"Don't you dare throw that snowba-, goddammit!" Requested by aghostperson for Shanks and Noir. Holy shit this turned out to be a lot longer than I was expecting. Enjoy!

Rafi wasn't quite sure how they got to this point. Actually, that was a lie. She knew exactly how this got started. She's just not certain she's not hallucinating.

Rewind back to the beginning.

It was Christmas. Not that anyone on the Akatokuro was particularly religious. But it was an excuse to kick back and relax, enjoy Aria's fantastic eggnog and her singing. Noir tried to give them the day off every year, since they so rarely had any official vacation.

They stopped at a small island in North Blue. Which is where this whole mess started.

"Oh for fucks' sake." Noir said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Sitting next to the only open dock was the Red Force.

Everyone on the Akatokuro wilted at the sight. It was their day off! A fight would sour the Christmas spirit and then they'd have to spend the rest of the day filling out paperwork.

Rafi glared. Damn pirates and their rotten timing.

Noir sighed, then glanced at her First Mate. "Cade?"

Cade shrugged. "It's Christmas." And apparently that was it.

Somehow, they managed to communicate to the Red Hair pirates that they were agreeable to a temporary truce for the holidays, because the Red Forcedid not immediately open fire on the Akatokuro as they neared port.

Not long after Rafi stared in complete bemusement as pirates and Marines mingled together in the bar as though they hadn't been trying to kill each other three weeks prior. A drinking game had started up in one corner while Noir cleaned out everyone's pockets via poker in another. No one seemed to mind all that much since Noir used her winnings to fund everyone's drinking.

"You must be a rookie." Fuck that was Benn Beckman.

"So?" Rafi challenged. Rookie or not, she wasn't helpless or incompetent!

Beckman chuckled, a - thankfully unlit - cigarette in his mouth. "Nothing. You just looked a little confused."

Okay, he had a point. Rafi shrugged. "Is this normal?"

"The pirates and Marines not trying to kill each other?" Beckman asked. "Spending Christmas together? Or the fact my captain's flirting with your commanding officer and not getting his head chopped off?"

"All the above?"

"Well, we don't always try to kill each other." Beckman said. "It's admittedly rare, and depends on the Marine. This is the first Christmas we've shared, given likelihood of being on the same island at the same time on any specific day. The flirting though? Yeah, that's normal."

Rafi eyed her red faced commander, who was glaring down a laughing Shanks. "How has she not killed him yet?" Noir hurt idiots who flirted with her. Well, most of the time. Still, the only one Rafi had seen get away with flirting was Noir's ex-girlfriend!

Unless-

"They didn't date, did they?" She squeaked. By the Sea, if Noir chasing Shanks was a lover's quarrel-

Beckman outright laughed. "No, nothing like that. They're childhood friends."

Okay, that sucked. "You're shitting me."

"Nope. Practically grew up together."

Damn.

Beckman clapped a hand to Rafi's shoulder. "Relax kid. Noir and Shanks won't let anyone kill each other. Enjoy it while it lasts."

Half an hour later, Rafi was deep in conversation with a Red Hair pirate, comparing ink. Apparently they had their own tattoo artist, the lucky bastards. The guy even has his equipment, and Rafi was only too willing to dump a wad of beri into his hand after she saw his work. The guy was better than her usual.

The festivities were still going strong past midnight, and Rafi was roped into a game of strip poker and ignoring the ache from her new tattoo. Unfortunately for her opponents, while Rafi didn't have Noir's luck, the Logia was a fantastic liar.

Rafi was pretty certain she and half the bar was watching Noir and Shanks. By the Sea, if Beckman hadn't told her otherwise Rafi would swear the two were married. And Red Hair was most definitely smitten with Rafi's commander. Pity. He was smoking hot, despite his questionable choice in pants. Just, why yellow?

So when Noir finally decided to retire for the night, and Shanks rose to escort her, both Marines and pirates clustered around the windows to watch, or followed at a distance.

They were halfway down the street when it happened.

Shanks paused for a moment, leaning over and scooping a handful of snow from a snowbank. Noir stopped a few steps ahead, turning to see what had caught Shanks' attention.

Eyes narrowed on the snow in Shanks' hand, and the mischievous grin on his face. "Don't you dare throw that snowba-," White powder exploded in her face, "goddammit, Shanks!"

Red Hair was too busy laughing. Marines and pirates stared in horrified awe. Did Shanks have a death wish?

Noir's eyebrow twitched. Fast as a snake, she grabbed some snow and flung it at Shanks. The hastily made snowball smacked Shanks square in the jaw, leaving the man spluttering.

"Snowball fight!"

Rafi didn't know who started it, but the next thing she knew she was throwing herself to the side to dodge a snowball aimed at her head.

Which led to now. It was chaos. The Akatokuro faced off against the Red Hair pirates. Ammunition was made, walls were hastily shored up from snowbanks, and at some point the snipers managed to climb up on the roofs for better vantage points. Chopsticks had pounced on Lucky Roo and shoved an armful of snow down the back of his coat, prompting the huge man to retaliate by shoving Chopsticks headfirst into a pile of snow.

It took Aria and a Red Hair pirate shouting at them to let the rest of them sleep for fuck's sake, before she got out her rolling pin. Rafi and the rest of the Marines quailed. No, she did not need to get out her rolling pin. The Red Hair pirate simply fixed his crewmates and captain with a look, and they wilted.

Still, there were laughs all around as they trudged back to the docks, wet and chilled. Shanks nudged a grinning Noir. "Meet up again next year?"

Rafi held her breath as Noir gave Shanks a considering look. She cast a glance over her shoulder. "Cade?"

Cade narrowed his eyes at Beckman, who'd managed to hit Cade's head four times with well placed snowballs. Beckman grinned. "It is Christmas, Commodore."

Everyone cheered.

Author's Note: Please review!