A/N: This is part of a series supplementary to the long fic, Repossession. This one can be read alone. Please note: One of the premises of Repossession is that Doflamingo escaped Dressrosa and Vergo survived Punk Hazard. It is not important to this fic though, except in passing. More A/N at the end of the fic.
One Hundred Red Noses - Law's Collections 3
Buggy thought it was the most romantic thing. Law packed earplugs. Now he was the most serene man on the Sunny Thousand Merry Two. Maybe the only serene man. Luffy had named the ship. The pirate king couldn't quite remember the names of the past two vessels. The lifeboat was christened Sunny Thousand Depths Below the Sea, Where it's not very Sunny 1. Robin had named that one. It was better than Murky Fathomless Depths where the Sea Monsters Lurk. No-one quite knew what happened to Thousand Sunny Moribund 1. It probably went down with the ship.
Shanks and Benn had been celebrating their thirty-year anniversary as a couple all year long and they'd brought the latest instalment to the Strawhats' ship. Or the Strawhats' ship had been brought to them.
Nearing fifty could seem quite old for a pirate, or even a retired or advisory yonkou, not that it ever stopped Rayleigh. But when considering people either side of the Grand Line lived until they were one hundred and forty at least – those not killed by the marines or Blackbeard that is – Benn and Shanks were still whelps. Even with the extra decades many devil-fruit users had shaved off their lives by overextending their powers, all the Strawhats, Hearts and other ex-pirate crews were hoping for a longish, healthy life in this new era of calm.
Well. Law was calm. He expected Marco was too. Maybe there were two serene men on board. He'd told Marco to pack his earplugs when Buggy had approached him with his proposal, and when Luffy had insisted that he and Marco sail with them to the island where Benn and Shanks spent most of their time.
The iconic straw hat wouldn't be on the now-pirate king's head if not for Buggy, Shanks and Law, but that was beside the point.
Marco had often sailed with Shanks and Benn after the Payback War, and Law was on the Red Force when he had needed shelter from the pardoned Doflamingo and never-can-say-goodbye Vergo, and the very vindictive Akainu and Kizaru. To say Law was traumatized at the time was to say the sun is lukewarm. He was beyond battle-weary, and Shanks took him in as a favour to Luffy and to acknowledge Law's role in saving his favourite supernova.
He and the Heart Pirates sailed with the yonkou for the two years that Law and Luffy were a couple, and also in the following years in which he and Marco grew close, closer, and then inseparable. Buggy knew that the doctor with the weird way of speaking was now a firm friend of his old crewmate. He still wondered how he'd made house calls with that sub though.
oOOo
Law enjoyed cooking. He wasn't great, but wasn't terrible, and didn't mind helping Sanji out in the kitchen with the grunt work, particularly the slicing. Law was one of the few people Sanji would trust with a blade, due to his deftness and familiarity with sharp, pointy objects. Marimo should have been ideal, but was too hot-tempered. Being a surgeon, Law had an end-product, and end result, in mind. Mosshead just liked slicing things up, and quickly grew bored. The Heart and Strawhat worked towards getting the feast ready for the anniversary party.
Currently the dark-haired man was in the Sunny Thousand Merry Two galley, cutting through tomatoes and cherries, two separate piles, and then creating a third for all that looked like tomatoes and cherries, but were not. New World cherries were sizeable. Sanji was screeching, but he couldn't really hear him. The blond had picked up a ripe, juicy fruit from the third plate, only to have it squeeze inwards under his very gentle touch, and for it then to expel a startling honk when he loosened his grip. A rude blat of a sound.
The cook threw it to the floor and rather than squish and splatter, it bounced all over the room, honking as it went. Law tried to direct Sanji's attention to the two perfectly workable plates of tomatoes and cherries, but it seemed the chef wanted to have it out with someone or something. He grabbed more of the imposter fruit, and soon they ricocheted and bleated all over the kitchen, interspersed with Sanji's muffled (to Law's stoppered ears) curses.
Zoro pushed through the door at the hint of commotion. Of course he did. And so it was on. Sanji was riled up, but when wasn't he? They took it outside. Law spied Marco sitting on one of the stools at the far end of the kitchen, thumbing his way through one of Robin's books, paying no mind to anything, not even the honking, blaring fruit careening all around him. Yeah, he had to have his earplugs in. His partner looked up for a second, and sent Law a quiet smile which he returned.
Law prepped as much as he could. He hadn't been dragged in for the long haul, and he knew Sanji would want precision in making the remaining dishes, so he didn't dare proceed. However, the clock was ticking, so he shambled Sanji back into the galley, swapping him out with a stool - not the one Marco was sitting on - and tried to to calm him, indicating the time. A wooden leg clattered to the deck of the Sunny 2 as Zoro's sword sliced it cleanly from the chair. Damn Law.
The Heart captain then shambled the plate of non-tomatoes and non-cherries out to the deck, along with all the renegade bouncing non-fruit, replacing them with two of Nami's tangerines. He'd pay later. Literally, he was sure. But the cook needed some peace. He felt his hip-pocket for his wallet and wondered if he'd brought along enough beli.
He could hear, through his earplugs, through the closed door, Luffy descending on the balls straight away. If the honk from the touch of the cook had been as gentle as a geese's call, the yowl from Luffy's manhandling cut through the air like a foghorn in heat.
Nami protested at the caterwaul of course, but her cries were lost in the din. Law heard only a hint of her screech through the earplugs. He walked to a small window to the left of the kitchen space and peered out as the boys on the deck piled in, grabbed handfuls of the non-fruit, and then chased one another around the Sunny, compressing the spheres so the whole ship vibrated with an ear-splitting, teeth-clenching clamour. Still boys, despite all the years passed and achievements gained.
Buggy, an invited guest of both Luffy and Shanks, flew into the fray. This was not part of the plan. His shrieking overrode Nami's. Shanks and Benn, as guests of honour, would be required to give a speech. As that happened, as they affirmed their love, Buggy was to shower them with a hundred red noses.
Except some had escaped. They had parts of his ability. The mobility part. They were clown noses after all - masters of mayhem, mavericks. Noisy. Shanks and Buggy had made their peace in their own way. Buggy didn't do anything quietly, and Shanks wasn't known for his decorum, so the detente between them was almost as chaotic as the pandemonium outside. As such, Law had scanned every one of the hundred red noses, on Buggy's boarding, to check that none concealed a Muggy Ball.
He shrugged and wandered back to the chopping benches and boards, and somehow he and Sanji – or more so, Sanji, with as much help as Law could give – managed to get tomatoes in salads, and cherries on cakes and cherries settled into the pastries of tarts. Once the oven door was shut, the timer set, he ventured from the kitchen to investigate. A dull rumble cut through the padding of his industrial strength earplugs.
Luffy's fingers were stuck up one of the noses, rooting around as if it searching for his own boogers. Profanities rained down from Buggy, floating in the sky. Detached Buggy. His gloved hands attempted to slap Luffy's own away from the hooters. Law marvelled at Buggy's ability. The Heart captain personally only had the ability to detach psychologically. He wondered how his own devil's fruit would affect Buggy's, but now wasn't the time to experiment.
Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Robin stood with their hands over their ears. Sanji would need to ash that cigarette soon. The pitch emitted by the red noses perforated Brook's eardrums, but he had no ears to hear with, so it didn't really bother him. Yo, ho, ho.
Marco exited the kitchen and stood next to Law. Thank you, he mouthed, pointing to his own ears. Law sent a knowing glance. Luffy, Franky, Usopp, and Chopper threw the noses to each other. Squeezed them. Bounced them against the deck and walls. Kicking up one hell of a racket. Even with the earplugs Law felt the hint of a migraine.
He raised a Room, sucked in all the fake fruit, and replaced them with particles of salt from Sanji's supplies. He removed his earplugs, as did Marco, placing them in their pockets. Once the cause of the uproar had been confiscated, the Strawhat pirate king's laughter could be heard echoing over the ship. And Nami's scolding. Luffy paused for a moment to lick salt from his palm.
The ball's landed in containers that Buggy had brought onto the ship. More noses rested within them. The spheres the Strawhats had been playing with were a few that had broken free. Law hoped Sanji wouldn't kill him for wasting the cooking salt he'd sprinkled over the clown noses previously. It was that, or lose his sanity. Though maybe he and Marco would retain theirs, but to send the already insane Strawhat crew just that little bit further around the bend wasn't the wisest of moves.
The four more sedate members of the crew sent grateful looks his way. Marco turned into Phoenix form and offered to fly the hyperactive component, one at a time, up in the sky, far over the ocean. Luffy, complaining about old man spoilsport Law, had been planning on tumbling about the deck with a trapped Heart pirate captain beneath him, but eagerly climbed onto Marco's transformed form instead - shouting, excited, his eyes shining. Law sighed in relief. He hoped Franky would refuse the offer.
Sunny Thousand Merry Two was docked at a port on the island where Benn and Shanks currently lived. As with most of the Hearts, Whitebeards, Strawhats and Red-Haired Pirates, all crew members were a ferry ride away from the other, all residing on one or another of the islands making up the archipelago. That's when they weren't out at sea. Law was mostly land-bound nowadays, and happy with it. He and Marco ran a beachfront bar, and he was content with having the ocean nearby. It didn't mean he'd never set out again.
oOOo
The guests of honour boarded the ship a little later than the seven pm decided upon, the stars just beginning to strike up in the clear sky above. Shanks had gone all out in the ostentation-stakes as a sign of respect toward Buggy for joining them. His lower half, that was. He was always understated and stylish for the upper, which puzzled Law a little, even though he was no stranger to the adventurously fashionable. His life was populated with them. Then again, the contrasts and contradictions of Red-Hair was part of his charm.
Red-hibiscuses patterned his capris, and he actually wore a real one behind his ear. In fact, both he and Benn wore leis. The red flushes across their cheeks smacked of inebriation. Naturally. Though Benn's was limited to a light touch toward the top of his cheekbones. He could handle his liquor. Maybe better than Nami.
The massively tall man's cummerbund sash was a shocking red, matching his lover's hair. Crimson swirled through the black of the cape casually draped around him. His gun rested over his shoulder. He smoked as always, and held Shanks' hand in his own, only letting go to ash his cigarette when needed.
"Hit it!" Buggy yelled as they set foot on the deck. The two Red-Hair pirates paused.
Franky had done them proud. One hundred red noses were set up as single, double and multiple reed bulb horns. These were mounted on various stands, surrounding the deck. Robin's hands sprouted and stood to attention near every one of the instruments, awaiting the swoosh of Buggy's conductor's baton. He hovered above, his feet detached and standing by Brook.
The skeleton tuned his violin one last time, and was set to go. Buggy's feet tapped in one, a two, a one two, three.
Four, thought Brook. It's a four-four beat, but you can't tell clowns anything. The clown's hands swept up and then down, and Robin's digits sprang into action at the conductor's instruction, and manipulated the nose-horns to herald Yo ho ho ho, Yo ho ho ho . . . Brook's violin picked up the melody, and the one hundred red noses, all tuned to varying pitches, swelled the body of Binks' Sake. The melody of the popular shanty filled the ship.
The Strawhat crew had heard it so often that they couldn't help but join in, Robin remembering her happier times in Ohara. Shanks loved shanties, so rather than being right by Benn's side, he leapt over to join Luffy and Zoro in a rousing rendition of the pirates' tune. Sanji exited the kitchen, tankards of beer in hand. Shanks only had one hand to drape, so he dropped it from Luffy's shoulder in order to drink, but Zoro and Luffy kept the red-haired emperor in their midst, arms over his shoulders, their other hands gripping their mugs. Luffy occasionally drank alcohol, especially if Shanks was around.
Benn walked over to where Law stood with Marco. The back of Law's and the Phoenix's hands brushed. Law was sometimes still shy of showing affection in front of this crew, in this kind of situation, even after all these years. He looked up at Benn, and the three exchanged quick smiles, a glance of familiarity. Benn touched Law's cheek softly with a knuckle. A brief greeting just to assure him his favourite doctor was faring well, and to reassure Law he was always there for him. The younger man was one of the few who could help with the cryptic newspaper puzzles, after all.
Benn removed his hand, and suddenly his deep rumble and Marco's lighter tenor surrounded Law, their voices blending with the main nose-horn-rendered ditty. No-one pressured Law to sing, and he didn't. They'd learned. It was a skill he'd had to use in the past sometimes, trained in all the arts. Singing didn't bring bad memories, though it could, but he tended to quietly hum along if he made any sound at all.
Maybe it was the effect of having been silenced while in that chest, his body wracked with the unspeakable reality of Cora-san's beating and demise, or the actual silence of his companions as he'd curled up among the corpses being wheeled out of Flevance when he'd escaped as a boy.
He'd hummed and sung to himself on occasion in the last case. So quietly, he wasn't even sure he made a sound. Maybe it had been in his head. It was his mother's voice. He'd tried to remember some of the lullabies she'd sung to Lamie. Mostly he was just angry.
In any case, Cora had wanted him to survive, and he had been saved again and again, so his sometimes singing voice was a private thing, given in thanks in times of solitude and contemplation. Muteness had aided him on more than one occasion. He enjoyed listening though.
The song was strangely beautiful. When it came to a close, and the ship erupted into a chorus of cheering, Shanks looked up at Buggy, and urged him to launch into something new. Buggy only knew one composition, so Brook took over, and Buggy sent out his body parts to help Robin with the music.
Usopp, Franky and Chopper wanted to help too, so Law conjured a Room, disassembled them, and their body parts landed any which way, which resulted in a bit of a Philip Glass New World Avant-Garde kind of performance for a while. He saw that Benn dug it, he liked it too, but then the Strawhat males got their act together – probably because Nami threatened them – and on the count of three this time segued into the Cat Viper Song. Nekomamushi had known Shanks after all. And Buggy.
The two old Roger pirate crewmates shared a quick look. They knew Binks' Sake from long ago well. Benn too. Shanks waved at the clown in thanks, and came to where the three men stood. He quickly nodded at the Phoenix and the Heart, and then dragged Benn into the messy, muddling mosh pit of Zoro and Luffy. Soon they were all shouting out the chorus. Law looked at Marco with a laugh. What that song had to do with Benn and Shanks' thirtieth anniversary he really didn't know, but they were enjoying themselves.
Marco leant across and kissed Law lightly on the temple before looking at the crew either playing instruments, or belting out phrases of the song – Nami tapping her feet and sipping a cocktail Sanji had whipped up. Luffy couldn't remember the words, so he followed the melody loudly and out of tune with lyrics of his own. Meat, meat, meat, meat is what Law discerned.
The calculating doctor guessed he'd been wrong. His hand folded into Marco's, their fingers entwined. Who could have guessed the romantic potential of a hundred red noses? Maybe Buggy really was the genius his followers declared him to be. What's in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other word – namely nasi, nasis, naso, nasorum, nasos, nasum, nasi, or Buggy's nose – would sound (who knew?) as sweet, Law thought. All in its own clown-like way.
Luffy is now the Pirate King and Zoro is his faithful partner. All characters live in a kind of One Piece AU on a series of islands a ferry ride away from one another.
Law and Marco do have a tea-towel on display of this event. The design is framed by many, many, romantic red noses. It gets a brief mention in chapter 31 of Repossession.
Thanks for reading.
Note: Dec 8, 2018: The Vivre Cards have come out with Marco's height, and he's got 12cm on Law. When I started writing these two, a post on Oro Jackson had Marco at about 184 cm, which I prefer. I initially wrote Marco taller, and readjusted everything. Now, it seems I need to go the other way! BUT, I'll just leave author notes instead. It's always an AU anyway.