Disclaimer: Still don't own One Piece
Cold
Nami would never admit it, but she was starting to think Law was right when he'd told her she needed to buy more sweaters. She'd thought he was just being jealous, what with the number of men that typically stared at her bikini-clad chest, but now that she was on a winter island, not even her wool coat felt warm enough.
Unfortunately, just because she'd never admit it didn't mean Law wouldn't gloat at her obvious discomfort.
"I told you none of your clothes would be warm enough," he sighed, watching her shiver out of the corner of his eye.
The glare she gave him was colder than the ice they were walking on. "Oh, shut up, Tora-o-kun! You know I run hotter than most! I boil in sweaters."
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't own at least a few. Or maybe you should have stayed back on your ship."
"Hell no! I was told there'd be treasure, and I'm getting my share!"
"Consider spending some of it on warmer clothes, then. Maybe something that covers the whole torso."
"Or maybe a certain captain could have loaned me one of his hoodies before we set out!"
Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo walked quietly in front of the bickering couple, each wishing they could sink into the ice to escape this awkward situation. While they didn't disagree with Law that Nami was a bit underdressed, wearing just the coat over a rather thin, crop-top sweater, he'd been the one who suggested she come with them in the first place. They all knew it was just a ploy to spend more time with the fiery navigator, but their captain wasn't exactly doing himself any favors picking a fight with her.
They were just grateful this was arguing, and not the screaming that sometimes echoed through the submarine on the nights she stayed over. While the whole crew appreciated Law's good mood the morning after, they all just wanted the two to admit they were seeing each other so they didn't have to keep coming up with increasingly implausible excuses to "run into" the Straw Hats or pretend the Nami wasn't sporting some pretty impressive hickeys after each encounter.
Shachi was considering giving her his coat, regardless of his own comfort or the captain's wrath, when Bepo let out a surprised yelp. Turning, he found the beautiful cartographer had wrapped her arms around the polar bear's neck, snuggling into his thick fur.
Bepo, for his part, instinctively wrapped his arms around her tiny waist to give her extra support and warmth, as her feet couldn't even touch the snowy ground with the way she hung off of him.
"Ahhh, I knew you were my favorite member of this crew," she sighed happily, basking in the sudden warmth. Now she understood why Law so frequently used him as a pillow; he was as soft as Chopper in his reindeer form!
"Nami-ya, get off him," Law growled from behind her.
"No! I'm freezing my gorgeous ass off, and Bepo's nice and cozy," she argued. "He can carry me on his back until we get to the treasure; it'll be easier, anyway, since we can both look at the map instead of passing it between us."
"If he carries you, your combined weight could break the ice."
"He's a 700lb bear! My weight's hardly going to cause a dent. Or are you calling me fat?!"
"You know I'm not! We just don't need both our navigators plunging to a freezing, watery death! It's not like I can dive in to rescue you."
"But Captain, if the ice starts cracking, you can easily teleport them to safety, right?" Penguin asked, flinching under the Surgeon of Death's glare. Apparently, Law didn't want reassurance; he wanted to be right.
"See?" Nami said smugly. "So, unless Bepo has any objections, I'm staying right here."
Anxiously, the polar bear looked between the woman snuggling into his fur and his fuming captain. He personally had no issue carrying Nami; she was quite light, and she was always nice to him, so he didn't mind doing her a favor. But Law was clearly against it, and he really didn't want to be in the middle of an argument.
"I'm sorry," he said sadly.
"Don't apologize," Nami insisted, patting his head fondly. "Tora-o-kun's the one who's being a jerk."
"I'm not being a jerk! Now get off my bear!"
"No! He's warm and comfy and unless you want to explain to Chopper why you brought me back with hypothermia, I'm staying right here!"
The captain of the Heart Pirates wasn't the type to pout, but he was damn close. Nothing was going according to his plans today. When he'd found that treasure map, he'd imagined it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time alone with the beautiful cartographer. Her eyes had lit up when he showed her the aged parchment, and he'd even managed to haggle a reasonable share of the gold from her in between fevered kisses. Luffy and the rest of the crew had been sent off on some random errand he'd cleverly worded to sound like an adventure, with a knowing look from Robin promising that she'd keep everyone out of his way.
Unfortunately, upon closer inspection to the map, Nami had pointed out that the cave the loot was supposedly hidden in was actually an old seastone mine, so he wouldn't be able to just teleport it all back to their ships like he'd thought. That meant they'd need manpower, and since there was no way he trusted her crew not to infringe on their precious time together, he'd recruited his own men with the understanding that they wouldn't see a damn cent if they did anything to get between him and the woman.
Now she was clinging to his (admittedly quite huggable) navigator instead of cuddling up to him for warmth. It wasn't fair. She already spent enough time with the bear, insisting on helping him improve his mapmaking skills, and even if Bepo was one of his closest friends, there was no way in hell he was letting him monopolize another second of her time.
With a growl, Law instantly activated his Room, switching Nami out with Kikoku so she was tucked in his arms. Without a word, he pulled her against his chest, wrapping his coat around them both. "There. Now you'll be warm and I don't have to worry about the ice breaking," he grumbled.
Nami wanted to blame the cold for the way her cheeks glowed pink. He didn't radiate heat like Bepo, but the extra insulation from his coat was certainly cozy, and his arms around her never failed to make her feel safe. Still, the way he was holding her was dangerously close to a public display of affection, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that. "This is way worse! We'll lose valuable time tripping over each other."
The dark doctor seemed to think about it for a moment before hoisting her up, chuckling at her shriek as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. "There. Just keep your legs like that," he murmured in her ear. "It shouldn't be a problem; you've had plenty of practice."
The slap to the back at his head echoed across the ice, but she didn't argue further, settling into his embrace.
Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin decided to just keep walking and ignore the couple behind them, because it was clear from the evil gleam in their captain's eye that he was going to get her back for that.
With a shared, silent look, the trio agreed to conveniently get lost inside the mines and ignore any screaming they might hear from the woman. They'd gotten good at that, anyway.
