(A/n)
I went back and added art to each chapter and tbh I have no idea why I didn't add any from the get go. I love having a little visual with each chapter. Though it does get hard to keep track of what pieces I've used in other chapters or stories. Sometimes I have to go back and doubt check so you guys are seeing something different every time.

Both the guys cleaned up well. Law looked downright normal when he finally had a clean shirt to put on. As soon as you deemed he was dressed appropriately, he was back out to continue checking around the general area for the orb. Kid was a little harder to work with, mostly because of his prosthetic but you managed to make things work. He had tried to rip his shirt sleeve off immediately after donning the piece of clothing and you had argued with him for a short while about it. The clothes were new and you'd rather not have him ruining them right away. Not to mention the sleeve helped cover where the arm connected to his body.

The metal limb would get some looks for sure but that wouldn't be a big deal. If he was missing part of his shirt though, people would be able to see that it didn't connect like regular prosthetics and that may raise some questions you weren't wanting to try and answer. Luckily, he gave in to your demands to leave his clothes intact and put up with the material straining around the metal.

"So if Law is checking around here, where are we going?" Kid grumbled.

"Well," You snatched up the car keys and Kid immediately grinned. He liked the car. "There's some hiking trails nearby we could look around. I figured that's a good start."

"Sweet, I wanna drive."

You snorted as you went out the front door with him hot on your heels, hovering like an excited dog. "No chance. You'd ruin the clutch in a heartbeat."

"Would not."

"Everyone who is just learning to drive manual fucks up the clutch to some degree. I'm not in the mood to have to search for a new one if you do that. Besides, where we're going isn't a good place to start learning."

"Teach me later then, somewhere better."

You paused at the driver side door as you thought about it. "Why do you want to learn? You won't be here forever and there's no cars where you're at. Or at least that's what it seems like."

"There aren't any." You both slid in to your seats as he continued, putting on his seatbelt at your insistence. "But we do have some kinds of vehicles. I bet I could replicate something like this with the right tools and materials."

That sounded impressive. You could tell Kid had an affinity to metallurgy and mechanics, and it had nothing to do with his strange ability. The man had a genuine love for moving parts.

"That'd be pretty cool to see." You said as you started up the car.

"I'd like to take a closer look at this so I can get a better idea of how it all works actually." He hinted.

"...I guess you can, supervised though."

"I figured." He grunted, staring out his side window.

You were in a better mood today. Well, after eating something that is. It probably had to do with things getting set in motion. You were searching for the mystery orb for real now and hopefully it wouldn't be long until it was found and the guys were out of your hair. Though the hard part would be figuring out what to do with yourself once that happened. There'd be a lot of free time and you were more than a little intimidated with the idea of having nothing to do but think about all the things you'd rather not. But you'd figure it out when you got there.

"So why exactly is where we're going a bad spot to learn?"

It took you a second to realize he meant how to drive. "We're going up towards the mountains. There's going to be too much up and down hill and not enough space for you to mess up in."

"I like how you assume I'll mess up."

"I like how you assume you won't."

You felt him staring at you before he let out a chuckle. "You ain't half bad when you aren't all mopey."

"I'm not mopey."

"Not now you aren't but you sure as shit have been up until now."

"I lost someone important to me and then you two showed up. I have a right to feel like shit."

"Sure you do." He shifted around in his seat and watched the scenery pass by. "But life goes on. People die all the time, shit happens and wallowing in self pity never brought anyone back or made things more tolerable."

"For fuck's sake," You growled. "she passed a couple weeks ago. It's still recent, I'm still adjusting. Don't show up, demanding that I help you, and then start judging my life."

"I'm not." He sneered as you faced him for a second but he didn't look angry. This was probably the most civil you'd seen him with such a serious topic. "I'm just saying you gotta move on."

"I'll work on that when you guys are gone. Things are a bit too hectic at the moment."

"Oh you're telling me." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

You just shook your head. This was quickly heading down a road that would lead to an argument and you didn't want another day of sour moods, not if you could help it.

"You have any family?" You figured a subject change would alleviate some of the tension.

"Me?" He snickered. "Hell no. Grew up on an island as just another orphan, made things work long enough to get to sea and started the wonderful life of piracy."

"Wait.....you're saying you're a pirate."

"Well no shit. What else would I be?" He answered like there wasn't anything more obvious. Of course. How could you not notice that was exactly what he was?

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're no where near the ocean here and pirates aren't common nowadays." So not only was he crazy, he was openly admitting to being some kind of criminal. You did nothing to deserve this.

"Different world sweetheart. Pirates are all the rage where I'm from." He tugged at his shirt proudly, puffing out his chest like you should be impressed. You weren't.

You let it go though and continued the drive in silence. It wouldn't be long until you reached the foot of the mountain and began going up the twisting roads to reach the trailheads.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Kid huffed impatiently.

"Yes."

He waited for you to add more and ended up tapping his metal hand to your shoulder when you didn't. "Why the hell don't you speed up then?"

"Because it's illegal." You pointed to a speed limit sign as you passed it. "That's as fast as I'm supposed to go." Then you pointed to your speedometer. "I'm already going at that speed."

"Who's going to bust you if you go faster?"

"The cops."

"There's no one else here."

He had a point there. It was a weekday so everyone was at work or school. No one was out and about and that meant besides you, the road was clear.

"It's still illegal."

"Only if you're caught." You looked at him, unamused, but the stare was met with a wild, excited grin. "I wanna see how fast this can go."

And as much as you hated to say it, you did too. You were no perfect, law abiding citizen but you did your best. It was still hard to not give in to temptations like this though. This particular stretch of road was long and straight as an arrow. Most people didn't take it as it was technically a back road and the chances of seeing another vehicle, let alone hitting one, were slim to none. And before you knew it, you were gripping at the gear shift tightly and pressing harder on the gas.

Kid giggled as the car picked up speed, roaring to life like you'd never heard before. You'd been cruising in third gear up until now and the engine quickly reached the perfect time to up it to fourth. Your foot eased off the gas as you pressed in the clutch and switched gears. The car jerked forward a bit at the transition and Kid let out a whoop as he rolled his window down. The wind whipped into the vehicle and tousled his crazy red locks. He stuck his arm out the window and felt the air between his fingertips.

"Can it go faster?" He asked, eyes gleaming.

"Yeah."

You kicked it into fifth and the passing trees turned into green blurs. You were going more than twice the legal limit. Kid let out full on laughter in delight and you felt the beginnings of the first smile you'd had in weeks begin to tug at the corners of your lips. It felt good to let loose for a bit and the energy Kid was giving off only heightened your mood. This was something entirely new to him and he was enjoying every bit of it. Maybe he wasn't so bad. At least when he wasn't being a hard ass.

The fun was short lived though. You soon reached a bend in the road and slowed down, partially to avoid sending the car tumbling and partially because you couldn't fully see around it. Kid's laughter subsided to chuckles but he still looked giddy. His hair had turned windswept and no matter how many times he ran his fingers through it, it still looked a little messy.

You fell into a sudden fit of giggles as a police cruiser passed by, right after you'd returned to going the speed limit.

"Was that one of your cops?" Kid craned his neck to watch it pass.

"Yep."

"Would they have busted your ass for that?"

"Oh definitely."

"I coulda taken them."

"I'd rather you not." You rolled your eyes, a smile still tugging at your lips.

He looked you over, definitely looking satisfied. "You had fun with that."

"Everyone gets a thrill doing things they aren't supposed to. It's no big deal." You shrugged and the smile disappeared. The moment was gone.

He grunted in response, falling back into what you assumed was his normal attitude. A bit broody with a hint of snark. That was okay with you. You'd reached the bottom of the mountain and it'd take a bit of concentration to maneuver the roads. They got pretty narrow in some spots and it wasn't fun when there was incoming traffic or truckers to worry about.

You did a good job handling all the turns and curves though. It wasn't your first rodeo, Wren taught you all the tricks and tips to driving on roads like these some time ago. Your passenger had gone back to checking out his ever changing surroundings, you doubted mountains were normal for him if he spent time on the ocean like he said he did. You'd lived here for years and still couldn't get over the view yourself. It was always wonderful.

The rocks had layers of color ranging from a dull grey to a shock of red not far from the shade of Kid's hair. When you got further up, you'd catch glimpses of the mountain goats and occasionally deer. Elk were harder to find but if you were lucky you'd catch sight of one.

Eventually you pulled up to one of the trail heads and parked in the dirt lot in front of it.

"Okay." You turned the car off and took off your seatbelt to crawl halfway into the back seats.

There was a bag you kept shoved back there for trips like this. It always had a stash of water and snacks in it. As soon as you got it, you pulled it back to the front with you. Kid was watching you, his eyes flicking between your face and.... probably your ass. He had a good view of it when you were bent over. You sighed and shoved the bag to his chest.

"We're taking that with us, you can carry it."

"What, why?" He snapped back to reality as he held the bag up with obvious distaste.

"Cause I said so."

"That's not a real reason." He grumbled as you both stepped out of the car.

The outdoor air was cool but that had more to do with your elevation than anything else. When you decided to head back down, it'd be quite a bit warmer.

"How this for a reason then; that's the cost for staring at my ass."

"It was right there! I couldn't not look!"

You shook your head and marched to the trailhead while he rushed to sling the bag along his shoulders. He wouldn't see it, but he had you smiling again.

(A/n)
Learning to drive a manual is a little stressful at first but once you have the hang of it, it's all kinds of fun. Sometimes I miss the little manual car I used to own. There's something to be said about having full control of shifting gears.