Chapter Text
I know I'd let you in
On all my bad decisions
You'd make them feel less terrible
The second that you'd listenWhat are you doing to me now?
You came out of the blue like that
I never could've seen you coming[The Blue - Gracie Abrams]
When he saw her for the first time, she – of course – tried to steal from him. Well, not directly from him. Except for his hat, he wore hardly anything that meant something to him on him, and all the cash he had was tucked away in his companion's bag. That very bag she had snatched in a careless moment before swiftly running away.
»Corazon!«, he shouted loudly to alert the man next to him. He was in the process of buying ice cream for both of them, unaware that the money for said ice cream was currently disappearing with a red-haired thief.
And as much as he liked him by now, sometimes he still drove him to despair. Just like now, when the man turned around to chase the thief and, in the same moment, stumbled over his own long legs. He fell flat on his nose and groaned. It was a miracle that he didn't manage to somehow set his clothes on fire in the process. It wouldn’t have been the first time it happened, after all.
Without much thought, Law set himself in motion to catch the audacious thief. His illness had been sapping his strength more frequently lately, but a sudden adrenaline rush made him feel almost nothing. He was agile and small enough to quickly dodge some oncoming people, and it didn't take long for him to see the red-haired thief turning into an alley.
»Hey, stop right there!«, he yelled, feeling a rush of euphoria as the thief actually flinched at the sound of his voice – apparently surprised that she even had a pursuer, as she apparently hadn't noticed him before – and stumbled through a moment of carelessness over a heavy sack stored at the back door of a house between some crates. With a soft cry, she fell to the ground, Corazon's bag flying a few meters away. Law didn't stop when he reached her; instead, he made sure to firmly grasp the bag in his hands before standing in front of her.
»What do you think you're doing, just stealing from us?! You'll pay for this—«, he began angrily before stopping mid-sentence. The thief had turned her face towards him, and her appearance completely surprised him. Two large brown eyes stared back at him, unsuccessfully trying to hold back the tears already running down her reddened cheeks. Her orange hair was tousled, some dirty strands even stuck to her forehead. Her hands trembled, trying unsuccessfully to cover her knee, which she had apparently scraped in the fall.
»You're a girl«, Law said rather unoriginally. He had been surprised that the thief was so small. But she looked so... sweet. Not exactly like someone you would suspect of theft. That took the wind out of his sails for the moment. At least until she scolded him.
»Yeah, and?« Her gaze was fiery, challenging. It triggered something in him that he didn't quite understand. A kind of déjà vu, even though he had never seen her before.
»Nothing 'and'«, he managed to say, shaking his head. »I was just... hey!« Barely distracted for a tiny moment, the girl in front of him had managed to pick herself up with wobbly steps and sprinted back in the direction she came from. The tears over her scraped knee were either pretended or the urge to escape was simply greater than the pain she felt.
Now that he had the backpack with their belongings back, the adrenaline rush that had driven his tired legs during the chase also subsided. His lungs burned with every breath. Was pursuit even worth it? He would only exhaust himself without catching her. And besides, he didn't know how to make her pay for the attempted theft...
A large shadow appeared at the end of the alley, blocking her way. The thief tried to wriggle her way through the long legs of her counterpart, but he had already grabbed her by the collar of her dirty jacket and brought her back into the alley. She resisted, hard, as Law could see. Her mouth was open as if she were screaming, but not a single sound reached him. Only when Corazon came close enough and also enveloped him in the invisible bubble he had created with the power of his Devil Fruit did he hear her screams.
Law furrowed his brows as the thief babbled something about 'child abduction'. »Hold on a moment«, he snapped at her now, while Corazon seemed completely unfazed. »You're the one who stole from us!«
Her screams ceased, but not her desperate attempts to free herself from the man's grip. Law could see that Corazon was about to let her go so she wouldn't hurt herself (after all, his companion was over two meters tall, and a fall from that height onto the cold stone on the floor was certainly not pleasant) when she wriggled out of her jacket through her struggles. She fell the last few meters to the ground and grimaced as she landed. »Ouch«, she uttered softly. Corazon, holding only the girl's jacket now, looked down at her. His eyes widened slightly, and Law followed his surprised gaze to her left shoulder. He could spot the edge of a tattoo. Was he shocked because of that? Because she already had a tattoo, even though she was even younger than Law himself? That was perhaps a bit unusual, but certainly not a reason for the concern that now lightly reflected in his companion's eyes.
»That's the Jolly Roger of the Arlong Pirates«, Corazon observed quietly, prompting the thief to quickly raise her right hand to cover the tattoo on her shoulder. The expression on her face revealed that she had intentionally hidden the mark. »I've heard that he's roaming around the East Blue. But what does he want here in Kiyosh? And from us?«
The thief pressed her lips tightly together, a clear sign that she wouldn't say anything. Corazon looked at her for a moment before opting for a different tactic. »Well, we can simply hand you over to the Marine officers here in the town«, he began, earning a shocked look from Law. Was he serious? He hated the Marines! And they were practically on the run from Doflamingo! He was about to angrily remind him of all that when he saw that the girl had instantly turned pale at his words. »They will surely be interested in the fact that Arlong's people are causing trouble in this town.«
»No... please... please don't«, she whimpered. Her voice was so soft that Law wasn't quite sure if Corazon had even heard her.
He still looked down at her. »What's your name?«
»N-Nami«, the girl murmured obediently, and Law could have sworn that something gave him a pang. Nami. It wasn't the same name, but it sounded very similar.
Lamy. God, how long had it been since he heard her name? He hadn't even thought about her in a long time, just like he had pushed away any thoughts of his parents, friends, and his home. All memories of his previous life hurt terribly, and even now, as he could see the smile of his little sister in his mind as if she stood before him, it felt like the little thief had punched him in the stomach with her whisper.
Corazon would have surely noticed his tortured expression if his attention hadn't been on the girl. By now, he had crouched down beside her, still being significantly taller than the two children. »Would you like some ice cream, Nami?«
The redhead widened her eyes and stared at him in shock. »I... what?«
»I asked whether you want some ice cream«, he replied patiently, putting on the wide grin that had made Law roll his eyes more than once. Corazon seemed to have changed his tactics again, as there was no trace in his gaze anymore that he wanted to hand the little thief over to the Marine. He gestured with his thumb in Law's direction, who was still staring intently at a spot in front of his toes. »We were just about to get some ice cream. Do you want some, too?«
Nami still looked at him with wide eyes. »But I don't have any money«, she mumbled.
Corazon waved it off. »No problem, it’s my treat. What's your favorite flavor?«
Nami still looked undecided, but the prospect of delicious ice cream apparently outweighed her suspicion in the end. »Mikan!«, she answered with shining eyes.
»Great, mikan it is. Come on, let's go back then. Do you have the backpack, Law?« Corazon picked himself up and followed Nami cheerfully, as if this girl hadn't just tried to steal all their belongings five minutes ago. Law stared at the two of them for a moment, bewildered, before shouldering the backpack and hastily following them. Nami walked a bit ahead of them, so he pulled at Corazon's shirt urgently to catch his attention before she noticed. »What do you think you’re doing?« , he hissed through clenched teeth.
»Well, we're getting ice cream, didn't you listen?«
Law gestured wildly with his hands, but Corazon seemed to understand him even without words. He snapped his fingers and enveloped the two in a deep silence so that no one could hear them. Not even Nami, still a few meters away.
»She just tried to rob us! And now you want to buy her ice cream??«, Law complained immediately, frowning in annoyance. Corazon seemed unimpressed.
»Law«, he began without taking his eyes off the little girl, who now had a almost bouncing gait a few meters away. »This girl bears the Jolly Roger of a Fishman pirate crew on her skin, and she's not even as old as you. And it didn't seem like she guards her captain's secrets with much conviction... looks more like she's absolutely frightened of him«
Law could see him squinting as they left the dark alley. Not a second later, he pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket to protect his eyes from the sun. »She may have tried to steal from us, but she surely has a good reason for it. And besides, we still have to wait for your appointment at the hospital, so until then, we can try to help her, too.«
Law grumbled something unintelligible, but Corazon had already lifted the sphere around them. Not that he would have actually offered any more objections. Something in the man's tone prevented him from further criticizing his decision. His thoughts silently returned to the question of why Corazon had developed this damn hero complex. It made sense that he wanted to heal him – probably hoping that he could find out more about the D. through him, or that he would at least be useful to him someday – but he couldn't, for the life of him, explain why he picked up this damn girl off the street. Or why he beamed as he handed the very happy Nami her desired mikan ice cream.
She seemed to be thawing a bit, even though she still revealed nothing about her deal with this Arlong. Law walked a few steps behind them, licking his chocolate ice cream grumpily, while Nami enthusiastically told Corazon that she loved mikan ice cream the most because she grew up on a mikan farm, and Corazon told her that an old friend of his had always talked about living on a mikan farm someday, too. His unexpected kindness had apparently indeed led her to trust him, at least to the extent that the two were laughing about some joke Law had missed. He had been busy staring holes into the back of the girl's head and keeping his hand from throwing his ice cream at her.
Stupid Nami. She was probably trying to charm Corazon so that she could seize her belongings again in a moment of his carelessness. But not with him! Every time she glanced around in scrutiny, he looked at her with an angry gaze that made her flinch. Good. She should not feel safe or believe that both of them were falling for her deceitful game.
His hostility towards her, however, only made her divert all her attention to Corazon, completely ignoring Law. After they had walked quite a distance, Nami stopped. The sudden halt almost caused Corazon to trip over his long legs again, but he managed to catch himself just in time. A miracle, as Law thought.
»Thank you for the ice cream«, she finally uttered shyly, looking only at Corazon because Law's glares still pierced her like invisible daggers. »And I'm really sorry that I... tried to steal from you. It won't happen again, I promise.«
Corazon waved it off again, and Law gritted his teeth in frustration at the sight. »Oh, don't worry about it. It was nice to meet you, Nami. Right, Law?«
He only grunted in response, which Corazon ignored again. He looked around assessingly. They had arrived in the harbor district of the town. »Do you have a place to stay? The nights on this island are always very cold.«
Even from a distance, Law could see her cheeks turning red. Out of embarrassment? »I have my boat«, she shrugged, nodding towards the sea. In some distance, larger ships were anchored, but in the direction Nami indicated, there was only a small boat with a thin sail docked at the pier. Even Law wondered how such a little girl could be traveling alone in a damn rowboat.
»You know, Nami...«, Corazon began, and Law closed his eyes. He knew exactly what was coming now. And even though he knew that refusing to help this girl probably made him a bad person, he sent silent prayers to the heavens, hoping that Corazon would just shut up.
Please don't. Please don't. Please don't.
»We have a room here in the town. Why don't you stay overnight with us? Then at least you're safe from other pirates and have a roof over your head.«
Ahhhh. Law resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. If it were up to Corazon, they would never get rid of this little thief. He even invited her to practically ambush them in their sleep.
His eyes narrowed and focused on Nami. Now, he could only hope that she would decline the offer. She hesitated, but then nodded slowly. Damn.
»If it's not too much trouble for you«, she mumbled awkwardly, and everything in Law screamed at him to loudly shout »Yes, it is a lot of trouble!«
Corazon smiled warmly at her. »Oh no, not at all!«, he reassured immediately, gesturing for her to follow him. Law trudged along behind them, his head lowered.
Sometimes, it really became too exhausting for him to watch over Corazon. Now all he could hope for was that she would disappear the next morning, once she had taken enough advantage of their hospitality. And, hopefully, without taking all their belongings with her.