Chapter 17. Cold Front

Delta blinked curiously at the crates around her. There were about ten. Not a whole lot, and where they picked them up wasn't far from the ship like Heat had said. It was down a dirt path in a little drop off away from the buildings in the town. It made sense that Kid would have them set there..Delta being in trouble and all. This place was crawling with not so good people but she was sure someone in the authorities was searching for her by now.

"How long have you lived here?" Heat interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh..about two years" Delta smiled up at him.

"Where were you before then?"

"Um...nowhere really…" Delta didn't know what to say. Sabaody Archipelago had only been her

home for 2 years, but 2 years is the longest she's stayed put in ages.

"Oh.." Heat trailed off. He didn't know what to think of the girl yet. She seemed pretty secretive, but nice at the same time.

"Can you carry one of these?" Heat was a bit worried the small girl would have a bit of a struggle.

"Yeah, I can" Delta grinned. She picked up a crate and hoisted it on a shoulder with no issue. Heat gawked for a moment, then shrugged and copied Delta, he took the lead as they made their way back to the ship. It didn't take them long to get the other eight crates of food, and by the time they were done, Killer and Kid were back as predicted. They could hear Kid's laugh from a ways away.. Loud and obnoxious.

"Is he always this loud?' Delta whispered to Heat setting her last crate down.

"It comes and goes." He shrugged.

They boarded the ship to find Kid making some snarky comments to his first mate who seemed slightly annoyed.

Kid snorted before he heard his other two crew members coming back to him.

"Oh...you finished" Kid grinned.

Delta didn't reply but rubbed her eyes.

"Are you tired or something?" Kid turned serious.

"No...not really anymore" Delta answered cautiously. She was afraid to say yes or no, but she hoped no was the appropriate answer.

"Good, because you are going to sit on watch with Killer."

"Huh…"

"You...are going to go sit in the crows nest with him, until I tell you to come down" Kid held his hand out at Killer who was already making his way up the wooden structure.

"Oh okay…" Delta agreed. She didn't really want to go up there, but she didn't want to die either. And she was too tired to fret or argue.

She turned to ask her Captain a question but she saw him and Heat were already halfway gone...leaving again. Heat gave her a little wave and Delta waved back a little half hearted. Everyone seemed to know their place but her. She was brand new to the crew, but she wished she had a little more guidance on things.

She looked up to the crows nest to see Killer peeking over the side to see her. If it weren't for his mask, his hair would be completely covering his face.

"Do you need help?" He called down to her.

"Say yes..just say yes" Delta begged herself. But she couldn't bear the thought of Killer carrying her somewhere again. Oh yes, she enjoyed it the first time...but there was no one around. She didn't want rumors to start on the first night she was here.

"No..I got it" Delta cringed and squinted.

She positioned her hands around the beam pointing up from the ship and sighed. She knew her actions would lead to more questions but...well she had all night anyways, might as well answer them.

With superhuman speed Delta climbed up the beam of the crows nest. She barely planted her hands in feet in one spot before she was climbing to the next. Within a matter of seconds she had scaled the entire thing, and hopped into the platform that made the nest next to Killer.

"...you know there was a ladder...right?" Killer asked flatly. Delta had managed to stun him again.

"This way is faster." Delta said and slumped down on the platform.

"Do you do that often?" Killer questioned as he stood up and faced away from her.

Delta laughed a little. She didn't know what to say.

She stared at the man in front of her. He was messing with those things on his arms. Delta bit her bottom lip in frustration. She was having a terrible time not looking at Killer. She couldn't deny she was attracted to him, but she wanted to do her best to push it aside. There was no way they could ever happen. It just wasn't plausible.

"So out of all the places for a "non-human to live, why did you decide here?" Killer turned to speak to her.

Delta almost didn't hear the words he was saying, she was too focused on his deep voice itself.

"I thought it was a quiet place, like you did" Delta teased him.

"And I liked it here...I could blend in. Since all sorts of people come here all the time, it was the perfect place to not be noticed." Delta added.

"Makes sense" Killer agreed. He wouldn't stop touching his arm guards.

"What are you doing?" Delta stood up next to him to see what was going on.

"Taking these off" He mumbled.

"Do you need help?" Delta raised her hands to her mouth a little to stifle a laugh.

" No." Killer snapped softly.

Delta looked up at him innocently. Killer met her stare.

"Sure why not" Killer sighed and thrusted his arm towards Delta. That was close enough to a yes for her.

Delta pulled at the man's sleeve a little. She saw a latch where the contraption came apart and unhooked it. She gently pulled the guard off of his arm and handed it to him.

"Thanks" Killer grumbled. Now she could see how him and Kid got along so well. They were both stubborn as hell.

Just then, a cold wind blew from behind, causing Delta to squeak in surprise. She shuddered a little and huddled into herself.

Killer saw this and couldn't help but smile a little. He couldn't ignore her cute demeanor anymore.

"Lets sit down." He suggested softly.

"Thats something I should have warned you about, it does get cold up here." Killer informed her.

Delta wasn't paying him any attention. She was still huddled into herself shivering,

Killer swallowed hard, cautious of his next move.

"Come here." He took Delta by the arm and coaxed her over to his side, Delta didn't look at him, but she instantly scooted closer to the man and buried herself into him.

"Are you okay?" Killer mumbled in Delta's ear.

"Uh...yeah…" She finally responded.

"I'm just trying to get used to all this."

"It'll take some time...but it's not all bad. I promise you." Killer laid his head back. He was right.

"I believe you" Delta smiled a little and sniffed. Killer touched Delta's exposed arm and yanked his hand back in surprise. Her dark skin was almost hard it was so gelid.

"You're freezing." Killer noted, a little concerned for the girl. It was getting frigid out, but not enough for her to be like this. It was as if she had been buried in snow for days

Delta sniffed again and scratched her curly hair.

Killer thought for a minute. Come to think of it, the first time he met her, when he carried her home, the girl was terribly cold. He didn't think much of it at the time. But now this was odd. Well she was odd.

"Do you normally get this cold?" Killer pulled the girl closer to him. He laid her head on his exposed chest and covered her shoulders with an arm. He didn't care if anyone knew, this just wasn't normal.

Delta shrugged and grabbed onto his chest with an icy hand.

"Yeah, I'll be okay" Delta smiled reassuringly. She pulled away from the man to try to free herself.

"No...Delta, let me warm you up...please.." Killer tenderly took Delta by both wrists and pulled her back into him in the same position. Delta sighed and gave into him. Her heart was skipping beats. She loved being this close to him, although his actions to help her regain body heat would be futile,

"If only it was that easy" Delta exhaled softly and closed her eyes.