O.O It took me 85 years but here we are.

I finally edited the story and hopefully its a bit better than before.

CHAPTER ONE

ONCE UPON AN US

Luffy felt giddy.

Feet light and heart summersaulting in her chest; she hopped clumsily, tripping over piled clothes lying on her bedroom floor. Sitting still or staying put in one place became a task harder than keeping her hands off of food so she opted to bounce around the small rented apartment she and her brothers shared.

Just the thought of finally meeting her boyfriend after ninety days, eleven hours, forty-five minutes and thirty-three seconds made it impossible to stop the grin forming on her lips. She may have counted it a tad too specific but that was beside the point. She was excited.

They had planned to attend the same university together but even after graduating high school, Luffy remained undecided whether she should pursue college or not while various medical schools sought after her boyfriend who was one of the top students nationwide.

Entering college when she wasn't sure of it seemed disrespectful to her brothers who were working hard to support her. She didn't want to add more burden on them. They were already paying everything for her to the point of neglecting themselves which thoroughly annoyed her. Their grandfather sent them monthly allowance but considering their food consumption – which was, oh boy, don't even ask – it was barely enough.

Her boyfriend's father even offered to pay all her fees for college but she declined. How would she grow into an independent woman whom her brothers could be proud of if everything was given to her as if she was some sort of primadonna?

Though Luffy's decision was hard for him, he understood. At the same time, she fully supported his decision to study at a top medical school in a neighboring city. She wanted nothing more than for him to reach his dream; never mind that every second they were apart, she missed him terribly.

They had faced hard times. Their schedules didn't match as she juggled with her part-time jobs – she goes to sleep, he goes to his morning classes; she wakes up, he studies for his lessons; she goes to work, he tucks in for the night – which made it hard to fit in time where they could talk to each other.

They fought over little things but they made it work.

At least that's what she thought.

She looked at herself in the mirror as she fixed her hair – or at least tried to –, untangling knotted bundle of black hair and huffed in annoyance every time her comb snagged. It barely reached her shoulders but the effort of taking care of it sent her reeling into exhaustion. She wasn't shy of voicing out her frustrations to her brothers who wanted to keep it that way because according to them her hair hugs her face the right way which makes her ten times cuter – whatever that meant.

She never really cared about what she looked like. Those things were superficial, it never mattered to her. It was what's inside the heart that mattered.

Though sometimes —rarely—, she would look at herself in the mirror and wonder; how on earth did someone like Trafalgar Law liked her.

Her gazed fixated on her reflection. She sees a plain, skinny, black haired girl with a scar below her left eye. She wore baggy clothes and loose pants more to the demise of her friend Nami. She skips class to hang out with her friends, dives into street fights and eats like twenty full grown men. Nowhere near the girls that one would like to date, bring to a dance and much less meet their parents.

Law could date any girl that he wanted yet he chose Luffy.

And that thought alone made her feel so warm and loved.

She only noticed that she was blankly staring at herself —hand clutching a comb halfway through the length of her hair — when her cell phone rang. Shaking herself out of that weird trance, she grabbed her phone and unlocked the screen.

"I'm at Makino's" – Torao

She knew she had a stupid smile on her face, one that her brothers roll their eyes over. She didn't care. His messages, no matter how short, made her happy.

Luffy grabbed a pair of blue tattered jeans from her closet and a white loose shirt with a flaming fist design that was splayed on the bed. It may or may not be her brother's shirt but details. Ace would flip out once he found out she wore his clothes again but her boyfriend was waiting and the longer she lagged around, the lesser they'd be able to spend together.

She stormed out of the only bedroom in the apartment, toes wiggling as she slipped on her flip flops, grabbing her phone on the dresser and of course, her straw hat. She bolted to the door, screaming goodbye to her brother who lounged in the living room, watching television with his boyfriend.

Before the man could even reply or turn around to see her out, Luffy was already out of the door and away from her brother busting her of wearing his shirts — again.

A slammed door and an "Ace, I'm going out to meet Torao. I'll come home before six, but I won't promise. Shishi, love yah! Better leave food for me!" could be heard from behind the door. No doubt it can be heard throughout the whole neighborhood.

The couple jumped away from each other as the door slammed shut. Marco shook his head and leaned back on the chair. Ace smiled fondly, shaking his head at his sister's antics and leaned on his boyfriend's shoulders. It is not every day he gets a day off so might as well take advantage and binge watch his favorite series with his beau and with no noisy Luffy around.

He loves her oh so much but he needed privacy. It was hard to do things while his sister was in the other room and might pop out randomly. Her innocence was on the line so he got to be a good big brother and behave.

Luffy ran past the streets, smiling and waving at almost every person she met along the way. When you live in a small town, you'd end up befriending a lot of people. In Luffy's case, everybody. Sometimes she gets into trouble and receives a scolding from the mayor but everyone knew that was how the mayor shows his fondness and concern for her.

Cheeks flushed from running and smiling at the people she passed by, Luffy finally arrived at Party's, a homey and dainty cafe owned by Makino. She used to look after Luffy and her brothers when she was younger before their Grandpa had sent Dadan to take care of them.

The little bell rang as she opened the door; her heart racing in her chest. Happiness and longing swirled inside her, heart and mind almost bursting with the prospect of finally seeing Law after months of being away from each other.

Luffy noticed Makino cleaning and arranging small plates and cups behind the counter. She waved at the dark haired lady and she smiled, her face lighting up yet Luffy could tell that something was hidden in there, a trace of hesitation.

She paused and looked at her for a moment. Makino was genuinely smiling now. That might have been her eyes playing with her. She shrugged it off for the time being, she'd get back to Makino later and make sure she was okay. Luffy would punch anyone who makes Makino sad.

Luffy pranced through wooden tables and chairs, aiming for the little open area of the cafe overlooking the waters of East Blue.

She skipped through the tables, maneuvering like the graceful —HA! Lies — monkey that she was. Then she saw him; calmly sitting, leaning against his seat.

He wore his favorite yellow and black jacket and spotted jeans. His fluffy white spotted hat covered his midnight blue hair shadowing half of his face.

Torao looked perfect.

Luffy sighed, weak. So weak for him.

She was really lucky, wasn't she?

She ran toward the table with a huge smile on her face, heart on her sleeves. "Torao!"

Law looked up with an annoyed frown. Luffy rolled her eyes, always the grump, she thought. She already told him to smile more. It suited him well.

Stupid Torao, she thought fondly.

Used to it, Luffy shrugged. Torao have a lot on his plate – his studies, his family – so she understood. He did have a weird relationship with his uncle so that must have been the reason why he was such a grump. But it doesn't matter, Luffy will turn that frown upside down.

"You're late, Luffy." No matter how many times she heard his voice, it didn't fail to make her swoon.

She missed him. Missed him so much.

"Shishishi, sorry! I was helping old Nyon cross the street. And maybe talked to one or more people along the way." She settled herself on a chair opposite of Law's, enthusiastically taking the menu laid on the table even though she already memorized the entire thing written there. Nothing was better than to share your food with the people you love. Quite literally on her case. She only shares her food with the people she love.

"You don't have to order, we won't be staying long," he said with such indifference. It sounded cold. Luffy dropped the menu and stared at him frowning. That was mean. He knew how she felt about food.

With the patience she thought she never had, she asked. "Another argument with your dad?" Law shook his head and looked her in the eyes. Gray eyes piercing through her. There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, the world around them hushed and it was just the two of them.

Law sighed. "I'm breaking up with you, Luffy.-ya."

Luffy blinked in surprise; dumbfounded, not comprehending what she heard. What he meant.

She found herself staring into his eyes, searching. Her heart throbbed searching for something she didn't even know what. The way he looked at her felt wrong, bitter, cold, unfeeling. It made her feel like an outsider. Alone in the midst of strangers with no one to hold on to. This wasn't the Law she spent three years of her life with. This wasn't the man she fell in love with.

She could feel her heart fall in to a million tiny, fragile pieces. The songs she heard play on the radio about broken hearts didn't seem so far-fetched anymore. In fact, it was selling it short. It hurt a thousand times more than what it implied.

"I ought to tell you months ago but it didn't seem right to say it in our phone calls. Sorry." He added.

She couldn't really blame him. She was... Well... she was Luffy – different from everyone else. It was about time Law finally opened his eyes and realized she wasn't worth all the trouble she brought in his life.

"I see." She mumbled softly, something out of character coming from her of all people. A million thoughts swirled inside her head, making it ache. She didn't like thinking, she was more of an act now, think never kind of gal.

She followed her heart in everything she did.

Right now, it was screaming.

Tilting her lips to form a curve hurt. She looked at him and pushed herself to smile. Though the look on his face seemed shocked. It puzzled her why he looked so surprised.
She wanted to laugh. It should be her acting that way. This came out of nowhere.

She had no idea why. She wanted to ask yet she didn't want to hear him say she wasn't enough. She wanted to fight for their relationship, she wanted to but what for?

The man in front of her was an entirely different person. Fondness, affection and love was nowhere to be found. Yet guilt lingered in his eyes. He shouldn't feel guilty. This was him being honest. This was all her fault, she didn't give enough.

But how much was enough?

The somber mood on the table cracked when a red-haired woman wearing something that seemed to be worth ten times her apartment pulled the chair on their table. She sat beside Law, placing her dainty hand casually on his lap.

Law's lips quirked up at the girl presence, something Luffy knew was once only for her.

"Oh." Luffy exhaled slowly. She understood now.

She extended her frail manicured hand. "You must be Luffy, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Amber."

Luffy unconsciously took the hand and shook it as if she was meeting a friend. She felt numb. Her brain was sent into overdrive, she basically let her body do as it pleased.

What happened? What did she ever do wrong for her to experience something like this? Was she evil in her past life? Did she kill someone to get punished this much? For her heart to hurt so badly.

She thought if the meat had run out of stock in the entire world, she would feel as shitty as this. She shook her head and chuckled softly. Same old Luffy, how could she think of meat when her boyfriend just broke up with her and introduced another woman?

She was falling apart, she braced herself and tried her hardest not to show it in her face no matter how many times her friends always called her out for being a shitty liar.

It hurt, it hurt so much. But she got to try.

"I hope they're all good things." She said, her voice started to quiver and she bit the inside of her lip. Her eyes stung. Her body aches for her to let it go. She immediately sat, not trusting her legs to not give out. She clenched her hands on her lap, blinking before her traitorous eyes shed tears.

"Oh, they all are." The woman giggled, looking at Law like he hung the stars. She leaned against Law, laying her head on his shoulder. The urge to punch the woman was at its peak. Yeah she could do that, she could punch her face and Law's face too. That sounded like a good idea.

But she never wanted to hurt Law. Never wanted to see him frown because of her. Turned out it was only her who felt that way.

Luffy felt her phone vibrate on her pocket. She thanked whoever texted her, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to leave. Lying sounded pathetic. She didn't want to stoop that low.

She took a deep breath and unclenched her fist before she unlocked her phone. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes blurring the message displayed on her phone. It took her a while but she was glad, finding comfort in the presence of her brother even only with his text. "Ah, Ace wants me to go home early. Apparently Sabo's returning from his trip." She said, with all the strength she had and looked straight at the couple in front of her.

She stood up and shrugged her shoulders. "It was nice seeing you again, Law... You too Amber."

He looked like he wanted to say something with the crease on his forehead. Did this girl knew that like she does? She shook herself. There was no point asking stupid questions. So what if she didn't know? Law still chose her.

"Thank you for everything." She finally said and she knew it was heartfelt and she knew Law felt that judging by those wide grey eyes. She took a deep breath and forced her feet to move away from that table.

Move away from pain.

It hurt.

She wanted to cry.

"Don't cry", she told herself.

She couldn't cry now, she wouldn't. At least not in front of them.

She started walking faster, never looking back. She heard his voice calling out her name. She closed her eyes, mockingly laughing to herself. "You're hearing things. Why would he ever call for you again? You meant nothing to him."

Makino called after her but the ringing in her ears blocked everything. Her head was spinning, heart heavy and broken. She wanted to leave the cafe as soon as possible.

Away from Law, away from that red-haired woman, away from everyone.

She just wanted to be alone. It was better to be alone.

The moment she stepped out of the place, tears fell on her cheeks. She wiped them with her wrists, willing them to stop but the tears kept falling. "Stop, stop. Please." She sniffed, rubbing her eyes until they felt sore. She couldn't hold it in anymore. It hurt.

She started running. She didn't even know where she was going.

It didn't matter.

Anywhere far from him would be fine.

x

Makino stood at the entrance of her cafe, her heart reaching out for her precious Luffy. She had never seen the young woman looked so heartbroken, hurt. She watched her grow into a fine woman with a heart of gold after all those years. She never raised her to end up getting hurt by the man she loved.

With burning anger in her heart, she barged her way into the veranda ignoring the growing onlookers. Nosy little bastards, she thought. She hoped they didn't see Luffy breakdown in front of her café. The girl didn't need the whole town to have a show out of her heartbreak.

She stomped towards Law's table and she saw him flinch while the woman was oblivious to her mood, giving Makino a disgustingly sweet smile.

Good, he better be scared because he had no idea how mad she was right now. How dare he. How dare he break Luffy's heart.

She didn't' deserve any of this.

She wanted to scream at him, throw profanities at the kid. Yet her heart's resolve crumbled at the image of Luffy trying to hold her tears. Smiling through the pain she was experiencing. She was always so strong. Her brave little girl.

"You." she said solemnly, pointing a shaky finger at Law from her rage, her pain. "Don't you ever return to this place again. I don't want to see you around here."

"I'm sorry-"

"I don't need your apology, Law. Take your friend out of my cafe." She spat.

The young man remained quiet.

"Why Law? All she ever did to you was love you wholeheartedly." She sniffed and pointed at the door. "Leave please, before my common sense leaves me and drag you and your fancy little friend out of here."

The man stood up along with the red-haired woman, who looked flabbergasted. Law bowed and walked towards the exit.

"Wait." She added and Law turned around only to feel the impact of Makino's slap on his cheek. It resounded inside her cafe making the other guests gasp.

"That's for breaking her heart, asshole."

God, she felt great, the shock on the red-haired woman's face was priceless. Makino wanted to see Law's face full of bruises. She didn't give a damn if she gets a lawsuit the next morning. That bastard deserved it.

No one hurts Luffy and gets to leave unscathed.

Law glared at her but walked out of the cafe, leaving the astounded audience behind.

Makino looked around. Of course, the customers were all looking like giraffes with their necks extended just to see some drama.

"What are you all looking at? If you're all done eating, pay up and leave!"

The woman groaned.

Great.

Now the whole damn town would hear about this.