Bartolomeo X Reader: Long-Time No See

You sat in the southern stands of the arena on Dressrosa, watching the fighters of Block B beat each other recklessly in their attempts to win the prized mera mera no mi. You had come as a surprise to a certain fighter though, hearing the news that your old green-haired friend would be participating. Surely, Bartolomeo would shit a couple brick if he knew you were here. Just waiting patiently though, you sat in the stands and watched the fight go on, crossing your arms behind your head casually.

Watching intently, you watched Elizabello II charging up his king punch right across from you. Uncrossing your arms, you pressed them on your knees and leaned forward with curiosity, wondering how strong this punch would really be. He was facing you. If he threw this punch, the whole southern side of the stands would be wiped out completely. Between Elizabello and you was of course, Bartolomeo. Noticing this, you watched as Elizabello began talking shit as he finished charging up his punch. With a smirk, you leaned yourself back in the stands, yawning and crossing your arms once again behind your head.

The punch was charged, and Elizabello’s fist glowed. The whole southern side of the stands you were on cleared out completely, every toy and human fleeing in fear. All but you. You sat there casually as if nothing was going to happen. People were giving you concerned looks for more than one different reason, but no one dared run back out and drag you to safety.

The King Punch was released, and a golden shockwave ripped through the stone of the stadium, sending it flying everywhere as it tore at Bartolomeo and the stands dangerously, leaving a deep gash behind it in the stone. People screamed, and multiple fighters were wiped out. A sudden bright light washed over the area, temporarily blinding everyone, as the King Punch had come into contact with something, dispersing its golden glow around the stadium.

When the light cleared, many people expected to see Bartolomeo completely wiped out, and the southern half of the stadium to be missing. When they looked though, Bartolomeo was completely intact, and so were the southern stands.  What caused this miracle was revealed when the light left, showing the great barrier that stood in front of Bartolomeo. The very barrier that halted the King Punch, and kept the one side of the arena alive. The whole stadium was in shock as Bartolomeo quickly wiped out the tired Elizabello in one hit, causing him to win the Block B battle. You sat there with a grin on your face, seeing that it was obvious of who would have won in the first place. There were “boo’s” and some cheers as he was announced winner, and you clapped nonchalantly with a smirk, eyeing him from the stands.

Bartolomeo raised his arms in victory and made sure he got a view of the entire crowd when he did so. Turning around, he viewed the empty southern stands, but halted when he did so. The stands weren’t empty at all. One person sat there in the middle. Narrowing his eyes, Bartolomeo gazed at the figure sitting there, curious as to why it didn’t flee. The features, the hair, the body shape, all had a familiar mark in his mind as he stared at you in the stands. Then, it hit him. Upon realizing who had been sitting in the stands, he took a step back with a shocked face when he realized it was you. No one but you would have the guts or knowledge to not budge an inch when he was standing in the way of such an attack. The girl he hadn’t seen in two years. _______.

You smirked at his reaction, a breath of air escaping your lips in a slight chuckle mixed with a sigh. You stood, stretched, and made your way out of the stands, intending on heading to the visiting area to greet your old, shocked friend. Through your peripheral vision, you watched him stare wide eyed before taking off back inside, where you were sure he would head off to the visiting area. He wasn’t that dumb.

Keeping a casual pace, you stepped down the stands and into a stone arched doorway, entering the main building and strolling into the visiting area. There were already a few people in there, chatting up with their friends from previous fights or matches to come. Leaning up against a wall in an empty corner of the room, you scanned the area for that hard to miss blob of green hair that would surely pop up in minutes. Sure enough, within a few seconds, you watched a figure with green hair skid past the doorway before scrambling to get inside the room with a great amount of haste. Laughing a bit, you noted he hasn’t changed much personality-wise, as he always used to skid around like that before.

Bartolomeo straightened himself up once he was in the room, brushing off his clothing as a sudden switch of demeanor while he scanned the room. When his eyes crossed the corner you were standing in, he locked on you as you waved with two fingers at him, smiling. Bartolomeo walked at a fairly quick pace towards you, a mixed expression of anger and happiness plastered on his face.

“Sup ‘Meo! Long-time no see!” You greeted casually, still leaning on the wall.

“Sup? SUP?! What the hell are you even doing here _______?!” Bartolomeo said abruptly, crossing his arms.

“Woah! Not so friendly after these years are we? Just thought I’d drop by when I heard you were fighting here!” You replied.

“That’s just it. YEARS. We parted our ways years ago, but you didn’t do as much as write a letter, drop me a call, anything! What the hell happened?!” He asked rather angrily.

“What happened…? Well, I got myself a hearty bounty, and come this far. That’s what!” You said proudly, overlooking your nails with a grin. “What? Didja miss me?”

“Tch. No. You just worry me sometimes. You always got yourself in shit back then. Looks like you’ve changed quite a bit though.” He scoffed, turning his head and making his bright green hair flip slightly.

“You didn’t? Well, that’s a shame. Cause I did. That’s why I came here after all!”

Bartolomeo froze for a moment, hearing you say that. He was just trying to act tough after all, and it was a hard act to keep up when the girl he missed so much stood in front of him and said she missed him, considering his hidden feelings for her in the first place.

“Well shit! Sorry to bother you bro. I think I have my ship to attend to at the moment too, I’d better head back to the docks.” You said, pointing outside and starting to walk from the corner. Just as you walked by him, you paused for a moment with a smirk and spoke in a low tone near his ear. “I know you missed me. I can see it in your eyes, you sappy bitch.” You chuckled, resuming your walk.

Before you could make it three meters away from Bartolomeo, you walked into something hard, smashing your nose into it and causing a stinging pain.

“Ow! What the fuck?!” You yelled, holding your nose with one hand. You moved your other hand out in front of you, only to have it come into contact with something that felt like a wall, but there was nothing there.

Turning around, you saw Bartolomeo’s fingers crossed. “You aren’t going to go just yet _______.” He said. The invisible surface your hand was on suddenly turned a translucent turquoise colour, revealing the clear barrier that was set in front of you by Bartolomeo. “You have no idea how much I’ve really missed you over these years.” He added, finally admitting in through his shitty little tough act.

The barrier he created suddenly slid towards Bartolomeo and the corner, pushing you the short distance back right into Bartolomeo’s arms and into the corner, trapping the both of you there. Still holding your nose, you felt Bartolomeo’s arms wrap around you and pull you into a tight hug. Looking up at him, he looked like he was about ready to cry.

“’Meo…”

“I’ve honestly missed you over so many years. You just up and left, and so did I! But no calls, no letters, half the time, I wondered if you were even still alive.” He confessed. “Stupid girl, you had me worried.”

You smiled slightly, still pinching your nose with your fingers to take down the sting. “I couldn’t have guessed that such a tough guy like you would ever worry about a simple girl like me so much.”

“Maybe it’s because even after all these years, I still love you. Dork.” He said.

Flat out, Bartolomeo said he loved you. This caught you off guard indeed. First, he missed you a lot, second, he actually admitted to such things, and third, he said he flat out loved you, up and out of the blue. This caused a slight amount of blush to rise on your face as you looked up at him in slight shock.

“Bartolomeo, you what?” You asked, trying to see if you perhaps misheard him.

“God, I love you. You’re one of the few people I appreciated in my life, but you’re the one of them all that I want to be with.” He said, becoming one of the sweetest people you’ve ever known. All from a guy who was pride happy and a smart ass.

“The times have changed these past years… haven’t they?” You mumbled, taking note of how he was acting around you.

“Anyone can change when you miss them a great deal _______. But it’s only a change for one person.”

You blushed a bit, back still against the barrier he created earlier, still in his hug. You rubbed your nose once more before slowly removing your hand and bringing both of your arms around him to return the hug in an almost hesitant manner. That‘s how shocked you were, but you couldn’t deny the feelings that rested in your heart, and the ones he allowed to show from his.

“Oi, sorry about your nose. That tends to happen when I set barriers…” He said, looking down at you.

You looked up at him with your reddened face and nose from the impact with the barrier. It still stung a bit, but all that went away with his next actions. Swiftly, Bartolomeo leaned down and kissed the tip of your nose, seemingly removing the sting as your face exploded into a deep crimson blush. You stuttered a few sounds, but couldn’t form words or sentences. Bartolomeo didn’t retract his head completely though. He lingered there for a moment, and instead, tilted your head up slightly and moved down to your lips with his own, kissing you full on.

Your eyes widened a bit at his actions. Never before has he shown such signs, or even dared try something like this on you. But perhaps, over the years, he has grown on you, and his feelings have too. People change over time, and this was a pretty good change to you. Taking advantage of his barrier, you leaned up against it and pulled him back into you, your eyes fluttering shut and kissing back lovingly, showing equal amounts of affection towards the so-called tough guy you once knew.

Bartolomeo’s hands rested on your waist and pulled your form into his, being cautious of the dagger that was slipped in his pants and keeping the barrier stable and in place. He was doing an excellent job controlling the barrier, as to not let you fall and ruin everything. Both of your hearts thumped at equal rates and you deepened the kiss, pulling at each other’s bodies.

When air became a necessity, the two of you parted and stared at each other with the looks of old friends, but also with the looks of a new relationship.

“That’s about how much I missed you _______.” Bartolomeo said, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Well shit I never knew. What a surprise for me~!” You said playfully. “It’s kinda nice to know that’s how you feel ‘Meo, cause I’ve felt the same for quite a while as well.”

“What a greeting for a long-time no see, huh?” Bartolomeo said jokingly.

“Tch, in the middle of an arena too. Classy.” You laughed, pulling yourself forward so he could release the barrier and reduce strain on him.

“But that’s just our style, isn’t it? Judging on how we used to be before.” He smirked.

“Some things just don’t change do they?” You said with a smile, hugging Bartolomeo once more with a hearty amount of hidden love and care.