Madame Trafalgar

The storm came out of nowhere, plunging the island into rain, wind, and darkness. The crew had already split up as various groups were tasked with gathering supplies, securing information, and guarding the ship.

You and Law had headed away from the port city, hoping to find his contact in the town over. It should have been in and out; an easy information swap, and then you both would return to the ship and get back on course for the mission.

The weather, it seemed, had other ideas.

As the storm waged war with the island, you both headed into the little inn, or more accurately, the small house with a guest room at the edge of the village.

“Oh, come in! Come in!” An elderly woman ushered you in from the storm. “Oh, dearies, you are absolutely drenched. Here comes in! I’ve got one room left.”

You turned to him, and he matched your slightly inquisitive expression. You both seemed to come to the same conclusion: at least it’ll be dry.

The old woman smiled at the silent conversation you shared. “Here,” she handed him the key, “Third door on the right.”

Grabbing the key, he sauntered off in the direction she pointed as you slowly followed behind him, sending the old woman a grateful smile on your way. She offered only a knowing smirk in return.

As he unlocked the door and stepped in, he froze, blocking your entry. Sneaking around him, you realized what had stopped him in his tracks: the room was tiny with one bed that somehow felt even smaller. You hoped the storm would end soon.

***

“It’ll pass,” he spoke as he stared out the window, arms crossed and shoulders tense.

“I don’t know, Captain, it looks really bad.” It’s not that you didn’t want the storm to end. In fact, you were hoping it would end in the next two minutes before you somehow found a way to embarrass yourself, just as you always did when you found yourself alone with Law.

You wouldn’t know it from his pragmatic facade, but he, too, wished to be back on the safety of the Tang in the isolation of his office. There, he didn’t have to worry about stumbling over his words and becoming a blushing mess simply because your presence sparked something in him he thought he had buried long ago. Without turning around, Law replied, half as a statement, half as a prayer, “It’ll pass.”

It did not pass.

It got worse. Much worse.

The lights flickered violently, threatening to completely go out any moment now. A tree fell into the yard, barely missing the home. You were certain the windows would blow in by the end of the night.

Law remained by the window, watching the storm with zero concern. You, on the other hand, were barely keeping it together. The thunder rolled, and the lightning struck, and you desperately wished you could be back with your crew and getting far, far away from this island. Each shake of the house, however, left you more and more certain you might not survive this storm.

BANG

The lightning strike had to have been just outside the window. The sound penetrated your bones, the flash of light sent you stumbling back into the wall, and you could do nothing to hold in the shriek that forced its way out, the stress of the situation boiling over. The room finally lost all power, and it took everything in your being to steady your breath.

Law turned around instantly. “What’s wrong?” His face was painted with concern as he took a step towards you. Seeing you were not hurt, just frightened, his stoic facade returned, and he slowed, but still continued across the small room to stand in front of you.

“S-Sorry. It’s nothing. Just got a bit startled,” you let out a shaky laugh from your tense body, anxious from the storm — and the close proximity of Law certainly wasn’t helping.  

He traced his eyes over your body, spending a bit of extra time looking over your face. His hand twitched at his side, wanting to reach out to hold you, to bring you a bit of comfort, but he kept them at his side, unsure of himself. After confirming you weren’t hurt, he took a step back and turned his head away. You couldn’t tell with the loss of lighting, but you could have sworn you saw a rosy tint rise to the apples of his cheeks.

Feeling your gaze, he turned his body back to the window and spoke over his shoulder. “The storm is gonna stick around for a bit. You should get some sleep.”

“You should rest, too.” You could see the exhaustion written in the dark circles under his eyes and the slight tremble in his hands.

“I’ll be okay,” he said, turning back to the view out the small window.

“Law,” you immediately caught yourself, “C-Captain,” you corrected. “If the storm isn’t going anywhere, then both of us getting some rest won’t hurt anything.” You stepped closer, desperately hoping you could convince him to rest. You knew how little he slept already, always working away in his office. You figured that at least here, there was no work that could distract him from finding sleep, just the awful howls of the wind and crashing of lightning.

For a moment, you weren’t sure he had heard you, his body not moving an inch in response, but just as you were about to speak up once more, he turned around.

“I’ll take the floor.” He grabbed a pillow and lay on the floor next to the bed before you could even think to argue.

“You don’t...” Your mind was trying to work through the situation. He was your superior; he shouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. “Captain, you don’t have to sleep on the floor. You should take the bed.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed as he lay on his back, placed his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. “Go to sleep.”

“We could just share the bed.” Your mouth moved without your consent. As soon as the words came out, you froze while Law equally tensed up under your gaze, his eyes snapping open but not daring to meet your own. Turning away, you tried to backpedal. “I- I’m sorry, I-“

“Don’t apologize,” Law spoke, staring at the ceiling. “Just… just get some sleep.”

“Yes, sir,” you quietly replied. You gingerly stepped over his body and tucked yourself into the bed, trying to calm your racing heart.

For nearly an hour, you lay in the bed searching for sleep, but couldn’t seem to quiet the screaming in your head. ‘Why did you say that? You’ve embarrassed yourself! Law can’t even look at you. He’s your captain, get a grip!’ It didn’t help that the voice in your head was chaotically mixing with the roaring of the storm outside.

“You’re breathing loudly,” Law spoke suddenly.

Your breath hitched as your focus returned to your surroundings. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He spoke sternly but with a hint of concern. He continued quietly, “I just want to make sure you're okay.”

The kindness that laced his tone left you completely breathless. “Thank you, Law.... I-I mean, Captain! I’m sor—“

“You don’t need to apologize,” he reiterated, softly but with authority. “I uhhh like when you call me Law,” he spoke the words so softly you weren’t sure if he had truly said them. He quickly continued, “Now, why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” you let out a small laugh.

“I never sleep. You’ve brought me coffee enough times, I figured you knew that by now.” Though you couldn’t see him, you could practically hear the smirk growing across his face.

“Of course, how could I forget?” you replied with a soft smile to yourself. The weight of the room felt a little less heavy as you spoke to Law. Your breathing evened out, and your thoughts quieted down, but the storm only grew more violent outside. Another roar of thunder had you grasping the blanket until your knuckles were white, your breathing returning to its rampant rate.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Law said after a few minutes of silence between you two, worry growing as your uneasy breathing continued.

“I-,” you felt so silly trying to convey your worries, “I’m scared.. of the.. I’m scared of the storm.” You spoke quietly, waiting for your captain to scoff. What kind of pirate was scared of storms? What kind of adult was scared of storms? You wanted to bury yourself in bed and never see the light of day. Or better yet, let the storm strike you down where you lie.

“You should have said something, Y/N-ya,” Law replied in a slightly sad tone. Guilt hit his stomach like a bullet as he internally chastised himself for not noticing sooner.

You weren’t sure how to respond at first. You weren’t expecting understanding, let alone for him to even want to know. “It’s silly…”

“If it’s bothering you, then it’s not silly.” He spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

A moment of quiet passed once more before he spoke again. “Is there anything I can.. do.. to help?” He sounded unsure. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help; he just wasn’t sure what to do in these circumstances. Law knew how to break and fix, how to cut and stitch, how to plan and execute. He wasn’t so good at the comforting part — you had joked yourself that his bedside manners were lacking — but the thought of you suffering in your own head with him just sitting by sent an anchor to the pit of his stomach.

“Could you...” an idea passed through your head, but you immediately turned it away. “No, never mind. I’m s—“

“You don’t need to apologize,” he sat up from his position on the floor to meet your eyes. “Now, tell me what I can do.”

“Could you, maybe… lie with me?” Your voice was barely a whisper, scared of his reaction but desperate for comfort and distraction from the anxiety racking your body and mind.

Law’s face went red as he froze. Just as you were about to once again apologize (he swore he was going to erase the word ‘sorry’ from your vocabulary one way or another), he let out a small cough and stood up. He spoke as he lay flat on his back beside you with his eyes glued to the ceiling, appearing as the epitome of stiff and awkward, “Is this alright?”

“Yeah,” you replied, just as nervous. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

CRASH

The lightning strike caused you to flinch violently, pushing your head into the pillow and grabbing the mattress into your tight fists.

Law moved instantly. “Y/N-ya! Hey, it’s okay.” Turning to his side, he rubbed his hand up and down your back, hesitantly at first but more confidently as he noticed that it seemed to help ground you. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

As your heart returned to a more normal rhythm, the panic flowing through your body became too much, and you let go of your shame, finally pulling your body entirely against Law’s. As you tucked your head into his neck and grabbed his shirt, you whispered, “I’m sorry.”

At your words, Law let out a sigh and pulled you closer. “You don’t need to apologize, Y/N-ya.” Leaning back, he brought his hands to your face, encouraging you to look him in the eyes. “I… care.. about you. I want to help. Let me help.” Law spoke slowly, both struggling to find the right words to portray his emotions while also ensuring you understand the depth of truth behind them.

Tears well in your eyes, but not from fear. Your heart raced, but not from panic. You offered him a small but raw smile, a few tears sliding down your cheeks. He easily wiped them away with the pad of his thumb. No words need be exchanged as you dove back into his embrace, holding him as close as possible, letting the rhythm of his heartbeat and the rise and fall of his chest ground you. The storm continued outside, but the warmth of his hand caressing your arm distracted you from the harsh wind that hit the house.

Eventually, the comfort gave way to rest as your body sought out sleep in response to the heightened adrenaline you had been sitting in for the last few hours.

Just as your eyes closed and your head found its resting place on Law’s chest, you whispered. “I care about you, too.”

You hadn’t noticed, already drifting off into a dreamworld, but Law’s body reacted instantly: his heart skipping a beat, his breath catching momentarily, his hand freezing his gentle movements along your skin. He tilted his head down to your forehead, carefully so as not to disturb you, and placed a soft kiss on your temple. “Rest well Y/N-ya.”

When you awoke, the storm had settled, leaving behind only a few rain clouds sending down soft droplets to patter on the roof. As consciousness returned to you, you immediately noticed the warmth of the body beneath you. Looking up slightly, you saw Law still sleeping. A small smile comes to your face to see him resting, really resting.

You move slightly, trying to create a more comfortable position on the tiny bed, but are quickly stopped as Law’s arm around your waist tightens.

“Don’t move. Still storming.”

“Good morning,” you let out a small, breathy laugh as your nervousness returned in reaction to his proximity, “it’s barely raining, Capt—“

“Law,” he replied quickly, trying and failing to suppress the blush that heated the tips of his ears.

“Law,” you breathed out. You had said his name before, of course, but this time it felt different. It felt like a confession from him, a vow from you. “Law,” you repeated, smiling.

Pulling you into him, Law held you tightly (definitely not in an effort to stop you from seeing the goofy grin that took over his face when you said his name), “Let’s stay a few more minutes… wait for the storm to pass.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” you giggled at the task he returned as you once again used his title. In reaction, he simply held you tighter, sharing in the warmth of your embrace for as long as he could. After all, the crew could wait just a few minutes more.