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“Torao?”
Law flips another page of his book and glances at the other captain. “Straw Hat-ya?” he asks in return. Luffy had been unusually quiet these last few hours and, as far as Law could tell, it's not at all like him to hold back when it comes to things such as questions, talking or just life in general, to be honest.
“I’ve been thinking a lot recently –“
“I noticed,” Law remarks drily.
Luffy ignores the interruption and goes on, “and after we defeat Kaido – what happens to us?” The taller Captain immediately wants to tell him off for his choice of words, there is no ‘us’, never has been and never will but he swallows it when he catches Luffy’s expression. The smaller Captain sits on the floor cross-legged, straw hat in hands and a deep frown on his face.
“Is that why you joined me in the library, Straw Hat-ya?” he asks instead, seeing as Luffy is most definitely not the type to sit around doing nothing, Law figured that one out on his first day on the Sunny. “Well, once and if we defeat Kaido,” he gives a stern glance, reminding the other of the very high likelihood of losing, ”our alliance is officially over and technically we go back to being enemies.” The frown on Luffy’s face deepens. “Yeah, yeah, you said that already but,” he pauses, “I like having you here. On my ship.”
Law raises a brow at that and puts down his book. “I can't stay here, though, even if I wanted to,” he notices how Luffy’s eyes light up at that and adds, “which I don’t."
The smaller Captain grins broadly and jumps to his feet suddenly, extending his arms in order to wrap them around Law before he flings himself right on top of him. “Oi! What the hell!” Law protests at the sudden intrusion. “Haven’t you ever heard of personal space?”
“Nah, we’re Nakama now,” Luffy laughs and completely ignores the other’s scowling. “We are not Nakama, how often do I have to –“
“Yeah, we are,” the smaller Captain cuts in and grins. Law just sighs in defeat and gives up every hope of finishing his book tonight. The boyish figure in his lap shifts, making himself more comfortable before looking up at Law defiantly. “So. Like I said, I don’t want Torao to leave.”
“I’m afraid, that can’t be helped. It’s been fun and all but I told you more than enough times that I’ll have to leave some day.” The expression on Law’s face softens. “My crew’s waiting for me. And my ship. I am their captain, after all. You wouldn’t abandon yours, now would you?”
Luffy puffs out his chest and declares proudly, “Of course not! You don’t abandon Nakama.”
“You see,” Law smirks, “you agree with me there, I believe, Straw Hat-ya.” The smaller Captain scowls. “Yeah, but –” he halts and thinks and Law just studies his face for a while.
“Let’s make a deal!” he suddenly exclaims and Law eyes him warily, not quite sure what to expect from such a proposal by the other Captain. “What kind of deal?”
“You can go back to your crew and your ship.” Oh thank God, you give me permission to, the older Captain thinks sarcastically. “But!”, Luffy continues, “We meet up once a month – no, twice a month!”
Law chokes on air, coughing and spluttering and stares at Luffy, completely dumbfounded, who's simply beaming up at him like he's competing with the sun or something. “What the hell kind of deal is that supposed to be, Straw Hat-ya?!”
“That way we can hang out often and catch up and stuff!” Luffy explains like it's the most obvious thing ever.
“Yeah, I get the idea but that is beyond ridiculous! You can’t seriously expect your crew and my crew to go out of their way and beyond, quite possibly causing them trouble just in order for us to meet up twice a month?” Law still can’t quite believe what he just heard.
Luffy cocks his head to one side and looks at the taller Captain with a quizzical expression. “Why not? I like being with you, it’s important to me, so I’m sure they’ll understand.” Law thinks about the Straw Hats and doesn’t even doubt that for a second. The smaller Captain sits up straight all of a sudden, balls up his fist and punches the air. “And once I’m Pirate King, we can meet up even more often!” Law blinks a few times, before he chuckles quietly and shakes his head, completely baffled at the immense confidence of the other.
“Alright, Straw Hat-ya,” he indulges the smaller one, “you win. We can meet up twice a month –“ Luffy starts bouncing up and down with excitement, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Under the condition that neither my crew nor your crew have any complaints about it,” Law continues, desperately trying to establish some ground rules for this because dear God, does he know how deals with Luffy usually work out. “Also, the meeting point has to be determined at the previous meeting and absolutely cannot be discussed over any kind of technological communication.” Luffy just nods along to every word and wraps his arms around the other captain a few times, making Law feel like he's tied down.
“Torao?” the entangled ball of limbs mumbles against his neck eventually.
“Straw Hat-ya?”
“I’m glad we made this deal.” Luffy snuggles even closer and closes his eyes. Law keeps quiet but a smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he looks down at the smaller Captain wrapped around his body and thinks, Yeah. I’m glad, too.
~
I don’t know what the fuck true love even is but I do want to hang out with you for basically the rest of my life. (let’s hang out - TO THE DEATH)