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The moment he woke up that morning, Law knew this was going to be a rough day. Not because he woke up too early after a night of next to no sleep, not because his body was aching from sitting on the hard deck of the Thousand Sunny the entire time, not because he was stuck to deal with the Straw Hats’ energy, and not because they were scheduled to arrive in Dressrosa in a few hours. No; it was because his mind was all foggy, his head spinning before he even made the effort to stand up.
He needed coffee. Lots of it.
Motivated by the prospect of caffeine and finally gathering enough willpower to get up, Law slowly made his way across the deck and towards the kitchen. He congratulated himself for managing to walk in a straight line despite how lightheaded he was, only having to stop and hang onto the railing once during the short journey.
“Black Leg-ya, coffee,” he said as soon as he pushed the door to the kitchen open. He vaguely noticed a few people look at him but he paid them no mind as he dropped into the nearest chair he could find.
“You should try drinking some water once in a while, too,” Usopp suggested helpfully.
Law had no idea what kind of neutral expression he was wearing but when he looked at Usopp to reply, the sniper seemed to jump up before he quickly averted his eyes with several mumbled apologies. An image of Baby 5 all those years ago in North Blue flashed before Law’s eyes and he sighed. Wonderful. He wasn’t sure if he should feel annoyed or proud that he still had it in him to make people cry with one look without even trying.
“Someone’s angrier than usual today,” Sanji noted when he put a steaming cup and a plate of rice balls in front of Law. “Nervous about the plan?”
Law clicked his tongue and, not trusting himself to shake his head without falling over, only gave a simple “No,” in response before he grabbed for his coffee and downed half of it in one go.
Without another word, Black Leg put a whole pot of the liquid heaven on the table and Law simply nodded in thanks, not having the strength to bother to actually say something. At least not until he had had enough caffeine for his hands to shake and for him to feel the blood pumping in his brain because seriously, if he was going to pass out before even seeing Joker... it would be the most pathetic attempt at overthrowing a king in all history.
Ignoring the worried, nervous looks the others were giving him, Law instead tried to focus on running through the plan in his head again. Once he saw the confirmation of Doflamingo resigning from the Shichibukai, he would call him to set up a meeting and then… then...
He was drawing a blank. His head was all foggy and he couldn’t think. Just the best timing for his chronic blood pressure issues to act up. Rubbing at his eyes, he cursed to himself quietly; just the small action was making his head spin.
Just then the door to the kitchen flew open and Straw Hat burst in. Law didn’t even acknowledge the sudden entry, or the loud greeting, only raising his head slightly when the other captain announced the morning paper was there.
“Give it here,” he said, sounding lifeless and groggy even to his own ears.
Straw Hat immediately headed over to him but then paused, staring at Law’s face for a moment with a deep frown. Then he carelessly discarded the newspaper on the table and leaned forward until his face was uncomfortably close to Law’s own.
“Torao, are you sick?” he asked seriously after a while.
Law blinked, taken by surprise by the question. How long has it been since the last time someone could tell when he was feeling like shit instead of just assuming he was in a bad mood? “Why do you ask?”
Straw Hat’s frown only deepened, shaking his head as he replied, “You look super pale and the bags under your eyes are worse than usual.” He cocked his head to the side, raising one hand and putting it against Law’s cheek. “You also feel colder than normal.”
Law glared at him. Again with the random touching; but Law didn’t even have it in him to push him away. Instead, he absent-mindedly noted how warm and nice Straw Hat’s palm felt. And only when Straw Hat started rubbing circles into his skin with his thumb did Law realize he had closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. With a start, he finally slapped the hand away then.
Straw Hat only giggled at the action, simply taking a small step back to give Law a bit of space. “Should I call Chopper? Or bring you something from your things?”
“No, it’s nothing,” Law declined the offer, shaking his head. “Just a little dizzy, I’ll be fine once I get enough fluids and caffeine in me.” Hopefully, Law added in his mind. It was really 50-50 on it actually going away within the day.
“If you say so,” Straw Hat said, sounding doubtful but thankfully not fighting him on it because there really wasn’t much else one could do about low blood pressure anyway. “Let’s go talk to Mingo, then we can take a nap before we get to the island.” He nodded to himself and grinned as if he figured out some difficult problem.
Law had to admit a nap didn’t sound bad but... “‘We?’” he asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Yep! I don’t trust you to actually sleep if I leave you alone,” Straw Hat announced, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Law a look that he could only assume was supposed to be a glare. He looked about as threatening as a puppy would and Law could only huff in amusement at the sight.
“Fine. I can’t stop you anyway, can I?” he conceded, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly at the bright smile Straw Hat gave him.
“Nope!” Straw Hat agreed before grabbing Law’s hand and dragging him out of the room. “Mingo now, sleep after!”
Law could only shake his head and let himself be pulled away, barely managing to grab the newspaper on their way out. This idiot would be the death of him but… he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit happy just then.
Only a little bit, though.
Only stunned silence and a half-empty pot of coffee was left behind in the kitchen after the two captains had left and Sanji, Usopp, and Brook exchanged a look.
“I hate to say this but I think Nami is winning this bet,” Usopp finally said, his voice quiet. He looked impressed but at the same time, like he couldn’t quite believe what he had just witnessed.
“Yeah, I honestly thought they were both too far in denial to do anything but flirt awkwardly,” Sanji agreed after lighting a cigarette.
Usopp grinned. “You mean Torao is in denial and Luffy is too oblivious to realize he likes him.”
“Yes, that,” Sanji said, waving his hand dismissively.
“I guess we didn’t see how easily our captain follows his instincts— Ah, although I don’t have eyes!” Brook noted and laughed at his own joke.
“Well, as long as Luffy is happy, it’s fine.” Sanji puffed out some smoke, then glanced at the door through which the two had disappeared only a few moments earlier. He only hoped Law wasn’t planning to do anything stupid on Dressrosa.