This is for the wonderful sharethelovemonth event on tumblr. It was a fun challenge to write for some of the the less celebrated pairings in One Piece. Thank you to myladyday and aerle for organizing the event! The other stories for the event are all amazing, so make sure to check them out as well ^^
"Now, you probably know why I've called you all here." Cobra's voice echoed down the hall through the cracked door. Vivi paused outside the conference room, surprised her father hadn't included her in the meeting. It sounded important. Still, if he hadn't invited her, she shouldn't eavesdrop. Denying her curiosity, she resumed walking down the long hall.
"These things will work themselves out Cobra-sama. There's no need to interfere," Terracotta said, "Kohza and Vivi-sama need to come to realize it in their own time. Rushing these things never works out."
Vivi halted again. The meeting was about her? She quietly walked back to the door. She knew she shouldn't stay and listen in, but she was a pirate as well as a princess, so why not? She peeked through the cracked door. Terracotta caught Vivi's eye but just smiled at her and rolled her eyes a bit. She did not bother mentioning Vivi's presence to the rest of the table.
"You said that two years ago when she first came back!"
"Now, now, Cobra-sama, the two lovebirds will be married before you know it," Igaram said. Vivi blushed and edged closer to the door, glad she had decided to toss propriety out the window.
"As both a father and a king, it is my duty to interfere." Vivi giggled softly at the groans around the table. She wondered how long her father had been bugging the country's advisors about this particular problem. "This isn't a meeting to decide whether or not to interfere: it is a meeting to discuss the plan and its implementation."
Some of the weird situations she and Kohza had been in together over the past year were suddenly seeming less random. She should be annoyed with her father, but she was torn between amusement and interest in the plan. Vivi was also getting a bit impatient with how dense Kohza was being. She'd dropped enough hints. Maybe she'd go along with the plan and see what happened.
Though they couldn't be that effective if these little plots had gone on for sometime. Vivi stifled her laughter, meeting Terracotta's eyes once again. Terracotta sighed exaggeratedly and shook her head, before returning her attention to the meeting.
"What is the plan this time?" Chaka just sounded resigned, making Vivi wonder exactly how many such meetings there had been. Pell looked on silently.
"It is Igaram's turn, right Igaram?"
Igaram cleared his throat. "Yes, while I do not believe these plans are necessary, I will not let down my king. I call it Operation Love in Desert Storms or L.I.D.S. for short." Vivi only managed to escape notice because everyone else laughed at the same time she did. Igaram blushed as his wife started scolding him to take these things more seriously. Vivi loved Igaram dearly, but he could be over the top at times.
When the laughter had finally died down, Igaram cleared his throat once more. "Regardless, the plan is to get them to share an umbrella while walking in the rain. It is normally a romantic situation for any couple, but, of course, rain has special meaning for those two." Silence descended as the others thought over the idea.
"Brilliant." Cobra nodded, looking thoughtful. "How do we bring it about?"
"Well, first we have to hide all of the umbrellas in the palace..." Vivi edged away from the door as silently as possible. The particulars didn't matter anymore, since she was sure they'd arrange it by the next time it rained. Sharing an umbrella, huh? That had possibilities... Vivi laughed as she made her way to her room. Her father and his advisors were really too much.
Vivi had great fun over the next week preventing her father's advisors from stealing her umbrellas. They were quite determined, and their attempts were becoming increasingly desperate and obvious. They'd managed to steal five from her so far, but she'd made getting every single one as difficult as possible.
Terracotta was her secret ally, since it annoyed her that they never considered to steal Kohza's umbrella, so she barely even scolded Vivi for eavesdropping. She had gone out to the market the day after the meeting and came back, muttering about sexist pigs underneath her breath, with more than a dozen umbrellas for Vivi to hide.
Vivi wasn't sure which was more amusing: her rants about her husband and the king, or the faces Igaram, Chaka, or Pell went made when she pulled out yet another umbrella in front of them after the lengths they'd gone to to get the last one.
Vivi felt a bit guilty for messing with them,especially as she would probably go along with their plan in the long run, but she told herself firmly that they deserved it for meddling in her love life. She felt sure that Nami would approve, which made her feel a bit better about the whole thing.
Still she was curious whether the plan would actually work or not, so she decided to go along with it. When, a little more than week after the meeting, Vivi woke up to find clouds building in the sky, she left all of her remaining umbrellas in their various hiding spots.
Vivi went down to breakfast at her usual time, where she joined her father and Igaram. Vivi had no plans to leave the palace that day, so she wondered how they planned to get her in the rain in the first place, now that they had "guaranteed" she wouldn't have an umbrella. She responded to their greeting politely and sat down.
"Vivi, do you think you could run an errand for me today? I'm supposed to appear at a school today, but I have pressing business, and I'm sure the children would rather see you anyway." Vivi smiled warmly at her father. At least if she was being set up to be caught in the rain he'd picked something she would enjoy.
"Certainly, Father. What pressing business, though? Is there something I should be aware of?" It was hard to keep an innocent face as her father almost spat out his coffee and Igaram sputtered. Terracotta, who was bringing in breakfast just then, didn't bother to hide her snicker.
"No, no my dear," Cobra said hastily "I just ought to look over some important census information from Yuba."
"Oh, I see. Was there a new census then? I thought it had been completed last year."
Breakfast passed in much the same manner, with Vivi asking seemingly innocent questions and Cobra and Igaram coming up with increasingly ridiculous responses. Terracotta left soon, since she couldn't watch without laughing too obviously.
Finally, Vivi took pity on them and got up to prepare for visiting the nearby school. Since, it was less than a mile away, she refused her guards' company and walked as usual. It was not as if she couldn't take care of herself, after all. She could easily beat most of the royal guard in training (in which she insisted on participating, though it was not exactly proper), so she was allowed more freedom than before she left.
Besides, Pell usually circled above her as she walked through the city. Vivi was glad enough for the illusion of independence, which was more someone in her position generally could hope for.
Vivi gave a brief speech to all of the students and teachers, before mingling with the crowd. She had great fun playing with the children and talking to them and the teachers. It was very important to her to talk to the children, since they were almost always blunt about the problems they and their families faced. It was a good way to see how her subjects were actually faring.
The storm began during mid-morning and had yet to abate by the time Vivi was about to leave. The school's principal tried to convince her to stay, but Vivi refused politely and left as she normally would. She never minded the rain, anyway. Though two years had passed since the three-year drought, the people still always greeted the rain happily. It led to a festive air on the city streets.
She hadn't taken two steps in the pouring rain before she was covered by an umbrella.
"I was asked to pick you up by Cobra." Kohza held the umbrella completely over her, getting drenched himself. "For some reason, no one can find any umbrellas in the palace apart from this one, but here."
Vivi laughed and pulled him under the umbrella too, keeping hold of his arm, so that they'd both fit underneath. He tensed up at the close contact. "We might as well share it, if you're headed back to the palace too."
"Yes, but-" Vivi looked up at him, rain still clinging to her lashes and dripping down her face. He sighed and relaxed slightly as they started walking. "It's not at all necessary. I don't usually bother to use one."
"Neither do I, so that argument will just leave both of us out in the rain." Vivi grinned at him slyly. "Which do you prefer?" Kohza laughed and shook his head.
They took their time, strolling through the city streets without talking much. Shopkeepers and pedestrians waved and greeted the pair cheerfully, not minding the weather in the least. They stopped to watch a group of children playing in the puddles. Vivi let them pull her out from under the umbrella and joined in on their game for awhile, before Kohza eventually pulled her away, telling the children the king would get worried soon if he didn't bring her back.
Vivi was completely soaked by this point, and Kohza wasn't much better, despite being under the umbrella while she played. He might have wandered a bit too close to the splash zone. She only felt a little bit guilty about that. As they neared the palace, she thought back to the plan. How was this supposed to make them realize their feelings again? No wonder it had taken her awhile to notice their plans.
She frowned to herself. If she left it up to her father, Kohza, and the rest, nothing would ever happen. Maybe she should take things into her own hands. Nami wouldn't just wait around for something to happen if she liked someone. Vivi blushed a little remembering her friend's boldness. The sight of the palace strengthened her resolve. She had to do it now, before she thought about it too much.
Vivi stopped abruptly, making Kohza almost trip before he stopped and looked at her questioningly.
"What's the matter, Vivi?"
"I- umm..." Vivi blushed bright red. Kohza looked at her expectantly, still holding the umbrella over them both. She couldn't seem to get the words out, now that he was staring at her. So she did the only thing that came to mind and wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed their lips together, awkwardly banging her nose on his in the process. Kohza dropped the umbrella in surprise, reflexively catching her by the waist.
The rain continued to pour down on them as they stood there, Kohza frozen in shock, before Vivi pulled away blushing. She couldn't meet his eyes. He hadn't responded. She was so foolish to believe that her father and Igaram knew anything. In an attempt to regain her dignity she smiled up at him and said, "I apologi-."
Kohza reached out to cup her face, brushing a raindrops from her lashes with his thumb. Vivi let her eyes flutter closed as he drew nearer. Their lips met for a second time, and Vivi felt warmth flow through her, despite her drenched clothes. She returned the kiss eagerly, clutching Kohza's shoulders, as he pulled her even closer. They finally broke the kiss, but Kohza only pulled her tighter into his embrace. Vivi rested her forehead on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his back.
"Don't apologize. But they really will be worried if we don't get back soon." Vivi chuckled.
"You might be surprised." When he shot her a weird look, she laughed harder. "I'll explain later."
Kohza shook his head and went to retrieve the umbrella, which had blown a considerable distance away.
"We should just fold it up and leave it on a doorstep."
"Why?"
"I told you: I'll explain later. Besides, it's not like we need it to stay dry." Kohza sighed.
"Fine, let's just get going before they send out search parties."
When they entered the palace, everyone was gathered in the foyer. Kohza shot her a look that clearly said that he'd known they'd be worried, making it very hard for Vivi not to laugh. She'd greeted them just as she normally would, with Kohza following suit. In the ensuing silence, Vivi noticed her father trying to inconspicuously look for the umbrella and Igaram's obvious disappointment at their soaking wet state.
"What happened to your umbrella?" Cobra finally asked.
"Oh, that?" It took Vivi enormous effort to keep her face straight. "We lost it."