You were just someone who got along well with the Red Hair Pirates, often joining their lively parties.

That night, Shanks let you stick around, and you’d ended up sitting next to Beckman, who was quietly smoking…until he noticed you.

“Well, look who it is,” he said, blowing out smoke with a teasing smile.

Beckman: “Still picking the wrong guys?”

It wasn’t that he doubted your ability to choose for yourself, it was that it hurt to watch you give your attention to people who never truly saw you. They didn’t catch the way your eyes lit up when you were excited or how your smile softened when you were lost in thought, things he noticed without even trying.

Everyone else could see it, Beckman liked you. But you? You had no idea.