The Start of Trafalgar's Migraines
By the time Law jolted up from his slumber, the sun's blasting rays were already scattered in the room subdued behind the heavy window curtains. He blinked at the ceiling groggily, adjusting his vision from the blasted Mr. Sun. The doctor-agent looked left to right, up and down, studying the room. The dream he had before he awoken was the most terrible blood-curdling nightmare that left him mentally scarred and the unfamiliar room didn't give him comfort.
The dream had left him profusely sweating as if he was in a sauna. Hoping to get relief from the sticky beads of sweat on his forehead, he lifted his wrist to use the hem of his hoodie... Law tilted his head, he slowly patted his body only to feel his bare skin. Taking in his current situation, he haltingly lifted the blanket that covered the lower half of his body and sighed in relief seeing that he wore a pair of red pajamas, which instead of making things clear only made it even hazier.
Law pressed his lips together and scrunched up his forehead as if in deep thought... Wait a minute, he didn't remember putting pants on, in fact, he didn't remember anything. A barrage of questions swirled inside this throbbing head.
Rubbing his temples trying to recall what the hell happened, the sudden outburst of vivid images from his nightmare made Law shudder. He was doing naughty, lewd things with his sexy minx little explorer which was goddamn glorious.. then..then...Law hoped it was really a dream.. cause freaking Garp joined them. It was wrong. Wrong on so many levels. Law started screaming 'My eyes', rubbing the living daylights of those poor gray orbs. Reality was cruel.
The tattooed man sat up, clutching his chest and started to hyperventilate. Gripping the sheets tightly, Law found it extremely hard to breathe— smacking his chest, he desperately gasped for air, he took a few deep breaths to calm down and assess what the hell was going on.
Swallowing hard, he reluctantly let his gray eyes roam the room and his heart stopped. There are times in life when people had their worse that they wished they would just die and Law knew there was still hope out there but..but.. as he laid his eyes on the sleeping form beside him, he might have already died and this was his punishment in hell for hitting on his boss' grandson because HOLY SHIT, he was indeed sleeping with Monkey D. Fucking Garp.
Hugging his own knees, the mentally scarred agent started rocking back and forth as he covered his ears from the loud snoring that somehow he only heard just now. Law tried to convince himself 'It was just a dream, a dream', repeating it over and over so the demons would disappear. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's just a dream Trafalgar." He then opened his eyes only to see the body still next to him. He repeated the same action for countless times only to achieve the same trauma-inducing result.
The agent would not accept this..this.. nightmare. Once again, he sorted his fucked up brain. He closed his eyes. "Nope bad idea." All he could see was the disturbing images of Garp joining them in bed. Holy fuck, it was just wrong. Law started smacking his face and glared at the door ahead and squinted his eyes. The last thing he remembered..was... Yes! He was taking a bath. Right...Luffy suddenly appeared in the room. Law nodded at that, he liked that. Then.. they were kissing and things escalated quickly leading them to the bed...
Law encouraged himself to recall every goddamn detail cause he would not accept that he freaking slept with his boss. 'NOOOOOOOOO!' He internally screamed. Then..right, the asshole had to bother their make-out session. Damn, Law was disappointed that they were cut off short but on the other hand, relieved to fully know that he didn't sleep with his old boss. Law exhaled the breath that he didn't notice he was holding in for a while now.
He propelled himself out of bed with high-level eagerness and started dancing. Yes, dancing cause he was fucking happy, ecstatic, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The agent started nodding his head and shaking his hips as he circled. Shuffling his feet and humming 'I didn't sleep with my boss' with a 'yeah yeah yeah' at the end. He didn't mind his aching head from the multiple bumps that he know remember came from the stupid old man. The fact that he was free from his nightmare elated him to the point where his pain threshold quadrupled.
Now that things were cleared, he felt somewhat frustrated. They were so close to consummating their love, first step to their long-lasting cohabitation. He glared at the sleeping form, he wanted to drown the man in a bucket for sabotaging his and Luffy's perfect moment. He should probably kidnap Luffy so they could stay away from cockblockers, he nodded at that thought as he continued dancing. He wondered whether living with criminals turned him into one cause for sure their mentality was rubbing on him at an alarming rate.
Law froze on a stance that he calls the swan princess - arms raised above his head while on tiptoe - when he heard someone clearing his throat. His head quickly snapped towards the door, slowly lowering his raised hands, only to see his beautiful raven-haired lover covering his mouth with both hands with a flushed face.
Law groaned mentally, he didn't have the time to feel embarrassed when the younger raven (that he totally wanted to strangle at the moment..with love of course) started bursting with laughter as he knelt and slammed the floor with hand while the other clutched his stomach, he paused for a moment to look up and wipe the side of his eyes and laughter echoed in the room again. Law swore it lasted for more than ten minutes. The younger raven was trying to control himself but failed royally every time he set his brown orbs on Law.
Law glared at the explorer and Luffy covered his mouth again to muffle another batch of boisterous laughter. Garp must be so fucking tired from beating the shit out of him and Luffy to sleep through all the noise and snorting. Luffy exposed such an unflattering laugh that Law couldn't help but laugh along. They stared at each other, eyes bright with laughter and blushed faces.
Finally out of his high from the laughing fit, Luffy took a deep breath and exhaled exaggeratedly. His face contorted as he ought to look serious only to end up smiling from ear to ear. His Torao's laugh was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. He started to speak.
"Shishi...Oh my god, I-im sorry.." He covered his mouth again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude..in your.. little ritual Torao. You can continue." Luffy motioned his hand for his Torao to continue as he snickered.
Law facepalmed, his lover would not let this one go for a very very long time, he could already feel it. The little shit (that he loves) would torment him, there was no denying that. "Ha ha Luffy. Very funny." He tried to act mean and glared at him but as he noticed the red reading glasses that rested on his lover's nose, at the very moment, Law had a revelation that he would have a glasses kink. How could he be mean with his adorable, hot lover who flips his emotions as easy as a freaking light switch? Law sighed in defeat as Luffy kept humming the song he impromptu composed. Today's gonna be a long day, Law thought.
The couple walked in the hallway with Luffy still teasing the older raven after Law had put on a shirt. "Are you planning to add more lyrics to your little song Torao? Shishishi". The cheeky bastard, Law thought. He matched Luffy's walking pace and scooted closer to the younger man with the brightest smile Law could muster. Instinctively, the explorer stepped back hitting until his back hit the wall.
Law leaned closer to his ears. "You've been really really naughty Luffy and I like tying up naughty brats," Law smirked as he saw Luffy shut up and gulp audibly. He should have done that in the first place rather than listen to the nonstop teasing his lover had been throwing at him, at least he now knows how to shut him u-
"Oh. Is that so? Why don't you try To-ra-o?" The little devil purred Law's nickname and he couldn't help but bite his lip. Why couldn't he just shut the fuck up and not lead Law to ravage him on the spot? Law traced his tattooed fingers on Luffy's side playfully earning him a soft gasp. He grinned as the explorer closed his eyes, he took the opportunity and started tickling the younger man who dropped down kicking Law's foot making him tumble and fall on top of Luffy.
They stared into each other's eyes. Law leaned closer, wanting to reenact the heated kiss they shared the previous day only to be stopped by the ticklish sensation he felt in his armpit. Even his freaking lover cockblocked him. Seriously? The older man sighed and played along cause why not? They were enjoying each other's company. It felt refreshing for Law to make Luffy smile and laugh.
The duo paused and looked up when a menacing aura engulfed them. "What did I say about doing things with my grandson, Trafalgar?" Law wondered whether he would survive until he reached twenty-seven.
Breakfast ended up as soon as it started, apparently, the straw hats were also afraid of Garp. Everyone left right away minding their own business leaving Luffy, Robin and Law and the old man in the table while Sanji started taking the dirty dishes.
"Oi Trafalgar, are you experiencing some kind of Stockholm syndrome?" Garp shook his head and sipped on the cup of tea Sanji offered. The black haired woman chuckled calmly sipping her coffee.
"Stockholm syndrome? What do you mean? I'm here because I wanted to. I'm your grandson's boyfriend after all." Okay, that might have been a bad idea for the man spat his tea and turned red, Garp could really pass as a human train with all the imaginary smoke Law saw coming out of his nostrils and ears. The old man was about to pounce the stupid agent for trying to take his grandson away from him when Sanji interfered.
"No fighting on the dining table, assholes." Bless Sanji for his bravery. He will be remembered.
Garp glared at the blond and turning his head back to the smug looking Trafalgar. "Garp-san, we would appreciate it if you don't kill Trafalgar here, since Luffy mentioned he would be working with us, yes?" The old man seems to calm down hearing Robin's soothing voice.
Garp cleared his throat and sounding all business-like. "Yes, his team would continue to monitor and assist your crew as per request of that idiot brat over there." Garp pointed at Luffy who was sticking out his tongue. Law tilted his head obviously lost in the current conversation. He made eye contact with Luffy, awaiting a response.
"Ohhh yeah... I forgot to tell you Torao. Shishishi, I asked the WG to let you work with me! Your team and even Barto will remain working for the WG. Isn't that nice?" Luffy said with a beaming smile. Law would kiss the man if only the old bastard wasn't there ready to rip out his throat the moment Law even touch a single strand of Luffy's hair. He wouldn't mind working for the WG again, he loved that job in the first place, his life couldn't be more perfect.
Law had his job back, he also had the most thoughtful, kindest, unselfish human being in the entire universe as his lover. Knowing that Luffy even let his team come back made Law fall even deeper in the pithole of attraction and he didn't care. He should really tell the younger man that he..he loves him. This was indeed love. Trafalgar, you made a damn good choice..the best one you had so far, he told himself internally. And Law doubted that anything could top this decision.
"Oi Trafalgar, don't you think you could put your filthy hands on my grandson just cause you're working with him!" The old man bellowed. Law smirked. "Make me, grandpa," Law said mockingly. Luffy started laughing and Garp well he almost destroyed the table only to be reprimanded by Sanji. Luffy and Law gawked at the blond, Sanji should be freaking canonized, he was already a saint in Luffy and Law's eyes.
Robin shook her head. There was no boring day in their lives while Luffy was around. "Luffy, I guess it's about time to resume our... duties," Robin said and motioned at the room at the end of the hallway. Luffy adjusted his spectacles and nodded.
"Is Torao coming with us?" Luffy sweetly asked the tattooed man beside him. Luffy wondered how noses could glare with such intensity cause his grandpa was doing it. Luffy huffed, it would be nice if his grandpa could just accept that he likes Torao. Wasn't it the same as how Garp treats Sengoku? Luffy cringed, scratch that, that was gross. Gods no. He shook his head erasing the unholy image.
Law hummed. He didn't have anything to do while staying in Luffy's place so why not join the duo in their work. He rather chooses that than 'talk' with his boss, that's for sure so he nodded and they headed to the spare room located at the end of the hallway. Luffy swung his hand back and forth bouncing as they walked. Law intuitively caught the small yet strong hands, intertwining it with his own. The smaller raven looked at him with a pleased smile.
Along the hallway, Law couldn't stop himself from being curious with the portraits hanging on the wall. "Luffy, is that your family?" The Explorer stopped in his track.
"Yes," he answered meekly and started walking again.
"Where are they now?"
"It would be better not to-" Robin butted in only to be intercepted by Luffy. "It's okay Robin." The explorer smiled at her. And then, very slowly, as he walked he tilted his head to Law and opened his mouth speaking in a monotone voice with a still face, "They're gone Torao. It has been sixteen years." The agent had a hunch but hearing it coming from the man himself did made him a bit stunned. Law gently squeezed Luffy's hand, he listened intently as Luffy explained everything to him. Robin walked ahead giving the two privacy.
Law hugged his Luffy running circles on his back as comforting as possible as the man finished retelling painful memories. He was happy that Luffy trusted him enough to bare everything and Law wanted nothing more than to stop his lover from hurting, make him feel that he was not alone, that the people around him understand his circumstances. He knew he couldn't really fix what was missing in Luffy's life but he would do whatever he could to fill the gap.
"This must be so hard for you to tell me..but thank you. I understand everything now." Law murmured as Luffy nuzzled his face on his chest. "It's okay to cry. I'll be here." Luffy suddenly giggled making Law furrow his brows.
"Torao, you can be really sappy sometimes huh?... But I guess I am too." Law slowly faced the man, who had a tear in his eye with a frown. He lifted the spectacles, brushed the tear with his thumb and kissed the side of Luffy's eye where the tear rested. He gently placed the glasses back.
"I'm okay, Torao. Don't look so guilty and glum." Luffy smiled reassuringly. "It's just...you can't exactly forget things like that.." Luffy said while shrugging as if putting their previous conversation aside and pushed the door as they reached the room. Robin was already waiting for them files neatly displayed on the long table along with the book they stole ..um.. borrowed from the WG.
The ticking of a clock sounded loud in the quiet room. The silence was intense Law could hear the faint sound of flipping pages as if it was a hundred decibels. The agent gently placed the book he was reading on the table and set turned to glance at the clock and saw that it was already eleven-forty five. It had been almost four hours since Luffy and Robin dealt with the book.
He rubbed his eyes and watched intently as Luffy and Robin methodically handled the book with extreme caution. Who would've thought such a man who destroyed his phone in one touch could actually act so careful with a book. Law was a smart man but he had no idea what the hell Robin and Luffy were looking for, he was a doctor and an agent, not really connected with what Luffy does. He watched his lover flip the book expecting it to magically spew out the clue and flopped dejectedly on the chair.
Luffy and Robin had been flipping the pages of the book for the umpteenth time. They have gone over and back from the first page to the last one noting every word from the book that they deemed useful to uncover the clue. Luffy started rubbing his temples and stared at the book, squinting his eyes.
"Robiiiinnn" Luffy whined and the woman sitting opposite of him hummed sympathetically. "My brain's getting fried. We've been reading ten thousand pages over and over. Why do they have to make it so damn hard?"
"It won't be a treasure hunt if it's just displayed in plain sight Luffy. You love challenges, don't you? This is one." Robin calmly answered pointing out something apparently Luffy forgot.
"All I could think of is.. that thing is an abomination, a curse bestowed upon me." Luffy accusingly pointed at the book, snarling like a wild animal.
"Luffy.." The dark haired woman lowered her glasses, staring directly at her whiney, almost-displaying-premenstrual-syndrome-tendencies raven-haired friend "we all know what hunger does to you, it's almost lunchtime after all. Do you want me to ask Sanji for food? He would understand why we have to bring it here."
Luffy stared at Robin with immense admiration. "Robin, did I ever tell you that you're an angel?" he said and started sobbing.
Robin looked at Law without a sign of emotion on her face. "You're going to deal with that for the rest of your life, Trafalgar. We don't exchange items or accept returns if you simply change your mind." She was about to leave the room to seek the chef and feed the whiney Luffy but the raven whined even louder and asked Robin to stay, leaving the woman with no choice but heed the man's request and listen to more incessant whining.
Law stared at his pouting lover, chin resting on the table, he was so cute yet irritating at the same time as he kept whining that the agent could throw him off a cliff lovingly. Law didn't even know what that meant. Sometimes Law wondered what Luffy's actual age was. He was just so random, so... Luffy that sometimes he acts like a man on his midlife crisis or a twenty-two-year-old man with a temperament of a toddler. Trying not to get overwhelmed by what the dark-haired woman said, he shrugged and picked up the book he had set aside.
Whining still hung in the air when Chopper and Usopp suddenly burst through the door, startling the raven-haired trio out of their chairs and into their feet. Luffy had fallen on his butt wincing at the sudden impact and pulling himself up, grasping at the table, he rubbed his back and shot a glare at his best friend. Chopper had already hidden behind Robin clutching his phone to his chest. Usopp advanced and continued to chase Chopper, both circling around the table, Usopp grinning while Chopper screamed frantically.
"Boys, boys... Why don't you stop running before someone trips and hits his head on the edge of the table and blood will ooze out of it along with some brain tissue." Robin said as she sat back down, elegantly flicked a strand of hair that was sticking to her cheek.
That caught the attention of Usopp and stopped midway catching Chopper. "What the hell is going on?" Law asked. He stared at the poor teenager who had been heaving as he protectively kept the phone tucked in his chest with his small hands. He liked the kid, he had never met someone as interesting as the kid with his love for medicine, Law could connect to the kid easily with just about of medical knowledge.
"Tell..tell him to stop!" Chopper yelped as he hid behind Law. The kid was now comfortable with him knowing the man was an impressive doctor.
"Stop bullying Chopper Usopp just because you're bitter about your shirt." Luffy blatantly said. "And whose fault was that?" Usopp retorted through gritted teeth.
"Wait.. you guys can talk about your issues later." Law looked between Luffy and Usopp. "What's going on? Why are you chasing Chopper?"
"I just wanted to check his denden mushi profile." Usopp shrugged, Law raised an eyebrow and turned around to check Chopper's reaction. The teenager became flustered and started fidgeting.
Usopp had a smug smile on his face. "Chopper's 'stalking' someone, I just wanted to help him. I'm good at it, you know."
Luffy leaned on the back of the chair making it tilt and started rocking the chair. "Listen to the man Chopper. How do you think he ended up with a girl like Kaya?" Chopper now looked interested and peeked out of Law's back inching slowly towards Luffy with his flushed doe-eyed face.
"He blackmailed her, of course. Shishishi." Robin chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand as Usopp scowled at his best friend. Such a traitor. He did not blackmail his girlfriend. Maybe he did hack into Kaya's stuffs (which he knew was wrong) but it was out of curiosity and there was no another way of knowing the pretty blonde. He had higher chances of dating her if he knew what the girl liked and disliked so he had no other choice.
"I can really help Chopper. I'm a love expert!" Usopp winked at the young doctor.
"Isn't Chopper like..12?" Law blurted out earning a cute glare from the teenager. " I'm sixteen!" he shouted.
"Oh okay...my bad. Sixteen then but aren't you too young to join that dating site? Are you even allowed to use it at your age? I'm ..not sure.. but doesn't it have an age restriction?" Law asked.
"I..i..i..changed my birth year." Chopper's face became beet red.
Robin hummed. "Millineal problems."
"When life gives you lemons, you make a goddamn lemonade. That's a very good way to take things Chopper." Usopp sagely nodded. "It worked for me, it should also work for you. Follow the path of Usopp-sama."
Luffy squinted his eyes in extreme concentration. "Lemon..." He beamed and looked at Robin. "Lemon!" He screamed in joy bouncing up and down. Law scrunched his forehead, what was so interesting in lemons when its sour...unless Luffy meant. the errr.. the other kind of lemon, now that, Law understood the excitement.
"No, Luffy." Robin deadpanned as soon as she realized what had Luffy meant. "You will not molest the book with lemon juice nor any other agents. Do you know how old that book is? We're not even sure if it has a hidden message." Robin firmly answered making the explorer pout.
"Can you even imagine applying lemon in all of that? Are we even sure that the ancient people didn't use lemon as an ink? It would just ruin the entire book making it impossible for us to get anything, it would turn brown Luffy." Robin explained.
Luffy sagged on the jar. "I know. Let's try the simplest and safest one then, hover light over the book." Luffy started flipping the pages of the book unconsciously.
Law leaned on the table and gave the book a penetrating stare. "Luffy, can you give that to me for a sec?" The explorer looked at him and carefully passed the book. Law slowly placed the book on the table. He opened the book at the center first and shook his head.
"What are you doing?" Luffy scooted over, their arms touching each other. "You see, I knew someone who was obsessed with books. He would ask someone to apply a fore-edge painting in all his collections." Luffy's eyes widened in realization. "How did I not think about that?!" he gasped.
Law fanned the fore-edge of the book and grinned. A scene painted on the edges of the pages of the book appeared the moment outspread the book in a semi-circular way. "When they use this technique, it's either when closed it would be visible right away but considering they were trying to hide something, they would obviously use the second one."
"They would wait for the painting to dry then apply glit or marbling to make the image complete invisible until the fore-edge is fanned," Luffy said suddenly sounding ecstatic. Luffy bit his lips and stared at his Torao. Gosh, was he fucking sexy explaining and shit. An idea popped into Luffy's mind, he decided he would give the man a prize for helping him solve another mystery. Fuck his self-control and blushing fit, his Torao deserved it after all. He shivered as he thought of all the things he could do with his incredibly sexy lover.
Robin, Chopper, and Usopp hovered over the book and checked the painting that was now visible. Usopp and Chopper were awing at the sudden discovery while Robin held the book for them. Luffy suddenly grabbed Law's shirt and pressed their lips together, slipping his hand around the taller man's neck. Law kissed him back and even probed his tongue inside Luffy's warm cavern. There was no sense of urgency, nor hesitation only the thirst of savoring every taste their lover could offer.
"Oh god! Not when Chopper's around! Jesus Christ! You guys are such bad influence!" Usopp shrieked covering Chopper's eyes ushering the teenager outside of the room to preserve the little guy's innocence. Luffy giggled and whispered 'We're not done yet' into his Torao's ear. Law shuddered with anticipation, did the gods finally bless him? Yes, please, he thought as the younger man removed his grip on his neck giving him a playful wink.
Robin chuckled and closed the book. " Are you familiar with the painting Luffy?"
Luffy paused for a bit and tilted his head removing his glasses and placing it on top of his head. He tapped his foot... "Not really... but I do know someone who would probably know."
"Who is it?" the woman asked.
"Doffy." Luffy deadpanned.
Law's neck almost snapped as he turned around to stare at his lover as if he was saying something utterly ridiculous. It was impossible. He probably misheard. There was no way Luffy's referring to the same person as to who Law was thinking right? He swallowed hard and dared himself to ask. "Doffy?"
Luffy grinned. "Yeah, Doffy as in Doflamingo Donquixote." Hearing the full name, Law's jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of his head in horror. Luffy's got to be shitting him.