Right. Hello, salutations, greetings, and bonjour mes chers! For those of you who don't know me I'm a trash writer who has multiple other stories going on and fell for CoraLaw harder than an elderly Southern Baptist Christian woman does for Elvis. I have multiple stories drafted and planned but this is the one that I decided to get up and going first. A fun, cute, non-angst AU where Cora lives and goes back to the marines and Law ends up becoming a pirate anyways. (Can be taken as platonic CoraLaw for the first few chapters and I'll let you know when that changes if at any time!)

Loosely inspired off of posts like this one: trashchaser tumblr com post/139925075591/because-ladynorthstar-is-fantastic-and-wanted (remove the spaces) when it comes to Law being 'captured' only to escape easily every time. This is based off a Five+1 kind of deal so you all know what's going to be coming and how many chapters it has! A miracle for my sort of work.

With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy! (Quick note, I like to picture Cora's height at seven and a half feet or so instead of the freaking nine feet Oda has him at in canon.)

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Escape One

::

Trafalgar D. Water Law had experienced many things in his fifteen years of living. As the last survivor of Flevance and a former member of the Donquixote pirates he had seen countless amounts of death and destruction. He had learned quickly that the only certainty in life was death, a lesson that Doflamingo only reinforced. It was a lesson he was going to be sure to repay to the man one day. That wasn't what was important right now, though.

No, what was important that throughout his fifteen years of living and suffering in this gods-forsaken hell he had never encountered anything more inconvenient than the conjuncture of well-meaning marines and seastone cuffs. It was embarrassing enough to suffer some injuries from those idiot bandits they had fought, but to be captured by marines right after? Pathetic.

Hearing a sharp hiss, Law snapped his head up- groggy and tired as he was - and looked to where Penguin was uncomfortably shifting from where they had been dragged to the center of the ship they were now prisoners on. "Penguin." Oh, good. His exhausted tone of voice could still inspire fear. "Injuries."

"Just a few bruises, Cap'n, nothing really-" Hm, his glare must've been really effective if Penguin shut his mouth and told him the truth almost immediately. "Maybe a few bruises ribs on my right, at most."

Lightly kicking at Bepo with his foot, Law was pleased when the mink shuffled and moved to flop down behind Penguin, giving the man a soft surface to lean against. Studying the way Penguin moved and shifted, Law finally gave a slow nod. Nothing too bad, at least. "Stay off them for now. I'll take a look at them later." He needed out of these handcuffs, first, though… "Oi! Hurry up and decide what to do with us already!"

"This is why we should have gotten a ship with a brig!" One of the marines looked as annoyed as Law felt with the situation, arms crossed and glare on the rest of them. "We should have called for reinforcements, not grabbed them all- What is Captain gonna say!"

"He'll be proud we caught some pirates before they could continue on their journey to cause any more damage! Look at them, they're hardly more than kids. We can just keep them in one of the rooms on board and deal with them at the next outpost." Like hell. They should have just kept sailing but no. Bepo had to have a conscious and worry about the town overrun by bandits.

"Shouldn't it be the bandits tied up on this deck!" Shachi had shifted himself to sit in front of Penguin, the other few members of their crew shifting and moving to keep the injured closer together as well. Law was a little upset by how damn proud he felt of them. "We're the good guys here!"

"Like pirates could ever be good." Like marines could ever truly care about justice when executing such horrible acts themselves- Well. Law supposed one or two could be good. "And the bandits we don't have to really worry about since they were in pieces when we got there."

"They were still breathing." Really, it wasn't like Law would outright kill someone without a good enough reason. "Although I wonder if they stop once I get far enough away." Hm, it was a interesting thought to consider. He'd have to do more research into it later.

"Maybe we should just toss their Captain overboard and let him sink. He's a Devil Fruit user, after all." Before his own crew could get overly defensive, Law watched as the marine was suddenly on the ground and clutching his head in pain. Law might have taken a bit more joy out of that than he should have. Really, it was just-

"Idiot! We're marines! Our job is to keep people safe and alive - pirates included. Why the hell are there pirates on my ship anyways? Our mission was to report and observe."

"C-Captain!" Marines jumped to attention at once, saluting at the captain that Law could only stare at with wide eyes. "They're the ones responsible for getting rid of the bandit threat."

"So you couldn't just give them a slap on the wrist and chase them off?" Heh. He was the exact same as when Law had last seen him. The familiar click and spark of the lighter had him speaking before he could even attempt to stop himself.

"Oi, can you really afford to set another coat of yours on fire again?" Familiar brown eyes caught on his own and Law couldn't stop the wide, genuine smile that took over his face and probably scared his crew half to death. "You got promoted, Cora-san."

"You-" Such a crybaby. Law could already hear the tears in his voice. "You're still one cheeky brat." Maybe the seastone cuffs were a good thing, now that Law thought about it. They kept him from doing something embarrassingly stupid such as tackling the now marine captain in a hug. "Right. We're stuck with them for now so we might as well as make the best of-"

"Wait, wait, wait-!" Penguin shot up fast enough that he must have hurt his ribs judging by the strangled noise he gave, Law kicking at him to get him to lie back down again. "No, but- Cap'n- This is the Cora-san that you're always going on about?"

"You mean the one he never shuts up about- Ooh, you're right, the little tattoo thing under his eye is the same you're always talking about, Cap'n!"

"He has the black feather collar, too. What kind of a marine has a black feather collar?"

"I think it was the heart shirt that gave it away, really."

"Same hat, too. I didn't think something that guady could be real."

"He wouldn't really set himself on fire so easily, would he?"

"He's tall. I know you said he was tall, Captain, but that's really freaking tall."

"Oi, do me a favor." Law looked at the marine that had wanted to throw him overboard, trying to keep his face as expressionless as possible. "Throw my traitorous crew over for me, would you?"

"Captain!" The whines and pleas did nothing to help his building headache and Law refused to look at the no doubt beaming Donquixote Rosinante staring at them. He was never going to live this down, was he? Maybe he should throw himself overboard and be done with it.

"Law…" At the warm and familiar way his name was said, Law couldn't help but to look up, hoping to every deity that was out there that he wasn't already crying. How was he supposed to resist, though? There was no resisting- "What the hell have you been up to, you brat?!"

"Captain!" The cry came from both crews, but it was a bit hard to respond himself when Law's head was suddenly hurting in a way it only did when he was dealing with being scolded - really, Rosinante had barely even hit him considering his ridiculous strength.

"Tattoos?! I raised you better than that, you brat!" Squinting an eye open from where he had them closed, Law easily flipped the man off with no regrets. It was his job, he was still a teenager, he could get away with it.

"You didn't raise me, old man. If anything I was the one raising you with how much trouble you always caused!"

"Is that any way to talk to your elders!"

"Oh, so you admit you're as ancient as that shirt, then!"

"You- I knew I never should have let you run off to become a pirate!"

"I was one before we even met!"

"And that turned out so well!"

"Fuck off- Ow- Cora-san!"

"Language!"

Even while trying to clutch at his head, Law could only barely keep himself from laughing - smiling, he was certain, was already a lost cause. He felt a bit better that Rosinante was already crying himself, though. Crybaby.

::

"Are the cuffs really necessary?" Law was wandering around Rosinante's office curiously and inspecting every little thing he could, pleased when he saw at least three pictures of the two of them scattered about.

"Considering there's a pirate captain in my room and on my ship - a marine ship - yes, I think the cuffs are necessary." Rosinante was sitting at a desk he had shoved up into a corner, mostly watching Law. "Tattoos, really?"

"I was drunk." The pained look was far too amusing. "Relax, Cora-san, I made sure to go somewhere that had a good reputation. It's not like they would ever get infected, either."

"I wasn't really worried about them getting infected, but thank you for that wonderful thought I'll now forever have to life with." Giving a cheery smile in response, Law couldn't stop himself from laughing at the look he was given in return. "You're pretty cheery today. Should I be worried about a Devil Fruit changing your personality?"

"Cora-san." Law couldn't keep his frown on his face at all, which, really. Any other day and he'd be upset at himself. It was far easier to just plop himself down in Rosinante's lap and cuddle up as close to him as he could get, though. "I haven't seen you in a year."

"That's because someone stole a boat from Marineford and ran off after leaving only a note behind." It was pleasing to note that Rosinante didn't even seem surprised by suddenly having a lapful of teenager, only tucking him close and tugging at the hat on his head. "You're never getting rid of this hat, are you?"

"Just like you're never getting rid of that feather coat I know you have hidden away in your closet," Law shot back, squirming around to try and look at the man properly. It was hard when Rosinante was keeping his hat shoved down so Law couldn't look up. "Cora-san!"

"Hey, I have a lot of tormenting to make up on. And you know that's not my name, right?" Of course he knew. "You're never going to call me anything different, are you?" Mm, probably not.

"Do you want me to?" Law knew it was his victory when Rosinante stayed silent, Law finally wiggling around enough to where he could hook his cuffed wrists over Rosinante's head, pleased at the flat look he was given in return. "Now you'll go down with me if you shove me off." Not that he ever would, really.

"Such a paranoid little brat." The hat was shoved over his eyes again, Law not bothering to fix it as he was tugged into a proper hug, the two silent for a while before Rosinante's trembling voice was speaking again. "The hell was with that note." Ah- Hm. Well. Law didn't think he'd be explaining that one anytime soon.

"I wasn't going to go from being a prisoner of Doflamingo's to being a prisoner of the Marines, Cora-san." Sengoku hadn't been too bad to meet and there were a few nice people scattered about, but…

"I know." Pleased that Rosinante understood, Law settled down a little more, tucking his head under Rosinante's chin and pleased that he still fit quite comfortably. "Still, ten is too early to be a pirate-"

"Fuck off! I'm fifteen!" It wasn't his fault that the Amber Lead poisoning had stunted his growth. It wasn't like he thought he'd live long enough for that to ever be a problem. Ready to tear Rosinante down into pieces - without powers - Law paused at feeling fingers brush against his cheek. "Cora-san?"

"I can't even see the white on you anymore." Oh- Oh! He would be worried about that, wouldn't he? Shifting to lean into the brush of fingers, Law managed to shift his hat so he could look at the familiar smiling face.

"I told you I'd get better with my powers." Not only had he found them quite useful for fighting, but Law had managed to understand everything there was to know about Amber Lead and how to get it out of his system - he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to do it again, though. Last time he had been near death and could barely breathe or move enough to do the surgeries required.

"I didn't doubt that for a minute." Hearing a sharp snap of fingers, Law glanced up in time to see Rosinante smile as he spoke. "Silent." Just like that, every sound outside of the invisible bubble around them was gone - sound and noise that Law hadn't even realized was there until it was gone.

"That's still a lame power," Law grumbled, not fighting as his hat was plucked off, instead using the opportunity to cuddle to Rosinante closer. "Not good for anything, really." Except being the ultimate spy, stealing Devil Fruits with ease, and being the cause of a good night's sleep.

"Shut up and go to sleep, brat. You're looking more like a panda than anything else." That was just rude. Law probably would have said as much if there weren't fingers running through his hair and rubbing at the scalp, and, really. It was unfair for the same tricks to work on Law a year later, yet here he was already starting to fall asleep. He'd let it go just this once. It really had been a while since he had some proper sleep, anyways. He'd blame the seastone cuffs for his compliant behavior later. "Good night, Law."

::

It was the middle of night when Law reluctantly opened his eyes and conceded that he wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep. Stifling a yawn, he looked around to see that he was lying down on a bed, Law wandering when the hell he had even been moved and how he had managed to sleep so soundly to be moved to a bed. Those calm powers of Rosinante's were dangerous.

Rubbing at his eyes and scowling at the cuffs wrapped around him, Law blearily and a bit clumsily got up and stumbled over to where Rosinante was collapsed across his desk and lightly snoring. Tugging at the man's coat, Law rummaged around the pockets for a few moments before finding the key he needed, unclicking the locks and shuddering at the feeling of his strength and energy rushing back to him.

"Remind me not to fall into the ocean if that's even close to what's felt." He had yet to run into any seawater in large amounts since he ate his Devil Fruit and he really didn't want to test what would happen. Setting the cuffs down and pocketing the key, Law tugged at one of the hanging tassels on Rosinante's hat. It was amusing that he still dressed this way.

Thinking on it, that was probably Law's fault. He had been so scared when they ran away to Marineford to explain to Sengoku what really happened and Rosinante had looked like every other marine there and… Law hadn't realized just how much he wasn't ready to deal with that. The next day and Rosinante had his heart shirt on under his marine coat, his hat was back on his head, his eye makeup properly in place - thankfully without the weird smile makeup - and the collar of his marine coat had be replaced with a collar of black feathers. Rosinante did far too much for him. "You're probably not even really asleep, are you?"

At the lack of movement, Law gave a quiet laugh and doubled back to the bed to grab a blanket before throwing it over the man's back. "Good night, Cora-san. I'll try to keep in touch and not be caught by anyone but you." Catching sight of Rosinante gripping his familiar spotted hat, Law brushed at the back of his hand, pleased when the man released it at once for him. "Try not to set your ship on fire, Captain."

Giving a last pat to Rosinante's head, Law quickly left the room, sticking to the shadows as best he could. It was easy to guess where sentries would be posted and to work around them, Law only stopping when he saw what had been done to his crew. The entire lot of them were tied up and in the middle of what looked like a playpen made out of wire fencing. A note was taped onto the front in suspiciously familiar handwriting that warned of not feeding the children.

Rubbing at his eyes and unsurprised when he suddenly felt as exhausted as he did before his nice nap, Law created a room and switched the lock with something much more easily breakable. Once that was done, he was freeing and lightly kicking and shoving his crew members awake, motioning for them to be quiet.

"Bepo, go throw this overboard and find out where our boat is." Law tossed the key over, Bepo soluting and running off to do as told at once. "Penguin, I swear if you move I will throw you overboard."

"It's not like anything's broken!" Keeping the Room up, Law crouched down in front of Penguin and began inspecting him, pleased to see that the ropes had been loosely tied around him and wasn't putting any pressure on his ribs. Looking closer, Law's eyes narrowed as he saw them. "Is something broken?"

"A few hairline fractures." A few minutes of some careful maneuvering and they were as good as new, the Room flickering out and Law doing his best to keep the dizziness away. "Don't be an idiot and take a hit meant for me next time."

"Of course, Cap'n." He was going to do it next time in a heartbeat. Honestly, his crew full of idiots. Helping Penguin up, Law gestured for the rest of his crew to follow, pausing long enough to write a new note on the back of the one Rosinante had stuck to the makeshift pirate jail. Hopefully warning the man about the new tattoos he was going to get would give him time to get used to the idea.

Pausing on the railing to make sure everyone else was off the ship and hurrying along, Law glanced back to where he saw a window that was radiating light and a familiar silhouette. Grinning, Law shook his head. That man never changed… "See you soon, Cora-san."