Disclaimer: Valerie is the only one who is mine.

Chapter 17: Temptress

~~~.~~~

"Do you know how much trouble you've caused?" Law asked rhetorically.

"I have an idea." Valerie giggled evilly and answered anyway. Law's eyes narrowed as he tried to glare a hole in his white-haired crew-mate's head. Instead of returning his glare like he expected her to, Valerie's smile turned into a sad frown and she averted her eyes to the floor. The sadness in her eyes caught him by surprise and her quiet stillness drew his eyes to her 'outfit'. Shock took hold of his face for a moment before he school it back into a mask and stared at her with forced indifference.

Valerie glanced up but immediately turned her eyes back to the floor when she saw him staring at her boredly. All desire she had for revenge left her as she remembered she probably wouldn't have long to be with him. Law continued to stared at her and after a few second she cracked.

"I've gotta go." She whispered to the floor and raced passed him and up the stairs. Law stood frozen for a few moments before remembering why he'd sought her out in the first place and followed her.

"Your little 'prank' caused quite a mess. As punishment, you will clean all the blood from the floors." He called after her quickly retreating form. Valerie, who'd barely heard him, stopped and looked him in the eyes for the first time.

"Yes sir." She said without her usually sarcasm. Her eyes, face, and voice were completely devoid of any of the emotions the normally flitted across her face.

She took off, but this time Law didn't follow. He'd said what he needed to, so why would he? He was her captain, he didn't really need to know what was wrong with her if it didn't affect himself or the crew. Somehow, Law knew a part of himself didn't agree with that.

~~~.~~~

That night, Law entered his room at the same time he would've if Valerie had been there. For some reason the last few weeks, his insomnia hadn't made itself known. It had allowed him precious hours of sleep that he hadn't been able to get since he was a child, which is what he expected this time as well.

He laid down, feeling oddly cold without the extra body heat, but pushed the discomfort away and pulled his covers further up. He closed his eyes and laid still, but it wasn't until near dawn (not that it they could see the sun since they were deep underwater) that his mind finally shut down and he was able to sleep, only to wake up barely three hours later. The next night was no better. The circles reappeared under his eyes as a dull gray and steadily darkened during the course of a week, and in that same week Law hadn't seen hid nor hair of a certain white-haired girl.

Law sat in his bed and sighed. "And here I thought I'd get more sleep with her out of my hair." Law hummed in thought of what could've caused his insomnia the disappear in the first place.

"Perhaps being around her mentally tired me out so much that my body was forced to 'shut down'." He thought, and it made sense. Being around Valerie would tire anyone one out mentally, physically, and emotionally. She was a whirlwind of energy that seemed to get it's power from anyone and everyone around her. So it made sense that since he no longer had to be around her, that he wouldn't expended as much energy and exhaust himself. "So the simple solution, if I wish to sleep well again, is that I need to be around her." Law frowned. Was it worth it?

He knew there was actually a serious possibility of him developing feelings for the girl and that would be a very bad situation, especial because she nakama. If they ever did get together but ending up breaking it off, he known they'd never be able to go back to how they were now. Hell, he already got insanely jealous over her and they weren't even together. If she were to try to be with someone else, on the crew or not, he knew he'd react badly and that it would affect the crew.

"No. It's not worth."

~~~.~~~

A month passed and Law saw even less of the white-haired girl then he had before, which he found rather odd because in the three weeks she'd been sharing a room with him all her activity seemed the center around himself. He didn't think she'd become close with anyone else on the crew save himself, Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo.

In truth, she hadn't. After leaving Law's room, and subsequently his presence altogether, Valerie had spent most to all of her time in the Control Room helping Penguin and Shachi. When she wasn't there she was elseway, getting to know the crew better and helping them with their chores, as she didn't has any assigned to herself. However she did have one self-appointed duty. Whenever they resurfaced, she'd clean the deck so then when they docked it was always sparkling. This also allowed her to be the first off the sub, so that most of the time when Law left all he saw was a flash of white hair.

Finally fed up with his lack of sleep, after three weeks of being in the seductive embrace of sleep he couldn't get used to being an insomniac again, Law decided to seek Valerie out. But it seemed that no matter where he looked, she'd always evaded him, leaving before he got there and leading him on a wild goose chase. How she even knew he was looking for her was lost on the pirate captain.

From the Control Room he was told Valerie had gone to the Training Room to help clean the floor. From the Training Room, whose floor sparkling, he'd was informed she (and her insubordinate bear) had left to help the guys in the Laundry Room fold. In the Laundry Room he found large stacks of identical overalls and the information that Valerie had gone to the Kitchen to help wash dishes and prepare lunch. In the Kitchen, every dishes was washed and every plate had food on it. One of the cooks told him Valerie had gone to the Control Room, and it took everything in him not the growl and punch something.

When he walked in and again didn't see her, he turned to the man who'd told him the first time that she wasn't in the Control Room, and told him to inform the elusive girl that she was to report to the Captain's Quarters the next time she returned to the Control Room. With that said, Law left and returned to his room to stew in his anger and annoyance.

Three hours later, a hesitant knock sounded on Law's door and he looked up from where he sat at his desk reading. "Enter." He called out.

Slowly the door creaked open to reveal Valerie standing in the doorway with her head lowered. "Yes?" She asked, stepping in and shutting the door behind her. Law noticed that for once she was without the little black cub that seemed to go everywhere with her.

"You're avoiding me." Law stated as he shut his book. It wasn't a question because he already knew it was true. He waited to hear why. Valerie stayed silent. Still a little angry from the chase she'd lead him on he snapped at her. "When your captain speaks to you, you're expected to respond."

Valerie flinched at the anger in his voice before her own anger flared and she viciously replied, "Well, Sir, you didn't ask me anything, you just said what you assume to be fact. Therefore, I have nothing to respond to."

Law narrowed his eyes at her blatant display of insubordination but instead of calling her out on it and getting off track, said, " Why are you avoiding me?" He amended.

"I'm not avoiding you, Sir." She said emotionlessly but the last word still had a bite to it.

"You are, or were." Valerie opened her mouth to respond but Law held up a hand to silence her. "You were and I know you were. I want to know why, and don't tell me you weren't." Valerie lowered her head once more, her anger gone, and said nothing. Law quickly realized that he didn't like the girl's discernible submission nor did he like her silence. At least not right now.

"Well? Answer me." Valerie let out a small sigh.

"I can't. Not if I cannot say I wasn't avoiding me, because I wasn't." She said the last part in a whisper.

"Really? So how, pray tell, do you define 'avoiding'?" He asked cynically. Valerie opened her mouth to reply to the rhetorical question, but once again Law cut her off, his frustration starting to seep into his voice. "Because I define 'avoiding' as making sure you're anywhere I'm not. Which, so far, has been exactly what you've been doing. Not just today, but for the past month." Valerie said nothing, just kept staring at the floor. Law felt all his anger vanish as he looked at her.

"I wasn't." She muttered quietly. It sounded pathetic even to her own ears. Law sighed and rubbed his temples. He looked over at a report that Shachi had given to him a while ago during his three hour wait.

"Tomorrow we will be docking on an island. You will accompany me for the day."

"Yes sir." Law glanced at her once more before letting out another sigh.

"Dismissed." Valerie didn't hesitate in leaving and Law found himself alone again. When had that started bothering him?

~~~.~~~

All the following day, Valerie stayed quiet and sullen when she and Law were alone together. When someone from the crew was with them, she was animated and her normal self, but she ignored Law's existence. This, of course, caused said pirate captain to be in a constant state of jealousy, anger, and a bit of confusion. By the time they returned to the sub, to which Valerie quickly escaped from him to, he was completely exhausted, but when he laid down sleep would not come.

Law was about ready to beg the temptress, who'd easily been seducing him into her arms, to take him. It was as though he were what you'd normally think of a pirate, a deprived man, but what his deprivation had him seeking was not of the physical connections most men sought from a woman. No, Law only thought to be within Sleep's addictive, warm embrace.

But that damn seductress had enticed him into her arm and made him feel as though she would stay, only to turn and flee from him the way Valerie had fled down the hall the day she'd left his room, and Sleep evaded him the same way as well.

So Law sat in his bed wondering why his theory had been wrong. It didn't make sense. No matter how he thought about it he should've been able to sleep. From the day she'd gotten her own room, the only thing that had changed in his life had been her constantly hanging around him. Law had remedied that today, but it hadn't worked.

"But WHY?!" He yelled in his mind. Law rolled over onto his side and suddenly felt the cold chill he'd felt the first time he'd laid down by himself a month again. It was a chill that he felt from the absence of the extra body heat he'd become accustomed to.

And realization hit him like a ton of brick.

Law got up and left his room, walking quickly to his white-haired crew-mate's room. When he stood in front of her door he knocked loud enough to wake her as she was always asleep by now. After a moment he heard shuffling then a yawn and a groggy voice say, "Orca, Penguin, what'da ya want?"

Law smirked a little. "Orca?" When she opened the door and saw who was standing there, her sleepy eyes widened into full awareness.

"Oh! Captain, what can I do for you?" Law's smirk fell at the way she addressed him contrasted with the way she addressed his crewmates. Ignoring her question for the moment, he slipped passed her and into the storage room converted bedroom.

Valerie sighed and shut the door then turned to her captain. "Yes?"

There was a pause before he decided to say, "Come back." Taken by surprise, Valerie blinked hard.

"What?" Confusion knitted her eyebrows together.

Law wasn't so egotistical that he couldn't admit when he needed something (at least, he didn't think so), but that didn't mean he liked it any better. With a deep frown he said, "For some reason when you sleep beside me I'm able to sleep longer than I have since I was a child. I need you to come back so I can sleep." A smirk appeared on Valerie's face.

"She's really got you whipped, huh? Trafalgar Law asking for help, never thought I'd see the day. Who'da thuck?" She said with an exaggerated shake of her head. Law chose to ignore her comment and focus on her sorta-question.

"She?" he asked.

"Sleep, she's one hell of a seductive bitch to be able to get you, of all people, to admit you need help." Law smirked at the personification.

"That she is. Will you return?" Valerie was about to tell him no, because sharing a room would only make them closer and make it hurt more when she was sent back, but then she remembered what Penguin said:

"...enjoy yourself while you're here." And finally the sadness that had seemed to plague her was gone. A gentle smile curled the corners of her lips upward.

"If I can keep my room then you've got yourself a sorta roommate. It'd be a waste to not use the room after all the effort you guys put in to it. Plus now we don't have to take turns showering. I can just come to my room, and get dressed here too." Law let out a small sigh. He'd seen how she'd first planned on declining. He wasn't sure why Valerie changed her mind, but he decided it wasn't worth asking.

"That's fine." He said then grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her room. "Now if you don't mind, I haven't slept properly in a month and I'm finding myself quite exhausted." He punctuated the last word with a small yawn. Valerie laughed and let him lead her to his room.

"Aww, did someone miss my cuddles?" She teased. Law smirked.

"No and I certainly didn't miss the headaches you so easily brought either." Valerie grinned.

"Oh hush." Law opened the door, and she rushed in ahead of him and jumped onto the bed with a content sigh. "It's official, you have the most comfortable bed in all of Paradise." She rolled so her face was pressed into the bed.

Law ignored her and pushed her so there was space for him to lie down. "Quiet and go to sleep." He ordered.

Valerie huffed but got under the cover and settled down. "Night Lawsy." she said with a yawn. Law's eyes widened a fraction at the return of the nickname, but made no move to acknowledge the change.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, Valerie shot up. "Oh! I forgot about Kuma." Law grumbled but didn't move. Valerie stared at the door for a minute then sighed and laid back down. "Eh, I'm too lazy to go get him. He'll be fine by himself for one night." She said then fell asleep with Law right behind her.

~~~.~~~

Law groaned as the hazy darkness of sleep lifted from his mind. He opened his eyes and was assaulted by a tuft of white hair. He swiped it away, only to have the head it belonged to shifted and force even more hair into his face.

"Oi," He called to the source of his discomfort. "Get your hair out of my face." Valerie grumbled and pressed her face into his collar.

"Nope. I'm na movin'." She slurred sleepily. Law sighed at tried to settle back down for more sleep, but the finger poking him in the side was making Sleep hard to find. "Don'tcha 'ave Capt'n bis tuh do?"

"No." Law said and tried to ignore her incessant poking.

"Ya have tuh wake up." She yawned out then fell back to sleep. Law frowned then pinched the hand of the arm draped across his stomach.

"If I have to be awake, so do you."

"So petty~" She let of a small laugh and tightened her grip on his stomach. "And warm." She said and snuggled closer, her eyes still closed. Law smirked.

"And you accused me of missing your 'cuddles'." He said the word with obvious distain. Valerie huffed and pinched his side.

"Shuddap. I'mma cuddle whore, so what?" Law sighed with a shake of his head.

"Get off now. I need to get up." Valerie tightened her grip even more.

"Don't wanna." Law stared at the top of her head in disbelief.

"You changed your tune quickly. Yesterday you were still avoiding me, and now you won't let me go. Your species never ceases to amaze me." Valerie laughed and pulled back and look at him.

"Don't you mean gender?" Law shrugged slightly.

"Not much difference."

"Sure." Valerie said with a smile that clearly said she didn't agree.

After a moment of silence, Law asked, "Why were you avoiding me?" Valerie puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

" This again? Geez, Law. Just because a person isn't actively trying to be around you at all times doesn't mean they're avoiding you. You don't bother Penguin and Orca this much." Law frowned.

"That's because I've been seeing them regularly. You, on the other hand, I haven't seen at all this past month, save small glimpses of your hair." Valerie childishly turned her head away from him.

"Che, whatever." Law grasped her chin and turned her face back to him.

"Why were you avoiding me?" He asked again. Valerie looked down at the space between them.

"I wasn't. It's nothing. Please let it go." She said fragmented, whispering the last part so quietly Law had to lean down to hear it. Law sat up, dislodging her from him, and looked down at her.

"No, I won't. Tell me why you avoided me for a month." He demanded. Valerie sighed and sat up as well. She looked him right in the eyes.

"I love you." Law eyes widened a fraction in surprise. That wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. He opened his mouth to respond, (with what he didn't know) but Valerie cut him off like he'd done the previous day. "I've already admitted that, so there's no use hiding the fact. But Law," She placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "You can't love me. I- I don't know how long I'm gonna be in this world, but I know I'm eventually going to get sent back home and I don't want you to be sad or miss me or anything. I thought the best way to avoid that was to avoid you, and I still think that. But if you need me I suppose there's no helping it." Law blinked.

Then blinked again. Whatever explanation he'd been expecting, that surely wasn't it, and he certainly didn't know how to respond it. If he had to say anything it would be-

"I have to admit, there's a strong possibility of me developing feelings for you. I've already admitted that to myself and I might as well tell you too." Valerie looked at him sadly and let her hand fall into her lap.

"See? No matter what I do now, you'll still feel pain when I , Penguin, and Orca." She looked down at her hand. Law frowned.

"You wouldn't be the first crew member to leave." Valerie looked up at him with surprise written on her face. Law stared at her disbelievingly.

"You do realize this is a pirate crew right?" He asked rhetorically. "We fight. Some of us die. It happens." Valerie's ears turned red in embarrassment at her looked back down.

"I- I know that! It's just we haven't really been in any fights since I got here." She defended with a pout. Law gave her a thoughtful smirk.

"You're right, we haven't, But you shouldn't let yourself get lazy just because we haven't been in a fight." He teased.

"I'm not!" His smirk widened.

"Oh really?" He asked then grabbed a pillow at throw it at her face. Valerie yelped as it hit her right in the face. "A person who 'wasn't getting lazy' would've dodged that." He glanced at her angry pout. "Or maybe you were never that good to beginning with."

Valerie gaped at him. "Why you-! How dare-! You-! Ugh!" She sputtered then shot up off the bed, grabbing the pillow as she stood. "Fuck you, you asshole!" She yelled and threw the pillow at him. He easily dodged it with an indulgent smirk.

"No, I think I'll have to decline that offer, tempting as it is." Valerie stood frozen in place with her mouth hanging open and her eyes as wide as saucers.

"You'll catch flies." He chided. That seemed to pull Valerie from her Law-induced stupor. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at him then turned on her heels and stomped out.

~~~.~~~

A/N: YAY! Another chapter! I thought I'd show you guys what it's like in the mornings for our favorite white-haired brat and pirate captain. They don't always have an emotional conversation, but there is a lot of teasing. Mainly on Law's part and usually about Valerie's snuggle habit. If you're wondering why I personified Sleep as a woman, it's because sleep is a state like death. Death is usually personified as a man, so I guess Sleep is like his wife. That and I just feel like Sleep would be a woman. Um, was there anything else? Oh yeah! So the use of Orca. If you didn't Shachi's name means "killer whale" AKA an Orca, so that's why Valerie now calls him Orca. I think it's cute. Ah yes, one more thing. I just started school, so probably slower updates. Though that's probably not going to be a issue because the story is reaching it's climax and I'm really excited about the rest of this story, which'll be around 10 to 12 more chapters if I don't break them up more. If I do then there'll be more. I think that's all. Sorry for any mistakes or OOCness. Follow. Favorite. REVIEW! Peace.