Okay I really did try on this chapter but it was hard to write so pls don't hate me. Pls enjoy. Pls have fun.
Also, we're just gonna say, that in whatever country they are in, 18 is the legal drinking age. Luffy is 19.
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Law stopped in front of a small area closed off by a folding wall and motioned for Luffy to enter "Lay down."
Luffy was taken aback at first by the abruptness but followed and laid face down on the table. His cheeks squished into the face cushion and he nearly laughed thinking about how he must look from underneath.
Law spoke again "So Ariel told me your grandfather said you were in an automobile accident earlier this year?"
Ariel must be the secretary's name. Luffy vaguely remembered seeing a nametag that said something like that. "Mmh-hmm." Luffy nodded as much as he could with his face still squished.
"And you injured your back?"
"Yeah, kinda. It's been messed up ever since but I didn't really injure it." He muffled out.
"Okay. I'm just going to feel around and determine what the actual damage is here."
Law pulled up a short stool that was in the corner of the room and sat down next to the table. Luffy heard him moving stuff around, and then suddenly firm hands made contact with his back. He tensed up at first, but relaxed quickly, remembering that he was at the chiropractor and it was normal to have a random guy feeling your back.
Law's hands ran slowly over Luffy's spine and neck, pressing and releasing experimentally. Luffy found himself caught somewhere between uncomfortable and turned on. The unfamiliar hands felt good, but then again, they were unfamiliar. But still, very nice. They moved to his shoulders and shoulderblades next, and then his lower back.
Suddenly Law spoke "It doesn't seem too bad. It'll just take some attention and proper care for a few weeks and you'll be back to normal. I'll give you a quick adjustment and we can set up your next appointments. Now, take a deep breath, Luffy-ya."
Luffy snapped his eyes open, not realizing that he had closed them in the first place or that he had relaxed to the point of nearly falling asleep. He did as he was told and breathed in.
"And release it."
He did.
"Hn-" The breath was pushed out of him as Law pressed down in one quick twist and released a multitude of pops in the middle of Luffy's back.
"Lay on your back, please." Law removed his hands from Luffy's back and gave him space to flip over. He moved his stool to sit by Luffy's head at the end of the table. He slipped his hands under Luffy's neck and massaged with his fingers, feeling the joints and muscles underneath his skin.
Being this close, Luffy noticed he could practically inhale the scent of the man above him. It was a nice, relaxed smell, like he didn't even try to smell good but he just did. Kinda smelled like the ocean, or something. Luffy closed his eyes and breathed in, enjoying himself surprisingly more than he would've liked to admit.
Law's hands came to cup the sides of Luffy's face steadily, "Now relax..."
Luffy didn't have time to think about what was going to happen next as his train of thought was immediately cut off by the quick and somewhat violent twisting of his neck and the pops that followed.
His hands flew to grip the edges of the bench, and his heart jumped.
"Good." Law said cooly, like he didn't just almost break Luffy's neck.
Luffy caught his breath and tried to relax again. He definitely had not been expecting nor did he particularly enjoy that, but his neck did feel a little better.
Law massaged his fingers into the back of Luffy's neck and then repositioned his hands by his face again, repeating the twist in the opposite direction.
He then went on to crack Luffy in a couple different ways in a couple different places, and Luffy felt physical relief through his body every time.
"And sit up please."
Luffy sat up and swung his feet to the ground, as Law stood behind him. He felt Law's hands on his shoulders, rubbing them before sandwiching one shoulder between his palms and rolling it back and up, then repeating with the other shoulder. Luffy eyed his tattoos in his peripheral vision and couldn't help thinking that they were kinda creepy. I mean, if he was reading correctly, his fingers said 'DEATH', so. There were also some weird symbols on his hands and arms, like a sun with a cog in the middle or something, he really had no idea. Luffy was sure there must be a meaning behind them all, but was not about to ask after just meeting him.
"Are you having problems anywhere else besides your back?" Law asked as he rested his hands on the top of Luffy's shoulders again and massaged slowly.
Luffy shook his head and found himself twiddling his fingers to try and distract himself from the feeling of Law's hands on his shoulders. "Ah, no not really."
Law removed his hands "Well, then I guess we're done here. If you talk to Ariel you can schedule your next appointments. You're free to go now."
Luffy stood and smiled at him "Okay, thank you!"
Law returned with a smile not quite as warm as Luffy's, but still genuine in it's own way. "It was my pleasure. You were a great patient for your first time."
Luffy looked down at something on the floor "Hah, thanks..."
They stood in silence for a second or two, which felt like eternity to Luffy, before Law spoke "Have a nice evening, Luffy-ya. You can get my phone number from Ariel."
Luffy tilted his head and furrowed his brow slightly "Uh, your number?"
Law restrained from rolling his eyes and gave a smirk "To contact me if you have questions or concerns."
"Oh uh yeah, haha, sorry. Thanks again. Have a good day Dr. Tra...uh, Tra-"
Law's smirk turned into a humored smile "Just call me Law, or, Doctor Law, if you prefer formalities. But I do favor the former, personally."
Luffy turned red from slight embarrassment at his inability to remember or pronounce Law's full name. "Okay. Have a nice day…- uh, Law." He waved goodbye and turned to walk out of the room and escape the situation he had gotten himself into.
He made his way to the front desk and ended up scheduling something for next week and the week after that, and exchanged contact information. As he walked out he called his grandfather on his cell.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Luffy. I just finished up at the chiropractor, do you guys need anything while I'm out?"
"Ah! How was it?" Garp responded, ignoring Luffy's question.
Luffy sighed "It was good, he seems to know what he's doing."
"Good! I'll schedule you to see him again."
"I already scheduled stuff for the next two weeks, don't worry." Luffy said as he got in his car.
Garp laughed on the other end "He's that good, hey? Or are you being biased with me now too?"
Apparently he remembered Luffy's sexuality, finally. Luffy frowned and started the engine "No! They told me I should schedule them so I did! Geez, old man."
"Good, good, good. Okay, sounds great!"
"Yeah, seeya soon." Luffy hung up the phone and pulled out of the parking lot. On his way home he picked up something to eat in the car, not able to ignore the hole in his stomach any longer.
When he walked through the door at home, he found that the house was empty and there was a note on the table.
Went out with Koala, won't be back till late. Garp is out with Dadan and co. Don't break anything! ;)
-Sabo
Luffy sighed. He was hoping to spend some time with his family while he was back, but remembered that they both had very busy lives outside of his own, and the chances of their schedules lining up were slim. Maybe another time.
For now though, he figured he could call a couple friends who were still in town and see if anyone was free. He thought about who might be there during the summer. Usopp was probably back, but he was also probably busy spending time with Kaya, and Luffy didn't want to separate the usually long-distance couple in their short time together. He knew that Zoro wasn't back yet, and Sanji was interning at a restaurant back by the university for the summer. Nami wasn't back yet either, she was too busy working on starting up her business with Chopper. They had explained to Luffy what the business was supposed to be, but he got confused and just remembered it was a kind of lifestyle/health store, or something.
Luffy thought through his small list of friends who came from the same city as him, and only one person seemed like a real possibility. He scrolled through his contacts and called his old friend who was guaranteed to still be in town.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Luffy!"
"LUFFY! Are you back in town already?! How was college? How's everyone doing? I've missed you guys!"
Luffy laughed "I flew in last night. And we can talk about everything later, let's do something now!"
"Yeah, sounds good! Wanna meet at the shack?"
"Yeah, I'll be there soon!"
"Okay seeya!"
Luffy hung up the phone and laughed to himself. What a funny kid, that Coby was. The two of them had somehow become friends, even though Coby was two grades below him. They had met when Luffy was in 11th grade and Coby was just a freshman, when Coby was on his way to get a haircut and accidentally walked into the bar/restaraunt that Luffy and his crew hung out at instead of his barber's shop. Coby had bumped right into Luffy as he walked in, and Luffy simply laughed it off but got annoyed when Coby did nothing but cower and apologize to the older student.
Luffy hadn't liked him at first, but ever since that day, he couldn't help but notice him at school. Luffy and Coby hadn't spoken since the day at the bar, but one day in the hall, Coby was being pushed around by a particularly rude bully, and Luffy had stepped in. It ended in Luffy getting a short suspension because he was the first one to throw a punch, but everyone basically knew that he had good intentions. After that, him and Coby started talking and found out that they actually had a class together. Coby was in a math class ahead of his grade, and Luffy was in one behind his. They started sitting by each other and became closer throughout the rest of the year, and Coby got to know some of Luffy's crew too.
Luffy took Sabo's car again and left for the shack. 'The shack' was just what they called the bar that they hung out in, because after all the years it had been in business, it wasn't much better off than a run-down shack. It somehow still drew customers, but probably for nothing else other than the 'personality' of the place.
When he walked through the door, he headed straight for the large corner booth they always sat in and found Coby already seated.
"Hey, Coby!" He slid in to sit across from his friend.
"Luffy-san!" Coby's face lit up in a smile when he saw Luffy "I'm so happy you're back in town! How long are you staying?"
Luffy smiled back "Me too! And I'm not sure yet, I'm just gonna go back whenever I get sick of gramps, shi-shi-shi-shi!"
"Well, I'm glad I get to see you before then, since I'm guessing it won't take long for that to happen." Coby laughed "Now tell me about college! I'm so sick of stupid high school. I need to know that there's light at the end of the tunnel."
They were interrupted when a waitress brought them water and menus, and flirted a smile when she looked at Luffy. "Hi, I'm Chery! Let me know if you two need anything, and just call me over when you're ready to order."
Luffy motioned with his hand before she could walk away "Ah, we actually know what we want already."
She paused and tilted her head "Oh, okay, I'll take your menus back then, sorry about that!"
"Shi-shi-shi, don't worry about it!"
Chery blushed and took out her notepad as Coby began his order. "I would like the grilled chicken sandwich with extra lettuce, no tomatoes, and two top buns, please. And switch the chips for waffle fries."
"I'll have the half-pound burger, rare, with everything on it and two extra sides of fries, and two beers from whatever you have on tap." Luffy grinned at her.
Chery scribbled their orders down and nodded "Can I see an ID?" She asked with a smile.
Suddenly a woman's voice came from behind her "There's no need to ID this man, Chery."
Luffy's face lit up "Shakki!"
Chery furrowed her brow slightly and stumbled with her pen "Uh, um- ok, sorry Ms. Shakki. I've just never seen him here before so I didn't-"
Shakki laughed "It's fine, Chery. Now go give these orders to the kitchen, and tell them to make them right away. They're friends of mine."
The nervous and somewhat confused waitress nodded and rushed off before angering her boss.
Luffy let out a laugh and Shakki leaned her hand on the table, sitting into her hip. "So, how was college? I take it you must've had fun. And of course, learned quite a few things. You already look so much older in just a year!"
Luffy nodded "Oh yeah, I was just about to tell Coby all that stuff too!" He grinned "It's been super great!"
Shakki smiled "That's good to hear. I'm sure you made plenty of new friends, too, Monkey-chan."
"Yeah, but nobody is as great as the friends I already have. Speaking of, everyone else is doing well too! Sanji got a paid summer internship to become a chef, Nami made more money than all of us somehow, Robin got to study abroad and do whatever archaeologists do, and Franky landed a super cool job at this mechanics company!"
"You're all growing up so quickly." Shakki took a drag from the cigarette in her fingers "I remember when you used to come in and try to order alcohol when you were just kids! You never followed any rules." She giggled behind her hand.
"Nee-hee, we still don't follow any rules." Luffy grinned so wide that wrinkles appeared by his eyes "Anyways, yeah, it was awesome! I'm planning on traveling whenever I get the chance this year, though."
Shakki nodded "That's good. It's important for you youth to experience things outside of the culture you were raised in. You grow so much as a person, although you're already much further along in that sense than most young men I know. Let me know if you ever need help funding a trip." She winked at Luffy and stood up straight "I'll leave you two to enjoy your night now. Don't get in too much trouble, and try not to break anything this time." She turned to walk away "Nice seeing you again, Monkey-chan."
"Seeya, Shakki-san!" Luffy waved goodbye.
Coby took a drink of his water "You really have known her and Ray-san all your life, haven't you?"
Luffy nodded "Yep! They're like parents to me. Just, really, really bad parents, shi-shi-shi-shi."
Coby chuckled "So tell me, in college, do nerdy guys like me still not get girls? Or will I have a chance finally?" he asked playfully.
Luffy threw his head back and laughed "Hah! Coby, you're not even a nerd. You're just a loser and too shy to talk to any girls. You'd be fine if you just grew some balls."
Coby sighed in defeat at his friends harshness "You're probably right, as usual, Luffy-san. Sometimes I wish I could be as outgoing as you. The most beautiful girls are all over you and you don't even have to do anything but smile at them, which you always do anyways. You don't even realize it, most of the time!"
Luffy laughed again "That's because I don't pay attention to women, remember? That hasn't changed since I've been gone, baka."
"Yeah… such a waste of beautiful girls' time…" Coby looked down and set an elbow on the table and propped his head up in his hand, looking forlorn "Like that waitress, she definitely thought you were cute. But I bet you didn't even notice."
Luffy tilted his head with a confused looked on his face "Really?! But- how can you even tell?"
Coby sighed "Just the way she was acting and the way she was looking at you, it was obvious. I'm good at reading that kind of thing."
Luffy laughed "Well, sucks for her I guess! Maybe she actually likes you and you just thought it was directed at me, you should ask her out or something."
Now Coby laughed "Hah! Right, thanks Luffy-san for the positivity. Like a girl like that would say yes to me."
Just then, said waitress began walking towards them with their food. She approached the table and held up two plates "Here are your two beers, and the half-pound with two extra fries," she set Luffy's meal down in front of him "And the chicken sandwich with waffle fries. Can I get you gentlemen anything else?" Her eyes beamed down at Luffy.
Coby smiled at the overly attentive waitress "No than-"
"Yeah! Are you free tomorrow night?" Luffy blurted out, and Coby froze and his face looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"Luffy-san what the hell are you doing!" He cursed under his breath.
Chery immediately blushed at Luffy's unexpected bluntness "I- uh, yeah, I think so! I get off at 8."
Luffy grinned mischievously "Sweet! So you wouldn't mind going out with my friend here? He can pick you up here at 8." The younger teen kicked him under the table, but Luffy didn't react and just stared at Chery hopefully.
The girl's jaw dropped slightly and she looked awkwardly between the two of them "Um- I mean,-" She had already said she was free and it would be immensely rude to say no now "Yeah, sure." The other kid wasn't that bad, she thought to herself. Just didn't seem like much fun. (Imagine Coby how he is post-timeskip and all. Pretty cute, right?)
"Awesome! Thanks for the food!" Luffy smiled normally again and turned away to pay attention to his burger.
Chery looked at Coby "Okay, see you tomorrow I guess!"
"Yeah, I guess… Sorry about that… I'm Coby, by the way." He was blushing bright pink to match his hair.
"Chery, but I suppose I already introduced myself. Most customers forget right away though, so…" She looked down at her hands.
"Yeah haha… So I'll uh, be here at 8! If that's an okay time…"
She looked back up at him and nodded with a smile "Mmh-hmm! Seeya!" She turned and walked away, still blushing slightly.
Coby slowly turned his head to look at Luffy, with a rather pissed-off expression "What the hell! That was so embarrassing Luffy-san! Now it seems like I didn't have the guts to ask her out myself or something!"
Luffy laughed, mid-chew "Well it's true!"
Coby kicked him again "She didn't have to know that!"
Luffy grinned "Whatever, Coby! I just got you a date, so you're welcome." He slid Coby the second beer, like always, since Coby was still too young to order alcohol.
Coby sighed and took it "Yeah, whatever, thanks sooo much." He looked down and started eating his sandwich.
The two friends spent the rest of the time eating and catching up, Coby occasionally blushing whenever their waitress walked by. Nearly two hours passed when Luffy's phone rang. He looked at it and frowned "Why is my chiropractor calling me?"
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Hhhhaaaahaha oh Luffy, always meddling with Coby's life. It always works out well in the end though, so that's good. Uhh anyway! Luffy definitely was being biased when he talked to Garp even if he tried to deny it. Not saying that Law isn't a good chiropractor though! Because obviously he is! Imagine, "The Chiropractor of Death" hahahahahaha… sorry, now I'm just humoring myself. Hope you liked the chapter! Thank you so much for reading, please review/follow/fav if you want to!
~Hungry
