stood up and walked around the desk to stand in front of his Lieutenant. He reached out and lifted her face up to look at him. In a low voice, he said, "You ain't got nothing to be embarrassed about. You're my subordinate and the best damn officer I got. This is how I can keep you and that kid safe. They believe this, they won't risk messin' with you 'cause that would piss me off. You okay with that?"
Tashigi nodded, her face still red from the embarrassment and the unexpected compliment.
"But if I ever find that dumbass swordsman, I'm beating him unconscious and dropping him off on your doorstep."
With that Smoker left the room. He had a rare smile on his face as he heard his second-in-command laughing after him.
Week 25
When Tashigi found the "And Baby Makes 3" comic illustrating the romantic and family adventures of Smoker, her, and the baby, there was a week-long hunt for the writers and a cursing fit that put all previous tirades to shame. The writers were never found, issue #2 came out a few weeks later, and the men gave Smoker even more (very, very hidden) sympathetic looks. Still, they could only sparkle in their dear Lieutenant's direction.
Author's Note- I picture many of the Marines on base being extremely loyal and having a slight admiring crush on Tashigi. So when they find out about this, they are practically acting like Sanji. I picture this reaction because it would be the one that would drive her nuts the most.
Thank you again to gure for beta reading! You give the best feedback!