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Date: 10/03/X1523  

New World, Thousand Sunny

Captain’s Quarters

21:22

As bold as the Straw Hat Captain is, there are some things even he keeps to himself… actually, there’s a lot Luffy keeps to himself. He spent his formative years isolated without anyone to talk to. He and Ace weren’t talkers before Ace left. They just… survived together and lived in the moment.  He prefers it that way. It’s safe that way is what he believes because it’s what he knows. What was the point in telling anyone things from the past anyway? Not like anyone could do anything about it. It’s done.

Luffy has a system, and it’s worked for him so far. When the bad thoughts come up, he finds a way to distract himself so they can’t bother him anymore, always seeking his next adrenaline rush to override the pit in his stomach that rears up when things get too quiet. Sometimes, there’s only one thing he can do to fill the void, especially when they are out at sea and the next island is still days away and everyone but the few on look out were asleep, like he’s supposed to be.

Sitting on the Sunny’s figurehead helps during the daylight. He can watch the horizon and waves, zone out as he waits for something interesting to cross his field of vision. The feel of the breeze and warm sun are grounding in those moments of tranquility. It’s not the same at night… no, it really isn’t. The inky black waves and chill of the night reopen that pit in Luffy’s stomach and make him feel like he’s about to sink into it. The dark, the silence, the stillness. It makes him restless.

So, he does the only thing he can do now to quiet that dark, uncomfortable part of his mind. He chases after that easily accessible to him dopamine hit again and again until his whole body feels flushed and tingly, and his eyelids droop easily and sleep takes him away while his hand lays sticky beneath the hem of his soiled boxers.

It usually works like a charm. It’s one of the best ways for Luffy to shut his brain up quickly or cure his boredom. He’s been doing this forever, since he first discovered touching himself feels good and having an orgasm chases away whatever he was feeling before… at least for a little while, then he needs another hit of dopamine.

Luffy rarely masturbates in the men’s dorms because getting caught is annoying, and so is having to go slow and be careful to not be noticed. So, he rather slink off to the captain’s quarters so he can rub a couple out without restraint and reach that blissful, mindless state that pulls him under.

Tonight, it’s not working. And it didn’t work the night before, or the night before that, or before that—it hasn’t worked in a month and it just keeps getting worse. Luffy's hand moves mechanically, familiar rhythm that should have him floating by now, but his mind won't shut up the way it's supposed to. His thoughts keep drifting, snagging on something—someone—and it's pissing him off.

Traffy.

The name surfaces in his mind unbidden, and Luffy's hand stutters to a stop. He groans in frustration, head tilting back against the pillow. This keeps happening. He'll be right there, almost to that good empty-headed feeling, and then suddenly he's thinking about Law's stupid smirk or the way his hands move when he's doing doctor stuff or how his voice gets all low and rumbly when he's annoyed.

Luffy scrubs his free hand over his face. Traffy! Why do I keep thinking about you when I’m trying to jerk off in peace!? Get out of my head!

Luffy closes his eyes, a pinch between his brows as he bites down on his bottom lip, as if he thinks maybe a little sting of pain might make Law leave his minds eye… but it doesn’t. Luffy’s adams apple bobs with a swallow as his fist furiously works over his uncooperative cock. He tries planting his feet on the bed and raising his hips up into it, like he could get himself to cum fast before Law pops back into his head if he just tried hard enough.

Law sucking rice off his tattooed fingers like he did after lunch yesterday resurfaces in Luffy’s mind and makes his cock pulse—weird, and so Luffy quickly jerks his hand away like he was burnt. His hips fall back down to the mattress and he whines and moans in sexual frustration, rolling from side to side with his hands covering his burning face.

It's been happening more and more lately. At first it was just random, oh, wonder what Traffy's doing right now. But now it's... different. Now, when Law pops into his head during these moments, Luffy's body reacts in a way that feels new and confusing and makes that pit in his stomach twist into something that isn't quite dread but isn't comfortable either.

Traffy!! Argh! Go away!! I just wanna cum! You make me feel weird when you pop into my head when I’m jerking off! STOP IT!

He tries again, closing his eyes and willing his brain to just go blank like it's supposed to. But there's Law again, uninvited and persistent. The memory of his tattooed fingers. The way he'd grabbed Luffy's wrist last week to check his bloodied knuckles after a fight, touch clinical but lingering just a second too long. The rare times Law actually smiles—really smiles, not that sardonic thing he does—and how it makes something in Luffy's chest feel tight and its getting harder to breath and this empty, mostly unused room suddenly feels too stuffy.

Luffy's breath catches and he realizes with mounting irritation that his cock is pulsing in that weird way again. Not like the mechanical release he's chasing, what he’s used to. His dick has never done something like this before, not until Law started invading his mind. It’s like his body wants something but he doesn't know what.

Why does it pulse like that? It’s like my dick is mad at me! WELL SORRRRY, it’s not MY fault Traffy is popping up! I don’t get it either!

"Stupid," he mutters, giving up and letting his hand fall away. He stares at the ceiling, feeling restless and unsatisfied and weirdly anxious. His dick is sticky and cold, slowly deflating the longer he lies there glaring at the wood planks of the ceiling.

This has been going on long enough now that Luffy has already come to the conclusion that he’s worried about Law’s wellbeing. Since Law and a few other former heart pirates joined Luffy’s crew, Luffy has been watching Law a lot more, thinking about him more. He feels bad for everything Law has gone through, but he doesn’t know what to do about it other than try to distract Law the same ways Luffy distracts himself.

Man. Traffy always losses everything. He’s a tough guy, I don’t know if I could have survived the shit he’s gone through. I kind of get it, but I really don’t. Lost his whole family, that one guy, then some of his crew, and his ship… now he don’t got a crew no more and the part of his crew we saved didn’t wanna join up with me like he did.

Luffy tucks his cock back into his underwear with a dismal sigh, then sits up, swinging his feet over the edge of the hanging bed. He pushes down his long sleep shirt, since it rolled up while he’d been jerking off this past hour.

What do I do? I just..! Urgh! I feel bad! He doesn’t wanna talk about it, I’m not gonna make him, and I wouldn’t even know what to say! I do what I can, get him to play games with me and everyone, go exploring together on the islands. I even try wrestling with him and getting him to eat! None of it works, none of it makes that sad look go away! If I don’t figure this out I won’t stop worrying about him! And if I don’t stop worrying about him, I’ll never be able to jerk off in peace! I’m so pent up I feel like FIGHTING him!

Luffy hops out of bed, nostrils flaring as he huffs with his hands balled into fists, maybe I should just fight him! Yeah! That always makes ME feel better when I'm all wound up and—

Luffy freezes mid-step, eyes going wide. Wait. Wound up… pent up. His mouth drops open as the revelation hits him like one of Nami's punches.

"THAT'S IT!" he shouts into the empty room, then slaps both hands over his mouth, remembering everyone's asleep. He drops his voice to an excited whisper-yell. "Traffy's not jerking off! That's why he's so gloomy all the time!"

It makes perfect sense! Luffy paces back and forth in the small space, hands gesturing wildly as he works through this groundbreaking discovery. When he's pent up, he gets restless and irritable and can't think straight. And Law is always restless and irritable! Mystery solved!

Luffy stops pacing, feeling very proud of himself for figuring this out. But then his face falls. Okay so... now what? How do I tell him?

He resumes pacing, chewing on his bottom lip. You can't just walk up to a guy and be like "hey you should jerk off more" right? That's... that's not a thing people do. Luffy's pretty sure. Even he knows that's weird. Ace never talked about that stuff. The mountain bandits sure as hell didn't. It's just not something you talk about.

But Traffy needs to know! He's probably so backed up he doesn't even realize that's why everything feels so bad! Someone's gotta tell him! Luffy gnaws on his thumbnail, thinking hard. This is important. This could fix everything. He just needs to figure out how to bring it up without making it weird.

Maybe... maybe he could ask Chopper to tell Law? No, wait, Chopper would just get all flustered and yell at him. Robin? She'd probably laugh at him and say something that goes over his head. Franky? Absolutely not, he'd make it SUPER weird.

Luffy flops face-first onto his bed with a groan, then rolls onto his back, staring at the ceiling again. There's gotta be a way to bring this up that's not weird. Traffy is smart, he's a doctor, he knows about... body stuff. Medical stuff.

Luffy sits bolt upright, eyes lighting up. Medical stuff! "That's it!" he whisper-shouts again, pumping his fist. "If I make it like a doctor thing, it's not weird! It's just... health! Yeah!"

He hops out of bed again, renewed with purpose, and starts pacing with more determination. Okay, okay, so he'll just... go to Law. And he'll be all professional about it! It won’t be weird!

Luffy nods to himself, working through the plan.

---

Law blinks his burning, glossy eyes hard. Squeezing, opening, shaking his head to try and dispel the fog of sleep from his exhausted brain. One minute ago, he was startled awake by Luffy picking him up out of his bed, and sprinting out of the men’s dorm and through the ship in a blur. Law thought there must have been a damn emergency going on. But here he is, where Luffy unceremoniously deposited him on the medical cot in the dead of night, in his pajamas consisting of loose sweats and a tank top, with his blankets still tangled around his shoulders.

Law isn’t entirely convinced he’s not having a very strange and vivid dream. Realty feels tilted on its axis in the darkened medical bay, with only orange light from the outside lamp cutting in to the room from the small porthole window in the door.

It’s weird enough Luffy dragged him out of bed so urgently and unprompted, but now here they are, with the lights off, and Luffy has grabbed a doctor’s coat from the wall hook and put it on over his long t-shrit and—was he wearing anything beneath it? Law could hardly tell, the top of the shirt just barely covers where the bottom of Luffy’s short boxers end, then he’s bare down to his feet.

Luffy has said something but Law didn’t hear it, “Huh? Say that again?” Law barks out gruffly, cranky and unamused by whatever the hell this is.

Luffy plops down in the roller chair at Chopper’s desk and scoots it over to the bed with a stern look on his face, “Traffy,” Luffy starts, careful, not a hint of playfulness in his tone or expression.

Law’s irritation eases up some, because if this wasn’t a game, then maybe something actually is going on, his expression lightens, concern takes residence, “What is it? What’s going on?”

Luffy takes a deep breath, squaring his shoulders like he's about to deliver devastating news. "I gotta ask you some... health questions."

Law blinks slowly, processing this. "...Health questions."

"Yeah. Important ones." Luffy nods seriously, crossing his arms. The doctor's coat is comically oversized on him, sleeves hanging past his hands. "It's about... your body. And uh. How you take care of it."

A beat of silence. Law's brain, still sluggish with sleep, tries to catch up.  He glances towards the desk, where a wall clock catches the faint light. Law groans and scrubs a hand down his face, "Luffy… it's one in the morning. You dragged me out of bed for... what, exactly?"

"I'm worried about you!" Luffy blurts out, leaning forward intensely. "So..! I have questions."

Law stares at him, half lidded eyes blinking tiredly, stinging and feeling heavy. He looks like he's considering just going back to sleep right here on the medical cot.

Luffy’s chair squeaks a little as he sways a bit from side to side, eyes never leaving Law’s face.

Law sniffs. Slow blinking. Letting Luffy’s words hang in the silence a little longer before he says anything, "Questions about my health."

"Yeah."

"That required kidnapping me in the middle of the night, ."

"It's important!"

Law drags a hand down his face, exhaustion warring with curiosity. "Fine. What."

Luffy fidgets with the too-long sleeves of the coat, suddenly looking less confident. His eyes dart around the room, landing anywhere but on Law. "So like... you know how people... take care of themselves?"

"... You're going to need to be more specific." Law deadpans.

"Like—" Luffy's face is starting to turn red, visible even in the dim orange light. "Like when you... when your body needs... when you gotta..." He makes a vague, frustrated gesture with his hands.

Law's tired brain finally catches up to what Luffy might be implying, and his eyes widen, the crude jerking off motion is kind of hard to misunderstand. Is he propositioning me? What the hell is this? "Are you—"

"Do you jerk off?!" Luffy blurts out, then immediately looks mortified that he just said it that bluntly. "I mean—! Like, for health! Medical reasons! To feel better!"

Silence.

Law stares at Luffy.Luffy stares back, face burning, looking like he wants to bolt but is forcing himself to stay in the chair.

"You," Law says slowly, carefully, "woke me up at one in the morning. Carried me to the medical bay. Put on a doctor's coat. To ask me if I masturbate."

"For HEALTH reasons!" Luffy insists, waving his hands. "Because! Because I think that's why you’re such a grump all the time, Traffy! I didn’t wanna bring this up but, I’m worried about you, buddy. You’re on my mind a lot, it’s distracting me!" Luffy stands up, and points a finger at Law, “So jerk off! If it’s about wanting to be alone, you can use my room! Alright?!”

Law's brain short-circuits. He just... stares. Mouth slightly open. Blanket slips down one of his shoulders as the silence settles thickly between them for what felt like an agonizing eternity.

"You're..." Law starts, then stops. Closes his mouth. Opens it again. He’s not sure what to make of anything Luffy said,  "I'm on your mind. A lot..?"

"Yeah!" Luffy nods emphatically, apparently not hearing how that sounds. "Like, all the time! I keep thinking about you and worrying and it's—it's a problem! So if you just take care of yourself properly, maybe I'll stop worrying so much!"

Law's eye twitches. "Luffy..."

"What?"

"You think. That me masturbating. Will make you stop... thinking about me."

"Exactly!" Luffy looks relieved that Law is finally getting it. "See, you do understand!"

"I—" Law pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to find words. Any words. "That's not how that works. That's not how any of this works."

"Sure it is!" Luffy insists, completely confident in his absolutely deranged logic. "When I'm all pent up, I feel weird and restless and can't focus right. And you're always like that! So obviously you just need to, you know—" he makes that crude gesture again, "—and then you'll feel better!"

"I feel like I'm having a stroke," Law mutters into his hand.

"Are you?!" Luffy's eyes widen in alarm, immediately at Law's side, grabbing his face and tilting it back and forth like he's checking for symptoms. "Should I get Chopper?!"

"No, I'm not—" Law swats his hands away, but Luffy's already got his fingers on Law's wrist, apparently trying to check his pulse. "I'm fine. It's an expression. I just—" He takes a deep breath, trying to find patience he definitely doesn't have at one in the morning. "Why are you so convinced this is about... that?"

Luffy drops Law's wrist, looking uncomfortable again. His fingers twist in the too-long sleeves of the doctor's coat. "Because... you're sad. All the time. And I've tried everything else! Games, exploring, fighting, eating—nothing makes you happy! But when I'm all wound up and stressed, jerking off helps! So I thought..." He trails off, looking almost vulnerable now. "I just want you to feel better, Traffy."

Oh.

That's what this is actually about. Law's exhausted brain finally processes past the absolute insanity of this conversation to the genuine concern underneath it. Luffy, in his own completely bizarre way, is trying to help. He's noticed Law's been struggling—has apparently been thinking about it enough to lose sleep over it—and this is... this is Luffy's solution.

Law suddenly feels very tired in a way that has nothing to do with being woken up at one AM.

"Luffy..," he says, much more gently than before. "I appreciate that you're... concerned. But that's not—my emotional state isn't because I'm sexually frustrated."

Luffy's brow furrows. "It's not?"

"No."

"Oh." Luffy deflates a little, sitting back down heavily in the chair. He looks genuinely confused now, like his one brilliant solution just got shot down and he has no backup plan. He doesn’t know how to talk about feelings. Doesn’t know how to ask.

And Law doesn’t know how to offer. So it becomes a stalemate, the silence stretches on, the arms of the clock above Chopper’s desk tick away.

Luffy can’t leave it like this. Unsolved. Can’t stomach the idea of going back to beating his meat and never getting off because he has to stop every time his mind betrays him and Law pops up. It’s been a month. Luffy’s balls have never experienced this denial before. He’s just been edging and edging, he feels like he’s desperately starving. He cares about his friends, about Law, and he does want Law to feel better, genuinely because he cares about him but—he also wants him to feel better so he can jerk off in peace.

So without any other ideas, Luffy tries again, “Maybe it’ll help..?”

Law looks at him, tired and fond and exasperated all at once. "… Luffy, Masturbation isn't a cure-all for complex grief and trauma."

"But it could help a little, right?" Luffy presses, leaning forward. "Like, even just a little bit? Can't hurt to try!"

Law opens his mouth. Closes it. He looks like he's genuinely considering how to respond to this. "I... suppose technically, from a purely medical standpoint, sexual release does provide temporary stress relief through endorphin production, but—"

"See, Traffy!" Luffy points at him triumphantly. “I was right!"

"That's not—you're missing the entire—" Law sighs deeply, rubbing his temples. "Luffy, I'm not sexually frustrated. That's not the problem."

"How do you know?" Luffy challenges. "When's the last time you did it?"

Law's face goes slightly red. "That's—that's none of your business."

"A-ha!" Luffy leans back, crossing his arms with a knowing look. "You can't remember! That means it's been too long!"

"I didn't say I couldn't remember, I said it's none of your—"

"So when was it?"

"Straw Hat!"

"Was it before you joined my crew? Before Wano? Before—"

"I'm not discussing this with you!" Law snaps, but there's no real heat in it. He just sounds exhausted and flustered.

Luffy studies him for a moment, then his expression softens slightly. "I really am worried about you, you know. You barely sleep. You barely eat unless someone makes you. You're always so..." He struggles for the word. "Lonely. Even when you're with everyone."

Law's irritation falters. He looks away, jaw tightening. "I'm fine."

"Hm." Luffy doesn’t believe him, "You’re not. And I don't know how to help. I don't know how to make you feel better. So I thought... maybe this would help. Even just a little."

The silence stretches again. Law's hands are fisted in the blanket still draped around his shoulders.

"You can't fix me with an orgasm, Luffy…" Law finally says, quiet and a bit raw.

"I know that," Luffy responds, just as quiet. Then, more hesitantly, "But... would it hurt to try?"

Law's head snaps up to look at him, eyes widening slightly.

Luffy's face is red again, but he's not backing down. "I mean—I'm just saying! If it might help even a tiny bit, and it's free, and—" He's rambling now, words tumbling out. "And you don't gotta do it alone if you don't want to! I mean—I didn't mean—I wasn't trying to—" He cuts himself off, looking mortified, shit, I didn’t mean to SAY THAT! But I guess I said it.

Law stares at him. Really stares, like he's seeing something for the first time, "Uh… are you... offering to...?"

Luffy makes a strangled noise, face burning. "I didn't—that's not what I—I was just saying—!" Luffy clears his throat into his fist, then gets up. Law watches him in utter dumbfound as Luffy goes over to the drawer where Chopper keeps the latex gloves, pulls a pair out and snaps them on as he’s walking back over.

“I mean,” Luffy starts, and its obvious hes trying HARD to sound professional, “If you need me to. I’ll do it. I’m a good captain.”

Law's expression is unreadable.

For a long moment, neither of them moves. Luffy stands there in his borrowed doctor's coat and latex gloves, looking simultaneously determined and mortified. Law sits on the medical cot wrapped in his blanket like the world's most exhausted burrito, trying to process what's happening.

"You," Law finally says, voice strained, "put on gloves."

"Yup!" Luffy says quickly, holding up his gloved hands. "That's what doctors do, right? I'm being professional!"

"Professional," Law repeats flatly.

"Yeah!"

"You're offering to manually stimulate me to orgasm. While wearing medical gloves. For my health."

Luffy nods emphatically, apparently missing the complete insanity of that statement. "Exactly! See, you get it!"

Law is so tired. Tired of being sad. Tired of being lonely. Tired in general, he was abruptly drug out of bed mere minutes ago. It’s probably the exhaustion, or maybe even the absolutely bizarre sincerity in Luffy's eyes, but Law hears himself say, "...In the shower. Before bed."

Luffy blinks. "Huh?"

"You asked when the last time was." Law's face is burning now, but he forces himself to continue. "I masturbated in the shower before bed. A few hours ago, actually. I do it regularly. It's not—that's not the problem."

Luffy's hands drop to his sides, "Oh." He looks genuinely confused now. "But then... why are you still so sad?"

"Because orgasms don't fix grief, Straw Hat," Law says, gentler than before. "They don't bring back people you've lost. They don't make you stop feeling alone, or scared, or like a failure—" He cuts himself off, looking away.

"Oh," Luffy says again, quieter this time. He deflates completely, shoulders slumping.

Law admits with a deflated sigh, "You were right that I'm... struggling. That I'm lonely.” He swallows hard. "You were right that I need... something. Just not... that."

"Then what?" Luffy's voice is small in a way Law's never heard before. "What do you need, Traffy? Tell me. Please. I wanna help."

And that—that genuine, desperate plea to help—that breaks something in Law.

"I don't know," he admits, and it feels like pulling glass out of his chest. "I don't know what I need. I don't know how to feel better. I don't know how to stop being..." He gestures vaguely at himself. "This."

Luffy is quiet for a moment. Then, he sits down on the bed next to Law. The spongey mattress dips under his weight. He puts a gloved hand on Law’s back over his blanket and just sits there quietly for a moment. The orange lighting from the outside light barely reaches them here at the bed.

“Maybe you aren’t jerking off enough,” Luffy suggests.

Law's head whips around to stare at him. "I just told you—"

"—Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Luffy waves his other hand dismissively. "But like... maybe you're not doing it right? Or enough times? I do it like, a bunch of times usually. Until I'm super tired and can't think anymore."

Law blinks slowly. "You... how many times are we talking about here?"

"I dunno." Luffy shrugs. "Like... three? Four? Sometimes more if I'm really restless. Takes a while to get my brain to shut up."

"That's..." Law pauses, recalibrating. "That's actually concerning—"

"See!" Luffy points at him triumphantly. "That's why you're still sad! You only do it once! You gotta do it until you can't think anymore, that's when it works!"

"Luffy, that's not—" Law drags both hands down his face. "That's not healthy. That's using masturbation as emotional avoidance."

Luffy giggles, shaking his head as he roughly pats Law’s back, “Silly, Traffy. That’s the point. Duh. It makes you avoid the bad feelings with the good ones.”

Law can’t stop shaking his head no. Staring off into space unblinking with his burning, blood shot eyes. He’s so fucking tired. Law doesn’t have the strength to sit upright anymore. He slouches, leaning against Luffy, resting his head on his shoulder, still shaking his head no as he pulls the blankets around his shoulders tighter around himself.

"Traffy?" Luffy's voice is uncertain now, the hand on Law's back going still.

"'M tired," Law mumbles into Luffy's shoulder. "'S not about orgasms. 'S about being alone. Always alone."

"You're not alone," Luffy says softly. "You got me. And Bepo. And everyone."

Law makes a sound that might be a laugh but comes out more like a broken exhale. He can’t keep his eyes open anymore. "Doesn't matter. Still feels alone. Even when 'm not."

"Why?"

"'Cause everyone leaves," Law slurs, exhaustion making him loose and honest in a way he'd never allow if he was fully conscious. "Everyone dies or leaves and I can't—can't let anyone close 'cause then they'll just—"

He cuts himself off, but it's too late. The words are already out.

Luffy is very still next to him. "I'm not gonna leave."

"Mh… don't know that."

"Yeah I do." There's something fierce in Luffy's voice now. Luffy’s arms are suddenly wrapping around Law several times over in a warm, tight and fleshy cocoon, "I'm not leaving. Not ever. You're my crew now, Traffy. That means you're stuck with me."

Law's too tired to argue. Too tired to do anything but sit here, leaning against Luffy's warmth, feeling the steady rhythm of his breathing.

"Just..." Law mumbles. "Just wanna sleep. Please." His voice gets a little whiny at the end, desperate for rest, for Luffy to just leave him alone and let him sleep.

"Okay," Luffy says quietly, and Law is already going limp against him, breathing evening out as sleep claims him almost instantly.

Luffy sits very still, holding Law in the quiet darkness of the medical bay. Law's hair tickles his chin. His breath is warm against Luffy's neck. And there's a smell, something clean and sharp, like pine and mint, mixing with something earthier, muskier. Just... Law. Luffy turns his nose to Law’s messy hair and breathes it in without thinking. And then his body reacts.

Heat floods through him, settling low in his belly. That weird pulsing thing his dick has been doing—it's doing it right now, filling and swelling against his will. Luffy's eyes go wide in the darkness, panic rising in his chest.

No no no no NO! Not NOW!

He tries to think about something else. Anything else. Meat. Fighting. The ocean. That one time Usopp got his head stuck in a— nope, not working. His dick is still very much interested in the warm, sleeping doctor pressed against him.

Why are you doing this?! Knock it off!Luffy mentally yells at his traitorous anatomy, but his body doesn't cooperate. Law shifts slightly in his sleep, pressing closer, and Luffy has to bite down on his lip to keep from making an embarrassing sound.

This is bad. This is so bad. What if Traffy wakes up and notices? He’ll think I’m a pervy weirdo and tell everyone I got hard with him sleeping on me! I’m the PIRATE KING! I can’t have that kind of reputation!! I mean, I thought I didn’t care how people see me and it’s their own choice to decide but—now that I think about it, I REALLY don’t want people to see me Monkey D Luffy, the PERVERT King of the Pirates! UGH!

 Luffy tries to shift his hips away subtly, but Law is literally wrapped in his stretchy arms multiple times over—this is about as close together as they could be and the way Law’s arm has limply fallen atop Luffy’s thigh is far too close for comfort. Even with the barrier of Law’s blanket between the contact.

Luffy unravels his arms from around Law and carefully lays the older man down. Law instinctively curls into himself in his sleep, drawing his blanket around him as he pulls his knees to his chest. Something about it—about the way Law’s bare toes are peaking from the blanket and curled like they’re cold make Luffy feel kind of funny in his chest.

Luffy’s cheeks are burning in a way that’s annoying him. He presses his lips into an irritated thin line as he impulsively pinches the corner of Law’s blanket to draw it down over his feet to keep him warm before he stands and backs away from the bed.

Its mortifying, looking down at himself and seeing an obvious tent poking out from under his shirt. The thin, breathable fabric of his underwear acts as a traitor and does nothing to hide his need. Luffy makes a sound, a low, agitated whine.

This is because I haven't cum in a month, Luffy thinks irritably. That's all this is. My dick is just—it's confused! And angry! It's been so long it doesn't know how to act anymore! Luffy cups a hand over his cock and presses it down, glaring up at the ceiling with a roll of his eyes. He doesn’t want to deal with this, it’s a nuisance!

 Stupid, Luffy thinks miserably, staring up at the ceiling planks and trying desperately to think unsexy thoughts. Stupid stupid stupid. Go AWAY.

It wouldn’t go away. Luffy ends up buttoning the doctors coat and sneaking hastily back to his quarters to throw himself in the tight shower of his private bathroom and stood under the cold, needle spray of icy water until his dick wised up and went down.

---

Date: 10/04/X1523  

New World, Thousand Sunny

Medbay

06:17

When Law woke up, he was disorientated to find himself in the medical bay, when he could have sworn he fell asleep in his bunk in the men’s dorms. It takes him sitting up, scowling and squinting against the unpleasant sunlight beaming right at him through the small porthole window in the door. He raises a hand and turns his head to escape the sting of it.

Then everything comes back to him. Right… Straw Hat brought me here last night. He’s worried about my mental health and came to the conclusion I don’t masturbate enough.

Law closes his eyes and shakes his head, the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth is something he tries to fight but—the smile breaks through and wins its residency on his face anyway. He clasps the hand he’d held up to block out the sun over his mouth as a snorting giggle bursts out of him.

“S-stupid…”

…

Galley

06:20

Law's feet are cold against the wooden floors as he pads into the galley. His sleep shirt hangs loose off one shoulder, sweatpants slung low on his hips. Sanji's already at the stove, unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he flips something in a pan. The smell of coffee hits Law first—dark roast, the aroma promising to bring a little life back into Law’s eyes and lift away the residual fog of sleep. The mixture of other breakfast scents makes Law’s stomach rumble quietly with want, but he ignores it.

"Morning, Traffy." Sanji says without looking up. He didn’t ignore that rumble.

Law grunts in response. It's not rudeness, exactly. Just an understanding they've developed. Sanji doesn't do cheerful morning conversation with him, and Law doesn't pretend to be a morning person.

The coffee pot is already full, steam rising from the glass pot. Law moves on autopilot—cabinet for a mug (the plain black one, third from the left, always that one), coffee poured black, no sugar. He takes the first sip, carefully because its hot, standing at the counter and closes his eyes briefly as the bitter heat slides down his throat and the bold flavor clears the taste of last night from his palate.

"Breakfast in twenty," Sanji says, shaking the pan.

Law nods and leaves without another word, fingers through the handle of his mug.

…

Main Deck

6:30

The sun is still low, painting everything in pale gold. The grass of the lawn deck is wet with dew, cold and slightly unpleasant against Law's bare feet as he crosses to his spot—the bench that circles the mast, on the port side where the morning sun doesn't hit directly.

He settles onto the wood, pulls his knees up, and wraps both hands around his mug. Takes another sip. Lets the routine settle into his bones. This is his time. Before everyone else wakes up and the ship becomes chaos. Before he has to be on, has to remember he's not Captain anymore, just... crew. Just another member of Monkey D  Luffy's insane collection of misfits.

The coffee is good. Sanji's always particular about it.

Law stares out at the ocean, watching the way the light catches on the waves. His mind drifts, unfocused in that early-morning way where thoughts float by without quite sticking. He thinks about Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin. They're here. They're alive, which is more than he had any right to hope for after Blackbeard. But it's not the same. It can't be the same. He's not their captain anymore. The Heart Pirates are—were—

Law takes another sip of coffee, jaw tightening.

The others had disbanded. Five months ago now. The ones they'd managed to save after Winner Island. They'd looked at him with something like pity—or maybe relief—when he'd told them he was joining the Straw Hats. We can't do it again, Captain. We can't follow another captain. We're done.

He hadn't blamed them. Hadn't even argued. What could he say? That they owed him their loyalty? That they should risk their lives again for him after he'd already gotten so many of them killed? No, they deserved better. He let them go. Watched them scatter to whatever lives they could salvage. And now it's just Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin. His crew reduced to three. His command reduced to nothing. They call him the Strategist of the Straw Hat Pirates… and the title feels so damn strange but—well… he really is good at plans when he has strong players on his board to move about… even if those strong players are all mentally ill idiots.

When they’re moving, in battle, doing something, Law forgets, at least for a while, that he’s not the one in command, he feels like he’s the one pulling all the strings—because technically he is. It’s his designated role to plan and improvise when the plan inevitably is ruined. The adrenaline rush he gets from trying to keep up with his most chaotic, uncontrollable player almost gives him a high better than any drug he’s taken. In the moment its infuriating… but when the dust settles, he’s stunned to see the results. Their success. He helped make that happen, for the crew he’s part of.

Straw Hat’s crew. Straw Hat's command… and whatever command that idiot barks I have to follow. Law thinks with clenched teeth and a slight rise of heat to his cheeks. Law's thumb rubs against the ceramic of the mug, a repetitive motion that grounds him. He's adjusting. He is. It's just... different. Being the one who takes orders instead of giving them. Being responsible for himself instead of everyone else—technically he does hold responsibility for the crew’s safety, but he’s not the one in charge, huge difference. Luffy makes the decisions, Law just tries to keep them alive through whatever hell Luffy throws them in next.

It should feel freeing, maybe. It doesn't. It feels like he's floating untethered, like he's forgotten how to exist without the weight of command pressing down on his shoulders. The grass is wet. His feet are cold. The coffee is hot. These are facts. Concrete things he can hold onto.

A burst of laughter echoes from somewhere below deck—Luffy's voice, unmistakable even muffled by distance. Law's mouth twitches slightly, something that's not quite a smile. Last night floats through his mind, hazy around the edges. Straw Hat kidnapping him out of bed. The doctor's coat. The gloves. That absolutely deranged conviction that Law's entire emotional crisis could be solved by masturbating more frequently.

Idiot. But the word sits fond in his chest, even if he won't examine why. Luffy had been worried. In his own chaotic, completely backwards way, he'd noticed Law was struggling and tried to help. It was stupid and misguided and—and Law had fallen asleep on him. Had let himself be held. Had admitted things he never would have said if he'd been fully conscious.

Everyone leaves. Everyone dies or leaves and I can't let anyone close—

Law's jaw clenches. He takes another sip of coffee, letting the heat burn away the memory of his own voice, raw and small in the darkness. It doesn't matter. It was just exhaustion talking. Just the vulnerability of being woken up in the middle of the night by someone who—who cares, apparently, even if Law doesn't know what to do with that. He knew Luffy cared about him as a friend long before last night, but apparently he cares enough to check in with Law about his self care.

Law sputters in his mug, burning his upper lip and coughing on the bit in his mouth he swallows wrong from the surprise of the burn. He holds the cup aside, coughing a couple times to clear up his lungs before he settles again. Clearing his throat and shaking his head.

Straw Hat is ridiculous. That's all there is to it. Ridiculous and well-meaning and too genuine for Law to know how to handle, so he won't. He'll just... file it away. Add it to the growing list of incomprehensible things Luffy does that Law has stopped trying to understand.

The sun climbs higher. Law's coffee gets colder. Somewhere in the galley, Sanji is probably plating breakfast. Soon the others will start emerging—loud and chaotic and alive in a way that still feels foreign to Law, like he's watching from behind glass. But for now, it's just him and the ocean and the slow, steady rhythm of morning routine. The one thing he can control. The one thing that's his.

Law drains the last of his coffee and closes his eyes, feeling the sun starting to warm his face.

Chapter Text

Date: 10/05/X1523

New World, Thousand Sunny

Main Deck

14:32

The problem with being stuck at sea with nowhere to go is that energy has nowhere to go. They’ve been sailing for a total of ten days now without land in sight. Law can feel the energy building like pressure in a sealed container. Their destination is in motion. Like Zou is in motion. Instead of an elephant, this island is resting on the back of an enormous tortoise. And with some of the annoying storms and insane sea anomalies they’ve had to fight through it feels like the thing just keeps getting further away from them. They have no idea how fast it moves, or if the vivre card will even lead them to what they were told it would.

They received an invitation and a vivre card from someone in Marie Geoise during the aftermath party of the battle that toppled the World Government and put an enormous split through the red line where the royal castle once sat, (Luffy’s fault.) The invitation came from a nun, one who said she’s with The Church of the Sun,  and she was a sweet older woman who panted a grand, exciting picture of this island in their heads. What hooked Luffy was the mention of non stop harvest celebration feast. Apparently, a week-long event celebrating the change of season that promised food, fun, tradition and an unforgettable experience.

The nun had said, "The harvest festival starts October the 8^th! Please, give yourselves some extra time to travel. Our island is a little tricky to navigate to since it's always in motion. Better early than late, every day of the festival is unique. I'd hate for you all to miss out on the full experience. Ten to fifteen extra days for your travel will do, thats how long it takes on average to catch up with our island full speed, no stops. I know it's a journey, but I promise you, it's well worth it. Do remember to stock up for the trip." 

They had to wait a few months, they heard about this in July, and they all hoped Luffy would forget about it, because he heard feast and wanted to go right away. Something about it didn’t sit well with those of the crew with common sense that were actively listening to what the nun was saying and not being distracted by the enticing things she was obviously dangling out like bait. But their captain hadn’t forgotten, come the approach of October, and the wrapping up of their adventures at the island they were at last, he’d pulled the vivre card (that no one knew he still HAD) from his hat, and excitably declared their destination.

The crew is starting to fray at the edges with that supposed tortoise island nowhere in sight. It's subtle at first—little irritations, shorter tempers, restless pacing… they all try to find things to do to pass the time between dangerous sea anomalies, but even their hobbies weren’t doing the trick anymore for some, so some of the crew has to get a little more… creative, to entertain themselves in these last few days before they would be arriving at their destination.

Luffy had taken to launching himself from the figurehead to the crow's nest and back again, over and over, his rubber body snapping through the air with manic energy. The thwap of his landing reverberates through the deck every thirty seconds.

Thwap.

Law's eye twitches.

Thwap.

He takes a slow breath through his nose, trying to focus on the medical journal in his lap.

Thwap.

"LUFFY!" Nami's shriek cuts across the deck. "IF YOU DON'T STOP THAT I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!"

"I'M BOOOORED!" Luffy's voice echoes from somewhere above.

Law closes his journal and pinches the bridge of his nose. Nearby, Usopp and Chopper have constructed some kind of elaborate contraption involving ropes, pulleys, and what looks like three of Nami's bras. He doesn't want to know. He really doesn't want to know.

"DO IT AGAIN! DO IT AGAIN!" Chopper shrieks with laughter as something goes flying across the deck.

"MY BRAS!" Nami's vein is visibly throbbing. "YOU LITTLE—"

Law stands up and walks away before the violence starts. He needs a quieter spot. Somewhere the chaos can't reach him. He tries the library. Robin is there, which is usually fine—Robin is quiet, Robin is calm, Robin respects personal space. Except today Robin has Shachi and Penguin, who are hanging upside down from one of the ceiling beams making monkey noises while Robin reads, completely unbothered.

"OOK OOK OOK! Robin! Watch this!"

“MISS ROBIN! LOOK! OOGOGOO!”

Law turns around and leaves before his… acquaintances can demonstrate whatever "this" is. He tries the men's dorm. Brook is in there playing the same eight bars of a song over and over and over, trying to get a transition right.

"Yohoho! Almost got it! Yohohoho! Wait, no—" The same eight bars. Again.

Law's hands clench into fists.

He tries the aquarium bar.

Zoro is there, drinking, which would be fine except Sanji is also there, and they're in the middle of one of their stupid arguments that's about three seconds from becoming a full brawl.

"—your shit cooking—"

"—moss-brained idiot—"

Law doesn't even sit down. Just turns and walks out. The crow's nest? Occupied by Luffy still, who has apparently decided to see how many times he can spin in circles before getting dizzy. The workshop? Franky is hammering something while blasting music.

The woman's quarters..? He's not even going to try.

Law tries the cargo hold, but the moment he opens the door, he sees Bepo in…a state. Sprawled out, bloated gut, all around his snout smeared sticky with honey from a large barrel he’s hugging like a lover. He digs his big paw in to scoop out a hand full and practically shoves his fist in his mouth to nurse off the nectar.

“Mhphh homm—nnh- nomm—mmm..!”

Law ends up back at his morning spot by the mast, jaw tight, trying to find some semblance of peace while chaos erupts around him in all directions. This is fine. It's fine. They'll reach land soon.

Thwap.

“YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Not soon enough... 

Luffy rockets past him, laughing maniacally. Law counts to ten in his head. Then twenty. Then thirty.

It doesn't help.

---           

Galley

19:47

Dinner is chaos, more so than typical.

Everyone is talking over each other, voices getting progressively louder as they try to be heard. Luffy is eating with even less restraint than usual, food flying everywhere. Usopp and Chopper are having some kind of breadstick duel. Zoro and Sanji are still bickering over who knows what now. Brook is asking to see someone's panties, claiming he has panty withdraw syndrome. Franky is trying to fart the alphabet.  Shachi and Penguin are engaging in some kind of roleplay with Robin? Law isn’t sure what that’s about, but she has the two of them eating their food from bowls off the floor and wearing dog collars.

Law eats his food mechanically, trying to tune it all out, but it's like trying to ignore a hurricane.

"Pass the salt," he says to no one in particular.

No one hears him, but a stray bone from Luffy’s meat pile beams him in the forehead, leaving a wet sauce stain before it bounces to the floor with other wayward scraps. Law sighs and uses Shambles and swaps the salt shaker into his hand with a biscuit from the basket in front of him.

"Man, I hope we catch up to the next island soon, getting kind of stir crazy up in this piece! I mean it’s a TURTLE, how fast can it possibly be swimming, dawg?” Shachi says, stretching out on the floor after his meal, spine cracking, "Feels like we've been sailing forever. Know what I’m saying?! What day is it? How long have we been at sea?"

"Well, let me see, we left the last island September 26^th, and so today should be the 5^th —" Penguin starts, then catches himself, eyes going wide.

Bepo, however, does not catch himself, "—Law’s birthday!" Bepo finishes cheerfully. "October 6th! That's tomorrow!"

The table goes silent. Every single Straw Hat head turns toward Law in perfect, horrifying synchronization. Law feels his soul try to leave his body.

"BIRTHDAY?!" Luffy's eyes go huge, practically sparkling. "TRAFFY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY?!"

"No," Law says immediately.

“OH MY GOD, HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TRAFFY!!” Chopper squeals in delight.

“Damn, grandpa, how old are you gonna be?” Sanji snickers.

"Bepo just said—"

"Bepo was mistaken." Law prays they’ll buy it and go back to eating like rabid animals.

"I wasn't mistaken," Bepo says, confused. "Captain, your birthday is October 6th. It's always been—"

"Bepo," Law says with forced calm. "Please stop talking."

"BIRTHDAY PARTY!" Luffy shouts, slamming his hands on the table before he double fists the meat plate and stuffs his greedy cheeks full.

Chopper jumps up on his chair and starts dancing and chanting, “BIRTHDAY PARTY, BIRTHDAY PARTY, YAY, YAY YAY!!!!”

Luffy stands up, doing a little back and forth dance on his feet with both fists full of more meat, "WE'RE GONNA THROW YOU THE BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER!" Then he deflates a little in realization, "Oh, right, we can't stop to party on an island... mh..." he perks up again, giggling and positive, "Oh well! We'll make it fun anyway! Heehehehe!!" 

"Absolutely not." Law wishes a void would open up in the floor and swallow him up.

"I'll make a cake!" Sanji lights a cigarette, already looking contemplative. "What kind do you like, Law?"

"I don't WANT a cake!" Law grouses like a temperamental cat.

"Cake is tradition! There has to be a cake! It’s bad luck to not eat a slice on your birthday!” Nami says, grinning in a way that makes Law deeply uncomfortable. "This is great! We needed something to do anyway!"

"I'll make decorations!" Chopper bounces in his seat.

“OOOH I’ve been DYING to break out the party games we got on Elbaf!!” Usopp exclaims gleefully.

"I'll provide the music! Yohohoho!"

"SUPER birthday celebration!" Franky poses, “YAAWOO!”

A vein appears in Law’s forehead and he grinds his teeth, growling, "I DON’T LIKE MY BIRTHDAY! DON’T CELEBRATE IT!”

"Too bad!!” Luffy grins at him, wide and genuine and completely immovable. "You're part of my crew, Traffy! That means you get birthday parties!"

"I didn't agree to this! I’m leaving the crew! I’LL THROW MYSELF IN THE SEA IF YOU ASSHOLES TRY TO SING TO ME!"

Luffy giggles, not taking Law’s outburst seriously, "Hehehehe! Too bad! It's happening!"

Law looks desperately at Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin. His friends. Surely they'll—they're all grinning—traitors. Every single one of them.

"This is bullshit," Law mutters, standing up from the table. "I'm going to bed."

"BIRTHDAY PARTY TOMORROW!" Luffy calls after him. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE, TRAFFY!"

Law flips him off without turning around and stalks out of the galley. Behind him, he can hear the crew already making plans.

---

Date: 10/06/X1523

Thousand Sunny

Men’s dorms

05:56

Law wakes up to confetti in his face and air horns blaring.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" multiple voices scream in unison.

Law jerks upright, heart pounding, disoriented and still half-asleep. Everyone is crammed into the men's dorm, wearing party hats and holding what appears to be a homemade banner that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRAFFY" in aggressively glittery letters.

"What the—"

"I made you a hat!" Chopper shoves something onto Law's head before he can protest. It's crooked, covered in glitter and streamers, paper flowers, and entirely too cheerful. It says birthday boy. The rubber band strap under his chin is completely uncomfortable.

"Get up get up get up!" Luffy is vibrating with excitement. "Sanji's making special birthday breakfast! Hehehehe! You’re gonna LOVE IT!!"

"I didn't ask for—"

"TOO BAD! COME ON!"

Luffy grabs his arm and pulls, and Law doesn't have the energy to fight it. He's dragged out of bed in his pajamas, party hat askew, glitter already in his hair.

Zoro is still asleep in his bunk, the only one besides Sanji who didn’t participate in the morning ambush. Law has never been more jealous of another person in his life.

---

The day is a blur of forced celebration. Sanji makes an elaborate breakfast that Law has to admit is delicious, even if he'd never say it out loud. The crew sings—if it can be called singing—an off-key, chaotic version of happy birthday while Law sat under the table in the fetal position covering his ears. Luffy tries to shove cake into his mouth at 8 AM. Law allows it, too tired to fight.

They play games. Stupid games. Games that involve running around the deck like maniacs. Games that involve teams. Games that involve Luffy changing the rules every five minutes. Law is forced to participate in all of them. Robin wins most of them through what Law suspects is subtle cheating, but he respects it. They drink. A lot. Even Law accepts a glass, then another, because if he's going to survive this day he needs to be intoxicated.

The gifts come in the afternoon, presented with varying levels of ceremony.

Nami gives him a high-quality compass. "Here, its my old one, I’ll have to get you a better gift when we can ACTUALLY shop for you, jerk! Should have told us your birthday was coming up!" she says with a smile that's almost genuine.

Usopp presents a custom-made holster for his sword. Something he can strap to his back, since Kikoku is too long for one that would go at his hip without her dragging on the ground. It's actually well-crafted, and Law nods his appreciation, even though he’s not sure he’ll use it. He likes having her in hand,.

Chopper gives him a journal with a cover he obviously made himself. Law's throat gets unexpectedly tight and his cheeks a bit pink at the adorable, stupid drawing of what he can only guess is himself himself in a doctors coat, hugging a cartoony heart, and all around him and the heart are all their crewmates.

So stupid… so cute… and ugly. It’s stupid. I hate it. I’m gonna throw it away.

Franky's magnetic wristband is genuinely useful, something he was working on anyway—small magnetic beads that Law can Shambles and recall instantly. "For tactical versatility!" Franky declares. Law actually smiles. There aren’t always things around he could swap with, so this really is useful.

Robin hands him a neatly wrapped package. Inside is a dark blue sweater with black hearts all over it and a fluffy feather collar, hand-knitted, clearly made with care. "For the cold nights," she says softly.

Law swallows hard. "Thank you."

Brook gives him a small carved skeleton figurine. "So you always have a reminder of your SUPER COOL skeleton friend! Yohohoho!"

Zoro tosses him a bottle of sake. Just a regular bottle that came from their supply, nothing special about it—it’s a small one too, "Don't drink it all at once."

Law deadpans, “Thanks.” He’s more of a vodka drinker, but on a day like today, any liquor would do.

Sanji’s gift to him is the cake. And the others give him haphazard things that… really, only a mother could love, and Law isn’t a mother to any of these idiots. Macaroni art… popsicle sticks. Jinbei gave him a necklace made of fish bones. And then Luffy… oh Luffy… the captain bounces up to him with something hidden behind his back, grinning in that way that means he's either done something brilliant or something catastrophically stupid.

"Okay Traffy, I got you something REALLY GOOD!"

He shoves a bottle into Law's hands. Law looks down at it. Coconut milk lotion… expensive coconut milk lotion. From Nami's personal collection, if the angry shriek from across the deck is any indication.

Law looks up at Luffy, confused. "Why?"

"You know!" Luffy leans in close, stage-whispering like he's sharing a secret. "TRUST me, Traffy. You need this. It's GOOD."

"Again… why would I need this?"

Luffy taps the bottle meaningfully. "For, the thing...!" He drops his voice even lower. "Your hands. They're kinda dry, you think? Maybe this will help when you... you know. Nami says it makes hers extra silky soft!"

Law's brain short-circuits. Is Luffy— is he suggesting— did Luffy steal lotion from Nami to help me masturbate better?!

The laugh starts small. A snort. Then a chuckle. Then full, gasping laughter that has Law doubling over, tears streaming down his face, because this is the most absurd, thoughtful, completely insane thing anyone has ever done for him. No one else is in on their joke, and they didn’t hear what Luffy said to Law either. It left a lot of them feeling left out and desperate to know, but neither offer up an explanation.

"Oh my god," he wheezes. "You—you're—" He can't even finish the sentence. He's laughing too hard.

Luffy looks pleased with himself, and because Law is laughing, he of course can’t help but laugh with him, its contagious, "HAHAHA!! See? I told you it was good!"

Law wipes his eyes, still grinning. "Fuck— pfff--- y-you're an idiot! Oh my God…!"

"Whatever! You’re laughing so I’ll take it! HAHAHAHA!!!"

And he is. Law is laughing on his birthday, surrounded by people who care about him in the weirdest possible ways, and for the first time in longer than he can remember, it doesn't hurt.

It's good.

---

Main Deck

22:34

The party has reached that perfect point of exhaustion where everyone is loose-limbed and happy-drunk, sprawled across the deck in various states of consciousness.

Robin appears from below deck with a small, ornate tin in her hands and a knowing smile on her face, "I have one more gift," she announces, settling gracefully onto the grass. "Something I acquired in Elbaf."

She opens the tin as the others move closer to see, and the smell hits immediately—earthy, pungent, unmistakable.

"Is that—" Nami starts.

"Cannabis," Robin confirms serenely. "Quite good quality, I'm told. I thought it might be a nice way to end the evening."

"WEED!" Usopp's eyes go wide. "Robin, you absolute legend!"

"I ain't never smoked before," Franky admits, leaning in with interest. "Always wanted to try it though!"

Usopp squints suspiciously at Franky, “Of all the people here I would have expected to never have tried pot before, YOU are not one of them.”

Franky gives a big belly laugh, “I would have if I could have! It just wasn’t popular in my neck of the woods, Water 7 is more a place for Molly and Speed! I’ve tried those for sure, bro!”

"It's your birthday, Law," Robin says, looking at Law with that gentle, knowing expression she sometimes gets. "I heard a little rumor that you are a fan. Would you like a joint?"

Law, already several drinks deep and tired from a day of forced socialization, finds himself nodding. Why not? It's been a long day. A long week. A long few months, really.

Robin produces rolling papers and begins the process with practiced ease. Within minutes, she's lit the joint and is passing it to Law. He takes it carefully, brings it to his lips, and inhales. The smoke is harsh, makes him cough a little on the exhale, but there's something pleasant about it too. Warm. Herbal. It’s definitely strong shit. To be expected from something Elbaf made. He certainly can’t handle this whole thing by himself. He’d be on his ass.

"Not bad," he manages,  he glances at Luffy and offers it from between his fingers, who's sitting cross-legged next to him. He knows Luffy isn’t shy about drugs. He’s smoked pot with Luffy before and done mushrooms with him. He’s a fun guy to get high with.

Luffy takes a huge hit as Robin passes a second joint to the other side of the circle. Luffy holds the smoke in his lungs for approximately two seconds, and then proceeds to cough so hard he turns red.

"BLHEHHEH—HAH—HACK—AHHK! That’s strong as shit! Fuck, Traffy could have warned me!” he wheezes, eyes watering.

Law isn’t trying to mask his amused smirk. He likes when Luffy gets riled up, especially when he swears more and that’s that cute crease between his angry brows, “I handled it just fine,” Law says playfully.

"Pot from Elbaf is bound to be strong, Captain. That’s on you" Zoro drawls, taking the joint from Luffy's flailing hand with much more grace.

…

It makes the rounds. Some take to it better than others.

Brook claims he can't get high because he has no lungs, but smokes anyway "for the experience! Yohohoho!"

Chopper takes one tiny puff and immediately becomes paranoid about being too small and falls asleep in Zoro's lap within ten minutes.

Usopp gets philosophical. "But like... what if the Sea Kings are actually just... really misunderstood, you know? Like maybe they're just trying to communicate and we're all just too busy fighting them to listen—"

"Usopp, shut up," Nami says, but she's giggling while cuddled up to Robin. The older woman has several sprouted arms massaging Nami’s back and her feet.

Franky keeps trying to explain the mechanics of his cyborg body and how the weed might be affecting his organic parts differently but he can't finish a sentence. "So like... my lungs are still... wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah! And then… the combustion… exhaust pipe… port… pork chops… huh? OH! Anyway, like I was saying—"

Sanji has gone quiet and contemplative, smoking his cigarette and the joint alternately, staring across the lawn at Bepo and muttering about polar bear recipes.

Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin are in a pile, laughing at absolutely nothing, tears and snot soaking their faces, just hooting and hollering, clapping their hands and feet and giving themselves belly aches from laughing so hard at nothing.

Zoro falls asleep sitting up, head tilted back, mouth open and drool trailing down his neck in a little river.

Luffy keeps trying to catch the smoke with his hands like he can physically grab it, occasionally saying, “Woah… wow… woooah…”

Law takes another hit when it comes back around. Then another. The world is getting pleasantly fuzzy around the edges, his body heavy and warm. The tightness in his chest that's been there for months is starting to ease. Someone puts on music. (Brook,) soft, meandering music that doesn't require dancing, just existing.

People start drifting off—to bed, to sleep right there on the deck, to quiet conversations in corners.

Law stands up—which takes more coordination than expected—and finds his legs a bit unsteady. He mumbles something about needing water and wanders toward the galley, party hat still crooked on his head.

---

Galley

23:18

The galley is blessedly quiet and empty. Law pulls open the refrigerator, squinting at the brightness, and finds the leftover birthday cake. It's black forest cake. His favorite, because apparently Bepo told Sanji his favorite, because apparently people care about things like that now. He pulls it out, sets it on the floor because the table seems very far away, and sits down with his back against the cabinet.

He doesn't bother with a plate. Just pulls the cake toward him and digs his hand in, scooping up a handful of frosting and cake and shoving it into his mouth. It's good. Really good. Sweet and rich and exactly what he needs right now.

He takes another handful. Then another. And then, without warning, his eyes start burning.

Oh…

Oh shit.

The tears come before he can stop them, hot and fast, spilling down his cheeks as he sits on the kitchen floor with cake in his hands and a stupid glittery party hat on his head.

He's twenty-seven. Twenty-seven years old. Older than Corazon ever got to be—shit, older than Lami got to be. AND his parents, who died at twenty-five and twenty-six years old. And here he is, alive, eating birthday cake on the floor of a ship with people who threw him a party, who gave him gifts, who sang to him even though he threatened to throw himself overboard.

A sob breaks out of him, messy and wet and he can't stop it. He shoves more cake in his mouth like it'll plug the grief, but it doesn't work. He's crying and eating and he can't tell if he's sad or happy or just feeling for the first time in years without the protective barrier of control keeping it all locked down.

"I miss you," he whispers to no one around a sloppy mouthful of cake and frosting, to everyone who's gone. "I miss you so much. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm still here and you're not. I'm sorry I couldn't—I couldn't save—"

He can't finish. Just cries harder, pressing frosting-covered hands to his face, probably getting cake in his hair, not caring. It's his birthday. He's alive. And all the people he loved most aren't here to celebrate it with him. But other people are. New people. People who barely know him but threw him a party anyway. People who are loud and chaotic and impossible and somehow make him feel less alone even when he's trying his hardest to keep them at arm's length.

Law takes a shuddering breath, wipes his face with the back of his hand—smearing more frosting—and takes another bite of cake.

"This cake is so fucking good…" he mumbles wetly, voice cracking, sniffling as he shoves another bite into his mouth.

The door to the galley creaks open— Law's head snaps up, eyes wide and red-rimmed, cake smeared across his face, tears still streaming. Luffy stands in the doorway, party hat askew on his head too, looking at Law with those impossibly dark eyes.

For a long moment, neither of them says anything. Then Luffy steps inside and closes the door behind him. Luffy had been lying on the deck, staring up at the stars and watching them swirl in lazy circles, when he realized he was really thirsty. Like, mouth-desert thirsty.

He'd gotten up—which took three tries because his legs felt like they were made of jelly—and wandered toward the galley, humming something that might have been a song or might have been just noise. But when he pushes open the door, he stops, because there's Traffy.

Sitting on the floor, wearing the birthday hat Chopper made with cake everywhere—his hands, his face, probably in his hair, crying. Like, really crying. Shoulders shaking, face all red and blotchy, tears and frosting mixing together as he shoves another handful of cake into his mouth.

Luffy just... stares for a second. Oh man. Traffy's REALLY far gone. Like, worse than Luffy thought. Way worse. This is—this is bad. Luffy's high brain tries to process the situation. Okay. So. Traffy is clearly not okay. Has not been okay. And nothing Luffy's tried has helped. Not the games, not the food sharing, not the wrestling, not even the birthday party that Traffy definitely needed even if he said he didn't.

Which means... which means Luffy was right the first time. Traffy definitely needs to jerk off more, and if he’s not going to do it himself then—he needs someone to jerk him off. Like, definitely definitely. Look at him! He's a mess!

Luffy's decision is made before he even fully thinks it through. His expression serious despite the pleasant fuzz in his brain. Law and Luffy lock eyes. Law looks like he wants to disappear into the floor. His face goes even redder, tears still streaming, cake still in his hands.

"Luffy," he croaks out around cake, he hastily swallows his mouthful and tries to wipe himself clean, but he only makes himself more of a mess in his scramble, "I'm—this isn't—"

"Traffy," Luffy says, very seriously, crossing the galley. "You're a mess."

"I'm aware," Law snaps, but there's no heat in it. Just exhaustion and embarrassment and too many feelings he can't shove back down.

Luffy plops down on the floor next to him, close enough that their shoulders touch. He looks at Law—really looks at him. At the tears, the cake, the crooked party hat, the absolute devastation barely held together.

"I decided, I'm gonna help you." Luffy's voice is firm, decided. "I think you need it, and I gotta do what’s good for ya, Taffy."

Law blinks at him, confused and wary. "What are you—?"

"—I'm gonna jerk you off."

The silence is deafening.

Law stares at him. Mouth open. Cake forgotten, "You—what?"

"I'm gonna jerk you off, for your heath!" Luffy repeats, like it's the most logical solution in the world. "You need it. Like, really need it. Look at you! You're eating cake on the floor with your hands and crying on your birthday! That's—that's really bad, Traffy! I mean, I’D eat cake with my bare hands but that’s ME! You’re you, and you don’t eat like that!"

"That's not—that's not how this—" Law can't even form a full sentence. His brain has completely short-circuited and the pot and liquor sloshing around inside him aren’t helping him.

"I'll make you feel better!" Luffy insists, leaning forward earnestly. "I promise! And then maybe you won't be so sad all the time and you can—"

"Oh my GOD." Law doesn't even think, not like he can anyway, just grabs a huge handful of cake from the pan and smooshes it directly into Luffy's face.

"MMPH—!"

Luffy sputters, frosting and cake covering his mouth, his nose, dripping down his chin. He blinks in surprise, then—then his tongue darts out, licking at the frosting around his mouth.

"Oh man, this cake is really good!!" Luffy says, muffled around the cake, and then without thinking, he grabs Law's wrist and holds it hostage as starts eating the cake off Law's hand.

Law freezes. Completely, utterly freezes—because Luffy's tongue is on his palm, licking and slurping, and then his fingers, and Luffy's making these little satisfied noises like Law's hand is the best thing he's ever tasted, and—oh. Luffy's eyes are half-lidded, focused on his task, tongue sliding between Law's fingers to get every bit of frosting, and it's—it's—

Law's breath catches audibly, lost in a trance. Luffy's eyes flick up, meeting Law's, and something shifts after Law’s hand is less messy, the air gets heavier, and hotter. Luffy’s tongue traces the length of his index finger, and Law can feel it—the wet heat, the pressure, the way Luffy's lips close around his fingertip and suck slightly to get the last of the frosting.

Law's other hand is clenched in a white-knuckled fist against the floor. His heart is hammering. His face feels like it's on fire.

Luffy pulls back slightly, Law's fingers slipping from his mouth with an obscene little sound, but he doesn't let go of Law's wrist. Just stares at him with those dark, dark eyes, pupils blown wide, the pretty grey of them almost swallowed up—from the weed or something else, Law can't tell. His brain is static, white noise. He can't think, can't process, can only feel—the ghost of Luffy's tongue on his fingers, the warmth of Luffy's hand around his wrist, his own heartbeat so loud it's all he can hear.

Slowly, carefully, Law pulls his hand back, and Luffy's grip loosens, lets him go, but those eyes stay locked on Law's face. Watching. Waiting, but somehow Law can tell there is nothing going on behind them besides raw instinct. His thoughts are off.

Law reaches for the cake pan with trembling fingers, scoops up a piece—frosting and cherry filling clinging to his index finger and thumb. He doesn't know what he's doing. Doesn't know why he's doing it. Just knows that he needs—

He holds it out. Luffy's lips part. His tongue slides out, pink and wet, waiting. Law's breathing stops completely as he brings his fingers to Luffy's mouth and Luffy takes the cake with his tongue first, that clever tongue that licks the frosting away before his lips close around Law's fingers, and this time it's intentional. This time Luffy knows what he's doing, not just eating the cake, he wants Law’s fingers, even if he doesn't understand why it makes his stomach flip and his dick pulse in that weird way again.

Law makes a sound, a small, pathetic thing that he catches behind his teeth but not fast enough. Luffy grabs his wrist—both hands this time, holding Law's hand steady as he works his mouth over Law's index finger. Sucking, pulling the digit deeper, tongue swirling around it to get every trace of frosting, and— Law has never felt anything like this. It's just his finger but the sensation shoots up his arm like electricity, makes his spine tingle, makes heat pool low in his belly in a way that's entirely new and overwhelming and too much. When Luffy releases his index finger and moves to his thumb, Law nearly whimpers.

Luffy's eyes are half-closed now, long lashes casting shadows on his cheeks. He takes Law's thumb into his mouth slowly, deliberately, and his tongue—God, his tongue does this thing where it circles the pad before he hollows his cheeks and sucks.

Law's free hand flies to his own mouth, covering it, because he can't—he can't make noise, can't let Luffy know that this is—that he's—

But Luffy's eyes flutter open, lock with Law's again, and there's something hungry there. Something curious and wanting and completely unselfconscious because Luffy doesn't know yet what this is, he just knows it feels good somehow, makes that heat in his belly grow and his dick get hard and he wants to keep doing it, wants to keep tasting the sweetness of the frosting and the salt of Law's skin underneath.

Luffy releases Law's thumb with a soft pop that echoes obscenely in the quiet galley.

They stare at each other.

Law's chest is heaving like he's run a marathon. His fingers are wet, tingling, and he can still feel the ghost of Luffy's mouth on them. Luffy's lips are parted, slick and red from the cherry, and he's breathing hard too, confused arousal written all over his face even if he doesn't have words for it.

What was that? Why did that feel so good? Why does he want more?

Luffy's eyes track across Law's face—the tear-stained cheeks, the smudged frosting on his jaw, a dark smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth. There's still cake on Traffy's face. The thought forms slow and simple through the pleasant haze in Luffy's brain, I could get that too.

Luffy leans in. Law's breath catches, eyes going wide, but he doesn't move. Doesn't pull back. Just sits there frozen as Luffy's face gets closer, closer, until— Luffy's tongue drags across Law's cheekbone, licking up a streak of frosting.

Law makes a sound. Broken and helpless and wanting. It emboldens Luffy. He shifts closer, one hand coming up to cup Law's jaw—steadying him or keeping him there, he's not sure which—and licks another stripe down toward Law's chin, chasing the sweetness.

"Luffy—" Law's voice is wrecked, barely a whisper.

But Luffy doesn't stop. His tongue traces the line of Law's jaw, tasting chocolate and cherry and salt from dried tears, and fuck— Law tastes good, better than the cake even, something about the warmth of his skin underneath making Luffy's whole body feel hot and tight. He reaches the corner of Law's mouth, where a smudge of dark frosting clings to his bottom lip, and Luffy's tongue flicks out to get it— and Law gasps. Their faces are so close now. Breathing the same air. Luffy can see every fleck of gold in Law's grey eyes, can see how blown his pupils are, can see the way Law's lips are parted and trembling.

Luffy's own lips are sticky with frosting and spit. His heart is hammering. That pulsing thing his dick does is happening again, insistent and demanding and he doesn't understand it, but he knows—knows—that whatever happens next is important.

Law's hand comes up, shaking, and touches Luffy's face. Just fingertips against his cheek, like he can't believe Luffy is real.

"Traffy," Luffy breathes, and he doesn't know what he's asking for but he needs—something—more—

Law closes the distance.

It's clumsy. Awkward. Their noses bump and Luffy makes a surprised sound against Law's mouth but then—

Oh—Kissing. They’re kissing.

This is the first kiss either of them have ever experienced in their lives. Law's lips are soft and taste like chocolate and cherries, sake, and something underneath that's just him. Luffy's eyes flutter closed and he presses closer, tilting his head the way his instincts tell him to, and suddenly it fits better, their mouths slotting together in a way that makes Luffy's toes curl against his sandals.

Law whimpers into Luffy's mouth, and his hand slides from Luffy's cheek into his hair, gripping tight like he's drowning and Luffy is the only solid thing. Luffy kisses him harder. Opens his mouth because it feels right, and Law follows, and then their tongues are touching and— holy shit. Luffy's whole body jolts like he's been struck by lightning. Law tastes so good, and the slide of his tongue against Luffy's is doing things to him, making heat pool low in his belly, making his dick throb almost painfully against his underwear. God it hurts, it hurts, it feels so swollen, its leaking.

Law makes another desperate sound and pulls Luffy closer, deeper, kissing him like he's starving, like this is the first good thing he's ever tasted. His other hand comes up to Luffy's shoulder, gripping hard enough to hurt, but Luffy doesn't care because he's gripping back just as hard, fingers tangled in Law's hair after knocking off his silly birthday hat, pulling him closer closer closer.

They're completely graceless. All desperate hunger and zero technique. Too much tongue and too much teeth and breathing is an afterthought but neither of them cares because this—this is—

Luffy pulls back for air, gasping, and Law chases him, pressing messy open-mouthed kisses to Luffy's jaw, his cheek, anywhere he can reach.

"Traffy—fuck—" Luffy's voice breaks on the word. And Law’s cock jumps beneath the restricting tightness of his jeans hearing him swear.

Law's lips find his again and Luffy moans—an embarrassing, needy sound he's never made before—and Law swallows it down, kissing him deeper, harder, like he can't get enough.

Luffy's hand slides down from Law's hair to his shoulder, his chest, and he can feel Law's heart pounding just as fast as his own. Can feel the heat of his skin through the thin tank top. Can feel—

Law gasps and breaks the kiss, pulling back just enough to look at Luffy with wild, unfocused eyes. They're both out of breath, flushed. Both hard enough that it aches, "What—" Law starts, voice completely destroyed. "What are we—?"

Luffy doesn't let him finish. Just pulls him back in and kisses him again, and again, and again, because thinking is the enemy right now. Thinking means stopping and Luffy doesn't want to stop, doesn't want this feeling to end, doesn't want to lose the taste of Law on his tongue or the feeling of Law's hands desperately clutching at him.

Law makes a broken sound and kisses back just as fiercely, like he needs this just as much, like he'll die if they stop. Luffy shifts closer, trying to get more, and Law is doing the same. Luffy's hands find Law's waist, gripping, and he tries to push—tries to get Law down, onto his back, so Luffy can climb on top of him and get closer and finally reach into Law's pants like he's been planning—

But Law growls, low and controlling, and suddenly he's the one pushing, reversing their positions with a sharp movement that leaves Luffy on his back, propped up on one elbow, blinking up at Law in surprise. Law straddles him—one knee on either side of Luffy's hips—and for a moment they just stare at each other, high, and aching. And this is all so new its making their heads spin and swirl under the sweet haze of liquor and weed. Every touch amplified, tastes better, feels better.

"Traffy—" Luffy's free hand comes up to grip Law's hip, his thigh, roaming restlessly because he needs to touch.

Law leans down and captures his mouth again, hot and open, rolling his tongue inside the sweet lips just as eager to taste his. Luffy makes a desperate sound while chasing his tongue back, because yes, this is good, this is right—Law's hips shift, pressing down, and they both gasp at the contact—cock to cock through too many layers of fabric but still good, still sending sparks up Luffy's spine.

"Fuck," Law breathes against Luffy's mouth, and does it again, rocking down, chasing that friction. Neither have felt the pleasure of rubbing their cocks against anything other than their hands before this. It’s white hot, burning them up, flames licking at the back of their throats as intensely as they lick into each other’s mouths.

Luffy's hand slides from Law's hip to his lower back, pressing him down harder as he rolls his hips up desperately, and Law's head falls forward with a broken moan.

Luffy's other hand fumbles between them, seeking the waistband of Law's sweatpants because he needs—needs to touch properly, needs to get his hand on Law's cock like he said he would, needs to make Traffy feel good, he knows he can—  his fingers slip into Law's waistband  and his thumb rolls over the weepy, heated head of Law’s cock—

The galley door bangs open and the lights flip on, blindingly bright.

"—I'm just saying, if we're gonna be up anyway we might as well get some of that leftover—HOLY SHIT!"

Law and Luffy both freeze— Luffy's hand is still half-shoved down Law's pants. Law is straddling him. They're both obviously hard. Their faces are covered in cake and spit and their lips are swollen and red.

Chapter Text

In the doorway stand Nami, Usopp, and Shachi. All three of them staring with identical expressions of shock— Law scrambles backward so fast he nearly falls, yanking Luffy's hand out of his pants then stumbling to his feet. His face is scarlet, eyes wide and panicked.

“AHH!!” Usopp screams.

“WHOAH!?” Shachi’s jaw hits the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Nami shrieks, stumbling back in shock, if it weren’t for the other two men behind her to catch her, she would have fallen on her ass.

Luffy sits up too and uses the edge of the counter to heave himself up to his feet, also red-faced, but more annoyed and confused than embarrassed, like his brain is still trying to catch up to what just happened. He’s been caught jerking off before and at most it makes him roll his eyes and feel agitated if he didn’t get to cum, and that’s how he feels now. Interrupted, and unsatisfied. His balls feel so full and angry. It’s not fair. It felt like I could have cum from doing that with Traffy. He lets out a low, long whine of annoyance.

"I—we weren't—this isn't—" Law can't form words, just gestures helplessly between himself and Luffy. The pot is working against him now.

Usopp makes a horrified squeaking noise in the back of his throat as snot dribbles down his nose, pointing shakily at the two of them, "YOU!! Y-you were—he was—you—ON THE FLOOR?!" Usopp's voice goes higher with each word.

Shachi's picks his jaw up off the floor to rub his eyes like he needed to make sure he was seeing this right. His friend? Caught doing something salacious with someone else?! Trafalgar D Water Law? No… it had to be a mistake, or someone that LOOKED like Law or— "Law!? With Luffy!? Dude, am I trippin’?"

Law looks like he might spontaneously combust, "NO! You’re seeing things!! SHUT UP!" Law snaps, but there's no heat in it, just mortification. His hands are on his cheeks, feeling like everything in the room was both WAY too close and miles and miles away. This can’t be real—this CAN’T be happening to me! I did NOT just get caught—doing WHAT?! Wh-what the hell WAS I doing!? I can’t believe—!! FUCK Luffy and I were—

"Oh my God," Nami says, and she sounds caught between horror and amusement. "Were you two—were you about to—in the kitchen?!"

"NO!" Law snaps, contrasting Luffy’s blunt, "Yeah."

"Luffy!" Law hisses, kicking him in the shin, even though it doesn’t hurt the rubber man, “No we weren’t! NOTHING HAPPENED! WE FELL!” Law is running on reflex now. Not enough brain capacity to process the fact he just had his first kiss—first makeout session, with LUFFY, AND he got caught doing it in such a compromising position.

DAMN IT! I don’t wanna deal with these nosy assholes when I don’t even know what happened MYSELF! Shut up Luffy! And shut up the three of YOU inconvenient jerks! Just shut up and believe it! Don’t question me! Believe it was an accident and move on! FUCK OFF! Law thinks desperately as he practically bores holes into the trio with his burning glare. 

"We didn’t fall, Traffy.” Luffy protests, "We—"

"DO NOT," Law cuts him off desperately, a frantic hand clamping over the captain’s sticky mouth, "finish that sentence."

Luffy blinks at him with owlishly large eyes.

Nami's eyes are sparkling now with that look that means mischief, "Oh, this is amazing. Wait until Robin hears about this. Wait until everyone hears about this!! How crazy!! Who would have thought that Luffy’s REAL gift was to give Law birthday se--"

"—BIRTHDAY NOTHING!!” Law screams over her before that word could contaminate the air, “—You can't tell anyone! There’s NOTHING to tell! WE TRIPPED!" Law's voice cracks slightly.

"Oh, I'm absolutely telling everyone about your guys’ slip and fall! Hahaha!”

Usopp is still staring, pointing between them. "But—you—him—floor—I don't—my brain won't— SERIOUSLY?! BUT..! WITH HIM? WITH YOU?"

Shachi has taken off his hat to scratch his red hair, "Law, are you... are you and Luffy...?"

"No," Law says firmly. Then, less firmly, "NOTHING HAPPENED!" He looks at Luffy, who looks back with equal confusion and the lingering haze of arousal and weed, “RIGHT?” He growls, the heat in his golden eyes promising unspeakable pain and suffering if Luffy didn’t agree with him.

"Oh… right… we were just..." Luffy trails off, because he doesn't know how to finish that, he’s a bad liar, and he’s high so… all he can manage is a long, “uhhhhhh…”

"Eating cake?" Nami supplies sweetly, eyeing the mess of the pan sitting on the floor.

"YES!" Law latches onto it desperately, frantically gesturing his arms as his poor intoxicated, slow mind tries to fix a situation he has no hope of fixing, "Cake! We were eating cake! Then we tripped and—that happened, but NOTHING happened, it didn’t look like—I mean, it wasn’t WHAT it looked like, it was how it looked like—or—shit, it was the CAKE! It was the fucking CAKE! That’s IT! We were eating it, JUST eating it! And we were just hanging out! THAT’S ALL, I swear to GOD!"

"Mmm… mmhm, mmhmm… hanging out, eating cake… with your mouths on each other's mouths and Luffy’s hand down your pants?"

"NO?! You- hh—ptt—you h---hhmm- YOU didn’t see it right! You saw a WEIRD ANGLE! And—his hand was—there was—CRUMBS, that’s it!" Law practically yells, deflecting.

Four sets of eyes are squinting at Law with disbelief.

Luffy can’t figure out why Law is so flustered over this. He’s not paying attention to the conversation as Nami starts arguing with Law over crumbs. Luffy picks his nose, thinking, man… I didn’t expect me and Traffy to do that stuff. Pretty crazy! Came outta NOWHERE! One minute cake, the next—uh, I don’t know, we were kissing. I’m not sure if he kissed me first or if I kissed HIM first?! Its like we went wild for a minute. And it was feeling so GOOD. I didn’t know touching and kissing someone could feel like that—and that pulsing, throbbing thing my dick was doing—HAS been doing, is it just getting REALLY excited about Traffy? It felt so good when he was rubbing his on mine, and I felt through his pants his was throbbing too… so yup. My dick gets excited for Traffy. Huh. So I guess all this time when it was doing that, my dick wasn’t mad at me, but it was guiding me… trying to tell me something?

Luffy blinks twice, staring into space as he comes to a slow realization as Law continues to insist, Luffy was dusting crumbs off his lap and his hand wasn’t actually in his pants. Nami is arguing against this and insisting she knows what she saw, round and round in circles, their argument goes perpetually nowhere and is background noise to Luffy’s inner thoughts. 

Damn, have I been jerking it wrong? No wait—OOOH, that’s what it means when people say “turned on,” your dick gets awakened and all happy and stuff! Okay now—wait, wait… hang on… so if THAT’S what being turned on feels like, what have I been doing to myself? Have I been having lame orgasms? Are there BETTER orgasms? What are Traffy and Nami arguing about? Cake crumbs? Mm… I want some cake… that cake Sanji made is sooooo good. Shit, I’m too high right now, I need cake, and a nap. And I wanna jerk off, my balls hurt… I’m sooooo gonna jerk off after I eat that cake, and I’m gonna think about Traffy. I guess he makes my dick happy. I wonder if I’m gonna cum A LOT from not cumming a whole month. So I was supposed to keep going when my dick felt like that… huh.

Luffy giggles as he’s lost in his head, and eventually he flicks his booger at Shachi, who doesn’t notice it stick itself to the side of his hat.

“Crumbs in your pants, huh? Hm… I dunno dawgg… shit man… I don’t think it was crumbs Captain Luffy was diggin’ for down there…” Shachi says, scratching the back of his neck.

Law turns away with a full body blush and holds out a hand, growling out, “Argh—ROOM!” and shambles himself away once his room was big enough to find somewhere on the ship to escape to that wasn’t here.

Luffy, meanwhile, has located the birthday cake on the floor and is casually picking it up like nothing happened and starts eating it with his hands, talking with his mouthful, "Anyone want some? It's really good." He sets it on the island counter and leans against it lazily, stuffing his face slower than he usually does. Probably the pot in his system.

Nami is pacing. Usopp is still staring. Shachi looks like he's trying to reboot his entire understanding of reality. Both of the most nonsexual people they knew were just caught in a compromising situation, it was impossible to NOT be both curious and a little concerned about their friends, especially when drugs and liquor were involved. Should they be excited their friends are discovering their sexuality? Concerned that this was perhaps something neither of them actually wanted or maybe didn’t understand? A little disgusted they were doing whatever this was in the kitchen where their food is made?

"Okay," Nami says, planting herself in front of Luffy. "We need to talk about what we just saw."

Luffy looks up at her, cheeks bulging with cake. "Mm?"

"You and Law. On the floor. Making out."

Luffy swallows. "Yeah. We kissed."

"AND?!" Nami's voice goes shrill. "And WHAT?! What does that mean? Are you two—are you together now? Was that—what even was that?! I didn’t know you had any interest in things like that, Luffy!!"

Luffy blinks at her slowly, taking another bite of cake, talking with his mouthful, "...Interest in what?"

Nami slaps the back of his head, “LUFFY!! You’re frustrating! I just wanna know how long this has been going on with you and Traffy! We’re friends right!? Friends tell each other stuff like this!”

Usopp chimes in, “YEAH LUFFY! Why LAW?! Are you FOR REAL? You like MEN!?”

Luffy responds by scooping another delicious bite of black forest cake into his mouth, eyes drooping, “Mmm… ‘s goooodd.” He purrs in bliss.

“LUFFY!!” Usopp and Nami yell in unison. Shachi has decided to lean against the opposite side of the island counter and eat some of the cake while he still could, fork in hand, picking around the grubby finger indentations from Law and Luffy.

Luffy looks up with an annoyed pinch between his brows, “What?” He asks around a mouthful of fluffy cake.

“What is going on between you and LAW?!” Usopp practically cries, ready to tear his own hair out.

Luffy nearly rolls his eyes at such a stupid question, “Nothing? We’re friends?”

"Nothing?!" Nami and Usopp shout.

Usopp points to the floor where Law and Luffy had been, “YOU CALL WHAT WE WALKED IN ON NOTHING?!”

Luffy is getting seriously annoyed by them, "Yeah. Nothing. I’m tryin’ to eat, stop bothering me!"

"Luffy—seriously, we need to know, now I’m getting worried, do you know what was happening?!” Nami looks like she might actually strangle him, or call an emergency crew meeting, "We just caught you with your hand down Law's pants! Do you… get what that means?"

Luffy hears what she’s getting at, “I know about sex, Nami.”

"SO?!" She presses, rolling her hand as if to urge him to continue explaining the situation.

Luffy glares at her, “So what? What do you want me to say?” He asks with disinterest, sucking frosting off his thumb.

Usopp jumps in, voice high and frantic. "Luffy, man, you gotta give us something here! How long has this been going on? When did you—why didn't you tell us you liked Law like that?!"

Luffy shrugs, mouth full. "Should I tell you guys about all the things that make my dick hard? Didn’t know you pervs cared that much."

The silence is deafening, all three faces surrounding Luffy get red hearing him say something like that so bluntly, especially since they’ve never heard Luffy talk like this it just--- it wasn’t right. Nami's eye twitches. Usopp's mouth opens and closes like a fish. Even Shachi pauses mid-bite, fork hovering in the air.

"What?" Nami says, voice dangerously quiet, like she was hoping she misheard Luffy.

Luffy looks at her like she's the weird one. "You're asking why I had my hand in Traffy's pants," He shrugs, taking another bite. "Same reason anyone does stuff like that. It’s not a big deal, don’t make it into one."

"I—you—that's not—" Usopp is turning red. "You can't just say it like that!"

So annoying, argh!, Luffy thinks, "Why not? It's true. You’re the ones that asked!"

"But—but—" Usopp flails. "There's context! There's feelings! You can't just skip the important details, like WHAT happened? It's not just about—"

"—We kissed," Luffy interrupts with a loud sigh, still eating, slurping frosting off his fingers. The feeling of the cake stuck beneath his fingernails lowers his patience down a peg, "The end."

Nami pinches the bridge of her nose. "Luffy. When you... when you do things like that with someone, it doesn’t just happen out of no where? We’re saying, what lead up to it? Like, what’s going ON between you guys? Because usually KISSING, especially like THAT, means you have feelings for someone."

Luffy snorts, raising his eyebrows and resisting an eyeroll. He’s definitely seen people throughout his life who fuck without feelings. He’s seen the filthy things poverty does to people, like in Grey Terminal, people selling their bodies right there in the trash yard with no privacy at all just for some food or drugs, anything to keep going.

“No, it does not,” Luffy argues.

Nami argues back, "Yes it does, Luffy! I KNOW you! You are not the kind of person who would make out with someone if you didn’t have romantic feelings for them!"

Luffy’s eyes glaze over in dull annoyance. Oh, romance. Like marriage. Do they think me and Traffy are getting hitched? Why the heck does Nami think she suddenly knows everything about me? That pisses me off. Luffy swirls his finger in some frosting, wishing for this pestering to come to a quick end so he can enjoy this cake in peace, "Maybe I’m not. It was a kiss, we aren’t getting married."

"Oh my God," Nami mutters, “You don’t GET IT!”

In hindsight, this probably wasn’t a conversation they should have been having while intoxicated.

Usopp chimes in urgently, "Are you SURE you know what we’re saying, Luffy!? Like—like being in love with someone!" Usopp tries to explain, gesturing wildly. "Like wanting to be with them! Date them! Be their boyfriend! Get married someday! Are you saying you don’t feel… any of that?"

Luffy considers this while chewing. "...Why would I wanna do that?"

"BECAUSE YOU WERE JUST MAKING OUT WITH TRAFFY ON THE FLOOR!"

"Yeah, 'cause it felt good." Luffy is getting more annoyed now, reaching his annoyance LIMITS, "You guys are making this way more complicated than it is. We kissed. It was nice. That's it. Drop it already!"

"That is not it!" Nami snaps, getting annoyed with Luffy’s attitude, "Luffy, you can't just—you can't just kiss people and stick your hand down their pants because it 'feels good'! That's not how this works!"

"That’s how it worked for me?"

"NO!" She throws her hands up. "LUFFY, LISTEN! Law probably has feelings about this! He ran away! He was freaking out! Did you even think about how he might feel?!"

Luffy pauses at that, frowning slightly, still not getting Nami’s point, "I mean... he seemed into it while we were doing it."

"But then he ran away, Luffy!" Usopp cries out almost in tears of frustration from trying to get Luffy to understand.

"Yeah, 'cause you guys interrupted and embarrassed him." Luffy says it like it's obvious. "He gets weird about stuff like that. Doesn't like people knowing his business. That’s how Traffy is. You guys should have just left it alone. He doesn’t even like to admit he’s my friend, he’s sure as hell not gonna admit he kissed me and liked it."

Shachi finally speaks up, voice strained. "True dat… but, Captain Luffy, lemme axe you something right quick, dawg... did Law... do you think he wanted that to happen? ‘Cauuussse… I’ve known him for a long time dude… and, Law has… never…" Shachi shakes his head, his voice going to a whisper as a cups a hand over his mouth and leans over the counter closer to Luffy, “He’s a reserved man, dawg, never been interested in, y’know… things of a more sensual, tender nature—never hit anyone with the— bow chia WOW, WOW! See what I’m sayin’? The ole slip ‘n tickle as he was tryin’ to say you was up to… so, look… gonna stop beatin’ around this damn bush and just say it. Him hooking up with you, man… that’s either, some kind of misunderstanding or… I dunno… something. You feel me? Did you pressure him?”

Nami chokes on her spit and Usopp bites his tongue trying to say something too fast.

Luffy somehow followed along with all that, “No? He kissed me back, and he grabbed me, Oh! And he was making these sounds—" Luffy pauses, remembering. A small smile crosses his face. "Yeah, that was… not pressured."

Shachi laughs at the insanity of it all, “That’s so crazy dawwgg… shit… we all thought he was asexual… guess he’s Luffy-sexual.”

"Oh my God, we all thought the same thing about Luffy!” Usopp exclaims, then frantically asks Luffy while grabbing his shirt and shaking him, “Are you Law-sexual!? Are YOU a virgin!? Just tell us how that all happened!! HOW LONG has it been going on!?”

Luffy growls and swats Usopp’s hands away, “Quit it!”

"But do you want it to happen again?" Nami presses. "Is this—are you interested in doing more stuff with Law?"

Luffy tilts his head, considering. "Haven't thought about it."

"You haven't—you haven't thought about it?!"

"Nami, Usopp— I just did it like ten minutes ago!" Luffy protests. "I'm still high! And I'm eating cake! Can I think about it later?!"

Nami insists in her typical abrupt manner, "No! We need to know what you're planning to do about this!"

"What am I supposed to do about it?" Luffy's getting genuinely confused now as to why it feels like this conversation keeps going in circles, how much blunter could he be? "I wanted to jerk him off, you guys interrupted, now I'm eating cake. What else is there?"

"What else—what else—" Nami looks like she's about to have an aneurysm. "Luffy, you need to talk to Law! You need to figure out what this means!!"

"It means I like kissing him," Luffy says slowly, like he's explaining something very simple to someone very stupid. "And touching him. And he likes it too. What else is there to figure out?"

"EVERYTHING!" Usopp shouts. "Everything else! Literally all of it!"

Luffy groans, grabbing the cake pan from the counter. "You guys are being so annoying right now. I'm gonna go eat this in my room."

"Luffy, wait—!"

"No! You're killing my high!" Luffy heads for the door. "I'm done talking about this!"

"We are not done talking about this!" Nami calls after him.

"Yeah we are!" Luffy yells back. "'Cause I'm leaving! With the cake!"

Shachi is reaching out towards Luffy with his fork, whining, “The cake…” mourning its loss.

"You can't just—"

But the door is already swinging shut behind him. Nami and Usopp stand there, staring at the closed door. Shachi takes another bite of the remaining cake stuck to the counter, its all he has left.

"So..." Shachi says slowly. "Would Sanji, by chance… have another cake stored somewhere?"

"I need a drink," Nami mutters, heading for the pantry where Sanji keeps the wine, "A strong drink."

"I need therapy," Usopp adds, sitting down heavily. "And possibly brain bleach... Luffy with a—you know, and doing that--- was NOT something I expected to see, or ever WANTED to see!"

Shachi sighs to himself, blinking tiredly at the smears of cake on the floor and seriously debating if he was willing to get down there and lick the tiles clean just for one more taste—but decides to gently set his fork down and give up on the cake quest.

Nami pops the cork of the wine bottle and drinks straight from the neck of it, swallowing down four hefty gulps before coming up for air and plopping down on the bar stool. Usopp slowly approaches and lowers himself in the seat next to her, unblinking and sweating.

"Should we... check on him? Law, I mean… he was pretty upset" Usopp asks hesitantly.

Nami rolls her eyes, "And say what? Hey Law, sorry you got caught making out with our captain who thinks sex is just another fun activity like wrestling?" Nami downs half her glass.

"This is going to be so messy," Usopp moans into his hands.

"Oh yeah," Nami agrees. "Total disaster. Absolute trainwreck."

Shachi nods thoughtfully, still eating. "I wouldn’t worry too much about it guys. These things tend to work themselves out… and besides, Law won’t wanna talk about it with anyone anyway. He’ll be okay... Heh, Penguin is gonna be so pissed he missed this."

---

Men's Dorm

00:05

The dorm is empty. Everyone else is still passed out on the deck or stumbled off to their own corners to sleep off the high. Law sits on his bunk in the darkness, head in his hands, breathing hard.

What the fuck. What the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK. I kissed Luffy—or did he kiss me? Shit I can’t remember who kissed who first! What the hell WAS that!? Argh! This kind of stuff doesn’t happen to ME! HOW did that happen? It’s like my body moved on its own—damn it! Was it the weed?

Law groans into his palms, face burning, but at least now it was in the privacy of the empty room. He can still taste him. Chocolate and cherries and something sweeter underneath, can still feel the ghost of Luffy's tongue in his mouth, Luffy's hands in his hair, Luffy's body warm and solid beneath him—

His cock throbs painfully in his jeans, "Fuck," Law exhales. He shouldn't. He shouldn't. He should just—ignore it, go to sleep, pretend this never happened— but his hand is already sliding down, palming himself through fabric, and he whimpers at the contact because he's so hard it aches, has been aching since the moment Luffy's mouth closed around his fingers, and—

Law lies back on his bunk and shoves his hand into his pants with a desperate sound. He's never been this hard before. Never felt this desperate. His cock is hot and slick in his hand, leaking steadily, and when he wraps his fingers around it properly, he has to bite his lip to keep from moaning.

He tries not to think about it. Tries to just—get it over with, quick and mechanical like always— but his mind won't cooperate. All he can see is Luffy. Luffy's eyes, dark and wanting. Luffy's mouth, red and slick. Luffy's tongue on his skin. Luffy's voice, wrecked and breathless, saying his name—

"Hahh—God—" Law gasps, stroking faster. He’s distantly aware somewhere in the back of his foggy mind that he shouldn’t be jerking off in here, anyone could walk in, but his memories are far too distracting to pay those warning bells any mind.

He’s so wet, and its loud in the silence, the slick squelch of his fist pistoning up and down his shaft, the jangle of his belt loose, the creak of the ropes with every small shift of his body, the frantic motion of his arm. Law remembers the feel of Luffy beneath him. The heat of him. The way he'd rocked up against Law, like a horny puppy so eager to play.

Law swallows around a lump in his throat and squeezes his eyes shut, bitting his lip hard enough to nearly break the skin while he’s remembering all the little desperate sounds Luffy made… the way his tongue swiped into Law’s mouth like he was starving.

Law's free hand clamps over his mouth as he works himself frantically, feet planted on the floor slide apart a little as his hips rock up into his fist, chasing the building pressure, and God he can still feel it—the ghost of Luffy's thumb brushing over the head of his cock, that brief perfect touch before they got interrupted—

“Mhhhhnn..!!” He comes with a muffled cry, spilling over his fist, body shaking with the force of it. For a moment he just sits there, panting, vision white at the edges.

Then reality crashes back in, ruining his high. Oh God… oh my God, what did I do. He just—he kissed Luffy—or Luffy kissed him—they kissed. And—he let Luffy touch him. Touched Luffy back. Got caught by some of their friends, and then he came thinking about it.

Law stumbles to his feet after wiping the cooling, sticky mess all over his palm and wrist on the inside of his underwear. He stands and buttons his jeans with shaky hands, seeks out his trunk, grabs some fresh clothes and heads off to the showers.

He needs to wash this off. All of it. The cake, the spit, the evidence of what just happened. He needs to scrub himself clean and pretend—pretend—

He can't finish the thought.

---

Captain's Quarters

00:31

Luffy flops onto his bed, cake pan balanced on his stomach, and shoves more cake into his mouth. His dick is still hard. Still pulsing that annoying way, angry throbbing as if his cock were shouting at him, I will NOT be ignored!

“Mmm, but I want cake… can’t it wait?” He moans to himself, pressing his thighs together.

Throb… throb… throb.

Luffy tilts his head back as he presses his thighs together tighter and rubs them, feeling a little friction, from where his cock is trapped between his shorts and inner thigh. He rocks a little, his hunger for cake dwindling the longer he does it.

Luffy sets the cake aside, and sucks frosting from his fingers, like how he did to Law. His eyes flutter closed at the feel of his own tongue.

“Nope… too horny.” He concedes with a sigh and shoves his hand down his shorts once they are unbuttoned. The relief is immediate. His cock is slick and hot and sensitive, and when he wraps his hand around it he groans. He thinks about Law. Can't not think about Law. Law's mouth. Law's taste. Law's hands gripping him tight. Law's body on top of his, pressing down—

"Fuck," Luffy breathes, stroking faster, franticly, squeezing and pumping as his eyes roll back.

He's never felt like this before. His dick is sensitive—he’s never been this desperate. Usually it takes a while, takes multiple rounds to even get close, but right now he feels like he could come from just a few touches. He remembers Law's face when he'd sucked on his fingers. The way Law's eyes had gone wide and dark. The way he'd made that broken little sound. The way he'd tasted—

Luffy comes hard in less than a minute, back arching, a fluttery moan leaving him while cum spills over his hand and stomach.

He lies there for a long moment, breathing hard, vision fuzzy, gently stroking himself to over sensitivity as he milks out every drop of his orgasm… then, slowly, his head starts to clear.

The weed is wearing off as he lies there. He keeps his eyes closed as he cleans his hand with his mouth. He doesn’t mind the taste of his cum, it’s good. Like a tasty after snack. The desperation is fading. And in its place—

Oh. We really did that.

Luffy blinks at the ceiling, processing. They kissed. They... did more than kissed. And Traffy ran away. And now everyone knows—or will know by morning because of the three biggest mouths on the crew catching them in the act.

Is Traffy okay? The thought surfaces with sudden clarity, cutting through the post-orgasm haze. Traffy was crying before. Was really sad. And then they did... that. And then he ran away looking all panicked.

Luffy should check on him.

He gets up, adjusting his shorts and pads out of his quarters barefoot. He reaches out with his observation Haki, searching, and—there, the bathroom.

Luffy changes direction, heading for the communal bathroom.

---

Men's Bathroom

00:52

Law is standing at the sink, towel around his shoulders, hair still damp from the shower. He's dressed again—clean sweats, a t-shirt,  ready for bed, for a goodnight’s rest, hopefully. He's brushing his teeth with focused intensity, like if he just scrubs hard enough he can erase the memory of the last hour.

The door opens and Law's eyes snap up to the mirror. Luffy stands in the doorway, still flushed, hair mussed, red shirt wrinkled. He looks soft and warm and recently satisfied in a way that makes Law's stomach flip knowingly.

For a moment, neither of them moves. Then Luffy asks, voice quiet and genuinely concerned, "You okay, Traffy?"

Law's hand tightens on the toothbrush, "I'm fine," he says around a mouthful of toothpaste, not meeting Luffy's eyes in the mirror.

"You sure? You kinda ran away pretty fast."

"I didn't run away. I left. There's a difference."

"You used your devil fruit to escape." Luffy points out, never taking his eyes off Law.

Law tries to talk around a foamy mouthful of toothpaste, "That's—that's not—" Law spits into the sink aggressively, then rinses his mouth with tap water and spits again, washes his brush and puts it away in the cabinet behind the mirror, "I was tired. I wanted to shower. That's all!” He snaps after slamming the mirror cabinet shut.

Luffy steps further into the bathroom, letting the door close behind him. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Why would I be mad?" Law asks, too quickly, still not looking at him, pretending to wash his hands, mentally cursing himself for how dumb he must look when he didn’t need to wash them.

"I dunno. You seem mad."

"I'm not mad." Law bites.

Luffy silently looks Law up and down. From here, he can see Law’s profile, the tension in his body, the discomfort he holds in it, "You're doing that thing with your jaw." Luffy points out.

"What thing?" Law's jaw clenches tighter.

"Where you grind your teeth when you're upset."

"I'm not—" Law takes a breath, forces himself to relax. "I'm fine, Straw Hat. Just tired. It's been a long day."

"Yeah." Luffy leans against the counter by the door, watching his strategist from afar, to deliberately give him space, "Lots happened."

"Mm."

Silence.

Law runs out of things to do at the sink. He shuts off the tap, adjusting the towel over his shoulders to put it over his hair again and give it another round of drying, just to keep busy long enough for Luffy to hopefully leave.

"Did you not like it?" Luffy asks suddenly.

Law freezes. "…What?"

Luffy is never one to mince words, "The kissing. And the other stuff. When you were rubbing on me, and I was gonna touch you. Did you not like it?"

"I—that's not—why would you—" Law's face is burning again. "That's not relevant."

"Seems pretty relevant," Luffy says reasonably. "'Cause if you didn't like it, I won't do it again. But if you did like it..." He trails off, head tilting. "Then I don't get why you're being weird about it."

"I'm not being weird—"

"—You shambled away and hid."

Law swallows, staring wide eyed at a droplet of water rolling down the steam fogged mirror in front of him. it takes a beat too long to respond, to deny, "I did not hide—"

"—And now you won't look at me."

Law's hands grip the edge of the towel over his head and he pulls it, so its covering his eyes like a hood. "We shouldn't be talking about this right now."

"Why not?"

Law turns his back to Luffy now, sick of him staring, he knows Luffy is staring, he can FEEL it, "BECAUSE! We're—because it's—" Law struggles for words. "Because it was a mistake, alright? We were high, and drunk, and it just—it happened. It doesn't mean anything." The words feel like glass in his throat. Everyone saw me, everyone saw, I was vulnerable and everyone saw. I’m weak, I’m pathetic, I’m disgusting! And they saw it! They all probably heard me in the room too, tending to myself like a desperate whore—

Luffy is quiet for a moment just long enough for Law to spiral a little before he gives a response that draws the surgeon back, "Okay."

Law finally lets the towel fall back around his shoulders, slowly, and turns around to meet the younger man’s eyes. Luffy's expression is... unreadable.

What the hell is he feeling right now? Law wonders nervously.

"Okay?" Law repeats warily.

"Yeah. Okay. If you say it was a mistake, then it was a mistake." Luffy shrugs, but something about it seems forced. "No big deal."

Law shifts his eyes to the floor, his voice does a little something he’d never give name to, "Right. No big deal."

Luffy’s eyes widen a little catching it, hurt? A small tug pulls the corners of his lips upward, "Cool."

"Cool." Law mimics in an irritable manner.

Another silence, heavier this time, with Luffy keeping a neutral face as he stares into Law’s eyes, and Law scowling at him like he wanted Luffy to drop dead.

"I'm gonna go to bed," Luffy says finally, pushing off the counter. "You should too. Get some sleep."

"I will." Law waits for Luffy’s back to be to him before his expression falls.

Luffy heads for the door, then pauses with his hand on the handle. He doesn't turn around. Law’s eyes widen a little, confusion, maybe… a spark of hopefulness?

"If you feel restless or anything," Luffy says quietly, "I can help tire you out… I’ll sleep in my room tonight, in case you’re interested.”  He throws a look over his shoulder at Law, and—“I’ll leave the door unlocked for you, Traffy.” The door closes behind him before Law can respond.

Law stands there, staring at the closed door, jaw slacked. That image of Luffy replaying in his head. Luffy looking over his shoulder at Law, shyly, with a soft blush tinting his round cheeks.

Wait. Law's eyes widen as the words replay in his mind, and suddenly he realizes—Luffy didn't buy it. Didn't buy a single word of Law's "it was a mistake" speech.

"Damn it," Law wheezes. He sinks down into a crouch and holds ins head in his hands, heart hammering. Because Luffy knows. Knows Law was lying. Knows Law liked it. And instead of pushing, instead of confronting him, Luffy just... left an open door.

I'll sleep in my room tonight, in case you're interested. Law's face burns. His hands shake. This is—this is about that stupid masturbation theory, right? Straw Hat still thinks I just needs to get off more to be less sad. That's all this is. Physical. Casual. Meaningless.

I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.

Except it didn't feel meaningless. Law raises from his crouch and stumbles out of the bathroom after tossing the towel from his shoulders in a random direction and drifts into the hallway. He needs to move, needs to think, needs to—

Is Straw Hat messing with me? No. No, he  doesn't do that. As stupid and childish as he can be, Luffy doesn't play games. He says what he means, means what he says. That's—that's why…  it’s why Law agreed to join his crew in the first place. Because Luffy is straightforward in a way Law has never encountered before.

Except this doesn't feel safe. This feels terrifying. Law paces the hallway, one hand pressed to his mouth. He can still feel it—Luffy's lips on his. Can still taste chocolate and cherries even though he’s brushed his mouth clean. His fingers touch his own lips, tracing where Luffy's tongue had been, and his face burns. What is he doing? This is—he can't—

Love is cursed. Love is a means to an end for everyone in my life. Everyone Law has ever loved has died. That's just fact. That's his reality. So, whatever this is, it's not that. It can't be. He refuses to call it that. But it's... weird, isn't it? That Luffy is the only person who's ever made him feel like this. The only one who's ever made his body react this way, made his heart race, made him want—

Then again, Luffy is the first and only person he's ever kissed. Maybe that's all it is. Just novelty. Just physical response to new stimulation. It doesn't mean anything. (Except it felt like it meant everything.) Law sinks down against the nearest wall, sliding until he's sitting on the floor, knees pulled to his chest. He buries his face in his hands.

This is a disaster.

He should just—go to bed. Forget this happened. Avoid Luffy for a few days until the awkwardness wears off and they can go back to normal. Except Luffy is in his room right now. Waiting… in case Law is interested.

"Damn it…" Law whispers into his palms—footsteps echo down the hallway.

Law's head snaps up, panic flooding through him. He can't—he can't face anyone right now, can't deal with questions or knowing looks or— not THIS soon, not when his head is a mess and he’s still a little high and drunk and isn’t thinking as clearly as he ought to be. He scrambles to his feet and does the only thing his panicked brain can think of.

He darts through the nearest door… which happens to be Luffy's quarters. How did he end up so close to it anyway? The door shuts behind him, and Law presses his back against it, breathing hard, heart in his throat.

The shower is running in the attached bathroom. Steam seeps out from under the door. And on the desk sits an empty cake pan, licked completely clean, not a trace of frosting left.

"Oh no," Law breathes. He fists his hands in his damp locks and his breaths become more panicked as he whispers to himself, “What am I doing, what am I DOING in here?”

"Traffy?" Luffy's voice calls from the bathroom, bright and cheerful. "That you?"

Law's feet feel glued to the floor. His mouth won't work.

"Give me one sec! Almost done!" The water shuts off.

Law should leave. Should run. Should Shambles himself literally anywhere else. But he can't move. The bathroom door opens and Luffy emerges in a cloud of steam, towel slung low around his hips, water still beading on his tanned skin. His hair is slicked back, wet and dark, and he's smiling—that bright, sunshine smile that makes Law's stomach ache in that way Law has always tried to gaslight himself into believing is dyspepsia brought on by Luffy induced stress.

"Hey!" Luffy says, looking genuinely happy to see him. "Didn't think you'd actually—"

"—I don't like you like that!" Law blurts out, louder than he intended, so he slaps a hand over his mouth, spine pulled taut as he turns his ear towards the door, the hallway, daring not move or breathe in fear of someone having heard his outburst.

Luffy blinks, his head tilts to one side, water drips from the ends of his hair.

Law hears nothing, and Luffy says nothing, so he scrambles to fill the uncomfortable silence, "I don't—this isn't—" Law's hands clench into fists at his sides. "I'm just using you, alright? I'm using you and your crew to get to the answers I need. Robin's translating those texts we found on the final island, and as soon as I know what the Will of D means, I'm gone. I'm moving on with my life. This—tonight—it didn't mean anything. It was just—just physical. Just the drugs. That's all! I don’t like you at all! In fact, I think you’re the most annoying, irritating, stubborn, SELFISH asshole I’ve EVER met!" The words tumble out in a desperate rush, sharp and cutting, meant to create distance, meant to hurt before he can get hurt first.

Luffy just... looks at him. That steady, unreadable look that always makes Law feel like Luffy sees right through him. Then Luffy giggles, "Okay," he says easily, like Law didn't just say something cruel. "So after you get your answers, then what?"

Law stares at him. "What?"

"You said you're moving on with your life after." Luffy tilts his head, still smiling. "Moving on to what? What's your dream, Traffy?"

The question hits Law like a physical blow, square in the gut, knocks the air out of his lungs. He opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again.

What's my dream? He doesn't—

"I..." Law's voice comes out small and lost, "I don't... have one." And suddenly the fight drains out of him completely, leaving him hollow.

Because it's true, isn't it? He's been so focused on surviving, on understanding his name, on carrying Corazon’s will, that he never thought about what comes after. Never let himself imagine a future beyond revenge and answers.

I don’t have a dream. Did I ever? Before… everything?

Luffy's expression softens. He pads across the room, still just in that towel, water dripping from his toned body, and stops right in front of Law.

"That's okay," Luffy says gently. "You can figure it out. You got time."

Law's throat is tight. "Luffy—"

"And you don't gotta lie to me, y'know." Luffy's voice is quiet now, sincere,"I know you liked it. You can just say that. Or don’t… doesn’t matter. We can kiss again if you wanna."

"I—" Law's face burns, his tongue feels heavy, the room is closing in on him and he can’t remember any words, leaving him blathering and tumbling like an idiot, "I’m not— I wasn’t—sh- we—we should—"

"Traffy." Luffy reaches up and touches Law's face—just his fingertips against his cheek, feather-light, "You're shaking…" it’s not condescending, in fact, Luffy has lowered his voice into something tender that Law hasn’t heard before.

He is shaking. Law is trembling like a leaf, pressed against the door, completely falling apart. He would probably crumble if the solid would wasn’t there to keep him upright, "I'm not good at this," Law whispers, and he doesn't even know what this is.

"I know. That's okay too," Luffy says, and his smile is so warm it makes Law want to cry.

"I don't know how." Law whispers, his voice pathetic on his own ears.

On Luffy’s, it sounds… sweet, it makes Luffy’s heart flutter a little, makes him open up just a smidge and share some vulnerability, "Me neither." Luffy confesses, "But that's okay. We'll just... see what happens. No big deal. We’ll always be friends, okay?"

And somehow, the way Luffy says it—so casual, so certain, so easy—makes it feel almost possible. That yes, they can do this. They can touch, and kiss… and whatever else, and it didn’t have to mean something. It could just be. It could just feel good. Law's hand comes up, covering Luffy's where it rests against his cheek.

"You're an idiot," he says, voice breaking.

"Yeah," Luffy agrees cheerfully, still speaking softly, "Whose the one that tried to say we slipped and fell in cake..? That I was looking for cake crumbs in your pants?" He teases, taking a small step closer to Law.

Law laughs—a broken, wet sound as his face flares with heat. He groans with regret and averts his gaze, pushing Luffy’s hand from his face, "Shut up… it was the pot. I didn’t know what I was saying…"

Law drops his hand, still refusing to meet Luffy's eyes. The silence stretches between them, broken only by the occasional drip of water from Luffy's hair onto the wooden floor.

"You should..." Law gestures vaguely at Luffy's state of undress, voice hoarse. "Put some clothes on."

"Why?" Luffy asks, genuinely curious. "Does it bother you?"

Yes. "No."

"Liar." But Luffy says it fondly, without judgment. He moves away, rifling through a drawer and pulling out shorts, no underwear. He drops the towel without ceremony—Law quickly looks away, face burning—and gets dressed.

"There. Better?"

Law chances a glance back. Luffy is now in red shorts and nothing else, which is somehow worse because now Law can't stop looking at the water still trailing down his chest, the way his damp hair curls against his neck.

"Marginally," Law mutters.

Luffy flops onto his bed, sprawling out with complete unselfconsciousness. He pats the space beside him, "Wanna sit? You look tired."

"I should go."

"But you came here."

"By accident."

"Did you though?" Luffy's head tilts, studying him with those too knowing eyes.

Law's jaw clenches. "I was avoiding running into someone in the hallway. Your room was closest."

"Uh-huh." Luffy doesn't sound convinced, “I don’t sense anyone. You can go, or come sit with me.”

Law swallows past a lump in his throat, nervous, his hands feel sweaty. Heat is crawling down his neck. I really should leave… I should. He’s right, no one is out there. I can go to bed. I SHOULD go to bed. Before Law can think better of it, before he can talk himself out of it, he crosses the room and sits on the edge of Luffy's bed. Not touching. Just... near.

They sit in silence for a while. The ship creaks gently. Somewhere above deck, someone's snoring carries through the vents. The normalcy of it is almost surreal after everything that happened tonight.

"Can I ask you something?" Luffy says eventually.

"...Fine."

"When you said you don't have a dream..." Luffy picks at a thread on his shorts. "Did you used to? Before?"

Before. Luffy knows about Law’s past, every assorted detail. It’s something Law spilled out to him the first time they got stoned together. And Luffy did the same in turn. They both know the ghosts that haunt each other’s childhoods.

Law swallows hard, he puts his hands together in his lap and nervously wrings them, "I... yeah. When I was a kid." The words come slowly, painfully. "I wanted to be a doctor. Like my parents. Wanted to help people, cure diseases, save lives." He laughs bitterly, looking at his hands, the tattoos on his knuckles, "Ironic, right?."

"You did become a doctor though."

Law corrects him, "I became a pirate with medical skills. That's different."

"Is it?" Luffy looks genuinely curious. "You still help people. You healed me and our friends lots of times. You save lives all the time, Traffy."

"That's not—" Law stops. Because isn't it? Hasn't he done exactly what young Trafalgar D Water Law dreamed of, just in a different way? He might not be set up in a hospital, but he does help people, "I guess I never thought of it like that."

"Maybe you should." Luffy grins. "I think little you would think big you is pretty cool. Even if you are kinda grumpy."

Law's throat tightens. He can't remember the last time someone said something like that to him. Can't remember the last time he let himself think about the child he used to be—before Flevance burned, before White Lead disease, before everything turned to ash.

"I'm not grumpy, you're just exhausting."

"See? Grumpy." Luffy pokes his shoulder and giggles, "But that's okay. I like you grumpy!"

"You're—argh, weird..." Law turns his face so hopefully Luffy doesn’t see him blush—because he’s not blushing. He’s not.

"Yeah." Luffy says it like a compliment.

Law feels himself relax, just slightly. The tension in his shoulders easing by degrees. This is... nice. Easier than he expected. Just talking. Just existing next to someone without the weight of expectations. Funny… I kind of thought, after what happened earlier, things might be more awkward between us, but it isn’t? It’s definitely different, but… I don’t think it’s a bad different. He still feels like Luffy to me. My weird, insane friend. Law swallows nervously again as the memory of Luffy’s lips flashes in his mind again.

"Luffy?"

"Mm?"

"Earlier…" Law forces himself to continue even though his face feels like it could melt off, "I did... I did like it. You were right."

Luffy lights up like the sun, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Law can't quite look at him. "But it didn’t mean anything to me… I’m not… in love with you, and I’d never fall for you—but I… argh…” Law scratches the back of his neck, burning hotter, that heat crawling down his neck into his chest, trying to find the words, but not suddenly he can’t remember how to talk, and his face is getting hotter and the room feels smaller.

"That's okay! You don’t gotta say a bunch of words! I get it! It felt good, but you don’t wanna marry me!" Luffy bounces slightly as he scoots closer. "Wanna kiss again?"

Law's heart stutters. "Now?"

"Uh-huh. I've been thinking about it." Luffy's voice drops lower. "A lot." His eyelids get a little heavier when those grey eyes fall to Law’s lips.

"You have?" Law gulps, staring wide eyed at Luffy’s eyes locked on his mouth.

"Yeah. Can't stop thinking about it, actually." Luffy frowns slightly, like this is confusing to him. "About how you tasted. How you felt. Those sounds you made..." He shakes his head. "I jerked off thinking about it. Came really fast too. That's never happened before."

Law's brain short-circuits. "You—what—"

"After I left you in the bathroom. Went to my room, ate cake, jerked off again." Luffy says it so casually, like he's describing his afternoon. "Felt really good. Different than usual. Better."

AGAIN? He said AGAIN? Did he—fuck!? What the FUCK!?

"Luffy, you can't just—" Law's face is on fire. "You can't just say things like that!"

Luffy leans in closer, close enough that Law can feel his body heat, smell the soap from his shower. "So? You wanna? Can we kiss? Let me kiss you!"

Law should say no. Should establish boundaries. Should be the responsible one here… his throat works, his heart hammering so hard he's sure Luffy can hear it. His eyes dart to the door, then back to Luffy's face—those dark, expectant eyes watching him.

"I—" Law starts, then stops. Clears his throat, then his voice is small again, "The door isn't locked."

Luffy blinks. "Huh?"

"The door," Law repeats, face burning, finger pointing, "Someone could walk in. Again."

Understanding dawns on Luffy's face, followed by a grin. "Oh! Good thinking!" He starts to lift his arm, but Law is already moving, crossing the room in three quick strides. His hand fumbles with the lock before it finally clicks into place.

The sound feels deafening in the quiet room. Law stands there for a moment, hand still on the door, breathing hard. What am I doing? This is—I'm actively choosing to—

"Traffy?" Luffy's voice is soft behind him. "You okay?"

"Fine," Law says, too quickly. He turns around, keeping his back pressed to the door like he might still flee out it, "I just—earlier. When we were interrupted. I..." He can't finish the sentence. Can't admit how both humiliated and cheated he felt, how he'd spent the entire shower replaying those few minutes, wishing he could have had just a little more time and hating himself for it, for feeling weak, for acting up like this—

But Luffy seems to understand anyway, the things Law couldn’t say. His expression softens. "Yeah. That sucked."

"It was..." Law searches for words. "My first."

Luffy tilts his head. "First what?"

"First—" Law's face is on fire. He fans it with his hands and tries to breathe, a breath out… “Pffooo…”  then a deep one in, and out again.

Luffy is over there giggling at him.

Law clears his throat once he feels like boiled, "My First kiss. That was my first kiss. And it got interrupted before I could even—" He cuts himself off, mortified that he's admitting this.

"Oh." Luffy's eyes widen slightly, then that sunshine smile breaks across his face,"Mine too!”

Law blinks. "Really?"

"Yeah! Never wanted to before." Luffy bounces slightly on the bed as he pulls his feet up and tucks them in a crossed position.

Law's mouth is dry. He crosses the room and sits on the edge of the bed again. Luffy immediately unfolds his legs and scoots closer, eager but not pushy.

"I don't— give me a second," Law starts, needs to set some kind of boundary even if he doesn't know where it is. "I'm not—we're not going to have sex, alright? I’m just curious about kissing. Don’t get cute and try to put your hand down my pants again."

"Sure!" Luffy agrees with a grin, then reaches out slowly, giving Law time to pull away. When he doesn't, Luffy's hand cups his jaw, thumb brushing over his cheekbone. "Hehehe, you ready?"

Law nods, not trusting his voice.

This kiss is different from the frantic desperation in the kitchen. Luffy starts gentle, almost careful, pressing their lips together softly. Learning… Law is learning with him. They bump noses, readjust accouple of times before finding a good spot and sighing softly into it together. Law's eyes flutter closed and he leans in, tilting his head to deepen it slightly.

Luffy makes a small sound—pleased and wanting, and Law feels it shoot straight down his spine. His hand comes up, fingers tangling in Luffy's still-damp hair, and Luffy leans into the touch like a cat seeking warmth, kitten licking against Law’s bottom lip.

Law parts his lips instinctively, and Luffy's tongue slides against his, cautious at first, then cheekier when Law responds. Neither have experience, but Luffy isn’t shy to explore. He’s a little nasty about it… the way he swirls his tongue around Law’s like he’s trying to use it to stir, drooling into his mouth excessively. Law whimpers at the messy heat of it, the way Luffy kisses like he's trying to devour him whole. It should be gross but instead it makes Law's cock twitch and start to fill out again.

Luffy pulls back just enough to breathe, lips still brushing Law's as he pants. "You taste so good, Traffy," he murmurs, voice rough with want. "Even better than cake."

Law's laugh comes out shaky—all of him is shaking, "That's—that's saying something, coming from you."

“Mmm…” Luffy rubs his lips against Law’s, not kissing but— feeling? Law shivers a little, and timidly sticks his tongue out, just the tip to lick at his captain’s upper lip.

Luffy groans softly at the tentative touch, heat swelling and growing warmer in his belly, his eyes fluttering closed.

Law grows braver, tracing the seam of Luffy's lips with his tongue before dipping inside again. Luffy meets him enthusiastically, their tongues sliding together in a rhythm that makes Law's head spin, so sloppy and deranged. Dool is dribbling down their chins.

Both of Law’s hand finds Luffy's shoulders, then slide inward to cradle his neck at both sides as he curls his tongue to taste the roof of Luffy’s mouth.

Luffy whines, adorable and wet against Law's mouth, and his fingers dig into Law's hips—pulling him closer, desperate for contact. The kiss breaks apart messily, strings of saliva connecting their mouths, both of them panting, and Law realizes with dizzy clarity that somewhere in the last few seconds he's ended up straddling Luffy's lap again.

When did that happen? Law's thoughts are syrupy and slow, his body moving on pure instinct. He can feel Luffy beneath him, hard and insistent against his thigh, and his own cock throbs in response, trapped uncomfortably in his sweatpants.

"Traffy," Luffy breathes against his jaw, kissing there, then lower—hot open-mouthed kisses down Law's throat that make him gasp. "You smell good… taste good…."

Law's head tips back as he loosely wraps his arms around Luffy’s neck, giving Luffy more access. His eyes are closed and his mouth falls open in surprise. It’s strange… how Luffy’s lips, wherever they land, feel like bursts of sunlight that seep into his skin and spread through his body, radiating down to his core, in this… inferno that boils hotter with every addition.

"You're cold," Luffy mumbles against Law's collarbone, and his hands slide up under Law's t-shirt—rough palms against bare skin, exploring the ridges of his ribs, his small waist, the dip of his spine.

It’s true, as hot as Law feels inside, his body his chilled, the room is cold. Law shivers, a full-body tremor. Those hands felt huge, everywhere at once, leaving trails of heat wherever they touched.

“Wanna get under the blankets with me?” Luffy asks, hands rubbing up and down Law’s back like he’s trying to warm him.

The offer is innocent enough—practical, even, but the implications make Law’s pulse race. Getting under the blankets means more contact, more warmth, more of this dangerous closeness that's already threatening to consume him entirely.

"I—" Law's voice comes out rough. He swallows, "We said we weren't going to—"

"We won't," Luffy promises easily, still rubbing those maddening circles against Law's back. Luffy’s hands are so warm— shit, his whole body is warm, he radiates heat like a furnace even when he’s not using second gear, "Just kissing. And staying warm. Promise."

Law knows he should say no. Should climb off Luffy's lap, unlock the door, retreat to his own bunk where it's safe and cold and lonely. But Luffy's hands feel so good, and his own body is trembling—from cold or arousal or fear, he can't tell anymore. Maybe all three.

"Just kissing," Law repeats, and Luffy kisses the center of his throat.

"C'mon," Luffy coaxes, already shifting backward on the bed, pulling Law with him.

The covers are thrown back and Luffy haphazardly dumps Law into the bed, making him roll and the bed swing from its ropes slightly. It’s much bigger than the bunks in the men’s dorms, the mattress is comfier too, and the sheets smell like Luffy—like sun-warmed skin, almonds, sea salt and something uniquely him that makes Law's head spin.

Luffy suddenly grabs at Law’s shoes and yanks off his boots and tosses them over his shoulders, “You won’t need these! Hehehe!”

Law doesn’t argue or put up a fight. He’s rather grateful. Luffy crawls in beside him, tugging the covers up over both of them, and he doesn’t hesitate to make himself comfortable, sliding in under Law’s arm and wrapping his legs around one of Law’s thighs. His warm toes press against Law’s sweats, above his calf. And suddenly they're pressed together in the cocoon of blankets, Luffy's body heat surrounding Law like a cozy cocoon.

"You're like a damn space heater," Law mutters, he’s not complaining.

Luffy giggles against his shoulder. "Hehehe, that's what everyone says." His breath is hot through the thin fabric of Law's t-shirt. "But you're always cold. So it works out."

It did work out. Disturbingly well. Law's perpetually cold extremities were already starting to thaw, warmth seeping into his fingers and toes. The shivering was subsiding, replaced by a different kind of tension—the hyper-awareness of every point where their bodies touched.

"Traffy?" Luffy tilted his head up, nose brushing Law's jaw.

"Mm?" All Law does is turn his head towards Luffy and then they’re kissing again—Luffy’s tongue is pushing deep into his mouth, and Luffy is trying to adjust their position to roll on top of him— Law can’t have that.

Law rolls on top of Luffy first.  Luffy makes a startled sound—surprised, as his back hits the mattress. His eyes go wide for a second, then that grin spreads across his face, bright and delighted.

Law's heart hammered against his ribs. He had Luffy beneath him—warm and pliant and looking up at him with those impossibly dark eyes that seemed to swallow all the light in the room, what little there was from the porthole window and the bathroom light that Luffy left on. The position was unfamiliar and intimate in a way that made Law's throat tight, made his skin prickle with awareness. He could feel everything—the lean muscle of Luffy's body, the rise and fall of his chest, the heat radiating through the thin fabric of his shorts.

"Traffy—"

Law kisses him to shut him up, one hand braced beside Luffy's head, the other still tangled in those dark strands. This angle felt different. Better. Law could control the pace, the depth, could pull back when it got too overwhelming—except he didn't want to pull back. He wanted more.

Damn it— I feel like an animal, I can’t stop! Law growls and bites Luffy’s tongue out of frustration, but all that does is draw a mewl from the rubber man that jolts straight to Law’s dick and has him leaking.

Luffy's hands slid up Law's sides, bunching the fabric of his t-shirt, not quite pushing it up, but close. His hips shifted beneath Law, seeking friction, and the movement pressed their erections together through layers of clothing. His feet lay flat on the bed draw upwards, knees falling slightly apart to let Law slot between them.

Law broke the kiss with a gasp, forehead dropping to Luffy's shoulder. "Fuck—”

"Feels good," Luffy breathed, hips rolling up again, and Law had to bite down on his own lip to keep from making a mortifying sound.

This was—this wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to just kiss. Just stay warm... but Law's body had other ideas, his hips rut without conscious thought, grinding down against Luffy in a rhythm that made white-hot pleasure spike up his spine.

"Wait—" Law tried to slow down, tried to think through the haze of arousal clouding his brain, "We said—we weren't—"

"Just rubbing," Luffy murmurs, voice rough and breathless. His hands slid down to grip Law's hips, guiding him selfishly to chase his own pleasure, "That's not sex, right? Just—ahh—just this— mhh-" Luffy’s eyes roll back with his head, mouth falling open in a series of fluttery half breaths.

Law's thoughts scattered. Just this. Just grinding against each other like teenagers— shit, he supposed neither of them experienced this as teenagers anyway.

Law groans wantonly as Luffy's fingers dug into his hips through his sweatpants, those strong hands pulling him down harder. The friction was maddening—too much fabric between them but also somehow perfect, the drag of cotton against his aching cock sending sparks of pleasure through his nervous system—the heat of Luffy’s body, having him spreading his legs like this around his hips—fuck—

"Nnhh—Luffy—" Law's voice came out strangled. He couldn't think straight, couldn't form a coherent argument for why this was a terrible idea. His body had taken over completely, hips rolling in desperate rhythm against Luffy's, chasing that building pressure low in his gut. His eyes roll back until they  close and he’s just feeling, getting lost in how fucking good this feels,

"T-Traffy— hhah—hmm mmhhh..!" Luffy's voice broke off into beautiful wanton sounds Law would never be able to forget, his hips rolling up to meet Law's downward motion. The synchronization of their movements made Law's vision blur at the edges. Luffy’s arms suddenly move to wrap around Law’s neck and pull him down, panting in his ear while they rock against each other.

Luffy’s voice comes out small and whiny in a way Law has never heard before, “T-think I… ahhh— 'm gonna cum— from this..!”

Law's brain shorted—and suddenly he was acutely, desperately aware of his own body's response. The tension coiling tighter in his lower abdomen, the way his cock throbbed and dripped like a leaky faucet against the confines of his sweatpants, the slick heat spreading where the damp fabric pressed against his tip.

"Shit—" Law tried to lift himself up, tried to create distance, but Luffy's arms tightened around his neck, keeping him pressed close. Their chests heaved against each other, hot breath mingling in the space between them.

"Don't stop," Luffy whined, and the sound of it—needy and broken—made Law's hips jerk forward involuntarily. "Mhhh!! Feels so good—hahh—!!"

Law couldn't think, his resolve crumbled completely, hips grinding down harder, faster, chasing that building heat—

"Fuck—Luffy—" The name tore from Law's throat, raw almost a growl. He buried his face in the crook of Luffy's neck, teeth grazing skin, tasting salt and something indefinably Luffy. His whole body trembled with the effort of holding back, of not completely losing himself to this because he doesn’t want to be the one that cums first.

Luffy's legs wrapped around Law's waist suddenly, heels digging into the small of his back, and the new angle, the feeling of being clung to like this—made Law see stars. The pressure was perfect—so damn perfect it knocks a slutty sound from his throat and had him rutting against Luffy like a feral beast.

"Traffy—Traffy— ah—ah-ahh—!!" Luffy chanted his name like a prayer, like a plea, and then his whole body went rigid—back arching off the mattress, mouth falling open in a silent cry before sound finally broke free. A strangled moan that made Law's cock pulse painfully as he felt Luffy shudder beneath him, hips jerking erratically as he came.

The knowledge that Luffy was coming—right now, from just grinding against him through clothes—shattered what little control Law had left. His rhythm faltered, became desperate and uncoordinated as that coil of heat in his belly wound impossibly tighter—

"Mmmh…!!" The orgasm slammed through him without warning, pleasure whiting out his vision, his whole body seizing as he spilled into his sweatpants. Wave after wave of it, more intense than anything he'd ever felt from his own hand, leaving him gasping and shaking.

Chapter Text

Date: 10/07/X1523

New World, Thousand Sunny

Captain’s Quarters

06:43

Law woke with a start and a kink in his neck, bewildered as to why he was sleeping on his stomach. That only happened if he got his lights knocked out in a fight. He’s not a stomach sleeper by choice. He blinks away the sleep stinging his eyes and pushes himself up off the warm ground to assess his situation. It takes him a few moments of blinking and slow processing to realize he’s staring at Luffy’s sleeping face below him. Directly below him.

Luffy? What the hell am I— oh… right. We… yeah. My underwear feel disgusting… that tracks. It wasn’t a dream then.

Law felt heat rise in his face, and his cock gives a mortifying twitch of interest, already tenting out his pajama bottoms around a cum stain that seeped completely through during the night. He swallows and looks around the room. Pale blue and dim with the rising sun that hadn’t quite made it over the horizon yet illuminates the space. He can hear the cry of seagulls muffled through the walls of the ship passing overhead.

What exactly… do I do in this situation? I’ve never had a one-night stand before. What’s the protocol? I think I was supposed to have left last night but… I guess I fell asleep, and from the looks of it so did he.

Law moves incredibly slowly, I don’t want to wake him up. That would make things awkward. I really just… wanna get out of here, get coffee, like it’s a normal day. A normal day where I DIDN’T make out and—and…? What the hell is it called? The thing we did? Getting off mutually through frottage. Law manages to sit up on his knees by then, face feeling like he had a sunburn. He softly smacks his palm to his cheek, deadpanning down at the snoring, drooling mess under him. Luffy’s legs are still around Law, but loosely now.

Law is mid-escape attempt when Luffy's legs suddenly fasten around him like a vice, arms wrapping around his neck and yanking him back down, the startled noise that comes out of Law is humiliating, and he’d deny ever making it.

"Mmm... Traffy..." Luffy mumbles, still half-asleep, nuzzling into Law's neck.

"Luffy, let go—" Law tries to push up but Luffy is STRONG, especially when he's being unconsciously clingy.

"Feels good..." Luffy's hips roll up lazily, and Law freezes because oh fuck, Luffy is hard again, pressing insistently against Law's thigh. Law swallows past a nervous lump in his throat as his own cock pulses with excitement.

"We can't—this was a one time— nhh---" Law's protest dies as Luffy does it again, more deliberately this time, releasing Law from the grip of his legs so he could plant his feet on the bed, bridging his hips up against Laws and rolling them in a slow, deep circle.  

Luffy keeps his eyes closed, a soft moan rumbling out of him as he grips Law’s tee-shirt in both hands, dragging the fabric up and exposing his mid drift.

"Hhnn shit— Luffy—there are rules about this—" Law weakly protests even as he’s started moving experimentally against the motion Luffy is creating.

Luffy's eyes finally flutter open, dark and hazy with sleep and something else Law doesn’t have the capacity to name right now. His gaze locks onto Law's face, and a slow smile spreads across his lips, "Morning, Traffy," he breathes, voice still rough from sleep, and rocks up again with purpose.

Law makes a noise, something meek in the back of his throat. The friction is so damn nice, and he can feel himself getting harder, the sticky mess in his underwear from last night making everything more sensitive. His palms are braced on either side of Luffy's head, and he's trembling with the effort of not just giving in.

"This—we said one time—" Law tries again, but his hips betray him, grinding down to meet Luffy's upward thrust. A broken sound escapes his throat.

"Did we? Hnn…? Naaaah, all I remember is you asking me not to put my hand in your pants." Luffy mumbles out as his fingers ever so lightly roam Law’s back beneath his shirt, pushing the fabric up as his exploration drifts higher, “Leave, if you wanna leave. I’m not holding you hostage, Traffy.” Luffy pulls Law’s shirt over his head, leaving it bunched around his biceps uselessly.

Law can't leave. His body won't obey the command his brain is trying to send. The exposed skin of his back prickles with awareness where Luffy's fingertips trace lazy patterns, and his shirt gathered around his arms makes him feel trapped despite how it really is doing nothing but existing there. He feels caught between wanting to put it back on and flee and wanting to throw it off and stay exactly where he is.

"Can't," Law admits, the word scraping out of his throat. His hips rolled forward again, seeking that delicious friction, and fuck, it felt even better in the morning somehow, maybe because he’s fully sober now and he can really appreciate his position on top of Luffy, nestled between his thighs… maybe it’s the soft morning light illuminating everything in a soft haze of blue

Luffy's grin widened, pleased and smug in a way that made Law want to bite him. "Can’t or don’t wanna…?" Luffy murmured, and his hands slid down to grip Law's ass through his sweatpants, pulling him down harder.

Law gasped at the sensation, his cock throbbing where it pressed against Luffy's through too many layers. His mind goes blank, leaving him hovering over the rubberman looking all red and stupid, like a clueless virgin teenager.

Law is stuck at a crossroads, frozen in place, wanting to get lost in the pleasurable sensation of rubbing against Luffy, and the logical side of his mind screaming at him to leave, that this has gone too far, last night was ENOUGH. I was curious, I got to see what making out and getting off with someone is like, its DONE! I got it out of my system, I don’t need this! What I NEED is to end this, leave! LEAVE before it becomes a habit, before it gets complicated and someone gets hurt—

One of Luffy’s hands slides up to the back of Law’s neck, toying with the curls there, twirling them around his finger, “You’re thinking too much again. Give your brain a rest, Traffy… gonna wear it out. Just get off with me, then we’ll go have breakfast.”

Law's breath stuttered. Luffy made it sound so simple, so easy—like it was just another activity, like sparring or eating lunch together. Get off, then breakfast. As if Law's entire understanding of boundaries and self-preservation could dissolve under those callused fingers playing with his hair.

"You make it sound—" Law's voice cracked embarrassingly. He cleared his throat, tried again. "You make it sound like it's nothing."

Luffy stops rubbing, dropping his hips to the bed, "Traffy," Luffy whines out his name with a huff of annoyance, looking pouty and impatient up at Law, "Leave or feel good with me. No thinking or talking allowed, or I’ll kick you out of my bed."

The simplicity of it was maddening. Feels good, therefore do it. No complex moral calculus, no weighing of consequences, no obsessive analysis. Leave, or feel good. Law's entire body felt like a live wire. The choice should have been obvious—leave, maintain what little dignity he had left, preserve the careful distance he'd spent years cultivating. But Luffy's hands were still on him, one tangled in his hair, the other gripping his ass, and Law's cock was throbbing so insistently it felt like a second heartbeat.

The ultimatum hung in the air between them—so characteristically Luffy in its bluntness that Law almost wanted to laugh, or scream. Maybe both.

"You're—" Law sucked in a breath, "—such an asshole." Law drops his head to Luffy’s shoulder to hide his shame as his hips lower to close the distance Luffy created between their bodies, a decision made.

Luffy’s giggle is sweet and breathy, his grip tightened immediately—fingers digging into Law's ass, pulling him flush against him. "Yeah?" Luffy's voice came out rough, pleased.

Law couldn't bring himself to answer with words, instead he just takes his arms out of the sleeves of his shirt and tosses it aside them, and once he returns his hands to place beside Luffy’s head he lowers his hips down, grinding against Luffy in a slow roll. He’s not as loose as last night, his body doesn’t move as fluidly because he’s fully aware now, and tense, his movements are a little awkward and jerky. Luffy makes no comment on it, and instead slides both hands to Law’s ass to squeeze and hold, help adjust the movement and coordinate something that had both of them feeling good again.

"Mmm—" Luffy's head tipped back into the pillow, exposing the long line of his throat, and Law's mouth went dry.

The urge to bite down on that vulnerable stretch of skin was overwhelming, primal in a way that made his fingers curl into the sheets beside Luffy's head. The two fill the cabin with soft sighing and moaning as their hips roll and the ropes holding the bed creak and sway very slightly with their motions.

They don’t speak, or kiss. Law doesn’t even lift his head. He resists the temptation to bite Luffy, to mark. He has no claim to the Pirate King. He bites the pillow under Luffy’s head instead, partially to resist, and partially to muffle the sounds coming out of him.

It feels both… transactional and intimate. Distant, and tender. The contrast is so dizzying and confusing. Strangely enough, Law doesn’t feel used, even though he’s sure he is being used. There is no fear of being discarded like he was nothing, even if this isn’t love, Luffy is holding onto him like he’ll never let him go. And Law knows its true, Luffy is like that with all his friends. He’s the epitome of ride or die.

Law relaxes into this more, melting, tension evaporating away under Luffy’s warmth. Luffy is so warm and kind, and his pillow smells like him. Law breathes it in, buries his nose in it and inhales even though he could easily take a pull right from the source if he wanted. Every sound from Luffy goes straight to his dick. Law can hardly believe these sounds are coming from Luffy.

Law trembles and swallows an excessive mouthful of saliva. Luffy’s voice… when he’s feeling good. He sounds so cute, so sweet. God damn it—I’m not gonna last.

It doesn’t take long for both of them to cum and add a fresh layer of mess to the inside of their clothing—at this point its disgusting. They both shake and the air between them feels scorching. For a few minutes they just lie there together, Law’s overheated cheek pressing Luffy’s bare shoulder, and Luffy’s hands slowly rubbing up and down his back as his legs go lax and eventually unwrap themselves from around law.

Law awkwardly extracts himself when he finally can’t stand the feeling of the cooling new layer of cum mixing with the old, dry, flaky texture all over his cock and balls. He sits back on his knees and pulls his shirt back on. the quiet slide of fabric felt oddly loud.

Law felt like he was waiting for something… like he needed something that he can’t vocalize but his mind is going off the rails about. Was that okay? Was It bad? Was it good? Did I make stupid sounds? Did Luffy like it? Do I look stupid right now? My face feels so red and sweaty, GOD I’m ugly. Why isn’t he say anything? Was it BAD? Did he cum? I thought he did. So pathetic, I’m so pathetic, I—

The thoughts stop spiraling with Luffy lets out a pleased sigh and utters a few simple words with his arms laying lax above his head, “That felt really good. Even though it’s through its just rubbing on each other,it feels way better than jerking off. That’s so crazy, isn’t it?”

"Yeah…” Law answers meekly, looking away from Luffy. He feels the need to run, to get away and make himself busy and forget about this before things get too comfortable. Before Luffy asks him to cuddle, or says something that will make Law’s heart race and his stomach flip, “I need to—I have to change—"

Luffy smiles at him brightly, giggling, "Yeah! Me too! And I'm STARVING! Hehehe!”

Law feels incredibly awkward when they climb out of bed together, and Luffy strips out of his shorts right away—Law quickly looks away, burning. He grits his teeth and forces his eyes closed so he’s not tempted to turn back and look, “Tch—room!” A motion of his fingers, “Shambles,” and both his sweatpants and filthy underwear (as well as the mess of cum sticking to his skin) vanish and are replaced by clean jeans and underwear.

Luffy wipes himself up with his discarded shorts before slipping into a clean pair of yellow jean shorts from his clothing chest.

As Luffy is getting dressed, Law is finding his discarded shoes and slipping them on. It’s an oddly intimate, and slightly awkward moment… though Luffy doesn’t feel at all awkward, his mind is on breakfast.

---

Galley

07:42

The moment Law and Luffy step through the galley door together, the room erupts.

"OOOOOOHHHHHH!"

"WOOOOOOO!"

"AYYYY!"

Wolf whistles and… applause fill the room. Law stops dead in the doorway, face immediately flaming red. Luffy just blinks, confused by the reaction, but giggles and heads straight for the food.

“Morning guys! Hehehe! Everyone’s in a good mood!” Luffy plops down in his seat, drooling over the spread, “Breakfast looks SO YUMMY!!” he drools.

"Well, well, well," Nami drawls from her seat, chin propped on her hand, smirk absolutely wicked, "Look who finally decided to join us… together."

Law mean mugs her with every little bit of hate and bitterness he has inside of him.

"Good morning, you two," Robin says pleasantly, though her eyes are absolutely dancing with amusement. "Sleep well?"

"I'm sure they slept great," Usopp snickers, elbowing Chopper, who giggles and covers his mouth.

Law wants the floor to open up and swallow him whole. He can feel every single eye in the room on him—judging, knowing, laughing. The bastards, every last one of them!

"We heard you guys last night!" Chopper announces cheerfully, completely oblivious to the horror on Law's face. "You were making so much noise! Were you playing games?"

"OH THEY WERE PLAYING SOMETHING ALRIGHT," Franky bellows, and the table dissolves into laughter.

Law's hands clench into fists at his sides. "I don't know what you people think you know—"

The swordsmen cuts in, "—We know you didn't sleep on the deck, or in the men's dorm, Traffy…" Zoro says lazily from his spot towards the end of the table, eye cracked open just enough to look smug. "Bed was empty all night…"

Across the room, Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo are absolutely losing it. Shachi has his face buried in his arms on the table, shoulders shaking with laughter. Penguin is wiping tears from his eyes. Even Bepo—sweet, innocent Bepo—is hiding his face behind his paws, though Law can see his shoulders trembling.

"Law," Shachi gasps out between laughs. "LAW. Dude."

"Don't," Law warns, voice deadly.

"I just—" Penguin can barely get the words out. "I can't believe—with Luffy—"

"We always thought you were ace!" Shachi howls. "And then you just—with the captain—on the kitchen floor, pff—"

Law is grinding his teeth again, "Keep it up and I'm Shambling you into the ocean!" He snarls.

"Oooh, touchy," Nami sing-songs, "Someone's grumpy this morning. Didn't get enough sleep, Law?"

"Or maybe he didn’t get enough of something else," Usopp adds, snickering, looking pointedly at Luffy, “Was it a skill issue?” Usopp sobs at his own joke, slapping the table, “BWHAHAHAHA!! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! I JUST! HAHAHA! I CAN’T SEE IT! ALL I CAN  IMAGINE—PPPFFFHAHAHA—SLE—SLEEPING WITH LUFFY!! AND—HAHAHAH HE—AND HE PICKS HIS NOSE THE WHOLE TIME!! HAHAHA!!”

Nami holds her stomach as she laughs along and supplies her own imaging, “Haha! Probably a selfish lover too! Does it the same way he eats!! Poor Law! Luffy!! You owe Law a new birthday gift!”

Luffy has loaded up a plate with approximately seventeen different breakfast items and is shoveling food into his face like nothing is happening. Like he's not currently the subject of the most mortifying conversation of Law's entire life.

Franky’s obnoxious laugh practically shakes the room— “Oh BROTHER! Poor Traffy!! Did you at least get to top? Bet that rubber body is LOADS of fun!”

Nami snorts at that, “Are you kidding? Luffy obviously topped,”

Usopp weighs in on Nami’s side, “Obviously. Do you see how flustered Law is? Classic bottom behavior."

"No way," Franky argues, "Traffy's a control freak. He definitely topped."

Usopp and Nami both give each other a look that they shoot down the table at Franky, like they thought he was unreasonable, “Seriously?” Nami starts, she gestures to Luffy, who is stuffing his face with pancakes meant to serve twenty, “Have you MET our selfish captain? He probably didn’t even prepare Law and just went wild on him! Poor guy’s ass must hurt! That’s why he hasn’t sat down yet!”

Chopper stands in his chair with a frantic exclamation, “WHAT? Traffy is HURT?”

Law's eye twitched. His fingers flexed, the familiar tingle of his Devil Fruit power threatening to surge forth. He could make macabre art of all of them. Every single one. Put Nami's head on Franky's body, stick Usopp's legs where his arms should be and Usopp’s nose where his dick—

"Saannnjiiii!!!" Luffy called out through a mouthful of food, completely derailing Law's destructive fantasy. Luffy waves the last pancake from the plate he just devoured, "This is so tasty! You put sausage IN the pancakes! It’s AMAZING! You’re a genius!! Gimme more!"

"Coming right up, Captain!" Sanji emerged from the kitchen proper with another platter, though his visible eye slid knowingly toward Law as he passed. The cook's smirk was infuriating.

Law needed coffee. Desperately. He needed coffee and he needed these people to shut the fuck up. He stalked toward the coffee pot on the counter, movements stiff, hyper-aware of every eye tracking him. The back of his neck burned. His so called friends are still losing their minds behind him—he could hear Shachi making kissing noises, the asshole.

Chopper still hasn’t let go that Law might be in pain, calling out across the kitchen, “LAW, are you in pain? Is anything bleeding? Do you need me to look at it?!”

Law's hand jerked so hard he nearly knocked over the coffee pot, "NO!" The word came out louder and sharper than he intended, echoing off the galley walls. Heat crawled up his neck as he steadied the pot, holding his black mug with the other, focusing intently on pouring the dark liquid. "I'm fine. Everything is fine. Nothing is bleeding."

"But Nami said—"

"—Nami is making shit up," Law bit out, gripping the mug hard enough that the ceramic should have cracked. He took a long, scalding sip and welcomed the pain. It gave him something to focus on besides the circus happening behind him.

"Actually," Robin's voice cut through the chaos with that particular brand of calm that made Law's blood run cold, "I'm curious about the logistics. Given Luffy’s elasticity, I wonder how necessary prep really is," Robin holds her hands out for everyone to see, one hand closed in a fist and the other closed except for one finger, which she pokes into the tight hole of her fist, “See, Luffy’s body is very pliant, and under pressure, I think, in theory, wouldn’t his penis become more condensed for the space its trying to fit into?”

Law choked on his coffee. Hot liquid burned down his windpipe, and he doubled over, coughing violently, eyes watering. The mug slipped from his grip—he caught it with a desperate grab before it could shatter on the floor, but not before sloshing coffee all over the tile. Law curses under his breath and sets the mug down on the counter to grab a rag and clean up the mess.

The visual Robin had provided—the crude hand gesture—was now permanently seared into Law's brain. He couldn't unsee it, couldn't unthink it. His face felt like it was actively on fire, flames licking up from his collar to the tips of his ears. W—would it though…? Law wonders.

"ROBIN!" Nami's scandalized shriek cut through the room, though she was blushing and laughing so hard she could barely get the name out, “I’m all for some teasing, but that’s a little too much information! Dial it BACK!”

Bepo, Shachi and Penguin are all whispering to each other about it like a debate club. Brook is laughing tears that he doesn’t have the tearducts to produce, and Jinbei is shaking his head as he stares down at his plate and cuts into his pancake.

“Good heavens…”

Franky interjects his own cursed ideas, “He can probably inflate his dick too, like with third gear!”

Usopp’s eyes practically bulge out of his skull,"WOW! Okay, both of those things are just— okay hang on… you know what, those are really good points!" Usopp chimed in, sounding genuinely interested now. He looks to his captain, “Luffy! Are you hearing all of this? What do you have to say for yourself?”

Luffy looks up with several strips of bacon hanging out of his mouth and full, round cheeks, chewing, “Hm?” He blinks several times, confused and lost. He swallows in one gulp, “About what?” He’s already reaching for something else to stuff into his mouth.

Robin clarifies, “If you put your penis into something tight, does it get compressed, Luffy?”

Luffy raises his eyebrows, eyes shifting up towards the ceiling with a thoughtful, “Hm,” as he bites into a blueberry muffin.

Franky’s suggestion is eating away at Nami, so the navigator finds herself shouting his question and sounding a little desperate, “AND can you use third gear on it to make it BIG?” Nami flushes and averts her gaze, trying to play it off, “Who said that??!”  She points at Usopp.

Usopp arches a brow at her and holds his palm up to her, “Girl, no. That was all you.”

Luffy tilted his head, still chewing thoughtfully on his muffin. He swallowed and cupped his chin. "I dunno about the first thing, but yeah, I can use third gear on my dick. I can change my size all over all I want in fifth gear too! Never tried it before though, unless you count when I go GIANT! Seems kinda pointless? Like it’d just get in my way."

Law shakes his head and resists a childish laugh at the mental image his brain conjures of an enormous cock shaped shadow coming from the sky, eclipsing the sun and spreading horror across the land with Luffy’s distant, compulsive laughter that takes over him in fifth gear ringing through the skies.

Stupid…! So stupid! No!! Don’t laugh! Hold it in! It’s NOT funny!

"POINTLESS?!" Nami screeched, "How is that POINTLESS?!"

Luffy scarfs down another muffin as he talks, crumbs flying everywhere, "I mean, what would I use it for?" Luffy asked, genuinely puzzled. He reached for another, "Fighting? That'd be weird. Hit someone with my dick? What am I supposed to call that move? Gum-gum cock whip—? Wait," Luffy scrunches his brows, shoving the last of the muffin in his mouth, sucking the crumbs off each of his fingers, then extending just one, shaking it at Nami like she had made a really good point, he’s about to open his mouth—

She screams, “—NOOOO LUFFY!! FOR SEX NOT FIGHTING! GODD!!”

Jinbei leans down and softly mutters to Robin beside him, “If Luffy starts using his… unmentionables for battle… I will have to leave this crew.”

Luffy rolls his eyes like Nami just rained on his parade. He sassily grabs a whole plate of sausage and pulls it towards himself to stack atop the three other empty plates he has, “Oh… wow, Nami. You’re a real perv, aren’t you? You like big dicks?”

Luffy gets what he would call a fun reaction from Nami, with how red her face turns, he could practically see the steam coming out of her ears like a tea kettle, and now that the teasing was turned on Nami, which she CLEARLY did not expect or know how to handle from Luffy, she doesn’t want to play anymore, “OKAY— NEW TOPIC!” She exclaims.

Sanji agrees from the kitchen where he’s working on something over the stove, “Don’t talk so crudely to the ladies, Luffy!”

Luffy smacks his lips, cheeks bulging with food as he cranes his neck to regard Sanji unfairly, “Nami brought it up!! She’s been making fun of me and Traffy since we walked in here! I don’t get to make fun back!?”

“No.” Sanji answers firmly, “Nami can make fun of you all she wants! You deserve it!”

Law seized the opportunity of the topic no longer being directly on him like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline. He straightened from where he'd been cleaning up the floor, tossed the coffee-stained rag into the sink, and grabbed his mug. The ceramic was still warm in his hands. He crosses over to the table and takes a seat further down near Bepo and the goons, the snickering dying down some.

For a moment it feels like the breakfast is turning back to normal chatter. Law even relaxes a little, lets himself eat a few bites of food. It’s almost as if Robin were waiting for Law to think he was safe, and take a sip, because she starts talking the moment the rim of his black mug is to his lips.

"For the record, Law," Robin says conversationally, "the walls of this ship are quite thin."

Law spits his coffee back in the mug, thankfully it doesn’t make a mess.

"The ropes holding the captain's bed are also quite... vocal when they creak," she continues pleasantly. "Rhythmically. For extended periods."

"Good LORD!” Law slams his mug down so hard it's a miracle it doesn't shatter.

"How extended we talking?" Franky asks with genuine interest. "Like, what's the dude's stamina at?"

"THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS—"

"—Twenty minutes, forty-three seconds," Robin supplies helpfully. "The first time. The second session this morning was shorter. Approximately ten minutes."

One could hear a fly fart in the silence that follows.

Usopp shrieks, "You timed it?!"

Robin smiles sweetly, "I was awake," Robin says with a delicate shrug. "And curious."

"PERVERTED CREEP!" Law's voice breaks completely. He looks directly at Luffy, furious, and demands with a finger pointed at Robin, “SEND HER TO THE BRIG--! NO—SEND THEM ALL TO THE BRIG!”

Luffy almost chokes on his food—has to pound on his chest to swallow the oversized lump before he can sputter out the laugh that nearly killed him. He kicks his feet under the table and slams his fist on the top of it, tears prickling the corner of his eyes, “HAHAHAAHAHAHA!! TRAFFY!! WE DON’T HAVE A BRIG!! HAHAHAAHA!!”

Franky scratches his chin in thought, “We should though… hey, yeah! I should incorporate a brig into the remodel design!” (Franky has been taking a lot about remodeling the ship to expand it for their growing crew, as well as add some more armor and weapons, given the HUGE target sailing as the crew of the pirate king has put on their backs)

Shachi’s eyes go wide. "Wait, wait, wait, did Robin say two times? You guys went twice? Duuuuuhhuude!! You guys are animals!"

Nami adds helpfully, "Technically three times if you count what happened in the kitchen,"

“NOTHING HAPPENED IN THE KITCHEN!!” Law shouts, but he’s ignored, he’s left scoffing and fuming in his seat as the conversation carries on around him.

Robin looks to Franky with bright eyes and excitement, “Franky, what if we had a sex dungeon installed on the ship? If there’s room for it during your remodel, of course.”

The reactions are immediate and varied.

"WHAT?!" Nami shrieks.

"A SEX DUNGEON?!" Usopp's voice cracks.

"On the SUNNY?!" Chopper looks horrified.

“I can get  behind that… I’m down to bone! Yohohohoho!”

"That's—" Jinbei clears his throat, looking deeply uncomfortable. "That seems highly inappropriate—"

"I think it's a SUPER idea!" Franky strikes a pose with a foot up on the table that gets him yelled at by Chopper, he sits back down to continue, "I could do some really creative stuff with the space! Chains, adjustable furniture, sound proofing—"

"—FRANKY!" Nami throws a piece of bread at him.

"I'm just saying, if we're gonna do it, we should do it right!" Franky defends.

"Oh my," Bepo says, though he sounds more intrigued than scandalized, "A sex dungeon?”

Luffy blinks, tilting his head. "What's a sex dungeon? Just banging in a dungeon? Sounds boring."

The table goes silent and all eyes turn to the pirate king.

"You don't—" Nami starts, then sighs, muttering, “Of course you don’t know..”

Luffy scowls, “Don’t know what? Tell me!” He demands.

"It's a room," Robin explains pleasantly, "Specifically designed for sexual activities. Often equipped with various restraints, furniture, and implements for—"

"—ROBIN!" Several people shout at once.

"—pleasure," she finishes calmly.

Nami holds her burning face in both hands, “Arghh! This breakfast is going WAY off the rails! It’s too early to be talking about stuff like this!!”

Luffy's eyes go wide with understanding, "Ohhhhh." Then he grins. "Alright. Like the gym in the crow’s nest, but stuff for sex. Got it. Would anyone use it though? Are any of you guys doin’ it?"

There's a beat of silence, but then then, slowly, several hands go up around the table.

Franky's hand shoots up immediately. "Hell yeah!"

Robin raises hers elegantly. "Of course."

Sanji's hand goes up, face slightly red. "I mean... hypothetically..."

Penguin and Shachi's hands go up in unison, both grinning like idiots.

Brook raises a bony hand. "I would be curious to try! Though I suppose I lack the necessary equipment, I can get creative— Yohohoho!!"

Law has his face buried in his hands, making small sounds of despair. At least they aren’t talking about me anymore.

Luffy looks around at all the raised hands and bursts out laughing. "HAHAHAHA! Really?! You guys are a bunch of pervs!!”

"Don't laugh!" Sanji protests. "It's a perfectly normal thing to—"

"—I'm not laughing 'cause it's bad!" Luffy wipes tears from his eyes. "I just think it's funny! Sure, we can have one! Sounds fun!"

"LUFFY!" Nami slams her hands on the table. "You can't just—what would you even DO with it?! One night with Law and suddenly you're a DEGENERATE?!"

Law shrinks a little in his seat, noo, don’t bring me back up! Don’t talk about me! Shut UP!

Robin smiles serenely, "I think Luffy might enjoy a sex swing. I certainly would."

Luffy's jaw drops and lands on the table with a thud, making silverware clatter, "WOAH!? A SWING FOR SEX?! THAT’S CRAAZYYY!" His brain immediately conjures an image—one of those wooden plank swings on ropes, like the one on the Sunny's deck, but... for sex? His eyes go huge and sparkly, "WE CAN USE THAT FOR SEX?!" He bounces in his seat. "Nooo WAAAAAAYYY!! HOWW?!"

"Oh my God, he’s imagining a regular swing." Nami moans into her hands.

"It's not—" Usopp tries. "That's not the kind of swing she means—"

"It's a specialized piece of equipment," Robin explains patiently. "Designed to suspend a person in various positions for ease of—"

"I'M LEAVING!" Zoro announces, standing up, taking his plate and cup of sake, "I don't need to hear this."

"ME NEITHER!" Chopper scrambles after him with his breakfast.

"Wait, but—" Luffy calls after them, still grinning, "Don't you wanna know how the sex swing works?!"

"NO!" They yell in unison as they flee the galley.

Luffy turns back to Robin, eyes still wide with fascination. "So it's like... you can fly while having sex?"

"More like... float," Robin says thoughtfully. "The physics are quite interesting actually."

"I think it sounds FANTASTIC!" Franky declares. "I could build one easy! No sex dungeon would be complete without one! I’ll make it SUPER durable!"

"There is NOT going to BE a dungeon room!" Nami shrieks.

"Why not?" Luffy asks innocently. "If people wanna use it, what's the problem?"

"The problem is we're PIRATES!! Not a brothel! We don't need a—a—a SEX ROOM on our ship!"

"I don’t see the big deal?" Luffy shrugs. "And weren’t you just asking if I could make my dick big a minute ago, Nami?! You’re a perv too! I think you really like the idea! Hehehe! You scared you’ll be TOO into it?!"

Nami blanches, dumbstruck, fumbling, “I—I DO NOT! I AM NOT!—I WILL NOT! SHUT UP, LUFFY!”

Luffy stretches a hand across the way to poke Nami’s red cheek, “Then why are you blushing? Hehehe!”

Nami slaps his hand hard, "SHUT UP! I AM NOT!”

Luffy gives a cheeky giggle as his arm retracts back to his body.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Robin says. "Very progressive, and a good way to blow off steam when we’re out at sea for extended periods of time."

Law, who has been silent through all of this, is just happy to eat his breakfast and not be the center of attention. As ridiculous as the topic was, they can talk about sex dungeons all they want as long as they leave him out of it. He’s scooping some hash browns into his mouth when mischievous grey eyes land on him.

"Traffy!" Luffy calls cheerfully. "You wanna try the sex swing when Franky builds it?!"

Law freezes with his mouth around his fork, eyes going a little wider. He composes himself, forcing his reaction away and chews. He looks up across the table at the captain and dully asks, “That depends on what you mean by try it, Straw Hat.”

Under the table, Luffy stretches his leg out and playfully rubs the side of Law’s clothed ankle with his bare foot, giggling and smiling so brightly it burns Law’s eyes.

Disgusting. Stop smiling at me. Law thinks sourly with a mean glare.

"With me, duh!" Luffy says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You and me in the swing! Robin said it helps with—what was it, Robin?"

"Various positions and angles that might be difficult to achieve otherwise," Robin supplies helpfully.

Law's fork pauses halfway to his mouth again. His face is starting to turn pink but he refuses to be the one who backs down first. Not again. He needs to redeem himself after the humiliation of last night. Little bastard! If you’re gonna play that game FINE! But YOU asked for it, Straw Hat!

"I see," Law says, voice carefully controlled. He sets his fork down gently, "And you think you could handle a sex swing, Luffy?"

The table goes quiet. Everyone's eyes dart between them like they're watching a tennis match.

Luffy tilts his head, that foot still rubbing against Law's ankle in slow strokes. "Handle it? What's there to handle? It’s a swing.”

Law's eye twitches but he maintains his composure. "It requires a certain amount of... coordination. Given your typical approach to things, I have doubts about your ability to—"

"—My ability?" Luffy's grin widens and his foot slides higher, now rubbing against Law's calf. "I'm really good at moving my body, Traffy."

Penguin spurts out his mouthful of orange juice all over Shachi. Who gawks in silent shock, then snatches up his own cup of juice and spits right back at his friend—and this triggers a war of them spitting food and drink at each other in the background.

Law's jaw clenches. He wishes he had his hat to hide beneath the bill, but that hat is hanging from a hook by his bunk. He dare not avert his gaze, he refuses to lose this little game Luffy started. There is nothing he can do about the warmth filling his cheeks. But he grabs his coffee to take a sip, give himself a moment of pause, maybe use the steam and heat of the coffee as an excuse as to the flush on his face. After his sip he gives a collected, “You call the way you fling yourself around like a rubber band good at moving your body? Hm… that’s cute.”

Law feels Luffy’s toes curl into his jeans, gripping on and giving a couple of tugs. Law can’t help but smirk at the pouty face glaring back at him, especially with those round cheeks turning so pink.

“Traffy! You know what I mean!”

Law’s demeanor is nonchalant, an elbow rests on the table, and he props his chin atop his bent over wrist, averting his gaze as if he could hardly be bothered to entertain this conversation, “Do I? That’s news to me.”

Luffy's foot slides up higher, pressing against Law's knee now, and Law can feel the warmth of it even through the denim. The captain's eyes are locked on his, challenging, playful, and Law realizes with a sinking feeling that he might have miscalculated.

"I think you remember pretty good," Luffy says, voice dropping just slightly, and there's something in that tone that makes Law's stomach flip. "From last night. And this morning."

Law's fingers tighten around his coffee mug. The ceramic is warm against his palm, not quite as hot as his face feels right now. Around them, the table has gone completely silent aside from utensils scraping and chewing. Even Penguin and Shachi have stopped their spitting war to watch this unfold.

Law should back down… he should shut this down right now, maintain some shred of dignity. But Law has never been good at backing down, even if it’s what’s best for him.

"Oh? Was that the best you had? Interesting," Law says, and he's surprised by how steady his voice comes out despite the way his pulse is hammering in his throat, "Makes me wonder about your ability to handle more... complicated maneuvers. A sex swing seems a little out of your depth… from what I’ve seen from you so far anyway."

Luffy's grin turns wicked, and Law knows he's made a terrible mistake. The foot against his knee presses harder, slides higher up his thigh, and Law has to fight to keep his expression neutral.

"Out of my depth, huh?" Luffy asks, and the challenge in his voice is obvious.

Law's brain is screaming at him to stop, to end this before it goes any further, but his mouth has apparently decided to commit treason against his better judgment. Around them their friends are watching and eating like this is some kind of breakfast theater for their entertainment. This is a new side of their captain they’ve never seen before, AND Law. It really was… something. Robin is fanning herself with a handful of napkins and on the edge of her seat with intrigue.

"Actually," Law hears himself say, and oh God, he's really doing this, "I think you'd be completely lost. You'd probably get tangled in the straps within the first thirty seconds."

Luffy's eyes narrow, but that grin stays plastered on his face. His foot slides even higher, dangerously close to territory that makes Law subtly suck in his bottom lip to bite on to conceal a larger reaction.

"Really?" Luffy's eyes are wide and guileless. "If you think that, then you could teach me how to use it properly. You're good at explaining things."

Shachi is biting his fist to keep from laughing. Penguin has tears streaming down his face. Bepo has his paws over his eyes but is peeking through his fingers.

Law can feel the heat crawling up his neck. He closes his eyes with a faint smile, despite his blush he appears rather composed, "Careful, Captain. You're playing a dangerous game."

Luffy's grin somehow gets wider, his toes wiggle against Law, indicating he knows they aren’t talking about the sex swing at all, "I like dangerous games. They're fun!"

"Oh my God," Nami whispers to Usopp, "Are they—are they flirting?!"

"I think they are, its almost like they’re talking in code or something… feels like we’re missing a piece of whats going on here…" Usopp whispers back, eyes huge.

Nami nods, “Mmhm, mmhm, definitely.”

"Sheesh. This really is happening, isn’t it?" Sanji mutters from the stove, one hand on his hip, shaking his head, “Eugh… more ladies for me I guess…”

Law's hand suddenly shoots under the table and grabs Luffy's ankle, stopping its trajectory when it tries sliding between his legs. Luffy makes a small, surprised sound that could easily go unnoticed.

"You," Law says, voice low and dangerous in a way that makes Luffy's eyes go a bit glassy, "need to eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

Luffy's giggles like the devious brat he is, "Make me!”

Amused, scandalized and confused expressions paint the faces around them. Law's glare narrows marginally at the brat across the table, his grip on Luffy's ankle tightens and he can feel Luffy's pulse racing under his fingers.

Law snorts at the absurdity, “Make you eat your breakfast? Was that supposed to sound tough? Please, Luffy,” Law says skeptically, “Your loyalty can be bought with the promise of a meat feast, and you’re saying make you like that would be some kind of challenge to get you to stuff your greedy face.” Law plucks a juicy piece of ham steak from the communal plate stacked full of ham steaks, then chucks it directly at Luffy.

As expected, Luffy stretches his neck up and intercepts the slice with his mouth, catching it with a CHOMP. His neck retracts like a rubber band snapping back into place, and he's chewing happily, “Mmh!! Mhhmm mmh!!”

Law releases Luffy's ankle and picks up his fork again, returning to his hash browns with what he hopes looks like complete disinterest. His heart is still pounding too hard in his chest,and Luffy rubs his kneecap with his toes.

"See?" Law said, keeping his tone flat, "Easy."

Luffy swallowed the ham in one gulp and grinned at him, eyes crinkling at the corners in that way that made Law's chest do something uncomfortable. "Oops! Guess you were right! You win! Hehehehe!"

Luffy’s words say one thing, and above the table he resumes eating… under, he does another. While their flirtatious show comes to an end, the chatter resumes, talks of the sex dungeon resurface and a debate of if the room should be black, violet or red— meanwhile, Luffy’s foot slides between Law’s thighs.

Law's reaction is little more than a slight widening of his eyes. His fork froze halfway to his mouth as that persistent, warm pressure settled exactly where it absolutely should not be in a room full of people. At this rate he’s never going to finish his breakfast.

The little shit.

Law's jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. Above the table, Luffy was the picture of innocence—cheerfully demolishing a stack of pancakes, laughing at something Franky said about soundproofing materials. Below, his toes were doing things that made Law's entire body go rigid.

Any visible response would give away exactly what was happening, and Law would rather throw himself overboard than give these people more ammunition. The heat in his face was bad enough—he could feel sweat prickling at his hairline, his pulse thundering in his ears.

Luffy explores with his toes, like he’s trying to map out exactly where Law’s cock is and just exactly how it’s sitting in his jeans. He couldn't even shoot the captain a warning glare—too many eyes still flickering toward them, waiting for another entertaining exchange. Law kept his gaze locked on his plate, mechanically lifting another forkful of hash browns to his mouth. The food tasted like ash. His entire world had narrowed to that single point of contact, to the way Luffy's toes pressed and explored with maddening curiosity.

Stop. Stop stop stop—the pressure increased slightly, and Law's hand clenched around his fork hard enough that the metal bent. He forced himself to breathe normally, to keep his expression neutral even as heat coiled low in his abdomen.

Its insane, Law almost feels like he had to have fallen into some kind of alternative reality, or maybe he was having a stroke, or a bad drug trip and imagining all of this. Luffy being kinky was not something that ever crossed his mind. Does he know how perverted this is? Touching me with his foot under the damn table around the whole crew?

The bastard wasn't even being subtle about it anymore. Now that Law is pathetically hard, Luffy is rubbing against his erection teasingly slow. First with his toes, up and down, then he turns his foot and rubs along the length with his arch. The denim of his jeans felt too tight against the monster the metal teeth of his zipper is holding back.

"—Don't you think, Traffy?"

Law's head snapped up. Franky was looking at him expectantly, along with half the table. His mind scrambled to catch up, to figure out what the hell they'd been talking about while his brain had been occupied.

“Think what?” Law asks apathetically, picking at his food again with his bent fork.

"I was saying," Franky repeated with a grin, "that for the dungeon entrance, we should put in one of those big vault doors. Real heavy-duty shit. Keeps it private, y'know? Can't have just anyone walking in on—"

"—I don’t care about the sex dugeon! Do what you want," Law cut him off, desperately trying to keep his voice level. Luffy's foot was still moving, still pressing, and Law was going to lose his goddamn mind if this continued for one more second… yet he does nothing to stop it. It’s not like there is anything stopping him from pushing Luffy’s foot away, or just getting up and going (aside from a very obvious raging boner.)

Law’s mercy comes in the form of Sanji presenting Luffy with something, some kind of taste sample of something he was planning for dinner, “Tell me what you think of this sauce, Luffy, be honest, how’s the spice?” Sanji stands besides the pirate king’s chair, a piece of seared meat on a fork dripping sauce into the palm Sanji has hovering below it.

Luffy turns his head and opens his mouth like a baby bird ready to be fed, and Sanji feeds the meat in. Luffy’s mouth closes around the fork and he pulls off the morsel, chewing. Sanji steps back with the empty fork and waits, watching Luffy’s expression.

“Well?”

“Mm..!” Luffy’s eyes light up, chewing, tasting and not inhaling, Luffy swallows then  announced cheerfully, “It’s REALLY good, Sanji! I love it! Kinda spicy though!” Luffy finally pulls his foot back to tuck both legs under himself on his chair. The sudden absence of pressure left Law feeling simultaneously relieved and—and he refused to examine that other feeling too closely.

“Too spicy?” Sanji asks with concern.

Luffy shakes his head, “Nu uh! Perfect amount! I like how it mixes with that sweet flavor!”

“Good.”

Law chewed mechanically, forcing himself to swallow. His pants felt too tight. He needed to get out of here. Go somewhere. Anywhere. Maybe dive into the ocean. Despite wanting to leave, Law doesn’t, and stays until his plate his empty, and his erection goes down.

---

Main Deck

08:38

Luffy flops down in the grass with a full belly next to Zoro, who sat cross legged with his empty breakfast plate and sake cup stacked neatly off to the side as he leaned back to cloud gaze. It’s a nice day today. Not too warm, bright blue sky, plenty of wind to get them where they need to go.

"It has been a long twelve days," Zoro sighs, “Gotta admit, I’m itching to see this giant turtle up close. Looks like a speck right now.”

Luffy rolls his eyes with impatience, “Lame! Why can’t we be there NOW!? I’m excited to see it too! Felt like twelve YEARS we’ve been chasing after that damn thing!" Luffy's grin is blinding. "I'm so ready for that feast! They said there's gonna be so much food! For a WHOLE WEEK!"

Jinbei pads across the grass towards them with a serious look, "Captain Luffy. We need to discuss something before we arrive."

"Hm?" Luffy's still grinning, tilting his head back to look at his helmsmen and give him his full attention. Zoro looks as well. A few straggler Straw Hats ambling nearby out from breakfast tune in as well.

"This Church of the Sun..." Jinbei's voice is careful, measured. "If this really is them, they're followers of the Sun God Nika… which means," Jinbei continues, "they worship you. Or rather, what you become when you use your Fifth Gear."

Luffy waves a dismissive hand, mouth full. "Mehh, whatever!"

"DON'T SAY WHATEVER!" Nami shrieks, gripping the railing and stopping mid-step on the stairs down to the lawn, "Luffy, this is serious! You can't just walk onto an island full of people who think you're their GOD and say WHATEVER!!"

"Why not? They’re giving us free food, what’s the problem?"

"Because—because— UGH" She sputters, frustrated, because getting something through Luffy’s thick head when free food is involved is next to impossible, " JUST—you better not use Gear Fifth around them! Do you have ANY idea what could happen if—"

Luffy points with his thumb toward the wall outside the kitchen, where their updated wanted posters are plastered in a lineup and framed. His is the first—a massive 10,000,000,000 berries. In the photo, he's in Fifth Gear form, sitting on a throne perched on a mound of treasure, wearing a crown and a luxurious purple fur coat, smiling like a sweet little pea rather than a dangerous god and pirate king.

"Everyone already knows about Fifth Gear, Nami," Luffy says simply. "It's not a secret."

"That's not the POINT—"

"—The point is," Jinbei interrupts gently, "that we should be cautious. This whole situation—it feels too convenient."

Robin takes a seat at the mast next to a brooding Law who has his legs crossed. She chimes in thoughtfully. "I agree. That nun in Marie Geoise was very... specific about wanting us to attend. And the way she described the festival felt like a lure."

"A lure for what?" Usopp asks nervously.

"For Luffy," Law says quietly. Everyone turns to look at him. "Think about it. They invite the newly crowned Pirate King—who also happens to be the reincarnation of their deity—to a week-long festival on a mobile island. An island that's hard to track."

"You think it's a trap?" Sanji asks, lighting a fresh cigarette.

"I think we should be prepared for it to be one," Law says carefully. "I'm not saying it definitely is, but..." He looks at Luffy. "You need to be careful."

Luffy's still grinning, completely unbothered. "If it's a trap, we'll just bust out of it! Easy!"

"Luffy—" Nami starts.

"—Besides!" Luffy interrupts, jumping up to his feet with a bounce, his arms spread wide. "If they really do worship Nika, and I'm Nika, then they should be NICE to us, right? They'll give us lots of food and we'll have a big party! What's there to worry about?"

"Everything," Usopp mutters miserably, "Literally everything."

"The issue," Robin says delicately, "is that religious fervor can be... unpredictable. Zealots don't always act rationally. They might want to keep you there. Test you. Prove you're really their god."

"Or worse," Law adds darkly. "Sacrifice you to prove you're immortal."

Luffy blinks. "...Oh."

"YEAH, OH!" Nami throws a napkin at him. "So maybe DON'T go charging in like usual! Maybe we actually stick to a PLAN for once! We don’t keep Law around for his good looks, Luffy! He’s your strategist, USE HIM!"

Law fights off the little blush that creeps into his cheeks at that phrasing.

Luffy flops back down in the grass, laying on his back in a starfish pose, pouting. "Fine, fine. We'll be careful. I’ll listen to Traffy! But I'm still excited about the food!"

Law rolls his eyes, not believing him for a second, listen to me MY ASS. Little liar.

"Of course you are," Sanji sighs.

"We should do reconnaissance first," Law suggests, slipping into strategist mode. "Get a read on the situation before committing to staying for the festival. Set up escape routes—"

"Ooh, Traffy's in planning mode," Luffy says with a grin. "I like when you get all serious and bossy. Hehehe!!"

Law's face immediately goes red again and several people snicker, "I AM TRYING TO KEEP ALL OF US ALIVE, STRAW HAT!"

"I know! Thank you!!"

The smile Luffy sends Law’s way is burning his eyes, he has to squint and look away. He can already feel the sunburn setting in, all across his cheeks, down his neck. Law grits his teeth, averting his gaze downward and clutches a hand over his heart. Shakily he barely manages out, “Y-you’re welcome…”

---

Main Deck

10:15

Law needs space, time to think without Luffy's presence scrambling his brain into useless static. He's been strategically positioning himself on the opposite side of the deck from wherever Luffy happens to be, which is currently near the mast where he's engaged in what appears to be an extremely competitive game of cards with Usopp, Penguin, and Shachi.

Their laughter carries across the deck. Luffy's voice rises above the others, bright and carefree and completely unbothered by what happened at breakfast. Meanwhile Law feels like his nervous system has been set on fire and left to smolder. He needs a nap to escape his boredom and the loop of thoughts his mind keeps circling back to Luffy's foot against his thigh, then his— and Luffy's grin across the table, Luffy's voice dropping low and challenging— Law shakes his head sharply. No. Not thinking about it. He's going to find somewhere quiet, take a nap, and by the time he wakes up they'll hopefully be at the damn turtle island and he can focus on literally anything else.

The men's dorm should be empty this time of day. Everyone's on deck enjoying the weather. Perfect.

---

Men's Dorm

10:18

Law approaches the door, hand already reaching for the handle when he hears something that makes him pause. A voice that comes muffled through the wood but unmistakable.

"... Absolutely UNACCEPTABLE behavior!"

That's... Chopper? Law's hand hovers over the handle. What's Chopper doing in there? Who is he yelling at?

"I'm sorry!" Another voice—deeper, anguished. Bepo, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Law's eyebrows raise in confusion before pulling inward with… deeper confusion. He should just leave. Find somewhere else to nap. But something about the tone makes him hesitate, concern creeping in. Is Bepo okay? Is something wrong? What did he do this time?

He cracks the door open just slightly, just enough to peek inside and make sure his friend isn't hurt or—

Bepo is on all fours in the middle of the floor, head bowed low, ass in the air. And Chopper—small, innocent, sweet Chopper—is standing behind him with what appears to be a wooden paddle, looking furious.

"FIFTY GALLONS!" Chopper shouts, waving the paddle. "FIFTY! GALLONS! OF HONEY! In ONE sitting! Do you have ANY idea how BAD that is for you?!"

"I'm sorry!" Bepo's voice is thick with shame. "I couldn't help it! It was right there and it smelled so good and—"

"That is NO excuse!" Chopper interrupts. "That kind of GREED is unacceptable! What were you THINKING?!"

"I wasn't thinking! I'm a bad bear!" Bepo's head drops even lower, practically touching the floor. "I'm a bad, greedy, terrible bear!"

"That's RIGHT you are!" Chopper raises the paddle. "And what do bad bears get?"

SMACK!

The sound of wood meeting fur echoes through the room. Bepo yelps—Law shuts the door shut so fast he nearly catches his fingers in it. He stands there, frozen, hand still on the handle, staring at nothing.

What. What. WHAT..?! What in the— WHAT?  He’s trying to process what he just witnessed and failing catastrophically. That was?! Hold on!! Bepo was—and Chopper had a—

SMACK!

The sound carries through the door and Law's whole body jerks. He needs to leave. He needs to leave RIGHT NOW. He backs away from the door like it might bite him, turns, and— crashes directly into a solid, rubbery chest.

"Oof! Traffy?" Luffy blinks up at him, hands coming up to steady Law by the shoulders. "Hehehe! Hi! I was just looking for you!"

Law can't speak. His mouth opens but no sound comes out. His eyes are wide, face pale, and he knows he looks deranged but he can't—he can't—

Luffy notices that Law looks off and his smile fades, frowning as he tilts his head, "Traffy? You okay?" Luffy's expression shifts to concern. "You look weird. Like you saw a ghost or something."

Law tries to form words and, instead he makes a strangled noise. Points at the door with a shaking hand.

Luffy tilts his head, confused. "The dorm? What about it?"

Law's mouth works soundlessly. He makes a gesture—hands coming together, clapping as softly as possible—mimicking the—the— and gesturing, he’s gesturing like a terrible mime, trying to relay what happened without SAYING it!

SMACK!

Law jolts at the sound and Luffy tilts at the hip to look past Law at the men’s dorms door, "What was that?" Luffy asks.

"Don't—" Law finally finds his voice, an urgent, pleading whisper, grabbing Luffy's arm before the rubber could even attempt to go there, "Don't—you don't want to know—"

But Luffy's already moving toward the door, curiosity winning out. Whatever has Law acting this weird is something he HAS to know about!  His arm stretches where Law is holding him, "Is someone in there?"

"LUFFY, NO— you don’t understand!" Law whisper-yells, sweating now as he yanks and pulls Luffy’s arm, tugging it in like he’s trying to reel in a never ending anchor, but all it results in is a coiled rope of rubbery flesh forming at his feet. It’s useless, Luffy opens the door just a crack peers inside.

"Who's a bad, greedy bear?!" Chopper's voice carries through clearly now. Law can’t see—but boy does he hear it, "WHO?!"

"ME! I’m FULL of greed! I'M A BAD BEAR!" Bepo wails.

"That's RIGHT! And what do bad bears deserve?!"

Luffy's jaw drops. His eyes go huge. He looks like he's about to scream. Law frantically releases Luffy’s arm, and the limb snaps back into place. Law pushes the door shut and grabs him, tugging at his red shirt, trying to pull him away. "Don't listen! Luffy, DON'T—"

SMACK!

"GYAAAAHH—!" Bepo's cry is followed by another apology.

Both Luffy and Law's faces are identically horrified. They lock eyes for a split second, a moment of shared trauma, as they hear:

“Love Point!”

“Ohh!! No, Doctor! I don’t deserve it, I’ve been a bad, bad bear!”

“SHUT UP you pig! I’ll do whatever I want with you!”

SMACK!

“Ah! Yes sir!!”  

That’s enough to have the both of them bolting away from the door. Crash—Law's shoulder hits the wall as he stumbles on his own feet. Bang—Luffy's knee hit the corner. They careen down the hallway in a tangle of limbs and panic, Law practically dragging Luffy and Luffy half-carrying Law, neither sure who's pulling who anymore.

They burst through the door of Luffy's quarters and slam it shut behind them, both leaning against it, chests heaving, staring at each other with wild eyes. Heavy breathing and the distant sound of seagulls outside is all they can hear for just a moment, before Usopp’s very distant and muffled laughter drifts in and snaps them out of it. Luffy's face twitches. His mouth quirks at the corner.

"Don't—" Law warns, but his own voice wavers.

A snort escapes Luffy, then a giggle.

"It's NOT—" Law tries, but then he's picturing Bepo's mortified face, Chopper's furious expression, the PADDLE— A laugh bursts out of him.

That's all it takes. Luffy doubles over, wheezing, and Law slides down the door to sit on the floor as laughter overtakes him. The kind that comes from his belly and makes his sides ache, the kind he hasn't experienced in years.

"BAD BEAR!" Luffy wheezes out, tears already streaming down his face.

Law tries to respond but he can't breathe, can only make this high-pitched wheezing sound as he clutches his stomach. His face is turning red.

"WHAT IS-PFFTTHAHAHAHAHHA!!!?” Luffy gasps. "LOVE POINT!? AAHHAHAHAH HAAA HAHAHA!!"

"—FIFTY GALLONS OF HONEY! GOD—LORD HELP ME! HOO- I CAN’T BREATHE!! FUCKK! MY RIBS!" Law chokes out, and they both collapse completely, sprawled on the floor, absolutely losing it.

"FIFTYY WHAT!!!?" Luffy shrieks, pounding the floor with his fist, and Law honest-to-god SNORTS, which makes Luffy laugh even harder. “WHAT DID YOU SEE!?!”

“I CAN’T— I’M DYING, LUFFY!” Law sobs, curling up into child’s pose, sobbing into the floorboards.

They're both crying now, tears and snot running down their faces, barely able to breathe. Every time they start to calm down, one of them makes a sound or says something and it sets them off again.

"The—the PADDLE—" Law wheezes.

"YES SIR!" Luffy imitates Bepo's voice and Law makes a sound like a dying seal, slapping the floor repeatedly.

"Hooo! FUCK! STOP!! I can't—I can't breathe—" Law gasps, but he can't stop laughing. His abs hurt. His face hurts, it feels wet with snot, sweat and tears, and sun burnt red. Everything hurts and he can't stop.

"TRAFFY—" Luffy is full-on cackling now, the kind of laughter that's just a wheezing sound, like he’s running out of air, tears pouring down his face as he watches Law completely lose his composure. "YOU'RE—YOUR FACE—"

Law tries to speak but only manages a strangled wheeze that sounds vaguely like laughter. He's never laughed this hard in his life. Didn't know he was capable of it. Can't remember the last time he felt this light, this unburdened, this—

"Oh my God," he finally manages, voice hoarse, still giggling helplessly as he wipes at his eyes. "Oh my GOD."

"I can't—" Luffy is on his back now, staring at the ceiling, chest heaving. "That was—"

"The hell is HAPPENING on this ship?" Law asks between residual giggles. He sits up on his knees, shaking his head, wiping his face using the bottom of his shirt, “Good lord.”

Luffy dissolves into fresh peals of laughter, and Law can't help but join in because Luffy's laugh is infectious and seeing him this happy, this free, makes something warm bloom in Law's chest.

Chapter Text

They stay there on the floor for what feels like forever; laughter gradually subsiding into occasional snorts, giggles and breathless gasps with his ribs aching; Law's face is pink, eyes are watery. He wipes at them with the back of his hand, "I just—" he gasps out, still half-laughing, "I just wanted to take a NAP!"

This sets Luffy off again, and Law can't resist joining in; their laughter bouncing off the walls of the small quarters. It takes another few minutes before they can actually breathe normally again; Luffy is sprawled out and Law is lying flat on his back now, one arm thrown over his eyes. His stomach muscles ache. He feels wrung out and somehow lighter than he has in months.

God, what the hell Bepo? Really? Law thinks with closed eyes. He shakes his head. I’m scared to know how THAT came to be… maybe it’s a mystery best left unsolved… but Love Point? What kind of form is that..?

Luffy’s voice disrupts Law’s thoughts, "You can nap here," Luffy says eventually, he beams such a warm genuine smile at Law as he adds, "Anytime you want. I know you like your alone time. I only really use this room to jerk off. I hate sleeping alone; but if you like it, have at it—OH! And you can jerk off in here too, hehehe! That’s fine with me! It’s good for you, ya know?"

Law peeks out from under his arm to look at him deadpan with rose colored cheeks; so he’s offering up his cum stained bed for me to rest in. How generous of my degenerate captain… he thinks derisively, even though a small measure of him feels a twinge of genuine gratefulness, an afterthought pushes that feeling aside, you really are obsessed with masturbation though, Straw Hat, its concerning, and I can’t help but wonder what your sex life is like— but its not my business, not my problem. Just because we fooled around like teenagers doesn’t mean I’m entitled to ask about that. I don’t care anyway! Why should I care? Everyone thought he was naïve in that regard, including myself, but evidently, he isn’t. He said I was his first kiss, but just because he hadn’t kissed anyone before doesn’t mean he hasn’t done other things. People have sex without kissing all the time, so maybe Straw Hat casually fucks on a regular basis. But who cares? Not me. Why am I thinking about this? Shut up!

"Thanks," Law offers quietly, and he only says it to clear his brain and move on, but he does mean it. He’s not sure if he’ll take Luffy up on the offer to masturbate here, but escaping here to nap or read when he’s feeling overstimulated was truly tempting. Law pushes himself up to sitting again, running a hand through his disheveled hair; "I can't wait for Franky to do that remodel. Separate rooms for everyone will be nice."

Luffy's grin falters slightly, "Yeah, he has all kinds of cool stuff planned! But, the room thing… I don't like that part though."

He’s such a baby. Needs to sleep around others for comfort, pfft— Law covers his mouth hand chuckles behind his palm with amusement, and Luffy scowls and frowns deeply with offence. He has gotten good at being able to tell when Law is laughing with him and when he’s laughing at his expense.

“HEY! Jerk!” Luffy kicks at Law’s leg in retaliation, his cheeks turning a cute, pouty pink, “Why are you laughing at me!? Something I said funny?!”

Law tried to keep his exasperated smile restrained, but it must have slipped out because Luffy pouted harder, arms crossed over his chest in a way that made his whole frame look somehow smaller and more compact… Here’s the fearsome Pirate King, pouting like a child, he’s ridiculous.

"Sorry," Law offered, not managing to kill the smile in his voice, "It's just, you’re the only captain I’ve ever met who’d rather have no privacy at all." His hands sifted through his own hair, trying to work out the salt-tangled ends.

"It gets lonely!" Luffy insisted.

Law can’t resist poking fun of Luffy a little, not when the captain left himself wide open for it, “I’ve noticed you spend some nights in here instead, now that I know why; I’m surprised you bother coming here to masturbate instead of just doing it in the men’s dorms. Didn’t think you had any shame at all.”

Luffy snickers at that and he pushes himself up on his elbows, legs stretched out towards Law. "I just hate being sneaky about it. Being caught is annoying, but it’s not like I feel embarrassed or anything. Sneaky means you have to hold back and be quiet, and it’s less fun."

Law smirks a little at that, averting his gaze down to where Luffy’s palm is on the floor, finger rubbing against one of the nails in the planks; "You were being plenty sneaky at breakfast this morning, you damn freak. Was that not any fun for you? Were you tormenting me for some other sadistic amusement then?”

Luffy giggles and grins like a mischievous cat, "Says the freak that let me! Hehehe!”

"Tch…” Law reaches out and pokes at Luffy's bare foot near him, (apparently, he lost his sandals at some point), trying to look stern but completely failing, "Was I supposed to call you out? Want your crew to think you’re a huge pervert? I should have said something."

Luffy’s eyes narrow into mischievous little crescents, "Nahh, you wouldn’t have. You liked it, " Luffy presses his foot to the outside of Law’s thigh and wiggles his toes, "That kind of sneaky was really fun! I liked seeing your face, tryin’ not to react. You are REALLY good at that.”

Law looks away, chin dropping to his shoulder as he stares down at the planks and pretends he’s not blushing. He did not want to give Luffy the satisfaction of seeing him blush again, so he rolled his eyes like it was no big deal. Even if he’d nearly blacked out trying to keep his body from twitching reflexively each time Luffy's touch pressed just a bit firmer, and his eyes flicker to them, on Luffy’s toes. Clean and pink, the nails are trimmed and the color is healthy. No dry skin or calluses. They were actually kind of nice, for feet. Law scowled at himself for even forming that thought.

“Trying not to react? Please, Straw Hat; the most you did was slightly annoy me. There was no effort to hide a reaction, because there wasn’t one.”

They both know it’s a lie and Luffy calls him on it, the softness sultry edge of his voice as he says that one word, “Liar,” sends a tingle up Law’s spine. Luffy’s foot slides between Law’s thighs now, right above his knee, “Bet you want me to do it again now that we’re alone.”

I do… Law swallows as that admission pops up in his mind reflexively. Law stares at him and swallows nervously; Luffy just looks back, biting his bottom lip slightly as his pinktoes press and rub against Law's inner thigh through the denim. His cock gives a little twitch and fills out a bit. Law's pulse kicks up, he can hear his blood rushing in his eardrums. His face is still flushed from laughing, and now there's a different kind of heat creeping up his neck.

"You're—" Law starts, but doesn't finish the sentence. Luffy's foot slides higher, toes curling to press right where Law is swelling up. Law's hand shoots out and grabs Luffy's ankle—not to push him away, but to hold him there. Luffy's eyes widen slightly, curious; he releases his bottom lip and it pops out a little pinker than it was before he’d bit down on it.

"You think you're so clever," Law says, voice low; his thumb presses against Luffy's ankle bone, "Teasing me this morning. Making me—" He cuts himself off, jaw clenching.

Luffy grins, eyelids lowering, "Making you what?"

Law feels like he’s losing. He feels like he’s been losing his entire life, and now, under the command of another captain, engaged in—whatever the hell this thing is— and right now, its very apparent to Law that Luffy has all the control. Luffy is the one doing all the bold things, all Law has done so far is use his words to flirt back a little during breakfast. He’s been pathetic, stumbling over his words, blushing and letting Luffy lead.

Instead of answering, Law does something that surprises even himself, call it a momentary lapse of sanity— he lifts Luffy's foot higher and brings it to his mouth.

Luffy's mouth falls open, eyebrows raise curiously; Law's eyes lock with his as he parts his lips and bites the side of Luffy’s foot. It’s surprisingly clean still from last night’s shower. Apparently Luffy hasn’t had time to make himself filthy, to Law’s good fortune. Law only meant to give a punishing nibble to the foot that has been teasing him but—weirdly, something about it excites him; the pink color, the softness, the way Luffy is watching him slack jawed.

Law's thumb strokes along the arch slowly. Luffy is quiet but he sucks in his bottom lip again; and his eyelids get heavy. The small change of expression drops molten heat in Law’s gut. This is insane. This is completely deranged. They just finished laughing themselves sick over Bepo and Chopper and now Law has Luffy's foot pressed against his lips and he's—he's not even sure what he's doing anymore.

The skin is warm under his mouth, silky soft; Law's tongue flicks out before he can think better of it, tasting salt and something distinctly Luffy—not unpleasant, just... him. Luffy makes a sound, something between a gasp and a laugh, and his toes curl against Law's cheek.

"Traffy—" Luffy's voice sounds different. Breathier. "That's—that feels weird."

Law pauses, a worried clench in his gut, is this grossing him out? Am I ruining everything? "Weird bad or good?”

“Tickles and… I dunno.”

Law pulls back slightly, studying Luffy's face. His pupils are dilated, lips parted, and there's a flush spreading across his cheeks that has nothing to do with laughter anymore. Law’s gaze briefly flicks down between Luffy’s legs and notices a bulge there beneath the denim. He likes it?

Law feels confidence swell in his belly and untangle that nervous knot, he kisses the side of Luffy’s foot again, staring directly in Luffy’s eyes as if daring him to look anywhere else, "You started this," Law says, and presses his lips to Luffy's ankle, then higher, just above the bone. Luffy's leg twitches and the rubber man suppresses a giggle.

"Yeah," Luffy agrees, "I didn’t mean to." He admits with wholehearted honesty, and Law believes him without a shred of a doubt. The weird night where Luffy prescribed him masturbation for his depression and PTSD isn’t even on Law’s radar, that was in no way, shape or form in his mind Luffy coming on to him. This started yesterday, and it was Law who shoved cake in Luffy’s face, and Luffy did what Law expected, he ate the cake. Neither of them had anticipated where such an innocent gesture would lead.

However, this morning was anything but innocent.

"You didn’t mean to start it, I believe that… but you did choose to mess with me earlier, to make me hard in front of everyone." Law's voice comes out rougher than he intends; his free hand slides up Luffy's calf, feeling the muscle there, "Thinking you could just—what? Get away with it?"

“I did get away with it,” Luffy breathes out.

Law bites Luffy’s ankle and draws out an adorable giggle, “Little brat. Did it excite you?” Law’s heart beats a little faster hearing himself say such a thing, for letting himself behave like this. It wasn’t like him, it was new and—fuck, it was exciting, and dirty. He’s easily getting caught up in the heat of the moment, and from the burning look in Luffy’s eyes, he is too.

Luffy nods slowly while playfully rubs his other foot up and down the top of Law’s thigh, “What are you gonna do?” He whispers, “Go ask Chopper to borrow his paddle and spank me?”

Law chuckles. He lightly drags his lips down Luffy’s ankle back to his foot, and plants light kisses on Luffy’s little toes, “Hm… right…” He’s sarcastic at first, but his voice shifts as he makes a hesitant and very real offer, because the mental image of Luffy bent over his knee was an enticing one, he could admit that, and Law can’t help but suspect Luffy might be hinting he wants to get spanked? “I can spank you, if you want me to?”

Luffy giggles, like he thought it was genuinely funny, “No way! Why would I want you to spank me?”

Okay… maybe he wasn’t hinting that he wants me to spank him? It kind of sounded like he did. That tone he used when he said that sounded like he was flirting? He definitely wants something to happen right now, maybe I misunderstood. Was it less of a hint at wanting to be spanked, and more of a taunt? I’m not sure. He’s confusing. Best to… ask? I suppose…

Law rubs a hand down the outside of the thigh of the leg he’s holding captive by the ankle, “No? Hmm… then what do you want me to do to you..? Should I make you feel good?” He asks, feeling a little lightheaded with the way the blood is pooling in his cock suddenly. Maybe the coffee was spiked this morning, that had to be it, it would explain why he feels like he’s got such a high right now.

Luffy’s mind goes blank for a moment, all he can do is blink owlishly at Law before his system reboots and he processes that question. What do I want him to do to me? Make me feel good? I… don’t know? Actually I DO, he’s been kissing my foot, and it feels weird, so I wanna see how it feels if he sucked my toes, like I sucked on his fingers last night…

Luffy opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a mortified squeak. The fact that he can’t get his tongue and lips to cooperate and form the words makes him feel—ugh! Feel—what the hell!? A knot forms in his throat and his face turns scarlet in the few seconds he opens and closes his mouth like a fish on land.

Why can’t I say that? Why won’t my mouth work right now? ARGH! What the hell! SAY IT! STUPID MOUTH! Why is my face getting so red? Am I DYING? What’s the matter with me!? Why is this HAPPENNINGG!?!?!?!?

Luffy turns his head, breathing a little harder. The pressure from being watched makes him tingle all over weirdly, so he covers his face with both hands, suddenly feeling way too seen. Make me feel good!! Everything from the past twenty-four-hours slams into Luffy all at once, like the wall he builds around his more complicated emotions finally became too much and cracked. His ability to stay detached and at ease slips through his fingers like water running through the cracks of his foundation. Traffy wants to make me feel good!? He’s asking me what I want!? He’s watching me—oh my God—he’s attracted to me--! We—we—we did stuff last night, and this morning! And!! AHH! My heart is gonna explode! He WANTS to touch me! He’s kissing and biting my foot! And he’s hard!

Flustered and malfunctioning, Luffy stammers out a quiet, “Y-you’re so weird, Traffy…” and he giggles on reflex; like he’s having a system’s overload and doesn’t know how to process what he’s feeling any other way because suddenly he can’t just shove these confusing feelings somewhere else, to not be dealt with.  

Law is very entertained and turned on with the sight before him, watching Luffy get shy in real time. SHY! The King of the Pirates is covering his face and blushing! Law licks the center of Luffy’s foot and adores the way Luffy tries to jerk it out of his hand and curls his toes.

"I'm just matching you, so you’re the original weirdo here." Law murmurs, dragging his tongue up the arch slowly, watching Luffy squirm.

Luffy peeks through his fingers, face burning. "S-stop licking it! It's—it tickles!"

"Weren’t you so boldly coming on to me a minute ago?" Law's voice drops lower, rougher. He presses an open-mouthed kiss to the ball of Luffy's foot, teeth grazing skin. "What happened? Get shy on me, Captain?"

The whine that escapes Luffy makes Law's cock throb. He shifts slightly, adjusting himself through his jeans—too tight, and uncomfortable. Luffy is watching him from between his fingers.

"See something you like?" Law asks.

Luffy nods from behind his hands, and that small admission sends a thrill through Law's entire body. He kisses Luffy's instep, then takes his big toe into his mouth, sucking gently. The noise Luffy makes—half-gasp, half-laugh—goes straight to Law's groin.

"Ah—hahha--Traffy!" Luffy's hands drop from his face, reaching down toward Law. "That's—I can't—"

Law releases his toe with a soft pop, smirking, "Can't what?"

"It's tickles! Quit it!" Luffy sits up suddenly, pulling his foot free with a yank—and tackling Law backward onto the floor. They land with a thump, Luffy straddling Law's hips, hands planted on either side of Law’s head.

The knock of Law’s head against the hard floor was unpleasant, but seeing Luffy above him with that face, oh… it’s well worth the bit of pain. Law can’t believe his eyes, Monkey D Luffy is embarrassed, how about that? What? Did he suddenly realize we’re screwing around in sex territory or something? Has to be it. It’s the only thing that would explain how he could so casually go from blurting out shit like, telling me to masturbate more for my heath, and the teasing earlier, to THIS, making THIS face, all red, and angry, pouty, God are there tears in his eyes too? Adorable little brat. He’s SO pissed he’s feeling this way. Has he NEVER been embarrassed before?

Law is chuckling before he can stop himself, not that he wants to stop it.

"What're you laughing at!?" Luffy demands, his hands are fisted in Law's shirt now; wrinkling the fabric.

"You," Law manages between quiet laughs, reaching up to pinch Luffy's burning cheek; "Got all shy when I asked you what you wanted. Hit you all at once, huh? Poor thing… messing around isn’t as casual as you thought it was gonna be, huh? Look at you, you’re blushing."

"I'm NOT BLUSHING! And I’m NOT SHY!!" Luffy protests, which would be more convincing if his voice didn't crack halfway through and if he wasn't currently the color of a tomato.

Law smirks, looking half lidded up at Luffy; charmed and amused, “Oh yeah..? Tell me then,” Law raises his hips, playfully rolling them in a subtle way so Luffy can feel his hardness against his ass, “You wanna mess around? That’s a thing we’re doing now, isn’t it?” He grabs one of Luffy’s hands and pulls it from his shirt to kiss his knuckles, “So tell me, how can I please you, Pirate King?”

Luffy's jaw drops open; white noise going on behind those shocked eyes as enough precum leaks out from his cock to seep through and create a very telling wet spot on the front of his shorts, "I—you—" Luffy sputters, blush spreading up his forehead and down his neck; his free hand clutches tighter at Law's shirt, and he jerks his other hand from Law’s grip, "Stop saying stuff like that!!"

"Like what?" Law's voice is all smooth and teasing and it makes Luffy want to bite him; "I'm just asking what you want. You started this," Law laughs, holding his hands in surrender.

Luffy did start it, he knows he did; but that was different—that was fun and exciting and he didn't have to think about it. That’s it! It’s all Traffy’s fault! He’s asking me to think so it’s making me feel weird! He’s bossing me around and I don’t like it!

“Hmph! Don’t ask me stuff! I’ll do whatever I want!”

Law's smirk widens at that declaration. Of course. Of course Luffy would turn this into a power struggle. The man can't help himself—always has to be in control, always has to do things his own way. It's infuriating and endearing in equal measure.

Law wonders, whatever he wants, huh? What exactly is that? I’d like to know.

"Alright then," Law says, letting his hands fall to his sides completely, relaxed against the floor. "Do whatever you want. Just not sex. I haven’t decided if I wanna fuck you yet or not.”

The words hang between them. Luffy stares down at him, breathing hard; clearly not expecting Law to just... surrender like that. His eyes are wide and uncertain, darting around Law's face like he's searching for a trick or a trap.

Law keeps his expression neutral, patient. His cock is straining against his jeans, uncomfortable and demanding attention, but he ignores it. This is more interesting—watching Luffy react, and process.

Luffy gets a shade redder, “S-stop staring at me!!” and Law starts laughing. Luffy unties the purple sash around his waist furiously, “Lift up your head! I’m covering your eyes!”

“Why?” Law asks, lifting himself on his elbows anyway.

“Cause I WANNA!” Luffy huffs, tying the sash around Law’s head twice over, before pushing Law by the shoulder back down flat.

Law's world goes dark. The fabric smells like sea salt and almonds, something distinctly Luffy—that sunshine sweat scent that Law is becoming far too familiar with. His heart hammers against his ribs as he lies back on the floor again, blind, hyperaware of Luffy's weight still straddling his hips.

"There," Luffy says, and Law can hear the satisfaction in his voice, "Now you can't look at me with that stupid face."

"My face isn't stupid, yours is," Law protests, but his voice comes out rougher than intended. Not being able to see is doing something to him—making every other sense sharper. The warmth of Luffy's thighs pressed against his sides. The sound of Luffy's breathing, still uneven. The way Luffy's weight shifts slightly forward.

"NU-UH! Yours! And it IS stupid," Luffy insists.

Law is very amused; chuckling, he teases, but is fully serious, “So that’s how this is then. You just want me for my body.” Somehow, of course, the question he’s been dying to ask comes out in the form of a half-joke.

“Yeah,” Luffy answers, and a moment later Law feels Luffy’s fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt.

The emotional distance is comforting; it eases Law into this intimacy between himself and Luffy further now that Luffy confirmed that was the case, and now all the things he’s been pushing back since this started yesterday come flooding forth. So this IS just about sex, he’s not in love with me. Good. I was… fighting the possibility, not letting myself fully form the thought that Luffy could be having feelings for me. He isn’t. That’s fine. That’s better than fine. And I can admit, I’m attracted to him, obviously. I trust him. He’s my friend, I don’t love him, but I don’t mind exploring sexual things with him. I mean, part of me has always been at least a little curious what it might be like anyway. I’ve just never had anyone I trusted like this to try it with before, someone who doesn’t make my stomach sick when they touch me.

“Fine then. Just don’t fall for me,” Law says it teasingly, but he means it. Luffy's fingers pause on the third button of Law's shirt. The room goes silent for a heartbeat, but with their loud mouthed, chaos crew, silence never lasted longer than that. Distant and muffled loud voices argue and laugh on the deck above, the sound of fire crackers going off and Shachi screaming is accompanied by devious laughter from Usopp.

Law is distracted by all the ruckus he didn’t realize Luffy had leaned so close to him until his lips ghost over Law’s cheek with his whispered answer, "I won't," and there's something in his voice that Law can't quite parse—not with the blindfold on, not without being able to see his face.

Law's chest tightens anyway. The response came too easy; like Luffy hadn't even considered it as a possibility. Which is good. That's what Law wants. So why does it feel like a small stone dropped into his stomach? Before Law can analyze that feeling further, Luffy finishes unbuttoning his shirt and pushes the fabric aside. Cool air hits Law's exposed chest and abdomen, making his skin prickle. Luffy grabs Law’s wrists without a word and firmly places his hands at the small dip of his waist, pressing, silently commanding they stay here.

Law swallows when he hears the soft, slow pull of metal teeth. Not his jeans, so Luffy must have been— Law’s eyes are wide behind the sash, searching the dark, trying to imagine what he can’t see. He can hear a lot of distant noise of their crewmates being obnoxious all over the ship, then Luffy adjusts how he’s sitting, directly on Law’s cock and— movement? But not his body, but his arm?

Law has jerked off enough times in his life to realize what Luffy is doing without being able to see it. Law's breath stops for a flutter of a moment. His fingers tighten reflexively against Luffy's waist where they were placed, feeling the heat of skin through thin fabric. Luffy is touching himself right there, right on top of him.

"Luffy—" Law's voice comes out strangled.

"Shh," Luffy breathes, and his hips roll forward slightly, grinding down against Law's erection. The pressure sends a jolt of heat up Law's spine that makes his back arch involuntarily off the floor.

Law tries to speak again, but Luffy’s other hand clamps over his mouth and he gets shushed again, a third attempt to talk in a row has Luffy bunching up the extra fabric of the sash tied around Law’s eyes and stuffing it into his mouth as a makeshift gag.

“Talk too much, Traffy,” Luffy scolds, saying his name in that bratty little way of his he does when Law annoys him.

Law's muffled protest dies in his throat. The fabric tastes like salt and the fresh scented laundry detergent they use on the ship. Suddenly he can't see, can't speak, can only feel. His heart is slamming against his ribs so hard it hurts. Every nerve ending in his body feels like it's been set on fire.

The sound of Luffy's breathing grows heavier above him.  Law can hear the wet slide of skin on skin now that he's listening for it, and the knowledge of what Luffy is doing—blindfolding him, gagging him, jerking himself off while grinding down on Law's cock—sends a wave of heat through him so intense he thinks he might pass out. Something in this scenario is missing and Law can’t place what it is… he definitely likes it. What is it? What would make this better? It feels… so close. A fantasy pops in mind of their roles reversed pops into mind has a bead of precum bleeding into the fabric of his underwear.

God yes… I want that. Luffy below me, blindfolded and gagged. Me playing with him, finding out where he’s sensitive, seeing all his cute reactions. I wanna see him lose his composure again… but Luffy’s such a fucking brat, he would never let me do that, would he? Whatever. I’ll just let him be for now. I’m curious, and this is getting interesting.

Law's fingers dig harder into Luffy's waist; he wants to see. God, he wants to know what Luffy’s face looks like. He didn’t really get to see last night, both of them were too lost in it, wild, chasing pleasure, and it was dark. This morning was quick and Law had his face pressed to Luffy’s shoulder for all of it.

Laying here being used—Law feels slutty for the first time in his life, which is something he NEVER thought he’d experience, and it almost makes him laugh at the ridiculousness of it. The King of the Pirates is jerking off on me. Oh my God. What the hell.

A breathy little sound escapes Luffy—something between a gasp and a moan—and Law feels it like a punch to this cock. His hips buck up involuntarily, seeking more friction, more contact, anything to ease the aching pressure in his jeans.

Luffy's free hand snatches up one of Law’s wrists again, yanking it where he wants it; Law's palm presses against something hot and hard and— fuck. Luffy wrapped Law's fingers around his cock, forcing Law to hold it, squeezing his hand to make him make a fist.

Law's mind flatlines for a moment—the heat, the velvet-soft skin, the way it pulses in his grip— i-it’s smaller than I thought but thick… he’s so wet. His fingers instinctively curl around the shaft and Luffy makes another one of those sounds, higher-pitched this time, needy as he starts to fuck into Law’s fist.

“Nhhnn… hhah…” Petal soft sounds flutter out of Luffy.

Law's breath came in short, sharp bursts through his nose, the gag preventing anything else. His other hand was still on Luffy's waist, feeling every shift and roll of his hips and movement of his body as Luffy worked himself into Law's grip. The sounds Luffy made were quiet, breathy, almost hesitant—like he was trying to keep them in and failing.

Law's cock throbbed agonizingly in his jeans, neglected and desperate; the denim felt like sandpaper now, too rough and restricting. He wanted to touch himself, wanted to get his pants open and frantically fist his cock to completion, it probably wouldn’t take more than a few pumps at this rate— but Luffy had positioned him like this deliberately—one hand trapped around Luffy's cock, the other on his waist. Law was stuck, blind and gagged and hard enough to hurt, being used as Luffy's personal toy.

And fuck, why was that so hot?

Luffy's thighs clenched tighter around Law's hips, his rhythm getting erratic; Law could feel the change—Luffy's breathing getting harsher, more desperate the way his hips stuttered forward instead of keeping that confident pace. The hand gripping Law's wrist tightened, nails digging in slightly, using Law's fist like it was just an object, a tool for his pleasure.

Law's jaw worked uselessly against the gag, wanting to say something—what, he didn't even know; his own cock was leaking pathetically now, he could feel the wet spot spreading, uncomfortable and maddening. Every thrust of Luffy's hips ground down against him, creating friction that was not nearly enough. It was a damn tease.

Luffy's hand left Law's wrist and landed on his chest, fingers splaying wide over his heart; there was no way he didn’t feel the way his heart was going wild.

“Nrghh— mhhh mmhh..!”

Law is tempted to move his fist, jerk Luffy off but— he stays still, even his grip is limp and only tight because of Luffy’s over top of his making him squeeze. If he stopped, Law would simply let his hand fall limp like a corpse. Because Luffy isn’t asking him to do anything, so Law isn’t doing anything. He refused to answer him earlier when Law asked how he could make him feel good, and now Luffy was doing whatever he wants. So why should Law help?

I wanna hear him ask me, tell me what he wants, or I’m not doing anything for him. Either way, this is hot. He’s such a selfish little brat, using me to get off… fuck, I wanna see him. What kind of face is he making? I bet he’s so red.

"Hahh—Traffy—" Luffy's voice cracked, and his whole body shuddered. The hand on Law's chest pressed down harder, like he needed the support to stay upright.

Law's pulse thundered in his ears. He couldn't see Luffy's face, couldn't watch him come apart, but he could feel it in every tremor, every hitch of breath, every desperate rock of his hips. The frustration of not seeing made everything else sharper—the slick warmth in his palm, the weight of Luffy on top of him, the fabric cutting into the corners of his mouth.

Luffy's rhythm turned frantic, chasing something; Law resisted the urge to squeeze to help Luffy along and he keeps his fingers limp—and it’s Luffy that squeezes around Law’s hand to make him squeeze his cock. Law chuckles around his gag. The reaction to the added pressure was immediate—Luffy gasps, a sharp inhale that cut through the air, then warmth—slick and wet across Law's knuckles, his palm, spilling over his fingers. Luffy was coming in his hand, shaking through it, hips jerking forward in sharp, uncontrolled thrusts; some of it hitting Law's bare stomach. His whole body went rigid, thighs clamping down hard around Law's hips, and Law felt every pulse, every twitch of Luffy's cock in his hand.

"Ah—ahh—!"

The sounds Luffy made were wrecked, broken little gasps that went straight to Law's neglected dick; Law's back arched off the floor again, desperate for friction, for anything, but there was nothing. Just the torturous pressure of denim and his own arousal soaking through his underwear.

Luffy takes a moment to breathe as he comes down, then sits up right, making Law grunt as all his weight presses down on his poor dick. He can hear fabric, the metal teeth of a zipper, then the fabric in Law’s mouth is pulled out, next the sash is untied from his head. His eyes are a little sensitive to the afternoon light coming in from the porthole windows and he squints.

Luffy gets off of him and ties his sash, giggling, a bit breathless, “Thanks, buddy!”

Law is left stunned, propping himself up on his elbows and watching as Luffy slips into his discarded sandals and heads for the door without delay, waving with a sunny smile at Law, “Enjoy your nap!”

Then he’s… gone?

Law gapes at the door like a dumb fish. “W-wait… seriously?” Law deadpans down at his cum dripping hand, the pool of it on his belly, and his obvious erection tenting his jeans. He just left me hanging!

Yes. Yes he did.

The little bastard used him like a fucking sex toy and then just... left; didn't even offer to help clean up. Didn't ask if Law needed anything--! Just thanked him like Law had done him some casual favor and bounced out the door with that stupid carefree grin.

I have half a mind to shamble him back here and shove my dick down his throat— that selfish ass! I could show him what SELFISH really is! Maybe I WILL go get that paddle!

"Unbelievable," Law muttered, letting his head fall back against the floor with a thunk. The ache in his cock was unbearable now, throbbing in time with his pulse, demanding attention.

Law shamefully jerks himself off lying there on the floor, pathetically getting off using Luffy’s cum as lube. When he finishes, he gets at least one small measure of dignity by not having to do a walk of shame to the bathroom since Luffy’s quarters has its own small private one. He cleans up in there and decides, fuck it, he will have that nap.

He sighs in annoyance as he hits the bed after he’s put himself somewhat together again, making it sway on its ropes, one leg dangling over the edge. He grabs a pillow and puts it over his face to block out the light.

What the fuck am I doing? Law presses the pillow harder against his face, as if he could suffocate the thoughts swirling in his head. His body feels heavy, satisfied in that bone-deep way that comes after release, but his mind won't shut up.

Luffy just used him. Literally used him like a—like a fucking toy. Blindfolded him, gagged him, jerked off using his hand, and then just... left. Thanks buddy! Like Law had spotted him some berries or helped him reach something on a high shelf. And Law had laid there and taken it; worse—he'd liked it. Had gotten off on it so hard he'd used Luffy's cum as lube for his own pathetic finish.

Ugh!! What the hell! How did I stoop lower than I already am!? Unreal! Is THIS the kind of shit I’m into? SERIOUSLY? His jaw clenches. He’s a little at war with his feelings, confused about the things he’s discovering turn him on and this unaddressed… thing inside of him he refuses to give a name other than needy, and this needy thing is something Law wants to smother with all his might. Because he is not hugging and curling in on himself because he needs to be held, and he’s not huffing Luffy’s pillow to take in his scent because he wishes it was Luffy holding him. He doesn’t need Luffy. He had fun messing around with him, and that’s that.

I already decided he means nothing to me. This is fine. This is what he wanted, isn't it? Casual, physical. No strings. Luffy confirmed it—I just want you for your body, he said that. Perfect… exactly what Law needs. No emotional entanglement, no risk of— except, why does his chest feel tight? Why does the image of Luffy's carefree wave as he left make Law want to punch something?

Because you're an idiot, the rational part of his brain supplies. Straw Hat has always been important to you. You fucking chased him into a war zone to save his life when you were strangers. He means something to you!

No. No, that's not—

Law sits up abruptly, throwing the pillow aside. His shirt is still unbuttoned, hanging open, and he feels exposed even though he's alone. He should button it. Should get up, wash his face, pull himself together. Act like a functional adult instead of a teenager having a crisis after their first sexual encounter. But he just sits there, staring at the spot on the floor where Luffy had been on top of him twenty minutes ago.

The thing is—Law has had his guard up for so long, he's not sure he knows how to lower it anymore. And even if he wanted to, even if he was willing to risk it, what would he even say? Hey Luffy, I know we agreed this was just physical, but actually I might have had feelings for you for a long time that I’ve been repressing, and now that we’re being intimate and stuff I’m starting to realize it, and that terrifies me because everyone I've ever cared about has died or left and I can't go through that again?

Pathetic.

He scrubs both hands down his face. His fingers still smell faintly like Luffy. It makes his stomach flip in a way that has nothing to do with arousal and everything to do with the fact that he's so completely fucked. This was supposed to be simple. Luffy wanted to help him feel better (in his own insane, backwards way), and Law was just—just going along with it. Then the cake incident happened. Now they’re…? Fucking around, apparently. And it’s not supposed to be complicated.

Stop it. You don't get to be hurt. You CHOSE this. You SAID it meant nothing. But lying to yourself is exhausting, and Law is so, so tired. He flops back onto the bed, one arm over his eyes this time instead of the pillow. The ropes creak with the movement, and isn't that just perfect—even the bed is a reminder. Robin timed them. The whole crew knows. And now Law has to go to dinner tonight and face all of them, knowing what just happened, knowing Luffy is probably going to act completely normal while Law is internally combusting.

I can't do this. Fuck. I have to tell him we can’t screw around. It’ll be fine. It’s not like we’ve gone that far anyway. We can go back to normal, it’ll just be awkward for a while. But first, Law needs to sleep; needs to shut his brain off before it spirals any further. He came here for a nap, and goddammit, he's going to take one. He can have his emotional crisis later. Preferably never, but later will do.

Law pulls the blanket over himself, curling slightly on his side. The bed smells like Luffy. Everything in this room smells like Luffy. Law should hate it. Should find it suffocating. Instead, it makes him feel... safe.

---

Main Deck

15:47

"LAAAAND HOOOOO!" Usopp's voice bellows from the crow's nest, and it's less excitement and more... disbelief and fear, "Holy COW—I MEAN TURTLE! HOLY GIANT TURTLE!!"

Law jerks awake at the commotion, disoriented. What? Are we there? How long was I—ergh…Law rolls out of bed and is on the move, still buttoning his shirt as he stumbles out of Luffy's quarters and toward the deck.

The entire crew is already assembled, lined up along the railing, and the collective silence is eerie. Even Luffy isn't making noise, just staring. Law pushes between Nami and Robin to see what's rendered everyone speechless, and— "Oh," he breathes. It's not an island, it's a continent. A moving continent.

The tortoise is incomprehensibly massive. From this distance—and they're still at least a mile out—Law can make out the rough, craggy texture of its shell, each scute easily the size of a city block. Barnacles cling to its sides, some as large as houses, covered in their own ecosystems of seaweed and coral that drip seawater back into the ocean like waterfalls.

The shell rises up and up, a mountain of keratin and stone; weathered by centuries—millennia, maybe—of exposure to sun, sea and storm. Moss and vines cascade down the sides in verdant curtains, some thick as ship masts. The whole thing is... alive. Breathing. Law can see the gentle rise and fall of it, the way water sloshes and redistributes with each massive, slow breath the creature takes.

"How..." Nami's voice is barely a whisper. "How is something this big even possible?"

"It's gotta be over fifty miles across," Franky says, voice awed. "Maybe more. I can't even see the edges."

And he's right; the tortoise stretches across the horizon, its true size impossible to judge. The ocean around it is disturbed, waves breaking against its sides in white foam, creating a permanent ring of turbulent water that extends for what looks like miles.

But it's what's ON the shell that makes Law's tactical mind start spinning; the entire surface is covered in dense, primordial forest. Trees so massive and ancient they make the Adam Wood tree look like a sapling. Their trunks are thick as buildings, their canopy so dense that Law can't see a single glimpse of the ground beneath. The foliage creates an impenetrable green wall that rises hundreds of feet into the air, completely obscuring whatever civilization might exist beyond.

"I can't see anything," Zoro mutters, hand on his swords. "Just trees."

"There's something there though," Robin says softly, pointing. "Look. Past the forest line."

Law follows her gesture and sees it—mountain peaks jutting up beyond the tree line in jagged silhouettes. Snow-capped, impossibly high. How does a tortoise carry MOUNTAINS on its back?

"This is insane," Penguin breathes. "This is actually insane. This thing is bigger than Zou!"

"How do we even get up there?" Shachi asks. "It's gotta be—what, a thousand feet to the top of the shell?"

"There!" Bepo points.

Following the curve of the shell, Law spots it—a dock; man-made, carved into the side of the shell itself, with stairs that switchback up the massive cliff face. Even from here he can see they're ancient, worn smooth by countless feet over countless years. Lanterns line the path, already lit despite the afternoon sun, casting a warm golden glow.

"Well," Luffy says, and his voice is filled with that particular brand of reckless excitement that means they're all probably going to almost die. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

"Wait—" Nami starts, but Luffy is already grabbing the rails and running backwards, preparing to slingshot himself.

"LUFFY, NO—"

Too late. He's gone, rocketing through the air with a whoop of joy, and the rest of them are left staring at the impossible island-creature carrying its secret civilization, wondering what the hell they're about to walk into. The tortoise's eye, half-closed and ancient and knowing—watches them approach; it's larger than the Sunny, golden and reptilian, and Law gets the distinct feeling they're being evaluated.

Law sighs, holding out his hand, “Room,” he bends to pluck a blade of grass in his other hand, stands up right again and flips his fingers just as Luffy is about to crash land into the dock, “Shambles,”

Luffy pops into existence in Law’s hand, scruffed, and blinking with confusion for a moment before he’s thrashing and fussing; “HEEEYYY!! TRAFFY!! YOU BIG JERK!! I WANNA GO SEE THE ISLAND!”

Law coats his arm in haki and gets Luffy in a chokehold; scolding him with his mouth right to his dumb ear, “WHAT DID WE TALK ABOUT EARLIER, STRAW HAT? WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE DEALING WITH HERE, DON’T GO RUNNING OFF BY YOURSELF! YOU CAN WAIT A FEW MORE MINUTES!”

"LET GO! LET GO!!!" Luffy flails in Law's grip, arms windmilling uselessly; "I CAN'T BREATHE!"

"You're literally yelling, you can breathe fine," Law deadpans, arm still locked around Luffy's neck.

"TRAFFY'S BEING MEAN!" Luffy whines to the crew, trying to get sympathy. No one moves to help him, no one is really paying attention to them even; this is kind of the norm now that they have Law on the crew to shambles Luffy back to the ship whenever he tries to take off. This is hardly the first time they’ve been through this. It doesn’t happen often, because usually Law will just let him go and see what chaos is in store for them later, but he’s not up for gambling today. 

"He's right though," Nami crosses her arms, eyeing the island with caution and nervousness, "We need to be careful. This whole thing screams trap."

"They invited us!" Luffy protests, still squirming. "For a FEAST! A whole WEAK of a feast! Do you know how much food that is!?"

Usopp shrieks, "That's EXACTLY what makes it suspicious!"

Law tightens his grip slightly when Luffy tries to bite his forearm. "You're the Pirate King now. That means you're a target! The biggest target there is! You can't just go running into unknown situations anymore—OW!"

Luffy successfully bit him hard enough to leave behind angry red groves.

"LITTLE SHIT—" Law immediately releases him and Luffy drops to the deck, giggling and rubbing his neck as Law looks at the damage done to his forearm, right over his tattoo, “You broke the skin!! Fucking monster!”

"Serves you right!" Luffy sticks his tongue out, “Why do you care so much if I run off anyway? It’s gonna be FINE! What difference does it make if it’s a trap or not if I go now or later?!"

The entire deck goes quiet. Everyone turns to look at Law, who feels his face start to heat up.

"I—because—strategically—" Law fumbles, very aware of multiple pairs of knowing eyes on him. "—WELL… you said it yourself! What difference does it make if you go now or later!?”

Luffy fumes, stomping his feet, so worked up that his hair bursts into bright red; chaotically wispy and rising wildly, as a cloud appears around his shoulders as he’s having his temper tantrum, “TRA-FYYY!! YOU AREN’T THE BOSS OF ME YOU KNOW! I’LL GO IF I WANNA! MAKE YOUR STRATEGY WITHOUT BOSSING ME AROUND!!”

"Uh-huh," Nami says, smirking, she gossips to Usopp and Robin beside her, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I’m so sure it’s all very strategic. Nothing to do with the fact that Law—"

"—Finish that sentence and I'm shambling you into the ocean!" Law threatens, holding his hand out and letting his power swirl beneath his palm to show his threat isn’t an idle one this time.

Robin speaks up serenely, "I think it's sweet. Law is worried about Luffy's safety."

"I am NOT—I'm the strategist! It's my JOB to—"

"—To care about the captain's wellbeing?" Robin's smile is absolutely evil. "Yes, very professional."

Law wants to die, just sink into the deck and cease to exist; especially when Luffy tilts his head and grins up at him with that stupid, sunshine smile, his hair going back to its normal black messy mop.

"Aww, Traffy's worried about me! Why didn’t you just say so! Hehehehe!"

"Tch!! I'm worried about ALL of you idiots—"

"But mostly me!" Luffy bounces up, slinging an arm around Law's shoulders. Law's entire body goes rigid, "That's okay! I worry about you too! Okay then! I won’t take off this time!"

Several crew members make awww sounds. Law is going to murder every single one of them; before Law can start the massacre, a sound echoes across the water, deep and rhythmic.

Drums…?

The sound grows louder, more insistent over the rush of the waves. Not threatening exactly, but... ceremonial… like a heartbeat.

(( ♥ ))Du-dum—bum bum –du-dum—bum bum— du-dum—bum bum –du-dum—bum bum (( ♥ ))

"Well," Sanji lights a cigarette, "That's not ominous at all." He says with it pinched in his mouth.

"Should we turn back?" Penguin asks nervously.

"NO WAY!" Luffy shouts immediately. "We came all this way! And there's gonna be FOOD!"

"Luffy—" Nami starts.

"—We’re going!" Luffy plants his fists on his hips, jaw set stubbornly, "You guys can stay on the ship if you want, but I'm going to that feast!"

Law pinches the bridge of his nose. Of course… Of COURSE Luffy won't back down. That would require common sense, which Luffy is allergic to, "Fine," Law relents, and everyone looks at him in surprise. "We go. But we go TOGETHER. As a group, and with a plan. A plan you are GOING to listen to and STICK to for once, Straw Hat!"

"Ooh, Traffy's making a plan!" Luffy's eyes light up. "I love your plans!"

Law’s eyes fall into a narrow glare, "You've never followed a single one of my plans—"

"—That's 'cause they're too complicated! But I still like 'em! Hehe! You figure stuff out so good! You’re so smart, Traffy!!"

Law counts to ten in his head... then twenty. It doesn't help, "Alright," he says finally, shifting into strategist mode because it's easier than dealing with... whatever the hell his feelings are doing right now; "Jinbei, Franky, someone stays with the ship at all times. We can't risk losing our escape route."

Brook gestures over to the port side of the ship, where beneath the surface of the water they can see their gigantic traveling companion beneath the surface, “Laboon can guard the ship!”

Law grits his teeth, fists trembling. That damn whale! The amount of times one of the Straw Hats has suggested they let a WHALE babysit the ship is honestly insanity, “WE’RE NOT LETTING THE WHALE BABYSIT THE SHIP— LOOK,” Law huffs out a sigh filled with agitation and speaks fast before the collective attention span of this gaggle of idiots runs out; “Jinbei and Franky stay HERE! The rest of us stick together! No one—" he looks directly at Luffy; he points at him, finger pressing Luffy’s nose, "—and I mean NO ONE—goes off alone! We don't know what we're walking into."

Luffy tries to bite his finger, but Law pulls it away fast enough to avoid another injury.

Usopp asks hopefully, "Heh, you know what guys? What if it's really just a festival?"

"Then we enjoy the festival," Law says. "But we stay alert. Keep weapons close. Watch for—"

“—JINBEI!!" Luffy interrupts, bouncing excitedly.

“Yes, Captain?” Jinbei perks up, his full attention on the captain.

Luffy grins at him and points to the dock, “Take us in!”

Law opens his mouth to say no, to insist they need more planning, but gives up. It won’t do any good anyway. Looks like it’s one of those times I have to improvise as we go. Great.

Luffy’s excited voice booms across the deck, "Come ON! ADVENTURE TIME!! YEAHH! THERE’S GONNA BE SO MUCH FOOD!! WOO HOO!!"

The drums grow louder. The tortoise's massive eye watches them, unblinking. And somewhere in that impenetrable wall of green, something is waiting. Law has the distinct feeling he's about to regret every single decision that led to this moment.