Devilish

Warmth

The next morning the sub was unusually quiet. Leila cautiously got dressed, taking her time when needed, and made her way to the kitchen. Shachi and Bepo were silently eating breakfast but when Shachi saw Leila enter the room he immediately looked away.

"Shachi..." Leila murmured, feeling upset that her friend was obviously snubbing her. He didn't reply but put his dishes in the sink and left the kitchen as if she wasn't even there. Bepo sighed tiredly and looked at Leila apologetically.

"Don't mind him, he's just dealing with some personal stuff right now" He assured her. Leila began to make herself some breakfast, gathering some berries to add to her yogurt.

"Are you okay, you didn't get hurt?" Leila asked Bepo with worry evident in her voice.

"No, most of us are fine...Shachi's just struggling the most. Did Law fill you in?"

Leila nodded gently, feeling awful that she had caused such a divide between the crew. "He said that he tried to attack you...I'm truly sorry Bepo. I didn't want to put anyone in danger, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do. We all do." Bepo confirmed, moving to the counter to make her a tea. "You were protesting as much as you could – Law left you no choice"

"Do you think he'll forgive me?" Leila asked Bepo, referring to Shachi.

"It's not about you, he just needs to forgive himself" Bepo replied sadly "He got put into a bad position, but he wouldn't have acted that way if he forgave himself already"

Law entered the kitchen yawning, his eyes still looking especially sleepy this morning. He wasn't wearing his hat and was still wearing a comfortable top and joggers. Leila took a note of how handsome he looked when just waking up before he caught her gaze, making her jolt.

"Good morning Law..." She said to him, nodding in greeting. "You slept in late today"

"Yeah, good rest is important with a serious injury" Law told her, "You should have slept in too"

"You know I'm not a heavy sleeper anyway..." She smiled at him knowingly.

"True, I'm glad you didn't wake up the whole crew with your nightmares last night"

"That's 'cus my nightmare happened during the day..." She said darkly under her breath, stirring the tea that Bepo had passed her.

"You have nightmares Leila?" Bepo looked up at her wide-eyed. Leila nodded slowly at him but waved him off, acting as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You can't hear her in the night?" Law scoffed, moving to get a couple of eggs from the cupboard.

"No, bear's sleep soundly. Hibernation habits" Bepo casually explained, stretching his arms out, the thought making him feel a bit stiff and sleepy.

"You lucky son of a bear" Law smirked, beginning to make himself some food as the crew prepped themselves for the day.

Leila settled outside and saw Jean fiercely scrubbing the deck. She curiously walked up to him before seeing that he was scrubbing blood stains off of the wood and her spine shivered in dread.

"Jean, let me help you... you shouldn't have to do this" She spoke to him sadly before she fell to her knees and with her one good arm she picked up a rag.

"Leila – don't." He warned her sternly. "I appreciate it but if Law saw you doing this I think my head might be at risk"

"You are joking, right?" She laughed uneasily, to which Jean gave her a playful smile, yet he believed his words.

As if on cue, Law followed his crew out onto the deck. He wore his usual jumper and hat this time, seemingly dressed at last. Leila knelt up from her positon but spoke to Jean kindly, as if offering him something - Law couldn't make out what though. Leila held her jacket close around her arms but she felt the cold penetrating her skin. Law made his way over to her steadily and she turned to look up at him with her dazzling golden eyes.

"Are you cold? We're not in icy waters anymore" He asked her, resting his hand against her forehead to check for signs of a fever.

"Honestly I am a bit..." She admitted to him, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Where are your warm clothes?" he asked her, observing that she only had a thin top underneath her jacket.

"They're being washed. Some are too small for me too" Her eyes were shielding her painful emotions. Although she would never admit it, she was beginning to let herself wish for material things such as clothes. Something she would never even consider before, she was now thinking of it seriously. She never let herself have selfish desires; pretty clothes wouldn't help her in surviving. The only pleasure she could attain over the years was the pleasure of the men around her – that was what she had been adjusted to.

Law stood in thought, going through the plans of the ship in his head. "You know what, when we stop off at Kilika Island lets buy you some clothes" he said confidently, making her look at him wide-eyed.

"R-really?" She stammered, unable to hide the happiness that bubbled up within her.

"Yeah of course – just pick out whatever you want. You pay us back through your help around the ship anyway"

Leila found herself stunned. 'Can I really pick what I want? Do I...have that luxury now?'

Law looked down at her curiously but was sort of freaked out when her face was switching between being happy and concerned. "H-hey..." He called out to her, trying not to chuckle. "It's only clothes"

"Oh...right yeah. I guess so" She nodded.

"Why are you so hung up on clothes? When I first met you, you used to wear cute dresses and heels" He smirked at her, now thinking about how out of character it was.

"Nami and Robin give me stuff from their wardrobes when I meet them; I like pretty clothes so I try to wear them as much as I can. But....I lost them all when I was travelling" She explained.

"Why not dress cutely instead of the usual sexy?" He asked her sarcastically. Leila glared up at him playfully before rolling her eyes. She knew he liked it when she dressed in revealing clothes, she felt his gaze linger on her body more often lately.

"I don't like cute clothes". Leila thought back to Perona, who would only ever talk about cute things. After being surrounded by gaudy 'cute' items for over ten years, they quickly lose their charm.

Law took off his hoodie in a swift motion, causing his top to raise a little to show off his carved abdomen. "Until then, wear this". He took Leila's jacket off her and passed her his hoodie, making her raise an eyebrow at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I can't have you get sick. I'm busy enough"

"Roger that captain" She joked, pulling on his hoodie without much thought. Law nodded in satisfaction before patting her head and moving off towards his office. Leila watched his broad shoulders as he walked away and held his hoodie closer to her body. It was still warm from his body heat and the smell of Law faintly comforted her. For some reason, it made her stomach flutter and she couldn't help but smile to herself. Jean observed from a couple of feet away and smirked to himself when he saw her reaction.

"Hey, what's so funny?" She challenged him, blushing slightly at the thought of being caught breathing in the smell of Law's hoodie.

"Nothing at all" He continued to smirk, leaving Leila to huff in embarrassment.