An Encounter With The King

Tis the Season

I knew today would be different. I just wasn't aware just how different yet. It started off with an odd feeling when I woke up. I could tell nothing was actively different; Law still cuddled me from behind, Fluffy and Ace could still be heard snoring from the other side of the room, the Strawhats could still be heard making a ruckus on deck and the glorious smell of Sanji's food was still hanging in the air. Yet something felt…...off.
Shrugging it off, I tried to go about my day as normal. Key word is "tried". At breakfast, when Fluffy sat next to Law, who was across from me, I snarled at her. It was strange because I wasn't even mad at her. Everyone passed it off as my body adjusting to my devil fruit. Sabo and Ace had warned me of random power flare-ups as they had both frequently experienced spontaneous combustion while adjusting to the Mera-mera no mi.
I began to suspect it was something else when I strolled past the dark surgeon on my way to the library and noticed he gave off a new scent. Normally, he smelled like coffee and old books, but now he smelled, for lack of a better description, male. In the library, I did some more research on reptiles and felt dread creep into my stomach as I recognized some of the behavior.
"Oh. My. Good. Fucking. God," I whispered. "I have to get away from here for the next week! No, Law just started to recover from my two month absence. This would kill him. Maybe I can just avoid him until this is done? No, that would be too suspicious. Man; this was so much easier when I was a kitten. Wait a minute."
Dread slowly morphed into horror as realization dawned on me. This had been easy to ignore as a kitten some it was simple curiosity. As a dragon, it was so much more complicated. One wrong step and I could ruin my life. After all, cats practiced one night stands. Dragons on the other hand, mated for life.
Picking up the book, I zipped across the deck and into my room, locking the door behind me.
"You look a little rattled, what's up?"
I flinched at the sound of Ace's voice. No one was supposed to be here. "I, uh, am just doing some research," I answered.
"On?"
"Lizards."
"Why?"
"Closest relative to dragons. Thought it would help with my powers."
"Need any help?"
"Nope! Studying is the one thing I'm good at."
"If you say so. By the way, Trafalgar was looking for you earlier."
I tried not to panic at that statement. I was already freaking out over what I would have to do over the next few days, being around him now would just make it worse. "Did…. he say why?" I asked, walking over to my bed.
"No. Probably just wanted to spend time with you. You yet haven't exactly didn't a lot of time together lately."
I counted, having forgotten Law actually liked spending time with my weird self. Sweet Jesus, I was screwed.
Over the next couple days, I decided to forgo the rituals and just ignore this stupid time of year as I had as a kitten. Fat lot of good that did me. I was wound tighter than a shooting ready to snap and I almost pounced him six times before making up some Lane excuse and running away. On the third day, he finally questioned me on it. I had just made another excuse to run away when he snatched my wrist.
"Jewel-ya, what's gotten into you?"
"Nothing, Captain, I'm fine."
"Liar. You won't look at me anymore, you flinch whenever I try to touch you and you run away from me all the time. Have I done something wrong?"
Dude. Ouch. I thought, hearing the pain in his voice. I hadn't noticed how much what I was doing was hurting him. "No. Law, it's not you. It's... it's me," I answered.
"If you think it's something you've done wrong-"
"No, it's not like that. It's not something I've done." I sighed heavily before turning to look at him for the first time in three days. "It's what I am."
"What do you mean?"
I shook my head, tugging at the wrist he still grasped. "Not here. Can we go somewhere more private?" I pleaded, looking away again.
A quiet "room; shambles" was uttered and we ended up in the crows nest. I took a deep breath before explaining my situation. "Law, I'm not human, I never have been. I was  born with the ability to become a kitten and now I'm a dragon. Well, with animalistic abilities comes basic animalistic traits and…" I trailed off, rubbing my arm and refusing to look at my Captain.
"And….?" Law gently prodded after a moment of silence.
I had never uttered more embarrassing words than I was about to in the next thirty seconds. Closing my eyes tightly, I wrapped my arms around myself defensively. "It's mating season and I've kinda chosen you as my mate," I explained.
"Oh. How long has this effected you?"
"Since I became of age. It was easy to ignore as a kitten because I didn't have any desires, nor someone I could mate with. Since becoming a dragon however, it's become a lot harder to ignore."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
I looked at Law incrediously. "Are you insane? You're my Captain that I have a crush on, nothing more."
"I could've helped you with your urges."
"No, you couldn't have. It's either mate with your partner, or don't mate at all. I've chosen you, but you must also choose me, otherwise that ain't happening. I won't allow it."
Law stepped closer, took my chin in his hand and turned me so my brown eyes locked with his silver ones. "And who's to say I haven't chosen you as my mate?" he questioned.
"What?"
"I thought it was obvious, considering how much I enjoy your company and even go so far as to seek it out."
"I… hadn't considered that."
"Well, now that you know, will you allow me to assist you with your mating season issue?"
"I'd love you to."
"Good." He sealed the deal with a kiss filled with so much passion, I finally have in to my urges and jumped him. Afterwords, I was 100% satisfied.