X-X-X-X-X

He should have known something like this would happen.

He, Nike, and a handful of their crewmates were wandering the Archipelago, the sniper nearly bouncing as she strolled ahead of them, actually humming under her breath as she flitted between storefronts, mood much improved.

He'd been secretly relieved to see her in such high spirits. He'd never admit it out loud, but he liked seeing her happy. She got much more chatty on occasion, yes, but there were just as many times where she would just sit there and ooze sunshine and rainbows into the surrounding air. And, though that thought was slightly sickening (he was a pirate, after all), he could not find it in himself to deny her those feelings.

Then his train of thought was rather rudely interrupted.

A giant of a man, sporting wings and wielding a huge iron club, crashed into their path, trying his hardest to hit a much smaller man with long blonde hair and a full face mask. Twin blades spun in the smaller man's grasp, buzzing like an engine as he ducked and lunged, closing in on the sky island native.

Drake made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat, recognizing both "Mad Monk" Urouge and "Human Massacre Machine" Killer, before drawing his sword and axe and throwing himself between the two combatants.

The sound of weapons colliding was nearly deafening.

"If you want to do this, wait until you're in the 'New World'." He said tersely, shoving the two men in opposite directions. The giant grinned, settling his club onto his shoulder, but Killer moved as though to step forward.

A sharp click made him pause, and Drake turned to see Nike with both of her twin flintlocks drawn, one pointing at each of the men flanking her captain.

Both men wisely chose to withdraw. When they were out of sight, Drake motioned for Nike to put away her weapons, but her eyes slid past him, to something over his shoulder. He turned to see a man sitting on a crate some distance away, watching them over steepled fingers.

"That was pretty good." He said, smiling.

"But, Drake-ya, how many men...have you killed?" he asked, gray eyes flicking from Drake to settle on Nike, who had lowered her pistols, but hadn't re-holstered them. She was watching him warily.

"Trafalgar Law." Said Drake, moving to stand between his sniper and the Heart Pirates Captain.

It may have looked like he was shielding the woman, but he wasn't. Nike was no damsel in distress, and she'd show anyone who suggested otherwise the error of their ways. It was more to break her line of site, because he didn't want a confrontation breaking out between his sniper and such a notorious rookie captain.

Too late he realized that that was exactly what the other man was planning.

X-X-X

Law had judged the distance between them perfectly, as well as interpreted the way the woman beside X Drake held herself. He just knew that she would move to protect her Captain if he threatened him. And he was itching to do just that. Not because he was interested in "Red Flag", though.

Oh no, he wanted to see what the fiery little brunette at his side had hidden up her sleeve.

His gray eyes flicked over her form, taking her in, making her shift.

She wore dark pants, boots, and a blue button up shirt. Over that was a canvas coat in army green that fell to her knees, under which were hidden the various belts that held her weapons. She had a holster on each hip, where her twin flintlocks went. When she moved he caught a glimpse of...something in a shoulder holster, but he couldn't be sure what it was, or how many of them there were. Across her back was slung a rifle, and he'd bet his submarine that there was at least one hold out gun in her boots.

She was by far the most conservatively dressed and well armed pirate female he'd ever come across. The spark in her light brown eyes told him he wasn't dealing with an amateur, either.

So when the fingers holding his nodachi twitched, he wasn't surprised to find the barrel of a custom flintlock dueling pistol placed square between his eyes.

What did surprise him was the position of the other gun.

Oh, hello.

"Is that really necessary?" he asked calmly, looking up at her from under the brim of his hat. The girl's eyes narrowed down at him.

"First lesson when dealing with pirates," she said, checking the safety on the gun aimed at Trafalgar's crotch.

"Always aim below the belt."

"Enough, Nike." Suddenly, Drake was behind them, jaw clenched and eyes creased, but Law could pick up the worried line of the other man's brows. So he cared for the woman, Nike, did he?

Slowly, Nike withdrew, stepping back and re-holstering her weapons, but her eyes never left Law's.

Drake's hand on her shoulder finally made her turn to face him. He made sure he had eye contact before he spoke.

"Make sure the others get back to the ship. I'm going to see how badly things are turning out farther in." She looked as if she wanted to argue, but relented with a jerk of her head. He released her and she turned on her heel, barking orders to the other Drake pirates. With one last glance at her Captain, she strode off into the crowd.

When she was out of sight Drake turned back to Law, eyes flinty.

"Don't push me, brat." He growled.

Law actually laughed.

"She's certainly interesting." He said lightly.

"Get your own, Trafalgar." barked Drake, striding away.

X-X-X-X-X

/AN/

Nike's not the type to take shit from anyone, even scary motherfuckers like Trafalgar Law.

I gave Nike a set of British Dueling Pistols. Queen Anne's where more elegant (and certainly more expensive), but dueling pistols were highly reliable, water resistant, and accurate. External decoration was minimal, but the internal workings were often finished to a higher degree of craftsmanship than the exterior. Both are 16 inches long.

Also, to Rejar: Thanks so much for your review, I was afraid I was making Drake too OOC. I can't wait to reveal more of these two's relationship, because it's complicated and deep and funny as hell. And I fixed the typo.