Music rolled through the island streets like a living thing.
Lanterns swayed overhead, strung between wooden posts and market stalls. The night festival had pulled half the island into the main square—locals dancing, pirates drinking, vendors shouting over one another while the scent of roasted meat and sweet fruit hung thick in the air.
The Heart Pirates had blended in easily enough.
Well… as easily as pirates could.
Bepo stood beside you near a stall selling skewered fish, clutching three sticks at once while apologizing every time someone brushed past him.
“Sorry!” he said automatically, even though no one had complained.
Penguin leaned against the stall beside you, arms folded while watching Bepo demolish the food.
“You’re gonna eat the entire island’s supply,” Penguin muttered.
Bepo looked horrified. “I am?!”
You laughed, the sound bright and easy, shaking your head. “Relax, Bepo. I think they planned for hungry festival guests.”
The bear brightened instantly.
You were mid-conversation, teasing Penguin about his terrible dancing earlier, when someone new stepped into the edge of the circle.
An island native—tall, broad shouldered, clearly a little too confident for his own good.
His eyes lingered on you.
Penguin noticed first, his expression flattening slightly.
Bepo, still chewing, blinked.
The man casually leaned a shoulder against the wooden wall beside you like he’d been invited.
“Didn’t think pirates came to festivals,” he said with a crooked grin.
You gave him a polite but unimpressed glance.
“Didn’t think strangers interrupted conversations.”
Penguin snorted quietly beside you.
The man ignored him entirely, eyes still on you.
Then he asked the question.
“Where’s your scary boyfriend?”
Your eyebrow lifted slowly.
Clearly unimpressed.
You shrugged one shoulder.
“Probably off doing scary boyfriend things.”
Penguin choked trying not to laugh.
The guy chuckled like that was amusing—like he didn’t fully believe you.
And that was exactly when the temperature behind you seemed to drop.
Two tattooed arms slid around your waist from behind, slow and deliberate.
You didn’t even flinch.
You immediately leaned back into the familiar warmth of the person behind you.
A chin settled lightly on your shoulder.
Calm.
Possessive.
Unmistakable.
The man’s smirk died.
Trafalgar D. Water Law had arrived.
Law’s grip around your waist tightened slightly, pulling you just a little closer against him as his gold eyes flicked lazily toward the stranger.
Cold.
Assessing.
Sharp enough to cut.
His voice came out low beside your ear.
“Looking for me?”
The islander straightened immediately.
Up close, Law was taller than he expected… broader too, the long black coat and spotted hat making him look every bit the infamous pirate captain people whispered about.
Bepo perked up happily.
“Captain!”
Penguin grinned like he’d been waiting for this.
The stranger tried to recover his confidence, though it was already slipping.
“I was just talking.”
Law hummed quietly.
Not convinced.
His chin still rested on your shoulder as his fingers laced together over your stomach.
Comfortable.
Claiming.
His gaze never left the man.
“You were leaning pretty close for ‘just talking.’”
Your hand casually settled over Law’s forearm, thumb brushing over the back of his wrist in a silent, grounding gesture.
The stranger suddenly looked like he regretted his life choices.
Law’s expression didn’t change.
If anything, the faintest ghost of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You’re interrupting my evening,” he added calmly.
There was a pause.
Then Penguin finally broke.
“Yeah,” he said, pushing off the stall with a grin. “And trust me, you don’t wanna do that.”
Bepo nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah! Captain gets scary!”
Law sighed quietly against your shoulder.
But he didn’t let go of you.