Mittens
It was the night before Christmas. The streets were clear; only the occasional headlights of a car could be seen, the occupants probably hurrying to get home to their family on time. It had also started snowing a few hours ago making the temperature drop below zero.
The young orange-haired girl shivered as a particularly strong breeze swept past her, disheveling her long locks and making her already freezing body only growing colder by the minute. Not for the first time tonight she wished she had chosen to wear more practical and warmer clothes instead of her skirt and cardigan. Even the woolen hat and her scarf weren’t much of a comfort. However she’d wanted to look pretty. Just for him. Though she doubted he even cared for such petty things. The canopy of the airport didn’t spend too much warmth, either. Well, she guessed she should be grateful that it helped to keep her dry at least.
She had no idea how many time had passed, but it must’ve been a few hours at any rate. Taking a look at her watch she saw that it was already well past seven and realized with a sigh that she probably wouldn’t make it back for dinner. She drooped even further. Not only that she wouldn’t see him this year, but now she would also lose some of the little time she got to spent with her family. For a moment she considered going back into the lobby were the heaters would warm her up a bit, but as soon as the thought came she discarded it again. She didn’t want to miss the cab she’d ordered.
The nice lady on the phone had told her to be patient and that it may take a while for the cab to arrive given the sudden cold spell. Most of the drivers were most likely stuck in the traffic jam. So she’d waited.
She cursed under her breath when she thought of why she even was in this mess to begin with but soon the frustration gave away to sadness. She’d really wanted to see him again. Thinking back, she still remembered the first time they’d met, here on this same spot. Ironically it had been her thin clothing too, then, that had brought them together.
“Here” a voice beside her said when two red mittens were more or less shoved into her face. She looked at them, frowning, before she turned to their owner, wondering what exactly she was supposed to do with them. She was met with two coal-black eyes, twinkling in mirth, and the matching grin of a young man. Looking back and forth between him and the gloves, she finally asked.
“What are those?”
“Eh.. gloves?” Well, obviously.
The young woman wanted to face-palm and fought the urge to reply with a cocky remark. Was he serious? But seeing the slightly confused look on his face, which was kind of cute she might add, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Instead she opted for a simple “What for?”
Lips curling back into his silly grin again, he replied while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, aren’t you cold?” His eyes swept over her form, clad in a thin blouse and her jeans, the only thing basically spending a little warmth being the blue coat she’d thrown on before leaving for the airport. He was clearly trying to make a point. However, his gaze was lingering a little too long on her, making her slightly uncomfortable. A blush was creeping on his face when she caught him staring.
Though, she had to admit he was right. Her clothes were a little inconvenient, but she hadn’t really bothered to check the weather forecast before flying here. Therefore, it was really considerate of him to give her his gloves so willingly and she really appreciated the thought. However she couldn’t accept his offer.
“Well, yes. But don’t you need them, too? I mean it is freezing.”
He just shrugged. “Nah… My brother will be here soon to pick me up. Don’t worry about it.”
It seemed like she wouldn’t be able to talk him out of it, so she accepted his gesture. Taking them from him, she put them on and immediately felt a lot better, her fingers already relaxing. She turned to him with a warm smile.
“Thank you” she breathed.
“Shishishi… You’re welcome.”
Shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he asked “So… are you waiting for someone?” rocking back and forth on his heels.
She chuckled at this, finding his behavior kind of adorable.
“Nope, just waiting for my cab.”
His smile grew even brighter as he seemed relieved with this answer for some reason.
“Oh. Maybe we can take you, too. I’m sure my brother wouldn’t mind.”
Eh?! She didn’t even know him and now he wanted her to ride with him and his brother?
“What? N…no. You don’t need to do that. I’m sure my cab will be here any minute now. Besides, these are enough as it is.” She wiggled with her fingers for emphasizes.
“Why? It’s just a pair of gloves.” He blinked owlishly at her genuinely confused now. Before she got a chance to reply, however, she was suddenly interrupted by a loud shout from the boy beside her as he seemed to spot someone across the parking lot.
“Oi Ace!” he shouted while waving at what she guessed was his brother. All hope flew out the window, when Ace abruptly turned at his brother’s voice, his face splitting into a mischievous grin when he spotted the both of them.
How she ended up with them taking her home, she didn’t know. Somehow they had managed to talk her into it. Though, she had to admit that it wasn’t as bad as she had originally thought. It was even fun to be around them, especially him. Luffy. He had this way, she really had no idea how to describe it, but she felt completely content with him by her side.
It turned out that they didn’t even live that far away from another. Ace even knew her sister Nojiko. After they had dropped her at her house, Luffy had invited her to join him and his family for lunch the next day. She was unsure at first, not wanting to intrude, but he had quickly reassured her that it was okay and that he was looking forward to it.
For the following two weeks she spent almost every free time she had with him. They became almost inseparable. Sometimes they would go to grab some latté or simply hang out. Once they even went to the nearby lake to go skating. It had been a funny sight, seeing as Luffy seemed to be unable to stand on them even if his live depended on it. But it had been fun nonetheless.
The holidays flew by in a rush and soon both of them found themselves at the airport once again, saying goodbye this time. And with the promise to see each other again.
It had become somewhat a tradition these past two years that they’d meet at the airport on Christmas Eve. Not this year, so it seemed, as she thought back to a few hours earlier.
As always she’d tried to spot him in the crowd as soon as she entered the lobby. But he’d been nowhere to be found. At first she’d thought that he may be already waiting somewhere or got hold up. But then the crowd had been thinning out and there was still no sign of him. Her next guess had been that his flight got cancelled because of the snow but then again he would’ve texted her if that had been the case. So she’d decided to keep waiting a little longer and instead of standing in the middle of the hall had taken a seat near the entrance to watch the passing people…
For some reason she felt insecure and completely misplaced as she observed as people came and went, gave kisses and hugs for a greeting when they were seeing each other again for the first time in a while. She couldn’t help but feel a little jealous, for they were allowed to be with their important people over the holidays. Though she knew that her mother and sister were waiting for her at home as well, it just wasn’t the same without him around.
“I am sure he will come.”
The soft feminine voice startled her, making her turn around to face the pretty dark-haired woman that was sitting a seat away from her.
“Eh… excuse me?”
“The person you’re waiting for. I’m sure he will be here soon.”
The young girl was surprised, she certainly hadn’t expected that. She hadn’t even noticed someone sitting there, much less that that someone had also been observing her.
“How do you know?” she asked a little uncertain as she averted her eyes from the older woman.
“Well, seeing as you’re sitting in the waiting area…”
“No, not that. I mean, that I’m waiting for a boy” the young woman interrupted in a soft voice.
“Oh, that. Well it was pretty obvious. You seem a little nervous and keep looking around and fidgeting with your hands. Also, the look in your eyes is a dead give-away.”
The look in her eyes? Was it really that evident? She turned around again, her wide eyes resting on the black-haired female once more, feeling like she’d been caught with her fingers in the cookie jar. But the woman simply chuckled and smiled warmly at her and for some reason it reassured her. Of what exactly, she wasn’t sure.
It was then that somebody called out for the woman, apparently her name was Robin, and she took her bag and made for a leave, ready to go to whomever had been searching for her. With one last friendly smile she looked back to the orange-haired girl and mouthed a “Merry Christmas” before she turned and vanished with a big blue-haired male out of the hall.
With Robin gone, she was left to ponder what exactly she had been hinting at. Well, actually she knew exactly what she’d meant. If she was being honest with herself, she’d admit that she felt far more for him than simple friendship. She’d missed him to a degree that it wasn’t even funny to watch any more. Even her friends had stopped teasing her about it when they’d noticed how upset she got by mentioning it.
A beeping noise in her bag alerted her to an incoming message. Taking her cell phone out of it she opened the text, only to see that it was from him.
“Won’t make it. Don’t wait for me.”
That was it, huh? He really wouldn’t show this time. Her stomach dropped and her throat was closing. Tears threatened to spill, but she tried to fight them down again. She wouldn’t allow herself to cry over this.
It was silly, really. To act this way just because he wouldn’t pick her up from the airport. It wasn’t like they were a couple or anything. Hell, they hardly saw each other. Sometimes she didn’t even know why they were doing this exactly. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he’d met some other girl at college, someone he preferred over her. This thought, however, was making it even harder to not break down right then and there. But wallowing in self-pity wasn’t going to change anything. It would only make matters worse.
She’d guessed there was no point in waiting any longer, so she’d dialed the number of the cap service. Here she stood now, seemingly endless hours later, with still no cap in sight.
A bright light not that far away from her, alerted her to an arriving yellow vehicle. Finally! Her cab! She released a relieved sigh as the driver spotted her and stopped right in front of her. A few moments later she got into the passenger seat while the driver loaded her bag into the trunk. Soon she was on her way back to her home town.
The white scenery slipped by wordlessly, only the soft humming of the radio could be heard as she turned her head to look out the window. She could feel the melancholy creeping up inside her as she watched the snowflakes making their way towards the ground. She could feel his absence deep inside her bones and it was eating up at her. It was the first time since she’d met him, that she truly felt lonely.
Maybe she would be able to see him, still, after the holidays were over. This thought was making the loneliness somewhat bearable, even if it was short lived. She was always exited to meet him at the airport. The moment when their eyes met for the first time after so long was most precious to her, and she treasured it more than … well all her treasures. It was only the two of them, him and her, and for that short moment she could pretend that he’d missed her just as much as she’d missed him. Could pretend that they were more than simple friends and that she was waiting for her beloved instead. She sighed for the umpteenth time that day, wishing that she could just pull him close and relish in the feeling only he was able to arouse in her.
The sign of her hometown flew past the window. Not long and she would be home and at least be in the company of her family if nothing else. The cab stopped, however, and she could see blinking lights some distance away. It turned out to be some kind of accident, nothing fatal, but the main road would be closed for a little while longer. The driver offered her to drive a different route but seeing as it wasn’t that far from her house anymore, she decided that it would be best to walk instead of taking a detour. The driver snatched her bag and after she’d paid him she began strolling home.
To her surprise she soon found herself wandering through the small park that held the lake. It wasn’t frozen yet, the flakes still made an impact on the glossy surface. But it looked beautiful nonetheless with the moon high in its place reflecting in the water below. At a bench she halted and let her bag drop to the ground besides her to admire the view in front of her. She just stood there, letting the memories pass, for a long while until she noticed that it was still freezing and her clothes were still … inconvenient.
Suddenly a pair of familiar red gloves popped up in front of her vision, giving her a strong sense of a Déjà-vu. Eyeing them strangely it took a moment for her brain to connect the dots. With a soft gasp she turned around when she finally realized just who these gloves belonged to, only to be met with two black eyes gazing tenderly down at her, a small smile was playing on his lips.
“I thought you might need those.”
She gaped at him incredulously; his presence took her totally off guard.
His lips were moving as he said something to her, but she had difficulty understanding what it was with her heart beating so loudly in her chest. It felt like it would burst out of there any minute now. She looked at him, really looked at him, standing there with his red winter jacket then down to the pair of mittens and her eyes filled with tears.
He frowned slightly at her when he saw her still staring at them without making a move to put them on her frozen fingers. When she still didn’t take them after a few more moments, he added “Well, aren’t you gonna take ‘em?”
“Huh?... Eh, sure.” Out of her daze she reached out to get them but was stopped by two warm hands cradling hers, before he helped her to put them on.
“There, all set.” He smiled proudly at his handiwork.
His hands lingered for a moment longer, before he let go of her completely. Awkward silence stretched between them, then, neither of them knowing exactly what to say to the other.
“What are you doing here, Luffy?”
“I was looking for you, silly” he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world, still grinning, though it was losing more of its shine as he noticed that she seemed upset and was not meeting his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Oh how she wanted to tell him how she felt. To show him just how much it pained her to be separated from him for so long. She hadn’t really wanted to admit it at first but slowly and surely she’d fallen for him. And she’d fallen hard. For a moment she seriously considered telling him but soon she discarded that thought. Too afraid that it would destroy their special bond and that it would become awkward should he not feel the same about her. So she evaded his question… somewhat.
“It’s just… nothing. Never mind.” She cast him a brief glance before averting her eyes once more.
“No it’s not. Nami, please tell me what’s wrong.” He was a little worried now. This wasn’t like the girl he knew. When she still didn’t answer he took a step closer, laying his hands on her shoulders he caused her to look at him. He was a bit puzzled when he saw the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.
“Oi….” he stuttered. “Please don’t cry, Nami. I hate it when you do.”
He had no idea how to proceed in a situation like this, having never been confronted with it before. Feeling utterly helpless at seeing her tearful expression he did the first thing that came to mind. He pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his chin atop of her head while he let her fall apart in his arms. For whatever reason it may be, she needed him now. So he just held her.
After awhile she seemed to pull herself together as her sobs subsided. Still, she let her head rest buried against his chest, relishing in the calming sensation his steady heart beat provided. It was comforting, to feel him so close. So much so, that the freezing weather around her wasn’t bothering her that much anymore. She could’ve stayed like this forever.
As for Luffy, he just enjoyed having her in his arms again. It had been so long since they last held each other like that. It had been hard to be apart from her. And even though they often spoke or wrote to each other it just wasn’t the same. He’d missed to see her smile or hear her laugh at something he’d said. Had missed her soft fingers as they brushed against his arm. He’d even missed her smell, the intoxicating scent of tangerines that was so uniquely Nami. He wanted her with him and not miles away, out of his reach. That was why he’d searched for her as soon as his plane had landed. And now that he’d found her he just wanted to savor this moment. It was silent for awhile with only the sound of breathing as they stayed entangled in each other’s arms.
“I really missed you, Nami” he whispered softly in her ear.
“Idiot” she murmured into his chest, still sniveling, though the insult was lost as she tightened her grip around him.
“Shishishi. Does that mean you missed me too, then?” He didn’t really need an answer; the way she was clinging onto him was enough for him to know she did. He was just trying to lighten the mood a little.
Seeing as the moment was lost she slowly let go of him, running her hands across his chest and smoothening the crinkles in his blue jacket. She shivered as the wind tugged at her thin clothing and she rubbed her arms. It didn’t go unnoticed by her companion.
“Let’s go home, Nami” he told her softly, grabbing her hand and the bag resting on the snowy ground before gently tugging her along with him. In the distance she could see the truck of his brother. So this was how he’d found her then. Maybe she’d ask him about it later, but for now she would just enjoy his company.
She smiled, a warm and happy smile, when she looked down at their intertwined hands and the red fabric wrapped around them. And suddenly she was grateful that she had chosen to dress so inappropriate that day two years ago. She may have never met him if it weren’t for the red gloves now warming her fingers.
A grin crept onto her face as she realized that Robin had been right. He really had come for her. And it felt great. Of one thing she was sure: She wouldn’t let go of this feeling ever again.
The End
So, das war mein erster LuNa bzw. RuNa OS in Englisch. Ich hoffe es gefällt euch :)
