A/N: For the purposes of this fic, Law will be 24 and Corazon will be 30, and around eight feet tall instead of around ten (and the age is part of why I chose to make this a modern AU fic, since in canon their ages are 13 years apart). Meant to be a mainly fluff fic.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from One Piece.

Edit: I figured that there's no reason that I can't update the beginning of this fic with the revised versions of chapters (just to balance out the longer length/quality of later chapters here).

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Law had never expected to fall in love. It was an entirely foreign concept to someone who had devoted most of their time and energy into becoming a surgeon. Law's day to day life was already so hectic that he felt that he had no need of romance in any capacity. If the dark haired man had happened to be told that he would fall in love with someone during his lifetime, he would have dismissed that person's words entirely. Law left such feelings to other people, and felt that, as a surgeon, he had no time to waste on such nonsense in the first place. His foremost thought was to give his patients the best care that they could possibly have.

No matter how much his roommates told him that work and personal life could be balanced, Law could not be convinced to give love a chance should it happen upon him. Law assumed that this had meant that his roommates had implied that he would not be the first one to make a move on another person, as distracted by his work as he was. The dark haired surgeon didn't put much effort or energy into arguing against that claim, because he agreed. He probably wouldn't even realize if anyone was interested in him in any case unless they happened to intrude upon his personal space and state it outright. But be that as it may, it didn't prevent Law from giving his roommates a sarcastic filled response. Normally one that was associated with his work whenever they hinted that he should find someone to spend time with other than them, romantic interest or otherwise.

Law dismissed the sometimes less than subtle push to socialize more often than he did, which was to say, very rarely. The dark haired surgeon believed that in order to give the best care that any one patient would require that he had no right to feel anything for one single individual. It was always a concern of Law's that, if he did happen to find someone he wanted in his life, it could negatively affect his work. What if he happened to give that person his undivided attention during his free time, and the feelings that came from it carried over into his work? What if it potentially caused him to lose his focus during his procedures? Law knew for a fact that he could not afford to become unfocused in any way while he worked. When he was on the clock, Law more often than not had someone else's life in his hands and the success of the operations rode on his abilities as a surgeon in that critical moment.

That dismissive feeling Law held over the possibility of love and romance in his life, and the problems that it could possibly incur upon him would soon be challenged. At the time, the dark haired surgeon had absolutely no idea that he was about to meet a particular individual that would be able to completely change his mind on the matter of love that he didn't think possible. Nor did Law realize that his world would completely turn around due to that one person literally falling into his life.

-x

Law had a problem, and that problem currently consisted of being surrounded by, and accosted by, thugs that had no interest whatsoever in his wallet. The surgeon knew this because said wallet had long since been knocked free of his pocket, and lie forgotten on the ground. It was painfully clear from the group's actions as they roughed Law up that money meant nothing to them. Law double-checked that his wallet was still on the ground and forgotten as soon as there was a momentarily lull in the roughing up. His assailants had apparently chosen to desist for the time being in order to size him up.

The wallet was still one the ground and that surprised the dark haired surgeon because it had a couple hundred dollars in it as well as several credit cards.

Law carefully settled his gaze back on his attackers, and found that while the thugs currently appeared to be having fun at his expense, none of them had batted an eyelid at the very expensive looking wallet on the ground. Law's watch was on the ground as well, as it had somehow come undone in a brief struggle he had initially put up. If that gaudy piece of crap that his roommates and a few of his coworkers had pitched in to get him as a gift didn't attract these assholes' attentions, then the wallet, yellow and black in color and ridiculously expensive, wouldn't' either. Law was rather fond of the watch, despite what he may have otherwise thought of it, and hoped that it wouldn't break during this unfortunate encounter. It had been custom made, after all.

Law's eyes swept the alley he was trapped in, and counted at least eight men in total that loosely surrounded him. It was unexpected, being cornered like this, but at the same time, it wasn't the first time that Law had been mugged while living in this city. The first time had been a mistake on his part when he'd first come to live there, and the second time was just because the surgeon had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Law had consulted with his roommates since those incidents and had even used public transportation to try and prevent something like this from happening again. Of course, had he been paying better attention to his surroundings instead of his thoughts, Law would have never-

"Hey, I was talking to you!"

The dark haired surgeon twitched as one of the men was suddenly right up in his face and all but growling at him in what was clearly an aggressive way. There was another reason that Law felt that he should not end up in these situations; his mouth tended to get him into trouble within the general populace not used to his attitude.

"I apologize. I figured that someone like you wouldn't have anything worth listening to other than the drivel I'd expected to hear." Law somewhat regretted not taking the situation as seriously as he ought to have. The man in front of the surgeon was unfortunately on the smarter side and able to be insulted by his words. Something that Law was not used to coming across based on past encounters. The dark haired surgeon wasn't able to back away as the man that he had spoken to gripped him by the front of his shirt, all but snarling into the surgeon's face.

"The fuck did you say?"

Law grimaced as the pissed off man in front of him wasted no time in slamming him up against the nearest wall of the alley. The surgeon's teeth clacked together from the force, and if that wasn't already painful enough, one of the other thugs had decided to sock him harshly in the gut. The action drove Law to his knees once the man that had him by the shirt had let go of him. Law doubled over with a painful rasp as he struggled to regain his breath. Perhaps it hadn't been the smartest thing to insult someone's intelligence when he was outnumbered. Another callous kick to his side sent the dark haired surgeon all the way down to the ground. Law immediately curled up into as much of a ball as he could as the other thugs closed in and decided to add in kicks of their own.

"What the hell is some rich asshole doin' wanderin' around here?"

"Who the fuck cares?"

"Idiot just walked down like he didn't have a care in the world."

Law flinched as one of the thugs in question yanked his head up by his hair, and couldn't help but glare at the individual in return for manhandling him in such a way.

The guy laughed at the sight instead of another kick as he cackled away with his friends.

"Hey, we got ourselves a feisty one here."

"You see that look he gave you? He looked like he wanted to rip your spine out just then."

"Skinny little shit like him? Hell no, man, he wouldn't even be able to break an arm."

As Law was jostled by the man that held his hair in a tight grasp, the surgeon wondered just how he was supposed to get himself out of this if he couldn't even run, as out of breath as he was.

"Hey, you know this place is our turf, don't ya?"

The dark haired surgeon didn't but this was precisely why he avoided such places, not to mention he tended to stand out too much. But right now, Law very much doubted that his eyes or hair had anything to do with it, as unusually colored as they were. In fact, his overall appearance was likely the only thing that the thugs had latched onto. But if they knew or figured that he was rich, why hadn't they bothered to take his wallet or watch, both of which were on the ground?

"I think you knocked the wind outta him."

"I can think of something else that I could knock into him."

There was some crude laughter at that as Law felt the hand in his hair tighten. The surgeon didn't like the sound of that, and since his breath was more or less back, he immediately swung a fist at the man who held his hair. He even aimed it in the precise area of the abdomen that one of his roommates had shown him to do so at some point. Penguin had decided to teach Law some self-defense after his unfortunate, previous run-ins with muggers. The hit connected, and the surprised gasp let the dark haired man know that he was only released because the guy hadn't expected him to fight back. Law didn't hesitate; he lunged for the only open space that he could see in the immediate vicinity that would provide a route for escape.

He didn't get very far.

The dark haired surgeon grunted as he was suddenly seized by two of the men that had been the closest to him. Their hands latched onto either of his arms and that forced Law to halt in place. The other thugs that were around gave him a few rough cuffs and punches, and it struck Law as odd that there was not very much force behind those strikes. But it was during the beat up inflicted upon him that Law thought back on his dinner that had been only an hour ago. It seemed like much longer given these assholes that had cornered him not too after he'd left that restaurant.

The surgeon's dinner had proved different than usual that night, as this time around Law had witnessed a very clumsy blond haired man fall over near his table for no apparent reason. In fact, the man had nearly fallen onto his table, but had managed to change direction mid fall and landed alongside the table instead. The surgeon had initially dismissed the blond haired man entirely from his mind, thinking nothing of it. But the memory had resurfaced while surrounded by thugs that soon made it very obvious that they wished to do more than just frisk him. Law couldn't believe he'd made himself such easy prey for these bastards.

"I'm bored beating him around."

"Yeah, we should do something more interesting with him."

Law scrunched up defensively, even if he could do nothing to protect himself with the way two of the men held either of his arms, which effectively tethered him. After one more rough punch to the gut, Law ended up going limp. He would have ended up on the ground again had the men not continued to hold him up. It was only when Law got a good look at the other thugs' intent gazes that the surgeon realized that he had no way to defend himself from the jeering men, nor what was fast becoming their goal.

The dark haired surgeon balked at the very idea that could possibly have gotten into these idiots heads. And when one of the men gripped his belt and started to undo it, Law had the entirely inappropriate thought that perhaps he should have remained behind in the restaurant to ask the blond haired man he'd seen if he was all right after having taken that fall. And if he had done so, the surgeon would have delayed his departure from the restaurant. Law would have been able to use his common sense if he had done just that in order to not be distracted over a stranger's well-being. Instead, since his thoughts had been preoccupied, Law had ended up endangering himself by going down a notoriously dangerous alley.

"I want to go first."

"Nah man, I get to. I saw him first."

Law clenched his hands into fists as he strained against the idiots that held onto his arms. Now that their intentions were clear, Law felt he had to try even harder to get away. Do anything to stop it. Flailing, while sometimes effective, did nothing in this case other than to cause more laughter within the rowdy group that surrounded him. The dark haired surgeon all but snarled something as he slammed a foot into the face of the man that had just dared to undo his belt and had the gall to palm him. If he could have, Law would have kicked him again.

Some of the other thugs laughed at their friend that had been struck and the way he rolled around on the ground as he grit out colorful curses. Law wasn't triumphant at the sight for long as he was suddenly forced to his knees to prevent him from lashing out again. Before the surgeon could try and think of another plan to get free and make a run for it, some of the thugs suddenly scattered and fled further down the alley, their interest in Law gone in an instant.

"Holy shit!"

"Did you see that bastard? He's fucking huge, man!"

Much to Law's surprise, the other men that had been harassing him seemed to fly into a panic. The surgeon figured this out because the two men that had been holding him in place by his arms abruptly let go of him. Law crumpled into an undignified heap on the ground, but had enough forethought to cinch his belt back in place, even if his hands were shaking slightly. He was lucky that it hadn't gone any farther than that, as he had finally figured out what the other men's intentions for him had been. He supposed that he was very lucky that someone had clearly come to his aid, as he wasn't sure what he would have done otherwise. Law looked up in time to see that the thugs who were not fleet of foot roughly cuffed and thrown aside this way and that by the same blond haired man that Law had set eyes on earlier. In no time at all, only Law and his rescuer remained.

The dark haired surgeon remained in place for a moment before he gathered his wallet and watch, both of which were tucked into his jacket pocket. Law took another deep breath and let it out, relieved and suddenly very exhausted as his mind reminded him of all of the punches and kicks that had been visited upon him. Law didn't even react to the hand that tentatively patted him on his shoulder, as if checking to see what state he was in.

Which happened to be a combination of wired and clinically detached as Law mused over how his predicament could have gone had he not been helped.

The hand that had been on his shoulder moved to be in line with his eyes, and the dark haired surgeon started as if just realizing that that there was someone there with him. Law silently took the hand that was offered to him, and as he was helped to his feet, Law grimaced at how sore he felt from being those thugs' temporary beating bag. At the very least, the dark haired surgeon would only have to worry about bruises and nothing more than that. He promptly dismissed it from his mind, choosing not to dwell on the what-if's. When Law decided that he would be steady on his feet, he let go of the hand that had helped him up, and as the dark haired surgeon looked up, he got a good look at his rescuer. Law was immediately struck by how tall the blond haired man was, and the surgeon didn't consider himself short at all compared to the people he was normally around.

"Are you all right?"

Law was left speechless at how soft the other man's words were. He'd expected a gruff and deep voice based on the man's tall frame. Law could only nod his head wordlessly, as there was nothing the other man could do about all of the bruises that he would sport the following day.

"They didn't do anything to you, did they? I only got here in time to see them, well…" The blond haired man trailed off, but it was clear from his expression exactly what he thought of what he'd come upon. That he'd have perhaps not just stopped at chasing the thugs off if they had happened to anything else other than rough Law up a bit.

"They didn't get the chance to do anything of that…nature." Law said shortly. He stopped himself from asking the blond what he would have done if they had been able to get him out of his pants, so to speak. Law entertained the idea of cracked skulls, but stopped short of smirking at the thought of that happening to his assailants. He had always been told he had a rather morbid sense of humor at times, though if he didn't find something to be amused by, Law figured he wouldn't be able to get through all of the difficult days that he occasionally faced in the hospital.

"Will you be all right getting home? Do you want to get a taxi?" The man offered one of those small smiles that Law had seen earlier when the man had smiled ruefully after falling over, as if it hadn't been the first time it had happened. This particular smile, however, was one of concern more than anything. "I'd rather not come across something like that again."

"I will be fine. I walk home most of the time." Law thought he would be, but the blond haired man obviously thought otherwise. The dark hared surgeon said nothing when the blond haired man followed him home, and the surgeon was sure he had only done so because he was not convinced that Law would truly be all right on his own. The surgeon wasn't sure what to think of the other's actions, mainly because he was still inwardly reeling over the fact that he had nearly been raped by those thugs. He might have even been killed by them afterward. Law decided, however reluctantly, that that other man's presence the rest of the way home was rather…reassuring, in a way.

Law would have hoped that since the blond haired man had saved him that it meant that he really was just concerned for his well-being, and didn't have anything nefarious in mind. Law very much doubted the blond would do anything like the thugs had attempted to do, for whatever reason. It was still absurd to think that the blond haired man had happened to show up in that exact alley at the exactly the right time to throw around the people who had been harassing him. Because Law was fairly certain that he'd barely made any noise at all, instead concentrating his energies into freeing himself and running.

"You should be more careful." The blond said abruptly as soon as Law slowed to a halt before his house.

"I normally am." Law said in return as he turned around the face the taller man.

"You do realize that you really shouldn't let people you don't know follow you home, right?" The blond appeared to be uncomfortable about pointing it out.

"What do you mean?" Law gave the blond an assessing look. He wasn't going to try anything, was he?

"The city can be dangerous at night. What if…I had been like them? Followed you home like this while you were alone? You could have been unaware of my presence until it was too late…" The blond got a bit of a horrified look on his face and quickly added. "Not that I would have ever done that to you, by the way."

Law stared some more because he found the other man rather fascinating. For a stranger that was under no obligation to help him, he had done more than he had needed to do. There had really been no need to escort the surgeon home after the blond had scattered those thugs, but the man had anyway, as if determined to see to it that Law would make it home safely.

"I mean…I guess that sounds weird since I did follow you home but…" The blond appeared to become more flustered as he stumbled over his words. "I just didn't want any more of those thugs trying something like that and well, I…um…" The blond fidgeted for a moment, before he ducked his head and peeked at Law from beneath his messy blond hair. "You are all right, aren't you?"

"Yes?" Law wasn't sure what he would say otherwise. The dark haired surgeon heard the front door open and was briefly distracted by it, and by the time Law turned back, the blond haired man was already making his way back the way they had come. Law dwelled on the other man's words as he entered his house and locked the door behind him. The surgeon supposed that while he might have been imagining it because of what had nearly happened, Law could have sworn that he'd seen some more unsavory characters skulking about as he'd walked home. Law supposed the blond haired man's tall frame had scared off any more potential attackers, even if the surgeon had never had much of a problem getting home at night so long as he pointedly avoided the alleys.

As Law glanced out of a window from his bedroom in the direction the blond had gone, the dark haired surgeon had the feeling that this was the last he would see of him. For some reason, that thought was disappointing. In the back of his mind, Law felt that he would have at least liked to know the name of his rescuer. The dark haired surgeon hadn't thanked him for his help either. Law hadn't even asked for it or been able to ask for it in the first place, so the blond had had no reason to help him at all. But even if he had gone out of his way to help him, Law doubted that he would ever see the tall, blond haired man with that gentle smile again.

Gentle?

Law supposed that smile had been gentle, even if the blond's actions against the thugs were anything but that, even if the surgeon decided that they had deserved it. But the blond haired man had been careful when he'd helped him up to his feet, and-

Law shook his thoughts away as he carefully settled onto his bed with a long, drawn out sigh. The dark haired surgeon then spent the better part of an hour trying to get into a comfortable position that didn't put any pressure on his bruises. Law figured, as he drifted off, that there was no use worrying about what had happened now that other man was gone.

The following morning, however, Law caught himself thinking about the blond haired man wistfully and then again during his short lunch break at the hospital. Even the fact that he was sore from the beating he'd taken the previous night did nothing to distract him from thoughts of his rescuer. Those thoughts continued on for more than a day, which was unexpected and just a little bit confusing. Law certainly took notice of it since it had begun to bring out some emotions in him that the surgeon had never expected to experience in his life. In fact, he could not ever recall the need to or the desire to dwell on someone that he didn't even know.

When Law couldn't get that smile out his head no matter how hard he tried, the dark haired surgeon began to believe that he may have a problem.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Edit:

A/N: This was meant to be a silly fluffy fic and turned into a fic with a plot and fluff. And the chapter lengths range so much now that I won't even bother trying to make a guess anymore. I hope you guys like the updated chapters (I think they read better than when I was just trying to make it as fluffy as possible-even if some chapters will be more or less the same).