AN/ Not my biggest ship by a long shot, but Panda-san of what-the-fuck-is-one-piece on tumblr likes asexual Luffy and also likes LawLu, so I thought I could give her the fic she deserves :) I jumped on the bandwagon of treating the travel between Punk Hazard and Dressrosa like it's really long and ~feels~ would be able to form during it.

I don't know Law's character perfectly but I hope this fic works regardless.

Enjoy!

It's not that Law likes Straw Hat-ya or anything. Well, not in the same way Bepo had liked that lady bear he'd managed to find on Amazon Lily. He's strictly interested in the pirate captain for professional reasons. If Law occasionally allows his gaze to settle on him for an unnecessary length of time, that's no one's business but his own.

In the end though, the feelings he had never intended to act on come to light, all because he does what he has always sworn not to do - he loses his cool.

"You are the most infuriating person I've ever met!" he grinds out, right in Straw Hat-ya's stupid face, as they stand alone in the galley. Their friendly discussion as captains has pushed him over the edge. Law knows he should be prepared for anything; he's the one who really needs this alliance, and he doesn't have any bargaining chips on his side. But the things he's constantly expecting from past experience - betrayal, lies, greed - those are not the issue, and it's disorienting him. He would never have expected what he has seen from this group of pirates. Law doesn't understand the meaning of this kindness.

And their captain has just informed him, for what seems like the thousandth time, that they're friends now, and he'll do anything for his friends. Hearing that makes him feel all sorts of ridiculous things, including happiness and a sense of wanting even more than that. His mind has run off to imagine that warm gaze looking on him with more than just friendship.

But most of all, it makes him confused, and that makes him angry.

The smile on Straw Hat-ya's face has not dimmed in the slightest, and Law wants nothing more than to wipe it away so he doesn't have to look at it any more, so he can remain in control. A little unsure of what he's really doing, he slams his lips against the other man's, just wanting to put things in terms he understands.

All too quickly, Straw Hat-ya is pushing away from him. "What?" he says, sounding as clueless as ever, and Law feels his heart sink. Right. And now he can lie to himself even less. What a fool he is.

As much of a coward as it makes him, he turns to walk away, ignoring the questioning sounds that the Straw Hat captain is making.

The problem is, it's very difficult to avoid people on a ship. It would be worse on Law's submarine, of course, but at the moment the Thousand Sunny feels too small for twelve people. He ends up darting into the last place he thinks Straw Hat-ya is least likely to enter: the library.

He takes a seat, pushing his head into his hands, wanting to be left alone. Hearing a sound, he looks up to see Nico-ya giving him an indecipherable stare. Of course he ought to have guessed she would be here. "Why did you run from my captain?" she asks, plainly, as if it's not creepy that she knows what has happened.

He doesn't need to explain himself, to her or anyone else. He begins to stand and move away, but hands sprout on either side of him, pining him down. They strong enough to keep himself from struggling, much less using his powers. He glares up at her, unable to do much else.

"I'm not talking to you about it."

"Oh?" she asks. "I can start breaking fingers if that's what it takes."

Law glares at her harder. "You don't trust me. I understand that. But this is between me and Straw Hat-ya."

Nico-ya exhales audibly. "You don't call him by his name."

He sniffs. "I fail to see the significance of that."

She glances away, sprouting more arms to push a chair over for herself. She takes a seat across from him, now on eye level. "What do you want from Luffy?"

"A working alliance." She merely gives him an unimpressed look. If he's going to be honest with himself, he does want to try to understand the situation better. Speaking to one of Straw Hat-ya's crew would most likely be helpful. He hates to give in, but stubbornness is not likely to get him anywhere. Besides, he wants to be trusted. "I... don't know," he admits.

"What do you think he wants?" Nico-ya continues to question.

Law swallows. "I don't understand him!" he says, all his frustration spilling out. "Everyone wants Something from everyone! I can't figure out his motives!"

"Luffy is simpler than you think," she muses.

"Didn't think that was possible," he mutters, and she chuckles slightly.

"If there's one thing I know about him, his motives are always pure. Questioning them will lead you nowhere." Nico-ya looks as though she is speaking from experience, her face growing soft.

"I'd almost figured that out myself... I'm just..."

"Not used to it?" she finishes, smiling a curved little smile that looks as though it holds all the knowledge in the world.

"I shouldn't have kissed him." Law sighs, defeated. "He doesn't want that from me."

Nico-ya tilts her head. "Perhaps." She stands up gracefully and starts to walk away. "I think your best course of action would be speaking to him."

She's almost out the door when he realizes he's still being held down by her hands. "Could you let me up so I can do so?" he asks, annoyed.

She looks over at him and smiles in a way he would be tempted to describe as "shit-eating" if she weren't such an elegant lady. "I believe I'll let you sit there for a while longer and contemplate what you're going to say to my captain." And then she leaves.

The hands don't release for at least thirty-minutes. He can't decide if he ought to be grateful or if he should place her heart inside an insect.

Law doesn't go to dinner that night. He wants to talk to Straw Hat-ya, but he feels as though no amount of time would actually allow him to articulate what he wants to say. Hell, he still isn't sure he knows what he wants to say. He does know that it's going to have to be spoken about eventually.

It's Straw Hat-ya who finds him though, as he skulks around the bow of the ship. All his other crew mates are going about their business after the meal, but he leaves Tony-ya and Longnose-ya in their play, approaching Law and questioning him directly. "Nah, Traffy, why'd you kiss me and then leave?" He pouts slightly. "That was no fun. I wanted you to try and break into the fridge. Sanji got a new lock you know."

Law grips his sword defensively, ignoring, as usual, his food related speech. "Do you know what it means when someone wants to kiss someone else?" he asks, wanting to start at the basics.

Straw Hat-ya sticks a finger in his nose. "I think Makino talked to me about this at some point... It's that they wanna make babies, right? Traffy, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates. I don't wanna have your babies."

Law pinches the bridge of his nose. If he were religious, he would be praying to every god, begging that the feelings he has for his man would vanish. "It means the people who kiss like each other."

"I like you too," Straw Hat-ya says, grinning widely. "I don't see what you got all worked up over for!"

"Not just as friends," Law grinds out, hating himself. "I like you as more than friends."

"Oh, that?" The other man just smiles wider. "Duh! I feel like that too. But I don't see why we gotta bring kissing into it."

"...Being more that friends usually involves kissing."

"So what? We're pirates - we don't have to follow rules! I don't like kissing, or any of that gross stuff. But I like you and you like me." He reaches over and grabs Law's left hand. "There. Now stop worrying about stupid things."

Law looks at their joined hands, at the other man's smiling face, at this happy ship. He thinks he can trust this. He thinks he understands what he is feeling.

"Okay, Luffy."