Disclaimer: I do not own ONE PIECE.
W/N: Thank you very much for your reviews, favorites, follows and views (this includes the anonymous guests of course!) They seriously keep me going! If there is anything you don't like, or you think I should improve, feel free to tell me! Btw, which chapter do you like the most and why? Much love!
Warning: Vulgar languages, OOC, bad grammar, maybe a little illogical, TRIGGER (depression, anxiety, panic attack, trauma, phobia etc)
"A-a-a-" Luffy was extremely surprised and he could feel his face hot.
"Huh?" Law just stared at Luffy. Luffy looked like he had stopped breathing.
"A-a-a-"
"Are you okay? It seems like your temperature is high." Law placed his hand on Luffy's forehead, trying to find out what was wrong and Luffy's face turned redder. Thank God the lighting was not that bright at the balcony.
"Y-y-yes, yes! I am okay, M- Mr- Law! I want to go singing, talk to you later!"
And the boy left Law on the balcony, confused.
It was almost 11 PM when Law decided to go back home. He tried looking for Luffy but Luffy was nowhere to be found. So he decided to just text Luffy to tell him that he was going home. He was not much of a talker so he only told Ace and Sabo he was going home, since their brother was the one celebrated and just waved bye at everyone.
Right after Law left, Luffy got out from his hiding place. Everyone thought he went to the toilet but he was actually hiding under one of the skirted tables in Baratie. Luffy figured he could not take the shock too well so he tried to calm himself down under the table. As soon as Luffy got home, he quickly went to his room and took his favorite scarf from under his pillow.
"Law! Law! Law!" Luffy held the scarf while chanting Law's name. He was so excited that he started rolling on his bed.
Ace and Sabo heard the noise from Luffy's room and they both looked at each other.
"What's wrong with Luffy?" Sabo asked Ace.
"I don't know." Ace just shrugged.
Law, I love your gift very much!
Law, you are the best!
Law, did you like the cake?
Law, how did you know I like red color?
Law, this tracksuit is really cool!
Law, the shoes fit perfectly in the shoe bag!
Thank you Law!
I hope you had fun Law!
Law, are you home yet?
Good night Law!
Law just arrived at his apartment when he saw ten unread messages. He kept staring at the good night text from Luffy. That was the tenth text he received from Luffy that night and all of them were sent right after Law left.
Why is Luffy so excited?
"EHHH?"
The whole team protested right after hearing the news. It was the week after Luffy's birthday and his sports team decided to lengthen the duration of the compulsory sports training.
Grand Line University usually held their sports festival during spring before summer break so the students have been training for the event since the university opened. They have an indoor track and field stadium so Luffy had been training there for an hour every day before going to his part-time job.
Training and working at the same time was tiring but luckily Luffy managed. And now, the team leader wanted to lengthen the training to 3 hours. He wondered how should he talk to Law about it. They were just starting to be on good terms and he did not want Law to feel like he was taking advantage on him. He decided to call Law and explain to him properly.
"Hi Law."
"Hey Luffy."
"Do you have time now?"
"Yes. I am on break now. Why?"
"I- well, the thing is.. We're having sports festival a week before summer break so we have been training. But, my team decided to increase the training hours starting tomorrow so we will finish at 6 PM. If it's okay, can I come in a little late to work? I can work faster now so I'll be sure to finish everything. I'll stay back a little late if I can't finish everything."
Luffy said it. And now he was waiting for Law to respond.
"It's okay. You don't have to rush. You can just shower and crash at my apartment if you want to. Just use the guest room." Law knew well that Luffy's apartment was quite a distance from his university so it would be better if he stays at Law's apartment for a while, since it was only 10 minutes walk from his university. Plus, Law can always drop him on his way to work.
Luffy's eyes widened. "R-r-really? Wah, thanks Law! You're the best!"
Law just smiled upon hearing those words. He had sort of gotten used to Luffy calling him that.
The next day, Luffy immediately rushed to Law's apartment right after his training finished. He managed to get the team leader to release him 10 minutes earlier so now there he was, running to Law's apartment. He figured that could count as a stamina training.
As soon as he reached Law's apartment, he hit the shower and then he proceeded to do his cleaning job. It was almost 11 PM when he finished cleaning and he was extra tired. The new schedule was indeed tiring. He sat on the couch for a while, trying to get some rest so he would have energy to run after the bus, in case he missed them. He decided to go home instead of crashing at Law's, trying to put limit to things. In the end, he fell asleep.
It was 1 AM and Law just got back from work. He was especially exhausted as he had been working non-stop the whole day and he had to work extra hour. All he wanted to do was to have a shower and sleep.
The moment he got into his living room, he was surprised to see Luffy sleeping on the couch. He looked really tired. He thought it must be the result of the schedule change.
"Hey, you'll catch a cold you know." He tried waking Luffy up but as usual, Luffy was deeply asleep. He let out a sigh and carried Luffy to the guest room, slowly tucking Luffy in. He was about to go to his room when his head ached so he sat on the guest bed for a while, waiting for the pain to be gone. In the end, he passed out next to Luffy.
The sunlight seeped through the curtains and woke Luffy up from his sleep. It was rare to see Luffy woke up without the help of alarm clock. He yawned and stretched before realizing he was in bed, nicely tucked in. Then he realized he was in the guest room. He figured it must be Law. He made a mental note to thank and apologize to Law later.
He still felt sleepy and tired so he decided to stay a little longer in bed. Then he heard soft breath next to him. To his surprise, it was actually Law. He was still in his work attire and he was sleeping next to Luffy, without anything covering him. Luffy was about to tuck him properly when he realized how serene Law looked in his sleep and Luffy was sort of taken aback. Luffy continued staring at Law's face, observing his face carefully - his flawless face, his jaw bone, the brows that were always furrowed, the dark circles, his small pointy nose, and then his lips. His lips always looked pale but they were not the dry type. The doctor certainly made sure to drink sufficient amount of water everyday.
Suddenly his heart beat really fast. Luffy got out of the blanket and crawled towards Law slowly, trying not to wake the surgeon from his sleep. A moment later he was already above Law, both his hands next to Law's shoulders. Luffy slowly moved his face closer to Law's, aiming for his lips. He can feel Law's warm breath and smell Law's subtle sweet scent. He felt his heart beating faster.
He could not believe it. He had only seen them on television a few times and he had asked Ace why do people kiss. Ace told him people kiss when they are in love.
And suddenly he just felt like kissing Law so bad.
10 cm, 8 cm, 6 cm, 4 cm, 2 cm, 1 cm...
Ting tong!
Luffy was startled by the doorbell sound that he tumbled down the bed.
"Ouch.." He got up from the floor slowly while rubbing the back of his head. Then, he remembered that Law was also there and he quickly turned to look at Law. He was relieved to find that Law was still asleep.
"Who's that?" He mumbled while storming to the door, annoyed by the disturbance. He opened the door and saw a stranger with spiky green hair and nose ring. He was looking for a person named Cavendish.
"No. No Cavendish here." Luffy shot the stranger a murderous glare.
"Is it not unit no. 78?" The stranger asked again, his voice started to shake.
"Yes but no Cavendish here." Luffy answered, hands folded on his chest, still with his murderous glare on.
"But the address said Cavendish lives here. See?" The stranger then handed Luffy a piece of small paper with an address on it.
Luffy checked the address. It was a badly written 98.
"This is no. 98." Luffy pointed out the 9 shape to the stranger and the stranger's face turned pale.
"I'm sorry!" The stranger ran to the elevator as fast as possible, tumbling once or twice in fear.
Luffy pouted and closed the door slowly. Trying his best not to make any sound that could potentially wake Law up. Then, he quickly went back to the guest room, hoping he could continue what he was going to do. As soon as he got there, Law was already up, rubbing his forehead.
"Luffy, who's at the door? Why do you look so depressed? "
"Just some stranger. He got the address wrong." Luffy replied weakly, knowing he lost his chance.
"You're not going to class?" Law looked at his watch. It was already 7.08 AM. He knew the raven haired boy started class at 8 AM everyday.
"It's only 10 minutes walk from here. How are you doing? You look sick." Luffy was right. He actually noticed that Law's face was paler than usual.
"Just headache. I'll be fine after I take some medicine." Law said while slowly getting up from the bed."
"Wait!" Luffy placed his hand on the older man's forehead. "It's pretty hot."
"I'm fine."
"No. You're not! Where do you think you're going?"
"I am going to shower first then get ready to work. I can drop you at your university later if you want."
"Do you have anything urgent at work later?"
"Well, now that you say it.. Not really. I don't have surgery scheduled today.."
"Don't be such a workaholic! Just call in sick!" Luffy said firmly with his persistent face.
Law knew he could not do anything against that persistent face so he just agreed. "You're not getting ready? You'll be late for your classes."
"No. I'll make it! Now go and take a shower! I'll tuck you in. Shi shi shi "
Law eyed the excited Luffy and smirked. "Okay nurse Luffy."
Law entered his room, slowly closing the door and locked it from inside. He took off his work attire, put them in the hamper, and entered the bathroom. He turned on the shower, medium temperature and stood under it, letting the water flow past his body, while rubbing his face wishing it would help chase the dizziness away. After a while, he washed his hair and his body and rinsed them off.
He took the towel from the holder and slowly dried his hair and his body. Then, he stopped moving. Still standing in the same spot, he observed and traced the scars on his thighs - old scars from cutting. No one knew about them and he was certain he did not want Luffy to find out.
Suddenly, he heard loud knockings on his bedroom door.
"Law, are you finished? Are you okay?" Luffy's voice sounded concerned.
"Yeah I am okay. I'll be out soon."
Luffy took the digital thermometer and look at the digits. "39 degree Celsius. Wow, your temperature is pretty high."
"I'll be fine. I took my med." Law protested. He was in his bed, nicely tucked in by Luffy.
"Now be a good boy and sleep!"
Law turned to the alarm clock next to his bed trying to find out the time. "How about class? It's 7.45 AM now."
"I can go in a little late. I can't leave you like this. I'll go after you sleep. Now close your eyes and try to sleep."
"Okay nurse Luffy." Law closed his eyes and not long after that he fell asleep. Seeing that Law was asleep, Luffy walked out of the room, slowly closing the door.
It was 12 PM and Luffy just finished his class. Luckily he had an hour before the next class so he decided to buy lunch for Law and check on him. He could not wait to see Law so right after he bought lunch he ran to Law's apartment. Law just woke up from his sleep when he saw Luffy in his room. "Luffy? Why are you here?"
"How are you doing? I want to make sure you take your medicine properly. It's noon now! Here, I bought you chicken soup."
"I'm fine. You don't have to do this, you know?"
"But I want to!"
Law stared at the raven haired boy in front of him. He had always been nice and caring to Law, which was something Law was not used to. "Why do you care about me so much?"
Luffy was startled by Law's question but he did not panic. "Because I consider you my friend." He answered calmly. In 10 years, he had learned how to lie thanks to Ace and Sabo but technically he was not lying. He did consider Law his friend.
"Glad to know that." Law flashed Luffy a real smile, again. His smile never failed to steal Luffy's heartbeat away. Luffy really need to get used to it or he would die.
Luffy just smiled back at Law. Deep down he knew well that Law meant more to him than just a friend. But it would not be right to tell him now, would it?