The wind roars in his ears.
Suddenly, Trafalgar Law is seven years old and holding his little sister's frail hand.
"I'm scared," Lami mumbles. "What if the lightning gets through the windows?"
There's a beat of silence that Law struggles to will away, swallowing while his chest clenches at the sight of his sister—thin, frail, and pale—with a needle stuck in the top of her hand.
"O-Of course not Lami, the windows are closed and the curtains are covering them." Law gives a weak smile. "Besides, they're all the way over there, as long as we're not near it, it can't harm us."
Lami smiled, her large brown eyes sparkling as she squeezed his hand.
"Big brother is so smart," she closed her eyes, still smiling as she quietly dozed off. "He'll always protect me."
Law smiled, "Yeah."
And with a gasp, sweat soaking through the hoodie he fell asleep in, Trafalgar Law jerks awake aboard the Thousand Sunny, thunder roaring outside the men's quarters windows, blanketing the sound of snoring.
Law lays in the borrowed bunks, staring at the ceiling while struggling to will his thundering heart, before closing his eyes, trembling at the image of fire, Lami, noNo—
He's slamming the men's quarters door a moment later, clutching Kikoku while rain spatters against his face and soaks his clothes, the rumbling in his ears drowning out the echo of a voice he can barely remember. And there's Straw Hat, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the deck, his red vest soaked and clinging to his back while his straw hat dangles from its string and his black hair glistens.
Understanding doesn't need to be had to know why Straw Hat's sitting in the middle of a storm by himself.
Law walks near him, watching the storm clouds above as Luffy's shoulders drop.
In this silence, the only thing Luffy says, barely heard over the rumbling storm: "I used to be afraid of storms."
What goes unsaid, Law guesses is the one name that can reduce the Straw Hat Pirate Captain to tears.
"My sister was too."
And maybe that's the only thing he needed to say, if the way Luffy hunches over, shoulders shaking, is anything to go by.
Law blinks, eyes burning as he gazes up at the thundering sky.
If this storm were a representation of his mind, it would be accurate.
But like every horrible storm, it stops. Raindrops turn into droplets, clouds turn into parting light, and the sun rises, along with a rainbow that dips and curves over an island in the distance.
Luffy laughs, loud and bright, and maybe a little teary.
"But I'm not afraid anymore."
Law swallows, blinking away tears and rain as he gazes up at the sky.
"She wasn't anymore, in the end."
Luffy doesn't say anything, merely turns his head to meet Law's golden eyes.
"What about Torao?"
"Me?" Law swallows, "Never have been."
I'm terrified.
Luffy grins, "It's okay, Torao! We're nakama! You can be afraid!"
"Yeah," Law chokes, "yeah."
Maybe storms aren't so bad after all, as long as you have the right company.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.
This angsty one-shot was inspired by writers block and MarieMichaels who helped me with said writers block. I actually like how this turned out. It's angsty, but as far as I can tell, IC and heartbreaking.