#general fluff

"Glad it went better today," the Vestige responded, stirring the pot in front of her. "New recruits do well?"

"The first group of recruits is doing very well. They'll be ready for the field in no time. The more recent group, however, is not." Darien rolled his eyes at the thought. "Pretty sure they wouldn't know their asses from a hole in the ground."

The Vestige threw her head back laughing. "If you, of all people, are saying that then there must be no hope for them."

Darien shook his head, "Probably not. However if you were there, it would be different."

"Who? Me? Nooooo," she replied with bemused sarcasm. "They would never respond to me."

He gave her a level look, "Some of our equals are terrified of you."

"Then they are intelligent individuals."

A wry chuckle came from Darien as he turned to start taking his armor off. As he worked at the fasteners, he asked "By the way, what's that you're making? It smells amazing."

When they had moved in together, they agreed to share the cooking duties, and tonight it was her turn. And he had been looking forward to it all day.

"Oh just something simple, stew and bread."

Darien's head whipped around. "Fresh bread?"

"Yes." There was a chuckle and the thud of a baking tray. "Fresh bread."

~*~

The rest of the evening was spent in well-deserved leisure. Darien and the Vestige, wrapped in each other's arms, feeling the overall closeness of each other's bodies, and their selves. The warmth of the fireplace brought a gentle calm to the cozy house.

The bed was extra comfortable tonight, with both soldiers home. The Vestige leaned back against the pillows as she softly ran her hand through Darien's hair. His arms snaked around her torso, holding her in place as he rested his head against her collarbone. He was so close he could smell the afterscent of her baking, and she could smell the sweat and rust of his armor.

They lay there in silence, breathing in each other's scents, with the occasional light forehead and cheek kiss here and there. As sleep started to take and they snuggled into the blankets, Darien couldn't help but think how lucky he was. The two had literally been to Oblivion and back, fighting tooth and nail. And now he was laying in her arms, listening to her heartbeat.

With the sun dropping down behind the mountains and moon in the horizon it didn't take much convincing for a resigned king to drop the shears in a now empty watering can to simply stare at the lovely marigolds, stroked by the gentle light as if the world seemed to praise the flowers lovely existence, it caused the monster to let out a deep rumble in response catering back. Albeit odd to some within the gardens he'd spent day and night slaving over for the school their ex-wife taught at. The mere thought sent a twinge of melancholic memories to their poor mind, but it did remind the goat about something further important then twiddling his thumbs about the past.

You.. Oh, his darling, such a sweet boy you were truly. Wondering back into his mind like a tidal wave melted all feeling from his body only to shiver in the chilled air, but he seemed to be growing quite warm in the face with slight color peeking from beneath his sheen white fur. Brushing it off only to become more giddy with their movements as Asgore rushed to put away their tools for tomorrow and begin walking down the street back home, eager to see their little guy stare up at him with those lovely doe eyes, that somehow always seemed to be filled with pure adoration towards the king, oh truly did they feel smitten toward his human.

No matter how you two started, with the distaste and solemn sadness plastered in his being when you'd walked into the flower shop. Only for it to morph in confusion after pushing the bouquet you'd asked for far too many opinion on back into Asgore's hands after paying. Back then the certain fondness the boy had sent him before walking out without much more had left them wondering if you'd come back, and then you had. Every other Wensday you'd walk into the shop to buy flowers from him just to never accept it after paying no matter how much Asgore had seemed to insist upon you taking them. It became routine until the point he'd stop even asking you and plopping them into a vase next to the register with fondness, at least until not showing up for ovee half a year. It was so lonely as each Wensday at 5pm they'd sit in the shop simply awaiting you to walk through those doors just to rest you elbows on the counter with buttercups in hand as you'd compliment the shirt he'd put on that day.

It wasn't until Spring the next year Asgore would be graced to see the boy, who had them hooked from the first honey sweet compliment spilled from your lips slow like molasses driving them mad with curiosity and a certain sadness when it all seemed to go away, but what a joy it was after slipping into the store silently to walk up and hold out flowers you'd been growing in your own backyard in attempts to impress the retired king did realization hit them. Though once he did his precious baby boy pressed many kisses along their face passing soft praise and sweet nothings!

The ingrained memory always seemed to paint a lopsided smile on Asgore's face, once gaining sight of your shared home it took much restraint to simply sprint to the door no matter how much pain it'd cause later. Though with your previous scolding in mind the king had taken their time before breezing inside the home silently as to surprise you, but what he didn't expect was snacks to be on the coffee table and a warm blanket to be on the large couch as a TV was playing those add cartoons with a low volume almost sounding like static to their ears. Asgore couldnt help but feel his heart thump within their ribcage at the sight of you buried between the blankets sleeping peacefully.

She veered from the dirt path to walk into the wild grasses. Giddy to have a visitor, they fought each other to kiss her bare calves and knees, tickling her in greeting. The wildflowers all turned to her to shout wildly, begging her to choose which was prettiest. Nami suddenly giggled aloud and whirled on her heel with her arms outstretched. She fell into the country’s embrace, allowing the green grasses to curl around her to hug her with feather-soft touches. The little aphids and large grasshoppers leapt into the air as they were startled by her arrival, bounding in the fresh open air above her head to seek shelter. Through the patches of waving green, the blue sky blazed above her with sailing ships of clouds trawling through its expanse. She reclined her arms behind her head. The sun’s warm ways washed over her skin to make it glow and hum. She had missed this; lying in the grasses with naught a care in the world while the world sheltered her. What a faraway dream that was.

Nami laid in the grass for quite a long while, listening to the symphony nature played for her. The wind flew over the scenery like a diving eagle, shaking the leaves and grasses in thunderous cacophony. Flower petals and grass blades and tree leaves arched into the air in its wake to shower Nami in natural confetti. Every so often a songbird would flit from one tree line to the other, chirping in greeting. A deer wandered out to nibble at the long grasses, its fawn skipping around beside it, before quickly descending back into the safety of the darkness. Nami watched a wee snail slowly ascend the hiking trail of a grass blade, bending it under its weight when it reached the pinnacle, its slimy antennae wiggling as it considered its next challenge. It could have been minutes, hours, or even years that Nami laid there silently enjoying the atmosphere that she had sorely missed, but every moment she was there, she could almost hear Nojiko calling her name, or Ginzo yelling at her to get her lazy bum up and work, or Bellemere calling her home for dinner…

The last image sent bitter acid flooding over her tongue. Nami sat up so quickly that her vision became static with headrush. Holding her forehead while waiting for the grainy black-and-white fuzz to fade, her contentment threatened to be overtaken by melancholy.

“I suppose I should be getting back.” She knew not who she was speaking to. Perhaps, subconsciously, she wanted to bid the area farewell in thanks for allowing her to bask in its presence for a while. Once the tingling had diminished, she pushed herself to her feet. Dead grass and dirt showered down from her back and shoulders; she took a moment to brush off her clothes and comb through her long tresses of tangerine hair. She didn’t want to walk back into the town looking like a wild thing, after all.

Though she had been gone at least several hours, the town was still just as busy- if not more so. It was the height of the afternoon, and it seemed to be prime shopping hour. Nami decided that traversing the main roadways was going to be hell and skirted into the alleyways instead, thinking that it would serve as a shortcut. Unfortunately, even her navigational sense was thwarted by the unusual arrangement of the cross-crossing small passageways, and very soon she found herself lost. “This way? No, I remember that graffiti… Damn it, I can’t even find the main roads from here,” she lamented aloud. She had wandered deep into the packaging district, it seemed; the crowds of the shopping strip were not even a distant hum on the air. She stopped at a crossroads as she contemplated how to approach her dilemma, foot tapping and hand on her chin. That was when a couple of drunk thugs stumbled out of the back door of a bar, hooting and hollering and the picture of hooligans.

It’s not even three o’ clock and they’re this sloshed? People really must not have anything better to do. She decided to ignore them; they were going to be useless when it came to directions, and of course Nami was the type they would hassle. As she tried to turn away, her heel clicked a little too loudly against the flagstone and alerted them to her presence. Great.

“Hey, honey!” one of them hollered at her while the other two began wolf-whistling at her repeatedly. “Are you lost? Or lookin’ for a good time?”

“I’m just fine, thank you. Go back to destroying your livers.”

“Oh, she’s feisty!” Ugh, great, they were shambling towards her now. Nami instinctively reached for her Climatact; however, with how narrow the passageways were, it would be difficult to swing the weather-producing bo staff around. How was it that she always managed to land herself into these messes? As they sluggishly approached, Nami shuffled back a few paces. She could dart off into one of the alleyways, but they would surely pursue, and they knew the area much better than she; if they really put their minds to it, they could corner her, and she could find herself in an even more cramped space than the current. She would just have to whack them over the head the best she could.

Before Nami got the chance, a booted foot came out of the dark alleyway a few feet in front of her to kick the closest thug savagely in the head, sending him crashing into the opposite brick wall. He slumped down, unconscious. The other two yelped as they were snatched into the dark, and all Nami heard was their whimpers and yelps mixed with the unmistakable sound of fists crunching bones. They were thrown onto their comrade to make a pile of moaning, groaning, barely-awake wimps. Nami blinked; it had happened so quickly that she hadn’t even fully assembled her weapon. Wary, she kept the pieces on hand as she timidly called out, “Who’s there?”

A pair of cloaked figures stepped out of the damp, dank alleyway, looming a few yards away from her. They definitely cut intimidating personas, though she couldn’t even see their faces; their cloaks did little to shield their muscular forms. No wonder they had pounded those thugs so easily. The smaller one in the front tossed back his hood to wave placating gloved hands at her.

“Hehe, no worries! We’re not here to hurt you. Are you lost, miss?” His smile was bright and happy, and reminded her much of Luffy’s. He seemed harmless enough- well, relatively speaking- so she returned her Climatact to her hip. Behind him, the taller man shifted and she could see the flash of a blue tribal tattoo coursing down his face. The one smiling at her had shockingly bright blonde hair and a burn scar spanning half his face. Nami felt like she recognized the two, but she couldn’t place from where; regardless, she felt she could trust them. They had smacked down those thugs for her, after all.

“Yes, I’m lost. Would you kindly show me the way to the docks, please?” Nami trusted them but not completely; she wasn’t going to ask them to take her right to her ship. If she got back to the docks she would be able to make her own way from there. The blonde-haired man smiled brightly, if that was even possible, and put his hands on his hips.

“No problem, no problem; we were headed that way anyway. We can’t leave a pretty girl like you alone in these seedy alleyways, right, Boss?” he looked over his shoulder at the long-haired man, which was still eclipsing his features with the hood. He only grunted indifferently in response. “Great, great, let’s get going then!”

Before any of them could move, the miniature transponder snail hooked to Nami’s belt began ringing. Nami had purchased the matching set for herself and her captain so she could keep tabs on him on outings such as this; the only time he called her is when he wanted something.

“Namiiiiiiiii!” he wheedled as soon as she picked up the receiver. “Where are you? Nevermind, can I play a game? It’s in this reaaaaaaally cool house-kinda-thing with all these old men with scars and stuff.” Nami groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead. With their luck, he landed himself in a yakuza gambling den. “It’s got something to do with dice. I don’t really get it all that much but if I win I get lots of moneyyyy!”

“Luffy.”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t win, and lose all our money, you know what’ll happen, right?”

“… You’re gonna hit me…”

“That’s right, and on top of that, I’ll make sure you don’t get any meat until we get to Wano, got it?”

“What? No meat? For that long? But Namiiiiiiii-!”

“No ‘but’s’!”

“Fiiiiiiiine… I won’t lose alllllll the money… Thanks, gotta go! <3” Nami rolled her eyes as he hung up. She dropped the now-snoozing snail back down and rubbed her temples.

“Ahahaha! Who was that? Your boyfriend?” the scarred blonde teased merrily. Her eyebrow quirked in annoyance and she shot him an icy glare, but she couldn’t hide the faint blush arising on her cheeks.

“My captain.”

“A captain, calling his crew member for permission? How troublesome.” The hooded man had finally decided to speak. His voice was largely monotone, but she could detect the faintest hint of amusement in it.

“He’s troublesome at times like these, but when it really comes down to the wire, he’s a good captain,” she shrugged, straightening up with her hand resting on her jutted hip. “He protects us,” she smiled. It made her heart hum just talking about him. He was an idiot, but at least he was a dependable idiot.

“You like him a lot, don’t you, Miss Nami?” the blonde laughed good-naturedly. There he went again, implying things. She pursed her lips as the blush deepened.

“I like him the perfect amount a crew mate should!”

“Riiiiight~ Well, time’s-a-wastin’! We better get you to the docks so your captain can join you soon with his winnings, yeah?” the man laughed while tossing his hood back up. He beckoned with his hand for Nami to follow, and the two men dipped back into the dark alley. Nami hurried after them, following the only thing of them she could see in the gloom; the flash of his white gloves swaying at his side. The two of them were interested in Luffy, but Nami felt it was more out of genuine curiosity rather than malicious information-gathering; they mostly asked how he treated his crewmates and how strong he was, and so of course Nami answered honestly. Really, she talked Luffy up real good. By the time they reached the entrance of the docks, Nami felt like she was pretty comfortable with the two guys.

“Thanks for your help. I appreciate it!” she smiled gratefully.

“No problem! I hope your boyfriend didn’t waste all your hard-earned cash~!”

“I told you, Scarface, he’s not my boyfriend!” she cried, that red haze blazing over her cheeks again. The man whimpered and turned away holding the burned side of his face, whimpering playfully about how harsh Nami was. The bigger, tattooed man snorted at his subordinate’s frivolousness before looking down at Nami with dark but non-threatening eyes. Suddenly, he reached up to poke Nami in the forehead.

“Take good care of your captain,” he said with a small smile. Nami blinked, and when his hand retreated, she rubbed at the little pink mark his finger had indented into her skin.

“Oh… Yes, of course.”

“See you around, maybe!” the other man laughed, seemingly recovered from Nami’s scathing nickname. With a wild flap of their black cloaks, they both whirled around to hurry away, boots stomping against the wooden docks with all the power and presence of trained soldiers. As she watched them phase into the crowd of fishermen and deckhands, she wondered once more where she had seen them, because people like that always left impressions one never forgot.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nami didn’t realize where she had seen them until three full days later, when they were already underway for Zou.

“Ahhhhhhhhh! How could I have not remembered?” she shrieked, clawing at her long hair as she looked down at the newspaper article on the kitchen table in front of her. Everyone in the room jumped at her sudden, unwarranted outcry.

“What the hell is up with you, Nami?” Luffy asked as he nibbled on his chicken leg (the goofball had indeed made out like a bandit in the gambling house, and Nami was so proud of him that she convinced Sanji to give him extra meat portions for the next week). She ground her teeth fiercely as she tugged at her hair, clawing her scalp. How could she have been so stupid?

“The Rebel Army! I ran into their leaders, Monkey D. Dragon and Sabo, on the island! They showed me the way back to the docks!”

“Oh, so you ran into my old man and my bro? Neat,” Luffy shrugged nonchalantly as he continued to attack his beloved meat.

“How can you be so nonchalant about it? Just what the hell is your family, Luffy?!”

“Shishishishishi! We all just like to be free, that’s all!” he laughed while licking the chicken juices off each of his fingers. Nami slumped into her seat with a groan, staring at the black-and-white photographs of the two wanted renegades. Frowning slightly, she recalled Sabo’s smile, so bright and sunny like his brother’s, and Dragon’s words.

“Take care of your captain.”

Her gaze flickered up to the oblivious Luffy who was now pestering Sanji for more meat. Her mouth curled into a wry smile. Yep. He was an idiot, her dependable idiot. She didn’t want another one.

Don’t worry. I have every intention on taking care of him.

Nami could be depended upon in that regard.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

The cold crept in slowly, like a lioness stalking her like the meek prey Nami was, all while the snow continued to rain down endlessly. A healthy bit of it had piled up on the edge of the wicker basket; due to the lingering heat, the bottom portion was gradually melting into icy water, seeping through the woven wood strips to drip down onto her already chilled frame. It splashed against the numb skin of her shoulder with steady, repetitive splashes, and Nami imagined it as the ticking of a clock; first, a steady progression towards her rescue, but as time continued to pass, the nagging thought began to form in her mind- that it was a countdown to her freezing to death. She was not sure how much time had passed at all when the first shiver gripped her body; fifteen minutes? Fifteen hours? It was so hard to tell with only the dripping to tell time, as the dense gray clouds above hid the sun.

She was shuddering hard now, shaking the wicker basket with every wracking tremor. The snow sloughed off the edge of the basket to begin piling up beside her, progressively building a thick wall between herself and her continuously dwindling heat source. Every time that Nami swept her arm over the rising snow mound, the snowflakes countered by sinking into her flesh with sharp little teeth, spreading even more numbness across her already cold, unfeeling body. She would then desperately hug her arm to her chest, praying her body heat would revitalize it just a little bit.

By the time the breath was fogging in little puffy clouds before her face, her eyes were beginning to droop. Sleepiness was never a good sign but Nami could not muster the will to fight it. Her arms and legs were beginning to feel like ice itself, blocky and rigid and so, so cold. The ends of her fingers were white as the piling snow outside, as all the heat had begun to drain from her extremities to protect her core from the spreading chill plague. Her head lolled to the side, bumping against the wicker basket as she struggled against embracing the allure of restful sleep. Only for a few minutes… I’ll just rest until help gets here… she thought in the wintery haze. She was very aware of her heartbeat pounding in her ears, but it was strange, because it sounds like boots crunching against hard snow. Hope flared in her chest at the realization, and she managed to turn her stiffened neck to look out the basket’s open end. Was someone here to save her? The fabric of the hot air balloon had flattened out, only occasionally rippling with the tug of insistent winds; Nami was out of time. She opened her mouth to call out to whoever could be there, but the words were frozen in her throat. There was no mistaking it now; they were footsteps, they had to be-! Somehow, she managed a feeble whimper just barely audible above the whistling snowy winds. Please-! I’m right here!

Nami felt like she was going to cry as a navy-blue gloved hand curled over the edge of the basket. The snow was pushed around into heaps as the person effortlessly whirled the basket about to peer inside. Nami’s heart instantly plummeted and she felt incredibly nauseous, her hopes dashed in a matter of seconds. Her savior- if she could even call him that considering what could happen next- was none other than notorious Navy officer-turned-ruthless pirate X Drake. With another meek whimper, she pressed herself into the corner of the wicker basket looking the entire picture of a sopping kitten, dampened by the leaking ice water; to think that Cat Thief Nami had been reduced to such a state. It was pathetic, but Nami really didn’t have much in the way of an arsenal to combat it. Terrifying scenarios began to bounce through her half-frozen mind.

What if he kidnaps me and turns me in for the reward? What if he manages to track down someone else from the crew and tries to ransom me off? What would he do to me in the meantime? What if he has no intention of pawning me off at all and keeps me around as some form of morbid entertainment? What if he just kills me off right now? Her eyes had dilated greatly from terror and her breath was coming in shallow, high-pitched bursts now. With the remainder of her strength, she reached for her Climatact strapped to her leg.

“St-stay away!” she warned him. Despite her sorry state, she still managed to pour plenty of venom into her shaky voice. X Drake just stared at her levelly, his blank expression never shifting. Nami had no idea what was running through his mind at all.

“There’s no reason for you to be afraid. I have no intention of harming you.”

“Fat chance of that! You’re a pirate, a traitorous ex-Navy pirate at that!” she spat. That seemed to get at least a slight rise out of him, as his ginger eyebrows arched down over his dark eyes, just barely shadowed by the curved brim of his hat. “Why should I trust you?”

“You’ll freeze to death otherwise. Believe me or not, you don’t have much choice but to trust me here.” His reasoning was maddeningly sound. Nami didn’t have a choice. She didn’t have the time to wait around from someone from Weatheria any longer; she could very realistically die within the hour. Biting down on her lip in frustration, she frantically wracked her mind for any other alternative before uttering a very simple, curt “Fine.”

Drake stepped away from the basket as she shifted on her hands and knees to crawl out; it was more effort than she would’ve ever imagined. Her limbs had grown as stiff as oak wood from spending the entire time curled up in a single position, which was exacerbated by the freezing cold. Her palms burned like they were afire as she plunged her hands into the deep snow, and she wasted no time in pushing herself to her feet. She almost fell right back down, however, as her knees knocked together wildly from how hard her body was shaking. She hated that she presented such a meek, weak figure to the tall, menacing pirate, and to combat that image some she made sure her face was twisted into a very distrustful scowl.

“What a fierce woman you are,” he laughed heartily, not intimidated in the slightest. Her shrugged out of his fur-lined coat and held it out to her. Nami’s pride dictated that she accepted no pity and that she march on through the blizzard clad as she was, but holy hell, she could feel his intense body heat radiating from the garment, whispering sweet nothings of warmth and comfort. Nami threw her pride out the window and pretty much dove into the coat, sliding her arms through the long, wide sleeves and nearly melted into a puddle on the spot. Is was gargantuan on her, falling down to the middle of her calves and requiring her to roll up the sleeves several times, but that just seemed to make it all the more a bundle of life-giving heat. She found herself immediately relaxing despite the presence of the man beside her. Feels so good… she thought, her mind now muddled by the lovely warmth. She only looked at X Drake when he began to chuckle good-naturedly at her, and it was then that she noticed that he was dressed in a great many layers. It was freezing, no doubt, but not that excessive.

Right… His Devil Fruit power is reptile-based. Is his weakness the cold? She wondered. It would make sense. Considering that, the fact that he had trekked across the island to investigate the balloon crash and offer her the very nice coat chipped away slightly at her mistrust of him. Rumors weren’t everything; maybe, just maybe, Nami had been lucky to land before a pirate captain who carried some form of chivalry.

“I am curious. Where did you come from?” he inquired as he kicked the destroyed fabric of the balloon with a small frown. “I had heard rumor that the Straw Hats had been scattered after the events at Marineford. Considering you are alone and piloting this thing, I surmise that is true.” Should she tell him? Weatheria was very close; he might even offer to bring her there. Then again, would she put the weather wizards of Weatheria in danger by revealing her location? If he ever desired to exploit the fact that Nami was separated from the monstrous members of her crew, he could jaunt over and kidnap her like it was a Sunday walk. His eyes flickered to her, intense but not menacing. “I see you are still mistrustful of me. Very well then, I won’t pry.”

“You can rest assured in the fact that someone will come for me eventually, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“’Rest assured’? I think not. I hid out on this island to avoid the Marines; it isn’t much of a secret hideaway if someone knows that I’m here,” he pointed out with a voice that had finally taken some edge. She swallowed nervously; it was beginning to seem that she was right in not trusting him. He made no move, however, only watched her guardedly, and she knew her next move would determine her fate. Nami decided to bet that some honesty might get her out of this unscathed.

“I came from Weatheria. The weather wizards don’t have much interest in the squabbles between pirates and the Marines. If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.” The corner of his mouth twitched in what have may have been an attempt at a smile, and then he straightened up to his full intimidating height, towering over her as he tried to gauge the truth of her statement. Nami felt highly uncomfortable under his interrogative stare but did her best not to quail.

“Very well.” As he whirled on his heel to begin tromping away, she was a little unnerved on how easily he accepted her statement. She really couldn’t get a read on the guy, and she really prided herself on her ability to measure people up.

It was then that Nami noticed that the cold was beginning to seep back into her skin, despite the very padded coat. Right! My clothes are soaking wet. He raised an eyebrow at her as she drew har arms into the body of the coat and began to fidget around. “What are you-“ he didn’t finish his sentence as he saw Nami’s shorts drop into the snow, and his face immediately blazed a rich shade of crimson. “Why are you getting naked?!” he cried and whirled around with a hand over his eyes, though Nami was more than concealed by the coat.

“My clothes are wet. The coat won’t do any good if I’m still wearing them,” she answered while nonchalantly pulling her shirt through the neck of the jacket. It dropped against her shorts with a wet plop, and Drake let out a strangled gasp. A smirk appeared on Nami’s lips. So, the big, bad X Drake is shy around women? Good to know, she thought. She decided to keep her underwear on, because she didn’t trust him nearly enough to go completely commando with him around yet. She bent down to pick up the sopping wet clothes, then looked up to find him tromping several feet ahead of her.

“Come on, unless you want to die out here,” he called to her without even looking over his shoulder. He was probably mortified by his raging blush. Resigning herself to the fate that would at least prolong her survival, Nami hurried after him. It was a struggle for several reasons: her small stride was dwarfed by his, covering at least a foot and a half per step, and the snow had piled up to her knees. She had to hold up the hem of the coat as she literally waded through the thick white powder, while Drake was just moseying along with the stuff barely coming up to his calf. Nami very quickly fell behind, huffing and puffing; she was fairly certain that she had developed a fever to combat hypothermia as well, for her skin was flushing an angry red color and sweat was pooling on her forehead and making her tangerine hair stick uncomfortably to her scalp. After a point, Drake glanced back to see her several yards behind attempting to push her way through a snow drift. “Do you want help?”

“No!” she barked back at him, face twisted in a determined frown. She had already presented herself to be a damsel in distress enough today, and like hell she was going to let him carry her the rest of the way. With a jerk, she forced her leg through the wall of snow and stepped down, only to find that it concealed a very large hole. With a shrill shriek, her entire body sank down to her shoulders, with her arms splayed out over the top of the snowbank and her head tilted back to keep from getting a mouthful of the stuff. Immediately her skin bristled at the intense cold, and she very shrilly squeaked, “Yes, help me, please.” X Drake was chortling to himself as he strode effortlessly through the snowdrift to pluck her up by the back of her hood, lifting her like a kitten by its scruff. She dangled in the air for a second as he allowed her to brush as much of the wet snow from her body as possible.

Thankfully he decided not to carry her bridal-style or another degrading manner, but piggyback-style. His shoulders were so broad that Nami’s arms could barely meet around his neck, and it was an effort to hook her legs around his hips. She really didn’t complain, though, as the sheer amount of furnace-like heat rolling off his body chased away the rest of the cold and left her warm and content. It was even better that he was blushing bright pink from head-to-tow since he was very aware that she had naught but underwear on beneath his coat; Nami found that so amusing. Still, it was a little embarrassing clinging to him like some kind of little spider monkey. “Why are you doing all this?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity. She could count on one hand the number of pirate captains who would take it upon themselves to rescue her asking nothing in return, much less let her parade around mostly naked under their coat without giving her more grief.

“I may have defected from the Navy, but that doesn’t mean I have become completely ruthless. A man has his own personal code of values, and chivalry towards women is in mine,” he answered with a small shrug, but given his size, he very nearly pushed her off and she had to wrap her arms tight around his neck to keep that from happening. “I would have to be a total monster to leave a young woman to freeze to death in the snow.”

“I know of several members of the Worst Generation who would do just that, or ‘rescue’ me only to hold me hostage or ransom me to the Marines,” she grumbled. His shoulders shook with a rumbling laugh.

“They don’t call us ‘the Worst Generation’ for nothing, indeed. I suppose you should count yourself lucky, Nami.” As she thought; he knew exactly who she was. Still, she was beginning to feel at ease with the ginger-haired pirate’s companionship; he seemed to have no ulterior motives and had not attempted to molest her in any way as of yet. She was still on her guard just in case it was all a front, but at the very least, he was easy to talk to. “Tell me, why is it the Straw Hats have decided to go their separate ways?”

“We’re training to take on the New World,” she answered. It wasn’t like he could use that information specifically for much of anything, so why lie? The Paramount War had been broadcasted on Saboady Archipelago for all to see; everyone knew that Luffy only escaped by the skin of his teeth, and was severely injured. The only reason that rumors weren’t flying that he had died was because he had declared war on the World Government only a few days later.

“And the World Government,” he mused as she thought about the incident. “Straw Hat sure is a bold one. He has a very loyal crew, for them to be willing to join in his crusade against them. The World Government isn’t a bunch of pushovers.”

“I believe in him one hundred percent! He’s going to be King of the Pirates, after all!” she insisted and was completely unabashed to do so. X Drake laughed heartily again, seemingly finding her confidence very entertaining rather than insulting. “Why’re you laughing? You’re shooting for the title too, aren’t you?”

“I have my goals and ambitions, yes,” he mused while looking back at her with glittering eyes, “but I would be a fool not to admit that the boy has potential. The fact that you speak so confidently of him is a testament to his charisma and uncanny ability to draw people to his cause.” Nami found herself smiling broadly, because he was right. Even his enemies found themselves admiring of him; he was just that special. The smile drooped like her lead hot air balloon as he added, “However, don’t think that I will be singing his praises if we meet in the new world. I won’t simply allow him to become Pirate King because I think he’s neat.”

“Bring it on. He’ll kick your ass,” she said bluntly. Another round of booming laughter. She had heard tales of his brutality and menace, but Nami was beginning to think that when he wasn’t a rampaging dinosaur, he was a pretty laid-back guy. It was almost a shame that the next time they did meet they would be enemies, because she almost liked him.

“We’ll see about that,” he responded in a contented hum. He suddenly stopped walking and looked up, frowning; Nami followed suit and could not silence an overjoyed cry as she saw the unmistakable form of a hot air balloon drifting through the billowing gray clouds. “It seems that the weather wizards have come to retrieve you after all,” he remarked wryly. No doubt, Nami’s shock of orange hair was visible against the harsh backdrop of white, as the hot air balloon immediately began to descend towards them. With a huff, Nami hopped down from X Drake’s back, landing in the snow. It wasn’t that deep there, and her boots were able to keep most of the cold out, as they had dried some while she was being hauled on his back. “Until next time, then,” he remarked with a tip of his hat and turned to walk away, cloak flapping in the winter wind.

“Wait! Thank you for everything.”

“Do you think it wise to thank your enemy? He may hold it against you someday,” he remarked cryptically, but looked back at her with a wry smile.

“Then let’s be frenemies!” He gave her an absolutely dumfounded look, to which Nami responded with a beaming grin. “Y’know, we’re enemies when it’s necessary, but the rest of the time, we’re friends!” He blinked at her, every stage of grief passing through his expression, before he let out a snort of laughter.

“Straw Hat certainly keeps amusing company,” he remarked. Nami giggled and stuck out her tongue a little as she smiled charmingly. The hot air balloon had since descended well into range, and a rope ladder dropped down to dangle right above the snow beside her.

“So, again, thank you. Oh! I should give you your coat back!” Nami cried and began wriggling out of the garment, causing Drake to blush furiously and whirl around.

“No! Keep it!” Nami laughed, because of course she had no intention stripping down to her negligee in front of the ex-Marine. She hopped up onto the rope ladder, and the weather wizard in the basket far above her head began pulling it little by little back into the hot air balloon. Nami tossed a wink and a smile over her shoulder at the still-blushing pirate captain.

“See ya in the New World! I hope it’s under good circumstances!” she called down to him before climbing up the rungs of woven rope. It certainly wasn’t an encounter she had been expecting to have in the limbo that was this two year-training period, but hey, Nami wasn’t entirely ungrateful. The more enemies she could charm for Luffy’s sake, the better! Besides, conversing with X Drake wasn’t really that bad. If things were different, she could almost imagine the Straw Hats idolizing him.

Alas, they already had their idol in the form of a dorky, airheaded, optimistic but reliable straw hat-wearing boy destined for greatness. Sorry, X Drake, but frenemies it’s gotta be!

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