Penguin did eventually return with Shachi, no doubt deciding that having his captain come visit him privately if he didn't show up to lunch would be the worse of the two scenarios. He'd reluctantly picked up his meal and sat beside Nayla, uncharacteristically quiet as she and Penguin conversed.
Noticing how pale and sweaty he appeared, Nayla nudged him, making the man nearly jump out of his skin by the action. "Shachi, you alright?" He nodded mutely, not trusting himself to speak and trying to avoid unnecessary attention from his captain.
"You don't seem to have much of an appetite, Shachi. I hear from Penguin that you aren't feeling well, would you like me to examine you in the infirmary after lunch?" Law offered with a small, cruel smile.
"Uh-no, no thanks, Captain. I'm good, feeling much better actually." He forced a smile, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth to prove how well he felt.
"Law." Nayla chided, giving him a look across the table at his unkind picking on Shachi. Penguin looked between the three of them, wondering what he was missing exactly as Jean Bart joined them.
"Hi Jean." She greeted, glad he arrived in time to interrupt Shachi's torment and Penguin's suspicious attempts to decipher what was going on at the table.
"Hi." He sat on Law's other side, setting his tray down.
Nayla had initially thought it was odd that the newest crewmember had the 'honour' (she'd use the term loosely) of sitting at the captain's table but had learnt from the others during her conversations with them on Amazon Lily that Jean Bart had once been a pirate captain himself. She could only guess it was an oddly respectful gesture from Law, in light of the man's seniority in both age and profession.
"Jean Bart." The larger man turned to look down at his captain beside him. Nayla felt small enough around the men as it was but seeing someone she regarded as so tall look tiny when beside someone like Jean Bart made her feel the size of a toddler by comparison.
"I'd like you to see if we have any information about an island called 'Kattou' when you're done with lunch. If you find anything, I'd like you to leave it on my desk." Law observed the thick, brown, leather tie in the man's mane, guessing it had been the small gift Nayla had given him.
"Aye aye Captain."
"Yo Jeff, hand me the salt would ya? Oh, wait. My bad."
Nayla looked over her shoulder at the round of roaring laughter at the lame joke at Jeff's table. "Geez, you guys are horrible to each other."
"Hmm, where ya going Nayla-chan? Done already?" Penguin eyed her half eaten lunch as she stood up.
"Yeah, I'm not feeling that hungry. Gonna go visit Bepo for a little while, see if he has something I can help him with."
"Well, I can see why you wanna avoid the rest of the crew but you could always hang with us whilst we work, if you like." Penguin offered, gesturing over at Shachi. The man flinched a little under her stare, knowing she was still a bit angry with him for landing her in trouble with his captain and fleeing the scene.
"Penguin, I love you, I have no issue with you at all and no offence to you but I think I'll pass." She said coolly, poking Shachi in the temple unsubtly with each 'you.'
"Is hanging with Bepo this afternoon ok with you, 'captain?'" She asked Law, poking Shachi one last time for good measure as Penguin gave him a dirty look, still wondering what it was he'd done to upset her.
"I don't care what you do as long as you don't cause trouble…Though I feel like I've said that already to no effect." He muttered, glancing over at Jeff as he struggled to finish his lunch.
Nayla followed his gaze in annoyance. "That wasn't my fault!"
"Of course not. Lounging around on the deck of an all-male pirate crew in a string bikini couldn't possibly have been a bad idea with foreseeable consequences." He shot back calmly, taking another bite of his meal.
She narrowed her eyes as she leant over the table towards him. "I have the right to walk around naked as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't justify anyone putting their hands on me. You incl-"
Law smirked, finishing his mouthful as she cut herself off seeming to suddenly remember their keenly listening audience at the table. "You're a captive on a pirate ship Nayla-ya, you have no 'rights' here." He said lowly, matching her gaze.
She bit the inside of her cheek, rising calmly and picking up her tray. Knowing he was trying (and succeeding) to get a rise out of her, she silently left the table.
"That was cold, Captain." Penguin muttered, cringing as he watched her slam her tray aside and begin to leave the messdeck.
"She seems to be under the impression she's on a holiday cruise with friends." He said shooting the man beside him an accusing look, making him wince guiltily. "Nayla-ya easily forgets her place here and who she's dealing with, she needs the reminders."
They looked back at her as they saw Jeff get up to try to approach her again before she left.
"Hands-off!" She easily denied, holding one of her own up to his face to halt him before he could grab her again.
Law chuckled as the men at Jeff's table doubled over at the unfortunate pun as she walked out the room, wondering if it had been intentional or just an unlucky choice of phrase as he calmly resumed his lunch.
The rest of the day slipped by relatively peacefully; which Law was thankful for. They'd had more than enough excitement over the last couple of days.
Apart from noticing Nayla had visited his quarters to take Connor's book off of his desk without his ok before visiting Bepo, she had behaved herself. Calling down to the cockpit midway through the afternoon to check on his furry navigator, he found she had done nothing but enjoyed idle chat with him and read her book.
She'd even fetched him and herself an early dinner from the messdeck and ate with him as he worked, which Law supposed was both her way of being nice to Bepo and avoiding his and his crew's company for a little while longer.
Though she did miss the spectacle that was the offer of the other crewmembers to help Jeff eat this time around…which had basically consisted of them catapulting spoonfuls of food across the table at him which he tried to catch in his mouth with varying success, much to the irritation of Jake who was in charge of ensuring both the galley and messdeck were spotless before and after every meal.
Knowing that Bepo would soon be off-duty for the evening, he wondered where Nayla would wander off to next as he made his way back up the stairs to his quarters having just finished his own dinner.
'Speak of the devil,' Law looked up at the sound of dainty footsteps tapping across the wooden floorboards of the landing above him.
"Oh, Law. Jean Bart was up here looking for you about ten minutes ago, he left some paperwork on your desk."
"I take it you already looked at it without my permission?" Law reached the top of the stairs beside her.
"Yup, sat in your chair, put my feet up on your desk, read it at my leisure, pretended for a little while that I was an obnoxious pirate captain with a heart-breakingly unrequited crush. Was fun." He grinned a little at that as he walked past her towards his quarters.
"And did Jean Bart find much regarding the island you need to go to?"
"Not a lot really no and what he did find is information that is several years old so, everything about its waters and ports has probably changed - if this Orlen guy has been as active at his job as Marty said he was." She summarised for him, following him back into his quarters as he entered ahead of her.
"That's a shame." Law glanced around the room briefly as he made his way across it, noting she had removed her suitcase from his living quarters, spotting it beside the sofa in his bedroom through the archway. "Where did you put the book Connor leant you?"
"I read through most of it this afternoon and returned it to him on my way up here." She watched him as he leant his Nodachi against the side of his desk and picked up the paper she'd already read through.
"Gotta say, the book didn't really help much. This sub is about as far off of a regular one as it could possibly be. Nowhere near the types described in that book…you ever see how cramped regular subs are on the inside?"
He glanced at her as he set the paper back down onto his desk and took his seat, smiling a little at the upturn of her nose and slight grimace.
"Though the book said they were made horribly cramped like that for efficiency and speed and stuff…seems like something a calculating man on the run from marines would want for his own vessel though…" She tilted her head slightly, hinting her unspoken question.
Thinking about it for a moment Law decided to humour her curiosity. "The submarines you read about are vessels designed for naval officers who are travelling for a maximum of three months at a time in those conditions for work purposes. This one is my crew's home, they live here fulltime. It has to be comfortable." Noticing she hadn't moved from hovering near his open door and wondering where she had been heading before bumping into her he interrupted her contemplation. "Where are you off to?"
"Oh, I was actually a little thirsty. I was going to go down to the galley to ask if I could have something to drink." She turned to leave, beginning to shut the door behind her before seeming to hesitate. Law watched with interest as she seemed to debate with herself over something before finally turning to look at him over her shoulder with a small sigh. "Would you like me to bring you back something?" She nearly mumbled.
Nayla immediately regret asking as she watched his surprise at her offer morph into amused arrogance. Law rest his elbows onto his desk as he leant forward, a devilish smile taking his lips. "Now what had you feel so compelled to make that polite and kind offer, I wonder."
"No particular reason." She sighed out, anticipating he'd be throwing her attraction to him in her face any second now.
"Was it my stunningly kind behaviour with you today?" He mocked.
"If you need a reason, how about I'm replacing the coffee you tossed out of your mug in the infirmary yesterday so that I could take my medication?" She offered in a monotone, giving him an unimpressed look.
"It wasn't mine, it was another medic's who'd left it on my desk."
"Fine, then I offered because I'm a super-nice, polite, considerate person, ok?" She snapped irritably, deciding not to allow another cocky comment from him at her misguided, very very misguided, gesture. "Forget it, I-"
"Actually, I just came up from dinner but seeing as you were nice enough to offer, I wouldn't mind a coffee, Nayla-ya."
She looked him up and down; his tone was sincere now but somehow didn't match the level of enjoyment on his facial features or the inward laughter that reached his eyes. "…Fine, how do you take it?" She ground out quietly.
"Any cook in the galley will know." He sat back in his chair with a lazy grin as she gave him one last exasperated look before closing the door behind her on the way out.
Nayla made her way downstairs wondering what to do with herself for the rest of the evening. Her afternoon had been a quiet one, the view of the shallow water as the sub sailed through the ocean had been as beautiful as she'd thought it would be. The innocent conversation with the sweet navigator had been a pleasant change too. It had been a serene and calming setting to browse through her book peacefully.
She'd bumped into Jake in the galley when she had gone to grab dinner for Bepo and herself. Even on his day off he'd been busy re-taking stock and re-planning the menu, seemed there was an incredibly large amount of fruit on the island. She almost regretted not going with him when he'd described the gorgeous-sounding orchard of apple trees they'd discovered on the other side of the island. He promised the fruit they'd taken from it would be making the most delicious apple pie she'd ever tasted for desert tomorrow; she was already looking forward to it.
Connor had seemed a little worse for wear when she'd visited him to return his book. She found him hard at work doing maintenance on the third floor. Seemed in between his own duties he was hung up all day having to help Jeff get around and fulfil his own. Apparently Connor also had the unfortunate role of helping the man who needed to 'sissy tinkle every five minutes' go to the bathroom, though she asked him to spare her the details of how hands-on he had to be with it. No pun intended.
Speaking of puns, hand-related ones were being tossed around amongst the crew like it was going out of style. Penguin had been right in saying he was now old news, the crew had plenty of new material to work with…though unfortunately some of the puns and teases were being directed at her this time around. 'Aww don't mind Jeff, he was just trying to give you a hand,' 'he must have had his hands full' and 'he's a good guy but he gets out of hand sometimes' being a few of the more common ones they'd thrown her way today.
Walking through the noisy hallway of the second floor towards the messdeck, she glanced at the rec room door as she passed it, the loudly chatting crewmembers inside it being the source of the racket.
She'd anticipated spending the evening much like she'd done yesterday, having a generous nightcap and enjoying the company of the crew in there…but considering the Shachi issue, Jeff hounding her for forgiveness that she was still too peeved to give him and the bad hand-puns from the other crewmembers that she'd have to put up with, maybe not tonight. Her only other available option would be to spend the evening with Law in his quarters alone together though…Maybe the puns weren't that bad…
Nayla entered the messdeck cautiously, confirming that everyone had left after dinner already before entering. Making her way towards the still-open canteen window she noticed the food and drinks had been removed. She spotted one of the chefs through it in the galley, placing the dirty plates from trays into the large dishwasher.
He looked up at her as he saw her. "Hey Nayla-chan, what can I do for ya?"
"Hi, just grabbing a couple of drinks for your captain and me, if that's ok?"
"Ah, just brought the stuff at the window in. Give me a sec, I'll make 'em." He stopped loading the dishes, looking around for a towel to wipe off his hands.
"You carry on doing what you need to, just show me where and I'll do it." She offered, feeling guilty at pulling him off his work.
"Alright, come on through." She followed his gesture and entered the galley through its double doors, looking over at him for a cue.
"Glasses and mugs up here, teaspoons here, coffee pot there – should still be plenty brewed and teas and whatnot over there by the hot water dispenser. Cold drinks out back in the fridge, help yourself." He offered, pointing out in turn where everything was.
"Thanks, um...Dean, was it?" She returned his smile as she walked over to the cabinet with mugs.
"Yup…Captain likes his coffee in the black mug." He said as he saw her reach up to grab the plain white ones.
"…The one with the yellow Jolly Roger on it?" She asked with an amused smirk.
He chuckled, as he set some more plates into the dishwasher from the trolley beside him. "That'd be the one. He likes his evening coffee a little sweet, half a sugar and a small dollop of milk."
"Alright thanks." Nayla made their drinks, thanking the man again as he fetched the milk from the fridge and slid it down the counter to her.
"So, how does it work on here if I'm ever hungry or thirsty and want something when you guys aren't around?" She asked curiously as she rinsed the teaspoon she used and placed it on the side to dry.
"Well usually, nothing outside of our set mealtimes. Plenty of drinks and a few light snacks in the rec room, nuts, pretzels, the like. Though we make exceptions for people that had a good reason for skipping a meal, the ill, the injured, the Captain and the pretty ladies. You ever want something, feel free to come find me and ask." He offered with a cheeky wink.
She laughed, picking up the two mugs carefully. "I see and Jake won't mind? He seems to be a real stickler for keeping track of the food on board." She said, nodding her head over to the wall with the rota and meal lists.
"Nah Jake won't mind, he'd probably be pleased to see you eat a little more. Apparently you eat like a bird, so feel free to ask either of us for anything during your stay." He walked past her to the galley doors, pushing and holding one open for her.
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you." She smiled, leaving the galley.
"Need a hand with those?"
"I got it, thanks." She called back as she reached the messdeck doors, leaning her side onto one to open it and slip through into the hallway.
'Well as least some of the crew aren't interested in teasing me,' she thought to herself, feeling better from the short, warm-hearted interaction and carefully walking back up the stairs to the first floor.
Thinking of how sweet the crew were, or could be - once they were over the hand-puns anyway, Nayla couldn't help but remember how Law had called this their home. She supposed it was true…pirates lived on their ships, it was an obvious fact but she'd never really thought about it before. They didn't climb off the sub at the end of the day and go back to their own country, their own city, their own house, their own families. This was all of the above; she was staying in their - in Law's home right now. It was a weirdly humbling realisation…she wondered how many of the people on board had a home or family to return to outside of this ship…and how many of them were like her.
Carefully making her way through the hall to Law's door, she realised with a small sigh that she wouldn't be able to open it herself. "Hey Law? Could you give me a hand, please?"
"…Is that supposed to be funny?" He asked blandly.
"What? No, my hands are full…Dammit they have me doing it now too." She muttered to herself, listening to him come closer to the door on his side before he opened it. She handed him his mug before walking into the room past him, much to his surprise.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked with a raised brow as she helped herself to a seat on his sofa.
"What do you mean?" She asked, looking back up at him as she sat back comfortably with her mug clasped in both hands.
"You aren't going to avoid me this evening?" He asked with a small smile, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I was never avoiding you." She huffed, turning away from him to blow on the surface of her tea.
Law chuckled, walking between the sofa and the coffee table to take the seat beside her. "So the crew are still being annoying." He concluded, taking enjoyment in her wary side glance at his unexpected proximity. "And here I thought for sure I'd need to go to the rec room tonight to peel you off of my men again."
Nayla bit the inside of her cheek as she watched him sling an arm over the back of the sofa behind her casually, not particularly liking the playful glint in his eyes and beginning to regret not choosing the endless bad-puns instead. "Weren't you sitting at the desk when I got here?"
"No, I was here reading my book." He nodded his head towards the book he'd set down on the coffee table in front of them. "In fact, you took my seat." He put his feet up onto the table, crossing his legs comfortably as he took another sip.
"How do you know I didn't spit in your coffee?" She deadpanned at him.
He chuckled but continued to sip his drink in perfect ease, confident she'd done no such thing. "I believe I've already told you how I'd prefer you share you spit with me, if you still insist on doing so." He said lowly, enjoying the look on her face as the fingers of the hand he'd placed behind her grazed the bare skin of her upper arm.
"Is that right." She said bitterly, reminded again of his unwillingness to kiss her as she took a sip of her own drink, turning away from his raised brow and slight look of confusion.
Nayla looked up at his desk as she heard a soft, scuffling sound coming from it. Turning to Law curiously she found he'd glanced over at it too. "What is th-?…" He watched the shock and realisation on her face as she pieced together what had been moving around in his desk since their conversation there that afternoon.
She sat forward, setting her mug onto the coffee table before standing up tentatively. Seeing that Law had no intention of stopping her, Nayla walked over to his side of his desk, zeroing in on the drawer that another small, muffled sound came from. She furrowed her brows as she gripped the handle, feeling a little uneasy all of a sudden. Looking back up at Law he offered her no reassurance as he smirked and took another sip of his coffee, seemingly anticipating an interesting show.
Biting her lip, she slid the drawer open hesitantly, in small stutters wincing as she looked inside, hoping what she was expecting to find in there was way, way off the mark. She turned away from the drawer with a loud curse, crushing her eyes closed and slamming it shut. Opening them again only to glare at Law as he laughed at her reaction.
Reluctantly, she pulled the drawer open again timidly, her curiosity getting the better of her as she took a good long look at Jeff's moving, disembodied hands.
…
"…There is something wrong with you, on every level that I can even think of." She muttered.
Law chuckled again, leaning forward to pick up the book on the coffee table but said nothing as he watched her peered into the drawer more closely.
"…Can I touch them?"
"They aren't mine, Nayla-ya. Feel free."
"He…can feel it if I do right?"
"Yes."
She hesitantly poked one, recoiling back as Jeff's hand seemed to move in a way to search for what had touched it.
Realising she hadn't said anything in a while, Law looked up at her from the book he'd resumed reading to find her watching the inside of his drawer intently with a thoughtful expression.
"What is it?"
"…I can't decide if this is unbelievably cool or gruesome." She reached in to scoop them out, watching with interest as his fingers moved around to search for a clue of the source of their sudden movement.
Law watched with a raised brow as she took a good look at the cut ends and moved some of his fingers, deciding she was finding interest in scrutinising the severed ends of his muscles working.
"Hmm…You…would make an awesome Halloween party guest, Law. This is textbook horror show." She giggled as Jeff's fingers finished searching her hands, seeming to affectionately grip on to her as they realised who was carrying them.
"…If you're done playing with Jeff's body parts-"
"Nowhere near, be right back." She grinned, walking into his bedroom.
Law furrowed his brows, wondering what she was up to as he heard the familiar sound of her suitcase unzipping and her searching through it before reappearing and walking over to him on the sofa.
She set the small make-up bag she'd retrieved onto the seat between them as she sat down, ignoring Law's questioning look as she leant forward to take a small sip of her drink.
"What are you doing?"
"A little 'petty vengeance,' as you'd say. Nothing much." She smiled, putting her mug down before sitting back comfortably and setting Jeff's hands down onto her thighs.
Law watched them warily as she turned to open and rummage inside the small bag. "I wou-" He reached over as she squealed, slapping the hand that had started crawling up the hem of her skirt to the floor. "I wouldn't place those on your lap..." He finished. Watching as she rapidly lift the one still on her up defensively as it began to move the same way as its predecessor.
"Geez…" She murmured, resuming her search through her bag with her free hand, finally finding and pulling out the small item she was after.
"Nayla-ya…" Law gave her an unimpressed look as he eyed the small bottle of nail varnish she'd retrieved.
"Think red would suit him or should I be cruel and give him pink?" She grinned.
"And you think I'm the strange one." He sighed, turning away from her to continue reading.
"I never said I think you're strange." Nayla leant over to pick up the stray, confused hand searching the carpet by her feet. "…I don't think, anyway."
"You didn't have to." Law said evenly, taking a sip of his coffee.
"…Well, you have to admit, you are pretty strange." She teased, wisely placed a cushion on her lap before putting Jeff's hands down onto it this time.
"Doesn't hold much weight coming from someone giving a man's dismembered hands a manicure." He said quietly with a small smile.
Nayla shifted sleepily, cracking her eyes open to the unfamiliar layout of Law's room before finally recalling her surroundings again. She wondered how long it'd take to get used to waking up here.
Hearing the running water of Law's morning shower she groaned and shut her eyes again, pulling the blanket up to her chin. This time she was just going to wait it out, she was definitely not going to go to breakfast feeling scruffy, agitated and half-asleep again and she wasn't going to start her day off by arguing with Law first thing in the morning two days in a row.
They'd actually gotten on well for a change last night, though that was most likely because they hadn't said much to each other. He had sat quietly reading his book, only occasionally looking at her to roll his eyes or shake his head when she'd needed to coo and soothe Jeff's hands into holding still so that she could paint his nails neatly.
She'd tired of playing with them, unpacked a few things, changed and taken to bed pretty early. She wasn't sure when Law had done the same but whatever time he'd come in to sleep, seemed she had slept right through it.
It had been oddly nice, just sitting in the same room peacefully with him for a change; they probably really would get on pretty well, if he'd allow it. 'If only he'd keep that damn mouth of his shut more often,' she thought slightly sourly as she fell into a light snooze, waiting for a chance to use the bathroom herself.
Hearing noise in the bedroom she opened her eyes again, unsure of how long she'd dozed off for if Law had already finished his morning routine and had come back in.
The room was flooded with the amazing scent of his bodywash, shampoo, deodorant and aftershave. She inhaled the warm, steamy air deeply, privately enjoying all the scents she'd come to recognise as his as she spotted him at his wardrobe…closed her eyes and reopened them again, suddenly unsure that she was actually awake and not dreaming…or having a very vivid daydream…or a perverted hallucination…
Nayla watched him pull his usual pair of jeans out, the muscles on his bare back making the large Jolly Roger he'd had tattooed onto it ripple with his movement. She supposed she shouldn't have found the sight of it too surprising, he was obviously proud to the core of his mark but the sheer size of it was impressive. Noticing he also had large, tribal-styled hearts on each shoulder as well, she decided he must have an impressive pain tolerance. Having had a fair-sized tattoo done on herself, she knew first-hand that it was actually pretty painful.
She gazed down his bare, bronze skin to the edge of the towel he had wrapped around his waist…far too lowly. She fought not to lick her lips at the sight of the dimples of his lower back.
Law tossed the jeans behind him onto the bed carelessly, reaching up to pull his hoodie off of its hanger before shutting the door of his wardrobe quietly and turning around.
Nayla had decided to close her eyes as soon as he turned back her way; she already knew he had an attractive physique. It had been obvious from the weapon he carried the first time she'd seen him and she'd had a couple of opportunities to feel and verify it for herself through his clothing first-hand…'Don't remember that now, don't remember that now.'
His body was not going to be anything she hadn't seen before amongst the men she'd worked with plenty of times and she did not want Law to catch her checking him out again. That amount of teasing, especially first thing in the morning, she could really do without.
Taking a deep, silent breath, she started to close her eyelids but felt them widen against her will and her jaw slack as he turned, stunned not only by the amazing body he had but the incredible amount of attractive tattoo work he had on his chest.
She stared wide-eyed at the gorgeous art across his muscles, following the tip of the large heart down to his abs. Staring at those, Nayla realised that she can't have been asleep too long, he'd left the shower recently, they were still wet. The morning sunlight streaming into the room in streaks from the porthole behind her were caressing him perfectly, setting every drop on his skin aglow as they slid down his body, collecting and running along the grooves of his muscles.
The warmth and faint haze caused by the steam of his shower, the heavenly scent, the golden hue of the natural light entering the room and the Adonis-like body in front of her…all that was missing was the choir of angels singing hallelujah.
Nayla licked her lips wondering why she suddenly felt so thirsty watching the trail of one drop, delightfully glistening in the sunlight as it ran its course over his abs, past his belly button, got caught and guided to front and centre by the V-shaped muscles of his lower stomach and finally soaked into the towel right above his…
"Nayla-ya."
'Lucky drop,' she cursed at the distracting thing, realising she'd been staring at the spot on the fabric at his waist that it had disappeared into for some time now.
'Great, well, you got me caught perv-brain. Wanna offer any stupid advice on how to deal with this situation now? - … - Did you finally get stunned into silence? - … - Short-circuited? - ... - Are…are you ok? - … - Crap, I think Law's hotness just killed a part of my brain…maybe it's for the best that part died actually… – I'm fine, fine just…hard to think when having such an intense and prolonged Lawgasm. - …Um. – Anyway, I think you should just go over there, whip his towel off, push him to the bed and have your way with him. - …No. – I vote yes. - …There's only two of us, there's no point in voting on it. – That's not true, I spoke to vagina. It's in firm agreement on this. - … - Haven't had a chance to discuss the idea with ovaries but assuming they haven't exploded at the sight of Law practically naked, I'm gonna guess they're on board too. - … - Two of them, so that's like, four votes to one now. - …What the absolute fu-?'
"Nayla-ya." Remembering he'd been standing there waiting for a response from her for a while, she dismissed the internal mutiny of her body parts for the time being.
"Yes?" She hoped that sounded innocent and neutral enough.
There was a long pause before he sighed, she watched the way his abs moved as he did with open interest. "Nayla-ya, my eyes are up here."
Realising she was still intensely staring at where the drop had disappeared, she finally looked up at his face…before deciding that if she were already caught red-handed, she may as well get her money's worth and allowed her eyes to travel back down his chiselled physique. "…I stand by my choice."
He blinked, surprised at her complete lack of guilt and shame as she resumed her open stare of his waistline. "…What exactly are you looking at?"
"Your tattoos." She partially lied.
"Is that right. What about them?"
'I want to run my tongue over every line of them.' "They're nice is all."
"Mhmm…you realise you aren't looking at them? I don't have any that low." He said sceptically, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, I was just wondering-I mean you have so many…do you have any below the waist?" She asked cheekily, biting her lip and looking back up at his face.
A small smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he uncrossed his arms and walked slowly around his bed towards her.
Nayla sat up a little, not feeling all too comfortable about the thought of lying down whilst he approached her leisurely, half-naked. She tried to keep her eyes on his face but found it impossibly difficult to not watch his body in motion, trailing her eyes over his muscled legs, his abs and the way the towel clung to his slim hips dangerously loosely and lowly as he moved. She sat up completely as he came to a stop right in front of her, clutching the blanket to her chest protectively as she looked up at him.
"You really want to know?" He asked lowly, sliding his thumb into the waistline of his towel where the end had been tucked in.
'Yes.' "N-No."
Law slowly pulled the towel loose, smirking wider with amusement as she shrieked and covered her face with her hands. "Law! I was just joking with you, stop it! I don't want to see!" ...Hearing nothing from him she parted her fingers and opened her eyes to look through them cautiously.
"Then what are you peeking for, Nayla-ya?" He chuckled, leaning down to make eye contact with her, his enjoyment at her sudden shyness and embarrassment all over his face. It really did take a lot of work to make her blush but it was well worth it he decided, able to see the hints of flushed cheeks peering between her parted fingers. "I don't mind you looking."
She narrowed her eyes at his deliberately husky tone, not liking the smug smile on his face or his proximity. "Clearly, seeing as you don't have the decency to get changed in your bathroom before you come out!"
"This is my bedroom Nayla-ya, I see no reason to compromise the way I live any further because of you and that includes not putting up with the discomfort of changing in a steamy bathroom."
"That sounds an awful lot like a lame excuse to just strut around naked in front of a woman, you pervert." She muttered as he stood straight again.
"No one is forcing you to look." She gaped at him in shock as he suddenly tugged the rest of his towel off before swiftly tossing it over her head to block her view.
"Law!" She scrambled to pull the damp cloth off of her face only to catch a glimpse of his bare body as he walked away from her and slam it back on, closing her eyes.
"Ugh, geez!" She tossed it to the floor realising where it had just been and that she was pressing her face to it, looking away from him and closing her eyes tightly instead.
'Do not think of his ass, do not think of his ass, do not think of his ass.' She willed the brief afterimage of Law's behind to disappear from the inside of her eyelids, stilling as she heard his chuckle coming from his side of the bed again.
"You are not funny, not by a long shot. How would you feel if I strut around naked just because it's too 'uncomfortable' to change in the bathroom?"
"It wouldn't bother me, Nayla-ya. Feel free."
She grit her teeth at his sly invitation, listening to the sound of him pulling on his clothing. "Just tell me when you're decent so that I can use the fucking bathroom."
"Decent enough." He chuckled, watching her as she distrustfully turned to face him again, peeking one eye open slightly to confirm he was in fact not nude anymore.
Seeing that he was tugging his jeans up firmly onto his waist she sighed in relief, opening her eyes fully and throwing back the blanket on the sofa to get up. She shot him a dirty look as she walked past him, only making his lazy grin wider as he zipped up and buttoned his pants.
Pausing at the doorway to the bathroom, Nayla glanced back at him over her shoulder, openly observing his bare torso once more before looking at his face. "Hey Law…do you have any brothers?"
He furrowed his brows in confusion, wondering where the seemingly random question came from before answering cautiously. "…No, why?"
She sighed in disappointment, pulling the door shut behind her. "No reason."