Chapter 10: Possession

The problem with having an incubus, Law learned, was that the whole relationship was very emotionally and sexually volatile. Just a while ago, they were lying on the rooftop flooring, ignoring the harsh sunlight as Law thoughtfully felt Luffy's hair against his fingers. The boy was curled next to him, head on his shoulder, a hand over his torso, and one leg over Law's own. But sometimes, things happen, you know? Something must have happened in the next five minutes. It could have been Luffy's curious hand wandering all over Law's torso or Law's warm breath against Luffy's skin or just… sparks. Law couldn't figure when it started. One second, they were being cute and sentimental with a gentle "I missed you". The next second, they were trying to devour each other's mouths, cursing in between.

The build up of their sexual tension was something like a gentle breeze that just spun itself into a raging tornado out of nowhere in the blink of an eye.

So now Law was pinning Luffy down, drinking his delicious moans, tongue brazenly sliding into the incubus' hot and willing mouth, and if Luffy started grinding against him now, he'd be gone. Law should be questioning his actions at the moment. Even the sun seemed to be glaring disappointedly at him. In fact, both he and Luffy were already sweating profusely, which should be gross and icky by normal standards, but that just made Law want to take their clothes off. And that was an absolute ticket to them fucking on the goddamn open rooftop, which could then very much grant Law an expulsion and a public indecency lawsuit.

But. But! Luffy was just so good at this that Law was starting to understand what "sexual demon" actually meant. All Luffy had to do was brush his lips against Law's the right way and the man in him would be so fucking thirsty for more.

When had kissing been so damn good?

"Law, no, please…" Luffy was breathlessly calling him back as soon as he started to pull away to catch his own breath, "Please, I still…"

Fuck, how was he to resist that? Law brought his mouth down again with Luffy sighing contentedly, pulling his human closer as his fingers started undoing the top buttons of Law's shirt.

"Hey, no." Law swatted Luffy's hand, but the boy was insistent and his small hand quickly moved away from his human's limited reach between their bodies. It expertly snaked under Law's now untucked clothes—when did that happen?—one palm sliding against the man's sides. And oddly enough, although Luffy was the one doing the touching, he was also the one shuddering with a low whisper, "Oh, sweet hell, please, let me lick your skin. Please."

Good god, what was with all the begging? They were just making out. What the hell?

"Luffy, wait, stop." Law pulled away even as Luffy chased with lips against his neck. He felt for the medical patch he placed on the hickey. It was starting to wrinkle and it was going to come off his skin if he perspired any more.

"But, why?" It was a very needy whine that had Law fighting every urge inside him to just pull down their pants and quickly fuck him on the roof, "No one's here. I can even scream for you and no one will know."

God. Fucking. Dammit. Luffy should stop making offers like that out of the blue. It caught Law off-guard almost a hundred percent of the time. The only reason why he did not look like a stupid, startled dog when it happened was because he had a very good sense of awareness to quickly gather his thoughts and have composure.

"Anyone could come up here any time." Law sat up quickly. He had to will himself from getting turned on by the little inconsiderate demon who was now trying to straddle him, "Luffy!"

"Please, Law."

Tattooed hands immediately landed on Luffy's hips before he could start grinding against his human. The incubus groaned, his thighs twitching, hands clutching onto Law's shoulders and wrinkling the material of his shirt.

"Laaaaaw…!"

"No." Law told him firmly and he was glad he did so before Luffy looked up. His lips were still glistening wet from the kissing, cheeks flushed pink. There was also something about sweat trickling down his neck that made him a bit more... wantable. And as Law observed the rising and falling of his chest, he entertained the thought of how he could make Luffy breathe heavier than that.

Inappropriate, Trafalgar Law. Shame on you. You're on an open rooftop. Breathe the fucking air. It's free.

The man took a deep breath before looking at the broad horizon behind Luffy. It was a good attempt on trying to use serenity to calm his dick down. Really. Like erection zen, which was a stupid name, but if its silliness helped in shooing away arousal then Law was taking that. After all, resisting an incubus was not humdrum.

"See?" Luffy murmured, inching closer, like a predator smelling blood "You want this."

"No, I don't." Law kept his hands firmly on Law's thighs, but didn't pushing him away.

Luffy leaned forward and licked the base of Law's neck, right between the collar bone. His human flinched with a sound that seemed to be a whimper and a moan forcefully being swallowed with embarrassment. Luffy snickered and looked up with only his eyes moving to see the faintly red hue splashing on Law's cheeks. His human was so cute when he was flustered. Luffy wanted to taste him.

"Can I feed, at least?"

That prompted Law to look at Luffy almost instantly. Feed? In the middle of the rooftop? In broad daylight? Last time he tried to feed his demon, he came in his pants. He was fully clothed and grinding against Luffy until he orgasmed with more intensity than dry humping should ever be capable of. And he wanted that now? In the middle of the day? On university grounds? What a really hot ide—day. It was a hot day and the scorching sun was affecting Law's rational thinking.

"Please? I missed you." Luffy's round eyes started turning into those begging pools of cuteness. His lips started pouting in that small puckered shape that made Law's stomach hurl itself towards his lungs, "Just a little blood, I promise."

Well, if it's just a peck or something then maybe Law could…Wait, no. He can't. Mustn't. He just survived his predicament with . He shouldn't get his foot in another tentative quicksand. Plus his demon gave him how many blowjobs in the wee hours of the morning. That was so fucking draining! Luffy had no business asking to be fed so soon after doing such a thing!

Oh, but the incubus was already shifting forward so slowly on Law's lap like he meant no harm. That just made Law all the more alert to his movements—how he placed one palm against Law's chest, right above his heavily beating heart; how his other hand slowly undid the second button on Law's shirt, carefully and somewhat innocently letting his fingers scrape against the skin underneath; how he was breathing against Law's ear, his mouth barely touching, just enough to tempt.

"May I?"

He even had the courtesy—or was it audacity?—to ask.

"Well, you're already there." Law tried to sound sassy and pissed while trying to sound like he was breathing normally, too.

Luffy chuckled, pressing his face against Law's neck and inhaling deeply to make his human shudder. He flicked his tongue once, twice, and Law wondered if that was his demon's version of anesthesia. Fuck, with his mind undistracted, feeling the fangs on his skin must be like being shot from point blank range.

Except it wasn't.

Law could feel Luffy's teeth sinking into his skin. The lack of pain was confusing to his logical mind. He would probably never understand how getting bitten by an incubus felt so good despite being so simple. It was like blissful penetration after a long and drawn out foreplay session.

Despite the sun's sweltering heat, Law could still feel and welcome the warmth of Luffy's tongue licking the blood off his skin. Law closed his eyes, gasping once and moaning at the same time as he felt his whole persona being swept into a wave of quiet, relaxing pleasure. His joints were turning into jelly, but Luffy's strong arms were there to support him. He held Law gently like he was something that was going to break. Tattooed fingers curled, digging into Luffy's thighs as the man made slow, but deep inhales for air with some moaning in between. So damn relaxing. So fucking good. Law wasn't sure if he wanted to tip his head back or lean forward against Luffy, but the whole thing was over before he could decide. He almost wanted to whimper.

Law had braced himself to be aroused like a sex-deprived man, but that didn't happen. The whole thing was like a calm wave rocking him to sleep.

"Thanks for the meal." The little demon whispered, gently pushing Law's head so it was on Luffy's shoulder before gently kissing Law on the temple. That felt good.

"I haven't even had lunch yet." Law groaned, not moving from where his forehead was still plastered on his small boyfriend's shoulder. Luffy chuckled, breathing into his human's hair. Law carefully slid his arms around Luffy's waist because it felt right and comfortable. The question of why it felt so was kicked towards some corner of his brain. He'd deal with it later.

"Well, it's never too late to have food."

"It is too late."

"Aww." Luffy whispered again. Lovingly, Law noted, causing his mind to circle back to the question of whether demons could differentiate between love and fondness. Luffy's small hand lightly ran through Law's hair, trailing carefully down the back of his neck, sliding soothingly down his spine, and then back up to his hair again in a very rhythmical kind of stroking. There was just enough pressure and gentleness to make Law release an uncharacteristic purr. His demon seemed to be pleased by that sound, Law thought. Just one of the things he just knew without knowing how.

"You want me to get you something really quick?" Luffy offered, speaking softly and carefully like he didn't want to disturb the human he was sitting on.

"I brought lunch." Law sighed before groaning again, "Urgh, Bonney has it. We heated it earlier but it's fucking cold by now, god dammit. I'm going to reheat it again and it's going to taste like dead tree roots. I can't believe this. I give up. I am such a failure at this food planning shit and I wasted Sanji's time with that—"

"Woah, woah, slow down, precious." Luffy pulled back so he could cup Law's cheeks and squeeze his face together so that he puckered like a fish, "It's just cold lunch. You're not going to hell."

"Fair-ure." Having a squishy face was not going to stop Law from glaring at his demon.

"No, perfect." Luffy smiled and kissed his nose, "Wait here. I'm getting you lunch."

When Luffy came back five minutes later holding a big dead rat by the tail, Law realized with horror that Luffy's idea of getting lunch was hunting. Wherever Luffy got that rat, Law had no clue, but it was so fucking huge that his initial reaction was to jump away with a surprised, uncharacteristic yelp.

"What is that!?" There was an urge to cling onto the wire fence to keep him from cringing. He'd seen dead things before in a more gruesome manner, but none of those were presented for him to be eaten.

"Lunch!"

"Luffy, it's a rat!" Law all but yelled, teeth grit and eyes widened. He was supposed to say "I don't want it!" But Luffy's beaming face was like a puppy's waiting to be praised after coming back with a stick. It forbade Law to just blatantly reject the dead thing that his demon had brought for him.

But it was a rat, god damn it!

"So? Does it matter? It's meat." Luffy held out his arm with the dead carcass swinging from his hand and Law didn't stop himself from taking a cautious step back, "If it's dead, it's meat and humans can cook it. If it's cooked, humans can eat it."

Law did not know what to say. The expression on his face, however, was probably telling a story on its own because Luffy felt the need to add to his explanation to make him sound more credible.

"Sanji does it all the time." Luffy stated like he was being convincing, "I mean, have you seen a dead chicken?"

Maybe Law needed to educate Luffy on what it meant to properly feed a human being.

"And you need to eat right now." The incubus pouted, a worried expression crawling over his previously bright features, "Humans are frail. I need to take care of you."

"Yeah, but…" Law sighed in defeat, thinking of a quick way to reject the rat without breaking Luffy's heart that Law shouldn't even care about, but then that face.

"Luffy, you see," Law scratched his head, "Sanji drafted that meal plan for me because I needed it for my blood."

"Oh." Luffy's shoulders dropped with a downcast expression, lowering his arm slowly, "I guess this isn't what you needed, then?"

Oh, no. No. Not that face. Not that kind of face.

Luffy had to stop doing these expressions that made Law do stupid things like actually considering turning the dead rat into something edible. But he was neither a cook nor a survival expert. He also had no time to disinfect, skin, disinfect, prepare, disinfect, and make disinfected stew or whatever out of it. And yet he really, really couldn't just toss it out. Because Luffy went through the trouble of catching the damned thing for him in five minutes. But it was a rat. Couldn't he have gotten a rabbit? Not that Law had the time to skin a rabbit, but a rat? Really? He should be cursing the fuck out of this bloody thing while puking his guts out. Yet he wasn't. What was wrong with him? He didn't even know what to do with it!

Doctor Hiluluk did, however. He had a fondness for studying dead animals and honestly, Law did, too. Except the old doctor made use of methods that were both amazing and downright weird to Law. He didn't know whether or not that was a good thing.

After stuffing the dead rat in a bag that Luffy quickly found for Law ("Are you sure you didn't steal this?"), the two headed back down so Law could get his already cold lunch from Bonney. She wasn't keen on surrendering the lunch until Law told them what happened, though. The transition of his friends from worried to relieved was like finding out that Law had received pardon after being on the death row. These three may be idiots, but at least they were idiots who cared.

With no time to mingle or reheat his lunch, Law headed straight to the infirmary to have his meal at the workplace. It wasn't like he could send Luffy home or ask anyone to pick him up so his only choice was to take his incubus with him. And Luffy seemed to have the time of his life skipping from the grounds to the clinic. He was humming the entire way with this fingers intertwined with Law's. It made the man feel a bit conscious, but there was no use fretting about it now. They were "in a relationship" after all. And Luffy's happy face was just… what was another, less mushy term for cute? Luffy's happy face was that.

Doctor Hiluluk was the only man Law knew who would be this delighted about receiving a dead rat. He immediately welcomed them in and got a jar for his "gift" before he started yapping about something. Law really couldn't understand because he was busy texting Sanji about finding Luffy or rather, Luffy finding him. Sanji had texted back almost immediately with, "Yours has GPS? Lucky." To which Law replied with, "Install one on yours?" and got a reply of "Tried. Incompatible with moss lol". Texting was fun now.

Law's incubus, on the other hand, had went ahead and introduced himself to the doctor. He was more than happy to describe how he got the rat and where. Because of that, Doctor Hiluluk was more than happy to let him hang around the infirmary. Or laboratory. Because infirmaries weren't supposed to have shelves with a dead rat in a jar. Law had decided to put the horrific thing in the cabinet before resuming his lunch just like that. Either med school forged his guts into iron or he was a really twisted son of a bitch.

"So…" Luffy was saying now as Law settled back on the chair next to him, "This will make him want me like there's no tomorrow?"

That didn't sound good. Law looked to see Luffy holding a bright round orange candy-looking thing about the size of a grown man's thumb. The doctor had given it to Luffy in exchange for the dead rat. Great. First, the self-made condom. Now he had some sort of aphrodisiac candy drug.

"Well, it depends." Doctor Hiluluk began with enough confidence that made Luffy lean forward in interest, "There are different ways that you—"

"Doc, seriously, stop teaching him these things." Law was poking around the beef on his cold lunch, "You're not a peddling witch doctor."

Said "not peddling witch doctor" then leaned towards Law as Luffy watched intently.

"Then look me in the eye and tell me there's no medicine to increase a man's libido."

That argument? Really? Sometimes Law wondered why this man was hired and considered to be one of the most reliable doctors around. Sure, he had skill despite unorthodox methods, but still, there should be a limit to how silly a professional should be. Doctor Kureha was more tolerable, but it didn't mean she didn't have her own dose of crazy. Maybe this university had a penchant for hiring "avant-garde" doctors.

"I'm not saying it's impossible," Law was fending off the strong urge to roll his eyes away, "What I'm saying is—"

"Oooohhh, so this could work!?" Leave it to Luffy to see the bright side of even an incomplete sentence.

"Verily." Hiluluk nodded and Luffy practically inhaled and giggled at the same time.

"Luffy," Law chewed on his beef and broccoli before swallowing and poking at the rest of it again, "Do you realize that this does not mean I will be attracted to you?"

The little demon's face was swept with a look of fright, covering his mouth as he made a disbelieving gasp of worry and alarm.

"You mean…!" Luffy leaned towards Law, one hand holding onto the man's arm, "You mean this could make you cheat on me!?"

Law just shrugged to keep things interesting. Let him figure it out.

And Luffy did try to. The curious incubus sat there, looking between Law and the orange ball in his hand for a while, murmuring something that was nothing more than a buzz. Law pretended to be more interested in his uninteresting beef and broccoli until Luffy spoke up, "Well, if I lock us up in a room, you're not going to have a choice, are you?"

Law just glared at Luffy. That wasn't the issue.

God damn it, Luffy.

"Ooo, Law chose a smart one." Penguin nodded approvingly from the other end of the room where he was sitting between Bonney and Shachi on one of the infirmary beds.

"You mean an evil scheming one." Shachi adjusted his hat as Bonney stuffed her face with potato chips, burping before she added, "Like himself."

"Verily!" Luffy smiled widely at all of them like he received some sort of big compliment. Doctor Hiluluk laughed heartily.

"Stop encouraging him!" Law slammed his palm on the table, whipping towards his friends, "Why are you all even here!?"

"No more class for me today." Shachi shrugged, pulling back his bag that was about to fall off the table next to the bed they were sitting on. It fell anyway.

"Same!" Penguin raised his hand, accidentally elbowing Shachi as he bent to pick up his bag.

"Done with class and no SA stuff scheduled today." Bonney leaned back as she tipped the open plastic bag towards her face so the smaller bits would fall into her open mouth. Why won't she ever stop eating? She was going to get crumbs all over that bed and Law had to check that later. Fucking hell. He took back the night thought he had for his friends. They were idiots who barely cared. Stupid people.

"Well, that doesn't mean you should stay here, does it?" Law shoved a spoonful of his lunch into his mouth because it didn't look like it was being consumed at all, "This is an infirmary. Not a lobby." Law stood up and refilled his empty glass via the water dispenser, "You're going to contaminate everything!"

"Law, we're not running any quarantine program." The doctor had trace of laughter in his speech as he watched his student assistant return to the small table while drinking, "You can calm down."

"See?" Bonney crumpled the plastic and threw it into the bin nearby, "The doctor's fine with it!"

"Well, it's still…" Law put his glass down and picked up his lunch only to find an orange something peeking from under his food. Oh, what on earth could that be? The man grunted and turned to the incubus beside him. He had suddenly and conveniently fallen asleep with his head on the table. How convenient.

"Luffy, what is this orange thing doing in my food?"

The demon's response? Snoring.

Law put the lid back on his lunch.

"I'm throwing this away."

"No, don't!" Luffy jolted right up, hands shooting out to grab Law's lunch, but Law was faster—for now, and a rare occasion, too—and he held up the microwavable container with his lunch along with the abominable orange libido poison. The demon chased after him, but Law immediately took big strides backward and away from him.

"Give it back! It's mine!" Luffy yelled impatiently, stomping as he followed Law with his eyes, "It was traded for the rat!"

"Stop screaming!" Law had practically hollered back, which was contrary to what he was saying as he walked quickly away from Luffy, "This is an infirmary, not a playground!"

"I'm giving you a chance to give it back to me!", Luffy stomped again, glaring at Law, "Don't make me do things, Law! I'm fucking telling you! "

"Try it." Law squinted at him, "Try anything I don't like and you're going to starve even if that means I'm going to feel like shit."

Luffy gasped with eyes wide open as if to say, "You wouldn't." That just made Law glare harder and say, "Don't you fuck with me. You know I'll do it."

Luffy gasped louder. There was a low "oooh" from Shachi.

"You're no fun, Law!" the demon was gesturing to grab Law before covering his face with his hands in frustration, "You're really no fun!"

"You know what's fun?" Bonney had pulled out a pack of crackers from her bottomless bag, "Watching Law interact with his boyfriend."

"Yeah, I can do this all day." Shachi nodded as his arm extended towards the crisp sound of plastic only to find that it wasn't open yet. The man in the oversized hat sighed and took it out of Bonney's hands so he could open it himself.

"I don't even know what they're talking about." Bonney mumbled as she watched Shachi get some crackers so he could hand the rest of it back to her, "It's like watching a reality show."

"Couples tend to have weird internal discussions most of the time." Penguin, on the other hand, was waiting for Shachi to take his hand out of the cracker bag so he could get some of it himself.

"I agree." Doctor Hiluluk laughed and got up to pour hot water for himself, "You know, Law is like this infirmary. Rarely lively."

"Maybe that's what Luffy is for." Bonney said again, watching her friend bicker with his small, but loud boyfriend. The old man laughed as he dunked the tea bag into the small cup and headed towards the window near the bed that the three were sitting on, "It sure is nice to be surrounded by you energetic young lot."

"Luffy," Law was growling, "I swear if you—!"

Three knocks on the door sent Law to silence and made Doctor Hiluluk stop from sniffing his tea. There was a significant sound of the clinking ceramic as the doctor gently placed the cup back on the saucer.

"Um? Excuse me?"

The infirmary door opened slightly and everyone except Luffy had turned to see a young college girl peeking shyly into the room. Law looked distracted for a bit, allowing Luffy to jump forward and grab the plastic container with a triumphant, "Hah!" The demon looked up smugly with the intention of gloating, but that immediately disappeared as soon as he saw his human's expression.

Law's overall aura had changed in an instant. He was fluid but rigid and the air around him suddenly turned serious. His attention was focused on the person at the door. Not mad, not happy. Just… attentive?

Huh? He'd never seen Law look like this before.

Luffy turned his attention to the newly arrived girl. Did Law know her?

"May I help you?" his human asked in an intonation that Luffy almost didn't recognize.

Huh? Huh? Luffy started blinking. Since when did Law speak like that? It was smoother than usual, not so monotone but so… So… Luffy couldn't find the term. It was like the voice salesmen used in the mall except Law was far less cheery and more… Rigid? Serious? Fluid? He sounded like a very competent person, too. Like you'd believe anything he'd say because you knew he was... qualified? Argh, what was the word? Why was he so dumb? Luffy really couldn't put a finger on the term as he stepped to the side so Law could pass. The demon followed with his eyes, eagerly watching his human take calm, elegant strides towards the infirmary visitor.

"Do you have…" The girl said softly as she entered, closing the door lightly behind her. The sounds spilling from the hallway died down.

"Do you have aspirin, doctor? I mean… I mean, sir… Um... " She looked consciously at the other people in the room before looking up at the approaching student assistant, "I have a headache and…"

Doctor? Luffy tilted his head. He looked at Doctor Hiluluk. He was drinking tea. Huh? Law was a doctor?

"How are you feeling?" Law put his palm on her forehead and then the back of his hand on her neck. Her breath hitched almost unnoticeably as Law kept talking, "You don't seem to have a fever. Are you feeling dizzy?"

Why did he touch her? Why was Law asking?

Luffy would've yelled for Law touching someone else, but he was too absorbed in his human's new demeanor to even be bothered to react.

"N-no." She shook her head, her cheeks flushed pink as she cleared her throat, "Just a headache, sir. Doctor. Um. I'm sorry, I just..."

The girl said "doctor", but, again, Law wasn't a doctor, was he? Maybe she was referring to Doctor Hiluluk? Again, no. She was looking at Law. She didn't even glance at the only real doctor in the room. And the old man didn't seem to care. He was just staring out the window, drinking his tea.

Luffy frowned a bit and then he sensed it. The human girl was here for Law. Luffy could easily smell her attraction to his human now that she was flustered.

All three of Law's friends were exchanging looks before they discreetly glanced at Luffy. He knew why, but he was too focused on observing his human to give a fuck about other people or the plastic box in his hand.

So was the girl trying to give Law a nickname? Well, she wasn't allowed to do that. Why was she doing that?

"It's fine. You don't have to call me anything." Law motioned for her to follow and Luffy smiled.

Yeah. Don't give him nicknames. You tell her, Law. Tell her.

"Anyway, come in."

Luffy frowned.

No! Send her away!

The girl quickly swept her eyes across the room as she trotted behind the young medical student. Law turned towards smaller desk beside the doctor's table and started to work on the laptop, "I need your name so I can check your record first."

Doctor Hiluluk made a weird sound as he continued looking out the window. Luffy could see Bonney waving at him from the corner of his eye.

"Luffy!" she was almost whispering. Why couldn't she just call him properly? "Luffy, come here for a sec!"

Luffy started towards the pink-haired girl. Penguin was mumbling something to Shachi. Luffy decided to not pay attention to that as he stood in front of Bonney. He made sure to angle himself so Law was still in his range of vision. His human was talking about class sections and majors. Nothing made sense to Luffy, but it sounded like a technical discussion, not a personal one.

"Are you bothered?" Bonney was asking now.

"About her?" Luffy nodded at the girl Law was talking to. Bonney nodded. Luffy let that question linger for a while as he stared at the human female who was attracted to his Trafalgar Law. She had beautiful curly brown locks tied back in a neat ponytail and her hazel eyes looked lively, but shy. Or was it only because she was staring at Law? It didn't matter. Luffy's eyes zoned in on his human. Contrary to the girl, Law was basically cool, calm, and… what was the term? One thing was clear, though. Now that Luffy paid attention, his human did not have any attraction to this new person.

"Not really, I guess." Luffy shook his head, "She doesn't seem like a threat."

Bonney sighed like she was relieved. What for? Penguin and Shachi were smiling. Again, what for? Humans were weird.

"That's the sixth girl today already." Doctor Hiluluk whispered, tugging Luffy's sleeve. Luffy didn't look, though. He was too busy observing Law.

His human was not touching the girl, but her amusement was overflowing. Luffy could almost hear her giggling from the inside. Her glittering, mesmerized eyes stared at his human as he smoothly explained something. And Law was smiling at her, like he would for a child. But, oh. Luffy hadn't seen that smile before and it irked him a bit how he'd missed it even after two weeks of stalking. Maybe two weeks wasn't that long after all.

The girl was smiling back, a bit meekly, like the only thing she wanted was for Law to look at her to make her day. And Luffy could relate somehow. Was he the same back then?

He shook his head. Things were different now.

But had Law ever smiled at him? At all? Luffy continued to wonder.

"Sixth?" Luffy mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, eyes still plastered on Law.

"Sixth of Law's... patients." Hiluluk said lowly and sarcastically with a snicker before noisily slurping his tea, "Before you youngsters came around, five came by earlier already and missed him."

"Oh. So you knew?" Luffy murmured back with a small smile of his own, "That's why you didn't speak up? You knew she's here for him."

The doctor winked and slurped more tea. Luffy laughed.

Sixth, he said. And that was in this place alone. It wasn't even surprising. To be honest, there were a lot more of these humans noticing Law while they were on the way here. Luffy was pretty sure Law noticed some of them, too. His human wasn't dumb. He just didn't care. Didn't even glance. Didn't even look away. Didn't even acknowledge those people in any way. Just didn't give a fuck. And Luffy felt some sort of pride in that.

It was an amusing thing, too. The interest in Law ranged from "have been smitten in the past and hoping for attention" to "taking a second look because he was hot". They weren't significant. Not in Luffy's book.

There wasn't anyone who actively tried to throw themselves at Law's feet and it wasn't like half the population was looking at Law but then they weren't few. The rough number of people who took notice of the gorgeous Trafalgar Law was enough to make Luffy hold onto his human's tattooed hand the entire time they were walking together. Not for security, though. He had bragging rights and he was going to flaunt it.

Yes, yes, you poor, little humans. Feast your eyes, but this one's taken. And all mine.

And he cackled like a maniac at the back of his head, imagining how he would like to be shoved by his charming host against the wall. He would be more than happy to make out heavily in front of other people. Heck, he was fine with having sex out in the open if that was Law wanted.

But this girl, though.

This girl.

Law had ignored everyone outside, but he was talking to this girl. Why? What made her different from any of them? Why was he nice to her although he wasn't attracted to her? Why?

"B-but, you know, Law never really pays more attention than he should to any of these people." Penguin mumbled, glancing at Shachi who immediately nodded like that would make it look more convincing, "He's just really professional."

"Professional?" Luffy blinked, "What's that?"

"It means… It means he's just really proficient and dedicated to his craft." Penguin explained and the way Luffy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion made Law's friend explain further, "Like he talks to them because he has to, not because he wants to. He entertains them in a way that is expected of him. He cares for his patients although he isn't a doctor yet because that's what being a doctor is about. At least for him." Penguin shrugged, "So… Professional."

"Oh." Luffy nodded. Maybe that was the word he was looking for. Professional. That made much more sense now. Law was just doing his job. Well, well, well, well! That was good news. Not that Luffy was worried. At all. Law was just so professional.

"And then there's god damn Kalif—ow!" Bonney flinched and dropped the cracker she was holding after Penguin elbowed her in the side. She glared at the young man who just glared back. They continued bickering in mumbles with Shachi joining in while shooting conscious glances at Luffy who could pretty much hear them—"Don't bring up Kalifa." "But he saw her already." "Yeah, but he doesn't know how bitchy she can be." "Well, he should."—while still just looking at Law.

It was nice and reassuring to know how Law's friends tried to look out for him. Luffy wanted to say thank you.

"Are you running low on sleep, miss?" Law's voice made its way to Luffy's attention, making him mentally repeat a mantra of how Law was just being "professional".

"A-ah… I… A bit, maybe." She smiled wanly. The frail little thing had a good-looking charmer in front of her and all she could do was look. Because Luffy was going to break her arm if she touched without permission.

"You're a freshman and this might be a bit too assuming since I don't know you..." Law was writing something, "...But don't overwork yourself. College isn't about studying until you die."

The happy flash in the girl's eyes was so bright when she heard that. Luffy wanted to yell, "He doesn't care the way you think he does!" But he shut up. Law wouldn't want to be interrupted. He was, after all, professional. Luffy liked that word, he decided.

"Y-yes…!" she stuttered, blushing wildly, "Th-thank you!"

Aww. She thought Law was somewhat concerned for her well-being. Luffy felt the need to point out that nope, this was part of his job. He wasn't about to tell her to take care of herself better just because he was worried about her. Law was not worried for her on a personal level. He was totally out of this girl's reach. Her sad fate was enough for Luffy to keep quiet. The poor thing.

But, seriously, if she touched, Luffy was going to break her arm and she was going from poor thing to broken thing to dead thing really fast.

"Take it easy." Law was holding a piece of paper now, "You seem stressed and jumpy. If you'd like, maybe the doctor could prescribe vitamins or something, too."

"Th-the doctor?" She looked at Doctor Hiluluk and then turned nervously back to Law, "But… But I'm just here for aspirin."

"Yes, but I can't give you aspirin unless he says it's okay. I'm not a doctor." Law led her to sit on the chair next to the doctor's table before turning to Doctor Hilluluk, "Doc."

"Ah? Oh? What?" The old man feigned surprise as he fidgeted, watching Law approach, "What? It's my turn now?"

"She has no fever, no visible head trauma, no nausea…" Law handed him the piece of paper and pointed towards the table, "Everything else including allergies is in the record. I've also filled out the slip for you. All you need is to add notes and sign it."

"Okay, sonny." Hiluluk patted Law on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up, "That's the spirit, my boy!"

The student assistant nodded sarcastically before waving the doctor off. Doctor Hiluluk then took his tea and went over to where the girl was sitting. Luffy skipped towards Law happily as he walked towards the other end of the room.

"So professional, my Trafalgar Law." Luffy whispered with a smile as Law closed what seemed to be a record book, "I think I like watching you work."

"Don't you even start." Law glared, but spoke lowly as he turned to go. Luffy moved closer and blocked Law's way before wrapping his arms lightly around his human's. The man flinched consciously, "Luffy."

The demon's eyes quickly scanned the room. All of Law's three friends were still mumbling and elbowing each other. Over Law's shoulder, Luffy could see Doctor Hiluluk talking to the girl. And the girl…The girl was the only one in the room glancing at them. Luffy pretended not to notice as he fluttered his eyelashes at Law.

"Just a hug." Luffy smiled sweetly at his human, "No one's looking."

Before Law could say anything, the little demon pushed himself up and hugged his human tightly. From across the room, Luffy immediately shot the girl a heavy glance and caught her staring. She gasped, embarrassed, and pretended to pay attention to the doctor in front of her instead.

That's right, little girl. This one's taken.

-End of Chapter 10-

AN: The next chapter will be up in the next couple of hours because I did that thing where I wrote one chapter too long that I had to split it.