A.N. So I wanted to see marine!Law. That's it. That's always 'it' these days.

Warnings: yaoi – manxman, minor AU?

Disclaimer: Uhhhh? Peeps, I do. Not. Own. OP.

On the Other Side of the Barricade

They were two sides of the same coin.

They were two people at different sides of the battle. Two individuals by a wall which separated the world into 'good' and 'bad'. They were just people, people who made some wrong decisions sometime in their life. Sometime in their life they somehow happened to come to different sides of justice.

Justice. Luffy loathed that word. It was corrupted and meant nothing these days. It was just a title marines used. It meant NOTHING. That word was like a license to those rotten men to pull their veto card on the world and declare that they knew what was better. That they knew what was justice.

Luffy thought that such word ceased to exist a long time ago. Now it was just a façade to show for those innocent people who ignorantly lived their lives and believed every word the government said. And those that did dare to do something, those who tried to do something were labeled as criminals. Because thinking was declared a crime. Because having a different opinion was evil. Because being free was WRONG.

Luffy loathed the word justice.

And somehow. Somehow. So many people believed in it. How could so many people be so blind? How could they not see what they were doing? And those who saw? When they finally did? They were far too gone, far too deep, government didn't simply release you because you saw. Some people – he – chose to stay so they could try to make a difference.

Fools – he was – they all were fools. It was far too late to correct government from within. It was far too gone, the roots were far too deep for several people to make difference. There were people, a lot of people, who would stop those who tried to change things before they even strated, it was like one against thousand. In a thousand solidiers only one could understand.

Luffy knew all that – he knew it would be fruitless to try from within, so he didn't try that. He tried to change world through the said evil way. And from what he had seen he did a better job than any man before him. Luffy changed more people than any pirate or marine ever did. He was quite proud of himself about that.

But there was one thing Luffy wished he could change. One thing worth risking his life to change, but Luffy knew that the person who he wanted to change couldn't be changed. He was far too deep, government beliefs were buried far too deep to change them. Luffy almost wept at that thought.

The other side of him. The tall, tanned man that made Luffy feel a little bit more than anything else ever could. The man whom Luffy couldn't change was a marine, the said marine was on Luffy's track all the time, his beliefs in justice were so passionate, he was almost blind.

In fact so blind that he didn't notice. The tattooed marine haven't noticed that night that his biggest enemy was sitting next to him, that his biggest enemy's crew was bringing down the bar behind his back. That his worst enemy was buying him a drink. Maybe it had been that side of Law that did see the wrongs in the world? Maybe it was that side that didn't like what he did, what he saw, whom didn't enjoy the so called chase.

Maybe the side of Law which smirked at offered drink, gulped it down in one drown and declared that he wouldn't mind more, was the real side of Law? Luffy didn't know. All he was sure of in the morning was huge hangover, a body in his bed, a memory of virginity loss in mind, and a taste of a very hot marine in his memory.

Law was terrified. The meaning of 'sleeping with the enemy' just got a brand new meaning and Law didn't like it at all. And it had been the pirate he had been specifically chasing! Law was terrified of himself, of the pirate that continued to stare at him from the bed, of the small adorable smile on his face. He hated the fact that he found that smile adorable.

What was wrong with him?

After that day Law changed. Only a little, but it was a change. He began to doubt. To doubt orders, to get suspicious of his superiors, to rethink his decisions. It was in his head, he didn't voice any of his doubts, but those thoughts changed him. Law wasn't sure what to think about those changes. He also couldn't help, but remember exactly what brought those changes.

Mugiwara no Luffy.

Law wanted to scream. That damned pirate didn't leave his head. Law remembered the night they spent together, he remembered that he was aware of exactly who he was spending the night with. Law hated himself for not caring. So he chased Luffy even more, who could blame him? The damned pirate was always on his mind.

And that's how their cycle was born. It wasn't really a cycle, there's no such thing on marines, much pirates life as repetition, not to talk about cycle. But Law would catch up with Luffy, they would meet up, sleep together and in the morning Law would try to catch him and his crew. And it would repeat, and repeat, and repeat.

And then they reached the Red Line.

They were two people on different sides of the battle. Two people who didn't want to fight at all. Two people who would rather avoid each other than face other head on. Two people who would have happily pretended that other isn't their enemy.

Two people who deep inside their chests hid love.