To those who wanted to virtually hold my hand...I love you and I hope you have a good day.
I've apparently been writing this story for over a year now.
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Ace and Anoki have set out into the desert once again, this time the lizard (gecko?) was pulling a sled filled with supplies behind them. No words were being said between the two, the only sound heard was the quick stamping steps the lizard made through the sand. Anoki was basking in the warmth brought by the sun while Ace was basking in Anoki's body warmth and natural scent. It was about an hour into the lizard's sprint through the dunes that Anoki could faintly hear the sound of overlapping voices. Ace nudged the lizard into the direction of the noise and urged him to go as fast as he could. Once the lizard managed to get to the peak of a sand dune both Anoki and Ace let out gleeful laughs at the sight of Nami reprimanding Luffy while the others watched.
"Hey there you guys are!" Anoki called out loudly, her voice causing everyone to whip their heads in the direction of her voice. The lizard raced towards the group and skidded to a stop right in front of them, the sled of supplies swinging to the side in a wide arc. Ace and Anoki dismounted the lizard and stepped closer to the group, a wide grin on Ace's face while a pleased smile was on Anoki's. Ussop and Nami instantly had tears pouring from their eyes, both of the cowards racing towards Anoki and hugging her tattooed arms close to their chests.
"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US ALONE LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!! WE WERE SO SCARED THAT WE WERE NEVER GOING TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Both of them sobbed out, causing Anoki to give them a strained smile. Anoki wrapped her arms around their shoulders and pulled Nami and Ussop closer to her person, holding their heads against her collarbones. "I want both of you to take a deep breath and calm down." Anoki instructed, both cowards immediately doing as instructed and concentrating a the feeling of Anoki holding them close. "Now you both need to know that for as long as I'm still breathing that I will never leave. This crew means far too much for me to leave behind."
Crocodile tears starting pouring from their eyes once again, the both of them deeply touched at Anoki's dedication to the crew. Their lips were trembling too much for words so Nami and Ussop settled on holding onto Anoki even tighter. "Oh Ace and I brought some supplies from a nearby town." Anoki stated, causing Ussop to let go of her and race over with Luffy to a large keg that was filled with water. Zoro pulled Chopper over to the keg and gently ran some of the water through the little reindeer's fur in hopes of cooling him down. Nami and Vivi went over as well with Sanji to start looking through the food that was provided, leaving Ace and Anoki to watch over them with prideful smiles.
