Solace in Death [One Piece Fanfiction]

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Law was lying in his bed, and although it was easily the middle of the night, he hadn't gotten any sleep yet. This didn't surprise him since he'd been in his head most of the day. He'd spent the afternoon in the treatment room, just tidying and cleaning, mostly so he'd felt like he'd achieved something. Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid the thoughts of Lyanna in his bed, naked and panting underneath him, begging him for more.

He sighed frustratedly and wondered what Lyanna was doing. She was the cause of his dilemma. Their almost kiss in the treatment room was playing over and over in his head. Then he only had to look up where he had briefly kissed her in his room the other day. Things had been heating up between them over the weeks together onboard, and he certainly hadn't minded catching her checking him out and doing the same to her. All that had stopped him from acting on his desire for her was the concern that she might still leave them and let herself die somewhere due to her grief. The only time she had allowed it to show was when she had cried in front of him; aside from that, she had been a rock. Her grief wasn't gone, just hidden inside her, so she didn't show her true feelings to everyone. He didn't need to be a doctor to see that she was still deeply hurt. Being on the ship, there wasn't anywhere you could get any privacy, so she was probably just bottling it up until she was alone. Maybe she still wanted to die and bide her time until she'd left their company.

Having a pirate lifestyle meant he wouldn't be getting married, having kids and a white picket fence; he didn't want that for himself anyway. Chances were he'd be dead before he was 40 and didn't want to leave a family behind. However, he wasn't just a one-night stand kind of guy either. If he was interested enough in someone to sleep with them, it was because he felt that he could trust them enough to be vulnerable. It wasn't unheard of for a pirate to be seduced only to be killed or captured for their bounty. He couldn't take that risk. If Lyanna was biding her time to die, he didn't want to get too mixed up and risk hurting or adding to her pain. If they got involved and then had to split up while she was still in the depths of grief, she would just struggle more. He couldn't bear that on his conscience.

Feeling restless, he got up from the bed and walked out, intending to get fresh air above deck. Someone would be on watch, but they'd leave him be if he asked. He had left his hat behind, so his hair moved with the wind once he opened the door. His hands were in his pockets as he shuffled slowly out the door and closed it behind him. When he saw Lyanna was the one on watch, sitting cross-legged against the deck railing on his left, he gritted his teeth. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid her, but he wanted to avoid everyone while thinking. She gave him a nod of greeting but stayed put. Assuming it was fate that she was on watch tonight, he figured they'd have to talk eventually. Surely she was confused about their kiss too, and they couldn't avoid each other.

Steeling his resolve, he walked over and sat down next to her. Now that he was closer, he saw that she must have been crying. Her eyes were bloodshot, and there were dried tear tracks on her cheeks. Being on watch meant you had time to yourself, so she didn't have to hold everything in. There was no point in saying anything to make her feel better. Grief was time-based and never faded; it just dulled until you could get through the day.

"Did you volunteer to be on watch?" He asked if she was on watch to get time to cry alone.

She didn't speak but nodded in confirmation, staring into her lap after she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I might kill you since you've seen me cry twice. Can't ruin my reputation." Her joke was an attempt to distract from her crying, but he let her have it and snorted with laughter.

"What are you going to do when you leave?" His probing wasn't subtle, but he wasn't trying to be.

"I guess I'll have to get back to work. My job for the old man is done, but I should search for the guys and check on his territory anyway." Her tone was wistful, and she stared at the night sky as if looking for answers.

What he didn't hear in her voice was the shaky despair he used to hear. There was a hint of hope in it now, and it put his fear that she would just die later at ease. Somewhat.

"But you'll be alone."

Her head dropped back to her lap, and she took a slow, controlled breath.

"I know..." her voice went quiet, but he waited for her to elaborate. "I think just knowing that I have friends out there helps. I can deal with being alone; I'm used to it. What I can't handle is being lonely." Her sad voice made him feel for her, but she seemed much better than when they'd last talked. At least she had some hope now.

"You never joined Whitebeard's crew. Why?" He had been curious about it before since she didn't mention why.

"My work for him was to visit the territories under his control and be his representative there. Aside from that, I move around all the time, even more than a pirate crew. I deal with the Navy too, and I can't do that as a pirate unless I become one of the Seven Warlords, which will never happen. I can't do my job if I get tangled up in battles, either." She offered with a shrug.

"So if I asked you to stay?" He knew that she would say no. She spoke about her work for Whitebeard with conviction, and it made sense why she couldn't join a crew. Affiliations were okay, though.

Her stunned silence was apparent, and she stared at him with widened eyes for a long moment. She blinked slowly, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

"I'm grateful, but I can't." Her answer didn't surprise him, but he nodded in understanding.

"I didn't think you would agree. If you said no to Whitebeard, I knew you'd say no to me." He elaborated, hoping she didn't feel like she'd let him down or disappointed him. "Just know that you can come aboard anytime."

She gave him a disarmingly warm smile in reply and felt his breath hitch in his throat at the sight. Since his concern that she would die had mainly dissipated, he found that he couldn't drive away the intense desire to kiss her. He glanced at her several times to gauge if the timing was right.

"Hey." He said in barely a whisper, just enough to get her attention.

As she turned her head towards him, he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb along her bottom lip, finding it soft against his calloused hands. He didn't hesitate and pressed his lips against hers. She made a soft noise of surprise, which he thought was adorable. Not wanting to rush, he took his time and didn't intensify the kiss. He didn't intend to try and get her in bed immediately since he actually liked her as a person and wasn't just physically interested in her. He was pleased when Lyanna reciprocated fully, kissing him back and running her fingers through his hair. He could faintly taste the remnants of her tears and smell her shampoo. She shifted her weight and swung her leg over his hips, straddling him. A soft rumble of pleasure sounded in his chest, tightening his grip on her.

Their kiss continued for a few minutes until they needed to properly catch their breath. Lyanna sat back, and he ran his fingers through her hair and licked his lips, savouring her taste. He didn't want to push any further, and since she was on watch, he shouldn't distract her. She took the hint and hopped off of him, unable to hide her little smile.

After standing back up, feeling like he'd be able to sleep, he looked down at her. He crouched down and put his hand on the back of her head, tilting it closer. Law pressed a kiss to her forehead, then stood back up and headed back inside without looking back.

Lyanna spent the rest of her watch feeling like she wasn't so lonely anymore...