Rating: Teen.
Warnings: Shounen-ai. Swearing.
Word Count: 3,068
Edit: 8/3/19 - 4,457. Heavily edited, reread suggested.
Pairings: Law/Luffy. Background Zoro/Sanji.
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own One Piece nor any characters from it.
AN: Trying to get rid of my writing block and decided to revamp this.
Law heaved a heavy sigh as he stared up at the college he would now be attending. A total downgrade, if you ask him. He couldn't believe that his birdbrained good for nothing Uncle forced him to come back to this small town. He would have preferred to have stayed overseas in London, preparing for his 4th year at UCL. You know, only one of the top medical schools in the world. The conversation still made Law grit his teeth and scowl in displeasure… Doffy never listened to anyone but himself.
"Laaaaw, you know as well as I do that you'll have a better chance at finding your soulmate here. At home where you belong." Doflamingo insisted in a playful tone.
Law rolled his eyes and scoffed, " You already know that I don't give a shit about that Soulmate garbage, Doffy. I could care less about finding my destined one."
" Law, you're already twenty-two," he could hear his uncle's quiet sigh, "most people find their mates in Highschool so I think I've given you enough time to full around." And just like that his playful tone was gone and his rare-used parenting voice bled through, "I expect you to be on that plane and back here tomorrow. Corazon and I have already made all the proper arrangements for your future schooling. See you soon, kid."
" DOFLAMINGO! DON'T YOU DAR-" Law cut off when he heard the beeping that told him the call had been ended.
" Well, that's just fan- fucking-tastic. I'm sure this will be a great time…" He said to himself. He knew that he couldn't defy Doffy when he was like this. Especially not if he roped his dad into this.
Law knew full well that he was past that age and had little hope of finding his soulmate this late in the game. The way it worked was people usually found their soulmate in the timespan of their first year of Middle School all the way to their last year of High School. Mates are usually born in the same town, or fairly close to each other because they are meant to meet. In rare cases, they can be born far apart, but are eventually brought together by some weird coincidence.
People know when they have found their mates because a tattoo of their names will appear on the underside of their arms. Like his friend Zoro when he met Sanji through him. Zoro got Vinsmoke Sanji on his left arm, and Sanji got Roronoa Zoro on his right. Law smirked at the memory. Their reactions were priceless since the two fought like cats and dogs whenever they were together. Though Law suspected that was just a way to release the tension that was between them… although there was always that other way.
He continued to walk through the halls to his first class. Everything was going smoothly until he turned the corner and somebody smashed into him. Which he meant quite literally as he was thrown backward and landed on his ass and somebody was sitting on top of him.
"Shishishi. That was fun!" The person above him laughed weirdly.
Law's first instinct was to throw this weight off of him and snap at whoever just decked him to the floor. That was until he looked up and saw the guy. It was a kid with these big brown doe eyes, with a scar under the left one, and an overwhelmingly big-toothed grin and if that wasn't enough the kid was staring down at him with the cutest expression.
Law didn't even register anything but the boy's face until he felt a searing pain on the underside of his right arm, which caused him to wince and then scowl in displeasure.
The person didn't seem to realize Law's mood and spoke with a slightly high-pitched happy voice. "Sorry for running into you!" He could tell that the brat wasn't sorry at all with just one look into his mischievous eyes. "I was trying to escape a lecture from that annoying teacher, Akainu..." The kid's face darkened slightly at the name but it vanished within the next second.
Law brushed it off as him seeing things as the boy was back to chattering happily while continuing to sit on top of him all while making no signs of getting up. Law felt like he had to stop this now before he ended up snapping at the brat.
He gently pushed the boy off his lap and noticed a straw hat on his back in the process. He stood up and brushed himself off. The boy was still on the ground so Law offered him a hand which he took. "It's fine but you should really watch where you're going next time Strawhat-ya," Law cautioned and gave the boy a once over to make sure he wasn't injured. If his eyes lingered a bit longer then what was appropriate and he gave him a once over well… that wasn't anybody's business but his own.
The boy was wearing the straw hat on his head now, paired with a long-sleeved red hoodie, a pair of blue jean shorts, and old-fashioned sandals. After Law finished checking him- looking him over for injury he turned to leave and headed toward his class. Which he really should be getting too soon, but he was aware of the kid following him.
"Hey, tattoo-guy! My name is Monkey D. Luffy!" The kid- Luffy shouted from his spot next to him. Law held in the urge to roll his eyes and picked up his pace. But somehow Luffy managed to keep up with him even with his shorter legs. Then the raven tilted his head and looked up at him with a curious expression and a grin. "What's your name?"
"Trafalgar Law" He figured he might as well humor the kid until he reached his class.
"Traa...Tor...Trafla...Torao! Shishishii~ Nice to meet you, Torao!" If the brat couldn't pronounce his last name he should have just called him Law. "I'm glad I got away from Akainu since he's such an asshole, but I'm glad I met you since you seem like a good guy!"
Luffy continued talking all the way to his class and Law was glad to finally be here since he was getting on his nerves. He wasn't used to talking to anyone besides his family members and his few friends. And none of them were chatterboxes. When his classroom finally came into view he almost heaved a sigh of relief.
"Well, Luffy-ya this is my class," Law stated and further emphasized it with a pointed finger at the plague on the door. It read: Professor Smoker.
He saw Luffy's eyes light up in recognition, "Oh, you have Smokey as your teacher! You must be a fourth-year then, Torao. Guess I'll see you later!" Luffy grinned widely. He waved to Law quickly until the younger man turned his back and walked to his next class. Or well he assumed that's where he was walking.
He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be his last encounter with Monkey D. Luffy and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He sighed as he walked into his classroom. He just knew that this was going to be a long day.
Luffy was on Law's mind for basically the entire rest of the day, which was very unusual for him. He only gave other people a passing thought, if they weren't useful to him. Well, except for his childhood friends Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin but that was different since Bepo practically glued himself to Law throughout the years and Shachi and Penguin were always a step behind them.
Though, he knew that if they ever tried to call him by anything other than Law or Trafalgar he'd rip out their vocal cords and preside to skewer them with Kikoku - the sword his father got him when he went overseas for a trip one year. He discarded that train of thought and his mind went back to thinking about Luffy.
He figured the straw-hatted boy must be a first-year since he didn't look like he could have been any older than eighteen. Law's gotta admit though, that kid was pretty fucking cute. However, he also appeared to be naive and much too trusting for his own good what with the way he just followed Law - a literal stranger - and struck up a conversation with him and even called him a good guy after two seconds of meeting. He could already tell that whoever was friends or family with that kid had their hands full. He was the kind of person that could get into trouble sitting still.
Law could totally see that. He continued to think about things that Luffy would probably end up getting into even after he entered his house. He went to remove his coat and hang it up on the rack until his eyes zeroed in on his arm. He dropped the coat and grabbed his arm to examine the new tattoo which definitely wasn't there yesterday.
"What. The. Fuck?!" Law shouted out loud, freaked out about the new tattoo that he now had. And to make matters worse it was a soulmate one. There was no mistaking that. He glanced at it again and glared at the beautiful inky black scrawl that covered the underside of his arm. It read: ' Monkey D. Luffy .'
"Law, why are you yell..." Law looked over to see his adopted father, Corazon, stop mid-sentence when the man he caught sight of his arm and realized the reason for his yelling. His dad stared in blatant disbelieve at the raven's new body art. Then after a few beats, he broke into his signature wide - borderline creepy with the facepaint - grin.
"Law! You met your Soulmate !? Oh my god! That's huge let me take a lo-" He got cut off again because he tripped over nothing and fell flat on his face when he tried to run over to him. Same old dad Law thought and smiled a little despite his current situation. Corazon recovered relatively quickly and rushed over to check out the marking.
"Monkey D. Luffy… Huh. That's funny since you also have a D. initial Law. But I'm so happy for you!" The blond's face took on a dreamy quality and he then proceeded to burst into tears and blabber on and on. "I thought I'd never get grandkids at this rate. Oh, and of course the wedding!" Corazon continued excitedly talking about things that shouldn't even be thought of at the moment.
Law sighed, exhaustion was audible in his tone, "Cora-san… this just happened and I don't even know how I feel about this." Law mulled over all of it and was starting to get a headache from stressful thoughts.
Corazon donned a rare serious-father look, "Well, you just have to accept this Law. It's a destiny you can't fight against. The tattoo on your skin proves that." His dad placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. "The mark shows that your his and he's yours and nothing - not even death - can change that." Law couldn't help but smile up at his father before he shrugged the hand off his shoulder.
Corazon understood and changed back to his normal happy go lucky persona. "Now you just have to tell me about this boy!" The blond demanded.
Law rolled his eyes but indulged his father with what little he knew. "I only met him today so I don't know much but here is what happened…"
After Law explained what had occurred and Corazon stopped laughing about him being pushed down they continued to talk.
"Hey at least he sounds like a nice kid," the older man chuckled, "I can't wait to meet him!" His father's eyes hardened a bit on his next words, "Now Law... I expect you to follow through with this willingly. Well, even if you don't it'll still happen." Corazon joked with a laugh. Just thinking about this shaking up his calm and collected son was enough to set him off.
The blond got up and left the room with that final heavy sentence hanging in the air between them.
Law got tired from just thinking about the straw-hat wearing boy and already knew this wasn't going to be easy. Since it was simpler to work then think about the depressing situation he decided to just study for the rest of the day and think about things tomorrow.
Luffy's mind was filled with thoughts about the tall handsome man he met today. It weirded him out since he mostly only used it for thinking about food. All of this was overshadowed by the fact that he was pretty surprised to come home and find ' Trafalgar D. Water Law ' plastered on his left underarm in bold black lettering. It was longer than what Torao told him but he still got it. So, Torao must be his Soulmate! Luffy smiled happily at finally meeting his mate.
He was already passed the time meant to meet and was honestly a little worried about it before this happened. But since Torao was a fourth-year in college he must have already given up hope of meeting his partner. Though he got the feeling that the man wasn't bothered by such things.
Luffy was happy that Ace wasn't at home right now because he'd make a big deal about it, what with his freckled brother's huge overprotectiveness that bordered on brother complex territory. Luffy sighed audibly just thinking about that. So he shoved it from his mind and went to the kitchen for meat. Food was his number one priority anyhow. When Luffy walked into the kitchen for his favorite meat he realized he made the mistake of forgetting about his other brother.
Unfortunately, it was already too late to backtrack since the blond had caught sight of him. "Lu! You should have said you were home or something." Sabo chided as he walked by Luffy to grab a cup. Luffy saw him glance over and he hid his arm on reflex. The blond picked up on it right away.
"Luffy, what are you trying to hide?" Placing the cup down Sabo approached Luffy to look at whatever he was hiding. Luffy, figuring it'll just be easier to show Sabo pouts but lets him look at his arm.
His brother stared at the mark for about 10 seconds straight with an unreadable expression like always. He was good at giving nothing away and it irked Ace and him to no end. Luffy waited for a beat for a reaction and wondered if he should say something.
Right then, however, Sabo seemed to snap out of his daze and he said something completely unexpected. "Wow... that name sure takes me back," his tone was one of fond nostalgia, "Huh. So Law was your soulmate this whole time meaning he's back in town." Sabo smiled at the childhood memories before he refocused and went back to finding something to drink.
Luffy just gaped at his older brother in shocked silence, wondering if he just heard correctly. Sabo knew who Torao was? He wasn't mad even though he was just like Ace only slightly less with his complex? Sabo looked over and realized Luffy's confusion and briefly explained.
"I've known Law since we were in middle school through our mutual friends. He's a pretty cool guy once you get to know him so don't worry Lu, I definitely approve of him. I'm just glad you didn't get somebody like Cavendish for your soulmate. Him I definitely would've killed." Sabo smiled his wicked smile and the raven knew he wasn't joking. Whew, one brother down and now only one to go.
"You're actually lucky that your tattoo appeared so quickly since it usually takes a few days or weeks for the souls to fully connect. Koala and I didn't know about it until after a week while Ace and Marco's appeared the very next day after the meeting." Sabo paused for a second and looked at him with curiosity, "You know, they say the stronger the bond between your souls the faster the tattoo appears. So, do you remember how long it took yours?" Sabo questioned as he poured plain water into his glass.
Luffy thought back to their first meeting and remembered that he had felt an odd pain right after his eyes connected with Torao when he was on top of him.
"Shishishi. Yeah, I remember feeling pain right after making eye contact with him," Luffy responded while he ate a giant serving of meat in one bite. Sabo shook his head at his brother's eating habits but continued the conversation hoping the younger man didn't choke on his food.
"That's amazing. It means your souls must have bonded right when your eyes met. I've never heard of it happening so fast!" Sabo stopped his discovery induced chatter and patted Luffy on the head and shot him a smile. "I'm really happy for you, Lu. Just make sure to bring him over so I can talk to him soon, okay?" Luffy nodded at the blond and he took that as his cue and walked out of the kitchen with his glass.
He frowned once his brother was out of sight. He could already picture how that talk was gonna go since Sabo's tone changed a bit at the end. He was starting to slightly pity Torao but then again it wasn't much since he would be way too entertained by the show to care that much.
Luffy hurriedly finished up his meat and he figured that he'd go see Torao tomorrow so they could talk about their newfound relationship. He was super glad that his mate was going to be somebody like Torao. Even he could tell that the man was extremely good looking with his dark skin and hair, his stormy gray eyes, his silver piercings, and the many tattoos the man's skin probably carried. All in all, the guy was probably a catch. He did seem to be a bit on the gloomy, creepy, and negative side of things but Luffy could more than makeup for that.
Luffy smiled in anticipation and excitement. He had a really good feeling about tomorrow.
O-kay, Law was already dreading going inside of the school. With him just knowing that he could end up running into Luffy right away was enough for him to feel this way. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He could do this, no pressure. Once he was calm enough he headed inside and tuned into the gossip that he usually ignored. He needed to know if the rumors had started yet. It was always a huge deal when a new soulbond was made after all.
"Hey, did you guys hear what people are saying!?" A blonde girl demanded with an irritatingly high-pitched voice.
"I know it's crazy! It's all over the school. They say the Strawhat Captain has found his soul-bond! And he was totally cute too." A brunette giggled creepily in his opinion.
"I just wonder what the rest of his crew are gonna say when they hear about it! I bet it'll be pretty entertaining to watch." A dark-haired man smirked.
"I bet since all of them are pretty overprotective of their cute airheaded captain… Especially his crew's first-mate and cook!"
The group of people chuckled at the last line and walked right past Law. Damn. Word traveled fast in this town. Law wasn't surprised that people knew but he couldn't help but wonder what the girls meant by that captain and crew talk. Although, he didn't think about it for long when suddenly something jumped on him and he almost fell on his ass for the second day in a row.
Thank fucking God he caught himself at the last second. After assuring that he was steadied he looked down to see what the hell just collided with him. He wasn't surprised to see Luffy clinging to him with a smile on his face. He was startled by the warm feeling in his chest and the sudden heat on his face from just looking at Luffy and to have him touching him though.
" Torao !" The younger man squeezed him tight. "Can you believe we are soulmates!? I'm so happy that it was you!." Luffy shouted pleasantly, still hanging onto Law with his arms now wrapped around his neck.
Law was about return the gesture and smile despite himself, but before he could he heard chatter behind him. Right. They were still in front of the school and probably being stared at right now. He figured they should probably take this somewhere more private so he just retracted his mate's hands from his neck and put him down.
When Law saw the hurt in Luffy's eyes he spoke quickly. "Luffy-ya, let's go somewhere else and talk about this." Law didn't wait for a response, he just grabbed Luffy's hand and dragged him to the back of the school.
He tried to ignore the pleasant tingles running through his body. He didn't know that this was what it felt like to be near your other half. That by just touching him and being near him brought an unexpected warmth that he had never felt before. He might just get addicted to it.
They reached the back of the school and he took a look around. It was usually deserted and it appeared it was today as well. Law walked over and sat down on the grass and leaned against the wall. He gestured for Luffy to do the same. However, instead of sitting across from Law he just plopped down right next to him, clinging onto his arm and leaning against his right side. Law sighed inwardly but he made no move to dislodge the teen from his place. It… felt nice to have his weight on him, not that he would ever admit that.
Law looked down at Luffy to see him staring deeply up at him with excitement and nervousness in his eyes. Law smiled at this unintentionally and caught Luffy's eyes moving to stare at his lips and heard an audible gulp. Law was still lost in Luffy's face when the sudden voice snapped him out of it.
"Sooo Torao, you are okay with us being soulmates right?" Luffy asked with hope shining in his eyes and a twinge of fear in his voice.
Any thoughts Law had of denying this was immediately expelled from his mind and he just pulled Luffy away from himself and positioned him so that they were now across from each other but still close enough that their knees touched in their crisscrossed positions.
"Yes, I'm alright with this Luffy-ya and I hope that you're happy with me..." He felt his face heat up at the sweet words that were coming out of his mouth and he looked away from the sheer embarrassment of it all. Luffy noticed and thought Law was being absolutely adorable and flashed his signature grin and laughed happily.
"Shishishi. Torao, you look so cute when you blush!"
"Luffy-ya I..I do not blush." Law stuttered slightly but recovered when he thought of a way to get back at the teen. Not giving it a second thought Law leaned in and kissed his mate, moving his tattooed hand up to cup the younger raven's cheek.
Luffy froze in shock but after a few seconds, he pushed back against Law's lips and reciprocated the kiss. He moved his hand to grab the one cupping his cheek to hold it there.
Law smirked into the kiss and licked Luffy's bottom lip asking for entrance and the teen complied as a small moan left him. Law entered and wasted no time in exploring his mate's mouth, running his tongue along Luffy's and his body basked in the excitement and pleasure.
Luffy whined when he felt Law beginning to pull away all too soon. Law chuckled when he saw Luffy's pouty expression and the red tint of his cheeks highlighting his face.
"Who's blushing now, Luffy-ya?" Law teased and pulled Luffy into his lap and wrapped his strong arms around him, so his back was resting against the older raven's stomach.
Law was extremely out of his depth with all of this relationship stuff. He never even thought that he would have something like this and he had never wanted it. But looking down at Luffy now he realized how lucky he really was.
Both boys stayed in that space for the rest of the school day just talking to one another, and school had long since been forgotten. They both wanted to know anything and everything about the other. Law found that his assumption was correct and Luffy had just entered college that year and that they were 4 years apart with Luffy being eighteen and Law being twenty-two. Luffy talked about how it was just him and his brothers and Law talked about his… interesting family. After that, the topic had turned to their respective friends...
"Oh right! Torao, you just have to meet my crew. They've been asking since they found out about the tattoos." Law remembered hearing about a crew and all of a sudden a shiver went down his spine. He pushed the wary feeling he was getting aside and refocused on the conversation.
"...Your crew ?" Law's eyebrows knitted in confusion and interest.
"Mmhm! Shishishi. Nine people in total and I'm the Captain! They are all really great and I'm sure they'll love you." The older raven decided not to question why his boyfriend had what he could only assume as a pirate crew. Through their little talk, he noticed his mate was a bit… well, Luffy.
" What ?" Law sputtered, "Meet them like right now ? School isn't over, their probably in class." He reasoned, trying to get out of this but Luffy just smirked. And damn if that wasn't sexy he didn't know what was.
"Nah, it's fine, Torao." He waved off his boyfriend's 'worries.' "I'll just call them and they'll come and they'll all arrive quickly since I'm asking." Luffy grinned and then laughed and said, "Well, at least most of them will since he'll probably get lost." He shook his head, a smile still plastered on his face from thinking about his crew.
Law realized there was no way he was getting out of this and decided to just accept it. He was still worried about meeting this 'crew' of his because he kept getting odd vibes... But he brushed it off again. Law knew that he'd be okay as long as Luffy was by his side… or at least that's what he hoped.