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LAW'S VILLA DIDN'T FEEL LIKE HIS ANYMORE, and neither did his bedroom. Suddenly, he found himself filled with stifling ennui. It may have explained why currently, Law was lined up outside a tour bus to go sightseeing in Lower Alafia.

He had told Luffy he wouldn't be going. He had also told himself. But for some reason, when he got back to his villa, he felt like something had been missing. He took a long shower, put on some trousers and one of his thinner button up shirts, and minutes later, he had wandered down from the 13th garden to the Lower terrace of the main reception.

He had until the end of the year to adjust to this interest rate, and brave his battle against…a name he didn't really want to think about. For now, the next 12 days would be filled with one word: distraction.

Or maybe—it was better to call it one person.

"TORAOOOO!"

Law didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

A hand clamped over his shoulder in a sudden gust, and Law had the wind knocked out of him. Luffy had jumped up and swung his arm around Law's neck, a gangly mess of long, slim limbs half slanted against his, and the younger man stood up on his tippy toes.

The weight of his throw brought Law's shoulders down, and he hunched as Luffy smashed the side of their bodies together as he gesticulated with his other hand.

"That tour was awesome!" he breathed. "Do you know this place's got an observation tower? There's this huge telescope there! Oh, and they have a huuuuge bird cage. I asked them why they don't just let the birds out, and Tommy told me if I paid the right amount, they would! Isn't that good? I think? Well, whatever that means!"

Then he frowned. "Didn't you say you weren't coming?"

Luffy seemed to finally realize Law was being suffocated so he eased up on his near-chokehold.

"Hey, why does your face look so pale?"

Law's eyes snapped sideways, meeting Luffy's big, bright, earnest ones.

"...Can you stop strangling me?"

Luffy's eyes clouded with confusion, before he realized how acutely close he was to Law, and how the man was hunched over, his arms splayed away from Luffy's body, hanging awkwardly in the air as if he didn't know whether to place them around his shoulders, or push him away.

Luffy felt his ears redden.

"Sorry, man!" He released Law slowly, as if he was trying to remember how to control his limbs, or disentangle them. One out of the two.

"I was just so excited to see you!"

I don't know anyone else here, seemed to linger on Luffy's lips, but he didn't say them. Making new friends wasn't really hard for him. But so far, no one had really caught his attention as much as Torao. Everyone else was either a married adult glued to their lover's side, or an old man with as much interest as a pile of dirt.

Luffy liked the way Torao would scowl and be cold with him, but as long as Luffy didn't push too much, he'd give in and play along with him just fine. Unlike his brothers, who were as proactive in playing along as they were in outright refusing and contesting him, Law seemed to go along from a quiet distance, and then rein things in when he didn't like the direction they were going.

Like last night.

As the day went by, bits and pieces of Luffy's hurling escapade returned to him in vague batches.

By bits and pieces, Luffy meant exactly one—when he had been touring the back of the resort property with Thomas, he showed him a steep cliff, over which a waterfall gushed in violent, white foam.

They stood behind a banister, watching in awe.

Tourists behind him, new arrivals who Luffy hadn't cared to observe too closely, took pictures, spoke in excited whispers, or wandered around the deck to catch glimpses of moving fish.

As cool spray and vapour gently floated towards his face, Luffy stood still in a trance.

Suddenly he had recalled a similar feeling of a cool spray of mist on his cheeks—had he been crying? No, that couldn't be it. Washing his face?

The vague outline of a memory became more and more defined through a thick haze—a damp rag, gently patting his face. Law's fingers holding the back of his head...Luffy's silky hair splayed across Law's lap. He was cursing under his breath as he wiped around Luffy's mouth and the base of his neck. Maybe he was wiping vomit? Luffy had woken up not at all smelling of barf. Now, it made sense.

Still in the memory, Luffy remembered muttering something and moving his hands to peel off his shirt...

This was presumably bad, because Law's eyes darted back to Luffy's and he slapped his hand away.

"Keep still," the man scowled, his jaw clenching. He looked close to punching someone, but his touch was light...gentle.

"Hehe…it tickles," Luffy had mumbled, but his voice sounded airy, and far away, as if submerged underwater.

He was writhing as the damp cloth had moved to his collarbone, when suddenly his hand moved up to catch Law's.

To keep him there, where he had caressed his cheek, though through the rapidly cooling cotton of the hotel's washrag.

A drop of water slid down Luffy's cheek, merging into the curve where Law's palm and wrist parted. It pooled in the crevice, desperate for run-off.

As his hand hovered by Luffy's cheek, Law's harsh eyes wavered, his jaw unclenched, and he seemed to find something in Luffy's eyes that made him keep his hand there.

It made Luffy's chest feel fuzzy; made his scalp tingly. He had curled his toes on reflex, and he even licked his lips before he grinned.

Somehow, this grin felt a little mischievous, a little coquettish, and a little unaware of its implications...all at the same time.

At such a provocative grin, that little bump from clenching his teeth returned in Law's jaw. Abruptly, he got up, clenching the wash cloth in his fists.

Luffy rolled out of his lap and fell to the ground like a rolling pin.

"Owwwww!" Luffy groaned, and the man had cursed something as he walked away. Something about 'fuck having to take care of a drunk'.No wonder Luffy had woken up on the floor.

His eyes were crescents as he had walked away from the waterfall.

Maybe he could take Torao there with him after they finished touring Lower Alafia, and tell him about this memory.

"What's in that bag?" Luffy asked, eyeing the small knapsack that was slung across the older man's broad shoulders.

"None of your business," Law said tersely, but when Luffy inched closer and tried to assess the bag, as if he could see through black nylon, Law sighed and said, "A camera, and my phone."

Luffy scrunched up his face. Is it because Torao's old that he doesn't know phones have perfectly good cameras? Law seemed to read his expression.

"It's a polaroid," he said pointedly, and then instantly regretted it when Luffy's face lit up.

"A Polaroid? Can I see? Ooh, ooh! Just show me!"

Law had twisted away and was fanning off Luffy's advances, more and more touchy as he grabbed Law's shoulder and tried to yank him back.

"You're, so," strong , Law wanted to say, because for a few seconds he genuinely felt threatened when the young man pulled on his shoulder, but he instead gritted, "persistent!"

"Just let me see the camera!"

Luffy decided to switch tactics, and while one hand fruitlessly grabbed for the bag, he used the other to snake around the older man's shoulder. Like a monkey, he yanked the bag away with such nimble alacrity it completely blindsided Law. One second, he was fanning off Luffy's left arm. The next, the bag was dragged off his shoulder by Luffy's right. He stared, bamboozled, as Luffy opened the bag and stared open-mouthed at the polaroid.

"I've always wanted one of these!" His eyes danced. "But after I broke Ace's he told me if I ever buy one he'd break it back." He had the audacity to pout, and Law's face paled at the mention of the word broke.

"P-Pass that back now," he stammered, reaching for the camera.

Around them, more tourists were joining the line. Time objectively moved forwards, the sun above closer to it's apex, in time for a midday departure.

"Hey, Torao, how about you lend this to me? I'll take pictures for the both of us!"

Law's stomach nearly flew out of his mouth. " NO! "

Luffy seemed oblivious to what that word meant. "Come on! I'm a film student, I definitely know how to take good photos! Hehe!"

Law was going to stab someone. What hehe? That hehe was deadly. "Straw Hat," he said firmly, "pass back the camera."

Luffy grinned cheekily. "Straw Hat?" He deftly put the camera into his fanny pack that he had secured around his waist, as if he thought Law wouldn't notice. "No one ever calls me Straw Hat! Well, except the police!"

Law ignored whatever wasn't good for his heart, and didn't dwell on the police.

He also didn't want to comment that calling him Luffy felt weirdly intimate. The name sounded too much like an endearment itself. Like it was already short for something. Luff-ard? Luff-topher? Luff-bert? It was too familiar. After their interactions so far, Law desperately wanted to annihilate any chances of Luffy becoming familiar with him. That stupid nickname was already a stretch.

"You just took my camera." Law sounded defeated.

Luffy laughed and despite their earlier interaction, he jumped up and swung an arm around Law's neck again, dragging the taller man down. He patted his shoulder twice.

"Borrowed, Torao!"

That wasn't a correction. Nor a suggestion. That was damned near court order.

"Fine," Law half sighed, half chuckled. It was such a pathetic fight, he nearly laughed. He was willingly limp as Luffy dragged him along towards the bus. The sun was a few minutes away from its apex. "If you need any more film, don't ask. That camera's all you're getting."

Luffy chuckled. "Thanks, Torao! You're a really nice guy." Law closed his eyes when he heard that. In this situation that didn't feel at all like a compliment. Luffy's fingers brushed Law's shirt-clad chest as he rambled on.

"If I did something like this to Nami she'd slap me over the head and then throw me against the bus right here!"

Law blinked. "She sounds, um, rather violent."

Luffy laughed again. "Haha! She is!"

Luffy didn't give Law any time to dwell on it. "And If it had been Zoro, he might have chopped me up. But nothing I can't take!" When Law looked horrified, he clarified, "Zoro's a swordsman. Well, he's actually a stunt double, but he's a true swordsman on the side. One time I tried to get him to star in one of my films, and he sliced my camera in half!"

Law nodded. Then at the slice, his eyes widened and his spit went down the wrong pipe. "Ack- What?"

Luffy laughed heartily. "It's ok, it's ok! Sanji made him buy it back."

Law cleared his throat and nodded, a pale, sweaty ball of mess. For a moment he was going to clarify that it wasn't the camera he was worried about; but then the lack of logic in that entire thought process shocked him speechless. He buried the tangent, and resumed a half hearted nod. It was better to just listen and pretend you were following along.

"You…you have many friends." Law supposed, if the young man had so many friends, it wouldn't be unnatural for there to be a few outliers. This Nami and Zoro were just the 25th and 75th percentile. If everyone around Luffy was downright asinine, he'd have to be dead by now.

At Law's words, Luffy frowned. He glanced at Law, his arm still around the older man's neck. It was an uncomfortable position for Law, and so Law simply straightened, and allowed Luffy's hand to snake down and settle for holding his bicep. The young man seemed incapable of holding a conversation without eating or touching. His fingers wrapped securely just a notch above Law's elbow. Where they touched pulsed with warmth. Or was it nerves?

"Me? A lot of friends? Not really. I only have 9 good friends." He beamed up at Law. "With you that makes 10!"

"You don't need to include me in that," Law replied stiffly. "We're not friends."

Luffy didn't seem fazed by this at all. He clenched Law's arm and looked up at him, his grin so wide it nearly ate up his entire face. "Shishishi, I didn't agree to that though!" he laughed.

"..."

Law looked down at him, stunned silence and confusion marring his features. Without regard for their discussion, the sun hit noon, and the tour bus doors opened. Tour guides appeared from behind them, flowing out the reception. Amy was surprised to see Law's tall head above the crowd of people, but didn't approach.

That head was currently tilted down at Luffy in annoyance. "You…didn't agree to that?" What in the? Law wondered. What did that have to do with anything?

Luffy didn't care about the conversation topic anymore. As far as he was concerned, he and Law were friends.

"I want the window seat!" He pulled Law along by the arm, and again, Law let him.

"What if I wanted that seat?"

Luffy peered up at him, considering. "Well, then you can have it!"

Law was momentarily stunned by his quick concession. He didn't really want it, he just felt a bit chagrined at being yanked around.

Luffy picked up on his surprise expression and grinned. His warm thumb on Law's arm rubbed a spot on it absently. The young man spoke with a fondness unknown to even himself. "Anything you want, you should have it! You deserve that much, Torao!"

Law ignored the way his breathing momentarily stopped. He felt like his heart was supposed to skip a beat there. Maybe it had, and he'd stifled it. Had it been a phantom pain? For some reason, he felt a little out of sorts, but it quickly disappeared.

Law stretched out his hand. His tone held a bit of a challenge. Part of him wanted to tease Luffy for saying such foolish words. How much did he mean them?

"Then I want the camera."

"Hah?"

Luffy frowned, his face so blatantly troubled that Law had to hold back his urge to scoff. After enough smoke had escaped from his head, Luffy settled for grinning and placing his chin in Law's outstretched palm instead. His eyes looked coquettish, if that was possible, and his cheeks had a faint, healthy pink tint. Maybe it was the heat.

"Here's your camera!"

Law dropped his hand, dropping Luffy's head in the process. The younger man straightened and giggled to himself. "You're an idiot."

"I'll take good pictures! I'll take good ones, I promise!"

Luffy's hand didn't leave Law's arm even when the older man began ascending the steps to the bus. Luffy stared at where his arm stretched before him, holding onto warm, firm muscle. Broad shoulders and a tapering back got farther away as he stepped further into the bus, pulling Luffy along. Luffy wanted to lean forward, and bury his head into that back. He…wanted a hug.

Instead, he merely followed along, gave the bus driver a smile, and followed as Law picked out a seat. He stopped in front of a padded, navy blue seat, and stood there expectantly for Luffy to go in first. Regrettably, he let his hand drop, and scooted inside. Law sat next to him minutes later, after he had placed his knapsack in the overhead bin. When he sat down, Luffy smelt a cool air, and the faint scent of shampoo.

"You washed your hair?" Luffy asked, and Law's cool grey eyes regarded him from the corner of his eyes, fingers paused over his phone that he had been scrolling through.

The man frowned. "You smell that? It barely has any scent." For a luxury villa, they sure were sparing with the free toiletries, Law thought absently.

Luffy inched closer, and without waiting for Law's protest, or perhaps fearing there would be one, he rested his head on Law's shoulder. The position wasn't as comfortable as he had thought it would be—he really was too tall. Or maybe Luffy was just too short.

"It smells really nice."

Law didn't move, and Luffy hoped that he wouldn't. A part of him was regretting this decision, but resting his head in the crook of the other man's shoulder had just appealed to him in that moment. Nevermind that the shampoo had no distinct scent. To him, everything about Law smelled sweet.

Luffy would rest his head like this on Zoro all the time when they used to have school trips. He still did it to Usopp, on their last trip in their freshman year. Now, it wasn't any different. His heartbeat was thumping a bit faster than usual, but it was just excitement for the trip. Or, anxiety at what Law would say next.

"Why're you resting your head on my shoulder?" His voice held the same inflection it always did. Gentle, deep, unbothered. Good .

"Can't I?"

Luffy peered up at Law, and the man stared at him in awe, before slowly nodding and looking away. Law feared that if he had looked at him any longer, he might actually apologize. Yes, you can. Of course! I'm just slow on the uptake.

"...Whatever," he settled for instead.

Law ignored whatever the heck that was, and tried to ignore the weight on his right shoulder. He opened his phone again, staring at the number that had been recently added to his contacts list. Robin it read. How could he go about mending this relationship, when all he could think about was the way Luffy's breathing kept tickling his neck? The young man pulled out his phone, at home with himself, as his shoulder half poured over Law's chest, head still resting against his shoulder. He chuckled at whatever he was reading, oblivious to Law's palpitating heart.

Resigned, Law threw his head back and stared at the bus ceiling. He swallowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed. Confusion swirled in his mind.

Why was he struggling to keep his heart in check?

Why couldn't he stop focusing on the soft rustle of hair on his shoulder?

At age 27, on a foreign island, in the middle of a tour bus…

Just what the hell was he doing?