AN: This is an edited and toned-down version of this chapter. The more detailed version is on AO3 under the same title.
A week later Law lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He'd hoped after being awake for twenty-three hours he'd be able to get some sleep easily, but sleep wouldn't come. His mind kept drifting back to the first time he'd been intimate with his ex-lover. He had been a month away from turning eighteen, and she had told him her true age. To everyone who didn't know her, she looked fifteen. Those who sort of knew her thought her to be seventeen, but he had known her true age. At the time she had been one hundred-seventy-four years old, which would mean she was now one hundred and eighty years old. Her birthday was in late February, so it was fairly easy to keep up with how old she was. With him, one had to remember that until October sixth he hadn't aged for that year yet. He smiled a little at that thought, he'd only spent two of his birthdays with her. One birthday had been on Swallow Island where he'd first met her and the second had been on the Polar Tang.
Once more his memory floated back to that life changing intimate encounter together. He vividly recalled the playful interactions that had lead up to him losing his virginity to her. The memory of that chain reaction caused a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that travelled further south. Law was about to open his night table drawer when he heard someone clearing their throat. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone clearing their throat. His eyes shot to the foot of his bed and saw the silvery blonde 5'2" slender woman who had just been occupying his thoughts. He felt his face heat up, and knew he was blushing.
"I didn't know you were busy, I'll come back later," she stated as she moved to draw her Zanpakuto from its sheath. He quickly sprung up and grasped the wrist of her sword arm, forcing her to cease the motion.
"No. You can stay," he objected.
She looked to him and stated, "you were going to umm- "
"I didn't start," he pointed out as he sat on the edge of the bed, his one leg bent at the knee. He kept his grip on her wrist, afraid that if he moved it she'd leave. Her eyes narrowed at him, apparently displeased with his refusal to accept that she'd leave him be.
"I'm not a child Law, I know you've got needs," she objected. He wasn't about to deny that truth. He knew she had those needs as well after all. Right now though, his mind wasn't on getting off. He confirmed, "Well, yeah. Doesn't mean I can't delay tending to them. Please stay?"
Slowly her fingers released the hilt of her blade and she glanced to his hand that held her wrist. Tentatively he released his grip on her, though his hand hovered until her arm relaxed at her side. Watching him observe this, she noticed his shoulders relaxed and a small smile crept across his face. She sat next to him and asked, "why did you want to spend time together?"
He shrugged a little and asked, "I need a reason?"
"I suppose not," she agreed with a small laugh. He observed her momentarily. She was in her usual attire for that time of day in her world. Shortened hakama, wooden sandals without tabi, and a sleeveless kosode, at her waist was a white obi which was fastened at the front and a red scarf loosely tied around her neck.
He smirked a little as he recalled, "you know—I always thought that scarf was a nice colour on you—but wearing a scarf in summer seems a bit much."
She rolled her eyes as she gave him a sideways glare and stating, "you know perfectly well why I wear this scarf."
He nodded his head, confirming the statement however he stood up and went over to his desk. He searched around a bit before pulling out a square box that had been gift wrapped a long time ago. She'd hazard a guess at about six years. He turned back to her and walked over with the present, placing it between the two of them as he retook his seat. He smiled at her and nodded to the gift.
"Law," she whispered as her fingers grazed over the wrapping paper, it was a red background with white snowflakes and silver ribbon tying it together.
"Like I said, I figured you'd come back one day," he reminded her. She hesitated before pulling the silver ribbon and unwrapping the present. As she'd thought it revealed a smallish medium sized box she picked it up and opened it, her jaw dropping at the sight. Inside the box was a red velvet choker necklace with a silver heart at the center of it.
Observing the present she stammered, "W-wha-what the—do I even want to know how you got this when you were a teenager?"
He laughed heartily as he took it out of the box, and gently began unfastening the knot on the scarf. With the fabric out of the way the circular scar at the center of her neck was easily visible. He moved behind her and pushed her long hair off to the side. With that out of the way, he placed the necklace around her neck and fastened it at the back. He softly informed her, "I got it the day I decided to form the Heart Pirates—one of the villagers offered to pay us for dealing with Bacca- but we didn't need money for anything. However, I thought about the person I thought was the most beautiful person in the world—beautiful but shy about the one thing that made her so beautiful."
She glanced behind herself at him. He smiled shyly as he confessed, "I still think that of you. That scar shows how beautiful your heart is. How deeply you love your siblings, biological or adopted, it makes no difference to you. While you may not want everyone to see it - that scar shouldn't be hidden with just a piece of fabric. It should be hidden with something beautiful."
She raised an eyebrow at him and stated plainly, "I won't do anything with you for old time's sake."
He nearly snorted at the idea and shook his head from side to side while assuring her that hadn't been his intention. "I've always planned to it give you, I had a plan in my head. Obviously it didn't work out as I'd hoped. So I thought the next time I saw you, I'd give it to you then—but—well, there were more important things to discuss then," he revealed.
She nodded a little as she acknowledged, "I see. Thank you."
"Much prettier than that scarf," he hinted as he admired the new choker style necklace where the scarf would normally reside.
She rolled her eyes in response and joked, "you want something for it?"
He raised his eyebrows in response to the joke, which made her burst into fits of laughter. He smirked and teased, "seems like someone has a dirty mind right now."
He smirked deviously at Rina as her face turned as red as the newly acquired choker necklace. She glared at him while growling out, "I will turn you into vapor."
Law chuckled at her reaction, she was still fun to tease and embarrass. He playfully grinned at her before his finger tips found her ribs. Lightly digging into her rib cage with his knuckles, she laughed and squirmed, trying to get away from him. He smirked as he grasped her waist, pulling her down onto the bed and continued to tickle her. She squirmed away and slapped his chest with her open palm. He stopped his playful assault on her and laid next to her quietly, trying his best to burn this moment into his memory. It was so simple. They were just two ex-lovers being playful with each other, the base friendship of their relationship still intact. They had spent six years apart, but it seemed like they had just ran into each other yesterday. If he considered all the factors, she was still the person he trusted most in the world. No, that wasn't right. Not just in the world. In the whole universe, she was the one he was most vulnerable with, even now.
When she left, he had been angry at first but he knew who and what she was when he started dating her. He knew what that meant. He knew that things could end with him waking up one day and her being gone, never to return. He'd known all of that and still, it had been worth the risk to get closer to her. That's how he'd felt about it back then, and that's how he still felt about it to this day.
He glanced over at her and was surprised to find she'd been watching him. He grinned a little and turned onto his side so he was facing her. She shifted so she was laying on her stomach, her head turned to keep eye contact with him. She smiled broadly and whispered, "thank you."
He didn't look to her as he hummed his curiosity in response. She clarified, "for the necklace and—well, for Cora."
His eyebrows raised and gave a loud laugh. After calming down he regarded her before rephrasing, "hey, Law, thanks for being stupid while caught up in the moment."
She snickered, lightly kneeing his thigh, "well when you put it like that I sound crazy."
He shrugged, pointing out that she was the one who said it, not him. When they calmed down he admitted, "Actually Rina, I should be thanking you for her. I don't imagine it was easy having her. I know how bad your periods can get—and I know enough about endometriosis cases to know that some worsen with pregnancy and others ease up."
"I didn't have any pain while I was pregnant, no nausea, headaches, nothing. Even labour wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she revealed.
He smiled, it warmed his heart a little to know that for at least nine months she had a break from near constant pain. There was something else he was wondering though, "Any cravings or aversions?"
"I had a massive aversion to bread and pickled plums. I wanted eggs every single day—especially scrambled with salted salmon and blackberry jam," she recalled.
His brow furrowed at the description. He was hesitant to ask but his curiosity got the better of him. She revealed that her mother made it as part of a rice bowl and it tasted amazing. He replied, "I'll take your word for it."
She hummed a little in response. He knew all too well what that meant. In addition to the endometriosis causing her an immense amount of pain, it also caused her recurring bouts of anemia, and her allergy to red meat didn't help her anemia. As such she would often end up taking naps during her visits with him. This had never bothered him. Law had always known her well enough to know that if she was even slightly on edge, she wouldn't let herself sleep no matter how exhausted she was. To him it was the ultimate compliment. She felt she was safe enough to be vulnerable with him as well. Even as a teenager, he'd just done exactly what he was about to do. He pulled the top blanket on his bed down and covered her with it. He gently kissed her forehead then headed towards the washroom, grabbing his towel as he went to take care of his own business.