It had been a few weeks since (Y/N) had arrived on the yellow submarine and today was the fourth day that she was cooped up in the room Law had given her in order for her to have some space. 

The first week the crew had not acknowledged her presence, except for a few short answers whenever their captain was present. But these last couple of days they had begun making it clear that she was not wanted there. 

Bepo had been the only one to at least try, but now he would only give her a small wave whenever the others didn't see him. He hated it, but he didn't want any fights while at the same time wanting to respect his captains' decision.

She didn't blame the crew for hating her though and she didn't want to put the poor thing in between them and his captain. 

But she would be lying if she told anyone it didn't bother her. The scoffs and huffs they made whenever she walked into their field of vision or the sneers whenever she attempted a friendly smile. It was too much for her already fragile confidence to take. 

'Sometimes you're too kind for your own good.'

"Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for this." 

'I know, I know. You wouldn't be treated like this if it wasn't for me and I wouldn't be this way if it wasn't for you. Blah blah blah. Look, angel, we can play the blame game all you want.
It's not gonna change anything. However, ~'

(Y/N) whimpered before clamping her hands over her ears at the cruel suggestions.

She hated moments like these when the other would prove the fact that she was pure evil and tried her best to block out the parts that unwillingly filled her mind.

'Why are you fighting it? We tried it your way. Look what good that did us.'

"Stop..." She knew it. Akuma would never change. It was her fault she was like this. 

'If they don't like you, make them fear you.'

She'd never live a normal life. Who was she kidding? 

"STOP!" 

Suddenly she felt her hands being yanked away from her ears and blinked at the blurry figure in front of her. 

"(Y/N)-chan, are you alright?!" 

Once her vision returned fully, she stared dumbfounded at Bepo before pulling away from him, making him release her. 

"S-Sorry!" he said while looking around helplessly, wondering if he should go get his captain.

"Don't tell him... Please... I-I'll leave. Next time we're stopping at an island, just distract him and I'll leave. Just don't tell him." she whimpered while pressing her back against the wall and holding herself. 

"Bepo." 

Both quickly looked towards the doorway with wide eyes at Law who stood with his arms crossed and a deep frown.

Quickly, the bear excused himself and briskly walked out, but not before shooting a look of apology towards (Y/N). 

Law stepped inside the room before closing the door behind him and made his way over. His frown deepened when she tried to get further away from him, her panic increasing when her back pressed further against the wall. 

"(Y/N)-ya." he said carefully before sitting in front of her and taking her hand in his. 

Before he could say anything further, she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest. "Please let me leave! I don't want to hurt anyone anymore!"

"(Y/N)." 

"Please..." she sniffed as her eyes glazed over when more vicious thoughts invaded her fragile mind. "Please kill me." 

Laws face remained unchanged while his arms wrapped around her and he kissed the side of her head, rocking them both until she had calmed down. 

Once her breathing had finally evened out, he moved away a bit to look at her properly.

"(Y/N)-ya. You're not crazy and you're not a danger." 

Still sobbing, she shut her eyes and shook her head frantically.
After everything that's happened, how could she not be? How could he of all people say this when she almost killed him? 

Knowing exactly where her thoughts were, he cupped her cheek and made her look at him. 

"I sedated you a few nights ago and scanned you." he said, ignoring the look of disapproval from her. "When I found nothing physically wrong with you. I spent these few days researching and found the answer." 

He gave a soft smile when she once again refused to meet his eyes, knowing exactly why. 

It was highly unlikely that she would've missed out on the topic when she herself has been studying psychology. Perhaps this was the very reason she took an interest in the subject from the very beginning. 

The problem was that she refused to believe it. 

"You know Akuma is just in your head, don't you?" 

When she tried to move away, he held her close again while stroking her hair gently. "What happened was not your fault. Akuma is the result of years of neglect from your family and years of torture." he said, trying to block out the images he saw from her memories at Dressrosa.

Even though she couldn't remember much from her life before the marines took her, Law could put together enough pieces to find out the important parts.

When she began to relax more in his arms, he proceeded to explain the pattern he had noticed.

After apologizing for neglecting her when it came to his crews' attitude towards her, he explained it was to test out when Akumas presence was most noticeable. Whenever (Y/N) felt lonely, the other would speak to her more and whenever she was threatened was when the demon would completely take over. 

"But... We've been getting along lately." she tried to defend, not really knowing why she felt the need to when she was fully aware that Law already knew everything. 

"More like you've accepted your situation." he pulled away to look at her. "Is that why you removed the information in the files?" 

She nodded. "I thought maybe if I convinced myself it was because of the extra heart I could hide behind that. Maybe... I thought that maybe she would disappear if I lost it." 

The guilt of the time he risked his life came back to her and she looked up before gripping his shoulders. 

"I really did believe it Law! I never meant to jeopardize your life for something that made no difference!"

Removing her hands from his shoulders, "I made the mistake in believing you over my own proficiency at that time. What's done is done." he smiled before placing her hand over his own heart. "I'm still here." 

She felt herself tear up before slumping against him and gripped his hoodie. "I'm not sure it's that easy, Law. How can you be so sure you're right about this?" 

Wrapping his arms around her again, "Easy. She's not here right now is she?" he ran his fingers lazily through her (H/C) locks. "That one time she was, is because you sensed that I tried to scan you and your defenses got alerted. I know you didn't mean to. It's just like back then." 

He held her tighter when she flinched at the mention of that day, but she needed to hear it. 
"Back then, I know you heard me and I know you wanted to take back control." Feeling her heartbeat quicken, he rubbed her back gently.
"But since you associate any physical injuries or distress to Akuma, the injuries you obtained in Dressrosa, along with me removing your second heart, raised your defenses tenfold. This doesn't make you crazy. It was your way of surviving your time with the marines."

Looking down, "So what now?" she asked, letting him know that she did not want to speak of those times anymore.

He moved one arm and reached into his pocket, shushing her gently when she tensed up, before taking out a small bag. "These will help you quiet her down a bit." he said as he placed it in her hand. 

She examined the white pills with a suspicious frown and he chuckled. 

"Don't you trust me?"

"With my life." she muttered and Law was grateful her eyes were still on the bag when he felt his face heat up at her heartfelt statement. 

He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Those will help, yes. But it's not some miracle cure. It is just to ease your anxiety, hopefully decreasing Akumas appearances. You'll have to interact more with people around you." Noticing her worried expression, he held her gently. "You know I can't be with you every hour of the day and that I can't order the crew to like you. It has to come from you." 

He then picked her up by her thighs, smirking at the squeak she let out as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, and carried her out of the room. "However, you'll be sleeping in my room from now on." 

Without responding, she let herself be carried to his room and was carefully placed on his bed once they got inside.

She watched him make his way to the single bathroom in the corner and listened to the running water. He probably wanted her to start taking the pills right away.

While waiting she took in his room properly, not really having spent much time there since that first day. Even though it wasn't that big and only had the simple necessities like a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf next to a couch used for reading - it was the homiest environment she had seen since the Sunny.

Law came into her field of sight, offering her the glass of water he had gotten and she looked down to the bag in her hand before meeting his eyes again. 

"You only take one a day before going to bed since it takes a few hours for them to take effect." he said while pulling up his chair so that he could take a seat in front of her.

She nodded and opened the bag before accepting the glass of water. Without thinking about it too much, she decided to take the pill quickly and frowned a bit when her throat stung in protest from the sudden hydration.

Law chuckled when she downed the glass quickly and gasped for air afterward.
"Want another one?" he asked while standing up and suppressed another chuckle when she nodded shyly.

Once she was satisfied she yawned and lied down on the bed, automatically scooting closer to the wall to leave him some room. 

"You sure?" he questioned while taking a seat at the edge of the bed, leaving her enough space to change her mind. 

"It's your bed." she said, pulling the blanket closer to cover part of her face in embarrassment. 

"I am fully aware of that (Y/N)-ya. But I don't mind taking the couch until you're comfortable." 

She shook her head and patted the space next to her. "I'm comfortable." 

"Even though I prefer sleeping in my underwear?" he smirked when her face turned red and she was now fully hiding her face. "I-If you prefer that then it's fine." she muttered.

Hearing him chuckle before the sound of rustling clothes filled the small space, her face heated up even more and she quickly turned so that she faced the wall. When she felt the bed dip she unconsciously became rigid.

"I'm not going to try anything (Y/N)-ya." She relaxed a bit when she could, from his voice, tell the distance he kept from her. 

She did feel safe with him, but she couldn't ignore the fear she felt whenever she remembered the fact that, compared to him and probably many other people, she was still more inexperienced than the average person. She was scared that he would eventually get tired of her. 

"You're overthinking again." he said while poking the space between her shoulder and neck, invoking an involuntary, but obvious, shudder from her that left them both speechless.

A comfortable silence fell over them both and after a while, she could feel movement until something firm met her back. 

Craning her neck a bit, she relaxed when she saw that Law had just scooted over to lie with his back against hers, getting her used to his proximity without crossing any boundaries. 

He was resting his head against his left arm while his right rested against his hip. His eyes were closed, but she could tell that he was still awake. 

Lying back down in the same way he was, the hand that rested on her hip trembled a bit in anticipation and fear. After clenching and unclenching her fist a few times, she carefully rested her hand on top of his.

Feeling it twitch, she was about to retract her hand until she felt his fingers link with hers. She let out the breath she had been holding while his thumb moved across her cold skin soothingly. He was so warm and comforting.

Both stayed like that while listening to the others breathing, but none of them were falling asleep. Not only did their position make it difficult, but also because (Y/N) was overthinking Laws intentions while he was thinking through his next course of actions - not wanting to scare her away.

It was quite a sweet sight. Both acting like nervous teenagers holding hands for the first time.

"Hey, Law?" 

"Hm?" 

She moved her head a bit so that she saw the side of his face. "You awake?" 

Feeling a rumble against her back, "Obviously." he chuckled while squeezing her hand gently.

When she didn't reply after feeling discouraged, he squeezed her hand again. "What's the matter?" 
He felt her hand start to tremble. "(Y/N)?" 

"Could... Could you kiss me?" 

Law said nothing while letting go of her hand and turned around to face her. He waited patiently until she finally found the courage to do the same.

She felt her cheeks burn at their closeness, but couldn't help but to mirror the smile he unconsciously wore. 

He scooted a bit closer, not making any sudden movements to keep from startling her.

No words were said while (E/C) met silver, both searching the eyes of the other.
There was a slight fear, and the uncertainty of how this was done, in hers - but no signs of doubt.

That was all Law needed.

Their eye contact never broke until his lips finally closed over hers.

It was short and innocent before he pulled back to read her reaction. Her face was bright red while she had a dazed look in her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled her close and let her rest her head against his chest.

"Let's get some sleep."

Not knowing what to say, she just nodded slowly while feeling her stomach sink.

Had she been bad? Was he disappointed?