Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs. The song lyrics sung by my OCs is the English version of the Filipino song, "Hawak Kamay," by Yeng Constantino. The English version was written by David DiMuzio.

It was raining, the first real downpour Sera had been in ever since she arrived at the North Blue. The rain was cold, like ice, and it brought goosebumps upon skin. Sera wasn't used to this kind of rain, but rain was rain. The cold rain still brought a light feeling of comfort and a heavy weight of nostalgia. She wanted to stop and dance, feel the raindrops on her bare skin, scream and cry.

But she didn't. Not when there were other people around.

Her little brother, Reggie, grasped her hand and walked a little closer to her. Sera adjusted the umbrella so it was more on his side, her left side quickly dampening. His other hand was held up to his chest with a scratched up eternal pose. His glasses were covered in water droplets and his hazel eyes were starting to glaze over as he stared at the old compass.

"Do you want to eat first or should we find an inn?" Sera asked him with a smile. There were a lot of restaurants on Paw Island and the many smells seemed to mingle with the rain.

Reggie blinked and he looked at her with slightly widened eyes. "Huh? Oh, uh…can we just eat at an inn? I'm kind of tired..."

Sera's smile didn't falter when he started to daydream again. "Alright. Let's find an inn."

She quickly scooped him up, eliciting a surprised yelp from the younger, and hoisted him on her shoulders. Reggie giggled, so softly she almost didn't hear, and fixed himself so that he was sitting with his legs on either side. He grabbed the umbrella while she grabbed his legs.

"I'm by your side. Through the rain, through the night, every fight. In a world that has no guarantees," Sera sang with a wide smile.

There was a moment of silence. Reggie leaned forward on her head, wrapping his free arm around her forehead in a loose hug. "I'm by your side. Hand in hand through the days that see us laugh and cry…." He sang. His mouth was close to her ear, but she still had a difficult time hearing him.

Reggie didn't share the same feelings as Sera when it came to the rain, but she was glad that he would at least make an effort to follow along at her attempts to cheer him up. She reached up and ruffled his hair. He whined and swatted her hand away, but she could feel his smile against her hair.

They found an inn in the middle of town. The inn was packed mostly by men who had to take refuge from the rain. There weren't any rooms left, so Sera borrowed some blankets and pillows and found a free booth in the dining hall. Since there weren't any free bathrooms, she and Reggie did their best to dry off before ordering food.

That was when Sera realized that they were running low on money.

Sera frowned at her almost empty wallet as she chewed on a roll of bread. They were able to buy bread and soup, but now they wouldn't have enough for breakfast and supplies.

"Do we have enough?" Reggie asked. His lips were in a tight frown and his eyes held a bit of fear. "Are you going to have to find a job to do?"

The idea almost made her groan. "Job" can refer to a lot of things. If she was lucky, she'd find a quick job as a chef or waitress. Or carrying load for a ship. Or gamble. Most times, though, she'd have to find some shady guy and do some shady job for him, like theft or (she tries to avoid it) assassination.

"Well—" she started to say when they were interrupted by some rowdy cheering.

At the other side of the inn, there was a group of men being gathered with a few wine barrels lined up against the wall. The innkeeper was gathering them, announcing that there would be a drinking contest to pass the night. The reward: 100,000 beli.

Slowly, a wide grin appeared on Sera's lips.

"No."

The grin turned into a frown and she pouted at her little brother. Reggie was giving her a stern look and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"You are not going to drink! You'd end up drinking more than your weight," he said.

"Now you're just exaggerating. I haven't drunk a drop of alcohol in two months." Sera waved the wallet in front of his face. "And we need the money."

"At least finish eating first!"

Sera stuffed the food down in less than seconds (it wasn't a lot), making Reggie groan and bury his head in his arms. "Sorry," she said, patting his head.

"You're going to regret this in the future," he grumbled.

Sera got up and set her two hammers that she wore on her back on her seat before walking over to the crowd. The innkeeper was passing out the filled wine mugs and she took one, although not without a skeptical look by said man.

I'm going to knock that look off your face. Sera grinned, holding back her laugh. Oh, how much she wanted to taste that wine right then and there.

"Whoever drinks the most is the winner!" the innkeeper said after the drinks were all passed out. "Ready? Drink!"

The wine was decent, a tad on the stronger side. Sera didn't think the contest would last very long with this liquor. Within the half hour, Sera had drunk eight mugs and was starting to get a bit tipsy. Only two others remained—

No, one just collapsed. Only Sera and the other man were left.

She refilled her mug, downed it in three gulps, and refilled it again. The man just about matched her speed.

He looked about her age, wearing a fuzzy-spotted hat and a yellow hoodie with some weird smiley. A jolly roger, maybe? The word "DEATH" was tattooed on the fingers of his right hand and he had shadows under his eyes. Sera felt as if he was vaguely familiar, but shrugged it off. His face might have been in the newspapers.

But damn, that guy can drink. Sera was actually starting to get worried.

Her mug was refilled again.

"How much did you drink?" Reggie yelled beside her. When did he get there?

Sera drank and got another glass. "Number twelve," she said before gulping the wine down. The man with the fuzzy hat narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, a smirk on his lips.

"That's too much!"

"She's matching you, Captain!" said a polar bear in an orange jumpsuit. Its beady eyes were wide and jaw agape, showing very realistic ivory teeth.

Sera blinked and glanced down at her drink, then at the bear, and at her drink again. Crap, I'm hallucinating.

She continued drinking anyways.

"I'm impressed," said the man. Sera looked at him while she drank. "It didn't seem possible that a woman like you can hold this much alcohol."

Sera refilled her mug while he drank. "What does that mean?"

Her mug was refilled before he can finish drinking. She quickly finished it, savoring the flavor of her last gulp while both their mugs got refilled.

"Smaller people typically become intoxicated more quickly. And women have half of the enzymes that would metabolize alcohol compared to men."

Sera raised an eyebrow, pushing down the annoyance she felt. Was his tone naturally arrogant or was he trying to provoke her? "You some doctor or something? If size affects alcohol tolerance, how come you're still hanging on? You are kind of spindly."

The man's looked darkened somewhat and some people behind her whispered nervously. Reggie choked and jabbed her side with her elbow.

"Hold your tongue, Sis!" he whispered through his teeth. "That guy's 'The Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law, with a bounty of 60 million! He's known for his sadistic cruelty!"

The mugs came back and they finished it at the same time.

"60 million, eh? First bounty?" she asked him.

He gave her a smug look, which she took as a yes. Sera chuckled and drank.

"You don't look like a 60 million guy," she said, sticking her tongue out at him with one eye closed. He didn't react this time. Only continued drinking.

"Can you just give up now?" Reggie said as she took another mug. Her cheeks were pink. "You're going to damage your livers and pancreas!"

"If she forfeits now, she'll have to pay for all the liquor she drank," said the innkeeper.

Sera's eyes widened. "Hell no! We need that money, Sprout." (And, well, she didn't want to stop either way. The wine was really good.)

An eon and some mugs later, Sera's eyesight was getting blurry. For some reason, she was laughing her heart out. Trafalgar Law was smirking, snickering here and there with colored cheeks. People were mumbling around them (are they mumbling?) and they sounded shocked and worried, mixing like some broken blender.

"—we're almost out of wine—"

"—captain, I think you're drinking too much—"

"—I think I'm going to gag—"

"—alcohol poisoning—"

"—Sis, stop already—"

"Just give up, damn bastard," Sera mumbled, suddenly turning serious. She was realizing that she was getting drunk. Stay awake! We need that money!

Law seemed to glare at her. "Don't tell me what to do, Miss." He seemed to be getting his act together, too. Or at least, acting like he was.

(She hoped so, anyways. It was taking pure willpower to not act like a crazy drunk. The talking polar bear illusion was still there, too, and was becoming hard to ignore. Just what kind of wine did this inn have to make her hallucinate a talking animal?)

They glugged what they had left in their mugs and slammed it down on the table at the same time. However, their mugs weren't taken to be refilled.

"Boss, we're out of wine!" said one of the workers.

The innkeeper and every other conscious person gawked. Sera and Law glared at each other, both of their cheeks pink and their eyes looking ready to fall. Their willpower kept them from fainting.

"How many glasses did you drink?" the innkeeper asked.

"Twenty," said Law at the same time Sera said, "Twenty-one."

There was a barely noticeable eye twitch coming from the pirate captain while the woman leaned back and laughed.

"Wohoo! I win!" Sera shouted, fist-bumping the air, before swaying and promptly collapsing on Reggie's shoulder. Her brother grunted at the weight and his small arms wrapped around her so she wouldn't fall. Sera wasn't exactly sure, but she thought she heard another body collapse and someone picking her up.

That night, she dreamed of rain the color of red wine.

A/N:

So, yeah. This story's going to be my take of a Law x OC story. This story is mainly for me to practice my writing skills, but there is going to be a plot. Generic plot, I suppose, since there are a lot of stories like this. I'll try to make it different, though.

I had this take place in North Blue first, somewhere on the later half of the Heart Pirate's journey before they reach the Grand Line. I probably wrote this story in an awkward time, especially when we'll get more info on the Heart Pirates in the current manga arc. (I hope, anyways.) But I figured that since I already have this story in my head, I'll just do my best to incorporate new info we get into this story.

Also, I probably won't update on a constant schedule. Just to let you know.

I hope you guys enjoyed it. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think and if there's any mistakes you've noticed. Reviews, suggestions, and constructive criticism are always welcomed!