The Strawhat ship was one of the most interesting ones you'd seen and you adored it. The only issue you had with staying on it temporarily was the lack of any kind of private bedroom. That meant you had to sleep with the women while Law slept with the men in separate quarters. And while you didn't like it, Law was even grouchier about it. One thing that most people couldn't tell by looking at him was how touchy he was.

Law usually seemed standoffish to most people, the thought of him being physically clingy with someone else was hard to think about but that's how he was. At least in a private setting that is. But the two of you made the best of it.

The day you took Caesar and left Punk Hazard, he called Doflamingo over the transponder snail and made his demands. The two of you felt sure that he'd find he had no choice but to comply if he wanted to continue using Caesar for his black market dealings. After that, the rest of the day was spent with further partying, the crew apparently not having had their fill of it on Punk Hazard.

You took advantage of everyone's relaxed behavior and spent as much time as you could finding excuses to get close to Law without being gross or seeming too affectionate around the others. When you sat together, you'd touch a leg to his, when you stood together, you were always bumping up against him. If Law was sure no one had their attention on the two of you, he'd sneak in for a kiss. Though you'd been caught at least once. Robin was sure to make a remark about you being a cute couple which turned a few heads.

After that, you were a little more careful about things like that around this group. Not that they minded, but it left you a bit embarrassed. The rest of the day went smoothly at sea and even with the sleeping arrangements, you slept fine that night. You woke up earlier than everyone else though and after some tossing and turning, you decided getting back to sleep wasn't going to be an option.

So while everyone was still out cold, you slipped into a change of clothes for the day, courtesy of Law keeping a stash of yours and his clothes away from the labs. It astounded you how far ahead he planned things out sometimes. It was like he knew things might go astray with the plan.

When you left the room and got onto the main deck, the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. There was a cozy little swing hanging down from a tree. You plopped down on it, wondering how exactly they'd managed to get living trees to stay on the ship so nicely. The little Wano boy, Momo, had taken up this spot almost all day yesterday and you were happy to finally have a chance to take it yourself for a moment to think.

You pushed yourself back and forth slowly, letting your mind wander to whatever. It started with another dream you'd had last night, this one a memory about the time you'd met Atticus.

"Hey mister." You tugged at the man's coat sleeve and shivered slightly in the chilly breeze.

He looked down at you with frantic eyes that suddenly turned curious, like the sight of your disheveled form was enough to take him away from whatever had him worried. You weren't dressed properly for the cold but that was something you were working on, finding warmer clothes. He was well dressed with a long leather coat covering a warm looking flannel and clean jeans. You were almost positive he had some money on him, even if he looked like he hadn't had a hair cut in a while. His brown hair hung loose around his face and was long enough to brush along his shoulders. In fact, if it wasn't for how he dressed, you would have assumed he was just as broke as you and your brother.

"Where's your mother?" He asked.

Your nose scrunched up immediately in distaste. She was far away now, no longer a problem but you still didn't like thinking about here.

"Don't have one." You answered quickly. "Just me."

"I'm sorry but I don't have anything for you." He shook his head like he knew exactly where you were going with this.

He turned slightly to leave and you clutched at his sleeve, pulling him back towards you. If he moved now, you'd lose your chance.

"Wait! I wasn't needing anything, just directions!"

"Directions?" He paused.

"Yeah. You look like you live here. Where's the docks?"

"The docks." He raised an eyebrow at you, not at all amused with the silly question. "Turn around and go straight to the ocean. You'll reach it in about five minutes."

"I'm bad with directions." You said, doing your best to look embarrassed. "I'm not sure if that's clear enough, might get lost."

He let out a frustrated sigh but was too kind to turn you away. "How about I show you the way then?"

You smiled up at him brightly. "Would you mister? That'd be great!"

"Come on then." He walked slowly enough for you to keep pace with him and to your delight, completely missed your brother trailing closely behind, looking for a chance to slip a hand into his pockets. "You aren't from here, are you?"

"No sir." You shook your head. "Passin' through."

He chuckled. "Me too."

You tilted your head to the side slightly, a little confused. He didn't deny you calling him a local before.

"Really?" You asked.

"Yep. And I'll tell you what, folks like us, ones that don't settle in any one place, we pick up tricks along the road." He suddenly twisted around, snatching you by the nape of the neck and Leo by the wrist right as he was reaching into a coat pocket. You both let out yelps of surprise, never having been caught in the act before. "And I'd say you're a clever couple kids, aren't you?"

"Let us go!" You squirmed in his grasp, clawing at his, arm but the leather sleeves of his coat made every attempt to flee useless.

To your surprise, he actually released you and your brother.

"You almost had me there." He crouched in front of you, grinning from ear to ear.

You were extremely confused at this point. He should have been angry, turned you into the Marines for attempted theft, but here he was, acting like he'd just struck gold.

"Hear me out kid."

"Why?" You grabbed Leo and took a cautious step back.

"Cause I think we can benefit from each other. You said you don't have a mom and I'll believe that. You've also got some street smart skills from the looks of it. The deal is, I'm in need of money and I think you can help me get it. Do that, and I'll take care of you two. How's that sound?"

Too good to be true in the opinion of a distrustful ten year old but at the same time, you felt like it might not hurt to give him a shot. There was a warm twinkle in his eyes that drew you in and promised safety. The way he smiled made you feel happy, not to mention you'd never had someone willingly offer to help.

"You're for real?" You asked, still a bit unsure.

"Of course. Tell you what, first thing we can do is get you into some better clothes. Would you like that?"

You looked at Leo and watched his small frame tremble slightly from the constant cool breeze. It'd only get colder as time passed and you wanted to do everything you could to keep him safe. Maybe this was the way to do it.

You slowly nodded. "Okay, but if we don't like you, we leave."

"Fair enough." He stood back up and offered you his hand. "I'm sure this will work out great for all three of us."

You took his hand, immediately feeling the warmth seep into your skin. Leo held onto you wordlessly but he seemed to relax a bit. At the very least, there was safety in numbers and you had a good feeling about this deal.

"Where's your mind?"

You jumped as you noticed Law crouched over in front of you. He wore his signature smirk and his eyes shone brightly, like he was very happy to see you, and you couldn't help but almost see him the same way you saw Atticus all those years ago. Warm.

"Thinking about how Leo and I met Atticus." You answered, leaning forward to tap a finger on the tip of his nose.

"You remember that now?"

"Since last night."

"Things are coming back to you faster it seems."

"You know, I was thinking the same thing."

The whole crew slowly filtered out onto the deck and you noticed the sun had risen completely, basking the ship in it's cheery light.

"You talk like you'd forgotten things." Zoro said with a yawn. He slid down along the railing until he was sitting in the grass and crossed his arms.

"I did." You said with a shrug. "I've been spending the last few months piecing my memories back together."

"....You're serious?" Nami asked, her eyes widening. "I can't imagine forgetting everything."

"It's definitely been interesting but Law's been a great help with all this."

"Is that why you're with him?" Robin asked teasingly.

You chuckled. "Nah, he was kind of a pain about it at first actually."

"Was not." He grumbled, straightening back out with a frown.

You rolled your eyes. "Either way, it is what it is and I've moved on from the past anyway."

"What about old friends? Other people you used to know?" Usopp asked. He was in the middle of putting his thick hair up into a ponytail at the same time, only giving the conversation half of his attention.

"No friends. But I did leave someone behind, he ended up not being who I thought he was. That was probably for the better."

"It was." Law said with a huff. He didn't bother hiding his dislike for Atticus.

"And surprisingly," You pointed to Law with a grin. "he's actually pretty good company."

"I like you better though." Sanji said with a wink. Even if you were spoken for, he was insistent on trying to flirt.

"We'll considered those feelings to be one sided." You shot back.

Zoro burst into laughter as Sanji immediately deflated, looking more than a little dejected. They quickly started to bicker which turned into them literally butting heads in anger. You sensed you'd walked into an ongoing rivalry.

"Oh by the way," Robin moved around them to stand in front of you. She held out the envelope Leo left behind and you accepted it. "I found that on the floor in our room. It looked too important to be lying about."

"Thanks, I would've totally lost it." You smiled sheepishly.

"It's no problem." She wandered off to break up the fight while the rest of the crew started with what you assumed was their normal antics.

As you swung back in the swing, you bumped into Law who had moved to stand behind you.

"We're going to reach Dressrosa sometime soon, don't you want to read that before things get hectic again?"

"That's probably a good idea." You sighed as you flipped the envelope around and slid a finger under the seal.

"I'll give you some privacy."

Before he could walk away, you snagged his arm. "Can you stay actually? I don't mind you reading it too."

He nodded in a silent agreement and bent over your shoulder, resting his chin on your shoulder.

The seal broke easily enough, the time spent waiting for you to open it making it almost a bit brittle. The paper that was inside was still a bright white, though creased over in many spots from you worrying with the envelope constantly. It was completely covered in writing, top to bottom and front to back. Leo had a lot to say on his deathbed.

You took a deep breath, feeling Law's own puffs of hot air hit your cheek as his eyes fell to the writing, and began to read, knowing every word would warm your heart.

(A/n)
I decided it'd be nice to leave it up to you guys what he wrote in the letter but I can promise you I wanted it to be something sweet. Hope you guys liked this story, thanks for reading!