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It was hard for people to judge when Law wasn’t feeling his best. He hid emotions well—even when not doing so on purpose—and because of that, whenever he got sick, everyone around him either assumed he was in a bad mood, or they did something to piss him off. But it wasn’t always that simple.
Bepo was the only one who could really tell when something was going on but Law always dismissed him. The mink eventually resorted to simply staying close to keep an eye on him, only bringing him tea or water and forcing him to eat as regularly as he could. They didn’t talk about it, though, and Bepo never tried to get Law to acknowledge his sickness either. Or more accurately, he gave up on trying after one too many responses of, ‘I’m fine.’
But then a certain rubber idiot bounced his way into Law’s life; this wild, airheaded ball of sunshine, who was full of bright smiles and life, was somehow able to just tell. And as Law had quickly learned, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
After the mess with Doflamingo, Law tried really, really hard to pretend his arm didn’t bother him and for the most part, he succeeded. It wasn’t even that hard to do thanks to his resting bitch face—to borrow Shachi’s words—and also thanks to the Tontatta princess’ healing power which largely saved him from the pain.
Yet, even with all of that, it still felt weird and achy.
If he moved it around too much, the pain would slowly get worse and worse until, eventually, it would become impossible to even lift a finger. He had quickly learned not to overdo it, using his right arm only when necessary so as to not aggravate the injury. When he was careful, it was only limiting him a little bit and he was glad to find a comfortable middle ground. He was also relieved that neither the Straw Hats nor the samurai seemed to notice his slight struggle; no matter how much it hurt, he would probably murder anyone who tried to carry things for him or baby him.
When Straw Hat finally woke up, however, he didn’t get much of a choice in resting his arm since as if on cue, the marines were on their tail. Then he got held up by Sengoku, forcing him to run even faster to get to the port in time. The rush, the adrenaline, the small fights along the way… it was too much. By the time he sat down on that ridiculous, godawful ship with its ridiculous, godawful crew, his arm felt like it was about to fall off. Again.
He had hoped it would go away after a while like it usually did but somehow, it instead felt like it was getting worse by the minute. Everytime Roronoa pushed the mug at him, he could barely even hold it when his hand was shaking so much; the last time, he was sure he even hissed in pain. Thankfully, if Roronoa noticed, he didn’t say anything.
But Law needed a break.
It was too much; people were too much. Especially these people with their energy, the noise, the chaos, the everything. And that on top of the pain and incessant tingling in his arm. Only when he finally got away from the party, resting his back against railing at the far end of the ship, the ocean splashing around him and his arm hanging lifelessly by his side, did Law feel like he could finally breathe again.
He didn’t know how long he stood there, just staring up at the clouds above him, before he was brought back to reality by the sound of footsteps coming closer towards him. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when Straw Hat appeared next to him, peering up at Law’s face with those big, expressive eyes, concern clearly written all over his face.
“Torao, are you okay?” he asked when Law didn’t say anything to acknowledge his presence.
Law sighed, “Just needed a breather, you people are way too loud.” Straw Hat frowned a little at his words and Law wondered if he had hurt his feelings. He still stood by what he said, though.
But then the other pirate opened his mouth to speak again, his frown only deepening, “Your arm hurts, doesn’t it? Are you okay walking around?”
“It’s fine,” Law said immediately even while his good arm automatically shot up to grab at the wound. The contact made white hot pain shoot all the way to his fingertips and Law had to bite back the pained groan.
“You’re doing it again!” Straw Hat cried, pointing an accusing finger at Law face.
The surgeon blinked at the finger which was uncomfortably close to his eyes. “What?” he could only ask, completely baffled.
“Your eye twitches whenever it hurts. And you’ve been clenching your teeth like Zoro does when he hurts himself!” Straw Hat announced with a pout on his lips, then crossed his arms over his chest in what was probably supposed to be a scolding manner.
Law didn’t know what to say to that. It had been so long since someone called him out on anything like this, so long since someone except Bepo could tell the tiny changes in his expressions. It was almost... scary, to be noticed. “It’s really fine,” he said finally, his voice sounding so much stronger and convinced than he felt in that moment that he himself was surprised.
“Liar.” Straw Hat stepped closer and grabbed for his good wrist before deciding, “You need meat, that will make you better!”
And so Law found himself stumbling back towards the party, dragged by his allied captain who was ignoring every single protest Law had made along the way. He was helpless against the surprisingly gentle hold Straw Hat had on his hand and even more helpless against the bright smile as he was forced to sit down and wait.
And when Straw Hat ran back to him with a plate full of meat, sat down in front of him, and started feeding him—to everyone else’s shock and amusement... Law was honestly too mortified to do anything but comply.
It became a rule eventually. To Bepo’s relief and Law’s horror, whenever something was wrong with the Hearts captain after this, Straw Hat would be on him in two seconds flat, immediately able to tell what was wrong and what Law needed. Law was semi-convinced it was some sort of super power. Or maybe it was just his haki at work; he didn’t know and didn’t care, but after a while, he did have to reluctantly admit it was kind of nice having someone notice. It was less nice being forced to lie down because of some tiny cough but still…
He could get used this.