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Stars did indeed shine brighter away from the bright artificial light of Dressrosa; still aflame with passion and joy, no doubt, reveling in celebration until dawn washes over a new kingdom. It's well after midnight, the port has long disappeared behind the dark horizon, and the ship creaks with the heave of the ocean.
Law should be asleep.
It seems every other soul on the ship was -- save a groggy, but wearily conscious Bartholomew sitting in the lookout. Occasionally Law hears him dip into a snore or two. The surgeon is more comfortable relaxed on the deck directly under the bow; a good view of the ship and the sound of waves against the hull. Bandages around his arms and shoulder give little way as he attempts a stretch and yawn.
His sword lays slack his in lap. Legs extend haphazardly. His hat is... somewhere. Not on his head, for sure.
God , is he tired.
Suddenly, haki sends sparks under his skin and he's thumbing the sheath off Kikoku in defense of an immediate and close presence at his back -- before it comes tumbling down from the masthead and lands awkwardly in front of him.
Mugiwara-ya. A huge sigh of relief leaves Law, sword holstered and set aside. Frustration twinges at his brow as the younger captain rights himself into a sitting position; dusting his shoulders, readjusting his hat, grinning dumbly. The frustration boils only a bit before leaving Law entirely; he's too distracted, too tired.
"Can't sleep?" Mugiwara-ya guesses correctly, miraculously.
"Why were you sitting on the masthead?" Law asks, avoiding the question.
"Because it's the best seat, duh. I can't believe you didn't notice me when you first sat down," The captain answers, with a laugh quieter than normal.
"I was distracted," Law replies rather honestly. He's exhausted in every sense of the word and can't ( won't? ) bother to shoo away any company. Mugiwara-ya seems satisfied to sit at his side, legs crossed and hands on his knees; knuckles bruised and bleeding beneath loose gauze. There are welts up and down his arms. A rogue band-aid on his cheek. Law pries his eyes away and stares, instead, at his own lap.
"So.. you were too distracted to sleep?" Mugiwara-ya asks again.
"Is that not apparent?"
"Huh?" Luffy picks his ear.
"Obvious -- apparent means obvious."
The younger captain makes a thoughtful noise. "Well, I was sleeping fine til' an hour ago, but I got hungry and went to find food."
Very typical, and perhaps something Law should've expected. He leans back, giving Mugiwara-ya a sharp look. "We'll be at Zou tomorrow."
"Right?! I can't wait to see the rest of my friends," he smiles back. "I bet you miss your crew too, huh? Is that why you can't sleep?"
Law considered it for a moment, before shaking his head. "No. My crew is more than capable, and we've been apart for journeys longer than this. I do suppose i'm ... anxious to move forward with our plans for Kaido, however."
Mugiwara-ya rolls his eyes. "That's all you're focused on, huh, Torao? I'm pumped to beat up Kaido too, but you can take a break from the fight, y'know. " They're teasing words, in a way. "You were lame at the banquet too." Law glances his direction only briefly, sighing. He's too exhausted to pick a fight. Too exhausted to keep up even a mild charade.
"It's all I can really think about," he says. It's surprisingly genuine, and Law could tell it's caught Mugiwara-ya off guard. "Even after defeating Doflamingo, I'm not satisfied. My body is still so, so ready to fight - but my soul doesn't feel the same. It's.." Law is staring at his hands, "It's exhausting. Draining on the mind." Perhaps these raw emotions were the insomnia speaking. Probably a bit of honesty, too.
A pause. A long, awkward, painful pause that Law wishes he could literally dissect out of the atmosphere with his ability; so obviously vulnerable that Law almost jumps from his bruised skin at Mugiwara-ya's earnest response.
"Why don't you give it up?" Luffy asks with a tilt of his head, non-judgemental, carefully listening. "Being a pirate, I mean." It's surprising to hear a non-combative answer. His gentle, uncharacteristic patience stirs some more honesty from Law.
"I want to," Law admits after a pause, and it's true. It's embarrassing to show any sort of doubt on these seas, to a fellow captain no less; but perhaps this sort of emotional turnpike was due to be hit eventually. They're too similar and too different all at once - they've seen each other at rock bottom, when few other souls have, albeit not by choice. This strange sense of camaraderie was forged with blood, tears, and a revolution; they shared that cursed initial, after all. The man fills his lungs with the cool night air before continuing, "I want to leave this mess and the oceans behind. At least, parts of me do."
Mugiwara-ya chimes in softly, "And the other parts?"
"The other part of me want Kaido dethroned. The rest of the emperors defeated. To take my crew to the One Piece," Law explains. He lulls his head back and focuses his gaze on the sky - counting pinpricks of light in the sheets of black. "I think the institutions of the world need to be rebuilt. The powers that be shouldn't .. be. Millions, dead or lost to history, and it's ..." Cora-san's face flashes briefly before his eyes. He trails off; the words stop coming to him as he stares at the stars. It all has to be for something.
Doesn't it?
".. I'm just tired," Law eventually finishes.
Soon, Law felt a stare chisel at his profile; he turns to look at Mugiwara-ya, uneasy, ready for a guffawed look of invalidation or perhaps a short rebuke that would end the discussion. There was no insincerity, however, as Law studies his vague expression with baited breath. The midnight breeze brushes dark bangs across his eyes - full, deep, focused - a sympathetic smile and a familiar dimple. The bandage on his cheek crinkles.
"Well.. it's sink costs, and all that," He tells Law.
There are quite a few beats of silence after that. Law raises an eyebrow - and the younger captain nods confidently as if he's just dropped some age old wisdom. A chuckle bubbles from Law's chest before he can stop it -- Mugiwara-ya seems confused, but soon joins in. A duo of restrained laughter, avoiding too much noise in mind of their sleeping shipmates; it starts to hurt their injuries after a few moments, so they let it die naturally. Law feels a little less anxious after the whole thing, and Mugiwara-ya smiles at him.
"It's sunk costs," He points out eventually. He uses a hand to pat his fellow captain on the shoulder in rare affection, savoring the solid touch. ".. but I understand. That's an astute observation."
"Ass... wha--?"
"Accurate. It was a nice thing to say," Law explains.
"Ehh, really?" Mugiwara-ya looks nonplussed as Law's hand retreats. "That's just something Rayleigh would say to me during training."
"He taught you plenty, i'm sure."
Mugiwara-ya grins, and Law can see him remembering something fond from ages ago. "We fought even more," he admits with a surprising look of sheepishness. "I remember feeling that sort of way, too. Like .. I dunno. Like I didn't want to fight anymore. With my crew gone, and after Ace ..." Mugiwara-ya bites his lip, like he's trying to form the right words. Law uses a thumb to flatten the captain's stray bandage in an intimate gesture he doesn't even find himself second guessing, and one the rubber boy doesn't even question. ".. Sometimes, it was hard to find a reason. So he'd say it was all 'sunk costs'."
"A reason to .. what?" He asks. Mugiwara-ya shrugs, they retreat into a long but oddly comfortable silence with the non-answer.
Minutes pass, and they find themselves staring at the sky again - naturally drawn to such an unfathomable vastness, Law supposes. Yet another horizon to peer past. Another sea to conquer. It's so impossible to imagine visiting those lights in the cosmos; but mere months ago, so was imagining a liberated Dressrosa.
Law ponders on other impossible things and feels his eyelids begin to droop.
"Are you asleep, Torao?"
No, i'm not , he wants to say - but his eyes are closed and he's already slumped backwards and his lips won't move, so he hums an acknowledgment instead.
"I think i'll wait here til' breakfast," Luffy says.
Good.
A weight settles on his left thigh, and Law barely manages to crack open an eyelid to see Mugiwara-ya's head on his lap; the younger captain stifles a yawn as he settles in. Law isn't sure how the atmosphere changed, but it was peaceful now - less oppressive than before. He's tired in a good way.
In the last moments before sleep, he thinks of his crew, Cora-san, and the smell of sunflowers.
"G'night, Torao."
Sunk costs, and all that.