One Piece
The Five Second Rule
Chapter Ten: Fire Fist
The sail to the next island was the shortest one out of all their trips so far. It only took half a day's time to get to the next island. Though it was the shortest wait they had, it felt longer for everyone on board. No one knew exactly what had happened, but the air was heavy when the captain and Celine were in the same room. Since leaving the island, Celine has started wearing her cloak again, even during meals. Though it was strange, no one dare speak about it.
During the offshore brief, she barely looked up or acknowledged him, and the moment Law was done speaking she walked past him and up the stairs. Shachi and Penguin had made it their business to fix this. So as soon as Law vanished from their sights, they chased after Celine into the rowdy city.
The island was named Amaretto, and it had one of the largest ports in all of Grand Line. Pirates and marines alike travel here from all over to waste their nights away in booze and women. These were one of those islands where a young pretty lady wouldn't be safe wandering around – sure Celine would be careful, but she always has a knack of attracting unwanted attention.
The two men watched closely as they followed Celine. Everywhere she went, men would leer at her in the strangest ways. Either Celine hadn't noticed or she was really good at keeping a straight face.
Celine eventually stopped in front of a bar. She stood outside and seemed to be contemplating if she should go in or not. The moment her hand reached the handle, the door swung open and a large figure ran out, completely knocking her off her feet. The man had been running at full speed and when he bumped into her, he lost his balance too and fell on top of her.
"Whoa!" he rubbed his forehead. "Sorry there! … Miss? Are you alright?"
Celine wheezed slightly from his heavy weight and tried to push him off her belly. He understood immediately, and pulled himself off her. With a little sheepish grin, he helped her up and apologized again.
"Sorry about that! I didn't mean to run into you. I was just-."
"Come back here you little thief!" A voice boomed from inside the bar.
The man winced at the volume of the voice.
"Were you going in for a drink, Miss? Trust me, you wouldn't want to go in there," he helped her up. "Well not anymore anyway. Not with the owner like that."
Celine could barely comprehend his words but just nodded along. She must have agreed to something big because he held onto her hand and began tugging her along as he ran down the street. From the corner of her eye, she saw Shachi and Penguin gaping at her as they ran by. She turned backwards and saw a large burly man running past the two pirates. The man had a large kitchen knife in hand and waddled as he ran.
"Oh, looks like he's catching up with us," he looked over his shoulder. "Hold on."
Coming to a halt, he wrapped a large arm around her waist and flung his other hand towards his feet. A blast of fire flew from his fingertips, and Celine felt them lift off the ground.
They landed on a building rooftop and he let her go.
Celine stumbled back a little and took a better look at the man. He did resemble a certain someone she's seen before, a certain someone that she'd seen on a wanted poster back at home.
"You won't happen to be Fire Fist, right?" she asked.
"The one and only! I'm Ace," he grinned. "You're Celine right?"
"What? How did you know that?" she grew defensive.
"I saw your wanted poster," he chuckled. "Marines came in earlier today with new posters. The guys at the bar were saying there's a pretty new girl with a high bounty… I just had to take a peek after that."
"I have a wanted poster?" Celine didn't know if she was feeling bothered or flattered, maybe even both. "What's my bounty?"
"60,000,000 if I remember right," he scratched his head.
Celine's eyes widened at the sheer amount of money the government's willing to pay for her. She hadn't done anything so significant to get such a large bounty. All she's done was get taken away and wait for a rescue.
"Were there any new bounties?" she asked, wondering about Law's potential new bounty.
"Not that I remember of," he thought back. "… Oh wait! There was some teenage kid with 99,000,000! Apparently he's some prince."
"Oh," Celine shifted slightly.
So there was news on Jareth but none of her captain, but that seemed only fair with Jareth's incredible bounty reinstated with an add on of 9,000,000.
"Anyway," Celine shook the thought away. "I should go now."
"How about I buy you a drink? I feel awful bad for knocking you over just now," he spoke up.
"Yeah? Just like that?" she turned to him.
"Why do you sound so suspicious?" he chuckled. "I just want to make it up to you, that's all."
"Huh," she crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, it's just that I've spent my last few weeks with these deviously cunning men. They're always up to something bad."
"Yeah?" he laughed. "Tell me about them."
"God, where do I even begin? Well there's-."
"Tell me about them in a bar," he stopped her before she could go any further.
"Right okay," Celine sighed. "I guess there's no harm in that."
XoXo
"You should have seen it, Captain!"
Shachi and Penguin were retelling the story of how Celine got swept away by the infamous Fire Fist Ace, but no one seemed to be taking it too seriously. Well that's only because they haven't mentioned Fire Fist yet…
"So Celine was outside a bar, taking her time going in," Penguin started.
"Then out of nowhere some really large guy runs out of the bar and knocks into her," Shachi exclaimed. "They practically fell on top of each other!"
That got Ryuu's attention, but Law still sat adamant in a corner playing with his inked knuckles. Vic had been listening intently the whole time, and nudged him to carry on.
"And he dragged her off down a hall because some fat guy came chasing after them," Shachi said. "Then! You won't guess it, the guy freaking picks Celine up and blasts fire out of his hands!"
"Out of his hands!" Penguin reaffirmed.
"Hands?" Vic scratched her head.
"Well more like his hands turned into flames," Shachi looked to his friend for agreement.
"Yeah," Penguin nodded. "And there's only one man in the whole of Grand Line that can turn into fire…"
"Yeah right," Vic snorted. "As if Fire Fist Ace would be hanging around these parts of Grand Line. He's probably just some hobo with magic tricks. Well I don't know about you guys but I'm gonna save Celine from the hobo."
"I find myself interested in this fire-breathing hobo," Ryuu stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Law? Why don't we go find the fire hobo and save Celine?" Vic turned to the captain knowingly.
As if he only just heard their conversation, Law snapped his attention over and gave Vic an apathetic look. He shook his head briskly then turned back to his brooding.
"Aw come on, Cap. Don't be such a sourpuss," Ryuu pulled the man off his seat. "Here, he's up! Let's go!"
Law felt his hat being forced onto his head, then in no time he was out on the streets. He didn't even got a chance to grab his sword, at least it's not going to be left unattended back at the inn with Kane and Jonah. Here and there, the trio ran all over in search of the magic hobo and Celine, but it was to no avail as neither were seen anywhere.
Miraculously, after minutes of being pushed around, Law found himself forgotten by the two when they noticed a group of homeless men sleeping around in the streets. With this given chance, Law slipped away from the two and headed back towards the bar they were in originally.
This island was repulsive and unsightly. There were drunken men and crudely dressed women everywhere. It definitely wasn't a place Law wanted to stay long for.
"Hey cutie!"
Getting hit on? This was Celine's caliber, not his.
Law turned around and was met with what had to be the most terrifying woman that he's ever laid eyes on. This woman was… large. Incredibly large, maybe even five times his own size.
This was way beyond of his capabilities. His gut instinct told him to turn around and walk, and that's exactly what he did.
"Wait up!"
As he walked away, Law could feel the ground shaking under his feet as she ran after him. It was dreadfully scary experience for him, but he tried to keep a straight face as he turned to face her again.
"Can I help you, miss?"
"My! Not only are you cute, but you've got such wonderful manners!" she gushed. "I like you!"
"… Miss," Law struggled with his words. "I'm afraid you might have gotten the wrong idea… I'm just on my way back to a bar. My friends are waiting for me, you see… So I really ought to get going. Evening."
"Not so fast!"
The woman reached a tremendously large arm out and grabbed Law by the collar before he can get any further. Never once had he felt so victimized by a woman, it was displeasing and degrading.
"Miss," Law hissed, finally losing his patience. "Please, I am not interested in whatever-."
"Look here, handsome," she snarled into his ear. "My name's Olive Grenadine, and this is my daddy's island. If you don't do as I say bad things will happen."
"… And what is it that you want?"
Law figured he best just go with whatever this beast of a woman wanted for now to avoid conflict with whomever her 'daddy' was.
"Just a drink," she grinned suddenly. "Let's go then! I know a place!"
XoXo
Across the island, Celine sat across Ace in a dimly lit bar. The place was pretty much empty and frankly, they wouldn't be here if Ace hadn't be kicked out of every other establishment on the island.
It was surprisingly easy to talk to Ace. Much more easier than talking to the people she sees everyday. He's told her quite a bit about the New World, why he's away from his crew currently and his search for his little brother.
"Your little brother?" Celine repeated.
"Yeah, he's really pathetic so I worry about him a lot," he explained.
"And he's come to the Grand Line?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Well not that pathetic," he chuckled, reaching into one of his pockets. "See! He's got a pretty nice bounty."
"Strawhat Luffy… Monkey D. Luffy?" she read the small writing. "That's not a very impressive bounty. Even mine's higher than his."
"Oh, you wait and see," Ace grinned. "His bounty's going to keep raising and raising. I just know it."
"Yeah sure," she rolled her eyes.
"But enough about that, tell me about your crew – these devious mean men," Ace turned to her again.
"Alright, so we're the Heart Pirates-."
"Never heard of them."
"Let me finish," she hushed. "And we've got eight people in our crew, including me, six guys and a polar bear."
"The polar bear's the captain, I take it?" Ace smiled.
"Ha-ha," she rolled her eyes. "At least we've got a polar bear."
"We happen to have a phoenix actually," Ace boasted.
"No," she scoffed.
"Really," he insisted. "Whatever, his name is Marco. Now tell me more about these guys."
"First up we got Shachi and Penguin, they're these guys that kind of creep around everywhere," she thought hard. "It's not that they're actually creepy… it's just they've always got this weird smile on their face, you know? As if they're up to something all the time."
"Well that's not too bad," Ace said.
"Oh, trust me," she shook her head. "I'm saving the best for the last."
"Then we've got Ryuu and Kane," she tapped her fingers on the table. "Kane is perfectly fine, except I walked in on him sleeping with someone last night."
Ace made a face and shrugged.
"What about the other guy?"
"They're brothers actually," she noted. "And Ryuu… he's so confusing, I don't understand half the things he says. For some reason, he also seems to go against everything I say or do, so not only do I not understand a thing he says but he's almost annoying me too."
"Serious, Celine?" Ace sipped from his sake. "That's hardly a problem, that just means he likes you."
"What?"
"He likes you."
"No he doesn't."
"How thick can a person be?" Ace placed his cup down. "He likes you. Lets move on to the next guy."
"Uh well… the captain's next…"
"Oh, we're getting to the good part," Ace chuckled.
"I-, um… do you know why they call me Devil Hands?" she asked, and he shook his head in return. "Well basically if I touch a person too long they become immobilized… amongst other things…"
"What other things?"
"Lets just focus on the immobilized part for now, okay?" she snapped.
"Uh- alright."
"So they kind of go into this trance where they're conscious but their bodies go limp…."
"You drain their power?" he asked.
"More or less, yeah," she shrugged. "And I have no control over it, and recently the timings been off… it's usually five seconds but things have been so strange lately. It's gone from a single touch, to three seconds and there was even a time when nothing happened after at least ten seconds…"
"And?"
"Well… my captain… his name is Law," she played with the cutlery on the table. "We sort of kissed… and I put him in that trance… It didn't hurt him or anything but it's still incredibly embarrassing on my part… not to mention dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"Did I mention I can kill a person if I touch them for too long?"
"Oh," Ace nodded in an awkward manner. "Well uh- he's alright, right?"
"Yes, but-."
"Then there's really nothing to be sorry about," he said. "I mean if I were this guy and I knew about your powers, I'd definitely would have thought this through before deciding I want to be with you. If I was really that afraid of the consequences of kissing you, I wouldn't have even kissed you to begin with."
Celine saw fire situation in a new light. Perhaps Ace was right… maybe she should go speak with Law.
Just when she was about to open her mouth to thank Ace, the doors were kicked open. A monstrous woman walked through the doors – now Celine understood why the doors were made so big, it was for her specifically. The woman strolled in, and held close to her was none other than Law.
One look and Celine choked on her alcohol. Noticing her attention was directed at something behind him, Ace turned around and snorted at the sight.
"We have a problem, you skinny tart?" she walked over next to Celine's seat.
"Of course not," Celine took a deep breath and shook her head. "Not a problem at all."
What Celine didn't know was how terribly bad she looked at the moment. Her eyes were watery and her cheeks flushed red from coughing and laughing. The woman was obviously unconvinced by her tone – no one was.
The moment Law felt Olive was going to say something, he cut in and tried to soothe the situation.
"Miss Olive, this is one of my crewmembers. Forgive her bad manners," Law gave Celine an intimidating look, then he turned to Ace. "And this… her friend."
"Ace," he gave them a light wave.
"Friends of Law's?" Olive nodded. "Alright then, I forgive you."
Olive proceeded to pick Celine up with two fingers alone, and tossed her across the table to Ace. Thankfully Ace was both large and strong enough to catch Celine without her getting hurt. With the booth now cleared, she tossed Law in first and then sat on the outside.
"Ah, this feels like a double date," Olive nodded in assent.
"Uh- we're not dating," Celine pointed to Ace then at herself.
"Whatever," Olive disregarded her quickly. "I didn't catch your name, Skinny."
"It's Celine," she frowned at the distasteful nickname.
"Heh," Olive nodded. "Name's Olive Grenadine, my daddy owns this bar."
"Oh, how about some free food then?" Ace grinned.
Originally Ace had planned for another eat and run but if there's an opportunity for him to weasel out free food then he's all for it.
"Sure, go order whatever you like."
Ace practically bounced of his seat and ran to the bartender. With Ace gone, Law was the only male left at the table, and he felt incredibly uncomfortable with the tension between Olive and Celine.
The two women, no matter how different they looked, felt the exact some toward one another – dislike.
Celine glared dagger at the larger woman as she sipped slowly on her sake.
"So how did you two meet?" Celine asked, question directed to Law.
"Funny you should ask, we literally ran into each other!" Olive gushed. "It felt like love at first sight!"
It was strange how deranged this woman was. Everyone in the room thought it, but kept quiet about it. Celine decided she'd humor her by playing along, which would no doubt annoy Law too.
"Really?" she smiled. "Because that's exactly what happened with Ace and I. He saved me from a man with a butcher knife, you know?"
At that moment, Ace returned to the table with a very satisfied smile on his face. It seemed he hadn't heard any of the conversation before, and was focused entirely on taking orders.
"I ordered a whole bunch of stuff for us to share," Ace grinned. "Big O's right, Celine. You've got nothing on your scrawny little bones."
"You're lucky you're cute Ace," Olive twitched ever so slightly.
"I'm not scrawny!" Celine looked down on her figure. "I've got just enough of everything."
"Jeez, you're so defensive," Ace nudged her with a rapturous smile. "I'm just teasing."
Across the table, Law couldn't help but clench his jaw shut tight to refrain from speaking out of place. Sure, there might not be anything going on between the two, but like with Ryuu, Celine lets down her guard around these men. She's able to laugh and joke with these men, something that has never happened with Law.
Once the food was placed on the table, Ace began gulfing down on his share as if this was the last meal of his life.
"What are you guys waiting for?" Ace glanced around the table. "Dig in!"
With those words said, Olive picked up a tray of food and ate. It was no surprise she could each so much, but Ace was able to keep up with her – maybe even more than her.
Law and Celine hadn't moved an inch from where they sat and just watched the two eat. Celine didn't know if she should be feeling impressed or sickened. The two were gargling down food at a crazy pace, it's as if they don't have to chew, just swallow.
"Eat!"
Ace shoved Celine piece of meat, and pushed a bowl towards Law.
Just looking at the chicken in her hand made Celine feel sick, she looked up to Law who seemed to have a mutual feeling with her.
While no one was looking, Celine slipped the chicken back onto a plate discreetly. Almost as soon as the meat was left alone, it was grabbed by either Olive or Ace – it happened much too quickly for her to tell.
They may have had their differences and had an embarrassing situation that happened to them just last night, but at times like this they've got to work together for a common cause. Law and Celine's common cause? Leaving this place as soon as possible.
Celine coughed once and when Law said nothing she coughed again, louder this time. Law was too transfixed on the grotesque feast displayed in front of him to hear Celine. Giving another loud cough, she finally caught his attention. Law turned to look at her, and she nudged her head towards the man sitting beside her. She then pointed to her throat and let out another subtle cough.
'Tell them I'm sick!'
"Mister Ace, how would you like to come back to my ship?" Law asked. "I'd interested in your large food intake and metabolism. Perhaps I can run some tests?"
"Huh? Sure, but you've probably got to wait a bit… it's gonna be another few minutes before-."
"No!" Celine called. "You don't want that Ace, trust me."
"What? Why not?"
"Just no," she shook her head.
Law gave her a cold disappointed look but didn't pursue the issue as Ace has gone back to his food and wasn't listening anymore.
"Anyway…" she coughed again, this time loud enough that everyone can hear. "I'm feeling unwell! Law can we head back to the ship so you can take a look at me?"
"My, you're a doctor too?" Olive asked between bites.
"Yes," Law stood up, immediately remembering what kind of situation they were in. "Let's go, Miss Celine."
'Finally!'
Happy with his long awaited realization, Celine stepped over Ace and waited as Law struggled out of the booth. Olive's sheer size, gave him no way to get around her and he hopped over the backboard of the leathered bench into the other booth.
"Hey, see ya Celine!" Ace called after them, but he didn't move from his seat. "It was nice meet you! You too Law!"
Celine gave him a wave before running after Law who had already made it halfway down the street.
"We will mention this to no one," he said when she caught up.
"What? That we were on a double date? How I got to hang out with the one and only Fire Fist and you scored with a scary fat lady?" Celine smirked. "I'm sure they'd love to hear about it."
"No, it'll be the captain's word against yours," he shook his head. "All of them already think you were kidnapped by a fire hobo of some sorts, I'll just tell them I rescued you from the him."
"Fire hobo?" Celine repeated. "Is that supposed to be Ace?"
"Who else?"
"Alright, I won't tell," she crossed her arms. "… Hey Law?"
"Yes?"
"Are we alright now?" she asked after a moments thought. "I'm sorry for what happened again…"
"And again, there's no need to apologize," Law stopped walking. "You blame yourself too much Celine. I knew what the risks were, and I didn't care – I don't care even now."
"Law… a relationship doesn't work without touching…" she sighed. "Not just a romantic one, most relationships don't work without touching."
"I don't mind," he shook his head. "It's not as if sex is the only thing on my mind."
"… You're sure?" she looked him in the eyes.
"I wouldn't have said all that if I wasn't one hundred percent sure," Law held her gloved hand. "May I kiss you?"
Celine would have protested, but that would mean she's ignoring everything that just have been said. She gave her consent with a nervous nod of her head. Law seemed somewhat pleased as he gripped her hand tighter in his.
"Just a peck, okay? A little one."
Law nodded as he slowly inched closer to her face. Her heart was beating rapidly again, and her fingers began to sweat inside the material. When Law was a mere inch from her lips, she squeezed her eyes shut, both nervous and in excitement.
A light touch on her lips and it was over.
She opened her eyes and reached out to touch her lips.
"Just like that, and no harm done" he smirked. "Come, let's head back."
XoXo
"Why did you let him out of your sight?" Vic roared. "Seriously, now both Celine and Law are missing!"
"Oh quiet down," Ryuu reached for his sake. "What are you still doing here anyway? Go away."
"Yeah, screw you too," Vic rolled her eyes. "Not until they're back… well I want to make sure at least Celine is safe."
"Guys… come on… stop arguing…" Jonah groaned. "I'm sure wherever they are, they're fine."
After another hour of yelling, Law and Celine eventually came back to the inn together. They looked very… cuddly and happy… well for Law standards anyway. Usually he had a permanent indifferent expression plastered on his face, and if not that a sly smirk.
"You two together now?" Ryuu looked up from the table.
"N-No! He's not my boyfriend!" Celine spluttered.
"Right…" he looked to Law.
"We're not," he simply said.
No one believed them, but no one said otherwise either.
"Celine and I are going to head back first," Law picked up his nodachi. "Just needed to pick this up first. Oh, and if a large woman comes in asking for either me or Celine, don't say a word."
"Why not?" Kane asked.
"You'll understand the moment you see her," he shook his head. "And Vic, the chances are I won't see you again before you leave. So, good luck."
"Yeah, thanks a lot," Vic shoved past Law and held onto Celine's hands. "Alright lil' sis, I'm gonna go soon. Take care, yeah? Don't let these idiots bully you."
"She bullies us," Ryuu told her.
"Thanks Vic," Celine sent a deadly look to Ryuu. "You're sure you don't want to come with us? We're fine with it if you want to."
"No, it's fine really," Vic smiled. "I gotta get back home and see my family, but I'm sure we'll see each other again."
"Alright then," Celine nodded. "Good luck then."
Celine and Law left just as quickly as they had appeared. Everyone in the room settled down better once they were gone. It wasn't they didn't approve of the relationship, it was just sudden as they weren't speaking the whole day.
"Come on, we saw this coming," Kane huffed. "There's no need to be so surprised over it."
"Yeah but, we've had all these plans and stuff to get them together and here they are…" Shachi sighed.
"Then is that not a job well done to you?" Kane smiled. "Anyway, I'll walk you to the docks Vic."
"Yeah, alright."
Once they were gone, only Ryuu, Penguin and Shachi were left. The two seemed contently in conversation with each other, so Ryuu stood up and headed out.
"Where you going?" Penguin called.
"Got something I have to do," he replied blandly.
"Should we come with?" Shachi asked.
"No, there's no need," Ryuu smiled back. "It's just something little. I'll see you guys back on the ship later."
Once the two were reassured, Ryuu left the inn. He hummed as he toyed with the piece of stone in his pocket. Looking around town, he wondered where he could find a jeweler.
XoXo
Jonah and Bepo were nowhere to be seen when they returned back on the ship. It wasn't very late, so they couldn't have been asleep yet. But the crewmembers are the last things on their minds at the moment.
"We've got to do something about these powers of mine," she sighed. "I feel like I'm depriving you of your manly needs."
"I assure you my manly needs are in check," Law smiled. "It's your womanly feelings of needing to be caressed and kissed that worries me."
"Oh? Well I'll have you know I've spent the eighteen years of my life without kissing someone… until last night."
"That worries me all the more."
They stopped at the second level stairwell.
"Alright," she said. "I'm going to take a shower now."
"Come see me later?"
"Perhaps," she smiled. "But if I do you may be rendered unable to move again…"
"Like I've said," he pecked her lightly on the forehead. "I am not afraid."
Celine couldn't feel luckier at this moment. To have met someone so fearless and understanding of her powers, this was something she had never expected.
"I'll see you later then."
Law left her to dwell on her thoughts, and once his footsteps have echoed away, she began walking down the hall.
There was no doubt that there were ups and downs after joining the crew. Downs being taken by a mad teenage boy then nearly have to marry him, having a scary but relatively harmless pirate on the hunt for her. The ups, meeting people she can confer with, and of course, meeting Trafalgar Law.
After a long steamy shower, Celine climbed into her bed found herself at much ease compared to last night when she couldn't sleep while feeling regret and embarrassment.
The door creaked open eventually and a long sigh came from the door.
"Go away," she droned. "I'm tired, we'll talk tomorrow."
"Sleeping with the lights on again, Miss Celine?" she could hear the humor in his voice.
"… So it was you," she poked her head out of the sheets. "The first night I was here…"
"I was planning to check up on you briefly, but like this time, you've given me another reason to stay longer," he sat on the edge of her bed. "… I confess, I'm finding it very difficult to keep away from you."
"Then stay," she scooted over.
Celine passed him her extra pillow and he leaned back against the headrest. He took a long breath as he wrapped an arm around Celine's shoulders, pulling her close to his chest.
"I saw your wanted poster today," he said.
"Did you?" she looked up to his face. "I haven't even seen it myself."
"Yeah, they had a picture of you from your wedding," he his chest rumbled as he laughed. "It looked rather… extravagant."
"Oh god… No…" she whined. "You don't think they'd let me resubmit a picture?"
"I doubt it," he smiled.
"What about the other bounties? Did you see yours?" he nodded in reply. "Please tell me you beat Jareth's new bounty."
"110,000,000."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"That's incredible," she sat up. "I don't think any other rookie has a bounty as high as yours."
"That I know is not true," he smiled lightly. "There are plenty of others with higher bounties. I took a glimpse of this one man named Eustass Kidd. He's already at 250,000,000."
"You make it sound like a competition of some sorts," she leaned onto his shoulder.
"More or less," he was chuckling again.
In these ten minutes alone, Law must have smiled and laughed more than he had in the last few weeks put together. This put Celine at ease, knowing that Law enjoyed her company.
"Tired?"
"You have no idea," she hummed back, nestling her cheek in his warmth.
"You and Fire Fist seemed to be on friendly terms for people who have just met…"
Celine smiled lightly, peering up through her eyelashes. Law stared ahead, keeping his eyes locked on something in front of him. She's begun to notice his tendency to do that – to stare at something to keep himself distracting.
"What's the matter, Law? We're not jealous are we?"
"Just a casual observation."
"… I admit I do find Ace's company… relaxing," she watched his jaw clench.
"And my company doesn't put you at ease?" he asked.
"I never said that," she defended. "He's easy to speak with, that's all. It shouldn't matter anyway, the chances are we'll never see him again."
"… I understand," he nodded slowly. "I don't mean to put you in on the spot… It's normal for a man to be bothered when the woman he loves can so easily speak with other men."
"You worry too much, Law," she smiled. "You're my utmost favorite."
"You haven't said it yet."
"Said what?"
"How you feel about me," he looked down at her.
"It's not that much of a big problem if I don't say it, is it?" she grinned. "You know I love you."
"It doesn't hurt to hear it from you," he smiled.
"Hm…" she leaned in close. "I love you."
Law said nothing, but his grin was enough to show how pleased he was. He wrapped an arm over Celine's shoulders and pulled her into an embrace.
"Hey watch it," she scolded. "We wouldn't want you in a coma-like state again, would-."
Her protests were silenced by a quick kiss on her lips.
"Seriously," she tried to jerk away from him. "I don't want to hurt you again, so-."
Another kiss.
Celine couldn't help but giggle at his efforts. Eventually she gave in and didn't fight back anymore, she clung onto him as he rolled her over so that he hovered inches above her.
It was a provocative position, they both knew that and they both understood that they shouldn't go any further lest something bad happens. It was an unsaid mutual agreement between the two.
Law leaned forward for another kiss, and that's when Celine felt a jolt from him. In no less than a second, he collapsed on her completely and began breathing strangely.
"I saw this coming," she shook her head as she shoved his weight off her chest. "I warned you but you just had to go all kissy and touchy."
A reply wasn't expected from him, but when none came she looked to him anyway. Law lay on the bed flat on his face. His face was pressed up against the mattress completely, it would have been amazing if he had been able to breathe through that. With all seriousness in this situation, Celine couldn't help but laugh.
"You should see yourself right now," she did her best to flip him over without touching his skin. "It's quite a sight."
She leaned onto Law's clothed chest and examined his face. Once again his lips were dyed a pale purple. He didn't seem to mind having her on his chest – or so, there were no ways for him to complain even if he did have a problem.
Their eyes met after a moments while, and she grinned back.
"We ought to get my powers checked out," she sighed. "Okay, twitch once if you'll be willing to carry on with those experiments of yours."
The body beneath her didn't move a muscle.
"Are you even trying?" she jeered. "If you are then try harder."
After another minute of waiting to no avail, she rolled off him and onto a soft pillow.
"This sucks…" she hummed. "I'm not strong enough to carry you down, so you'll have to sleep with me, all right? Though I doubt you'd object to that idea…"
A small sound came from Law, and she turned around to see the corners of his lips curved upwards in a small smile.
"I bet you're thinking dirty thoughts," she kicked him towards the edge of the bed. "You better not try anything when you can move again."
She could just imagine a witty reply from him. He would probably say something that'd set her on the edge… Now that she thought about it, she wasn't all that comfortable sharing a bed with Law.
Looking back at him, that same smile was plastered on his features. She kicked him further from her, but perhaps too far as he vanished off the side of the bed.
"…"
Celine crawled to the edge of the bed and stared at the limp body lying below her. The floor wasn't painfully unbearable… it should he all right to leave him there for now. Once he's able to move again, he'll just go back downstairs.
"I'm leaving you there, okay?" she whispered. "It's nothing personal, I just have no strength to lift you back up… goodnight."
Unseen to her, Law's lips pressed into a fine line. He was displeased with his situation. He had started off lying next to her in bed and now on the cold hard ground. Celine was definitely going to get an earful from him tomorrow… after he decides on how to begin the experiments again.
Fairly short and insignificant chapter in the story but hey they're finally together :D And cameo from Ace, just wanted to make sure you guys knew where abouts the story is. So this is just before Ace meets Luffy in Alabasta :)
Thanks to everyone that alerted and favorited this story as usual :D
Reviews:
SoraLover987142 – Haha yeah, they're gonna be like that for a while. Well basically that moment during the wedding, she really didn't want to go through with the whole Jareth thing so I guess something triggered it. Then from that point on it's been irregular, it's gonna keep going on/off until she trains it… or something :P Hope that made sense!
Ladeste – whaa, thank you! :)
Aiko Yamazaki – I'm attacking with a Sea king! :D
10th Squad 3rd Seat – I suppose so yeah… he's definitely gonna make another appearance later on… dundundunnn. Haha yeah, flustered Law is the best Law :D
Noitalapsi – I knoooww, I just needed another little conflict before they actually got together :P Yeah.. she's gonna have to sort that out soon :P Thank you! :D
xxOMGgalxx – Haha yeah, this time he's left lying flat on the cold ground :P
ArabianNinja – Wow! Thank you! :) Yeah… since it's One Piece, I wanted to write more about the adventures as well. I probably tried the hardest with this story (to make the story more interesting :P), I'm glad you like it! Yeah, I'm just trying my best to get my characters more and more original. Whaa, I'm flattered! I agree yeah, it'd be waay to easy if they got together just like that. Thank you! :)
Guest – No! It's completely alright! :) thank you! I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can :D