"Wow…" Summer whispered in awe, staring at the completely lit-up Christmas tree. It was quite dark since the sun had set, but the town was alive and shining, lights strung up and illuminating the square, where the tree was the centerpiece. The townspeople had lined against the railing to watch the festival.
Every other festival Summer had been to had involved lots of food and walking around to see what the celebration offered, but by the looks of this one, there was some kind of show going on. The crew couldn't see past the crowd of people, and Summer felt a little disappointed. From the sound of the clapping, cheering, and laughing, it sounded really good. The announcer kept announcing the acts, but without seeing it herself, Summer wasn't too interested in what he had to say.
"We can't exactly shove people out of the way." She commented, and Parker rubbed his chin in thought. The other looked stumped as well.
"Hmm…" He muttered, glancing around the square. He looked to the back sides of the buildings, and then got an idea. "Hey." He called, and everyone turned to him. Pointing upwards, he smiled. "If we can get on the roof, we'll have a clear view of the whole thing!"
Everyone agreed, and then began searching for a way to the top of the building. Blake found a large ladder leaning against a shop farther down, and they all climbed up. The roof was flat, and it was easy to sit and watch the square below.
"This is awesome." She said, grinning at the performers down below. There were dancers prancing around in the snow, which had been smoothed out to be a stage. The 9 ladies were dressed as swans, in sparkling dresses of blues and greens, whites and reds, with glittering masks and hair up in buns. The dance was elegant, to smooth and graceful music. The women of the crowd looked envious, but still pleased by the performance, and Summer knew that they wished to have the image of the women or the ability to dance as they did.
Summer's eyes were wide, beholding the dance before her. Everything was so bright and happy. The sight alone was heartwarming, and she was awestruck by everything in front of her. Sitting with her legs tucked beneath her, she sighed in delight.
The men dangled their legs over the side, half watching the performance, half watching Summer's reaction.
The ladies bowed low, and the crowd erupted into cheers and clapping. The Heart Pirates joined in, Summer the loudest and most enthusiastic. The announcer stepped back up on the platform, spreading his hands wide again.
"An excellent performance! Thank you to Mrs. Pritcher's Dance School." A woman who stood beside the tree gave a bow, and the crowd clapped for her.
"This is so cool!" Summer said, turning to the others. "Have you ever seen something like this before?"
Shachi shrugged. "Not really, but it is pretty good." Reid raised his hand.
"We had something like this in my hometown, but not to this extent. We would go around and sing songs to people in their houses, and sometimes the kids would have snowman-building competitions in the center of town."
"Did you ever win?" Summer chuckled, and Reid made a face.
"My older brother would always kick the head off of mine before I got to finish." He could see the pity in her eyes, and he shrugged. "He was kind of a jerk."
"You have an older brother?" She asked. They didn't normally talk about their family, though Summer always suspected they were pretty much loners. He shrugged again.
"Yeah. Let's see, if I'm 23…" He counted on his fingers. "…than that makes him 27. He was the oldest, I was the youngest."
"I'm an only child." Parker said, flashing a grin. "I always got whatever I wanted!" He gave a thumbs up, and Blake smacked him.
"Baka, you were a problem child." Parker rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish look about him.
"H-hey, no need to be saying those things."
Summer laughed, attention suddenly drawn to the crowd below. They were clapping again. The group of boys who had performed all bowed before walking out of the stage area. The announcer emerged once again.
"Thank you, boys! That was a great show! Now, up next is a favorite, if I do say so myself, so please give them a warm welcome!"
A troupe of men gathered on the snow, positioning themselves in specific places, crouching into low poses.
"This outta be good." Blake said, and everyone's attention was rapt on the show once more.
He'd tried to stay away. Claiming he had important things to do, medical journals to read, swordplay to practice. He'd said he wasn't a big fan of Christmas, and he even believed it himself. The whole crew had gone off to the town already, leaving him, Bepo, and Jean Bart with the sub to themselves.
So why was Law sitting on the roof opposite to the rest of his crew? Honestly, he didn't know himself. All he'd told Bepo was that he had one more thing to buy before Christmas, and then away he'd slipped. The bear hadn't followed, to Law's relief. It wouldn't do to have him see his Captain watching…a Christmas festival in secret.
He had to admit that the festival was very engaging. The dancers and singers all performed wonderfully, and there were times when he even enjoyed parts of it, but the majority of his attention was set on the Christmas tree. The tall, glittering and brightly-lit centerpiece of the whole production.
He didn't know what it was, the decoration or what it symbolized, but it all made him think of one person. That one damn idiot that would stick with him forever. It only served to hurt more. To remind him of that which he'd lost.
In the short time Corazon had taken him from hospital to hospital, he'd told him everything about him, revealed his fears and thoughts, knowing the older man would understand. His hatred at first melted away as soon as he'd acknowledged how much pain he knew he was in…He could trust Corazon, and in turn it had seemed that trust went both ways. Corazon loved Christmas, as he'd once told Law. Even as a young teen, he could remember how he'd brighten up when he got the chance to talk about it. It seemed it was his favorite topic.
He'd always promised to celebrate the next Christmas with Law, so that he wouldn't be alone when the holiday came. But he'd died, and Law was carted away. It had never happened. Either way, he'd been alone in the end. Clenching his fists, he thought about the cruelty of it all…
Then his gaze drifted to the men and woman that watched the show below in delight. Summer seemed to be enjoying it the most, mouth open in a wide smile, clapping ecstatically when a performance would end. Shachi and Penguin kept pushing against each other, probably arguing about something useless. Parker and Blake just watched, secretly drinking from sake bottles-no doubt stolen. Reid and Liam were laying on their stomachs, heads supported by their hands. This image of happiness, of his crew enjoying themselves…
It was then he thought that maybe, truly, he wasn't actually alone.
Later, after the show had ended, Law leapt from the roof back onto the ground without anyone seeing him. Save for one soul.
"Mr.!" A small voice called, causing him to turn around. Christopher, the boy who had offered to clean the sub, came running through the crowd, a bright smile on his face. He huffed from all the running, taking a second to catch his breath.
"I heard from Dr. Jolly that you paid for my mom's medicine! Did you really?"
Ah, yes. Christian. He'd almost forgotten about the whole ordeal after paying for his mother's debt. Law thought back to when he'd discussed the matter of his mother with Dr. Jolly, and when he'd brought over the expenses the way the old man teared up and dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief.
Of course, Law being an excellent surgeon as he was, he couldn't resist looking into his mother's incurable disease. Such illnesses presented him with some challenge, but removing the deadly blockages of mucus and toying with the hormones and enzymes that so greatly produced the stuff in her body was essentially a routine operation.
He'd gone to the house in a doctor's garb, covering his tattoos and such, so she'd never know that a Supernova of the worst generation was selflessly curing a total stranger out of the kindness of his heart. In all honesty, he wasn't sure why the impulse had presented itself in the first place. That didn't stop him from revealing who he was, however. That just wouldn't do.
Though, it seemed that his mother hadn't told him yet that she was cured. Most likely in an attempt to surprise him on Christmas day, claiming a Christmas miracle no doubt. All the better for Law, since an extremely thankful and emotional Christian would probably bring attention to the pirate. Unwanted attention. Either way, he had to deal with the boy now.
Glancing around to make sure no one heard, Law crouched down beside him.
"Keep it a secret, alright?" The boy nodded vehemently. About to stand and leave, Law was stunned by the boy's arms wrapping around him. For such a small boy, he certainly packed a lot of force behind his hugs. It almost knocked the wind straight out of Law.
"Thank you so much, Mr.!" He squeezed him, making Law feel extremely uncomfortable with the nice gesture. Before long, the boy released him, waving happily before disappearing into the crowd. Standing and brushing himself off, he tried to forget the whole experience for good.
He was Trafalgar Law, a Supernova and Shichibukai, after all.
ns 15.158.7.118da2
