(An)
Not going to lie, it is hella hard to find good art with Heat in it so I don't have much to put in this story. I have a couple more to use but that's about it unfortunately.

You felt bad that you hadn't really run into Heat for a bit over a week but it couldn't be helped. You liked his company, but there was work to do. Classes had hardly started and all kinds of students were suddenly needing tutoring and scheduling times to work with you. It had you booked.

Mornings and into the afternoons, you'd do your own classes. And then you'd have to run home to start work. Vivi had been great about it the whole time and didn't bother you whenever you were busy. You got more than lucky with your roommate. Besides having a duck for a pet, she was pretty normal and had a good understanding of personal space.

But now it was the weekend and you finally had some free time. Sitting around all week had you feeling stiff and more than anything, you needed to get up and do something. You were a bit of a shut in, but you weren't afraid to get out and do something active as long as no one bothered you. The key to it was always wearing headphones. Even if you weren't listening to anything. People more often than not, didn't talk to you if you had them in. It was a perfect people deterrent.

You got ready that morning in a more active outfit and of course Meatloaf got all kinds of excited. Except he wasn't going with you this time. You finished getting ready by throwing your hair up and putting on a pair of sneakers.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news buddy, but you gotta stay home."

He didn't understand a single word you said. He let out a few gruff barks, bouncing on his front paws with each one as he waited for you to harness him up.

"Stay here and keep Vivi company."

"Meatloaf!" Vivi called from the couch. "Come cuddle!"

He looked between you and her before finally giving in and jumping up with her and snuggling into the young woman's chest.

"Heading out?" She asked.

"Yeah. I gotta go do something before I go stir crazy."

"I'll see you later then!" She waved as you left and you were quite positive she wouldn't see you again until tomorrow.

Vivi stayed pretty busy with her private life and was out with friends often. Friday and Saturday nights were usually spent alone while she was out with others. You liked that, it made it easy to get more personal time in.

As you left the building, you made a bee line for another part of the college campus. There wasn't a gym here but they had something you thought was better. The walk to it was short and you were happy to find that most people had shut themselves in for the day, leaving the walkways almost empty.

After a few minutes, you entered the building you were planning to spend a good part of the day at. This part of it was small, without much space to move around in. But it was also tall, mostly to accomidate for the rock wall in it. The closest half of it to you was pretty straightforward. A straight climb up with varying difficulties of hand and footholds. The other half was more difficult, including portions of wall that jutted out at odd angles that would take more strength and skill to climb.

And directly to the left of the door you just came through, was a counter with all the gear behind it along with a very bored looking man. He had naturally tanned skin and long, thick black hair tied back into a pony tail of sorts. A cap covered his head which you found a little unnecessary indoors but hey, who were you to judge.

"Hey Usopp." You greeted him. "Working here this year too?"

You came here often and he was one of two people that worked here so you saw him often. He was usually pretty peppy but on days like today when the place was empty, he tended to almost sulk.

"Yep. It makes ends meet, ya know?" He chuckled as he got a harness for you. "How about you? Still doing the online tutoring?"

"Yeah. It's easy work."

"Pretty in demand around here though."

"That's no joke. This is my first break from it all week."

The two of you chatted for a few minutes before you started getting ready to get your work out in. Right as you were about to start, the door swung open and an all too familiar group of men walked in. Heat and his friends just so happened to also spend their weekend indoor rock climbing. What where the chances of that?

Killer noticed you first while the rest went to get set up with Usopp.

"I didn't peg you as an active person." He said.

"Most people don't."

He nodded and motioned to the rock wall. "Any good at this?"

"There's no way she is." Kid said with a sneer.

You were starting to get used to these guys a bit at this point. Enough that you felt like you could maybe even joke around with them.

"Wanna bet?" You shot back.

"Ohhhh is that a challenge?" He said mockingly.

"Only if you aren't afraid to get your ass handed to you." You were about to make him eat his words.

Of course Kid was all about seeing who was better as he was overly confident in his own skills. You on the other hand, were excited to prove him wrong. When he was ready, everyone else stepped back to watch the show. Kid seemed to like making fun of you and really anyone else for that matter and as soon as Killer gave the signal for both of you to start, you were moving up like your life depended on it.

It was more your pride, but it felt like basically the same thing at this point. Both of you were using the flat portion of the wall and it honestly felt too easy. While Kid had size and reach on you, you were more nimble and did this probably a lot more often than he did. He hoisted himself from one handhold to the next with confidence but you were soon pulling ahead of him.

They changed where the handholds were from time to time so it was never the same for you whenever you came around for a workout. Of course this time was no different but you moved like you'd reached for the same spots a million times before.

"What the fuck?" Kid grunted as you continued to outpace him.

But you got a little stuck when you reached an area with only a few spots to place your hands and feet. And the only holds that were there were very small.

Kid snickered at you with regained confidence as he reached you. "What, too small to reach those?"

"Nope." You grit your teeth and pushed yourself up, jumping to reach the nearest one.

Your hand almost slipped, but you got a hold of it and balanced yourself by grasping another that was a little higher up. Your feet scrabbled against the bare wall as you took a deep breath and moved further along. When you got proper footing once again, Kid had caught up to you, but he wasn't ahead. And the top was almost in reach.

With a little more effort and the hardest part behind you, you climbed the rest of it with ease and pulled ahead once again. You glanced down to see Kid's look of dismay as you touched the top before him. You weren't one to gloat or really even do silly contests like this normally. But beating him felt great.

"Sorry, what was that about me not being good at this?" You said as you slid down the pulley and back to solid ground.

"It was lucky!" Kid snapped as he followed you down. "If we go again I'll win."

"I don't know about that." Wire said. "You ever seen a squirrel climb a tree? That's what she looked like."

"That was impressive." Killer agreed.

Heat stood off to the side, having not added any input since he walked in the building. If anything, he looked like he wasn't sure what to say. And as for you, compliments were hard to accept so you had a hard time saying much either.

"Oh, uh it wasn't anything that good. I've just had some practice is all."

Kid let loose a huff as he moved aside for someone else to have a go at it, scowling at you. Wire and Killer took your places, going up at a much more leisurely pace.

"Hey, you ever tried the other half?" Kid was now grinning again as he motioned to the half with parts jutting out.

"It's a lot harder so I haven't quite got the hang of it."

"Wanna try it? Betcha I'll beat you at that."

This is where your newfound confidence wavered. You would've preferred if Kid let you have your little victory but it seemed he wasn't content with that.

"Don't push her. That part looks hard for anyone." Heat finally spoke up.

"Aw c'mon. She can do it. Can't ya?"

Kid was egging you on. Anyone could see it. But you weren't sure you could back down.

"I think I can." You responded hesitantly.

"Well let's get to it then!" He gave you what you guessed was supposed to be an encouraging slap on the back. It ended up just knocking the wind out of you and almost made you do a faceplant. Holy hell he was strong.

"Be careful (Y/n)." Heat stared at you worriedly as you got hooked up to a pulley and waited for Kid to be ready.

"I think I should be fine." You smiled at him.

He looked doubtful that you wouldn't hurt yourself but didn't argue. You kind of wished he did. Maybe he could've talked some sense into you because you were a bit too scared to back down now. Looking at the wall made you nervous and you felt like you were about to make a real fool of yourself. You convinced yourself that in the worse case scenario, you'd fall on your ass to the gym mats covering the floor. You wouldn't actually hurt yourself if you fell.

As the two of you were about to start, Wire and Killer came down from their climb and watched you two curiously. Kid gave you a nod and you both were off. The wall was straight for the first portion so you got up that easily enough, even with shaking limbs. It was the part after that which was really scary.

The straight wall quickly changed into a sharp angle, jutting out towards and over your head at what you guessed was close to a 60° angle. You'd have to fight hard to avoid hanging off of it.

Kid noticed your hesitation when you reached that spot and gave you a smug grin before clambering onto it. You didn't miss that he was struggling with it and that gave you the push you needed to give it a shot. If he could do it, you could too.

With a deep breath in, you started up. You found that if you pushed your feet hard into the footholds, you'd stay in place a bit better but damn it felt intense. Your muscles burned and complained from the strain they were unaccustomed to as you slowly worked your way up the obstacle. Carrying Meatloaf on a regular basis helped keep your muscles in good shape, but that couldn't compete with this.

Kid wasn't in much better shape, you were catching up to him in fact. You were gasping for air as you struggled along and worry began to gnaw at your insides as your fingers began to feel clammy from the effort. You were doing good, much better than you expected, but you were having a harder time gripping the surface. The edge was close though. Only a couple more handholds and then it curved inwards sharply, creating a ledge.

If you could pull yourself up onto that, you could stand on it and give yourself a second to catch your breath and continue on. Kid wouldn't stand a chance if you could just do that. You were hit with a burst of pride when you got to the edge. Perfect, all you had to do was pull yourself up now.

Your arms quaked from the effort and you had it. Or so you thought. You grasped for one of that handholds to help you up but your hand finally slipped and the shock of it took away your chance for a recovery. A pitiful yelp left your lips as you fell and closed your eyes, fully prepared to slam back onto the ground.

It was more than surprising when you didn't.

Instead, you jerked to a sudden stop as the pulley kicked in and a pair of arms caught you. Your breath was still forced from your lungs with a small "oof". A slight embarrassed blush began to form as you opened your eyes and saw Heat staring right back at you. Of course he kept you from landing on your ass.

"Are you alright?" He asked, still holding you firmly. Were all four of these guys all this built?

"Y-yeah I'm good." The blush probably turned at least three shades darker as Killer and Wire trotted over to check on you.

Heat set you down carefully, keeping a grip on your shoulder in case you tottered over. You were glad to say at least that didn't happen.

"That was quite the tumble." Wire commented.

"My hand slipped." And now you were ready to crawl under a rock. Possibly hide away for the rest of your life. Who knew.

"That was a good catch Heat." Killer said.

"I was worried she might fall." Heat rubbed the back of his head, sending some of his hair tumbling over his shoulders.

"Thanks for catching me." You mumbled, clasping your hands behind your back. You really were grateful, it just felt strange to be held by him in that short time. Almost intimate.

"It was no problem. Did you need to take a break?"

Kid came over with a triumphant grin spread widely across his face. Apparently he took the time to finish his climb before checking to see if you hurt yourself.

"Looks like I win!"

"Don't be an ass Kid." Killer swat him upside the head.

"What was that for?" He griped, rubbing the now sore spot.

His friend ignored him and went back to the rock wall, intent on getting some more time in climbing it. Wire and Kid followed after, the latter grumbling about not deserving that kind of treatment.

Heat nodded towards the long bench that sat under the line of windows on the opposite side of the room and lightly pushed you towards them with a hand on the back. He was intent on you taking a breather.

When you took a seat, he sat by you. The both of you watched his friends go a couple rounds before you spoke up.

"You don't have to keep me company. I'll be fine if you want to join them."

"I'm alright with this. Rock wall climbing is more their thing anyway."

You kicked your feet back and forth. They weren't long enough to reach the floor, but Heat's were. They stayed firmly planted on the ground as he stared down at them, occasionally glancing at you.

"Well what's your thing then?" You asked.

"Hiking."

That made you smile. Hiking was much more outdoorsy and there were a lot of great places around here for that.

"I can't remember the last time I went on a hike."

"Did you want to go?" Heat watched you intently. "I was thinking of doing one soon."

"Like together?" Let's face it, you didn't really have friends. Sure that was your own fault for not going out and making any, but still. Getting asked to go out and do things with others was something that never happened for you. Ever.

"Yeah."

"S-sure."

A slight smile graced his normally morose face. "Next weekend then? I can text you a more definite time later. If you want."

"Yeah, we can do that."

You swapped phone numbers and continued to quietly watch his friends do their thing, bantering back and forth as they tried to figure out who was the fastest. It seemed you weren't the only person Kid was challenging, just the first one for the day.

The silence between you and Heat was calming. Usually you felt the need to try and make conversation to avoid awkwardness but it was a shared silence in this case. One where both of you were content to just sit in each other's company.

It was then that you realized, you'd made a friend.

(A/n)
Another extra update because I'm loving writing about Heat. It ended up being much longer than planned but that's not exactly a bad thing~