#law protecting luffy now.... how the turn tables

[hauntingblue]

VIOLA!!!!!! STAB THAT MAN IN THE EYE!!!

[fishanks]

ᝰ.ᐟ How OP men would confess

⤷ featuring : monster trio, law, shanks .

⤷ no warnings, I'm a child of God xx

✗Luffy

• in his mind you're already a couple.

• someone will ask him if he has a partner and he's like "yeah! She's right there!" and points right at you

• if you get confused he's also confused, like you didn't know?

• nami would jump in like "um Luffy you can't just force people to date you" and he's like "oi ___, were together right?!" and gives you such a sure look that it makes you genuinely believe that you guys are already together

• I don't believe this man knows you have to actually communicate, like, if he feels something he'll immediately say it so he doesn't get why you'd keep stuff away y'know?

• held at gun point

✗Zoro

• he's locked in a room with the whole crew just glaring at him

• and when he wouldn't do it, they had Luffy bring it up while arguing about who has to wake him up before dinner "___ you should go because he said he liked you or something so he'll take it best from you" and you're all on the floor laughing

• "you can't just believe everything Luffy tells you!" He tried protesting so much. "No zoro, Luffy is the worst liar!"

• he would just stare at the roof for 5 minutes before really quickly saying "be my girlfriend?" With a pout and wouldn't meet your eyes for the next week

✗Sanji

• 2 minutes into meeting you

• but when he's actually serious?? Ooohhh you're in for a treat.

• a candle lit dinner on the most romantic island, had nami dress you up, brooke singing in the background, chopper and ussop are playing around with some lights and throwing rose petals on you, and robin's just watching from above while smirking (he'd shoo them after you're all sat)

• at least 100 poems ready for you, picked out all your favorite flowers to put in a pot on the table and around you, the candles are your favorite scent, he's even wearing the outfit you like the most on him

• "my elegant sweet lovely breath taking lady, will you take such an average man such as myself to be your partner for life? The one who always protects you and cooks for you?"

✗Law

• in a life or death situation

• he tried so many times but his throat just gets stuck

• probably stares at you in the most random times ever and if you ask him if he's ok in his mind he's thinking "alright this is my chance" and ends up asking something like "why are your eyebrows so far apart today?"

• you were fighting one of the strongest opponents you've ever had one day, and got stabbed in the chest by one of the enemies you were fighting off, falling to the floor in pain when he suddenly yells "___ MY GIRLFRIEND ISNT ALLOWED TO DIE" and you're suddenly on your feet again

• after the mission is over you tried to bring it up but he just brushed you off like "yeah what about it?"

✗Shanks

• while he's drunk ass fuck

• was probably playing a card game with the crew and lucky decided to make a bet that whoever lost would have to do something that the crew agreed on (they all ganged up on shanks)

• after the crew told him he had to confess to you he was like "bet" and just threw a random ass banquet as an excuse to get drunk and started following you that whole day hoping a man would try to flirt with you so that he would come and save you

• "hey pretty girl, you alone?" "No she's with her boyfriend" he'd say while pointing at himself and you'd go along with it because you thought it was his way of protecting you, but after the creep went away he turned to you and casually added "no fr though, I'm your boyfriend from now on"

[tatsumessy]

~ Unwanted ~

Ft: Trafalgar Law

Genre: Angst, desperation, Tooth rotting fluff.

Duration:

Description: Your husband hadn’t seen you for months and when you two finally reunite he just can’t keep himself off of you.

——————————————-

“Y/n you have to eat something.” Nami spoke as she entered the room with a tray of food that Sanji prepared for you. You didn’t feel like eating anything, nor did you want to see anybody. For months you had been away from your husband, your crew.

An accident occurred that you’re pretty sure no one even noticed, hell you were never really noticed on the ship in the first place. Trafalgar was always so busy with work or doing something with/for the straw hats. Look how lucky you ended up to be on their ship, saddening. How low could you get?

Maybe they didn’t even care about you, did they? If they did they would’ve found you by now. The accident itself was before the ship went under the water something hit it causing you to be thrown overboard into the water. By the time you came back up the ship was gone, you were out in the water alone in the ocean for atleast a week before the straw hats happened to be passing by.

More tears fell down your face thinking back to everything that happened. You were missing and no one cared, no one even knew you and Trafalgar were married except for the heart pirates. They say it’s for safety reasons but now you don’t even know anymore, maybe you were just a means to an end.

“Is she still not talking?” Robin asked walking into the room behind Nami, she shook her head no and set the tray down on a nearby table. They both sat down on opposing sides of the bed scooting closer to you. Looking up from under your arms your teary eyes glanced at both of them, they both gave you heartwarming smiles noticing how you were about to start crying again.

“They…left me.” Was all you said before breaking down in Robins arms. They looked at each other then back down at you, you had no idea how long you were supposed to get back to them. To him. They let you cry your heart out until you calmed down an hour later.

“Hey, we just docked at an island and we’re going to go into town for some shopping. Would you like to come with us?” “Sure.” Was all you said.

~

You were walking in between Robin and Nami as they talked about all kinds of things, each topic becoming more interesting with each store that you visited. After a couple of days of being on the island the log pose was supposed to set in the next couple of days and that feeling of missing something.

Apparently something was happening on the island and a bunch of new generation pirates were there everywhere which led to a big fight. The straw hats were fighting many different pirates from everywhere, you were stuck in the middle being protected by Luffy, Zoro and Sanji.

They weren’t going to let anything happen to you standing in the middle of the town trying to stay safe. You had almost got hit by a pirate swinging a sword at you but Zoro blocked it. You thanked him but not before something teleported you into an alleyway being held by something.

You tried to get away but the person was holding on tight causing you to scream to which he just covered your mouth to shut you up. “Y/n- ya.” He whispered and a chill ran down your spine, he tried to turn you around to look at him but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

Tears were forming in the corner of your eyes as you covered your mouth trying to stop yourself from crying. Ignoring his call you pushed him away from you and started walking away back away from all the fighting and away from Trafalgar. Like always he didn’t follow you and let you go figuring he’d find you sooner or later.

“Y/n! I’m so glad we found you!” Chopper yelled from behind with Brook alongside him. You have him a soft smile sitting back down on the grass, “You got scratched.” He said holding your arms softly, he patched you up putting on a healing patch for you.

“Hello Traffy.” Brooks said taking his hat off in respect then putting it back on. You stiffened hearing that nickname that you’ve heard way too many times, “Y/n-ya let’s go. We need to leave.” You stayed where you were sitting as Chopper and Brook looked between you and Trafalgar.

“There’s no time for you to be in your feelings! LETS GO!” He yelled and you flinched but held your ground, you were not moving. He walked over and grabbed your arm forcing you off the ground, his grip on your arm was hurting you so bad that you ended up slapping him.

The people who were in the area gasped at what you did, now everyone’s eyes were on you and they were watching the interaction. They were whispering and watching what Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart pirates and warlord would do to some lowly girl. His wife.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He whispered close to your ear, “You left me.” You responded snatching your arm away from him, “I did not leave you Y/n. I’ve been searching for you this whole time.” He said crossing his arms over his chest letting out and annoyed sigh. “Oh please. I fell off the ship six months ago Law! You don’t care about me.” You backed away from him ready to walk away when many sets of eyes were staring at you.

You turned back around with your back to him to catch you breath. “Why wouldn’t I care about you, you’re my wife.” “You don’t act like it.” He threw his sword down on the ground and pulled you close to him, he interlocked his right hand with yours while his left guided your chin closer to him.

His lips connected with yours pulling you into a passionate kiss infront of everybody. He didn’t care who was watching which he should have, there were video transponder snails everywhere, pirates, the Marines, everyone was watching him kiss you. You wanted to pull away but he wasn’t going to let you go just so that he could prove a point to you.

His hands held the side of your face as his tongue fought and won over yours for dominance. He finally pulled away pecking your lips with a lingering feeling and touch for more, “I love you more than anything Y/n. You’re my wife and that’s never going to change.” His words seeped into your skin all the way to your heart, he’s never said such things to you before which made the situation all too real.

“But you left me. How could you not see that I fell off the ship. I was alone in the water for a week, I was scared and alone…” more tears started to fall and he didn’t want everyone to see you break down so he used his devil fruit powers to teleport the both of you onto the ship.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve been quicker.” “When did you notice I was missing?” You asked out of curiosity, “After a week. We had a fight and I knew you were upset with me and didn’t want to talk. So I tried to give you the space I knew you wanted.” Sitting down on the bed you kept staring at the ground fidgeting with your fingers.

Trafalgar had fallen to his knees infront of you with his hands on your lap, “Please forgive me, I thought I was losing my mind each day that passed and we couldn’t find you. If you were with the straw hats the whole time why didn’t you tell them that you were apart of my crew?”

“Because you wanted to keep our marriage a secret…and because I didn’t think you wanted me back.” You whispered the last part looking off to the side but he still heard what you said. “Of course I wanted you back. You are apart of this crew. We were all so worried about you and if you were okay. Then Bepo put this stupid though in my head.” He looked down like he was about to cry about something, “What thought?” He scoffed before answering.

“He said that you might be dead.” You couldn’t help but laugh at that statement, he looked at you with confusion waiting for you to explain yourself. “Come on now Law, I’m married to a Warlord. Do you really think I don’t know how to take care of myself?” He smiled leaning closer placing an unhealthy amount of kisses on your lips basking in the glory of having you back.

“Oh I missed you so much.” A small blush crept on his cheeks the more he expressed his affection for you, “I missed you too.”

[fowlfics]

i don't think this is making it out of my WIPs at this point (considering i started it in like. january. and never added anything LOL) so y'all are getting a treat!

a few drabbles in an AU where Nika is an independent sentient being and shared Luffy's headspace from the moment he ate the gum gum fruit, featuring LawNika (but not LawLu). One (the 3rd) is somewhat NSFW

***

Ace couldn’t just let Akainu get away with insulting his Pops-

“Ace!” Luffy’s voice interrupted his thoughts, the smaller hand wrapping around Ace’s arm in an attempt to stop him, tugging weakly at him. “We need to go!” 

“But he-”

“Whitebeard had been the Strongest Man on the Seas for ageeeeees, he doesn’t need you to protect his honour!” Luffy whined, and something about those words tickled at Ace. “You know who does need your help, though? Your baby brother!”

Ace stopped trying to get away, turning to look at his brother. The smile on his face seemed strained but no less genuine, but now that Ace focused on him, he could see that it was less pulling Ace towards himself and more just his brother trying to keep himself up on his feet. 

“Nika,” he sighed, already knowing he wouldn’t be allowed to attack Akainu. 

“Yep!” The grin widened marginally. “Seriously, though, Luffy passed out and I do not have enough energy to get us back to safety.” 

Scooping his brother up in a princess carry, fuelled by adrenaline and determination alone, Ace ran towards the closest ally ship. 

***

Law made his way up to the deck the very moment the Polar Tang resurfaced, waiting at the railing as they slowly approached the Thousand Sunny. 

“Tooooooooraaaaaaaooooooo!” Came the rapidly-approaching screech as Luffy launched himself towards them, slamming into Law with unerring accuracy. 

“Strawhat-ya,” Law greeted, looking down at the newest appendage, Luffy’s arms winding around him. “And am I going to see my boyfriend today?” 

“Nope! Shishishi,” Luffy giggled. “Just me today!” 

Law couldn’t help the pang of concern. “Is everything-?” 

“Nika’s okay!” Luffy assured quickly. “I just got put in seastone earlier, so he’s still resting!” 

Law just nodded at the news. “Let me guess,” he said. “You want to-”

“PARTY!”

***

Law isn’t sure what, exactly, tipped him off. One moment, he was making his way up Nika’s chest, kissing every inch, and the next-

He pulled away, resting on his elbows above him as he scrutinized his face. 

“...Luffy-ya,” he said eventually. 

Luffy, predictably, laughed. “Torao always notices so fast!” 

Law groaned, rolling himself off of Luffy and throwing an arm over his eyes. 

“If he changed his mind, he could’ve just said so,” he muttered. 

“Oh, Nika still wants to fuck you,” Luffy assured confidently. “He just got too flustered and lost control, that’s all.”

Law dropped his arm, turning to look at Luffy, a smirk slowly appearing on his face. “Yeah?” 

“Yep! Shishishi…”

“Any chance he’s gonna come back out soon?”

“Nope,” Luffy sat up in the bed, scooting towards the edge. “I’m hungry. SANJI! FOOD!”

Law swore, chucking Luffy’s pants at his retreating back. 

“Luffy-ya! Put on your clothes!”

***

Law made his way into the kitchen half-asleep. There were a few people inside already including-

Squinting, Law stalked towards the Strawhat, looking down to stare into his wide eyes, his cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk’s and a half-eaten drumstick in hand. He tilted his head to the left lightly. 

“Morning, Luffy-ya,” Law offered around a yawn, moving towards the coffee. 

“I don’t get how he can always tell,” Usopp complained towards Sanji, Nami and Zoro. 

“It’s easy,” Ace shrugged on the other side of the table, his mouth almost as full as Luffy’s. 

“Shishishi!” Luffy finished the drumstick in a single bite. “Ace, Sabo and Torao are the only ones who always know.”

“I get your brothers, because they grew up with you,” Nami said. “But Torao’s known you for less than most of us! It’s so unfair.” 

“I don’t get how you can’t tell,” Law scoffed, bringing his cup to sit beside Strawhat. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to Nika’s lips. “Morning, sunshine.” 

“See?! There was no change! How are we supposed to tell?” Usopp despaired. 

[trashytoastboi]

Soooooo....... would you do headcanons for dad Kid when his young daughter starts declaring she will marry people (like her blurting out she wants to marry Killer, Heat, or Law) and/or her being around boys

Heyya!🍀 Of course~ this was really fun to write and hope you enjoy ^.^

Headcanons: Dad AU! Dad! Kid with young daughter – Reacting to when she starts declaring marriage and her being around boys

{D/Name} = Daughters Name

Eustass Kid

🛠Kid has always been both lax and protective with {D/Name}, allowing her to do what she wants within reason and without serious endangerment, he may have been slightly guilty in being a bit too indulgent with her requests but luckily {D/Name} never turned into a brat or anything of the sort. She however, certainly did inherit her fathers boisterous nature

🛠“I want to get married” – Those words completely halted Kid, who stopped dead in the middle of eating to look at her in disbelief. “Married?” It was evident Kid didn’t know how to reply given the fact he had just broken out into a cold sweat.

🛠“Killer will you marry me?” {D/Name} asked, of course not yet understanding the complete meaning of it, Killer knows it’s most likely that childish wonder and ideal so he agreed.

🛠Kid was speechless, one at how bold his daughter could be. Though admirable since she goes straight for what she wants, but he was also shocked at Killer agreeing.

🛠Ever since expressing even the slightest interest in boys, Kid became total overkill in how protective he was over {D/Name} and would scare away any boys that came in her general vicinity.

🛠So when Kid found his daughter playing with a boy, he went back into his usual gorilla mode to get rid of him. Only to find himself scolded by {D/Name}. (Kid sulked slightly)

🛠The worst for Kid was when {D/Name} had gotten lost, and somehow ran into Law. After meeting him and convincing him to take her back to her dad. Kid nearly lost his shit when he saw Law holding his daughters hand while walking her back to him. (The surprise was even more evident for Law who had no idea that {D/Name} was Kid’s daughter)

🛠{D/Name} slammed a wanted poster on the table “I’ve decided…” Kid looked at her with a quizzical look as she lifted it to reveal the post of Trafalgar Law “I’ll marry him!”

🛠Kid choked, glaring at Killer, Heat and Wire who were trying desperately to hide their snorts and laughter, fighting off that urge to burst into hysterics at the sight of Kid’s face…Even for something to make Killer laugh was a big deal.

🛠“Over my dead body idiot!” Kid yelled, locking the two of them in an intense glare practically growling at eachother. (Apple certainly doesn’t fall far from the tree)

🛠“Anyone but him!” Kid states, {D/Name} could see that her dad was pretty distressed over that. “Okay I won’t marry him.” she shuffled through the wanted posters pulling out another one. “But he is cute” she states, holding up a poster of none other than Monkey D. Luffy.

🛠Now that it had come to this…Kid had no other choice. – He practically began offering Killer up on a silver platter. “If you marry Killer you will always have delicious food.” (Killer was just completely silent through this entire ordeal, even though he was the bargaining chip)

🛠Kid was sulking as {D/Name} happily hummed away. It looked like he was internally sobbing “I don’t want Trafalgar or Straw-Hat to be my son-in-law”

🛠Killer tried to comfort him, reassuring him that won’t happen. “Have you met my daughter!? She always gets what she wants…How could they say no to her??”

🛠To Kid’s relief, {D/Name} drew a picture of her wedding day…luckily the depiction was of Killer, although he wondered as to why Killer was the one wearing the wedding dress.

[goodlucktai]

Hi! I love your works! 71 + 72 for Luffy and Jinbei?

PROMPTS LIST

71. “I’m going to protect you.”

smile again

x

As a watchdog journalist, Jinbei's work takes him everywhere. He isn't always in the best position to receive phone calls. Sometimes, depending on what story his group decides to chase after and what far-flung corner of the world it leads them to, Jinbei goes weeks without internet access.

By the time he gets news of the accident, Luffy has been out of the hospital for a month and Ace has been dead just as long.

Jinbei has to go home.

His colleagues-- a group of solid, hard-working people he's known for going on twenty years, has worked with on the field and off, in smoke and fire and claustrophobic office spaces-- are entirely understanding.

Tiger drives him to a small airport, the truck bouncing along a bumpy gravel road. There's a single, hastily-packed duffel in the bed of the pickup. Jinbei isn't even sure what he shoved in there, having only made one mindless pass through his room. He would have left without his passport if Hatchan hadn't shoved it into his hands on his way out the door.

"It may be time for me to retire," Jinbei says aloud. His mind is ebbing and rising like a tide, a vast ocean of grief. Thoughts go bobbing away like loose buoys before he can get a grasp on them.

All he can think of is the last video-call he made home, over a month ago now. Ace and Luffy, pressed cheek-to-cheek so they'd both fit in-frame, competitive in all things and unwilling to take turns, even as Jinbei laughingly promised he had plenty of time to talk.

They made him promise to call again soon. He meant to.

"Don't worry about us over here," Tiger says. His eyes are on the road, hands tight around the steering wheel. He carries Jinbei's grief like it's his own. "Just worry about your boy."

His boy, Jinbei thinks. Not by blood or by law, certainly, but by something less quantifiable than that. Those scrappy kids that spilled into his yard one muggy summer evening, hiding in the hedges from their well-antagonized CPS caseworker and somehow claiming a piece of Jinbei's heart from the moment he first laid eyes on them.

Ace was so angry back then, and Luffy was so easily frightened, and they clung to each other in a practiced way, as if they were so used to the world trying to claw them apart that they didn't expect anything else, even from a perfect stranger. They didn't seem to know what to do with kindness. Ace watched Jinbei like a hawk for weeks, long after Luffy warmed up to him. His trust, when he finally gave it, felt like a prize.

Jinbei was working long, unpredictable hours, and knew it wouldn't be fair to drag two children into his household if he couldn't afford them the time and care they deserved-- but after school? Weekends? Holidays? Those he gave up freely.

His days gained some semblance of routine again, for the fist time since he finished college. His kitchenware came down from the cupboard, the pockmarked kitchen table was often set for three. He made dinner at home, more than he ate in the office with his colleagues.

Hell, his colleagues ate dinner with him at home more often, too. Within an hour of meeting the boys, each of Jinbei's friends, to a man, would have taken a bullet for either of them, no questions asked.

The sense of structure did wonders for the brothers. With a safe place to return to when they needed it, and someone to fall back on, Ace stopped looking at every potential foster home as if it was a threat. Luffy came out of his shell, bolder with each new day. He made a friend in the village, a boy with vivid green eyes, and they hardly spent a moment apart.

They were finally placed with a couple who lived nearby. Shanks was wry and good-natured, and Benn had the patience of a saint. After a few weeks, when Jinbei asked how they were settling in, his worries were soothed: Luffy clearly adored them, and even Ace grudgingly admitted they weren't so bad.

And when the time came, and Ace applied for emancipation as well as custody of his brother, he had a small army in his corner. A patchwork family collected in little bits and pieces, ready to support him through anything.

"I will always be here for you both," Jinbei had promised him, countless times. "You'll never be alone as long as I'm alive."

"Thank you," Ace said, a little bashful. But he was so pleased, and so full of hope for the future, and he said, "I'll feel better, knowing someone's around to look after Luffy if I can't."

He immediately got shouted down by his entire strange extended pseudo-family for daring to suggest they'd ever let anything happen to him, and it made him laugh so brightly, and now the memory sticks like needles in Jinbei's throat.

Tiger hugs him hard before Jinbei boards the plane. In the back of his mind, where there is a tiny corner free from drowning, Jinbei can't help but wonder when he'll see his friend again.

He keeps thinking of that last video call. He can't remember everything they talked about. He doesn't think he said enough. He almost certainly didn't tell Ace everything he deserved to hear. Foolishly, he assumed there would be another time.

He's learned from this. He won't take it for granted any more.

"Call me when you land," Tiger says. "Give the monkey our love."

"I will," Jinbei replies. His heart is so heavy he doesn't know how he manages the steps onto the plane. He doesn't know how the pilot manages to lift them up from the tarmac. It's a wonder they aren't sinking, straight through the earth.

Nami and Usopp are waiting for him at the airport, wide-awake even though it's well past two o'clock in the morning. They're familiar to Jinbei from the stories Luffy has told him, from the numerous video calls they've bullied their way into over the years, and the handful of birthdays and holidays Jinbei was able to make it home for.

"Luffy wanted to come with us to pick you up, but he fell asleep," Usopp says, apropos of nothing, as they're waiting for their Uber. "Sanji said it was a small miracle, and Zoro looked like he was going to hunt us for sport if we even thought about waking him up, so--"

"He hasn't been sleeping, then?" Jinbei asks quietly.

"After he came home, he was on some pretty heavy meds, and he slept a lot," Nami says. Her arms are folded tight against her chest in the nighttime chill, her eyes trained somewhere far away. "But he had bad dreams and he would wake up disoriented. Now he fights sleep tooth and nail."

"We've all sort of become the insomnia squad," Usopp pipes up. "Thank god I'm not taking any classes this summer."

"Sanji's gotten really good at making lattes," Nami adds with a small smile. "Wait till you see his shiny new espresso machine."

"I'm like eight-five percent sure he stole it from the Baratie."

Jinbei listens to their chatter, feeling at once anchored by them and adrift at sea. It makes sense that they would be ahead of him. They've been here all this time, practically from the moment of the accident, facing it with all the bravery and endurance of sailors in a typhoon. Jinbei, meanwhile, had been living in an unchanged world.

For the last month, Ace has been dead. How many times had Jinbei thought about him? Mentioned him to a friend? How many times had Jinbei wrongly said his name in the present-tense?

The house is warmly-lit when they arrive, but quiet. An old blue Irish wolfhound greets them at the door, wagging his tail. Robin looks up from the papers she has spread out on the coffee table and smiles. Chopper is fast asleep beside her, his head on her shoulder. Behind them, Jinbei can see Sanji at work in the kitchen, shaping dough. Something is baking that smells of cinnamon and apples.

They weren't kidding about their sleep schedules being a mess.

"Hello, Jinbei. It's good to see you," Robin says. Her voice is soft, in deference to the sleeping teenager. "Luffy is asleep, but you can see him if you like."

"Please," Jinbei replies hoarsely.

"I'll take him," Nami says. "Usopp, would you bring his bag to the guest bedroom?"

"'Course," Usopp replies, but he makes a detour into the kitchen first.

Nami takes Jinbei's hand and leads him toward the stairs. "I feel really stupid about this, but I was so angry at you," she admits as they make their way up. "It's hardly the first time we haven't been able to contact you, and I know why that is. But-- I don't know, I think I was going crazy. I wanted Luffy to have everything he wanted. I wanted everyone who loved him to be here every time he woke up. So I-- so there might be some angry emails waiting for you, but please don't hate me for it."

"I won't even read them," Jinbei promises gravely, his heart cleaved clean in two. "I can't imagine how-- how hard it must have been. I-- if I had gotten the messages sooner-- "

"I know," Nami assures him, pausing outside a closed bedroom door. "Franky spoke to you like six hours ago, and you're already here. You dropped everything to be here. We know the kind of person you are."

She stands up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, and Jinbei bends to accommodate her, the same way he does for Koala. Then Nami reaches out and pushes open the door.

Zoro is awake, sitting against the headboard with his phone in hand and earphones in, and his eyes are as bright and sharp now as they were when he was a child. He looks up when the door opens, and seems to relax when he sees Jinbei stepping in behind Nami.

"Go to sleep," Nami whispers, pointing at the second bed across the spacious room.

"Don't tell me what to do," Zoro replies, just as quiet, but he pulls his earphones out and extracts himself from the bed with all the exacting precision of a bomb disposal technician. Nami takes him by the arm, helping him get up so carefully that the mattress hardly moves. It's such a well-practiced maneuver that Jinbei thinks he honestly might cry.

"If one of you would stay for a bit, I'll grab a shower," Zoro says.

"Sure, stinky," Nami says, nudging him toward the door. "Jinbei?"

He nods, unsure of what he's agreeing to. Now that he's finally next to Luffy, nothing else seems to exist. He sinks into the chair beside the bed, only half-aware of Nami and Zoro leaving. Their murmured conversation is cut off by the closing door. The room is silent, save for the gentle, unobtrusive sound of Luffy's steady breathing.

He's lost weight since Jinbei saw him last. There are shadows on his face that don't belong there. He looks both older and younger than he has any right to, even now, when his face is untroubled and slack with sleep.

"Hello, little monkey," Jinbei says. His voice is quiet, but it still breaks. He's crying, he realizes, thick tears rolling down his face with abandon. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

He thinks of two little boys, spilling into his life on accident, taking up room in his home and his heart as if they always belonged there. They weren't his, not really, but he loved them anyway. Loves them still.

"I'm here now," he whispers. His hands are shaking. "I'm going to protect you, like I promised. I'm here, Ace. Please believe me, wherever you are. I won't fail you again."

[purplehairedwonder]

Definitely Not Affection

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG Pairings: Gen Words: 3,100 Characters: Trafalgar Law, Roronoa Zoro Note: This was written for the “Hurts to Breathe” square on my Bad Things Happen Bingo @badthingshappenbingo​ card. Anon prompted platonic Zoro and Law.

Feel free to send prompts for additional fills!

Summary: On the way to Wano, Law treats his wounds from Dressrosa in the middle of the night. Zoro finds him. Snark (and definitely not affection) ensues.

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

It was a relentless ache deep in his chest that wrapped around to his back and jabbed at his lungs with each breath had Law putting down the book he’d been trying and failing to read for the last several hours and hobbling toward the infirmary in the ass hours of the morning. Not that he could actually tell the time of day by looking out a window when the Polar Tang was submerged, but after years of intimate acquaintance with insomnia, Law knew in his bones what it felt like to be awake when he should be asleep.

The ship—which was typically buzzing with activity from his rowdy bunch of idiots (it was only now that he wasn’t dead on Dressrosa that he’d allowed himself to acknowledge how much he’d missed them) and had only gotten more chaotic with the additional passengers on board—was quiet as Law moved down the hallways he knew like the back of his hand, the creaks of the metal and the hum of the engines combining into a familiar white noise that Law took great comfort in.

He let out a relieved breath as he reached the infirmary, only to wince at the sharp jolt that shot through his chest and side, straight through to his back. He grabbed onto the doorframe with his uninjured arm, fingers tightening painfully against the metal as the pain stole his breath. After several shallow breaths, the pain receded, and Law loosened his vise-like grip. He straightened as much as the lingering pain would allow before stepping inside the infirmary and flipping on the lights.

Law headed for the cabinets, where he pulled out fresh rolls of gauze, disinfectant, and painkillers. He laid them on the operating table then unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it, discarding it alongside the pile of medical supplies. He carefully unwrapped the bandages around his chest, noting the watercolor of yellows, greens, and purples brushed across his ribs and the scabbed bullet hole wounds dotting his abdomen, giving the impression of a twisted paint-by-numbers scene. Satisfied that there was no visible sign of infection, he moved to his arm, removing the bandage around his bicep.

He grimaced as the unraveling gauze revealed an ugly knot of bruised and stitched-together skin. He could feel the fatigue and weakness in his arm as he flexed his fingers and tried to roll his shoulder. He shook his head; though the feeling and the strength of his grip were slowly returning, he couldn’t be sure that even with the aid of his fruit that his arm would ever return to full strength.

Once he finished his visual inspection of his wounds, Law opened a Room. He’d overextended himself so badly on Dressrosa that, days out from Zou, he was still struggling to hold a Room for more than a few minutes at a time. In the first couple of days after the fight, when he and the Straw Hats had been cooped up in Kyros’s cabin, Law had been the only doctor present, but he’d had to stick to traditional methods of treating his allies (and himself) since his Rooms would flicker out almost as soon as he tried to summon them.

Over the following days, he’d been able to open his Rooms for slightly longer periods, so he’d used the limited stamina he had to treat the most serious of his injuries while fending off infection (his arm was particularly primed for infection considering the poor conditions in which it had been repaired), preserving as much of his strength as he could afford. Of course, he wasn’t a freak of nature like Luffy or his crew who healed at, in Law’s professional opinion, completely ridiculous rates, so he had numerous lingering issues to address. And because he’d had to prioritize his internal damage from being shot with fucking lead bullets over more superficial concerns, he knew he’d be left with some ugly scars.

When they’d reunited with his crew on Zou, Law knew it hadn’t escaped their notice that he was the only one among the newly arrived group from Dressrosa to still be sporting bandages, but he hadn’t wanted them to worry any more than they already had, so he’d made sure to complete his treatments when they were sleeping. He’d thought he’d addressed the worst of his issues, but the persistent pain in his chest that kept awake—despite his body’s constant demand for sleep to heal—had him returning to the infirmary once more.

With the familiar blue glow of his Room around him, Law turned his attention inward. After a moment, he frowned then tapped his chest to remove his lung. He’d already repaired the damage done to it from getting shot in the back, and he could see the signs of scar tissue forming from the repair. That shouldn’t be causing the pain he was feeling now, though. He turned the organ around, studying it through narrowed eyes, ignoring the sweat beading on his forehead.

Then he noticed it: the beginnings of lead poisoning. Law had been so focused on preventing infection in his arm that he’d gotten complacent with the lung he thought he’d already treated. Law cursed himself silently; he should have expected the lead bullets to cause more than psychological damage. Thankfully, this was something he could handle.

As he concentrated on carefully removing the poison from his lung, he pushed aside the fatigue in his arms and ignored the tremors in his legs. His vision started greying at the edges, but Law shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear his sight. He needed to take care of this now.

He could do it before his Room failed.

He could…

His Room collapsed and his vision went dark.

-----

Consciousness slowly returned, and though the comforting embrace of sleep tried to call him back under, Law had the unshakeable feeling that he had something to do, so he cracked open his eyes. He was staring up at the ceiling of the infirmary. His head throbbed and he groaned, throwing a hand over his face to block out the light.

“Torao?”

Law frowned at the familiar voice and lowered his hand. He turned his head to see Zoro sitting in a chair next to the operating table, where Law was laid out. When had that happened?

“Zoro-ya?”

Zoro quirked an eyebrow at him. Law sighed, resigned, and turned his head to look back up at the ceiling.

“What happened?”

“I was talking a walk—”

“You mean you got lost,” Law corrected without thinking.

Zoro grunted but didn’t disagree. “I saw the lights on in here so came over. When I looked in, you were doing something with your Room.” He scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. “I didn’t want to mess you up, so I was about to leave. But then your Room dropped, and you passed out.”

Law grimaced at the ceiling. He’d pushed his limited stamina too hard. Bepo would kill him if he found out.

“I grabbed you and put you on the table, but I didn’t really know what else to do.”

“Did you tell anyone?” Law asked, looking back over at Zoro.

Zoro shook his head. “Didn’t want to leave.”

Law’s lips twitched. “You don’t know where their rooms are, do you?”

“Shut it,” Zoro retorted sourly.

“How long was I out?”

“Half an hour.”

Law nodded. That wasn’t too bad. He’d been known to sleep for an entire day when he’d taxed his powers too much, so half an hour meant he probably hadn’t done any lasting damage. He frowned then turned back to Zoro.

“Why were you up, anyway?”

Zoro shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. I’m usually on watch on the Sunny.”

That made sense. Law’s crew had their own watch schedule well settled, so, though they’d offered, there was no need for the Straw Hats or Wano guests to take their turns. Zoro was probably also feeling cooped up after being submerged for several days since they’d left Zou. The Hearts were used to being below the surface for days at a time, but the experience was completely foreign to their passengers.

Deciding he felt stable enough, Law slowly pushed himself upright. Zoro made to help, but Law waved him off. Law shifted so his legs dangled off the edge of the table, but he didn’t try to stand.

“What were you doing?” Zoro countered once Law had settled himself.

Law had a deflection ready at the tip of his tongue, but he pursed his lips and tamped down on it. What was the point? Zoro had seen him in Dressrosa; hell, Zoro had been the one to practically carry Law to Kyros’s cabin after Doflamingo’s fall when Law had been barely conscious from exhaustion and blood loss. He also wasn’t crew—an ally, yes. But he wasn’t one of Law’s, someone Law needed to protect.

Law rubbed a tired hand over his face then gestured down at himself and the ugly remnants of Dressrosa. “Treating my injuries. Unlike you all, I still heal like a normal human.” He frowned as Zoro snorted a laugh, remembering what he’d been working on when he’d passed out. He glanced down at his chest, noting the empty space in his chest. “Where’s my lung?”

Zoro jerked his head toward the counter. Next to the sink, Law’s lung sat, no worse for wear though he must have dropped it when he’d blacked out, next to the medical supplies and his shirt. Law let out a relieved breath.

“In the middle of the night?”

Law blinked, taking a moment to recover the thread of conversation. “My nakama don’t need to see this.”

Zoro tilted his head, mild surprise playing across his face. “You think they would care?”

Law shook his head. “It’s not that. I…” He took a breath. “I left them months ago when I went to Punk Hazard. They didn’t like it, but I ordered them to go to Zou. I told them I’d meet them there, but I didn’t really expect to ever see them again after that.” The ferocity of Bepo’s hug when they’d reunited on Zou, the way Shachi and Penguin wouldn’t leave his side until Law had to Shamble them away with the little bit of strength he had to spare, the relief in Ikkaku’s and Jean Bart’s eyes… It all ran through Law’s mind, guilt gnawing at his insides. “I think they knew.”

“So, you don’t want them to worry any more than they already have,” Zoro supplied.

“Something like that.”

“No offense, Torao—” Law snorted. Zoro never gave a shit about giving offense. “But that’s bullshit.”

Law raised an eyebrow.

“Who else can you trust at your worst if not your nakama?”

Irritation rushed through Law at that. “I didn’t ask for advice on being a captain on my own ship, Zoro-ya,” he snapped.

Zoro raised his hands, visibly backing off, and the irritation left Law’s veins as quickly as it had come on. Law sighed.

“Apologies.” Dressrosa and the reunion with his crew were still fresh, leaving Law feeling rawer than he had in years.

Zoro grunted, which Law took as an acceptance of the apology, before looking between the organ on the counter and Law. “What do you need?”

“Huh?” Law asked intelligently.

“With your lung.” Zoro shook his head. “That will never not be freaky, by the way.”

Law huffed a laugh. “So I’ve been told.” He let out a breath. “I found some signs of lead poisoning in my lung,” he said. “I was trying to fix it before…” Before his stamina ran out and Zoro had to fucking catch him.

That could never leave this room.

“Lead poisoning?”

“From Doflamingo’s bullets.”

“Bastard,” Zoro muttered, shaking his head.

“I need to fix it before returning my lung to my body.”

Zoro eyed him. “You up for that?”

“I was almost done,” Law deflected.

Zoro snorted, recognizing the diversion but not calling him on it. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched before heading over to the counter.

“What are you doing?” Law asked, frowning after him.

Zoro glanced over his shoulder. “Getting your damn lung, weirdo.”

Law opened his mouth but shut it again when nothing came out. Zoro nodded at his silence and carefully picked up the encased lung. He handled it with gentleness that Law thought should have surprised him but somehow didn’t. The swordsman returned with the organ and held it out.

Law nodded his thanks and took it in his left hand. He used his right hand to brace himself as he stood, but the arm buckled under him as he put pressure on it. He kept forgetting about the injury to his dominant arm. He cursed as Zoro reached out with a hand to steady him. Law took a steadying breath then pushed Zoro’s hand off him. Zoro’s lips twitched in response, but he didn’t say anything. However, Law noticed distantly as he summoned a Room, Zoro’s eyes never left Law’s face as Law finished removing the remnants of lead poisoning from his lung, as if looking for any sign of weakness.

Law wasn’t sure what to do with that realization as he slid his repaired lung back into his chest. He dropped his Room and took a test breath.

No pain.

Law nodded, and Zoro’s shoulders dropped the tension they’d been holding.

“You don’t need to stay, Zoro-ya,” Law said tiredly, leaning back against the operating table. “I still need to clean and redress my wounds.”

Zoro raised an eyebrow before silently retreating to the counter to grab the supplies Law had gathered earlier and returning with them. He set them on the table next to Law then crossed his arms, as if daring Law to kick him out.

Law huffed a breath at the other man’s stubbornness but didn’t push further. Practiced hands made quick work of disinfecting the bullet wounds and the stitching on his arm. However, Law could feel the effects of overusing his fruit creeping in, and his hands were starting to shake as he wrapped the bandages around his chest.

Finally, Zoro uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”

Law frowned but didn’t fight as the swordsman plucked the roll of gauze from his weary fingers. “Zoro-ya?”

“Do you know how many times I’ve done this for Luffy after a fight?” he muttered as he quickly and efficiently finished wrapping Law’s torso before looking for scissors to cut it off. Law opened a quick Room and Shambled scissors from a drawer into his hands.

Zoro frowned as Law offered them to him then shook his head. “Idiot.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Law muttered as Zoro tied off the bandages then moved to Law’s arm.

“Then don’t act like one,” Zoro countered. “You and he are more alike than you know.”

Law snorted but allowed the other man to finish his task, mind drifting with the steadiness of Zoro’s presence at his side. Maybe there was something to what Zoro had said about allowing his nakama in; Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin were allowed to see more than anyone else since they had been with Law the longest, but he kept a distance even with them when it came to his revenge plot. If he was being honest with himself, he knew he hadn’t opened up to them about his plans for Dressrosa because they might have succeeded in talking him out of it, and Law hadn’t known how to do anything but live for avenging Cora-san for more than a decade.

Now that Cora-san had been avenged and Law was still alive, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. He could throw himself into the task directly in front of him—taking on Kaido—but (assuming they survived) then what?

Once Zoro tied off the bandage on his arm, Law lifted his arm to test it. Firmly tied but not too tight.

“Not bad,” he allowed.

Zoro smirked as he stepped back. “Better than that and you know it.”

“Don’t push it.”

“You done here?”

Law nodded then definitely did not yelp in surprise as he was pulled up and onto Zoro’s back. Zoro’s lips quirked upward as he adjusted Law’s mostly dead weight, arms wrapping around Law’s thighs.

Law leaned over Zoro’s shoulder with narrowed his eyes. “Shut it, Zoro-ya.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“And if you do, you’ll regret it.”

“Oh?” Challenge sparkled in Zoro’s eye. Law rolled his eyes. They both knew he was in no shape to fight Zoro right now.

But fighting wasn’t Law’s only leverage. “If you say a word about this, I will have my crew get rid of all the alcohol on board,” he threatened. “Dry ship until we get to Wano.”

Zoro went rigid. “You wouldn’t.”

Law’s lip pulled back into a vicious smirk of his own. “Try me.”

Zoro grumbled but stepped out into the hallway and followed Law’s directions to his cabin, only having to backtrack twice. Law would never admit it aloud, but he was grateful for the support. His strength had flagged, and his eyes were drooping as if his body had only just realized that it was the middle of the night and he should be sleeping. By the time they reached Law’s door, Law was giving directions around yawns and thumping Zoro in the thigh with his heel each time the younger man grinned in response.

“Let me down, Zoro-ya,” Law demanded without much energy behind it.

But Zoro ignored him and opened the door. He stepped inside and glanced around in mild interest before heading for Law’s bed. He turned around and dumped Law onto the mattress, letting him bounce a couple of times. With a hmph, Law leaned over to pull off his boots and kicked them over the side of the bed. His shoes off, he looked up to see Zoro dropping into his desk chair.

Law raised an eyebrow. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Sitting.”

“At my desk.”

Zoro hummed in response, crossing his arms against his chest and shutting his eye. Law rolled his eyes in response as a light snore echoed through the room. The Straw Hats were truly just as stubborn and ridiculous as their captain.

And that was definitely not affection he felt toward them because of it.

Defeated and exhausted, Law turned off the light and smirked at the yelp of surprise when he hurled a pillow at Zoro’s face.

[amindofstone]

Match up, No. 10

Anon said:

Hello! I would like the match up please I would like to have a Male character and here are stuff about me!

The thing I do mostly is like to care for others and help others, I mostly get tricked on very easily do to my kindness which will cause me to sometimes get very fiesty which not very but maybe like “ please just stop talking your being to loud.” In a annoyed tone, which is very rarely, I tend to like very many hobbies and I don’t judge people base on first glance I see what on the inside and not what on the outside, a weakness I have is my disability but I never allow it to stop me from my true goal in life! And I practically tend to like doing some boyish stuff like archery! I get a lot of compliments on my archery skill because a lot of people say I have the patients and the accuracy very good! My dislikes are I hate real cocky people who think there all good and don’t take stuff for granted I also hate people who look down on weak person as not a human but a animal. I hate peoples who take kindness for granted and use it for a selfish gain.

I stand at about 5’0 exact! I have long brown hair that gets a lot of attention because some people always say to me “ I die to have your hair:” I’m just a tiny bit chubby and have big blue ocean eye that gets a lot of compliments and a lot of people wanting it to. I very much get the attention for how smart I am and how kind I am! I also get some hate from boys when I prove them wrong that girls aren’t weak and I won’t back down from a fight if it means protecting myself, people or just anyone. I like to have some affection it doesn’t have to be a lot maybe just even a hand on the shoulder is fine! I also very do like to wear some baggy clothes and I do like wearing like summer dresses that are knee high. I also tend to get very excited from the smallest things. A lot of people think I’m a loner but when it comes to babies I’m all for them! My cousin even said “ she likes to be alone into babies comes in the picture and she all for them!” 💕I love children and my parents even told me “ your definitely going to be the house wife.” I don’t know if that a compliment or not but I’m taking it😂✌🏻 sorry if I shared so many!

a/n:

Hello there! How are you? I really enjoyed reading all those things about you. Believe it or not but the part in which you said that although you have a disability it is not holding you back to follow your dreams, was impressive. It truly made happy. I have two cousins that have a disability and get me sad every time I see them. But seeing them happy and keep doing whatever they want makes me always so damn happy. You seem to be such a sweet human. Someone bright and jolly. Please never ever change. You are such a strong and great human. Keep that attitude and make sure that even when you end up as a housewife don´t let anyone push you around or take you presence and work for granted. This world really needs more good humans like you. I am so happy you requested. When you mentioned housewife I instantly thought of Hinata (Narutos wife) and then thought about myself who is more of a mixture of Ino and Temari. That thought really made me laugh. LMAO!! Anyways I really hope you will like with what I came up with. If there is anything that bothers you or you don´t like, please tell me so I can change it. Other than that enjoy the little story I came up with. Happy reading!

Match up rules can be found HERE.

Warning(s): Maybe grammatical or spelling mistakes since English is my third language and I´m still improving in every aspect (Please have mercy on that.)

!!! Please do not steal my idea or work. Credit me if this is shared or published in any other platform or any other way. Please respect me as the writer and my work. Picture is not mine. Credits to: @/SK,Martins (Can be seen in the pic) (found on the internet) !!!

· Well my dear anon. Like I mentioned before I think that you are a sweet and lovely human being. On top of that also simply adorable, fun and pure! Therefore I´d like to match you up with the future pirate king Monkey D. Luffy

· I think that you two would get along so well. So, SO WELL! Now hear me out!

· The way you two got to know each other might sound a bit of cliché but that’s simply how you meet. There was no princess in danger or a knight in a shinny armor but a clueless guy who wondered why a woman in a dress would walk around with arrows and a bow when they weren´t cupid. A simple human?! HA! Definitely not!

· Anyways that’s how everything started….

· The strawhats were docked on the island you were living in. At first they were anxious and didn´t want to leave their ship alone but when a worker at the harbor told them that the civilians on the island had cero problems with pirates as long as they didn´t do anything stupid or harm them. The whole crew got happy and started roaming around the island.

· Luffy being Luffy, screamed for food the moment his feet were on the island. And Zoro…. That guy yelled after him saying that if he gets to have food he wanted Sake. So, Luffy, Zoro and Ussop searched for a restaurant. Why Ussop you wonder? Well Nami send him with the boys because they otherwise would end up on the other side of the island. And Ussop compared to the captain and the first mate knew he had an actual brain and also knew how to use it.

· While the pirates were walking around the island you were helping out as a waitress in your uncles restaurant

· Everything went smooth. You served the people and had little chats with some of them. Some gave you too much tip and some other had you sitting with them and eat with them

· The people of the island knew you well. They knew you and loved you. Your uncle once even said that the only reason why his business was doing so well was because of you. The people never came for the food but rather for you. But you always denied it and told him that it was him and his food that was liked so much.

· Bu today there was something a bit different. A group of men you hated from the bottom of your heart came again. They were simply rude and egoistic. They were people from the wealthier part of the city, that was called royal neighbor. The reason why that neighborhood was called royal had nothing to do with the people that lived there. The only reason it was called royal was because it had a lot of wellness centers, hotels, casinos and parks. While this neighborhood, you were living in was given the name of idyll because of the beautiful nature. Landscapes that could have been painted and not to forget the dreamy beaches. But these group of young men simply didn´t understand that and thought of it differently. In a way that even the mayor couldn´t do anything else than just shook his head in embarrassment. But what could that poor man do. They weren´t doing anything against the law. They simply were annoying, stupid and egoistic.

· The group of young man, not older than 25, would always come once a week and have lunch in your uncles restaurant

· They entered the restaurant followed by three men you never saw on the island. At first you thought of them as sailors until you saw the green haired man carry three swords.

· You were in a dilemma. You didn´t knew if you should take care of the men that could have been pirates or the annoying group of disgusting men that always came. You gave your coworker a look and made sure he understood what you wanted. You were about to walk up to him and tell him to take care of the annoying group of men when you heard a plate breaking. You stopped in your tracks and instantly turned around.

· “This is our table. We always sit here. Now move you pathetic poor human.”, said Dean, the head of the group. You were mad. You were extremely mad and it took you so much energy and patience to not walk up to him and cut of his throat. But you calmed down and thought rationally. You took a deep breath and took your little notebook you used for writing down the guests orders when you heard a glass shatter right after Dean grabbed the customer at his collar and made him stand up. And this was exactly the moment you slammed you notebook and pen on the floor and yelled from the top of your lungs.

· “Watch out what you’re doing, you spoiled brat!”

· You stomped towards him and took a knife from a table on your way to him. “If you do not put him down in a bit and apologize, I swear to god I will make you regret waking up today and leaving your fucking bed!”, Dean knew you were no one to joke around with but his pride as a man kept pushing him. He chuckled and looked at you up and down while his friends that followed him like dogs laughed at your words.

· “Don´t make me start counting you pathetic version of a human.”, with furious eyes you looked up at Dean who still held the customer at his collar. “Look at that tiny girl trying to threaten…”, one of his friends was giving a comment but couldn´t finish his sentence because of you throwing the knife in your hand at him and cutting a bit of his ear and hair. You threw the knife with such a precise and strong grip that it ended up hitting the wall that was three meters behind him. “Watch out what you say because I don´t hesitate to drop the sweet girl attitude.”

· Dean looked at you with pure anger and let go of the man he was holding. He looked at his shocked friend and then back at you. “Today’s point goes to you. But the next time we come and this table is not free you will regret hurting him.”, said the angry man. “Listen here you little dumb spoiled creature. This table won´t be free for you. This is our table. Our property. You have no right to come and throw such a tantrum. And guess what, come again and I will be paying your parents a little visit and make them pay for everything you did. And I am sure that they won´t be pleased by your behavior since they are good friends with my parents and the mayor. Right? Now if I ever see you come here again I will make you pay. After today we will not accept your unacceptable behavior anymore. Now get the FCK OUT!!”

· After they left everything was silent for a few seconds but that change after your uncle started to clap and every person in the restaurant joined him. Your eye widened and your started to blush with a huge grin on your face. But that little moment of clapping didn´t last long. One of the pirates that entered the restaurant spoke up. “You did a good job but I AM HUNGRY!!!! Please FEED ME!”, you were confused. You didn´t know how to react and stood there like a statue.

· “Alright Sir. No worries. We will take your order in a few.”, said your uncle and approached you with a huge smile your notebook and pen. He pats your head with a proud smile. “You are such a brave and strong woman. I am so glad to have you in my family and I think it´s enough for today. Please take care of these men and then go rest: You deserve it.”, you nodded and smiled back to him. You pulled yourself together and made your way to the table of the pirates while your uncle left to take care of the broken glasses and the customer who had to deal with those stupid men.

· “Hello gentlemen. I apologize for making you wait I ….”, “No worries I actually enjoyed the show. You’ve got a good and precise eye. BUT NOW MY ORDER! Get me everything on the second site please.”, you absolutely didn´t knew how to react. You were looking at the talking man with a straw hat and then to his friends with big shook eyes. “I know what you thinking but he always eats that much and manages to stay alive. No worries. And getting to my order I´d like to have number 17 and 22 on the menu.”, said the one with a unusual long nose. “I take the same as him but with three bottles of your best sake.”

· You nodded with a disbelieving look on the face wondering if the first one is really going to eat all of the stuff. But you gave yourself a light slap and made your way to the kitchen only to be confronted with overwhelmed and surprised faces of the cooks. You shrugged with your shoulder and went to get the pirates drinks.

· While you went to get their drinks you saw that more people sat down next to the three pirates what made sense since the table they were sitting on was a huge one that usually only families took. Taking the drinks you served the three and greeted the new costumers. At the table sat a beautiful woman with black hair that complimented you for your adorable and genuine smile. With a blush you gave the others a menu too and took their orders

· Slowly with time passing all of their meals were served and you said your farewells and left the restaurant earlier then thought because your uncle said that he will take care of the rest. Thanking him you left and made your way to your archery lesson although it would have been way too early.

· Every time you came your sensei’s face would glow with pride. But the malicious person he is he would then drag you inside and introduce you to another challenge he came up with.

Time skip because ya author is lazy for the first time in a while now. *apologizes in trilingual

· It was late in the evening. You were on your way back home and thought why not take the route that would lead you to walk across the beach. You were having a good time alone. The sound of the waves that crashed on the cliffs and rocks were beautifully calming. The feeling of the sand under you feet were relaxing. With a smile upon your lips you were lost in your thoughts when the same guy with the straw hat you saw in the restaurant looked at you while blinking a few times before he asked you if you were Cupid the god of love like Sanji told him.

· With confusion taking over your mind you stopped in your tracks. Who on earth was he and that Sanji guy and why did he call me cupid? You wondered.

· And there you were looking at him with pure confusion while he looked at you with huge impressed and curious eyes for good 2 minutes until you shook your head and asked him who he and that Sanji were. He smiled at you and let himself fall down to sit cross- legged in front of you on the soft, warm sand. Now how do you think he introduced himself? Exactly my dear.

· “I am Monkey D. Luffy the future pirate King.”, “Huh?”, “And Sanji is one of my crew mates and the cook on my ship. Now tell me are you Cupid or not.”

· “Why would I be cupid?”, “Well you are wearing a pink white dress and you have a bow and arrows. So I thought that you might be on your way to shoot some people with them to make them fall in love. So, are you Cupid?”,

· “Alright first of all Cupid is a mythological creature made up by humans. He or she doesn´t exists. Secondly you really don´t look like a pirate nor do the others in your crew beside that one green haired man with the swords if he is also part of your crew. Thirdly you want to become the pirate king? Why?”

· And this my dear was how you two started a conversation that was to 50 % about him telling you stories of his adventures, 25 % basically about nonsense. And the other 25 % were… well that was about you telling him that you weren´t cupid but a actual human with the name f/n l/n. But he actually never got it. Until now.

· Eight years after your first encounter with the weird men called Monkey D. Luffy you still were busy telling him that you weren´t Cupid. But by now you not only had to tell him that but also your son who rather called you Cupid instead of mama.

· Congratulations you have two idiots in your life you love to the moon and back and would actually fight Garp for.

Bonus:

· “Does he really think that your Cupid or is that supposed to be something like a cute name?”, asked Dragon, the leader of the revolutionary army

· “I stopped thinking about that long ago, Sir. I really don´t know how to answer that. But just to make it clear if that confused you too. My name is y/n not Cupid.”, you told you father in Law with a sweet smile.

· “Wait. Cupid is not your name?! That brat introduced you to me as Monkey D. Cupid!”, Garp looked at you and Dragon with disbelieve.

· “If you ever wonder why you husband is so stupid just please now that, that stupidity comes from Garp. Not me. I swear.”

[madlymiho]

Merry Christmas @aibhilin-atibeka!

Hey there! I have a little gift for you! ❤️ I’m your Secret Santa for this year! 🎄I hope you’ll enjoy this little prompt I write for you! ❤️ I can’t help but throw some heavy feelings in my writing, that’s my default mode with the ASL brothers... but! I had fun writing this!

Words: 1702

Informations: hurt/comfort - fluff - angst

Forever Brothers

He head feels heavy, terribly heavy. It has been hours since he didn’t sleep, and he lost track of time. He doesn’t even properly know where he is. How does he feel. Everything is so mixed up at this point. It’s freezing suddenly. He blinks a few times, only to witness he’s in the middle of nowhere. When did he land here? It seems so blurry. He frowns, the vivid colors surrounding him quite difficult to see for a moment. There’s snow everywhere as well, heavy and sticking, the one which stays on the boots even when you tap your foot against the wall. He pushes his hat down, probably his only way to protect his grey eyes from the luminosity. It feels so cold, he shivers from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. He doesn’t even hear this little kid arriving like a rocket near his thigh, grabbing his coat with a rather energetic gesture.

“Luffy!” Someone yells from behind a bush. “We told you to stay hidden!”

“It’s safe! He has a cool hat!” Luffy barks back, and chuckles with all his teeth exposed.

Law looks down, his eyes widening for a second. Luffy… Can he be the one he already know? Last time he saw him, he wasn’t laughing that way… Last time he saw him…

“Hey, brat, step away from my little brother!” The same voice barks, as a raven-haired boy stepping out of the bush he has been hiding behind, freckles covering all of his face. “We don’t like adults here! You’re an enemy!”

“Wow, Ace, easy.” Another kid, following the eldest, comments. He has blond hair, curly a messy, and probably a missing tooth as well. “It’s not because he’s an adult that he’s a threat.”

Ace tuts, Sabo rolls his eyes, amused. Of course Ace he’s the one who’s the most wary among them, but he has always been this way. Luffy is reckless and spontaneous, Ace is bitter and doesn’t trust people, and Sabo in the balance between these two chaotic energies. Law remains speechless, quite surprised and lost to be in the middle of this squabble, wondering for a moment what could have happened for him to be there. He crosses his arms around his chest, and raises an eyebrow, as Luffy tugs on his coat and doesn’t seem to let go.

“Have you ever chased a winter tiger before?” He asks, the same solar smile plastered onto his lips, radiant and pure, a blessed vision even for Law. “We were hunting it before you stepped on the island!”

“Yeah, and as every adult around, you spoiled the fun!” Ace growls again, arms crossed, somehow imitating Law in his gestures. “We were that close to catch him!”

The ghost of a smile appears on Law’s features, as he feels quite amused to see their smooth and yet conflictual interaction. They are definitely some wild energies, unable to be tamed nor reasoned, and deep down he feels like he understands it. He has never been a quiet child in the first place, eagerly protecting his sister when she was still alive, or yelling at Corazon, perhaps to hide his own emotions. They seem to be just like him when he was a kid; alone, but so eager to live, so eager to find some adventures. At least they are not gloomy and depressed. At least they have each other. Law shrugs, and looks back at Luffy.

“I have never tried, but it doesn’t mean I’m not a good hunter in the first place.” He states with his eternal unreadable tone. “What do you think if I help you to find it back?”

“That would be so fun!” Luffy chirps happily, and immediately turns around to seek for his brothers’ approval. “Ace, Sabo! Come on! He wants to help us! We can find the winter tiger back and share the meat for dinner! Meat!!”

Sabo seems to be ready to indulge Luffy’s whims, but Ace, as always, squints and eventually clicks his tongue. He grabs his homemade weapon, and eventually steps forwards, grabbing Luffy by the shoulder to pull him away from the stranger.

“Fine.” He eventually accepts, throwing another of his challenging look to the adult. “But after that, he’s gone!”

Law smiles to the offer, and squats down to offer his hand, his own adult way to seal a promise with the wary kid in front of him. Ace, at first in a defensive mode, eventually nods and shakes his hand. It doesn’t seem that this grown up could really harm them anyway…

After hours of hunting, squatting down in the middle of bushes, chasing for the tiger’s footsteps on the fresh snow, they eventually managed to spot their prey. Law has been able to display his best abilities, shifting rocks and leaves to protect the three brothers from a potential deadly injury, while the beast has been intensely hard to take down. Law, deep down within, has truly been impressed by the strong capacities of these three brothers. They have something uncommon; a powerful link which could never be shattered nor erased. Tired after such a long day hunting, they eventually all decided to have some rest around a fire, eating the meat they have been hunting all day long.

“Meat!” Luffy drools all over his own thighs, as Ace gives him a slap behind his head. “Hey!”

“It’s not ready!” Ace growls, and pushes his brother back onto his rear. “Remember when you burnt your mouth the other day because you wanted to eat first? Don’t do that again or you’ll cry like the baby you are!”

“He’s not that wrong Luffy…” Sabo nods, all pressed against the log he’s using as a backrest, looking at the stars above his head.

Law smirks, amused, and eventually looks up at the stars himself, amazed by the winter show in front of his eyes. It feels so quiet… Peaceful. He doesn’t even notice that Luffy came to seat right beside him, putting his cheek against his waist. Law freezes and almost flinches to the sudden proximity. He eventually sighs and rolls an arm around his shoulder.

“Hey mister… Do you have a family?” Luffy asks, his profound chocolate eyes scanning his treats to find an answer.

Law doesn’t really know what to answer. He used to have one, back in Fleavance. Lovely parents and an adorable little sister. Then, he found Corazon. Then… He has been alone for years until he recruited Bepo, Penguin and Shashi. His journey isn’t what he can call a lovely and happy one, but when Law thinks of it, despite the pain of the loss of many of the people he loved, he still remembers them with tender memories.

“My name is Law, you can stop with the mister. I lost my parents when I was around your age.” He confesses, while he feels all the eyes on him. “I found a new sort of father, but I lost him too…” He clears his throat, and continues. “But today I have my crewmates. I found my family.”

“So… You know how it feels to be alone…” Sabo mumbles, scratching the snow under his foot with the tip of his boot.

“But you have a crew! Which means you’re pirate!” Luffy almost jumps back onto his feet, if Law’s arm wasn’t in the way to prevent him from using too much of his energy again.

“Yes, somehow.” Law answers, as he looks back at all of them. Behind their confidence, he can see a layer of loneliness, even if they are all fearless. To reassure them, he eventually pats Luffy’s dark hair. “I’m a captain, but you three have each other now. A good brotherhood, even if it’s not coming from the blood, is a truly important gift. You need to protect each other, no matter what. The world is cruel out there, and it will try to take everything from you.” He offers a quiet smile. “But I’m sure you’re going to be fine. You have a strong bond.”

Luffy happily cheers to the statement, while Ace and Sabo strongly nods. It feels just like home to be with them, and share their evening. Law wishes that this moment would never stop, never fade. He wants to see them all cheerful and happy, until the end of times. He gasps when he feels Luffy rushing right into his belly, snatching a rather powerful hug, as Law eventually surrenders and wraps his arms around his shoulders. Perhaps… Perhaps he should stay himself and protect them as well. Maybe it’s his purpose after all? Those kids should never suffer from the loss of a parent anymore…

“Ace… Ace…”

Law opens his eyes, his heartbeat erratic. He feels droplets of sweat dripping down his forehead, the bite of the winter slowly leaving his skin. Was it a dream? It takes him a few minutes to recognize his operating room. On the grey and metallic table in front of him lays Luffy. Not the kid he saw in his dream, but the one he just rescued from Marineford. The one who just lost his brother, and called for him and the other one in his sleep. Law feels his bottom lip trembling for a second, a sudden sadness invading all of his body. As Luffy still moans the name of his dead brother in his agitated coma, Law eventually raises his hand, and gently grabs his arm, squeezing it just slightly.

“Don’t give up, Luffy…” He murmurs, harassed by many emotions now. He knows how it feels. “Don’t give up, because he didn’t. Ace didn’t give up on you, so you have to fight. You’re not alone…”

Oh, he wishes he could find a way to tell him that he dreamt about their wonderful brotherhood, and that time itself would heal his damaged heart. He wishes he could share those moments with them. His hand still pressed on his arm, Law promises himself to never let it happen again. Luffy will live. Ace will survive in his heart. The strong bond they have been sharing will never fade. And the whole world will remember the three brothers…

 @op-secret-santa-2020

[chromatic-lamina]

rascal: law and robin brotp fanfic

I have a lot of brotp Law and Robin in my fics, and one fic with them as a couple. I like the brotp interaction. Two cynical and supportive friends, but the writing is mostly in my multi-chaptered works, which are dark or canon divergent or both.

Anyway, I’m going to include an excerpt below. Robin’s painting Law’s toenails while they both chat about current and past loss and love. It’s from a three-chapter work that I don’t think will make much sense without knowing the rest of the world that it comes from, but hopefully this interchange can be followed and strikes a chord with some. I know the LawBin fans are thirsty. Post canon with canon-verse history and elements. This is an older piece.

🐞

Law sat back in the garden recliner in Robin’s backyard, a book over his face. He wasn’t in danger of burning easily in the late morning sun, but had no intention of making himself prey to melanoma. Robin perched on the edge of the recliner, holding one of Law's feet.

He'd spent the night at Robin’s in anticipation of the tea-towel convention they'd be visiting today. She’d spent the night trying to share his enthusiasm as he sat, tattooed arms spread on the table, poring over catalogues. His inked hands pointed out designs featuring disproportionate tulip-ensconced windmills, and disembodied body parts that had less to do with Dali and more to do with morticians.

She assumed all the creators were outliers. Commemorative tea-towels hadn’t quite taken the art world by storm yet, but they did remind her a little of Ryuunosuke, the very cute but badly drawn dragon that had struggled and succeeded in taking them all to the top of Zou. 

That was last night though and now, soon, they’d head off to gossip and gander with the convention organisers, the Dishcloth Dames, once she’d made Law pretty.

“These are so cute.” She pulled at the few black gnarly hairs curled on Law’s left big toe.

“Freak,” Law mumbled, moving his foot.

Robin laughed, righted Law’s foot and wiped the brush over the nail of his big toe.

“When did you last clip these?”

“What’s it to you? You’re the one who wanted to dress me up.”

“You’re the one who’s letting me. You’ve got old man’s feet, by the way.”

Law arched his bridge and Robin slapped it, held it down.

“The sexy surgeon’s pedes don’t please? You said they were cute?”

She studied languages. She had no difficulty with Law’s fancy Latin terms.

“Mmm. I wouldn’t go that far. But I guess you got those tattoos to distract from your tootsies.”

The ink on the bridges of his feet matched that on the back of his hands. She felt the arc of the bone against her palm as she admired the designs, although it was one of the more simple ones to adorn Law and, historically, definitely not his favourite.

“And yet, there you are, making them all presentable and shit.”

“Does Marco like them?”

“He’s got his kinks.”

“And . . . ?”

“They remain in the bedroom,” Law grinned. At times he thought the Phoenix liked every part of his body, though they’d never had a deep conversation about those particular extremities.

“Ah, you’re no fun.”

“I’ve been told.”

Law felt her move to the next digit.

“What colour are you painting them?”

“Tch.”

As if it could be anything but black.

“Well, you sent Chopper out for the colour once,” Law said to her silence.

Bubble gum. Robin snickered, remembering. Law peered at her from under his book, her shoulders rose and fell with laughter. He liked that violet t-shirt.

.

Law seemed so disinterested, and therefore, Robin guessed very trusting, when she or anyone else painted his nails. He usually paid little attention to the colour, or even the action. It was something that pleased those who found it amusing to decorate him. Just so long as they let him read whatever he was researching, he indulged them. A small compromise for a larger gain.

No way in hell could someone he didn’t trust do this, though it had been done. Robin knew that trust was hard won. Law told himself that he let them all think he was vain this way so he could go for their jugulars some other time. Plus, he liked giving the Dishcloth Dames even more to gossip about.

.

Thinking of Chopper, Law laughed as if the sound was rationed—a clipped exhalation. The tanuki reminded him of his navigator.

“Bepo. Lord, Bepo got it into his head once to paint me. Maybe he wanted to practice so he could surprise some lucky Mink in the future, and who better to be his chump than his ferocious captain?”

Robin turned to him for a second, curious, before proceeding to the next toe. Her extra hands manipulated Law’s foot for the best access. Law’s own hand kept the book in place. She liked that silver band he sometimes wore on his wrist—a solid link—a flash of sky reflected in the metal.

“His fine motor skills aren’t the best. You’ve seen his maps. Shachi and Penguin thought I’d amputated my own toes without the benefit of a Room.” A rumble lifted Law's chest and then dissolved. He smiled easily. The book didn’t cover all of his face.  “He even dabbed a paw print on my heel.”

“He chose red?” She loved that flash of teeth.

“Mmm. So. I guess it’s black?”

Robin finished the last toenail and told him not to move his feet about for a while. She then drew up the recliner next to his, lay on it, leant on her side and looked across. Law could be asleep for all she knew.

.

“Oi, talk to me endling. Of course it’s black.”

Law’s lips twitched. Only Robin could get away with that.

“So needy, terminarch. How am I meant to do that without moving?”

They may as well have just called each other Flevance and Ohara. They did at times, but neither could be feeling too off-colour when they did, or the devil fruits would come out to play. The town names as nomenclatures were off-limits to anyone else.

“Take that book off your face at least. I know you can’t read it like that.”

“Your makeup bag’s not nearby, is it?”

“Just the toes today, Dr. Death.”

Good. He was only happy for modification to go so far. He sighed, grumbled, but lifted a hand and picked the book up by its spine, and rested it—still spreadeagled—on his chest. He blinked into the sun, then tipped his head her way. Not the most comfortable of positions.

“Can I sit up?”

The grey of Law’s irises were sometimes shot through with gold. She wondered what his parents had looked like. “Give it a few.”

He turned his face skyward again, his arm over his shut lids.

.

“How about Luffy?” she asked. Luffy was before island living, before Law’s casual feet days. If they’d ever played around with nail polish, she’d never seen the results.

Law groaned.

“He approached my nails as if they were made of seastone, his hand was that shaky.” The softness in tone betrayed the annoyance in his words. “For some reason he thought a pearly pink would suit? Maybe it reminded him of marbled steak or something? Of course, he had absolutely no patience.”

Law scratched at his sideburns with his spare hand.

“He slapped it on, forgot to cap the varnish, jumped on me, bringing the sheet with him, or whatever we were lying on, wherever we were. It smeared over everything; our clothes, or more accurately, my clothes. You know, Luffy somehow always escapes his own chaos—and then he declared the whole thing stupid and boring, as if I’d dreamt up the activity and forced it on him.” Incredulity hissed through the back of his teeth.

He tapped his earrings. "Somehow the polish even managed to get on these. Nami-ya probably talked him into the whole thing for a bet."

“And you let him?”

Law didn’t need to look at Robin to know her expression; amused and bemused.

“You choose your battles.”

“Mmm.” Her captain could be quite domineering. She wondered if they were the same earrings. It wouldn’t surprise her. She’d kept the same jewellery over the years, but added to her collection with each pirates' haul. The ones that Luffy didn’t somehow swap for food.

.

She sat up and twisted her neck. They needed to get going soon.

“Phoenix?”

“Still trying to unearth his kinks?”

“Now that you bring it up.”

Law’s smile, the one Robin and only a few others ever saw, made her lips curve.

“I paint for him at times. I mean, my own nails. He’s got a lapis grounding stone, and his flames are blue when he’s in Zoan form. I try to match those shades—a balance between the two. Other times, I paint for myself.”

“Does he notice?” Marco had a grounding stone? But then again, they all had their talismans.

“Sometimes.”

“You don’t tell him?”

“Not always. Other things are more pressing.”

“Does he know you’re a freak?”

“I thought that was you.”

.

Law paused for a second. He tipped his face Robin's way again, his hand still protecting his eyes. How come she got to sit up?

“The dogs have never liked it. And you know, all that waste. It’s not really hygienic in the clinic either.”

“You operate with your toes?”

Law laughed. “When I do my hands . . . It’s not hygienic.”

.

Robin cast a glance at her back yard – the trees that offered privacy from the neighbours, the small pond. She enjoyed life in the New World now Luffy was pirate king.

“The dogs don’t like it, but Bepo can handle it?”

“Well, he’s a freak, too. Minks wear makeup, right?”

Robin nodded. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”

“Makeup?”

“Being a freak.”

“To the contrary, some of my best friends are freaks. You can’t all be Chopper.”

Law calls Robin a freak and gets away with it. heh. Perhaps. Anyway, I’ll put the link to the AO3 story as the source (just edited it in. This post has been up for long enough).  It’s actually about dogs and links back to another story, and is kinda sad, and features Robin, but is about Law and Marco, and there’s plenty of humour too. If you want to read it, be my guest. It’s an older one, written a few years ago. T-rated.

[misc-headcanons]

Can I please request angst scenarios of Law and Sanji finding and rescuing their S/O who is trapped and terribly injured after they’ve put themselves in harms way to save the life of someone else on their crew? Thank you so much I really appreciate your work 🥺🙏🏻💖

(TYSM! I hope this is angsty enough, I’m not as well-versed in writing it but this was great practice :D)

Law

Law knew it would be difficult to escape from Marineford, even with the Polar Tang's ability to go underwater. Still, he made the decision to save Straw Hat and tend to his wounds. As the Marines kept clashing with members of Whitebeard's crew, determined to capture Luffy and his new allies, he turned to face where his s/o had been standing a few seconds earlier--only to find them running towards the front of the deck.

____ was jumping and waving their arms in the air, apparently trying to get the attention of something or someone above. Law and his crew looked up to see a man in a tattered prison uniform carrying Straw Hat's unconscious body; the blue hair and giant red nose could have only belonged to Buggy the Clown. "Hey! Drop the kid down here!" ____ cupped their hands to yell at Buggy. He turned his head and looked down at Law's s/o, and it seemed like he was the only one on the battlefield who had NO idea what was happening. 

"You want Straw Hat? Uh..." Buggy trailed off when he suddenly felt a wave of heat behind him. He turned and saw Admiral Akainu barreling towards him at full speed, and a few stray globs of lava landed dangerously close to Buggy. He immediately threw Luffy down towards ____. "AAAAAAAHH-YOU-CAN-HAVE-HIM!" He immediately turned tail and sailed in the direction of his new crew. "You guys are on your own!"

____ managed to catch Luffy with a small grunt as the two of them landed on the deck of the Polar Tang. They quickly handed Luffy off to Bepo, who rushed him inside. Law went to pull his s/o up, and his eyes widened as he saw that Akainu had just launched a stream of lava straight at their head. "____!" He quickly created a "Room" and switched his s/o's location with a random crate on the ship. They were swiftly pulled out of the danger zone by Law's ability, but not before a few stray drops of magma burned one of their shoulders; they immediately cried out in pain and threw their jacket off. 

Law glared at Akainu, but he knew that fighting him wasn't an option--they had to go and they had to go now. "Bepo, get us underwater!" he barked. The ship immediately began to shift to its submarine form, and Law used his Room to quickly get ____ in his arms and get below deck before Akainu had time to react. 

Once they were underwater and far enough away from Marineford, he ran into his operating room and carefully lay his s/o onto a table. He knew Luffy's injuries were more severe, so he told Penguin and Bepo to examine his s/o while he took care of Luffy. When he was working on a patient, he tended to lose himself in giving treatment and blocks out the rest of the world; if you let distractions sit in the back of your mind, it could easily lead you to overlook something and kill your patient.

After a while, Luffy was set up with a respirator and IV, and Law had done all he could for the time being. He immediately walked to the neighboring table and saw his s/o, fast asleep thanks to the painkillers and antibiotics in their IV. Their burned upper arm was cleaned and wrapped and elevated slightly above their head while they slept. As their chest gently rose and fell, their lips parted slightly, Law saw that their face was flushed and there were a few tear stains on their cheeks. He hadn't even heard them crying while he was focusing on Luffy. 

It looked like it would take a long time to heal, but it was better than her being dead. If Law had hesitated for half a second longer, ____ would've been melted by Akainu's attack. He gently brushed his fingers over their cheek, and tried to ignore how fast his heart was beating in his chest--this was too close of a call.

Sanji

Sanji was just trying to buy some time. He was the only one left on the ship that could stand up to Doflamingo, but even he had his limits. As he narrowly dodged a close-range strike from the Heavenly Demon's arm, he shot himself forward and hoisted his leg up to ready another Diable Jamble. Doflamingo simply shot a few strings to wrap around his leg and flung Sanji downward, straight towards the deck of the Thousand Sunny. 

"Shit! Sanji!" ____ yelled. Chopper rushed ahead of them and quickly transformed to his larger size, opening his arms wide to catch Sanji before he collided with the deck. They tumbled backwards and before they could get up, Doflamingo was standing on the ship. He rushed forward to deliver a final blow, but ____ threw themselves in between the Warlord and their nakama. Doflamingo was surprised at their speed but smirked as the force of his blow sent them flying overboard; he wasn't even fighting at full strength, and he managed to dislocate their arm.

"____!" Sanji watched helplessly in horror as you fell into the ocean, and scrambled to get up and rescue you before you drowned. Brook pulled him back as Nami dove into the water to rescue ____. 

"Sanji-san, you're the only one of us who can fight against Doflamingo long enough for the others to get here," he said firmly. "Nami, Chopper and I will try to support you, but you can't get distracted--even if it's for ____'s sake!"

Chopper slowly got up and glanced nervously at Doflamingo, who was leaning against the mast of the Sunny with a wide grin. "Brook's right, Sanji," he added. "____ took a hit for you so you could keep fighting. Don't throw your second chance away!"

Sanji clenched his fists and tried to keep himself together. Why did ____ have to throw themselves in danger like that? I'm supposed to protect them. I'm supposed to protect all of them, damn it! He glared at Doflamingo and ignited one of his legs as Brook drew his sword next to him. I can't think about that now. I'll apologize to ____ later for putting them in danger, but for now...I need to keep fighting. For their sake. 

Nami crawled back up over the railing using a rope/pulley from one of the sails to carry herself and ____, whose left arm was completely dislocated. Brook and Sanji both began to attack Doflamingo again, and Chopper quickly got to work tending to ____'s arm with a quick makeshift splint before jumping into the fray. Nami helped ____ up and let them lean against her as she led them to the nearest room inside the ship, where they could at least have some protection while the rest of them continued to take on Doflamingo. 

"Nami," ____ protested, "Wait, I have to--"

"You can't fight anymore," she said sharply, cutting them off. "It's only a matter of time until Luffy, Law, and the others show up. We--Sanji will be fine."

____ shook their head weakly. "He can't beat Doflamingo on his own!"

"And you can? You already took one blow for him; having you in danger with a broken arm is just going to distract him. And he can't afford to get distracted in a fight with that monster." Nami's expression softened. "I know you love him, but having you out there is going to end up killing both of you. You know that, right?" 

They were silent for a moment, and nodded firmly. A few tears formed in their eyes as they wondered how the hell all of them would be able to get out of Dressrosa alive. They turned away from Nami. "Well, what are you still doing here?" they snapped, their voice thick. "Go, back him up!" 

Nami rushed back into battle, leaving ____ alone to ponder their fate and the fate of their friends...and their love.

[psychedelic-ink]

Luna goes undercover - Hope you like it! (here's a part 2 at Silvana's request! ^//w//^)

It didn’t take that long until the door opened again. Coming into the room was medium sized polar bear, he peaked at first and looked over at me when he noticed I was awake “Hello.”

I smiled at him “Hi. Who might you be?”

“My name’s Bepo.” The polar bear spoke in a kind voice. He seemed like he had something in his paws as he stepped into the room, still, he closed the door behind him and made his way to me “You’re Tiger Luna, right?”

“Just Luna will do, thanks.” I nodded, keeping the mask of a smile “What brings you here, Bepo?”

He held out his paws to me to reveal a round silver bracelet – my round silver bracelet “The captain said you were looking for this?” I didn’t hesitate to take hold of it, the smile now real in my lips.

“Thank you… Thank you, thank you…”

“It’s that important, huh?” he looked from the bracelet to me and I nodded at him.

“One of my brothers gave it to me, a long long time ago.” I explained “I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost it.”

“It’s a very pretty bracelet.” The kind bear smiled.

“Thank you.” I rubbed my thumb over the star with an A carved on it “It’s my treasure…” I remembered when Sabo disappeared and we couldn’t find him anywhere, I remembered when he came back from the village explaining that he had spent the day working for the blacksmith. He was covered in smudges but he had a giant smile on his face when he explained why he had done it, he had found the bracelet, but the initials didn’t carve themselves… I shook my head, memories of my childhood would do nothing but make me cry right now “Speaking of treasure!” I forced another smile as I held my bracelet in my hands “You have his straw hat, right?” Bepo looked at Luffy and back at me, nodding “Then spare yourself the trouble and bring it over before he wakes up… I warned I’d tear the ship apart if I didn’t get my treasure… My brother will just do it.”

“I’ll bring it over.” To my surprise, Bepo leaned over to hug me and I tensed at the touch “Please don’t cry, Straw Hat Luffy will be ok. The captain’s the best doctor in the world.” Crying? I didn’t realize I was… He pulled away without another word and left. I took my left hand to face to find that there were indeed tears coming down my cheeks…

I looked down at my hands where my bracelet still was, there were some dark spots on the silver from all the explosions and the fire – the magma… If I can just kill that damn marine before my time is up… “What are you even thinking, Luna…?” I looked to my brother’s unconscious body “You can’t go around dying and leave this idiot… You can’t do that to him.” I tilted my head and looked back at my bracelet as I cleaned off the smudges with my thumb “Plus, Luffy has as much right to revenge as I do…” and now we only have each other… “There’s no way I’ll ever leave him alone.” I got out of the bed and walked over to my brother and held his hand, he seemed calmer than before “I swear Luffy, I’ll get stronger, no matter what it costs me. As long as I can kick the ass of whoever tries to take you from me. We’re not going through this pain ever again, I swear to you. Not if it depends on me… Never again brother.” I squeezed his hand a bit “And when I’m stronger, strong enough to protect you, then it won’t matter who stands in our way, pirates, marines, grandpa… And when that damn Akainu crosses paths with us again, he’s gonna regret ever hearing our names. I just… I need to get stronger first… A lot stronger. Strong enough to protect my family…” my eyes went wide when I felt him squeeze my hand back. Like he could hear me, but his eyes remained closed, still I smiled “I swear, nothing’s ever gonna tear us apart again.”

I know went back to bed and I know I put my bracelet back where it belonged, on my right wrist, but I don’t remember falling asleep. In fact, I only knew I fell asleep when I felt my covers being pulled off and someone’s hand over my stomach, then all I heard was “ARGH! WHAT THE—?!”

And my eyes opened to see Law by my bed side “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Checking your bandages!” he argued pulling his finger from my grip. Instincts “I’m a doctor, remember?!” he definitely seemed annoyed.

“You should wake someone up before you put your hands on them…”

He opened and closed his fingers back with an unreadable expression on his face, I was happy I hadn’t broken his finger “You could use the rest, I didn’t want you to wake up.”

I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms over my chest “I’ve been resting since I got here, I’m done with resting.”

“You’ve been crying since you got here, it’s not the same thing.”

I suddenly snapped at him “Is that your medical opinion, doctor?!” we locked eyes for a moment, both too stubborn to tear away.

He sighed and raised his right hand with his palm down, a small blue sphere appeared right under his fingers “Room.” And then the sphere expanded around us, right afterwards he closed his fingers with the exception of his index and middle finger, then turned his hand around, pointing his fingers up “Takt.” At the command, I found my body lifting off the bed slowly and gently. The feeling of just hovering in the air made me chuckle, moving was awkward and I really couldn’t stop myself “First you almost break my finger in your sleep, then you’re laughing?”

“It’s kind of a new feeling for me.” I admitted as he started to carefully unwrap the bandages off of me, I was wearing a t-shirt but he simply moved it until it only covered my breasts “Some kind of limited telekinesis?”

He shrugged “Something like that.”

“What else can you do?” he raised an eyebrow at my question, his hands still expertly unwrapping my old bandages.

His expression didn’t change as he finished and held the old bandages in his hands “Shambles.” As I blinked, he now had a fresh roll of bandages in his hands and the old ones were on the spare table in the corner of the room.

I nodded “Neat trick.” He placed the clean bandages on the bed and started to examine what I was sure was my worst injury, the big cut like burn that I had across my chest. When his fingers touched my tender skin, shivers when up and down my spine “Does it hurt? It shouldn’t.”

“No.” I rubbed my face “Your hands are just freezing cold…” as I looked back at him, I could’ve sworn he actually smiled a bit there.

“It seems like it’s healing alright.” He finally said as he examined my wounds “This one” I felt him touch my burn “is most definitely leaving a nasty scar, but the others should heal better.” I reached for the new bandages but he slapped my hand away before I could touch it. He didn’t even blink as he grabbed the bandages and started to wrap them on me again “You just have to rest and not scratch them.”

I rubbed my hand where he had slapped “But it itches.”

“It’s healing.” He replied “Try and stay in bed.”

“But I’m bored!”

He sighed as he finished wrapping me back up “If you don’t stay in bed, your wounds will open up again. So stay in bed.” I felt myself being slowly placed back down on the bed.

I pulled the covers back over me as he moved over to check Luffy’s injuries now “How is he?”

“Takt.” I saw Luffy’s body rise off the bed like I had before “He’ll wake up soon enough, his injuries were just some of the worst I’ve ever seen.” His hands kept working as he spoke “What were you two doing? Your injuries have injuries, your muscles were so drained they had no reaction to pain. In fact, the only reaction to pain you two had was really a lot of screaming until you both collapsed from exhaustion. Not to mention all the chemicals you two had mixed into your bloodstream.”

I remembered Magellan’s poison burning my skin, I remembered struggling with my lungs to breathe… I remembered Ivankov and Inazuma, I remembered Luffy’s screams mixing with my own… I remembered the coldness of the ice, the warmth of both my brothers by my side once more “I think the whole world knows what we were doing…”

“My point is…” he explained as he changed Luffy’s bandages “Your bodies should’ve given out way before the moment they actually did.”

I shrugged “We know a guy. It’s not like either of us was going to quit until we had Ace, exhaustion could wait.”

He didn’t say anything else as he continued his work, if he could tell just how my memories surfaced as he asked his questions, I don’t know. But he did stop. It was my turn “Where are you taking us?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Alright… How far out from there are we?”

“Not that far off.”

I rolled my eyes as I rubbed my face. So this is how people feel when they talk to me, huh? “Has anyone ever told you that you give very straight forward answers?”

“No.”

He set Luffy down and I could’ve laughed if it had been a different time “I wonder why.” He turned to leave the room “Hey, Doctor Polar Panda?” he stopped to glance back at me “Can I ask a favour?”

He took a step back to half face me “What?”

“Since you’re confining me to bed rest, could you get me a pen and some paper, please?” I tried to have the most innocent smile I could fake on my lips “I’m really bored.”

He didn’t say anything and just left the room.

I was looking at the blankness of the ceiling thinking about everything that I shouldn’t. Ace, Sabo, Luffy, the Grey Terminal, Goa, Dadan, Makino… Garp. If I ever see him again, I’ll— I sat up. I couldn’t be left alone with my thoughts. I pulled the blankets from me and got out of bed. I was wearing a t-shirt that I had never seen before and fortunately the shorts were still mine, ripped but mine. I grabbed my sandals and slipped them on, I was getting out of that room no matter what Law said.

The door wasn’t locked and I easily stepped out. Everything was made of metal and freaking hell, I was cold in that place. I checked the room I was in to see if there was any jacket that I had missed and I saw a black one at the foot of my bed, no wonder I couldn’t see it from where I was. I quickly grabbed it and put it on, it was clearly a long coat but I don’t think it was supposed to barely miss the floor if the length of the sleeves was any indicator. Still, it was warm and that’s what I needed. I took a deep breath before I opened the door and noticed that the jacket smelled nicely, I couldn’t quite make it out but I liked it. Since I ate my devil fruit, there weren’t a lot of smells I actually liked, but this one had made the list.

I shook my head and walked back out of the room, now wrapped in this long black coat, I was ready to explore the metal ship. I walked past some of the crew but they mostly whispered to themselves and let me be. Looking around, I seemed to be in some kind of submarine, the only one I had ever been in was Shark Submerge III and it obviously wasn’t half the size of this ship. Under normal circumstances, Luffy and I would be running up and down this submarine exploring every room and corner but my brother was unconscious and I honestly still felt like I’d fall into pieces if I moved around too much. I was making my way towards the kitchen – family instinct, I’d say – when a hand tapped my shoulder and I turned to see a woman looking confused at me “You’re Tiger Luna, right? Are you supposed to be out of bed?”

I forced a smile “I’m not supposed to go hungry, am I?”

She laughed as she wrapped her arm over my shoulders “Can’t argue with you there. The name’s Ikkaku, I’m the chief mechanic around these parts. Let me get you something to eat, yeah?”

“That would be nice, thanks.” I nodded as I let her take me into the mess hall. It seemed to be time for a meal in the sub because most of the crew seemed to be there. As we walked, I looked around the mess of people to find that neither Law nor Bepo were present, lucky cuz they were the only ones that knew that I shouldn’t be out of bed, at least that I knew of.

Ikkaku was nice, she had curly brown hair and was wearing a sort of white jumpsuit with a skull symbol on it, as I looked around, I realized that just about everyone was wearing this. I couldn’t be in bigger contrast if I tried, the jacket I had found also had the same symbol – that I presumed was their pirate mark – but I was this strange figure wrapped in an overly large black jacket and the only part you could see of me was my most definitely messy black hair. I shrugged it off, it’s not like there was anything I could do about it right now and my stomach was making it hard for me to focus on much else besides the smell of delicious food all around me.

Meat.

Ok, everything after that was a bit of a blur. I can’t escape it. I think I fell asleep mid meal a couple of times what scared them a bit, but c’mon, I was tired. Delighted to eat, but tired. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days, probably hadn’t for all I knew, so needless to say that I emptied my plate a few dozen times. They were impressed from what I could tell. Let’s just say that sometimes people wondered how I was related to Luffy until they saw us eat. It was always fun to see their faces though.

Still, when the food was done and I had eaten enough to stop hearing my stomach grumble, Ikkaku offered to show me around the ship but then she was called to fix something and I was left to my own exploring again. I was ok with that, putting on a smile was still too tiring at this point. Walking through the unfamiliar faces was unsettling. I missed Chopper and Robin and Franky. I missed Nami, she’d get me to talk eventually and we’d end up laughing about something else. I missed Sanji, he’d make something just for me that would somehow taste just like those days in the forest. I missed Zoro, he’d see right through my façade and would sit there with me so I wouldn’t be alone. I missed Usopp, that would start talking about his latest invention and before I knew my brain would be trying to understand this invention of his. I missed Brook, the skeleton had a way to pick up on everyone’s moods rather easily and he’d play something that would bring back the voices of Grey Terminal… Why haven’t you woken up yet, Luffy? I miss you by my side most of all… You’d give me a hug and I’d feel like nothing could touch me, not even this pain that’s still clawing at my chest, not even this emptiness from within my heart…

I was lost in thought, and honestly couldn’t really tell where I was on the ship, I had lost track. This part had less crew but as some of them passed me by, a familiar voice caught my attention and I turned back to see… A pile of boxes… With white furry legs? I tilted my head to try and understand what was happening “Bepo…?” I spoke confused, remembering the polar bear that had brought me my bracelet.

At the sound of my voice, he basically jumped and the boxes flew in the air as he fell on the ground “Luna?! You’re not—” he stopped himself as he saw me reach out my right hand “What are you doing?”

I managed to grab all five wooden boxes in the air with my right hand, it was instinct but the boxes were heavier than I thought “Bepo…” either that, or I was weaker than I thought. I felt something rip over my right ribs and almost to prove me right, the tickling of something crawling down my side “Shit…” I used my left hand to try and keep myself together but the boxes were threatening to escape my grip. I couldn’t be this weak, could I? “Move.” The bear didn’t wait a second before he got on his feet and ran over to me and not a moment too soon. The boxes crashed where the bear had been, spilling all kinds of supplies on the floor, I felt like I couldn’t breathe, as if I’d raised a palace or something. I supported my weight on the wall closest to me as I tried to recover my breath “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me… I can’t be that bad… Can I…?”

Bepo quickly rushed over to me in a panic “You shouldn’t even be out of bed! Oh! The Captain’s gonna be so mad! How are out here?! You’re bleeding!”

“Bepo…” I breathed out looking at the worried bear “Breathe, buddy.” I tried to force my own breath in and then out slowly, he mimicked “There you go.” I looked at my left hand, covered in blood “Now, please help me get back to the room, I kind of lost my way.”

“I have to call the captain!”

I rubbed my face with my right hand “Yeah, doctor grumpy might actually kill me for this one.”

Bepo helped me to my feet and started to lead me through the corridors until we see a familiar tall figure that looks as annoyed as usual “CAPTAIN!” the bear called out “CAPTAIN, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!”

He broke through the crew to get to us “Bepo? And you! What the hell are you doing out of bed?!” he helped me lean on the side so he could take a look at the damage I had pulled off “Didn’t I tell you to stay put or your stiches would rip?! You didn’t stay put and guess what happened.”

“My stitches ripped?”

He sighed and I saw him rub his face “Moron.”

“Grumpy polar panda doctor.”

“I WOULDN’T BE GRUMPY IF YOU JUST LISTENED!” he argued back as he helped me back to the room where Luffy was.

He stayed silent as he stitched me back up. I didn’t say anything either and eventually he turned to leave but stopped at the door “That notebook over there is for you.” I looked at the table beside me to see a notebook, a pen and ink, but the door closed right before I looked at him. Law was gone.

I reached for the pen, it had feathers at the top, then I reached for the notebook too but as I did this, my nose brushed the feathers on the pen and I couldn’t help but notice that it was the same as the scent on the coat. It was oddly comforting…

I sat up on the bed and opened the notebook, dipping the pen in the ink before I put it to paper.

Dear Sabo…

Ahh this is great thank you for sending in ! 

[cutxthroat]

I’m Going to Protect You. ❜

Summary:  Cutler is talented with a sword but he still needs help sometimes.

     This wasn’t quite how he’d envisioned that the night would go.

     When they’d first entered the small town bar, Cutler had been under the impression that he would be able to have a round or two with his friends and leave peacefully.  The atmosphere was second to none, bustling with chatter and flirtation, and he sank into the normalcy all too willingly. We’ll each buy a round, he’d said with all the confidence of a rich man, and then we’ll disappear into the night.  We’ll board the next fleet and be on our merry way., and nobody will be any the wiser!

     With his hands full of beer mugs, Cutler turned to head back to his friends.  Once he’d found his seat around the small, circular table, he slammed the round down with a joyous whoop, face contorted into a mischievous grin.

     “A toast!”

     “A toast!”    Zachariah and Luffy echoed in unison, mugs raised high, froth spilling over the edges.

     “To freedom!”     He spun in a wide circle, spilling beer everywhere, only to come face to face with an all too familiar uniform.  His expression took a moment to fall, though when it did it happened all at once.     “Ah.”     He cast a feeble glance to his still-raised drink, tipping it in the officer’s direction.     “...thirsty?”

     His wrist was seized before he could think to do anything, beer tumbling to the floor.  By now, patrons were beginning to turn around, once lively ambience dissolving into confused murmuring, the bartenders peering over their customers in an attempt to get a glimpse of what was causing the commotion.  Cutler began to wriggle and writhe, tugging with all the ferocity of a captured animal.  It disconcerted him to hear the clink of handcuffs, though the officer didn’t get to set it around his wrist before Cutler’s right-hand man had picked up the nearest barstool and hurled it at him.  He stumbled to the ground, completely caught off-guard, more than a little wounded.

     “Thanks…”     Cutler mumbled, backing up to be by Zachariah’s side.  The man was his second for a reason.

     “Hate to cut your toast short, bud, but I think we’ve got a situation here.”

     “Heh.  You might be right about that.”     Cutler chuckled as his fingers wrapped around the worn handle of his trusty sword.  It wasn’t commonplace to see a peasant like him with such a specialised weapon, but his old teacher had taught him well.  He unsheathed it, metal catching the lowlight of the ceiling lanterns.  By now, a deathly silence had befallen the bar.  He was almost sure that at least somebody wanted to do something, to intervene somehow, but what was there to do?  Most didn’t like their chances when it came to opposing the law.

     “Come quietly.  Have you not dragged us far enough now?”

     Zachariah spared the man an indignant huff, head tipped dismissively to the side.     “We didn’t tell you to follow us like dogs.  It ain’t our fault.”

     The guard didn’t like that.  His face twisted into a scowl, eyebrows furrowed taut, and his hand reached for the rapier secured to his belt.  The thin blade glared at its opponent from beneath the dim light.     “Then I shall drag you back by force.”

     Cutler rushed forward to intercept the guard’s maddened dash, his cutlass swept hard at the opposing blade.  His parted feet kept him firmly locked in place as he briefly regarded his friends over his shoulder.     “Don’t just stand there like muppets!  Get outta here!”

     With a hand protectively around Luffy’s shoulder, Zachariah began to back up.  The smaller of them spoke up, worry hinged onto every syllable.

     “But what about you?!”

     Cutler spared a moment to chuckle, successfully deflecting another hard swing.     “I’ll be fine, same as always.  Now go!”

     The pair stared for only a moment longer before beginning to make their hasty escape.  Though there were muffled whispers about stopping them coming from some members of the crowd, they were simply too stunned to do anything.  Zachariah counted his lucky stars for that.  We can’t stay.  We can’t leave Luffy in the middle of that.  Besides, they’ll come with back-up any second.  If that happens, we’re all dead.

     As they tore into the streets, the pair of them slipping through back allies, clumsily staggering into bins as they struggled to make it onto the streets, Luffy’s hand closed around his friend’s wrist.

     “We can’t leave him!”

     “We’re not gonna leave him.”   Zachariah grunted, dragging him to a street corner, stationing him in the shadows of the houses.  To most walking the streets, he was fairly well concealed     “But you’re not gonna move from that spot.”

     “Zach…!”

     “I’m serious, Luffy.  Don’t.  Move.  That’s an order.”     It was all he said before he began to run.  He made his way down the street, his footsteps loud against the cobblestone sidewalk.  In the dead of night, everything sounded loud.  He tried not to think about how much attention he could be drawing to himself as he skidded around the corner, making a mad dash for the bar’s front entrance.  He knew that Cutler had wanted him to run, to head to their designated safe spot and wait for him, but he couldn’t leave him there knowing that more guards were going to come.  It was inevitable;  to patrol alone was a death-wish, regardless of strength or skill level.

     He peered through the front window in time to catch Cutler in the midst of a heated sparring session.  Despite the focus on his face, his lips were moving periodically.

     God damn it.  You’re gonna talk shit until the bitter end, huh?

     “Yield.”     The guard spat, teeth grit hard as he attempted to force Cutler’s sword away from him.     “This is ridiculous.  You are a peasant, yet you oppose our King;  you speak of war like it is a divine prophecy.  The people of Efsev need to see you dead.  It is for the greater good.”

     “FAH!  ‘’Greater good’’--  don’t make me laugh.”     He attempted to lunge, sharp point thrust towards his opponent’s chest.  He was stopped by a powerful swing of the guard’s arm, a sound of raw frustration torn from his throat as he corrected his stance.     “If this was fer the ‘greater good’, you wouldn’t need to kill people.”

     That seemed to tick his opponent off royally.  His blade was brought down harder with an indignation so fierce that it made the peasant want to cower, wrist bending unpleasantly as he flinched.  Though he’d grown accustomed to fighting by now, he didn’t take much pleasure in it. If it was up to him, none of this would have happened in the first place.  His desperate rally for revolution wouldn’t have blossomed so quickly had his district not filled him with such hopelessness.

     It’s the King…  he’s corrupt.  He needs overthrowing.  I know that I’m right.  A revolution would fix all of our problems.  A revolution would get rid of him.

     His anger acted almost as a secondary dagger.  While his body was steadily growing tired, that terrible flame remained lit, roaring like a train as it engulfed him.  His rage was such an ugly thing…  it was why he went to such lengths to change what was causing it in the first place.  If not me, who?  If not now, when?

     “Face it,”     Cutler growled.     “You’re defending a murderous tyrant.  That makes you no better than one.  If anybody deserves to be hung, it’s you.”     He suddenly lurched forwards with all of his weight, free hand wrapping around the handle of his sword alongside his other.  Both arms swung down heavily, jagged point dug straight into the guard’s rapier, forcing him to relinquish his hold.  The weapon spun across the floor.  A member of the crowd gawked as it made gentle contact with their boot.     “You yield.”

     I am more than willing to die for this cause.  I will be a martyr.  I will be written about in history books.  I will appear in testaments and people will talk about how fearless a sev I was.  You will be the villain.  You will be the scum that tried to stop a peaceful district from developing because there was money to be made from conflict.

     His confidence was short-lived as two more guards spilled into the bar, swords drawn, cuff’s jangling like death cries.  Though he doubted he could fend them both off, Cutler swore that he would die trying.  They charged straight for him, unprepared for the way he carried himself.  He was no prodigy, no covert superhero, but the smith who had once taken him in as an apprentice had trained him well.  Hours had been spent sparring with one another around the shop, though the only thing they ever killed was time.  If only it was that playful now.

     His feet weaved in and out of tables and chairs, as if they were people he needed to evade, blade swinging hurriedly.  He could feel it now-- that exhaustion that was beginning to creep up on him. He couldn’t keep going like this.  He had to find a way to end this.

     Cutler took a gamble, elevating himself atop one of the tables and sparring from above.  The higher vantage point made his body harder to reach, though the screech of metal blades scraping against one another remained dreadfully close.  As one of them slunk around the table to attack from behind, the bandit raised his leg and delivered a harsh kick to the wrist of the man in front.  His sword was knocked to the ground, hard clatter ringing in his ears along with his pulse.  

     His body followed shortly after.

     The guard behind him had pulled him down from the table, dragging him to the ground.

     He laid there in pain, writhing desperately as he pushed himself to sit up.  Every muscle ached;  now that he’d stopped fighting, he felt how worn out he was.  I’m just one sev…  this is why I need a united front to help me achieve peace:  I can’t do it alone. 

     Cutler felt horribly small as the guard’s shadow was cast over him.

     “You’re under arrest,”     he said coldly, glowering at him as if he was little more than dirt beneath his shoe.     “It’s ov--”

     He watched, stunned, as the guard went rigid, then collapsed to the ground unconscious.  As he fell, an angry Zachariah was revealed, both hands clutching a beer mug.  A glance to the side showed the opponent he’d managed to beat slumped over in a similar fashion.  He must have given them one hell of a whack with that mug.  I wonder if he’s aware of how strong he is.

     “You idiot…”     he muttered, though a relieved smile stretched across his face as he came forward to offer his hand.  Cutler stared at it for a moment before smiling meekly, allowing himself to be pulled back to his feet.

     “Thanks…  I was pretty much done.”

     “How many times, Cut?  Don’t thank me.  We’re best friends.  You protect me, so I’m going to protect you.”     We’re all we’ve got in this world.  You, me and Luffy, in it for the long haul.  Dark brown eyes shifted to the small crowd that had formed, drinking in their stupefied expressions.  There was no doubt in his mind that a few of them had fancied themselves as heroes;  if they stayed there any longer, he was certain that they would do their best to apprehend them by themselves.  The element of surprise would wear off eventually.

     His hand tightened around his friend’s wrist, pulling him closer.   In a low voice:     “We gotta get outta here.  Now.”

     Cutler didn’t need to be told twice.  They both tore from the silent tavern before anybody could utter a word, the swordsman breathing hard as the adrenaline slowly began to leave him.  Tired.  I’m so tired.  They barely stopped to retrieve their third party member before continuing the desperate rush to the dock, feet hot, bodies covered in a thin sheen of sweat.  They were all panting by the time they stopped, though Cutler was worse for wear;  his tunic’s thin material damp as he doubled over and heaved for air.  Had he been a little greener, he would have planted himself on the ground exactly where he stood, but he had learned the hard way that resting before they were out of the woods only led to a deeper sense of fatigue.  Getting up again was always harder than staying up. 

     “We’re better off waitin’ here,”     murmured Zach, running a hand through his thick hair.  Curls caught in his fingers, squeezed taut with frustration before he released them once more.  He was an angry man, all things considered.  It felt good to display aggression.     “The fleet’ll come at dawn.  Let’s just keep a low profile until then.”     His eyes followed Luffy as he moved to lay on a bench, small form huddled and quiet.  They slowly moved to where Cutler stood panting.  His breathing was slowly levelling out, an arm sweeping across his forehead in order to dry it.

     “You okay?”     Zach asked as he approached, normally hard features softening a little.  A hand hovered briefly before it made delicate contact with Cutler’s elbow.     “Didn’t get hurt, did you?”

     The swordsman shook his head, flashing a confident smile.  It was more for his friend’s sake than his own.     “Course not.”     Slowly, the expression wavered, becoming meek.     “Maybe a little…  but nothin’ serious.  Didn’t even get a cut.”

     “That’s a shame.  Maybe it’d stop you runnin’ your mouth so damn much.”

     “Hah.  So harsh.”

     They met eyes briefly, sharing a moment of solidarity.  Their quiet smiles spoke relief despite the fact that their lips did not part.  Zachariah was the first to be visited by sobriety.

     “... I’m serious, Cut.  One day your mouth’s gonna get you in trouble.  Talk less.”

     Cutler spared him a quiet laugh, hands meeting his hips.  Come the end of things, he knew that his friend was only looking out for him.  It was what he’d always done.  Being the son of a cruel general lent him some benefits, the most noticeable of which being a steadfast resolve.  He’d give his life for those he deemed worthy of it, and he knew that he made that cut.

     “Heh...  but where’s the fun in that, sir?”

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya Chapter 3: Meet the Crew

The submarine’s grey steel walls, despite their immense size, felt claustrophobic and oppressive to Nami as Law led her towards the galley. Each step resulted in an echoing clank, the portholes peered out into the dark ocean, and the bright overhead lights felt artificial and stifling. It was nothing like the Thousand Sunny’s cheery design, with wide windows letting in sunlight, comfortingly creaking wooden floors, and lamps that gave off a warm glow.

Her discomfort wasn’t helped by the fact that Law’s rough hand was still on her back, despite her not-so-subtle attempts to dislodge it. It should have been easy; his palm was simply resting between her shoulder blades, not even gripping her, yet every time she shifted, squirmed, or tried to shake him off, he matched her movements precisely so he never lost contact for more than a second. It was almost irrational how much it bothered her. It was just a hand, but the way he’d gone from touching her no more than was professionally required to lingering physical contact had completely thrown her for a loop, and she didn’t like it. She prided herself for being able to read people and get a handle on anyone’s intentions, but the surgeon’s erratic shifts kept her guessing.

On top of that, his hand was just so warm. The heat seemed to seep into her spine and travel through her nervous system, flooding her with awareness of just how close he was. She was beginning to notice other things, too—the sharp tang of whatever soap he used, the fact that he was a full head taller than her despite her heels, the sharp lines of his profile, the way the gold hoops in his ears caught the light…

It was all very distracting, and Nami had to force herself to face forward so he wouldn’t catch her staring.

Calm and collected as anything, Law strolled through the hall at a leisurely pace, explaining, “My crew is twenty-strong—twenty-one if we include you—and they’ll all be eager to show you the ropes. They’re a lively bunch, and admirably loyal, so I’m sure you’ll feel right at home.”

“Hm,” she replied, tensing further at the number. Twenty men under the command of a dangerous Supernova sounded horrible. Sure, it wasn’t a massive number—Arlong’s crew had been larger than that—but she had no idea what kind of powers they had, their temperament, or what they’d think of sailing with a woman from a rival crew. Words like “lively” and “loyal” weren’t as comforting as he might think, either. Blackbeard was pretty lively, and his crew was certainly loyal to him—that didn’t make them any less a group of vicious monsters responsible for Whitebeard and Ace’s deaths.

Though they probably weren’t as bad as those bastards, the Heart Pirates still willingly followed a sadistic madman with his own list of sins. At Law’s command they killed, raided ships and islands, sold human organs on the black market, and more. For all she knew they would cheer him on if the surgeon decided to slice her to bits for his own amusement. On top of that, twenty men who spent their days at sea, stuck in close quarters with little female company might have…urges.

Swallowing hard, she refused to think like that; she and the Surgeon of Death had agreed to work together, and sexual services were definitely not part of the deal. Still, it was hard not to assume the worst—in the past she’d had the displeasure of witnessing a pirate crew mistreating female prisoners. It had been one of the very few times she’d been grateful to be part of the Fishman Pirates, as none of them even considered using her in such a manner, and Arlong had refused to prostitute her, despite his criminal contacts’ numerous suggestions once she started developing her womanly figure. Nami’s heart quickened as she vividly remembered the way the saw-nosed shark had ripped apart a crime lord who had insinuated she was the crew’s sex slave.

Crimson blood, hot and sticky, dripped from Arlong’s hand as the man’s mangled corpse collapsed at his feet, his skull brutally crushed by the Fishman’s monstrous strength.

“Wh—why did you do that?” she asked, trembling slightly. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever seen her captain do, but such a violent explosion of temper was rare. She wasn’t upset that the crime lord was dead; even at fourteen she knew what his leers and innuendos had meant. It was just…startling.

Turning towards his cartographer, Arlong gave her a sharp-toothed grin. “You didn’t think I’d let that scum disrespect you like that, did you?” With a strange gentleness, he patted her head like a kitten, chuckling when her orange hair stuck to the splotches of blood. “You may be part of an inferior species, but you’re my talented cartographer—not some whore to be passed around. I’ve seen the way men look at you, and I can promise, I’ll kill anyone who thinks about touching you.”

She swallowed hard. “Anyone?”

His piercing eyes gleamed as he playfully patted her cheek just hard enough to sting, the stench of blood making Nami’s stomach churn in disgust. “Of course! You’ve got a whole world’s worth of ocean charts to draw. I can’t let you get distracted by a lover. He might get some foolish idea about taking you away, and then who would raise the money to buy your village?” His grin was cruel and cheerful as he spoke, his voice amiable as he insistently led her back to her chart room. “I’m just looking out for your best interests. After all, we’re shipmates.”

Likely feeling just how taut her back muscles had become, Law’s molten palm retreated slightly, fingers instead rubbing small circles against her spine. “I don’t blame you for being distrustful, but you have nothing to fear from my men; for the next year, you’re one of us, remember?”

Fists clenched at her sides at his words, polished nails digging into her palms. “We may be working together, but I’m still a Straw Hat, so don’t get all chummy,” she replied tersely.

“I’ll tolerate that answer for now, Nami-ya, but I’m expecting a change in tone once you’ve settled in. We have a deal—”

Her voice was pure sass as she stated, “Pretty sure my exact words were ‘I work with your crew for one year; not a day more.’ I never said anything about actually joining the Heart Pirates.”

Upon realizing she spoke the truth, he scowled. “Sneaky minx,” he grumbled, halting their progress so he could grab her chin, lifting it so she had no choice but to meet his arctic stare. “Then let’s clarify things; you work with my crew and for me. Even if you don’t call us shipmates, it’s in your best interest to banish any thoughts of betrayal or manipulation. If I think you’re plotting against me and mine, I’ll deliver you to the nearest Marine base in pieces. Your bounty’s not much, and you’re more useful to me as a partner than a prisoner, but I won’t hesitate if you bring any harm to my crew. Are we clear?”

Pulse thundering in her ears, she swallowed harshly. His tone had been even and soft, but those eyes promised unimaginable pain should she cross him. “Crystal.”

Releasing her chin, he resumed leading her down the hall. “Good. That being said, so long as you cooperate, you can count on our protection. We look after our own here, and whether you like it or not, they’ll probably see you as one of us quickly enough.”

But I don’t want to be one of you, she thought sourly. What right did Law even have to call her part of his crew? Luffy’d had to earn that loyalty by defeating the terror of the East Blue and saving her village. Then again, he’d declared her his nakama long before she’d officially joined, despite her protestations. It was startling to think that he and Law had anything in common personality-wise, but perhaps that blind stubbornness was a necessary trait for a Supernova.

Arriving at the galley, Nami knew she had no choice but to put on a brave face and hope she could worm her way out of trouble. Stomach twisting, she could easily imagine a band of gruff, ugly men in identical jumpsuits leering at her like she was a piece of meat ready to be devoured. Her feet itched to run away, but the hand on her back made it clear there was no way to go but forward. Taking a deep breath, the navigator braced herself for whatever monsters she was about to encounter as Law opened the steel door.

The pair froze as they entered the mess hall, gob smacked at the huge, hanging banner proclaiming “Welcome Cat Thief Nami!” in bold, orange letters, cute little cartoon cats drawn in each corner. Sparkly streamers dangled from the ceiling while black and yellow balloons floated about the room. Colorful confetti fluttered through the air as the whole crew struck elaborate poses. Some stood on tables, others were sprawled across the floor, and one was even hanging upside down from a ceiling lamp.

“Welcome to the crew!” they shouted in unison, ecstatic grins splitting their cheerful faces.

Law facepalmed. “They always go overboard,” he muttered, though there was an undertone of begrudging affection in his voice.

“When did they even have time to plan this?” Nami asked, utterly flabbergasted at the joyous, energetic greeting. It felt like something Luffy and Franky would set up, not the murderous followers of the Surgeon of Death. Really, they seemed less like pirates and more like a band of goofy dorks. It was…kind of a relief, if she were honest. She could feel the cold dread from before dissolving, gradually being replaced by mild amusement. “Lively” was definitely an apt word for them.

“I’m guessing during your check-up. Word of you joining traveled fast. Not every day we get a defector from another crew.”

She glared at him. “I’m not—”

Ignoring her anger, he slung a lanky arm around her shoulders. “Everyone, though you clearly already know, I’d like to formally introduce you to Nami-ya. She’ll be sailing with us for the next year, so you should all start keeping a closer eye on your wallets.”

The thief continued to scowl at the captain, who merely glanced down at her with a smug smirk.

All at once, his crew began shouting.

“This is awesome!”

“Why’s she only with us for a year?”

“Thank the gods, we’ve finally got a woman aboard!”

“Oi, what am I, chopped liver?!” an angry, feminine voice responded.

“Man, Captain got the Cat Thief Nami to join our crew! Talk about amazing!”

“That’s Captain Law for you!”

“Think she’ll sign her wanted poster for me?”

“Is she single?!”

Mentally rolling her eyes at that last question, Nami shrugged off Law’s arm and gave them all her most charming grin, clasping her hands together in a way she knew artfully enhanced her cleavage. Their joyful greeting made her feel less wary, and she decided to test the waters with her feminine wiles. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all! Please take care of me,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes demurely.

Instantly, she could see several of the men blush and swoon, a few muttering about how pretty she was. One even had hearts in his eyes, and it reminded her so much of Sanji her chest clenched. Annoying as the cook’s fawning could sometimes be, it was also something she’d come to find comfortably familiar, and she knew the affection was genuine—as it was with every woman he laid eyes on.

Two years, she reminded herself. I’ll see them all again in just two years.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned for find Law slowly shaking his head. “It’s like Amazon Lily all over again,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Nami cocked her eyebrow at that. Of course she’d heard of Amazon Lily; it was one of the few charted islands in the Calm Belt, the home of the infamous Pirate Empress, and, admittedly, a place she’d once imagined running away to as a little girl. Belle-mere fascinated her and Nojiko with tales of the women-only island, sometimes even joining in their games when they’d pretended to be those fierce and beautiful warriors. After her death, it had seemed like a good place to escape the Fishmen, but the knowledge that Cocoyashi would suffer for the young navigator’s selfishness had quickly halted such thoughts.

The implication that the Heart Pirates had actually been to the island and lived definitely caught her interest, though. From what she’d heard about Boa Handcock, the shikibukai would never allow a man to so much as set foot on the beach. Even the Marines were said to only send female officers to deliver orders and negotiations.

Feeling her gaze, Law’s gold eyes flicked to her face, a lazy, confident grin once again settling on his lips. “Let’s sit you down and get you acclimated, Nami-ya.”

The mess hall was a decent size, with a large, rectangular table in the middle surrounded by four smaller round ones. All the furniture was metal, probably to avoid decay from the damp conditions, but the chairs sported black and yellow vinyl padding. At the head of the main table was a more elaborate seat, clearly the captain’s, the arms, back, and seat upholstered in black, studded leather. In the back was a shiny, chrome kitchen, the oven, refrigerator, and other appliances gleaming. Sitting prominently on the counter was a frankly enormous coffee machine, and Nami got the feeling it was the most-revered appliance in the room.

A large, white bear immediately rushed over to the offer her the spot to the left of the captain’s chair. Despite his intimidating size, his black button eyes, round, twitching ears, and bright orange jumpsuit made him look more like a giant stuffed animal than a dangerous arctic predator. He stuck out a huge, fuzzy paw, giving a shy smile. “My name’s Bepo; I’m the ship’s navigator.”

The orange-haired thief stared in shock. “A talking polar bear?”

“I’m sorry,” he said gloomily, hanging his head.

“Wha—no! I mean, it’s nice to meet you, Bepo!” Quickly, she grabbed his paw, shaking it firmly, careful to avoid scratching herself on his long claws. So easily defeated! Nami thought, a drop of sweat dripping down her brow. “I’m the navigator on my ship, so I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about!”

He perked up a bit at that, taking the seat next to hers. “I’d like that. If you’re really staying a while, maybe I can show you the equipment we use for underwater surveillance. That is, if the captain is okay with it,” he said, nervously looking at Law as he twiddled his claws.

He waved his hand carelessly as he reclined in his chair. “I promised she’d get to study underwater currents, so consider it an order.”

Thrilled that he had permission, the bear grinned at Nami. “Then I’ll teach you to use it once you’re settled in.”

“Hey, quit hogging her, Bepo!” a man with “Penguin” printed across his hat scolded, sitting across from them. As if the word wasn’t enough, there was even what looked like a little plush penguin sewn on top of the hat, almost like a pom-pom.

“Yeah!” said the guy with ginger hair and a floppy pink and green hat. The sleeves of his jumpsuit were rolled up, revealing some scrollwork on his wrists, plus cross tattoos identical to Law’s. “The rest of us want to meet her, too.”

“I’m sorry.”

The first man grinned brightly at Nami. “I’m Penguin, and this is Shachi. I’m the first mate, so if you need anything, come right to me.”

“And I’m the second mate! I know this ship like the back of my hand, so if you’re looking for something, I’m your man!” said Shachi eagerly.

“She’d ask for my help before yours!”

“Like hell she would!”

The argument was quickly settled when a dark-haired woman marched up behind them, smacking them both upside the head. “Shut up, both of you!” she snapped, glaring down at the pair. “You keep bothering her and I’ll make sure you both wake up with ‘idiot’ tattooed across your foreheads.”

“Sorry, Ikkaku,” they grumbled.

Pleased at their submission, she gave Nami a winning smile. “Knowing the Captain, I’m guessing we’re going to be bunkmates, so it’s nice to meet you, Nami! I’m sure we’re going to get along great!”

Instantly, Nami knew she liked Ikkaku. Aside from being able to appreciate how the curly-haired woman managed to look stunning in that normally ugly boiler suit, so far, she was a kindred spirit; ready, willing, and able to smack some sense into the men around her. “The pleasure’s all mine. It’s good to know there’s an island or two of sanity in this sea of testosterone.”

“Ha! Feel free to join me and Bepo in the Don’t Lose It Over A Pretty Face Club. Captain’s a member, too, so you’re in good company.”

Nami was proud of herself for not wincing at the thought of being in any sort of club with the Surgeon of Death. “Are there regular meetings, or do we just sit in the corner and judge the guys whenever they talk about women?”

Letting out a boisterous laugh, Ikkaku winked. “Mostly judging at bars, but I wouldn’t say no to weekly sessions, especially if a bottle of wine’s involved.”

“Then count me in.”

As they spoke, a few of the crew set about serving the evening’s meal. The savory smell of stew tickled her nose, and her stomach growled loudly, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since mid-morning. Blowing gently on the spoon before taking a tentative sip, she could admit it was good and hearty, but paled in comparison to Sanji’s cooking. It was amazing just how easily she could pick out the differences; he probably would have added more black pepper and gone easier on the garlic, plus added a half-cup of red wine to the broth for extra body.

Memories of the love-sick cook’s specially prepared dishes, full of nutrients and flavor and designed to not let a single scrap of food go to waste, danced across her mind. She suddenly missed the evening meals with her crew, hectic as they were; watching Zoro and Sanji’s offhanded jibes evolve into an all-out fight, guarding her plate from Luffy’s greedy hands, listening to Franky argue with Chopper that Cola was perfectly nutritious while Brooke and Robin quietly observed the chaos with amusement.

“Is it not to your taste?” a man with a bandana around the bottom half of his face asked.

Startled from her thoughts, she realized she’d been frowning at the bowl. Her time in Luffy’s crew really had changed her; she used to be so much harder to read. “Oh! No, it’s fine! Sorry, I was…thinking of something else.” Eyes darting around, her gaze landed on a basket of rolls. “Could you pass me those? Stew’s just not the same without some bread to dip in it,” she said, plastering on a disarming smile.

“Here,” Shachi said, quickly passing her the basket. “Just keep them away from the captain.”

Glancing at him in confusion, she could have laughed at the way Law’s face twisted in disgust. “I hate bread,” he grumbled, glaring at the rolls as if they were personally responsible for every disease, war, and disaster the world had ever faced.

A tiny giggle did escape her lips. Who would have thought the big, bad Supernova could be so childish? Honestly, how could someone hate bread?

Noticing her expression, the captain gave her an annoyed look. “What? Are you saying there aren’t any foods you find absolutely repulsive, Nami-ya?”

She shrugged. “I mean, I’m not a fan of orangettes. If I wanted fruit, I’d just eat plain fruit.”

A devious smirk lifted the corners of his lips. “Good to know.”

“Careful; Captain’s pretty mean when it comes to punishments,” Bepo whispered softly in her ear. “If you piss him off, you might find yourself only eating orangettes for a week.”

Unpleasant as that prospect sounded, she was mostly surprised that he wasn’t more inclined to dismemberment as a form of discipline. Maybe he just didn’t want to risk his crew losing efficiency due to being in pieces. Or maybe it was hard to stay mad at a bunch of goofballs like them.

Amazingly, dinner continued to go smoothly. Not a single person gave her untoward looks or so much as hinted that they planned to harm or mistreat her. Shachi and Penguin made an embarrassing spectacle of themselves with their clumsy attempts to flirt, while Ikkaku loudly mocked them from her own table. Bepo told her more about the ship’s state-of-the-art navigational equipment, Nami listening with rapt attention as she imagined all the charts she’d be able to draw. Around her, the crew chatted and joked and shared stories of their adventures, more than a few of them ending with Law saving the day with one of his brilliant plans and incredible powers. Oddly, the thief didn’t get the impression that they were just trying to talk up their captain—the praise seemed genuine. The Dark Doctor, for his part, ate quietly, adding in the occasional comment or correction, but otherwise was a pillar of calm among his rambunctious crew. A ghost of a smile even tugged at his lips a few times, and she wouldn’t lie and say that the way his features had softened didn’t make him look a little less creepy.

Towards the end of the meal, a ridiculously large man approached, and Nami was honestly surprised anyone could have made a jumpsuit in his size. She was more impressed by the fact that, despite being twice Law’s height and wider than two Frankys, she’d barely even noticed him, as he’d been sitting quietly in the back of the mess hall. “Nami-san, my name’s Jean Bart.”

Recognition dawned on her, the man’s forehead tattoos and wild hair finally lining up in her memory. “Wait, you were one of the Celestial Dragons’ slaves, weren’t you?”

“Yeah. The Captain here freed me and took me on as his helmsman.”

Law gave a shrug as he took another bite of stew, once more indifferent to his subordinates’ praise. “I told you, half the credit goes to Mugiwara-ya.”

“That it does,” he wholeheartedly agreed. “None of it would have happened if Straw Hat hadn’t been gutsy enough to punch Saint Charlos and cause all that chaos at the auction house. I wanted to make sure you knew that you can count on me to keep you safe, Nami-san. It’s the least I can do to repay him,” the big man said with a deep, respectful bow.

The thief had to smile. Once again, that idiot makes a friend in the strangest way, she thought fondly. “I appreciate it, and when I see him, I’ll pass your thanks on to Luffy.” The man might have the face of a thug, but if he owed a debt to her captain, she was willing to put a little bit of faith in Jean Bart’s promise. The pleased smile he gave further reassured her of his good intentions.

Really, Nami had to admit she was beginning to enjoy herself. As much as their energy and enthusiasm threw her off guard and made her miss her nakama, they were clearly doing their best to make her feel welcome. Sure, it could all be some elaborate setup, but what would be the point? If they held ill intentions, she was basically trapped underwater with them, leaving no reason to play nice. Either they were planning some really long con, or they were as sweet and goofy as they appeared.

As dinner started to wind down, the beautiful navigator let out a startled shriek as the room was engulfed in a strange blue light, her empty bowl vanishing before her eyes, a wet cleaning rag falling before her with a splat. The Heart Pirates, particularly the captain, seemed amused by her reaction.

“Damn, Law, you should warn the poor girl before you show off your powers!” Penguin sniggered.

“And you could have put our bowls in the sink, too, while you were at it,” Shachi added jokingly.

The surgeon merely smirked. “What, and deny her the traditional Heart Pirate initiation?”

Bepo turned to the bemused woman between them, who was frantically looking around, trying to figure out what had just happened. “Captain always likes to scare new recruits with his powers. You’re lucky he switching it with a dishrag—the last guy got his coffee switched with a still-moving hand.”

Recalling Law’s explanation in the infirmary, she nodded in understanding, even as she shuddered at the image. “So, is my ‘initiation’ over with, or should I brace myself for worse?” she asked suspiciously.

The Dark Doctor’s grin widened, a mischievous gleam in his amber eyes. “Where’s the fun in telling?” Getting up from his seat, he held a hand out to Nami. “I’ll escort you to your quarters.”

A chorus of disappointed comments filled the room as she waved him off. “I’m sure one of your crew can do it. You’ve spent enough time playing tour guide today.”

“They could, but they’re all going to be a bit busy cleaning up the damn confetti they blasted all over the galley,” he said, giving the group a stern look. “And god help you all if I find even a crumb of bread on my end of the table.”

“Yes, Captain,” they replied sadly.

Realizing she’d get no rescue from her fate, Nami stood up with a sigh, ignoring Law’s extended hand. Admittedly, she was a bit more comfortable with the man after seeing him interact with his crew. Yes, he was certainly still a sadist and undeniably creepy, but his men clearly adored him, and she suspected he returned that affection in his own, more subtle way—kind of like how Zoro treated Luffy.

That didn’t mean she was going to let him have his way so easily. He still wasn’t her captain, and even Luffy knew not to try and boss her around. “Fine, but if you pull anything else in the name of ‘initiation,’ I’m charging you for the emotional distress.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Nami-ya?”

“I never needed one—Luffy’s was enough for the whole crew.”

“Fair enough, but out of curiosity, how much would you charge me if I, say, started juggling severed heads in front of you?”

She gave him a saccharine smile. “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”

“Hey, Nami, once I’m finished here, we’ll see about getting you some clothes,” Ikkaku called out, looking quite entertained at the way the navigator sassed her captain. “I’ve at least got a nightshirt or two you can borrow.”

Giving a nod of thanks and a wave goodbye to the rest of the crew, she strolled out of the galley, full of food and infinitely more relaxed as the men bid her a good night. They were definitely not what she’d anticipated. Part of her felt she shouldn’t be surprised; nothing had been turning out as expected that day. Why should her assumption that the Heart Pirates were a bunch of vicious psychopaths ready to watch her be raped and mutilated be correct?

Mostly, she was relieved. For the most part, they seemed like decent people, despite being pirates. The upcoming year was beginning to look a bit less daunting.

“Didn’t I say they’d take to you quickly?” Law asked, unable to keep the self-satisfied amusement out of his voice. This time, he didn’t lead her around, hands instead shoved deeply into his jean pockets as he strolled along beside her.

Maybe she was just tired, but his smirk wasn’t as infuriating as it was earlier. “Well, you’d know your crew better than I would,” she conceded with a slight shrug. “They’re certainly as lively and loyal as you promised.”

“It’s exhausting sometimes, but I couldn’t ask for a better team. They’re suckers for a pretty face, so I expect at least half of them are already wrapped around your little finger.”

Nami sniggered. “Only half? I’m out of practice, then.”

“Just do me a favor and let them down easy; some of them get mopey when they’re rejected.”

“Does that include yourself?” she teased. An hour ago, she wouldn’t have even considered making such a joke, but she wanted to get some sort of read on him, especially in regards to her. The man was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and she needed to know how to navigate the so far unpredictable waters of his personality.

His smirk morphed into a sultry grin, amber eyes nearly glowing in the artificial light. “No, mainly because I don’t rush in like an idiot after every pretty face I see. When I’m truly interested in a woman, I assess the situation, devise a plan, and take my time making her want me.”

The low, husky timbre of his voice mixed with his smoky, hooded gaze made a faint blush rise to her cheeks. Something inside made her absolutely believe the man had the patience and skills to do precisely what he said. A vision of Law caging her against the wall, whispering promises of dark pleasure in her ear while his hands danced across her exposed skin popped into the forefront of her mind. Nami forced it back, though; whether or not he was referring to her, she wouldn’t take the bait. For the next year, this man was supposed to be her ally, and after that, her enemy. Getting involved, physically or emotionally, would only complicate matters.

So instead of acknowledging the spike of heat that shot between her legs or the way her pulse quickened, she replied breezily, “Well, at least I won’t walk in on you sobbing into a tub of ice cream, moaning about a broken heart. By the way, what are my actual duties?”

He seemed more amused at her description than annoyed at her casual brush-off. “Oh, I plan on keeping you busy. Off-ship, I’ll bring you along for the occasional con or burglary. Maybe you can help me negotiate better prices for my wares. While we’re at sea, you’ll have a fair share of chores and help navigate the ship, particularly when we’re above water. I also hear you can sense when a storm or natural calamity is coming, so of course you’ll be our early warning system. Most of all, I want you to help Bepo with his map-making skills. He’s a fine navigator, and his understanding of sea charts is excellent, but he’s not as skilled with more traditional, land-focused maps.”

Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, she nodded. “Fair enough, although first you’re going to have to apologize.”

“For what?”

An orange eyebrow arched high. “Mocking me earlier. A reindeer doctor is crazy, but a polar bear navigator isn’t?”

“Bepo’s more than just a bear—he’s a Mink. Also, I can’t imagine any creature with hooves instead of hands performing a medical examination.”

“Well, Chopper does a damn good job—”

“Chopper? Isn’t that your ship’s pet?”

“The wanted poster’s misleading. He’s a brilliant doctor trained by Dr. Kureha herself.”

“You’re telling me Dr. Kureha trained a Tanuki?”

“He’s a reindeer!” she insisted, hands fisting on her hips.

He snorted in disbelief. “I’m from the North Blue. I’ve seen reindeer. That’s a Tanuki.”

“He’ll tell you himself that he’s a reindeer!”

“A talking Tanuki will tell me he’s a reindeer? Now I know you’re crazy.”

She wanted to scream in frustration, but the gleam in his eye kept her from giving into the urge. That, and the shocking realization that the Surgeon of Death was messing with her. Whether or not he really believed Chopper was a Tanuki, he was only pushing the matter because he thought pissing her off was funny.

Upon arriving at the women’s quarters, he leaned against the doorframe, once more smirking lazily. “So, do you have any other questions for me?”

Several, but none that matter right now, she thought. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Then I’ll leave you to get some rest. If you need anything, Ikkaku should be able to help, and my quarters are just down the hall. Do your best to get a good night’s rest—I plan on making the most of having the Cat Thief on my crew.” He chuckled then, reaching forward to pluck a small piece of sparkly confetti from her mikan locks. A shiver rocked through her when his warm fingertips brushed her sensitive scalp and ear. “Sweet dreams, Nami-ya.”

Uncomfortable with how effortlessly he made her body react, she darted into her room, barely managing to hold herself back from slamming the door in his face.

Forcing her breathing to slow, she scanned the room. It was spartan but not oppressively so. Each side had a bed raised high enough to fit a dresser underneath, a small metal desk set at the foot of each. Between the beds was a small vanity with some basic makeup strewn about, the rectangular mirror simple but large enough for two people to share.

It was easy to tell Ikkaku’s was the left side; engine manuals and sketchbooks were piled on her desk, along with a toolbox that hadn’t been fully closed. The bed was a bit messy, the pale green comforter slightly wrinkled, as if it were thrown together in a hurry for the sake of neatening up for company. Above it was a poster with an assortment of designs and symbols, much like what one would find in a tattoo parlor.

On the right side of the room, someone had taken the time to make up Nami’s bed with a sunny yellow comforter, the white sheets beneath tucked in with sharp hospital corners. On top of the pillow was a little paper card proclaiming “Welcome, Nami!” with the ship’s Jolly Roger stamped on the bottom right corner. The desk and bureau were bare, and it struck her just how little she had to her name right now. Her clothes, books, equipment, maps, and treasure were all on board the Sunny, and she could only hope they weren’t ruined or stolen when she got back.

Hoisting herself onto the cot, Nami pulled her knees to her chest and let out a deep sigh. What should have been a simple settling of a debt had become so much more complicated. She couldn’t get a clear read on Law. The crew was disarmingly friendly. The ship wasn’t home, but it didn’t feel like a prison, either. Most troubling was that, despite her head constantly reminding her that the Dark Doctor was dangerous and shouldn’t be trusted, he still managed to invoke hot, physical reactions with little more than a slight touch.

She was just…confused, and she doubted that was going to change anytime soon.

[vannahfanfics]

A Bond of Trust Part II

Before you read, here’s Part I!

Category: Romantic Fluff

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Luffy, Nami, and Sabo

Requested By: YonaWon (Ao3)

Nami's head was tilted slightly to the side as she gazed down at the sleeping Luffy, whose head was currently propped in her lap. It was quite amazing how peacefully he could sleep after such a harrowing battle, and though she had witnessed it many times, Nami could still not help but be surprised. Though he was wrapped head-to-toe in thick, white bandages, concealing deep wounds as well as countless scratches, he was breathing deeply and loudly, a bit of drool dripping from his open mouth. Once the battle is done, he doesn't have a care in the world. Nami smiled gently and reached down to softly run her fingers through his hair; although they had cleaned his body, Luffy's hair was still matted with dried blood and sweat, clumping thickly together until Nami's slim fingers teased the strands apart. He fought hard. 

He fought hard for her. She could still hear his voice ringing in the brilliant blue sky, ensuring that he would protect her from the villainous Doflamingo. He had succeeded in that, after an intense struggle on all their parts. Now they were currently hiding in a safe house. They were waiting for their battered companions to recover before heading onward to Zou to rejoin the rest of their crew. As she continued to rhythmically stroke his messy hair, her smile softened. Thank you, Luffy. 

Nami glanced up as the door to the small structure opened, and Sabo walked in, pulling off his top hat to expose his fluffy, wavy blonde hair. A ring of greetings went around the room as the renegade strolled across the wooden floorboards with a cheerful smile. 

“Did you bring any booze?” Zoro yawned, cracking his one usable eye open to smirk at him.

“Sorry. No alcohol,” Sabo chuckled, and the bitter swordsman grumbled under his breath before rolling over and drifting back off to sleep to continue nursing his wounds. The scarred but happy man looked to his sleeping younger brother, then raised his eyebrows when he realized his head was cradled into Nami's thighs while the navigator continuously stroked his hair. “Does he do this all the time?” he sputtered and pointed at the unconscious captain.

“Yeah, he always sleeps for a long time after he fights,” Nami answered simply. 

“N-no, I meant like that!” Nami then realized that he was referring to the way that he was sleeping. Nami supposed that it might be alarming to find such an immensely powerful man like Luffy passed out in the lap of a woman. Now that she thought about it, it was a pretty compromising position for herself, too. A faint haze of rosy pink blossomed upon her cheeks, but she could not bring herself to move him. He looked so peaceful, lying there pillowed by her lap. It doesn't mean anything. I just want him to be comfortable, she thought stubbornly. 

“He needed a pillow,” she mumbled. Sabo looked highly uncomfortable with the situation but squatted down beside the sleeping captain anyway, looking him over with an approving grin.

“Do you want us to wake him up?” Robin offered. 

“No… I just wanted to see how he was doing.” Sabo tilted his head to the side slightly, his eyes continuing to search him over. “He's grown strong… He really could do it- be King of the Pirates.” 

“Of course he will! We're gonna make sure of it!” Sanji snapped at him, making Sabo grin. 

“I’m glad Luffy has such good friends,” he beamed and then looked at Nami with a knowing smile, “and such a good girlfriend, too!” Nami's face immediately blazed fiery red, and her fingers halted in the middle of Luffy's hair. She glared at him with puffed-out cheeks. 

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Why does he keep saying that? She thought wildly as her blush painted her face from her ears to her neck. 

“I dunno, Nami. You two look pretty friendly to me,” Zoro sneered at her, his eye twinkling with amusement. Nami's blush spread down to her trembling fingers still wound in Luffy's matted, thick hair. 

“Shut up and go back to sleep, Zoro!” She hissed and snapped her head around to face him. 

“Yeah, Zoro!” Sanji barked at the swordsman. “You love me, right, Nami, dear?” He then swooned dramatically, clasping his hands together and gazing at the navigator as hearts practically danced in his eyes.  

“I’m not in love with anybody!” she insisted. Is no one listening to me?! Nami's entire body was red now, burning like a flame. I'm so embarrassed! All she wanted to do was care for her captain. Why did everybody have to make fun of her for it? She looked down at him, sleeping so peacefully, as she bit down on her lip. She didn't feel anything like that for her captain… right? 

“All right, all right, if you say so!” Sabo chuckled, smirking widely as Nami continued to pout. They stopped teasing her, at least. Suddenly, Luffy mumbled loudly in his sleep, causing them all to glance at the captain. 

“Nami…” he murmured, his face screwing up slightly as he whispered her name. Nami felt her heart somersault in her chest, and she curled her fingers into his hair by reflex. Is he dreaming about me? Something about that fact sent her heart fluttering like a fledgling bird, and she felt happy about it. Though she didn't realize it, a soft smile was forming on her lips, and she leaned down slightly over him. “Nami… I won't let him have you…” Ah. He's dreaming about Doflamingo. He had been so angry at the Warlord's bold claims on her, his intent to make her his in more ways than one. “Just trust me, okay?” Nami had, and he had delivered. “I won't let you go… You're mine…” he mumbled, his expression turning more desperate. I'm… his? Nami’s mind couldn't wrap around the utterance, but her heart could, as it began to beat furiously within her ribcage. Before she could even think of reacting, Luffy's eyes snapped open to stare directly up at her, bright and lucid. Nami froze as her eyes locked with his, leaving her helpless to his next action. 

He raised his bandaged hand to slide it to the back of her head, gliding his fingers into her waves of tangerine hair- not unlike her fingers, still entwined with his matted locks; then, with a slight jerk, he pulled Nami's face down to his so that he could press his mouth to hers. It was not just a simple, short kiss, either; he moved his mouth against hers, drawing her lips into the current for several seconds and bringing her eyes closed. Nami's heart beat like a drum alongside the singing of her soul as a feeling she had never known burst inside of her. Nami wasn't sure if she should call it happiness, affection, or even something as profound as love; nevertheless, she savored it. After about ten seconds, Luffy pulled back slightly, their lips still barely brushing. Nami's eyelashes fluttered open to see Luffy smiling gently up at her, his eyelids already drifting closed as sleep began to claim him once more. “You’re mine, understand?” he murmured again, her lips tingling with the sensation of his own drifting over hers. 

“Yes, Luffy.” The answer came out of her effortlessly, naturally, like she had known that all along. His smile widened at that, and then his head flopped back. His eyes shut as he fell once more back into deep sleep. As his hand slid through the strands of her hair, falling back to the floor, she caught it without thinking. I understand. The bandages felt rough against the soft skin of her palm; beneath those bandages were wounds that he had earned fighting for her. It was then that Nami really realized what that meant.

It took a few seconds for the euphoria to wear off, and when it did, she comprehended that she had kissed Luffy in front of everyone. Her head snapped up, and she covered her mouth with her hand, and all hell broke loose. 

“Wake him back up! I’m gonna kick his ass! How dare he kiss Nami!” Sanji fumed, jumping up to point angrily at the snoozing captain while he stomped his foot thunderously against the wooden floor. He then released a strangled gasp and grabbed his side, where a stitch had busted to spill bright red blood across his bandages. He flopped down next to Zoro, who was cackling.

“Damn! I never would've expected that in a million years! What a show!” he howled and slapped his leg, until his laugh abruptly switched to pained groans as he ended up in the same situation as their cook.

“Stop moving around like that, dammit, now I have to fix your bandages!” Law growled. He could care less about the kiss, thankfully. Robin was just smirking, like she had expected something like that to happen sooner or later. 

“I knew it! Nami is Luffy’s girlfriend!” Sabo beamed with delight. Nami buried her red face into her hands, and though she was thoroughly embarrassed, she could not help but smile. 

Luffy… I guess I do feel something for you, after all. Her heart was still like a cloud, floating in the air on a wind of budding love. Nami wasn't sure what was going to happen now, or if Luffy would even remember they had kissed when he awoke- but to Nami, that didn't matter. She knew now. 

I'll trust in these feelings, too- yours and mine. I know they'll lead to something beautiful on the horizon… 

“You gonna give him a goodnight kiss every time now, Nami?”

“Shaddup, kelp-head, or I'll stomp you into a pancake! Nami, dear, you didn't really enjoy that kiss, did you?”

“Nami, take good care of Luffy, okay? <3”

If she could survive the incessant teasing, of course.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[waterchestnut123]

CHAPTER 3 / The Peculiar Perils of Straw Hat Parties

Common commentary throughout the 5 seas held that Straw Hat parties were notoriously wild. This is something that Trafalgar Law, as well as the rest of his crew, are learning first hand. Not that Law particularly feels like partying; after Dressrosa, the Heart Pirates Captain has a little soul-searching he’d like to attend to. But one tends to become… drawn in, to certain things around Luffy—regardless of one’s plans or intentions. This is how Law finds himself developing an unlikely and unexpected friendship with his ally’s navigator—and how that friendship, much like Luffy’s parties, grows far beyond his intentions.

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Chapter 3: The Consequences of Poor Party Planning

Chapter Rating: T Warnings: References to gore, traumatic experiences, mild language.

“Hard to Port! HARD TO PORT!”

Nami clung to the bannister of the top deck as though her life depended on it (and realistically, it probably did) as she shouted instructions to Franky at the helm. Remaining upright was a struggle, the vicious rocking of the ship threatening to dissolve what tenuous equilibrium she had established in her inebriated state. Violent gusts whipped her hair in every direction, cold rain pelted her face, and as a massive wave came crashing down—just shy of where the ship had been moments ago—she debated just how hard she was going to pummel Luffy when all this was over.

The storm had hit fast and hard, but she’d been able to give enough forewarning to the two crews that they were, so far, successfully staying just ahead of the worst of it. How long that would continue to be the case, however, she wasn’t sure. They were in no shape to navigate the Sunny: Usopp was completely passed out after his game of sake-scotch—tucked away in the men’s quarters by Zoro before they set off; the usually unflappable Zoro was unsteady on his feet as the ship rolled violently with the tide—a sure sign of his extreme level of intoxication; Luffy was struggling to keep his meat down, and Brook couldn’t stop laughing at Zoro’s frequent stumbling and subsequent cursing. What little headway they had made was entirely attributable to her early detection. The storm was gaining—and their ability to outrun it was rapidly deteriorating.

“Franky—we need a coup de burst! We can’t keep this up!”

“The cola engine is empty—it needs a new barrel! You’ll have to do it, though, I’ve gotta stay on the wheel!” Franky shouted back, holding tight to the spokes as they pulled violently starboard.

Nami worried her lip. Traversing the ship in her current state and in the present conditions—with every wooden surface slick with rainwater, was firmly in the “bad idea” category; but she didn’t have much choice. She eyed Franky’s wrestling match with the wheel and took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Alright—be ready! We need to head directly east by southeast to outrun the storm!”

“You got it, sis!” He then turned his attention out to the deck. “Oi! Everyone! Raise the sails!”

Wiping sopping hair out of her eyes, she gripped the railing tightly, taking careful steps towards the deck stairs. It felt like an ageless journey to get to the rear of the ship—her progress slowed by the ship’s turbulent thrashing. She was forced onto all fours as she crossed the lawn deck due to a sudden bout of nausea; though she rather hoped at the least that lowering her profile would reduce the likelihood of being blown off the ship by a violent gust. After covering in almost five minutes a distance that should have taken less than thirty seconds to cross, she found her way aft. Sliding down the ladder into the bowels of the ship, she planted her feet carefully on the floor of the cola room, wiping water from her face and taking quick stock of her surroundings.

The cola engine was currently filled with empty barrels as Franky had said, and she quickly set about removing them. She struggled to place the full, fresh barrels in their place—heavy in their own right, made worse by the unsteady ship—but eventually managed to work all three into place with a final, frustrated kick. She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Franky shouting instructions topside, then the whir of the engine coming to life.

She turned to make for the ladder again, grateful that it would soon all be over—however that was where she made her mistake. Grabbing hold of the rungs, she didn’t get more than four feet up before she heard a particularly strong wave violently crash against the side of the ship, and felt a sudden, sharp lurch. With her weary grip and wet shoes, she lost her footing and tumbled down the ladder, landing harshly on her ankle and feeling a resounding crack followed by a sharp, shooting pain in her ankle.

“AGHHH!”

Her vision went briefly white as she hurriedly pulled the injured leg out from beneath her, cradling it delicately between her palms. Eyes tightly shut and leaking tears, she grit her teeth against the searing ache, feeling her stomach turn in response to the pain. She had barely repositioned herself comfortably at the base of the ladder when she felt the force of the coup de burst push her against the rungs, briefly stealing her breath. The laughter of her crew above followed quickly after, echoing down the chute and signaling their escape from the storm’s clutches. She had that to be thankful for at least.

After a minute, as the ship began to slow, she let out a slow, shaky breath and turned her head up, eyes still leaking pained tears. Now she just needed one of those idiots to carry her to the infirmary.

“Oi! Luffy!” she shouted up the chute, voice pitchy with pain. “Get your rubber ass down here and give me a hand!”

—:—:—:—:—:—:—

“What did you do?”

Law stared down at the swollen mass that was now her ankle with an amused, if dumbfounded, expression, Chopper’s ice pack resting beside her calf atop the infirmary bed. They had managed to find an island nearby with a protected cove at which to make repairs; and it was good, too, as the ship had gotten quite a good trouncing in the storm. Or perhaps it had been their abysmal reaction time. Either way, they had a ship to fix.

And a navigator too, apparently.

Nami grit her teeth as Law gently turned her ankle to examine it, still a bit tender as the local anesthetic had yet to take full effect. A broken tibia was Chopper’s diagnosis—and quite bad, too. No sooner had they had docked than Chopper hailed down Law in his sub who, according to the tiny doctor, was far better equipped to mend such a break with his ope ope no mi than he was with only his hands. Er, hooves.

“I slipped and fell down the ladder in the energy room,” she ground out, attempting not to flinch at the gentle pressure of his fingers.

Law released her ankle, turning to her with a raised brow. “You know you really should have been more careful going up a wet ladder while drunk,” he commented mildly.

She glared at him, eyes narrowed and expression distinctly unamused. “Shut it, Doctor spots. Can you fix it or not?”

He repressed a bemused smirk as he stood, crossing his arms as he eyed her ankle thoughtfully, then turned to Chopper.

“Bring her to my operating room on the sub—I can reset the bone and mend the damage to the surrounding tissue, but it will require surgery. It shouldn’t take too long, but even if I speed up the healing process, the recovery will still be almost a week—and she’ll need to be careful for another month after that. We can go over follow-up care once I’m done.”

“Oh, good!” Chopper breathed a sigh of relief, tense shoulders relaxing. “Thank you so much!”

But Nami’s ears were still ringing with the word ‘surgery’. A wave of anxiety washed over her, momentary visions of an old memory—of bloody scalpels and chunks of flesh littering a concrete floor flashed through her mind; but just as quickly as they came she shut them out, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth until the images ceased their assault. As she opened them she forced the anxiety down, allowing the much more manageable emotion of anger to take its place. Grinding her teeth, she turned towards the open door, shouting with renewed irritation for the closest thing she had to a punching bag.

“Where is that rubber idiot?! I am going to give him such a beating!!”

—:—:—:—:—:—:—

Chopper, in heavy point, carried Nami onto Law’s sub, down an elevator and into the operating theater where he placed her gently onto the operating table. Once she was situated, Chopper wished her a speedy recovery and departed to tend to the rest of the crew’s numerous scrapes and bruises.

Law busied himself preparing additional anesthesia for injection, as well as pulling out the needed equipment. Nami eyed him warily as he worked, placing scalpels, cotton pads, and other supplies upon a metal tray.

Finally ready to begin he turned, activating his room to encompass the bed—only to notice his patient gripping the sheets beneath her in a white knuckled grip, her eyes periodically darting anxiously towards his tray despite the otherwise cool expression of her features. He paused before reaching for his scalpel, eying her thoughtfully. After the roughness of Punk Hazard and Dressrosa, he wouldn’t have thought she’d suffer from something like medical anxiety.

“The surgery shouldn’t take more than an hour,” he said carefully as he pulled the tray towards him, situating himself near the foot of the operating table. “You can stay conscious while I operate, or I can sedate you, if you’d prefer. You won’t feel anything either way.”

“Sedation,” she said without hesitation.

He nodded, reaching for a mask draped atop a metal canister beside the bed. As he approached, he noticed that her posture had not relaxed, and she eyed the mask apprehensively. Drawing upon his patience, he gently pushed her down flat onto the bed.

“It’ll  be over before you know it.”

She closed her eyes, fingers clenching and un-clenching as she took a calming breath, and Law seized the opportunity. Quickly raising his arm, he gently pressed the mask against her face and activated the flow of gas. Her eyes flew open and she attempted to sit up again; but his hand on her shoulder was steady, and though he was briefly subjected to her signature glare, her gaze quickly became unfocused and her eyelids fluttered shut.

Finally, he could begin.

The surgery went smoothly. Her fracture was, as he anticipated, quite bad, and the surrounding tissue severely irritated. Thankfully, though, it had suffered little actual damage. Copious evidence of a previous fracture in the same location suggested that to be the reason for the severity of the break; the bone structure was already quite weak.

In total it took no more than an hour, and by the time the sedative was due to wear off, he had finished the surgery and already started a healing acceleration treatment.

The sound of her groggy voice alerted him to her wakefulness, words faintly slurred.

“Mmmm… ’s nice,” she mumbled.

He lifted his head, glowing palm unmoving from its location atop her ankle. He’d been told by his patients before that the treatment felt vaguely like warm water gently flowing through the affected area—it seemed Nami agreed. Slowly, her eyelids struggled open and amber eyes turned to gaze blearily at him. He could tell from the slightly vacant look on her face that, though wakeful, the sedative was keeping her higher faculties from emerging.

She blinked slowly, repeatedly, gazing at him with her head cocked against the pillow in confusion, “Wha… Hi—hi Torao. Hi. Whas… whas’re you doin’?” she glanced from his face to where his hand rested atop her ankle, then back to his face, expression full of childlike curiosity.

“Healing your ankle,” he answered noncommittally.

She blinked at him, then shifted slightly on the operating table before her eyes widened and she attempted to sit up on her elbows

“Where did you put my foot?” She asked urgently.

Law repressed a snort. While the sedative had worn off enough for her to wake, the local anesthetic may not have, and it was likely sensation from the mid-calf down was, at the least, muted.

“Your foot is securely attached to your leg, Nami-ya. As you can see.” He gestured with his free hand towards the ankle he was working on. She followed his hand with her eyes, but didn’t look convinced.

“But I can’t feel it. You must have taken it off.”

“You can’t feel it because I numbed your ankle for the surgery. Your foot is still attached,” he reasserted firmly, if with a hint of annoyance.

She narrowed her eyes as she examined his face closely. “And what’d I need surgery for, hm? HM?”

He glanced up, feeling his eyebrow twitch with growing irritation as he answered, “Because you broke your ankle.”

At his words her eyes widened, and she nodded with sudden clarity. “Oh—OH! I broke my ankle!” Then, more softly, “I broke my ankle…”

He rolled his eyes, adjusting his hand with a quiet sigh. He never was a fan of dealing with sedative-induced delirium. He had hoped he might be done before she woke expressly so that he could avoid this, but luck was not on his side.

For several minutes she seemed content to watch him work, lying back against her pillow silently as she stared down at him. Then, suddenly, she grinned, sitting up on her elbows again as her gaze rose to his face with childlike enthusiasm.

“Hey—hey Torao… ask me if I’m orange.”

Law’s eyes rose to meet hers, and he felt that twitch in his brow return.

“No.”

She immediately frowned, looking thoroughly put out. “Oh, come on! Ask me! Pleeeeease?”

He sighed, drawing on his patience. He was almost done, he reminded himself—almost done.

“Are you orange, Nami-ya?”

She continued to smile at him, biting her lower lip to withhold her glee, before finally blurting out, “No!” and dissolving into giggles.

He stared at her flatly as her chest heaved with her laughter, feeling a distinct desire to put her under again. Thankfully it seemed her poor attempt at humor had, for the moment, satisfied her; for as her laughter died down she simply settled more comfortably on her elbows, eyes curiously watching his glowing hand slowly, carefully tracking over her ankle.

He was rewarded with another few moments of peace, before she broke the silence again.

“What’re you doing?”

He momentarily shut his eyes before forcing out an answer. “I’m healing your ankle. Like I told you.”

She frowned slightly, clarifying her question. “No, I mean… aspif—epsific—specifically.”

“I’m accelerating your body’s natural healing process by increasing blood flow and feeding your cells mitochondrial energy.”

He had hoped the specificity of his answer would disinterest her from further query; but no. Of course not. Instead, she raised her thoughtful gaze up to his face, blinking rapidly as she inquired further.

“How d’you do that?”

“By feeding you some of my life force,” he answered noncommittally, readjusting himself on his stool.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, expression becoming sharp despite the bleariness still coloring her expression. “Is… that doesn’ seem like it would be very good for you.”

He shrugged. “By the time I’m done with your treatments, it will probably have taken a few days off my lifespan.”

With unexpected speed and strength she pulled herself upright and yanked his hand off her ankle, expression horrified.

“No!!”

He eyed her with a furrowed brow, crossing his arms over his chest in distinct irritation. “No?” he echoed incredulously, “You were the one who complained about the recovery time.”

She shifted in the bed, moving her arms to support her weight on her hands as she started to sway. The sudden move had clearly been an effort. “I was… I was just mad ‘cuz I didn’t want to have surgery! Don’t waste your life like that! You can’t!”

Once more Law rolled his eyes, moving his hand back to her ankle and re-activating the acceleration. “It’s just a few days, Nami-ya. I lost years on Doflamingo.”

Again she surprised him with her strength as she leaned forward in an attempt to shove his hand away—but this time he wouldn’t be deterred. He grabbed her with his free hand by the wrist to hold her at bay; but she just reached for him with her other hand to pull him off her ankle—and before he could understand how exactly it had happened, they were engaged in slap fight, with Nami managing to muster a shocking amount of speed and strength.

But that strength didn’t last long. Her precision and speed quickly faded and she began to sway in her upright position. Taking advantage, he grabbed both of her wrists, holding them away and her upright, exasperated and irritated in equal measure.

“Nami-ya!” he commanded sharply, “Would you stop.”

“No!” she asserted stubbornly, weakly struggling against his grip. “You just got your life back, and at a huge cost—I won’t let you be so quick to waste it—especially on me!”

That was… not an answer he was expecting. His surprise caused his grip to slacken and she used the opportunity to slip free of him, settling her arms across her chest with a frown. His eyes moved to meet with hers, and though her gaze was still a bit hazy, they were nonetheless resolute. His brow furrowed and he frowned, thinking. He had not anticipated she would be upset about this, nor that she would seem to carry such… strong opinions, as to how he spent his life force.

“This is the nature of the Ope Ope no Mi, Nami-ya,” he said carefully, “Certain abilities feed on the user—that’s just how it works.”

He allowed a moment for his words to sink in before placing his hand back on her ankle, re-activating the acceleration; and when she weakly reached to try and remove it again he grabbed her wrist with his free hand, eying her sharply.

“It’s a worthwhile use of my abilities, and a relatively small sacrifice I’m willing to make,” he said with finality, the glow under his palm igniting again. “If there is anyone between our two crews we need able-bodied, the navigators are at the top of that list. Stop fighting me or I’ll put you under again.”

She frowned at him, and as he released her wrist she thankfully settled back against the pillow instead of making for his hand again. She let out a frustrated breath, closing her eyes. Her posture seemed weary—the energy expended fighting him off had clearly taken it out of her. She remained still and silent for some time, and Law used that opportunity to examine his progress. The swelling had gone down significantly, and he could now feel the bone beneath her skin, smoother now at the break site as the bone began to knit neatly back together.

“Luffy said you made a room so large on Dressrosa he couldn’t even see it,” she said quietly, breaking the stillness. “Is that what cost years of your life?”

He raised his head, seeing her sitting up on her arms again as she eyed him.

“Mugiwara-ya didn’t regale you with the details?” he commented lightly before returning to his examination. She frowned.

“He’s not a complete idiot, you know. He does know when something’s personal and to keep his mouth shut. When I asked, he only told me the basics, and said I should ask you if I wanted to know the rest.”

Law turned to study her annoyed expression, surprised by her words—and Luffy’s. He had assumed that the whole of the battle would become common knowledge to Straw Hat’s crew, as much as he wouldn’t prefer it.

Luffy’s… unexpected tact—a concept he would never have ever thought could be associated with the lunatic captain, was… appreciated.

He turned his gaze back to her ankle, sliding his hand beneath it to examine the tendons. Given that he doubted she would remember much, if any of this conversation later, he decided to humor her.

“Yes,” he answered simply.

She stared at him wide-eyed, expression dumbfounded.

“Why?”

“…Why?”

“Yeah—why would you just… waste years of your life like that?”

“To maintain situational advantage,” he answered absently, carefully feeling along the achilles tendon. “And the years weren’t wasted—they ended up saving my life.”

She stared up at him with something suspiciously like concern, voice quiet. “What happened?”

He paused, eying her a moment, contemplating. It wasn’t something he particularly liked to dwell on, but…

“I was shot by Doflamingo. Twenty-two times, I believe. By keeping up my room too large to be seen, I was able to remove the bullets and heal myself while Doflamingo was busy with Luffy, thinking I was dead.”

She sat up fully, her eyes widening in alarm and a hand moving to cover her mouth. Silence, and the occasional metal creak of the Polar Tang as it shifted in the waves were the only sounds to fill the space between them. She said nothing for several moments, and he was content to leave it at that—but then she quietly spoke, voice soft and words unexpected.

“But… you were still shot, right? The Ope Ope no Mi can’t stop you from… feeling all those bullets—right?”

He held her gaze briefly before offering a small but clear nod.

Her eyes widened a moment before she let out a breath, turning towards the wall, eyes far away.

“I thought you seemed different when you came back to the Sunny with the others,” she said softly. “Luffy told me that you used to be a member of Doflamingo’s crew until he killed someone you cared about; that you had allied with us only because you wanted help getting revenge, and were willing to do anything to get it.” She lifted her head and her eyes met his—her gaze uncomfortably knowing.

“I get it—I do. An old captain you hated, who took someone you loved away from you…” She closed her eyes, one hand raising to unconsciously rub her tattooed shoulder. “I would understand more than anyone else. I’ve wanted to ask for a while, but… I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk about it.”

She opened her eyes and gazed at him with a small, sad smile.

“And why would you understand?” he asked coolly, though with the unexpected turn in conversation he felt suddenly anything but.

She turned her gaze down at the thin cotton blanket lying across her lap, thumb gently stroking her tattoo—though, in looking more closely, he could see her thumb was actually circling a scar hidden beneath the ink.

“When I was ten, the Arlong pirates invaded my village, taking over my island and demanding everyone pay tribute or be killed. We were poor, and my mother had only enough saved to pay for my sister and I. So… Arlong shot her, right in front of us. And when he found out I could make maps, he kidnapped me and forced me into his crew.”

Her voice had grown small, and Law could tell, recalling these events was difficult for her. He felt uncomfortably voyeuristic; as though he were becoming privy to something too intimate, too… familiar—things not meant for the ears of a rival. He was about to tell her she needn’t continue—he felt fairly confident she wouldn’t have were she not under the influence of a drug; but what she said next halted his words on the tip of his tongue, and curiosity overtook his better judgment.

“I hated him so much,” she said with a venom unbefitting the quiet atmosphere. “I spent eight years as one of his executives—robbing pirates to try and buy back mine and my village’s freedom. That was the deal I made with him. The villagers didn’t know why I joined, and they hated me for it—or at least, thats what they wanted me to think.” Her anger dissipated slightly, and she let out a sigh.

“When I had finally gotten almost all of the money, he sent his marine lackeys after me to confiscate it all. He never had any intention of honoring our agreement—never intended to let me go; just wanted to give me false hope.”

She closed her eyes and took a breath, then turned to him, a self-deprecating smile on her lips.

“I found out later that the villagers knew all along—they’d just been playing a role so that if I ever wanted to run away, I wouldn’t feel guilty for abandoning them and leaving them all to die. When they found out about Arlong’s duplicity, they finally decided to go after him. I gave up and went with them; I thought I had no other way out. I was going to kill him, or die trying.”

She stared at him pointedly, then—eyes both fierce and gentle. Her gaze felt strangely piercing for a woman only on the cusp of cogency; and yet he found himself unable to maintain her gaze. He turned his eyes back down to her ankle.

“What happened?” He asked quietly as he shifted his fingers over her ankle bone. She smiled fondly.

“Luffy.”

Ah. Figures.

Silence pervaded once more, and after a moment she settled back down onto the bed, closing her eyes with a quiet exhale.

He allowed himself a moment for his mind to drift back through her story. She was the one Straw Hat he’d gotten to know the least. Their interactions on Punk Hazard had been rushed and frenzied—as most of the endeavor had been, and they’d been separated throughout the events of Dressrosa. Yet it seemed they had more in common than he ever would have guessed.

“I think I would have missed you, y’know,” she said suddenly, unexpectedly, pulling his mind from his thoughts. He lifted his head to find her smiling softly, eyes still closed.

“If you’d died on Dressrosa,” she clarified. “You’re a good guy and a good captain. You’ve grown on me,” she added, her smile broadening just a bit.

Law’s brow furrowed as he gazed at her sincere smile, unsure how to take, let alone react, to the sentiment. He decided instead to deflect.

“Me, or my bear?” he inquired coolly, thinking back to the night before. Nami laughed.

“Okay,” she said with a yawn, “You and the bear.”

Silence stretched between them once more, and Nami hummed contentedly as he moved his hand back to the top of her ankle. He forced his attention away from her face and back to his work, fingers trailing over the the site of the break one last time.

“Thas’ nice…” she murmured, settling deeper into her pillow, “I take it back… you can spend your life force doing that any time.”

Law felt a small smile pull up the corners of his lips, but he didn’t respond, focusing instead on finishing his examination. It seemed just about where he wanted it to be for now—mended enough to get her through until tomorrow. With a flick of his wrist he stopped the acceleration, looking back up ready to pronounce her treatment finished for the day—but instead he found that she had fallen back asleep.

With a breath, he slumped back on his stool with a weary sigh. The acceleration always left him feeling drained, but her argumentativeness—and the unexpected conversation, had taken more of a toll on him than he’d anticipated.

Had he not spend so many years as a pirate, he might find it difficult to imagine she had ever struggled against such hardships. She certainly didn’t carry herself that way; she was clever and headstrong, at time ferocious and at others, playful. Though he hadn’t seen much of it for himself, he knew from the other members of her crew that she could be… tempestuous and domineering; though they remarked upon it with the utmost fondness.

She was flirtatious and often smiling; yet if her words were to be believed, she had suffered—isolated and alone, most of her life. But still she found a way to be cheerful, and to demonstrate seemingly genuine care about his own hardships, even though there was little reason to. He was a captain of a rival crew, in a temporary alliance with her own—beyond his abilities to fulfill their agreement to take down Kaido, there was nothing to be gained from deeply and truly caring. He was torn between thinking her abundantly kind or outright foolish.

But, then again, when had anyone on Mugiwara’s crew ever made much sense?

And though he was loath to admit it, she had struck a cord. Under the lingering influence of the sedative, she was just so damned sincere in her concern. He couldn’t even remember the last time a relative stranger gave two shits about the things he’d been through—maybe the nuns at the church in Flevance. He’d certainly never met anyone with a story like his before, either.

And though he was even more loath to admit it, he was also left feeling guilty. He shouldn’t have let her carry on the way she had. Even if he couldn’t have stopped her, he should have at least tried; but, perhaps selfishly, he’d found himself wanting to know what made her tick. He knew she wasn’t in her right mind, and if she remembered any of their conversation when she woke up, he suspected she would be cross at best, furious at worst.

Though, he couldn’t help the small smile which curved up his lips as he thought back to her final comment. He’d grown on her, huh?

A quiet, yet firm knock came at the door and he wearily stood from his stool. With a click he turned off the brighter overhead lights and opened the door, finding Penguin on the other side.

“Lunch is ready, captain,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder. “Do you want me to bring something for you and Miss Nami?”

Law glanced over his shoulder at her still and slumbering form. Turning back to Penguin, he shook his head. “No. I’m just about done here, and Nami-ya is asleep. I’ll meet you in the mess hall in a bit.”

“You got it, Captain,” Penguin smiled before turning and heading back down the hall.

Law shut the door quietly, turning back towards the operating table. He’d just have to deal with the consequences of their conversation later, when she woke up again. Hopefully she wouldn’t remember, and he’d have nothing to deal with at all.

He began cleaning up his tools and equipment, pausing briefly as Nami shifted in her sleep. He chanced a glance at her; the arm that had risen to her tattoo now rested loosely atop her waist, her head fallen slightly to the side. Orange curls framed her face like a strange halo, and her dark lashes lay peacefully closed.

His mind cast back to the night before—to Luffy’s party out in the middle of the ocean, and his and Nami’s conversation on the aquarium bar balcony. One moment in particular stood out to him—when she’d taken his hat. He could easily have taken it back using his ability just as he’d done with his wallet; but for some reason, he let himself get drawn into her game, just as he’d let himself get drawn into conversation with her not ten minutes ago. And when he had her cornered against the far wall, blinking up at him from beneath those lashes, he’d felt… drawn to her; caught in the orbit of her gravity and unable to pull out.

He could chalk it up to the alcohol. She was a beautiful woman, after all, and had been looking up at him with those impish eyes, face cast in the silvery light of the half moon. He was only human.

She hummed quietly in her sleep, and the sound jarred Law from his reverie. He forced his attention back to the task at hand, picking up the remains on his operating tray before sliding it back into its proper place. He needed to stay focused. Now that he had been reunited with his crew, taking down Kaido was next and that would be no easy task, requiring every ounce of his attention and focus especially with Luffy in the picture—and she was beginning to take up too much room in his head.

As he headed for the door, he quickly checked her IV and tossed the remaining refuse into the medical waste bin on the wall. Reaching for the handle, though, he paused, glancing over his shoulder at her. She still lay quietly on the bed, her chest rising slowly but steadily with her breathing.

Yes, she was taking up far too much room in his head.

He pulled the door open and stepped out into the hall, shutting it softly behind him—and with it, all wayward thoughts of the navigator asleep within.

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