Disclaimer: I do not own anything. This is a fanfiction.
Summary: An unwanted vacation might be what he really wants at the moment because honestly, he could have just refused, right?
Warning: Hinted LawLu, set in AU
HIS SHAMBLED EXCUSES
Law would have never considered taking a vacation. Maybe in a few years, or just never. Heck, when he thinks about it, the hours spent in the ER seems more relaxing than this. He could have just said no. He could have just refused. He could have just ignored his incessant pleas – or whines. Yes, it sounded more like whines, actually. Trafalgar Law doesn't do happy summer time nonsense. He's the focus on doing productive things sort of guy, he says to himself.
But no… he just had to fall for those shitty damn eyes. Puppy-dog eyes, especially when on that face, should be deemed illegal. He silently cursed.
He finds himself trapped in the middle of a crowded beach - sweltering heat, noisy kids, sand everywhere and all. The view isn't too bad, he admits, referring to the horizon, he mentally emphasized. He describes it as the glorious meeting of the sky and the sea, and the grand line of adventures, he would add. But no matter how nice he finds it to be, although he muses that it isn't as romantic as she declares, it is not enough to compensate for the most irritable situation he's in now.
"Torao!"
Oh wait, he retracts his previous conclusion. Meeting and gradually being acquainted (he's irked with the idea of them being friends) to that annoying goofball is.
He sighed.
"What now?"
A slick sheen of sweat on the side of his forehead forming as he side-eyed the ball on that boy's hand.
"Join us, Torao! We need one more player, shishishi"
Ah, there he goes again, grinning even.
"Look, I don't really want to…"
But before he could express his refusal and hopefully establish his contentment in his current activity, reading a book, the boy turned to his friends by the beach volley net and practically bellowed for the whole beach to hear.
"Torao's on my team, okay. Let's go everyone!"
With that, everyone moved to their position, getting ready for a round.
"Why is this shitty marimo in my team?"
"Don't be a liability, ero-cook."
"Where did you learn that word?"
"Loser team pays 100 beli each!"
"Ehhh?! No way!"
"We're super not going to lose!"
"I like them, thrills…"
His face fell. Finding himself unable to escape this predicament, he reminds himself to add this to his 'Why I should kill Luffy'-list. The boy, with a straw hat on his back, all sunny smiles , energy and all that shit grabbed his wrist and led him… no, dragged him to the group. Of course, he could still bail out, right?
Knowing the answer to his own question, Law resigned to his fate and managed to survive round after round, not really trying to belt out good service and smashes because he's with him on this team, he reprimands himself. He, plainly, was just competitive as always, he assures no one in particular. Just maybe himself.
Leaving early was his initial plan but it isn't that much trouble if he were to do it after lunch, perhaps. It's not too much trouble trying the tropical line-up that the blonde cook concocted. His friends aren't too bad, actually. Their levels of insanity, he can take, that much he seems sure. Discussing interesting bits of news with some of his friends, was mildly entertaining.
He lounged by a shade afterwards. Taking a little break from reading, he let his eyes scan the area. While the others preferred to recline and relax when afternoon came, Luffy, on the other hand, was still out on the water, basking in the searing heat of the sun. Unable to swim, he paddles around with his hands, torso wrapped with an inflatable, sun kissed skin glistening with salt water.
I need a drink.
Dusk was approaching soon and Law eventually did not succeed in going home earlier than the rest as there was no more boats that would ferry him to the mainland at this hour. It's not that he had forgotten. He had simply let time slip. It wasn't his fault that when he rose to get himself a drink, he caught the sunny teen's eye and Luffy demanded Law to swim with him – rather, Law swim and pull Luffy's inflatable along because no way, the boy insists, that Law was having more fun just reading his book again, as always, compared to playing in the beach. Nor was it his bad when he found himself walking towards Luffy in agreement. Now, here he is, left with no choice but to spend overnight in this beach island, with those people and him.
"Ne, Torao..."
Raising one eyebrow, he turned to the boy, wondering what could be the matter this time.
"Come with me to town. I heard they have a lot of food stalls at night. Ooh, I wonder if there's any takoyaki!"
Law could feel it even before Luffy grabbed his wrist and towed the surgeon in a brisk walk. Law knew it even before Luffy's eyes morphed into takoyaki balls and drool drooped at the side of his mouth. Resistance is futile but Law might as well try to ask his way out of it, for he doesn't really want to come along, of course.
"Why not go with your friends, Mugiwara-ya?"
Luffy tilted his head sideways in confusion and stared at the surgeon with an incredulous look on his face as if the other was asking something very obvious.
"Eh? Aren't I with you?"
Twitch, because Law won't admit to blushing. He doesn't do that plus they aren't really friends, he mentally reinforces. He ignores liking the sound of Luffy saying he's with him. But what he does is ask the teen why he didn't go with the others. Why not with the long-nosed guy or maybe the orange haired woman? Luffy tells him that he wants to go with Law. His wrist decides it likes the feel of the straw hatter's hand around it. Another twitch.
So Law comes along with Luffy's mission to scour the town nearby for local street food. Luckily for him, they visited the beach island during a festival week so the town at night is bound to be littered with stalls at every corner, selling goods from souvenirs to, the point of this all, food. He thinks about buying a little trinket or two for the folks back home but eventually decides against it as his uncle might just accidentally lit it on fire.
The nearby town shouldn't be this far.
Instead of a warm festive fair, they chance upon a seemingly deserted street. No open stores, no chatting bystanders, no hospitable locals in sight. He swears he even noticed a middle-aged man by the alley snicker at them. Two drunk men sat in a bench ahead, only taking a drink or two more until they pass out, he estimates. Luffy sways their joint hands.
"I guess we're lost, huh? Shishishishishi!"
"Mugiwara-ya…"
"It'll work out fine in the end, anyway!"
How did it already go beyond what I expected? Oh well, why do I even bother?
Luffy grins and chuckles again. To his surprise, one of the drunk men pointed them towards where the fair is held. The man on the alley murmured unabashed about lost young gay couples and being adventurous. He is sure that the old fellow doesn't mean adventure in the same sense as the straw hatter. Turning to Law, his grip on the surgeon's hand tighter, Luffy briskly strolled to the pointed path.
They eventually made it to the town. True to Law's expectations, rows and rows of stalls at his left and his right graced the town. The streets are crowded and bustling with activity. He need not look at Luffy to confirm as he felt the absence of the other's hands on his – or was it supposed to be on his wrist, it doesn't matter whether he noticed the transition or not. Luffy's mission has begun.
"Torao, I'll just be right here!"
"Oh, those are fried just right. Shishishishishi!"
"I think this will go great with mayonnaise."
All over the place. One second Luffy's at a stall A and the next thing Law knows, Luffy's at stall B. And then, Law lost the teen. He looks left and right, looking for the other. In an unfamiliar place, with the warnings Luffy's friends gave him and worry that, for some reason, is creeping up on him, he scans the area. He thinks he's being crazy but he just feels the need to find Luffy. With the seemingly endless stores overflowing with fresh octopus balls, he's tempted to call out Mugiwara-ya.
Where could he be?
He hates this uncertainty but ever since they met, matters between the two of them had been out of his control. It's been three months since they first met at the park. It was one of those unprecedented meetings that end up with uncanny friendships (no, acquaintanceship, he mentally corrects). Albeit uncommon, Luffy seems to have a knack for such. He mulls about their first meeting while looking for the straw hatter. But it seems that wherever he goes, all he sees are grilled meat stalls. He sighs.
"Mugiwara-ya…"
He turns to his left and to no avail.
"Mugiwara-ya?''
He turns to his right and walks a few paces.
''Mugiwara-ya!"
He feels the need to keep searching, scanning the area, careful not to miss the dark haired boy, with a straw hat on his back. Just before he decides to call out again, he feels the nostalgic weight on his wrist – now on his hand. A small smile finding its way on his face.
"Ne, Torao… do you want some takoyaki?"
-End-
A/N: Not much going on in this one but I just want to write a LawLu fic because I like reading them as well. Inspired by Law's character song from Nippon Juudan 47 Cruise album and the beach where I lost a slipper. Thanks for reading!
Update: I decided to dump all the random LawLu stories I think of in this corner. Sorry for reposting this and altering the genderbend. I just want to stack all the random Luffy oneshots/twoshots I make in one place and the Fem!Lu ones in one stack. I have issues D': Thanks for understanding!