~Christmas Special~

~8 years later in an unnamed bar in the Grandline.~

A lone figure sat on a bar stool as travelers from all across the seas sat in the bar drinking and laughing whilst having the time of their lives. The person in question stood out from the usual crowd this bar was known for… he or she was wearing a black cloak that covered their figure completely, disguising the persons' gender, not only was this person small, but this person seemed to be quietly contemplating the menu in utter silence.

"Um, Excuse me?" a brave barmaid questioned.

"Hai?" the soft voice that emitted from the depths of the black cloak surprised the barmaid, having expected the mysterious person to be a short man and not a woman.

"Are y-you ready to order?" she asked, trying to remain professional.

"Hmm," she murmured, "I'd like to have the lamb with potatoes and rice. Can I have sake while I wait?" she asked courteously.

"Hai! Right away!" The barmaid said chirpily after writing down the order and sending it to the kitchen; she quickly grabbed a sake cup and poured the alcohol gracefully.

"Ah, thank you." The woman told her before she knocked the entire thing back.

Despite the fact that Dylan and Dorian's family life, barring themselves of course, wasn't very healthy they were firm believers that Christmas was a family orientated holiday and that it was a day that was meant to be spent with their closest friends and family members (just them as they don't actually consider themselves to be related to their parents).

They had decorated their house on the first day of December and had been waiting anxiously for the 24th of December to arrive since then. There was a giant tree in the living room of their apartment decorated with a bunch of ornaments that Dorian had insisted needed to be placed in a systematic order, much to the ire and amusement of her twin brother. They also had an enormous traditional nativity scene leaning against the entire wall, they had meticulously taken the time to recreate mountains and pastures as well as small homes and barns for the tiny shepherds in their tiny version of Bethlehem.

The barmaid looked at the small figure in front of her in surprise, that was their strongest brew sake but the woman in front of her had downed it like it was nothing.

"Can I have more please?" the woman asked lifting the sake cup in her direction.

"Ha-Hai!" she nervously poured more alcohol into the dish before moving back to watch as the woman once more threw her head back to down the liquor.

They had painted a flat wooden surface midnight blue and sprinkled little stars in its abyss, they created a landscape in its background to simulate that there was more land that could be seen in their nativity. They had covered the ground surrounding the nativity with mulch and porcelain sheep, cows and donkeys were scattered on its surface 'munching' on the 'fresh grass'.

In the center of it all was a beautiful woman laying on some hay by an (currently) empty manger her expression was peaceful and loving, a man that looked a lot like the shepherds in the fields was kneeling beside her looking at the manger in awe and love. A worn looking donkey was laying close by on some hay and there were cows tied to a fence close by. There was a crippled little lamb that the twins were in love with, since it reminded of them of an old Christmas movie called the "Little Lamb," that was laying peacefully by the manger. The three kings were close by, but hadn't reached the manger just yet and they wouldn't be there until midnight that night when Baby Jesus was born and also placed on the manger.

"More." The woman said plainly holding out her dish once more the stunned barmaid.

The barmaid didn't say anything but pore more sake for the expecting woman, she was beginning to suspect that the woman was younger that her 28 years of age just based on the sad youthful pitch of her voice so she couldn't help but gape at how fluidly she drank the strong liquor.

"Another." The dish was in her face once more, the barmaid bit the inside of her cheek to prevent the sigh from escaping from her lips. It was truly a sad day to see someone so young (at least she was assuming the woman was) drink their troubles away.

"Dori!" Dylan whined from the living couch, "Hurry up~"

The thirteen year old was wearing a comfortable black suit without his jacket, his candy cane colored tie was slightly disheveled from his bad posture as he laid completely at the couch. His silky hair was pulled away from his face by a red plastic headband and his hazel-green eyes were glued to his Nintendo DS as he played the fast speed game of Mario Cart. It was 4:15 PM, and he and Dori were supposed to get to the orphanage in fifteen minutes so that they could walk to the church with the nuns and their orphaned friends, but Dori was taking too long to get dressed. He thanked his 'lucky stars' that they had already dropped off their instruments at the orphanage the day before, at least they wouldn't have to carry two cuatros, violin and a viola through the cold December air.

"Shit…" Dylan cursed in frustration as he lost… again. Throwing the DS on the couch angrily he sat up, "Seriously Ria how long does it take for you to put on a dress!" he called out to her.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist baby bro!" she snapped playfully at him as she walked out of their bedroom hurriedly.

"Another, please."

The barmaid went cross eyed as she tried to look at the sake dish, this time she couldn't hold in the sigh and asked the woman in front of her what she desperately wanted to know, "D-Don't you think yo-you've had enough? You've already drank four cups… and this isn't ordinary sake, the brew is much stron-"

"I know. I could feel the burn." She emotionlessly, "Another."

"H-Hai.." she poured her another drink.

Her knee length white dress flowed around her gracefully, there was a cute red bow tied around her waist and she had a candy cane hair clip pulling her bangs from her face, her white wool stockings covered her legs. She was wearing candy cane earrings and a Christmas themed charm bracelet that Dylan had given her last Christmas, in her arms she was holding a white jacket before she dumped it on the couch and put her hands on her hips.

"Dyl, have you even checked on the bread in the oven?" she asked frustrated, pursing her lip gloss covered lips before going into the kitchen herself to check on the baking bread, "I mean honestly! You want us to leave, right? So shouldn't you at least start taking the bread out of the oven and putting it into the container so that we can go?" she ranted as she pulled out the piping hot loaves.

Dylan sheepishly entered the kitchen and helped her put the sealed container with the bread into the bag, "Sorry, sorry…. You look pretty Nee-chan." He admitted to her lovingly earning a soft smile in return.

"Thank you."

This time when the stranger knocked back her drink the black hood covering her face fell off, revealing the beautiful young woman hiding underneath it. She couldn't be older than 19 years old, but here she was… in a bar drinking sake like it would all be gone tomorrow.

"Clementine! The lamb is done!" the cook, Jericho, called.

"Coming!" she called back to him before looking at the miserable woman in front of her, "I'll be right back with your order in a minu-"

"Wait! O-One more." She demanded holding up her cup.

They had finally made it to the orphanage and had given Sister Honda the baked bread for the Christmas feast that would begin after mass…

The Christmas mass could be described perfectly with two distinct phrases: beautifully orchestrated and dreadfully long/boring. As usual (at least for only this mass) it was an hour and a half long… mostly because of all of the lengthy songs the choir sang; so by the time it was finally over and the church-goers were free to enjoy the rest of the evening with their close friends and families, the twins as well as their friends were starving.

"Mou~ I'm so hungry!" Haruta-chan moaned as her stomach gurgled furiously at the lack of food resting in her belly; her beautiful wavy black hair was pinned up by a hair clip that glistened every time light reflected off of its shiny surface, the-surpirsingly-tall girl's baby blue dress swished hypnotically with every step she took. Haruta Seiko became one of the twins closest friends after she was orphaned when she was ten years old, the twins had become her rock (considering that they had been classmates before the car accident took her parents life) and she had never felt any form of judgement when she opened up to them.

"Hahaha! You're always hungry, Haru-chin!" Dylan teased playfully as he poked her belly, "Honestly I don't know how you've managed to stay so thin despite the fact that every time you eat you stuff your face as if it's the last time you'll ever eat again…."

"Ahh! Dyl-kun's being mean again! Dori-chan save me!" she simpered while hiding behind the shorter girl as she tattletaled on the boy.

Dorian smiled before she masked her face in false anger and indignation, "Bad Dylan!" she wacked her younger twin lightly on the nose with a rolled up pamphlet, "No being mean to my Haru-chin!" she scolded.

Dylan pouted, "Nee-chan! You're supposed to be on my side!" he whined in despair as Haruta stuck her tounge out in victory behind Dorian's back, much to the ire of said girl's younger brother.

Clementine, otherwise known as the bar maid, observed the reserved-sullen-teen picking at the plate of food in front of her. The mysterious woman-no teen- as she had been calling her in her head, was beautiful in an exotic way. Working in a bar by the pier allowed her to meet new people every day, no traveler was similar. She had met people with blue, red and even green hair before; she had met people with orange, yellow and grey eyes… hell she even met a fishman before! But Clementine had never met someone with hazel-green eye's before, green eyes-no matter the shade-were an anomaly and were extremely rare, making the teen's eyes even more unique and beautiful. On top of that the teen seemed to have a natural creamy olive tan skin tone that would make any sane woman envious, her lips were full and plump and her button nose curved slightly upwards. Her hair was free and ringlets of dark curls fell gracefully around her face.

She watched as the teen scrunched up her nose in distaste when a stray curl once more fell into her eyes and obscured her vision, the teens hands disappeared under her cloak and brought out a red bandanna and tied it around her head-pushing back any hair from her face-in a practiced motion that suggested the bandanna was most likely part of her regular outfit… Clementine couldn't help but feel it belonged there on her head.

Dorian looked around the crowded living room in content, dinner had ended a short while ago and now that she had eaten her Christmas feast Dorian couldn't help but feel rejuvenated. All of the kids that lived in Saint Teresa's orphanage, plus herself and her twin brother as well as the nuns, were playing and relaxing together as the festivities continued.

"Dori-chan." An aged, but warm voice washed over her lovingly. Sister Lucia was a kindhearted old woman who had devoted her entire life into running and maintaining the orphanage, and when she had found out the lack of real parental figures in the twins life (especially after their beloved nanny was sent away) she had stepped in and welcomed them into her fold without hesitation.

"Hai?" Dorian questioned her curiously.

"I was wondering dear if you and Dyl-kun could play some Christmas carols, it's about time this party becomes more festive don't you think?" she asked with a playful wink causing the thirteen year old to smile at her actions.

"Hmm, I have to agree with you there Sister." Dorian said as she nodded her head in mock seriousness as she stood up and went to grab her cuatro as well as Dylan's. "Dylan!" she called the boy who was sitting with a couple of younger kids-who practically worshiped the ground he walked on, much to her amusement since despite his friendly attitude he wasn't the most patient person in the universe-as he regaled them a tale of the day Santa's elves saved Christmas, when her brother looked up she lifted up his case in the air. "Why don't you come over here so we can sing some carols! After all it's not Christmas unless there is music!" she said playfully as some of the kids cheered happily.

Dylan smiled crookedly, "On my way nee-chan!"

Clementine continued to observe the beautiful teen slowly eating her meal as she cleaned up an empty table close by to where she was seated at the bar. The teen seemed to be lost in her own mind and her actions (eating) seemed to be automatic, the sad-nostalgic expression clouding her face let her know that whatever she seemed to be dwelling on had to be painful for the girl to remember.

"Ano?" the sweet voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Ah, yes!?" Clementine chirruped as she moved quickly to the teen's side, all the while carefully balancing a stack of dirty dishes in her arms, "Is there something you need?" she asked courteously.

The teen's facial expression seemed to soften somewhat, "Hai… do you have any red wine? It was my brother's favorite…." She trailed off sadly.

Clementine felt as if she'd been punched in the gut, was, she said it was her brother's favorite drink. While Clementine was no stranger to death, hell no one was considering that she lived in the Grandline, but it was always surprising and saddening to learn of the deaths of people that were so young.

"Campana sobre campana,
y sobre campana una,
asómate a la ventana,
verás el Niño en la cuna.

Belén, campanas de Belén,
que los ángeles tocan
qué nueva me traéis?

Recogido tu rebaño
a dónde vas pastorcillo?
Voy a llevar al portal
requesón, manteca y vino.

Belén, campanas de Belén,
que los ángeles tocan
qué nuevas me traéis?

Campana sobre campana,
y sobre campana dos,
asómate a esa ventana,
porque ha naciendo Dios.

Belén, campanas de Belén,
que los ángeles tocan
qué nueva me traéis?

Campana sobre campana,
y sobre campana tres,
en una Cruz a esta hora,
el Niño va a padecer.

Belén, campanas de Belén,
que los ángeles tocan
qué nueva me traéis?

Navidad, Navidad

Navidad, Navidad
Hoy es Navidad.
Con campanas este día
Hay que festejar
Navidad, Navidad
Porque ya nació
ayer noche, Nochebuena,
El niñito Dios…."

Dorian and Dylan both lingured on the last note of the song as their audiance began cheering merrily at the foreign carol.

"Hehe! More! More!" Kikiyo, a small black haired five year old, chirped excitedly as she let go of Youko's, a brown haired six year old that was her best friend in the orphanage, hands.

"Yea! Please sing another!" Ryuuji, a normally quite seven year old, begged loudly as he laughed merrily.

"Hmm, I don't know?" Dylan teased as he rubbed his chin in thought, "What do you think Ria? Should we sing another song, this has already been our tenth song?" he asked her 'seriously.'

"Ahhh…. I don't know Dyl…" Dorian played a long as a chorus of disappointed groans came from the younger kids who didn't realize they were just joking.

"Mou!" Haruta groaned, "Just play another song! I was enjoying myself!" she whined as if she was a five year old as she gestured to Yuki, her current dance partner.

Dylan and Dorian exchanged amused glances before sighing simultaneously, "Hai, Hai… Just as Haru-hime desires it so~" they sighed in unison, causing said hime to blush at their actions as the other kids laughed joyously

"Venid, pastorcitos,
venid a adorar
al Rey de los cielos
que ha nacido ya.

Arre borriquito,
vamos a Belén
a ver a la Virgen
y al niño también.

Rústico techo
abrigo le da,
por cuna un pesebre
por templo un portal.

Arre borriquito,
vamos a Belén
que mañana es fiesta
y al otro también.

Esta noche con la luna
y mañana con el sol
a Belén caminaremos
a ver pronto al Niño Dios.

Vamos, pastores, vamos,
vamos a Belén,
a ver a ese Niño
las glorias del Edén..."

The teens seemingly blank gaze watched her every move carefully as Clementine poured her a glass of red wine in front of her.

"Do you believe in hope?" the teen asked suddenly, startling Clementine with her question.

"Umm… what?" was her intelligent comeback.

"Do you believe that everyone should hold onto hope and faith… that whatever we're fighting for will come true?" she asked seriously in low tone.

Clementine blinked in surprise, "Well… I-I think that I do… After all if I didn't have hope or fate I'm positive I wouldn't be where I am."

"Hmmm." The teen nodded her head sluggishly as she took a sip of the rich wine, "Sometimes I think its bullshit. Life and Fate… well they are major bitches." The teen stated calmly, "A normal person struggles and fights constantly against the hand they've been dished, but often…. It's never enough." She said morosely, "I guess that's why I keep tryin' huh?" she snorted, looking up at Clementine for the first time since she asked the question, "If I give up now I'll have nothing really worth living for."

The teen smiled bitterly as she lifted her glass, "To idiot little brothers who've left me behind for greener pastures, and to stupid older brothers conquering the seas without me."

The cab ride home was a quick one, the twins were exhausted from the festivities and couldn't wait to curl up in bed and sleep off the rest of their sugar induced crash. The keys jingled loudly in the otherwise silent hallway as Dorian struggled to open the apartment door.

"Finally, Ria. I thought you'd never open the door…" Dylan whined tiredly as they stumbled inside.

Dorian sniffed as she shed her coat and hanged on the rack next to the door, "Shut up Dyl… I didn't see you doing anything helpful…."

Dylan smirked in false arrogance as he carried a bag of leftover food to the kitchen, "That's what you think Ria, but you weren't the one carrying all of the food were you?"

Dorian smiled at him, "Hmm, that is true…" she conceded playfully as they put away the containers filled with their delicious Christmas meal. She looked up at the watch hanging on the wall, it was 1:47 in the morning, she groaned slightly and rubbed her forehead tiredly, "Dyl, let's just go to sleep." She commanded him as she went to the bathroom.

Said younger twin looked up at the clock to see the time for himself and winced, "Yea... let's just go to sleep…" he agreed as he pulled of his tie and moved to their shared bedroom.

Clementine stared at the morose teen in slight shock before she poured her some more wine.

"Thank you." The teen said gratefully.

"Wh-What's your name? If y-you don't mind me asking…" Clementine stuttered out curiously.

The teen blinked at her in surprise before she giggled softly, "Dorian. Monkey D. Dorian, but you can call me Dori." She said smiling softly at her causing Clementine to gasp slightly under her breath.

The teen, or rather Dori as she introduced herself, had a radiant smile that made her look even younger-and more innocent, she looked alive-than she probably was. In her mind, Clementine decided that Dori was the type of person that should always smile.

When Dorian got out of the bathroom Dylan was already in his candy cane PJ's that matched her similar candy cane night gown, he was sitting in the middle of their king-sized bed and was looking at her expectantly. On his lap he had a bottle of red wine and two plastic champagne glasses.

Dorian's eyebrow raised, "I thought we were just going to bed Dyl?"

"I know, I know…. But just half a glass okay, Ria? It's Christmas!" he said enthusiastically causing Dorian to let out an amused snort.

"You are thirteen Dyl… you shouldn't even know what wine-alcohol-tastes like…. Much less have a favorite drink of choice!" she teased before a mischievous grin took over her face as she jumped up next to him, "Pour me my cup peasant!"

Dylan laughed, "Hai, hai! Anything for my esteemed mistress!" he said playfully as he poured their drinks and placed the glass bottle on their nightstand, "To another successful Christmas and the extreme awesomeness of twins!" he crowed causing Dorian to let out a series of snorts and giggles.

"To us!" Dorian cheered as they 'clinked' their plastic cups merrily, before they downed the sweet alcohol….

"Ria?" Dylan whispered softly as Dorian snuggled contently into his side.

"Yea…" she said groggily as sleep began to tug at her senses.

"I love you, nee-chan." He confessed quietly causing Dorian to hug the boy tighter.

"Hmm, I love you too otouto." She mumbled into his ear before kissing his cheek, "Now though… go to sleep!" she said playfully causing him to laugh softly.

"Kay… Nee-chan?" he questioned.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas!" he chirped sleepily. Dorian smiled against her will and responded….

"Merry Christmas Dyl." The teen whispered as she pulled up her cloaks hood once more and made her way to the docks. "Merry Christmas Ace, Luffy, Sabo…." She said to the night sky as she thought of her three other reckless brothers.

Author's Note:

Hey! MERRY CHRISTMAS! (And to those who aren't Catholic… HAPPY HOLIDAYS!)

Well I hope you've enjoyed this short… I know it was a little depressing but…yea… I don't really know where that came from. I mean I planned from the beginning that the Christmas Special was going to show Dori and Dyl before they were kidnapped, this was essentially their last normal Christmas since they were kidnapped that spring (just after they turned fourteen) and were in captivity for a little over a year, but it was supposed to be fluffy… this was also her first time celebrating Christmas alone since she's supposed to be 17 years old here, so she's theoretically just set sail from Fooshia Village, and she doesn't have Ace, Luffy or (possibly, don't know if I'm changing that yet) Sabo with her to celebrate…

Anyway I hope that the fact that this is a Christmas Special doesn't offend anybody…. I'm Roman Catholic, but my religion won't be impacting the fic in any way (other than maybe her dislike/aversion for killing people)…. I made it so that the orphanage that Dori and Dyl liked to frequent was a Church run one so the kids at least had somebody to turn to when they felt lost, I also made it that their nursemaid/nanny/'abuela'-like-figure that I mentioned (at least I think I did) was also Catholic so going to church reminded them of her. The reason I did this is because most Venezuelans (the twins are half Venezuelan on their mom's side) are Roman Catholic, and religion usually plays a huge role in our lives (my cousins, the lucky bastards, get an entire week off during the spring, in addition to spring break, to celebrate 'el festival de la Chinita'… this is a religious holiday, during the year if there is any church related events, everyone gets a day off), since the twins nursemaid was also from Venezuela I made it so that she instilled religion as an important factor in their lives early on, so much that it still sorta affects her even after she experienced the ugly part of humanity…. But not to worry it's not really going to play a huge role in this fic I promise! I hope that explains that… Anyway I hope that you guys enjoy you're holidays and your break!

There will be another Christmas special though coming up in the 10th chapter though… since by that time winter would have caught up with my story and Dori will be introducing it to the boys, get ready for a bunch of cute little fluff!

Disclaimer:I do not own any of the Christmas songs! The songs are "Campana Sobre Campana" and "A la Nanita Nana" if you are curious about them, and you can watch them on YouTube if you want to know how they sound!

See you next month!

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