Chapter Four: No Such Thing
"Are you sure now is a good time?"
Law wasn't certain if Luffy heard him because the boy just ran out the front door after he flung it open so hard, Law thought it was going to fly right off the hinges. What was he to do with this boy?
Cora-san and Baby Five had left half-an-hour ago. It was a good thing Law was able to seize the chance to take a quick shower while Luffy was still occupied before they left. Law had little to no strength left to fend off Luffy's sexual advances should he decide to break down the bathroom door. Surprisingly, though, Luffy was more eager to go to The Spirale to find the people, er, creatures who might help them with their predicament.
"Aren't demons supposed to be asleep in the morning and awake at night?" Law spoke a little louder, looking around the house to see if anything was out of place, "I was thinking we were supposed to go sometime in the afternoon or…"
"Who cares about that!?" Luffy was looking up at the sky, holding out his arms, and laughing. Law's old hoodie and a pair of his old cargo shorts were a size or two too big for him. The way that the clothes hung around his body made it look like it was trying to eat him. It was a mix of funny and adorable. Well, It's not like they had any time (or money because Law lost his wallet) to go shopping anyway.
Law tugged at the long sleeves of his sweatshirt. Maybe he should have worn gloves to conceal his fingers, but that just didn't go well with any of his clothes right now without looking like he was going to some formal dinner party.
"I want to see the look on their faces when they find out I've been daywalking." Luffy bent back a little so he could look with his head upside down at Law who was still in the house, "With you."
Whatever the hell happened to the possibility of getting killed if they disturbed demons at the wrong time? Was that a damn excuse so they wouldn't go out last night? Law started towards the door, two coats folded in one arm, grabbing his keys before taking one last look at the house to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He felt his dead phone in his pocket, mentally noting again how he needed to get it fixed. He had to borrow Baby Five's phone to make calls to work and his bank one of his two credit cards was in the wallet he lost (Thanks a lot, Bellamy). Cora-san overheard the whole thing and handed him some cash. Embarrassing. It was bad enough he and his pink-ass brother were sending allowance for school already. Law was going to pay it back regardless of what his uncle said.
"...things, you know."
Law shook his head to pay attention to what Luffy was talking about.
"So we'll wait at the The Spirale." Luffy shrugged before starting to skip around the path tiles. He was barefoot. Law rubbed his forehead, cursing inwardly, opting to just conserve his body energy and just quietly stepped back into the house to get the rubber shoes his incubus was supposed to wear. They were obviously too big for him, but with a lot of tissue stuffing and tightened shoelaces, it would serve its purpose.
"Fine, but…" Law got up and walked back out, extending his arm to show Luffy the shoes "Daywalking?"
"Yep." Luffy hopped with two feet on one tile before looking at Law, "Walking." He held out his arm and so he could make his two fingers walk on it, "During daytime."
"I know, but… It's special?" Law put the shoes down on the pavement and Luffy ran to it. Law thought it was like having a pet. There was the urge to touch Luffy's head and mess his hair. "I mean, you were so into the sun earlier. You weren't instinctively afraid of it so I was under the impression you could just... "
"Well, I don't die from the sun like vampires do." Luffy pushed a foot into the left shoe, squishing the back part as he forced it in without bending over and using his hands. "It's just that it hurts." Law raised an eyebrow at how Luffy was sticking his tongue out, trying to concentrate on getting his foot in the left shoe and finally succeeding. Except the shoe tongue looked like it was in twisted misery. "I couldn't endure sunlight before, but…" Luffy stuck in his foot into the right shoe, holding out his arms on either side to balance himself.
"Woah!" Luffy wobbled backwards and Law grabbed him by the arm to pull him back. Luffy got the hint and held onto the taller man so he could continue harassing the shoe with his foot."...But I have a host now."
Law would hate to be that shoe right now.
"Demons with hosts share stuff with their human." Luffy finally got his foot in and looked up at Law expectantly as if waiting for praise or reward as he continued talking, "Like heartbeat, body heat, and the privilege to bask under the glorious warmth of the sun without suffering!"
No sooner than Luffy had finished his sentence did he attempt to turn and run. What the hell? Law, who hadn't let go of Luffy's arm yet, pulled him back. The boy squeaked in surprise as he stumbled a bit, turning with his uncoordinated footing. He ended up holding onto Law's shoulder and looked looking like he was trying to recover from having been sent spinning as he searched for Law's face. Which was already right in front of him.
"Your shoelaces."
Luffy blinked dumbly at first. And then he looked down at his shoes, blinked again, and made a small confused… purr? What? Did he not know how to tie shoelaces? Law sighed and scratched his head before handing Luffy the coats he was holding so he could kneel down and tie the shoelaces himself. Luffy purred again, sounding a little amused this time.
And he was, really. While being shackled to this man for an unknown period of time possibly meant prolonged hunger, Luffy could not help but feel giddy and excited inside. Two weeks of stalking, having to add more and more distance as days passed by because his patience was wearing thin. Two weeks of telling himself he's not ripe yet and not knowing what it means. Two weeks of smelling him from the distance like some sort of self-inflicted torture. Two weeks of fending off other vampires, incubi, succubi, and demons and if Luffy had to fight werewolves then fuck 'em, too. Two weeks. And now his very own Trafalgar Law was right next to him. In front of him. Bonded to him, albeit in a way they didn't plan for. This gorgeous man was kneeling down and trying to do something to his feet and maybe Luffy preferred being touched somewhere else by those hands but still.
"Tell me if it's too tight." Law muttered, not caring to look up and see Luffy nod just before he pulled tightly on the shoelaces and hgk!
Luffy gasped, his voice coming out in a weird, sharp way, curling towards the end to sound like a startled moan that was very impossible to miss. Luffy didn't mean anything by it. It was a sound he made mostly out of instinct because he was thinking of how and where he wanted those tattooed fingers. Law took a deep breath. For patience, probably. Well, good thing they were on the same boat. Luffy was having a patience crisis as well. How he didn't just rip Law's clothes off last night, he didn't know. He also didn't know how much longer he could not resort to taking this human against his will. It was a matter of pride, maybe. What kind of incubus couldn't seduce a human that he'd have to result to rape?
And then the man pulled on those feet strings again. Something about that felt so good that Luffy's body almost jolted out of place. Yeah, fuck, Luffy would have no problem if Law wanted to tie him up and just do away with him. He'd be fine with it as long as they both came. Halfway through Luffy's thoughts and another tight tug that elicited one more weird gasp-moan, Law looked up with a menacing glare. Luffy fidgeted and held his hands up as if to say, "Sorry. Accident." But maybe Law shouldn't look up at him like that too often either.
The man sent him another glare before going back to his task with Luffy's feet. The boy chuckled lightly.
"The sun. Warmth. A heartbeat." Luffy's fingers gently touched his human's soft hair, "And then you." Law stood up and Luffy followed him with his eyes before smiling, "Man, I suddenly got it good, don't I?"
Law glanced away and Luffy thought he looked so adorable like that. His heart was beating in little thumps and, oh, oh, he was trying to hide it. Was he hoping for Luffy not to feel it? That just made Luffy want to touch his face more. Wait, is it faintly disappearing from Luffy's senses? Maybe he was trying to learn to hide it? Well, then, Luffy mustn't let him know if it's working or not else he might actually learn to conceal. Besides, if he didn't like being peppered with kisses maybe he should stop making faces that deserve it.
"Why do I get the feeling that you're actually not interested in freeing yourself?" Law muttered with a scowl before turning to go. Ah, this man. So elusively fetching. Luffy actually thought Law would handle flirting a bit better with that confidence and that face. It wasn't like that, apparently. He was awkward when flustered, but stubborn and refused to admit any form of bashfulness. Maybe Law was doing it on purpose? Maybe he was playing hard-to-get? Well, that's okay. Law never looked like he was easy to begin with and Luffy loved a good, challenging chase. Especially if he was this hot.
"Of course, I want freedom!" Luffy looked down smiling at his shoes, wriggling his toes and feeling the tissue paper Law had stuffed in it. So thoughtful. He just could've gone barefoot and invisible, but seeing his human pick out clothes for him was too delightful to pass on. Everything that he was wearing right now was Law's and handpicked by him, too. He's practically immersed in this man's scent so why wouldn't Luffy be happy?
The sound of the car starting made Luffy look up to find Law stepping out of the driver's side to put the windshields down. Luffy took this as the opportunity to run to him and hug him by the waist, "I want freedom, but it doesn't mean I don't like being with you!"
Law only grunted. Luffy looked up and tip-toed so he could kiss him, but the man was stubborn and pushed his face away. Such big hands. Oh, what those hands could do. Luffy allowed himself a chuckle. His human just looked confusedly at him.
"Well, you haven't had sex with me, but whatever." Luffy playfully nudged against Law, "It's gonna happen sooner or later."
The man's eyes narrowed. Luffy thought it was sexy. In fact, fifteen out of ten things Law did was sexy.
"Get in the fucking car." Law nodded his head towards the grumbling vehicle behind him. He should know how it was so nice hearing him say the word "fucking". Luffy pressed his body closer, fingers tracing down Law's spine as he breathed on Law's exposed collarbone.
"Do you want me in the fucking car's backseat or…"
He could practically feel Law's blood rushing throughout his body. He was never going to get enough sensing that pleasurable, embarrassed rush.
"Luffy, just get in the car!"
Law had given Luffy stern instructions not to startle people at The Spirale. He was not to throw himself on Law's lap, lick Law's neck (or any of his body parts for that matter), smother Law with kisses or do any other obscene sexual thing to Law that Luffy thought was normal. The little demon kept on saying "yes" to everything but was obviously too invested on sticking his head out the window. Law, in turn, was too busy trying to keep said little demon from not hitting his forehead on a truck and potentially blow it up. He just hoped the boy would feel his thoughts about not wanting to be humiliated to the point where he could no longer return to the place that made the best coffee he could ever hope for.
"Luffy." Law called, trying some last minute reminders, but the demon was too occupied with how the cafe's signage looked so different in broad daylight and with the lights off.
Ah, well.
It was the first time the singing of the door chimes sounded so perilous for Law as he pushed the cafe door open. He turned back to Luffy slightly and muttered as he nodded towards his usual spot, which was thankfully empty, "Go sit over there and stay put."
The "RESERVED" sign wasn't there today.
"Good mor—Oh, hi, Law!" Sanji was the first to greet him from behind the counter as he screwed a jar closed and put it on the shelf overhead.
"Sanji." Law nodded at him. The same nod he'd given him every time he came over. The cafe was fairly quiet, as it was mostly just people on their laptops and phones. The buzzing of chit-chatty people were to come later, maybe. Thankfully. Law tried his best not to look at anyone else in the room. He was just going to order drinks and head over to his spot and then—
"Oh my goooooooooooood…!" And that was, of course, and to Law's utter distress, Luffy. He had apparently found the dessert cabinet and managed to plaster himself on it, his forehead against the glass as he salivated over the delightful desserts and abominable bread.
One minute. He could not leave his incubus unattended for one damn minute to save his life. God damn it.
"O-oi!" Sanji exclaimed.
"Oh my god, Law, look at them!" The boy's eyes were practically shimmering and he would have probably stuffed his mouth with the cake he was eyeing had the clear glass not been there to stop him, "I can't decide which one I want first. I can't decide. I caaaaaaaaaaaaan't…! Oh my gooooooooooooooooood…!"
"Hey, you!"
Zoro's voice was already approaching and that was Law's cue to do or say something.
"L-Luffy…!" Law immediately grabbed Luffy by the elbow to pull him away from the desert cabinet. The boy tried holding on, but Law tugged him away harder, leaving a smear of his hand prints on the glass and a spot where his hot breath had fogged. Law was not sure if he wanted to throw Luffy or himself out the door.
Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing!
"Luffy!" Law glowered heavily at the demon as he shoved him to a spot next to him, "Can you not!?"
"He's with you?"
"Yeah, I…" Law glared at Luffy one more time, motioning to drag him towards his usual seat so he could bury him into the chair as he looked up at Zoro, "I'm sorry, he's just…"
But the green-haired man wasn't looking at Law. He was looking at Luffy.
"Really, Luffy?"
Oh?
Oh.
Zoro was talking to Luffy. Wait, Zoro knew Luffy? Law turned to the boy beside him.
"Yeah." the boy nodded smugly at Zoro, taking his arm back from Law, "And, mornin'!"
Zoro looked outside thoughtfully. Law turned around to see if there was anything special outside that caused the cafe waiter to zone out a bit. There was nothing out of the ordinary. But there was more than what met the eye, wasn't there? Law was missing out on something, wasn't he? He turned to check the streets again just to be sure Bellamy wasn't going to be the next customer.
"You're right." Zoro finally looked back at Luffy, "It is morning."
He sounded like it was something he wasn't sure of before this conversation.
Well, it seemed there was some existential conversation going on. What's more was that Law wasn't a part of it. And he felt like he should be. But then Zoro started eyeing Law, which was annoying. He didn't like getting stared at. At least not this blatantly. If Zoro had the time to wonder about mornings then maybe he could spare a few minutes to tell Law what was going on. So it was morning. And? Was there supposed to be an eclipse happening at this time of day?
Law was about to ask how Luffy and Zoro knew each other when the blonde barista spoke from the counter.
"Fucking hell. His hands." Sanji was leaning forward and looking at Law's fingers. Zoro's one good eye started staring at it too and Law felt the dire need to hide his fingers under his sleeves. But that was lame so he opted to cross his arms across his chest instead.
"What about my hands?" Law suppressed another glare that was dying to stab everyone in the cafe.
"Those tattoos." The green-haired cafe waiter nodded at him. Law had never seen Zoro look as dumbfounded as he was looking now. There was a little voice in Law's head telling him that Zoro knew where the rest of his tattoos are and that just made him want to cover himself despite being fully dressed. Or smack Zoro in the face for looking at all. Because, fuck, ever heard of personal space, man?
"Yeah, these tattoos." Luffy stepped between Zoro and Law, "Really."
"Ohh." Zoro was starting to smile, "Ohoho…!" And then he started laughing to which Luffy responded with more laughter.
Huh? What? What was so funny?
"Never thought I'd say this but..." Zoro raised his hand for a high-five, which Luffy gave to him without hesitation and much pride, "Congratu-fuckin-lations on actually nabbing him!"
Got him? Him? Who?
"Are you talking about me?" Law made no effort whatsoever to conceal that he was displeased. Zoro cocked his head to one side, "Yeah. Obviously." And then the green-haired man turned to Luffy again, "How much does he have?"
"All of it." Luffy answered, chest out, hands on waist, looking too proud of himself.
"All of it?!" Zoro and Sanji chorused, but with two different obvious expressions. Zoro was pretty impressed, eyeing Law from head to toe, and nodding while rubbing his chin. Awkward. And annoying. Sanji, on the other hand, looked concerned, which bothered Law more because maybe there was something that he should be worried about himself.
"You really…" Sanji began, looking at Law's hands tucked under his arms and then back at his face as Zoro continued snickering with Luffy and patting the boy on the back. The barista's worried reaction kept Law from wondering what those two found so impressive, "Did you really forge with everything?"
"Did I really what with what?"
And that's when Zoro stopped laughing. Sanji immediately drew a sharp breath and immediately dropped what he was doing, sporting a look that said, "I knew it."
"Law," Sanji was wiping his hands on his apron as he walked out from the counter and grabbed Law's hand, lifting it as if to show it to him, "Do you have any idea what these are?"
"What? I do. I think." Law took his hand back consciously and crossed his arms again, "I mean, he told me. But we can't break it so..." Law impatiently turned to his demon, "Luffy are they the ones we're looking for?" And then he turned back to the blonde man whom he was wondering if was human at all, "Are you? Can you help us with..." Law considered showing his hands again to point out what he meant, but decided against it, "I'm kind of stuck with him."
"Well, that's—!" Whatever the issue was, it was too outrageous that it kept Sanji from finishing his sentence. The blonde barista took another deep breath and slapped Luffy's head with a hand towel he was holding, "What did you do to this poor man?"
"Ow! What did I do?!" Luffy recoiled away from Sanji and inched towards Law like he could do anything about Sanji looking like a pissed off older brother, "It was an accident!"
"An accident?" Sanji wrung the towel he was holding as Luffy pouted, moving closer towards Law as if asking for help, "What do you mean acci—How can something like this be—"
"Hey, you're overreacting." Zoro shrugged, eyed Law and then tugged Sanji by the elbow, "If he could take all of it, he could probably handle it."
"Yeah, well, if you think you've got this, why does he look as clueless as he is right now?"
"Clueless is not the same as not being able to handle something." Zoro now looked disappointedly at Sanji, "Why are you even affected? This doesn't concern you at all."
"Zoro, Law is a human being. This is my cafe."
"Okay, that's it. Can I just ask something?" Law finally found his voice. The anxiety in his stomach kept growing with the conversations that he couldn't make anything out of. And that said something because patching up clues to form a conclusion was one of his strong points. But why should he wait for more hints in the conversations to arrive at a theory if he could just raise his questions and be answered instead? Honestly, he wouldn't have asked permission to speak if he was sure he was talking to two human beings, but who knew if these two could suddenly metamorphose into yetis?
"Of course, you ca—"
"No. Save it." Sanji interrupted Luffy as he lifted a hand to silence both him and Law. The little demon stiffened, obviously not impressed with how Sanji just quickly told him to shut up.
"Hey." Luffy turned to glower at Sanji.
"Hey what?" Zoro took one step towards Luffy.
"Yourself." Luffy's eyes snapped sharply at Zoro without moving his head and that's when Law's brain immediately switched to a defensive mode that he didn't knew existed. He was getting the same vibe from the whole Bellamy versus Luffy incident, which wasn't a good sign. One minute they were patting each other's backs then the next second, they're growling at each other. What was with these people?!
"Zoro." Sanji's firm voice cut the tension like a sure knife and Zoro's attention immediately turned to him, "Take this idiot and his…" Sanji looked carefully at Law, obviously trying to choose a word other than human, "Partner… upstairs."
Partner. Okay. Sanji did know something. But, on to the more immediate concern, did he say upstairs? Going in a secluded area with one incubus and a waiter who had the balls to actually go into a dagger-staring contest with a monster like Luffy? Either Zoro was not human or was a human who could deal with these demons. Law wasn't eager to find out in a closed space.
"Wait,no." Law's voice sounded firm. What a good bluff. "I'm not going anywhere until I—"
"The man said we're going upstairs." Zoro talked over Law to which Luffy responded to by practically growling at Zoro.
"And the man was saying something until you fucking interrupted him."
The waiter who probably wasn't a regular human just raised his head at the unfazed demon boy in front of him.
"Maybe you're forgetting where the fuck you are, Luffy."
"Maybe you're forgetting who the fuck you're talking to."
"Maybe…" Sanji slapped both Luffy and Zoro with the hand towel he was wringing earlier, "Both of you shitheads should stop being territorial and overprotective! Take Law and go the fuck upstairs!" Zoro grumbled, and shot Luffy one last glare before he placed his tray on the counter and headed towards the door. The blonde barista then turned to Law as he removed his apron, "Law, just... Not out here."
"Okay, but…"
"Come on, sunshine." Luffy was now taking his hand so they could follow Zoro upstairs, "Don't worry! Sanji makes the best snacks!"
Why, of course. Of course, the snacks were what concerned Law. It was most definitely not that his incubus was actually friends with the people from the cafe he frequented. Not only that, they seemed to be aware of this whole demon-human bond thing. Now Law was never really close friends with these two people from the cafe but he couldn't really help but feel a bit... betrayed?
Anyway, Sanji had a point. Ensnaring an incubus by accident wasn't something people would like to overhear without wondering for the mental health of The Spirale's employees (and Law as well). So maybe Law wasn't sure exactly what was going on yet, but if Sanji could order around both Luffy and Zoro then maybe he was some awesome person with demon-controlling skills. And he actually looked like he was concerned for Law's well-being, which was a good thing. There was some sort of relief in the thought that there actually was someone other than Luffy whom Law could ask about his current predicament. This wasn't actually a topic he'd expect to discuss with his preferred barista, but better him than Luffy. He'd spoken to Sanji more times than he'd ever spoken to Luffy after all.
Zoro led them into the back room, which was pretty much what anyone would have expected for a cafe's. The stocks of supplies and ingredients were neatly organized on the wall shelves and cabinets. What Law thought was pretty clever was the giant shelf that divided the room into two so that there was a cubicle-like space for an office. The sound of another door opening made Law pay attention to what seemed to be a small dark room that Zoro was leading them into. A quick flick on the light switch revealed a flight of steps dimly lit by a single yellow-orange light from overhead. Looking at it gave Law flashbacks to the alley attack last night.
Luffy squeezed his hand. Law had forgotten he was still holding it. Zoro nodded at them to go first so he could close the door behind them.
"I told you, Sanji makes the best snacks." Luffy smiled at him as they started up, "He's definitely going to come up and make munchies."
The stairs weren't really narrow but it wasn't wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Law felt silly that he was still hand-in-hand with Luffy but there was a weird feeling of security that came with it. It kept him from letting go.
"Sanji! Sanji, is that you!?" A familiar female voice came from upstairs along with the sound of footsteps running towards them, "Would you be a darling and reserve Law's table!? I can smell him approaching!"
She could what? Law could hear Luffy chuckling.
And just like that, Nami stuck her head out from the top of the steps, words still streaming out of her mouth, "I didn't think he'd come this earl—" The woman stopped her attempt to hurry down the stairs as soon as she saw the three men coming upstairs. She was barefoot, wearing her short cafe maid uniform, the white blouse still untucked and top half of the jumper skirt still hanging off her waist.
"L-L-Law…!?"
Law didn't even try to say anything to the woman. He wasn't even keen on telling her how he could see the laces of her bra from the top of her almost bursting blouse.
How could he have known? He should have been more suspicious with how she always, always had a seat for him when he came over. Eight out of ten times, he had his space reserved. On any occasion that it was occupied, Law always, always had a space for himself. He almost never had to wait for table, which he chalked up to impressive customer service, not supernatural skill. Who would have thought that was because someone could actually smell him approaching? Her words exactly, not his.
"W-what are y—!"
She continued watching them approach.
"Yeeeaaah. Awkward, Nami." Zoro waved for her to move and make way, " Awkward."
The girl moved to one side, still looking shocked.
"Hi, Nami!" Luffy piped with small quick waves as they reached the top of the steps.
"Luffy?!" She exclaimed, looking even more surprised. And wasn't that silly? Luffy was in front. She should've noticed him first. The ginger-haired woman immediately checked the watch that she probably bought from the accumulated tips Law had given her (yeah, he felt a bit spiteful over giving his money to demons), "B-but it's morning…!" She looked up at Luffy then at Zoro and then back at Luffy. "And…! Wait…! "
Law wished that pause was because she remembered that she needed to fix her uniform. Judging by how she was eyeing him right now, that might not just be the case.
"Y-You." Nami pointed to Luffy. "And you." She pointed to Law.
Luffy waved again, chuckling as he grinned widely. Law rolled his eyes away.
"You guys…" Nami's hands covered her mouth, looking frantically between Law and his incubus, "Oh my god." She ran a hand through her hair, eyes going wide like she wanted to wake up right fucking now, "Oh my god!"
"Yeah." Luffy again, "So you can stop smelling my human from now on, thank you."
Nami grunted and maybe Law should've paid more attention to how Zoro stepped to the side because in one instant, the orange-haired girl was gone. Or maybe she was nothing but the blur of orange and flesh and black that passed by Law moments before she was suddenly in front of Luffy with a fistful of his shirt—Law's shirt that Luffy was wearing—as she leaned forward as if to challenge the little incubus.
Holy shit!
"You selfish little punk, Luffy!" She shook him vigorously, "What have you done to my best tipping costumer!?"
"Excuse me!?" One of Luffy's hands grabbed her wrists in an attempt to remove her fingers, "I called dibs and everything as soon as I saw him!"
"More like did you have to bond him!?" The well-endowed girl shook even harder, "Did you!?"
"Fucking hell, Nami, not you, too." Zoro rubbed his temple impatiently, "Can't you even gauge, woman?"
"Shut up, Zoro." Nami snapped at him and Law thought he heard her hiss somewhere along that short sentence sentence, "What are you going to do if something happens to Law? Are you going to give me extra tips!? No? Stay out of this."
Law would've preferred a different reason other than "tips" for Nami to be concerned for his general well-being. Maybe it was just nice to know that all that money he tipped her wasn't for naught? But what was this woman talking about? What could happen to him?
"Hey." Law was talking before he could think of what he was going to say. The demoness swiftly turned her head towards him, her expression changing in one quick movement. She was suddenly beside Law, hands clasped together and lips curved into a sad pout.
"Oh, you poor, poor thing!" The empathetic face she was making was almost convincing with those watery eyes and scrunched eyebrows, "What did this stupid demon kid tell you for you to agree to a bond with him?"
"Actually..." Law considered taking a step back, "...It was an accident."
"I see, I see, it was an—an accident?" Nami turned and glared at Luffy again, "Is that your best excuse!?"
"It's not an excuse!" Luffy marched over and unceremoniously pushed himself in the little space between Nami and Law.
"He's not lying." Law felt the need to immediately say something as soon as Nami started to open her mouth to berate Luffy again, "I accidentally ensnared him."
Ensnared. Law used the word like he knew precisely what it meant. He sounded like he knew shit, which he didn't.
"What?" Nami and Zoro chorused.
"Okay, I left everything downstairs to Duval." Sanji's voice came from the stairs, "Did you guys start discussing without me?"
"No, not really. Not yet." The green-haired waiter replied before clapping for everyone to move, "Okay, children, sit down. Sit down."
As Zoro ushered them towards to one side of the room was the only time that Law was able to properly survey the floor they were on. It looked more like a simple apartment with a kitchen on one side and a living room with a sofa set and two bean bag chairs where Zoro was motioning for them to go to. Was this Nami's place? Or Zoro's? Sanji's? It didn't really allow much natural light, did it? The windows covered with thick curtains while the indoor lights were warm but dim.
Law was noting that the single door probably led to the bedroom when he felt himself being shoved onto one of the bean bag chairs. He fell with an "oof" and Luffy lost no time to throw himself next to Law, making both of them bounce and shift slightly as if riding a calm wave. The boy chuckled giddily, nudging closer, and grabbing one of Law's arms to wrap around his shoulders.
"I've decided to stay here." Luffy announced before Law could complain, putting his head on the man's chest, and draping an arm over his torso, "This is my spot."
"Oh my god, this is really happening." Nami sighed. She was wearing her uniform properly now as she brushed her hair while heading towards the refrigerator.
"No, I'm good. Thanks." Sanji was saying now and Law looked up just in time to see Zoro lean down and kiss the blonde man softly on the lips. Law modestly looked away. He kind of knew Zoro and Sanji were a couple although he never really gave it much thought let alone ask. But it felt weird actually confirming it for himself by seeing them kiss as Luffy nuzzled and hummed appreciatively next to him.
"Okay, Luffy." Sanji said from the kitchen amidst the sound of the burner being turned on with the clicking of a knob, "Start talking. What happened?"
"Well..." Luffy spoke from where he was without bothering to lift his head from Law's chest, "So last night, after I finished feeding, I went here so I could stalk Law. And then there was this guy—"
"Luffy." Nami said his name like a warning as she popped a beer can open. Next to her was Zoro who was bending and reaching into the refrigerator himself. She lifted the can to her lips but paused to offer it to Law who lifted his hand with a slight shake of his head to politely decline. He wanted to comment on how it's too early for beer, but didn't. Shrugging, the woman took two full gulps before started towards one of the sofa chairs, "Short version."
"But it's much, much cooler if you hear the whole story!" Luffy complained, actually taking some effort to turn his head, but not enough to detach himself from Law's skin, "I promise it's going to be a good story!"
No, it was going to be a long story if they left the retelling to Luffy. Law could only stand to be clueless and lost for so long.
"I got attacked last night." Law spoke immediately, making Luffy fidget and sit up, but Law was quick to respond by putting his hand over the boy's about-to-open mouth "Luffy jumped in and fought my attacker. He won and tried to eat me and next thing I know, I'm an unwilling, tattooed human host."
"Oh my god, Law!" Luffy removed Law's hand from his mouth, "I was supposed to tell the story!"
"It seems you skipped some important parts." Zoro was now holding a bottle of wine as he walked towards the small living room. The green-haired man dropped a six-pack can of beers on the coffee table as he let himself fall on the couch. That made Law want to comment again on how it was too early for beer, but he held his tongue.
"Yeah, tell them the important parts! The important parts!" Luffy's face was somewhere between excitedly expectant and disappointedly pissed, "Tell them how cool I was when I beat Bellamy!"
Perhaps Luffy had a different recollection of the story. Law never remembered him—or anyone for that matter—looking cool enough to merit a retelling. What Law remembered was being scared, confused, and somewhat pissed that he got called "baby" when he wanted to run.
"I was supposed to ask how he got the tattoos but…" Zoro was about to bring the bottle to his lips, "Who the fuck is Bellamy?"
That was all that Luffy needed to hear before he sat up quickly with sparkling eyes. He leaned eagerly towards Zoro who just started drinking, eyes still on Luffy.
"Okay, so you see when Law got out—"
Again, no. They absolutely didn't have time for more shit to be dragged on.
"I have no idea how I got them." Law shrugged, pulling Luffy back by the hood of his shirt so he fell back into the bean bag with a bounce on the spot beside Law.
"Aaargh! Noooo!" Luffy sounded betrayed. The boy hugged the man's torso tightly and buried his face in his human's chest while kicking his feet, "Why won't you tell them!? Why!? Would it kill you to be a little bit proud of me!?"
Nami rolled her eyes away.
"Luffy, it was a fucking one-sided fight. Bellamy couldn't even do shit to you." Law poked two fingers against Luffy's forehead, "The only reason you didn't kill him was because you didn't want to!"
"Wrooooong!" Luffy swatted Law's hand away from his face, "It was because I didn't want to kill in front of you!" Law sank into the bean bag when the little incubus unceremoniously shifted on top to straddle him. "You weren't even paying attention!" Luffy leaned forward, his weight on Law's stomach as he squished Law's cheeks between his palms, "Who were you looking at, huh!? Were you paying more attention to Bellamy than me!?"
"You were more of an immediate concern to me than Bellamy, you stupid asshole!"
Perhaps "Immediate threat" would have been a more appropriate term. Law's train of thought back then was that if he couldn't scratch Bellamy, there was no way he was going to do anything to Luffy. But maybe that message didn't come out right because it just made Luffy's eyes sparkly, cheeks pink, and mouth slightly open to form an amused "o". Yeah, maybe Law should've phrased that better.
"Actually, what I meant—"
"Oh, I know what you meeeeaaant…" Luffy hummed, leaning forward with another hug so he could put his head on Law's chest again, which made it obvious that he clearly did not know what Law meant. He was also smiling. Law couldn't see, but he just knew the little imp was smiling and pleased with himself. One of his fingers was playfully drawing little spirals on Law's arm as if it wasn't enough that it felt awkward being sandwiched by Luffy and the bean bag in front of three other people.
"Ohhhh my goood." Nami complained, a hand flying to her forehead, "They're such a riot already. My head hurts."
"See? Law can totally handle Luffy." Zoro shrugged with a smile, "I don't know what any of you were worried about."
"Oh, please." Nami took a few loud gulps from the beer can she was holding, "How about the fact that my best tipping customer has no idea how he claimed Luffy's marks despite having all of them? How's that for a start?"
Law really didn't like the title "best tipping customer". It made him sound like he got favors in exchange for giving Nami monetary benefits. Well, it was kind of like that except it sounded really inappropriate.
"Isn't the answer to that really simple?" Zoro waved her off as he crossed his legs, "That just means he has enough mana to take it and sustain it. Geez, Nami. So basic."
"Zoro, if you talk to Nami-swan like that again, I'm going to maim you with a frying pan." Sanji said from the kitchen. There was the smell of potatoes being fried dancing in the air along with other spices that Law couldn't figure. Nami chirped a nice "Thank you, Sanji". Zoro made a face.
"Can someone explain—Luffy!" Law moved his head away as soon as he felt Luffy's lips starting to pucker around his earlobe. Zoro laughed and Nami groaned again. The little incubus sighed in disappointment but went back to leaning on Law's chest.
"Nope, sorry. No one can explain Luffy." Zoro shook his head as if talking to himself. It wasn't clear if that was a bad attempt at sarcasm or an obvious display of stupidity. Law told himself not to comment on it and just stick to the issue at hand.
"Can someone please explain to me the basics of this tattoo transfer?"
"See? See?" Nami pointed with her open palm at Law, "Luffy didn't even tell him that."
"I did to!" Luffy was not moving from his spot and did not even bother to look at Nami, "I told him I was totally dependent on him now."
"Yeah, so basically nothing helpful." Sanji said again amidst sizzling sounds from the kitchen as he waved a spatula in the air.
"Uuurrrgh!" Nami proceeded to put her face in her hands in distraught, "My best tipping customer is getting fed on by a monster with an enormous appetite! How could I have let this happen!? How!?"
As much as how Law hated being called "best tipping customer" over and over again, it seemed it was his ticket to actually getting Nami to care for his situation. Sanji was kind of concerned for him. Adding Nami to his side wouldn't hurt, maybe. Besides, that little bit about "getting fed on by a monster with an enormous appetite" was pretty alarming. What did that even mean? Did Law even want to know?
"Don't worry about the tips." Law found himself saying now, "That doesn't have to change if I could just get to the bottom of everything so I can get back to my life."
Nami sat up, her face suddenly bright and relieved as she clasped her hands together.
"So… So you're not pissed at me? Like you're not going to deny me the tips or anything!?"
Really? That was her main concern?
Law shrugged.
"Unless you had a hand in getting me into this mess, why would I be pissed at you?"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Nami laughed, a hand flying to her chest with a relieved sigh. She giggled again and then loudly drank up the rest of her beer before slamming the empty can back down on the coffee table. "Okay. So now that that's out of the way, let's move on to helping my favorite customer with all the shit that Luffy was supposed to take care of but didn't."
"Favorite customer" sounded much better than "best tipping customer" any day. Luffy, on the other hand, didn't seem to quite think so judging by how he whipped his head towards Nami and looked threateningly at her.
"Nami, let me make it clear to you. He is mine and I'm going to take care of everything."
A normal woman would've been a bit timid or scared at being glared at by a monster, but not Nami. The woman just rolled her eyes away again with a sigh and a wave before reaching out for another beer can in the six-pack that Zoro had dropped earlier.
"No one's stealing him from you, lover boy." The beer can opened with a popping sound, "The last thing I need aside from bankruptcy is dependency on a host." The girl took a swig from her drink and lightly wiped the foam off her lips when Sanji approached with a large plate of potato mojos and dip. "This is just my way of thanking Law for his continuous patronage." Nami looked at the plate delightfully and immediately tried to take one, but recoiled, flicking her fingers upon realizing they were still hot. She pouted a bit and opted to take one more gulp from her beer can instead. "You see, Luffy, this is why you should have paid attention to Crocus."
"Who's Crocus?" Law was thinking out loud as Luffy shot forward to grab some of the fried potato goodness.
"Crocus was an old warlock we came across way, way, way back." Zoro reached for Sanji, but the man moved away from his hand, mouthing "dishes" before heading back to the kitchen. Zoro shrugged and leaned back on the couch, "He taught us lotsa shit about interacting with humans."
"Which Luffy barely paid attention to." Nami was finally able to take one of the mojos albeit still needing to blow on it and her fingers.
A warlock. They knew a warlock. Law felt even more hopeful that they could get rid of this bond so that he didn't have to live with these pesky tattoos. All he had to do was find this warlock and—
"Too bad he got eaten by a werewolf." Luffy said thoughtfully and put a whole mojo in his mouth.
Prior to this day, Law would've questioned the validity of the statement "got eaten by a werewolf", but maybe he should be worried more by how his only reaction to that was, "There goes my glimmer of hope." But that's that. He wasn't going to bother trying to resurrect a guy who was eaten by a werewolf. Sticking to the issue and being focused was not only easier, but also more plausible.
"With humans, you say." Law moved his head away as Luffy tried to feed him with a piece of fried potato while he was talking, "So… I take it you're...?"
"An incubus." Zoro said casually and then swallowed hard, "I'm an incubus."
Okay. Sure. Yeah. That made sense. This was why Zoro could afford to talk back to Luffy like he did. He was also a demon. The same kind of demon. It shouldn't have been surprising, but Law could feel his eyes widen as his head turned to Zoro who just lifted the wine bottle at him as acknowledgement. Luffy reached for one of the couch pillows and threw it at the green-haired man who kicked it away effortlessly, making it bounce towards Nami who in turn swatted it away with a surprised squeak. Zoro laughed and ginger-haired girl retorted by raising a middle finger at him.
"Sanji is his human." Luffy said as he crawled back to sit on Law's lap and tried to feed him potatoes.
Sanji. A human host. Now, that was much more intriguing. Did he get Zoro's tattoos, too? How? They were probably under his clothes since Law never saw any of it. Or maybe there was a way to hide them? He made a mental reminder to talk to Sanji later.
"Nami i—"
"I'm a succubus." Nami interjected half-gulp, putting her beer can on the coffee table, "But I work at Sanji's cafe so I can have my own money. A girl can never have enough money, after all. And unlike these two," She pointed to both Luffy and Zoro, "I don't have a human host. I only feed on men out of nature. The last thing I want is to be dependent on a single one. My goodness."
"Tss. You always have to work in the shade, though." Zoro said before drinking from his wine bottle. Nami made a face.
"When you said we were going to wait for someone at The Spirale," Law stretched his legs and pushed himself upward a bit so he didn't drown in the bean bag, "I didn't think you meant the employees."
"Well, I thought we had to wait for Nami and Zoro to finish with work and all that." Luffy was still poking Law's mouth with a potato mojo. The man just gave up, opened his mouth, and let Luffy feed him much to his incubus' glee. He was so happy, in fact, that he was already prepared to feed Law another one even as he was still chewing.
"Nami and Zoro? Not Sanji and Zoro?" Law raised an eyebrow before looking at the green-haired waiter chugging down his wine like it was water, "I mean, they have a bond, right?"
"Right, but it's not like Sanji's a warlock to know so much shit." Luffy nodded as he bit on one mojo and just tossed the remaining half into Law's mouth much to the man's surprise. He didn't choke, thankfully. The boy reached out for one of the beer cans, but Law jerked his leg to get Luffy's attention and shook his head slightly. The boy shrugged but said nothing else.
"But he did take Zoro's…" Law wasn't sure what to call them. He'd never seen any markings on Sanji. But still, he wasn't entirely sure, "Well… Something… right?"
"Something." Nami half-laughed as she shook her can to make sloshing sounds from within the possibly half-empty can. These demons liked drinking, don't they?
"Take?" Zoro put his feet on the coffee table. Sanji was quick to slap his ankles off it with a glare as he approached. The green-haired waiter was startled for a bit, but removed his feet from the surface, "Has is more accurate. I gave my markings to Sanji."
Sanji motioned to sit beside Zoro but something about seeing the beer cans made him stop, get up and walk back to the refrigerator.
"Gave?" Law sat up, one hand almost instinctively going to Luffy's waist to brace him as the incubus shifted so he was sitting on Law's leg.
"Gave." The blonde cook came back with two open bottles of orange juice, "It's not like I can take them if I wanted to. First of all, I don't know how." The blonde man handed the bottles to Law's small demon who took them with a wide smile and a "Thanks, Sanji".
"Well, neither did I." Law said with a sigh, taking one bottle from Luffy's hands, "But look where that got me."
"That bothers me a lot, you know." Nami said, using the beer can in her hand to point at Law and Luffy, "How is it an accident? Like how would reading and claiming a demon's name be an accident? Is it even possible to accidentally learn how to read?"
"If I had answers, I wouldn't be here." Law took one gulp from his bottle as Luffy started chugging down his own, one big swig after the other, "I can't even see tattoos on Sanji while I have a fuckton of Luffy's all over me."
"You took them all." Luffy finished up the last of his juice and placed the now empty bottle on the table, "I don't see how it's my fault."
"Yeah, but did you need to have this much?" Law sighed and pointed with his open hand at Zoro, "I don't see any marks on Zoro or Sanji for that matter. I, on the other hand," Law flicked a finger on Luffy's forehead, "Am literally covered in yours."
"Because Luffy's insanely strong." Sanji said as he finally settled down beside Zoro who put an arm around his human's shoulders, "I can't even imagine how you managed to get all of those marks and transfer them onto you."
I read them, Law wanted to say, but that wouldn't make much sense. And he really wasn't sure if "read" was the appropriate term. Like Nami said, no one accidentally learns how to read. It was more like the tattoos spoke to him. Or called out to him? Submitted? Law guzzled some orange juice as he tried to think.
"To give you an idea, a demon's marks are his identity." Nami said as she eyed the plate of mojos, pushing around the pieces with one finger like a picky little girl, "No two demons have the same mark."
"So it's like a fingerprint?"
"You could call it that except demon marks are more useful." The wine bottle was totally empty when Zoro put it down, "Humans are silly. Can't even read their own fingerprints without—"
"Shut up, Zoro." Nami talked over him, waving like he didn't matter. Zoro didn't look offended as he chewed on two pieces of potato mojos and Nami continued talking, "It's a bit more complicated than a finger print. Once your marks are on another being other than yourself—"
"It starts eating that person." Zoro casually reached for a beer can but thought better of it.
"Excuse me?"
Obviously, that didn't sound positive. Law looked at his fingers immediately just to be sure if his skin was trying to corrode without him knowing it.
"Zoro, you're scaring him!" Luffy exclaimed, motioning to throw a mojo at Zoro had Sanji not sent him the sharpest warning glare of the day. The boy took his hand back and tried to feed the potato mojo to his human instead, "Don't listen to him, Law. My tattoos on you are fine. It just means I'm going to take care of you from now on. Now say, aah!"
"Again, don't listen to these blundering, misleading fools." Nami sighed, scratching her head and Law couldn't blame her, "It's more like… Whoever is wearing the mark is supposed to supply its original owner with mana."
"Mana?"
Law had to stop himself from saying "Like magic points?"
Luffy was still trying to feed him the fried potato. The man just moved his head away without peeling his eyes from Nami as he shoved his orange juice bottle into Luffy's hands. That served as a good enough distraction. The boy made an excited sound and murmured something before chugging down on the sweet drink. Nami took some sips of beer before pausing a bit to think.
"It's like this." She put the beer can down like it was distracting her, "Us demons are incapable of producing our own life source so we survive on fresh human blood. Among all the other things a human possesses, blood has the purest form of life essence. Mana."
"Actually, eating human innards is an option," Zoro was saying with his mouth full of mojos as Sanji popped open a beer can for himself, "But that's going to kill the human and having a lot of those occurrences will get us hunted down. So we don't do that. I mean just look at history."
Leave it to a demon to talk about eating human entrails while stuffing his mouth with pieces of fried potatoes. Who knew this was one of the things med school had prepared Law for?
"Fucking hell Zoro, can you just—!" Luffy now motioned to throw the empty juice bottle at Zoro, but Sanji glared at him again although less meaner this time. Luffy grunted and put the bottle on the table before turning back to Law, "Don't listen to that fucking cactus cyclops. I'm not going to eat your guts."
"Baaaaaaack to the topic on haaaaand." Nami threw an empty beer can that bounced off Luffy's head. Law looked at Sanji who didn't even shrug as Nami continued talking, "So all humans have mana but some of them tend to have more or better quality mana than others."
"Like Sanji." Zoro butt in, patting Sanji on the head.
"And you!" Luffy flung his arms around Law.
Both humans in the room exchanged awkward looks of "I feel like a pet".
"Yes, well…" Nami sighed with an impatience-laden voice as she ran her fingers across her eyebrow as if to soothe a migraine worm that's crawling across her forehead, "This allows humans to become an important source of life for demons like us. By nature, we are parasites. But this is where these bonds come in."
Law leaned forward, nodding. This is what he came here for. Nami's going to get extra tips for this.
"A human who is able to acquire and sustain the marks of a demon will become said demon's only source of life essence in exchange for the demon's services. Or loyalty. It depends." Nami thoughtfully traced the rim of the beer can with her finger as she spoke, "The exact conditions of the bond can vary. What's important for you to know is that the demon has to be fed in exchange for something. These conditions always exist. It's the backbone of the bond."
"So Zoro and Sanji's condition—"
"That's a bit personal." Sanji interrupted Law, "What you only need to know is that Zoro gave me his marks. The contract was initiated by him, but I had to agree to it before it could take effect. We're equals. Once the conditions are no longer met, the contract will dissolve on its own."
"It's never going to break." Zoro took Sanji's beer can and lifted it to his lips, "I've told you that a couple of times"
"Yeah, but…" Sanji reached for his can, but Zoro ignored him and just started to drink the beer. The blonde barista grumbled, but decided not to complain, "Law needed to know the kind of bond we have so he understands we're not on the same boat."
Wait, what? They didn't have the same bond? What, there were different kinds of contracts now? So what kind of contract did he have with Luffy? What did he even gain from all this?
"The difference is that Zoro gave his identity to Sanji." Luffy said, shifting so he was leaning on Law's chest, "You stole mine."
"And I said you can have them back." Law's chin rested on top of Luffy's head as he tried to look down.
"And I said…" The boy took both of Law's hands and put it on his stomach like some kind of seat belt, "...They won't even respond to me when I called them back."
"Which only means that Luffy has no say in breaking the contract." Nami finally said. She had picked up her beer can again.
Luffy had no say in the contract? What did that even mean? It felt like it took Nami forever to tip her head back and guzzle what's left of her beer.
"Luffy is a familiar snared against his will." Nami licked some beer foam off her lips before looking at Law,"This bond can only be broken from your side."
"How do I do that?"
"You undo the ensnaring." The girl said like it was the most normal thing in the world. Oh, what wouldn't Law give for that to be the case?
"And how do I do that?"
Law sounded more impatient than he thought he was.
"Well, for that, you ask a warlock, which I am not." Nami threw herself back on the chair, her arms resting on either side as she slid down so she was slouching, "The only one I know is already dead. So I'm sorry, I can't help you there, favorite customer."
"What if we recreate the scenario when Law stole the tattoos?" Sanji was munching on a mojo, "Would that work?"
Oh. Yeah. Maybe? Was that worth trying?
"No," Luffy said with a tone of finality as he wiggled so that he fell between Law's legs instead of sitting on his lap, "I'm not going to have Law be attacked by Bellamy or anyone again unless that someone is willing to be murdered by me."
Law didn't really want to agree with Luffy for the sake of pride, but he really couldn't refute that. He was trying to gather enough courage to say that he was willing to risk it if it meant being rid of this ridiculous bond, but every fiber in his body was against it. Trauma was a bitch.
"Well, in any case, you need a warlock." Nami sighed, waving a hand. Law threw himself back so he was lying on the bean bag. His arms loosened around Luffy who was awkwardly sliding off his human host.
A tattooed hand came up to cover the man's eyes in frustration. They had to find a warlock. Where the fuck do they find a warlock in this day and age? It's not like they could just post an online ad or put up wanted posters and wait for someone to come knocking on their door. And even if they did try that, the chances of phonies showing up at their doorstep was much too high. Law was going to be convicted for homicide before he got out of this bond with Luffy.
"Looks like you're going to be stuck with each other for a while." Nami pushed herself forward and tapped the blonde man's knee, "Hey, Sanji, maybe you could show Law that meal plan you have so he doesn't go anemic and all that."
"Oh." Sanji blinked like he wasn't paying attention earlier, "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea." Zoro chuckled and lovingly placed a kiss on Sanji's head. Luffy made a small interesting noise before crawling back up so he could lie down on Law.
"Sating Luffy's appetite will obviously be quite a burden." Sanji stood up and started gathering the empty cans and bottles from the table. Zoro took his empty wine bottle and headed towards the kitchen with Sanji who chuckled, "I mean, look at you. You haven't been together for twenty-four hours and you already look fatigued."
"Yeah. That would be helpful. Thanks." Law covered his eyes with his arm, the back of his mind still wondering about the possibility of finding a warlock and the consequences of living with an incubus for the rest of his life, "I'm already so exhausted and I haven't even given him blood yet."
"Excuse me?" The surprised tone from Sanji made Law remove his arm so he could look at other people in the room. Nami tilted her head, her hand stopping from dipping the mojo she was holding between her fingers.
"Law, what did you say?" Sanji was slowly putting the empty cans on the kitchen counter, eyes not leaving Law. Zoro picked up the cans and threw them one by one into the trash bin.
"I haven't—"
Law could feel Luffy pull up the hood of his shirt as he curled up, nudging closer against his human.
"No, we heard." Nami interrupted, inching forward so that she was at the edge of her seat, "It's just that… why?"
"Why?" Law tried to push himself up on his elbows, but Luffy's weight on him and the softness of the bean bag didn't really allow him to do much.
"Law, weren't you listening? You have to feed Luffy if you're wearing the marks." Nami dropped the mojo back onto the plate, "If you fail to feed Luffy, his name on your skin will poison your blood!"
AN: "I just found out there's no such thing as the real world. Just a lie you got to rise above." —No Such Thing by John Mayer
Sorry this took more than a week to get posted! This chapter underwent so many revisions and I'm sorry if it's too long, but I just really couldn't split it!