Death Do Us Part

VIII

Luffy awakens, saddened to discover that he didn't sleep in Lovely's room, but in another empty room. The walls around him were unpainted and bare except for a disassembled, small wooden bed in one corner. He sensed that this room was meant to be a guest room or a place for storage before it was rendered useless. He rubs his eyes from the morning light and pulls back his arms to find himself still in bat form.

What?! he squeaks. Why am I still a bat?! Shouldn't I be back to my old self by now?!!

The door to the room opens a slight crack. Luffy shields his eyes from a new source of light and squeaks.

"Sorry for not placing you in a darker room," a voice says. "I forgot that you're nocturnal."

He peeks a little from behind his wing to see Lovely reaching down to pick him up. Squeak!

"Oh! You're awake!" she exclaims. "Or do you want to go back to sleep?"

He snuggles into her hand and shuts his eyes. Lovely smiles and walks him into the back of the dressing room, where no one was allowed except for her and Luffy when he was a mortal. She takes a spare piece of silk from a cupboard and folds it in half. She places Luffy between the folds of the fabric and gently brushes his head with a finger. He chirps softly with contentment until he gives in to the clutches of sleep.

_____

Later in the afternoon, Lovely heats a bottle of milk and makes her way to the dressing room, when she nearly bumps into Alice. She exclaims and places a hand on her heart to calm herself.

"Alice!" she exclaims. "How have you been?"

"What are you doing with milk in a feeding bottle?" Alice asks, raising a brow.

"Oh!" Lovely hides the bottle behind her back. "I was going to make cocoa. I was wondering if you or Zolo would want any."

"No, thanks," Alice shakes her head. "We have some business to take care of."

Zolo walks into the house and up the stairs. Moments later, he walks down the steps carrying two cases of luggage and loads them onto the back of a horse-drawn carriage before returning inside to take a large trunk.

Lovely raises a brow, confused. "What's going on? Where are we going?"

"It's just Zolo and me," Alice says, tying a bonnet under her chin. "The Head of England's division was somehow informed of yesterday's attack and requested all experienced hunters in the country to a meeting in Caledonia."

"Caledonia?!" Lovely exclaims. "That means...you'll be gone for a couple of days!!"

"We don't know if that's the case," Alice says. "Most meetings with the Head can take months. Depending on how serious the situation was, we may not see you until February, or next month at most."

Lovely cast her gaze to the ground and sighed. "I see."

"Are you worried about being by yourself when we're gone?"

She nods. "And who's going to eat the Christmas dinner I had planned for the three of us?"

Alice sways from side to side and looks around the shop in thought. "Perhaps...Chopper and Usopp can be stand-ins for us. They could also help you run the shop and watch over you when we're away."

Lovely smiles and hugs her. "Thanks, Alice! You know just what I need to cheer up."

Zolo firmly knocks on the wooden doorway. "Oy, Alice! The cargo's loaded! Are you ready?!"

"Just a minute!" Alice calls to him.

"Oh! Before I forget..." Lovely scans through the presents under the tree, until she finds two presents with tags addressed to Zolo and Alice. "I bought you gifts. You don't have to open them now. You can open it on the way over there. What I got will keep you busy on the road."