He was a Marine. A man sworn to protect the innocent and to serve justice. He was a Devil Fruit user. His body mended at inhuman speeds. He could turn into a hovering cloud of smoke at a whim. He was stone faced, intimidating, and all around strong. And he was going to be sick. Not just some common cold, no. He was running around on some winter island, alone, and freezing his ass off with hypothermia. Probably caught something else, too; he couldn't really tell. And the seastone bullet stuck in his leg was making sure he felt every second of it. In short, Smoker's day was fan-fucking-tastic, thank you very much.
A blizzard raged around him. The Marine felt every single flake of snow as it pelted him, driving the numbing cold in his bones even deeper. If it weren't for the bright red splotch of blood staining his calf, he would look like he was part of the snow, too. After what felt like hours of wandering, the endless white finally gave way to something. The small mouth of a cave sat partially hidden by the thick blanket of snow covering the ground. Smoker shuffled in, his ears ringing from the howling of the wind as he looked around.
The cave was shallow and empty. Any cave dwelling animal would have passed this spot up, seeing how it barely sheltered anything from the harsh weather. At the very back, a patch of ground with only light snow covering it peeked out of the small drifts that took up the rest of the area. Smoker sank onto that patch of earth, his legs too tired from his already long trek to go much further. He ran a hand over the field dressing he had pulled together for the bullet wound. Blood still oozed sluggishly from under the already stained cloth; the pain was numbed to the point where he could barely feel the throbbing, leaking mess under his hand.
'This is exactly what you deserve,' his mind hissed. 'First, you let that pirate have his way with you, and then you just ended up spacing out and getting yourself shot because you can't get him out of your head!'
The Marine sighed to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. 'Now is NOT the time for this. I don't care if you're my conscience, just shut up for a minute so I can think!' It took several more minutes of heated internal debate for the 'voice of reason' to quiet down and leave Smoker to his current problem. 'I swear to Kami, I'm going crazy over all this shit...'
His body obviously wasn't going to let him keep going without a breather, so the Marine grudgingly gave it one. He curled up on himself, tucking his arms and legs in so they could share in the warmth that still blossomed in his chest. Resting his forehead on his knees, Smoker used his breath to keep the pocket of heat from shrinking away from his hands. He sat, waiting for Kami knew what, feeling his body slowly freeze with each passing minute.
He didn't know how long he sat there, his body going still from the cold penetrating through his coat. Even zipped up, his signature jacket wasn't enough protection from the extreme weather of the Grand Line without his abilities to help keep his body healthy. The crunch of snow pulled him from the daze, his ears perking while his face stayed down. An aura of heat slowly crept in; it pushed into his muscles while turning the snow around him to water. He shuddered silently, not even noticing the fact that he was quickly becoming soaked as he felt something akin to relief flood his systems. The heated fingers that settled on his shoulder more then confirmed that the person kneeling in front of him was most definitely the fire user: Portgas D. Ace.
"Captain," the pirate trilled, running his hand up and down the Marine's freezing shoulder. "Rise and shine, Smoker." Those wonderfully warm fingertips lifted up his chin, and dark eyes met a pair of glazed over gray ones. Ace's eyes softened, his hands gently tracing patterns on pale cheeks. "Hey... Let's get you somewhere warm, neh?" The Marine shrugged faintly, nestling against the warm palms with a tiny sigh. Pride be d*mned, he was half dead, already, and he was too stubborn to just croak here.
"Alright. Up we go," the pirate grunted, coaxing the older man to uncurl a little. He hauled Smoker onto his back, sending as much heat as he could into the pale body as he left the relative protection of the cave. The Marine shivered against the cold wind as it once more whipped through his hair. Soon, the smoke user zoned out, his mind only kept awake by the occasional jostling as he was moved through the raging storm. It wasn't like there was anything to see, anyway.
The next real moment of clarity was in a room. No idea how he got there apart from the stupid answers like 'through the door', but it was a welcome change of scenery. A fire crackled happily to his left as Ace set him down carefully on a chair. Smoker bit back a whine as the warmth moved away, but the pirate returned to his side quickly.
"Sit still," he hummed, unzipping his charge's jacket. The cloth was soaked through, clinging to the Marine's skin as he was helped out of it. His boots and gloves came off next, and they, along with his coat, were set near the fire to dry. The young man then reached for his belt, and then his sopping wet jeans. "Can you take those off on your own?" Smoker glanced down at his boxers, which where just as wet as the rest of his clothing. Hesitantly, the smoke user nodded, slowly slipping off his last piece of clothing and passing it to the fire user.
He sat, his body once more starting to shiver faintly while covering himself with his hands. The smoke user's calf still had blood leaking from the gunshot, which was now exposed and bleeding onto the wood paneling. He ground his teeth, almost wishing for a pair of cigars to gnaw on just to get rid of the stress prickling his sluggish frame. Ace sat down across from the Marine with a first aid kit in hand.
"Now, let me see what I can do, here," the pirate grunted, setting Smoker's wounded leg on his lap. The fire user poked and prodded the bullet wound carefully before he removed the seastone, cleaned, and dressed the bleeding hole, murmuring softly to no one in particular. All the while, the Marine bit his cheek bloody, keeping silent and still for once as the pain throbbed all along his leg. The situation was humiliating enough, he didn't need to ruin his reputation any more then absolutely necessary. Even when the iodine was burning the already tender wound raw, his lips stayed sealed and his tear ducts dry. The bandages were loose, letting the tiny puffs of smoke escape the bindings as his logica powers kicked in.
"That's it... We're all done," the younger man breathed, setting the kit aside with a soft smile. "Now to fix that shiver." Before Smoker could complain, he was lifted up, again, and the room spun. When it stopped, Ace had already begun covering his body with thick blankets, having set him down on the lone bed. The pirate left for a moment, but soon, a warm body slipped in behind him. "C'mere. This'll get you back to normal faster." The Marine let himself curl into the warmth, grumbling faintly about a cocky brat as two sun kissed arms looped around him.
Hours passed with only the sound of the crackling fire and Ace's constant chatter. No matter how close the Marine's eyes came to slipping closed and releasing him from the aches and shivers, the pirate would always raise his voice just loud enough to keep him awake. Finally, though, Smoker was allowed rest, his eyes sliding shut. Before his mind drifted off, the older man swore he felt a pair of warm lips press against his forehead. And then he was out.