A/N: here's the next one!


46. Protect You


Luffy yawns and sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Morning already?"

"Mornin'," Law mumbles from beside him, already wide awake. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," Luffy murmurs, leaning down to plant a kiss on his temple. "You're not going to work today?"

"Not until later," Law responds with a smile that makes Luffy's heart skip a beat. "You?"

"I could but I don't know if I can," he admits, rubbing his backside pointedly.

Law's smile turns downright wicked. "Is that so?"

A blush tints Luffy's cheeks and he throws a pillow at him. "Oh shut it!"

Law laughs and catches the missile before it could connect with his face, raring back to return fire when a phone call interrupts their fight.

Law and Luffy exchange glances. "That sounds like yours," Law says, lowering his weapon. "Shachi and the others never call me in the morning." His thoughts wander to the day they messed up his car and he sighs. "Well, tend not to."

Luffy scrambles off the bed, butt naked and still dirty from last night's endeavors. He digs around in his discarded pants for his phone, and sure enough, it's his.

It's from Amazon Lily.

Confused, he picks up quickly. "Hello?"

"Luffy?" Boa asks on the other side. "How are you this morning?"

His eyes flicker over to Law, who was watching him curiously. "Fine, you?"

"Great! Hey, could you come in today? I know it's your day off, but a customer wants to speak to you. Says it's urgent."

Luffy furrows his brows. "I can...but why? Can't they just tell me on the phone or something?"

"They say it has to be in person," Boa says, concern filtering into her voice. "And you'll know once you get here. It's honestly very suspicious."

Luffy contemplates for a few moments. "Fine. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you! I'm sure they'll be grateful as well!"

As he hangs up, Law pulls himself from the bed, his naked glory on full display. Luffy makes a show of running his eyes up and down his frame, smile tugging at his lips.

"Who was it?" Law asks as he makes his way to the bathroom.

"Boa," he responds, following. "She wants me to come in and met someone."

"You sure you can handle it?" he asks out of genuine concern.

"Yeah," Luffy waves him off. "I'll just avoid sitting. For a while."

"I see." Law motions for him to enter the shower alongside him. It's big enough for the both of them, and once Law gets the water running to a warm enough temperature, he suds up a loofa and works on Luffy's back and shoulders silently.

Luffy lets himself get lost in the sensation of Law washing him, relaxing into the gentle hands that scrub him clean. Law squeezes a dollop of shampoo into his hair and scrubs that in as well, lathering until it becomes a bubbly mess atop his head.

Grinning he turns. "Let me wash you, too!"

"Of course," Law says, handing him the soap.

Gingerly, Luffy swipes the lather across tan, tattooed skin, reveling in the way the muscles relax under his touch. Law hums contently as Luffy works to clean him, also squirting some shampoo into his locks. As Luffy works the product into his hair— his boyfriend having to bend down because of his height— Law speaks up.

"Who do you think you're meeting so early? Amazon Lily isn't open yet, right?"

"It is," Luffy answers, removing his sudsy hands, "but it's just really early. Customers usually don't start coming in for another half hour."

He frowns. "I wonder what one wants with me."

Law turns to the stream of water, rinsing the soap from his hair and body. He moves to let the stream hit Luffy as well. "Well whoever they are, they must really be dedicated to show up at your workplace."

"True," Luffy frowns, vaguely wondering how the person knew where he was employed.

Noticing his expression, Law kisses his forehead. "Want me to come with?"

"No, it's alright," Luffy declines, "I'm sure it's nothing big. Boa didn't sound all that concerned."

Law nods and turns off the water, stepping out and tossing Luffy a towel. "Alright, then let me know how it goes, ok?"

Luffy piles the towel atop his head like a crown, still dripping wet, and places his hands on his hips, smiling proudly at Law. "Sure thing!"

"Dry yourself off first, Luffy," he sighs, exasperated, tying the towel around his middle. "Then your hair."

"Hmm, nope!" Luffy traipses out of the bathroom, laughing, dripping water as he goes.

Law scowls after him. "Hey Luffy, get your ass back here and dry yourself!"

"I'm almost dry already!" he calls back.

"Luffy I swear to god."


After bidding Buggy farewell, Luffy hops off the bus and makes his way to the coffee shop. It was still dim with the lack of people in the establishment, but Boa usually kept it that way until more customers came in.

He pushes open the door and the bell chimes above his head. Sonia stands at the cash register, lazily scrolling through her phone. When the door open she looks up, eyes wide, hiding the device.

"Welcome- oh, it's just you."

"Don't sound so disappointed," he chuckles, standing at the counter. "Where's Boa? She called me in because someone wanted to talk to me?"

"She's in the back, squealing about talking to you over the phone," Mari buts in with a sigh. "She been like that ever since your call ended."

"But it's been almost an hour." Luffy glances to the back door, then to the pair of sisters. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," they both deadpan at the same time.

"Then, who's the person I'm supposed to meet?"

"Over there," Sonia points to the far recesses of the cafe, to where a figure in a dark coat sat, back to them.

"That's not suspicious," Luffy mutters, eyeing the person's dark outline. "What if I get jumped?"

"Ah, don't worry about that," Mari chuckles. "He and Boa spent the better part of that hour gushing over you after the call. I think you're good."

Even more confused, Luffy gives them his thanks and meanders over to the man, shoulders tense.

When he rounds the man to sit down in the chair in front of him, he almost gasps aloud.

"Koby?" he marvels, jaw unhinging. "What are you doing here? How are you here? I thought you were with my grandpa?"

The pink haired slowly looks at him, a soft smile illuminating his face. "Good morning to you too, Luffy."

Sensing something was wrong, Luffy leans forward a bit, lowering his voice despite there being no one around them. "What is it? You don't seem that excited to see me."

"That's because I'm not," Koby sighs. "Though it's not your fault at all. It's your boyfriend's."

"Law's?" Luffy asks, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

Koby removes his coat and places it on the back of his chair. "Let me answer your other questions, first."

Luffy settles in, knowing this might take a while, and remains attentive as his friend speaks. "I'm here because I have something important to tell you about Law. Something I don't think he's told you yet."

A lump forms in the base of Luffy's throat. "Something even I don't know?"

"As for the how...I'm a PI. I have ways of getting information." He flashes an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I looked into your records to find this place. But please trust and believe me that it was for your own good."

Luffy frowns slightly but doesn't say a word.

"Your grandfather gave me some time off to let me do this. It was very important to me that I let you know about him before I leave with Garp again."

"And him is...is Law, right?" Luffy asks carefully.

"Yes," Koby says. "Everything I'm about to tell you is true. It happened sixteen years ago, when you were only three, and I was only seven."

Luffy felt a cold dread seep into his bones. He's had this nagging feeling about Law for a while now. Something about the man's past that hadn't been adding up, but just let it slide for the sake of love. Now that it was finally about to come to light, Luffy wasn't sure he was ready to hear what Koby had to say.

"What happened?" Luffy asks worriedly.

"Many things," Koby starts, "and everything leads up to something called the Rocky Port Incident."

Luffy has heard Law mention this before, when speaking to Ivankov back on Dod Island. He probably thought he couldn't hear him, but he did.

He hears a lot.

"I keep hearing about that," Luffy says, eyes narrowing in concentration. "But I have no idea what it is."

"I'll get to that towards the end," Koby assures. "But for this to make sense, I've got to start in chronological order."

Luffy swallows and leans back in his seat with a sigh. Mentally prepared for whatever he was about to hear, he waits for Koby to begin to tell him the details of his boyfriend's former life.


No.

No, he didn't fucking belive the bullshit Koby was sprouting out his his mouth.

"Luffy, please calm down—"

"How the hell do you expect me to calm down?" Luffy seethes, standing up from his chair, fists balled at his sides. "When you drag me out of my boyfriend's bed this morning only to tell me that he's a murderer?"

Koby has the decency to look apologetic. "I'm sorry! I just discovered this myself last night...a few hours ago. I wanted to let you know as soon as I could—"

"No," Luffy spits, "you wanted to lie to me as soon as you could. That's what you wanted to do."

"Please, Luffy," Koby begs, eyes nothing but honest, and it was beginning to piss him off. "You know I wouldn't lie to you! You know I wouldn't go to these measures if nothing was truly wrong!"

He points to his scar. "Does this looks like a lie to you?"

Luffy's steady resolve faulters. He can't argue against something like that. "But Law wouldn't do those things…"

"But he did," Koby whispers, urging Luffy to sit back down. "He plundered and he stole. He burned buildings and took over towns. He murdered— he a killer, Luffy."

The younger clamps his hands over his ears. "No! I don't want to hear it anymore!"

Koby gently pries his fingers away from his ears, voice gentle, soothing. "I know it's hard to take in, but you weren't there when he shot at my head. You don't know the terror that engulfed me as I fell in the ocean. You don't know the horror I've had to witness in the aftermath, when my beautiful town was reduced to nothing but red corpses."

The pink haired begins to tear up, big, fat, rattling tears, and Luffy stares at him in shock as he begins to break down in front of him. "Everyone I know is gone, and the only thing I'm asking you to do is believe me."

Luffy flinches. He has a point.

Koby sniffles and wipes at his face. "Sorry, I know you're going through a lot. But suddenly learning you've been orphaned by the Don Quixote Family is a lot to take in in one night."

"You're fine," Luffy murmurs, mind going a million miles a minute. "It's just...I've known Law for a while now, and he just wouldn't do that. It all doesn't seem real."

"But it is," Koby insists, "hasn't he shown reluctance to tell you about his past before? Shown a side of himself that worried you?"

All of Luffy thoughts come to a whirling stop. He has. Multiple times at that. Every time a conversation ventured too far in that direction, Law would shut it down, change the topic, pretend it didn't exist. He's exuded behaviors that have made Luffy question him. Luffy bites his lip, head pounding.

What if Koby was right?

"Wait a minute," Luffy starts, frowning, "if Law was with Doflamingo this whole time, then how did he end up with Corazon?"

There, a loophole. Maybe Koby was making things up after all.

"I discovered the existence of a secret organization," Koby says quietly, eyes lowered to the table. "Called the Revolutionary Army."

Luffy's eyes go wide. Not wanting to expose the fact that he knew of their existence already, he feigns curiosity. "Really?"

"Yeah," he nods, pursing his lips. "I did some more digging, and it turns out that they were the ones who broke apart the Family. They arrived at Rocky Port and took care of them before the police arrived. That's why the Don Quixote Family doesn't wreak havoc as a group anymore."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with Law and Corazon?" Luffy inquires.

"I'm getting there. One of the Revolutionaries— Ivankov," Koby explains, "was put in charge of getting the kids of the Family into safe homes. They were thought to be victims, you see. Manipulated into doing Doflamingo's bidding. Ivankov wanted to send everyone to Edward Newgate's orphanage. I almost went there myself. Have you heard of him before?"

Luffy thinks back to the texts they exchanged with Marco before he left for his father. "Yeah, briefly."

Koby nods. "Right. But Corazon apparently volunteered to take in Law personally. And the rest after that, you probably know."

"Yeah," Luffy says stiffly, "I know."

Koby looks at him one more time, nothing but sadness in his eyes. "Do you believe me now? Are things starting to make sense?"

Unfortunately. "No," Luffy finds himself saying. "I'm upset. Incredibly upset. Law is so kind and sweet and gentle and loving, I refuse to believe that he used to do any of that shit."

"Luffy-"

"Until," Luffy cuts, "I hear it from Law himself."


That evening, Law gets an unexpected knock on his door.

When he opens it, a blinding smile spreads across his face at his visitor. It gets wiped off in the same breath.

Concern laces into his features as he takes in his boyfriend's disgruntled appearance. "...Luffy?"

The man purses his lips, looking troubled. "May I come in?"

"Of course— what in the world happened?" Law breathes, widening the door so he could step through. Luffy enters and toes off his shoes before slugging through the living room and plopping down on the couch.

Law takes up a seat next to him and watches him carefully. "Luffy? You're acting strange."

Luffy just gives him this look, and it makes dread pool down in his gut. "What's going on?" he asks slowly.

The younger sighs and looks down in his lap. "Today I was told something really disturbing about you."

Law fidgets. That didn't sound good. "What did you hear? And from who?"

Luffy stares at him in disbelief. "You're not even questioning the 'disturbing' part?"

The older falls into silence. He's heard so many nasty things about himself floating around ever since he was a kid— he was used to this.

Luffy was not.

Luffy just continues staring at him, so many questions swirling in his dark eyes, and it's this moment that Law has always been afraid of. When Luffy would confront him on his knowledge of everything, and absolutely despise him, because who wouldn't? And then Law would feel crushed because Luffy is his everything, and he can't possibly live without—

"Law? Law!" Luffy snaps his fingers in front of his face, pulling him back into reality.

"Sorry," Law murmurs, and Luffy's gaze turns thoughtful.

His small hands find Law's. "What were you thinking about?"

Law's expression hardens. "What you were about to say."

Luffy remains quiet for a spell after that, as if trying to figure out what words were best to go with in a situation like theirs. He opens his mouth and closes it, wrinkles his brows, then sighs.

"Why did I have to hear it from someone else's mouth?"

Law flinches. Here they go. "I—"

"I had a feeling, you know?" Luffy continues in a rush, words tumbling out of his mouth. "That there's more to you than what you've told me. I've had one for a long, long time. There's been hints here, there, and everywhere, but I ignored them, waiting for you to open up to me—"

"Luffy—"

"No," Luffy raises a firm hand. "Let me finish."

Law grips Luffy's hand tighter. He doesn't squeeze back.

"I know it made you uncomfortable speaking about whatever the hell happened to you before me, so I waited patiently for you to...come around." Luffy shakes his head, tone growing fiercer, volume steadily rising. "But no, you never even brought it up! I've just been in the dark about it this whole time. And instead of hearing your story from you, I hear it from someone else, and you expect me to do what? Sit here and take it calmly? What did you hope to accomplish by keeping your past a secret?"

"I wanted to protect you," Law murmurs.

That doesn't seem to be the right thing to say. Luffy practically shakes now, eyes wide, mouth agape in an unbelievable 'o'. "Protect me? Law, what in the world do you take me for? I'm not a child meant to be coddled, I can understand shit if you explain it to me! But I need you to say it, not someone else!"

This is what Law wanted to avoid. The heated words, the furious voice, the pure disgust directed at him for keeping something so awful from his lover. He had planned on letting Luffy know sooner rather than later, but it seems like his plan to wait has backfired.

Luffy's harsh tone belies his expression, which leans more towards sadness. "Law-"

"I know what you're gonna say," Law amends quickly, hands up. "I don't know how you figured it all out but I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry."

Luffy frowns. "Law, I-"

"I was a really fucked up kid and I turned to him to get some kind of release for my pent up emotions." The words are hurried on his tongue, and Law begins to ramble. "I made a ton of mistakes in the past, and I'm still trying to make up for it. I did lots of awful things...you don't deserve to be dating a murd-"

"Law!"

Law catches himself before more comes out of his mouth. He watches Luffy, who's glaring down at him, but without the hardened edge.

"I'm not mad because you killed people or did horrible things as a child," Luffy says quietly. "I'm mad because you didn't tell me."

That shifts Law's entire worldview.

"Of course, it's not like I'm just ignoring that part," Luffy continues, "but we could've worked through some of your problems together! Fuck, I could've helped! Something."

Law feels shame creep up into his cheeks, and he does something he could soon come to regret.

He pushes back.

"You don't understand the Family like I do, Luffy," Law says, splaying his palms as he tries to explain. "I don't want you involved with them at all, and that includes even knowing about them. They're dangerous! It's better to-"

"To what?" Luffy challenges, riled and angry, "stay in the dark because ignorance is bliss? Well let me tell you something, Trafalgar-"

At the use of his last name his eyebrows shoot up to the ceiling. Luffy was pissed.

"-your little plan to not let me know backfired! Koby told me everything, and-"

"That's who you met in the morning," Law marvels. He curses under his breath. "That guy, he ended up remembering everything, god damn it."

Luffy gets in his face, snarling, brows furrowed over angry eyes. "Don't you dare touch him."

More than a little offended at the accusation, Law pushes Luffy away. "I've quit that life a long time ago, the moment Corazon took me into his care! Luffy, you know me better than that. I don't hurt people— my entire occupation is to do the opposite."

"I know!" Luffy's voice is assertive as it cuts through the air. Then he falters. "Or, I thought I knew. I don't know what to believe anymore."

Law feels a part of him break. "You can believe me. Please."

Luffy narrows his eyes. "Why the fuck should I? You've done nothing but lie."

"No, I haven't!" Law's expression pinches in uncontrollable pain. "I just haven't told you the whole truth."

"That's the same thing!"

"No it's not-"

"You're a murderer, Law."

"Well-"

"Isn't that important to bring up in a relationship?"

"Sure, but-"

"You were in a gang that committed countless crimes for years!"

"They were-"

"And you didn't tell me to protect me?" Luffy shakes his head like the thought is inconceivable. "How could you be so selfish?"

Law grits his teeth. Selfish? After all he's done?

He was quickly growing tired of this back and forth.

"Why can't you just understand that this was all for your sake?"

Luffy scoffs. "I dunno, maybe because you didn't ask me!"

"I didn't want your opinion of me to change after you knew! Why can't you get that?"

Luffy balls a fist in his shirt, pulling him close. His mouth is curled down in a scowl as he glowers at Law, looking absolutely ticked off. "It's not my opinion you should be worried about! It's my trust! That's what you're not getting!"

No sane person would hear his story and not think of him differently. That's just how humans were. If Luffy was claiming he was different…

"Was it worth it?" Luffy spits, "losing my trust over a measly story you could've told me yourself?"

Law thinks of the havoc the Family had the potential to wreck, of the pain he endured as a child, of the countless others who have abandoned him after he's told them his story. He thinks of a lot for a long time, so long that Luffy's fist loosens slightly in disbelief.

"No way…" Luffy breathes, "you're actually contemplating this? Whether it was worth it?"

Law remains quiet for a few moments longer. "You wouldn't be this angry if you knew how dangerous they were."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"So as much as it pains me," Law intones without emotion, "yes. It was worth it."

The sting comes before the pain.

He holds his injured cheek in shock, then glances down at Luffy, who had tears in his eyes, hand red where it connected with Law's face.

He angrily runs at his face, cursing the wetness in his eyes. "I can't believe I shared a bed with you."

The sting of the slap doesn't compare in the slightest to the harsher one in his heart. That hurt so deeply Luffy might as well have stabbed him through his center.

Heart aching, he reaches out. "Luffy-"

"I think I need a break to sort out my thoughts," Luffy announces, turning on his heel and marching out the door. "We need a break."

Law wants to hold Luffy by the shoulders and shake him. Was he being serious? "What's there to think about?"

"This," Luffy motions between them, and Law positively pales.

"Are we..?"

"No," Luffy confirms, much to Law's relief, "but I'm putting this relationship on hold. I just...need some time to myself."

Law watches Luffy walk towards the door with nothing but regret. "We can fix this!"

"We tried to!" Luffy yells from the doorway, putting his shoes back on. "But look what happened! We only ended up fighting! We can't see eye to eye!"

Law is silent as Luffy straightens and places his hand on the doorknob, twisting. He seems to be debating something, dark thoughts flitting across his mein.

"You know, this is why Kidd and I broke up." His hold on the handle tightens. "He tried to help me, but he ended up pushing too hard, and I wasn't having it."

He smiles without mirth. "It's ironic, isn't it? How I'm doing the exact same thing."

When he leaves, the slam of the door slaps him harder than Luffy ever could. It leaves him a special kind of empty, nothing but numbness filling his very being. Law tries to remember their conversation, wondering if there was anything he could've done differently, said differently, but it doesn't matter.

At the end of the day, Law fucked up.

If Luffy claimed he wouldn't think of him differently before, then he certainly did now.

Cursing, Law fists his hands in his hair and goes to sit back on his couch, sinking into it with a soft sigh. He runs his hands down his face tiredly, groaning into his palms.

"God damn it all," he whispers into the emptiness of his apartment.

A call interrupts his self loathing, and he reaches slowly into his pocket for the device. With a start, he realizes that it's Sabo. Hoping the call had nothing to do with Luffy, he thumbs the green button and holds it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Law! Thank goodness you picked up. Is this...a good time?"

Law's voice must've given his emotions away. He clears his throat and nods minutely, though he couldn't see him. "Yeah. What's up, Sabo?"

"Ok, buckle in for this one. Long story short, there's another version of the drug Caesar was manufacturing. Called Phase Three."

Law's eyes go wide. "Phase Three?"

"Yeah," he grunts. "Thankfully, there's only one sample that exists, but if someone ingests it, it will practically kill them. We infiltrated the secret lab where he was doing experiments for it, but the sample is missing."

Law was starting to feel sick to his stomach. "So...why did you call me?"

Sabo's voice lowers several semitones. "We found something strange in front of the glass case that housed the drug. I figured you may be able to help us decipher its meaning."

"What was it?"

"Playing cards," Sabo says. "A king of spades-"

Law swallows thickly. That could only mean one person.

Pica.

"-A king of diamonds-"

Diamante.

"-A king of clubs-"

Trebol.

"-And a king of hearts."

Law shudders. Corazon, but the title was meant to be passed down to him.

"The one of clubs was crumpled," Sabo continues, "and the one of hearts was torn in half."

When Law doesn't answer, Sabo sighs. "I had a sneaking suspicion that the cards had something to do with the Don Quixote family, considering the Army took down men with similar titles back in the Rocky Port incident."

Sabo pauses to let the information sink in. "You were once in that same Family. What do you think? Is it them?"

He was fucked.

No, they were fucked. Everyone was royally fucked. The crumpled club could only represent Trebol getting beaten by him and Luffy, and the hearts being torn in half could either represent Corazon's death…

Or his future one, as revenge for taking down Doflamingo.

"It's them," Law croaks, throat gone dry. "The leaders of the Family."

Baby 5 had warned him of this, but he didn't listen. He should've taken her more seriously. Now the fools have their hands on a dangerous drug. Who knows what they'd do with it?

"It is?"

"Yeah," Law says, positively worried. "They're coming."


"You look like shit."

"I feel like it too," Luffy grumbles, closing the door behind him. "God, I need a drink."

"What's wrong?" Bartolomeo asks, alarmed.

"Law," Luffy answers honestly, "he's being...well, not a good boyfriend at the moment."

"Should I send Sabo on his ass?"

"Not necessary." Luffy turns slightly thoughtful. "Yet, at least."

Bartolomeo hums to himself, deep in thought. "So what happened?"

Luffy winces. "I'd rather not about it. I just wanna go drink it away."

Barty watches Luffy rummage through his closet. "Is that such a good idea when you're this down? You don't even drink."

"But isn't that what everyone does when they're sad? I'm not a special case." Luffy picks a few dressy pieces and begins changing into them. "Kuraigana is open tonight, so I think I'll go there."

"The new place Sanji and Zoro work at?" Barty asks.

"Yeah," Luffy affirms, pulling on some nice jeans. He turns to his roommate. "I'll have them sneak me in. You should come with."

Barty sighs. "Fine, but only because I'm worried about how you'll get back here."

"Perfect." Luffy pockets his phone and runs a hasty hand through his hair. "Let's go."

Barty slowly makes his way to his closet. "I still don't think this is a good idea though."

"Oh come on, it's just drinks," Luffy shrugs, "what could possibly go wrong?"


A/N: thanks for reading! Until the next!!

P.S: Sabo would totally rip Law apart if he knew they argued lol.