Work Text:
Law needed the silence most days. It was the reason he picked a submarine instead of a ship. The only thing the Polar Tang let within its walls was the calm sounds of the ocean and the waves crashing above.
Idle noise that wouldn't mar the peace he coveted in those 3 years after Flevance and reminded him bitterly of the ones he lost.
But today, he wanted the sounds.
One in particular.
The heart monitor rang quietly next to his ear as he sunk in and out of consciousness. The surgery had been a long one, even with his devil fruit it still took 12 hours with little break in between.
He remembered the chaos sewn into his crew as they made sure he wouldn't falter once it dragged on. Law had to rid himself of an incurable disease and still, even he felt the difficulty in rebuilding Luffy's chest from the ground up.
He'd have to thank them once he got some sleep.
Listening to the ocean rock against the submarine, Law allowed the gentle crash to lull him to sleep. Just a nap, nothing more.
"A..."
He blinked, his brain trying to locate the likely source of the sound with little success. Law was sure the rest of his crew was sleeping. The only things he had in this room were Kikoku, a transponder snail, and –
"Ace..."
Luffy.
So, he was awake. Not surprising by any means that he could come out of the other side of a long surgery like that with only 3 hours of sleep. Luffy's ability to recover was nothing short of amazing if his previous conquests were any indication.
"Mugiwara."
No response.
Law sat in the silence, ocean sounds permeating the empty space and playing delicately with the ever steady rhythm of Luffy's heartbeat.
"Ace..."
The voice came again, and Law hesitated to respond. It was now clear Luffy was asleep and he took that as an opportunity to do the same. As he leaned against Kikoku, the beeps remained steady in his ears like a drum and he took relief in its lively signal.
Wait. Too lively.
The more he listened, the more he could hear the inconsistencies in his heartbeat. The pace would increase and then stop suddenly as if crashing into itself, a folding accordion of movement. The pattern repeated and stopped until it was satisfied and continued past that, too out of sync for Law to ignore.
It was at that point Law had given up on the idea of sleeping altogether as he heard another distressed call from the bed.
"A-Ac... No..."
The calls were choked and muffled, something Law had started to chalk up to the mask until he was able to get up and see his patient.
In the dim light, it made it easy for the tears to catch those small rays and reflect them into sight. Luffy was tossing and turning his head as he writhed helplessly beneath the tubes and machines poking every damaged area. Law watched as he gasped beneath the oxygen mask, the pure air still not enough to keep him from drowning.
Law tutted with exasperation. A nightmare was the last thing Luffy needed.
Sitting onto the bed, he tried to stay out of the line of fire while Luffy fought beneath the covers. Law carefully grabbed an arm that came close to knocking out his IV, a foothold that allowed him to take control of the rampaging teen and pull him into a stable position against the sheets.
More sweat was pooling on Luffy's forehead, a sign that Law could only gauge from the black bangs clinging tightly to his face. It was clear he had to do something soon or else Luffy would destroy himself in the process. Keeping a hold on Luffy's arm, he scrambled to think of a way he could call in reinforcements from his crew.
"Mugiwara, calm down."
Law was trying to put out a fire with a thimble of water and he knew even as he spoke to Luffy. He didn't know the specifics of what happened at Marineford - the Navy was clear to keep that under wraps for now. But he saw the aftermath of a broken Luffy sitting in his OR and what devastation it had caused mentally.
"Oi, Luffy!"
Luffy struggled under his hold for a moment longer until it seemed he registered his name being called. It was a small victory for Law as Luffy settled into his touch, tears and sweat still flowing freely even as he stilled.
They sat for a moment, neither of them moving out of exhaustion or otherwise. Law huffed as it all caught up with him, pinning Luffy down taking the rest of his energy. The heartbeat at his side slowed to an acceptable rhythm and Law sighed at the return to calm.
"Ace..."
Almost, he thought.
Luffy's arm went upwards as he sobbed now, reaching desperately in front of him and twisting the knife in Law's chest as he watched the scene unfold. He could understand that kind of fear - overwhelming and angry in its presence like a wildfire as it swallowed anything resembling hope.
After Cora-san, he was lucky to never make its acquaintance again.
Sitting up, Law observed Luffy carefully as he continued to reach out, the scene unfolding more heart wrenching than the last. It brought back his own memories of his life post-Flevance, and the sorts of innocent wishes he would think of outside of the prayer for death.
Maybe, just maybe, it would help Luffy too.
Law reached out to the held arm, tense and shaky in his grasp, and pulled Luffy upwards. Gently. Nothing to rock his already fragile body and wake him up prematurely. Luffy seemed to welcome the movement, his whole body relaxing at the touch as he was placed onto Law's chest.
The embrace was nothing special, he reasoned as they were now skin to shirt in the small infirmary. Law felt the awkward rise and fall of Luffy's breathing and the telling warmth on his shoulder.
It was a necessary but minor comfort, one that Law hoped for every day as he hid in the burnt remains of what was his life.
And one that Luffy likely needed now.
In the bed they sat, the sounds of Luffy's sobs next to his ear a surrender to the pain lingering past his injury. He didn't need to hear the heart monitor anymore, the pulses steady against his own as he laid Luffy in the crook of his shoulder.
As a somber ache gathered inside of him, Law was thankful once again for the sounds that the Polar Tang let in.
And the ones that it refused to let out.