After changing back into his regular clothes, he got busy on reacquainting Rina with the rest of the Heart Pirates. He had admittedly asked she use her red scarf to cover up her shoulders in her sun dress, so nobody saw the flaming spade on her right shoulder blade. While he didn't care about seeing it, he didn't want the others to freak out over it. They'd sat together in the dining area eating salmon teriyaki, something she wouldn't admit to being a favourite but a dish he knew she enjoyed.

However, as nighttime began to roll around there was another issue to contend with. Law had gotten another pillow out from a storage closet and didn't seem concerned about sharing his room with her. Just one problem: If they shared a bed there was nothing stopping them from drowsily touching each other.

When he gave her a white t-shirt of his to wear to bed, she looked to him and asked pointedly, "So sleeping arrangements?"

"You got the bed, I got the floor," was his instant reply.

She looked at him bewildered and objected, "your 6'3 frame is going to sleep on the damn floor when I could literally curl up onto a ball on a loveseat and be comfortable?"

"I'm the man, I'm taking the floor," Law insisted.

"Oh, don't even with that! That is not—no. You think I want you stiff as a board and aching because you neglected your own comfort for mine? I'd sooner go sleep on the deck outside," she pushed back.

"The hell you will! I'll teleport you back in here, onto the bed. You've got the bed, don't argue with me, I'm the Captain," He retorted.

"Now you sound like Yoshiya. 'Don't argue with me. I know more. I'm five minutes older,' oh wowsa! Excuse me while I practice my courtesy," she sarcastically shot back before storming off into the washroom with the t-shirt.

For his part Law sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hands over his face. He knew full well what the risk was but they hadn't had that talk yet. Since his first time he'd always made sure to keep a box of condoms in his night table. He hadn't used them often and would sometimes throw out full boxes of unused condoms when they expired. But still, he felt better having them on hand so he didn't accidentally get someone pregnant… well, okay accidentally get someone pregnant a second time.

Although if he was honest he didn't really care about sharing his bed with her again, in a way they already had the first day she'd been back and took a nap next to him. The difference being he'd stayed awake. This time they'd both be sleeping. Actually sleeping in the same bed, and he knows when they first wake up they're both a little sleep drunk. He could see himself waking up just to cuddle into her with morning wood pressed fully up against her. Or perhaps a bit worse, her waking up and shifting so she was practically on top of him.

He'd had sex with others since Rina, but he hadn't had a relationship with anyone else. It's like he told her when she first appeared on the Polar Tang; he hadn't moved on, but he was over it.

That had been their arrangement they'd be together while they could physically be together—but if she got called back home, she had to go and that's all there was to it. There was no guarantee s he'd ever be back either, so if she had to leave it was best to see her leaving as a breakup. He'd known that from the beginning, it didn't mean that it hurt but he had anticipated that it was a possibility. Unlike his family or Cora-san being murdered, and that had kept him from feeling abandoned, knowing that there was a chance she could come back. He hadn't found anyone else, but he was over their relationship.

He found himself reflecting on those words. Was he really over it? He'd thought so but seeing her again, learning about Cora, and spending time with her again—now he wasn't sure. He looked up as the door to the bathroom opened and Rina walked out, still looking like she'd stab him in his eye if he said one more word about him sleeping on the floor.

"Thought you would've changed by now," she commented as she walked past him to the other side of the bed.

"Rina—we should talk about some things," he began.

"As long as it's open communication and not you trying to call all the shots," she replied.

"Okay, can we start there? Why is it so bad for me to want to sleep on the floor? I don't want you to be uncomfortable," he pressed.

She pressed her hands against her face, suppressing a scream as she stated, "I wouldn't be. God! You saw my house. That's the only house I've ever known. Back home the only time I sleep in an actual bed is at the barracks. Our 'beds' at home, consist of blankets and pillows on a floor. That's it. That's what we all sleep on in my home. But it's better than sleeping on the cold dirt ground with raggy clothes, and a moth-eaten paper-thin piece of fabric for a blanket which is what I was sleeping on until I was Cora's age."

Law didn't have a response for that one, she made a valid point. Compared to what she'd had in the past sleeping on his bedroom floor was practically like sleeping on a queen-sized waterbed. He slowly nodded his head and admitted, "I know. That's why I want you to have the bed while you can."

"I don't want you on the floor because I know what that reminds you of," Rina pointed out. Law's shoulders sagged upon hearing this. For three years after his parents had died, he'd slept the way that Rina had been used to as a much younger child. From the ages of 10-13, a bed was whatever had a pillow and a blanket to offer some shelter from the elements, usually huddled around a campfire or wrapped up like a caterpillar in a cocoon, sometimes both if the weather was harsh enough.

Then when he was 13, a scientist named Wolf had found him on Swallow Island, nearly dead from hypothermia. The man had taken him in, fed, clothed and sheltered him. In exchange all he asked was that Law pull his weight and do some chores around the place, which he was happy to do. It was actually Wolf who had built the Polar Tang.

Law couldn't help a smile that crept over his lips before he softly chuckled to himself and lamented, "all this time apart and we still prioritize the other person's comfort over our own."

"I never stopped caring about you. There hasn't been anyone else. Not like that," Rina confessed.

"Same," he admitted. They returned to their usual playful banter mixed in with a serious talk about boundaries and mutual respect. At one point he did mention he was nervous because he had no control over his actions while he slept. She gave him a dumb struck look and responded emphatically, "well Duh! You're not exactly conscious when you're asleep! But I'm a Death God, Law. Even with your Devil Fruit powers if I wanted to hurt you, you'd get hurt. I've never wanted to hurt you because you never did anything to deliberately hurt me. With strong emphasis on 'deliberately' being the keyword. As soon as you let someone into your heart you give them the ability to hurt you accidentally. That's just the nature of any interpersonal relationship."

"You're right. I'm sorry, I just—I don't ever want you to feel disrespected with me," he revealed.

"Same, but in order to respect one another we need to communicate and not assume things, especially with complex scenarios," she agreed.

'Yeah, that's rational. Why didn't I think of it like that? Because I'm always wanting to protect her, even still if it came right down to it, she'd be as determined to protect me,' he resolved with himself. He gave a small sigh as he pulled the blankets back on the bed and climbed under them. He shifted the blankets down on the other side of the bed, a gesture for her to join him.

She did but after a few minutes both found they weren't able to even close their eyes, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom she asked, "why were you worried about not controlling yourself?"

"I already told you. I don't want you to feel disrespected with me," he answered.

"I mean is that something you want?"

He took what felt like an eternity to her before he finally admitted, "I don't know. Sometimes I think I do but then I wonder if it'll hurt even more when you leave again. Question is which would I regret more?"

"Valid point," she agreed. He nodded, adding that he did have protection if they wanted to reintroduce that to their dynamic.

"I'm a little too tired," Rina admitted. He nodded in acknowledgement of her statement, "but if I woke up and did want to—"

"Wake me up," he half mumbled before drifting off to sleep. At some point in the night he ended up wrapping his arm around her waist, and hugging her close to himself.