This piece has a Word Count of 1,170 and is an excerpt from Trafalgar's Tragedy Chapter 2

Now it was time to check in on Shirazuki. Trafalgar Law was surprised to find his room empty and asked a passerby for his whereabouts. "He went to help that newbie put on that tent of a dress, so he says," he chuckled at the obvious innuendo.

Law's gaze darkened but he also highly doubted such was even the case. He was well aware of the fact that Shirazuki and Ash were childhood friends. Still, they were nearing their arrival time, so he turned to descend down towards the guest corridor. It wasn't more than a hallway with a handful of rooms. He wasn't inclined to host very often, no sense in wasting space for their comfort. At present, she was the only one, assigned to cabin A. As he approached the door, he was startled to hear strange noises. Low rhythmic grunts, groans, and a loud gasp.

"Harder!" Ash hissed through her teeth. "C'mon!"

"Nearly there, just hold still why don'tcha," he snapped in turn.

Law's eyes went impossibly wide as his blood began to boil. What the hell did they think they were doing? They didn't even have the decency to close the door, he could clearly see Ash doubled over as Shirazuki pulled her back against him. With a snarl, Law kicked the door open. Startled, Shirazuki let go and Ash collapsed onto her bed. He took a step backward with his hands held up in surrender. "It's not what it looks like, Captain!" He insisted.

Law frowned curiously as he noticed his crewmen was indeed fully clothed and not aroused in the slightest bit. Ash growled as she struggled to lift herself up from the heavy yards of fabric, ruffles, and petticoats. "Damn it all! They've come loose now!" She stood up, hugging the sagging corset against her chest. "We'll have to start all over again so thanks for that!" She snarled at Law.

He looked between the two as the situation began to dawn on him. "I see," he conceded. "Have you finished with your own preparations, Shirazuki?"

"Nearly, I just have-"

"Go take care of it," he instructed with a jerk of his head. "I'll see to this."

He nodded and hurried out the door. Ash scowled at Law's approach. "I can't believe you over-reacted like that. You're such an idiot!"

He grabbed hold of her shoulders and wrenched her round so she faced away from him. "Anyone else would have made the same assumption," he countered coolly as he took hold of the laces.

"Maybe, but only you would—" She gasped sharply as he yanked hard, cutting off her insult of midstream. His long fingers began to lace up the contraption.

"I didn't think such torture devices still existed," he grumbled under his breath. She grimaced; it was worse than she remembered. She drew slow, steady breaths as she adjusted to the suffocating pressure. It was silent between them as he continued with his task. He was nearly finished when a familiar scent tickled his nose. It made him frown thoughtfully as it was just on the edge of his memory, but where was it coming from? "Are you wearing perfume?"

She shook her head. "No, not yet. I'll do that very last. Why?"

The slight shake increased its faint scent. He leaned forward, drawn to her hair. It was styled elegantly atop her head, powdered with a faint glitter and set with a series of pearls. This was the source. He closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply.

"It's coastal," he murmured absent-mindedly as he secured the last tie. "Some kinda floral…gardenia, I think…white cherry blend?"

She blinked in surprise. "Well, yes," she admitted. "Its…" her breath caught in her throat as his hands came to rest along her neck. She trembled slightly. What was he doing?

He buried his nose into her hair. Oh, the memories that flooded through his mind! It's incredible how much he'd forgotten that was recalled in an instant. This scent was the same as the favorite perfume of his dear Mother. It wasn't something sold on Flevance, it was imported from her home country. How many times had Lami tried to sneak into their room to take a sniff from her vanity? Once he tried to stop her and was sprayed right in the face when he startled her. It burned his eyes so badly! Even after his eyes were flushed clean, it still hurt to blink for a couple of days. His friends had teased him about the scent that lingered on, calling him fancy pants for a while. At the time it was humiliating but now the memory made him chuckle.

Ash held still as he continued to nuzzle with a measure of affection. She was thoroughly confused. Men don't care about scent and Law had just nailed it. She glanced at the bottle of hair styling powder sitting on her nightstand. It was a recent purchase, something she found in a seaside market. It smelled nice so she bought it, that's all. But it clearly meant something to him. "Hey, stop that, you're going to mess up my hair." She pouted as she carefully pulled herself free. She turned to snap at him when she was stunned into silence. He stood there as if in a trance, his face expressionless as he looked right through her. While that was weird, it wasn't what shocked her. There were tears collecting in the corner of his eyes.

She'd never seen him cry, ever, and the sight nearly broke her heart. She had to do something to snap him out of this, before the others saw. She inwardly cursed the awkwardness of it all as she cupped his face in her hands. She closed her eyes as she carefully rubbed his with her thumbs. He blinked at the interruption, suddenly aware as the tears fell down his cheeks. He stiffened in embarrassment.

"It's ok," she whispered. "I won't tell."

It was then that he noticed her closed eyes, and he appreciated that simple privacy. He closed his in turn, letting them flow freely. His jaw trembled as he sniffled slightly. She kept quiet and still, though she gently wiped the tears as they fell. Even the strong have their weak moments, she mused to herself. She had heard a little about his troubled past, not from him, but the massacre of Flevance was well known. Something that traumatic was sure to leave deep-set scars.

He turned away at last, head lowered as he collected himself. She frowned uneasily at the ground, not sure what, if anything, she should say.

"Don't add the perfume," he muttered softly. "It would ruin it."

She looked up just as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. She looked confused. "Ruin? Ruin what?"