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This was stupid. It was stupid .
Luffy hadn’t even been doing anything new, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, and yet as he sat there talking with his hands, leaning forward to emphasize big gestures, offering a gentle touch, something in Law burst. It was years worth of frustrations at this point, countless miracles that he’d witness unfurling in his memory all at once. All of the times this king of pirates had turned back for him, reached out to him, helped him up with a hand far too gentle to belong to the energetic man offering it.
No, Luffy hadn’t been doing anything different this day. He’d simply showed up to where he knew he would usually find Law, a quiet winter island the Hearts had called home base for some time now, grabbed his old friend by the arm, and sat him down on a snowy cliff side to catch up. Law had used his room to clear some snow before he and Luffy plopped down on the frozen dirt.
Luffy had talked on and on about his latest adventure, receiving nods and hums in response. This was the routine. When he was finished he’d switch to asking Law questions about his own escapades about the sea, wanting to know where he’d been and where he’d be going. This is how they’d been doing this for years now, and it was to the point where Law considered seeing Strawhat as a part of his routine when he was visiting his base. The air was particularly cold today, and in the haste of Luffy’s arrival he hadn’t had the time to fetch his gloves. It always annoyed him that a lifetime in the winter couldn’t contend with his poor circulation. He listened to Luffy chatter away as he always had, rubbing his hands together for warmth.
Then Luffy reached out and covered his hands with his own.
He hadn’t missed a beat in whatever story he’d been telling, his large hands enveloping Law’s easily. They warmed up, a bit of steam rolling off the now red skin, as Luffy described the latest sea king he’d made a meal of. Law didn’t hear any of it. His ears rang with curses — for Luffy’s growth spurt he’d hit a few years ago, for the easy way the man offered affection, for the way Law’s stomach churned each time that they parted. And that was when he did it, the stupid thing.
He’d surged forward and kissed the king of the pirates.
It was quick but purposeful, like he was trying to concisely get retribution for all of the times he’d considered doing this but let logic win. And it was precisely that logic that kept it short, washing over him louder than the feeling yelling finally, finally , demanding he pull back.
He gasped as they parted, taking in the wide eyes that stared back at him. “Luffy-ya, I’m so—“
Law was hardly able to put any distance between them before Luffy planted his hand at the nape of his neck and pulled him back for more. The older captain melted then, gripping onto the other’s coat like a lifeline.
“Torao,” Luffy whispered between kisses, barely allowing any space between their lips. “When did you change your mind?”
”What?” Law leaned back then, both of them taking the moment to catch their breath.
”You said…” Luffy studied his face diligently. “When I asked before…you said no.”
Law searched his memories for what he could possibly be talking about and came up short. “I don’t know what you’re referring to,” he confessed.
Luffy’s face scrunched up in frustration. It was an unusual sight, and were it not for the situation at hand Law may have even given it a small chuckle. “On Elbaph,” he sighed.
“What do you mea—“
Oh no.
His ship was gone. His crew was gone. A part of that crew, two of his three brothers. Even the devil fruit powers that felt like an innate part of him for half of his life were gone. What he did have was Bepo, thank the sea, and a small corner to hide in on the Thousand Sunny . It had been a week or so since he came to and he’d largely kept to himself, reserving any conversation for a few hushed words between himself and Bepo.
The Straw Hats had respected his need for space, even their rambunctious captain. A few times Law had caught Luffy stealing glances at him, even more though he’d sensed the man’s haki, hovering on the other side of the door to the infirmary but never touching the doorknob.
They were docked in Elbaph, though Law wasn’t quite sure how long they’d been there. Bepo had reported that after swimming to the familiar ship the mink himself had passed out for a day or two, and Law was unconscious for a week more. Without his powers Law felt like he was in an alien body — he wasn’t healing as fast, that much was certain, but the biggest absences were the small effects he’d run in the background since he was a teenager. Tweaks to his nerves to suppress pain, a few rewired synapses to improve his memory, the ability to adjust his hearing to drown out background noise. On this ship, that last one was the one he missed the most. He wasn’t sure how Blackbeard had pulled the ability from him at all, much less without killing him, but it was just one more thing to add to the list of what he’d lost. Bepo had said whatever he’d done he may not have finished the job. This was apparently a theory of Chopper’s, that hopefully a bit of Law’s ability was still in him somewhere thanks to Bepo’s intervention and it was just waiting for him to get better before he’d be able to make use of it.
He sat in his bed in the infirmary studying his hands. He made a familiar gesture and, once again, nothing happened. He’d spent the better part of the last few days calculating how he could get himself to Pirate Island, infiltrate, and recover his crew. Assuming they were alive. Without the Ope-Ope fruit as a prize, he supposed Blackbeard and his crew really had no reason to keep them. It didn’t keep him from planning as though they were, unable to stomach what it would mean to not even try. Unfortunately a lot of his plans included words like room and shambles , neither of which meant anything as long as flicks of his wrist remained only that.
The creak of the door snapped him out of his contemplation. “Not now, Bepo,” he mumbled as he shuffled the papers in his lap.
“Torao.”
Law raised his gaze slowly. He supposed if anyone was going to break the solitude he’d secured it was going to be Luffy.
“Strawhat,” it was a statement, not a greeting.
The small captain moved across the infirmary quietly, taking a seat at the foot of Law’s bed without disturbing any of the papers scattered about. Everything about the way he moved was measured, a word Law had never thought to use to describe the energetic man before.
“How are you feeling?” Luffy kept his eyes on his hands, picking at his nails.
“Fine,” Law found himself matching the other’s energy, suddenly developing the urge to gather his papers and organize them into a definitely necessary sequence.
That response earned him a deep frown. “You don’t have to lie to me, Torao,” Luffy muttered.
“Would you rather I rattle off what hurts?” Law scoffed back.
“I would.”
And Law knew he meant it. He huffed a sigh and continued aimlessly rearranging his papers. Across from him Luffy knitted his brow as his mind worked. It was a rare sight, the young captain taking time to think , and it was clear that it was quite an effort. For the first time since he woke up, a sound escaped Law’s lips that could have been taken as a breath of a chuckle. Luffy returned it and the sound was so small, so unlike him, that the ache in Law’s heart momentarily found a new subject.
“What did you want from me, then?” the older captain asked to his papers.
“You know, you died Torao.”
The aimless shuffling stopped abruptly. “...Excuse me?”
“When…when we brought you aboard. Chopper said you were dead.”
Law gulped audibly. He supposed Bepo had chosen to keep that detail from him. Or maybe the Straw Hat doctor had kept the evaluation away from Bepo’s ears, knowing how deeply it would upset him to know his captain had died, even for a few moments. It seemed cruel as Law processed the information. He’d almost joined them – his family, Cora, perhaps even his crew. Regretfully, “Well I’m alive now, aren’t I?”
Suddenly a rubbery hand shot forward and hit his chest with a dull thud . It nearly knocked the wind out of him, and it certainly didn’t do any favors for his aching body. “What the hell–”
“It’s in there,” Luffy assessed, his palm resting on Law’s heart. “Good.”
The Heart captain let his gaze rest on the hand. While the approach had been rough, very Luffy , the touch itself was soft. Maybe even tender. “I tend to keep it on me these days,” he murmured.
“It’s beating faster now,” the observation was a whisper.
“Because you punched me in the chest,” Law tried to make the fact accusatory, but his tone betrayed any hint of malice he could have mustered.
The two sat in silence, for how long Law certainly wasn’t sure, until finally he cleared his throat. “If that’s all then, I’ve got work to–”
“Join my crew.”
The young captain’s intense stare was focused on the back of his hand. It kept him from seeing the incredulous look he was getting in return.
“When we left Wano, I know you said our alliance was over, but I knew you didn’t mean it,” he continued. “I knew I’d see you again. I knew I’d still have you.”
Have him?
“You’re so strong. I didn’t think…” his voice dropped so it was barely audible. “...Well, it wasn’t the first time I thought someone was invincible.”
That sent a pang of guilt coursing through Law. He had also thought he was strong. He was the one who donned wax wings and took his crew to the sky, and yet here he was, safe and warm in another pirate’s ship with an offer to not have to collect those he’d let fall to the earth.
“Stay with me, Torao.”
“No.” It was firm, determined, unhesitant. “My crew is out there. It’s my responsibility to find them, no matter how long it takes. And at the end of it, if they’ll still have me–” why would they want him now? “--it’s my responsibility to be their captain.”
The hand on his chest balled into a fist before slowly retreating to its owner.
“...Of course,” Luffy said to the sheets. A beat. Then, a sunshiny smile, not a care in the world. “Let me know how we can help, okay?”
And with that he hopped off the bed and made his way out of the room. In hindsight, Law remembered sensing him standing outside the infirmary door for a very long time.
“You asked me to join your crew,” Law reasoned. “Not kiss you.”
This apparently rendered Luffy speechless, a feat that made Law a bit proud of himself. “But I said…” the pirate king swallowed hard. “...But I asked you …And…and you wanted to leave .”
“To save my people,” Law replied gently.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” the emotion at the edge of his words made Law’s heart heavy. “ You are my people. My person .” He let a hand rest on Law’s face, his thumb gently rubbing his cheek. “I’d just…I’d just seen you dead , Torao.”
Law took the other’s free hand and placed it on his chest, though this time his winter coat concealed how fast his heart was beating. Quietly, “Well, I’m alive now, aren’t I?”
Luffy’s eyes locked on to their layered hands. “I was so scared for you,” a whisper, one that could have easily been lost on the wind. “I shouldn’t have been. You’re so strong.”
“And you’re so stupid ,” a wily smirk found a home on the Heart captain’s face. “Next time you can just tell me you’re in love with me.”
“I’m in love with you.”
For the second time today, Law surged forward and kissed the king of the pirates.