The morning of the next day I woke up as usual: Satisfied.
I stretched my limbs and crawled out of the sea of bodies on my bed. Yesterday and the day before... and the day before that one had been quite wild. I was giving the girls my 'dose' before my unavoidable return to the workshop.
What awaits me are days of hard work. I have to list the things I want to do. While dressing up I used my psychokinesis to pick up a note and pencil from the draw.
...
1. Study the girl's hair to recreate a pattern of isolation.
2. Reproduce enough energy to control the white lightning without catalysts.
3. Cure Whitebeard's disease which shows symptoms of tuberculosis.
4. Hire some scientists and doctors into the laboratory to reproduce modern antibiotics.
5. Create a nuclear facility in Kuraigana and Dressrosa, a second operative laboratory in Amazon Lily-
...
"Darling...?"
Hancock's voice took me out of my trance, she yawned and rubbed her eyes with the light of the day shining upon her skin. She saw me dressing up and taking notes, stood up from the bed and headed in my direction.
"Good morning love~" I greeted her but there wasn't any answer coming from her until she was right next to me.
Her hands started unbuttoning my shirt.
"Y-You want more...?" I gasped, my crotch was shivering in fear. I mean... if it is just her there should be no issue to satisfy her but her moans are going to wake up Mom and Prim. I don't need to worry about Marigold and Sandersonia, they're the ones I'm truly afraid of, but they're heavy sleepers.
She blushed and pouted, still discarding my clothes.
"It's not that... you're going to the workshop, right?" Her voice sounded a bit discouraged.
"Yes-"
"You haven't taken a shower... do you expect to show up like this? As your wife, I can't allow that, come".
**
**
"Just lay down, I'll do everything~".
"Uhm~"
It is odd for me to release a moan, especially one so ecstatic, it seemed to rejoice Hancock from head to toe. She was scrubbing and massaging my body... with her body. There was soap everywhere and there wasn't much I could see; but what I could see... I liked.
I took the chance to fondle her boobs and suck them to my heart's content, since she's going to spoil me, might as well spoil me all the way.
"Darling..."
"Yes?~"
"You're not going to spend a long time in the workshop this time, are you?"
I knew this was coming. Her motions stopped and looked at me dead in the eye with her gorgeous ones, it sort of recalled me of those days when we were still kids, or well... I was a 'kid', she was a teenager... and we were already loving each other.
"I'll try not to... I'll try to not get too engaged, but you know there is plenty of work to be done".
"Does that mean-"
"You can't sail".
Her reaction shrunk my heart, her downcast self and the realisation that spoiling me like this wasn't going to get her anything. It hurts me more than it hurts her... one of the reasons we're able to easily coexist in this polygamous marriage is that we all have responsibilities and passions.
I'm busy and so are they but at the same time, when we need each other, we're always there. I love this dynamic. In her case, her passion is to sail the seas... Hancock loves to go and come, she left for three years and she didn't see me once, we only spoke through the den den mushi.
She was having her adventures and we were okay with that... I eagerly expected her to return to me, but this ended up happening... when my memories returned it was like the hollow in my heart intensified rather than the opposite; I realised how close I was to losing them... it was all thanks to a series of coincidences that looked too convenient to be true.
But without those coincidences... if not for Viola, if not for Yamato... I could have lost them and never even realised.
"I'm still afraid to lose you" I confessed, heartfelt. She shivered in my embrace but despite everything, still managed to comprehend me. They had already been in that situation twice... I'm sure, despite her thrill for adventure, there must be a part of her that is also afraid to be caught again.
"I'm sorry..."
I caressed her hair; she was like my meek little creature. I wanted to take care of her forever. In a way, I feel more for her than I do for Sandersonia and Marigold. The two of them are so big and imposing that they don't look like they need protection most of the time.
But Hancock is like a feeble rose with thorns that could still be crushed at any moment. Any bastard out there knows they can't pluck this flower of mine, so they wouldn't care half a fart about crushing her, and they will... over my scattered lightning god body that is.
"If you're sorry then please understand me, Hancock... it won't be permanent, just give me some time, I'll use the power of your hair to create something that can help us, alright?~".
"I understand you and I agree with you, but..."
"But?"
"But if you don't allow me to sail, all my sisters and I will do is paperwork!"
"..."
I had to resist the urge to deadpan as her rant began and she poured her true feelings to me, for the last few weeks after I banned them from sailing, all she has been doing is paperwork. The job that Primrose would usually undertake is now being done by the four of them together... and she's still complaining.
I think it is only fair that I spoil Primrose, too, for doing all that much work for so long on her own.
"Darling, my mom is a lunatic! I don't know how she can do it! It is paperwork everywhere, documents to read and sign, meetings to go to, darling I can't..."
Oh damn, it is worse than I thought. I'm sure she's pouring a bit of melodrama into it, but what can I do? In hindsight it is my fault too because as the hebihime she should be handling the diplomacy related to Amazon Lily... but now there is Shandora, Skypea and Rusukaina as well.
When I proposed to make Kuraigana into a major intercultural hub, Primrose refused vehemently even though the rest of my girls agreed. I now know why.
'I did promise I was going to make something to help them' I thought and squeezed something in my notebook without her knowledge.
...
6. Create something to help my girls with the paperwork.
...
After hearing almost half an hour of rant while she massaged me, I washed her up too and we left the bathroom to the surprise of finding the girls still sleeping. My mom and Primrose were hugging each other while in the comfort of Sandersonia's boobs while the latter snored. Marigold was on the other side of the bed sprawled uncaringly, she was so comfortable that she even went into her hybrid cobra form.
'They're so cute... I love them~'
It is normal for Sandersonia and Marigold to be sleeping but Mom and Primrose too? I must have done it like a champ yesterday.
"I have good news for you, Hancock, while I sort out your papers, we could come to a compromise".
"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion while I looked for some clothes for us in the wardrobe, a white dress for her and a white suit for me, that way we would go alike.
"I have to study your hair; Prim, Marigold, Sandersonia and you. It is going to help in my research, not only that but I want to go further and do extensive research of your bodies... during the time I'm doing that, you're free to do your work from my office".
"Really!?"
Her face visually rejoiced, I knew she'd like it.
"Yes, even after... I don't mind making a private section for you... as long as you don't sail".
I slipped that condition there, arguably with a bit of selfishness. She embraced me from behind releasing a light giggle.
"Do you want to keep me caged, darling?~" She pecked my cheek and neck with subtleness.
Perhaps... maybe I'm so infatuated with them that I don't want them to go anywhere far from me.
"Not at all~ come on, I'll dress you up, we're going to have breakfast somewhere fancy first, then we go and pick up Ali... I have to fetch her somewhere".
"We're having a date?!~ I'm the happiest!"
"Yeah yeah, stop mov- uhm~"
She planted the deepest and sloppiest kiss in my mouth and it was like our life together flashed in front of my eyes. From the moment I saw her in Shakky's bar... all the way until now.
"I love you, darling~"
"..."
I sighed, 'If I had lost you... I don't know what I would have done to this world...'