Notes:
Sorry for updating late (I was busy due to academic stuff), but here! I tried my best to pull off the next chapter. The pacing is a little bit slow, but it's necessary haha. Hope you'll like it!~
Also, there'll be a bit of manga spoiler stuff here (just a name, though, but yea). So read with caution? Haha.
As much as possible, I research stuff first before I post here. But of course, mistakes are unavoidable (especially on medical concepts) so please bear with me. Comments are very welcome, though. :)
And oh, the disclaimer part. Of course I don't own One Piece. I'm not Oda-sensei. I just borrowed his characters to make this FanFic.
Thank you and enjoy the story. :)
"Man, my body hurts!" Luffy exclaimed as he stretched his arms. "So Traffy, are you gonna buy pizza now?"
"Your eyes…" Law mumbled, loud enough for Luffy to hear.
"What?"
"Huh? Ah, sorry. What was that again?" Damn. Law felt embarrassed for letting Luffy hear what's on his mind.
"You said you're gonna buy pizza, right? Shishishi, what's wrong with you?"
I am the one who's supposed to ask you that, Law thought. "Seems you're really hungry, huh? Fine, just take a rest for a while and wait for me."
As Law went out of his room, his mind lingered again on what happened yesterday. What if the man would attempt to kill himself again? Would it be safe to leave him there alone? Law was conflicted but decided to go buy pizza, anyway. He also needed to eat; he hadn't eaten a good meal since yesterday. Besides, Luffy's hunger seemed enough to dismiss the idea of suicide. Hopefully.
When Law went back to his room, he was relieved to see the man lying comfortably in his bed. During their conversation while eating, he learned that Luffy was 19—seven years younger than him. He was also staying in this hotel, three floors below, and just checked in two days ago. Apparently, not one of them dared to talk about what happened last night. They were both occupied with the food, or they probably just wanted to dismiss the topic forever.
"Sngwnau-omom-doiynhr-omom?" Luffy asked while munching a big pie of pizza.
"Eat first, alright? You're disgusting." Law said as he watched the man talking while eating—or rather, devouring the poor pizza. Big munches of pizza. It seemed like the man hadn't eaten for years. His mouth was also covered with ketchup and crumbs. Really disgusting, but undeniably cute. Hell, what was Law thinking? He immediately dismissed the silly thought.
"Beeeeelch! Oops, sorry! I said, what are you doing here? Vacation?"
Few seconds of silence lingered the room.
"Yeah… you could say that." Law stared at the cream wallpaper covering the walls of his room. He's not lying, technically.
"You wanted to escape, don't you?"
Law was surprised by the sudden serious question. He wasn't expecting that, given that the man was happily eating the whole pie of pizza. But Luffy had been unpredictable for the last twelve hours, so he shouldn't wonder. If only I could escape, he said in his mind. But no one could escape what's bound to happen, right? No matter what he did, even if he tried to hide in the deepest part of the world, he couldn't escape from the waves of time. These waves, surely, were just waiting for the proper moment to drown him into nothingness. A life's tragedy.
"No, I'm not escaping. I'm just here to enjoy the beach, that's all."
Luffy made a sound of disappointment. "Meh, so you're just like those typical people out there, huh? Boooooring…"
Law couldn't help but chuckle at the statement. Yes, he was right. He's practically boring… As boring as a dead person.
But the next words that came out from the teenager's mouth made his heart skip a beat.
"But… I like you." Luffy said, innocently.
Dumbfounded, the older man gave Luffy a confused look. A really confused look.
"What? I said I like you! Because you bought me pizza. You'll buy another pizza tonight, right?"
Because of pizza. Yeah, right. Of course there's no other reason. What a simpleton.
A smile formed on Law face. A warm smile, that hadn't been present for a while. This man, who he saved yesterday, was giving him a weird, unfamiliar feeling inside. How could a man, whose eyes were tainted with sorrow, make him feel this warmth? It felt like a spark that was starting to create a flame inside his almost frozen heart.
"Yes, I'll buy another box." How could he refuse?
"Really?! Then make it three, extra large! And oh, I want meat overload, 'kay?"
Do you have a bottomless stomach or something? Law almost wanted to protest but agreed anyway. If that would make this man satisfied, then so be it.
What a pain in the ass.
It was 5pm when Law was awoken by his alarm. He made a cup of strong coffee to dissolve the remaining grogginess in his head. His body was still aching, though; he hadn't slept in his bed since last night. His body couldn't handle much stress anymore. Managing to save Luffy from freezing water was actually a fucking miracle.
As he remembered about the teenager, he went to his room to check him. To his surprise, only the scattered sheet of blanket and two pillows remained in his bed. The boy was gone. On the desk, the clothes were gone, too.
Where are you?
Law suddenly felt a burst of panic in his head. He tried to calm himself, but the thought of Luffy missing was enough to make him sweat. He immediately dressed up and went to Room 308, Luffy's room.
"Luffy! Are you there?" Law knocked many times.
There was no answer.
No answer probably meant no person was inside the room… or no person breathing was inside the room.
The thought made Law frantic.
"No, no, no! Luffy!" He banged the door loudly many times, trying to dismiss the idea of a dead Luffy inside. When he got tired of shouting and knocking, he decided to go ask the hotel management for the room's key and see if Luffy was inside. He made one last bang on the door when a kid appeared from the next room.
"He's not there." said the sweet-looking girl, who was eating grapes off her fingers.
Law was relieved to hear this. He felt foolish making a scene, but the embarrassment was not important at the moment. "You know Luffy?"
"No, but I saw him went out just a few minutes ago. Now go away, you're noisy." As the kid said this, she went back to her room and closed the door loudly.
How rude, Law thought. There she went, a child with a really sweet-looking face but with a stern attitude. Another person full of irony.
At least Luffy's not inside that room. Damn, why did he even care about that guy, anyway? He's a total stranger, and a problematic one. He already had enough problems, and dealing with more would make him die early. But reasons are not important; he would not allow Luffy to kill himself.
Law believed that no one should ever think about ending his or her own life, no matter how shitty or fucked up it was. Everyone should be grateful that they were still alive, still breathing, and having the chance to be happy.
But unfortunately, some people weren't as lucky as the others. Some didn't have a choice. They couldn't escape, no matter how much they like to stay…
Why do some people want to die so bad when there are people out there who are dying, but fighting so hard just to see the next sunrise?
Law found Luffy sitting on the shore, toes almost touching the water, eyes fixated on the red horizon.
"Luffy!" Law ran towards the man. Exhausted, he sat beside him. "What are you doing here? Why did you leave without waking—"
"Why are you so worried about me?" Luffy interrupted, eyes still fixed on the sunset.
"I'm just…" He was also asking the same question to himself, but he can't think of a better answer. Lost for words, Law just kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately for him, Luffy won't let him.
"You're just what?"
"Nothing."
"Bullshit." said Luffy, calmly. He looked at Law and noticed that his cheeks were red. Red from embarrassment or sunset, Luffy had no idea.
Law was trying his best to suppress the awkwardness he was feeling. The once calmed man, known for his enigmatic composure, was now acting like a feeble teenager in front of a stranger. No apparent reason. He's just embarrassed to admit that yes, he was so damn worried about the boy he just met. He was so worried about the boy who might try to kill himself again.
"I'm just afraid," Law finally admitted, "that you might actually do the same thing yesterday."
"You're afraid that I might have actually killed myself?" Luffy laughed loudly as he said this. Law stared at him, wondering what was amusing on what he said. He was fucking serious here, but here he was, facing an idiot who thought the whole stuff was hilarious. "So what if I kill myself? It won't affect you in any way, am I right? So nosy." And there Luffy went again, laughing at the whole matter.
But he had a point. Luffy killing himself won't affect Law in any way. Or would it?
Few more laughter from Luffy then silence lingered on the two for a few minutes.
"You know what? I don't like sunset before. I mean, look at it, it was just the sun disappearing in sight because the Earth is rotating and stuff… do you get what I mean? It's so boring, nothing is amazing to it."
Then why are you here, watching the sun as it disappears, Law thought. He kept on listening though.
"But my brother…" Luffy continued, "was always saying that it's beautiful. The big red dot, the changing color of the sky, the silhouette of things behind it… he said that they were so romantic."
Brother. So he had one. Law couldn't help but ask about this brother of Luffy, but tried his best to not pry. Besides, seeing the man being sentimental is somewhat… refreshing.
"How about you, Traffy? Do you think the sunset is beautiful?" Luffy asked.
On the horizon, Law could see one-fourth of the sun dipped on the endless, calm sea. The color of the sky was ranging from rusty orange to bloody red, and the clouds added a dark but enchanting ambience to the whole scene. The warm feeling was reciprocated by the cold touch of breeze, giving him a relaxing feeling… an internal peace. The sunset was indeed beautiful… no, more than beautiful. It was indeed romantic.
Law smiled; it was a smile that reminded Luffy of the way his brother smiled while gazing at the magical sunset.
"Now, I can understand why Ace loved the sunset. It still sucks, though."
Ace. So that was his brother's name. "And why is that?"
"Because the magic will only last for a few minutes. It doesn't last forever. Later on, it will be replaced by darkness."
"But you can see it again on the next day. You just have to wait."
"But," Luffy closed his eyes as he talked, "why can't it stay forever? Why… does it need to disappear?"
On the surface, Luffy might sound like a spoiled brat asking for an impossible thing. But Law knew better; deep down below, he could sense what Luffy is getting into. That is because he himself knew the feeling of asking for something to not disappear.
"Sunset may not last for too long, but you may still enjoy the stars that come afterwards."
Law suddenly remembered an incident a few years ago, while he was still practicing cardiology.
"Three years ago," he continued, "I met a man that changed my life forever. His name was Rocinante, but he preferred to be called Corazon."
The sun finally disappeared from their sight, but it was immediately replaced by the stars, acting like glitters on the lonely splash of night.
Additional Note:
Yes, the little girl described here is Sugar. Just added her here as a very minor character. :)