Today was a special day, Law knew. Very special indeed. The eleventh of November. Zoro's birthday. He sighed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he looked out at the icy sea, snow falling all around. He had wanted to do something special for Zoro's birthday, but for the life of him he couldn't think of anything that would impress the swordsman even remotely…
Not to mention that the time had kind of gotten away from him in the days leading up to this date, what with forming the alliance and reclaiming his heart and breaking away from Doflamingo and all that. In short, he'd been rather busy, but Law still felt guilty for not even finding time to get Zoro a gift. Even if he had no idea what Zoro would like.
Another prick of guilt right there. Zoro was his unofficial boyfriend and he didn't even know anything about the moss-head! Some boyfriend he was. Law sighed again. He wasn't really relationship material in the first place. Why Zoro had even agreed to this whole relationship was a mystery to him.
Law's fingers tapped anxiously on the sheath of his nodachi as snow settled on the green of the grassy deck, and although he found the sight a familiar comfort, he was perturbed by the insistence of guilt worrying at the back of his mind. It was frustrating in a way, but it also made him feel rather small. If he couldn't do something as simple as get his boyfriend a birthday gift, what did that say?
He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "This relationship shit is harder than I thought," he muttered under his breath, and nearly had a heart attack when a certain rubber-brained idiot practically jumped into his arms.
"HEY TRAFFY!" Luffy's loud, boisterous greeting almost made Law flinch at the volume of his voice, and the ear-to-ear grin of the strawhatted boy was thrust right in his face. "Whatcha doin'?!"
Law managed an exasperated sigh and a roll of his eyes. "Nothing that concerns you, Mugiwara-ya," he said flatly. "Now could you perhaps respect my personal space?"
Luffy didn't move, tilting his head to the side in utter cluelessness. "What's that?" he asked, aimlessly poking at Law's hat with one ridiculously stretchy foot.
"That, you ignorant ape, is my hat," Law said in a sort of resigned, fed-up-with-your-shit kind of voice. "Though I suspect you're referring to the term personal space, which is most likely too complex for your simple brain."
Luffy just looked blankly him for a moment; then his grin returned, and he laughed out loud. "Shishishi, you're funny, Traffy!" he said, slapping Law on the back.
That was when Sanji came outside with a tray of hot drinks and warm pastries, and Luffy was off like a shot, his usual battle cry of "FOOOOOD!" echoing behind him. Law cursed and stumbled backwards from the force of the rubber man's takeoff, and only the sudden appearance of a pair of arms saved him from falling backwards over the ship's rail.
Nico Robin had a calm smile on her face as she uncrossed her arms, walking past Law with the casual stride of one who knew what she was doing. "Best to be careful around our captain, Trafalgar-san," she said with a demure laugh. "He can be a bit.. rambunctious at times."
"Duly noted, Nico-ya," Law sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as Robin walked past with a soft rustle of her winter coat. "Although I wish I had the capacity to cope with it like you all seem to."
By this time he was practically talking to himself, as Robin had walked away and left him standing off to the side while the rest of the crew gathered excitedly in the center of the deck. He rolled his eyes. No one seemed to listen to him around here, even when he tried to say something important. It was a little bit irritating, to say the least.
He saw a rubber body shoot up to the crow's nest like a rubber band, laughing the whole way, and he heard the familiar loud protests and swearing of a certain green-haired swordsman. The moss-head in question put up a decent fight on the way down, cursing Luffy for being an idiot and never listening and leaving him to his training like he should, but the navigator shut him up fairly quickly.
This left a rather confused Zoro sitting in the circle with the other Strawhats, and a rather curious Law looking on from afar. He wondered what they could be doing. It all seemed so… childish. So unlike one of the most feared pirate crews in the Grand Line, with some of the highest bounties in a generation. They were squabbling like children, Law observed almost in disbelief, insults and jabs between the cook and swordsman rolling off like waves against the hull, while the captain's laughter was like the background music to this chaotic little scene. The navigator's bossy tendencies were easy to see here as she tried to take control of the whole thing and get everyone to calm down, but she wasn't having much success, as the long-nosed sniper launched into a tale of some heroic deed he had obviously never attempted while the little reindeer doctor listened with rapt attention, and the cyborg struck ridiculous poses behind him. The skeleton was asking the archaeologist his token question about viewing her undergarments, to which she responded with a cool smile and a pair of arms covering his empty eye sockets.
It was all so strange, so… different than what Law was used to, that he wondered if this wasn't all some kind of joke. He wouldn't put it past Strawhat, not by a long shot, and he frowned, waiting for someone to break character and bring the whole thing to light.
But, to his surprise, all of them soon ceased their calamity and quieted, allowing things to proceed. "Happy birthday, Zoro!" Luffy said with a bright grin, proudly presenting Zoro with a large chunk of meat, a bow messily tied on top of it.
Zoro chuckled and accepted the gift, setting it aside with a smile. "Thanks, Luffy," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know if I'll be able to eat all that."
"I'll help you finish it anytime!" Luffy said eagerly, licking his lips just at the thought, and Nami smacked him over the head for being obnoxious.
"Luffy, you idiot!" she snapped. "Can't you focus for one minute?!" Then she turned to Zoro, some of her irritation disappearing. "Happy birthday," she said with a catlike smile, and handed Zoro a rolled-up piece of mapmaking parchment, tied with a neatly curled bow.
"What's this?" the swordsman asked, raising an eyebrow as he unfurled the paper and looked at it. "A map?"
"It's a map of the ship," Nami said with an amused smile, trying not to snort. "Now you'll never be lost again."
Everyone burst into laughter at this, and Zoro glared up at Nami, though only halfheartedly, his face pink all the way to his ears with embarrassment. "Dammit, woman, I do not get lost!" he protested, eyes darting around the circle. "Don't laugh, you idiots! You're the ones who always go the wrong way!"
"Sure, Zoro, keep telling yourself that!" Usopp said with a snort, wiping a tear of laughter away from his eye as Chopper rolled on the deck next to him.
Even Law couldn't keep a smile away at this. He had to admit that was pretty funny, especially considering Zoro's abysmal sense of direction. Although he was fairly sure he'd never seen the swordsman lose his way in his own ship. That was something he'd have to find out about later.
Several death threats towards the sharpshooter later, Zoro had received a compass from Usopp, along with a slightly more useful whetstone for his swords. From Chopper he received a batch of handmade candies (made with Sanji's help since hooves were rather difficult to cook with), and a hug, which made the entire crew go, "Awww…" and Zoro's ears go pink.
Absurdly, Law felt a slight pang of jealousy at this, and he quickly tried to shake it off, feeling ridiculous for it. There was absolutely no reason for him to be jealous, he told himself, even when Robin kissed Zoro on the cheek after giving him a book on the history of famous katanas, just to see him go red in the face with embarrassment and prompting another round of laughter from the crew. This made Luffy decide it was a good time for a massive group hug, and the whole crew dogpiled onto Zoro, laughing and hugging him like one big massive, happy pile.
Law felt something else at this, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but it extinguished the warmth of the mood in his heart like a damp, cold wind snuffing out a candle flame. He found that he wasn't really in the mood for celebrating anymore, even though he'd never really been a part of it in the first place, and silently disappeared inside. He didn't even come out when they cut the cake Sanji had baked for Zoro's birthday, instead just sitting inside at the kitchen table in silence. He couldn't find the motivation or the desire to go out and join in the laughter and merrymaking that was Zoro's party, and somehow the laughter and happy shouts he could hear from out on deck only made him feel worse.
He must have dozed off at some point, because when he looked up, the clock read almost eleven at night. "Shit," Law cursed quietly, not even bothering to lift his head up from the table. That meant he had failed. There was no time to get Zoro a gift now, and any excuses he offered would sound lame, especially after all he did was stand around and stare for most of the day. He sighed softly. This whole relationship thing seemed pretty simple at first, but now… He couldn't even do one thing without fucking up. Typical of me, Law thought cynically, rolling his eyes. I'm just a fuckup in general.
The best he could do now was go apologize to Zoro, he supposed. Not that it would make up for his obvious mistake, but maybe it would get Zoro to forgive him a little sooner. He was probably pissed off right now, Law thought as he slowly picked himself up from the table, sighing once more.
He's probably going to ignore me for at least a week, maybe more, the surgeon thought, closing his eyes for a moment as he stopped near the door that led outside to the deck. Damn… I can't believe this.
One day. It was one day he had to remember, and he'd screwed it up. Wonderful. Law felt a squeeze of guilt in his chest, uncomfortably near that pesky beating organ that liked to suddenly increase its rhythm in Zoro's presence.
…Well, it was now or never. Law resigned himself to the cold shoulder he was sure to get and walked out into the now very chilly night. It was still snowing outside, though the sky was dark and the stars obscured by heavy snow clouds. The sea was like a pool of black ink, reflecting what little silver light the moon gave off, and Law's breath was visible in front of his face.
Zoro was sitting in the middle of the deck, his legs crossed and a content smile on his face as he sipped a bottle of the expensive sake Sanji had given him for his birthday. He didn't look cold at all, wearing the leather jacket that had been Franky's gift, except for the redness of his cheeks and nose and the tips of his ears due to a combination of the chilly air and the alcohol.
The swordsman noticed Law just staring after a moment, and he gestured for the surgeon to come closer. "Hey," he greeted with a smile. "What's up? I haven't seen much of you today. You're like a ghost."
Law wasn't thrown by Zoro's attempt at humor, and he didn't respond at first, coming over to stand next to his green-haired boyfriend. "I know," he said quietly after a moment, arms crossed across his stomach. His nodachi had been left inside; he didn't know why. "And I'm sorry, Zoro. Truly." He paused there, tentatively waiting for a bit of feedback. He wanted to know how mad Zoro was so he could react accordingly.
But Zoro again surprised him by raising an eyebrow and looking up at him in a mix of curiosity and confusion. "For what?" he asked. "I didn't even see you today. What do you have to apologize for?"
"Exactly that," Law replied, looking at him. "I avoided you this whole day because I failed to find you a proper gift. I'm sorry, and I know I—"
"What are you talking about?" Zoro cut him off with a confused look. "It's not a big deal, Law."
"Yes, it is," Law says quietly, looking away. "…I wanted to get you something special, but I couldn't. You're special to me, and I wanted to get you a gift that would reflect that. Unfortunately, I failed to do so. I'm sorry."
Zoro was silent for a moment, touched. "Hey," he said softly, pulling Law down to sit in his lap. "Don't worry about it, okay? I don't know what you're talking about."
Law opened his mouth to reply, but Zoro gave him a look that shushed him. "Law, you didn't need to get me anything," he said, looking into his boyfriend's grey eyes. He gently took Law's hand and placed it over his heart. "Feel that? You've already given me the greatest gift I could ask for… And that's you."
Law's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and then he looked away, blinking rapidly to dispel the wetness in his eyes. "…you're welcome," was all he could say in a whisper, and Zoro laughed and pulled him into a hug.
"You're even better than sake," the swordsman chuckled, smiling.
"…I love you, too."