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Law had always tried to avoid getting attached to people ever since Corazon died. To him, it was the most logical solution: he can't lose anyone if he doesn't have anyone, after all. But over time, as he formed his own crew and sailed around the world with them, fighting alongside each other through thick and thin--he grew to love them as nakama and as family. He was initially anxious when he realized that he loved his crew, but he decided that he would just harden his heart from now on; he loved his crew, but that was it. Nobody else.
And then...____. Somehow, she'd managed to melt that layer of ice around him before he'd even realized it. His thoughts drifted to her more often, his face would feel warm and his chest would feel light as air whenever she was near him. He assumed that it was because she was a new addition to the crew, so of course he would feel a close sense of kinship with her. But deep down, he knew that it wasn't that simple. He never thought about how soft Bepo's skin looked (or...well, his fur , in this case). He never dreamt about Shachi shyly asking to spend the night in his quarters. Even if he knew that what he felt for ____ wasn't as platonic as he might have hoped, he refused to accept that. He could afford to love her as his crewmate. But to accept that he'd fallen in love with her was too risky. He can't let his heart be so exposed, so easy to twist and break if the wrong person (namely Doflamingo) found out how vulnerable she made him.
____ didn't know why Law had been so distant and cold lately. She thought that things had been going well between them...did she do something wrong? After three full days of him avoiding her had gone by (walking out of the room when she entered, not speaking to her whenever she asked him something outside of a few short words), she couldn't take it anymore. When Law had wordlessly left after dinner, refusing to even look at her when she'd offered to take his plate, she followed him out of the dining cabin and into the hallway of the Polar Tang.
"Cap."
Law froze when he heard ____'s voice.
"Is there...Are you alright?" Her voice was soft. "You've been acting a bit off recently, but only to me. Are you upset with me or something?" She hesitated for a moment and racked her brain for what she could have done to make him behave so coldly. "Whatever it is, I'm sorry. Just…" She sighed and looked pleadingly at the back of her captain as he stood still. "Can you just tell me what I did?"
Law bit the inside of his cheek and stared straight ahead. He'd never meant to make her upset by avoiding her; he had thought that by keeping his distance from her for a while, the feelings he had might start to fade. But instead they'd only gotten stronger. She was always in the back of his mind, no matter how much he tried to focus on something else. And now she was right behind him, sounding so guilty and confused and hurt. He'd hurt her.
He couldn't bring himself to turn around and face her. "...You didn't do anything wrong," he replied.
He heard her take a few steps closer to him. "Then why have you only been acting like this towards me? " She crossed her arms. "Look, whatever it is, I want to make it right so that we can go back to…" She sighed and threw her hand around. "I don't know, talking to each other! Occasionally making eye contact every once in a while. Being able to stay in the same room without you immediately leaving when I walk in." Her voice wobbled a bit as she vented her frustration. "I thought we were close. I thought that you…" She trailed off and ran her hand through her hair. "Just tell me why you've been acting like this."
Law felt his fingernails digging into his palms. His mind was racing for a way to explain his behavior without having to confront his feelings for her. "I…" His knuckles tightened. She didn't deserve to be lied to like this. "I don't know if I can tell you," he replied quietly. "I'm--I'm not upset with you, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry that I made you think that." His voice was slightly shaky as he fumbled for an explanation. "You've been a valuable crewmate, and obviously I care about you. But there's something else there when I think about you. Something I don't want to admit." His face felt like it was on fire, wondering what her expression was as she heard him stumble his way through this; he was too nervous to turn around and face her on his own, though. "Something I'm...afraid to admit."
____ was silent behind him, eyes narrowing as she tried to piece together what he was really saying. After a few moments of watching him, her eyes widened a bit and her gaze softened. She walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder; he immediately tensed up and his breath hitched. "Well," she said, her voice soft with a slightly playful lilt to it, "Lie to me, then."
Law furrowed his brows and frowned, and he turned his head slightly to face her. "...What?"
____ saw just how pink his cheeks were and smirked. "If you can't tell me the truth just yet, then lie to me. Like...hmm..." She put a hand under her chin. "Say that you were avoiding me because you caught a disease or something." Her smile widened. "One where you can't be around beautiful women for too long, or else your temperature will get so high that you pass out." She pantomimed a person falling onto a floor with her hands. "So you had to quarantine yourself and stay away from me, or else-- smack. "
Law stared at her for a while and his shoulders slowly relaxed. "I…" Even if he hadn't been brave enough to actually say it, he'd finally let her know how he felt. In the moment it was terrifying, and still was right now, but also...liberating. It felt like a weight on his chest had been lifted. He gave her a small smile. "Yes. That's...that's why. But I think it's passed now, so we should be able to interact again without any problems."
____ caressed the back of his shoulder with her thumb, and Law immediately felt goosebumps raise on his skin. To his surprise, she tilted her head back a bit and let out an incredibly fake cough. "Oh nooo," she said dramatically, "I think the disease might be contagious, even after a patient's cured! I can't look at a handsome man without..." She glanced back at Law and held the back of her hand to her forehead as she pretended to swoon.
Law rolled his eyes and pulled her back up; when he heard her snort as she laughed, he let out a small chuckle. "Sounds like a dangerous disease. Luckily, I know a good doctor."