30 Day Writing Challenge
Day Two: Sand
Fandom: One Piece
Pairing: Luffy/Trafalgar Law
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, or its characters.
Sand
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When Law decided that it was a good idea to ally himself with the straw hat pirates, there were many things he regretted not considering. Currently, the top of the list included just how annoying the younger captain would be and how easily he would find himself being dragged into his ridiculous schemes.
Today's scheme: Find the treasure hidden in the sand.
Trudging along behind the group of eager and childish pirates, Law frowned as his slacks were inevitably covered in grains of sand that he was sure to be finding everywhere for the next few days.
"I'm telling you Straw Hat, your chances of finding this treasure, if it even does exist which I highly doubt, it almost impossible." He grouched, repeating the same thing he'd said an hour ago when this farce had begun.
Luffy pouted as he turned to Law, eyebrows furrowed which showcased the clear confusion he felt. "But Toraooooo," He whined, "don't you want to see if we can find it? Just for today? It's an adventure!"
The insistence was clear and the older captain sighed, wishing for his own, more sensible crew who he could order around and expect to listen all the more in that moment, ignoring the way his heart strings tugged at the sight of those lips pouting towards him.
Turning away from the boy with a sigh, his shoulders sagged in defeat even as his cheeks pinked from the direction his thoughts had gone briefly.
Thank whatever non-existent god that had taken pity on him that the other members of the crew were already way further ahead on the beach leaving the two of them alone and keeping him safe from the prying eyes of Nico Robin who seemed to read into everything too much and with almost admirable ease.
"Fine." He relented. "But just one day. The sooner we find my crew the better."
There was a moment where something flashed through Luffy's eyes but before he could identify it, the large beaming grin that he so accustomed to seeing on his allies face was back.
"Shi shi shi, of course Torao!"
Bounding over to him, the younger boy wrapped his hand around Law's, pulling him along with renewed vigour.
"Oi!" Law couldn't help but call out as he let himself be dragged along the sandy banks of the beach, resisting when he finally understood what was going on. "Let me go you idiot, I can walk just fine on my own."
"But Torao is slow." Luffy complained, but let go none-the-less, slowing his pace a little to match Law.
Almost immediately Law couldn't help but miss the feeling of the younger boy's hand in his – a weird feeling and not one that he was used to experiencing. As a rule he hated touch, even Shachi and Penguin hesitated to make contact with him if it wasn't necessary, and Bepo only touched him when they took naps together.
He huffed at himself. He'd been on the Thousand Sunny too long, the crew's weirdness was beginning to rub off on him.
"Now, if I were a treasure, where would I hide?" Luffy asked mostly to the air making Law resist the urge to face-palm as he looked over at Luffy whose face looked comically serious.
Which just reminded Law of how ridiculous this whole situation was. They had no idea where to go looking for this treasure so how exactly were they supposed to find it.
"I don't suppose that old geezer gave you any idea of where exactly we should be looking other than on the eastern side of the island?" Law tried, voice resigned.
Luffy hummed. "I dunno. He was super weird. When I asked him he knew where it was he just said, 'if you follow your heart along the Eastern sands to the point where green meets white, hidden in the borderlands you will find the greatest treasure of all.'" He intoned, voice going unnaturally deep as he pretended to be the old man for a moment.
Drawing his eyebrows together, Law groaned. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"I dunno. I thought maybe Torao would understand 'cause he's smart but I guess not." Luffy lamented, pout back on his face as he kicked the sand sadly. "This adventure is becoming boring."
Once more Law's heart seemed to squeeze at the disappointment on the younger man and he sighed as he put more effort into trying to figure out what the hell the riddle could mean in an attempt to wipe that look from Luffy's face.
"Where white meets green probably just means where the sand turns into grass, but that doesn't help us all that much. Are you sure the old man didn't say anything else?"
Luffy shook his head. "Don't remember, but I don't think so."
Law sighed. "Fine, I guess we just keep walking."
And so that's what they did, the hour of the day getting later as the sun began to set. Walking along the beach, Law kept an eye out for anything that might mark the right spot for a buried body – and more importantly – buried treasure.
As the sun got lower in the sky, everything becoming bathed in slight shadows as pinks and oranges melded together where there once was blue, Law caught sight of something shining in the distance.
"What's that?"
Luffy blinked, eyes narrowing as he looked into the distance trying to spot the same thing as Law did.
"Ooo, shiny thing!" He exclaimed. "Think it might be the treasure? Or a clue?"
Before Law could respond, the younger boy was wrapping grabbing his hand once more and pulling him in that direction quickly.
This time, Law didn't comment, letting himself be dragged through the sand until they reached the spot where it seemed the so called 'shiny thing' hand been.
Laying on the ground, directly between the sand and the grass was a single gold coin, gleaming in what little light remained and quickly becoming brighter as the moonlight seemed to hit it too.
"Ooo, it has to be this, it has to, it has to." Luffy exclaimed, enthusiasm back full force.
Picking up the single coin, he placed it in his pocket before beginning to dig quickly into the ground and sand, searching for some sort of chest or similar that would mark the treasure they'd spent the better part of the day searching for.
Law huffed, brushing away dirt from his clothes with a disgruntled frown as he stepped further away to watch the Straw Hat captain dig away.
Finally he seemed to hit something, grinning widely.
"Look Torao, look! We found it!"
Lips twitching, Law nodded. "So it would seem." He agreed, watching as the other boy dug around the box's perimeter before heaving it up out of the ground with ease, placing it on the grass that was now littered with more sand grains than even before.
Opening it, Luffy 'oohed' at the collection of golden coins and gems that filled the chest.
"Nami is going to be so happy." Luffy cheered, grinning at the thought of making his nakama happy. "And I got to have a great adventure too."
Turning to look at Law, Luffy tilted his head. "Did Torao have fun on our adventure too?"
Law let his lips twitch for the second time that day. "I suppose it wasn't terrible." He allowed.
Luffy grinned like he'd just been given the greatest medal. "Shi shi shi, Torao's weird. You could just say you had fun." He insisted.
Crossing his arms, Law ignored the heat rushing to his cheeks as he glared at Luffy.
"You're being stupid. I didn't say that I had fun because I didn't." He insisted, but the other boy wasn't listening, too busy lifting the heavy box of treasure to carry back to the Thousand Sunny.
"Come on Torao. Let's head back."
The walk back was much more like Law's pace since Luffy was weighed down, and it was more silent than he was used to at this point, more accustomed to Luffy's endless chatter no matter the time of day or the situation.
There was cheers from the rest of the crew (who Law suspected had given up hours ago and abandoned them since none of them had been seen in at least an hour and a half) as they approached the Thousand Sunny, treasure in hand.
"Way to go captain!" Nami practically squealed. "Get that up here and I'll make sure Sanji cooks us up the best feast."
The bribe was clear as day but Luffy either didn't care, or was too oblivious (Law was banking on the latter) as he suddenly picked up speed, rushing towards the boat and somehow managing not to drop a single thing as he leapt onto the deck, placing the treasure in front of Nami and laughing at her happiness.
"Sanji, food! I'm starving!" He shouted, grinning at the affirmative response from the cook from the kitchen.
As they all filed away to eat, Law followed behind leisurely behind them, enjoying the moment of peace before subjecting himself to the usual madness that accompanied any meal with the Straw Hat Pirates.
Before he knew it, Law was feeling even more exhausted than any amount of walking could make him as he took up a spot next to where Luffy usually sat at the lion's head on the boat, enjoying the cool night breeze, the familiar smell of salt from the ocean filing his nose as he closed his eyes and basked the serenity of the moment.
It was only short moments later that he heard footsteps padding towards him.
Opening his eyes, he turned to an equally silent Luffy as he took up a spot next to him in uncharacteristic silence, watching as the waves continued to roll in the darkness, crashing gently into the Thousand Sunny.
"I did." Law admitted finally, breaking the silence but refusing to look at the other captain while pink stained his cheeks again for the third time today (and wasn't that just frustrating? He wasn't some blushing teenager any more!) as he considered everything that had happened between him and Luffy up until this moment – every decision that lead to his various emotions.
Straw Hat Luffy truly was a whirlwind of unquantifiable chaos. But he was beginning to think that it wasn't such a terrible thing.
Luffy tilted his head, trying to trace along the path that Law's mind was taking him as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"What are you on about?" He asked after a moment, voice a little louder than the moment warranted, but then again would he really be Luffy if he wasn't?
Law huffed at having to explain himself. "Today. I did actually have fun." He repeated.
It was silent for a moment before Luffy registered the other man's words and he gave Law a small smile.
Turning to look at Luffy, unsure because of his silence, Law's breath caught at the sight of such a realistic smile. It wasn't the usual grin that spelled mischief and mayhem, but something much more sacred and real.
"Hey Torao, hold out your hand and close your eyes."
The sudden request made Law blink in surprise. "What are you going to do?" He asked instead of complying.
Luffy pouted. "Toraoooo," He whined, "trust me. Please?"
Swallowing, Law closed his eyes and held out his hands cupped together.
Of course he trusted Luffy. He'd trusted him from the moment he'd saved Law's life – not just from Doflamingo but from himself too.
There was a moment of silence before something reasonably light was placed into Law's hand.
It was cold and slightly metal. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see the single gold coin from earlier that day which led to them finding the treasure in his hand.
"Why are you giving me this?"
Luffy tilted his head. "Because it's yours. You found it first."
Law huffed. "I spotted it first, but you're the one who picked it up first." He reminded the other boy.
Pouting, Luffy crossed his arms. "No. It's Torao's." He insisted stubbornly.
Rubbing it between his finger, Law narrowed his eyes. "You never care if something belongs to anyone ever. You're a pirate. You take what you want because no rules hold you back. Why did you give me this really?" He demanded suspiciously.
For once pink seemed to creep over the other boy's cheeks as he glanced away mumbling something under his breath.
"What was that?"
There was a smirk tugging at Law's lips as he raised an eyebrow at Luffy.
Huffing, Luffy spoke louder but still refused to catch Law's eyes.
"I said, I wanted you to keep it to remember today when you're gone. You'll be back with your own crew soon."
The words 'remember me' were left silent but clear and Law sighed a little.
"Idiot." He grumbled, catching Luffy's eye as pressed a light kiss to it just to see how Luffy would react – not the least bit disappointed when the captain went even redder – before placing it in his pocket. "I'll keep it with me always."
'I'll remember you always.'
Luffy beamed at that, embarrassment forgotten in his happiness.
"But Luffy, you do know that we'll see each other again right?"
It wasn't something he had planned on when they first became an alliance, but he found that the words were true. There was no way he could spend the rest of his life without seeing Luffy again.
Luffy hummed in agreement, happiness clear as they enjoyed each other's silence for the rest of the night.
And if after getting back to the Polar Tang and rejoining his crew Law kept the coin on him constantly, well, no-one needed to know but him.
Extra:
"Captain, you're doing it again."
"What are you on about Penguin?"
"You're staring at the coin again."
Law turned to glare at him. "Don't you have something to be doing."
Penguin 'eeped' before scurrying away.
Law turned back to his coin and rubbed it between his fingers briefly before putting it away feeling rejuvenated and ready to face the world.