~ Based off seirui's comic on tumblr ~
Law wasn't one for pick-up lines. He didn't like being on the receiving end and he never offered any. Occasionally, Shachi or Penguin would ask him his opinion of one of their newest ones, and he always found them horrible and lame. But he had never fallen for a cute regular who liked to pop in every afternoon before either.
Law found himself waiting for him. He discovered this one Thursday after the lunch hour had died down and he been a little too curt with his last customer because a certain ball of sunshine was running late. He wanted to see the young teen outside of work. Wanted to know more about him, other than he used too much sugar in his coffee. Wanted to be more than just customer and employee.
And of course his two friends had found out about his crush. The endless stream of "advice" they had given was what had pushed Law into relenting finally. He could flirt with someone, he had before, not seriously, but when you work at a little coffee shop sometimes a little flattery with a latte was how to make a customer smile and keep them coming back.
Law waited for Luffy after making sure the meddling duo were out on lunch. Luffy, he smiled as he thought about the teen. He could do this...
Luffy walked into his favorite cafe after class. His friends normally went to a more popular crowded place. But he really liked the coffee here and the homey atmosphere. Eyes darted up to the chalkboard menu by habit even though he always ordered the same thing. Amexicano? That sounded like something Chopper would drink. Maybe he should bring him by sometime.
Law openly smiled when Luffy walked in. The young man was looking up at Shachi's slip up when rewriting the menu. "Afternoon." He greeted.
"Hey." Luffy looked back at him with a smile.
Law couldn't help the soft flutter in his stomach. Luffy was too cute. He waited for Luffy to make his order even though Luffy got the same thing every time. He hoped he didn't ask for an Amexicano; he had already turn down several customers asking for one, explaining it was a slip up and would soon be fixed.
"Large Vienna coffee." Law had the order typed in and rung up before Luffy finished his request.
"Sure." Law reached for the proper size cup and poised his marker to write down Luffy's name. "Can I have your name? Or can I just call you mine?"
Luffy blinked at him. "My name is Luffy." He stated simply.
"Oh," Law turned away from the puzzled teen, mildly embarrassed and ticked off. He prepared the coffee on auto-pilot, wracking his brain on what to do now. He hadn't expected Luffy to shoot him down like that. If he had tried that with any of his other customers, they would've swooned all over him.
He caught a glance at Luffy from the corner of his eye. He was frowning down at his shoes, brows drawn together in deep thought, confused. A hopeful spark gleamed inside Law. Maybe he hadn't understood. Maybe Law could fix this.
"Hey! Luffy! Get your coffee and come on!" A young man poked his green haired head in.
"Hang on!" Luffy turned to shout back but his friend had left.
"Here, sorry for the wait."
"It's fine. He's just impatient." Luffy took the cup on the counter. "Thank you, I'll see you later!"
Law found himself sighing as he watched Luffy cross the street to meet up with his friend. Well, it hadn't gone as planned, but it hadn't fallen apart completely either.
When Penguin and Shachi returned from lunch, Law asked them to help clean and Shachi to fix the board. "Penguin, the pick-up line didn't work." Law said casually as he was cleaning the counter and Penguin was sweeping. "You said it would." He added with a mumble.
"Holy shit! You actually tried it!?" There was a sputter as Penguin failed to contain his laughter. "Hahaha!" Law threw a towel at him and he tripped over the broom.
"No fair, why didn't you come to me for advice?" Shachi hopped off the stool. "Better?" He nudged Law.
He looked up at the menu. "Yeah." He gave it a confirming nod. "And it's fine. I think I got it even if Penguin's botched line didn't help."
"I don't know why you go there when there's at least five coffee shops on the way from the campus." Zoro grumbled.
"They make the best and it's not super expensive. You should try it." Luffy laughed at his friend's disgruntled huff. He took a sip. Perfect, a little bitter, a lot of sweet, and full of caffeine. Humming with happiness, Luffy inhaled the aroma of his coffee.
The black lettering on the cup caught his attention and he moved his hand. He went there often. The employees knew his name as well as he knew theirs. He had been a little thrown off when Law had asked. Blinking, he slowed his pace behind Zoro and reread his cup.
Where his name normally would've been written was the word 'Mine' with a little heart and under the protective cover was 'Call me' accompanied by a phone number.
Oh...
Luffy blushed. Ooops...
"Luffy!"
He looked up at Zoro, who was a few feet in front of where he had stopped. "Sorry! I'm coming!"
He had left his phone at home that day. As soon as he arrived, he ran up to his room to retrieve it. Placing the empty cup on his window sill, he tapped the numbers onto his phone and waited as it rang. There was no answer and Luffy hung up before voice mail message finished. He glanced at the time. The shop was still open for another hour. He thought about catching a bus back downtown, but by the time he got there the shop would be closed and he'd have to turn around. So he waited.
The phone rang half passed nine, rousing Luffy from a nap he hadn't planned. He blinked at his screen until it came into focus. Law was calling him back. He sat up quickly, sliding the lock screen as he did so.
"It's ok if you call me mine... I mean yours. Wait... yeah." Luffy blurted out in a breath. There was a silence on the other end. "Law?"
A chuckle reached his ears. "Yeah, sorry."
Luffy sighed. "I didn't know you were flirting earlier. I don't really pick up on those things until way after the fact. But you're really nice, and hot, and smart, and I like the way you make my coffee." Law wanted to ask how he could tell when he always poured fifteen packets of sugar in his cup. "I was just really confused when you asked my name," Luffy continued. "I though you knew it."
"I do." Law sighed. "I was... I'm not sure. I don't normally flirt like that so..."
Luffy laid back on his bed. "It's fine. But, I can call you mine too, right?"
Law smirked. "I'm ok with that."