Just a Fan Girl 💖

Friedrich has tried to turn his face away but too late, and winces when he realises she's seen. There is a long thin cut running down the side of his left cheek - made with a fencing foil, she assumes - but that is nothing compared to the spectacular bruising he is sporting. His left eye is blackened, his cheek swollen. It will take days, weeks maybe, for it all to fade.

"Friedrich -"

"Do not worry, schatz. It looks worse than it is. Nothing is broken. And you should see Carlisle."

She's really not sure she wants to, although she will admit a small, vengeful part feels a twist of satisfaction at the idea. (Well. Perhaps not so small. Edwina has learned this past year that she's rather good at holding grudges.)

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"Of course."

She sighs. "Freddie. You shouldn't have done it."

He raises an eyebrow (only to immediately looks like he regrets it). "I was not going to do nothing."

"I'm sure there are other ways you could have handled it. Less violent ways," she says pointedly.

Friedrich muses over this for a moment, laying his chin on his palm. A book lies discarded in his lap that he must have been reading before she came in, and he sets it aside on a small end table stood by the chair.

"Perhaps there were," he concedes. "But I thought this was the way he would pay the most attention to. And I will admit, it made me feel a little better as well."

"Better about what?"

He meets her gaze solemnly, the dim lighting making his blue eyes seem almost black.

"About the fact that I cannot do anything else. That I cannot change why he felt entitled to make such remarks to begin with."

Brow furrowing in confusion, Edwina gives a little shake of her head. "I don't understand."

"I cannot go back in time and change what happened to you last year," Friedrich explains, his smile soft and sad and terrible. "I cannot undo the things that make it so hard for you to let me get close to you. I cannot call out those responsible now without making things worse. I cannot stop people thinking the things they do - but at least now some might think twice before saying anything."

As he speaks Edwina's vision blurs and she realises with a start that it's because tears are gathering along her lashes. Her heart swells again, and she doesn't think her body is big enough to contain all she's feeling; it's like she might come apart at the seams any moment.

"You still shouldn't have done it," she says, blinking the tears away before they fall and embarrass her. "You do not need to fix all that is broken for me."

He shrugs. "I may not need to, but I want to."

He says it so simply, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. But Edwina has been piecing herself back together for a year and she knows it is not. She has cut herself to bloody ribbons doing it, shard by jagged shard, and she is terrified that if she lets Friedrich try she will only end up wounding him as well.

(What terrifies her more is that despite that, she still wants to let him try.)

". . . . I am grateful for that."

He cocks his head towards her, mischief suddenly glimmering in his eyes. "You know, if you are truly grateful, schatz, you might show it by kissing my wounds better. It would help them heal faster, I am sure."

The strange, tense thread coiling around her snaps. Edwina lets out a sound of amused disbelief, and rolls her eyes.

"Hmph. I can I see you really are well, then. Which is what I wanted to assure myself of - so I will take my leave, Your Highness, and hurry home before anyone realises I am gone."

"So cruel," Friedrich sighs. "Very well, meine Liebe, I shall see you tomorrow and you may scold me in public so everyone knows you disapprove, if you wish."

"Don't think I won't."

She leaves him chuckling and starts towards the door, but halfway there pauses, hesitates, her heart thudding against her ribs -- then turns and practically runs back.

Friedrich has picked his book back up again and looks up in surprise when Edwina suddenly appears around the side of his chair again. His eyes widen further when she gently cups his face with one hand and leans down to softly kiss the wound on his cheek and his blackened eye. They are only gossamer-light kisses, her lips barely brushing the skin for fear of hurting him further, but she feels each one through her entire body.

When she pulls back Friedrich is staring up at her, expression awed and wondering, looking at her in a way no one else ever has and which makes it difficult to breath.

"Just in case," she whispers, and starts to leave again, but Friedrich grabs her hand and stops her.

"You forgot one," he tells her. "I also cut my lip."

Before she can say anything, his hand is tangled in her hair and his mouth is pressed to hers.

His lips are soft and warm, and taste faintly of the brandy he must have been drinking before she arrived. They move slowly against hers, drawing out this single, brief, stolen kiss as long as possible, and when he draws back she feels seared down to the bone, and oh, but she wants so much more.

There's a glint in his eye that tells her he knows that.

"I don't see a cut," she tells him archly, glancing down at his lips to avoid his gaze, trying it ignore the fact that she is blushing furiously.

Friedrich just grins as he lets her go. "Of course not. You kissed it better."

"You're terrible. Do you know that?"

"Perhaps. But you love me, nonetheless."

Vivi already has a crew. Her people. With the country their ship, & she their Captain.

Vivi is a member of the D clan. Has a D ever worked under another D before? (I'm actually not quite sure lol) They are leaders not followers. They're a group of people whose will seems to surpass all others & lets them do impossible things.

What does Vivi, as a D, pour all of her energy Into? How does she funnel this will of hers & what drives her ambition?

Her Country.

Albasta is Vivi's true love. Her passion & her dreams have always been tied to her position as princess & future queen of her country. Her commitment to her duty is one of the most defining traits of her character. It's also what paints her as such an amazing & wonderful person to those around her.

She IS a princess. NOT a pirate. In the same way Luffy will always be a pirate & not a marine. In the same way Sanji is not a royal or a Vinsmoke despite his blood. You cannot take them out of their environment forever. Pirates belong at sea & monarchs with their people.

No matter how much she will miss the precious friends she made along the way. No matter how fun her adventures on the sea were. When given her one & only chance to leave it all behind forever what does she decide?

She decides to stay. Their paths in life no longer allow them to be together. Despite forming a life long bond.

Now I don't think this means she will never ever set foot on a pirate ship again. Just because she is a princess does not mean she is any less Nakama to them. Or that she can never sail with them once more if the need arises. Luffy & crew have all but said they will always think of her as part of their group. That they will always be there for her.

And Oda is very obviously setting up a reunion. It is only a matter of time before their paths cross again.

However, I do not believe any reunion will be a permanent situation. Vivi is currently on the run from the government, but Alabasta still stands. She will find a way to get back safely to her country & the Strawhats might even be the reason she can return home. Maybe we'll get one last adventure with her. Some new memories to hold onto, but at the end of the day Vivi's future lies with her country & with her people. After all—

Nefertiti Vivi. Everyone's favorite princess. Future Queen of Alabasta. Member of the D clan. Honorary Strawhat # 5.5. Forever the almost pirate.