Chapter 9
Law emerged from his room after an afternoon doze into the lounge area where some crew were hanging out and killing time. Since they were underwater currently, they couldn't do anything above deck, and they'd done any chores required. Uni, Shachi, Penguin and Jean Bart played a card game, and the rest chatted softly. Except for their guest, Lyanna, who appeared to have been reading but fell asleep in the chair. She'd been on the road to recovery. Still, she was making a habit of tiring herself out from cleaning and helping out, even though she probably needed to take it easier. He sighed silently at her and gave the rest of the crew a nod to keep going about their business.

"Room." He said quietly and made a sphere big enough to move himself and Lyanna into his room.

He had teleported her onto the edge of the bed and himself next to her. When they arrived a split second later, he carefully caught her head, laying her down softly. She stirred somewhat but was probably too exhausted to wake up. Once she was comfortable, her breathing evened out, and he moved to his chair. He picked up his own book and spent the next bit of time reading.

Eventually, the call for food forced him out of the room silently, and he headed to the kitchen. The rest of the crew had already eaten but had left two portions aside for them. It was a simple meal since they'd need to surface and make port for supplies in a day or two. He carried the two plates into his room, staying quiet to not disturb Lyanna. Despite his subtlety, she woke up anyway, more than likely hungry. Her body was working hard to heal her, so she would need to eat more often.

When she cracked her eyes open, she panicked for a moment as she got her bearings. Her eyes found him on the chair a second later and relaxed visibly. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling the hair band out so it fell loose from its ponytail. He watched silently as it fell over her shoulders and back.

"Where are we on the ship?" She asked, voice raspy from sleep.

"My room." She stared at him until he felt the need to elaborate. "You were asleep in the lounge."

Continuing her staring, she didn't seem satisfied with his answer but shuffled awkwardly. "Bathroom?"

"I have one here." He gestured to the small door on his right with his thumb.

"Thank you." She got up and disappeared into the small ensuite for a minute before she emerged again.

"Here." Law pointed to the plate he had just put on the edge of the bed for her.

"Thank you." Not wasting time, she began to eat.

It was some cold meat, cheese, carrot and celery sticks, a few pieces of fruit, and a slice of buttered bread for her. The meal was filling, though, and Law was pleased to see her finish the whole plate quietly. He didn't have to force-feed her, so he hoped that was a good sign her mental health was improving. She wouldn't bother eating if she planned to starve herself. Hopefully not, anyway. When she finished, she stood up and moved to collect his plate, intending to take it to be washed up. He stopped her with a flat hand and stepped towards her, forcing her into sitting back down lest he trample her. Although he was probably being too accommodating, he didn't mind her company. She'd had a similar past to him, and he couldn't help but empathise that they both deserved more kindness than life had offered them so far. When he took her plate, he took them to the kitchen and came straight to his room before she could leave.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her as soon as he came back in the door, closing it behind him.

"Fine, thank you." She replied a little too quickly.

"Your manners haven't been damaged." Law's sarcastic response made her huff as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed next to her.

In doctor mode, he examined her pulse and asked her to follow his finger with her eyes. Since he didn't have his stethoscope with him and his last check of her lungs was okay, he didn't worry about it. Her hand was healing fine, and so was her leg after reopening it the other day. Everything else was fine, so he nodded to himself in satisfaction.

"You still need to rest. And keep your fluids up." He handed her a bottle of water as he spoke, and she opened it and tilted it toward him as if giving cheers before she drank deeply.

After a few mouthfuls, she sighed. "Whatever you say, Doc."

"Get some sleep." He nodded towards the bed behind them and moved back to the chair.

"Okay." She went to move but he made a noise to stop her. "Here?" She asked but kept her voice blank.

Now it was his turn to stare blankly. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable, but he knew the treatment room cot wasn't excellent. The hammocks and bunks in the dorm served their purpose but weren't exactly luxurious. He couldn't deny that his motives weren't entirely innocent, having thought about having her in his bed many times. However, she needed good quality rest. Since she clearly felt safe with him, she could rest in both body and mind. He didn't really feel like explaining all that, though.

"Yes. Here."

"Okay…" She elongated the word to show her confusion. "I presume you aren't giving your bed up for me."

"No, it's plenty big enough. I hope you weren't planning on taking advantage of me." He smirked, hinting at the more passionate reasons to share a bed.

"Aren't I the one requiring medical care? Shouldn't I be in danger of being taken advantage of?" She went along with his joke.

"Not unless you want to be taken advantage of." He flirted before his smirk dropped and he became serious. "I think you understand that you're safe here. That's important for you to heal properly." She nodded in reply.

"Well, I'll keep my hands to myself if you do." She relented, but she returned his teasing.

When she laid down and pulled the covers over herself, he could see the tension leave her body within a minute after she fell asleep. She clearly needed the rest since it didn't take her long to drift off. His bed was quite comfortable and was big enough for him to fit and spread his arms and legs out wide. So there would be plenty of space for both of them without feeling like he had given up his own quality sleep for her. Pirates needed a place where they felt safe enough to truly rest, usually aboard their ship. However, since Lyanna didn't belong to a crew, she didn't have that place to fully relax. She probably only got a proper rest when she visited with Whitebeard, and it had been about 8-9 months since she'd last seen him. This explained why she had spent most of her time asleep in some areas of the ship since arriving. Since he had worked to save her life, they had built trust, and the rest of the crew had, too, by extension. She had begun to feel safe after they had talked about her situation. The release of her emotions had exhausted her, but it helped to make her feel emotionally safe, too, aside from the physical safety she felt.

The small reading light kept him busy with his book for another hour or so before he figured he should sleep too. Lyanna hadn't moved an inch since falling asleep and didn't shift when he turned off the lamp, placing his closed book on the arm of the chair. He took off his jeans and shirt and crawled in on the other side, yawning as he got comfortable. It was different sharing a bed to sleep next to someone since that usually only happened post-coitus. Lyanna and Law had briefly embraced, but that's as far as he'd let it go. He wanted much more, though.

Since she was practically dead to the world, he soon drifted off too…

The following day he woke first, unsurprisingly. He got up and used the bathroom, which must have roused Lyanna. When he came out of the bathroom, she was sitting up and was tousling her hair and yawning. She wasn't entirely conscious until she looked to her left and saw him. Taking a long moment to look him up and down, she didn't seem to care that he was watching her watch him. She removed her hands from her hair to get up from the bed as she continued inspecting him.

"Woof." She muttered to herself, but he heard it and huffed amusedly.

Slipping past him, she used the bathroom and when she emerged, she looked visibly disappointed when she saw he had put his jeans on. He went to pick up a shirt but felt her hand stopping him from putting it on. She looked at his Jolly Roger tattoo on his back, and he watched her over his shoulder. Carefully, she reached out and traced a finger over some of the patterns before catching herself. When he saw her hand dropping to her side, he turned around, leaving them only inches apart. As they made eye contact, he put his hands in his pockets while he thought about what to do. Her touch had definitely woken him up, and her appreciative gaze before had switched his mind onto the blurring line between them. When he looked at her, some of the time, he wanted to rip her clothes off. The other times, he was usually examining her, or at the least he wanted to kiss her.

Her eyes held a hint of anticipation, and she chewed her bottom lip as they kept eye contact. Taking a slow breath, he figured now was as good a time as any. They were alone and wouldn't be disturbed here. Pulling one hand from his pocket, he lifted it to her chin, tilting it upwards as he leaned down to reach her. As he got closer, the hint of anticipation in her eyes exploded into eagerness. When he pressed his lips to hers, he didn't continue it for long. Just long enough to make his point. Hopefully, that would leave her wanting more.

As quickly as it had happened, he broke the kiss, standing back up to his full height and putting his hand back in his pocket. Her eyes held a darkened hunger in them, so he knew he had completed his goal. He always enjoyed prolonging the pleasure in the bedroom, and foreplay was part of that process.

Continuing his earlier task, he put on the shirt, only doing up a couple of the bottom buttons before he headed for the door. Lyanna followed behind, and they joined the rest of the crew in the kitchen and dining area for breakfast. No one commented on the fact that they had come out of the same room, greeting them normally as Law sat down.

Lyanna walked over to help prepare food, but not without a quick glance over her shoulder at him…