Disclaimer: -robotic voice- Alena doesn't own One Piece. Confirmed.

X – Warmth -

-by Alena S. Anigor

It was one of those picturesque, little islands that would charm you with their beauty and interesting flora and fauna but when Nami stepped off the ship and shivered when a gust of wintry air blew over her face, she concluded it was also one hell of a cold island. The beach was somewhat pebbly with an occasional rock that served as protection against the waves. The rocky path that led to the forest was covered in tiny flowers and Chopper immediately knelt down to investigate, his trusty book already open.

Zoro, Robin and Usopp were standing on the beach, looking around curiously; Robin already wondering if there was anything interesting to find while Zoro wondered if the beach was perhaps too rocky to sleep on. Usopp's main preoccupation was the potential monsters that lived in the forest and Franky volunteered to stay on the ship, not being too fond of the cool atmosphere that ruled on the island.

Luffy's eyes however, were directed far ahead to the middle of the island where a tall hill was situated, the top of it covered in snow. To Luffy it looked like an icing on a particularly delicious cake and he grinned enthusiastically, already wrapping a scar around his neck and putting a pair of woolen gloves on his hands. The sleeveless shirt was hidden by a coat although his pants and flip-flops were still peeking happily beneath it. He deemed the hill as something to see and conquer and before anyone could really stop him, he was already on his way, marching down the rocky path that led into the forest.

Sanji tried yelling after him but it was in vain – in a second, he was gone and the rest of the crew was left to sigh in dismay and shake their heads in disapproval, wondering where and when they would see him again. And if...

Nami, determined to draw the map of the island and leave as soon as possible, started to look around, trying to find an appropriate place from which she'd have a good viewpoint. In the end, she deadpanned, coming to a conclusion that the only spot she'd see the whole island from was the same hill Luffy ran off to just a few minutes ago. Annoyed, she grumbled something under her breath, angry at him for leaving them behind so quickly and with herself for letting him do just that. Now, she'd have to go all the way up by herself when she could've been up there already via Luffy Airlines. Granted, she knew that that kind of trip would probably cost her her papers, utensils and probably her life, but she was ready to risk it if only to get away from the cold.

With an almost pained look on her face, she took a deep breath, zipped her coat and adjusting her papers and utensils, made her way down the rocky path, ignoring another silly bet Sanji and Zoro were having. Robin was busy explaining something to Chopper while Usopp decided it was safer on the ship and joined Franky, the cyborg welcoming him with a wave of his cola bottle.

Almost an hour later, she stopped, panting heavily and glaring daggers at the hill that towered proudly over her. There was a small spiraling path up the hill but she decided to take a small break after encountering a strange, white bird that just stared at her mutely and refused to budge from the pathway. She slowly passed her by, ready to fight with pencils if necessary, but luckily, the bird stayed where it was and didn't even turn around when she started walking again.

She raised her head to look up and try to find her captain somewhere up there but there was no sign of him. She frowned slightly, wondering where he disappeared of to and then decided to resume her little expedition. With a resolved nod, she took a careful step forward and started climbing up the slippery path.

Halfway up the hill, she yelped when her foot slipped on the unsteady ground and she quickly grabbed the rock for support, holding onto it for a while and watching pebbles and stones rolling down into the mess of green and brown below. She swallowed, asking herself for the umpteenth time what the hell she had been thinking when she decided to climb up that hill.

"You're here to make a map...right..." She muttered to no one in particular, trying to convince herself to go on since she's already come this far.

Taking a hesitant step forward and still clutching the rocky wall tightly, she slowly made her way up again until a few feet later she stopped suddenly and screamed when Luffy's head literally dropped from the sky, a pair of dark eyes blinking at her curiously. She stared at him in astonishment for a few moments before she realized it was only her captain...or what was visible of him.

"Hey Nami!" He exclaimed happily after almost giving her a heart attack. "Whatcha doing here? I didn't know you were also coming up!"

Nami frowned in annoyance and looked up, realizing that his body was still on top of the hill, his hands resting against the edge and his neck extended down to her level. "Yeah, well, I am!" She snapped and clobbered him on the head with a liner. "You could've waited for me, you dolt!"

He let out a yelp, his head bobbing up and down before he gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry," he mumbled and then beamed at her. "Here, I'll help you up!" He exclaimed joyously and before Nami could utter another word, one of his arms stretched down, snaked around her waist and hoisted her up. With a loud scream, she found herself flying through chilly air for a few moments, clutching her papers and utensils before her feet touched the ground abruptly, sending unpleasant tingles up her calves.

Luffy merely dusted himself off and smiled at her, glad he could help her. She was still for a few moments, standing in front of him like that before she sighed and shook her head. In the end, she did fly via Luffy Airlines. She could almost envision the slogan: Always an interesting experience!

Looking around, she shuddered visibly; the air was even colder up there than down on the beach and she had only her coat on with a zipper that barely reached up to her collarbones.

"Damn it," she muttered, irritated with the whole island, weather and the situation in general. Luffy craned his neck a bit, wondering what was up with her. With a groan of despair, she sighed heavily and shoved the utensils into his hands, the pencils and liners wobbling unsteadily on his palms. "Hold this!"

Putting up a small tripod, she turned her back to the wind and placed one sheet of paper on it before she outstretched her hand like a surgeon in a need of a scalpel.

"Pencil!" She barked and Luffy complied obediently, one pencil materializing on her palm. He watched her work; trying hard to draw lines with liners and spite the nippy wind that blew around them and tousling their hair mercilessly. She worked dedicatedly, not paying too much attention to him, cursing every once in a while when the pencil slipped out of her numb fingers, resulting in a stray line.

"Damn it!" She finally exploded after the liner fell from her hand and onto the snowy hilltop, resisting the urge to throw everything in the capricious wind and run away to the warm confides of her cabin.

"What's the matter?" Luffy asked from aside, watching her with mild worry after being a silent spectator for the last fifteen minutes. She took a few deep breaths, her fists clenched by her sides before she turned to face him, glaring at him as if he was the main to blame. Luffy, of course, stayed unfazed by her murderous look.

"I'm freezing, that's the matter!" She snapped and then raised her arms in the air, Luffy following her movement with his eyes. "I can't do anything like this! Argh!"

She glowered at the grayish sky and gloomy clouds above, the urge to shake a fist at them rising in her. She blinked the next moment, feeling something soft and warm around her neck and looked down, coming face to face with Luffy, adjusting the scarf around the bare skin of her neck. She stared at him in wonder with her lips slightly parted; wondering when was the last time he had been so physically close to her.

He was so close she could feel his body heat and see the redness of his frozen cheeks and nose. There was some kind of warmth in his eyes and in his touch, in the small puffs of air he breathed every time he exhaled and in the act itself. When he finished folding the scarf around her neck, he looked her in the eye and smiled that bright smile of his, patting the front of the scarf softly.

"There," he said simply, making her blink at his words, "now you won't be so cold anymore." She looked down when he placed his gloves in her hands, hiding his own in the depths of his pockets. "And you'll be able to draw your map better."

She was freezing her butt off but she was sure she could've melted then and there after such a gesture of his, her cheeks turning slightly pink, this time not from the cold air. He could be so sweet and considerate sometimes that it made her want to hug him and squeeze the light out of him. And just when she was about to do just that, he let out a yelp and pointed behind her with wide eyes. Turning around briskly, she gasped in disbelief when the wind blew the paper away from the tripod and her half-finished map was flying to some better place.

"My map! Nooooo!" She cried, her hands on the sides of her head, watching the precious piece of paper fluttering across the gray sky and over the island. Slowly she turned around to look at the somewhat dismal look in his eyes and they both exchanged a meaningful glance.

After a few moments of staring into the distance and mourning after the lost map, she rubbed her gloved fingers and outstretched her hand, sighing in defeat. Behind her, her assistant was ready.

"Paper."

After she had somehow managed to finish her map (although she had lost her patience a few times and relied on Luffy to calm her down by simply standing there obediently) they had made their way down. But, instead of taking the normal way down which would've included them both on their feet, trotting down the pathway, her captain had decided to take the easier and more painful way down.

Not even asking her for her opinion, he grabbed her, the map and utensils and ignoring the shrill protests of his navigator, located the ship rocking slightly over the waves and stretched his arms all the way to it. Nami only had a split second to close her eyes and her mouth before she was again flying through the chilly air, this time a bit longer since they had encountered small problems on the way – namely, Luffy's arm got stuck amidst one of the branches so they both landed somewhere on the frozen grass in the forest, Luffy cushioning the blow with his body.

She had called him a brainless idiot and clobbered him on the already bruised head before she stormed off, meeting with Robin and Chopper on the way who were still looking at the plants.

A worried Sanji greeted her on the ship, yelling at Luffy for almost killing his Nami-san, Zoro and Usopp eyeing her curiously. She didn't realize why until she reached her cabin and stopped in front of her mirror. Slowly placing the map on the desk, she smiled at the person in the mirror, wearing a blue scarf and red woolen gloves.

Almost gingerly, she raised the scarf to her face and sniffed the scent of cold air, forest plants and...just plain Luffy. She would return the gloves to him tomorrow, but she thought she'd keep the scarf. It kind of looked good on her.

Her scatterbrained captain could really be sweet sometimes...and those moments she had learned to cherish and remember. The smile froze on her lips when she felt a familiar tickling sensation in her nose and a moment later, she sneezed loudly, glaring at the red-nosed Nami in the mirror.

Yes, he was sweet and all, but totally reckless and too adventurous for his own good...and hers. Sneezing again, she cursed the blasted island and the stupid weather, reaching inside her drawer for some Aspirins. Just in case.

a/n

Gah, I am sooooo sorry for not updating sooner! I know it's a lame excuse, but I've been busy – I'm still at work (at the sea) and it's past midnight now and I have to get up in 6 hours and I'm starting my first year of college in a month and I'll have to move to another town...And I'm babbling. XD

Anyway, I've decided not to finish SHT just yet...Since I felt inspired to write this chapter, who knows. Also, when I get back home (which will be in 10 days or so) I'll post a fanart more or less based on this story. I don't know why but there's something about me and scarves...A few of my other stories and fanarts were also based on it... XD

Right, that's about it. The guy that works at the Internet café is already giving me strange looks every time he sees me here...Till next time, take care! XD