A Real Nice Day
Smoker goes missing and Tashigi and Law have to find him on their birthday of all things. SmoTashLaw one shot.
The blanket was warm, the smell of the sheets that starchy often bleached linen scent that always clung to hotel rooms. Tashigi blearily opened her eyes, a hint of afternoon sun reaching through the curtained window to sprawl across the curves and dips of the comforter. Her lips curved up in a tiny smile as she buried her face in her pillow, and spread out. No waves, no salt, no alarms blaring that she needed to get up. No men shouting and cracking loud crude jokes as they passed her quarters on the ship. Just quiet and space. Her cramped cot on the warship was better than a shared bunk, but nothing compared to the pure luxury of this simple motel bed. She almost felt guilty for reveling in it.
And sleeping in. Oh what a rebel she was this day. Tashigi smothered her contented smile in the pillow, burrowing deeper into the blanket, not caring that her hair was going every direction and clinging to the comforter through the power of static electricity. She ran her fingertips across the sheets as the smell of fresh coffee brewing hit her nose.
Coffee? Fresh coffee? That she didn't have to make and fight with the coffee machine in the galley every morning? Coffee that she might get the first cup of instead of Smoker swooping in and stealing the bounty of her hard work?!
Tashigi sat up, staring at the door to the other room in the tiny motel suite. She grabbed her glasses off the bedside table, shoving them up and into her mess of hair before nearly tumbling out of bed. If Smoker was making her coffee, she'd kiss him.
The door opened with a wonky squeal of old hinges and crooked floors, but it added an irreplaceable charm to the tiny motel/lighthouse on this small Autumn island in Paradise. The tiny rustic kitchen with a small sitting area leading to the porch overlooking the beach was decorated in that kitschy way only old housewives could, complete with art of log cabins and roosters on the walls.
And on the squat spindly table sat the coffee pot.
With razor focus that she normally only reserves for her sword and battle, Tashigi approaches it and lets the smell, warm and resplendent, wash down her throat.
"Smoker is right, you really do need to pay better attention."
Tashigi whirls around, grabbing for a sword that isn't there, eyes wide, more awake in that instant than any cup of coffee could do. Trafalgar Law stands against the door, deep blue feathered coat hanging on the coat rack behind him, hat hanging delicately atop it. It looks absurd there, fuzzy and a little frayed at the brim.
Panic fading, Tashigi glared at him. "You could have said something," she muttered, turning back to the object of her joy. The pot of coffee.
"I did," he retorted. She stuck her tongue out at him and started looking through the tiny cabinet for a mug. "Put your glasses on," he continued and she glanced back over at him. He'd been here for five minutes and was already doing that exasperated huff with her. Not that she expected anything different. If Law was ever fully pleased with something, the ocean would start boiling.
But, he was holding his hand out to her. She tugged her glasses down from her hair and he came properly into focus. A tiny blush on his tanned cheeks, gaze averted as he held out something in a little bag towards her.
Stepping over to him and taking it from his hand, she peeked inside the simple brown paper bag. Warmth filled the pit of her stomach as Tashigi reached inside and pulled out a brand new coffee mug with a bag of her favorite brand inside. "Happy birthday," Law muttered before going past her, grabbing a mug that she hadn't spotted in the cabinet and pouring himself a cup.
She turned, setting down her new cup carefully on the table. "I just broke mine, how'd you know I needed a new one?" Law gave her a look. Ah. Smoker. She took the real prize, her precious new bag of beans out of the mug and poured herself the glorious dark liquid. It burned just a little, the bitterness sending a spark up her spine.
Most people assumed she liked her coffee with lots of cream and sugar. They were wrong, that was Smoker. Tashigi loved it to be as dark as the night sky.
"Where is Smoker-ya?" Law asked after a few minutes of blissful peace with her delicious dark and liquid-y friend. Tashigi blinked, her brain now finally awake. She frowned. He wasn't here with them, so the next logical place was on the ship. Maybe he was doing her paperwork for her.
Wishful thinking. He was probably doing his own. The frown deepened. She'd hoped to wake up next to him, the smell of cigars and sleep lulling her into a sense of security. Maybe Law would have crawled into bed with them. His fingers in her hair, other hand held gently in Smoker's larger one.
She glanced at Law and could see the tiny hint of hurt in his eyes. The way his jaw was clenched just a little, shoulders tight. They had so few opportunities to be together without fear of repercussions. And Law had so many feelings caught up and tangled with special occasions. Convincing him to be here at all was like trying to pet a stray cat.
Tashigi finished her cup and carefully placed her hand on Law's knee. "We'll go find him. Oh, and let me grab your present." Law hunched a little more and kept his eyes off of her as she returned to the bedroom, pulling a tiny box with a ribbon tied around it out of her overnight bag.
"Here, I found this in the sand in Cocopell Kingdom, it looks old! I asked a nice elderly woman and she said it used to be the currency they used when her grandmother was young. I tried to make it shinier, but didn't have much luck. I think it could be made of a steel alloy bu-" Law held up a hand in front of her as he took the tiny box. Tashigi flushed. She'd been rambling, as she always did because she was always worried about giving Law anything.
Like Smoker, he didn't care much for things, or the concept of things. Of the three of them, Tashigi was the pack rat. He pulled the tiny ribbon off the small box and opened it. Her heart gave a little tiny jolt behind her ribs at the very small smile that appeared on his very pretty lips. She envied his lips, they were just the right shape, not like hers at all.
"Thank you," he said gently, putting the silver coin inside his pocket. They smiled at one another for a second before Law's irritated frown reappeared. "Let's go hunt down the White Hunter."
Law leaned against the door of Smoker's office on the Navy warship. Most of the G-5 men were on shore leave, that number supposed to be including Tashigi and Smoker himself. Tashigi stood in the middle of the office, looking around as if she expected their third part to appear any second.
Law was tempted to rearrange some of Smoker's papers just to piss him off. But it would end up being Tashigi who was the one who fixed them. "I thought for sure he'd be here…" she trailed off, putting a hand on her hips and the other against her lips. No doubt chewing down her nails. A bad habit that she shared with Law.
"Obviously not, any other ideas?"
She glanced at him, the light from the porthole catching the chocolate color in her eyes. "No, we've never even been to this island before. I'm not sure why he wanted to come here in the first place."
They both frowned at that. That was unusual.
Law stalked over to Smoker's desk and looked at it, papers and ashes littered across the surface. The rocks in the corner, the smooth bluish one Law had given him the day he'd finally decided to commit to the package deal that were his two chosen idiot marines sitting on top of the pile.
Tashigi came around the other side and stared at the mess too. "That's weird," she mumbled, picking up a blue folder, classified on the outside. Law quirked an eyebrow as she skimmed it. He casually rifled through the other papers on the desk. Inventory reports, crewman logs, patrol reports. Nothing particularly engaging. The kind of shit he was glad he didn't have to deal with.
Nothing except for the folder in Tashigi's hands. She kept tucking a lock of hair behind her ear then adjusting her glasses, causing the hair to swing forward into her eyes and repeat. "This is a file on a former doctor turned pirate…" she mumbled. That caught Law's attention. He leaned his hip against the desk, crossing his arms. "Wanted for suspected kidnappings, illegal organ trading, human trafficking…and he's a swordsman?! How DARE he!" Tashigi slapped the folder shut, fuming.
"C'mon Trafalgar! The bastard was last spotted here, on the other side of the island!" she stormed out of Smoker's office, sword in hand. Ah, so that's where Smoker had gotten off too. Law followed after her, wondering why he put up with their goody two shoes bullshit.
The walls shook, a loud crash echoing above him. Smoker glanced up at the ceiling, dust raining down. He'd need a shower after this. The torch on the wall across from him flickered as more crashing and now terrified yelps could be heard above. He leaned his head back against the wall, a smirk forming on his lips. His amber eyes watched the sudden appearance of something like a film encasing everything, stopping and vanishing abruptly as it encountered the seastone handcuffs around his wrists.
A few minutes later, all went quiet up above after a particularly loud clash of steel against steel. He looked toward the stairs, up to the locked door, tapping his foot as he crossed one leg over the other.
"Smoker-san!" The door banged open, Tashigi rushing down the stairs too fast. He sighed as she tripped, skipping across the floor before jumping back up to her feet, looking around for him. Her eyes went wide as they fell upon him and she rushed over to the door of his cell. Law followed her at a leisurely pace, arms crossed, Kikoku over his shoulder. His golden eyes caught Smoker, a question in their depths as he came to Tashigi's side.
"Took you long enough," Smoker grunted, watching Law produce a stolen key and unlocking the door.
"Tch, I could leave you in those handcuffs," the smug little bastard muttered as Tashigi entered the cell, giving him a once over. Smoker rolled his eyes and stood up, strolling out of his temporary prison, and up the stairs. He could feel Tashigi's concern burning into his back.
At the top of the stairs was the main creepy little compound. Full of weird ass medical journals and equipment. The target and his lackeys were chained up on the floor, unconscious. Good.
More importantly, Smoker glanced over his shoulder, a small puff of smoke leaving his mouth as he caught Tashigi running her thumb over her newly claimed sword.
He walked out of the compound, the wood and old cement clashing with the pretty view of the sandy beach. Crystal clear water and flowering trees. Too nice a place for such shitheads to set up. He settled himself on the beach, Tashigi and Law coming up behind him. The cut on his forehead burned. Law was glaring at him, eyeing it in that way Smoker knew he was considering leaving him to treat it himself. Tashigi looked like she was about to burst with whatever furious words were inside her head.
"Care to explain yourself, White Hunter-ya?" Oh, Law was actually pissed, referring to him by his epithet. Smoker made a face as Tashigi burst out "Why didn't you take me with you?!"
So they were both pissed. Not...quite what he was aiming for.
"Happy birthday," he grunted. They both blinked at him.
"What?" and "Eh?" in nearly the same tone.
"Creepy rare medical texts for you," Smoker jerked his thumb at Law, "And a new sword for you," he glanced at Tashigi. They both stared at him, Law's eyebrows up high, Tashigi's mouth open low.
Both adorable in that way that made something twinge in his chest.
Law huffed, and ducked his face down below his hat. Tashigi sat herself on the sand next to him, lips forming a little pout. "Still could have told me…" she mumbled before pressing her soft lips against his cheek.
"Let me look at that cut," Law grumbled as he settled on Smoker's other side. Smoker lit a cigar as Law fussed and Tashigi leaned her head on his shoulder, the waves rolling against the shore.
Nice day, a real nice day.
Notes:
Happy birthday to Law and Tashigi! I love this throuple. They are so cute. Law and his stupid clumsy and smoking marines.
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