Devilish

Picky

3 weeks later

Leila pushed with all her might against a firm chest, her tiny hands trying with desperation to escape from underneath the man that had collapsed on top of her. She heard the thump of heavy boots walking above the deck and felt a shiver tingle down her spine. She couldn't have been older than 5, a tiny girl who was stuck in a defenseless position. The thump of the boots seemed to get louder and louder until they felt like they were inside her head. She felt absolutely suffocated underneath the heavy body of the dead man. Leila looked up and she was faced with golden eyes like her own but they were dead and lifeless, resembling dead fish eyes that held no emotion. She screamed.

Law awoke with a startle as he heard a feminine scream of desperation, he quickly shot out of bed and grabbed his sword in only his sweatpants as he raced through the submarine and burst into Leila's room. His mind was clouded with sleep as he sheathed his sword and saw Leila tangled in her covers in her sleep as she was struggling violently to get out. Law set his sword down and quickly moved to sit beside her, shaking her awake.

"Leila-ya. Leila-ya!" Law urged her, to which she awoke with a gasp, sitting up suddenly and almost head butting Law. Her breathing was ragged and short as she clutched onto Law's bare arm desperately.

"I-I can't breathe" She gasped, her eyes wide and watery. "H-help me I can't breathe"

"You're hyperventilating, just take it slow. In and out" Law rested his hand against her back and moved it in circular motions firmly, trying to soothe her as he breathed deeply with her. She met his concerned gaze with desperation as she copied his breathing, eventually catching her breath. She let go of Law's arm as she wrapped her arms around herself, shaking slightly as her eyes were left empty and troubled. Law left his hand on her back as he observed her.

"Nightmare again?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah..." She nodded as she buried her head in her arms, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "But it was all fucked up this time...it didn't make sense"

"Leila-ya...I thought someone was being murdered. You were screaming loud enough to wake everyone" Law told her; concern lacing his tired and throaty voice.

"I felt like I was being murdered...." She said before her shoulders began to shake softly. Law removed his arm from her back as he realized she was crying and he wasn't sure what to do. Suddenly Leila began to full on sob, seemingly overwhelmed by everything that she had been going through the past months. Law hesitated before pulling into his bare chest, holding her tightly as sobs racked her small frame.

"H-hey...." Law said, urging her to stop crying silently. "It couldn't have been that scary, right?". He tried to joke with her in hopes it would lighten her mood but it didn't work. Deep down he knew that she was being chased by her trauma, he sometimes faced similiar nightmares, but he didn't know what to say to help her.

Leila just shook her head as she let herself be held. She didn't care that he had no shirt on, she didn't care if she was humiliating herself, she was just glad that she was safe – and Law's arms only helped her to envelop that feeling.

Leila stared out into the ocean, the submarine had finally resurfaced from the depths of the icy sea and the ocean was a deep blue with chilled winds rushing through her strands of hair. Her eyes were sore and strained from crying and she felt slightly embarrassed that she had shown Law such an unsightly display yesterday. However, he didn't seem to mind and he didn't comment on her nightmare after she had stopped crying. She had gone to shower and by the time she had come out he had left; the two didn't talk about it – just like all the times before.

Leila was nudged with a plate of food, a small sandwich with a colorful salad beside it. She looked up and saw Law eating an apple as he handed the plate to her expectantly.

"Here, you haven't eaten yet" Law said

"Oh...thanks" Leila took the plate and rested it against the side of the ship. 'Was he watching me?'

"Bepo made it for you, in case you were wondering"

"I'll have to thank him later. How come you don't have one? He'd gladly make his captain a sandwich..." Leila smirked to herself, thinking back to Bepo's obvious adoration and respect towards Law.

"Ew, I don't want one of those" He muttered, absolutely disgusted to which Leila raised an eyebrow at him. "I hate bread"

"You hate bread?" Leila laughed, not quite believing him. "Who knew a grown man could be so picky"

"I'm not picky I just have things I dislike, surely you have foods you don't like"

"No not really, I didn't really have the luxury to be picky" Leila muttered, taking a large bite out of her sandwich.

"Well...you do now, right?" Law countered, eyeing her up tentatively.

"I suppose so...." Leila smiled to herself. She did feel free being on Law's ship – maybe she could start choosing what she wanted in her life instead of surviving. The crew went from town to town with nobody recognizing her and Xander would never think she would voluntarily go onto a pirate ship. Law let her do what she liked and she enjoyed being out on sea, recounting all these details she felt eternally grateful for Law. Despite his quirks he had opened up his whole crew to her. She had almost been on his submarine for a month and he never complained, he never even brought up her past again since the dinner and never seemed to be bothered when she woke him up screaming due to her nightmares.

"Law. Thank you" She turned to him and spoke sincerely, making his eyes widen a bit. She held his gaze and smiled warmly. "Not just for the sandwich, for everything..."

"This is unusual" He smirked at her, taking another bite of his apple. "You starting to see what a nice guy I am?"

"I wouldn't go that far" She smirked back at him. The pair seemed to be getting back to their normal banter, like when they first met. So much had happened that it was hard for them to trust each other, but they were quickly becoming adjusted to each other's company on the submarine. "Do you...do you think I'm just being a burden on you and your crew?"

Law stopped chewing and looked at her curiously. "You know you're not. You help out all the time, cooking, cleaning, training. Everything"

"I suppose" Leila murmured, not wanting to take advantage of the crews kindness.

"Speaking of me being a nice guy, I should check up on your wounds soon. It's been a while." He noted, gesturing to her leg that was still bandaged.

"I'm honestly fine now, I'm not getting any infections and my ribs don't hurt much anymore."

"It's better if I check them anyway to be safe though, you free now?"

Leila took the last bite out of her sandwich and nodded to which Law smirked at her plate as she left the tomatoes from the salad. "Oi, thought you weren't picky?"

"I guess I have a right to be now" She stuck her tongue out at him and began to walk to his office. Unknowingly, she was beginning to change. Her focus used to be on pure survival which led her to be hypervigilant at all times, not trusting of anyone. But now, she found herself becoming friendly with the Heart Pirates, not contemplating that they would have ulterior motives. She found herself smiling more than normal and feeling like she could belong.