hello again! This is my second contribution to @onepiece-blorboexchange for @some-piece (Law is so fine, I couldn't help myself when he was on your list). Still wishing you the best of times and happy holidays!
You and Law find yourselves bickering while struggling to see past anything in the snowstorm you’ve managed to walk into when running from marines, and thank god you stumble across an abandoned cabin!
Pairing: Trafalgar Law x gn! reader
Word count: 1,8K
Content: a little bickering, forced proximity, insinuated slow burn, mutual pining, touch-starved Law, kissing
“If you didn’t get cuffed we would’ve gotten out of-,” your hands shook frustrated at the snow shooting past you and scratching your face, “THIS!”.
Sending a scowl over his shoulders, the doctor ignored your complaining yet again, but muttered something under his breath.
‘We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t lost the keys…’
“What was that, Trafalgar?” your voice was pointed, yet silly through your frustration, and he rolled his eyes. Fuck. As if the sea prism stone hadn’t drained all of his energy already, he couldn’t keep up with your usual bickering while caught in a snowstorm.
“Let’s find a place to rest, y/n-ya,”
His exasperated sigh got lost in the storm, but you noticed how his shoulders were hanging low and his knees struggled to keep his weight, a strike of shame rushing through you. You had known him long enough to realize what his behavior meant, especially when he was tired. Too busy wallowing in your own puddle of misery the realization of the cuffs effect had slipped your mind, neglecting to see your captain’s struggles. Did he want you to realize? Absolutely not. Did you know this? Yes.
Zipping your mouth shut was the only form of relief you could bring the exhausted doctor while searching for any kind of refuge from the snowstorm. And like a guardian from above kept watch over you, a forest came to view, meaning you would get away from the aggressive snow cutting your skin and blinding your vision. Cutting the distance made a silhouette in front of the forest form clearer with each heavy step in the snow, a small sense of hope burning in your chest.
“Law, look! That looks like a cabin!”
Law wanted to believe your enthusiasm. However, his bad luck and constant defeats brought him to face reality in dire situations; so he remained silent, not willing to rip away your joy.
A small ignition of your shared hope ran through him when the silhouette became clearer the closer you got and a rare smile, though painted with exhaustion, decorated his lips when you ran towards the dark. A smile that went unnoticed by you.
“Law, we’re saved! It is a cabin!” you exclaimed while jumping in the snow, all exhaustion seeming to leave your body..
After reaching the cabin the both of you came to the same conclusion; it was abandoned. Meaning the cold and frost were its only inhabitant, lingering in the walls. Nevertheless, it kept the two of you safe from the snowstorm outside and provided shelter for the night, meaning you were lucky to reach the cabin before it became too dark.
“I’ll check if there are any bedrooms and bathrooms, okay? Will you see if there’s a kitchen?” you asked your captain who was staring out of the window, like he was looking for someone. With a small nod of his head you turned on your feet and inspected the cabin, which you found out had a traditional bathroom consisting of a hole into the ground for a toilet, and a tiny bedroom but no bed, only a worn out couch.
Going back to the hallway you came from, you noticed Law missing from the window, before he called you from what you assumed was the kitchen. There was no sink visible, only an oven and cupboards. The two of you barely fit in the kitchen together due to the tight space.
“There’s food in the cupboards,” he muttered, and you were glad his hand had been cuffed at his front and not back allowing him to use his hands. His hands that had turned a slightly different shade from before, and you realized he hadn’t worn any gloves.
“Oh fuck, Law, are you okay?” you grabbed his hands instinctively with yours and covered them, feeling his cold fingers shake under your woolen touch, before he pulled away with a shocked grimace, eyes blown wider than usual.
“What the hell? I have to warm them for you before your fingers fall off!” and he hit his head against the cupboards in a new attempt to back away when you went to grab them again, causing you to give him an irritated and confused look.
“I’m fine,” his voice was low as he grumbled out his protest, but you pulled off your own gloves before grabbing his hands, forcing the warm cloth onto him, his face turning to the wall.
“I’m no doctor, Law, but even I know when fingers are in danger,” you retorted, finally satisfied when the gloves covered his almost frostbitten hands, not realizing you held onto him.
“Alright, there, all good! Now, what would you do if you were to lose them?”
A withdrawal of his hands let you know he bore no appreciation for smalltalk, but he still left you with a tiny token of appreciation. Alas, a big one coming from him.
“Thanks…”
His voice barely lingered in the room before the cold enveloped your body like a stiff blanket, your teeth involuntarily chattering as you hugged yourself for warmth, seeing your captain discreetly copying your action. Which led to a… less than bright idea that could end in your downfall. A downfall your body didn’t care to think about at the moment.
With shaky hands you reached for the arm of his jacket, his head snapping to face you, the small kitchen providing you with nothing short of intimacy. For a small moment your eyes locked and he wore the same shock like earlier, before his eyes flickered to look down at your hands grasping his jacket, eyebrows knitting together.
“What are you doing?”
Maybe it was a bad idea, but neither of you gained anything by keeping your body heat separate, so how wrong could it be to ask? His muscles tensing beneath your grasp slipped your attention when you absentmindedly tightened your hold before letting your question slip past your lips with a noticeable shiver from the cold.
“Shouldn’t we, uhm, be closer? To warm each other?”
Your question was unexpected, causing his breath to freeze at the suggestion. You knew very well the doctor only allowed physical affection from his first mate, his softness and fur unmatched by anyone. What you didn’t know was the feelings your captain harbored for you. Feelings he wanted to neglect and forget, to vanish off the face of the earth. But how could he?
His heart pumped wildly when he looked at you, the pair of eyes he had grown scared to gaze into begging him for closeness. And in a moment of weakness that shook you both he pulled you close with his arms thrown over your head, planting your face in his neck. For a few seconds your arms stayed captured between your chests, his unexpected gesture throwing you off, but when he squeezed you harder you realized this was something you both craved. A sigh escaped his lips and he melted into your body when your hands reached his back to embrace him as well. You stood there for a while, both of you drinking in the warmth exuding from each other.
“Thank you…” Law whispered into your ear while hugging you tighter, letting himself be selfish this once. To let himself engulf in your affection and warmth, feeling his mind calming down. You were so safe.
Law was quiet, but tensed when he noticed your hands fidgeting behind his back, until you eventually pulled them back to rest them between your bodies. Your gloves. You must’ve been freezing. Your captain’s hold around you loosened, and you took it as a hint that he wanted to disconnect entirely, causing the chain of his cuffs to stop at your neck as you pulled away. Your faces centimeters apart, a shy blush dusting his cheeks as he looked at you with widened eyes and mouth parted in a small gasp, mirroring you.
His chest pushed against yours in an increasingly faster manner while his eyes flickered down to your lips before locking with yours again. And by reflex you did the same, seeing a small bob of his adam’s apple before his gloved hands captured your face, cupping your cheeks so tenderly you didn’t believe he was the same Surgeon of Death feared across the seas.
“Y/n-ya…” and your blood pumped loudly in your ears at his whisper, his eyes half-lidded as he gazed at you with a fierce blush across his cheeks. And he was so unfairly beautiful, just mere centimeters in front of you. A distance you boldly chose to close, leaning in while grasping the collar of his jacket to pull him towards you, closing your eyes as your lips finally met. And how they belonged together.
With lips melting together, content sighs escaped you both while drinking in the warmth and butterflies soaring through your bodies. But just as fast the heat rose inside of you, coldness left you chasing his lips in the air.
“Are you sure this is okay?” such a silly question.
With an amused smile you ignored him by pulling at his collar once more, enveloping his warm, velvety lips in a loving embrace with your own. His shoulders fell under your touch with a small sigh, his lips seeking every ounce of love you had to offer while his heart wanted to burst out of his chest at the sudden turn of events.
The kiss deepened as Law pressed himself tighter against you, cupping your face like he was trying to hold on to a fantasy he never wanted to stop. Sighs, groans and breaths were exchanged and became part of the howling wind brushing past the window as you finally felt yourselves get warm. But your hands.
And when you both realized how neither of you had taken a breath for too long, your lips disconnected as you both gasped for air, looking just as flustered and shy as the other.
“Are your - uhm - do you need your gloves back?”
He had noticed your hands clinging to his collar, feeling you shake against him. And his question had you look frantically at your hands, realizing how cold you actually were.
“Oh! No, I should have another pair in my jacket!” you blurted out wanting to facepalm yourself for not realizing sooner, your hands digging down into your pockets before shooting back up.
A small clattering sound startled you both, the both of you naturally looking at the ground for the cause of the sudden noise. Keys?
“Y/n-ya, what was that?” Law’s limited reach didn’t allow him a satisfying view, whereas your eyes widened at the object before lifting the chain off of you to grab the keys.
Keys you thought you had lost hours ago….
