They are finally, finally exiting the freezing cold of Drum Island, and Zoro couldn't be more grateful for it. He may have cried in relief when Vivi reminded them that Alabasta is a desert. No one could prove it, at any rate.

He's glad everyone made it off Drum, though. From the story Sanji and Chopper told, it sounds like it was touch and go for at least three of his nakama for a while, which is three too many. Especially when Zoro didn't know about it at the time and one of them was Lucy.

Currently, most of the crew is either acquainting themselves with Chopper or acquainting Chopper with the ship. Usopp keeps telling Chopper very exaggerated stories that the naïve little reindeer seems perfectly willing to believe. Usopp, not used to having such a perfect audience, is predictably milking it for all it's worth.

Nami and Vivi are checking their course to Alabasta, which is apparently about a week away. The frown lines in Vivi's forehead seem more pronounced than usual, and Zoro wonders if more bad news came of Alabasta.

Sanji is leaning on a barrel near Chopper and Usopp, and smoking a cigarette. The little reindeer seems stressed about this, but Sanji is apologetically unaffected by his pleas for him to quit.

And Lucy…

Lucy is sitting on the figurehead, hand on her hat and looking out toward the horizon.

Zoro is unsurprised to find her there. It's her favorite place on the ship. Only Usopp even tries to sit there when she's not around, and even then he usually backs off after a minute or so saying something about it not feeling right.

Lucy, while otherwise mostly fine, still has bandages wrapped around her hands and feet. Doctorine seemed pissed at her when she realized Lucy wasn't going to be staying with her for the entire recovery period. They have a doctor on the ship now though, so Zoro isn't worried. Much.

"Nami says it'll be about two weeks to Alabasta," he comments.

Lucy whirls around on the figurehead, and nearly topples backward into the sea. Zoro snatches her wrist to steady her, if only to save himself the trouble of getting wet.

"Oh, thanks Zoro!" She chirps, and grins sunnily. Zoro rolls his eyes and steps closer to get a better look at her hand. The bandages smell like lemony antiseptic and honey, and her hands are meticulously wrapped from fingertip to wrist. Lucy doesn't pull her hand away, instead just lets him look.

"Love-cook said he passed out at the base of the mountain." Zoro would get on Sanji for endangering Lucy and Nami like that, but hev had a feeling Lucy wouldn't be amused considering the guy broke his freaking spine and a couple of ribs in the process, so Zorohasn't mentioned it. Especially not after witnessing the cook's full-on kowtow of groveling when he heard how bad Lucy's condition was upon completing her climb.

Lucy, unconsciously corroborating him, rolls her eyes. "Sanji didn't pass out, Sanji took an avalanche to the face to get us up the mountain."

Zoro hums and splays her fingers, testing the mobility. "So you climbed up to the castle by hand? Carrying the two of them?"

Lucy shrugs. "Yes?"

Zoro shakes his head, and reaches for her other hand. "That was 5000 meters of sheer rock face. There was a down-drafting wind tunnel around the whole thing, and it was freezing. You're lucky your hands weren't shredded." She's lucky she wasn't shredded.

Lucy doesn't look like she much cared. "They're nakama." She says it like she expects Zoro to understand.

Weirdly, he does. "How bad did you mess up your hands and feet?"

Lucy flushes. "Uh, well, Doctorine said I cut the pads of my fingers and toes down to the bone, and I have a couple hairline fractures besides. She claimed I probably only managed because I didn't have any feeling in my hands or feet once frostbite set in."

Zoro, with more gentleness than he's willing to admit to, sets Lucy's hand in her lap before reaching for her other one. "Figures the one time I don't get injured you go and do something like this."

Lucy gasps, jumping a little. "You're right! Zoro, you didn't get injured this time!"

Zoro frowns, a little put out. "Yeah, well. I promised." He even volunteered for the relatively safe job this time around to try and keep it. Sure, he still somehow wound up wandering around half-naked and wet for a while in the snow, but no harm no foul.

Lucy's grin could outshine the sun. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah."

Lucy seems downright ecstatic now. "I'm really glad we went to Drum Island. Not that I'm glad Nami got sick!" she adds quickly, "I'm just really glad we went there. We found more nakama," she says fondly, with a glance at the rest of the crew.

Zoro gives her a considering look, feeling unreasonably warm at the sight of her. "You just pick people based on a feeling, don't you?"

Lucy just grins at him, the light in her eye mischievous. "I know special people when I see them. Especially you, Zoro!"

Zoro will deny until the day he dies that he blushed.

It was the sun, dammit.


Another interlude. Sorry. Saturday I'll publish the first Alabasta chapter.

Let me know what you think!