Some days had passed ever since Luffy opened his eyes for the first time after the accident, but for Law it felt like it happened just a few moments ago.
He couldn't stop thinking about it, he couldn't stop thinking in the words that his lover said to him at that moment, the words that he didn't expect to hear, the words that he didn't want to hear, and every single time when he thought about them he could feel desperations growing a little more inside of him.
And well, he couldn't imagine it being any different anyway.
The person whom he loved, the person with whom he shared his life with, the one and only person that he had on his life, now didn't even remembered who he was, what he used to mean to him, what he used to feel for him, and that hurt, that desperate him, because he knows, he just knows, that things might never go back to what they used to be.
He might never be someone to Luffy again, might never have his love again, and just become someone that he knew, in the best of the situations, another of his friends, but not someone special, not someone with whom he would spend the rest of his life with, and that was what desperate him the most.
It desperate him so much, but still he didn't show that to anyone, he just stayed calm and collected, stayed strong, because he didn't want anyone to see how hurt and desperate he was. Most of all, he didn't want Luffy to see it, so he just keeps acting normally, day after day, when he would go to that same room, where Luffy was, and he would smile at him, like nothing was wrong.
The people that used to be there, all of Luffy's friends, were all doing the same, hiding the shock or whatever they were feeling behind a fake smile, doing their best to make Luffy feel more comfortable and less lost than he was, and the only time when they would abandon that fake act was when they were leaving.
They would look at Law, and that smile would leave their faces. They would place their hands on his shoulders, and say motivating things to him, like "hang in there", or "stay strong", because they know that this was being harder for him than to anyone else, and he would thank them under his breath, before the door behind him was closed, leaving him and Luffy alone.
Luffy the would look confused at him, ask him what was wrong, but he would just put a smile on his face and say that it was nothing important, because that's what he wanted Luffy to think. He would never say to him that they were just being sympathetic with him because they knew that he was in pain. In pain because of him. He would never tell him that, he didn't even tell to the teen who he was, what they were, because he thought that it would be better if Luffy didn't know. Law didn't want to confuse him even more, and didn't want to ruin the liking that the teen had created for him, because the moment when he lost that, would be the moment when he would really fall apart.
If Luffy distanced himself from him now, he wouldn't be able to take it, so he just stayed quiet about it, no matter how much the boy would ask him who he was, what they were, how they meet each other. The only thing that he had told Luffy was his name, something that still was impossible for the boy to pronounce, and that was all he would tell him, at least for the moment.
"You sure are full of mysteries, Torao." Luffy would always say that, while laughing, and he would laugh along, even if for him, there was nothing to be laughing about. He didn't like hiding those things, it hurt him to do so, but he kept telling himself that it was for the best.
He would keep smiling and even laughing with Luffy, until the moment when they boy would eventually fall asleep, and then he would allow that fake smile to dissolve, giving place to the sad, pained expression that he used to wear when Luffy couldn't see it, and he would go over to the boy, would cover him with the blankets that were on his feet, would kiss his forehead and wish him good night, saying that he loved him, that he still loved him, even if the boy didn't remembered him, even if he didn't loved him anymore, and he would turn his back to him and leave the room, closing the door behind him.
He would sit on a bench in the corridor, and would stay there for a while, and his eyes would fill up with tears, but he wouldn't allow them fall, he wouldn't allow himself to cry, because, like everyone would say to him, he had to be strong, for him and for Luffy, but today was different.
It was different, because he could feel hands on his shoulders, and when he looked up, he could see two familiar faces, deep worry clear in them. They would just stay there, looking at him, and when he lifted his hand to dry the lonely tear that escaped from his eye, a hand grabbed his arm, not allowing him to do so, and then words were said to him, words that no one said to him before, the words that he truly wanted to hear, instead of the ones that he used to hear.
"Captain, you don't need to be so strong all the time. Sometimes it's all right to cry."
And at that moment, upon hearing those words, for the second time ever since he woke up after the accident, he allowed himself to break down into tears.
A/N: *whispers* Hey, I know this chapter wasn't so good, and was very short, but I promise the next one will be longer.
Thanks for everyone who read, thanks for the follows and favs, and suuuper special thanks to , poyochin, gdesertsand, Guest, Apple Bloom and wohmbat for the reviews, much appreciated! Bye! :)