Law creaked the door to his room open, peeking in to confirm your whereabouts. Sure enough, there was a you-sized lump looking awfully comfortable beneath the blankets bundled around his bed. He could tell from just a glance at the steady rise and fall of your breathing that you’d been in a deep sleep for some time now.
He scoffed, but it held no malice — there was a quiet peace humming in his chest at the sight of you tucked away in his bed, safe and without a care in the world.
In other circumstances, he almost would’ve felt bad for disturbing such a peaceful scene. He anticipated some grumbling, but knew you’d be far more upset if he didn’t wake you given the circumstances.
Treading quietly, he made his way to the bed and took a seat at its edge beside you. A gentle hand pressed to your shoulder and nudged you awake.
“Hey,” he murmured. “Y/N.”
Your body shifted. A weary head lifted, turning over your shoulder to peek up at him with a hazy frown. You squinted at him in the dark room. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”
You were already sitting up, fists balled as you rubbed at your eyes.
He chuckled, taking a piece of your lopsided hair and smoothing it over your part. “Nothing’s wrong, but you might want to come look out the kitchen window.”
You blinked in confusion, but only for a moment. Your eyes went wide and a grin curled across your face. The blanket was thrown off your legs, and you scrambled into your slippers as you looked at him with excitement.
“What is it? A humpback? I’ve been thinking we might spot one in this area — oh my goodness.” You gasped. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Go see for yourself,” he grinned, gesturing toward the door.
He had no idea why you got so excited about passing animals — they were a constant when traveling the open ocean. But there wasn’t one you’d spotted without your face practically smushed against the glass in pure glee. You’d pull the entire crew over to look at even a singular turtle. Law didn’t exactly understand the thrill, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little excited now. Mostly because the fun for him was seeing just how hyped up you’d get.
Law could already picture the stupid smile on your face as he leisurely followed your hurried steps down the hall. You looked like a kid on Christmas morning, making a beeline for the kitchen with huffed breaths of anticipation.
As you rounded the corner, your squeal echoed down the metal halls of the Tang. It made him shake his head in amusement as you bolted into the kitchen to shove your way through your giggling crewmates.
“Oi, Y/N, look! They think Shachi is one of them!”
It wasn’t just one, but an entire pod of orcas who seemed just as enamored with the wide-eyed Heart Pirates ogling them through the glass.
Their clicks could be heard from inside the Tang, everyone erupting into cheers and laughter as the few who swam close to investigate spun in curiosity, particularly fixated on the hat atop Shachi’s head.
When Law finally made it around the corner, he leaned against the doorframe with crossed arms, watching the familiar chaos unfold.
He couldn’t see your expression, but he didn’t need to. From your excited bounces in front of the glass and honeyed laughter, he could picture your rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes as clearly as if he were standing beside you — he’d memorized that look simply by loving you.
Shachi moved his head around dramatically, causing the whole lot of you to burst into laughter and coo at the thousand-pound beasts like they were babies.
Everyone froze in confusion. The blue aura filled the room, and with a flick of his hand, Shachi’s hat popped onto your head.
Your hands flew to the plush cap with a laugh. The rest of the crew cheered, watching with even more excitement as the whales directed their attention toward you.
“Look, they noticed!” Penguin hollered. “They’re pretty smart. We should keep one. We can teach it to tip over enemy ships. They do that, you know.”
“How the hell could you idiots keep a damn whale?” Law muttered, walking over to pour himself a cup of coffee.
Shachi jerked a thumb toward Bepo. “We keep a bear just fine.”
“Oh yeah, very funny!” Bepo whined.
“Come on, wouldn’t it be sick to have a killer whale trailing the Tang?” Penguin asked.
Your eyes never left the window, but you laughed at the ridiculous thought.
“Well, we’d have to train all of them, not just one. They’re family animals. They stick together.”
Law glanced over at your words. The coffee in his hands was warm, and the smell of cinnamon, his favorite, drifted through the steam. He thought they’d ran out, but you must have gotten your hands on some more for him at the last Island they visited. He looked at your soft smile, at the rowdy cluster of morons who were now nothing more than noise pollution with their ridiculous theories on how to convince the entire pod to stick around.
He didn’t remember his own well, but it was little mornings like these that made him feel as though he wasn’t missing out on much.
He took another sip of coffee, eyes peaking beneath his fur hat at the lot of you with quiet contentment. Maybe he could wait a bit longer before returning to his study.
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