They picked up on the second ring.

"Ya?" A young, male voice answered lazily.

"Who the hell is Chopper?"

There was an audible, delighted gasp. "You're the person who's going to feed him!" They shouted.

You winced and pulled your phone a little away from your ear. Damn he was loud.

"Sure....when I know more about him."

There was one, no, two other muffled voices on the other end followed by more yelling from the young man. "It's the lady who's taking care of Chopper!"

"Uh, (Y/n) actually."

"She says her name's (Y/n)!"

At least you knew he was listening.

"Oh, I'm Luffy by the way." He said, casual once again.

"Luffy....oh, one of Newgate's boys right? Would Thatch happen to be there too?"

"Yeah."

"Great." You chirped. "Can you tell him he left some rather important things here? A box of photographs and some movies."

"Ohhhhh what kinds of movies?"

He sounded too young for a complete stranger to explain porn to him.

"The uh, the fun kind?" You should've been more nonchalant about it but it didn't seem to phase Luffy.

"Thatch!" He screeched. "She says you left pictures and the fun movies at the house!"

There was a loud "fuck!" of realization and you snickered. You'd keep those movies around for him to pick up.

"He says he'll get those in a couple weeks."

"Great, now tell me about Chopper or he might go hungry."

"He comes by the backyard every morning. I dunno what time exactly but you'll figure it out. He likes carrots, lettuce....oh, and cotton candy!"

This kid was going to be the death of you. "Okay, so what exactly is Chopper?"

"A deer."

Fuck me.

There were some trees past the back yard. It made sense that deer would come around to graze.

"So you want me to feed the wild deer that comes around?"

"Yep."

"How do I know it's the right one?" And why were you continuing to humor this guy? Maybe you were just too damn nice.

"One of his antlers is busted."

You had to think for a moment. Deer shed their antlers early in the year and being that it was early February, you wouldn't doubt that said deer didn't have his.

"Is he the only one that comes around?"

"Yeah."

Well that made things easier.

"Okay." You sighed. "I'll feed your deer. But the second he gets an attitude he'll have to get his snacks from someone else."

"Yesssssssss. Thanks lady! You're pretty cool!"

You chuckled. "Glad you think so. I gotta go, your deer's in good hands."

He hung up in a fit of giggles and you were at a loss for words. Newgate had five sons and you already had begun painting a mental picture of two of them. They were a riot as far as you could tell.

"What kind of deer eats cotton candy?" You murmured to yourself as you checked the fridge.

It was empty, as expected. At least you thought so until you looked in one of the bins. A small plastic bag with a couple of carrots sat there. You smiled to yourself. The boys seemed to really care for that deer.

----

The next morning you got up early. Not just for the deer, but because you had a laundry list of things to do. No one was ever finished moving after they moved. Things still had to be done. Groceries needed to be bought, mail had to be transferred, job searching needed to happen. Not to mention on the drive here, a rock hit your car's windshield and it ended up getting cracked and now had to be replaced. In short, it was going to be a hectic day.

You started by waiting out on the back porch for the deer, carrots in hand. There was a slight chill in the air as winter's hold was still there, just barely. Grass was beginning to green up for spring and the trees were working on sprouting new leaves. It wouldn't be long until it was all kinds of pretty out here.

As your mind was wandering, you caught sight of the deer, watching cautiously from the trees. You were a new person, it made sense he'd be alert.

One of his antlers had fallen off, while the other had yet to shed. It was busted up, just like Luffy said. There wasn't a white patch to be seen on him which was interesting. And he looked small as well, like he was still very young.

"You must be Chopper."

His ears perked towards you at the sound of your voice.

"I'm supposed to take over on your breakfast, I've got a couple carrots for you here."

You pulled one out of the bag and waved it around. He took a step forward, eager for the food, but thought better about coming any closer than that.

"I get it, stranger danger." You shrugged and placed his treats on the porch. "I'll leave these for you, expect more tomorrow."

As soon as you were inside and, in his eyes, no longer a danger, he trotted up to the porch and snapped up the treats like someone would come steal them if he wasn't fast enough. You'd never been one to deal with wildlife like this, but it was cute. Then again, this kind of wildlife wasn't exactly present in the city you lived in before this.

Next on your agenda was mail and groceries.

The mail was easy. You popped into the local post office and filled out the correct form to have everything rerouted. The folks were delighted to chat you up for a little bit and introduce themselves.

When you convinced them you had to leave to take care of other things, they showered you in goodbyes and hopes to see you around in the near future. You liked the welcoming nature of the people, but it was a bit more than you were used to.

The grocery store was as quaint as the town itself was but it had everything you needed. The people there were equally as friendly as those in the post office and by the time you were done and unloading your haul back home, you felt done with people for the day. When you're used to people generally being grouchy and rude, this much change at once was a bit much to handle. It'd take you a while to get used to it.

You checked the time and the day was already halfway over. Job searching was going to be the last thing you did as you were careful with your money and had plenty to last. Being a responsible adult sucked sometimes but it sure paid off in times like now. First thing though, you had to get the car fixed up. There was supposedly a repair shop near the edge of town you could check out. As they were the only one actually in Aufork, you hoped they didn't do any outrageous pricing.

The ride to the shop was quick and when you got there, you could tell they did a lot of work for the local farmers and ranchers. All kinds of farming equipment was laying about, waiting to get worked on you assumed. The couple ports for regular vehicles were open, one with a large truck suspended up high in it with a couple men under it. A couple familiar looking men actually.

You got out of your car, closing the door loud enough to draw their attention.

"Heat and Kid right? I didn't expect to see you guys again so soon."

Kid grunted, rolling his eyes as he got back to work. Heat offered you a wave, lips twitching up into a small smile for a second before returning to a sullen expression.

"If you're looking to get work done, Wire should be inside. You can talk to him." The blue haired man said, pointing to the door leading inside the building.

You walked in through the door and took in the small shop. There was a couple chairs to the side, likely for anyone waiting on work to be done. Shelving units held everything from oil to tools for someone looking to do maintenance or repairs themselves. You weren't one of those people.

Directly ahead, past all the shelves and merchandise, was the front desk. Just as Heat said, Wire was behind it, fiddling with some car part. His hands were stained black from it and you could tell the piece had his full attention. A little bell rang above the door when you walked in and he didn't even glance up. Maybe he thought you were one of his friends.

"Hey, I heard you can help me?" You got his attention.

Instead of jumping like you thought he would, Wire looked at you without turning his head and slowly put the part down to wipe off his hands with the rag slung over his shoulder.

"What do you need?" He asked once his hands were somewhat clean.

"Couple things actually. My windshield got a crack on the move here and its been getting worse every day. I was hoping you could replace that."

"We may have to order the windshield." He looked over your head to the vehicle outside. "What else were you needing?"

"Anyone selling any cars around here? I'm going to sell mine when it's fixed up, I'm looking for something different."

"If by different you mean fancier, you won't find anything like that here." He smirked. "Fresh out of Teslas and Ferraris."

Okay, you had a nice car, anyone could see that. It was a new model and besides the windshield, it was as good as it got.

"Look, I know I must seem like some snobby girl with my fancy car and all, but I'm looking to downgrade. I need that one gone and any old beater to replace it. As long as I can get from point A to point B, I'll be a happy camper."

His smirk dropped. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing."

"Owe too much?"

"It's paid off."

He shook his head and frowned. "What's the point of getting rid of it then? No one around here's going to want to pay what it's worth."

"It's just too.... eye-catching." You finally said with a shrug. "I want something that fits in with the area and I can sell that one for cheap if I have to. Don't care who it goes to or what's done with it, I just want it gone."

His face immediately twisted into a suspicious look. "Okay...tell you what. It's a pretty good car for parts, lotta people around here drive the same brand. If Kid agrees, maybe we'll buy it off of you."

"Okay." You smiled innocently. "I'd like that."

"Come on then." He opened a side door and you went around the counter to slip under his imposing frame and through it as he held it open for you.

It led out into the garage space you saw Kid and Heat in, except now Killer was there too. They all stared at you and then Wire as he followed you out.

"She wants to sell her car." He stated simply. "And see if she can buy something...local."

The look on his face said not to question it so Kid just nodded.

"I'll need to check it out."

Wire must have made some sort of motion or mouthed something behind you. There was a confused flash in Kid's eyes, followed by a frown as he focused on you again.

"And I'll need to see proof of ownership."

"I expected as much." You said with a huff as you headed under one of the ports to your car.

They were assuming you stole the damn vehicle. While you admit what you were asking for was strange, that didn't mean you were a thief.

The car was already unlocked so you walked around to the passenger side and ducked in to get your registration paperwork from out of the glovebox.

"Here." You held it out to Kid who had been following behind a little too closely. You handed him your ID as well, just in case he was still unable to figure it out. "If you want to see the title too, that's back at home so that'll have to wait."

"No, I think you're alright." He grumbled and handed everything back.

Without asking, he started nosing around, opening and closing doors as he peeked around the upholstery and checked out features.

"Pop the hood." He commanded.

You did so without a fuss. Whatever it took to sell this thing.

Kid propped it up and stooped over the machinery, prodding at different parts and grumbling to himself as he noted the car's condition. He went about this for a few minutes before glowering at you.

"This thing's in perfect shape."

"Almost." You tapped the windshield.

"How much you want for it?"

You'd bought it brand new off the lot for a solid $50,000 and usually the second you drove away, a cars value dropped drastically.

"As is? $10,000."

There was a choking sound from the garage and you saw the other three listening in with wide eyes.

"Or a straight trade." You offered. "I'm looking for something like that."

You pointed to a little grey Subaru outback sitting off to the side with a for sale sign on it.

"What the fuck have you been smoking?" Kid asked.

"Nothing. Do you want it or not?"

He looked away, worrying at his lip as he tried to figure out what the catch was. There wasn't one. You just really wanted this car gone.

"We'll give you that POS for this on one condition; I need to know why you want this gone." He finally said.

"I've got personal reasons." You crossed your arms and stood firm.

"No deal then."

"It's a good price." You argued.

"It's too good. I don't know what you have going on, but I don't want to get involved in it."

He started walking away and you felt yourself begin to crumble. This was probably going to be your best bet at getting rid of it, you couldn't let this pass you up.

"I didn't really give notice when I moved here."

He paused but didn't face you, the other three watching keenly.

"I wanted to start fresh, away from the people I knew, things weren't working out with them. It wasn't a bad situation per se and there was nothing illegal but I couldn't stay. I just want to keep a low profile."

The three men looked at you, Kid, and back at you. He still hadn't moved.

"I don't know what else to tell you." You threw your hands up in the air even though he couldn't see it. "That's pretty much it."

He turned and stomped back over, jabbing a metal finger into your chest. "If you're lying and I figure it out, I'm going straight to the police with this."

"That's fine." You moved his hand. The metal hurt damnit.

"Wire." His eyes didn't leave yours as he called for the tall, dark man. "Get the keys to the car for her."

Kid held out his hand for your key and you took it off the ring, placing it in his palm.

"I want to see that title today, come back with it or we're going to have problems."

"I'll be back in an hour then."

Kid stalked off while Wire came back around to show you your replacement vehicle. It didn't look all that bad. It was a good twelve years old, well aged as you liked to put it, but the paint was in good shape and it had no signs of ever receiving serious damage.

After transferring all your little things from one car to the other, you were all set to go pick up the title. Kid would give you the one for this vehicle after you brought yours and the trade would be official.

You hopped in the driver seat, Wire standing by. He held the door open, leaning into it.

"You're running from something." He stated.

You sighed. "Have you ever made one small decision, one tiny choice, only for it to lead to something completely out of your control, like some shitty domino effect?"

"That's oddly specific, but no. I haven't." His hands dug into his pockets as he relaxed.

You noticed he was wearing the same jacket as the day before, the one he had on under his leather one. It was zipped up snugly to his throat and all you could think was it was a decently warm day. It was a little much to wear something like that, especially while working on cars all day.

"Things weren't going right for me and I decided I needed a change of pace."

"You're worried someone's going to come looking for you."

"Well..." You frowned. "Yeah, I guess."

Why else would you feel such a strong urge to blend in around here?

"Your clothes." He jutted his chin to you.

"What?"

"You should wear different clothes then. Those stand out."

You looked down. Sneakers, skin tight black jeans, and a scarlet blouse. Then you thought about all the people you'd seen around town today. This town was very blue collar. Everyone seemed to work more physically demanding jobs and the common outfit seemed to be blue jeans and button up shirts. Very country, unlike you.

"You're right." You chuckled. "Thanks for the advice, I'll have to go shopping soon then."

A smile ghosted across his lips for a heartbeat and then it was gone. "See you in a bit, don't keep Kid waiting too long."

He closed the door for you and headed back for the shop. Back to running those errands.