Ash felt a little out of place as everyone else had a job to do. The Polar Tang had a relatively small crew compared to other Pirates, but each member was specialized in their task. She wasn't interested in more bed rest, but as she wandered about, she felt terribly in the way. That and everyone treating her with such kid-gloves was beginning to piss her off. She withdrew to the debriefing room she'd been assigned to work in. It still had the music player and the disguise box where she'd left it. She'd felt useful then, helping the team to assume their roles. But now…nothing. It was over all over now. Her social expertise felt less than useless.
The silence was deafening in this room so she turned on the music player for a distraction. It was a ballroom piece, popular with the region Korenaga originated from. She didn't care much for the reminder, so she quickly switched it off. What else had she brought along? She checked through her records; most had been selected for similar reasons. Except…she smiled at the very last one, tucked away in the back. Her absolute favorite! She pulled it out and set it to play.
She closed her eyes as her Mother's voice began to sound through the audio horn. Her fingers lightly drummed on the table beside it. She lightly hummed along with the tune, gently swaying to the steady beat.
Just then she felt a hand take hers and spin her around. She was startled to find herself in Law's arms as he assumed the correct dance position and took the lead. She stumbled through the first initial steps due to her surprise but his steady grip on her kept her in position. He grinned at the rare advantage he had over her. His smugness snapped her right out of it but honestly, she was too impressed to scowl at full fierceness.
"Hey, wait, I never taught you this dance," she blurted out the obvious.
"Maybe you did and just forgot," he said off-handedly.
She highly doubted that but smiled all the same. "So, you don't forget all useless information, then." She gently teased.
The song was coming to an end, and he tilted her back into a deep dip. His face closed in, inches from her own. She blushed as she felt his breath warm in her face. Was he about to kiss her? She bit her bottom lip nervously. She was unaware of how alluring he found her accidental submission. But he wasn't about to give in just yet.
"Not all of it was useless," he whispered into the corner of her mouth. He relished the sound of her faint gasp. Later, he promised himself as his fingers twitched in anticipation. Later.
The music abruptly changed to a lively pop song and so too did the mood shift. He straightened and pulled her back up to her feet. "Your physical stamina is nearly back to normal," he noted. "That is good, now we need to do an internal check."
She pulled away and turned aside, trying to hide her flushed face. "What's with the checkup?" She huffed defensively.
"You missed your appointment," he gently scolded.
She turned back in confusion. "What appointment?"
"Every day at thirteen hundred hours," he said smoothly as he approached the music player to deactivate it.
She seemed startled by that. "Since when?" She asked, with a slight raise in tone. Was it surprise or stubbornness? He couldn't really tell.
"I wrote it on your calendar…in your room," he continued with the clarification. He looked a little irritated at her. Did she really think she was exempt from follow-up care? To be fair, he was surprised she wasn't lying down already. He had underestimated her stamina.
She face-palmed with a groan. "I…I didn't even think to look," she grumbled slightly in defeat.
"Recovery is a sensitive time, rushing through it can create complications-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she grumbled as she folded her arms across her chest. "I'll do whatever you ask so just…don't lecture me." She frowned in turn. Seriously, did he think she was that reckless?
He gestured for her to follow him out of the room, retrieving his sword set against the doorway. It rested casually against his shoulder. "Let's return to the medical bay, my supplies are there if I need to administer anything."
She really didn't like the idea of getting a shot or something, so she went for an obvious distraction. "Is that sword heavy?" She asked.
"Are you referring to its weight or the curse it carries?" He asked dryly. She seemed startled by his answer. Did she not know that already? "The answer to both…is yes." They approached an elevator shaft, and he pressed a button to summon it to their floor. Upon arrival he turned the handle to open the sea-glass door and pushed the metal scissor-gate aside to enter. He had once explained to her that he preferred as few automatic controls as possible. Manual operation kept the crew fit and such costly repairs down. It had sounded like an excuse to her at the time but figured that he prioritized other things over this. Once inside, he pulled the gate closed to secure them within and pressed a button for the desired floor. You could see each floor as the lift made its descension. He noticed her uneasiness but wasn't sure he should comment on it and remained silent as well.
The shaft slowed to a stop as they reached their floor. Shachi was waiting outside with a box of things. She frowned suspiciously as she recognized some of the objects sticking out of it. Once Law opened the door, she confronted the crewmen. "What are you doing with my stuff?" She demanded to know.
"I'm relocating your items," Law answered for him. "From the quest quarters to the residential level."
"Why? What for?" She protested.
"Because they're more comfortable for a longer stay." He reasoned as he moved forward. Shachi tipped his hat at her before entering the elevator himself.
She hurried after Law. "There's no need to go through so much trouble," she protested.
"It's no trouble at all," he said casually enough. "You hardly brought anything with you."
"That's not what I meant!" She snapped.
"Then say what you mean in the first place," he gently pushed back. They had now arrived at the medical bay, and he turned the great crank set in the wall that slid open the double doors. The great room was presently empty. "Sit down on one of those tables," he instructed as he unsheathed his sword.
He created a room to surround them and raised his blade for a medical scan. It felt a little tingly and a few flickering shapes appeared before her. She wasn't sure what they were, but Law's gaze narrowed critically as he took careful note of them. They faded away and he withdrew the surrounding sphere, concentrating it within the palm of his hand. He approached and gently took hold of her throat. She swallowed nervously at his cool touch, but didn't dare look away.
Her stare didn't bother him in the least, it was easy enough to tune out. This sort of internal surgery was minor, but he needed to concentrate. The muscle lining was still quite raw, having been chemically burned. He had to stimulate the cells to speed up the healing process. Then his hand moved up under her chin, gently raising it upward to continue the procedure. Her brow furrowed slightly as she marveled at how gentle his touch was. She'd never experienced his medical side but knew that he was a brilliant doctor by any standard. He withdrew his hand and turned towards one of the medical cabinets. This one had some bottled water and an assortment of pills and potions in a variety of bottles. He took one of the small water bottles and tossed it to her. She fumbled to catch it and it clattered to the ground.
"Huh, looks like your reaction time is a bit off," he mused aloud as he took a few pills out of another bottle before returning it to shelf and securing the door.
"Is everything a test?" She huffed.
"No, it wasn't meant to be," he answered in his usual monotone. He knelt to retrieve the bottle and handed it to her. "I figured you could catch that without difficulty. Apparently not." He shrugged one shoulder indifferently as he handed her the pills.
"What are these for?" She pinched the gel capsules between her fingertips.
"Painkillers, my own recipe." He explained as if that was no big deal. She blinked in surprise. "What?" He asked innocently.
She shook her head and popped them into her mouth. She had no idea that his expertise related to the pharmaceutical as well. She took a swig from the bottle to swallow them. "So…uh…how does everything check out?" She asked a bit awkwardly, but she was curious.
"Everything is proceeding as planned," he said but that was meaningless to her. However, he didn't feel inclined to elaborate as he made a few notes in a folder marked with her name. Was it a medical report? He didn't look worried so she figured everything must be just fine then. He was silent as he continued to scribble.
"Can I leave then?" She asked.
"You may," he murmured thoughtfully without looking up, lost within his own thoughts.
She slipped off the table and went over to the door. The crank was stiff as it was solid, and she yanked hard on it. She looked over to see if Law planned to help her, but he was now at his workstation, running through some calculations. And here she thought he didn't want to overexert herself…She rolled her eyes and rolled up her sleeves. She managed to crack it open just enough to slip through and left it that way. As she turned to the corner, she bumped into Bepo.
"I'm so sorry about before!" He gushed with such a guilty conscious. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"Don't worry about it," she was quick to reassure him. "I am, however, absolutely starving. Want to join me for a late lunch?"
His furry face brightened at that as he nodded.
She was drowsy after lunch and felt like she needed to lie down. She had no idea which room was supposed to be hers, so she had to ask for directions. Law was right, this was much cozier than the last one. Shachi had left the box on the desk, but she wasn't sure if it was worth unpacking. A week isn't that long to live out of a suitcase. She crawled into bed and settled in comfortably.
She was later roused by a gentle knock at the door. Shirazuki cautiously poked his head in. "Hey there sleepyhead, they're serving dinner in the galley now. You wanna come along or should I bring you something?"
"Naw, its ok," she yawned as she sat up. "I'll join you." He nodded and turned to wait outside in the corridor for her. He frowned thoughtfully at the opposite wall as he recalled that tender scene between them. What was going on there? He knew better than to ask her. She'd never tell him, especially if his suspicions were correct. He turned towards her as she stepped out the door. "So, what are they serving tonight?"
"No idea, I didn't get a chance to check the menu beforehand," he admitted as he offered her his arm.
She ignored that as she took the lead down the hallway. "Hopefully its as good as lunch was," she said casually.
"So, how are you feeling?" He ventured with a measure of caution. He flinched as he noticed her hand curl into a fist.
"I'm seriously gonna deck the next person who asks me," she growled in warning. She coughed slightly as she pressed a hand against her throat. Obviously, that was pushing it, so she simmered down with soft breaths. "Well despite that, I feel just fine," she mumbled with some embarrassment.
He nodded. "That's good to hear," he said with a smile. "So did he ask you to join yet?"
Her face fell at that. "No, but I doubt he would now, especially since I got caught."
"You sound disappointed," he mused curiously.
"Well, I am," she confessed. "But not about that!" She protested. "I just really screwed up back there. Definitely not my best work and should that mistake go public, it could cost me job opportunities."
"Whose gonna tell?" He asked skeptically as they took the elevator to the proper floor. "Korenaga is dead, and the Captain would hardly give a bad review."
"What about the security deal he had watching the doors?" She countered.
"Probably dead in the arson attack, are you really worried or just paranoid about it?" He asked a bit sarcastically.
"I'm more worried about my parents finding out what happened," she confessed. "If rumors start to spread, they're likely to hear as well."
"Well, with your Dad being a Marine Captain…then yeah, it's definitely possible," he admitted. "Especially if his company was assigned to secure the scene." She shuddered at the thought, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "Hey, its gonna be ok, alright? Don't stress it."
Up ahead she could smell something delicious that made her mouth begin to water. Now that was a distraction she could indulge in! It was a lively scene in the gallery as most of the crew was seated for the meal. It wasn't possible for everyone to eat at the same time, someone had to remain at the various posts to keep the Polar Tang running smoothly.
She noticed that Law was eating with Bepo, discussing something with furtive glances. He noticed her with a cool gaze and turned aside to ignore her. That suited her just fine and the pair joined Oki and Penguin at another table. The conversation was light and merry, but she was content to just listen. Her throat was feeling a bit sore so maybe it was best to rest it again. She jumped slightly as a small condiment-sized cup was set on the table beside her. She looked up to see Law silently pass by without looking back. Inside, there were some more painkillers, and she took them.
After the meal, Shirazuki reminded her of the evening's entertainment. To promote fellowship among the crew, every night they gathered in assigned shifts to engage in games or talent showcases. It had been easier to avoid them before in the name of working out mission details but now she couldn't use that excuse. She politely begged off, wanting to turn in early for the night. It wasn't necessarily because she felt tired, but she felt awkward at the idea of hanging out just because. This wasn't her crew, after all. There was no point in bonding. She excused herself and made her way back to her room. Her thoughts began to wander absent-mindedly as she passed by others on their way to the entertainment.
She jumped slightly as she felt a hand take hold of hers and gently tug her backward. She looked over her shoulder to see Law frown down curiously at her. "Where are you going?"
"Back to my room," she said as she tried to pull her hand free.
"What for?" He persisted as his grip tightened. He wasn't counting on this miscalculation.
"What does it matter?" She asked in exasperation. "I just don't feel like being social tonight. Besides, it's not as if-" her voice died away as he took a step closer to her. He released her hand to rest his upon her slender shoulders.
"Please reconsider," he attempted to persuade but she stubbornly shook her head. He bowed his head with a sigh. "Very well. Hopefully you'll join us tomorrow night." She was about to object further, but he raised her chin to give her a light kiss. She was absolutely shocked; he'd never been this bold in so public a place. Yes, such intimacy was a new thing between them, but always in secret and within the shadows. And even stranger, his smile was a sad one, why was that? "Goodnight Ash." He murmured as he turned, leaving her behind. He was disappointed, in more ways than one. He had been looking forward to this but to force her would have ruined the surprise. He'd have to rethink his approach tomorrow.