Hey there!
I hope you're having a great day or night, and welcome to my first fanfic. This won't be that long, maybe two or three chapters. So, I was on tumblr and I saw a text that inspired me, this fanfic is based on that text, although I can't really find it anymore.
Also, English is not my first language, and this was basically all written on my phone, during a really long bus trip. If I have too many mistakes, please warn me.
Either way, I'm intending on writing a smutty chapter too, so let's keep this rated M.
Without further rambling, I hope you enjoy!
College sucked, or, at least, the effort Law has to make to go to college sucks.
In movies college is always awesome, with parties everyday and cool people everywhere and actual free time. In reality, college was very different. Parties were shit and always at inconvenient times, most people were also shit and annoying and Law wished he could just turn them into dust. And free time, what even was free time, between classes and studying and do essays and sleep and maybe some have some time to eat and take a shower, free time was just a few minutes.
In reality, one just doesn't have time for anything, and even if Law had time, he wouldn't have the money. Because college is also expensive as hell and Law's too stubborn to ask for money and too picky to live in a dorm with another despicable human being. He's not good at sharing, special not a bedroom, and specially not when space is limited and he just occupies a lot when he has to spread his sheets in the floor to organize himself. He can't imagine living with another person, the person could only go to the dorm to sleep or could spend there all day, the person could be messy or a freak with cleaning, the person could need a lot of space or could just occupy the bed. The person could be anything, and the odds are never in Law's favour so he would probably have the world's worst person ever.
So he rented an apartment, if that thing can even be considered an apartment, which is overpriced, far as fuck from college and mostly empty, because Law doesn't have money for furniture, and neither would he have time to use it.
The humidity in the walls is abnormally huge, the paint is not even there anymore, the fridge just has a proper shelf and the water in the shower can only be hot as lava or cold as an iceberg. Overall, it sucks, and has to much dust in the floor he's lazy to clean, and a corner full of dirty clothes he doesn't have time to clean and a living room too full of papers he doesn't want to clean.
But there are things he's actually proud to have, like his own coffee machine that costed him a few organs but that makes the absolute best coffee he has ever tasted, the couch he found on the street, left by someone who didn't wanted it anymore because it still was in perfect condition to just be abandoned like that, it took him two whole hours to bring it up to the fucking fourth floor (very good neighbours he has that didn't even asked if he wanted help), and the mattress, that holy mattress that calls him every night and doesn't let him leave every morning, the mattress he should use way more often and during longer periods of time. He loves that mattress, he just wished it wasn't abandoned on the floor like that, he wished he had a proper bed.
So college… if it wasn't a mean to get to an end Law would've left long ago, because he wasn't made for this shit, he wasn't made to live in a shit hole with more bacteria than oxygen, wasn't made to take a shity train, that has more years on top of the ferries than people inside, way too early just to get to college in time, wasn't made to live in that fucking neighbourhood where it actually surprises him that no one has appeared dead in some dubious alley. He wasn't made to have to climb to the fourth floor everyday because every time he enters the elevator he refuses to close the doors due the apparent weight "excess", if he weighs too much to use the fucking thing when he's barely eating, he can only imagine how it would be like if he actually ate. He wasn't made to have a window that doesn't lock, or the fire escape stairs he swears are leaning to the left and that he absolutely doesn't trust. The elevator at least tells him he weighs too much to be inside, the staircase doesn't.
He just wants to fucking finish college, find a good hospital to work at and get as far away from there as possible, just wants to put that fucking phrase behind his back and never look back.
Law looks through his window, watches as the buildings go from from tall and powerfully to large and monumental, then from huge houses with big gardens to apartment building with too many tiny windows. Eventually, he arrives to his stop and enters his fucking neighbourhood, with badly made graffities welcoming him right when he steps out of the train station.
He wished he could just leave, but it's live there or on the street as homeless and he needs someplace to provide him shelter and to call home, even if that place is nothing like a home and none of his few friends' ever around. They don't need to know he just has a mattress, a couch and a coffee machine. They don't need to know where he lives, it's not that important, it's not like he will throw a party.
He makes his way towards his building. He arrives his apartment later than usual, the sun's already setting, even though Law can't really see it due the amount of buildings blocking the view. He wished he didn't fall for Shachi's puppy eyes and agreed in helping him with anatomy, wished he didn't stay in the library with him for so long. Fucking Shachi.
Law passes right past the elevator, not having enough patient to be called fat, and heads directly to the stairs, climbing all the way to the fourth floor. He takes his keys out from his bag and rotates them on his index while crossing the corridor to get to his apartment door. But there's something wrong, the key doesn't rotate when he puts it on the lock, the door is already opened.
He closed the door in the morning, he remembers closing the door in the morning. Or did he?
He feels his heart beating faster, he could've just forgot to close the door, it's a thing that happens. But if he didn't forget, it means someone broke in. He gets mad then, he doesn't own anything and even so someone has the audacity and stupidity to break in his apartment. He will get really furious if he opens the door and his coffee machine, couch and mattress aren't there anymore. They're all the things he owns that are actually worked something.
Law opens the door, carefully, and stays outside letting hit the wall and be wide open. The couch's still there, and the mattress too, the coffee machine he can't see due the angle but he suspects it's in the same spot too. But there's a guy there, with shorts and a tank top and fucking black gloves.
"Who the fuck are you?" Law demands, hopefully intimidating enough. He can't help but glare at him too.
"Hum, hi!" The guy says, overly excited and raising one hand at him. He looks uncomfortable as hell, he better be uncomfortable as fucking hell. "I know this weird and all and-"
"Who the fuck are you." Law demands again, this time more bitterly. He steps inside, and the guy takes one step back. Law notices the opened window, it's the fucking window that doesn't lock.
"Okay, right, to the point. Yeah, I guess that's better… hum. I broke in to rob you but, hum, there's not really anything here for me to take."
Law looks at him, he lifts an eyebrow at him. He was not expecting the guy to just admit to be a robber, right in front of him. He should've put his phone on recording. "Well, good job Sherlock. You stayed here just to shove the fact I have nothing in my face?"
"No!" The guy says, a bit too loudly. This has to be one of the weirdest conversations Law has ever had, and he has had plenty of them. "I mean, I wanted to see who lived in here, I guess."
Law stays looking at him, perplexed. "Oh, yeah, right, because that makes all the sense. What, do you stay to see all the faces of the people you rob, is that it? That's some weird technique for a robber you know, I'm not sure how you keep on action with that."
"You really live like this?" The guy asks, completely ignoring everything Law has said. Law's shocked, this kind of shit just happens to him. "And you in college right? I've seen the books and-"
"You mind getting the fuck out? You broke in to rob be and still have the decency of making fun of my face? What is wrong with you- I'm calling the cops." Law says, getting his phone out of his pocket.
"No! Wait!" The guy says and takes a few steps closer to Law, only to step right back when Law looks up from his phone and glares as hard as he can to him. "Will you be here in two hours?"
"What?"
"Will you be here in two hours? I have a TV and a dining table I can give you and-"
"What?" Law's shocked, there's no other word for it. Just pure shock. What are the odds of a robber offering you furniture after finding your apartment's empty? None. That just doesn't happen. Law's so confused and angry with his life that is ridiculous."Dude, I don't want your stuff! Get the fuck out!"
"Okay, okay, I'm leaving," the guy says, heading to the window. He gets one leg out and then turns back at Law, "but will you?"
"Out!" Law grabs a pan from the sink and throws it at him. It hits the wall underneath the window and spreads dirty water all over the floor. Law doesn't know if he should be happy it didn't broke the window, or if he should be mad it didn't hit the guy. At least he left.
Law heads to the windows and looks down to the fire escape, the guy disappeared. He closes the window and kicks the pan when he remembers it doesn't lock. The pan flies back to the kitchen side. Law closes the door, making sure it's closed this time.
Was that a prank? Was that a very bad joke? No, just a fucking kid being stupid, Law thinks, probably a kid from the neighborhood who just didn't want to lose a bet. Law knows he has kind of built a reputation around the place, even though he didn't make anything more than a few glares, not that he minds, he doesn't mind being feared at all, at least he isn't bothered. Or, he wasn't. Stupid kid.
He picks up the pan and cleans the floor. He wonders if he should call the police or not, the guy didn't rob anything, but he still broke in his apartment, and if he can do it once, then he can do it twice. For some reason, his brain tells him not to, it would only lead him to have to report the incident and have to deal with the police and he doesn't have the patience for that. And it's not like the guy would come back to rob him again in the future, he would be way too stupid if so, not only Law still would have nothing but he would also remember his face.
Law goes and lays on his mattress, face down on the pillow, and sighs hard. He has done nothing to deserve the life he has, he has done nothing to deserve his bad luck, he has done nothing to deserve such weird situations. And the worst part, he can't even tell this episode to his friends, not only would they mock him about it until the rest of the days, but they would also discover Law doesn't own proper furniture, and both situation would suck. Maybe he should go and visit a psychiatrist, he feels like he desperately needs one, but then he remembers he doesn't have the money for it. Maybe this was all just a weird dream. He bites his bottom lip until it hurts, just to make sure he's awake.
The guys words play over and over again on Law's brain. Obviously he won't be coming back in two hours, neither will he bring a TV and a dining table with him. Why would he do that really, Law just threw a dirty pan at him. A TV would be cool though, for background sound and to keep him actualized on society life, and a table too, he wouldn't need to write his resumes on the floor or on the library again. But they would most likely been robbed, and Law doesn't want anything that was robbed inside his apartment, no matter how useful they could be.
Why the hell you thinking about that, you idiot, Law thinks, he just said that so you wouldn't call the police. And it fucking worked. You stupid. He falls asleep after that.
Law wakes up a few hours later with the door bell ringing on his hears and making him disoriented for a few seconds. It's night already, and the only and few light on the apartment comes from outside. He goes to the door, still dizzy and sleepy. He doesn't bother checking who is it outside, probably the old lady that shares the floor with him, asking for a spice Law has never heard about to prepare some weird meal she has seen on a cooking show.
Only, it isn't the old lady, but the guy again, looking tired and out of breath, with a small TV under his left arm and a box almost bigger than him on the right. Law stares at him for a few seconds, his brain processing really slowly what's happening. He should've called the police.
"I brought the TV and the table," the guy says, looking proud of himself.
"Yeah? Then you can take them back with you," Law says and closes the door, right in the guy's face. He watches him through the door, watches as he actually seems surprised Law didn't open the door for him and his shit, watches as he enters the elevator and disappears with the things still underneath his armpits. That fucking elevator, sure, the guys doesn't have weight excess, even with a TV and a table, but Law does, ridiculous.
He sinks his nails on his arm this time, until it hurts. He's not dreaming. This really happened, and Law isn't sure he wants to acknowledge it did or not. He goes make dinner and then sits on his couch eating, looking through the window to the buildings ahead. He doesn't see shit, but at least he isn't looking to a robbed TV. He takes the empty plate to the sink, ignoring the fact he needs to clean the dishes at some point.
He goes and lays on the mattress then, ready to fall asleep again and forget that horrible day until he has to wake up and live another one similar in horribleness. But it's harder than what it should be, he rolls to the left and to the right but no matter what position he tries, they just aren't comfortable enough. He stays in bed for at least an hour until he gives up and decides to read a few pages of microbiology. It has just so much shit he needs to memorize, and he needs to start at some point.
He turns on the lights and goes sit on the couch, with a blanket on his shoulders and surrounded by papers. He looks through his windows more times than what he wants to acknowledge, it's like suddenly he can't stand the fact that the only wall on his apartment with windows, five in total that cover most of it, doesn't have a single curtain to cover them. He suddenly feels exposed, he has never felt exposed before.
He falls asleep not long after that.
The next day, Law wakes up with his ass and legs numb and a painful ache in his neck. He fell asleep on the couch, with papers now ruined underneath him and the phone far away. He has to get up and stumble all the way to his mattress to turn off the alarm clock on his phone. He forgot to put it charging, now he only has twenty seven percent battery, great.
He gets dressed, grabs an apple and a yogurt from the fridge and leaves his apartment, making sure he locks the door behind him before doing his way to the train station once more. The sun is not even out yet, and the sky has a weird tone of pink, turning darker as it becomes farther away from the part where the sun will pop up. It's too damn early and the train arrives late again, but at least it's mostly empty.
He brought his computer with him, not because he really needs it for the day, but more as a precaution. The amount of files, and documents and important websites he has there saved are worth way more than the computer itself. It will take some time until Law's ready to leave it in his apartment again.
His neck still hurts like hell and he passes all trip massaging it with both of his hands. He need holidays, a weekend, a free afternoon, anything.
One hour later, he's back at college and the rest of the day passes by in a blur, with lot of information he has to assimilate and write at the same time during classes, a bizarre lunch hour with Penguin and Shachi, and then a long walk back to the train station with Jean, where they parted away when they took different trains.
When he gets back to his building, he realizes the day was tiring but not at all productive and he feels frustrated.
When he opens the door, the key rotates in the lock and he sighs in relief. But there's a brown a simple table with two matching chairs behind the couch now, and a small black TV hanging on the wall in front of it.
He entered through the window, Law realizes, fucking kid.
He grabs his phone from his pocket, ready to call the police, only to remember it run out of battery in the morning. He sighs heavily and rubs his eyes with his palms until he sees circles around. He doesn't want robbed furniture inside his apartment, he really doesn't, but he doesn't know where the guy is to return it, and no one will believe a robber gave him furniture because his apartment was too empty. The police would most likely think he was the one that robbed it, that or think he has a mental disturb that doesn't let him acknowledge he's a robber and created another person for it instead. That's actually a pretty good hypothesis, and would make much more sense than the reality. Maybe he should write a thesis about that, his teachers would love it.
He throws his backpack into the mattress and glares at the TV. The damn thing has everything installed, and it's not a mess of wires behind or underneath. Law isn't sure if he believes that kid installed it, he didn't seem that skilled. He also didn't seem like a robber, Law thinks, but guess what.
He approaches the table, and sits in one of the chairs. That thing is comfy as fuck, and the table… so, spacious, so useful, with so much space to put his books on, instead the floor, and to put the plate and have dinner.
He decides to keep them, he needs them. He just hopes the real owners didn't need them more than him.
Law leans against the back of the chair and closes his eyes, his neck still hurts and he's hungry.
"Fuck," he mutters to himself, his eyes still closed. "I forgot to go to the grocery store."
He gets up, but all his muscles and bones in his body complain and he's not sure if he will survive walking four blocks to the local grocery store, just to come back full of bags. He doesn't know if he is that hungry.
He is, but he decides to order a pizza instead. He remembers then he still hasn't put his phone charging, and he swears as he has to get up anyway. He needs a drink, a real drink and not the poor excuse of beer he still has on the fridge. Coffee is out of question, he already drank too many today, so it's that or water.
He makes his way to the fridge them, that old and white thing with more rust than food in it. Or… so it should be…
"Holy fuck," Law lets out when he sees his fridge full, and with full he means full, full. It even has more shelves than before, three now, all of them with enough food for a family of eight. "He fucking fixed my fridge."
He opens the kitchen cabinets, all of them, and all of them were full. Cereal, cookies, bread... way too much food than what his kitchen is used to see. "And he fucking went hoping. What the hell is wrong with that guy?" Law mutters.
Well, he doesn't need to order pizza now, not with the amount of food he now has available. He's not used to have so many options to make dinner, but he guesses there's a first time for everything. It has been a long time since his dinner wasn't scrambled eggs or pasta with canned tuna.
He takes his time making dinner, inventing a recipe by mixing a bunch of others together. He finds pepper and a bunch of other spices, and he uses and abuses them, because now he can. He eats at his new table, and he can't stop a smile from forming in his lips, but neither can he stop the thought of what he's doing from forming in his head. And he doesn't know what's he's doing anymore, he doesn't know what is happening anymore but, for the first time, he finds that he doesn't give two shits.
He decides to do the dishes then, that it's about time to do so and, as he looks to his poor but clean and full with food kitchen, he can't help but laugh a bit.
He goes for the beer he needed before, but the poor excused one is out of sight and was replaced by a medium flavored one. He takes one out and grabs his cigarette pack from his backpack, heading then for the fire escape stairs. He sits there, a beautiful night sky without stars above him, and the height of four floors underneath.
He's on the second cigar, with the beer long one, when he hears someone coming up the stairs, the old and rusty metal making some not so inviting sounds. Law's not even surprised when he sees the guy again, looking unsure of himself in the middle of them. For a robber, he's not the face of silence or discretion at all.
"I wasn't expecting you to come again," Law tells him, letting out a small cloud of smoke. "Are you going to rob me now?"
The guy smiles. "No, I'm just checking if you liked your new furniture."
"I remember saying I didn't want your stuff yesterday," Law says, and the guy's smile grows bigger and brighter. Fucking huge teeth there.
"Yesterday you were a bit… mad, and not exactly imagining how a table and TV would look like in your apartment," the guy says. He doesn't sound as nervous as he sounded yesterday. "I decided to give you another try. I can take them back with me again, if you want."
No, Law doesn't want that. "Well, that would be kinda hard now. If you took the TV with you, I would have an entire empty wall with holes now, and I'm not sure if the table can pass through the window. Plus, I'm not allowed to make noise, it's past eleven already."
"I see, so I guess you have no choice than keep the things."
"Exactly," Law says, smirking."It's a shame though you know, I really liked that empty wall, it was my favourite wall, but now it has holes. How sad."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he says, even though he doesn't look apologetical at all. "So, can I have a beer?"
Law huffs in response, smashing what's left of his cigar on the metal beside him. "You know where you put it."
Law watches as the guy maneuvers to pass him and then squeezes through the window. He just invited a robber to enter his apartment to get a beer, he sure isn't in his right mind. The guy comes back quick, way too quick in Law's opinion, and sits on the window's ledge, one leg in and the other out.
"Damn," the guy says, "that wall sure looks better with a TV."
"Yeah, I guess," Law turns around, leaning against the stair's grille, his legs stretched. His feet touch the wall, that's just how big the staircase is, the grille hurts against his back and his ass is starting to become numb due the cold metal underneath, but his position his tolerable and comfortable enough. "Is it even legal for you to be drinking?" He asks, just now noticing how the guy looks young.
"Yeah, in some countries it is," the guy says. It's not like it's the only illegal thing you do, Law thinks. "I'm Luffy by the way."
"You sure you want to tell me your name? You sure are an odd robber," Law says, arching an eyebrow at him. The guys just laughs and shrugs it off. "I'm Law," he then adds.
"Well, nice to meet you, Law. And thank you for not calling the police yesterday." Luffy says and Law nods at him, he still doesn't know why exactly he didn't, but he guesses he made the right choice not to, at least until now. The guy looks inside his apartment, the beer is still mostly untouched between his hands, Law's not sure if he saw him take more than two sips of it. "You know, I think I could get you a bed," he looks back at Law, "but it would take a while."
"I don't want it," Law answers. He doesn't want more stuff, he managed to live without a proper bed, he can continue living without one. "And this time I really mean it."
"But are you imagining how it would look like? Are you imagining how useful and comfortable your bed could be?" Luffy asks, and yeah, Law is, it would be great, and it would look great.
"I still don't want it," Law says, hopefully convincing enough.
"Okay, okay. It's your decision," he gets up. " Well, I have to get going, I'm sure you have to wake up early tomorrow. Thanks for the beer," Luffy says, even though he left the bottle on the ledge, mostly full.
"You didn't really drink it," Law says, taking his legs out of the way.
"I don't really like beer. See ya," Luffy says and gets out of view before Law can come back with a reply.
Law hopes he doesn't see him again, he's a robber after all. He takes out a third cigar and drinks the beer Luffy left before entering to try and get some sleep.
His days keep getting weirder after that, or better, his nights do. There only a few where he goes to sleep before midnight, the others he spends outside, in the fucking fire escape stairs he's starting to trust now, eating whatever food Luffy brought with him and drinking beer.
The lack of sleep is starting to get it's effects, either it is in the bags under Law's eyes or the fact he has lost the early train and had to take the next one, way too overcrowded, too many times already. Yet, it's hard to tell Luffy to go away and, even when he does, they always end up talking for a few more hours until one of Law's neighbours come to the window and complains about the noise.
Shachi keeps telling him he looks like a panda, while Penguin sometimes says he's getting fatter. Jean laughs every time, but Law can feel his eyes and his body heavier. He's sure his elevator agrees with him. He decides he needs to do exercise, so he joins a gym and, soon enough, the fat in his system starts turning into muscle.
Law's just glad every time he arrives to his apartment, dead tired and starving, Luffy's waiting for him with tons of food and he doesn't feel bad for eating too much because he burnt many calories too. When Law started arriving later, Luffy stopped waiting outside and started entering through the window that doesn't lock. Law was a bit mad at first, when he entered home and found Luffy seating on the couch and laughing hard at some TV show, but then he found out he can't really stay mad with him for much longer.
He also started working at the college library, as a circulation clerk, whenever he has time and during weekends. He gets a good payment for the amount of work he does there, which isn't really that much, and he has a lot of time to study and do researches. Plus, he started paying half of the food Luffy brings without his bank account decreasing considerably.
If a few weeks ago Law was complaining about not having enough free time, he now discovered those days were peach easy and full of free time, if a few weeks ago he complained he was tired, now he knows what exhaustion really is, if a few weeks ago he complained about the money, now he can just save a few cents every week.
But nothing could prepare him for the exams weeks. It's absurd. Too absurd. And Law's sure he hasn't slept more than two hours in the whole week. When he isn't burning his brain with the studies and classes, he's burning calories or doing both things, depending on the exercise. He arrives home even later and doesn't have time to have dinner or talk to Luffy, which is a bit sad because they built a routine. At some point, he starts leaving a note hanging on the window, before leaving, for Luffy to know he won't, most likely, be home before two or three am. But at some point Luffy also demands for his phone number, one day when they see each other randomly in the street, stating that he needs guarantees Law is arriving late or not, needs to know when it's cool to climb the stairs and enter and when it's not without having to climb the stair anyway and see the paper.
So Law gave him his number, and the exams week is long gone and their routines are back on track but he keeps talking to him during the day via text. Which isn't a bad thing but, for some reason, Shachi and Penguin think it's the perfect subject to mock him about, even though they don't know about Luffy's existence.
"C'mon, tell us who he is," Shachi says one day during their lunch hour. Since Law started using his phone to socialize to someone other than them two, Penguin made the rule of no phone during lunch hour. So Law's phone is on the table, facing down, and vibrating so many times with a new text that it's actually surprising him. Which it shouldn't, Luffy likes to send seven text in a row, each one with a sentence or a random question, each one with a different topic. He got used to it eventually.
"I think it's funny how you immediately jumped into the conclusion it was a he," Law says, focusing on the food in front of him and not on his phone, vibrating with yet another text.
"You never denied it."
"I never said it was true either," Law says and Penguin snickers beside him. "Well, I have to get going."
"Oh no you don't!" Shachi says and grabs Law's phone out of his reach, like the child he is. "You're not leaving until I have a name!"
"Don't you think you're starting to get a bit obsessed with someone you don't even know?" Law asks, annoyed.
"You're the one who is obsessed," Penguin says, making Shachi to agree and nod furiously. "You're always glued to your phone now."
"Like you guys can talk about being glued to the phone," Law argues. "You even bring chargers every time you leave home because your phone's' battery don't last."
"We just want to know who he or she is. We're your friends and we're curious, Law." Penguin says.
"Will you give me the damn phone after?" Law asks and Shachi nods, a huge grin on his face. "Okay fine, his name's Luffy, now give it back."
"Oh so it really was a he! I knew it!" Saatchi says, giving Penguin a high five for only God knows what. "Are you guys dating?"
"No, we're not, and this conversation is over." Law grabs back his phone. "I won't ever understand what crossed my mind when I told my sexual preferences."
"Oh it was because you were tired of us presenting you hot chicks and preferred hot dicks," Shachi says, too loud, and then bursts up laughing.
"Oh that was really good, Shachi!" Penguin says, laughing too, while Law's still too perplexed about what he just heard. He really doesn't know why he thought telling them he liked guys was a good idea. Fucking life choices.
"I know right! I'm going to be a poet!" That's all Law hears before he leaves, leaving those two idiots laughing like even bigger idiots behind. He receives a bunch of stares as he passes by, obviously from people who heard the conversation, but most of them are apologetical.
"You know, I'm getting tired of seeing your apartment like this," Luffy said one night when both of them were sitting in Law's couch, Law more asleep than awake. "I think you need new furniture."
Law yawned. "And what do you suggest?"
"Well, since you insist on having your mattress near the front door, I truly suggest you to find something to block the view, privacy and all that," Luffy says.
"Why don't you find a job as interior designer, or whatever the hell it's called. You have such talent," Law says and receives a kick in the leg, not really enough to hurt him but still enough to wake him. Fucking Luffy as his mania of always sitting in weird positions that allow him to kick. "Okay, okay, I'm all ears," he seats up.
"You could use a shelf, a big one you see? It blocks the view to your bed to anyone who enters through that door," Luffy says, pointing to the bed and to the front door and mimicking what Law supposes it's a shelf in between. Law doesn't really tell him he's the only one that enters his apartment, or reminds him he enters through the window so the shelf won't really be blocking anything. It's not important. "Plus, you have so many books lying around. You would've been making them a favour."
"I don't want to invest on a shelf, and no," he cuts Luffy's line of thought, raising his index finger in front of Luffy's face, "I don't want you to steal one for me."
"I wouldn't! I swear!" Luffy beams, folding his legs underneath him. "It's just that I have a shelf in my bedroom, a big one, that isn't that used because, well, I don't own that many books. And I want to change my bedroom's environment and all that, and that thing occupies a lot of space I don't have."
Law raises an eyebrow at him. "So you want to get rid of it?"
"Exactly!" Luffy says, smiling brightly. Law's not sure if he buys it or not. "Think about it as recycling."
"You," Law says and leans forward, looking at him straight in the eye. "You look at me and swear it's your shelf."
"I swear," Luffy says, not breaking eye contact with Law and keeping a straight face, although it doesn't last long. "I swear in my life, to God. I even do a pinky promise," he brings his pinky to Law's face. "That's just how truly mine that shelf is."
"Okay, I'm trusting you," Law says and locks his own pinky with his, even though he's aware he shouldn't trust someone who's a robber. Fucking life choices.
"Yeah!" Luffy punches the air. "More room for me and a new shelf for you! It's almost the same tone as the table too! It will look so good!"
"Yeah, yeah," Law deadpans, even though he's smiling. "When can you bring it?"
Luffy stops his weird winner dance and actually looks thoughtful for a few seconds. "Well, I have to dismount it and put it in a box to bring and all that… maybe in two days? In the Saturday?"
"Two days is good for me. But text me before so you don't have to have to carry it all the way up here alone."
"Roger that," Luffy gives him one last smile before he turns his attention back at the television. Half an hour passes before Luffy turns his attention back to him. "You know what you also need?" He asks, eyes big and brown. "You need to repaint your walls."
Law looks around his apartment, to the humidity in the corners and the lack of paint in most of the wall, yeah, he guesses he does need to repaint the walls. "It's going to be a long Saturday. You better get here early."
Luffy smiles at that and leaves not long after. It's only when Law's curled up in his mattress, more than ready to fall asleep, that he remembers he didn't made Luffy swear the paint was also his.
On Friday night, Law's still in the city, walking around with Sachi and Jean, supposedly to meet up with Penguin and have some bro time, whatever the hell Shachi means with it.
He texts Luffy and tells him to not go to his apartment tonight, that he won't be there until very late. The answer comes not long after that:
U couldve said sooner :/
I feel like your tv should be called my tv since I use it more than u
Have fun
"It's bro time, Law. And that doesn't include the bromance, I'm sure Luffy'll understand," Shachi says beside him, frowning and looking horrible.
Law rolls his eyes in response, but puts his phone inside his phone. A few days after Law committed the mistake of telling Shachi Luffy's name, he started singing it every time Law's phone vibrated, stating there was love in the air. At first Law ignore, because that's what sensate people do, but then we started punching him, his punches getting harder every time, because that's what mad and overly annoyed people do. Law kept telling him they were just friends, which was the truth, even though it was apparently too hard to convince Shachi so, and then, all of a sudden, Shachi started calling it bromance.
Law doesn't know what annoys him the most to be honest.
"Why don't you cut up with the bromance shit and start spilling what the plans are for this fucking bro time, uh?" Law snaps, but Jean's on his side.
"Okay, okay. We're going bowling!" Shachi says, as if everyone loves bowling as much as he does. Law hates bowling. He hates it since the first year of college, since the moment Shachi first convinced him into going bowling with him and had to keep the game up for three hours straight. Law swears he broke a finger that day, even though no one believes him, sometimes he can still the pain.
He's not ready to repeat that experience again. But he can't back off now, fucking life choices.
They meet up with Penguin along the way, and he seems as excited as Shachi about the idea of bowling. At least Jean face doesn't resemble any kind of excitement, so Law doesn't feel as dislocated.
It's Penguin's turn when he feels his phone vibrating inside his pocket.
I didnt ask you but what color you want?
I strongly suggest a grayish blue
It goes great with the brown furniture
Sorry for interrupting your bro time
Law smiled before he texted he would thrust his color opinion. He put his phone back in his phone in seconds, but Shachi noticed, even though he didn't say a word.
They end up staying there for two hours, two hours of which Jean won every round, most to Shachi unhappiness that was used to win every time. Law's tired when the cold wind of the late night hit his face, and his arm hurts like he'll, but the last thing he'll do is complain about that fact. He actually had a funny time, even though it was mostly due the fact Shachi was perplexed when he kept staying in second place and couldn't beat Jeans score, no matter how hard he tried or the techniques he used.
And, since it was Shachi idea to have bro time and all his excitement and happiness about bowling night got drained from his body, they ended up parting ways and go home, Jean keeping Law's company until they arrived to the train station.
Law almost fell asleep on the train, and the wall to his apartment was the slowest he can recall. He's glad his new shelf isn't there yet, because the firsts thing he does after locking the door and taking off his shoes in to fall into the softness of his mattress. He falls asleep right after, fully clothed and on top of the blanket.
He's still dreaming, a weird dream where he's in the woods and there's an house that's more a tree than a house, when he's awoken by knocks on what he supposes it's the window. It takes him some time to remember the plans he had with Luffy.
He nearly runs towards the windows, still sleepy and disoriented, opening it and letting an overly excited Luffy enter.
"Well good morning there, sleepy beauty!" Luffy says, walking past him and putting a big bucket of blue paint right in the middle of Law's apartment. "Ready to do some paint job?"
"That sounded weird," Law mutters as he rubs his eyes. He needs coffee, and breakfast.
"The bowling did messed you up, huh," he hears Luffy saying as he makes his way to his beautiful coffee machine and turns it on. He's right, the stupid bowling did fucked up his right arm and hand. "You want me to come back another time?"
"No, no. I just have to take a quick shower and eat and probably go to a massagist and then I'm good," Law says, managing to show what he hopes is a smile to Luffy. They had plans, he doesn't like to mess plans up, it gets him mad.
"Yeah, right, why don't you do that then, while I bring the rest of the stuff up?"
Luffy motions to the window, already making his way towards it.
"No, I help you with the stuff-"
"No need! You're not the only one that exercises you know?" He laughs and then tingles his nose. "Now go take that shower. You stink."
And that's what he does, and when he gets out, with his hair soaked wet because the day was already too hot for him to dry it, there is burned toast with more butter than necessary waiting for him in the table. He smiles, bites one, and goes make coffee.
"You want coffee?" Law asks, looking at Luffy in the corner, putting pages and pages of newspaper on the floor. He notices his mattress is now farther away from the wall, near a big box Law suspect contains the shelf.
"No, thank you. I've had breakfast already, and I ate some of your toast," he turns around and smiles at Law. "Plus, you wouldn't want me to drink coffee. I think I traumatized Nami a few years ago after drinking one."
Yeah, caffeine and Luffy are totally things that should never be together. "Who's Nami?"
"She's a long time friend, and the one that keeps hiding any type of sugar and caffeine when I'm around."
"I see," Law mutters, mostly lost in thought. Luffy has a pretty nice ass now that Law really has time and a good perspective to look at it.
"Okay, so I thought we should probably start with the painting? For it to have time to dry, and then we can move onto the shelf? What do you think?"
"I think that's a good plan," Law says, grabbing a paintbrush to get to work.
They start with the wall that has the TV, Luffy insisting it should be Law painting the part of the wall near it so that it wouldn't be his fault if the TV ended up blueish. They order pizza somewhere around midday, and they finish a total of two walls before it arrives. They eat outside, sat on the stairs.
"I didn't ask you," Law starts, "but where did you get the paint?"
He waits for Luffy to swallow an entire slice. "Don't worry about it."
"I want to pay for it."
"There's no need for payment and no," Luffy says, grabbing another slice and looking at Law like he knows what Law was thinking about, "I didn't steal it. I have a friend that happens to have a carpentry and well, he has paint and brushes around and he owned me one. It's no big deal."
"You have a friend that is a carpenter?" Law asks, suspicious. Luffy has the luck of having friends in every possible field one can imagine, or so he says he has. "I wonder how that friendship bloomed."
"Well, me and my friend, Usopp? I talked about him already, I think. Anyway, we entered private property and I managed to run away but Usopp was really slow at the time and Franky, the carpenter, beated the shit out of him, and then I went to kick his ass." Luffy says, opening another box of pizza and eating almost an entire slice in one go. "That's how we meet. Somehow we got friends in between. Don't really know where though."
"You have odd friends," Law mutters, because it was true, at least, if the stories he keeps telling are real. "And odd ways of meeting them too."
"Yeah, I guess I do," Luffy smiles, his face and tank top speckled with paint, with some big bits here and there. Luffy doesn't have that much skill at painting walls, he found that out right in the first few minutes after they started, and neither does he have the patience needed. He grabbed a paint roller, with the handle longer than himself, and started applying the paint, managing to not make that much mess in the floor, the newspaper's taking most of the fallen paint. It was only when they had half of the first wall done that they noticed they probably should've painted the wall white before applying the blue, but then it was too late and Law wasn't looking forward to have only a half painted wall. So he decided to keep going, and it is turning out good enough, just a tone a bit darker that what the bucket says it is.
Law likes it.
It's almost seven when they finally finish the painting and put the shelf on the right place, the thing turning out to really be a big one, almost the same brow as the table, just like Luffy said. Law wasn't very convinced with the result at first but, when he started organizing all the books he had around, he changed his mind. Not only he found out he actually owned a ridiculous amount of books, but also that, without them lying around, the apartment looks way more cleaned up and spacious, even though there are black plastic bags full of painted newspaper in the middle of the floor.
They're both sweaty and dead tired by that time, and Law's right arm and hand hurt almost as much as they do when he has a week full of exams and needs to write all his resumes in one go.
They move outside, Law to smoke a cigar and Luffy to breath some fresh air Law's apartment doesn't have now, too full with the smell of fresh paint. They didn't think about that inconvenience either.
"I feel bad for you have to sleep with this horrible smell tonight," Luffy says, keeping some distance between himself and Law to not take the cigar's smoke in the face.
"I'll keep the windows open and all that shit," Law says, not really minding that much. By the time he goes to sleep the smell won't be that strong, or so he hopes. "If it's too bad, I can always come and sleep here in the stairs. I have plenty of blankets."
"I see," Luffy says, seeming a bit out and looking down the stairs reluctantly. Law know what that means. "Well, I guess I have to get going, got two dogs that still need a walk."
"I didn't know you had dogs," Law tells him, making Luffy to stop right on the first step and look back at him.
"I didn't tell you?" Luffy asks, and Law shakes his head. "That's weird, I though I did already. Anyway, yeah, I have two dogs. One's Merry and the other is Sunny."
"Such beautiful names," Law smiles at him and is sure that, if Luffy was closer, he would've received a punch in the arm for making fun.
"In my legit defense, I was a kid by the time they first entered my home," Luffy says, crossing his arms in front of his chest and pouting. You still are a kid, Law thinks, but doesn't say anything.
"You should bring them one day," Law tells him, he likes dogs, wished he could've one too, but life hasn't allowed that to happen.
"Oh, so you're a dog person! I knew it!" Luffy grins, forgetting about his momentary pout. "Yeah, I can bring them some day. Not tomorrow, and not in a near future though. I don't want them to get high with the smell. Talk to you later."
"See ya," Law says, waving slightly at him. He sees Luffy disappear in the stair case, only hearing his footsteps on the rusted metal, then sees as he gets smaller and smaller with every step once on the street, turning around and waving at Law before getting out of sight.
Law finishes his cigar and goes back inside, where his bed is still in the middle of the room, near the plastic bags full with journal. He takes them to the trash and decides to keep the bed in the same position before he goes back outside, with a bunch of papers to study geriatrics.
It takes exactly an entire week for Luffy to come to Law's apartment again, him being too occupied with something he didn't exactly specified and that Law didn't insist on knowing after he changed subject three times while texting. He asks if Law's in his apartment first, then if he can bring the dogs and if the building is dog friendly. Law answers them all with yes.
Half an hour later Law opens his window to let Luffy in, holding a small white fluffy dog, and with another, big and light brown, walking beside him with a leash enter his apartment. The one on his arms looks like a sheep, with the one on the floor resembles a lion, which Law guesses was the intention, considering the haircut.
But it's Luffy's face that really catches Law's attention, or better, the cut on his bottom lip, the black eye and the four steri strips on his forehead do.
"What happened to you?" Law asks as soon as they're all in, getting way too close to Luffy's face for inspection. He catches Luffy's chin with one hand when he tries to look away. The back eye is not really back now, having it for a few days now, and the cuts on the forehead and lip are not really recent either, and they were treated decently. The white dog barks at him, but Law ignores him. "Did you have a fight?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, don't worry," Luffy says, looking uncomfortable with their proximity, the big dog growls menacingly beside him. Law lets go of his face and takes a step back, looks at him with an arched eyebrow and his arms crossed in front of his chest. "And, yeah, a fight. But don't worry about that either."
"Why did you have a fight, Luffy?" Law asks. Luffy sighs heavily in front of him and mutters something he doesn't understand, then he puts the white dog on the floor. Both dogs keep looking at him, almost like waiting to see if they need to attack Law or not. He ignores them.
"It wasn't one of those fights! I was training and it got real, kinda. I was never at danger by the way."
"Training for what?" Law asks, confused. Luffy looks at him for a while, and then his eyes grow big and let's go a small laugh that sounds pained.
"Oh yeah! I didn't tell you," he says, getting down to pet the brown dog that melts under his hand. "I train kickboxing and there's a regional competition coming. This is nothing, you should see me after the competitions, I look dead."
"Yeah, I can do some check ups on you after," Law says and only after notices how that sounded. "I don't know if I already mentioned," he adds to alleviate things when he sees an hint of embarrassment on Luffy's face, "but I'm in medical school."
"You didn't," Luffy says,"but I figured it out anyway, with all the books you had lying around and all. It was either that or you were overly curious about medical stuff. I'll think about your offer."
"Good. Now introduce me the dogs I've been ignoring and that I'm sure don't like me at all."
Luffy grins as Law kneels on the floor in front of him. "Okay! This one is Merry," he says, picking up the white one and putting the dog almost in Law's face. "And this one is Sunny. And I'm sure they don't dislike you."
Law picks Merry up, petting him behind the ears. Sunny comes to him after, first smelling him and then touching Law's arm with his nose. "See? They love you!" Luffy says and sits on the floor.
Law doesn't know how long they stayed sat on the floor, petting the dogs and talking, but eventually Luffy's stomach played it's war horn and he took out a plastic bag full of Indian food from the backpack Law somehow didn't notice. They eat outside and share half of the food with the dogs, and it's good. The night's a bit chilly and the dogs have to stay leash, loose but still tied to the grille, during the entire meal, just to prevent one of them to ran away, up or down the stairs. They talk about Luffy's training and his trainer Rayleigh, about his dogs and a bit about how Law's apartment looks good.
Eventually, it gets late and Merry starts barking at only God knows what and doesn't stop, no matter how many times Luffy tells him to shut up. So, in order to not let Law be in bad terms with basically all the neighborhood, Luffy leaves with Sunny walking slowly beside him and Merry on his arms, barking way launder than what he should be capable of.
Even after they're long gone, Law can still hear the barks in the distance.
See you in the next chapter^^