Chapter 20

A few hours later, Law woke to find the bed next to him empty. It had no residual warmth, so Lyanna must have been gone for a while. A faint light was outside, and he got up from the bed, pulling his underwear on. When he opened the sliding door, he found Lyanna writing things down in her notebook. Her Den Den Mushi was next to her, quiet at the moment but awake. She turned to look at him with a smile as he moved behind her chair and put his arms around her. They leaned their heads against one another as Law rested his chin on her unscarred shoulder.

"What are you doing?" He asked softly, looking at her notes.

"My job. I won't even charge you for the information."

He snorted in repressed laughter. "I think I've earned it."

"Hmm, I guess so. I think the whole island knows that." She quipped with a laugh and placed her hands on top of his arms, returning his embrace.

"Shit…" He suddenly noticed an angry hand-shaped mark around her wrist and wondered if it was from him. It must have been when he had all but dragged her on top of him.

His clinical mind clicked into gear and matched it with what he remembered from that moment. He cautiously put his hand over the mark to see if he was the cause. He groaned and dropped his chin to his chest since it was him.

"Sorry." He muttered quietly. He knew that she could hold her own and enjoyed his roughness in bed, but a mark like that was too much. It would have definitely been stinging and uncomfortable.

"I'm not." She smirked at him over her shoulder, jokingly reassuring him that it was okay. "I've written down everything I've got on both Joker and Doflamingo." She changed the subject before he could say anything else.

With a sigh, he knew she wouldn't be talked out of helping in any way she could. She was right, though; he needed to be prepared if he was going to take on Doflamingo. His plan could succeed or fail based on what he knew going into the fight. As much as he didn't want her putting herself in harm's way, getting whatever she could provide was a considerable advantage. Reluctantly, he nodded, telling her to proceed with what she had.

"He's exporting weapons. I can only assume he has some sort of operation on Dressrossa. Everything else you probably already know, but you can have my notes."

"Who did you get this from?" Law asked, not knowing if she would tell him.

"I may have a contact in the Revolutionary Army." She answered mysteriously, and he nodded.

"Just...don't put yourself in danger to get information." He pleaded, his tone a lot less commanding than he'd hoped.

"I won't. So long as you promise me that you won't be reckless." He nodded in answer. "Call me after it's all over and let me know you're okay, hmm?"

He grunted to acknowledge her request, but she huffed frustratedly.

"I'm fucking serious, Law." She lowered her voice to make her point.

"Okay." He relented.

He wasn't sure how else to reply, but it was nice to know that she liked him enough to want to keep seeing him in the future. Neither of them was worried about labelling whatever it was between them, but that might have been better anyway. He would never meet anyone like Lyanna; she was one of a kind. Her traumatic past, not unlike his own, gave them a strangely unfortunate common ground. She also seemed like she'd grown up much faster than she should have, like he had. Maybe she hadn't been told that she only had a few years left to live, but she did say that she had almost died due to a sword wound and had been saved by Whitebeard and his crew. The figures of Whitebeard and Corazon held similar importance in their life and who they had ended up being. Although they'd agreed on not telling each other how they felt, he still wanted her to know how much she was valued.

Her hands squeezed his forearms, and they stayed quiet for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence. He wanted to offer her something she could remember him by, aside from her memories. It was a way to show her he valued her, but he wasn't sure what to offer. As he considered this, he realised that information was the perfect thing to give her. It wasn't something he wanted to spread around, but she would understand the importance of him telling her and keep it to herself.

"My name…." He spoke up, even surprising himself with this train of thought.

"What about it?" She asked curiously.

"Trafalgar D. Water Law." He answered, giving her a minute to take it in and watching as her eyes widened for a second.

"D? No wonder. All you folk with the name are a force unto yourselves." Her reply was unfazed, but maybe she was forcing it. "Thank you for telling me. I'll keep it to myself." She said, putting her right hand on her chest to show him she was being honest.

It was very late, around 3am, and an abrupt cold breeze made Lyanna shiver. Law released his arms from around her but put his hand on her shoulder and tugged her towards the cabin door. She got the message and stood up from her seat. Collecting her Den Den Mushi and notebook, she brought them with her inside as Law shut the door behind them. He waited for her to complete her task and then took her hand to lead her back to bed. Although they had spent plenty of time wrapped up in each other tonight, part of him still wanted to make the most of their short time left together. Instead of sex, though, when they laid down, he shifted an arm under her head and laid his hand on her hip. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and practically heard her smiling.

Making idle small talk for a while, Lyanna eventually drifted off to sleep, and Law did the same…

When Law awoke in the morning, Lyanna was dozing softly, her head resting on his chest. He resisted the urge to wake her, but she must have sensed him waking and lifted her head. She gave him a tired smile, and he pushed some hair behind her ear. Although his body was telling him that he wanted to fuck her again, his mind said to just enjoy the last bit of peace and quiet with her. Not being one to resist his impulses all the time, he listened to his body, and afterwards, they caught their breath with their arms around each other.

Eventually, they got up and dressed for the day, intending to head back to the sub. Law knew that Doflamingo selling weapons was bad news, and he couldn't wait much longer to make his move. Maybe he would never see her again since his plan may not work. Perhaps he would die as a result of his scheming. It would be worth it to avenge Corazon's death, but he knew he would leave behind his crew. Remembering what she said to him last night, Lyanna would be left behind, too. He would just be another person who had died in her life, and he didn't want to be added to that statistic.

When his mind raced with these thoughts, he hugged her tightly. He loosened his grip to pull back and look her in the eye; he struggled to stay what he felt.

"I, uhh…" He fumbled, but she shook her head to stop him from saying anything else.

"It's not a forever goodbye, so don't make it seem like one, okay?" She was doing her best to tell him to be careful and to say that she wanted to see him again in the future.

Allowing himself to smirk before he swiftly cupped her cheeks and kissed her. She didn't seem too shocked, returning the kiss a split second later. He felt her fists bunch in his shirt, enjoying his abrupt affection. It was over only a moment later, and they moved apart, returning to reality.

They returned to the harbour and saw that the sub had been packed and ready to depart. Jean Bart spotted them approaching and called out to the others, and the crew waved to him as they walked down the jetty to head on deck. Everyone emerged from below to say their goodbyes to Lyanna, and she hugged every one of them happily.

Law was the last, even though they had already done this part. He pulled her in for a toe-curling kiss, and they could hear the crew cheering them on with yips and whoops until they broke apart. Lyanna rolled her eyes at them, but Law glared to shut them up. They only got quieter, though, and she took this as her queue. She stepped off the deck, waving once she stood on the jetty.

Hakugan went inside to man the helm, and a moment later, they began pulling away from the jetty and heading towards the open sea. Law stayed still, just watching Lyanna as she waved and smiled at them all. They all began to move inside since they would be going underwater. Their Captain waited until he was the only one on the deck. When they made eye contact, Lyanna's smile changed, becoming more warm and bright. Although he couldn't be sure, he felt like he smiled back just as brightly.

Bepo called for him to come inside, and he did so, taking a last glance at the woman, seeing them off on the jetty before he closed the door behind him, spinning the wheel to lock it in place. He took a steadying breath and joined everyone in the lounge.

They chatted happily, and although Law contributed as best he could, his mind was elsewhere. Both on his plan and the woman he had told his true name…