Hey there my beloved readers! New chapter is out and a bit longer than the others! Yayyy!
Don't forget to leave a comment as I love reading them!
I don't own OP but I do own the OC and extra characters.
Also I don't own the fanart as always I found it on pinterest!
Have fun! Love ya all!
"Aya! Isn't it great to be altogether again around the table? It feels like centuries since we did that!" Volff said in a fresh energetic vibe, placing the fried pieces of bacon at the table near the eggs.
"You are exaggerating. It has only been two days and last time I checked we were too loud for your liking!" Law commented while hiding a smirk behind his newspaper.
"Hmph, you always have a reply don't ya?!"
The scene was no different from the other mornings with the cousins fighting over a plus portion of food, Bepo having enough with those two, Law reading his newspaper while drinking his dark bitter coffee and Elga...
Well Elga looked at her empty plate for about 10 minutes straight.
That was something that didn't go unnoticed by the others, but yet decided to act normal for the moment and try to cheer her up.
"Lassy, ya're goin to pierce some holes on the plate if ya continue starin at it! Here have some food on ya stomach!" he caught her attention and placed two eggs and some bacon on her plate.
"Ahh I must have spaced out, I'm sorry!" she replied a bit taken aback by the elder's move of affection.
When did actions like this one make her feel surprised?
"Hmph, why are you sorry for lassy? Are ya becoming Bepo now?" Volff commented again laughing but the girl seemed to turn even more shy and embarrassed.
Law glanced over her stiff figure realizing that there must be a problem far more concerning than he thought.
The said girl he knew those past months would laugh back with her heart or replied with a teasing yet loving comment about the said bear.
Were the words he had spoken last night so distractive for her self- esteem that he didn't even realize he broke something inside her?
"Elga-ya, what would you say to go for work together today?" the young doctor asked the girl but she just closed her eyes and kept being silent.
*He is probably worried something will happen to you... I am such a burden to him...*, the girl thought and stood up from her seat.
"I will be alright, you don't have to get anxious about me. Moreover you don't have any surgeries today so there is no reason for you to go this early at work." she explained placing her plate on the sink.
Law glanced at Penguin and the older boy encouraged him with his gaze and a nob to continue the talk.
"I have some paperwork that need to be done!" he answered and stood up too, putting the newspaper down.
"Ahh look at the time! It is early enough to go from that nice route! You know Law that one which is a bit longer but this time of season, winter roses bloom everywhere! I am sure it is a nice way to begin your day!" Shachi suggested only to receive an irritated look from the other boy.
Law was feeling like a fish out of the water in situations like this. It was so out of character for him to act romantically towards the said girl but he needed to let her know that he didn't mean whatever he said yesterday and he was willed to make efforts for it.
The boy waited for the sun to dawn, all night long as he couldn't get any rest. The image of Elga crying right in front of his eyes and him just abandoning her in this state, haunted his mind and made him realize the length his feelings have reached. Law was determined to fix this situation or whatever troubled the girl's mind.
"That's a good idea Shachi-ya. How about we leave now?" Law said and the brunette stared at him blankly.
One thing the brunette was good at pertained to her skills of observation especially when it was about facial expressions and body language. Maybe this is why she had approached the said boy back at their very first meeting as she detected a familiar sadness and emptiness on his eyes.
Feelings that she had far forgotten due to amnesia but always lived buried inside her gut. Maybe this is why she decided to share her lunch with him, in the shake of the moments she wished someone would share their own food with her too, the times she starved to death.
Elga observed the said boy's face and distinguished the slightly frowned eyebrows that meant he was feeling nervous about probably her reaction, the depressor labii inferioris muscle on his lower jaw was stiff which means he was feeling sadness and something troubled him, the risorius muscles at the sides of his mouth were wavering as if he tried to force himself to curve a genuine smile and of course she couldn't let unnoticed the black shadows under his eyes that seemed a bit darker today than the other days.
She really didn't know what was worse at this point, not having anyone be there for you and trying to survive alone or being with friends and you make them worry.
The brunette left a sigh escape her lips and turned her gaze to look at his stormy eyes.
"Do whatever makes you feel better. I don't need a babysitter though." she finally gave her reply and Law's body became even more stiffer due to the small refer of his words from last night's argument.
So was she so out of character because of him? Was he really losing her because of a stupid outburst?
"That's not the reason. I wanted to spend some time with you." Law responded and lowered slightly his head so as to hide a light blush under the shade of his hat.
Volff smirked under his thick grey beard and the cousins looked knowingly at each other, everyone pleased by the turn of the events.
Elga gazed at the raven-haired with widened eyes and a bit raised eyebrows as she wasn't used of hearing such sudden and clear externalizations of feelings from this person.
*Nah, you know Law is kind hearted deep inside so he must feel bad about yesterday. He shouldn't though, you know he was right. It is not his fault you always end up being a nonsense to everyone...*, the girl thought and just left a sigh escape her lips feeling mentally exhausted.
"Do whatever you want..." she just replied and went to grab her backbag and put on her boots so as to head for work.
Law followed the girl and as an answer for her state, started preparing himself too, wearing his winter coat and his own shoes.
The two cousins and Volff stood up from their seat and popped their head behind the kitchen's doorframe, observing the behavior of the two young doctors.
"Do you think it will work out?" Shachi whispered and looked lower at his cousin's face.
"I hope so! The atmosphere is really heavy when those two are in the same room!" He responded.
"What ya think to give the youngsters a good ol hand?" Volff suggested and the two boys looked at him puzzled.
"Like a mission?"
"Yeah! I like it! Mission get-back-together-Law-and-Elga!" the red haired recommended.
"Nahh, that's too long! What about from enemies-to-lovers-Mission?"
"Those ya'all silly names dump youngsters! Mission punch-of-love because that's what they'll hav if they don stop foolin around, hpmh!"
Law and Elga just stood still and looked at those three, obviously listening to the whole conversation as they were a few meters away and hadn't left the house yet.
The boy just spelled a 'WTF' at them and the brunette sweat dropped at the sight.
There was an awkward silence from both parts when Bepo, the cutest fuzzy bear of all, entered the place with a box of homemade cookies and handed it to Law.
"Cookies can fix everything!" the white bear whispered to the boy's ear and winked at him with a huge grin on his face.
Law couldn't help at his cuteness and replied with a faint smile before he walk outside of the door where the girl was waiting for him to come.
"Mission Cookie it is then!" Shachi said in a low voice to Penguin and the other boy nobbed positively earning an irritated look from Volff.
~...~
Elga and Law were walking inside the frozen forest on a muddy path because of the humid weather. That was one of the reasons the boy thought it would be pointless to bring his bike with him as it would be pretty difficult to ride it on the a wet ground like this.
Or at least this is the clarification he gave at the said girl when she asked him previously about his bike, probably an action to break the awkward silence between them. Law was more than happy to see that Elga was willed to make the first move and start a conversation, thinking in the end it was a smart decision to leave his bike back home as the route would last longer and he could find an opportunity to test the waters between them.
"So, today is the appointment with Cynthia-ya, right?", he asked knowing already the answer but just wanted to show that he always cares about whatever she says to him.
"Yeah.", was the only reply he got.
He turned his head to look at the girl beside him.
The change on her behavior was pretty obvious and his worries only got worse.
She was gazing the whole time the ground clearly in a bad mood something opposite from the excited Elga who would not stop talking about how much she loved wandering into the forest and observed the place around her, looking only ahead of her.
It always made him feel like she was looking ahead at her own future and instantly he could almost think positively about his future too.
And the scariest part is that from the time he met this girl, he couldn't imagine a future without her presence beside him.
How could he act so harsh towards her and make her cry? The girl that brightened his life more than the sun, a cloudy sky.
"You were more excited last week about this day! I still remember your thoughts about the wooba luba super treatment program to kick cancer's ass off Cynthia-ya's body." he said remembering her exact words when she came to him to share the good news. He couldn't help but place a smile on his lips with the memory of this moment on his mind.
"I am anxious I guess whether I can make it or not... It is a difficult case." the brunette answered in a low voice.
The boy stopped walking, an action that made Elga stand still too a few meters after him.
He had enough of this change and wanted to know what's truly going on inside this mind of hers.
"Elga look at me.", he ordered with a tone of concern and the girl lifted her gaze to rest her eyes on his.
He could detect some fresh made dark circles under her dull eyes that were evincing the exhaustion of only keep living in this world.
Law could understand this feeling and read her like an open book as this was the source of his insomnia and repeated nightmares. He could clearly distinguish a part of himself looking at her face.
But what had changed on the girl's life that made her lose it like him? He had nightmares and dark thoughts because of his awful past. She had amnesia which means she didn't remember her own past, only if...
Only if she had her memories or at least a part of them back...
This realization hit Law like a rock on the head and widened his eyes slightly in shock. How could he forget about it?!
"Elga-ya, did you remember something from your past?"
A cloud must had moved away and a source of light appeared through the grey sky and the girl's face brightened by the sun rays, revealing her beautiful features.
Law wanted to burn this image of hers standing so beautiful right in front of him in the depths of his mind and carry this memory forever. There were everywhere around her fresh white winter roses that made the place smell with the scent of one of the most expensive perfumes and the droplets of water upon the roses' velvet petals, transfused additional sources of lights at the background of her figure, creating a scene that seemed like it came out of a fairy tale.
He cut a rose not minding the pointy thorns and offered it to her as a silent promise that he would be by her side if she needed him.
Elga kept looking at the boy with the same blank expression, even though she had heard his question very well. Then, her gaze fell on the white flower on his hand. She had seen before something so beautiful but when? Ah yes only in one place she had visited in her life, Elga has seen a flower so white and mesmerizing.
She lifted her hand to accept the flower but she was hesitant.
There was no need for him to feel worried about her sad past. She already put him into too much trouble until now.
Moreover, what if they don't like the real her? They decided to keep her with them getting to know 'Elga', a strong-willed girl with confidence that gets excited from the slightest detail and doesn't have any problems or dark secrets or sad pasts in her life. Who is going to like someone with so many insecurities like her and also is she joking around? She doesn't even remember the name of the real 'her'! She is just a human with half her memories and no identity.
What is she supposed to answer Law? 'Yes I remembered the time I used to live in a dead city with sick and burned corpses around because I had nowhere else to go!'
Even he who is so collected would freak out by her words and get disgusted.
No she shouldn't get him involved on that...
"Nahh, I'm peachy." she replied and turned her eyes on her feet again deciding at the end to decline the gesture.
"Yet you don't look like that..." he responded and took some steps closer to her.
Law cupped her face with his hands and lifted her head so she can look at him in the eyes but the girl moved away instinctively from him with the gaze of a scared wild animal.
"Elga-ya about yesterday...", he started the explanation of his actions and words about last night's events in an effort to reason himself and maybe solve this problem between them, when he saw her reacting like that to his touch but the girl interrupted him.
"Law everything is fine. I understand you. I am sorry for putting you into so much trouble."
The boy was surprised by the sudden expression of remorse from her side as the too proud girl he knew wouldn't budge so easily. Alright, know he was seriously worried about her.
"No, no! I was quite harsh on you. You shouldn't be sorry! I mean yeah we were worried about your wellbeing but it was kind of my mistake, though we never talked about that and wasn't my fault she..."
"Law! It wasn't your fault! I am sorry for everything..."
"No! It w..."
"Law!"
The boy turned to look at her at the sound of his name, still feeling the need to explain himself as the attrition of his actions and hardness towards her made him feel regretful.
"I need to go to work. Cynthia-san is going to wait." she continued when she gained his attention and began walking again at the direction of the town.
Law nobbed his head in agreement and just followed her lead, deep in his thoughts deciding it was better to pause this talk for now.
~...~
The two teenagers were too focused on their conversation that didn't realize the mysterious female figure with the charming red hair in the color of fire who observed them at the distance.
"Huhuhu, that's a nice case! She really is just my type!" she left an evil giggle escape her lips and hid herself behind a bush of white roses.
"You look so tasty Elga-chan~, huhuhu!"