*The Next Day*
Summer gathered up her coat, zipping it up a little more as the wind blew in her face. She huffed, her breath making small clouds in front of her. The snow was thick underfoot, but she trekked on towards the market street. Glancing up, she found the snow was gently falling from the sky, landing on her nose and quickly melting against her skin.
The town was alive with the holiday spirit, or so Reid would have said. People were putting up sparkling tinsel and ornaments hung from the windows of houses. There were several branches of mistletoe hanging above walkways, which Summer took care to avoid. There were even some men waiting there…creepy.
The town had many shops, lining each side of the main square. It was constructed in just that way, a square. In the middle was a rounded patch of pavement. Standing in the middle was a huge tree. It had glittering decorations hanging from its branches, ranging in colors from reds and greens to purple and silvers. Ribbons wrapped the length, and lights were strung. None of them were turned on, though she assumed once the sun went down they would be lit.
There was a group of people singing in front of the tree. They all wore green and red, the women adorned in long overcoats that skirted the snow. They were singing a song Summer didn't recognize.
"…oh how they pound, raising good sound, O'er hill and dale, telling their tale!" It was very beautiful, and she walked closer.
"Gaily they ring, while people sing songs of good cheer Christmas is here, Merry merry merry merry Christmas, Merry merry merry merry Christmas!"
She smiled, standing there listening to the people. Her gaze drifted to the ground where there was a top hat turned over. Some spare change and a few beli sat at the bottom. Without hesitation, she took out some of her allowance and put a few beli in the hat. Straightening, she decided she'd better get to shopping. Catching the eye of one of the singers, they smiled brightly and nodded their head. With a smile of her own, Summer trekked off to look for gifts.
She assumed there were other smaller, perhaps family owned, shops tucked away among the houses on the residential streets, but she tried looking in the town square first. It would reduce the chances of her getting lost within the alleyways and tight roadways.
She looked down at her list, seeing the three names with ideas she'd come up with since the day before.
Penguin- wrenches? sake? dirty magazines? engine parts? (don't know where to begin) a new hat?
Reid- sake? hot chocolate? binoculars?
Law-?
She sighed, realizing she didn't have much to go off of. Her best bet was probably just looking around and finding something when she saw it. She passed a bird keeper, who was talking to a woman in a petticoat. They were discussing prices.
"Oh, but my husband wants it to be a very memorable Christmas this year, and turtle doves would just make it perfect! But 500 beli for two birds is a little much…" Their words drifted off as Summer passed, and she walked into the first shop she saw.
The warmth from inside made her smile, and she glanced around at the men's clothing store. It made her a little nervous, being in a clothing shop for the opposite sex. Like she wasn't supposed to be there or something. Then she spotted another woman shopping the racks and felt a little less intrusive.
"Welcome!" A jovial man greeted from behind the counter. With a smile and a nod, Summer went to browse through the coats.
Law and Bepo walked passed the town, into the gently rolling hills of the countryside. They were discussing the gift exchange.
"What would Liam like?" Bepo asked, and Law pondered this.
"He's already covered the more advanced poison treatment publications, so he'd need something specific to read…Perhaps books on Arsenic and Cyanide?" Law said, and Bepo nodded thoughtfully.
"You'll help me look for the books at the store?" And Law nodded, knowing Bepo would be a little lost as to what to get in terms of medical books.
They continued their search of a specific place, which Law wanted to find because of Bepo's suggestion. He'd found the idea rather brilliant. Law would still give her the hat, but this would be another gift, perhaps one from both of them, one she'd probably remember forever.
"I think I smell water up here." The bear said, angling off to the right. Law looked back to see how far they were from the town, surprised that they actually were still pretty close.
They scaled the top of the hill, and looked down at the clearing below. The landscape was truly beautiful, but it was what sat in the middle that made it perfect. Law and Bepo grinned. It was exactly what they were looking for.
Summer left the store without a gift. There hadn't been anything that seemed to be what she was looking for. The store manager had been rather helpful, directing her towards the headwear and scarves, since that was her only idea. They were all rather expensive, buying just one of them would have depleted half of her remaining gift money, and she still had two gifts to buy afterwards.
Heading to the next store, she saw it was a mechanical parts store. Maybe she'd be able to find something for Penguin, though her knowledge of machinery and fixing things was limited to two numbers: Penguin's and Shachi's personal den den mushi extensions. Entering the store, she was greeted with the smell of oil and metal, something she'd become fairly familiar with during her stay aboard the submarine. A scruffy-looking man, with a stained white shirt and trousers held up by suspenders, came up to greet her. He had a rather bushy mustache, and the sight almost made her giggle. Almost. She had the manners to keep that to herself.
"Hello, Miss. You looking for a gift?" She nodded, and he seemed to see her hesitation.
"You ain't got a clue about machinery, do ya?" With a chuckle she nodded.
"I've never had to deal with that stuff. But my friend loves fixing things." The man gave a deep laugh, and he patted her shoulder good-naturedly.
"Well, don't you worry. I know everything there is to know about these parts." He took her to the first isle, explaining what things did and what they were used for.
After finding what it was they'd been looking for in the countryside, Law and Bepo returned to the town to look for gifts. Every once in awhile the men would see crew mates exiting stores with boxes and bags in their arms. They scurried back to the sub as quickly as possible, probably to avoid bumping into whomever the gift was intended for.
Law had suggested searching the town all over for shops before they actually went shopping, and Bepo had agreed. Purposefully, they walked down by the docks where the fish vendors set up shop. Ice fishing was a popular business on this island, since it was perpetually blanketed in snow.
There was a large variety of fish available, and Bepo sniffed at each one unconsciously as they passed by. Law watched with a careful eye for the fish that he seemed to enjoy the most. Law knew the moment Bepo sniffed the fish that the purple scaled snapper was the one. The bear broke into a wide smile, which he miserably tried to hide, before sagging his shoulders just slightly as they walked past. The bear never realized that Law was watching, as he pretended to look at their list of names.
It seemed Bepo had picked out his own gift, unknowingly or otherwise.
As kind and helpful as the machine guy was, he tended to go on and on about some of the parts, ultimately confusing her beyond what was reasonable. All the names and uses and prices mixed together until she was questioning why she'd even gone inside in the first place.
Nonetheless, she had come out with a gift. When they'd gone over the safety equipment section she'd spotted a pair of goggles that looked like the ones Reid always wore. When she asked what they were for, he stated that they were for protection against metal shavings, but they could double as shooting eyewear. It all sounded perfect, and they weren't too expensive, so she'd bought them and crossed Reid's name off of her list.
Christmas was only two days away, which meant she had to get Law's gift and Penguin's gift by the next day. There was always the option of making a gift herself, but that avenue left her without any ideas either.
The singers were still standing at the tree, treating the whole square to their singing.
"Silent Night, Holy Night…" Summer stood at the railing in front of the shop, simply listening to the sweet music.
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