The Marionette

Chapter 26: A Glimpse Into The Past

It had been a few days into your recovery, and with each passing day, you were growing more impatient. You were tired of the daily check ups and constant reminders of your mistakes, the longer you sat restrained to the hospital bed, the more you longed to get up and run from the room.

"I need to get a look to see how bad the scarring will be," Law informed you as his tattoo'd fingers began to unwrap your bandages, your eyes following his movements as you sat up. You had already lifted your shirt to expose part of your torso, allowing him room to preform his exam. Goosebumps rose on your arms as you felt his fingers brush against your bare skin, your eyes looking away as you could already feel your cheeks flush.

"Is it bad?" You asked after a few moments of silence as you looked down at your stomach. He already stitched it shut when you were unconscious after you showed up at the Polar Tang, so it was already on the road of healing.

Law let out a small huff as he locked eyes with you, "no, but it will still leave behind a scar. You should be fine to resume light activities next week. You're free to leave here tomorrow," he said as he sat down on the bed.

You pursed your lips, this was the first time he sat on your bed which meant a serious conversation was about to occur. "I know I got sloppy, you don't need to remind Captain," you murmured as you moved over to allow more room for him.

Law chuckled as he leaned over and placed his hat onto your head, "I know," he shrugged with a smug smirk. Out of everything, you were quite fond of his white hat decorated with those dark brown splotches. You had only ever seen him wear it, and not to mention it smelt strongly of him.

You cleared your throat as you shook away those thoughts as you could already feel your heart pounding hard from his gesture. Your fingers gently readjusted the soft hat so that the brim was no longer covering your eyes while you sat more comfortably, your hands eventually falling into your lap as you glanced over at Law.

His elbows were propped up on his knees as he interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on top of them, his steel colored eyes were staring blankly at the wall in front of him, seemingly lost in thought. You frowned as your mind drew a blank as to what to say while you nervously fiddled with your fingers, "so..." you were afraid to speak, unsure how to approach the conversation.

Law's eyes slowly drifted your way and then paused once you met them, his brows were slightly furrowed as he looked to be contemplating something. "What was your mother like?" The question nearly left you flabbergasted, your mouth popped open and then closed as you struggled to process his odd question. "Forget I said anything," Law quickly said as he turned his attention back to staring straight forward.

"Sorry, it just took me by surprise!" You said your sentence so fast you were stumbling over your words, it was a rare opportunity to speak to Law on a more personal level that you didn't want to miss it.

You watched as he leaned back onto your bed and held himself up by his elbows, but remained staring intently in front of him as he let out a sigh. "You said your mom was arranged to marry into your family?" He must have been listening in on your conversation with Penguin from a while ago, you letting out a small hum in response.

"Yeah, but she loved my father. It was a rare thing to have an arranged marriage that worked out so well," you smiled slightly at remembering the fond memories of when they were alive. "She died when I was a kid from an illness, I was too young to understand what she had," you looked down at your hands in your lap. "I... I wish I could remember what she looked like, or her voice, it's been so long," you admitted while clutching the blankets under your fingers. "But she did like star gazing, she liked nature, and she was a very emotional person compared to my father," you inhaled deeply as you could feel the pain from her death flood into your memories.