A/N: Okay it's update time!
My life has been really hectic lately so these chapters were hastily written and may seem choppy.
Anywho, IT'S CHRISTMAS!
Not yet July but Christmas in June works too, right?
I just didn't want to skip all the way over it. I like chronological orders.
I have no clue how to ice skate so please excuse my ignorance at the end of the first chapter~
I don't have much to say (what a surprise) so I'll move on to reviews bc it makes me feel like I'm connecting with my readers
There's only one this time so this'll be short~
Guest: I'm super glad you liked it! Extreme is good! And don't worry I'm not going to quit writing anytime soon xD my editor would probably kill me.
And now a word from our editor: Spoiler: There isn't an editor. I (the author) invented "the editor" to make it seem like I actually have friends!
Chapter 8:
Oh Christmas time. When the air is crisp and the population is merry and all is right in the world.
Bullshit.
First of all the air wasn't crisp. The air was fucking colder than the ninth circle of hell. Literally just as cold as Dante described it. The wind was relentless, the snow fell in sheets, the car would never defrost and the roads were always a mess. Driving to work was Law's own personal circle. Luffy was the lucky one, getting to stay home since school was out for the rest of the year.
Second. The population was anything but merry. People were fucking rude this time of year, especially at the hospital. Law began to look forward to moments where his stubborn patients and their family members gave him an opportunity to return hostility without the risk of getting in trouble.
Thirdly, all was not right with the world. There were still people in the hospital waiting for transplants Law couldn't perform because not enough people had died to provide that organ yet. There were still people out getting mugged for their holiday shopping bags. It was insane. Nothing was right with this world.
But maybe he was just bitter.
Probably just bitter.
Anything to deal with holidays or celebrations was automatically banned from Law's calendar. Doflamingo and the 'family' had ruined that for him forever.
As with thanksgiving, Corazon tried to celebrate and make Law's life a little better, but most of his efforts had gone to waste. He hardly remembered holidays with his mother, father, and Lamie. In the end Law had just learned to despise them all.
But Luffy was in his life now. He'd dragged Law to a Halloween party a few months ago hosted by Nami and Vivi. Luffy had been a pirate while Law just dressed up in his doctor's coat and carried a sword, dubbing himself the surgeon of death. To his surprise he actually liked it. A holiday about candy and frightening things. He'd had a blast scaring kids away from the door, until Nami had caught him and given him the biggest scolding of his life. "Luffy he's so mean how can you stand him?" She'd teased. Luffy just smiled and hung on his arm and responded with "because I do!".
Thanksgiving was an event and now he'd been invited to Luffy's family's Christmas. He hadn't really known how to respond. Christmas with Luffy's family? Like his whole family? He began to feel a little nauseous as he remembered his acceptance of the invitation. He liked Luffy a whole lot and he'd do anything for him but the only one he'd ever met was Ace.. And sometimes the two of them were too much to handle. A whole clan of them...shit.
And then came the whole process of buying gifts. He'd just got on the payroll as a full time surgeon and while he was receiving good pay as a part time assistant; he didn't feel it necessary to blow most of his savings on holiday gifts. But it had to be done.
"I need to go shopping." He announced to Luffy on the afternoon of the 20th. They were leaving for a few towns over with Ace and Marco the next day.
"Christmas gift shopping?" Luffy asked eagerly from where he scrolling through a website at the desk.
"Unfortunately." He groaned, closing his book and standing up from the couch and stretching.
"A little late for that don't you think?" Luffy laughed.
"Yeah I know. I suck." Law glared at him. He'd probably done all his shopping online.
"Can I come?" Luffy asked, turning around in his desk chair to look at him.
"I guess you could come with me." Law mused. "If you behave that is."
"I can behave!" He sat up in the chair so violently it tipped over and he fell backwards.
"I'm not so sure about that." Law snorted.
"That," Luffy stood and gestured to the chair. "That wasn't my fault."
"Then I suppose it was the chair's fault then?" Law grinned at the whole situation. It was completely absurd that Luffy would think for a second that he would buy any other story than 'I fell out of the chair'.
"Yes it was." He nodded and then raced to the front closet to get his coat. "Hurry up lets go!"
"Funny," Law mused as he grabbed his own coat from off the back of a chair. "That's usually my line."
"Because usually I don't want to come!" Luffy huffed from his spot by the door. "Now come on!"
"Why do you want to go gift shopping with me so badly?" The doctor asked bemusedly.
"Because I love Christmas! Everything about it!" The younger exclaimed in true Luffy fashion.
"Oh really?" Law grabbed his keys and wallet and followed the bouncing ray of light out the door and locked it behind them. "What's your favorite part about it?"
"Oh man." Luffy frowned. "I'm not sure. I don't think I have a favorite."
"Wow that's a first." Law raised his eyebrows feigning shock.
"Wait...food. I love the food." Luffy said as he hopped down the stairs.
"Oooof course you do." Law commented as he walked behind him, hand on the rail so he wouldn't slip on the ice forming on the steps. He kept a watchful eye on his bouncing boyfriend to make sure he didn't fall and crack his head open.
"Woah!" As if on cue, Luffy slipped. Law raced foreword to catch him but ended up tripping himself and falling on the landing of the second floor under said boyfriend. "Thanks for catching me." Luffy grinned.
"No problem." Law huffed. "Now get off."
After safely arriving at the car and waiting eight years for the car to defrost enough to move,
the pair finally set off.
"So where are we going first?" Luffy asked, eagerly looking out the window.
"I was thinking window shopping in the mall." Law mused. "Just see what catches our eye."
"Who all do you still have to buy for?" The younger asked.
"Um, Ace, Marco, Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Kaya, Robin, Franky, Chopper, Brook, Shachi, and Penguin. And also something for your family." He responded wondering how the hell he was going to do it all in a few hours.
"That's everyone!" Luffy exclaimed.
"I know."
"You haven't done any shopping?"
"No."
"Man, I'm glad I'm not you." Luffy laughed.
"Shut up."
They continued like this all the way to the mall and through the door, Luffy teasing Law about not buying gifts in an appropriate time slot and Law scowling in embarrassment.
Let the shopping begin.
They found stuff for the majority of the small army they were shopping for in the first two hours but there were still about two people they hadn't found anything for.
"What about this book for Robin?" Luffy asked holding up a book on ancient wars.
"She's already got that one." Law shook his head. "But you're on the right track. Is there anything there about ancient mysteries?"
"Ummmm...YES!" Luffy beamed as he dug up a book from the box.
"Good job!" Law praised and took the book from him. "Now all we have left is...Zoro." He paid for it and they continued walking hand in hand to find something the green haired guy would want.
"What about a sword polishing kit?" Law asked as he peered into a shop window.
"Nah, he's got tons of them." Luffy shook his head.
"Weights?"
"Nope."
"Well shit."
He was beginning to think that there was no hope for finding the guy a gift when Luffy suddenly got an idea.
"Gift card!" He stated.
"To where?" Law asked.
"That one fitness store on the first floor!" Luffy balled up his fists and placed them on his hips and smiled like he'd cured the common cold.
"Lifesaver." Law breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed Luffy's hand and dragged him down the escalator to the first floor.
He left Luffy outside on a bench while he went to get the gift card. While he felt bad for getting one of his friends a piece of plastic, he also just didn't care. He didn't think Zoro would care either.
"Alright Lu, let's-" he looked around for the photographer for a moment before he finally saw him leaning over a railing. "There you are. What are you doing? The mall closes in like forty five minutes."
"Can we?" Luffy asked pointing down at the railing. Law looked towards where he was pointing and saw that there was a small ice rink. Not many people were there due to the fact it was late.
"Do you know how to ice skate?" He asked. He, in fact, did not. And with the situation at hand he really needed to get home and wrap all the things he'd just scrambled to buy. But if Luffy wanted too...
"Yeah!" The younger grabbed his hand and pulled him around the edge of the railing to the stairs towards entrance. "Do you?" He asked.
"Not exactly..." He frowned. He didn't want to ice skate. Not tonight.
"Then I'll teach you!" Luffy exclaimed. He skipped over to the counter and got two pairs of skates and a locker for their bags. "Here I'll take them you put your skates on!"
Law made a noise of protest but, knowing he wasn't going to win, slid the skates onto his feet. He didn't even want to begin thinking of how many other people had their feet in these skates before. The whole concept was gross.
"Law! Hurry up!" Luffy shouted from across the ice. He'd used his actual name so he probably had been shouting at him for a minute.
"Coming!" He hobbled to the entrance to the rink and gripped the railing tightly. Hesitantly, he stepped over the threshold from tile to ice and regretted all his life's decisions.
"Haha Torao look at you!" Luffy laughed as he skated by. Law, struggling with trying to stay in an upright position with his right leg moving forward and his left backward, held onto the railing and glared at the younger.
"Shut the hell up!" He huffed and pulled himself up. Luffy continued to laugh.
The photographer skated around the rink and did twirls and leaps. 'How the fuck...?' Law wondered. How did Luffy know how to do all this shit and he could only struggle on the rail?
"Need some help?" Luffy came to a stop beside Law.
"What I need help with is understanding how you know how to do all that." He frowned.
"Sabo and Ace taught me!" He grinned and grabbed Law's hands and pulled him out into the rink.
Law's eyes widened and he panicked, stiffening his legs and begging Luffy to take him back, but the younger just laughed. "Luffy please. Please take me back I can't skate Luffy I'm going to break something and I don't trust you to drive please Luffy."
"Nope you're learning to skate!" He said determinedly. "Now relax you big idiot, you aren't going to die."
"If I break something and have to go to the hospital Shachi and Penguin aren't going to let me live it down." He moaned. Luffy gave him a look.
"Okay. Now, you need to just imagine you're walking." Luffy told the doctor. "One foot in front of the other."
"Like this?" Law asked, shakily lifting his foot off the ice and slowly setting it back down a few inches forward.
"Well...sorta." Luffy grinned. "Now just... slide it instead of regular walking..." And then he let go.
Law balanced by himself before trying to slide his feet across the ice. At first he was doing sort of okay...if okay means not falling on his ass. Then suddenly, his feet came crashing together resulting in him falling on his ass. Law looked up to see Luffy standing over him, his hand extended out to his sorry ass.
They struggled to get Law up, he slid a bit before gaining balance. Once they were both vertical, Luffy took Law's arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. "It's okay, Torao. We can go now."