Note:
Presenting, Three Month's Chapter 4. Glad to finally pull this off. Hope you'll enjoy the story.
More than an hour had passed since the two raven haired men left the Logue Beach. It was a Wednesday morning, and the air was a bit chilly. As of the moment they were driving on the Grand Line, a relatively new superhighway that stretches across the country. Law was the one holding the steering wheel of his dark gray pick-up truck. He looked tired, but the impact of cold air on his face helped him relax. On his right was Luffy, who a moment ago was babbling about the places he wanted to explore and how excited he was on the trip itself. But now, the teenager became suddenly gloomy.
"What's the sudden shift of mood?" Law inquired.
Luffy ignored Law and kept staring outside the window. On the right side of the Grand Line, the long, gigantic stretch of Red Line mountain range was painted on the background.
"You wanna go there? I heard the hiking spot there is good." Law was not a fan of physical activities, but if Luffy wanted to go hiking, he might give it a shot. Though half of him was hoping Luffy would say no.
He was expecting an enthusiastic answer from the teen, but what he received was dejection instead.
"Fuck that place." Luffy said without moving on his seat.
Law raised an eyebrow and wanted to know why, but he chose to not ask instead. There would be enough time for that. He hoped. At least he was spared from the tiring walk on steep mountains.
After minutes of awkward silence, they reached a stopover with a gasoline station and restaurants. Luffy, who's supposed to be full due to eating a more-than-normal breakfast just two hours ago, got excited again at the sight of food.
"Hey, Traffy! Let's stop and eat."
"We just ate a while ago." Law countered.
The teen looked at Law and pouted. The older man seemed to ignore him, but he slowly moved the car on the side. He needed to refill the gas, anyway.
"Yes! I know you won't resist me." Luffy proudly said as he rubbed his stomach.
What a spoiled brat, Law thought as he rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help it. He chuckled, seeing how cute Luffy acted when it came to food. If only Luffy was as simple as that. But he knew that's not clearly the case.
After refilling the gas, the two entered a cozy café to have early lunch (or for Luffy, some snack). There were other restaurants and fast food chains in the vicinity, and Luffy would prefer eating somewhere other than on the café, but he chose the café seeing that the other places were crowded and noisy. If it was just him, he wouldn't mind as long as there's food. But Luffy assumed his companion would appreciate having his meal in peace.
Law smiled as the scent of freshly brewed coffee entered his nostrils. The café had few customers—two other than them to be exact—and a nice piano jazz was playing on the background. He liked the ambience. He was surprised though, because he thought Luffy would prefer heavier food than this.
"Are you sure the food here will be enough for your monster appetite?" Law teasingly said.
"Well, obviously no. But…"
"But what?"
"I'm hungry." Luffy grabbed Law's hand and headed at the counter.
Totally forgetting about the nonsensical answer from the teen, Law felt butterflies forming in his stomach. How could someone, with a hand so warm, casually hold his hand like they were not strangers just two days ago?
"Five orders of Tuscan chicken sandwiches, three blueberry muffins, and a large caramel frappe coffee!" Luffy enthusiastically ordered. The cashier, who got blond hair and wore golden angel costume, giggled as she punched the orders. The name tag on her chest read "Hello, I am Conis" with the café logo at the top. "How about you, Traffy?"
"Uhh…" Law was totally distracted at the grasp of warm hand that was contrasting his cold one. "Anything, I guess. Espresso is fine."
"Geez, you're so boring." Luffy scanned the menu above the counter "Aha! Add two slices of caramel apple cake to give this grumpy old man some energy."
Conis continued giggling, thinking how cute the couple is. Law, on the other hand, had his cheeks already flushed. After receiving the payment, she gave a promotional pamphlet of a newly opened amusement park called the Sabaody Park—located a few kilometers away from this stopover—thinking the couple needed some place to hang out. Visioning all the fun and thrilling activities that awaited him, Luffy tried to convince Law of going there. Law hesitantly complied as he was totally distracted by the hand firmly gripping him.
It was past 1pm when they reached the Sabaody Park. Luffy was more than excited to exit the car, but stopped when he saw Law taking some tablets.
"Traffy, what's that?" Luffy attempted to grab the bottle of tablets, but Law was fast enough to hide it.
"It's nothing."
"Don't tell me you're sick or something…" Luffy said with a hint of conflicting concern and disappointment on his voice. "Hey, if you want to rest—"
"I'm okay." Law interrupted, rubbing the hair of the teen. "It's just vitamins."
"You sure?" Luffy managed to ask but didn't wait for Law's answer. He exited the car, opened the car door at Law's side, and pulled Law out of the car. "Okay, then. Sabaody Park, here we goooo!"
Law's mind became fidgety as his hand was being held again by the other man. But as his frail body was being pulled without mercy into the entrance of the park, he didn't know if he made the right choice of inviting this teenager on his aimless escapade—or letting him inside his tragic ending, perhaps.
"Traffyyyyyy! Where should we go first?" Luffy was beside him, beaming with delight. He, on the other hand, was getting dizzy with all these death-defying rides.
Piercing screams scattered on the background; they were a combination of thrill and excitement with a hint of fear. The nearest source stood a few meters on their left—a towering structure with a gondola that carried its unfortunate riders into a free-fall despair, at least to Law's eyes. Luffy, on the other hand, had his eyes shining on this majestic drop tower named Skypiea.
Don't tell me we're going to ride in there, Law thought. As if Luffy heard his thoughts, he seemingly retorted, "We are not going to ride in there… yet."
True to his words, the teen continued walking forward until both of them stopped on a huge attraction featuring moving replica of dinosaurs and a backdrop of what seemed like a prehistoric forest. Mini boats made of wood were floating on an artificial river which flowed through the structure with a cave as the entrance. On top of the whole structure stood large letters in red color, spelling the words Little Garden.
"There! Let's go in there first." Luffy hurriedly jumped at the end of the queue of the attraction's booth, which consisted of mostly children, some with their guardians. The rest were apparently lovers, wanting to have a casual date surrounded by mechanical dinosaurs and fake trees. Seeing these people made Law thought of what others were thinking about them, too. Did they see them as lovers? Can strangers immediately be lovers? But with Luffy giddily moving in front of him, it made him appear like a guardian guarding this kid instead. That's better, he thought. I am just a guardian, the one who rescued him. I will make sure that he will not do it again.
But… what will happen after?
"Silly Law, just enjoy the moment! Live your life to the fullest!" Law smiled as he recalled Corazon saying those words, as if the man was presently at his side. The older man used to say that to him, because according to him, he was a very serious man who always plans his next move. And that kind of man is boring. "You won't be truly happy if you're always like that." If only Corazon was still alive. He was sure he and Luffy would get along.
Law chuckled, closed his eyes, and forced to forget the melancholia that awaited his path. Yes, Cora. For now, I'll enjoy the moment.
"Today is so fun! It was a long time since I enjoyed a day like this." Luffy exclaimed with delight, but Law's ears didn't miss the hint of sadness on his tone. It was almost 7 pm, and the amusement park was lit with psychedelic lights. They were sitting on a concrete bench, with half-eaten ice cream on hand. "Say, what ride did you like most, Traffy?"
"Nothing."
"You liar! You're screaming your lungs out on the Thousand Sunny. I know you're…" Luffy faced Law with a mischievous smile on his ice cream-smeared face and stretched his arms, moving it from top to bottom. "…thriiiiiiiiilled."
Law was definitely not thrilled, and Luffy knew this. He was screaming for his life as he was being swayed back and forth by the swinging sun-themed (or lion-themed, Luffy argued) pirate ship. That was the most extreme ride he had ridden (because he deliberately avoided those that might make him leave this planet earlier), and he tried to stay cool. But he just couldn't.
"Well, the same can be said to you on that horror house." Law teasingly said. On that horror house, the Thriller Bark, Luffy shrieked more than twice—out of surprise, he claimed.
"That's because the lady zombie is freaky! She's throwing plates at me. The afro skeleton is cool, though. He'll be a good friend! Much better if he can play violin."
Law snickered at the dumb remark. "While those zombies are real people in prosthetics, the skeleton is obviously fake, dummy."
"I know. I just though a musician skeleton is cool."
Law couldn't argue. If he himself would see a skeleton that comes alive, he'd dissect some of its parts for medical study. It will be a breakthrough in medical history, and it'll be cool. Maybe even if his pale skin and numb muscles deteriorated there would be a way in which he'd be alive, even in all bones. But of course, according to the long history of science, he knew that a living skeleton is just plain impossible. Skeletons simply can't be resurrected. Dead people stay dead forever. Frankenstein's story is just a horror classic fiction. Zombies are just a figment of imagination, or perhaps of science fiction. Being raised in a Catholic family, Jesus Christ is the only man he knew to come back from the dead—that is, if it's real.
"Traffy?" Law plunged out of his thoughts as the teen waved his hand in front of him. "You seemed to be a little spaced out. Don't tell me you're tired. Man, you just sat down here like a weeny baby while I enjoy most of the rides."
"No, I'm just thinking what kind of idiot would push down a zombie back from its grave." Law retorted with a smirk.
"Hmpf. At least I'm not a chicken."
Lacking of words to counter, Law remained hushed. Luffy seemed to appreciate the silence, too. It's not an awkward silence, but rather a peaceful one, amidst the noise coming from every corner of the park. Luffy observed people passing in front of them, and he wondered what kind of life these people were facing. He hoped that the author of their lives was not a sadist who enjoyed seeing them facing so many catastrophes. His attention was then caught by the cotton candy stand, where a middle aged lady was buying three large cotton candies. She gave those fluffy candies to her three little boys, who appeared to be triplets. Must be hard raising them at the same time, Luffy thought with a bitter smile on his face. The triplets hugged their mom, and they walked away with Luffy's eyes following them. On their way was a large circular ride, decorated with shining, romantic lights. Seeing the serene ride gave him an idea.
"Which reminds me, I won! Now you have to do one thing I tell you." Luffy suddenly exclaimed, as he recalled their deal a while ago.
Oh, shit. He remembered. Law almost sank to his seat. To blame was the Automata Attack, a shooting-based dark ride where they had to shoot space pirates with a laser gun in order to rescue weird-looking moon inhabitants that looked like a mole. They had a gamble on who shoots most, gets one dare on the other. The final score was 21-8, in favor of Luffy.
"Not that drop tower, please." Law dryly said, almost pleadingly, to the teen beside him. Good thing Luffy had other things in mind.
"No, silly. I already rode on that. And I don't want you dead." Luffy stood and held Law's hand, attempting to pull him again. "Come on, follow me!"
Throughout the day, Law counted how many times the teen held his hand. Ten times. No, eleven times. This was the twelfth time, and he was getting used to it. So used to it, in fact. Luffy seemed oblivious at the matter, but Law honestly didn't want to let go.
He was surprised when he saw the grandiose Ferris wheel, gracefully rotating with its lights sparkling like precious gems. Romance Dawn. A surely fitting name.
Then it dawned on him. Luffy wanted both of them to ride the Ferris wheel. That was his dare. Being nearer on the ride made him realize how high it was, but he forcefully prevented his nausea from ruining this moment. And of course, he had to fulfill the dare.
"Scared?"
"No. Let's go." Law led the way, with his hand still holding Luffy's.
Romance Dawn moved slowly, in intervals, as its every capsule was being filled by passengers. The silver capsules were not like the capsules of modern Ferris wheels; the surrounding windows are open, without glass covers. The outside air can freely travel inside. It's good for claustrophobics, but much worse for people who were afraid of heights—or afraid of falling, to be exact. Unfortunately, Law was one of those people. Good thing these apparently durable straps secured them from their seats. A capsule can carry at most five people, but Luffy preferred him and Law to be alone. This made Law happy.
"This thing moves so slow." Luffy complained, as their capsule was still at the lower part of the circle. "I wanna be at the top already."
"Of course it'll move slow. They are still loading people below. Besides, with this pace, you'll enjoy it once we reach higher."
"Why can't our capsule stay at the top, then?"
Law smiled. There Luffy is again, seemingly spouting nonsense statements. But he knew there's an underlying reason. He too, sometimes, asked those kinds of metaphorical questions. "Because that's how life works. You can't always stay at the top. But you won't always stay at the bottom, either."
Luffy seemed satisfied at the answer. "So I just need to be patient, huh?"
"Perhaps."
The Ferris wheel moved again, and they were halfway near the peak. Luffy could now see the long stretch of sea far away. "My brothers used to say that I am impatient. I wished before for my birthday to be every day, because waiting for a year is too damn long. For me, my birthday was the most special day of my life. We went to different places, have fun and stuff, and I want it every day… That was before, though. I hate my birthday now."
Law was glad at the fact that the boy started sharing about himself. Brothers? So it's not only Ace. What happened to them? "Why?" he inquired.
Why? For reasons I don't want to remember, Luffy answered in his mind. His attention shifted on the other side of the horizon, where the Red Line was visible. His eyes started to become watery. "Yesterday… it was my birthday."
Law's eyes widened. It hit him hard when he realized Luffy tried to kill himself on the day before his birthday. He tried to think of possible reasons why a nineteen-year-old person would do that, and realized it was connected to his brothers. It made him hungrier to know what really happened, but looking at Luffy's eyes, he knew he had to be patient. Let him open up.
"It's so sad, knowing that the most important day of my life became my misery." Luffy continued. "I should have ended everything the day before. Let my birthday not be stained again. But you interfered. I should hate you for that, though I give you the credit for staying and letting me join you. That's why now," he paused, unsure whether he should speak the next words but did it anyway, "I held you responsible. You stopped me from breaking free on this fucking life, after all."
Law couldn't speak after what he heard. A lump was forming on his throat. Held responsible? He did not regret saving Luffy. He would do it again, given the same circumstances. He even asked him to join his pointless roadtrip. But maybe that was his mistake. He's the one who let Luffy inside his life. But he couldn't just let him wander alone and attempt ending his life again, could he?
There is no backing up now. He'd do what he could to make Luffy forget, to make him happy. He would think of the underlying circumstances next time—even though he barely had three months.
"And that… is your dare." Luffy's expression turned to 180 degrees. He was beaming now, like there was something exciting on what he said.
"I thought the dare was to ride here."
"I haven't said anything about that. It's you who led me here, remember?"
While it's true that it's him who pulled Luffy into this ride while assuming this was the dare, it's Luffy who implicitly suggested the idea. Or maybe he got caught by Romance Dawn's beauty that he wanted to experience its graceful rotation.
"Your hands are cold. Don't tell me you're scared." Luffy impishly said, while glancing at their holding hands as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
Oh yeah, our hands. How long they have been like that? But instead of flinching, Law gripped harder. This made Luffy smiled warmly, eyes locked on his. Their fingers slowly interlocked, affirming his acceptance of the dare.
They remained like that for a few minutes until they reached the peak. The view from the top was so enchanting that even Law couldn't help but feel amazed. City lights served as dainty stars on land. The real stars above became more vibrant. People and structures below looked smaller than ants. What distance can do on things, Law pondered. Time is also the same. The farther the time and distance, the more unreachable the things become. But the difference is, in distance—in space—you can go back. In time, you can't.
That's why memories have to be cherished. And Law would make sure he would leave good memories.
People continued filling the Ferris wheel's every capsule until all were occupied. The two dark haired men talked about their day, delivering soft but genuine laughters. Romance Dawn revolved continuously, gracefully, as it lovingly carried sweet memories from all its passengers.
It was surely a tiring day, so Law and Luffy decided to stay in an inn for the night. Their shared room had a minimalistic design, with a bed fitting no more than two people. The bathroom was smaller than the standard, with a few cracks on some tiles, but was clean nonetheless.
Luffy, after changing his clothes, immediately went on to bed and dozed off. Law went inside the bathroom to take a quick shower.
He felt relaxed as warm water touched his skin. Though in the mirror, he could see his thin body covered with abnormally white blotches. It started on his chest. Then it spread on his trunk, back, arms, and legs. He was glad these marks could be covered with clothing, but he knew they would consume his whole body soon. Disgusted, he swiftly dried himself, wore long-sleeved shirt and pants, and exited the bathroom.
He lay down beside Luffy, careful not to wake him up. But instead of sleeping, he just stared at the white ceiling. He was tired. His body was tired. But his mind kept racing with thoughts, thoughts that made him smile like a fool and thoughts that made his heart sank with loneliness. They were like a solution, and Law couldn't just pick up and separate what he wanted to keep and what he wanted to dismiss forever.
He wanted to keep Luffy. Even though they only knew each other for three—no, less than three days, he was certain that there was something special about the boy that drew him close. But then the other side of his brain was screaming that no, he must not. He couldn't decide which part of him was more rational.
He felt a hand touching his chest. It was Luffy, eyes half-awake.
"My brothers… they used to tuck me at night."
Law needed not to be told directly. He pulled Luffy against him and hugged him tight.
"Happy birthday," he muttered.
Luffy snuggled his head against Law's chest and cried.