Work Text:
When the Straw Hat ship wasn’t bursting with noise and commotion, it was surprisingly tolerable, Law reflected. The quiet was a welcome relief after weeks of nonstop fighting, scheming, and emotional revelations. For now, Law was just laying on the soft grass of the main deck, staring up at the cloudy sky above. Law was still getting used to the fact that he didn’t have to be scared of the clouds in the boundless sky anymore. That he could just enjoy a nice day outside now without fearing for his life and that of his crews was something he was still coming to terms with.
The Thousand Sunny was quiet, almost in deference to his thoughts. Luffy was aboard the Polar Tang with Nami, Usopp, and Franky to keep an eye on him. Law could just sit back and trust Bepo to take care of things. Jinbe was at the helm of the Sunny, chatting with Brook. They were far enough away that their voices were only a low murmur. There was a gentle wind filling the sails and rustling the leaves of the orange trees above Law.
Softly clopping footsteps heralded the arrival of Chopper. He approached Law tentatively, nervous even though they’d been working together for weeks now, both in and out of the infirmary. He was holding a notebook in his hooves.
“Chopper-ya.” He greeted him first.
Chopper immediately perked up, steps gaining more confidence, ears lifting as he smiled. “Doctor Torao!”
Law couldn’t help smiling. The sweet little reindeer was almost as cute as Bepo was– and that was saying something. “What can I help you with?”
“I have a question about a few of your notes.” Chopper sat next to him. He was holding his special wedge shaped pencil that Usopp had made for him. It was more ergonomic for his hooves. “You gave Luffy his checkup the other day and you said you noticed symptoms of keen-an-sia. What is that?”
“ Quinancia ?” Law stopped himself before he could say quinancia is quinancia. “It’s, ah… When the tonsillas have apostema .” He motioned to his throat. “It’s similar in common…”
“Ton-sill-as.” Chopper repeated. “Tonsils?”
“Tonsils. That’s it. When they’re inflamed, sometimes having an abscess.” Law added, the common word prompting more translations in his brain.
“So is keen-an-cia tonsillitis?” Chopper tipped his head.
“Tonsillitis sounds right.” Law agreed.
“Are those words from your island?” Chopper asked.
Thinking about Flevance normally made Law angry, but this was different. This wasn’t thinking about the tragedy, this was thinking about his childhood. Thinking back to the hours he’d spent pouring over textbooks he’d barely been able to pick up and devoting his time to understanding convoluted historical Flevish.
“Yes.” He said simply.
“It sounds like a pretty language.” Chopper commented. “It seems good for medicine especially!”
“Yes. It has a high degree of specificity and so a high degree of accuracy.” Law agreed. “It made learning some of the body’s anatomy difficult though.”
“Really?” Chopper blinked. “But you’re so smart!”
Law couldn’t help but smile. “You’re only as smart as your efforts. Which is why a certain Doctor of the Straw Hats is so brilliant.”
If Chopper hadn’t had fur, Law was sure he’d be glowing pink. He wiggled his arms happily. “Don’t think that makes me happy, you jerk!” He giggled.
Law grinned. “It’s a useful language to know. Flevance was very medically advanced; a lot of medical resources in the North and West Blues still use Flevish. It’s less common on the Grand Line in favor of common, but you’ll still see it used sometimes.”
“I wish I knew more languages.” Chopper said wistfully. “All I know is Common and some Eastern. My Eastern is really bad though.” Chopper rubbed at his cheek, looking embarrassed.
“Some people pick up languages easier than others.” Like Law. “Look at Luffy; he barely speaks Eastern OR Common. He certainly doesn’t make sense in either language.”
Chopper giggled. “That’s true! How many languages do you speak?”
Law paused. Hm. Northern. Flevish. Common. Bastardized Eastern. Celestarian. Some Minkan. “Six?”
“Wow!” Chopper gasped. “That’s so cool! I don’t think Brook even speaks that many!”
It was good to know Law ranked above the skeleton in at least one area. “I wish I had a skeleton on my crew.” Is what Law said instead. “It would make studying bones so much easier.”
Chopper nodded eagerly. “It’s really convenient! And I can use Zoro for muscles!” He added.
Law raised his eyebrows slightly. “Hm. I hadn’t considered that. He would be a good specimen.”
“Uh-huh! His physiology is fairly standard too, which means he makes a really good point of reference. Between the two of them, I basically have a live anatomical model!”
Law snickered. “I just make my crew draw straws on whose turn it is to get dismembered.”
Chopper looked horrified for a moment until Law raised a hand and let a small Room bubble up in his hand. “You jerk! You scared me!” Chopper swatted his leg with a tiny hoof.
Law laughed. The Thousand Sunny wasn’t just tolerable, it was warm. So was its crew.