Finally, a new chapter. Slight Alina/Sanji, more siblingly than anything. No flames, k? Alina/Sanji is my crack bebe and is not to be taken as anything more than crushing over something. ZoroSanji and AlinaBorya are still canon.

CHAPTER SIX: LOVE AND WAR

Recap: "Can you ladies please see to our… guest, and make sure he doesn't die on us? I would hate to have such a pretty face go to waste, ja?"

Sanji's POV

I pulled on the fluffy coat over my undershirt, my jacket probably burnt to a cinder in the wreckage of the building. It was still terribly cold under the coat, even though it was so large and fluffy. I shivered slightly as a cold breeze blew in through the windows and sacrificed any heat left in our little room. Alina noticed, and walked over to me, her own coat half on.

"Sanji?" She asked, looking me over, hesitating. "You don't have your jacket. You must be terribly cold." She commented, giving a nod to my shaking arms. "Look, I have Borya's coat with me. Take it. It'll keep you warm." She pulled out the blue fabric and handed it to me, avoiding my eyes slightly. I took it, smiling with gratitude, and heaved my coat back off. I put Borya's thin coat on and put the fluffy one over top. As I put on my hat, the fabric crossed my face and it hit me.

Have you ever had a coat and the first thing you noticed was how it smelled? That's what hit me. About a thousand smells hit me all at once and I stopped for a minute, hands still holding my hat, taking it all in.

It smelled of cigars, nicotine, wood-smoke and oil. It smelled of cinnamon, dog breathe, gasoline, and gunpowder. It smelled of clean laundry, spring rain, and after-shave. It smelled of snow and ice, of fresh cut grass and vanilla. It smelled of fresh leather, coffee grounds and pine needles. It smelled of whiskey, vodka, and strawberries. And it had this musky smell that was deep yet still light on the senses, something I had never smelled before. I presumed that was Borya's own smell, which I had to admit didn't smell as bad as I originally thought it would.

And then there was this light smell, so light it was almost lost in everything else. It smelled of raspberries, gunpowder and something else that I couldn't place. I shrugged the thought off and finished with the task of my hat, rejoicing that it made my ears feel so warm. Having both coats on made me feel much better and drove out the cold. And the boots were wonderfully warm and soft, too. I loved the feeling of being so warm when it's so cold.

I was so busy being warm that I was almost left behind. I heard Zoro and Alina call for me from behind me and I spun around to see that they were all waiting outside. I rushed out after them, the cold of the snow hitting me like I had run into a wall.

Once everyone was together, we started off toward a smaller, shack like building on the horizon. In my reckoning, it seemed a mile or so away, but after every few yards the building drew no closer. The sun was beginning to set behind the little thing, and I was wondering if we'd actually reach it by nightfall.

Only then did I notice that Alina had fallen back to walk beside me, her shoulders up by her ears in reaction to the cold. She was blowing on her hands, trying desperately to keep them warm in their little green fingerless gloves.

The sky was darkening quickly, faster than we were walking, and only now could I see the ground on which the little shack sat. Alina was slowing sidling closer to me as the light faded, but she acted as though I wasn't there.

"Alina, is there any reason you're slowing getting closer to me or are you just drifting?" I asked quietly. She started, quickly taking a step away from me. My hand found her shoulder and I pulled her back over. "I don't mind, I'd just like to know."

"I can't see at night. At all." She looked up at me, cheeks stained red from the cold. "It's habit. When it gets dark I always walk as close as I can to Borya, since he has fair night vision and won't mind leading me around like a puppy. You remind me of him, especially when it gets darker. I just moved without thinking."

"Well, until we get Borya back, I don't mind leading you around." I said, smiling. She smiled back and scooted a step closer, her elbow barely pressing into my side. "Besides, you're really warm."

"You two stop flirting and keep walking! We're almost there and stopping now will only make you colder!" Aleksandr called from in front of us. He was a good ways away, and I realized we had stopped walking without thinking.

"Sanji, if we run we can get to the station before it gets completely dark." Alina said, her eyes taking in distance and the level of the sun quickly. I followed her gaze to the open door and the promise of heat, and gave her a quick nod. We both broke out into an all out sprint, even though the knee deep snow made it harder to run. I got to the open door first and turned around, looking for Alina. She wasn't there.

"Alina!" I called out for her, half in panic, as the last rays of light disappeared behind the snow-banks. I couldn't see anything out in the pitch blackness, though the buildings stood out blacker than the sky behind them and the snow was a bit lighter than the rest.

"Where's Alina?" I heard Zoro ask from behind me, his hand covering mine on the door-frame. I felt the panic rising in my throat as I managed to let out something remotely like 'She's gone' and dashed off into the snow. My mind kept reminding me about her lack of night vision and I mentally cursed myself for even asking. I made it to the point where we started running and called out for her again, panic evident in my voice. I heard it echo across the white wasteland we had crossed, and when it stopped all I could hear was my own heartbeat in my chest.

After a moment, my eyes caught a dark shape in the snow, what I once mistook as a shadow. I rushed over towards it and tripped on something hidden deep below me, landing in the deep snow with a muffled thud. I scrambled back onto my hands and knees and crawled forward, heart pounding.

Alina was lying on her side in the snow, her knees curled up to her chest. She couldn't see me in the darkness, and was trying to keep warm in the frozen icy snow she was laying in. I reached out and touched her shoulder, and she started, her eyes looking around for nothing. She looked only slightly panicked, like she knew someone would come for her.

"Alina, it's me, Sanji." I spoke softly, looking behind me. If I had learned one thing from the few days I had been in that world, I had learned that yelling always brought trouble. Alina took a moment to react, and then threw her arms around my neck. She was soaked with snow and ice and the tips of her fingers looked like they had a slight blue-ish tinge.

"Thank the Motherland!" He muttered into the wet fabric that was once a warm, fluffy coat. "I knew you'd come for me. I tripped and I didn't want to get lost out here." She relaxed into me, and I helped her stand where we were. It took a minute to convince her to let go of my neck and latch onto my arm instead, but finally I managed to do so and we started off slowly toward the shack. Again.

Halfway there, Alina suddenly, and rather violently, fell, sending both of us careening into the wet snow.

"Alina, what happened?" I asked her, after getting out of the mush enough to sit up. She was clutching at her ankle with a look of annoyance and pain on her red face.

"I think I sprained my ankle when I tripped. Walking must have warmed it up enough to hurt again." She half snarled, glaring indignantly at her ankle like it would feel better if it knew her wrath. I chuckled softly at her face and offered her my hand to help her up. She accepted and we stood, though she was rather awkward since she was on only one leg. She put her arm around my shoulders for support and once she was comfortable with standing we continued on our route to the shack.

We had only just gotten there when we were greeted enthusiastically. Though we were cold, wet, tired and numb around the fingers, we were still fine enough to be ushered into the room and given a cup of hot cocoa. It was so warm in that little cabin I never wanted to leave. Our coats were hung by the fire to dry, along with any other articles of clothing that could be spared. Alina was sitting beside me, using me to lean on as Aleksandr wrapped up her ankle. Zoro sat on my other side, snoozing. The fire crackled in the hearth as Alina tucked her legs up under her, leaning even more on me. Aleksandr and Tanya sat on her other side, close together with the lack of room on the one little sofa. After a moment, I felt myself drifting off to sleep, with one last thought crossing my mind over and over.

That last smell that I couldn't place was Alina. She smelled nice, for a war hero.