#at one point luffy just ate the fridge whole

[pandr-bur]

Shanks runs a strawhat pirates fan acct he told me

he’s a proud dad

[flimflamfranky]

Day 14 - Heat Exhaustion

Franky discovers a drawback to his cybernetics.

~

It was so hot.

Franky tugged at his shirt, trying to fan some air in there, as he followed Nami through the town. They had just landed on a new island, some small fishing village on the way Sabaody, for a quick pit spot. He and Nami both needed more ink and paper, so they had set out together.

(Nami also claimed it was to “curb his horrendous spending habits”, which, rude. He wasn’t that bad - he only barely went over the limit last time! But still, he didn’t mind the company.) It was supposed to a fun little outing - get out, stretch the legs, see the sights, pick up some supplies. Franky had been looking forward to it. It was nice to have quiet trips to land between all the adventuring. But apparently, this was also a summer island, and summer islands were hot. Too hot. How could everyone else stand it? His back felt it was drenched in sweat, and everyone else was walking around like it was a perfectly pleasant day! A fun outing, Franky bemoaned to himself. This was miserable.

Eventually, they got to what seemed to be a town square - it was a plaza, with benches and trimmed bushes, and a small fountain. Nami stopped to ask some locals where a stationary store would be and Franky immediately narrowed on the fountain. Water! Cool, refreshing water! He rushed over, and sprawl out as much as possible, leaning back into the faint spray of water with a relieved sigh. He briefly considered just jumping in, but he’d definitely get chewed out by Nami. He did stick a foot in there, though, and ignored the weird looks he got from the locals. “Wow, tired already?” Nami teased as she joined him. “You’re such an old man.” “I ain’t that old!” Franky protested. And then he looked at her, confused. “Aren’t you hot, too?” He asked, waving to her outfit. It was a smart outfit - colorful buttoned up shirt and khakis - but Franky broke out into another sweat just looking at it. “No?” Nami said, looking down at herself. “It feels fine to me.” “That ain’t fair. I’m over here sufferin’, and you’re fine and dandy.” Franky wiped at the sweat on his brow. “I swear, Water 7 never got this hot.” “Yeah, because of all the water,” Nami said, smirking. “You’re just not used to this kinda heat.” Franky grumbled a vague protest, and glared up at the sun. Well, squinted vaguely in its direction, but still. “If it’s bothering you,” Nami said. “I can go by myself-“ “No, no!” Franky forced himself up. “It’s fine. I can handle it.” “Well, alright,” Nami said, and she pointed down one of the streets. “That lady said there was a shop down this way that sold ink and papers.” Franky gestured for her to lead the way, and followed her at a brisk pace. He wasn’t about to let some measly heat get the best of him! He’d just tough it out. Maybe he’d even get use to it, after some exposure. Either way, he could totally handle it. Everything was going to be fine. ~ Everything was not fine. If anything, it got worse. It felt like his cola was boiling inside of him. The store hadn’t helped matters - it had been stifling inside without the light breeze. He had to leave the whole transaction up to Nami. Not that she would’ve allowed otherwise, but he had barely been able to focus on even picking out some paper. He was having a lot of trouble with that, focusing. It was like he was in haze, like his brain was melting into a puddle of goo. He felt heavy. Lethargic. It super sucked. At least they were heading back to the Sunny, now. He can handle that, no problem. “Franky?” “Huh?” Franky looked down to see Nami peering up at him. The look on her face made hin suspect she’d been calling him for a while. Oops. She squinted at him, face drawn into a frown. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Franky waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Honest.” “You don’t look fine,” Nami said, unimpressed. “Come on, we can go sit somewhere until-“ “No!” Franky said, stubbornly. He wasn’t gonna give up because of a little heat! “I can...make to back to the Sunny.” “Ugh, why are you guys always so stubborn? You don’t have to push yourself like this!” “I’m not-“ Franky cut off as he stumbled over his feet, just barely catching himself before he ate dirt. “Woah, hey!” Nami was sounded panicked now. Crap. He didn’t want to worry her. “It’s fine.” Franky tried say. He felt strangely breathless. “I must’ve just...tripped over somethin’...” “No, that excuse won’t work on me,” Nami snapped as she reached out to steady him. “You should really- Ah!” Her hands had rested on his arm, but she immediately withdrew, shaking her hands. “Jeez, you’re burning up!” Franky blinked at the ground, hard. Something was beginning to feel wrong. Wrong with his cybernetics, wrong. He thought it was just the heat, but there was something else, he could feel it. He...needed to get back to the Sunny. Now. He opened his mouth to tell Nami that, but his tongue felt heavy and he couldn’t get his breathing right. He...he needed to get up. He forced himself up, hands out to steady himself. His eyes snapped to the horizon, and for a moment everything was good, but then, almost in slow motion, everything began tilting, going all sideways, and that was weird- “Franky!” Oh, he was on the ground again. That wasn’t right. He needed to get up. To...the Sunny. That’s right. He tried to get up, but his limbs wouldn’t respond right. It was like he was moving through oil. Someone was standing over. Hands hovering. Orange hair. Nami. He couldn’t worry her. He needed to get up. He needed- ~ Franky woke to a headache. The dull throb almost shocked him awake, pulling him from a hazy half-asleep state. Then he became uncomfortably aware of other things - a scratchy throat, clammy skin, cramping muscles. He winced. “Franky?” Franky cracked on eye open. The glaring light hurt, but he was able to make out Chopper hovering over him, holding something. He tried to say something but his mouth was too dry and his throat was too sore so all that came out was a pathetic wheeze. “Can you sit up? You need to drink this water.” Franky scowled at the thought of moving, but he did shuffled up into a vaguely vertical position, helped by Chopper’s gentle hands. Then, a glass of water was pushed into his hand. “Drink. Slowly, please.” Franky nodded absently, and took a small sip. The cool relief was almost instantaneous, and Franky found himself draining the whole thing in one go. “I said slowly!” Chopper yelled, wacking him lightly on the arm. “Sorry,” Franky mumbled, weakly, handing the glass back. Chopper refilled it, and passed it back. Franky drank, slowly this time, taking measured sip under Chopper’s stern watch, until Chopper deemed him hydrated enough. Once he handed the glass back, Franky slumped back down, feeling exhausted. Had just drinking water drained him that much? Yeesh. Chopper hovering over him. “Do you remember what happened?” Franky furrowed his brow in thought. “Yeah, I went shopping with Nami, and is was super hot. Too hot. And I...fainted?” At Chopper’s confirming nod, Franky groaned. “That’s embarrassing.” “It’s concerning, that’s what it is!” Chopper said, his voice going even more squeaky. “You almost had a heatstroke!” “Oh.” Franky blinked. “Is that bad?” “Yes!!!” Chopper wailed. “You could’ve died!” “Oh.” Franky winced, and sunk down further into the pillow. “I...I didn’t think it was that bad...” Chopper wiped at his nose with a sniffle, and gave him a glare. “Nami said you were being stubborn.” Ah, and there was that guilt. He’d gone and sacred everyone, hadn’t he? “I’m sorry,” He said. Then, he remembered, vaguely, Nami panicking over him, and...burning herself? “Is Nami alright?” “She’s fine,” Chopper said. “A little shaken, but fine. She got Luffy to bring you back here.” Franky sighed in relief, and he grimaced. “Ugh. She’s gonna super chew me out later, isn’t she?” “Yes. And you’ll deserve it,” Chopper said. “And I’ll deserve it,” Franky repeated, resigned.  He settled further down into the pillow with a deep sigh. There was a moment of silence before Chopper spoke up again. “You know you don’t have to prove anything to us, right?” Chopper said, worrying his hooves together. “We wouldn’t think any less of you.” “Yeah, I know,” Franky said, reaching out to give Chopper a pat on the hand. “It just seemed like such a little thing to brought low by, ya know? And honestly,” Franky chuckled sheepishly. “I thought, being a cyborg n all, I wouldn’t be effected by these sorts of things as much.” “I suppose that makes sense.” Chopper said, reaching up to grab Franky’s hand. Franky let his hand slide down so Chopper could hold it easier. “I have a theory, actually.” “Yeah?” “Yeah!” Chopper nodded. “You were really hot to the touch, earlier, your metal. And, I’ve noticed, you tend to run hotter than everyone else. I think, maybe; your cybernetics caused you to overheat faster than normal.” “Yeah,” Franky sighed. “That’s my theory, too. Means I gotta lot of work ahead of me.” Chopper titled his head, confused. “Eh?”

“I’ve already got a coolant for my fridge, so I just need to beef up that system and rewire it through my body.” Franky chewed at his lip, pensive. “This’ll probably happen in cold weather too, so I should probably add a heating system as well...Gotta figure out how to make it automatic, but manual wouldn’t hurt either...”

He trailed off when he felt Chopper grip his hand tighter, and he looked to down to see Chopper getting teary-eyed again.

“You can fix this?” Chopper asked, blinking up at him.

“Well, yeah, bro,” Franky said, patting Chopper’s check. “Wouldn’t even be that hard, really.”

Chopper slumped against his hand, letting out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear!”

“I really worried you, huh?”

“It was hard not to be,” Chopper said. “I’m not exactly a mechanic, ya know.”

“Oh. Yeah, I could see that being a problem.” Franky let his hand relax, held up by Chopper’s grip, as he yawned. “I can teach ya a few things. If ya want.” “I’d like that,” Chopper said, with a wobbly grin. Then he sniffled, and put on his stern doctor face. “But first! You need to rest more! I shouldn’t have kept you up so much!”

“I don’t mind,” Franky said, grinning, even though he did feel exhausted. “I’m not taking medical opinion from you, Mister-Ignore-My-Symptoms.” Chopper bopped him gently on the head. “Now rest!”

Franky chuckled, but he settled further into the bed, making himself comfortable. “Aye, aye, Doctor.”  

[thewildomega]

Star in the Sand Ch. 2

Sitting at the table with your second cup of tea in your hand you watched as he flipped through another one of the manga, this time one of Impale down. 

"Straw-hat is the main character of these books?" he asked and heard her hum. Rolling his eyes he looked over the scene where they made their escape. "How far back does his story go?"

"Well it starts off with him in a barrel on Alvida's ship. He had just started out and didn't even have any crew members yet."

"Alvida? How did he get in a barrel on her ship?" he asked.

"He ate all the food in it and fell asleep, he was drifting in the ocean and this cargo ship picked it up not knowing he was inside. Alvida attacked the ship, took he barrel onto her own ship and left it there. When he woke up he busted out and defeated her. He takes one of the small ships and goes to Shell Town where he picks up Zoro." you told him, lifting your cup to take another sip of your tea. 

That boy was strange, nothing about it. "And how far along does this story go? How does it end?"

"It hasn't yet, where are you at? What was the last thing that happened?" you asked him. 

Taking a deep breath he leaned back in the chair and looked at her. "I left after the war, I plan to head to the New world." he told her. 

"Ah, so you are in the two year time skip. Okay well I am a little past that." 

Narrowing his eyes he looked at her, "What do you mean two year time skip?" 

"There is a time skip in the story, two years where you don't see anything that happened, everyone mostly goes their separate ways. Luffy is very distraught over Ace's death, the Straw-hate pirates aren't even together where you are now." you said with a shrug.

"But they get back together after this... time skip?" he asked and saw her nod. Humming he thought on it all before looking back into her eyes. "You said you are further into the story than where I just came from, am I still alive?" he asked. 

"Yes." you answered simply.

Humming he tapped his foot. "So you also know everything that is going to happen in the near future." 

"Well that's not set in stone and I am not that much further." you said with a tilt of your head. 

"Everything that I have read in that book has been true to my knowledge." he stated. "So tell me what happens next." he said with a smile. 

"I'm not telling you." you said with a small grin and saw his smile drop. 

"Why not?" he growled. 

"Because that's foreshadowing and it might throw things out of wack." you told him, finishing you tea. Standing you moved towards the sink, "Besides you're not even in the next arc." you told him, putting your cup in the sink. 

Getting up he moved after her, "I am not asking, I am demanding you tell me." he said, not used to people telling him no. Seeing her turn around and look at him he saw the same calm look on her face. "You know me woman, you know what I am capable of..."

"Yes I know who you are but I am willing to bet that you haven't been able to use your powers since you got here because there is no such thing as devil fruits here." you told him with a sigh. Seeing the angry expression on his face you looked up at him and gave a small grin, "I can tell you that none of things that have happen will affect you. You have not been caught by the marines and you are not dead so let the rest be a surprise." you said with a shrug. Glancing towards the clock you saw it was well past midnight. "Look I really have to go to bed, I have to go to work tomorrow. There is a second bedroom you can stay in until we can figure out how to get you back if you would like." you told him in a calm voice. 

Looking down into her ever calm eyes he again felt his temper dwindle down and let out a deep sigh. He just couldn't seem to stay angry at her, the thought of causing her harm in any way making him feel strange. Gritting his teeth he nodded and saw her give him a small grin before she turned off the kitchen light and showed him to the guest bedroom where a simple bed waited for him. 

Seeing him standing in the door way you looked down, you knew it wasn't much, not high class living like he was used to but it was all you had to offer. "Goodnight Crocodile." you said in a soft voice before walking down the hall a bit to your own bedroom. 

He didn't say anything as she bid him a goodnight and when he heard her door shut he didn't hear the click of the lock follow. Did this woman have no fear? Perhaps she was just stupid? Looking back towards the bedroom that would be his for the time being he stepped inside and closed the door. 

.................................

Waking up he put the too tight shirt back on along with his hook before walking out of the room. Her bedroom door was closed still but he coudl hear what sounded like water dripping. Going across the hall to the bathroom he turned on the light with the switch and saw there was a folded pile of clothes on the vanity, his clothes. Quickly pulling them on he buttoned his shirt but decided to leave off the scarf for now. Brushing back his hair with his hand he glanced up at his reflection to make sure he looked decent before leaving the room. Making himself busy by looking over her books he heard her door open and glanced over as she walked into the room. 

"Oh good morning, I see you saw your clothes." you said before walking past him into the kitchen. Opening the fridge you grabbed a bottle of water and closed it to see him leaning in the entryway. "There is coffee up there if you would like some, cups are in the cabinet above along with sugar, creamer is in the fridge." You told him. Grabbing your keys and purse you turned back to him when he spoke. 

Watching her walk around and grab things he let his eyes glance over her body. She was wearing a pair of jeans that were tight fitting down to about her mid calf where they flared out some. A button up black shirt adorned her upper half and he noticed she had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her long red hair was left hanging down her back in waves. She looked... nice, attractive. "How long will you be at work?" he asked. 

"I don't get off until twelve tonight." 

That was a long time, "Where do you work exactly?" he asked. 

"I'm a bartender at the local bar in town." you told him. "You are welcome to whatever you want, there isn't much food wise, I haven't been shopping yet but I am sure you can find something." 

Grunting he looked around the home, "And what exactly am I supposed to do all day?" he asked. 

"I don't know, read a book, watch TV, go for a walk... plan your next country domination." you told him with a shrug. 

Ignoring her sarcastic comment at the end he narrowed his eyes at her, "What is a TV?" he asked. 

Walking towards the living room you grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Seeing his shocked and confused expression you held back your grin. "You can flip through different channels with these buttons and these control the volume. This one is to turn it on and off. There are like 300 channels so I am sure you can find something to watch." You told him, pointing to the buttons and flipping through a few channels until you saw something familiar and giggled, "Oh look Peter Pan is on, the writer of One piece based your character off the pirate in this movie." you told him. 

Furrowing his brows he watched the moving picture, seeing a young boy dressed in green flying around. "What pirate?" he asked as she handed him the remote and moved towards the door to put on her boots. 

"Captain James Hook." you told him and saw his brows drop further. "Don't look at me like that I didn't name him. I have to go, see you later, if you're not sleeping."

................................

Getting home you parked your truck and let out a heavy sigh as you opened the door and headed up the steps towards your front door. The TV was still on, you hoped he hadn't fell asleep in front of it again. He had now been here for three days and he had been doing well at keeping himself busy. He had already finished four books, one being Treasure island. For the most part he kept the house clean, there would be a few dishes but nothing more than that. Opening the front door you stepped inside and quietly took off your boots. Glancing towards the couch you saw him sitting there watching something. Looking towards the TV you rose a brow and moved over to sit on the couch, leaving a space between the both of you. Handing him the bag of food you relaxed for the first time today. "You are watching Pirates of the Caribbean?" you asked, a little amused.

"It caught my attention, they had been on for the past few hours." he said simply. Looking into the bag curiously he took out the thing wrapped up in paper.

"It's a burger and fries, I didn't know if you ate." you said, your eyes closing as your body begged for sleep. 

Humming he unwrapped the thing and looked it over before taking a bite. It was good, most of the things she had brought him were to his liking but none of it compared to her actual cooking. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye he saw her eyes were closed and her head was resting on her palm. Over the three days he had been here she had worked everyday, leaving at around 8 or so and staying gone until she got home around 12:30. Every morning there was some sort of breakfast waiting for him meaning she woke much earlier that eight. Three days straight of working sixteen hours or more, no wonder the woman was exhausted. Not once had she complained though, he hadn't heard a single bad word out of her the whole time he had been here. "Do you work tomorrow?" he asked, seeing her eyes snap open before they hung heavily over her eyes. 

Sitting up you rubbed your eyes and nodded. "Yes, I don't have to be in until two though. If you would like we can go into town and see about finding you some new clothes before I have to go to work." you told him, forcing yourself to stand on sore feet. Going to the cabinet you pulled out the bottle of pain medicine and dumped two into your palm, hoping to kill your headache before it became a migraine. 

She would buy him clothes? So far he had been trying to deal with the ones he had been wearing and then the too small ones when he had to. Watching her moved about the dark kitchen he raised his chin. "If it isn't too much of a problem."

Shaking your head you sighed. "No you need more than one set of clothes. They won't be as high fashion as you are used to but I'll do the best I can." you told him. Realizing how that probably sounded you bit the inside of your lip and looked down. "I'm sorry. I.. I'm going to head to bed. Good night Crocodile." 

Furrowing his brows he watched her walk from the room and heard the soft shutting of her bedroom door. Had she apologized to him because she couldn't afford nice clothes? Humming he looked around her home again, it was fairly bare and simple. Other than books he hadn't seen any personal touches, there wasn't even any pictures of her family on the walls. Finishing the food she had bought him he stood and tossed the paper bag in the trash before turning off the TV and heading to the room to call it a night. 

......................................

Waking up the next morning you looked to the clock and saw it was almost ten, shit. Quickly getting out of bed you pulled on some clothes and brushed your hair and teeth. Walking out into the kitchen you saw Crocodile sitting at the table drinking his coffee, a book in his hand. "I'm sorry, I overslept." you told him but heard him reply in his normal deep voice. 

"Do not apologize, you need rest." he assured her. 

Sighing you slowed down some and moved to make yourself some coffee. Grabbing the pot you looked back to his own cup. "Would you like a refill?" you asked. 

Giving her a small nod he watched as she came over to refill his cup for him before moving to put it back and add creamer to her coffee. Looking her over he blinked slowly, "Your mother and father must be proud to have a daughter as well mannered as you." he said, meaning to pay her a compliment but when her brows lowered and her lip moved back between her teeth he knew he had said something wrong. 

Releasing your lip you took a deep breath and stared at your cup as you steered the brown liquid inside. "Actually I.. I was an orphan." you told him, keeping your eyes down. Tapping the spoon on the rim you gave a small grin, "But thank you all the same." you told him. "I treat people how I would like to be treated." you said softly. Taking a deep breath you turned towards him, leaning against the counter and holding the hot cup in your hands. "What are you reading?" you asked, glancing down to the book now resting on the table as he lifted the cup. 

So that was why there were no pictures, lifting his cup to his lips he took a sip before looking to her when she asked him about the book. "Dracula." he said with a sigh. "I haven't gotten too far yet."

"It's a good book, a classic. There are like a hundred movies based on it." you told him. Seeing him raise a brow you grinned. "If you like it and you want to, we can watch the best one, well in my opinion." 

Grinning he nodded, "Very well." 

After the both of you finished your coffee and a small breakfast you cooked you walked him out to your truck seeing him look at the thing with one brow raised. "I've told you all about it, it isn't going to bite you." you said with a small grin. Seeing him give you a small glare you rolled your eyes. He was already annoyed when you told him he couldn't wear his hook into the stores in town, explaining that no one wore things like that here. After a stare down he finally removed the heavy thing and pulled his sleeve down over his scared wrist. Opening the passenger for him you waved you hand towards the inside, "Age before beauty." you said with a teasing grin.

Huffing he moved inside the 'Truck'. "I'll have you know if you were anyone else you would be dead by now." he threatened but it only made her let out a small giggle. The sound making something flutter in his chest for a moment before he quickly looked away from her. 

Shutting the door for him you rounded the truck to get in the driver's side. Buckling your seat belt you looked to him and raised a brow. The ever stubborn man let out a deep sigh as he reached behind him to grab the belt and mimic your movements. As soon as it snapped into place you started the vehicle and started driving to town. 

He mostly just glanced out the window as the moved, there were lots of trees and he could see a few mountains in the distance. Seeing a large body of water he lifted his chin, "Is that the sea?" he asked. 

"No, that's the Missouri river, the ocean is probably about a good 2 days drive from here." you told him. 

Humming he looked at her, "Have you ever been to it, the sea?" he asked.

"Not since before I could remember." you told him, pulling down the road going into town. 

"If you can't remember then how do you know you were there at all?" he asked when her words made no sense.

"Well I was told that I was found in a basket that had washed up on shore when I was only a couple months old." you told him. 

Frowning he looked to her, "All by yourself?"

"Yep. The lady at the orphanage said that some fisherman found me when they heard me crying. Said there wan't any one else around or anything in the basket with me but a wool blanket and a locket." 

"Was anything in the locket? What did it look like?" he was honestly curious about the whole ordeal, it was like something out of a storybook. 

Reaching into your shirt you pulled the gold locket over your head and held it out for him. It was funny you had never let anyone touch your most prized possession before but you... trusted him. Probably stupid since he was a pirate and all. 

Taking the golden locket into his hand he looked it over, seeing a wave looking design carved into the top that had been almost rubbed almost smooth, age most likely. Seeing a small button on the side he pressed it with his thumb and saw it flip open. Looking on the inside he saw a badly faded and water stained black and white picture of a man and woman, a small babe int he woman's arms that he assumed was her. On the other side was what looked sort of like a log post. "These are called compasses here correct?" he asked. 

"Yes but that one is broken." you told him.

Reading the engraving around the edge he turned it in his hand, 'Your heart will be your guide.' Humming he closed it and handed it back to her as she stopped the truck and tuned it off. 

"Thank you." you told him putting it back around your neck and tucking it into your shirt. "Okay so this is the only place that is probably going to have your size." you said as you opened the door and got out of the vehicle, tossing your purse on your shoulder and tossing your keys inside. Walking to the front you saw Crocodile come to stand by you, his eyes looking around at the small shopping center. "Ready?" you asked and heard him hum. 

Sitting in one of the chairs by the fitting rooms you played a game of chess on your phone while Crocodile tried on the clothing he had picked out. Hearing the door open you glanced up at him and saw some of the clothes hanging over his left arm. "Find some you like?" you asked. 

"Yes, this should been enough." he said in a deep voice. He had picked out three pair of pants and three shirts, one being a shirt that he saw her looking at. It was a dark blue button up shirt with long sleeves and made of a cotton material, surprisingly it was very comfortable and he liked it was easy to button. He had also go a single pair of lounge pants that he could wear at nighttime. 

"Okay. Well bring them over to the counter." you said as you stood and walked with him towards the counter. 

Watching the woman at the front counter fold and place the items in a bag.

"Your total is $127.53." the woman said.

Feeling his brow twitch a little at the price he next saw as y/n took out a card of sorts and swiped it through this machine. When the woman behind the counter handed her a piece of paper and told them to have a good day he quickly grabbed the bag before y/n could. It was bad enough she was buying him clothes he wouldn't make her carry his bags as well. Seeing her grin softly up at him he bowed his head some and walked out of the store with her. 

Unlocking the truck you looked to him, "Are you hungry?" you asked him, seeing as it was lunch time. When he nodded his head a little you grinned at him and tilted your head. 

Shutting the door to the truck he followed her to another place a few ways down from the clothing store. When she opened the door and held it open for him he felt his brow twitch again. He had always been a traditional person and the way he saw it a man should be the one doing things like this for a woman, not the other way around. He knew she wasn't doing it because she thought he was handicap, well she better not be, no he had come to notice she was just a kind person. An extremely kind person. Had this been the other way around and she had showed up needing help he would have no doubt laughed in her face and kicked her to the street. For some odd reason though she had saw fit to help him and had yet to ask for anything in return. He had been waiting for it over the past few days but nothing came. Sitting at a booth in the far corner he saw as a young man came over and handed them menus. 

"Hey there y/n." 

"Hello Lance, how are you doing today?" you asked with a kind smile. 

"Doing good, hope you are too. See you brought company today. What can I get you to drink sir"?" he asked. 

She must come here often. "Water will be fine." he said and saw the boy nod. 

"Okay be right back." 

Furrowing his brows he looked to the woman in front of him. "He didn't ask what you wanted to drink."

Grinning you looked at him, "That's because I get the same thing every time I come." you told him simply. 

"And what would that be?" he asked as he lifted the menu to look it over. 

"Freshly squeezed lemonade." you smiled. 

Humming he saw the boy set both glasses down on the table and heard him say he would be back to take their order in a few minutes. "So any suggestions?" he said with a sigh. 

"Well I like all the food but the Ruben but that's because I don't care for rye bread." you said with a shrug. 

"What is a hot dog?" he asked.

"Do you want the honest answer or the more appealing one?" you asked and saw his brow raise. "Pretty much all the parts on a pig that people wouldn't normally eat ground together and made into a long stick like thing that is slapped on a bun with some mustard and ketchup."

Knitting his brows he closed his mouth and took a deep breath before dropping the menu and reaching for his drink. "I'll go with the fish." he said and heard her giggle again. Once his food was set before him he looked down at it and hummed, it smelled good at least. Looking up he saw her just sitting there sipping at her lemonade, "Where is your food?" he asked. 

Snapping your eyes up to him you shook your head, "I don't eat lunch." you told him. 

Frowning he glanced down at his food before looking back up to her, "Then why did you bring us here?"

"You said you were hungry." you shrugged. 

"If I would have known you weren't going to get anything I would have just waited until we got back to your home." he growled, not liking the fact that she was again doing something for him. 

"It's fine Crocodile, I am fine with my lemonade, you eat." you told him. 

Taking a deep breath he glared at her. She was back to looking down at her phone, completely missing the hard look he was giving her. Gritting his teeth he let out a deep sigh, why couldn't he stay angry at her? Lifting his fork he placed a piece of fish in his mouth, the food now tasting bland in his mouth knowing he was the only one eating. "What are you doing?" he asked. 

Looking back up at him you tilted your head some, "Playing chess, it's a strategy game." you said. 

"Go on..." he said, wanting something to talk about. 

After telling him about the game you saw him nod. 

"Is it a game you can only play on that thing?" he asked. 

"No, there is a physical version, I don't have a set at home though." you told him. Thinking you bot your lip, "I think there s one at the bar though, if I can find it I'll bring it home and we can play... if you want to that is." you said, looking down when you realized how desperate you probably sounded. 

"It sounds like a challenge, I like them." he nodded. Finishing his food he took a sip of his drink, "I would like to go to this bar you work at, it is growing bore some at your home." he said. 

Shocked you looked back to him and nodded, "If you want to go that's fine but I won't be able to take you back home, you'll have to stay there until I get off and that won't be until 12 tonight. Also it's kind of a rough place." you warned. 

"I have spent plenty of nights in shady bars before, I think I will manage." 

"Okay if you are sure." you said. Standing you tossed down a few bills on the table, leaving Lance a tip as well. 

Standing he slid out of the booth and walked with her to the door but this time he stepped forward to open the door for her. That fluttering in his chest returning when she smiled at him and gave him a small thank you.