1 day until Leila's departure

Law entered the Heart Pirates ship with a tired look on his face. He had been working with Eloise non-stop for the past few days to monitor her movement and to administer the correct medicines to help with her muscle regeneration. He made his way into the kitchen as hunger pangs consumed his stomach and saw Leila in blue jeans with her hair up in a ponytail. She was sizzling something over the hob, a nice barbeque smell taking over the kitchen.

"Smells good, what are you making?" Law asked her, taking a seat at the counter.

"Oh, hi" She smiled at him warmly, stirring her pan before adding a powdered mix of spices. "I'm making fajitas – do you want some?"

"Do you have enough?" Law questioned her, practically salivating at the smell.

"Yeah of course, I'm making a big batch for all you boys for when I'm not here to make it anymore" She smiled down at the pan, disguising her subtle sadness. Law let out a subtle sigh. He had been so busy with work that he had let it slip his mind.

"When are you leaving?"

"Was planning on tomorrow" She replied honestly.

"I see…"

"Forget about me, what are your plans?" Leila asked him, trying to divert the conversation away from her leaving. She already felt upset about it, but she knew it was beyond necessary.

"My client wants me to stay longer but that's kind of hard to do with my crew and everything"

"What for?" She asked curiously.

"She wants me to go to that ball with her"

"Ooh…a date?" She smirked at him, seemingly unbothered. Law glared at her cooly. He had his cold doctoral aura back on him again. Leila was used to Law's stiff exterior; she understood why many feared him. With his powerful abilities and seemingly lack of emotion, of course he would be feared. However, she knew that it was mostly a defense. He was cool and collected, that was true – but deep down she knew he held great affection for his crew and close friends. When drinking, he would laugh happily and let his walls down. Leila knew he was a softie below the surface; he was incredibly kind when he wished to be.

"No, not as a date. I'm 26 you know…" Law said slowly, looking at her slightly amused.

"It sounds fun anyway" Leila told him honestly, her mind recalling the balls she used to attend in her younger years. Despite her complicated past, she enjoyed the formal dances that Xander would hold. It was largely for making political connections and recruiting strong royals, but of course, Leila never took part in any of that.

"Definitively not fun for me" Law sighed, making Leila chuckle at him. "I didn't think you would be the dancing type either…"

"Hey, I'm actually a good dancer you know!" She put her hand on her hip, giving Law some sassy attitude. "I've had some experience with formal dances like that"

"I didn't expect that at all" Law thought aloud, making Leila raise an eyebrow at him. "When would you have gone to balls?"

"I used to go as a teenager a lot" Leila shrugged, not wanting to delve into her past in that moment.

Law paused for a minute; he wasn't expecting to actually gain information about her past. 'Was she a royal or something?'

"I still don't think I'll attend though" Law continued. Leila pouted slightly, the thought of a ball being missed made her sulk but she dished up the chicken with a colorful mix of peppers and vegetables before wrapping it carefully in a tortilla. She served it up to Law with a little stick in it to keep it all together, making Law chuckle.

"I bet you'd make a good mother you know" He said without much thought, digging into the food that could have made him moan in pleasure.

"Thanks." Leila took a wrap for herself and bit into it happily, enjoying the faces that Law was making towards her cooking. "I don't really want kids though"

"Really?" Law asked her, slightly surprised.

"Yeah…I don't think I'd do a good job" She thought aloud, fiddling with her hands.

Law found himself silently agreeing with her. He never thought about having children, his family was his crew. Due to his trauma as a child he was deeply anxious that he wouldn't make a good father and he would never plan to have any, he didn't even plan to settle down with someone. "But I'm sure you'd do fine. You seem like the motherly type"

"What makes you say that?" She laughed, slightly amused but not believing him at all.

"I'm not sure how to explain it, you just do. You're a comforting person to be around" Law told her honestly, his hands sweating slightly as he was unsure how she would take it. His cool eyes didn't look up at her and remained on his food as he dug in.

Leila tensed up as she felt her heart hurt. 'Why would you say that now…'

"Aw, are you saying I give good hugs?" She laughed it off, putting her plate down. Leila moved across the kitchen and quickly enveloped Law in a tight hug, burying his face into her chest as she rested her chin upon his head. Law froze under her touch, feeling surprised at the sudden contact. The only times they hugged were in bed when they slept, they never made affectionate advances like this where people would see them. Alas, her feminine smell calmed his nerves and he couldn't help but feel slightly at peace. She smelt like faint daisies and vanilla, her arms providing him with warmth akin to his own mother.

Despite the hug being fleeting and in a joking manner, Leila held on for a second too long – as if taking in Law's scent and feeling. When she released him she smiled and turned her back to him, beginning to wash up the pans. Law couldn't help but feel like she was trying to hide her face and he watched her back hesitantly, feeling like she was the one who really needed that hug.

'I still have too much I want to say to her before she leaves…' He thought.

The Hear Pirates partied on the deck of their sub with a few friends they had made from Kilika island. Shachi twirled the pretty young woman from the market around the deck as she laughed wholeheartedly. Even onlookers couldn't help but smile at the pair's young and wistful romance blossoming. Law sat on the higher part of the deck, his legs dangling down through the railing as he drank a glass of whiskey. The night was warm, an enjoyable buzz in the atmosphere filled with laughter and cheer. But Law didn't feel quite as happy. His gaze fell on Leila who was jokingly dancing around Jean Bart, much to his annoyance.

She had been spending as much time with the individual crew members as possible, unknowingly to them; it was her way of saying goodbye. She was smiling with her face but her eyes held a subtle sadness to them that Law had picked up on – probably from staring at her all night. Leila looked up fleetingly to Law but looked surprised when she had caught him staring at her. Law waved for her to come up to him and she hesitated before heading up and around the deck.

She stumbled slightly once she got to Law but laughed it off. "Sorry, I'm a little bit tipsy". Law held a hand out to aid her in sitting down and she also let her legs dangle from the railings. "Wow, you have a good view of everything from up here don't you?"

Law nodded before taking a large swig of his drink. Leila looked over at him tentatively, not wanting to have a sappy goodbye.

"Is…there something you wanted to say to me?" She asked Law quietly.

"A lot honestly" he replied darkly, but when he didn't continue Leila decided not to ask. She had made up her mind and she didn't want him to persuade her. It just meant that she'd be putting him in danger or that she'd hurt his feelings. Law glanced over at her. Leila watched the crew dance happily around the deck, the warm breeze blowing strands of her dark hair and her golden eyes sparkling like they always do.

"You're very pretty you know" Law said, instantly regretting it when he saw her shocked expression. She scoffed, thinking he was joking. Law hesitantly held out his hand towards her head and tucked her stray locks behind her ear.

"Law…you're confusing me" She spoke softly to him, her eyes searching his for remnants of emotion.

'How can I not fall in love with him if he acts like that?' She thought melancholy.

"Why am I confusing you?"

"You're being very sweet" She murmured. "It's weird. Unlike you"

Law scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, regretting his actions entirely. "Wow, thanks"

"You know what I mean…" She whispered, turning her attention back to the crew. "I'm going to miss you guys" She spoke honestly, the alcohol in her system acting like a truth serum.

"Then why leave?" He asked her frustrated. She didn't look at his face, she felt like she would crumble if she did. "Leila-ya"

Law tugged on her arm before forcing her to look at him. He was taken aback when he saw tears in her eyes. "Leila-ya…Why are you crying?"

"I don't know" she sniffed as she hid her face from him "I'm just conflicted, I don't know what to do anymore"

Law stayed silent as his mind remained clouded and confused. He wasn't sure what was troubling her so much, what goes through her head when she pushes everyone away. He wasn't sure about anything at this point. But he knew one thing. He wanted her to do what she wanted. Of course he wanted her to stay – but if it made her unhappy he didn't want that.

"Leila-ya, why don't you just tell me?" He rubbed her shoulder as she began to cry properly. She shook her head quickly and violently, showing that she really didn't want to tell him her past.

"Leila-ya" He spoke to her confidently. "What do you want to do?"

She sniffed before glancing up at Law who was staring at her seriously. "I-I don't know"

"It can be anything. Let's start small, right now - what do you want?"

Leila sniffed and wiped the tears away from her eyes, feeling like an idiot. But alas, she thought hard about what she wanted. "I…I want to go to that ball you were talking about"

Law looked at her wide eyed before he started to laugh. She glared at him but didn't feel annoyed by his happy face. Law couldn't quite believe that she wanted to attend but he was glad that she had started to be honest.

"Done. What else?" He asked her, looking at her face that had grown flushed.

"A-and I want to wear a pretty dress"

"Okay. Anything else?"

She turned to look into Law's eyes and felt her heart thumping in her chest as he watched her, his handsome face saying he would do all she wanted. Leila couldn't quite get used to the feeling, the action of voicing what she wanted.

"Is it okay now?" She began to cry again, her shoulders shaking softly. Law wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close into his body.

"Is what okay?"

"C-can I ask for things like this?" She hiccupped.

"Of course you can…" he told her, feeling upset that she had such an inner turmoil over the way she had been living her life. "Leila-ya. I don't know what happened in the past. But right now, you're here on my submarine - with my crew. We can keep you safe and you can act a little selfish"

Leila shook her head. "I don't believe it"

Law sighed and held her chin, directing her attention towards him. "How can I reassure you?"

Leila wanted to believe Law's words; she had seen his capabilities and knew he was strong enough to protect her. But from Xander? To her, nobody was as threatening as Xander Brady. Leila let her gaze fall onto Law's lips as his face remained close to hers. Despite the rest of the crew being down below deck, it seemed that Law couldn't care less about hiding their confusing relationship anymore. Leila felt her heart throb and she just wanted to be held, to be kissed and to be reassured by him.

"Kiss me" She murmured, to which Law instantly obliged. He held the crook of her neck, pulling her towards him as he kissed her insistently. It wasn't aggressive or needy, but he tried to communicate everything in that kiss. His wish for her to stay, he wished she would live selfishly and he wished that she could understand the feelings that even he couldn't make sense of.

A/n : Hi, because I got such lovely feedback I grant you with another chapter! ^^ Thanks for the feedback, it makes me really happy and inspires me to keep writing!

The pair broke away breathily and Law leant his forehead against her own. Something important hung in the air.

"Do you feel reassured?" He asked her, holding her hand tightly in his own.

"I'm not sure, I think I might need another" She whispered onto his lips before catching him in another kiss. She urgently kissed him, her hand falling against his chest. Law moaned quietly into her mouth, feeling utterly entranced by her presence. A loud yell from below the deck made Leila pull away, seemingly realizing their surroundings. She wiped her mouth and glanced down at the crewmates who were enjoying a drinking game. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed.

"You can't try to leave now…" Law smirked at her, feeling confident in his persuasion. "We've got a ball to attend, haven't we?"

Leila let herself forget everything about her past for that moment and think about a future. A future that she had never considered before, a future where she might actually be free - becoming a pirate and staying on Law's ship. She couldn't help but smile to herself.