Chapter 3

Law entered the kitchen with Zoro in tow. Nobody paid them much mind since everyone was waiting for Sanji to set out the food. Law hoped they had also been too hungry to notice his sleeping arrangements that morning, but he knew he'd never be so lucky. Zoro sat down and poured himself some booze, and Law, once again, took the last available seat next to Luffy. Of course. Sanji came around with plates full of delectable looking treats. He set them about the table and passed by Luffy on his way back for more. Sanji paused when something about Luffy caught his interest.

"What's that in your hair?" He asked with a nauseous look. Law grimaced; he knew exactly what he'd left in Luffy's hair. "You need a bath." Law grabbed a tangerine slice and shoved it into his mouth, trying to distract himself from his precarious situation. This seemed to signal the beginning of the meal. The breakfast etiquette was no different than that of last night. Everyone was trying to inhale their food as quickly as possible before one of Luffy's stretched arms could snatch it away from them. Across the table, Luffy and Usopp fought over a piece of meat. Law found himself having to eat quickly just to make sure he got enough to tide him over until their next meal. As a result of this excruciating way of conducting their meal, it ended rather quickly. Law didn't get any time to enjoy the delicious food Sanji had prepared.

"So," Usopp began, "How'd your sleep go with Luffy in bed with you, Zoro?" Law stiffened.

"Huh," Zoro said, confused, "Luffy wasn't in my bed." Law tried to come up with an excuse to leave the room, or better yet a way to steer the conversation away from this topic. Sadly, he came up empty.

"Oh really?" Usopp pondered. "That's odd." he flashed Chopper a knowing smirk. The sniper's poker face wasn't nearly as good as he thought.

"Didn't Luffy say he was sleeping with Zoro last night?" Sanji chimed in. Damn them all, Law thought. They were all toying with him.

"Beats me," Zoro took a quick swig of his mug, "But these two were practically making out when I woke up." He gestured to the pair sitting next to each other. Law's cheeks flared. The entire crew burst out laughing, not being able to hold it in any longer.

"He fell into my bed, ok?" Law tried to take control of the situation with little success.

"And you just let him?" Ussopp laughed. "You didn't push him out like Zoro did?"

"I-I…Uh…" He didn't know how to respond to that.

"Wha- Wow Traffy you're so nice," Luffy exclaimed, finally catching on to the situation.

"Well could you be nice for one more night?" This time it was Franky who spoke. "We won't have the materials for another bed until we reach Dressrosa."

"Ya! Another night together, Traffy!" Luffy yelled, draping his arm around Law's shoulder and pulling him close, clearly excited by the prospect. Great. Just great. because sleeping with Luffy again was exactly what Law wanted to do.

After breakfast, all the boys gathered to take a bath, including Law to everyone's surprise. After the stressful morning he had though, Law thought a warm shower was well deserved. Unfortunately, nothing on this ship came easy. Luffy and Usopp stood in the bath splashing each other, uncaring of the complaints of everyone present. Of course even a relaxing bath aboard the Straw Hat's ship would be anything but.

Law stood at one of the showers next to Zoro who was dutifully washing Choppers back. He swore that reindeer was like Zoro's son the way he tended to him. Law let the water run down his body; as a devil fruit user, water never left Law with a good feeling, but the fatigue the showers caused him was rather minimal. He closed his eyes, and in the darkness of his mind, saw Doflamingo. A shiver ran down his spine. They were getting so close to Dressrosa, and Law was getting ancy about the whole plan. Would it even work? He didn't quite know, but he had to believe it would. Otherwise, this alliance would all be for nothing- putting up with Luffy would have been for nothing.

Most of the Straw Hat's did not spend much time in the bath. Slowly, one by one they all exited the area aside from Law, Luffy, and Usopp. The latter two were only now starting to wash themselves after messing around for so long. For reasons unbeknownst to Law, Luffy washed off in the bath instead of the showers despite the visible discomfort it was causing him. He peered across the room at Luffy washing out his hair. Thank God, Law thought as his own hand went to the spot on his chest where Luffy had been sleeping. Nothing left on him either. Hopefully Law would be able to forget the whole thing by the end of the day. He promised himself he would surely be sleeping on the floor this time.

After properly washing off, Law decided he'd had enough of the bath, although, in all honestly it was more like he'd had enough of Luffy, so he made his way to the exit. Normally, Law would have stayed a while longer and enjoyed the relaxation, but he was a little worried Luffy would start looking at his various tattoos again if he became too comfortable. Sanji was still in the changing room when Law arrived. He gave the cook a slight nod and then turned around to put his clothes back on. While doing so, Law noticed Luffy's straw hat carefully placed on the bench. He really did treasure that thing, didn't he? Sanji made his way towards the exit, but, before he could leave, Law decided to quench his curiosity.

"Hey," He called after him, "What's the deal with the hat?" Sanji stopped walking and turned around to face him.

"Oh, Luffy hasn't told you?" Law shook his head. "He got it from Red Hair Shanks." Shanks! One of the four Emperors of the Sea? Just how many legends did this boy know? From there, the cook filled him in on all the details of their interaction. He heard about how Shanks lost his arm protecting Luffy, and how he gave Luffy the hat to one day return it to him. It was strange, all the stories Law heard about Luffy never seemed to match his own experiences with him.

Sanji turned back to head out the door but stopped at the last second. "Hey, Trafalgar, just so we're clear, you better watch yourself around my captain. I know a pervert when I see one." Law was stunned. Pervert? Him? He didn't even get a chance to respond before the cook was gone. To Law's dismay, Luffy entered just as Sanji left, and that's how he knew it was his turn to get out of there.

"Oh, Traffy I-" Law didn't get the chance to hear what Luffy was going to tell him; he was already gone and looking for some solitude. Most of the Straw Hat's had now spread out to various locations on the ship. It was nearly impossible to find any privacy aboard, but Law was determined to find some and figured the toilets located near the washroom would be his best bet. Law locked himself into the small stall and took a deep breath. This was nothing new to Law, but it still made him nervous whenever he did it. What if someone were to catch him doing this? What would they think he was doing? It didn't matter.

"Room," he whispered as a blue veil pooled around him, just big enough to encompass himself. Slowly, Law pulled his heart out from his chest, and examined it. He watched it pulse in his hand and gave it a small squeeze. A twinge of pain shot through him. It was a bad habit Law had developed. He wasn't really sure why he did it. He guessed it was a reminder that his life was in his own hands, that it was his choice to be alive and continue living, but it was probably worrisome all the same. Law sat in that bathroom for a while, pushing on his own heart from time to time to feel that all too familiar pain, before he finally placed the heart back where it belonged.

The rest of the day was spent going over their plans for Dressrosa. They'd be arriving there the next morning, so this was really their last chance to finalize what each member of this alliance was going to do. Thankfully, Law was grouped with Usopp and Robin. He liked Robin well enough, Usopp not so much, but he was just grateful to be with anyone other than Luffy. As night fell, the Straw Hats slowly filtered out of the room to get some rest. Law was the last to leave, and when he arrived in the sleeping chambers, he was glad to see each member of the crew was already asleep. That meant they would all be well rested for the upcoming battle, but, more importantly, none of them would be able to pressure or tease Law about sleeping with Luffy.

Luffy was lying comfortably in his original bed as Law suspected he would be. The agreement was that the two would share the bed for the final night of their voyage, but Law had no intention of doing that. Instead, he positioned himself on the floor and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible. He had enough trouble falling asleep as is, but now he had to deal with the anxiety he harbored for the next day, as well as the uncomfortable floor he was choosing to sleep on. He laid there for an hour, still unable to fall asleep, and growing more and more agitated at his glanced over at Luffy in the hammock, remembering how well he had slept the previous night. Every member of the crew was fast asleep and were undoubtedly going to be well rested for the next day. Law would be damned if he was the only one to not be at his best.

Begrudgingly, Law got up and walked over to Luffy's bed. The boy was quite sprawled out, so Law had to move one of his arms and legs to make room for himself. Slowly, he crawled in next to Luffy, purposefully leaving his shirt on this time to maintain some amount of professionality. Hopefully that would be enough to not further anger the cook. Luffy's head knocked against Law's, and he once again had Luffy's hair in his face. Law reluctantly leaned his head back against Luffy's and willed himself to fall asleep. To his dismay, it was just as pleasant of a sleep as the last time.

Law woke up to being poked in the face by the hilt of Zoro's sword. That, however, was the least of his worries. Both Luffy and Law were still in the same bed, but, at some point during the night, Luffy had gotten his arms around Law's torso again. Even worse, Law had apparently turned away only for Luffy to press his body up against Law's back. Were they . . . spooning?

"Wake up, lovebirds," Zoro said, still prodding Law with his sword. "We've arrived."

Author's Note

Another chapter complete! This one was just as fun as the last; I love writing different events that take place around the ship involving Law and Luffy. Unfortunately, in the next chapter we have to get through some plot stuff. What a shame. This chapter though, I was particularly happy to write that scene between Law and Sanji. The line "I know a pervert when I see one." just cracks me up. Again, I hope you're liking the story so far, and I'd love to know what people are thinking of it! And, obviously, Thank You for Reading!