Me: So, there was a bit of confusion last chapter. No, Law and Nadeen won't be sharing a room. He just brought her to his to shut her up. He didn't know any other way of doing that besides stuffing a pillow in her face. Why he didn't just take her to her own room and use her own pillow... I have no idea. It just kind of wrote itself out that way. XD DISCLAIMER, NOW! -throws down smoke bomb and smoke explodes everywhere-
Disclaimer: -coughs- Dammit, I told her not to do that... Shiningheart doesn't -cough cough- own One Piece. -cough- Crap, SOMEONE OPEN A WINDOW!
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Chapter 7: Face Palms Galore!
The Pirates of Heart gathered in the gallery for lunch. At one end of the room, Shachi and Penguin were taking bets on who would come out alive. Derek was clinging to the much taller Cyrus in an effort not to collapse in laughter. Cyrus had tears streaming down his face as he wailed about how proud he was of his darling Nadeen-chan for standing up for herself. In the center of the large room, Nadeen looked up with a cheeky grin into the eyes of Jake, who's face at the moment resembled a brick.
The redhead had been pestering and annoying the older man for hours, ever since she'd left Law's room. Jake was funner to annoy than Law, but on a totally different level than his captain. Nadeen annoyed Law because he was cute when annoyed. She annoyed Jake because he looked constipated when holding himself back from hitting her. It had become something of a goal to see how far she could push the middle-aged man before he became violent, hence the bets.
Most would be intimidated by the fire in Jake's dark eyes, reminiscent of the very fires of hell. Nadeen thought he looked constipated when trying not to hit her. It wouldn't take much more for her to push him off the deep end. "Hey, you think Law could put your head back together if it exploded? Because that'd be totally awesome." Law and Coryn would probably make her clean up the mess afterwards, but it would so be worth it.
A vein throbbed on his forehead and the angry shade of red appeared on both his neck and ears. When he spoke, spit flew from his mouth in his rage. "Yer on'y 'ere 'cause the cap'n allows ya ta be! Don' go thinkin' yer special an' can do wha'eva' ya' want'a."
Nadeen grimaced in disgust and wiped her face on a nearby pirate's sleeve, making him grumble but not protest. "Okay, one? Gross. If you're gonna keep talking like an illiterate imbecile, warn me so I can wear a face mask around you. Two, you don't have to worry about that. Law actually gave me explicit instructions on how to behave around all of you. These rules include, but are not limited to: no mauling, no maiming, no crippling, no killing, no injuring and no traumatizing. That actually reminds me, though!" She looked around the room until she found her target and said, "Oi, Derek! Law told me to ask you for a story. Something about a stampede?"
As soon as she finished speaking, every pirate in the room, Jake included, slapped their hands against their ears. Nadeen looked around in confusion, then realized that Derek's eyes had glazed over into a terrified stupor and his face had paled to an ashen white color. He gave a high-pitched yell, just like a little girl, and dived under the nearest table to curl into a whimpering, blubbering ball.
The redhead whined and rubbed at her ears, trying to get rid of the obnoxious ringing. Law could have freakin' warned her when he told her ask Derek. Well, then again, he had say Derek screamed like a little girl. And she did see the others cover their ears, so she really couldn't blame the pirate captain... As much as she wanted to, at least.
The door slammed open and another crew member ran in, eyes wide and frantic-looking. Nadeen hadn't met this one, but apparently it was the same whose pants she now wore. Sam was so far the only brunette she'd seen, not counting Cyrus. He had a geeky look to him, but in a cute way. He had brown eyes that looked like liquid chocolate, but they would look prettier if he didn't wear glasses. He had a smattering of freckles on his nose and cheeks that stood out against his naturally pale skin. Like the rest of his crewmates, he wore a white boiler suit. "The hell was that?" he asked. Well, more like squeaked. When Penguin had said he was the resident midget, he forgot to mention the man was more like a boy, only 15 years old.
Penguin waved from where he and Shachi sat. "Nadeen asked Derek about that stampede we told you about when you first joined, Sammy-boy." Sam sighed and rubbed his head in irritation while the mechanic duo looked at their guest. "Where'd you hear about that anyway, Nadeen? None of us told you, and Cyrus usually talks about Law to anyone who would listen."
Before she could answer, the captain himself came in. To Sam, he said, "I told you we didn't have to hurry." Apparently the younger man had been sent to get Law from his room. Nadeen hadn't been paying attention, or else she would have offered to go with him. Law looked like he had just woken up. His clothes were rumpled, and he looked more alert than he did earlier. His hair was mussed as well, and he was without his trademark fuzzy hat. Nadeen privately thought he looked better without it. Law turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "And would you care to explain to me why Mister Jake's face looks like he's badly sunburned?"
She gave him a smirk of pride and raised her nose in mock arrogance. "That would be my handiwork. You kicked me out of your room and, since you already told me you don't want me being alone with Cyrus, I had to find some way of entertaining myself. So for the past..."
A thoughtful pause, and Nadeen turned to look at the elderly man for clarification. He gave it without much prompting, a harrassed look to his posture now. "'Bout four hours. I've 'ad this damn demon wench blabberin' on 'bout things an' not shuttin' up an' pokin' me an' askin' stupud questions an'..." From there, he descended into nonsensical mumbling. The crew and Nadeen watched him curiously before unanimously and silently deciding to ignore him.
A surprised look came to Law's face. Nadeen wondered why, but he answered her unasked question. "I was asleep for four hours?!" She was the only one to give him a confused blink while everyone else nodded. He acted like that was an accomplishment or a shock. Yeah, he told her earlier that he had insomnia, but she didn't think four hours were all that big of a deal. "Huh... That's strange. That's more than I usually get per night..."
The specification was obviously meant for Nadeen. So he had noticed her confusion... Nadeen was about to respond, but the door to the kitchen swung open to reveal Coryn, glaring out at all of them. "Food's ready. And whoever set Derek off, you're an asshole and I should starve you for it." Everyone pointed at Nadeen at the same time, prompting her to give a sheepish little finger wave. Coryn stared blankly at her for a minute before sighing and shaking his head. "Dammit." It was all he said before ducking back behind the door.
The galley filled with laughter while the crew began to get their food. Nadeen, having already been told she wouldn't be fed until dinner, just sat at one of the tables. Shachi and Penguin managed to force Derek from his hiding spot and put him in a chair before scrambling to get their own food. Nadeen watched the stampede with an amused smile before squeaking in surprise when Law adjacent to her, at the head of the table. She tilted her head curiously, but he answered before she could ask. "I told Bepo to get me my food. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions I forgot to ask earlier due to... circumstances."
-LAW'S POV-
'AKA, you calling me cute and me kicking you out of my room to avoid embarrassment.' Law internally grimaced at the thought. He was ashamed of himself for losing his cool like that. Honestly, he was a pirate. A pirate captain, with a bounty on his head! He was the Surgeon of fucking Death and she made him blush like a bloody schoolgirl! His attraction to redheads aside, there was no reason for her compliment to cause him to get flustered. Shachi and Penguin would never let him live it down if they ever found-
Just like that, his train of thought screeched to a halt. Oh God, she hadn't said anything to them, had she? Yeah, he could always use the 'I'm the Captain so respect me' card, but he'd rather not use that on his oldest and dearest friends. He might be many things, but it was still a relief to have real friends who'd tell him if he was being a dick. He didn't want to compromise that by forcing them to behave. Law glared at Nadeen, demanding an answer without words. She answered with a smile and a shake of the head.
His fears put to rest, Law leaned back against his chair and gave an imperceptible sigh. He'd have had to kill her if she did, and he didn't want to resort to that until after he found out what made her tick. Or maybe not at all. Even he knew better than to try and predict the future. He gave himself a mental shake to get his thoughts back in order. "These questions aren't so much about your powers and past as it is about you." Nadeen blinked her surprise. "Normally I write down the information of everyone I treat, whether they're part of my crew or not. But since I have a feeling you'll be sticking around for a while..."
Law trailed off when she gave a smirk. "Damn right. Like I told you, I owe you a debt. Until I save your life, you're stuck with me." Though she said it in a teasing way, the seriousness in her eyes spoke. She wouldn't go anywhere until she felt her debt was repaid.
He mocked a hum in thought before smirking back at her. "I guess I could live with that. Just don't bore me, or else!" He didn't need to specify what the 'or else' was. She gave a cheeky salute with a wink, and Law chuckled low in his chest. "Back to my questions- thank you, Bepo." The polar bear had finally returned his Captain's food. The first mate gave a happy nod, delighted at the 'praise', before taking a seat at Law's right hand, opposite of where Nadeen was. He only took a second's look to see what his friend had gotten him and almost sighed. Fish. He knew he should have told Shachi or Penguin to get it...
A muffled giggle made him glare heatedly at his, for lack of a better word, guest. Nadeen flashed him an apologetic smile before placing her chin on her linked fingers. "So, questions about myself? As in personality traits, pet peeves, annoyances, so on and so forth? Or do you mean medical history, since you mentioned writing this shit down of everyone you meet and I doubt you even care much about how much you'll eventually piss me off in the future?"
Despite himself, Law chuckled in amusement and took a bite of the fish. "Just your medical history. Allergies and past injuries things of the such. I prefer to discover your inner workings myself." Queue everyone at the table pausing and giving him a look. Law rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Figuratively discover your inner workings." Then, under his breath, "Bunch of paranoid bastards."
Some of them chuckled before they all went back to their meals. Nadeen shifted herself so she was sitting sideways in her chair, facing him with a twinkle in her pretty blue eyes. "Cause it's totally not like you've given them a reason to be paranoid, right?" she said sarcastically. Law rolled his eyes and broke off a piece of fish bone, chucking it lightly at her in retaliation. Nadeen caught it with ease. "Throwing food in revenge for being told the truth. Very mature." Okay, that was going to far. He let her know by glaring dangerously at her. Nadeen seemed to freeze for barely a second before laughing nervously. "Um... So, allergies... Um, I'm allergic to latex and lotion... Get a rash wherever it touches. Not a fun experience."
Second collective pause of the meal, only this time everyone stared at Nadeen. Law waited for her to realize exactly what she just said, and it only took a heartbeat. Her ears went the slightest bit pink and she scowled at the men, just daring them to say anything. A few coughed to cover up their humor, but Law didn't bother hiding his chuckle. "I'd ask how you discovered that, but I'm not entirely sure I care to know." The pink on her ears darkened a bit, and she glared at him in embarrassment. "When we get to an island, I want to take an x-ray of your entire skeletal structure. Other than your ribs, I want to see if you have any injuries that didn't heal correctly."
Cyrus took that moment to perk up from another table, where he'd been listening. "Oh, that reminds me Captain-chan!" Like usual, Law's eye twitch at the -chan. Why couldn't Cyrus be like everyone else and be too terrified of pissing him off to give him a nickname? Oh wait, that's right. He's an obsessed bloody lunatic. "The weather seems to be stabilizing, meaning we're nearing the next island. We should be there by the end of the day!"
Nadeen perked up immediately after the news and spun around to face Law. He spoke before she could even say anything, already having a feeling about what she was going to say. "No, you can't go on land. Not until your ribs heal."
She blinked at him in surprise before speaking. "Good thing that wasn't what I was going to ask." Law wasn't the only one to look at her in question. "I know I can't go. If there's trouble, I'd be just another person to protect. I don't like using my powers in a fight because it drains me more than just using my fists, and hand-to-hand is my preferred method of fighting. That and I'm still too weak from malnutrition. My bones would snap with a single punch." Well, at least she was sensible about it. She obviously wasn't happy about staying onboard the sub, but at least she understood why. "I was actually going to ask if I could send Cyrus and/or someone else shopping for clothes for me." She picked at her black shirt, which was actually Law's. "As comfortable as your clothes are, I don't think you want me sharing half of your wardrobe."
Hm... She had a point... He answered the question by nodding. "Very well. Once we reach the island, Mister Cyrus and Mister Sam can fetch you clothing. I suggest you make a list." She responded by leaping up with a squeal and giving him a hug that left him stunned. Nadeen didn't give him time to... well, do anything, before she released him and zoomed out of the cafeteria. Law turned back to his food before noticing everyone was staring at him. Even the men at the other table. "One word and I'll dismember all of you." he warned. They took him seriously and went back to their meals. Law smirked at the display of power he had over his crew. 'It's good to be the captain.' he mused. And it was. It really, really was.
-Chapter-End-
Pages: 5
Words: 2603
Me: -sighs- Shorter than the last one. Next chapter, they're at the island. I have a poll in my profile for what Canon/OC story I should write next. If you want specifics as to the stories/plots I have planned, PM me for them.