"I refuse."
Nami scowls. "Stop being so difficult. It's twenty minutes, it's not the end of the world."
You shake your head once more. "No."
With an exhale, Law crosses his arms and peers out the window beside him. He doesn't have time for this.
Thanks to some digging, he was able to gain intel on a gala a couple of islands away from Dressrosa that supposedly had pirate groups who wanted to purchase SMILEs. Given that information, a pit stop was decided in order to load up on information. Disguises came easy, but a plan did not. Said plan involved you pretending to be in a relationship with Law. You hated Law.
None of the crew knew why you did, nor have they ever received an explanation outside of "He just irks me." Although it was entertaining to watch you snap at him or bicker back and forth, it proved inconvenient and fairly obnoxious at a time like this.
"You don't even have to talk to him! Just loop your arms, walk around, and note what you hear." Usopp pushes. Even he looks mildly annoyed.
You frown, resting your hands on your hips. "Like I said, no. I would rather fake-date Sanji for all I care."
The blond's head pops up from over Nami's shoulder with a lopsided grin. "Really?!"
"No." you deadpan. You catch the inside of your cheek between your teeth, avidly avoiding Nami's burning and somewhat frightening stare. Guilt begins to set in-- not for yourself, nor the captain beside you, simply just being difficult -- and you sigh, slowly letting your eyes slide up to catch Law's briefly, gray and intense in a way that makes your skin crawl before finding the redhead's.
"How long?"
"Twenty minutes, tops."
Gritting your teeth together, you grab Law by the wrist and trudge off, ignoring the snicker's of your crewmates behind you.
Law shifts uncomfortably in the tight grip of your hand, letting himself be tugged behind you into the thick swarm of dancing bodies. He's usually one to take the lead, but he concludes it would be rather pointless to try to argue with you when you're already fed up with him. It's hot , people pressed against each other in swirling waltzes and awkward, klutzy steps that cause irritating clashes and muffled sorries to disappear into the air before they can reach his ear. It's not his kind of scene, and he's guessing it's not yours, either, with the way you curse to yourself every now and then.
Spotting a man you deem familiar, swearing you saw him in the pictures Law made show of in your briefing hours prior, you pause, yanking the captain towards you. He manages to stop himself from crashing into you completely by finding stability at your waist against the smooth satin of your dress, not missing the way your eyes pop open and jaw snaps shut. He glares down at you, gaze following as your arms hesitantly and unwillingly slide up and rest around his neck.
"What was that for?" he grits out, low enough for only you to hear.
You peer over your shoulder briefly, long diamond earrings tapping against your neck before returning to him, muttering, "That man behind me; he's one of the guys in the image, is he not?"
Sure enough, he was. Neither of you could miss his overly-gelled comb over, his kempt goatee, his steamed and smooth velvet tux that was already getting stained and ruined by the wine that had dripped down his chin. His cologne was putrid , stuffy and overwhelming; the gold cap on his tooth that glistened in the dim lighting of the ballroom whenever he opened his mouth to gloat.
"Surprised you didn't notice sooner," you grumble to yourself as you drag your bodies closer. Law doesn't miss the way your target's eyes briefly glide over your body.
Law frowns, his grip subconsciously tightening. "I did. No reason to be so rude."
You tense slightly then scoff, and leave the conversation at that. Uncomfort dangles above your heads like a halo, swarming in circles endlessly. The two of you sway to the rhythm of the music, letting your bodies guide you. You're not acknowledging him in the slightest , head gently turned to your right in order to overhear whatever conversation Knock-Off Crocodile-- Usopp had deemed him that previously and you decided to stick with it- was having with the woman in his arms in case it was important.
He lets his gaze drift from the twinkling lights on the high ceilings down to you, surrounded in golden aura. He's always thought you were pretty, just has never expressed it, but tonight it's different . You look almost infuriatingly gorgeous; your dress hugs your curves and dips and softness like a glove, your hair framing your face like a painting. It makes his hands twitch against the dip of your waist, almost begging to pull you closer to his body so you're chest to chest but he refrains. He has more self control than that, and you're on an important mission. Besides, you hate him.
Law doesn't understand your hatred for him as much as your own crew doesn't. He's never done anything to you as far as he knows. Maybe it's his brashness, or his antisocial tendencies, or his controlling and slightly monotone nature. He normally doesn't care when someone doesn't like him-- majority of the world hates him, for God's sake-- but for some reason you hating him boils his blood. He doesn't realize your target has begun to wander off with some man when his mouth snaps open.
"Why do you hate me?"
Your head whips back towards him, that owlish expression of shock grazing your face once more. Your lips open to speak, empty words tumbling out before it snaps close and your brows knit, the corner of your lip quirking up in feigned annoyance.
"Knock-Off Crocodile is walking away and this is what you're concerned about?!"
Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut. He usually does keep his mouth shut. Why does he care?
Law sighs. "Whatever. Where did he go?"
The conversation hangs heavy above your head for the second time that night as you drag him down a well-lit corridor somewhere in this enormous estate. He's far too aware of your hand in his, small and soft, the silver rings clad on your fingers scraping against his calloused knuckles. He realizes he doesn't mind it; he realizes he craves more , and goes to tighten his grip before the transponder snail in your purse begins to obnoxiously ring.
You curse and tug your hand from his to answer it. It feels empty, the warmth from his palm disappearing into thin air, and he shoves it in his pocket and leans closer to listen.
"Hey! Where'd you guys go?" Nami yells.
"Keep it down, would you?" you hiss lowly, cupping a hand around it so only the two of you can hear.
"We're following the target; he walked away with someone we believe to be connected to the trade." Law adds.
Nami hums, responding, "Got it. Make sure you hear everything ." She hangs up.
You sigh, shoving the snail back in your purse before walking ahead of your partner. Law purses his lip, annoyance beginning to bubble in his gut as he jogged to fall into step. First, you were being rude to him, and now you're blatantly ignoring him when he is the one leading the mission. Great.
"What did you overhear earlier?" he asks flatly.
It takes you a minute to decide if you want to respond. "Crocodile look alike is apparently connected to the Family. He was sweet talking that girl by gloating about an auction they're having around one. Doffy sent someone down to auction them off or something. Guess Kaido's not his only buyer."
Law hums in acknowledgement. The hallway is annoyingly silent; silence and awkwardness seems to follow the two of you wherever you go. Normally he's one for not speaking, especially to anyone associated with Luffy, but his question that you avidly and successfully avoided is itching in the back of his brain.
"Are you going to answer my question from earlier?" he practically spits.
You don't bother to make eye contact with him. "I don't understand why you care so much."
He grits his teeth. "That's not the point, would you just answer the damn question?"
You shrug. No response follows. He's really getting pissed now.
"You're so fucking stubborn, I don't understand why it's so difficult to answer. You obviously have a reason if you're being so damn difficult about this mission and everything that involves me. We have an alliance, you know. You should try being a bit more cooperative for the sake of your captain."
You stop walking and abruptly turn towards him. He can feel the frustration radiating off of you, and he's sure you can feel it steaming off of him. Something else floats in the air but he can't exactly put his finger on it, but it's been there since the start of the night.
"You really wanna know?" you snap. He crosses his arms across his chest, sleeves straining at his arms, waiting for an answer. "I don't know! I genuinely don't know."
Law's brow raises and his jaw clenches painfully. "What do you mean you don't know?"
Your hands ball into fists but immediately release, arms falling limp by your sides until you grip the sides of your dress. "I genuinely don't know. Something about you just irks me and you give me this frustrating feeling that--" you stop short to groan in frustration, head tipping back before it snaps back towards him. "Can we continue this later? We have something to finish."
It's already hit Law. Everything about it makes sense: the fleeting looks, the way you avoid his touch or completely lean into it, the way you either fumble your words or snap at him in annoyance and avoid being paired with him whenever your crews work together. It all makes sense.
He's gonna let you figure it out yourself, though.
Your jaw twitches at the smirk that slowly begins to pull at his lips, heat crawling up your neck as you watch his tongue push at his inner cheek.
Law nods, then walks ahead.
You huff, falling back into step with him. You don't want him to have the upper hand. Something about the cocky grin on his lips and the way he's being so casual all of a sudden has some unknown feeling coiling in your gut, and you're not sure if you want to scream at him or not.
The target eventually falls into your line of sight, hushed conversation of him and another man barely audible as they stand in front of a pair of large deep oak stained doors. Another hallway concaves in the wall closer to where they stand, which would be ideal. Only issue was how to get over there without looking incredibly suspicious.
An idea pops into Law's head. It could definitely work. He doesn't think you will like it, though, at least openly.
He leans down to you so his lips fall parallel to your ear. You stiffen and your hands gravitate towards his chest to push him away but they freeze against smooth fabric and hard planes of muscle, and you can't find it in you to shove him father.
"I'm gonna do something, okay? You have to trust me for once, and don't make a scene." he whispers, the low baritone of his voice creating shivers that crawl up your spine.
You can't tell if it's his close proximity, or how his breath fans your ear-- maybe you're just tired and burnt out from arguing, but you nod in agreement.
"Good."
You gulp. Why are you suddenly shying away? You hate him... right?
He's realized why he cares so much about your opinion of him; all he's waiting for is for you to figure it out, too. It's risky and he knows he shouldn't be doing this for the sake of both of your lives and your crews but he can't find it in himself to push you away, to miss out on this opportunity. If he doesn't get it through your head now, he doesn't think he ever will. Danger trails behind you both like a dog on a leash, anyway. Fuck responsibility for once.
Law's fingers find comfort on the curve of your waist and he tugs you chest to chest, drinking in the way your lips fall open. They fit together like puzzle pieces, the warmth of you and the sweet scent of your perfume drawing him in closer and closer until your noses bump. Your hearts thramming against your ribs, heavy and hitched breaths pushing past your lips and fanning over his tanned face. He's so close , closer than he's ever been and you can't help your eyes drifting down to his lips almost anxiously. Something deep inside of you is screaming that you want it, slowly crawling up and up in a way that makes you sick . You can feel his heart thumping heavily in his chest against your palm, almost matching the speed of your own. Law grins, his raven hair brushing your forehead.
Law's kissing you.
Oh.
His lips are soft against your own, the dull flavor of his chapstick flooding your taste buds as he kisses you. You're kissing back without realizing it, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and tugging him closer. Your steps follow his as he navigates you away from the comfort of hiding behind the wall and towards the other hallway. One hand finds home in your hair, gripping your nape and tugging your head to the side. He takes the opportunity of your mouth falling open in a gasp to push his tongue against yours, savoring the way you squirm against him and kiss him with everything in you.
Your back hits a wall-- you've made it to the next location and the target's conversation is audible now, though you can barely focus with the way Law controls your lips. Finally, he pulls away, leaving the both of you breathless. That foreign feeling that had been in the air finally has a name, though neither of you can bear to mention it. Your eyes bore into his and his into yours, words not being needed anymore.
You swallow and divert your gaze almost shamefully. "I know why I hate you now." you mutter.
Law smirks. "Yeah? Care to share?"
You snap back to him, glaring as heat crawls up your neck. "Don't be an ass. You know why."
He smiles genuinely. "You can tell me after we bust this auction."
Your suspicions were right: SMILEs were being auctioned off. With the help of the rest of the crew, you were able to destroy all the SMILEs and bust the Family member and all the buyers, effectively putting them out of commission for a long, long time.
The demand of a banquet by your beloved captain allowed you and Law to slip out in private onto the deck later that night. Usopp nudges Nami and motions towards your not-so-slick getaway, a coy smile growing on her lips.
"They finally figured it out, huh?"
Usopp sighs wistfully after taking a long swig of ale as they watch you sit on the railing, shoulder to shoulder. "Young love, Nami. Young love."
a/n my one story without being all lowercase me thinks.