When Law woke up it was morning out, and the sun was shining brightly in his eyes. He sat up, and looked around. He found himself in a small, but clean room. There was only one bed, but it was a rather large bed. He pushed aside the covers, and had to muffle a screech. Under the blankets was a sleeping Luffy, his arms and legs outspread, with one little hand clutching Law's shirt.
Law pressed a hand to his pounding heart, and worked to extricate himself from the iron grip. He was still trying to get away when Luffy woke up. Half awake Luffy looked at Law, and smiled widely, "G'morning!" he said drowsily.
"Er, Good morning Luffy-ya. Please release my shirt. I need to use the bathroom." he said. Luffy nodded, but fell asleep sitting up. Law looked at him in horror. He'd seen Garp do this too, narcolepsy, did the kid have it too? "Room." he said, and ran a diagnostic, then sighed. Yes, a very mild form of the disease, but it was there. He didn't know whether to feel envious or not.
He picked Luffy up, and carried the kid with him out of the room. He found himself in a clean hallway made of dark wood. It was actually rather gorgeous. He started down the hallway, towards where he could see stairs. He followed them until he ended up in a bar, where he found Cora-san sitting at the bar smoking and eating what looked like a breakfast burrito. He saw the green haired woman behind the bar, wiping some glasses down. He felt Luffy twitch and looked down to see the kid sniffing the air, and suddenly wake up, "Food!" he said happily and jumped out of Law's arms, and hopped onto a bar stool. Law found himself snorting. The kid was amusing, kind of like a small animal.
"Makino-chan!" Luffy called out, "I want meat! Ah! Also, my friend needs to use the bathroom!" Luffy said grinning. Suddenly he frowned, and turned to Law, "What's your name?" he asked.
"Trafalgar D Water Law." Law answered. His mother and father had always told him to hide it, but this kid was also a D.
"D? You're like me! Toraofa- torau-gar- Traufl- Torao!" Luffy said, obviously struggling with Law's last name.
"Just call me Law, Luffy-ya." He said, wincing at how his name was butchered.
"Okay Torao!" Luffy said.
Law just sighed. Makino watched them smiling, she was glad that Luffy had found a friend. She loved him like he was her own child, and she felt bad that he was so lonely all the time. Makino came out from behind the bar, and spoke to Law, "I will show you where the bathroom is, then I will make you food. Is there anything you want?" she asked, leading the way.
"Anything but bread is fine." Law said following her. "Thank you very much ma'am." he said.
"Just call me Makino, please." she said, then motioned to a door, "This is the bathroom. The room you were in is yours for your stay in Foosha Village." she said then bowed and left.
Law frowned, the way she'd said that made it sound like they would be staying here for a while. He hoped not, it seemed a bit boring, even with Luffy, also, he'd rather not have to deal with Garp's Marine Training of Love ever again. That had been awful.
When Law walked back into the bar he found Cora-san fending Luffy's wandering hands off of a plate of food. Luffy was apparently still hungry after whatever Makino had fed him. Corazon waved at Law, and motioned him over to the plate of food.
Law noted that the man's left shoulder was both singed and wet. He looked at Makino and saw that she had a pitcher of water on hand, and he sighed. He climbed up on the stool, and looked at the food that was there for him. Makino had made him an omelet. He took a bit and smiled, it was delicious. He could taste tomatoes, and spinach as well as onions and broccoli mixed with mushrooms. On the side, she had placed two pieces of crispy bacon and a bowl of cut fruit.
"Thank you very much, it is delicious." he said. She smiled at him, and let him finish eating. When he was done he turned to Corazon, "So, what are we doing?" he asked. Luffy took that as a cue for him to climb into Law's lap. Law looked down at the brat, but let him stay.
Rocinante smiled at them, "According to Garp, Tou-san has decided that I need a vacation, and you need to experience life that isn't in constant danger. He gave Garp permission to leave us here for a year..." he said and lit a cigarette, lighting his shoulder on fire in the process. Water hit him before he could process that he was burning again. "Ah, thank you Makino-chan!" he said smiling. The woman rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
He turned back to Law who was looking at him in horror. "We have to stay here for a year?" he asked, he couldn't possibly be hearing that right.
"Yup! Maybe longer. Depends on if anything important happens." Roci said still smiling. He could see that Law was horrified by the notion. He was guessing that it was because Law had never known anything other than impending death and danger. This would be good for him. This was the East Blue after all. As long as Garp wasn't here, there shouldn't be any danger. Sengoku even said that he didn't have to worry about chasing pirates while here. It was wonderful! He, himself, was very excited for this opportunity. "This is a good thing Law. I almost died, and I haven't had a break from work in forever. It will be nice for the two of us to spend time together, without having to worry about you dying any moment. Besides, I'm sure it won't be that boring." he said.
Law looked at him skeptically, but finally nodded, "Very well Cora-san. Now. May we go outside. I hear the villagers making a fuss out there." he said. He was really curious. Somewhere in the middle of Cora-san's speech he'd heard someone say pirate. He and Luffy hopped off of his stool, and hurried outside. Rocinante followed them. They rushed towards the dock, but he slipped and fell on his back, and so got left behind for a moment.
Law and Luffy looked up at the huge pirate ship that bore the mark of Akagami no Shanks. Luffy's eyes grew huge, "Cool! Pirates!" he said.
Luffy pulled Law to the bottom of the gang plank, and looked up as Akagami no Shanks, himself, came down. He was laughing and talking to a tall man with long black hair.
Shanks looked down at the two kids in surprise, "Hey, those kids, Ben? Don't you kids know that pirates are dangerous?" he asked with a grin.
"I'm gonna be a pirate someday!" Luffy chimed in.
"Oh? Can you even swim?" Shanks asked, laughter clear in his voice.
"Nope! But I will learn!" he said.
Shanks turned to the panda eyed kid, "What about you?" he asked.
"I've already been a pirate. Perhaps I will be one again, or maybe a Marine, could even choose to be a revolutionary and serve under Dragon." he said with a bloodthirsty grin.
Shanks eyes widened, it wasn't often that you found that sort of intensity in East Blue. He grinned, "I meant about the swimming." he said.
Law blinked, and the blood-thirst left, "No. Never."
Shanks blinked again, could the kid have possibly eaten a devil fruit? That was another rarity in East Blue. "What are your names kids?" he asked.
"Monkey D Luffy."
"Trafalgar D Water Law."
"My name is Shanks. It's a pleasure to meet you two." he said holding his hand out and shaking theirs. He figured that Luffy was related to Garp, but Law was an anomaly. The only place he'd ever heard the last name Water, was in the White City, Flevance. Could this kid have survived the massacre?
He looked up as a tall blonde approached. He recognized him, not him personally, but his family. "Donquixote." he said.
The blonde looked at him in surprise, "How'd you know?" he asked moving forward, only to trip over nothing, start on fire, and fall into the ocean.
Shanks looked at the spot in shock, how on Earth had the man started on fire? He heard Law's panicked voice then, "He can't swim! He ate an Akuma no mi!" Shanks threw his hat and sword at Ben, and dove in.
Luffy looked at Law in confusion then shrugged and climbed up his back for a piggy back ride, waiting for Shanks and the blonde man to reappear.
Shanks dove down deeper into the water, he finally he saw bright blonde hair drifting lazily in the water, almost as though the man wasn't drowning. He wrapped an arm around the man's slim waist, and swam strongly upward. They broke surface, and Ben reached down dragging the blonde out, and laying him down on the pier. Shanks pulled himself up, and watched as the man coughed up water, before sitting up, and smiling at Shanks.
"Thanks for saving me." he said, he reached his hand to Shanks, "My hero." he said.
Shanks really didn't know what to say, so he introduced himself, willing the blush that had formed on his face to leave. The man was really good looking up close, "I'm Akagami no Shanks. I know that you are a Donquixote, but what is your name?" he asked. Damn his blush was stubborn, he was sure it was the crystal grey eyes under the wavy blonde hair.
"Rocinante. My name is Donquixote Rocinante." he said, then turned to Law, "Sorry." his voice was sheepish, and he rubbed the back of his head.
Shanks watched amused as the tall man was chewed out by a little thirteen year old. "Be more careful Cora-san. How do you keep catching on fire? You weren't even smoking at that point! Now you are indebted to a famous pirate. How would Jii-san like that? I hope that you thanked him properly, also, you aren't allowed by the shore unless accompanied by someone who can swim. I already almost lost you. I don't need to really do so." he said, his hands on his hips and Luffy on his back.
"I'm really sorry Law. Can we not tell Tou-san about this? He was already upset about the whole Doffy thing..." he said, then picked up Law, and Luffy, before turning back to Shanks. "I'll buy you a drink." he said.
Shanks grinned, "And I'll take one from you." he said. They walked to the Party Bar followed by Shanks' crew.
An hour later a party was in full swing, and Shanks and Roci were sitting next to each other drinking and talking and laughing every now and then picking on Luffy or Law. Luffy fell for it, but Law was quick with come backs making it even more enjoyable for the grownups.
One comeback had Shanks laughing so hard that he had to hold on to Rocinante or fall over. Law laughed as Cora-san's face lit up bright red.
They partied long into the night, until eventually Law picked up a sleeping Luffy, and dragged Rocinante after him. He put Luffy in their bed and turned to Cora-san, directing him into a chair. He helped the drunk man out of his shirt, and his boots before having him stand up so that Law could remove his pants. Then he tucked Cora-san into bed, and looked at the pair. Cora-san's eyes were blurry with alcohol. "Do you like Shanks-ya?" he asked finally. He'd watched the two men interact, and felt that the liking was mutual.
Corazon blushed, "He's very pretty, but I'm a marine, and he's a pirate. S'not possible." he said a bit sadly.
"Are you gay?" Law asked, genuinely curious. He'd never gotten a signal either way from his adoptive father, so he'd often wondered. His greatest wish was for the blonde to be happy, after all.
Corazon looked pensive, "I think so. I mean, I like women, but they don't really attract me like that. Is that a problem for you Law?" he asked, suddenly looking very worried, as though Law's viewpoint meant the entire world to him, and maybe at that moment it did.
Law shook his head, "No problem for me at all. I have found interest in both genders, myself." he said, then shut the light off, "Go to sleep Cora-san. I'll take care of your hangover in the morning. Sleep well." he said, then left the room to rejoin the party.