Law entered the wooden tavern, hit by a warm buzz from the customers. He spotted his crew in a large table in the corner, happily drinking with bags of shopping next to them. Law approached and sat down next to Bepo.

"Captain! Where have you been all day?!" Bepo hugged Law's arm tightly, nuzzling into him as the alcohol made him woozy. Law pushed Bepo's head away and suddenly noticed that his crew were well and truly drunk

'I guess they got bored waiting, I left them for too long' He thought to himself amused

"I've been working!" Law replied, taking one of the drinks on the table and taking a large swig. His gaze settled on Leila who was tucked in the corner chatting away to Jean Bart – a light flush across her face. She wasn't wearing his hoodie anymore; she was dressed in a low cut top with some high waisted jeans that hugged her small waist appropriately. Law felt himself swallow as he became easily distracted by the young woman's effortless yet still seductive appearance. Leila met Law's gaze and smiled at him softly, strands of her hair framing her slightly chubby cheeks.

"I see you got some new clothes – finally" Law smirked at her

"Yeah! Bepo was a great help, who knew you were such a fashionista?" Leila winked at Bepo to which he laughed proudly, making Law slightly jealous at the thought of the two spending the whole day together.

"Is that what all the shopping bags are?" Law peeked underneath the table, seeing 5 or 6 bags full.

"No…most of those are seafood" Shachi shyly replied, hiding himself under his hat.

"W-what? Seafood?" Law stammered "You don't even like seafood that much"

Leila grinned devishily at Shachi as she leant forward on the table, her cleavage becoming more displayed. "Ah, well well well, do you want to explain or shall I?"

"Shut up will you?" Shachi blushed furiously, making Law's eyebrow twitch from irritation.

"Oh for crying out loud, why did we spend half of our money on seafood?" Law raised his voice

"Shachi met a beautiful young woman in the market today who swept him off his feet with fried octopus and squid!" Leila jokingly swooned, acting like she was in a romance film. "Of course, he couldn't help but buy all of her stock!"

"You did what?" Law sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Why are you ratting me out?!" Shachi exclaimed with wide eyes as Leila couldn't help but laugh to herself, along with the rest of the crew.

"Not only that – he's gotten himself a date tomorrow night!"

"Well, good for you then" Law gave up on arguing and downed the rest of the drink, ignoring his crews idiocy. "Looks like we're going to be eating seafood for the next two months…"

'At least they've been having fun…' Law couldn't help but think to himself, his eyes landing on Leila as he started to believe she was the reason for the crew's recent enjoyment. 'It would be nice if she stayed forever…they all like her' Law caught himself thinking, making him quickly dismiss his thoughts and engage in his crews conversation.

Later on in the evening, Leila lay against the wooden table, not asleep but resting her head. The rest of the heart pirates had retired back to the ship which left Law and Leila to enjoy each other's company. Law took a swig of a rich whiskey and Leila sat up, twirling her finger around an empty glass as she seemingly analyzed the bandages that were still on her forearm. The crew had seemingly moved on from the traumatic event – it was spoken of minimally and they had all agreed to move on. It shouldn't have ever happened in the first place.

"Does it still hurt?" Law asked her.

"No, not really" She replied nonchalantly, sitting up to glance at his shoulder. "What about you?"

"Ah, don't worry about me" Law dismissed her, not wanting to admit it had hurt like a bitch at the time.

"So what were you doing today?" She asked him curiously "You've been busy…"

"Working – an old client reached out to me for a personal reason."

"Personal, eh?" Leila let her head fall to the side

"His daughters sick…she's got an autoimmune disease. She's not even in her late teens yet" Law decided to tell her as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You do that a lot when you're nervous" Leila commented, holding onto his forearm to which he widened his eyes slightly. He stiffened but didn't pull away. She continued to observe Law, seemingly not aware the small action had caused him to have such a reaction.

"Do what?" He cleared his throat.

Leila imitated his movement of rubbing his neck and cocked her head. "Why are you nervous? Is she really sick?"

Law tensed up, knowing that she was right and he let his arm fall onto the table as continued to leave her hand resting upon it. "I don't like to say it because she's a sweet girl with a lot of fight in her but she's deteriorating rapidly"

Leila's eyes widened slightly in sadness as she felt pity for the young girl. "What's actually wrong with her?"

"She has multiple sclerosis, at a normal level it causes stiffness and trouble with balance but she's always been frail and now she's struggling to walk by herself."

"That's awful" Leila commented darkly, making Law nod in agreement.

"I suppose I am nervous." He admitted quietly, something he would never do. "I'm trying to improve her health in 3 weeks…It's tight and I don't want to put unnecessary stress on her body, she's still young after all"

"So I guess you're going to be here a bit longer than just a week?"

"Yeah…definitely"

"Why do you have a deadline on her health?" Leila asked nervously

"She wants to go to some ball with her family – it sounds dumb bu-"

"Don't call it dumb" Leila scolded Law, tapping his hand lightly. "A young girl's wish isn't dumb"

Law smiled slightly, looking up to see her serious about telling him off. She amused him endlessly and she was one of the only people who would dare tell Trafalgar Law off like a child.

The two sat in silence and Law retracted his hand from hers - feeling somewhat uncomfortable at the naturalness of which their hands found each other. The pair felt a little bit of unspoken tension spark as they sat opposite each other, slightly flushed from the alcohol.

"Law, I've been thinking" Leila started to speak quietly as she leant forward to speak to him seriously. He tried desperately not to let his eyes fall down her body as he met her gaze. "I'm not going to leave this town with the heart pirates"

Law sat forward seriously, studying her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving…in a week, maybe less?" She spoke to him, her golden eyes searching his face for a reaction. Law clenched his jaw but attempted revealed none.

'This really is it huh…' Leila thought to herself, slightly upset that he didn't seem to care. She felt a pang of hurt in her heart. Somewhere deep down, she wished he would stop her…even though she had no intention of staying.

"Well, you did say you would just hitch a ride but I didn't think you would leave this soon…" Law mumbled, trying to hide his disappointment. His aura shifted to his cool and shut-off. Leila tensed slightly as she saw his eyes darken slightly, he was seemingly in thought and she couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

'I did say I would only stay for a short while…' She thought to herself.

"Well…that's that" Leila said as she began to pick up her things. Law watched at her sudden decision to leave. The two were used to chatting with each other often when they drank – but it seemed the conversation was over. The air was slightly awkward, with the two of them not knowing what to say. Law stood alongside her, holding out his arm so she could pass him her bag of clothes.

"Thanks…what a gentleman you're being, huh?" Leila smirked at him, trying to hide her conflicting emotions as she passed him a bag as she held another.

The two walked through the town, the laps of the waves against the soft wood making pleasant sounds in the calm night. The air was slightly warm and the two walked side by side, their hands almost grazing. Loud cricket noises could be heard, but in the heat of the small town it was somewhat comforting. Law stopped walking, making Leila look back at him confused.

"Where are you going to go?" Law asked her concerned, thinking back to the time he had found her battered and bruised in a rundown hospital. He felt so much anger back then when he thought about people beating her and it still bothered him that he didn't know why. His cold aura had dissipated, as if the heat from the island had melted it. His voice was low and warm, communicating his concern clearly.

Leila tensed uncomfortably, honestly - she didn't know. She felt herself getting too attached - she liked the crew, considered them her own friends. She had gotten too accustomed to the crew's dynamics and the odd jobs that she had taken on. And most importantly, she felt herself not wanting to be apart from Law. He provided her with a comfort that she hadn't known was possible and she never felt judged or unwanted. For those reasons, she felt like she needed to leave.

"I have some plans" She lied to him, her golden eyes catching the moonlight and sparkling. Law sighed and moved towards her, standing in front her so that she had to look up to face him. He let his gaze fall onto her glossy lips for a moment before moving up to her golden eyes. They were incredibly unique, like a bright hazel but more vibrant. He had never seen anyone with such unique eyes before – only her.

"You're a terrible liar" He said.

"…I have to go" She whispered softly as Law's chiseled face entranced her. She felt her heart race increase as he stood close to her.

"And why is that Leila-ya" He found himself questioning her, still holding her bag over his shoulder and flexing his arm casually.

"Please don't make me say it" Leila spoke softly. "Law, I'm only going to make trouble for you, you know?"

Law took in a large breath, as if contemplating her statement but before Leila knew it he had leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. It wasn't a deep, sensual kiss like the two had shared in the past but it was fleeting and filled with the emotions that the two refused to acknowledge. Almost like high schoolers. It was a simple kiss.

"I think, you already have" Law smirked at her with a boyish grin, causing Leila's heart to skip a beat. She looked up at Law wide eyed with her lips slightly parted and he stepped around her, carrying on walking to the ship.

"Well, are you coming?" He called back at her, seemingly back to his cool and professional aura. Leila felt her cheeks blush red as she realized the loud thumping of her heart in her ears and she slapped her cheeks to get her out of her childish trance.

'You're in too deep girl…' She thought to herself worriedly.