Devilish

Coat

A few days later

Leila was assisting Bepo in the kitchen with her sleeves rolled up as she was washing dishes. Bepo was besides her cutting up vegetables for lunch and the two happily carried out their jobs in unison. They hadn't brought up the argument the night before, none of the crew had. Jean was helping Penguin train and everyone was just carrying on with their daily tasks. Leila had begun to grow accustomed to the heart pirates dynamics and she fit in nicely, she helped out wherever she could so she didn't pose a burden and the crew liked her. She was honest and straight forward, something they could respect...apart from her past that is.

Law entered the kitchen and grunted uncomfortably when he met Leila's eyes, to which she settled her attention back to the dishes.

"Good morning captain, would you like a snack?" Bepo asked Law cheerfully, trying to ignore the tense atmosphere.

"No, I'll eat later. We're going to be docking in a couple days, could you find my herbal records? I left them with you last" Law asked Bepo, his mind focused on his work. Law's gaze hesitated over Leila's busy shoulders before leaving the kitchen quickly. Leila noticed the heavy presence leave the room and let out a big sigh that she had been holding in. Bepo looked at her cautiously before smiling.

"Don't mind his outburst yesterday. I heard what happened, he just wants to keep the crew safe at the end of the day" Bepo reassured her.

"He should have thought of that before he offered a place on his ship...." Leila mumbled "Not that I'd do anything to you guys."

"Don't worry we can tell you wouldn't, you're a very transparent person Leila" Bepo replied. "You can tell what you're thinking by just looking at you"

Leila finished washing the dishes and nodded at Bepo's words, not necessarily liking the truth he was telling her so she decided to change the subject. "What does Law do anyway? Isn't he just this crew's doctor? What does he always work so hard on?"

"This and that really, he stops at towns suffering from pandemics or illness that others don't want to treat. He researches new medicines, tries to reduce side effects. Whatever he feels like really, he's not just a doctor for a title" Bepo beamed as he proudly talked about his captain making Leila's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"That sounds too good to be Law..."

"Hey! Captain is the best man around!" Bepo debated confidently.

The Heart Pirate submarine was settling into icy waters, the crew had to stay under water due to the harsh waves that would easily capsize the unusual ship. The sub was beginning to settle into the cold, becoming well below the normal temperature. Bepo happily kept on with his activities due to his thick fur but Penguin and Shachi were constantly complaining, causing Law to lose his temper. Leila sat on her bed, wearing a thick jumper as she tried to warm up in her bedroom. She looked through her belongings to take her mind off the temperature and opened a thick book with old pictures from her childhood and even some from her time growing up in Thriller Bark. She smiled as she came across a picture of Perona, Absalom and her smiling jokingly. It was rare for her old crew to engage in any jokey, unneeded behaviour but occasionally they had some fun, almost as if they were a real family. Almost.

Leila flipped to the back to look at a faded picture of real family. Her mother was a petite woman with full dark hair and bright blue eyes whilst her father was tall, not particularly muscly, but had a dashing smile and golden eyes that Leila had inherited. The pair were cuddling each other and in her mother's arms was Leila as a small baby, coddled in a blanket. They were a young and happy family, filled with potential and happiness. Leila touched her fingers over her father's figure before tucking the photo back into the book safely, ignoring the tugs on her heart strings.