Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When he entered the ship, the whole crew could tell it was bad news, just by the look on his face. Not that he was a ray a sunshine all the time; quite the opposite, he always seemed to have this tired, annoyed expression on his face that everyone was already used to. But that day, it looked different. The tension in the meeting area was almost palpable.

The Polar Tang was docked on the Red Port, on the Paradise side. The Heart Pirates had been called to Marie Jois, more specifically their captain Trafalgar D. Water Law, who was now a Warlord of the Sea, and couldn’t really deny the request.

He wasn’t happy about it. He had only become a Warlord for his personal reasons, which included taking Doflamingo down. But while he couldn’t put his plan into action, he had to be in the Marine’s good eyes. Which meant attending reunions if called to.

“So…” Bepo started, feeling a little nervous. He could see the captain was annoyed, but he also couldn’t stand the silence. Law, on the other hand, responded by simply placing a paper he had on his hand on the table. The crew bended over to see what was in it.

It was a wanted poster. The picture showed a fat man in pirate clothes. He had black hair covered by a big hat, black beard and a creepy smile full of teeth. He was holding a sword and, although the picture was mostly of his upper body, the start of a wooden leg instead of his left leg could be seen at the bottom.

On the poster, it could be read: Wanted: John Silver. Reward: 320,000 berries.

“I’ve never heard of this guy before.” Shachi said, shrugging. “What’s the deal?”

Law sighed, angrily.

“The deal is, this guy is looting small villages all around and taking hostages to sell as slaves. The Marines haven’t been able to get him as he’s getting bigger as we speak. So, they want me to catch him.”

The crew shared confused looks.

“That doesn’t seem so bad.” Penguin spoke. “Is he strong? Got a devil fruit?”

“I have no idea.” The captain answered. “That’s the thing. He moves too fast. The Marines don’t know shit about him, so they threw the job to us.” Law took another piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to Bepo. “The only thing they know is that this was the last island he went to. We might find some clues there. Can you take us?”

Bepo analyzed the coordinates on the piece of paper.

“Sure, captain. It’s not that far.”

“Great.” He sighed again, and the room became silent. “What are you waiting for? Back to work!”

The crew immediately moved around, going back to their previous duties. Law sat down on a couch and put his hand over his forehead, pressing his eyebrows. Yes, that was an annoying task, and it would surely take time from his actual goal. But, as the newest Warlord, it wasn’t like he could just say no. He couldn’t risk losing his title; not until he had accomplished what he wanted.

So, the Tang left Red Port and set sail to a small island nearby. Might get it over with already.

On the deck of a ship docked on the coast of an island, four pirates sat on a small table playing cards. Three of them were men of different colors, shapes and sizes, but they all had something in common: they angrily stared at the fourth person sitting there.

Said person, on the other hand, was very different: she was a young girl with strawberry blond hair, sun-kissed skin with freckles and a smug smile on her face. She placed four cards on the table, and the men seemed even more angry.

“Four aces? No fucking way!” said one of them.

“You’re cheating, Red. Ain’t no way you won again.”

“Oh, boo hoo.” Said the girl, while she grabbed all the berries placed in the middle of the table. “Cry me a river.”

“You’re about to see who’s crying…” one of the men said, standing up and touching the scabbard attached to his belt.

The girl just looked at him, bored. Before she could say anything, someone on the other side of the deck screamed:

“Ella! The captain is calling you!”

Ella stood up and started putting all the berries on her pockets.

“Yeah, yeah.” She said nonchalantly, walking away and barely acknowledging the threat. “Call me when you stop being a baby.”

The other two men sitting down laughed a little, but Ella didn’t stay long enough to hear it. She immediately followed to the captain’s quarters, where she knocked on the door before getting in.

Inside the room, there was random furniture, pictures on the walls and a table full of disorganized papers right in the middle. Sitting behind it, there was a fat man with a full beard and a large hat over his head. He had both his legs over the desk; the right one in flesh, and the left one, made of wood.

“Hello, Red.”

“Called me, captain Silver?”

Silver smiled. A very creepy smile.

“Have a seat, child.” He pointed to a chair on the other side of the desk. Ella stepped forward and sat there. The man continued “Yes, that’s nice. Now let’s get into business. I called you here because I have a task for you.”

Ella frowned, but didn’t say anything. Silver took a newspaper from the middle of the messy papers and threw it right in front of the girl. She read the title of the main article, which said “After the Rocky Port incident, Captain Trafalgar Law is named Warlord of the Sea”. There was a picture of a man in stained jeans and a fluffy white hat looking annoyed, followed by a bunch of people in white boilersuits, who she imagined was his crew.

“What’s that about?”

“This guy.” Silver pointed to the man in the fluffy hat. “Trafalgar Law. You know him?”

Ella shrugged.

“Might have heard his name before. Worst generation, right? But that was a while ago. What about him?”

“He’s after me.”

She frowned again, this time a little more confused.

“Why? And how do you know that?”

“By now, you should’ve known that I have eyes and ears everywhere. But that’s past the point.” Silver tapped his large finger over the photo on the paper. “He’s a Warlord now, and I’ve heard the Marines sent him to catch me. Now, the Marines were always incompetent on finding me, but he’s different. He might be an issue.”

Still not understanding why he was telling her that, Ella said:

“And it has to do with me because…”

“Because” Silver said, smiling. “You’re gonna go after him.”

She raised her eyebrows, completely surprised.

“You’re gonna send me alone to fight him?”

Silver laughed out loud a deep, raspy laugh.

“Hishhishhishhishhish! Of course not, Red. No, you’re gonna become a part of his crew.”

“What?”

“I need someone to trick him, mislead him from finding me, and that’s better done from the inside. He’d never accepted any of my other subordinates as his, but you’ve got a chance. So, you’re gonna get your pretty young ass to whatever island he is and beg to join his crew. And then you’re gonna tell me everywhere he goes, every clue he might get, every piece of information you find. Until the day he gives up on me or gets killed by someone bigger. Got it?”

Ella blinked for a minute before understanding everything that had been said. She had been a part of the John Silver pirates for a few years now, and was never given such a big mission like that. Not that it was something she wanted; she was just fine being where she was, not having to deal with people much more dangerous than herself. But that was a big thing. Infiltrating into a Warlord’s ship? There was so much that could go wrong!

But then again, what could she do? Say no to Silver? That really wasn’t an option.

In the end, she sighed and said “Fine”. But there was still one more thing that had to be sorted out.

“But while I’m gone, you’re not gonna kidnap any kids. Got it?”

“Of course I won’t, child. That was our agreement, wasn’t? You’d join my crew and I’d leave the kids alone.”

Ella clenched her teeth, angry.

“But who’s to say you’re gonna keep your word once I’m gone?”

“Unfortunately, my word is the best you’re gonna get.” He smiled creepily and her again. “But if you failed, then you can be sure that I won’t keep it.

She sighed once again before standing up.

“You better keep it, or else I’m gonna end you myself.” She said as she left the room. They both knew it was an empty threat. To him, it was amusing; to her, it only made her feel more helpless.

That night, John Silver’s ship, the Hispaniola, left the island searching for another place to loot. Ella, on the other hand, went to the city to find someone who could give her information on the whereabouts of captain Trafalgar Law.

Chapter Text

The Polar Tang docked at Palmhaven Island in the morning, about two days after they left Red Port. It was a small, tropical summer island, full of palm trees and white sand beaches. The villages were the typical type one would find in an island like that, with welcoming folks and simple houses, inns and bars, except for one thing: those people weren’t very happy at that moment.

As it turns out, captain John Silver and his crew had just left that island a few days ago, after looting the place, stealing all sorts of valuable things and berries. The villagers were still recovering from the attack when the Heart Pirates arrived. Captain Trafalgar Law and his crew went around the villagers, asking people about the situation and if they had any clues of where Silver could have gone next. Unfortunately, they didn’t find anything useful.

The day was completely wasted. In the evening, inside the Tang, Law sighed. Not only the task was annoying and distracting him from his actual goal, but it was also taking more time than he expected. As he was about to return to his quarters, his crew showed up at the meeting area, dressed in normal clothes instead of their usual boilersuits.

“Captain! Let’s go out!” Penguin said, excitedly.

Law made an annoyed expression.

“Excuse me?”

“There’s some cool bars here, we’re going out.” Shachi said, only then realizing it might have been too forward. “I mean, if you allow us…”

“I don’t care what you do.” He answered, waving an annoyed hand. “But I’m not going.”

“Why?” Penguin cried.

“You hardly ever go out with us…”

“C’mon, captain! Let’s have some fun!”

“We’re already here, we might as well do it!”

The begging of the crew became loud to the point it made the captain sigh.

“Fine, fine. Whatever make you shut up.”

The crew celebrated. Law rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t stay too long, just enough to get some sake to at least say he got something out of the failed trip to that island.

Meanwhile, a small boat arrived at the other side of Palmhaven. It was a little sketchy, but cheap enough so that those on board could afford it. A girl with light red hair jumped out of it, dropping a couple berries in the hands of the captain.

“Thanks.” Was all she said before leaving.

All the things Ella owned fit inside the brown leather backpack on her back. After gathering some information, she managed to get to the island the Heart Pirates supposedly were docked on. Thankfully, it wasn’t that big, so looking for them wouldn’t be so hard.

She strolled around the village full of green grass, palm trees and sand, her heart a little heavy. She had been there before, not too long ago. She remembered how lively the place was, before John Silver’s bunch appeared and ruined everything.

She sighed. Just one more of the thousand things she’d have to just deal with.

Thankfully, the villagers didn’t seem to remember her from the attack. She didn’t look like the type to be a pirate, and she didn’t do much at the attack anyway. Didn’t take her long to find the bar the Heart Pirates were, and she took a deep breath before getting in.

It was one of those regular old bars, with a counter full of stools, some wooden tables, some random background music playing somewhere and a dartboard on the wall. It wasn’t very full, and Ella’ eyes immediately spotted who she was looking for: a man with a grumpy expression sitting at the counter, wearing spotted jeans and a fluffy hat.

She had rehearsed what she was going to say throughout the trip to the island. Slowly, she walked towards the man at the counter until she was standing right in front of him. He looked at her like she was some kind of bug, which made her a little intimidated. But she wouldn’t back down now.

“May I help you?” he said, and his voice was deeper than she expected.

“You’re captain Trafalgar Law of the Heart Pirates, Warlord of the Sea?”

At this point, others at the bar were looking at the two of them. That included a polar bear and a giant sitting in the corner, and Ella wondered how he even fit through the door.

“Why?” was all the man answered. Ella replied with the speech she practice during the trip to island:

“My name is Elutheria O’Malley. I think you’re a great pirate, capable of many things, and I believe you’ll achieve something great in the future. So, I want to be there when it happens.”

She felt extremely awkward by saying that, and it didn’t help when the captain raised his eyebrows completely nonchalant and those around him, who she assumed were his crew, came closer, laughing a little.

“And by that you mean… you want to join my crew?” Law asked, bored.

“Yes. I believe I can be a good addition to your crew. I’ve worked on pirate ships before, I know a lot about mechanics, navigation, herbs and poisons, and I’m a sniper.” Ella said, confidently. She was trying her best to keep the act, although deep inside she knew she was making a fool of herself. Begging to be a part of someone’s crew wasn’t the way to get in, specially when it came to someone so serious like Law. His subordinates, on the other hand, seemed a little more open.

“Let her in, captain!” said a man with a hat that said “Penguin” in it. “It’ll be fun!”

“She’s kinda cute, too.” Another man, this time one with orange hair and sunglasses, said.

Ella rolled her eyes. She hated to admit, but, apparently, Silver was right. Law, on the other hand, dismissed the comments with a shake of his hand, without taking his eyes off of the girl. In fact, he hadn’t looked the other way from the moment she arrived.

“I don’t need anyone new in my crew right now. Much less a little unknown girl who I can’t even trust is saying the truth.” And he said that with a smirk, one used purposely so she would give up her attempt. One that made Ella very angry.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Ella stepped away from the counter and walked to the dartboard, where she picked up one dart and, taking a few steps away from the wall, aimed at the board to shoot. She took a few seconds looking around the room and analyzing everything before shooting. But the dart didn’t go towards the board; instead, it flew directly to a nearby window.

“You missed.” Said the guy with the penguin hat, a little disappointed.

“Did I?”

Surprisingly, the dart hit the glass of the window in a certain angle that made it fly to the other side of the bar, hitting a bottle of wine in one of the shelves behind the counter. Then, the dart changed its trajectory again, just to go directly to the dartboard, sticking right in the center of the target.

The people in the bar exclaimed in surprise. Some of them even clapped.

“Wow! That was crazy!” said the guy in sunglasses.

“We could really use a sniper like that. Didn’t the Strawhats had a really good sniper?” said the guy with the penguin hat.

“The Strawhats are gone, Penguin.”

“You really believe that?”

The two of them kept talking as they walked away from the counter, leaving the captain alone. Ella smiled softly before returning to the counter, standing right in front of Law.

“So?”

Law sighed, bored. He took a sip of his drink before answering. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, getting closer to her.

“What’s the real reason you want to join my crew?” he said, whispering, in a tone of suspicion.

“I already told you. I believe you have the capacity to achieve something in the future, something very few pirates might have the chance to get. And I want in. I want to be there when in happens. I want part of the glory.”

Law pushed back and let out a little, raspy laugh.

“You have too much faith in me. Besides, I’m a part of the Marines now. Haven’t you heard?”

“And you expect me to believe that’s all you want to do with your life?”

Law raised his eyebrows, surprised with the comment. He took another sip of his drink and looked Ella in the eyes. Again, she felt a little intimidated; those grey eyes seemed to stare right into her soul, and for a moment she feared he could see the truth.

“I don’t care about your abilities. I don’t need anyone new in my crew, no amount of begging will change that. Now do yourself a favor and leave.”

And just like that, he looked away, completely ignoring her presence.

She stood there for a few seconds, absorbing what had happened. Then, she sighed and turned around, leaving the bar. She knew begging wouldn’t do her any good; but she wasn’t the type to give up so easily. It was time for plan B.

The next morning, the Polar Tang left Palmhaven, following the path to another island where apparently Silver had gone to. This island, however, was a bit further away, taking them about a week to arrive. The submarine sailed above the sea for a few kilometers as they moved away from the island, and when it reached deeper waters, it began the process of diving. Captain Trafalgar Law was in his quarters, sitting by his desk, analyzing some papers, when he heard a commotion outside. Rolling his eyes, he walked over there to see what was going on.

All his crew was in the meeting area, standing up, staring at something on the floor, which seemed to be wet, for some reason. As he walked closer, Bepo immediately started talking.

“She was outside, hanging on the railing! I saw her through the window and opened the hatch! She was about to die!”

That was when Law finally saw what was going on. Laying on the floor, coughing some water, was a red-haired girl holding on to a leather backpack, soaking wet.

Law put his hand to his face, extremely annoyed. He simply couldn’t believe that girl was that crazy.

“Captain, what do we do? We’re already very far away from Palmhaven, and we wont reach another island for days…”

“I’ll deal with that. Go back to your duties.”

The crew obeyed the orders, leaving the girl on the floor alone with the captain.

“Can you get up?”

She was still coughing, so it took her a while to answer. Finally, she nodded and stood up, a little wobbly. Law grabbed her arm.

“Come with me.”

He walked her over to the medical bay, where he sat her down and examined her a bit. As angry as he was, he was still a doctor, and almost drowning was no joke. After he finished the exams, he sighed.

“You seem okay. Why would you do that?”

“I want to be part of your crew.” Was all she answered. Her voice was a little hoarse due to the incident.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Tell me the truth.”

The way he spoke, the way those eyes stared deep into her soul… For a moment, Ella considered telling him everything. Maybe she could help him catch Silver, it would be for the best anyway…

She blinked a couple of times. It was foolish to believe that could ever happen. She had to stick to the plan.

“It’s the truth. I have faith in you.”

Law took a deep breath and put his hand to his forehead again. He didn’t know if she was stupid or crazy. Maybe a mix of both.

“I told you that won’t happen. But now I need to find out what to do with you until we reach the next island.” He thought for a while, then told her to get up, which she did. He walked out of the room, and she followed. “We have about a week until we dock.”

“That’s enough time for me to show you how useful I can be!” Ella was starting to get her strength back. In response to her comment, Law only blew air through his nose.

“Yeah, right. No, until we dock, you’re staying here.”

That’s when Ella realized they had walked to deepest part of the submarine, somewhere close to the engines and the boiler room. It was very hot and humid there. They stood before a door, which Law opened, revealing the tiniest room ever. It was probably built as a storage cabinet, but it was empty.

“Here? Like, here, here?” she made an annoyed face.

“Yes. You said you wanted to prove you could be my subordinate, right? Well, maybe if you stay here real quiet without complaining, I’ll let you in the crew.” Law said, smiling. It was a mockery smile. They both new he was lying.

Ella sighed angrily and entered the room. It was, somehow, hotter than outside.

“Can I at least have a futon?”

“Sure. If I find one.”

As he said that, he gave her one last mockery smile, before closing the door.  

Chapter Text

She thought that room was hot. But damn, it was more like “the pits of hell” hot. The sun itself seemed like an ice bath compared to that place.

As told by the captain, Ella was supposed to stay in that tiny cramped room until they reached the next island. Food was provided for her three times a day and she was allowed to use a bathroom nearby, but if she was caught wandering anywhere else, she was to be locked up in the room. Law had already explained the rules to all the members of the crew, and because some of them worked at the engines and boiler room nearby, Ella couldn’t really go around snooping without getting caught.

All that was left to do was sit in that hot damn room all day doing nothing. Law had managed to find an old futon, but everything was so hot it didn’t make much of a difference.

At some point in the day, when Ella was coming back from the bathroom, she heard a commotion around some of the engines. She knew she wasn’t supposed to snoop, but who could blame her? The boredom and the heat were taking the best of her.

She turned the corner to find the two guys she remembered from the bar – who she learned were named Penguin and Shachi – talking to each other while looking at a pipe.

“I think it’s done now.”

“You’re sure?”

“I said ‘I think’, not ‘I’m sure’”

“What are you doing?” Ella said suddenly, scaring the two men, who didn’t see her coming.

“Hey, it’s the sniper!” Shachi said.

“It’s Elutheria, but you can call me Ella. What are you doing?” she repeated.

“Fixing this pipe.”

Ella took a look at said pipe. It was clearly damaged, but with some kind of tape on top of it. She couldn’t really tell what had been done to it.

“Are you sure this is right?”

Penguin and Shachi exchanged a look.

“Of course it’s right! It’s perfectly fixed!” Penguin said, maybe too fast.

She narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything, Shachi spoke:

“And shouldn’t you be in your room, anyway?”

Ella sighed.

“My room is too hot! I’m dying in there.” And with a little flirty smile, she looked at the two men. “It would be so nice to have something refreshing…”

“We could try to find something for you!” Shachi said.

“Yeah, totally!” Penguin continued.

“Really? That would be so sweet of you!” smiled Ella.

The two men smiled too.

“We’ll be back soon!” Shachi said, and they left the engines. Now alone, Ella took sometime to explore the place. She hoped to find something, anything that could be interesting to Silver; but in that place, there was nothing besides mechanical stuff. She sighed. At least in there was cooler than inside her room.

She also took a look at the pipe Penguin and Shachi said they fixed. She didn’t know much about mechanics, but she could tell that wasn’t fixed at all. But all she did was shrug and leave; it wasn’t her problem anyway.

Shachi and Penguin did come back with some ice cream, which was the highlight of the day. But as the hours went by, it was already night (theoretically, as they were under the sea and didn’t have sunlight) and the crew was about to go to sleep. Ella knew better than to snoop around any areas above, because, if she wanted to be part of the crew, she had to win the captain’s trust, and that wouldn’t happen if he found her walking around places she shouldn’t be.

She tried her best to sleep in that closet, but, because of the heat, she found herself tossing and turning all night long. Even wearing just a sports bra and cloth shorts wasn’t enough to cool herself down. When she had already given up on sleeping, she heard a strange noise coming from outside. It was like gas leaking out of something. As she had nothing better to do, she decided to take a look. Anything to get out of that sauna.

It was dark, but not enough to be completely black. She walked around the engines, following the noise, until she found the source: the pipe Penguin and Shachi supposedly fixed. As she expected, it wasn’t fixed at all. Air was leaking out of a broken part. She smelled it quickly and realized it wasn’t anything poisonous, so it was probably related to the engine that powered the ship. It could, however, slow them down, and damage other pipes if not fixed soon.

Ella sighed. At that time, no one was going to come and fix it. It wasn’t anything hard anyway, so she might as well do it. She searched for a place where they kept tools, and it didn’t take too long to find a small cabinet by a wall. It was locked, but for Ella, it wasn’t an issue; she knew how to open locks ever since she was a kid. Once she had the tools, she went back to the pipe and started fixing it.

A few minutes went by as she fixed the pipe. It took her longer than usual because of the lack of light, but she supposed she did a decent job. As she was staring at it, making sure no gas was leaking anymore, a light shone upon her, startling her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

She squinted through the light to see who was there, finding none other than captain Trafalgar Law himself. He looked annoyed and, at the same time, shy; that’s when Ella remembered she was wearing no more than a bra and shorts. Instead of focusing on that, she decided to answer his question.

“Fixing this pipe. It was leaking gas.”

Law pointed his flashlight to the pipe, which was now fixed.

“I thought I told Penguin and Shachi to fix it today.”

“They didn’t do a good job.”

Law looked around for a moment.

“Where did you get these tools?”

“At the cabinet.”

“We leave the cabinet locked.”

“I guess the locksmith also didn’t do a good job.”

Law blew air out of his nose and looked at Ella again. The flashlight wasn’t pointed directly at her, but it was still bright enough that he could see her. She had her strawberry blond hair in a bun, her body was covered in sweat and she showed more skin than she covered. He only realized he was staring when she said:

“What, you want to take a picture?”

She crossed her arms. They were both red at this point.

“Your attire is not very adequate.”

Ella scoffed.

“You try sleeping in a boiling room in suit and tie, then.” Deep inside, she knew she had to be extra polite if she wanted him to let her stay. But that was something about his rudeness, his nonchalance, his mockery that pissed her off more than she could bear.

Speaking of mockery, he smiled at her like seeing her suffer was funny.

“Back to your room. Now. And if I see you out again, I’ll start locking you in.”

They both started walking away from the pipe.

“You know that’s useless, right? That cabinet was locked when I found it.”

Law was walking in front of her, so all she could see was his back. He was wearing pants and a white tank top, showing off his muscular, tattooed arms. He didn’t answer her question, and only spoke again when they were by the room’s door.

“Why do you want to be a part of my crew so bad?”

Ella leaned against the door. Now, Law as right in front of her, and had one arm resting on the wall. He looked at her serious, like he genuinely wanted to know. She kept her act and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I do believe you’ll achieve something eventually, and I want to see it. I want part of the glory. Besides, I know I can be useful to you. I just fixed the pipe, didn’t I? Who knows? Maybe I’ll save your life one day.”

Law chuckled softly. It would be cute, if it wasn’t full of mockery.

“Yeah, as if. Who knows? If you do save me, I might just let you be part of my crew.”

Ella smiled.

“That’s a deal, then.”

Somehow, Ella managed to fall asleep at some point. After Law went back to the living area of the Tang and she was left to her personal sauna, she tossed and turned on the old futon until fatigue got the best of her. That following day was just the same as before: wondering around the engines, doing absolutely nothing and melting because of the heat. Things only changed the next day, when Ella woke up to the sound of screams and gun shots.

She immediately stood up, threw a t-shirt over her sports bra and opened the door. The sounds came from upstairs. She knew she wasn’t supposed to leave the engines area, but something was definitely wrong. As she climbed up the stairs, she realized the windows actually showed sunlight; the Tang wasn’t underwater anymore. She arrived at the meeting area, only to find it empty. The screams and noises were fuzzy, but they seemed to be coming from above… so, the deck?

She ran over to the hatch and found it open, leading to the external part of the ship. Outside, the view she found was chaotic: apparently, they were being attack. She didn’t know who or how many there were, but all the crew was busy fighting. Penguin and Shachi were fighting some pirates using a spear and a katana, respectively. Bepo, being a mink, was taking down two pirates at once with no trouble.

But, without a doubt, the most impressive was the captain. Using his sword and his devil fruit, he would take down enemies in the blink of an eye, throwing them into the sea or launching them back to their own ship, which was not so far from the Tang.

Ella seemed mesmerized for a few seconds. Was that grumpy, rude man really so remarkable?

It was his own voice who took her out of her trance.

“What are you doing?” he yelled while stabbing a random pirate with his sword. Ella tried to speak, but he didn’t let her. “You shouldn’t be here! Go back inside!”

She took a few steps forward, trying to get to him.

“I can help! Let me just…”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Just as she was speaking, one of the pirates attacking, who was on the top of the mast, jumped while holding a rope and swung across the ship. Ella didn’t know what he intended to do, but in those few seconds she and Law were distracted talking, the guy managed to swing in the captain’s direction, colliding directly with him.

The result was Law, who was close to the edge of the ship, falling overboard on the ocean.

All the Heart Pirates exclaimed in surprise with the scene. It was no secret to anyone in there: being a devil fruit user, Law couldn’t swim. Unfortunately, all the crew was too busy with their own enemies to simply drop what they were doing and go for the captain, as much as they wanted to. Actually, the whole thing happened so fast they barely had time to think.

By the time any of them thought of reacting, Ella was already on the case. She ran across the deck and jumped over the railing, immediately falling into the salt water. The coldness of the sea brought a wonderful sensation to her body, which was still suffering from the heat of the engines. Although it was a relief, she didn’t have time for that now.

She started looking for the drowning man, and it didn’t take her long to find him. His heavy body was sinking into the deep, faster every second that went by. Without losing any more time, she swam towards him until she was able to grab him. She put one of his arms over her shoulder, grabbed his waist with one of her arms and used the other to swim to the surface.

Ella gasped for air the moment she was above the water. Law, however, seemed faint, or at least very weak. At that point, the Heart Pirates had already managed to defeat the intruders and were now looking over the railing, very worried. As soon as they saw the two of the emerge, they went to help them get back on board.

Law was dropped on the deck with the help of Bepo, and now the whole crew watched over him. Slowly, he gained consciousness again and started getting up and coughing some water.

“Well, that was embarrassing, to say the least.” He said in a hoarse, raspy voice.

“Captain, are you okay?” Bepo asked, worried. Law simply shook his hand in a gesture that said “don’t mind that”. When he finally sat up on the floor, his eyes immediately went to Ella, who was kneeling next to him, soaking wet. It was her time to exhibit a mockery smirk.

“Told you so.” She said. Law didn’t seem pleased at all. He clicked his tongue and looked away, an expression of complete hatred and defeat forming on his face. Because he didn’t say anything, Ella’s smile got bigger. They had a deal, after all. And now he had to keep it.

Chapter Text

The new room was small. But, considering the upgrade from the closet in the engines, it could easily be a five starts hotel.

Ella’s new room was in the women’s quarters, right in front of Ikkaku’s. The men’s quarters were on the other side of the ship, and the captain had his own room a little further away.

Ella was a little nervous when she started her first day of work. She tried to keep a low profile, a little scare the others could see right through her. But as the days went by, she found that all the members of the crew were kind, friendly and funny, a huge difference from what she was used to at Silver’s ship.

The captain was quite the opposite, being grumpy and reserved. Ella found out he rarely left his quarters, unless to give the crew orders or talk to Bepo about something. The polar bear was the one he talked to the most.

She also received a white boilersuit, like the one the other crew members wore. It was more comfortable than she expected, but not quite her first clothing option. Well, not like she had much of a choice. The captain made sure she knew she had the obligation to wear it while working, and when not wearing it, her casual clothes had to be decent (a little reminder of the night Law caught her fixing the pipe, and the memory made Ella cringe).

The more the days went by, more Ella got to know the crew. They were fun to work with, making jokes and telling stories while doing their chores. Ikkaku was specifically thrilled to finally have another woman on board, and Shachi and Penguin quickly became closer to her too. The evenings were the best part of the days, because they all – except for the captain – had their dinner together. Sometimes they’d also play games together, and Ella absolutely destroyed all of them when playing cards.

One of those nights, the captain actually decided to join them. The whole crew looked at him in surprise, to which he just said “what?”, prompting all of them to look away. He only poured himself some tea and sat by a sofa a little further away, alone, watching the others eat, play cards and laugh, apparently content in being ignored. His presence made Ella a little uneasy, but she hid the feeling. At some point, when she, once again, won the game against Shachi, making the whole crew scream and laugh, she rapidly exchanged a glance with Law, and she could swear he was smiling. For the first time, a smile that seemed genuine, and not full of mockery. But the moment faded so quickly, she dismissed as something she imagined.

Although things seemed to be going fine, she could not forget her real goal in the ship. Equipped with a small transponder snail, she called Silver to let him know their next destination and when they would arrive. He seemed content with her success in becoming part of the crew. Ella felt a little disgusted as she ended the call, but once again, wiped the feeling to under the carpet. By the time the Polar Tang arrived at the new island, Silver and his ship had already sailed. It took them the afternoon and the night to roam around gathering clues, and Law wasn’t happy at all by the end of it.

When the sun rose the next morning, the captain gathered all the crew members in the meeting area to assign activities to all of them. Restocking medical supplies, giving the ship a general check to make sure everything was ok, etc.

“Uni, Clione, you two go grocery shopping and restocking the kitchen” Law said, nonchalant. “Take O’Malley-ya with you.”

Ella raised her eyebrows. She didn’t know Uni and Clione very well, as they were much quieter than the others. Well, not that it was a problem. Buying food wasn’t that difficult anyway.

“Okay, captain. Anything specific?” she asked, excitedly, only to be received with a look of pure boredom.

“Don’t spend all my money.” Ella frowned and pressed her lips, annoyed. “Now go. We’ll leave first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

And so, they went to the city. It was a hot, sunny day, and because they weren’t on the ship, Ella didn’t have to wear the boilersuit. She wore jean shorts, an off the shoulder t-shirt and boots, her red head tied in a ponytail. The three of them walked around the island until they reached a street market full of different smells. There were fish, fruits, vegetables, spices, a little of everything they needed.

Ella stopped by a tent with beautiful oranges and stood there, petrified for a moment.

“Hey, can you buy some of these?” Clione said, next to her. “We’ll go over there get some meat and sake; can you get some vegetables too?”

Between him and the oranges, Ella just nodded. Soon, she was left alone by the tent. She did buy some oranges, and then some other fruits and vegetables, almost to the point where she couldn’t carry all the bags. The last thing she wanted were some tomatoes, and she did find a tent with big, red ones right ahead.

As she stopped by the tent, she noticed it was empty. Perhaps the owner left for a bit, so she decided to wait until they came back.

A few minutes passed by and the tent was still empty. As Ella considered looking for tomatoes somewhere else, a man that was walking by stopped near her. He was very tall, probably over 6’3, and big like a wardrobe. Had sharp features and not much hair, and being honest, didn’t smell very good either.

“Never seen you around here, lil’ lady.” He said, with a smile that immediately rang Ella’s bell: this guy is trouble.

She gave him the quickest and smallest of smiles.

“Not from here.”

She turned her face away as to finish the conversation, but the man kept going.

“You’re very pretty, you know? What’s your name?”

“None of your business.”

“Ouch. Spicy. I like that.”

And then, he started playing with Ella’s hair. She definitely didn’t enjoy it.

“Can you stop touching me?” she pushed away from him, getting closer to the tomatoes on the tent.

“C’mon, lil’ lady. Don’t you wanna explore the island with me?”

“Get the fuck away from me, dumbass.”

Ella tried to walk away, but the man grabbed her by the arm. The moment she turned around, ready to scream at him, someone finally appeared behind the tomato tent. It was a woman in her forties, with a very unpleasant expression.

“What’s going on?” she said, and Ella sighed in relief as someone was finally intervening.

“This creep was trying to…”

“What are you doing to my husband?” the woman interrupted her, extremely angry, and that’s when Ella realized that she was mad at her, not the man.

“Excuse me?”

“Are you trying to seduce my husband?”

Ella looked from the woman to the man, who now had released her arm, and then back to the woman. The situation was so ridiculous she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She said, under her breath.

“What are you laughing at? Do I look stupid to you?”

Ella sighed.

“Mam, I just wanted some tomatoes…”

“You think I’m gonna sell my prized tomatoes to some man-stealing whore?”

At this point, all the nearby tents and costumers were looking at them. Ella raised her eyebrows.

“What did you call me?”

“You heard me, bitch. I’ve had enough of young, barely dressed whores trying to take my husband from me.”

From this phrase alone, Ella could tell that was not the first time that man flirted, or rather, harassed other women, only for his wife to be on his side. In fact, he was smiling right next to her as he saw the whole discussion going down. Ella almost felt bad for the lady; almost. She would, if she wasn’t so angry.

“Better than being a complete cuckold who can’t get a hint. Accepting someone so disgusting like him just because you know no one else could ever want you?”

The woman looked so chocked that she became speechless. The man, on the other hand, suddenly exploded in anger.

“Don’t you dare say anything about my wife!”

“Fuck off, dude! You think going for younger women will help you get it up? Well, newsflash, it won’t. That’s a ‘you’ problem.”

When hearing that, the woman behind the tomatoes finally acted and pulled Ella’s ponytail so hard, her head was pulled too. She screamed lightly in surprised and turned around to face the women again. With anger in her eyes, she chuckled again.

“Ah, you did not just do that.”

“And what are you gonna do, bitch?”

And just like that, Ella jumped over the tomatoes towards the woman.

Everyone in the market watching the scene exclaimed in surprise. The two women fell down behind the tomato tent, squashing some products in the process. Ella, on top of the lady, pinned her to the ground, while the other one grabbed her hair and started pulling. Ella grabbed the woman’s hands, trying to get them out of her hair, to no success. Finally, she managed to bite one of the woman’s arms, who screamed and finally let go.

She finally managed to get up, completely covered in tomato juice now. As she stared at the woman on the ground, all of the sudden, she was shoved against the tent, where she, once more, fell against the tomatoes. The huge husband had thrown her there, quite easily, as he was much larger and stronger than her. Ella didn’t give up, of course, and while the man was walking towards her, she got up and met him with a kick in the balls.

All the men in the market made a collective sound of “ouch” as the huge man dropped to his knees. As Ella was finally starting to become herself again, a familiar voice was heard through the street.

“What the hell is going on in here?”

Ella looked up to see captain Law and Bepo walking towards the scene. She, covered in tomato pieces, the tent owner, finally getting up from behind the tent, and the man, grunting on his knees. Law brought his fingers to his eyebrows, pinching them.

“I can explain.”

“I’m sure you can.” He sighed, completely annoyed. “Get back to the ship. Now.”

“I still haven’t finished…”

“NOW.” He said, firmly. Ella sighed. As she was walking away, the tent owner grabbed her arm again.

“You think you’re leaving and not paying for this mess?” she said, pieces of tomato falling from her hair. “You have no idea of I’m capable of, you little…”

“Room.”

And in the next moment, as Ella took a step forward, the woman’s hand stayed around Ella’s arm, but away from the woman’s body. Seeing her arm no longer attached to her body, the woman screamed.

“My arm! Give me back my arm!”

“You seemed to not want to let my subordinate leave.”

“Well, your subordinate is a little whore who likes to make a mess!”

“You’ll see the whore when I’m done with you…” Ella said, ready to attack again. She took the woman’s arm off her own and threw it on the ground. Before she could do anything, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“O’Malley-ya, back to Tang. I’ll handle this.”

“I don’t need you to save me! I can handle my own mess!”

“Well, at the moment, it doesn’t seem like you can.”

Ella pressed her lips and looked around. The whole street was a mess, red juices everywhere, a cut off limb laid on the ground and that wardrobe of a man, still on his knees.  

“Fine.” She sighed and left the scene. Now that her anger was down, she felt embarrassed for making such a fuzz. Of course, she’d had her fair share of troublemakers, people harassing her or trying to pull the wool over her eyes. She had to learn to solve her own issues. The thing is that, this time, things went a little out of control.

Back at the Tang, she showered to get rid of the tomato pieces and then spent the rest of the day in her room. She expected the captain to come and talk to her, give her a lecture, perhaps kick her out of the crew. But he never came.

When someone knocked on her door, in the evening, it was Shachi, who said the crew was going out at night and wanted to hear what had happened earlier. She didn’t feel like it, but he managed to convince her. And so, as the sun was setting, they left the submarine.

The crew went to a bar in the village. They sat at a table and ordered some drinks, although Ella didn’t feel like drinking. She explained the story to her friends, and as she spoke, the waitress who was bringing the drinks overheard the conversation.

“Are you talking about the Tanakas?” she asked.

“I don’t know their names.”

“Well, it certainly sounded like them. He’s always hitting on every woman he sees, and she knows that. But she chooses to be mad at the women instead of dumping him. It’s kind of sad.”

Ella shrugged. After all the things that woman said about her, the last thing she would do was pity her.  

As time went by, other subjects became the topic of conversation. Ella learned Bepo had gathered her other groceries from the scene and Law returned the woman’s arm. Speaking of him, he did show up at the bar a little later, but still ignored her completely. She couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.

It didn’t last long, though. Because, eventually, when all the other crew members had left the table to dance or play games, the captain sat right by her side. At first, he didn’t say anything, just sipping his drink. Ella did the same, also in silence. She didn’t know if he expected her to say something; it was hard understanding what went through his head.

“Quite a scene you caused today.” He said, finally.

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“I know. But still.” He took another sip of his drink, and then chuckled. “I should’ve known you were trouble.”

Ella sighed. Yelp, that was it. He was kicking her out of the crew for sure. What would she say to Silver?

“I hope you behave a little better from now one. I’m the captain. You obey me.”

She raised her eyebrows and looked directly at him.

“From now on?”

He frowned.

“Yes?”

“So, you won’t kick me out?”

He laughed softly.

“No. I would ask you to stay out of trouble, but I don’t think you’re capable of that.”

Ella pressed her lips.

“But you know it wasn’t my fault, right? That guy harassed me and she called me all sorts of things…”

“I know. What I expect you to do is to obey me. If I tell you I’ll deal with it, then I’ll deal with it.”

Ella pondered for a while. So, what he was mad about wasn’t that she caused a scene, but the fact she talked back at him instead of letting him handle it.

“But I can solve my shit. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Today proves otherwise.”

She rolled her eyes. They stayed in silence, sipping their drinks and listening to the music playing somewhere behind them. Eventually, Law spoke again:

“Why are you so desperate in doing everything on your own, anyway?”

Ella sighed.

“Force of the habit.”

When he gave her a confused look, she decided to explain.

“I’ve lived on pirate ships on my own since I was a kid. Being a child, and specially a little girl, with no one you can count to save you, you start learning to handle things on your own. That means not letting anyone mistreat you. So, if I got in trouble, it was my problem. I had to deal with it.”

Law nodded, not looking at her. Ella contemplated if that was too much information. She shouldn’t talk about herself like that. But there was something about him that just made her want to open up.

“Well, you don’t need to do that anymore. I’m your captain. Your problem is my problem.” And he sighed, a little annoyed. “Whether i like it or not.”  

Ella giggled lightly. The captain finished his drink and then got up from the table.

“I’m going to the ship. Goodnight.” And he left before she could answer. Somehow, that talk made her feel a little better. She also finished her drink and got up, looking for the rest of the crew in the bar.

It was past midnight when they left the bar. Shachi, Penguin and Clione had their arms around their shoulders, walking together and singing sea shanties. Ella walked alongside Ikkaku and the other crew member followed nearby, all of them on their way to the ship.

They were walking by a poorly lit, dirt road, where houses with big plantations could be seen. As Ella’s eyes passed lazily through the scenery, she spotted a familiar name. She walked closer to the house and saw a plaque in the wall that said “Tanaka”. Behind the house, there was a huge garden full of tomatoes plants.

“No way…” she said, under her breath.

“What’s wrong, Ella?” Penguin asked from a little afar. They all had stopped walking when they noticed she wasn’t among them anymore.

A mischievous smile flashed across her face.

“I have a funny idea.”

It wasn’t really Ella’s plan, when she left the Tang that evening, to finish the night by running towards the ship with her crewmates, hands full of tomatoes, while being chased by a middle-aged couple until they lost sight of the group. Her stomach ached from laughter, and so did her friends. Definitely a night she would never forget. Guess Law was right, after all; she just couldn’t stay away from trouble.

Chapter Text

Although they didn’t have much information, the Heart Pirates followed to another island. Ella called Silver to let him know they had left the island where she got in trouble with the tomato farmers, but she didn’t really know where they going next. Silver didn’t seem quite pleased with the lack of information, but let it go. He only made it clear that she had to warn him the moment she found out their location.

She wasn’t a navigation expert, but she did know a thing or two about it. The thing was just that… the Polar Tang was a submarine. Most of the time, the ship was underwater, and it was hard getting directions when you couldn’t go outside and all you could see through the windows was water and fish. She wasn’t really close to Bepo, the ship’s navigator, to ask him about it, specially because it seemed like the routes the ship followed were something kept between him and the captain. Basically, she had to wait until someone said something.

In the meantime, life kept going in the Tang, and so did her chores. With each passing day, she became more accustomed to the boilersuit and more skilled in the things she had to do. She really was getting the hang of it.

She was also learning more about the captain. Not personal things that could be used against him, as he never opened up at all, but about his behavior. The way he always seemed tired, grumpy and sometimes rude, but not like a mean person. How he always had a bored or irritated expression on his face, but would give a mockery smirk every now and then. How he kept a very serious façade, but acted a little dumb sometimes. And specially, how he acted towards Ella. He was always a little more serious and severe around her, maybe in an attempt to keep her away from trouble. Perhaps because she was new and he still didn’t know her very well. She was still trying to figure it out.

One afternoon, as Ella, Penguin and Shachi were organizing the kitchen after lunch, Law walked by to get some tea. That was normal and they barely lifted an eye when he entered the room. Ella had thought of asking him why he never had any meals with the crew. Maybe it was too soon to ask something personal, and she’d probably just get a rude comment in return, but still…

“Ah!” Penguin exclaimed, getting her out of her thoughts. “I forgot I had bought these.”

He put on the table a plastic bag full of small, round, pinkish red berries.

“Where did you get these?” Shachi asked.

“I bought them on the last island. They’re red berries. Said to be very sweet. Want some?”

As he was opening the bag, both Ella and Law got closer to the table. She picked one of the berries with two fingers and inspected it. As Penguin and Shachi were about to eat some, she said, in a very calm tone:

“Don’t eat those.”

The two of them and the captain looked at her in confusion.

“Why?”

“They’re not red berries. These are mimic berries. They have this name because they’re very similar to red berries, but they’re poisonous.”

Penguin and Shachi exchanged a look. Law picked one of the berries to inspect it himself.

“Are you sure?” Penguin asked, looking at the berries in his hand.

“Yes. I can tell by the shape of the stem.”

The two men kept examining the berries, but the captain didn’t seem convinced.

“I’m pretty sure these are just common red berries.” He said.

Ella raised her eyebrows, surprised that he’d join the conversation.

“Not really, captain.”

“How can you be so sure?”

She shrugged, nonchalant.

“I just know.”

Law seemed to get angry by her unbothered way of speaking.

“Well, I just happen to be a doctor. If these were to be poisonous, believe me, I’d know.”

Ella smirked, starting to get angry.

“Well, I just happen to know a lot about plants. So, believe me, these are very poisonous.”

At this point, Ella and Law stared directly at each other, the discussion starting to get heated. Penguin and Shachi exchanged another look, deciding to leave the berries on the table and get out of the kitchen before they, somehow, got dragged into the situation too.

Law huffed.

“Can’t you just take my word for it? I know what I’m saying!”

“I can’t because I know you’re wrong!” her voice was getting higher at each phrase. She hated the fact that she had to look up when speaking, because of how much taller he was.  

“Is it fun to you to always go for exactly the opposite of what I say?” and he stepped a little forward as he spoke.

“Are you always this entitled?” she also took a step forward.

“I’m not entitled, I am your captain.”

“And because you’re the captain you automatically can’t ever be wrong?” and by this point, their faces were already inches from each other, but they seemed too angry to notice it.

“I know what I’m saying and that’s final. Stop being so immature about this.”

Somehow, it didn’t seem like the conversation was about berries anymore. Ella took a few steps back, getting away from him.

“You know what? Fine. Eat all of them for all I care.”

And she left the kitchen in heavy steps.

Ella kept doing her chores for the day, and the more the hours went by, the more she regretted what she said. That was so typical of her; she always lost her cool and ended up saying or doing things she wasn’t supposed to. Now, she didn’t regret the discussion because she thought she was rude or wrong. No, he definitely deserved, because she was sure those were mimic berries.

She regretted being, once again, in a heated argument with the one person who could kick her out of that ship. Law had every reason in the world to simply leave her by herself on the next island; and then she wouldn’t be able to complete her mission.

Then the night came, the crew had dinner, and she didn’t see the captain anymore. Maybe it was better this way. Law didn’t look like the type of person who would simply forgive and forget by giving him some time, but by the time Ella went to her room to sleep, she could only hope he wouldn’t kick her out of the Tang by morning.

But she didn’t sleep. Somehow, the biggest insomnia hit her, and she just couldn’t fall asleep no matter how much she tried. Maybe she had too much on her head. Somewhere between 2 and 3am, she got up and went to the kitchen, hoping some tea would help her go to bed.

There, she put the kettle on the stove, and as the water was heating, she decided to make herself a sandwich too. The moment she picked the ingredients, though, she heard footsteps coming to the kitchen.

Seconds later, he appeared. He was wearing sweatpants, a tank top and, of course, the fluffy white hat. He made a weird expression when he saw her.

“Why are you awake?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

Law pursed his lips.

“I’m always awake at this hour. You’re not.”

“How do you know?”

“I always come here at this time.”

Ella didn’t answer. Instead, she went back to her sandwich. He seemed fine compared to the afternoon, but she was still a little angry. They were clearly avoiding the subject.

“I’ll have some of that tea.” He said, pointing to the kettle.

“Want a sandwich too?”

“I don’t like bread.”

Ella, who was finishing her sandwich, turned around from the counter and looked at him in disbelief. She snorted.

“Who doesn’t like bread?”

He still had the usual grumpy expression.

“Me. I don’t like bread.”

“But why?”

“I just don’t.”

Ella snorted again. She bit her sandwich and they just stayed in silence, waiting for the water to boil. Once it was ready, they made their respective teas, still not saying a word.

Then, they sat down. Across each other. Ella looked around. The kitchen was relatively dark at that moment. She didn’t turn all the lights on so not to bother the others, only one small, faint yellow light. Some moonlight was also coming from the window. Usually, at night, the Tang stayed on the surface. She could see the full moon and lots of stars through the glass.

Wait… these weren’t just stars.

Without saying a word, Ella stood up from her chair and ran from the kitchen. Law looked at her, confused.

“Where are you going?”

She didn’t answer. He huffed and followed.

Ella reached the hatch a minute later. She opened it and left the inside of the Tang, going to the outside deck.

“O’Malley-ya, what are you doing?” Law screamed, but she still didn’t answer. He couldn’t believe he’d have to leave the ship and check for himself.

The moment his head was out of the hatch, he understood. Ella was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, looking at the sky. There were no clouds that night, just the full moon and an infinite amount of starts. The reason why Ella ran outside, though, was another: there was a meteor shower.

The rain of lights that spread into the sky seemed like something from another world. They flew away and reflected their beauty in the mirror that was the calm ocean, creating a landscape of infinite lights.

For a moment, Ella just sat there, watching the view. She didn’t expect Law to come sit with her, but after a few minutes, he did. He had brought their teas, her sandwich and his blue cape. He sat right next to her, even though he didn’t have to. She acknowledged that, but didn’t say anything. For a while, neither said anything.

“You were right, you know.” He said, all of the sudden. She looked at him, but he still looked at the sky. “They were mimic berries after all.”

She could’ve easily said “I told you so” and so many other things. But at that moment, she felt so at peace that all she said was:

“When did you find out?”

“This afternoon. Compared to some pictures in books and made a little experiment with them.”

Looking at the meteors, she only nodded.

“What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry. I should’ve trusted you.”

“Don’t worry. And I’m sorry, too. I should be more polite. You’re my captain, after all.”

“Well, you did stand your ground and you were right, after all. I can’t blame you for that.” He then looked at her, and so did she. “How did you know that anyway?”

“Oh.” Suddenly Ella seemed a little shy. “I just… really like botany. I study plants in my free time.”

Law nodded, interested.

“I didn’t know that.”

“I don’t really tell anyone. It’s just a hobby.”

She then looked at him, right in his eyes.

“I don’t think I know much about you.” And she immediately regretted. Of course she didn’t know much about him, she wasn’t supposed to. But before she could speak again, he said:

“You know I don’t like bread.”

She snorted.

“You’re so weird.” Ella bit her tongue. Why did she always felt so comfortable in saying whatever came to her mind when around him? “Sorry, I should call my captain weird.”

“It’s ok. By now it’s pretty obvious you don’t have much decorum.”

Ella looked at Law a little offended, but he was smirking. A genuine one, no mockery or anger in sight. She ended up smiling too.

“Fair enough. But besides the bread, what else?”

He thought for a while.

“I collect coins.”

Ella raised her eyebrows.

“Really? I didn’t expect that.”

Law shrugged.

“I guess it keeps me grounded.”

And then came the silence. The meteor shower still lightened up the sky, creating a beautiful scenery. They contemplated it while sipping their teas. The wind blew every now and then, making Ella shiver a little. Suddenly, Law spoke again.

“It’s that what you would do? Be a botanist? If you weren’t a pirate?”

Ella shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it. I’ve never been anything but a pirate.” She pondered a little before asking. “And you? Would you be a doctor if you weren’t a pirate? I mean, you’re already a doctor, but you know what I mean…”

He chuckled lightly.

“I guess. I come from a family of doctors.”

Ella spent a few seconds trying to picture Law’s family. She wasn’t going to ask him about it, of course, and she was glad he didn’t ask her about hers. Not that that was much to say about them anyway. The wind blew again and Ella clenched her teeth, shivering. She didn’t say anything, but it didn’t go unnoticed.

The next second, the blue cape on Law’s shoulders was now around the both of them. Ella couldn’t help but blush by the sudden proximity. He, on the other hand, seemed unbothered, like it was just natural. He wasn’t even looking at her.

“You don’t have to…”

“I don’t feel like letting you freeze to death.”

Ella though about arguing, but then she remembered their discussion earlier. She sighed. She didn’t have to always be so defensive, right? So, she simply allowed herself to get warmer with the cape. Their shoulders were touching, and that seemed like the warmest part. They didn’t say much more after that, content in simply watching the sky and sharing each other’s heat.

Chapter Text

By the time Ella found out where the Polar Tang was headed next, they were less than a day away from docking. She immediately called Silver, who wasn’t happy at all to hear that he’d have to leave the island he had just arrived at before he could even pillage it. Still, the Hispaniola left Lunora Bay as quickly as they could, just hours before the Heart Pirates arrived.

Captain Trafalgar Law explored the main village and talked to a few citizens. Apparently, Lunora Bay was quite a famous island. Although it wasn’t big enough to be a kingdom, it was bigger than the other islands they had been to lately. After all, Silver would only loot small villages to stay away from the Marines. But, because of the beautiful sceneries of tropical flower fields, coconut tree forests and white sand beaches, Lunora Bay was a common place for vacation. In fact, the reason why Law chose to go to Lunora Bay was exactly because of what was about to happen: the monthly full moon luau.

It was a party that island was famous for. It happened every month during the full moon: everybody would go to beach, where lots of food and drink stands would serve their costumers all kinds of delicacies, people would set off fireworks and dress in yukatas and other special attire. Because of this tradition, Lunora Bay would receive lots of tourists during that time of the month. A perfect moment to loot the island.

The captain supposed that would be Silver’s next location, and he was right. Some villagers reported having seen a pirate ship docking on the north side of the island. They feared they would be attacked, but said ship left before anything happened. The townsfolk then celebrated Law’s arrival, happy that he had scared the evil pirates away.

“But how did he know we were coming?” Law asked his crew in the meeting area of the Tang, after talking to some villagers during the afternoon. “He couldn’t have seen us; we were under water. He left before we even arrived.”

“You know, it’s said this Silver has eyes and ears everywhere.” Penguin commented. Law sighed and he took his hand to his eyebrows, pinching them.

“It still doesn’t make sense.”

Ella stood still and quiet through the whole conversation. She was more nervous than she cared to admit.

“Well, he can’t be far. Let’s go after him.”

“Ah, captain…” Bepo said, a little timid. “The log pose isn’t ready yet.”

Law looked at him like he just couldn’t believe the bad turned into worse.

“What? We’ve been here for a few hours.”

“Yes. I believe it will take at least a day to lock in.”

The captain sat down, absolutely peeved.

“Then, how did Silver left? He only stayed here for a few hours according to the villagers!”

Bepo shrugged and the rest of the crew remained quiet. Ella knew Silver had a few eternal log poses pointing to different islands, so he could always return to some of them in case of a situation like that. By now, he was probably at another island, waiting for his log pose to lock in before he set foot to the next new island to pillage.

Law sighed once again and stood up.

“The moment it locks in, we’re leaving.”

He was about to leave the room, when they heard a big commotion outside. It sounded like a crowd was gathering by the port they were docked at. The crew made their way to the hatch to check what was going on, and Law ended up being dragged as well.

When they were at the ship’s deck, they noticed a huge amount of people at the port and the beach. Men, women, children, lots of them holding torches or flower crowns. They all seemed very happy and excited. Right in front of the Tang, there was an older man with a floral shirt and a kind expression. He was the first to speak.

“Warlord Trafalgar Law! How glad we are to have you here! I’m Kalanoa, chief of Lunora Bay. We are so very thankful to you for sending that old Silver away from our home! When the villagers saw the name of the ship, we thought we were doomed for. Right at the eve of our luau, specially! But you saved us! We thought the Marines didn’t care for us small islands, but I’m so glad you proved us wrong!”

Law rolled his eyes.

“As a thank you, we welcome you to stay with us for our monthly luau tomorrow night. We will accommodate all of you in our hotels and give you the best experience we can!”

The crew seemed excited about it. They usually didn’t stay at hotels or experienced festivals at the islands they visited. Law sighed.

“Thank you, but we don’t really…”

“Please! We won’t take ‘no’ for an answer!” and as Kalanoa said that, a bunch of men and women in floral shirts similar to his stepped forward, carrying brooms, mops and buckets. “We, lunorians, take our hospitality very seriously! As you rest at our hotels, we will clean and organize your ship for you.”

The people in floral shirts were about to walk into the deck of the Tang. It seemed Law finally had enough.

“STOP!” he said, loud enough so that the cleaners stopped walking and Kalanoa’s smile faded. “Look, I understand you feel the need to thank us, but we really don’t need…”

Then, he saw the look on the people’s faces. Not only the chief, but the cleaners and all the other villagers who had come to see them at the port had the most upsetting, depressed expressions on their faces. Not like they were sad or mad, but like they were actually about to cry. Down bad miserable, really. Like failing to be good hosts was failing as a human being.

Captain Trafalgar Law was having a bad day.

He sighed. “Fine.”

He made very clear that they were not supposed to enter the ship. He had very important things in there he didn’t want strangers meddling with. The hatch was tight shut, and he didn’t thing the lunorians would try to break in anyway. They would just clean the exterior of the ship. Maybe it was for the best, anyway. The Tang could use a new polishing on the railings and the hull would be better off without so many barnacles.

The crew took a few of their things and followed Kalanoa for a small tour. He showed them around the village, places for food, drink, shops, parks, gardens, coconut forests and other beautiful places. By the time they were done, the sun had already set. The streets and establishments were full of string lights, giving the village a magical vibe. Ella was amazed by it. She had never been to an island so beautiful.

When they reached the middle of what it seemed to be the main street, Kalanoa stopped walking. A few people with floral shirts showed up and gathered around the chief as he spoke:

“This is where our tour ends. My employees will take you to your hotels now. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay in different places, as most of our rooms are fully booked because of the luau. But I can assure you all of them are incredibly comfortable and will suit all your needs.” Kalanoa and his employees took a look at Jean Bart, the giant. They seemed a little preoccupied. “Er… We’ll find a way to accommodate all of you.”

The group then split into two. Those on the left went with three employees to one side, and those who were left went to the right with two more. Ella was on the second group, along with Penguin, Shachi and Law. Throughout the whole tour in the village, the crew was very talkative and excited, but the captain, as always, just seemed exhausted. This whole day went nothing like he expected, and by now he was just going with it, waiting for the end. His grumpy expression gave Ella the impression that, the moment he was in his hotel room, he’d just collapse on the bed.

“This is where we part ways.” Said one of the employees. She was young and very beautiful, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and a blue floral shirt. “I need two of you to come with me to one hotel on this side, and the other two will follow my coworker here to another hotel next street.”

Ella had noticed Penguin and Shachi were both staring at the girl ever since she joined the group when Kalanoa left. They were almost drooling for her. So, it was no surprise when the two of them practically screamed saying they would go with her to the next hotel. She seemed a little frightened, but didn’t say anything and indicated the way for them to follow her. The last thing Ella heard as they were parting ways was Shachi saying “So, will you be at the luau tomorrow?”.

“Those idiots…” Law mumbled to himself, not letting the moment go unnoticed. Ella giggled. As the two of them followed the last employee, it finally sank in the notion that it was just the two of them.

Of course, they had been alone together in various occasions, including during the meteor shower, where they even had a bit of a deep conversation and shared the captain’s cape. This time, though, Ella couldn’t avoid the guilty feeling that Law’s day had been completely ruined because of her. Well, it was kinda the point of the whole thing: as long as she was helping Silver, she was going to ruin Law’s mission, one way or another. Most days, she could sweep that guilt under the rug, like most sad and bad things in her mind, but sometimes that guilt was bound to come out. It made walking next to him a little uncomfortable. She didn’t know if he could tell just how awkward she was feeling, but she knew things rarely went unnoticed by him.

Finally, they reached the hotel. It was big and fancy, at least to the parameters of a small island. The employee led them to the check-in area, where a hotel worker greeted them very kindly. Kalanoa’s subordinate explained the situation, but the hotel worker was already aware of it, so he just took a few notes and then put a single hotel key on top of the desk.

Law and Ella stared at it, blank minded.

“Hmm…” said the employee. “I’m afraid we need two rooms.”

“What?” said the hotel worker. “The message that came to us was that you would take one room. That’s all we have available, anyway.”

Ella started to sweat. Given the situation and the look on Law’s face, she would rather sleep on the streets.

The chief’s employee got a little nervous.

“It’s a little late to look for another hotel. I don’t even think others have any room available either…”

“I can ask my manager what we can do, but I don’t think…”

Law interrupted the men’s conversation by getting the key from the counter.

“It’s fine. We’ll share.”

The men looked at him a little uncomfortable. By the size of Ella’s eyes, it was clear she was more than a little.

“Sir, I believe we can find a solution…”

“That will take too long. I’m too tired for this.” And with that being said, he turned his back to the employees and walked to where the signs indicated were the rooms.

Ella exchanged a look with the men, who looked apologetic, and sprinted to follow Law before she lost sign of him. He was spinning the room key in his fingers, the expression on his face a bit of a mystery.

“Hmm…” Ella started, a little shy, and specially, uncomfortable. “I can go back to the Tang, you know.”

“That’s on the other side of the island.”

“You could stay with this room and I’ll see with the men if they have another one somewhere else.”

Law stopped walking and finally looked straight at Ella.

“Do you hate the idea of sharing a room with me that much?”

Ella’s eyes bulged.

“No!” she answered, maybe a little too fast, and definitely a little too loud. “It’s just that, I don’t want to bother you, captain.”

“Does it look like I’m bothered?” and before she could answer, he sighed. “Don’t answer that.”

They started walking again, and she giggled a little. He couldn’t help but blow air out of his nose.

“This day was such a mess that I just want it to be over.” He spoke. Finally, they reached the door with the same number in the key. “Sharing a room isn’t nearly the worst thing that happened today.”

He opened the door. The room had lots of space and was very beautifully decorated. It had a small table, a wardrobe, a big window with white curtains and a queen-sized bed. Ella sighed in relief. It was big enough that they could sleep afar from each other. As she was looking around the room, Law opened the bathroom door.

“I’ll use it first, if you don’t mind.” He didn’t wait for a reply and locked the door. Ella explored the rest of the room. She left her backpack on the floor and looked at the window. It was dark, but she could see a few houses and coconut trees from there. She then sat at the edge of the bed and took a breath. It’s fine. No big deal. She would just take a shower and immediately go to sleep facing whatever way was the opposite to Law. Simple. Tomorrow was the luau, which the lunorians definitely wouldn’t let them leave before attending. She’d sleep at the Tang after the party. It was just for that night. It’s fine.

Law didn’t take long to come out of the bathroom. He was wearing a grey tank top and black sweatpants. His hair was damp and he dried it with a towel as he walked towards the bed. Ella got up, picked up her backpack and went to the bathroom. They didn’t exchange a word. It was awkward, there was no denying that.

At least the bathroom was nice. There was a bathtub and a shower, clean towels on the rack and toiletries on the sink. It also smelled nice, like soap with something minty, and Ella knew that was because of Law. She decided to just have a quick bath and go straight to bed. It was still early to go to sleep – around 9 PM – but considering the situation, it would be better if this day was over as soon as possible.

When she was done, she returned to the bedroom wearing pajama pants and a random t-shirt. Law was already on the right side of the bed, under the blanket, sitting with his back against the bed frame. The moment Ella sat down next to him, the awkwardness became so much more intense it could be cut with a knife. After seconds that felt like hours, he asked:

“Can I turn off the lights?”

“Sure.”

And he did. Some moonlight still entered from the window, so it wasn’t completely dark. The two of them laid on the bed and stayed still, with their faces facing the ceiling. It wasn’t supposed to be this awkward. Why was it?

“You had a really long day, huh?” Ella asked, breaking the silence.

“I guess things didn’t work out how I wanted.” He sighed. “I still don’t understand how Silver knew we were coming. Doesn’t make sense.”

Ella’s heartbeat got a little faster, and she hoped he couldn’t notice. She wanted to change the subject.

“At least you got to stay at a good hotel. This bed is so much comfier than the Tang.” Ella’s eyes widened as she realized her words didn't come out exactly as she intended. “I mean, not that your ship is bad, captain…”

Law chuckled. He was used to her speaking before thinking.

“At least the Tang got to have a little polishing up.” He said. He seemed thoughtful. “I guess I haven’t been taking that good of a care of it. It came a long way from the North Blue, I should be more careful with it.”

“You came from the North Blue?”

“Yeah. You?”

“I’m from the Grand Line.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

They stayed silent for a while, until Law asked another question:

“Do you mind me asking why you are a pirate?”

Ella bit her lip.

“I actually do mind.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just that it wasn’t really my choice. But I’ve learned to deal with it.”

They pondered over that sentence for a while. Ella didn’t want to end the conversation on a sour note. Feeling a little less uncomfortable, she turned sideways, now looking straight at Law, who was still laying flat on his back.

“How are you feeling about the luau tomorrow night?”

He pursed his lips, annoyed.

“It’s a waste of time. Every second we stay here, Silver gets further away.”

“But the lunorians asked us to stay. They’ll be disappointed if we leave.”

“I know… I don’t think we’ll be able to leave, as much as I want to.”

The two of them thought about the sad expressions the lunorians would make if they said they wouldn’t stay for the party. Ella giggled about the fact that Law was simply unable to say no to them.

As she laughed softly, Law also turned around on the bed. Now, they were both laying sideways and facing each other. He had a small smile on his face.

“You seem excited for the luau.”

She shrugged.

“Not really. I’m indifferent. But I guess it could be fun. I’ve never been to a party like that anyways.” She pondered a little, then smiled when she remembered something. “Well, there was this one party that happened in my hometown when I was little, but it wasn’t this big.”

“How was it?”

Ella’s smile was nostalgic. She started talking about a party in the island she lived as kid, where the adults brought a big cauldron to the central area of the village to make a stew for everyone. She remembered the games the children would play together, the music that played in the back and the smell of the stew taking over the plaza. As she spoke, she had a sweet expression on her face, almost childlike.

Listening to her talk had an analgesic effect to Law. The roughness of the day and the disappointment of not catching Silver seemed to fade away. He paid attention to her story, but specially, how content she looked remembering her childhood. How she laughed to herself every now and then, how she looked elsewhere while speaking, as if she was seeing something only she could see. Her strawberry blonde hair was spread all over the pillow, and her face had this pretty glow because of the moonlight. Had she always been this pretty?

At some point, Ella seemed to go back to reality.

“Oh, sorry! I was blabbing…”

But all Law did as shake his head. He still had a soft smile on his face.

“I liked hearing it.”

It was the first time of the day he had a sweet expression on. Not the tired, annoyed face, or the mockery smile. He truly looked… relaxed. And the way he smiled looking directly at her… Ella felt her cheeks get a little hot.

“Anyway…” she said, a little embarrassed. “I think I’ll go to sleep now. Goodnight, captain.” And she turned to face the other side.

Law was now facing the back of her head and, for some reason, he felt a little upset about it. Somehow, he wished they could talk a little more, or least that he could hear her talking. Why would he want that, anyway? Wasn’t he exhausted? He shook his head and turned to the other side too.

“Goodnight, O’Malley-ya.”

Sleep didn’t always come easy to Law. Usually, he stayed awake until very late, because the insomnia wouldn’t let him rest. That night, however, he found himself drifting to slumber very easily; he couldn’t really tell the reason, but he knew that, whatever it was, felt really good.

Chapter Text

When captain Trafalgar Law woke up in the morning, he was a little disoriented. That wasn’t his bed, right? Where were he?

Oh, right. The hotel. The memories from the day before came back as he opened his eyes, and the view was a little surprising: he was looking right at a woman with red hair, fast asleep.

He contemplated her for a moment. She seemed peaceful, as if she was having a nice dream. Her hair was all over the place, even over her face, and that made him smile. He moved a lock of her hair from over her face and looked. She was undeniably beautiful.

Suddenly, he realized how close they were. Her face was inches away from his; if he got just a little closer, he would feel her paced breathing. The thought made him blush. How did they even get so close? When they went to sleep, they were on opposite sides of the bed, that was very large, by the way. But now… there was almost no distance between them. And even though it made him embarrassed, for some reason, a part of him wanted that distance to be even smaller…

Ella’s breathing got a little heavier, as if she was waking up. Law drew back, so not to scare her if she did. But then, she just went back to sleep. Law sighed. It would be better for the both of them if he just got up already.

He grabbed his things and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. When he left, Ella was already awake, sitting on the bed. They exchanged a look.

“Good morning.” Ella said. She still sounded a little sleepy.

“Good morning.”

“Did you sleep well?”

He had, actually. Law’s nights were usually filled with insomnia, but that night he slept very well.

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Why surprisingly? Do I snore?”

Law smirked.

“No. I just don’t usually sleep very well.”

Ella thought about the day she met Law in the kitchen in the middle of the night. It wasn’t unusual for him to be there at that hour. As she thought, Law made his way to the door.

“Already leaving?”

“I have some things to do in the Tang”

Ella stayed in silence for a moment.

“Didn’t Kalanoa say he had something planed for us today?” she asked.

Law sighed.

“Whatever it is, I won’t be attending. I’m already going to the luau at night, and that’s more than enough.”

And with that, he left the room.

Ella wondered if something was wrong. He left the room so quickly, she couldn’t help but think if she had done something. What if she spoke while sleeping? Had she said something weird? Or worse, revealed her real intentions?

She shook her head. If that was true, he definitely wouldn’t have left her by herself. Law was a weird guy, anyway. A bit of a loner. It made sense that he would want to be alone. In the end, Ella just went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

He was pretty sure that, ever since it was built, the Tang had never looked so clean. The hull was completely free of barnacles. The deck was shining, and the railings were polished. Maybe letting the lunorians help was a good idea, after all.

Law entered the ship and went to his room. It was the biggest out of the rooms in the ship. It had a double bed, a wardrobe, a big desk full of papers and a bookshelf. He sat on the desk and sighed. He didn’t feel like doing whatever the chief village had planned, but he also didn’t feel like working. However, the whole Silver thing was starting to become unbearable. He thought this would be easy. Why was he so slippery?

He sighed and focused on his work. Mostly research about Silver and also about his own plans of taking down Doflamingo, whenever the moment was right. As the hours went by, he accidently fell asleep on his desk without even noticing. And that’s when he had the dream.

It was a little blurry, dreamlike. He was walking through the halls of the Tang. His crewmembers working, as usual. Until he entered the medical bay, and there she was. She wasn’t wearing a boilersuit for some reason, just some random everyday outfit. Her strawberry blond hair falling through her shoulders as she organized a drawer. When she turned around to face him, she smiled. That bright smile of hers that could bring the sun on cloudy days. She approached him and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the room.

Maybe she said something, but he didn’t really know what. A fuzzy dream, after all. But one thing was certain: the moment she let go of him, her hands went directly to his cheeks. And she started getting closer. And closer, until there was no more space between them. He kissed her back, and it felt so…

And Law woke up. His face was burning red with embarrassment. He could practically still feel her on his lips, but guilt started to fill him up. He had never had a dream like that about a crewmate before, and as a captain, it should be the last thing to ever cross his mind. But as the memory established itself into his brain, he couldn’t help but relive it again and again. And part of him wished it was real.

He got up from the desk and walked around the room, finally realizing there was some commotion outside. Not something to worry about, just voices and laughs. He walked to the window and saw the beach near the port the ship was docked. All the Heart Pirates were there, either swimming in the ocean, playing volley or chilling in the sand. Ella was on the second group, paired with Shachi against Penguin and Ikkaku. She wore a blue bikini and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. It was her turn to serve the ball, and it went over the net and was hit by the other woman. Law watched the game for a while, but in truth his gaze was much more focused on Ella than on the game itself.

After a few minutes of watching, he shook his head and turned away from the window. Whatever was going on in his head, it had to end immediately. She was a crewmate, and that was final. Nothing could ever happen between them. He returned to his desk and decided to focus on his job again.

It worked for a few more hours, until the crew came back to the ship. Happy and excited for the luau later that night, they enter the Tang talking loudly and laughing. The noise bothered Law a little, so he left his room to see what was going on.

The crew was gathered in the meeting area. They still had their beach outfits on, and were a little red from the sun.

“Captain!” said Penguin “We missed you today!”

“Ella told us you wouldn’t be coming.” Bepo said. His view was a little funny; he was wearing a pair of palm tree print swim trunks and had sunglasses on top of his head.

Law turned to face Ella. Her hair was wet and she was wearing the bikini top from earlier and shorts. It was a little weird seeing her so close after that dream, and Law couldn’t help but remember it again; he turned away before his cheeks started to burn.

“I was busy.”

“But you’re coming to the luau tonight, right?” asked Penguin.

Law nodded.

“The villagers won’t let us leave the island if I don’t.”

“Speaking of that,” Clione spoke as he entered the room holding a few bags. Behind him was Ikkaku, who was also carrying similar bags. “They gave us this. It’s some type of typical luau outfit, I think.”

Law rolled his eyes. Not only he had to go the party, but also had to wear a uniform?

“Let’s see ours together.” Ikkaku said to Ella, and the two women walked together to their quarters. Law sighed.

“You better not get any sand in the halls.” He said to the remaining crewmembers before returning to his quarters.

As the hours went by, it was time to go to the beach for the luau. The clothes the lunarians provided weren’t that bad; they were robes similar to yukatas, very pretty and comfortable. All the Heart Pirates took their time getting ready, so they didn’t leave the Tang together. At the beginning of the night, Law, wearing a black and gold yukata, left the ship with Bepo, who had a light purple robe on. They walked through the village to another part of the beach, away from the port, where the party was being held.

The beach was fully decorated. There were stalls serving food, drinks and games. String lights crisscrossed the entire beach, being the main source of illumination, but there were also torches creating paths across the sand. Further away, a group was playing music, which happily filled the atmosphere. It was already quite crowded, despite it being early evening, and the vast majority of people were wearing clothes similar to those that had been given to them.

It looked really nice, Law had to admit. Maybe he could enjoy himself for the night, if there was nothing else he could do anyway.

Law and Bepo went over to the food stalls, mostly because Bepo wanted to try a bit of everything. Law followed and decided to get a drink in the process. As they walked around the beach, Law saw that some of the Heart Pirates had already come to the luau. He saw Uni and Clione walking around with drinks, and Penguin and Shachi talking to that village girl that led them to their hotel the day before. He also found himself looking for Ella, but she was nowhere to be found.

Some time went by and he found he was quite enjoying the party. Perhaps the drinks were helping (they were really tasty and he was on his third now), and the music that was playing contributed to a lively environment. At this point, Penguin and Shachi had joined him (they both got dumped by the lady) and Bepo was excited because the band was playing a song by Uta. Everything felt fine, until he heard a voice coming from behind him.

“Finally, we found you!”

He turned around and saw two women walking towards him and the crew. The first one was Ikkaku, wearing a pink yukata and her curly hair in a bun. Behind her, was Ella. She wore a green yukata with silver details and drawings, and her hair was partially braided and decorated with flowers and a silver hairpin. Something felt weird in Law’s stomach when he saw her, and he couldn’t really tell why. Perhaps it was the drinks.

“Finally!” Shachi said. “You took way too long!”

“I was doing Ella’s hair.”

“I think the flowers are a bit too much, but she insisted.” She said. She quickly exchanged a look with Law and smiled softly. He looked away.

“No way! It’s super cute.” Penguin added. Ella smiled in return.

“Should we get some drinks?” Ikkaku asked and Ella agreed, and they both left to the stalls. Law sighed.

“What did I miss?” Bepo returned from the dance floor as the music ended.

“I think I’ll get another drink too.” And the captain left the group. Shachi and Penguin exchanged a look.

“Does he ever drink this much?” Shachi asked.

“Not really. He must be upset that we lost Silver.”

They pondered for a while, then shrugged and went back to enjoying the party.

There were different stalls for different types of drinks. Some were your old regular sake, others had some tropical fruity mixes of alcohol characteristic to that island. Law had tried different ones, but the moment he saw two unknown men talking to Ikkaku and Ella in the line to the latter’s type stall, he turned around and grabbed a cup of pure sake. It wasn’t like him to drink this much, but something didn’t feel right, and he wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe he was sick. Maybe that weird dream – which, by the way, he couldn’t stop thinking about – had done more to him then he’d like to admit.

Anyway, the party kept going and he kept drinking. His crew was everywhere: Bepo dancing, Penguin and Shachi hitting on random girls, Clione, Uni and Jean Bart trying all kinds of typical luau snacks, etc. Law was trying to keep an eye out for everyone, but his eyes kept always going back to Ella. She was a magnet for trouble, so he had to! Or, at least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

Weirdly enough, Ella didn’t cause any trouble. She and Ikkaku, plus the two unknown men from the stall line, were together the whole night. Drinking together, dancing together, laughing together. Why did that bother him so much?

As the hours passed, the beach got fuller and fuller, and suddenly keeping an eye out for all Heart Pirates wasn’t as easy anymore. Plus, the amount of sake he drank was starting to take his toll on him.

“Captain?” someone said after he bumped into them by accident. How did he even end up at the dance floor? “Are you okay? You seem…” that was Shachi, grabbing Law by the shoulder. He refrained from saying the last word, as he knew his captain very well to know he wouldn’t admit to getting drunk.

“I’m fine.” The man answered, his voice a little groggy. Penguin, who watched the scene nearby, got closer and took Law’s cup from his hand.

“Hey, it’s late enough. Maybe we should go back to the Tang.” He said.

“Fine by me.” Ikkaku chimed in, seemingly showing from nowhere. She had her arms crossed. “I’m done here.”

“Thought you and Ella were having fun with those guys?” Shachi joked, maliciously. Both Ikkaku and Law rolled their eyes.

“Yeah, until they proved to be the biggest of jerks. So we ditched them.”

“Where is she now, then?” Penguin asked.

Ikkaku pondered a little.

“She said she would get some drinks for us… but that was a while ago. She must be coming back by now.”

Something ringed in Law’s ears. He had a bad feeling.

“I’ll be right back.” He said and left the group, going towards the food and drink stalls. He looked around the long lines, but saw no one that looked like Ella. Where could she be?

As he walked further away from the center of the luau, to a place by the beach that was more secluded, he started hearing voices.

“I told you to leave me alone!” a voice said. One Law recognized.

“C’mon, pretty. You don’t have to play hard to get.”

Somewhere in the sand, a redhaired woman in a green robe was trying to free her arm from the grasp of a man twice as big as her.

“This is the last time I’m warning you.” Ella said, her eyes on fire. The man snorted, finding it funny.

“I’m so curious to see you try.”

As the situation escalated, Law was ready to intervene, but that wasn’t necessary. In a matter of seconds, Ella broke free from the man’s grip in a self-defense move, grabbed the hairpin from her own hair and threw it at the guy’s shoulder, piercing it and causing a few drops of blood to spill.

“AAH!” the guy screamed and grabbed his own shoulder. “You bitch!”

Ella walked further away and cleaned sand from her yukata, not even bothering to look at the man as he cursed.

“You’re lucky I wasn’t aiming for your eye.”

He didn’t seem finished, though, because after he calmed down from the pain, he took another step towards her. But before he could do anything, a man in black and gold robes appeared between them.

“Room.” He said, and Ella looked surprised to see her captain intervene.

“And who called you, asshole?” the guy said.

Ella had never seen Law that angry. He raised one hand and took a step forward.

Now, perhaps there were better ways to deal with the situation. Ella was a sharpshooter herself, and the Op Op fruit is not one to mess with, to not even mention Law’s skills with a sword. Ella held her breath in anticipation.

There were many things he could’ve done in this situation if he really wanted to end that guy. But, perhaps because of how much sake he had drank, or perhaps because of how his anger blinded him momentarily, Law’s course of action consisted, simply, to a punch to the guy’s nose.  

It was a good punch, though. The man howled in pain, kneeling to the ground. Ella, on the other hand, pinched her own nose.

“Idiot…”

And as she said that, the idiot in question touched her shoulder, mumbled “shambles” and, suddenly, they were no longer at the beach, but at the port, in front of the Tang.

Ella took a deep breath as she began speaking.

“Captain, I…” but she didn’t finish, because Law wasn’t there. He had his head sticked out over the deck railing, vomiting into the sea. She managed to hold her laugh.

As he walked back to her side, cleaning his mouth with the back of his hand, he held up a finger, his expression completely grumpy.

“Don’t tell the others.”

Ella chuckled.

“Someone overdid with the drinks today.” She said, smiling, until she noticed little bruises on his knuckles. “Oh, you got hurt. Let’s get a bandage.” She grabbed his wrist and they walked inside the submarine.

In the medical bay, Law sat at the examination table while Ella searched for alcohol, ice, and bandages. He claimed he could do it himself (he's a doctor, after all), but Ella insisted. Not only was he drunk, but he had hurt himself because of her; it was the least she could do.

He watched as she walked around the room, gathering what she needed, while humming a low tune. Her hair was messier now, but somehow it looked prettier. As she got closer to him, she smiled and grabbed his hand… just like the dream he had earlier.

But she didn’t kiss him. She started applying the alcohol to the wounds and bandaging his fingers. He felt his face get warm and turned his head away, hoping she would assume he looked like that because of the sake.

“There! All done.” Ella said when she finished.

Law looked at his hand. It was nicely bandaged and it didn’t hurt; it wasn’t a big bruise after all. Or maybe he would feel it tomorrow, when he was sober.

“Ah, and…” Ella continued, now a little shy. “Thank you for your help tonight.”

“It didn’t seem like you need my help, after all.”

She exhaled through her nose, a small smirking forming on the side of her lips.

“I probably didn’t. But it’s nice to know I have someone looking out for me.”

“I’m your captain. It’s my job.”

Ella rolled her eyes, but that smile was still on her face.

“You’ve said that already.” She took a step forward, getting a little closer, and grabbed his injured hand again. “Maybe it’s time for you to learn to accept help, too.”

And with that, she left.

Law stayed there a little longer, looking at his hand, trying to make sense of that day, that moment, that feeling. Maybe he already knew what it was, but it would take him longer to admit it to himself.