Work Text:
"Hi! My name's Monkey D. Luffy!" shouted a boy with dark, short hair and a small scar under his left eye. Law was sitting under a tree in a park near his home. His little sister Lami was playing with her friends near a playground from where this kid came from. Shouldn't he be playing with other kids his age? Law looked at the kid with many questions in his eyes.
"What's yours?" Luffy was smiling at him. That naive smile. Law hated it. "And what're you reading?"
"None of your f-" he stopped, almost forgetting to not swear before a young kid. "None of your business." he exhaled at the end, giving him the best dirty look to scare him away. Well, not like it would work on Luffy. He just sat down next to him and looked at the book.
"It looks cool!" he declared after a few seconds. "What's this?" he pointed at one of many hand-drawn pictures.
"Skeleton," Law answered simply and came back to the book. He was reading a medical book about the human body that he borrowed from his parents. This was the most harmless picture that was in the whole book. Law was used to seeing pictures like this. His dream was to become a doctor, so he started to look up these things ever since he could read. "Bones in your body," he added, tugging the book closer to him. Luffy didn't care about his personal space though. He tried to look closer at the picture, climbing onto Law's lap in the process. Shit, Law should just shove him away.
"Awesome!" Luffy's laugh rang through the park and attracted the attention of his older brother. Finally, Law would be free from this weird kid.
"Luffy! Come back here!" An older kid with freckles ran to them, taking Luffy's hand and pulling him up.
"I don't wanna!" Luffy sulked and pouted. "I made a friend!"
"No, you don't." The answer came from both his brother and Law. The two of them pierced the other with a nasty look before they nodded at each other.
"Ace," Law said, not really in a mood for an argument the two always had.
"Law." Ace looked like he wasn't happy with Luffy talking to him. "Lu, don't talk to him. He's weird."
"But Ace..!" the younger kid whined, not really getting Ace's change of mood. "I like him! He has funny pictures!"
"Just... Can you listen to me this one time?" Ace huffed, still trying to get the younger ones from the closeness of Law.
"But he is good! I can tell..." Luffy whispered to himself, but at last, went along with his brother. With a long sigh, Law started to read again. In the end, the book was more interesting than some little kid who wanted to be his friend. As if Law needed anyone. He had Lami and his parents, their family dog Bepo and his two friends, Penguin and Shachi. Law himself wasn't a people-person. He was okay being alone, reading, and learning new things.
But soon, Law learned that Luffy was persistent about them being friends. This little kid with a big straw hat dangling from a string around his neck could find him every time Law tried to hide from him. When Law was hiding up on the tree, Luffy would run under it and shout at him until he eventually come down or one of his brothers would come to him and take Luffy with them. When he was lying down in the bushes near the playground Luffy would jump on him out of nowhere and refuse to leave until Law would read him something. Thanks to this, after a few weeks, Law started to bring with him one book of a fairytale, from which he could read to the younger one.
Ace and later Sabo, their new friend, took some time taking Law as one of Luffy's friends. One of many things, that was the problem in their eyes, was Law's age. In the end, he was older than Luffy by five years. And yeah, Law understands their distrust. If Lami made a friend, that was this much older than her, Law would not be happy, just like the duo. But when they saw, how much Luffy liked the other and that in the end, Law was somehow a babysitter for them, the "friendship" became convenient for them.
Law learned that pretty quickly.
It was one of the slow evenings when he was in the charge of their house. His parents were at work and he was watching after Lami. She was doing her homework besides Law, who was reading a new volume of his favorite manga when a doorbell rang. Law eyed Lami suspiciously, but she just shrugged, not knowing too who that should be.
Law stood up and went to the door. Behind them was standing Ace and Luffy. The freckled kid had tears visible in his eyes but was bravely holding them. On the other side, Luffy was smiling ear to ear, clearly not getting a single wrong signal from his brother.
"Law, can I leave Luffy here for an hour..? Maybe longer..?" Ace looked like he had no other choice like Law was his last choice. The older boy looked him up and down and after a few moments of hesitation, called on his younger sister.
"Lami, can you take Luffy in and maybe watch some tv with him? I'll be right back." He sent the younger kid into his house to Lami, who was happy at the prospect of looking around Law's house, where he never was allowed to come. Until now. Law softly closed the main door behind him and looked back at Ace. "Did something happen?"
"Well..." Ace started, not sure if he could say that information to Law. But in the end, he decided to just spill the beans. "Our dad had a car accident. I'm going to the hospital, but I can't take Luffy with me. You know him." Ace's eyes watered slightly, but he whipped them as quickly as the tears appeared. "Please, can he stay here..? Don't know, when someone fetches him up though." Law sighed but opened the door again to go back to their house.
"I'll call my parents then, to let them know about this. I just hope no one will come here after ten p.m. when everyone will already be sleeping." Law said, at last, making his point by frowning at Ace. He simply bowed to him and the next second was running to the closest bus stop. "I'm not your nanny," Law mumbled to himself, closing the door.
In the end, Luffy stayed with them all night. It was an adventure for the younger male, who was never at a sleepover before. For Law, not so much. At least his parents ordered some pizza for them so Law didn't end up cooking for three instead of two. Plus, even though Luffy was smaller than the two siblings, he ate a lot more than then.
When it came to sleeping, Luffy insisted to sleep next to Law. At first, the older one was against this idea, planning to leave Luffy in one of the guests' rooms. But somehow, his big, brown, and sad eyes convinced him into sleeping together. Luffy was happy about it. Even though he was tired, he still started to run around the living room where they were watching some superhero movie, and chanted, how happy he was.
When was finally time to go to sleep, Law gave Luffy one of his old shirts. It was longer because Law was always slightly taller than Luffy, so the shirt reached Luffy's knees. After a quick shower and brushing their teeth, the two finally lie down on Law's bed. Luffy was warm and soft. The first thing he do was he wrapped his limbs around Law, hugging him closer. At first, this position wasn't one of the most comfortable ones, but after some time, Law fell asleep faster than ever.
After that first night, Luffy would become a daily guest in their home. Even though his dad was home and ready to be with his sons, Law still spend many hours of the week watching over the younger ones. Not like he complained about it. There was some money involved and, well, Law grew fond of the younger kid, somehow enjoying time together. So in the end, it wasn't that bad.
The only thing, that angered Law at first, was the neverending closeness of the younger ones. Luffy was that kind of person, who didn't care about anyone's personal space. Law, on the other hand, hated when people were touching him. Especially someone who he didn't know. That became a problem in high school when girls became to show attraction to the dark-haired man.
In the end, though, Luffy's touch was one of the few he was okay with. Especially when Law was in a bad place, Luffy's closeness was one of a few things that made him calm down. But that sort of behavior was not as okay as it was when they were younger, the more people became aware of their age gap. Law then minimize their time together to just afternoons he was babysitting the younger ones.
Luffy was angry at first, but somehow he understood after some... incidents. Especially when one of the mothers, who was at the playground Law took Luffy one afternoon, called the cops on the older one. The hurt look in Law's eyes made Luffy understand.
Jewelry Bonney came into Law's life like a hurricane. She was beautiful, smart, and ate as much as any adult man if not more. This was the first time Law felt like he could love someone romantically. She gave him something he was missing in his life. And he gave her everything he had. His attention, heart, and body. She was everything to him until she became nothing at all. She was someone who he imagined living with until she wasn't.
Until one day, she was gone... Without warning, without explanation, without a single look back at Law.
It was one of the worst phases in Law's life. He was 20 years old, in college to become a surgeon but nothing felt duller and colorless than that part of his life. His friends were with him at school, doing everything they can to take his mind out of his situation. But even the pranksters and party animals like Peng and Shachi couldn't help their friend every time he felt hollow.
Law thought that the Christmas holidays will be the worst ones. Even though his parents were trying to do it easier for him and Lami was still with him, nothing couldn't bring back that old spark he had before. On every single step, something was missing and he couldn't pinpoint, what was it.
In between Christmas and the New Year, Law and his family were invited to one of the many parties in their neighborhood. He didn't care, where they were going. He just put on some nice clothes and went with his family. Just when they entered a home not far away from their own, and someone gave him one of the biggest hugs the student ever experienced, he finally took in his surroundings.
"Torao!" one of the most familiar voices rang through the music playing around them. "You came! I'm so happy!" Luffy laughed and hugged Law tighter. It made the older male smile a little and hugged the smaller one a little more, just like Luffy did to him.
"Hello, Luffy-ya." The big, brown eyes were looking at him with something like adoration in them. "You're all grown up."
"Nah, I'm still fifteen." Luffy just shook his head and looked at Law up and down. Then he took Law's hand and started to drag him around the party. "I need to introduce you to my friends!" Luffy's enthusiasm and hot hand were something that bring a piece to Law. He felt like he really was home, after all those years away. This was the first time when the thought popped up in his head. Maybe, it was because of Luffy.
"Slow down, Luffy-ya." Law tried but in the end, he knew it was fruitless. For the rest of the night, he was dragged around the party, meeting new and old friends of Luffy and eating much more food than he did since he came back home. And for some reason, Luffy was still next to him, talking to him or just being a silent companion. That made Law smile a little more.
"Neh, Torao..." Luffy again took his hand and started to drag him away from a party. "Come with me." Luffy made a serious face, that Law never saw on him. Without another word, he followed him up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were located. One of Ace, one of Luffy, and one of their dad. Luffy opened the door to his bedroom and silently closed them behind the two men.
"Luffy-ya, what-" Law wanted to say, but Luffy embraced him in a soft hug. It was different from the other younger ones given him through the evening. Law wasn't sure, how though. But still hesitantly returned the hug.
"Torao looks sad." Luffy simply said after a few silent minutes. Okay, it was true. But how could he tell that? "And I know you hate crowded places. So, we can talk here... Or not, whatever you want." Luffy looked up at Law and smiled. It made the room they were in brighter. This kid, really... Law thought to himself and hugged the younger ones closer to him.
"Yeah, okay. Maybe... Maybe that'll help." he breathed out at the end and finally let go of the smaller body. Luffy made him lay in his bed, where he lay down in Law’s arms like they were still little kids and listened to Law's ranting... About the school, his friends, family, and at the end even about Bonney. And yes, it hurt like a bitch, but it somehow helped him... In one way or another. Law was happy with their small session. On the other hand, Luffy told him about his life, dad, Ace, school, and friends and their adventures.
This one evening made them closer and after a New year, Law was not happy to return to his college. At least he could text or talk with Luffy whenever, when he had his phone number. Luffy exploited these privileges almost every day, sending him photos of cute animals or talking about new adventures he had. Sometimes, he would call Law in the wee hours at night to scold him just because he felt like Law wasn’t sleeping or eating properly. And most of the time, he wasn’t wrong. It still surprised Law.
Ever since he was a little kid, he was careful with the people around him. He didn’t have many friends or partners, but in his mind, he just didn’t want to be hurt. And his relationship with Bonney made it even more obvious for him. He made up his mind to not date anyone until he finished his studies and that proved to be easier than he thought. Even though his good looks attracted the attention of many girls and boys, his resting bitch face was one of the first things that discourage people from talking to him.
Law hated when someone was touching him. He could endure the touch of his parents, his sister of friends, but never strangers or acquaintances. Every little touch terrified him. Every interaction with someone new who might be interested in him made him want to leave. So it became somehow a habit to avoid people at all. Hell, with his school and internship, it was easy.
His journeys home became sporadic. He came back when a family member had a birthday or there was a big holiday. Law loved the traveling part, hell he even planned to travel around the states after he made some money. As a poor student, however, he was happy to have something to eat.
But after one of the most exhausting exams, he decided to just come back home, at least for a week. His parents were gone for a conference, and Lami was at her college so the house felt oddly silent. Even though for the most of his childhood, the house was the same.
It was late at night when he came home, so exhausted after the long way home, Law wanted nothing more than just a hot shower and a soft bed. Until there was a soft knock on his window. Confused, he came closer and saw a familiar face with a big smile. Why was Luffy at his window? And how did he get there?
"Luffy-ya, what are you doing, how did you get up here?" Law asked the boy, who was now sitting on the windowsill, looking around Law's bedroom.
"Shishishi, glad to see you too, Law." Luffy smiled at him, saying Law's name in the process, which surprised the older man. Luffy always called him Torao, even when they were little. So, what changed in those thirteen years? "How're you doing?"
"Good," Law answered simply, blinking sleepily at Luffy. "You?"
"Great, thanks for asking!" Luffy's cheerful mood was something Law was accustomed to at this point.
"So, why are you here again?" Law asked, curious about the answer. He left his things on the dresser and sat down on his bed. Luffy on the other hand still sat at the windowsill, not making any move to sit down somewhere else.
"You know, just wanted to talk to my oldest friend." soft hum escaped from Law's mouth.
"Did you forget your keys again?" there was a hint of laughter in that sentence, to which Luffy cutely pouted.
"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose or whatever..." he murmured at the end, which really made Law laugh. "Stop! Ace was still home when I went out. I forgot to take my keys and now no one is home." Luffy crossed his arms and looked away from still laughing Law. Geez, it wasn't even that funny. But still, Luffy really liked Law's laugh. So it was fine.
"Do you want to stay here..?" Law offers after he was finished with sarcastic comments on Luffy's situation. The only answer to him was just a big grin and quick nods. After that, Luffy took off his sandals and hopped right into Law's bed, just like he did every time they were little kids. "Wait, you can't sleep here."
"Why not?" Luffy asked, looking up at Law.
"First, that's my bed." Law pointed out. "Second, you are not sleeping in those dirty clothes.
"Okay, can you lend me some of yours?" Luffy questioned but immediately was hit in the face by Law's shirt.
"You know where the bathroom is." Law simply shrugged and opened the door out into the hall. "I'll use the second one."
"Thanks, Torao." Luff smiled again and Law couldn't resist the urge to ruffle his hair. They were unusually soft in between Law's fingers. And Luffy liked that move, it even looked like he pressed his head into the other hand, just slightly, but still. Cute, thought Law with eyes on a smaller figure. Then the moment was gone when he quickly took his hand down and almost run to the bathroom.
He needed a cold shower, Law decided and went right in. He needed to calm down his beating heart, but it was quite complicated with his head full of Luffy. His smile, jokes, that look in his eyes... Law couldn't even say no to his touches. On the contrary, he enjoyed them. It somehow felt like Law was once again safe and at home. Like that nice feeling which was taken away by another person was back. Like... It never was gone in the first place, but being with Luffy made it stronger.
Law had a feeling for this little kid. Wait, little? It was true, that Luffy was five years younger than Law, but he was already twenty. He could almost buy himself alcohol. It wouldn't be weird if a 25-year-old guy was dating 20... Right?
No, Law shook his head. Why was he even thinking about stuff like this? Luffy was just a naive child and Law didn't even know if he liked him as Law does... Wait, does Law really like Luffy... In a romantic way?
Shit, it was getting confusing. The water was now too cold for him, so he decided to end this overthinking session and went back to his room. Somehow Law expected Luffy to be in his bed. It wasn't a bad thing since they were used to sleeping together since they were little, now they were adults though and if someone would see them, there might be a wrong assumption.
"Luffy-ya..." Law almost whined, looking at the younger one who was occupying almost the whole bed. "There are at least another two perfectly good beds in this house, so why don't you go and sleep in one of them?" Law asked, his hand massaging his temples. Was that a migraine? Maybe.
"I don't wanna." Luffy simply shrugged and moved slightly to the right, where he slept most of the time he was in Law's bed. "Stop arguing and come. You need sleep." After some staring contest, where Law wanted to prove to Luffy that he won't be sleeping in the same bed, Law knew that this was a fruitless battle. He lay down next to Luffy, who immediately hugged him and set his head down on Law's chest. Law circled his hand around Luffy's shoulders so they were both comfortable, at least for now.
There was only a slight light from a lamp outside his bedroom window, but somehow Law still knew that Luffy was watching him. He could feel the pressure of Luffy’s brown eyes on his face. After a few minutes, he exhaled and looked directly at the younger one.
“What?” he asked, annoyed but still interested in the answer.
“Um, nothing,” Luffy mumbled, hiding his face into Law’s shirt. The older male just sighed and ruffled Luffy’s hair. “It’s just… This is nice, right..?” Luffy almost whispered and looked back at Law. “Brings back old memories, huh.” A small laugh came from Law.
“I guess it does.” He agreed, looking back into Luffy’s big brown eyes. They were reminding him of coffee. “It is…” Law swallowed, trying to put his feelings into the words. “It is nice.” These three words made Luffy happy. He moved closer to Law, almost laying on his chest, and quietly giggled.
“Can we do this more often?” The younger asked then, the sleepiness in his voice prominent. And Law knew that he fell for this one too deep when he hugged Luffy closer to him and hummed in agreement. Because, in the end, who would say ‘no’ to him.
Law woke up when he heard a soft thud next to him. He slowly opened his golden eyes and looked around the room. It was lit with the Sun blazing from the window near his table. Luckily, the rays weren’t aimed his way, so they weren’t blinding him every morning.
His eyes were scanning the room when finally landed on the reason behind that sound. Luffy was sitting up on the right side of the bed, confused about his where being. When their eyes met, Law could see the lightbulb under Luffy’s head lighting up and the ladder smiled at him.
“Mornin, Torao!” Luffy tried to stand up but was unfortunately tangled in the blanket. Instead of standing up, he ended up again on the floor with Law laughing at him. “Mind to help me?” Luffy raised his eyebrows in plead.
“Good morning to you too, Luffy-ya. You know, I don’t feel like helping the blanket thief.” Law snickered, looking at the pouting face Luffy did after his declaration.
“I can’t help it.” the other mumbled, finally somehow getting out of the blanket. He then stoop up and proceeded to look out of the window. It was obviously too early for both of them to be up, so Luffy hopped back onto the bed to the surprised Law. “Too early for this.” he just mumbled, when he covered them both with the blanket and laid back next to Law… And partially on him.
“Too early for you?” Law smiled, letting Luffy make himself comfortable while hugging him closer. Luffy was a nice heat source that Law appreciated, especially when there was a cold breeze from the open window.
“Hmm…” Luffy hummed softly, grabbing a fist full of Law’s shirt before going right back to sleep. Or at least that’s what Law thought. He was running his fingers through Luffy’s hair, softly to not wake up the ladder, when a sudden idea came to him and he gave Luffy a little peck into his hair.
It felt nice. For Law, it all felt like their morning routine. Both of them would wake up too early, have a short conversation about nothing and then go back to sleep after some morning kisses and hugs. It felt like they were doing this for a long time. Somehow, Law felt at ease, not stressed about anything in his life. Like that little something he was missing was now laying in his arms. And maybe it was.
Giving Luffy another soft peck into his hair, Law immediately withdrew when he felt Luffy stiffen and relax right away. Maybe he wasn’t sleeping, as Law thought. The older male gulped nervously when Luffy raised his head. He was expecting everything. From Luffy trying to get away to a disgusted face. The younger was just silently looking at him with those big brown eyes, obviously looking for something.
“That was nice,” he whispered with a small smile on his lips. “Can you do it again..?” a soft plead rolled down from Luffy’s lips. Law then, confused, proceeded to run his fingers through the other’s hair. From the top of Luffy’s head to the left side of it. The younger pressed himself into the touch, almost purring at the contact. There was a little conflict in Law’s head if he really wanted to do the next thing or if he wanted to risk their friendship. But looking at the younger face, he decided to risk it.
Slowly, Law led Luffy closer to him and planted a small kiss on his forehead.
Not as small and soft as the early ones, but one couldn’t count that as a real kiss. Luffy opened his eyes like he couldn’t believe Law did that. Hell, even Law couldn’t believe he did that. What a foolish thing to do.
“I’m sorry-” Law immediately withdraws, thinking that maybe he really fucked up, that maybe now Luffy would really run away from him. But the younger one placed a finger on Law’s lips, preventing him from saying anything else.
“Don’t. Silly Torao.” Luffy leaned closer to Law until their noses were touching. “I like you.” His eyes were full of adoration and fondness for Law. “I like being with you, I like… this.” he gestured at their position. Luffy’s cheeks turned bright red, the same color as were Law’s. “I really like when Torao smiles.” The look on Luffy’s face became confused. “Does Torao likes me too?”
Law subconsciously squeezed Luffy’s hip, relieved that he wasn’t the only one with these feelings. He cupped Luffy’s left cheek in his hand, softly brushing the scar under Luffy’s eye.
“Yeah, I do.” The soft expression played on his face, relieved to finally tell Luffy his feelings.
“Torao…” Luffy started, somehow shy. “Can I kiss you?” And if Law said that his begging eyes weren’t the cutest thing ever, he would lie. Luffy’s gaze slipped onto Law’s lips. The older male saw that and unconsciously ran his tongue on his lips to moisturize them.
“Yeah…” Law couldn’t say more, his brain was crashing down because Luffy was too close to him, confessing to him and asking him for permission to kiss him… To which Law couldn’t say anything else than yes, or whatever. There was a small smile playing on Luffy’s face. And there was a similar one on Law’s lips too. Because he really wanted this. He wanted to feel Luffy, taste his lips, hold him in his arms, sleep next to him, and wake up to Luffy’s presence.
A soft touch ghosted Law’s lips. A ghost of something bigger, sweeter. Law closed his eyes, holding Luffy’s hips now with both hands, steadying Luffy on the top of him. Then there was another, now bigger touch on Law’s lips. Something one could almost count as a kiss. And then another few, each bigger and longer, graduating into a real kiss full of emotions.
“This is nice…” Law whispered when they finally separate from each other, both slightly breathless. They both say this short sentence so many times in their time together, that it felt like comfort words.
“Yeah.” hummed Luffy, content with laying on Law’s chest. “It is.” The pair was fast asleep within a few seconds, happily in the arms of one another.