Chapter 8

Law was thankful to be the first one awake on the ship. Although he was grateful that Luffy had slept in his bed, he was still uncomfortable with the rest of the crew seeing it. Unfortunately, Luffy still had his arms held tight around Law's torso. He knew from experience that it would not be so easy getting away, but he had the perfect escape plan. Almost half the beds in the room were empty from the missing Straw Hats; Law held out his hand.

"Room." He only expanded the bubble far enough to reach the empty bed closest to him. "Shambles." Before he knew it, he was alone in a new bed, and Luffy was hugging a pillow. Law smiled to himself, shifted out of the bed, and made his way to the kitchen. His stomach growled; he hadn't gotten much to eat the previous night. Law sat down in his usual spot, wondering whether he should wait for Franky to come make food or not. His stomach growled again, providing him with his answer. He got up and decided to take things into his own hands.

The Straw Hats funneled in through the door slowly throughout the morning, surprised to see Law there waiting for them. A plate of rice balls sat at the center of the table. He had already eaten what he wanted, so he figured the Straw Hats could eat the rest.

"You're up early," Zoro noticed.

"Were you having trouble sleeping again?" Franky asked. Law's eyes darted to Luffy against his will, giving himself away.

"I slept fine, actually," he assured them. "And I made some food. You're welcome."

"Thanks Traffy!" Luffy grabbed two rice balls to throw in his mouth before going back for more.

"Hey, wait! Don't eat them all Luffy!" Usopp complained, trying to grab some for himself. Law smiled while he watched him eat his food; he knew it wasn't as good as what Luffy was used to but appreciated the way he ate them anyway.

While Law had his eyes trained on Luffy, he felt more eyes watching him. Realizing he wasn't working to keep his true emotions off his face, Law tore his eyes away from the boy and looked around the room. Franky, Zoro, and Robin were all giving him knowing looks. Luckily, Usopp and Luffy were too busy fighting over food to notice, but these three were clearly aware of Law's motives. He tried to avoid their gaze by grabbing for another rice ball, only to realize they'd all been eaten. The final one was still being fought over by Luffy and Usopp. Luffy must have noticed Law's hand outstretched towards the empty plate; after wrestling the morsel from Usopp, he frowned, looked up to Law, and back at the ball, not sure what action to take.

"Go ahead," Law told him, "I don't need anymore." Luffy smiled and threw the ball into his mouth to Usopp's dismay. Law looked back at the other Straw Hats who still had their eyes trained on him. They understood what was happening- knew how he felt about Luffy. Law wasn't surprised, it was written all over his actions: the way he and Luffy seemed to end up in the same bed with little resistance, their mysterious disappearance the day before, and now- the way he watched Luffy eat the food he'd prepared. It didn't matter that he'd escaped that morning; it was all too obvious- well, obvious to everyone but Luffy it seemed.

Law cleared his throat. "So, tomorrow we'll reach Zou."

"Yeah," Zoro responded, careful not to shift his gaze from Law. "Then you'll be back with your crew."

"You must be itching to get away from us by now," Franky said, straight faced.

"Yes," Law forced himself to smile. "I can't wait to be back on my own ship." The truth was he wasn't sure how to feel. Yes, he wanted to be rid of the Straw Hat crew, and he missed the comfort of his own quarters. The only problem was Luffy. His heart ached when he thought of being away from him. He'd been hoping that his crush would simmer out by the time they reached Zou, but, in the quiet moments the two had spent together, Law's feelings for Luffy had only festered. Law just wished he could rid himself of this affliction, unfortunately, love was not a disease he could cure.

"Ah no, we're gonna miss you, Traffy." Luffy told him. Law was certain the other Straw Hat's would be relieved to see him gone, but he liked the idea of Luffy missing him. He gave Luffy a small smile.

"So, Luffy, Traffy, where were you two yesterday?" Robin asked them with a slight smile tugging at her lips.

"I wanted to thank Luffy for jumping in to save me, and we got lost in conversation." Law told them matter of factly. He'd felt the need to answer first, not sure what information Luffy would disclose. Robin turned her attention to Luffy, seeming to want confirmation.

"Ya," Luffy answered. "Traffy has cool tattoos." Law couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. His face flushed as he sank down in his chair, humiliated.

"Oh, does he?" Robin looked just as surprised as Law was. Luffy nodded in confirmation. Deciding he couldn't take any more of this, Law leapt out of his seat.

"I think I'll spend the rest of my day in the library," Law choked out, just trying to leave the situation as quickly as possible. "There's still some medical journals I want to look at before I leave." None of the crew protested, but Luffy looked disappointed to see him go.

Law skimmed through some random books he'd pulled off of Chopper's shelf. Although the information was interesting, Law couldn't bring himself to concentrate on it. He created a small room around him and willed his heart into his hand. He wasn't sure what he was doing anymore; he had no desire to damage the organ. His need for the pain had dulled over the past few days. Now the only thing he wanted to do with it was offer it to Luffy. It would be a token of his trust in the captain, but also a sign of the love he'd been harbaring for him. Still, Law knew if he did, Luffy would be too innocent to know the implications. Luffy wasn't quite as dumb as Law originally thought, but he was still incredibly naive. The only option was to be straight forward. He just had to look Luffy in the eye and say, I'm in love with you. God. The thought terrified Law. Even if he could bring himself to say it, there was no guarantee Luffy would return his feelings. Although, the fact that Luffy was uninterested in the Pirate Empress gave Law a small dose of hope. If he didn't like the most beautiful woman in the seas then maybe. . . Law's thought was cut off when Franky ran into the room. He looked frantic, which worked to Law's benefit since he didn't notice the heart he held in his hands.

"We've got another storm coming!" He told Law as he slipped the heart back inside his chest. "It's looking worse than the last one. We need all hands on deck!" Law followed the cyborg out. He was right; a large swath of storm clouds flooded the horizon. There was no way they'd be able to avoid it.

"Two storms in three days?" Robin said from the side.

"The weather in the Grand Line really is something, huh?" Usopp responded, clearly terrified. The crew had all convened on the deck wondering how they should best prepare. None of them were weather experts like Nami, so the odds were against them. It was Franky who decided to take charge, giving each of them tasks to do while they still had time.

Franky was right to assume this storm would be worse than the last. The most notable difference was the mass amounts of lightning firing off around them. They were doing their best to avoid any major damage, but they'd be lucky to avoid being struck before they exited the storm on the other side. Franky figured their best bet would be a Coup de Burst, but it was taking him a while to get it ready. Usopp was placed in charge of steering, Robin was once again using her multitude of hands to funnel out the water filling the deck. Luffy and Law were essentially left to do whatever happened to pop up. Occasionally, a large wave would appear to strike their ship, and either Law would cut it down with his sword or Luffy would break it with a punch.

Franky ran back up to the deck, yelling over the sound of the weather. "We're taking off in thirty seconds! Everyone hold on!" Law turned back towards Luffy, flashing him a smile as if to say: We've done it! Just as he did so, a bolt of lightning was finally able to strike the stern of their ship. Law looked back, seeing flames erupt from the wound. This is not good, Law thought, turning back towards Luffy. The raging fire was reflected in his eyes; he looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Luffy?" Law asked, concerned. "What is it?"

"Everyone hold on!" Franky yelled at them. Law stayed focused on Luffy. He wasn't moving. He just kept staring into the fire, tears flooding the lower part of his eyes.

"Luffy we're about to-" Law paused. There was no time; he had to do something fast. Law flung himself forward, grabbing on to Luffy and pulling him tight to his chest. There was a loud boom from the back of the ship, and they lurched forward with speed Law had never experienced before. Their feet left the ground and the two went flying back towards the flaming end of the ship. Law could hear Luffy sobbing as his back crashed against the stern; he could feel the flames lick at his arm. The ship slowly returned to it's normal speed, skipping across the water like a rock thrown by a child. Law threw himself away from the fire as soon as he could, but his arm was already engulfed, as was Luffy's. Franky ran over, spewing a white foam across their bodies before moving on to the back of the ship. The foam had extinguished the flames eating at their bodies, but Law knew some damage had already been done. He didn't care about that though. All he was concerned about was Luffy.

He grabbed the boy by the shoulders, locking eyes with him. "Luffy, what is it?" Luffy tried to choke out the words between sobs.

"A-A-Ace!" Luffy cried. It was then Law understood what had happened. Luffy had watched Ace die two years ago at Marine Ford. His brother was able to become and control fire; the flames engulfing the ship must have triggered something in him. He wasn't sure what he should say to Luffy. None of the others seemed to know either; they all just stood and watched the sad sight, not knowing what to do to help their captain. Law pulled Luffy into a hug. It wasn't much, but it was all he could think of. He hurt for the other boy, not sure why he seemed to share in Luffy's grief, but Law supposed that was the curse of caring for someone other than yourself. He sat there with him until the sobs quieted. Law kept one arm on Luffy's back and used the other to scoop up his legs. He carried him towards the infirmary.

"We've been burned a bit by the fire," he told them. "I'll take him to the infirmary and bandage us up." Zoro made a move to stand in his way, but seemed to ultimately decide against it. Law was the only doctor on board, afterall.

He let the door shut behind them. Law laid Luffy down on the bed only to realize the boy had fallen asleep. He was reminded of when he'd saved the boy at Marineford Thankfully, this time the damage was much less serious. Law tended to Luffy's wounds first, being careful not to wake him, before tending to his own. Thankfully, the burns weren't bad; they'd heal nicely with no scarring. Law decided to let Luffy sleep in the infirmary instead of carrying him to the men's quarters. Before leaving him there, Law took one last look at the boy. Law could never seem to get the right read on Luffy. The captain of the Straw Hats always managed to surprise him. Law had seen him at his worst and at his best, and now he'd seen him like this too. At Amazon Lily, Law had seen Luffy as a devil; at Dressrosa he thought of him as an angel. Now he saw Luffy for what he really was: human. Luffy was no devil, and he wasn't an angel either. They were both just boys, trying to make their way in the world of love and loss, and boy were they stumbling along the way.

Law dimmed the lights and quietly shut the door behind him. Once again, the other crew mates were asleep when he entered the room. Law was grateful, not sure if they would confront him directly without Luffy around. He laid down in his hammock, already sure this would be another sleepless night for him. He closed his eyes anyways, figuring it couldn't hurt to try, and thought about confessing to Luffy. He let the imagined scenario play out in his head; mostly, he imagined the many ways Luffy would surely reject him, but, in the dark confines of that room, Law let himself imagine what it would be like if Luffy loved him back.

Author's Note

I was a little apprehensive to write another storm scene given how short the story is, but I could just not think of another way to get the reactions out that I wanted. Anyway, I just hope it doesn't seem repetitive, and I promise no more storms. I think this might be my favorite chapter I've written so far; there's just a lot of lines throughout that I'm really proud of. As always, I would love to know what everyone is thinking of it!