Birds of Feather

Chapter 4: Azul

You walked out of the front doors of the office building and saw Zoro standing nearby with a coffee and a small bag. You smiled and gave him a little wave as he walked over. The sun was long since set, and you had another couple hours of work ahead of you at least.

"Here you go." He says in his usual curt tone, handing over the coffee and the bag. You take both, tilting your head a little. "Muffin." He explains.

"Ah. Thank you, and give my thanks to Sanji too."

Zoro smiles a little in response. "You want me to stick around and give you a lift home?"

"Hm? No, no I'm good."

"I saw Bonclay leave just as I was getting here. Is Buggy driving you home?"

You shake your head. "We chased Buggy off over an hour ago." You admit, opening the bag and feeling yourself warm up at the idea of a fresh baked muffin. "I'm going to sleep in the office."

"What?"

"Oh, I'll be fine." You say dismissively. "And safe." You nod toward the lobby. "Night security knows I'm in for the night, and I'm going to lock myself in Bon-bon's office. It's not the first time I've slept in the office, Marimo, it won't be the last."

Zoro clicks his tongue, seems to ponder something for a moment and then puts his hands up in defeat. "Call if something goes wrong."

"Aww, how sweet." You only coo a little, smiling brightly. "I will, thanks."

Parting ways with Zoro you went back into the building, giving the security guard behind the desk a wave as you headed back upstairs. You took a drink of the coffee as you rode the elevator up to your floor, walking through the empty cubes easily. Working late fairly often meant you were comfortable with the emptiness of the office like this.

It was easier, honestly, to get work done with most of the staff gone.

Your job was fairly straightforward to explain, but the actual doing could be tedious. Ivankov's business was the business of charity. Money came out, it was maximized – your job – and then it went out. Maximizing money meant researching deals all around the world, and dealing with vendors from all over. Once you set things up, Bonclay would take over and do the actual negotiating and logistics.

You kept the numbers straight, and did the research to make sure things were used as efficiently as possible. A few times that had you skirting the letter of the law, but being good at that part was precisely why the job was yours in the first place.

You and Ivan had spent many nights stretching money and resources through lanes that weren't strictly legal. They weren't completely illegal either, at least not that would hold up in a court of law. Since neither of you were pirates, you had the right to proper court proceedings and as much work as you did to maximize resources, you did as much to cover your ass legally.

Because of your role you knew all the company's secrets, and knowing those secrets was also why you were happy to work long nights like this. Ivankov's Empire fed and housed and helped millions of people every year. The organization filled a lot of cracks the World Government didn't seem keen on filling.

You were ninety percent certain he had ties to the Revolutionary army, but that was need to know, and you did not need to know. Didn't want to know, for what it was worth. Changing the world wasn't on your radar. You wanted to help people, live your life, and if your luck ever decided to cut you a break you'd love to find someone to live that life with.

Someone you could tell your dangerous secret to.

Working until nearly midnight, you caved to your heavy eyelids and went to sleep in Bon-bon's office. Old enough to not be thrilled about it, but young enough to survive it, you almost slept better in his office than you did in your own home. Emptiness in your house felt cold, but an empty office felt peaceful.