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They were hopelessly lost.
Luffy had insisted on exploring the island, and without much to do, Law went along for the trip. A change of scenery and some respite from the rest of the crew sounded nice. Franky, Robin, and Brook were among the more tolerable members of the Straw Hat Pirates, so he didn’t mind their presence.
The only problem was that the swampy forest was extremely difficult to navigate. The five of them had only walked for a few minutes before they completely lost their way and had to call back to the ship for help. The others could send someone after them, and they’d stay in place while they waited to avoid getting even more lost.
Law put some distance between the rest of them so he could sulk in peace. He bunched up his coat in his arms as he sat on a flat rock, trying not to melt into a puddle.
It was too damn humid.
“Hey! Traffy!”
Oh, he had a headache.
He looked up to see Luffy barreling towards him; he had just enough time to move over and grab the back of Luffy’s vest to keep him from plowing directly into the rock.
“What is it?” Law asked. Unless Luffy had a way out of the forest, Law didn’t particularly care what he had to say, but he figured he could humor the guy regardless.
“Look what I found!” Luffy said. He was cupping something in his hands as he sat down beside Law, and opened them just enough for Law to see through.
A small blue frog stared back at him.
“Where… did that come from?” Law asked.
“He just jumped up onto my shoulder!” Luffy said, a proud grin on his face. “What do you think I should name him?”
“I think you should let it go,” Law replied. “You don’t know if it’s poisonous.”
“I feel fine, though!” Luffy said as he peered down at the frog. “How would you even figure that out?”
Law lifted his sword from where it was propped against his shoulder. “Well, there’s one way to find out,” he said. “If you’re looking to pass the time, I could always give you an anatomy lesson.”
Luffy quickly closed his hands and pulled them away from Law. “No!” he cried. “What did Froglegs ever do to you, huh?”
Law blinked. “Froglegs?”
Luffy nodded. “That’s his name.”
“That’s… a terrible name.”
“Well, it’s his.” Carefully, Luffy moved his hands back towards Law. “If you put the sword down, you can pet him. He’s really slimy.”
Law gave Luffy a deadpan look. He had no desire to pet the frog— he’d already exhausted his stamina trying to find a way out of there, so he wasn’t sure he’d be able to use his powers if it was poisonous.
But, somehow, the hopeful excitement in Luffy’s eyes won him over.
“Fine,” Law said, balancing his sword back against his shoulder. “Let me see.”
Luffy lifted one hand to show all of the frog’s round little body, and to Law’s surprise, it didn’t try to escape. It just sat there, unblinking, occasionally croaking. Tentatively, Law reached out to run a finger across its back.
“Cool, huh?” Luffy asked.
“It’s… smoother than I expected,” Law remarked.
“Yeah, toads are the bumpy ones,” Luffy replied. “At least, I think so. I get them mixed up sometimes.”
Law just nodded. Despite his earlier claims, he didn’t know enough about animals to confirm that fact. “You’re not bringing that back to the ship, are you?” Law asked. “I don’t think it’s meant to live in saltwater.”
Luffy frowned. “I guess not,” he said, gently poking the frog’s back. “He’d probably be better off staying here. But I can—” He paused when he heard the distinct sound of a violin, and a grin spread across his face.
Not too far away, the other three had also given up on searching for an escape route. Franky was visibly frustrated, and while Robin kept a calm exterior, Brook knew her well enough to know she wasn’t happy to be there, either.
In such trying times, Brook liked to boost his crewmates’ morale with music.
He didn’t speak a word as he readied his instrument. Both pairs of eyes landed on him as he started playing, but he didn’t let that distract him. He played a soft, slow tune, catchy enough to keep their attention but relaxing enough to ease their worries.
When Robin’s smile made a reappearance, Brook knew he’d done something right.
With that, Franky saw an opportunity and took it. He turned to face Robin, extending a hand towards her. “Nico Robin,” he said, “May I have this dance?”
Robin’s smile grew wider. “Of course, since you asked so nicely,” she said, placing her hand in his. The difference in size was almost laughable, but Franky was as careful as he could possibly be. An equally gentle hand settled at her waist— Robin could barely reach his shoulder, so she put her other hand near his elbow instead. He smiled down at her as they swayed back and forth to the music, their worries forgotten for the moment.
“Hey, you guys are having a party without us?”
All three heads turned at the sound of their captain’s voice. He was running towards them, dragging an obviously reluctant Law close behind.
“Brook was just playing some lovely music for us while we wait,” Robin said, giggling as Franky spun her around. “I’d hardly call it a party.”
“Ooh, I wanna try that!” Luffy exclaimed. He turned to face Law. “Traffy, let’s dance!”
Law blinked. “What? No.”
It was too late. Luffy was already pulling him closer to the other pair. “Yeah! C’mon, I can take the lead, I’ve done this before!”
Law doubted that, but he knew there was no point in protesting. He didn’t bother resisting as Luffy laced their fingers together, though he kept the rest of his body as still as humanly possible while Luffy started swaying back and forth.
“C’mon, Traffy, you call that dancing?” Luffy asked. “You gotta move! Like this!” He let go of one hand to spin Law around, effectively knocking him off-balance. They would have toppled right over if not for Luffy’s quick reflexes catching him just in time.
As the song went on, Law finally started moving, albeit reluctantly. It was more of a little shuffle than anything else, his rhythm only interrupted when Luffy would step on his feet— which happened more than it probably should have, but Law wasn’t about to get upset over it. Luffy was clearly having the time of his life, grinning and laughing while he spun them in circles to his own rhythm.
Maybe getting lost with Luffy wasn’t the worst thing, after all.