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[enruiinas]

@climatact -- cont'd from here.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ❝I know.❞ Law's voice and expression alike were distant, the assurance that at least one person had listened and heeded her words of warning about the weather rolling off of his tongue in an absent murmur. He didn't doubt assessment - would have taken Nami's words for truth even if they'd walked out to be greeted by a gorgeous, cloudless sky as far as the eyes could see. It was one of the first things he had openly admired about the redhead three years prior; if Nami said it was going to rain, it didn't matter what the sky looked like — it was going to rain and you'd better get inside or have an umbrella.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Law could believe every word the woman offered when it came to the weather or on the subject of finances. But when it came to everything that had happened between them since they'd met one another…

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ When it came to how she felt about him…

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Clearing his throat, Law averted eyes he hadn't realized had been fixed on the woman's features until the faint echo of ”They're going!“ drew him from his reverie. He offered Nami a nod of agreement and forced hands to uncurl from fists in his pockets - shoulders to relax from the tight tension that had crept into them when he'd realized they were being forced to go out and communicate properly.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Like adults, Cora-san's voice echoed again. Right. They were adults - parents to a three year old who was unshakably convinced he was still in love with mother even on the days he couldn't bring himself to meet Nami's eyes. That that would be enough to make anything work when Law himself was not so sure.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ❝Alright. Might as well get going if we're going,❞ he offered in acknowledgement - adding loudly, with a pointed look at the window pane as if he could see through the curtains that were drawn - ❝So someone can make Cora-san watch Barbie for the eighteenth time this week while we're gone.❞

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Looking back at Nami, he pushed away from the wall and set off at a measured pace, intending to follow along the sidewalk until his street carried them to the major thoroughfare - precisely the opposite direction of the park and question, in favor of the more bustling activity of downtown for a place to pass enough time away before returning home from the night. ❝Have you eaten yet? If you're hungry, we can go somewhere.❞

[enruiinas]

#𝐂𝐏𝐓𝐍𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐆. an 18+ independent ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴜꜱᴇ blog, featuring portrayals from ᴏɴᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ, ꜰᴀɪʀʏ ᴛᴀɪʟ, ᴛʀɪɢᴜɴ, & more. originally established november 2023. ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʀᴜʟᴇꜱ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪɴɢ !

[enruiinas]

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ It wasn’t Nami’s outfit. At least not entirely, at any rate – though the costume-clad man would be lying if he said there wasn’t something… delightfully exhilarating about the little glimpse at lace garters their arrangement in the car had provided him. It was a far cry from the generous amounts of skin she’d worn on display for him the day Law had joined Tama and the redhead on the beach for some afternoon entertainment not that long ago, but having some idea what lie underneath that little red cloak of hers made it all the more difficult to focus on the competition they were supposed to be winning – or this game they were suddenly playing – or anything beyond the fingers toying with the hair on the nape of his neck as she offered her own ideas to the evening’s results.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Law had shown up with his A-game and was prepared to perform his part accordingly; he had no intention of letting his date down this evening in any sense of the phrase – but gods, was that touch and the memory of what had almost or not transpired between them in the car making it difficult to care what Pooh and Christopher Robin’s evening held for them beyond their arrival.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Shaking his head in an effort to clear this distracted line of thinking, Law reached up to untangle Nami’s fingers from his tresses – occupying himself with procuring two gleaming glasses filled with seasonally colored beverages from a fortuitously-timed tray passing by. He offered one to his date along with a shrug far more nonchalant than he was actually feeling in the moment. Taking a long, slow sip of his own, he arched an eyebrow and gestured vaguely toward the dance floor.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ❝And miss a chance to get my paws all over you, Little Red? I wouldn’t dream of it. As for your drinks and the efforts the big bad wolf is willing to go to to make sure I get you cornered somewhere by the end of this evening, well…❞ Feeling playful now that he had his own first drink in his hand and their surroundings had been surveyed, Law leaned in close enough that only Nami would be able to hear him. ❝Don’t you worry about that. The night’s still young, after all.❞

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Before she had time to respond to him, Law withdrew, offering a hand in place of the lips that had just passed dangerously close to the redhead’s ear. Amber eyes filled with mischief as he watched her. ❝Shall we?❞

Humming in return, brown eyes swept over the couple in question at Law's very realistic ideals of how the evening was going to go for their competition. “Or he's going to be so desperate to get it off her and do anything but dance that they're going to leave early.” Either way, that's one less competition for us too.”

Sweeping along the crowd, Nami ignored Law's response, enjoying their little game in verbally smacking down their competitors. “Now Pooh on the other hand-” Fingers ran along the back of his neck, playing with the longer hairs and the fluff along his collar. “She's more uncomfortable than she's letting on and Christopher Robin is enjoying the night out a little too much.” Craning her head towards the man who was on his third drink within her short arrival. “He's for sure going to be on the couch tonight if he doesn't slow down.”

Eyes returned to Law's, an amused expression upon her face. “As for Mr. Big Bad Wolf… He's going to have to work a little harder than that. I believe you still owe me a few drinks… and if you think you're going to get out of dancing, you're very, very wrong.”

A tilt of her head and a quirk of an orange eyebrow, Nami tried to figure out exactly what it was about this outfit over all others got him going… The way he looked at her in the car had her quite sure that it wasn't just an act. A thought that made her flush in spite of herself from thinking about it alone. Law had, after all, seen her in far less clothing… Unbeknownst to her just how excited a string bikini had made him, she wondered if it was the lace, or the garters… or purely that she'd left so much to his imagination.

[enruiinas]

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ He would have enjoyed it - immensely. Not that there'd been any more question about that than there was that the particular gleam in Nami's eyes as she stepped away from him promised something he was bound to enjoy just as much as making her moan and sigh for him.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ It didn't take an attentive lover to work out what the redhead was up to when she braced herself against hipbones already eager to start rocking against her; but as eager as Law was to coax those musical, blissful sounds from her, even he was only human.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Just as Nami anticipated, Law offered no further protest when her fingers wrapped around the erect manhood already aching for her. He just followed the slow, graceful descent of her body southward, wondered distantly how long she'd be able to do that so smoothly, and nearly choked on a soft growl of appreciation as deft fingers enveloped him.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ He would just have to revisit that making Nami moan for him order of business as soon as his feisty lover finished having her own wicked way with him.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Eyes locked on hers, his throat felt strangely parched as he resisted the urge to arch into her touch already. He'd seen her like this before - it was an image that had featured in many of Law's dreams since their last encounter, but even his vivid imagination paled compared to the very real image before him. An image made only somehow more enticing by that little bump that hadn't been there the last time.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ❝Well... I suppose since you're offering....❞ The half attempt at a joke did little to hide how strained his voice was, or how eagerly he watched in anticipation - desperate for more- her touch, her mouth... whatever she felt so inclined to give him... ❝It would be rude of me to turn such a generous offer down, wouldn't it? Guess I'll just have to make you make those pretty noises for me - later -❞

Nami couldn't help it. When around Law, he did something that made her brain turn off and mouth take over. Most the time she was talking nonsense, purely talking to talk and he knew it. This much was clear by the light of amusement in the man's amber orbs. It was a wonder he even paid attention at all, and yet… Law was the kind of man that was attentive enough to repeat every word back to her. Even when she had very little idea of the words that had passed her lips.

So very, very lucky…

Attentive and very much at attention. Clearly he meant it when he brought up how much he enjoyed the little changes in her body. And as he should. Nami was a straight up milf and had little doubt that she could win beauty pageants nine months pregnant if she entered- She just might, just to prove she could, too- and she was all his.

Large chestnut orbs locked with Law's, glazed over with lusty intent. Indeed, it was very difficult not to let her eyes drift downwards to the part of him that reacted to the sight of her body before him. Once again fingers twitched, gripping his hipbone just a little harder to make it known just how much she liked his offer. Nami's body was very much reacting to him in turn, pussy pulsing and throbbing between her legs. There was little doubt she was already soaked in a way that had nothing to do with the spray of water down both of their bodies.

“Oh, you would love that, wouldn't you? I'm not saying no, but… I had other ideas.” Before Law could protest, Nami's free hand mirrored the first. A half step back, she slid down the perfectly chiseled tattooed body to sink to her knees. “There's one more thing I wanted to give you first.”

A single bat of long lashes, Nami took Law's twitching member in her hand. Doe eyes offered a pleading look- daring him, really- to tell her no when she was already on her knees handling his cock.

[enruiinas]

Umm so… I started crocheting.

I may never write or do anything else again.

Send help. And yarn.

[enruiinas]

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ It was familiar. Everything from the scene unfolding around him (stream of water washing over his naked body, its warmth and the noise it made all but unnoticed on the outskirts of his mind) to the same way his pulse grew loud and fast in his ears as he admired her – exactly as it had done the last time they’d stood here.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ And while the passage of time may have left its traces on both of them, there was one clear thing even months apart had not changed: Nami was as much the talker as she’d always been. It might almost have made him laugh to hear her pout and tease about the changes their estrangement had brought on him – if he weren’t so preoccupied with watching her while orbs of chestnut roamed his bare body before her. Though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, it filled the tattooed doctor with no little satisfaction to watch the redhead’s throat work and her lips part as she gave him her searching once-over. Pride that only fueled a growing excitement evident in far more than the twitching of eager fingers.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ But for this one given moment, Trafalgar Law was a man on a mission – and it left no room for jests or idle banter. Even as Law hummed his absent agreement (because of course there was no way any offspring of theirs would struggle in the looks department), he found himself stepping closer – directly into the stream of running water, and so close the hand that lifted to cradle Nami’s cheek ensured that at least her gaze lay solely above her collarbones. Whether her attention followed was another matter entirely, but there was little denying where his lay as he pulled her against him. Not with the physical evidence rousing against Nami’s hipbone. Nearly the mirror image of the touch she’d just trailed against his; it had earned the woman the stiffening of spine and one other appendage alike, and secured her the promise of all his attention as if she hadn’t had it from the moment he’d walked in to see her.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ❝You look as perfect as you always do,❞ came the low and gravelly answer, accompanied by the slow drag of his palm along her neck and the curve of her shoulder. ❝And this baby will be nothing short of a heart snatcher, I’m sure of it. But right now…❞ Law’s voice trailed off, amber eyes holding hers as his other hand came up to mirror the first now nestled along the curve of her waist. ❝Right now there’s only one person in the world I want to think about – so why don’t you stop fussing over that cute little bump where you’re growing our child, and let’s find out how worked up we can get it when I get you nice and worked up for me?❞

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ And in similar fashion to Nami’s teasing comment, Law cut her off before Nami had the chance to answer  - albeit in the form of tugging her hips against his and capturing her lips with his own before she could offer any protest about needing to wash up beforehand.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏

Without so much of a glance over her shoulder, Nami felt eyes upon her as the predator slipped into the spray behind her. Allowing the man a moment to feel as if he has caught himself a prize (and he had), warm the warm water to soak sunset curls until they clung to her back. Not until she was positive she Law's attention did she turn slowly- as if she wouldn't have his undivided attention for the remainder of the shower- Nami could practically feel tattooed fingers twitch in anticipation behind her.

As it would turn out, the ginger's imagination did not do Law justice. A single glance over her shoulder was all it took to make her mouth go dry. He was muscular before, but something about the particular inability to eat breakfast without her presence over the last 3 months had done wonders for his physique. Here she was gaining weight while he was cutting weight- And boy, did it cut- Particularly the hip bones that jutted out, creating the perfect v that lead her vision downward.

It was no surprise how she ended up pregnant. They'd been in one another's presence in all of an hour… a little over an hour? And Law naked might as well have been a god chiseled in marble. “This is starting to feel very familair.” Fingers itched out and run a delicate hand along his tattooed chest with her low purr.

“But I have to say it's really not fair I look like this, while you…” Trailing off, fingers moved of their own accord until they brushed along his hip bone. “Look like this”

The last handful of words released in a single breath of something- pleasure? excitement? All of the above? Nami was a very lucky woman indeed, to not only have a man willing to forgive her, but one that looked like Law.

Before the man could think to respond, Nami found the next words tumble out. “There is no doubt we're going to make one very pretty baby.”

[enruiinas]

Me, dramatic: It's been two weeks since I last wrote anything. I guess I am done writing forever, that was fun while it lasted.

[enruiinas]

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Like a wolf on the prowl indeed, it was predatory intent that lent golden eyes an edge of sharp clarity amid the haze of desire which otherwise threatened to cloud them. Predatory intent – a certain feral… possessiveness - that only one person had ever managed to bring out in the aspiring surgeon, surged through him just as fervently as it had all those long weeks ago upon seeing the redhead returned to him once more.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ If anything, in fact, Nami’s absence and subsequent return seemed to have fueled his voracity further: now that he’d lost the redhead once, he was determined he’d never learn what it felt like to find himself without her a second time. And that was to say nothing of the unborn child she nurtured inside of her. That was a level of possessiveness Law himself would not come to understand for some time now; and in the given moment, it lay far away from his line of thinking.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Right now, Trafalgar Law had attention to devote to one thing only: the breathtaking, buxom woman before him looking for all the world (as chestnut orbs threatened to close and color crept into her cheeks) like there was nothing more she wanted than to feel his tattooed hands on her.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Another feeling he was far too familiar with. But just as quickly as the Nami he remembered resurfaced to demand all of it, she tore herself away from him, stepping out of arm’s length before he could reach out to drag her back again – and oh, did he consider it.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Yet despite the doctor’s own impatience, he made no move to stop her further. Especially when those clever fingers of hers lifted to remove that last scrap of fabric between her and the appreciative stare that followed immediately after. One knowing look and the toss of sunset waves over her shoulder, and the rest of the world was forgotten – from the baby and his intent to torment her before the mirror to the shower he’d taken before leaving the hospital for the night.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Dainty black lace had hardly settled upon the tiles before his own clothes began to follow. The glass door, even if Nami had bothered to slide it shut in the first place, could not have finished its journey in its housings in the time it took him to strip and slip into its steamy confines behind her. Like a predator quite pleased with himself for cornering his prey, Law grinned as he stepped in to settle closer to her – though he made no move to touch her further.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ There would be time for all of it. Including seeing how long it would take for the redhead to wash up and return her attention to demanding those hands explore her curves. His own vague estimate was sometime before the suds swirled their way into the drainpipe.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ❝Interestingly enough,❞ he finally acknowledged, eyes sweeping over her naked body

They made a cute couple, the redhead noted while she watched their reflection in the mirror through thick, hooded lashes. Law was right- carrying his child did look good on her. Almost as good as his hands looked poised above her tits, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

A devil indeed, teasing her so when she'd been imagining this moment for weeks. Every time Nami touched herself, it was Law she imagined. She imagined the way he smelled long after his scent no longer clung to his shirt. She imagined his wolfish grin before he went for the kill and the way his eyes glazed over every time the shapely woman moaned out his name. Every time fingers curled inside her, it was his voice Nami coaxing her through each orgasm- Just like that- You like that don't you-

“Both-” A single word tumbled out in a moment of impatient longing. Far, far too long had Nami gone without the man's touch and now that she had it, her only wish was to selfishly have it all. "No- shower," Nami changed her mind quickly. As needy as she was, the small logical part of her brain knew she needed to shower- and not keep wasting water.

"Shower." Reluctantly hands grasped the man's, keeping them monetarily from playing with her incredibly sensitive nipples. During her previous visit Nami had been surprised to learn the man could make her come undone from playing with the pebbled peaks and nothing else, and now she was positive even the lightest of touches could have her vision going white.

"I want you to see all of me." Stepping away, fingers hooked into already soaked panties, letting them drop to the floor. A brief glance back was all that was offered before one foot after the other stepped out of them and into the shower, expecting the tattooed man to be very close behind.

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It was here, for the first time since he had joined her in the apartment’s tiny bathroom, that Law finally allowed his gaze to stray from the redhead’s- though not so soon as to miss wide eyes grow even rounder as Nami registered the clear intent of the palm trailing a pointed path upward along her silky skin.

And with that one little shudder - the shaky intake of breath in her anticipation for the surgeon to touch her exactly the way he so desperately wanted to - Law felt his own concerns begin to slip from his shoulders. Nami arched her back against him, and thoughts of apologies and returning to the living room were suddenly the furthest thing from the tattooed man’s mind; she reached to fumble with the clasp of one of the last two lacy garments that concealed her from him, and there might never have been a universe beyond her for the way golden irises remained laser-focused on the movement of those deft fingers.

Then the fabric fell away entirely, and he looked back to the mirror to fully appreciate the image she made before him. Hardly aware of the words that left Nami’s lips, for several long moments he simply surveyed her in silence. Neither speaking nor touching despite hands that longed to be filled with the fleshy mounds she’d just revealed to him. Just… watching. Surveying. Admiring the changes several months and a child growing inside her had made to the woman’s outside. His gaze crept steadily over every inch of Nami the reflection allowed him- throat growing drier with every passing second. He looked his wide-eyed companion, the future mother of his unborn child wreaking those changes within and outside her, over from top to bottom- from the last little scrap keeping her from being completely exposed before him to the vision she’d just granted him.

And speaking of rounder…

Unable to tear his appreciative stare away from the slightly fuller breasts she’d offered on display to him, Law fell short of meeting Nami’s look in the mirror again. Instead, he simply loosed a breathed he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Nodding almost absently, Law dragged a single tattooed digit in a circle along the swell of the breast beneath it, exploring her curves with wondering curiosity before he finally recalled how to string together the words necessary to answer her teasing comment.

“I do like those,” he admitted in a murmur. A lot, as it happened, but there was hardly a surprise there, was there? “In fact…” Law went on as if she’d responded to him in the thoughtful silence. A glint of mischief flashed in eyes grown hazy with longing as he finally looked up at her again in the mirror’s reflection.

Slowly, pointedly, he met Nami’s stare and held it as both hands settled neatly atop her breasts. They were so large now they barely fit in even his hot, skillful hands, but that didn’t stop him from kneading the gloves experimentally as he watched her.

“I like them so much I’m tempted to stand here and play with them until I’ve got your knees shaking so badly they can’t hold you up anymore. What do you think? Shall I get you clinging to me in the shower, or do you want to wait until you can collapse on my bed when your legs give out from under you?”

In a single glance of golden eyes Nami felt completely bare before Law. Moments before she had felt naked, but this was different… she felt seen. In return, she read the surgeon's expression as if no span of time had existed between them. From the moment they had laid eyes upon one another, there was a knowledge about one's character that need not be said.

Nami liked to think she was good at reading expressions- A mind reader and a witch, she would tease with a flash of pearly whites and a swish of long sunset locks over her shoulder. If that's what she was, what did that make him? A sorcerer- No, a devil with a wicked smile and death upon his fingers- but he was her devil. They were chained to one another, a bond between them that could not be tethered by time in space.

And though the expression upon Law's face told her everything she'd hoped he would read on it over the past hour, Nami would still find her way to apologize. Maybe not in words, but in other ways. Through making sure he ate before work and had a meal to come home to- The least she could do while she slept in his home and bed while the doctor saved lives- By washing the laundry and adding a plant or two to liven the already meticulously clean and organized space (truly a man after her own heart. there was nothing sexier than an organized home).

And if that wasn't enough… his soothing voice, telling her that it was going to all be okay now, followed by the sweetest kiss made her fall in love all over again. She didn't know what to say- couldn't possibly find the words to truly say what it all meant to her- what he meant to her- But she wanted to. She would not just show him, but learn to say the words that were the hardest to come by. Maybe not all at once, and maybe not in a way that made sense … to most people. But Law would understand, she was sure of it.

Face to face with her own reflection, Nami watched brown eyes go wide. Breath hitching, in the moment thinking tattooed hands were going to palm her breast. Involontary arching, Nami recognized the clear indication that the time for tears was long over as arousal took over. That was the problem with hormones, one second she was a sobbing mess and the next…

“Oh, well…” A single flutter of long lashes, lips quirked upward mirroring Law's. Prior to slipping into the bathroom, she was considering how she might ask Law to take a peek at her bump. That was before he'd helped himself… In reality, only a few minutes had passed, but it already felt like an eternity. Normally Nami might lament the waste of water, but now… it was the last thing on her mind.

“I think there's a few changes you're going to really like. Two, to be exact.” Reaching behind her, two flicks of her wrist was all that was needed to release her breasts from the black bra that contained them.

[enruiinas]

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ For everything Law had felt for this woman since the day he’d first laid eyes on her, he had never felt her the way he did in that moment. It was in everything between and around them, from the damp he felt against his cheeks as Nami kissed him to her reluctance to part from him even a second longer than was completely necessary – something the resident could relate to all too easily.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ It was in the soft admission that she loved him again and the way lithe flingers clung gently to his own inked digits atop her stomach. And when he just as reluctantly broke from Nami’s lips long enough to stop and look at her – really look at her, as if he were seeing her clearly for the first time ever, he saw everything he needed to know as plainly as if it were etched onto skin glistening with the tracks of fallen tears along her face.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Nami would never need to ask the surgeon for his forgiveness, for Law could see all too clearly which one between the two of them needed it more. He may not know yet how deep the redhead’s wounds had been, but he saw more than enough to know she had been wounded. And as badly as he had missed her, it seemed perhaps that none had been more broken by the decision to leave him behind as she had been.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Yet at the very same time, Law knew she would not forgive herself simply because he had told her she could. All he could do for now was to simply be patient until she got there. To show that he could leave the past behind them and love her anyway. And perhaps…

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ “It’s gonna be okay now,” was the only insistence he offered further. She would be okay now: he’d make sure of that from now on. Her and the tiny life growing inside of her. Hands gave her own a gentle squeeze, lips pressed lightly against hers one more time before he untangled his fingers from hers to slide his palms to her hips. Slowly and carefully, he turned her to face toward the mirror, meeting her gaze in its reflection before he once again dragged a palm along the swell of her stomach.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Perhaps there were ways he might help her along faster. Or at least to take her mind off whatever self-deprecating thoughts she harbored in the meantime.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ “You know… I didn’t mention it earlier,” he began, tone perfectly mimicking the glint of mischief in orbs of amber. Pressing his lips to Nami’s ear, his grip trailed slowly higher, pulling her flush against him as it settled atop her ribcage - just shy of another swell of flesh he couldn’t wait to get his hands on. “But I happen to find this little change incredibly appealing. Carrying my baby is a good look on you. Care to show me what other changes I’ve missed in that shower you’re supposed to be taking?”

Everything froze around them, leaving just a man, the woman that hurt him and the child that grew just under their combined fingertips. There was no rushing of water, only the sound of her heart whooshing in her ears, which skipped several beats.

Knowing how Law felt and hearing it were not the same. He loved her- he loved her- he loved her-

He loved her.

In no world would she ever look for forgiveness for her actions. She did not deserve it for leaving him the way she did. For never texting, for never calling… she didn't even leave a letter. And though lips twitched, urging her to argue with him that she missed him more- Nami knew she hadn't the right. Not when she walked into his home to find clear signs of how much he missed her. Now it would be their home giddy realization took over, leaving her with more of that impossible fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach- or was that the baby confirming once more that it approved of it's parents reunion?

“I love you so much.” Her words were but a whisper against his lips, not willing to part from them any longer than was necessary. Not even as another tear- and another- splashed down her cheeks.

For three whole months- for her entire life, really- Nami tried to put on the brave face. She would be the first to say she was anything but, refusing to cry over her own mistakes even within the solitude of her bedroom at night. Only once, when she saw the movement of their baby for the first time did the waterworks flow without her consent. Hormones, the doctor had stated in an attempt to pat her back in an attempt to make her feel better. But Nami knew it wasn't just hormones or watching a little black and white shape move for the first time. She'd cried for her mistakes- Going alone, not taking up her sister's offer to go together- Not trying to call or text Law first, robbing him of a chance to see what he felt now under his hand.

There would be other doctor's appointments and there would be many, many other firsts that Law would be there for. She knew he would be a good father. That's never what kept her away. Fear that he wasn't ready for “everything” all at once or… worse, moved on in her absence. Fear that he would think she only wanted his support, and not him when he was all she ever wanted.

When she imagined her life, it hadn't been pregnant at twenty-one with a man she'd fallen completely in love with in a span of a week's child. Children were always in the picture, but like Bellemere she wished to do it alone, because she didn't need a man (or woman, for that matter). Strong, clever, and completely capable of taking care of herself and a family without the help of anyone is who she saw herself. A supermom and a career woman…. Romance wasn't not on the table, but one she wasn't ready for. Later. She would find someone that was equally smart as herself, more than willing to become a step-parent.

Only that person didn't come to her when she expected. He came to her when she least expected it, which was a part of life, Nami supposed.. Just as her mother hadn't planned on taking two girls home the day she did, Nami hadn't planned for any of her current reality, but she wanted it more than anything- Wanted him more than anything.

[enruiinas]

Shout out to @castaris for getting me to do things with words today even if it wasn't roleplay writing. <3 I can't remember the last time I've done non-RP writing, it was nice to know I still have words and can put them into sentences after not doing much of it lately!

[enruiinas]

On an unrelated note, now that it’s officially December I’ve stopped being a somewhat-hinged person and have gone full blown, completely unhinged Christmas Cheer Festive AF mode at work so… here’s to two days of living my best life so far. 🤣

[enruiinas]

Blog Update (but not really):

Conversation got me thinking today that I really haven't just checked the dash for the sake of checking the dash since, well... at least as far back as September if not August. I am around - ish. Not doing as much writing as I would like to, but I am still trying to squeeze words in when time and muse allow.

I will still be remaining affiliates only for ic interactions going into 2025 and for the foreseeable future (I'm going to be honest, I do not know if I'll ever be back to writing at the same capacity I was). I'm even incredibly slow on those affiliate interactions but I promise I haven't forgotten anyone or anything. I'm just waiting for time/muse/hyperfocus/life and a bunch of other things to align all at once. I don't know that I'll ever be fast again, either, but thank you all for sticking around and wanting to stay friends even when I'm not writing as much.

[enruiinas]

On the other side of the silence that followed, there lay a future he’d never imagined for himself. An entire life, chaotic and unpredictable as things could only be between two souls so wildly, unanticipatedly perfect for one another, that Law had not even known he’d wanted until the first time he’d found himself tangled up with the woman before him - both metaphorically and in the very literal sense of the word, as not until he’d fallen asleep holding her had it occurred to him he might just like to do that forever.

Nami had blown into his life that summer like a whirlwind, and just as Law had realized how badly he’d longed to keep her there, she had stolen those dreams away from him. Dangled that impossible future on a string with five simple words before him - I think I love you -, only to take them back and vanish with it as quickly as she’d enamored him.

Now here she stood before him again, holding on her tongue the means to grant him everything he was terrified of wanting or to break that something inside of him a second time, and if Law had any doubt about his own feelings for the ginger, they vanished as he awaited her answer. There was only one reason in the world he’d ever give another the means of shattering him so thoroughly as he had given her with that quiet plea. One thing in the world that could leave him hanging so eagerly on the edge of someone's silence, everything but the pulse in his ears ceasing to exist as he looked at her and waited for the words he'd so desperately craved in her soft cadence -

He loved her. He loved her, he loved her, he loved her. And he was so sure that she must feel the same- and yet… Nami’s disappearance had left him far too scarred to make that mistake a second time. He needed to hear it - needed her to hear her say it a second time, to say it and be sure and not just simply think that she might.

Some part of him knew that she felt the same. Even when Nami had not, he had always known - on some level - that she must love him. But to hear her say it a second time…

Golden eyes strayed only briefly to follow their hands to where she placed them on her stomach, but he made no more move to pull away from her. He simply threaded his fingers through her and returned his gaze to Nami’s face, just in time to watch chestnut orbs well up with tears and to lean into Nami’s touch as she reached up to trail soft fingers along his jawline.

And then she said it the second time - I love you. I love you. I love you. - and it was everything he’d ever hoped for: forgotten water, threatening tears, and the unexpected life growing beneath his palm aside. He wouldn’t change anything it had taken to bring them here, to this moment- so long as it had led to this.

It was perfect. She was perfect- and the words had barely left her lips before his found themselves brushing against them. “I love you,” he echoed back in a whisper. “All of you,” he went on. “This-“

Voice trailing off, Law held her stare pointedly before returning it to where his hand lay cradled on the curve of her stomach. A hand he now looked down to watch as he traced it thoughtfully along the swell of the growing bump she held it to.

“-included. I’m glad you’re here now, Nami. Both of you. I missed you,” he concluded - and then pulled her firmly against him, kissing her once more like a man with no intention of watching a movie afterward.

‎‏‏‎ Every second that passed by had Nami's heartbeat pounding harder in her ears. At some point in her life the words I love you must have slipped past her lips. She had to have been little, too little to fully comprehend the weight of such words as she wrapped her arms around her two favorite people and called out with childlike wonderment that she loved them. Those memories were long gone, replaced with a misunderstanding that love could only be associated with loss. It's why not once in the last thirteen years had Nami uttered the words to even her sister.

Nojiko knew. She understood. They didn't say words like that, but they knew they loved each other. Both women showed it in other ways- with a glance, through acts of service, by screaming at each other- Sisters were special. Nojiko was special. It's why no need to state it out loud was never needed- But Law was special too- And he deserved to hear that she didn't just think her feelings for him were beyond that of a simple summer romance.

Law needed to know, whether he realized it or not. He needed to know that she loved him so wholly and completely. And as much as it pained her to watch him draw away from her, it was the light that returned to those golden eyes that kept her going. He loved her too, she knew it. Just as before, she'd felt his love pour through every brush of her skin and movement against her lips.

She loved him. And he loved her.

“I've never been so sure of anything in my life.” A beat. A breath. A bat of long lashes closed and re-opened to return her chestnut orbs to his. “If anything this-”

Reaching around, she grasped one of his hands to press to the swell of her stomach. '-Kept me from saying it far longer than I should have. I didn't want you to think I'm only here for this.”

Big, brown eyes swam with tears that threatened to spill over the brim and onto long bottom lashes. “I couldn't be away from you another second- I was scared, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still afraid… but I'm no longer afraid to love you.”

Her own hand reached for his face, to cup his strong jaw and run through thick sideburns. A single droplet caught on lashes as she choked out the words a second time. “I've never said that to anyone, but I'm saying it to you- I love you.“

[enruiinas]

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ They really should have started with this, he reflected in hindsight. Words may not have come easy upon the redhead's surprising arrival, but the language that passed between them when Law's lips pressed against Nami's once more was something no amount of time could take away from them.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Far more than any spoken word might do, the sense of overwhelming relief Nami's body provided as it melded against his was all the answer the surgeon had needed. No, she was not mad at him, and no, he wasn't the only one who'd hoped this moment might happen: Law could feel in every brush of the redhead's lips against his own - some part of her had hoped there might still be a chance of salvaging what had flourished and bloomed between them all those weeks ago. Despite everything that had happened and whatever voices in their heads had tried to tell them it was too much to hope for. 

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ And yes, (if the way she pressed her nimble frame so eagerly against him were any indication), she did want him here. His mouth glued to her own; his hands to wander elsewhere and map out every change the months had made to the body he'd worshipped so tenderly the last time he had seen it -

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ But as eager as he was to oblige her, tattooed hands nearly itching with the need to explore every inch she was willing to give him, there was some part of the surgeon-in-training, however miniscule, that liked to think he had learned a thing or two from the last time. Things about moving too quickly. About losing one's self in the physical desire for another only to wake up alone a few days later and spend every night that came after wondering if it had ever even mattered in the first place.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Everything inside of him wanted to believe her. That it was more than physical desire or her hormones that had Nami molding herself against him. But as badly as he longed to touch her again, to keep kissing her like this until both were breathless with it, he was going to tear himself away from her. He had already decided - was already dreading the moment he'd talked himself into when he would break from those perfect, plump lips and leave the woman to her shower for both of their best interests.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Because no matter how badly he wanted her, he would take it slower this time. He would be patient because he knew it would be worth it in the end. Just as soon as Nami knew for certain what she wanted, and Law could take her word for it without wondering how much of it came from the hormones wreaking havoc on her body than from genuine affection, it would be worth it to take this slowly--

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ But just as he'd made up his mind to step back from her, Nami broke the kiss for him. Could she feel the way his heart sank in his stomach the second she drew apart from him? Or the way the entire world seemed to come to a sudden, screeching halt when she drew back to tell him the only thing he had ever wanted to hear from her?

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Heart thundering in his ears and all plans of withdrawing to the living room forgotten, for several long moments it was all the man could do to simply stare at her. His cheeks were flushed with color and his hands came to a stop as far as he'd let them wander, to the curve of her bare sides beneath her ribcage.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ I love you.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ You are my home.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Just like that, Law could not have dragged himself away from her if he tried. There was nowhere he might have gone - no living room to return to - no universe beyond the woman who stood before him awaiting an answer he could not muster. There was no running water. No fear of waking up to empty bedsheets beside him in the morning. There was only Nami and those eyes that drew him in like gravity, and the need to make certain he had heard her correctly and not simply imagined the words he'd so ardently desired.

‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ Voice soft as a whisper, Law drew back away from her, just far enough to gauge for any sign of uncertainty in her features as he asked her carefully, as if he needed to be sure before he could decide what step was to follow, ❝Are you sure about that? You're sure that it's not just...❞ Gaze slipping away from hers, he dragged one hand rather pointedly to the curve of Nami's bare midriff. ❝This talking? Because if you're worried I'll change my mind if you don't, I won't. It doesn't have to be this way - like this,❞ he added, gesturing at their newfound proximity ❝If you don't want it to. It doesn't have to be anything, I'm not gonna change my mind about this. But if that is what you want, I need to hear you say it again. Are you sure this time?❞

Within the span of a breath and moment it took Law to recollect his mouths, the ginger was almost sure she could read his mind. As if all she needed to do was take a moment and push her own fears regarding the situation they'd found themselves in from Nami's inability to communicate. Or her tendency to act in rashness from time to time.

In the furrow of dark brows she recognized once again that she wasn't doing the best at communicating- She thought it was obvious- That there was not a world in which she could ever be mad at him- Not really. Making light of the situation only caused orange brows to shoot up in return before meeting in the middle. Had she been more clear, Law might have realized that no such words were needed.

She was already home. This place that stood in time, waiting for her return as if she were simply away on vacation, due to return home. Homesick. The word hit her like a ton of bricks. A word that had been on the edge of her tongue for months- Nami had not just been heartbroken, she'd been homesick. Which explained the strange comfort found upon Law's couch, surrounded by a scent that was wholly him.

I missed you.

Three words repeated over and over in her head with each quickened beat of her heart from the sensation of Law's lips on her own for the first time in months. Imagining this moment and it happening were very different after all. It was perfect. Maybe when they retold the story it wouldn't have taken place in the bathroom, but it was perfect to her. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, through her heart and releasing every thought that that'd crossed her mind in the last handful of months without him in her life.

Eyes fluttered closed and Nami pressed her body wholly and completely to Laws. Melding against him, Nami offered her body so that he might feel and appreciate the newfound curves to her body in an entirely different light- If he so chose to, that was.

“Law-” A breath of his name, as the next words tumbled out. So many times she thought them, but not once did Nami allow herself to utter them. Not even to herself or their baby. They were words meant entirely for his ears and his ears only. “-I love you. You are my home."

[enruiinas]

He recognized this - this magnetic tug that pulled him closer to her. It was the exact same one he’d felt on a sandy shore a few months earlier, leading him to an evening – a week, a life – of doing things he had never dreamed of, of being someone he’d never dreamed of, all to snare the interest of a stranger with sunset locks and mischief in her eyes.

It was the same one that had led him to Nami the first time – and here he was again despite everything that had happened, more steps ahead of himself than he could even count, yet still powerless to resist that need to be near her. He didn’t even know if Nami wanted him here: why should she? They hadn’t established what her return meant for the two of them; Law didn’t even know which bed she meant to sleep in tonight.

And yet for all of that and every imaginary argument conjured in his head – over doors being left unlocked and what they meant or didn’t mean, the surgeon didn’t stop. Didn’t let himself consider what he was doing until he stood before her – did not allow himself to let eyes follow the flush of crimson that brushed across her cheeks and trailed lower beyond Law’s line of vision – as much as he wanted to.

He couldn’t stop, because if let himself be distracted now, the opportunity would slip away from him – and for just a moment, meeting the redhead’s eyes as Nami turned her body toward him, he could let himself think she’d understand why he needed to do it. That even if she didn’t want this – didn’t want him here standing before her, intruding on her space without invitation – he wouldn’t run her off her again.

“I’m sorry,” he offered once he’d come to a stop before her. “I know I should have knocked, but I needed to…” Law’s voice trailed off, a frown forming between his dark eyebrows. But he’d had to do it before he talked himself out of it. He’d pictured that unlikely reunion so many time in Nami’s absence – promised himself if the chance ever presented itself, he would take it.

But what if she didn’t want it?

Taking a breath to steel himself, Law reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind the woman’s ear. Letting his hand linger tentatively against flushed skin, he stroked a thumb across Nami’s cheekbone, gauging her reaction carefully as he leaned in until his lips hovered inches away from hers.

“Try not to be too mad at me, alright? I had a long time to think about what it would look like if you ever came back to me, but I never expected – well…” Eyes flickered down for the briefest of moments, but a slight curve of the surgeon’s lip accompanied by the shrug of a shoulder confirmed he was teasing. Upset not by the unexpected curve ball, only by the wrench she’d thrown in his imaginary encounter. Then his gaze grew focused once more and his hand slid to the side of Nami’s neck, thumb continuing its idle ministrations along the curve of Nami’s jawline. Gaze returning to the ginger’s, Law dipped his head until the tips of their noses brushed against each other.  

“Welcome home, Nami,” he whispered before pressing his lips to hers.  

[enruiinas]

regarding the dash event: it does look like at this point it will be happening in february if it does go ahead which means it could possibly be a valentine’s event or end of winter solstice celebration (thank you to santoro for the suggestion!).

i don’t know if the masquerade idea is completely off the table but some feedback i’ve heard from friends is to keep it on a neutral island. i’m fine with that, but i am struggling now to come up with a storyline that could bring everyone together. if anyone has an idea, please let me know! you will be credited of course.

anyway, another poll for feedback. everyone who wants to participate, including non-mutuals, are encouraged to have a say. even if your muse is an oc or a non one piece character with a one piece verse, you’re more than welcome to participate in the event and this poll as well!

if there’s anything that is missing from here and you want to make a suggestion, my inbox is open and anon is on. :)

i know i’m being annoying but i really appreciate the feedback!