Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 33 - No Going Back

Neither of us were willing to break eye contact first, the staring contest quickly becoming a test for the other. My own sea green eyes were fixed onto his dark grey ones, his body slowly leaning in as if to pressure me into looking away first. Just as the corner of my eyes began to tear up, someone came crashing into the stacked wooden crates that were placed further down the alleyway behind us. We both turned to see a large polar bear in an orange boiler suit, who seemed to be holding onto what looked like a nodachi, a long traditional sword I guessed to belong to Law.

"Captain! Umm... I'm sorry" The situation was so bizarre, it rendered me speechless, seeing this large fluffy creature mopping in anguish at what clearly was an accident. I looked up to the Heart pirate's captain, my eyebrow raised in question, waiting for an explanation to his comrade's strange behaviour. He waved off my questioning look with an exasperated glare, taking the initiative to introduce the polar bear to be his first mate and navigator. I nodded in understanding, turning back to see the polar bear glancing back with curiosity, though when he saw I noticed him, he quickly looked down and muttered another apology.

"Now, why are you hiding back here?" Upon Trafalgar's question, I turned back to the street to see the Celestial Dragon in the midst of shooting someone. I quickly hid behind the wall again, nudging the man towards the street.

"There's your answer" He moved forward to get a better look, his arm placed above my head so he could keep to the shadows in order to remain concealed, which brought his face uncomfortably close to my own. Leaning back against the wall to try and create some space between us, Trafalgar remained unaffected and watched the scene unfold nonchalantly.

Once the mess in the street began to clear up as the Celestial Dragon moved on, Trafalgar turned to face me again, though it seemed that he'd only just noticed my discomfort. He smirked before leaning closer, myself having to turn my head to the side so I wouldn't have to face his intimidating stare that he refused to move away.

"Trafalgar-san you're too close, please step back" I told him, still looking away from his piercing gaze. But all the twisted psycho did was lean further down, so his face was precariously near the crook of my neck.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" I could easily picture his smug smile as his lips grazed over the base of my jaw, making me shiver and from the feel of his lips stretching out into an even bigger smirk, I knew he had noticed the effect he had on me. Frustrated with his lack of consideration to my boundaries, I turned to glare at him, hoping I could intimidate him to move away, but all he did was move closer, his face directly in line with my own as his body gently forced me to lean further into the wall behind me.

"Lana?!" I turn in shock at the familiar call, only to see Nami and Robin looking on with surprised, and borderline scandalised, expressions. Trafalgar didn't initially pay them any attention, but when he did turn to glance at them from the corner of his eyes, he seemed to acknowledge the fact that they were my own crewmates and leaned back a little.

"It seems that your crew-mates have found us. Until next time" He leaned down to place a short kiss on my cheek whilst placing my cap back on my head, the unexpected gesture throwing me off-guard and a red flush quickly brightening my face. Nami blushed with a hand covering her mouth, Robin only giggling at the scene quietly, both showing their shock at the pirate's boldness. As Law stepped aside, I hurriedly walked over to the girls, leaning heavily against Robin to hide my embarrassment and mortification at being caught in such a scandalous position.

"What was that?!" Nami giggled quietly whilst still blushing, gently waving her face to try and cool down her red cheeks. I shook my head stubbornly, refusing to answer such a question as I continued to hide my flushed face in Robin's shoulder. Robin only patted my head, but she too, was still giggling at the reminder, making my nudge her with my arm in indignation, wanting them to drop the subject. With the threat that they wouldn't let the incident slide so easily, the girls dragged me to continue in their shopping spree, which I decided to indulge them in, hoping that they would forget what happened just a moment ago.