W/N: Hello! Thanks for your support! They keep me going! ^^ Much love, yosh!
Anyway, I included some scene suggestions(?) from the reviews. You know who you are! Thank you! I hope you like it XD
Please let me know what you think or what you want to see! I think I messed this story up real bad but then I'll just continue and finish it. :P
The alarm rang for almost five minutes before Law actually heard it and when he finally managed to open his eyes properly, he was shocked by what he was doing.
He was hugging the stuffed bear really tight.
He immediately released the stuffed bear from his arms and moved away from it in rapid movements, in shock. Then, he cupped his face with both hands.
Oh shit. What was that?
He got too comfortable and ended up hugging the stuffed bear like a child.
Then, Law realized that the alarm was still ringing so he immediately reached for his phone and turned it off.
Shit. He always woke up as soon as he heard the alarm rang. Never, never in his life had the alarm ever went into snooze.
Seemed like he had a very good sleep last night.
A smile slowly curved on his face upon that thought. Then, he took the stuffed bear and placed it on the top right corner of his bed again before he slipped out of the cover, slowly walking to the window and pulled the curtains open a little, letting the sunlight in.
He had a feeling it was going to be a good day.
It had been two weeks since he got the stuffed bear from Luffy and his life was progressing smoothly. To say that the stuffed bear helped him completely was an overstatement but it definitely helped with his sleeping problem. He had fewer nightmares and some nights his sleeps were completely undisturbed. He had already made up with Luffy and he was trying his best to believe that Luffy will keep his words. But then, it was not too long until insecurity found its way to him again.
"Law, come with us!" Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin spoke in unison, as soon as they got into Law's office that day.
"Huh, where?" Law asked, having totally no idea what the trio was talking about. Law was in his office, updating the patient records when the trio came in and uttered the sudden request.
"To the summer festival!" The trio spoke in unison again.
"I'll pass." Law rejected flatly and went back to his work, making the trio's hopeful faces turned gloomy.
"Please, Law. We're begging you!" The trio said again. If Law did not hear them wrong, he could actually hear Shachi sobbing. "Law, if you come with us, I promise I won't pry into your business anymore. Please, please, please!" Shachi tried to talk Law into it again, hoping the surgeon would be satisfied with what he was offering.
Law lifted a brow to Shachi's words. "Are you sure?" He asked, skeptically because Shachi bugged him almost everyday, like he could not live a day without prying into his business, mainly asking about his love life and Law really did not understand what about it that made Shachi so interested in it.
"Yes, I promise! I won't get on your nerves anymore. I will leave you alone and never pry into your business anymore!" Shachi repeated, trying to convince the surgeon.
Law continued to stare at Shachi, still with a skeptical look.
Can he really trust that guy?
He disliked festivals and parties so he had to make sure the exchange was worth it. After a moment, he replied shortly. "No."
Frustrated by the answer, Shachi got on his knees and started hugging Law's leg, trying to beg harder. Uncomfortable with the situation, Law moved his leg a few times in response, trying to shake his crazy friend off his leg.
"I won't let go even if I die!" Shachi hugged harder, and Law swore he could feel his leg wet with something.
"Oh, really?" Law asked, with an icy glare.
Then, Shachi ran to hide behind Bepo in fear and pushed the big guy forward, trying to make Bepo talk to Law because he knew out of the three of them, Bepo had the higher chance to convince Law. "Law, please? Just this once. It's been a while since we hung out together."
Law stared at the chubby guy in front of him in response.
Shit. Bepo was right. It definitely had been a while.
"Yeah, ever since you had Luffy-" Shachi tried to support Bepo but he was met by another icy glare from Law again, causing him to instantly shut up.
Then, the surgeon closed his eyes, arms folded. His face looked like he was in a deep thought. A moment later, the surgeon let out a sigh. "Fine."
The trio's faces instantly lightened up.
"Anyway, the deal is still on. You'll keep your promise, right?" He turned his gaze at Shachi and the pediatrician nodded. "Fine. I'll go."
"Mission accomplished!" Shachi showed a thumb-up sign to Penguin and Bepo as they got into a group hug. They thought summer festival was one of the perfect events for the four of them to bond and they had been trying to persuade Law to come with them since they started working together but Law had always declined.
But then, there was actually another reason why they wanted Law to come. Three of them had been single for quite a while and there were always pretty girls in summer dress at the festival. They thought it was a good opportunity for them to hook up and having Law with them will get them all the attention they needed. The best part was, Law was not even interested in girls so there will be less competition.
It was perfect.
"But.." Law added, a moment later. "If you break your promise... " Law left his sentence hanging and then he cracked his fists and gave Shachi a sinister smile.
Suddenly, an old event flashed before Shachi, causing him to sweat. "I.. Wouldn't.. Dare.." Shachi replied, trembling. Then, he handed Law a piece of paper containing the details of the festival before he left Law's office with Bepo and Penguin. "It's tomorrow night, okay? We'll have fun, Law! I promise!"
As soon as the trio left, Law went back to his work again and before he got immersed in it, he realized something.
Festival was Luffy's thing.
The teen will usually try to get him to go to parties and festivals but he had not heard anything from Luffy regarding the summer festival at all. Now that he thought of it, the teen did ask him for leaves but he was not sure what were those leaves for. He took the flyer Shachi handed him and found out that the leaves actually coincided with the duration of the summer festival.
Suddenly, it hit him.
Is Luffy finally getting rid of him?
The next night, Law and his friends walked on the cobblestone path dividing two rows of stalls at the summer festival, looking for interesting things to try. The festival was heavily influenced by Japanese style in terms of the food and toys sold, as well as the game stands. LED lights were installed on the stalls, making them look attractive and very lively.
Shachi was leading the way followed by Penguin, Bepo, and Law. Pairs of eyes stared at them while they walked, Law being the reason. That night, Law was wearing white long-sleeved shirt with dark blue stripes, matched with a pair of light brown pants. His sleeves was pulled up to reveal the tattoos on his arms. Shachi had been bugging him the whole day trying to get him to wear something summery so he ended up wearing lighter colored outfit.
Plan success! The trio celebrated their achievement mentally as they enjoyed the attention given. They managed to take half the day off to go to the festival and now, they were just few steps away from finding their possible soulmates.
To be honest, Law really did not have the mood because his mind was still occupied with the whole Luffy-getting-rid-of-him thing but then he already promised them so he had to go. The night before, he thought of asking Luffy about it but then he deleted the text he had already typed and decided to just forget about it. He had to learn to trust Luffy like how Luffy was trusting him. Maybe Luffy was just busy. But then, even if Luffy wanted to get rid of him now, he thought it was perfectly fine. He did not think he had any right to ask Luffy to stay anyway. In the end, he went to sleep feeling bitter and he woke up that morning especially groggy. Law was trying to shake the thoughts off him again, thinking he should actually enjoy his time with the trio when Law heard a voice calling for him.
It was Nami. Together with her was Vivi. "Law, nice to see you!"
"Nice to see you too."
"Are you alone? You look gloomy. Must be lonely without Luffy, huh? " Nami asked, grinning at him.
Huh? Was he?
"I have my friends with me." Law said, while pointing at his friends, totally ignoring the fact that Nami said he looked gloomy. "Anyway, do you know where Luffy is?"
"Eh, you didn't know?" Nami asked, her tone was surprised.
"Know what?"
Then, a cheeky smile formed on Nami's amused face. "I think you'll see him soon enough! Anyway, I gotta go! See you around!" Then, she waved at him and walked away with Vivi.
"Huh?" Law just stared at them, confused. Suddenly, the trio came to him and showed him a flyer. "We gotta go here, Law! We have to go here!"
Law looked at the flyer and saw an advertisement, written in huge capital letters.
COME VISIT MERO MERO MERO CAFE!
CUTE MAIDS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!
"Huh?" Law furrowed his brows. Then, he felt his hand pulled by Shachi.
"LET'S GOOO!"
Luffy was standing in one of the corners in Mero Mero Mero cafe - a festival project by his class. He had makeup on and was wearing a variation of maid costume - white blouse with puffy short sleeve, black pinafore which ended just slightly below his knees, white lacey apron, long white socks, and a pair of Mary Jane. On his head was a long, straight black wig with fringe and curly ends. He also had a lacey hairband on his head.
He accidentally agreed to cross-dress as a maid, due to their lack of female students during the class discussion because he was half-asleep and he nodded to everything his classmates asked.
He swore it was so stupid.
He could not back out because everyone was already counting on him and his friend Caimie was so excited about it. He thought it was so embarrassing and he did not want Law to see him like that. Just that time, Luffy was grateful that Law was not the type to come to festivals.
Earlier, Luffy spent few hours trying to master the 'kawaii-girly' techniques taught by Caimie because his female classmates did not want him to show his usual wide grin to the customers and he also had to practise speaking in a girl's voice. It was like half of his life force was taken away just trying to learn those techniques.
He almost cried.
How did his classmates come up with something as lame as this?!
He ranted about it to Caimie earlier and she promised to treat him to some meat later but still, Luffy still had his objections about the whole cross-dress thing. The cafe did not need that much maids in his opinion. He was raging mentally when he heard his classmate, Perona - a girl who was obsessed with cute stuff and also happened to be the project leader, talking to him, telling him there were customers coming and he had to go and take their order. He reluctantly made his way to the table only to be greeted by a shocking sight halfway - They were Shachi, Penguin, Bepo and LAW!
SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!
He immediately made a U-turn, trying to talk to Perona about it but she still insisted that Luffy go. In the end, Luffy walked back slowly to the table, like he had lost all his spirit and energy. Halfway to the table, he noticed that Law was not wearing his usual dark attire. It was such a refreshing sight and Luffy did not realize he had been staring at Law.
"Luffy, are you okay?" Perona asked, realizing that Luffy looked like he was frozen at the spot he was standing on and taking him back to the real world.
"Y-y-yeah.." Luffy replied. Then, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.
He practised his script.
His girl classmates applied tonnes of makeup on him and covered the scar below his left eye.
They would not recognize him, they would not. There will be no problem. Then, he proceeded to the table full of confidence and greeted the customers.
"Welcome to Mero Mero Mero Cafe! I am your waitress, Lucy! May I have your order please?" Luffy asked, with what Caimie called kawaii-girly-smile on his face. The only problem was, his smile looked really awkward. But still, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin were instantly captivated by his smile. Law, on the other hand was looking the other direction with his head resting on his hand. He looked like he was deep in thought.
Luffy was not sure whether to feel relieved or offended.
His classmate told him he looked cute!
But then, Law was not interested in girls to begin with.
The trio started placing their order and Luffy kept smiling as he wrote down all of them. Then, he noticed that Law had been spacing out. "What about you, Law?" Luffy asked, accidentally getting Law's name slipped off his tongue.
Oh shit.
He wished Law did not hear him. Too bad for him, Law responded to his question.
"I.. Wait, do I know you?" Law looked at the waitress in front of him with his brows furrowed. To be honest, it had been a while since Luffy saw that grumpy face. He actually thought Law's face had softened up a lot so why did he look so grumpy tonight?
"Oh, sorry. Y- you look a lot like my friend, Law- Lawrence."
"I want coffee." Law said, as he turned to another direction, gaze away from Luffy.
"And?"
"Just that."
"Just coffee?! You have to eat properly!" Luffy's caring side betrayed him, making him almost went on berserk mode.
"Huh?" Law and the trio turned to the waitress in shock but they still did not realize that the waitress was Luffy.
"Oh, I am sorry! Did I scare you?" Luffy winked at them in an attempt to cover up. It was another technique taught by Caimie - kawaii-girly-wink. Everyone was instantly charmed except for Law. Luffy seriously wanted to throw up and he was crying a little inside with all the cute acts he had to do but he just had to put up with it for now. Then, he quickly went to the counter to hand the chef their order. He was just so glad that none of them recognized him. A moment later, Luffy went back with their food and to Law's surprise, the waitress placed a plate of food in front of him.
"I did not ask for this."
"It's on the house." Luffy said with a kawaii-girly smile.
"But I-"
"Enjoy your food!" Luffy gave them the kawaii-girly-smile again, ignoring Law's complain and leaving the surgeon dumbfounded.
"Law, if you don't want it, I can eat it for you!" Shachi told Law and his hand was ready to take the plate of food from Law when he suddenly felt like someone was glaring at him. In fact, it was not only him. Bepo and Penguin felt the same too. They looked around and saw the waitress giving murderous glare from afar.
They immediately came to a conclusion that the waitress was a crazy fan of Law.
"You have to eat it, Law! Eat up!" Shachi said, as he pushed to plate of food back to Law. Bepo and Penguin nodded to his motion.
"You guys know I-"
"Eat it, eat it, eat it!" Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin spoke in unison. At that moment, Law thought they sounded a lot like Luffy and he ended up eating his food.
Law and his friends were finished eating and they were chatting when a group of girls came over and started talking to Law and his friends. One of the girls started touching Law's arm, enraging Luffy and the girl was asking for Law's phone number when she was suddenly pushed to the floor.
It was Luffy's doing.
He purposely dashed to their table so he would collide with the girl.
"Here is your dessert!" Luffy said, as he placed a plate of chocolate brownie in front of Law.
"I did not ask for this."
"On the house, again!" Luffy said, with a kawaii-girly smile.
Then, Luffy turned and smiled at the girl who was still on the floor. "Oops, I'm too clumsy! Sorry!" Then, the smiley face turned into a glare. A glare that said,
GO AWAY
The girl immediately pulled her friends and ran away from the restaurant.
"So crazy but so cute!" Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi spoke in unison. Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin thought the waitress was cute but to Law, the waitress looked like a psycho.
"Guys, do you want this? I am not.."
"Eat up, Law! Eat up!" The trio insisted.
Law looked at his friends' faces, one by one and wondered if it was his imagination or the three of them were really starting to act like Luffy.
Suddenly, one of the waitress screamed. "Sir, please stop!"
It was Caimie and a customer was harassing her.
Luffy put away what he was doing and immediately made his way to Caimie, going to give the pervert a lesson. He would not let anyone who hurt his friends get away easily. To his surprise, Law got there first. Without hesitation, the surgeon grabbed the pervert's hand, putting pressure on it so hard making the guy cried in pain. The guy tried to reach for the dining knife on the table but Law was faster. He punched the guy's elbow, dislocating the joint, making the guy shriek in pain and ruined his attempt to get the knife. Then, Law let go of the arm and watched as the pervert struggled with the pain.
At that moment, Luffy could see Law's expression. He remembered that glare. That was the glare from when he found out Luffy had his scarf.
But this time, it was accompanied by a creepy smile that Luffy had never seen before.
Suddenly he felt like his knees were going weak.
Despite his pain, the guy did not give up. He charged forward, trying to send a punch to Law's face but it was easily avoided by the surgeon. Then, Law caught the guy's hand and pushed it to the guy's back, locking his movement. Next, he made a sweeping movement to the guy's leg, sending him laying flat on the floor with a loud thud.
"You.. Because of people like you.." Law muttered, but clear enough for Luffy to hear it, before he pushed the guy's hand up higher making the guy shriek in pain again. Then, Law moved his hand, going through the guy's fingers, slowly straightening them up as though he was trying to break them one by one.
But no. Luffy would not let Law do that.
"LAW, STOP!" He yelled and immediately dashed to Law, pushing him away from the pervert and both of them ended up laying on the floor as a result.
"Urgh.." Law opened his eyes slowly and saw the ceiling above him. He thought he heard Luffy's voice and the next thing he knew, someone pushed him. He tried to get up from the floor and noticed one of the waitresses was lying on top of him. "Hey, get off me!"
The waitress got up and looked at Law with an awkward wide grin on. "I am sorry, Law!" A while later, Luffy realized he used his real voice and he just blew his cover. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth with a hand. "Oops!"
"Your.. Your voice..You.. You.. Are you.. Luffy?" Law blinked his eyes a few times in shock and Luffy laughed awkwardly in response. Then, Law remembered about the pervert. "That pervert bastard!"
He immediately looked up to see the pervert already tied and the trio stood next to the pervert, speaking in unison. "Don't worry! We got him, Law!"
Law and Luffy walked along the cobblestone path between the stalls and Law's hand had been on his lips the whole time since they left the cafe. But still, Luffy knew the older man was actually trying to hold his laughter.
Luffy had asked for a break from his project leader and it was granted simply because all the maids in the cafe had somehow gotten interested in Law and wanted to get on Luffy's good side since he was friends with Law.
'Don't laugh! This is why I didn't ask you to come! This is so embarrassing!" Luffy said, as he stomped his feet in irritation and his tears were threatening to fall. His wig and maid costume were still on. Earlier, he was complaining and ranting about the wig because he could not take it off even for a while. His classmates put a lot of pins on his hair instead of just the usual wig cap to really secure the wig and Law did not want to help him with the wig. Law said it would be better if he kept the wig on.
"Hey, Luffy." Suddenly, Luffy heard Law calling his name so he turned and looked. Then, he was blinded by a flash which was followed by shutter sound.
Law just took his photo in the freaking maid costume.
"God, Law! Give me that! Erase it!" Luffy yelled, trying to get the phone from Law's hand.
"No way! This is epic!" Law held his phone up high so that the teen had to jump to get it. Luffy gave up a while later because no matter how hard he tried he could not reach Law's phone at all. He could only pout and narrowed his eyes at Law who was still chuckling.
So mean.
Wait until he grows taller.
But then, Luffy realized that the whole costume thing actually made Law laugh. So it was worth it. "It's nice to see you laugh, though. Shi shi shi!" Luffy said, making the surgeon blushed and immediately stopped chuckling.
Then, they were silent and started walking again.
"Those were some swift moves back there! Did you learn martial arts?" Luffy asked, a moment later, breaking the silence. Luffy wanted to know why was Law acting like that. Like he was trying to torture the pervert. But then, he knew with Law he had to go really slow with the questions.
"Just a little." Law answered briefly and he did not seem like he wanted to talk more about it so Luffy just nodded and went back to being silent, trying to think of another question to ask.
Then, Law realized what he just did.
Shit. What happened to wanting to open up?
In the end, they continued walking without talking until Luffy's stomach grumbled, breaking the silence. "I smell takoyaki.." Luffy said, as he bit his finger, tempted by the smell.
Somehow, it had become a very common situation for Law so he just looked at Luffy and smiled. "Take as much as you want. On me."
Luffy turned to the older man with his eyes sparkling. "Really? Yay, you're the best! I love you!" Then, he immediately grabbed the surgeon's hand and went to the takoyaki stand, ended up buying thirty boxes of takoyaki. At that point, Luffy's monster appetite really did not surprise Law anymore. Of course, as usual he forced Law to eat them with him.
After that, they dropped by more stalls, playing a lot of games and eating.
"Are you both a couple? You both look so cute together." One of the stall owners remarked, while they were at the stall trying out a game, making both of them blush.
"No, no. We're not." Both of them spoke in unison, trying to clarify.
"Oh, really. I'm sorry but you both really look cute together." The stall owner apologized, still unaware that Luffy was actually a boy.
Too bad, they did not have luck with the game and were rewarded a small and fluffy bear phone strap as a consolation prize. "Sorry! I couldn't get the stuffed bear for you!" Luffy said, frustrated as he handed the strap to Law, knowing the older man's liking to polar bear. "Not a polar bear but I want you to have it!"
Deep down, Law was grateful they did not get the main prize. It was a huge stuffed bear with a height of one meter and he really did not want to carry it home. He thought the one Luffy gave him before was enough.
Law smiled awkwardly as he slowly took the strap from the teen's hand. He really wanted to tell Luffy to stop associating him with any bear in the future but the teen looked really eager so he kept the thought for later.
"It's cute right! Strap it to your phone!"
"I.. I'll do it later."
"Let me help you!" Luffy said, as he held out his hand, asking Law to hand him his phone.
"I- It's okay. I can do it myself." Law said, as taking few steps backwards, away from Luffy.
Law wanted to avoid strapping the bear on but then the teen was looking at him with a hopeful face so in the end he had to strap it to his phone. It actually looked kind of nice on his phone but he really could not imagine what kind of embarrassment would be waiting for him if anyone other than Luffy saw it.
"It fits you!" Luffy said, and the surgeon smiled awkwardly to him in response. Then, the teen saw another interesting game and dragged the surgeon away from the stand.
It had been an hour since they started visiting the stands and they were walking while eating candy apple when Luffy suddenly remembered something. "Hey, there'll be fireworks tonight! Follow me! I know a good place!" Luffy said, as he grabbed Law's hand again and dragged him to a direction. Law did not know where was Luffy dragging him to but he just followed him, putting complete trust on him. He had gotten very used to Luffy dragging him places anyway. Ten minutes later, they were already standing on a grassy field high up on a hill and they could see the whole festival area from the spot. The festival area looked really pretty from where they were standing, full of colorful lights.
"You always know good places, don't you?" Law said, amazed by Luffy's exploration skill.
The teen nodded in response and flashed him a very wide grin. "Zoro and I love to go on adventures! Shi shi shi! I'll take you with us next time!"
Law looked at the teen's face which was looking very hopeful and slowly nodded in agreement. Then, they sat on the grassy ground, waiting for the fireworks to start. Luffy sat with his knees up, legs opened, and Law told him to sit properly. "Aren't you wearing a gown? Skirt? Sit properly!"
"I wear shorts underneath!"
"Doesn't matter! Sit properly!"
"Fine." Then, Luffy sat with both his legs to one side. "You know, a lot of girls from the cafe are interested in you. They kept asking me to introduce you to them. You're so popular, aren't you?!" Law just stared at Luffy in response and Luffy had begun to understood Law more now to know what the older man was expecting. "Of course, I'll tell them you're not interested in girls."
"Okay." Law said, shortly. Girls being interested in him was not something new so he was not shocked at all.
"You really are not, right?" Luffy asked again, and the older man answered him with few small nods.
A moment later, Law asked Luffy. "How about you? Are you not interested in girls?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I've only ever be interested in you. Shi shi shi!" Luffy explained. "Hey, back in Nami's party, you asked me why do I like you, right?"
Law thought for a while, then he recalled what he said at the party and he slowly nodded in response. It was a little awkward that they were having this conversation, really. But he was curious how did an 8-year-old decide who he wanted to marry. Even better, it was over onigiri and just some basic aid?!
"It should be love." Luffy corrected him. "I asked Shanks why do people marry before. He said he married Makino because he likes her. He said when you like someone you get a weird feeling in your stomach whenever you see or be around them. He said something about butterflies flying... I don't really understand that part. To be honest, I am not sure why I fell for you either. I only knew that I like you." He explained, and was met with a skeptical look from Law. "When I was little, Shanks used the word 'like' but as I got older he switched to 'love'. So there. Shi shi shi!"
Really, Shanks?
But then, Law did not think he really had the right to criticize Shanks. He never loved anyone in a romantic way despite having had two relationships in the past. One was purely experimental while another one was built under pressure. He never told anyone he loved them in a romantic way. Kissing to him was just lips touching lips. But the one with Luffy was different..
Oh shit.
No. Not that.
Suddenly he could feel his cheeks burning.
He shook his head, trying to shake the thought out of his mind and Luffy just stared at him, looking confused. "So, you had that weird feeling in your stomach."
"Yeah! When I first saw you I instantly had that weird feeling."
Such a simple-minded boy.
"Are you sure it's not your bowel movement?" Law asked, doubtful. "Or, you're just hungry?" The teen immediately denied and Law asked further, "Why are you so sure?"
"Because I only get them when I'm with you, even now! I told you Shanks said you get that weird feeling only when you're with people you love!"
Law looked at the teen next to him with his eyes wide open.
"I don't get those with anyone else. Makino said she felt the same way for Shanks so I guess what Shanks said was true! Shi shi shi!"
"How is this weird feeling, really?" Law asked, out of curiosity.
"It's like, you feel your stomach is hurting but it is actually not. And, somehow it feels harder to breath. Sometimes, you get sweats on your palms!"
Law ended up staring at Luffy again, speechless.
"Well, you'll know when you fall in love with me. Shi shi shi!"
"Maybe no." Law answered. Calm and short.
"A-ah! Not yet."
Too positive or too confident, Law could not tell. He was starting to be really fond of the teen but he did not think it was that kind of love. He was not even sure if he was capable of loving the teen that way. One of the reasons his previous relationship with Smoker failed was because of the things from his past. He did not want that to happen with Luffy. He did not want to risk the friendship. He did not want to give the teen hopes to begin with but lately he found himself showing affections to the teen and the fact that it was something out of his control made it a lot scarier. He really did not know what was happening to him.
Then, he thought maybe that was a good time to talk to Luffy about it.
"Look, Luffy-" Before Law could finish his words, they heard a loud sound from the sky.
The fireworks had started.
"Law, look! They are beautiful, aren't they?"
Law was not really a fan of fireworks. To him, fireworks are quite like setting fire to money. Yeah, he was a killjoy like that. But then, it felt nice to watch it with Luffy. "Yeah, they are."
Then, they just sat silently, enjoying the fireworks. They stayed for a while after the fireworks ended, just admiring the view from up there before they slowly made their way out, back to the booth area. As they made their way down, Luffy noticed a lot of girls were staring at them and whispering among them. He completely understood that those girls were actually attracted to Law and he could not help but feeling jealous. Some of the girls even walked over to them and tried talking to Law, only to be ignored. A moment later, Law noticed that Luffy was looking depressed so he asked Luffy why but the teen told him it was nothing serious. However, the surgeon could not just let it slide so he asked again.
"Tell me."
"I know we're not in a relationship or anything but I got so jealous when I see girls staring at you and trying to talk to you like that..." Luffy finally admitted and the surgeon was quite surprised to hear it. Luffy tried not to show his disappointment too much but his eyes and tone of voice betrayed him. "Don't worry about it, it's really stu-"
Before he could finish his words, Luffy felt a hand holding his. He slowly turned to look at his hand to see a tattooed hand holding it. Then, he slowly looked up to see the surgeon looking at him with an embarrassed face. At that moment, Luffy felt like his heart skipped beats and he froze in his place.
"This will keep them away, right? I don't like them bugging me too." Law said, as he slowly dragged Luffy forward, continuing the walk.
As they walked, Luffy noticed that no one actually tried to talk to Law anymore. At that moment he felt like he was the happiest person in the world. But then, the silence was dragging on for too long and it made the surgeon uncomfortable because Luffy was always the chatterbox out of the two. So, he tried to say something, trying to make an effort for once to eliminate the awkward silence.
"You look pretty like that."
Shit.
Did he really just say that? Out of all things to say?
"I- I- I'm not pretty! You are pretty!" Luffy responded, his tone panic.
"You are so weird." Law said, and the teen chuckled in response.
"I like your outfit tonight. You should wear something like that more often! You look so much better like that!" Luffy remarked, making the surgeon blushed and speechless.
The atmosphere got better after a while and both of them just walked slowly back to the cafe, enjoying each other's company. Unfortunately, on their way back to Mero Mero Mero Cafe, they bumped into two familiar figures.
"Oh, it's you again, Law." Smoker said, as he saw Law in front of him. His face looked surprised and excited. Next to Smoker was his fiance, Fullbody.
Law facepalmed.
Again? Shit.
"You look really good. I've never seen you wore something like that." Smoker said, as he walked over to Law who was showing him a disgusted face. Then, he noticed Law's fingers, intertwined with Luffy's. "Now, who is this cute young girl next to you? I didn't know you like girls too."
"What are you talking about? It's me, grandpa!" Luffy immediately hit Smoker's hand and stood between Law and Smoker.
"What? You're that brat?! You sure have weird hobby!" Smoker yelled, his eyes widened in shock.
"Only weird people know weird, grandpa!"
"Oi, brat! Stop talking back! I'm not a grandpa!"
Then, Luffy and Smoker started quarreling. Law facepalmed again.
So childish.
"OII!" Suddenly Fullbody started shouting. Don't forget about me! I am here too." Then he walked over to Smoker. "What did you mean 'Again'? Have you been meeting him? Why are you looking at him that way? I knew it. That's why you're starting to be cold to me!" Fullbody yelled, throwing accusations at Smoker. "I knew it. Maybe that brat is just pretending to be his boyfriend! It's his plan to steal you back!"
"Please, I'm really not interested in stealing him from you." Law defended himself.
"Prove it!"
Law looked at Smoker's fiance in disbelief. Then, he let out a sigh and put his hand on Luffy's shoulder, guiding the teen away from the spot."I don't have to prove anything. Let's go, Luffy!"
However, Fullbody did not give up. He kept following Law. "I know where you work, I will find out where you live! I will hunt you down and bug you everyday!"
"Go away." Law replied, he was starting to be really irritated.
"Stay away from my fiance!" Fullbody warned.
"If you're so scared why don't you chain him up?!" Law responded with his voice raised.
"Oi, Fullbody. Stop it! Don't disturb him!" Smoker yelled to Fullbody as he followed his fiance and the engaged couple quarreled as they followed Law and Luffy, making Law even more irritated.
"You guys are so noisy!" Law yelled, as he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I said I'll bug you!" Fullbody said, trying to provoke the surgeon.
"I told you don't do that!" Smoker warned.
"Annoying guy and grandpa, shut up! Don't bug Law!" Luffy yelled, finally making noise because he was starting to lose his cool.
Law looked at the people in front of him and then he cupped his face with both hands. He could not believe he was caught in such a ruckus because of a stupid reason. He took in deep breath and then he let out a sigh. "Luffy, let's go. We'll just report them to the police." Law said, which he thought was ironic since Fullbody and Smoker were police officers. Then, he pulled Luffy who looked agitated into an embrace, trying to refrain the teen from going into a fight.
"No, I want to teach them a lesson! I don't want them to bug you anymore! I hate annoying guy!" Luffy shouted, as he struggled to release himself from Law's embrace. For some reason, he really disliked Fullbody.
Seeing how mad the teen was, Law kissed Luffy's forehead and slowly rubbed the teen's back, trying to calm him down and eventually it started to work. However, it was not for long because Fullbody started calling Law names, saying stuff like he was low, a stealer, and home-wrecker. Law thought it was so childish but Luffy did not think so. The teen seemed so angry.
"Luffy, let's go." Law tried to pull Luffy away from the spot but Luffy seemed like he was going to go on a rampage and he struggled harder to release himself from Law's embrace. Law thought, for someone with such a thin body like Luffy, he was surprisingly strong because it was getting a little harder for Law to hold Luffy back.
"Let me go! I want to kick that annoying guy's ass!" Luffy shouted, as he tried to break free from Law's arms.
Suddenly, Luffy felt his body was turned so his back faced Fullbody and Smoker. Then, he could feel a pair of lips lightly touching his. He instantly shut up and blinked his eyes in shock.
A moment later, their lips were separated and he could see Law looking straight into his eyes."Let's go, okay?" He said, with a soft voice and one hand stroking Luffy's wig. Then, he pulled Luffy into a hug. "There. Happy? Now, can you leave us alone?!" Law said to Fullbody who looked excited while Smoker was petrified, his jaw dropped, again.
Law never kissed him like that! Law never kissed him first!
"Gladly!" Fullbody said, as he dragged the petrified Smoker away.
Then, Law slowly looked down to see Luffy looking like he was high with blood coming out of his nose. "Luffy, you okay?!"
"Y-yeah, I.. I am o-okay.." Luffy replied, before he fainted.
Law looked at the unconscious teen on the couch as he sat on a chair next to him, waiting for him to wake up. There were now in a special resting room in Mero Mero Mero Cafe and Law could feel some people were peeking from the small opening at the door but he decided to just ignore them.
Then, his mind traveled back to the moment when he kissed Luffy. Suddenly, the thought that he did not even hesitate doing that made him really scared. He cupped his face with both hands, frustrated and regretting.
What had he done? What was it that had gotten into him?
A moment later, he could hear the teen making sound, finally awake. He watched as the teen opened his eyes slowly and smiled upon the sight of the older man.
"Are you okay?" Law asked, as he moved closer to the teen.
"I think so.." Luffy answered weakly.
"This is funny. I've never seen a case like yours." Law commented, before he remembered that he was part of the reason Luffy fainted. His cheeks immediately felt really hot and he turned his face down trying to hide his embarrassed face. Luffy, on the other hand, hid his face under the blanket, leaving only his eyes exposed.
They were in silence for a while before Law finally said something. "I.. I am sorry. I just.. wanted them to go away."
"It's nothing to be sorry for! It's the best night of my life! Shi shi shi!" Luffy said, as he chuckled from inside the blanket.
Suddenly, Luffy felt sharp pain on his cheeks.
Law just pinched his cheeks really hard.
"What was that for?!"
"For being reckless! You can't just go and brawl in the public! You broke your promise!"
Luffy slowly covered part of his face with the blanket again, realizing he was at wrong. "I am sorry.. But, when he started calling you names I just got really mad.. Weren't you hurt by what he said?" Luffy said, as he looked at Law with sad eyes.
Law could feel his anger fading as he looked at Luffy's sad eyes. "No. What he said doesn't matter." Law said, responding to his question. Then, he turned his face away from Luffy. "I only care about what you think of me."
The teen's eyes instantly lightened up. "R-really?"
"Don't be a reckless idiot again."
"I won't! I love you!" Luffy said, happily. Then, Law slowly turned his head back to face Luffy and saw the brightest smile he had ever seen.