Chapter 7

"Still want to throw yourself overboard?" Law asked with a deadly serious tone, startling her from her reverie and making her flinch.

Lyanna had been staring at the ocean, which was reflecting the light of the moon quite nicely. She had heard his approach, but it hadn't clicked consciously since she was lost in thought. She looked up at him, gauging his expression. His gaze burned a hole through her as he waited for her answer. Although it didn't really work on her, she put her right hand on her chest. It was a gesture or promise to make sure she would tell him the truth. She had only opened up to two people in her life, but Law made three. He may not have understood the gesture, but it was mostly for her. She didn't want to lie to him. He'd been a positive force since they'd met, and she greatly appreciated all he'd done. The least she could do was be honest.

"Not so much." She smiled wistfully as she answered. He kept eye contact with her for a second, nodded once and looked at her hand on her chest questioningly.

"Your Devil Fruit ability?" When she nodded in answer, the seriousness on his face was replaced with the teasing expression she saw so often. "Show me yours, and I'll show you mine?" His loaded question wasn't lost on her, but she chuckled and turned to face him.

"I already know some of your capabilities. Never seen them in person, though." She couldn't help but be intrigued when he smirked darkly and gestured to the furniture that was left on the deck.

"Room."

A blue, transparent sphere appeared on the deck, surrounding the table and chairs. When the furniture began moving around within the sphere, Lyanna's eyes widened, and she laughed, both impressed and surprised. Suddenly the furniture was cut in half, and he put his sword back in its sheath. She hadn't even noticed him drawing it, but she didn't feel like she needed to use Haki since she wasn't fighting. He manipulated everything back together, and then the sphere disappeared. He turned towards her and huffed at her expression. Indeed she looked like a kid watching magic tricks, with bright eyes and smiling.

"Room."

The new sphere surrounded both of them, and with a quick movement of his fingers that she barely saw, they had swapped places. Once she'd registered it, he switched them back. He smirked, and although she wasn't sure what to expect, she knew it would be interesting when he drew his sword again. The top half of her body abruptly detached from the bottom half, and she yelped in shock.

"Oh fuck!" She almost screeched as he lifted her top half up higher and higher. "Whoa!"

Satisfied that he had freaked her out enough, he let her down, and she felt her body reconnect. It was weirdly creepy to see that she was no longer in one piece but still felt the breeze on her legs and the deck underneath her feet after taking a breath and mentally assessing that she was back to normal.

"Your moniker suits you." She could practically feel that he was amused and pleased with himself for scaring her, as she caught her breath.

"That's how I treated you. Not that you'd remember." He offered with a half-shrug.

"You just cut me up?" She asked with mock surprise.

"I found some shrapnel in your leg too. When did that happen?" His gaze dropped to her right calf, and the faint scars remained from the initial injury.

"Shrapnel?… Uh, about four years ago. Thank you." It didn't feel any different, but she supposed it must have just been normal after so long.

"Well, I've shown you mine. Your turn."

"I have to…touch you for it to work," Lyanna informed him, and he took a small step towards her to ensure she could reach him adequately. The cheeky glint in his eye only intensified with her needing to touch him, but she ignored it.

"Captain, what colour is your ship?" She asked after putting her hand on his forearm.

His brows furrowed together as he began to struggle against telling her what she was forcing him to. Amused by his attempt, she moved her hand to his bicep. He was quite willful, so he was doing well to resist her so much straight away.

"What colour is your ship?" She asked more pointedly, enjoying his resistance.

"Red." He finally choked out, and his eyes widened as if surprised by his answer.

"Are you sure? Isn't it yellow?" She asked as she put her hand on the front of his shoulder.

"Mm, it's green." His answers came faster, unable to resist her as much now.

"No way, it's definitely yellow. Isn't it?" Enjoying her game, she stepped closer so she could reach up to his face and placed her hand on his jaw.

He tried his best, furrowing his brow even more profoundly, making her laugh, and finally answered, "It's blue."

After laughing and taking her hand away, having fun at his expense, then she used her other hand. She placed it on his forearm like before. He didn't say anything while she laughed as he tried to figure out what had happened.

"Now, I want you to lie to me. Try and tell me the opposite of what you really think." He nodded, still confused. "Tell me who the funniest member of the crew is."

Law tilted his head to one side as if doing so would help him resist her, squeezing his eyes together. "Shachi," he answered with difficulty.

Then she moved her hand onto his shoulder, "Who is the fastest crew member?" Law tried to resist but couldn't, and Lyanna tried her best not to burst out laughing at his troubled expression.

"Bepo. Only when he wants to."

Lyanna put a hand on his face, placing it on his jaw like she had earlier, feeling the subtle hint of spiky facial hair against her skin. From here, she could smell whatever manly-scented soap he used, something earthy and spicy. Direct skin contact worked much better, and she knew that even he would struggle to resist this time. Her hand looked pale compared to his olive skin, but she spent more time inside and less on the deck of a ship.

"Who is the best-looking member of your crew?" She asked, pleased that no one was around to hear their conversation since she didn't want hurt feelings.

She had expected him to push her hand away, being satisfied with her display. He was clever and probably already figured out her abilities, so she didn't need to keep going. However, since he was usually quite stoic, it was amusing to watch him resist and squirm under her touch. Despite his initially brusque first impression, he had surprised her with how personable he could be. With a knowing smirk, he turned the tables and moved toward her, leaning closer. Lyanna was confused as Law got the upper hand, surprising her with his response.

"You don't count since you're not in my crew." His tone showed that he was more than happy to admit it, and Lyanna just rolled her eyes, assuming he was trying to rattle her. "So then, I guess it would have to be me." He smirked a little wider when she groaned and shook her head at him.

Stepping back, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he might have gotten under her skin with his not-so-subtle compliment and made her heart skip a beat. He briefly pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, and she did her best to stop herself from staring at his mouth. Her blank expression didn't seem to hide it enough from him, and he looked smug for a moment. Before speaking, she waited until he'd been pleased with himself for a few seconds.

"So, have you figured it out?" She leaned against the railing, facing toward the ship's deck since she needed to create more distance between them.

"Left hand is to force them to say what you want. The right hand is for the truth." He answered without hesitation, still looking smug. "It's harder to resist closer to my head."

"Hmm, so you're not just a pretty face."

Lyanna knew she was flirting, but she had found it hard not to since she genuinely did find him attractive. It wasn't like he didn't give as well as he got and initiated the flirting. Surely he knew by now that she found him attractive. Despite her best attempts to be subtle, him walking around scantily clad had not made it easy. He raised an eyebrow at her as if pleased to hear that she had agreed with his self-assessment. He took hold of her wrist and placed her hand on her chest.

"What did you just say?" He was waiting for her to respond, but she rolled her eyes at him again.

"I said that I like blondes and guys without tattoos…." His eyes widened until he realised she was purposely not going along with his game. "You think I haven't trained to resist my own power?"

"Then don't." His voice became lower and quieter, and she could see the look in his eyes change. His pupils had dilated, and his eyes darted between her own, her mouth and the hint of cleavage revealed by her singlet.

Two could play this game. In fact, Lyanna guessed that she could probably play it better. She negotiated regularly and wasn't above using her femininity to get a better deal. He wouldn't think he was in control much longer. She was happy to let him think he had the upper hand and pull the rug out from under him.

"Fine then. You are my type. Dark hair and tattoos really turn me on. I think you are fucking hot." As she spoke, she stepped closer to him, ending up only an inch or two from his broad chest. He didn't move from his spot, so she upped the ante by looking up at him through her lashes and pulling her bottom lip through her teeth.

Certainly pulling the rug out from under him, she could see that he couldn't help the colour rising to his cheeks. He realised it immediately and tilted his head upwards so she didn't see, but it was too late. Pleased that she had won this round, she retreated, trying not to laugh, just as someone emerged from below deck, drawing their attention.

"I think I've won this round. I'll leave you before I further inflate your ego." Lyanna headed towards where Penguin was just closing the door but held it open for her.

She trotted inside, not sparing a backwards glance before Penguin closed the door behind her. Since she didn't look back, she didn't see Law's jaw drop and for him to let out a short incredulous huff. He was both satisfied that he'd gotten what he wanted out of Lyanna and taken aback by her being so straightforward. Maybe she was giving him a taste of his own medicine. That had worked, to say the least. Unable to deny that he found her attractive, he couldn't help but think of her in a somewhat more compromising and heated situation. Thankfully Penguin was there to distract him, but it didn't quite help.

"The Log Pose hasn't locked on yet," Penguin said with a shrug, meaning that they were stuck until it was fixed toward the following location.

"We've got enough supplies. It'll be fine." Law replied, trying to brush off the X-rated thoughts from a moment ago.

Glancing to the now-closed door that Lyanna had disappeared through a minute ago, he wondered what would come of the strange but not unwelcome development in their relationship. He wasn't interested in anything formal or long-term; he was a pirate, for fuck's sake. Something like that just wasn't on the cards for him. She had promised to be on board for another month, and the line between them was increasingly blurred. She was friendly, and he didn't mind having her on the ship. The rest of the crew got along with her too. Since he had first seen her cry, it was like she had begun to become a person again. Before that, she was a husk of a human being. Just a shade of the person he was getting to know.

Law took a slow, controlled breath in and out as he tuned out thoughts of Lyanna in a state of undress, begging him for more. He would see where things went between them, and if it led to them in bed together, he certainly wouldn't complain. Maybe something deeper would develop, but for now, he would wait and see…