Disclaimer: I do not own ONE PIECE.
W/N: Hello! Thanks for the support! I am glad you like my story! ^^ Truthfully, the chapters are getting harder to write! Yeah, I am not going to delete the story! I am going to finish it! Yosh! Law's past coming soon!
Btw, I know in summer there is this DST thing but please don't think too much about it since this story is set in my AU! :P
If there is anything you don't like, or you think I should improve, feel free to tell me!
I think 4th gear is crazy maybe mainly because of Luffy's appearance LOL! And, that flame shape on Luffy's chest is almost like Law's tattoo :3
Warning: Vulgar languages, OOC, bad grammar, maybe a little illogical, TRIGGER (depression, anxiety, panic attack, trauma, phobia, abuse etc)
It was another day for the staffs and patients at Red Line General Hospital. It was still early but there were already people sitting in the waiting area, waiting for the counter to be opened. There were staffs walking around, handing over jobs and preparing for their tasks while the patients are mostly still in bed.
Law opened his eyes slowly. Based on the temperature and the intensity of the sunlight, he could make out that it was just a little past 6 AM.
Last night was amazing. He did not get any nightmare at all. He was lying next to Luffy with his head close to Luffy's chest and he slowly lifted his head to see the teen in front of him. Luffy was sleeping very soundly and he looked adorable. Law woke up that morning feeling cozy and he could feel Luffy's arms still wrapped around him.
The summer was warm but Luffy's warmth was different kind of warmth. It was very calming.
He knew he should not let his guards down but he found it hard to resist the warmth.
Slowly, he fell asleep again. He did not realize when it was when he and Luffy woke up at the same time.
"Good morning Law."
"Morning Luffy."
"Do you want anything? Water maybe? I'll get them for you." Luffy asked Law, while slowly releasing Law from his arms.
"Can we just.. sleep a little longer?" Law said sleepily while extending both his arms and wrapped them around Luffy.
Luffy's cheeks instantly felt hot and he could feel his heart beat rapidly. He just hoped the surgeon would not notice.
"Yeah. Sure." Luffy said with a smile, and he wrapped his arms around the surgeon once again.
"You smell like meat." Law mumbled from his sleep.
"You smell like vanilla ice cream. Shi shi shi!"
And, Luffy's stomach chose to grumble at the right moment. He could feel Law chuckled.
"You should go get some breakfast."
"It's still early. Let's just sleep a little longer.."
And they both fell asleep again.
They were sleeping comfortably when a voice called out Law's name. Luffy woke up and turned to see who it was and he was surprised to see three men. One with a gray cap, one with light auburn hair and a chubby, very fair man with platinum blond hair. He released Law slowly and quickly got up from the bed.
"Oh, sorry. Were we.. interrupting?" the guy with the gray cap asked, awkwardly.
"N-not at all! W-who are you?" Luffy started to panic and his face was turning red.
"We're Law's friends. Who are you?" the guy with the gray cap asked back.
"Shachi, Penguin, Bepo?" Law slowly got up from his sleep, still sleepy. Then he slowly turned to Luffy. "They are my friends from the hospital."
Luffy greeted all of them before he asked to be excused, leaving the three of them with Law.
"Law we've been looking for you!" Shachi told Law as he approached the bed, followed by Penguin and Bepo. Bepo placed the fruit basket he had been carrying on the bedside table.
"Yeah, we tried calling you a lot of times but you did not even answer. You did not even reply our messages." Penguin supported Shachi's statement, his tone was concerned.
"My phone is at home and I just woke up yesterday." Law paused for a while, rubbing his aching forehead before he continued. "How did you know I am here?"
"Shachi's friend is a doctor here. He said he saw you!" Penguin explained to Law, before he added, "We talked to the doctor. You'll probably be admitted out soon. Dr. Crocus was pissed you know? His best surgeon went missing for a week without notice!"
"The doctor said you're overdosed?" Shachi followed, not giving any room for Law to speak more. "How did you?!"
"I don't wanna talk about it." Law closed his eyes with his palm, his head ached more with the shots of questions fired. "Can you guys slow down?"
"Oh, sorry. Well, we'll talk to Dr. Crocus about it. I don't think you'll get any heavy punishment or anything. The board likes you after all."
"Thanks."
"That guy just now. That is your boyfriend right?" asked Shachi, suddenly changing the topic.
Law froze.
They recognize him?
"He's cute." As soon as the words left his mouth, Shachi could see Law glaring at him. "Aww Law don't be jealous."
"I am not jealous." Law puffed his cheeks a little, unconsciously and his friends noticed.
"Law, did you just.." Shachi's eyes widened.
"..puff your cheeks?" Penguin continued Shachi's sentence.
"So cute!" Bepo almost shouted and tried to pinch Law's cheeks.
"Shut up! I am not!" Law's face turned red and he covered both his cheeks so Bepo could not pinch them.
"I bet you had a nice sleep last night Law?" Shachi grinned, his expression was totally mischievous.
Law glared at Shachi again. The guy is sometimes too nosy.
"So, you're not going to hug Bepo anymore?" asked Shachi again, ignoring Law's glare. He totally enjoyed teasing Law.
Shachi was not kidding. Sometimes when Law was really tired he will lean on Bepo's soft body and the chubby guy never seemed to mind. As funny as it sounded, the grumpy doctor actually had a thing for soft, fluffy things.
"I am going to stitch up your mouth soon." a sentence from Law coupled with an icy glare and Shachi instantly clammed up.
"Law, you know if you need anything you can count on us." Penguin told Law with an assuring tone. Penguin had always been reliable. Same were Shachi and Bepo.
Only if Shachi could be less annoying.
"If you have problems you can tell us too." Bepo added.
"Yeah. Thanks. A lot." Law responded with a faint smile. Although he never said it directly, Law was actually very grateful for Shachi, Penguin and Bepo. Those three were always taking care of him ever since they started working together and Law would definitely do the same for them.
The three men stayed for a while to chat with Law before they left him to rest.
A moment later, a doctor came to check Law's condition. He was told that he was getting better and he could go back in three days. As soon as the doctor left, Law went to have a quick shower. It was quite hot that day and he was sure he had not showered in days. He instantly felt invigorated and when he got back to the room, Luffy was already inside. He looked panic.
"Luffy?" Law called him from the door and Luffy instantly turned to look at him, his face looked relieved.
"Law! Where did you go?"
"I took a shower."
"Why didn't you wait for me? I'll help you! You shouldn't walk around alone like that!"
"Sorry nurse Luffy but I am fine. You're overreacting."
"I am not! What if you pass out midway to the bathroom? What if you pass out while bathing?" Luffy responded with a pout.
"Ok nurse Luffy. I'll be sure to tell you next time." Law lifted both his hands in surrender, the argument could last longer if it was with Luffy.
"Where are your friends? Luffy turned left and right, looking for Penguin, Shachi and Bepo."
"They already left."
"And I thought I'll bring some food for them too." Luffy pouted as he looked at the big bento box he already placed on the bedside table. "Never mind we both can finish them!"
Law's eyes widened as he looked at the bento box. The content could probably feed 10 people.
"Law, look! I got a lot of onigiri and meat! I became friends with the auntie at the cafe. She let me use her kitchen to make these for you. Shi shi shi."
"You really like onigiri and meat don't you?" Law asked Luffy as soon as he was on his bed again.
"I like meat! I made onigiri because you like them!"
"You sure?" Law likes onigiri but he did not remember telling Luffy he likes them. He always assumed it was Luffy's favorite.
"You told me 10 years ago! And, you hate umeboshi and bread!"
That is actually.. right.
Law was eating his onigiri slowly when he noticed Luffy's straw hat hanging on the back of his neck. People usually wear straw hats to shield themselves from the blazing sunlight but he saw Luffy with the straw hat even on his birthday night and he thought it was weird.
"That straw hat.. Do you like it a lot?"
"Yeah! Shanks gave it to me!"
"Shanks?"
"Yeah, he is my guardian and my PE teacher at school!" Then Luffy told him about how Shanks used to be a national sprinter before he retired and became a teacher. "I wanted to be a sprinter like him so I always challenged him to a match but he always said I am just a kid. I need more practice."
Then, Luffy told him how every day after school he always trained secretly so he could be faster and Shanks would finally agree to a match someday. "One day I tried sprinting on my way back home but my neighbor's big dogs probably thought I was a thief so they chased me. It was scary. I ran very fast and tripped. My left cheek was cut by a stone so that's why I have this scar. Luckily it's not my eye." Luffy said as he pointed to the scar under his left eye.
"I was lucky Shanks saw me before the dogs could bite. He chased those dogs away. I was so scared and I started crying so Shanks hugged me. He put this straw hat he was always wearing on my head and carried me on his back to the clinic. He said I ran very fast and I'll be a good sprinter someday." Luffy took the straw hat from his neck and hold it up to his chest before he continued, "He said I can keep his straw hat and return it to him once I beat him in a match but I never won. This is now one of my prized possessions but I can't take it out as frequently anymore. Summer is the perfect excuse! Shi shi shi! It was quite funny whenever I recall it."
Law just smiled faintly at Luffy.
"Come to Windmill Town! I'll show you around. I'll introduce Makino and Shanks to you. They are very nice! Actually, everyone there is nice! We can go and see Dadan family too! Ace and Sabo live with them! You'll like it!"
Law looked at Luffy's genuinely excited face. "You look very happy."
"I am happy! I love Windmill Town and everyone there!"
Luffy went on to talk about his childhood stories - how Ace, Sabo and him got into fights with the lowly street thugs, chased by wild animals and how they accidentally picked a fight with a very big guy in the Gray Terminal and got away with it. Law thought his stories were very funny.
"You're such a troublemaker. Even now."
"How about you? You are from Flevance right? How is Flevance?" asked Luffy, curious to know about Law's hometown.
As soon as Law heard the question, his expression changed. "I never told you that, right?" Law was wondering if that was another thing he told Luffy 10 years ago and he was right.
"You did, 10 years ago!"
"Oh, I.. haven't gone back in a while."
"Really? Don't your family miss you?"
Law hesitated for a moment before he answered, "They are dead."
And Luffy's expression changed, like he just did something horrible. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"
"It's okay. Can we talk about something else?"
Luffy nodded and they were in silent for a few minutes before Luffy decided to say something.
"Do you want to take a walk outside later? The weather is pretty good! We can watch the sunset."
Law thought for a while and he nodded slowly.
It was half past five in the afternoon when they went out. It was not too hot but it was still sunny so Luffy put his straw hat on Law's head again.
At that moment, Law recalled what Luffy's friends said at the grilled meat restaurant. Maybe Luffy's friends were right. Maybe Luffy is being super caring.
Earlier, they both even argued on using wheelchair. Luffy insisted on putting him on the wheelchair but Law told him he was overreacting. Luffy was about to use his persistent face again but Law was faster. He had to put his hand over Luffy's face and turned his face away while Luffy struggled to get Law's hand off his face. "Don't even.. think of using that face on me again."
It was quite a fierce struggle.
In the end, Law got to walk with his own feet and there they were, both walking on the cobblestone path in the park.
"Law, don't walk too fast! Take your time!" Luffy talked and acted the way a parent looking after a toddler learning to walk for the first time.
"I am taking my time." Law sighed and rolled his eyes. He would say he is walking slower than a turtle or a snail but that would be exaggerating it.
They walked for a while before they stopped to sit on one of the benches outside, waiting for the sun to set. From the spot they were sitting at, they could see part of the city since the hospital was located on a hill. They could see the traffics, the buildings, the park, and the people jogging around the lake in the park. Law was lost in his thoughts when Luffy tapped his shoulder.
"Look, the sun is setting!" Luffy pointed to the direction of the sun excitedly and Law looked at the shining orange orb in the sky slowly setting.
"It's kind of pretty.. " Law said with a mesmerized face, like an impressed kid.
"What? You never watched sunset?"
"No. It's just that.. I never really observed them." then he added, "I spent most of my times studying and working. I didn't really care about things like sunset."
"It's nicer if you watch them from a hill or a beach."
"Really? Maybe someday I'll do that." Law replied him and suddenly Luffy burst out laughing.
"What's funny?" Law turned his head slowly from the sunset view to Luffy.
"You're cute. Shi shi shi" Luffy continued laughing. "You are like a curious kid."
"Don't be silly..." Law immediately lowered the straw hat a little but Luffy could see tinge of red on his cheeks.
"Let's go watch the sunset at the beach or on the hill sometimes!"
With his eyes still hidden under the straw hat, Law slowly nodded, earning a big grin from Luffy.
"Yay! You're the best! Shi shi shi"
That night, Law and Luffy lay on the hospital bed again, they were both still awake but they were both silent.
Luffy insisted to use his method of 'soul-healing' so there Law was, in his embrace again, his head on Luffy's chest and Luffy's arms were wrapped tightly around him. Law had to admit it was kind of embarrassing but the method gave him a good sleep the night before so he simply agreed.
Law was lost in his thoughts about Luffy's childhood stories. He kind of envied Luffy because he could not remember his childhood or his family at all. The only things he had to remind him about them were some photos of him with a man, a woman and a girl hugging him. He was told that those people were his father, mother and baby sister. There was also a photo of him with a blonde guy smiling as wide as Luffy, who was identified as his uncle. Law was smiling faintly in all of the photos but the people in the photo held him like they were holding a very precious treasure. He had been wondering if his childhood was nice, if his childhood memories could make up for the pain he endured, if the memories could make him a happy person like Luffy.
"Luffy."
"Yeah?"
"How do you plan to help me remember?"
"I.. Don't know yet. I'm sorry."
Then they were silent again.
"Do you trust me?" asked Luffy, a moment later, breaking the silence.
Law could not give him a reply. Law was not sure if he should. He knew look could be very deceiving but everything about Luffy seemed genuine. The way he cared, and how he never left.
Luffy was an idiot and Luffy always brought him troubles but somehow Luffy made him happier in the two months than he had ever been for the past ten years.
In that moment, he thought, maybe he could trust. Maybe.
"Meat.."
Law lifted his gaze up to see Luffy fast asleep. "So fast! Sleep talking again?"
Law sighed and slowly turned his head down again, trying to sleep. In the silence, he could feel Luffy's heart beating and somehow he felt very calm. His lips curved into a smile, and in the warmth of Luffy's embrace, he fell asleep.