"Hello there," said a man, walking up to Rouge's flower stall.

"Hello!" said Rouge cheerily, "What can I do for you today?"

"Do you have any black-stained crysanthemums for sale?" asked the man.

The pirate's funeral flower. Tucked in the dead man's breast pocket as he was sent out to sea in a burning boat. It was completely unconventional. People thought it was horrid of pirates to desecrate the sacred white Marine's crysanthemums with ink. But Rouge thought it was interesting.

"I'll have to make them. May I ask…?" she said, tentatively, while pulling out her materials.

"One of my Nakama died today."

Nakama. This man was most definitely a pirate. The marines would use the word 'crew', 'men', 'soldiers', maybe 'brother' if they were in the same squadron. But the word 'Nakama', in its most true definiton… This was something exclusive to pirates. It was considered taboo, actually. In this age, piracy was looked down upon. But Rouge craved it so. To be free, living life as she pleased, and to be close with the blue ocean she was in love with… What a life…

"Cause of death?" she asked the man, dipping her paintbrush into the dark ink.

"A shot to the heart," replied the man, tapping the area with his index finger. Rouge nodded. Pirates symbolised the cause of death with the flower. Broken limbs would mean dyeing the stems. Infections would mean speckling the petals. A shot to the heart…

"The petals around the stamen then?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Rouge began painting the middle of the flower black. It was difficult work, especially on chrysanthemums, which had many, many petals. But Rouge was quick, and her hand was steady. She finished it off with a flourish, and hung the flower upside down, to let the excess ink drip out. Not that there would be much. She'd become skilled at telling how much was truly needed.

"He was an old friend of mine," said the man. Rouge studied him. His eyes were warm and gentle, and he had a kind smile. He had a large presence to him. Rouge guessed that if he were to sit at a table filled with Kings and Queens unannounced, he could still dominate the gathering without uttering a single word*.

"I'd known him since birth," he continued, leaning on the stall. Rouge couldn't read his expression.

"Were you close?" she asked.

"People mistook me for him all the time," said the man, with a melancholy smile.

"You sound very much alike," said Rouge, holding her hands in her lap.

"We were. But now there's a difference. He's dead."

Rouge could not figure out what was going on in this man's head. Who seemed as if it might implode with just one more word. When Rouge thought back to this day, as she would for the years to come, she would remember the man as an embodiement of the sea. Soothing, yet uncontrolably wild.

The man didn't wander off while the flower dried. He stayed there. Waiting. Rouge and him sat in comfortable silence. Until Rouge noticed that the chrysanthemum had stopped dripping ink. She untied the flower, and gave it to the man, who tucked it in his own breast pocket.

"I have died today," said the man, looking Rouge in the eye. His brown orbs were blazing with passion, but Rouge, for whatever reason, did not feel frightened in the slightest.

"I have died today," repeated the man, his voice slow and composed, "this man who swore he would never love has been shot in the heart by her glory. Gol D. Roger is dead. Gol D. Roger is unburdened today wanting nothing more than to be with her glory. The glory that is yours."

'Yours'? Rouge's?

"So shine your glory upon me, and please grace me with your presence at dinner tonight," he said, tipping his hat and bowing to her.

'What a Casanova,' thought Rouge, but she said 'yes' anyways…

Dalton was extremely proud. The Lapins had been newly appointed the official peacekeeping troops of the Sakura Kingdom. They still had to be trained, but everyone had come a long way from the Wapol Age. Dalton was a brave man, but sometimes he faltered as the king. He never wanted to make mistakes, and ended up doing nothing at all. It wasn't that he lacked the courage to do anything; he just was scared of it turning out terrible. But while Dalton seemed to think he wasn't doing much right, everyone else disagreed. Kureha especially. Dalton was perhaps the best thing that had happened to the (formerly) Drum Kingdom. Dalton's reign was a wise and sensible one. The king decline the witch's offer to stay at 'her' castle, instead preferring the worn homes in the village. He was truly a man on the people. He heard their needs, and delivered to them what they desired. Dalton felt as if he owed Drum Kingdom a favour, for not standing up for them when it mattered most. But now that he could, he would be doing all he can to make up for it.

A.N.: I'm especially proud of Rouge's because of the little details thrown in here and there. And I got to be a little OOC with Roger, who has always been a solid character to work with. It was nice writing him softer; it's one of the reasons I love writing Coffee Shop so much. Rouge is a pretty liberating character to begin with, since she has just enough set details to be a good model, but not so much that it's constricting. So I had fun working with her. Dalton was more difficult. Characterization had to be more solid, and I haven't watched the Drum Kingdom Arc in a while, so I hope this was accurate. I wanted the shots to play off of each other a little bit. So Rouge's was situational, and Dalton's was reflective. The best of both worlds in a sense. Reviews, Favourites, Subscriptions, Birthdays, and Requests are welcomed and much appreciated!

This will officially cap off our June birthdays! Isn't that insane? It seems like it will be forever before I post again! But not to worry, our next birthday on the 3rd of July features Nami! As well, I'll be posting the list in advance so you guys can tell me if I missed anyone. I'll be working a lot for the next 20 days or so to be caught up with August/September birthdays. As well, I'm graduating this month, so please don't expect too much of "Eyeliner, Tangerines, and many other things" or "The Coffee Shop" for the next 2 weeks. July will definitely be busier in those departments though. August, will be a whirlwind (like seriously, there are 33 birthdays to do). But June will be pretty relaxed, so I apologize for that!

*Paraphrased from "The Maelstrom", Book 4 of the Tapestry series