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He didn’t visit often, and when he did he could never remain with them for long, no matter how much Luffy might beg him to stay.
Work had him travelling constantly. By day he healed the sick and injured, by night he sold psychedelics made or grown by his contacts across the country, so despite his name, the law was not on his side.
He mainly communicated with the three of them through notes that he left with mutual friends, or dropped off himself in the boy’s house that he had a key to.
That night the air outside was lukewarm and sticky, and it leaked into the house through the open, screen-covered windows.
Even though the heat had made a thin layer of sweat stick to his skin, he didn’t discard his outermost layer until he’d entered the kitchen and was far enough from the front window that no one outside would see the tattoos on his hands, fingers, and forearms. They gave his identity away immediately to anyone who might know him and he didn’t want to risk it.
The doctor dropped his leather jacket on the counter as he exited the kitchen for the hallway that lead to the rest of the house. He cracked Luffy’s door, but his bedroom was empty. ‘What did that boy even own a mattress for when he never used it?’
Law moved on to the door to the basement stairs and opened it. ‘He’d seen Nami’s car parked out front when he pulled his bike into the driveway, and if they weren’t in Luffy’s room then there were only two other places they could be.’
Silently, he made his way down, careful to skip the third to last step to avoid the loud creak it always gave no matter how little pressure he used. He found his corazóns asleep on the den’s large couch, dimly lit by the light bouncing off the wall that spilled from a projector at the back of the room.
Advertisements for different shows or movies transitioned from one to another, changing the colors the trio was bathed in. A small but nonetheless loving smile drifted across his face.
The swordsman was sitting upright, his arms crossed over his chest and his head skewed over the top of a cushion. The navigator lay halfway in his lap, her neck supported by his thigh and her nose pointed towards the wall. Their captain was laying stomach to stomach with her, the side of his face pillowed by her breasts, his waist flanked by her legs. Both his arms lay mostly bent on either side of his skull, one of his hands lost in the river of Nami’s hair, the other dangling from Zoro’s knee by its elbow. Nami had one arm lazily draped over Luffy’s shoulders, and one arm extended above her head across Zoro’s thighs.
‘Such sweet, loving fools.’ The doctor mused as he stepped between the couch and the coffee table, pulling a note from his back pocket that he set onto the table’s slightly cluttered surface. He let his eyes linger fondly on them for a moment, trying to memorize the scene laid out in front of him. ‘Maybe he’d try and sketch it when he got back to his hotel room...’
Rather than wake them, Law pressed the pad of his thumb against his lips and bowed as he touched it to each of their foreheads. “Que descanses, mis amores..” he rumbled as quietly as he could, but Zoro still stirred a little, semi-waking the other two like a ripple in a calm lake.
“Traffy..?” Luffy mumbled hopefully as he lifted his head an inch or so. With one eye barely cracked his vision was shadowy - but he knew that voice. He’d always know that voice.
Law squatted down to his level and shushed him with a kiss that made Luffy hum like he was purring. “Shhh, cariño...” The doctor murmured soothingly, brushing the backs of his fingers up and down his rubbery cheek, “Shhh..”
In case the younger man tried to open his eyes again, Law kissed him one more time. The captain mumbled something totally incoherent as his head finally returned to Nami’s breasts, his breath slow and even.
Right as the doctor started to straighten back up, he noticed the redhead blinking groggily at him, but she seemed too tired to speak.
“You too,” He threaded his fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck and kissed her soundly. Though she felt like she was dreaming, she managed to return it with a drowsy one of her own.
“Go back to sleep for me, querida,” Law cooed sweetly as he kissed both her eyelids, then her lips where he lingered. Nami sighed contentedly through her nose, letting slumber reclaim her while he traced a finger under her jaw, murmuring, “There’s a good girl..”
Law continued to rise and found Zoro’s eye half-lidded, but he was slightly more conscious than the other two. The doctor paused and took the swordsman’s strong chin between his forefinger and thumb, swooping down to meet their foreheads then their lips. Zoro tilted his chin and purposefully kissed him back.
“Sleep,” Law ordered gently, brushing his mouth against the younger man’s as he spoke, “Mi amado.” He gave him a more fleeting kiss before fully standing, and left without another word.
More asleep than awake, the mossy-haired man glanced over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his good eye, he just barely caught one last look at the oldest of their polycule as he made his way up into the house. A few minutes later Zoro’s head sagged, and his breathing deepened.
~•~
The next morning they all thought they’d dreamed his visit until Nami noticed the note he left behind. A thorny heart drawn in dark black ink, like the one tattooed on the upper half of his torso was drawn around a set of numbers.
10.8.21
It was signed with a spidery, cursive L.
“I thought.. That it felt too real,” she said softly as she sat between her boys, tracing the drawing with the tip of her finger, “You guys woke up too, right?”
Zoro nodded without speaking while Luffy knotted his arms and pouted a little. “How come he’s gotta be all mysterious all the time? I miss him, it’s not fair.”
“You know why, dummy,” the redhead chastised her captain as she passed the note to him so he could look at it, “He said he’ll be back next week, aren’t you guys having a party here next Friday?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot.”
“It was your idea, you idiot.” Zoro reached around Nami and grabbed Luffy’s cheek, stretching it out to the side, “How could you forget - You planned it last night.”
The rubber man made a face at the mossy-haired one, “I had too many drinks leave me aloooone.”
“Lightweight.”
“Shut up, at least I’m not an alcoholic like you!”
“Wanna fight about it?” He started to lunge for the captain but Nami seized them by the necklines of their shirts and yanked them towards her. “Quit it.” she said sternly, “Attack each other all you want when I’m not right in the middle of it, morons.”
Luffy blinked innocently at her, distracted by the sunlight that reached through the small basement windows and bounced off of her long, wavy hair. “You’re so pretty Nami,” he blurted out without thinking and Zoro rolled his eye.
“Kiss ass,” he muttered before the redhead could respond, and she deadpanned at him.
“What! She is. I’m just telling the truth.”
“You sound like that stupid dirty cook.”
“Don’t you think she’s pretty, what’s wrong with you?”
“Shut the hell up.” Zoro blushed and stood after he pulled the navigator’s hand off of him and turned. “I’m going running,” he said quickly and disappeared into his bedroom a moment later.
Luffy made another face at the closed door then wound his arms around the redhead’s waist. He fell onto his back, tugging her on top of his chest in the middle of his legs. “He’s so stupid,” the rubber man said as he twirled a strand of Nami’s silky hair around his forefinger, “I know he thinks you’re pretty, why’s he have to make everything so complicated?”
The navigator pushed her torso up by placing a hand on either side of his head, her features lifted with amusement. “You’re too sweet sometimes,” she teased as she bent her elbows till she was close enough to kiss him.
Luffy hummed, surprised, but it only took him a second to respond in kind. He happily kissed her back, rolling onto his side and shifting one of his arms beneath her neck to support it. She slid one of hers behind him and hung on to a handful of the back of his shirt.
When Zoro reentered the den in sneakers, mid-thigh length basketball shorts, and a loose tank top, they were still in the same position. He fought the heat from his face as he moved over to the couch, tracing one finger from Luffy’s wrist to his tricep then across the back of Nami’s hand. Her eyelids fluttered open as she broke away from their captain to gaze up at the swordsman. He settled his right knee onto the edge of the cushion next to Luffy’s lower back, leaning down towards them.
“Bye,” Zoro said in a gentle voice, resting his hand by their heads and bending his elbow. He kissed his boyfriend then his girlfriend. “Be back in a couple hours.”
“If you get lost call me,” the navigator chided and Luffy giggled so the swordsman clapped his hand onto her rear without much force.
“You’re such a damn brat,” he gave her glute a sharp squeeze then straightened back up and let go of her. Nami stuck her tongue out at him as he turned away to leave, then she looked back at Luffy and wrinkled her nose. They listened to Zoro climb the stairs and leave through the basement door.
“Hopefully he doesn’t get lost,” the captain nuzzled his nose against Nami’s and kissed her one last time, “Wanna go see if Sanji made breakfast yet?”