Chapter 5

They were able to stay on Dressrosa for two days before the Marines decided to chase them out. After all the fighting, they were more than happy to spend those two days sleeping. Law made sure to sleep far enough away from Luffy so that he wouldn't wake up to the boy cuddled up next to him. Unfortunately, despite defeating Doflamingo, Law still saw him in his dreams, so his sleep was less than adequate. Luckily, Law was able to reattach his arm as planned, and he still had enough energy to create a room and escape the marines with the Straw Hats. Some of Luffy's crew had been forced to take a separate vessel to the mysterious island Zou where Law's own crew were waiting for him. Now it was time to take the Straw Hat's ship there and reunite both groups of pirates. Truthfully, a part of Law was going to miss the Straw Hat crew once he was back with his own. Only a small part though. The remainder of Luffy's crew sauntered around the deck, excited to be on the open waters again and away from any danger.

"Hey, Traffy!" Luffy hollard at him from across the deck. He made his way towards Law. "Come over here, Zoro's going to catch a BIG fish for Sanji to cook us when he gets back." He spread his arms out to indicate the size. "Let's go!" He reached for Law's hand and wrapped his fingers around his palm. Law felt a strange pain bubble up in his chest. He squeezed Luffy's hand back in reaction and placed his other hand on his chest.

"Room," A small blue bubble formed around him. Something was wrong. He was sure he'd felt something go wrong with his heart, but now he could see that nothing was abnormal. He looked at Luffy who was clearly concerned and canceled the room he created.

"Is everything all right?" Luffy asked. Law looked down at his hand still held in Luffy's and felt another flutter of pain fill his chest. He grabbed at his shirt unsure of how to stop the aching. Luffy's skin felt hot on his own, so much so that he thought his hand was going to burn away. What is happening to me? He thought. "Traffy?" Luffy asked, not quite sure what was going on or what he should do about it. Unbeknownst to him, that name sent another burst of pain through Law's body. He buckled over. Oh no. He thought. Was Luffy the one causing his body to react this way? But why would he- Oh no. Law's face burned. Anything but that. "Traffy? Are you okay?" Luffy asked again, this time placing his other hand on Law's shoulder.

"Yes! Yes!" He stammered. "I'm fine. Really."

"Ok! Good!" He started luring Law to the other side of the deck again. "What was all that anyway?"

"You know what?" Law spoke faster than he meant to, clearly in a hurry to get the words out. "I better go figure that out." He let go of Luffy's hand and rushed himself away. He shouted behind him. Of course he was already pretty sure what had happened; he just didn't want to admit it. How could he? How could he bring himself to say the words out loud? It was all too embarrassing. But maybe. . . Well maybe he could at least think the words. . . Just once. So he gave it a try. I'm in love with Straw Hat Luffy. Oh god, what was he going to do?

Law decided that, although he didn't really need to, he would still go to the infirmary if for no other reason than to avoid Luffy. Luckily, Chopper was one of the Straw Hats who left Dressrosa early, so he had the room all to himself. He stayed hidden in that room for. . . Had it really been two hours already? And, to his dismay, he'd spent the whole time thinking about Luffy and all their previous interactions. He thought about the bath, about being carried on Dressrosa, and. . . Oh god, THE BED! It was all so awful. Law didn't think he'd leave this room until they reached Zou, but fate had other plans.

There was a slight knock on the door, and Law could already guess who would be waiting on the other side. Reluctantly, he opened it, and revealed Luffy standing on the other side along with Zoro, Usopp, and Franky.

"See," Luffy gloated, "I told you he'd be in here."

"What do you want?" He was almost afraid to ask. Zoro placed a firm hand on Law's shoulder.

"It's bath time." Law's stomach dropped as his blood rushed to his face.

"But I don't need a bath," Law sulked, knowing it would be no use.

"After what happened on Dressrosa, we all need a bath," Franky chuckled.

"Come on," Zoro said while pushing him out the door.

"Yay! Bath time!" Luffy declared, grabbing both Law's wrists, dragging him along.

"No!No!No!No!No!" Law yelled, struggling against their strength, but it was all in vain. Franky picked law up and threw him over his shoulder while the others cheered. That didn't stop him from complaining all the way there though.

He did his best to avoid looking at Luffy while the group changed out of their clothes and replaced them with towels, and, even now in the bath, Law could not bring himself to look at the boy. Instead, he fidgeted with his recently decapitated arm. There was a scar where Law had bound the flesh back together. Maybe it would have been better if it'd stayed detached. Maybe then he'd remind Luffy of Shanks and- DAMMIT! This was crazy; he was starting to sound like Boa Hancock! Oh. Boa Hancock. Law had forgotten about her. Was it possible she and Luffy were seeing each other? Afterall, he knew she liked Luffy- probably even more than he did- and she was said to be the most beautiful woman in all the seas so it would be fair to assume. . .

Interrupting his thought, Zoro walked by and stationed himself at the shower next to Law. He seemed to be bored without Chopper by his side. Seeing an opportunity arise, Law decided to ask for Zoro's input.

"Hey Zoro," He began, "Do you know if Luffy and uh. . ." He lowered his voice. ". . . the Pirate Empress are um. . ." He wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. Luckily Zoro got the jist of what he was getting at.

"Are what?" He asked rather loudly. "Together?" Law looked around to make sure nobody was listening in. Fortunately, Luffy and the others were goofing around reasonably far away, and the running water helped to drown out the conversation. Law turned back to Zoro and simply shook his head. "No," he chuckled, "Luffy's not interested." Law felt himself release a sigh of relief and cursed himself for it afterwards. "Why do you ask? You're not trying to take my captain away from me," Zoro leaned in dangerously close to Law, "Are you?

"No. No. Of course not," He lied. "I was just curious, that's all." Zoro leaned back, seemingly satisfied with Law's answer. With that, Law left the showers, figuring he'd been there long enough to satisfy everyone, and headed out the door.

He made sure to avoid Luffy for the rest of the day. Really, Law wasn't sure how he was going to survive this whole trip to Zou; whether he liked it or not, he couldn't hide in the infirmary forever. Fortunately, night had finally fallen, which meant he wouldn't have to think of it for a while. Franky managed to scrounge up the materials to get Law his own bed in Dressrosa, so tonight he'd finally be able to sleep on his own.

Law walked into the men's sleeping quarters and noted the recently placed bed across the room from Luffy. Perfect. He crossed the room, eyes clinging to Luffy as he passed by. Law ripped his gaze away from the sleeping boy and threw himself into the empty bed. Still, his eyes found their way to Luffy, he couldn't help but let them linger on his small frame. Law's mind wandered back into his memories of the previous nights he'd spent with him. He thought about the pressure of Luffy's head on his chest, the way his arms wrapped around his body, and the way a stray hand always seemed to linger where it shouldn't. Law was burning up, as though the fire he'd always sensed in Luffy had found its way into his own body. He was sure it'd consume him if he didn't do something about it.

Law threw the blanket away from his body. God. Why was it so god damn hot in here? He sat up and glanced around the room, making sure everyone was really asleep. Carefully, Law pulled the blanket back over his body, ducking his head under as well.

"Room," He spoke quietly, making sure no one would hear him. A blue bubble formed around his chest, and, within moments, he felt the all too familiar weight of his heart pulsing in his hand. He laid back down, closing his eyes, and keeping the heart hidden beneath the covers. He felt his mind wander, and he gave the heart a slight squeeze. He wouldn't think about Luffy. Not tonight or any other night for that matter. The process proved a lot more grueling than he'd expected though. His mind wandered often, and, no matter what direction it first veered in, it always wound up back at Luffy. The heart in Law's hand didn't help distract him either, it reminded him too much of the strange feeling he got when Luffy touched his hand or called him that awful nickname.

Law spent the night like that for hours. After enough time had passed, indicating that no success was going to be found with this method, he placed his heart back into his chest. He opened his eyes, and allowed them to fall over the sleeping mass he knew to be Luffy. Law let his mind wander wherever it may, and, of course, it too landed on Luffy. He thought of the boy's body, and, more importantly, the heart that was beating inside. Law was the surgeon of death; he'd taken and held countless hearts, but, at that moment, he wondered how Luffy's might feel in his hand. Law could take the boy's heart by force if he pleased, but he had a much- much- worse desire whispering in the back of his head. He wanted Luffy to give his heart up willingly. He wanted Luffy to be the one to place it in his hands, and, even worse than that, Law wanted to give his own heart to the pirate captain. God, Law thought, a smile tugged at his lips and a few rouge tears invaded the corners of his eyes. He finally understood what it was like to care for another so much it made you crazy. He really was turning into Boa Hancock.

Author's Note

We are now halfway through the story; I'm so excited for the future chapters. It's taken a bit, but we're finally at the point where Law recognizes his feelings for Luffy. That'll make their interactions that much more interesting. Before, Law would just act awkward around Luffy, but now the possibilities are endless. I guess I'll take this time to recommend a couple songs. I always like to listen to music when I write, and ,the whole time I've been writing this fic, I've been listening to Ricky Montgomery. Specifically, Line Without a Hook and Mr. Loverman. It might just be me, but I've grown to really associate those songs with Law and Luffy.