Archive of Our Own

"Put it in faster, I don't feel my legs anymore!"

Law looks almost suspiciously at his new crew member. On her arm, with an accurate and rounded letter, she boasts her words to the rest of the crew. Shachi beams at her side. His own words, hidden under his one-piece jumpsuit, had been said only a few hours before.

While it's not uncommon for a captain to accept another nakama’s soulmate into his crew, the girl physically lacks any of the necessary requirements to be a pirate. She is thin and pale, her flowing blonde hair reaches her waist, and her light blue dress with ruffles indicates an elevated social position.

He sighs once more as he watches his excited friend give the younger girl a tour through the ship. She tugs on a very embarrassed Bepo's arm. Penguin approaches him with a crooked smile.

"I can almost hear what you're thinking, Cap."

Feeling the need to justify himself, Law says, "It's too dangerous to take her with us. She's fine now but we're about to get to Sabaody. Once we are there, there's no turning back."

"I know", he leans on the deck railing with his arms crossed. "But it's comprehensible, captain. You'll understand when you find your special someone", his voice softens as he adds. "Shachi is lucky to have such a willing soulmate, let them enjoy."

Penguin's soulmate, a friend of most of his life, stayed in the North Blue. Their farewell involved a lot of yelling and a big argument. Although both parted with broken hearts, the pirate always speaks of him with hope and a silent promise that he will see him again one day.

For that reason, Law never allows himself to talk much on the topic of soulmates. Everyone around him is nothing but hopeless romantics, always talking about a special, destined person as if it's only fair that the world decides for you who you should spend the rest of your life with.

His opinion on the subject is quite contrary to the rest. It's not his fault, he's hated his words since he was old enough to understand.

And it is that as a general rule, most phrases are quite positive. From Penguin's words "Hello, do you want to be my friend?", to Shachi's "Thanks for helping me, you're so sweet", even the mesmerizing black ink phrase written on Bepo's white fur "You're so soft! " , all of them are worthy of romantic tales.

Law would have been fine even with something simple like the typical "Oh, it's you", or a "Hi, how are you?", which many consider a curse because of how common they are. Instead, his luck decided to play the worst tricks on him.

The phrase he hates so much is on the lower part of his back, written in agitated and messy handwriting. "Put it in faster, I don't feel my legs anymore!"

At Flevance, he had gained a reputation as a pervert among other children. Also an awkward talk with his parents and, later, many many teasing from the Donquixote family.

Cora-san once reprimanded him for his hatred towards his soulmate. The man had pointed out the obvious, that the words were only a reaction to their actions, so he too was 'guilty'.

However, Law knows what kind of man he is and is proud to say that he would at least talk to someone before taking him to bed. What kind of silent seduction could his soul mate have provoked to make his first words so precise?

Therefore, he is not the best person to talk about it. He understands Shachi's excitement but also finds his growing attachment to a person he just met and with whom all he shares is a few words of fate ridiculous.

He rubs his eyes before saying: "We'll stay three more days. I hope Shachi makes the right choice."

He can hear Penguin snorting behind him and complaining in whispers about his coldness. Law may be a good captain but he is the least romantic person in the world.

Law has never cared, making it a point to never meet his soul mate; even if it means not having sex for the rest of his life.

"Captain, look at this."

The raven-haired takes the newspaper with interest. There is a long section with a title that reads: "The worst generation, the Eleven Supernovas."

Law is among them, as expected. Apparently, the Eleven Supernovas are a group of rookies, most of them captains of their own crews, who have exceeded one hundred million berries and, according to the directions taken by each of them, it is assumed that they will reach the Sabaody Archipelago almost at Same time.

That will be interesting. And a disaster, perhaps.

The captain of the Heart pirates reads the article. He finds it quite interesting to see the pirates who have been grouped together with him. Shachi wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"I personally feel offended that you have been put in the same boat as that Eustass Kid..."

Law makes a face. "Yes, me too."

"But!", Penguin yells startling them. "Look who's there, captain, look."

Even without seeing what his friend is pointing to, Law knows who he means.

It would be a lie to say that he hasn't heard about Mugiwara Luffy by now. Law doesn't know much about the rest of the boy's adventure but his little performance at Enies Lobby drew a reaction from everyone. Some were disgusted, and others thought he was crazy. From others, Mugiwara gained great respect.

In his own crew, opinions are varied. Law personally thinks the guy has got a couple of screws missing. Who the hell comes up with voluntarily breaking into Judicial Island, defying the government and taking a world-renowned criminal?

On the other hand, it pains him to admit that the boy has actually earned his respect. It's not every day you can do all that and get out alive. In fact, he would have expected a much higher bounty after all the chaos he caused.

Penguin is a bit more open with his opinions. His friend respects Mugiwara, like respect from idolising. If there was a fan club, he would be there.

"That's nice", he replies simply.

The boy gets excited. "This says they're going to Sabaody too, do you think he'll be there? Can we talk to him if he's there, Captain?"

"Do whatever you want", he sighs.

"Penguin, dude, don't talk nonsense. Talk to him? His head is worth 300 million, he must be terrible", says one.

"And his first officer is also a supernova", trembles another. "Look at his poster, he's scary!"

"Must be a monster crew if they made it out of that one alive", agrees Shachi.

"Whatever it is, all these pirates are our rivals", he reminds them. "One day we will have to face them, don't trust yourselves."

"Yes, captain!"

Just as Law thought, Kathie, the new member of the crew, took less than a day to get into trouble.

The captain had been drinking quietly in a bar –always trying not to leave an open front for possible silent flirtations– when Shachi arrived upset and terrified.

"They've... They've kidnapped Kath."

The 'I told you’ is on the tip of his tongue. He swallows it to go meet his crew and create a rescue plan.

The kidnappers, according to what they have gathered from the people of the city, are a group of bandits who use intelligence rather than brute force when capturing their victims. They are known people smugglers on the Grand Line and if they don't hurry, they will soon be leaving the island to take their prey to Sabaody.

"We found the ship!", Ikkaku yells before stopping to catch her breath. "She must be there."

"It's already set sail but it's not far away", reports Penguin.

"To the sub, let's go," Law orders.

Once on the submarine, it is not difficult to infiltrate the ship. He only takes Bepo, Shachi and Penguin with him, and with his abilities, he makes a room big enough to fit into the ship's hold.

As it seems from the outside, the ship is big so Law decides to take Bepo with him and send Shachi and Penguin to look elsewhere.

They don't spend much time searching until they hear voices. The first thing that comes is the raised, frustrated voice of a woman.

"It's all your fault, it always is", she growls. "You can't fall for those kinds of traps!"

Bepo and Law exchange a look before heading to the source of the sound. It comes from a room, the door is ajar. From the outside, Law can difference between two figures in a cell.

One of them is a slim young girl with short orange hair and big chocolate eyes. She is uncomfortably tied hand and foot in the corner of the cell. The other is a man, a boy. His head is lopsided so all he can see of him is a nest of messy black hair. Unlike his partner, he only has his arms tied to the wall, not high enough for him to stand up but also not low enough for him to sit on the floor, so he is left uncomfortably floating with his body being held only by his wrists.

"But Nami, I'm really hungry...", the boy groans tilting his head down even more, as if he wanted to crawl on the ground.

"You're always hungry", she replies getting more and more annoyed. "That's why we're here, you idiot!"

"They offered me meat", defends the other.

"Luffy!", the girl looks indignant. "Are you going to make me have this conversation with you again? You can't accept meat from anyone who offers it! You're worse than a child!"

Law's eyes widen as he finally recognizes the people in the cell. The girl is Cat Thief Nami, with a bounty of sixteen million. The boy, Luffy, is no less than the infamous Straw Hat, whose head went up to three hundred million after the Enies Lobby mess.

The same seemingly dangerous boy who kicks his legs while his head whips around to look at the girl. Luffy looks completely offended at his navigator's words and, frowning, quickly defends himself.

"Not all people who offer meat are bad! Sanji gives food to everyone!"

"Sanji feeds hungry people or women in general. The first is out of kindness and the second is... Honestly dangerous, no girl should take food from that pervert!"

"But you eat Sanji's food."

"Because I know him, Luffy, we're talking about... Ugh, who cares?! This doesn't solve anything, we're locked up because of you!"

"Well, it's your fault for following me too", Luffy scoffs and sticks his tongue out at Nami before looking back at the ground.

Bepo looks at his captain with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. Law himself doesn't know what to do too. Nor does he know what it is that makes him enter the room and take the keys that are hanging almost mockingly from a spike on the wall next to the door.

Bepo follows him, giving his captain a questioning look. He knows what his partner is thinking. Law could just use his ability if he wanted to get the pirates out of the cell, however, he doesn't want to give them an advantage over his abilities without knowing exactly what kind of people they are.

Nami looks at him from the moment he enters the room. Her brown eyes flicker up to Law and she tilts her head slightly to the side as she grimaces.

Instead, Luffy is unfazed. He continues to stare intently at a spot on the ground that Law now identifies as a trail of ants.

"Who are you and what do you want?", Nami asks in a strained voice.

"I am Trafalgar Law, this is my navigator Bepo."

The girl is startled. "The Surgeon of Death?"

Law doesn't respond to that and continues with the second question he asked earlier.

"I'm here for my crewmate. Have you seen any other people here?"

Nami frowns. "No, we've been here a full day and haven't seen anyone other than the people who brought us", her gaze settles on the keys in Law's tattooed hands. "Are you going to get us out of here?"

Law hums, looking with interest at the boy in the straw hat. He then looks back at Nami with a sly smile.

"I could set you free", he says waving the keys. "But I don't do things for free."

Nami growls. Looks like she'd rather stay locked up in there than give him anything.

"We can negotiate", she says noncommittally.

Law gives a short laugh and closes his distance to get to the cell. With unnecessary slowness, Law opens the cell door under Nami's watchful eye. He first approaches Luffy, who squirms a bit when Law's foot shoos away the ants.

"Stay still, I'll set you free ", he tells the restless boy.

The boy's large charcoal eyes go wide and his head shoots up. His eyes widen at the sight of him and Bepo and he looks at his redheaded companion.

"Luffy!", she gasps. "Your words!"

Behind him, Bepo gasps. Law blinks and feels his own jaw almost hit the ground because, of all he could have expected from an interaction with Mugiwara, finding out his soulmate is Luffy was the last thing.

The youngest pirate opens his mouth to speak and then closes it. Then peacefully he says, "Nami, please tell me that bear has said my words."

"It wasn't the bear, idiot!", she shakes her head in frustration, all surprise gone. She looks Trafalgar and his first officer up and down with an almost sad look.

"Oh, wasn't it the bear?"

Law isn't offended by the boy's visible disappointment, he doesn't. Nami stops feeling sorry for Law and gives Luffy a warning look.

"Idiot, don't talk anymore, okay? Knowing you, you'll say something stupid and this boy will live cursed with some ugly words all his life."

Law almost wants to roll his eyes because he has indeed been cursed for his entire life. In fact, he takes a moment to look at the boy. Is that the guy who will blurt out the kinkiest words he's ever seen written on skin in his entire life?

Luffy looks as innocent as he does on his reward poster. His infamous straw hat is resting peacefully on the nape of his neck, hanging from his neck by a thin thread. His large eyes study Law with nothing more than curiosity. There is no desire, there is no attraction. Luffy looks at him like Law would look at a corpse to study it.

Law is also not sexually attracted to him. Luffy is skinny, his arms and legs are practically branches. He is quite handsome but still has that childish air that would be strange to have in bed. His skin is what fascinates him the most. He has heard about the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and even though Luffy is wearing seastone handcuffs, his skin still appears supple and smooth. His skin looks like the one of a porcelain doll.

On second thought, Luffy would make a good fuck for someone like Law who has a desire to corrupt the purest of souls. But he also admits there's no way on the five seas that a situation like this, Law freeing him from some slavers, would land the boy in his bed.

Where do his words fit into all of this then? When is the boy planning to talk to him?

"Nami, can you tell Mr Bear's friend to get me out of here at once?"

Law snorts. "Stay still", Law repeats as he approaches the boy. "It's sea stone and I also get weak from touching it."

Luffy groans in frustration. "Put it in faster, I don't feel my legs anymore!"

Law freezes. Bepo and Nami too. Luffy seems to realize that his nakama told him not to talk and gives the older man a shy smile.

"Oops, sorry. Forget that, I'll think of a few better words. I promise."

His eyebrows arch in scepticism. Nami groans and hits her head against the wall.

"I knew it, I just knew it", she says. "He cannot be normal with anything, always the same."

But Law is still frozen, processing what just happened.

"Can you repeat that?", he asks slowly.

Luffy flutters his eyelashes. "Put it in faster", he says moving impatiently. "I really don't feel my legs anymore."

The older one studies Luffy again, who looks at him with confusion.

Then, against all odds, Law bursts out laughing. Luffy blinks in confusion. Nami bumps into the wall again.

"I should have seen it coming", she says to herself. "Luffy's soulmate had to be a freak too."

Bepo isn't entirely sure what to do in this situation. He hasn't seen his captain laugh so freely since they went out to sea. Taking a little pity on the two young pirates, he takes the keys from the laughing Law and approaches Mugiwara.

"I'm sorry", he apologizes as he removes the handcuffs.

Luffy looks at his rescuer and jumps on him, getting a scared cry out of the poor Bepo.

"You're such a cool bear!", Luffy squeals excitedly as he hugs him. "Hey, do you want to join my crew?"

Law's laugh is cut short and he gives the boy an almost threatening look.

"You can't steal my navigator", he says.

"Are you pirates too?!", Luffy exclaims in amazement. "Hey, those tattoos are great", he walks over unabashedly and grabs Law's hand to get a better look.

Law winces and brushes his hand away because what the hell.

"You should know I'm a pirate", he murmurs. "I am a supernova like you."

Luffy's expression doesn't flinch. "What is a supermona?"

"Supermo...?", he rubs his eye tiredly from the strange conversation. "Supernova. We are the rookies of the worst generation. You, your first officer, me and eight other pirates."

Luffy hums and Law is not sure if he has understood.

"Finally! Thank you!", Nami's voice speaks from the place where Bepo unties her. "Luffy, what are we going to do?"

The raven-haired turns his head in a way that could have broken a normal person's neck and looks at his navigator like she's an idiot.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to beat up the guys who caught us and then we're going to go to the kitchen to get some meat", he pauses, seeming to think better of it, and corrects himself. "We look for meat and then we kick ass."

Nami laughs softly. "Luffy, I mean Trafalgar", she points out to the captain of the Heart Pirates. "He's your soulmate."

The younger boy just shrugs and looks back at Law.

"You have a very cool hat", he tells him with a smile and then nods to himself with satisfaction as he turns to look at Nami. "I have said nice words to him!"

Nami lets out a long breath. "This is the most you're going to get out of him", she warns Law. "As you can see, Luffy is a bit... special."

Unaware of his nakama's suffering, Luffy is already at the door yelling at Nami to hurry up.

"You see", Nami speaks again. "I guess we'll see each other again", she sighs and pauses for a moment looking into Law's eyes. "I feel a little sorry for you", she says. "But make no mistake, you've got the best soulmate you could ask for. When I said that Luffy is special, I meant it."

And walks out the door.

Law and Bepo stand there, silent. The footsteps leaving the room pause for a second and start running back. At that very moment, a head with a hat on it appears from the door frame. Luffy gives him the biggest, most dazzling smile he's ever seen.

"Thanks for saving me!", he says. "See you on Sabaody! You're the best, Tra...Tragu...Torao!"

With one last smile, he runs off again. The next thing they hear is screams, pleas for mercy and many many blows.

What the fuck.

"What the fuck", Shachi says from the deck of the Polar Tang with Kath clinging to her arm as they watch the smugglers' ship go down in flames.

"I can't believe this", Penguin jumps up and leans on the railing to get a better look. "That ship... The Straw Hats!"

Law blinks lazily as he sees an achingly colourful ship. He doesn't have enough energy to wonder who decided to put a bag-of-bones-with-afro-and-standing-cane decoration on the ship's deck but it seems like a great contrast to the warm-coloured, childlike theme of the rest of the ship.

No wait, is it moving?

The skeleton looks at them, takes off his hat and bows in greeting. His crew members scream, Law wants no more of this.

Penguin seems to be having the time of his life. "What they might be doing?"

"The mercenaries caught their captain and their navigator", reports Bepo.

The eyes of his companions fly to the white bear who cringes with a "Sorry" for having all the attention on him.

"How do you know it?", Kathie asks. "I haven't seen them there."

"We found them", Bepo glances at Law and blurts out. "Is the captain's soulmate!"

Law glares at his navigator. "Bepo!"

"Sorry!"

"Wait, what?!"

The jaws fall to the ground as the crew finishes processing the information. Shachi looks from the other pirates' ship, at Law and then at Penguin.

"You must be kidding me", he says at last. "Law, I saw your words."

"I saw your words too, Law, what the hell did you do while we were looking for Kath? And in front of Bepo!"

"I'm going to chop your heads off", the captain growls at his two best friends. "We have not done anything."

"No, no, no, back off", Penguin stops looking at the other pirates' ship to stare at his captain with wide eyes. "Who is your soulmate? The Cat Burglar?"

"Mugiwara."

Penguin chokes. "What?! And you put your...?!"

"Room."

Law cuts off his friend's head and enters the submarine without giving the Straw Hats' lively ship one last look.

"Don't you want to greet his crew?", Bepo asks after him.

"He said we'll meet at Sabaody", he shrugs. “We'll meet there.”

"You are the luckiest man in the world", repeats Penguin for the thirteenth time that week.

Law almost brushes him off in favour of window shopping at Sabaody's stores. He has not been able to forget his meeting with Mugiwara because his friends have not let him forget.

Ever since they found out their soulmate was another captain, they've been more excited than ever. The boy is not only another super rookie, but he is the second-highest bounty. This has led everyone to the thought that the two crews are in a marriage alliance, which is what happens on rare occasions when two captains from different crews happen to be soulmates.

"I'm finally going to have more girls around", Ikkaku sighs happily. "It was disappointing that Kath chose to stay on her island. No offence captain, I love you guys but sometimes I need a break."

The surgeon rolls his eyes as he more or less remains in his world. He tries to avoid the thought of soulmates but somehow his mind always gets there.

He can't get the pretty smile Mugiwara gave him before parting ways out of his mind. Law hasn't changed his mind about soulmates, it still seems like a big fraud to him. In fact, he's pretty sure he and Luffy wouldn't work together at all. The youngest looks like a ball of sunshine while Law is... A little darker.

However, because there is always a ‘but’, Law is strangely satisfied with this. The boy in the straw hat is undeniably interesting, his crew seems to be too. If he had been given a choice between all the supernovas, he could have chosen Luffy.

The matter of an alliance is more complicated. Law isn't even sure if he'll make it out alive when he decides to face Doflamingo, does he really want to drag the boy into that?

Thoughts of Doflamingo take him straight to the Grove 1 auction house. Law doesn't think twice about entering.

"Captain?", Bepo follows close behind. "Haven't you heard? Clione has reported that the Mugiwara's ship arrived in the archipelago a few hours ago."

Law stops because he really hadn't heard that. How deep in thought has he been? He looks at his navigator and shrugs.

"It doesn't matter, they'll spend a few days here just like us", he continues walking into the building. "Besides, if this nonsense about soulmates is true, fate will bring him to me", he laughs at the latter as if it's his best joke.

Bepo blinks and shrugs before following his captain. Shachi and Penguin enter next.

Just before the auction starts, another supernova comes in. Law glances at Eustass Kid.

"...Trafalgar Law. I've heard rumours of him and he's not a little thing. He's not very polite either."

Law smiles and flips the bird.

The auction begins but Law can't pay much attention when the orange-haired girl from the Straw Hat crew, Nami, walks in with some of her nakama.

Shit, fate is slapping him in the face, isn't it?

There is no trace of the captain. No one misses him either, they seem more focused on the auction.

The chaos begins the moment the mermaid is introduced. Law can hear the frustration of the Mugiwara pirates behind him and for some reason joins in the sentiment.

Then, out of nowhere, the wall literally explodes as something crashes through it with a heavy impact. When the smoke clears, his eyes can't fixate on anything but his figure.

Luffy is there, he shouldn't be surprised but he is. He doesn't even pay attention to his own nakama or the other pirates in the room, his eyes darting to the stage, where the mermaid looks both terribly scared and relieved to see him there.

"Captain, look! It's Mugiwara!"

Law rolls his eyes and pulls Penguin away from himself. "I've seen him, it's not like he's unremarkable."

"Uh... Cap?", Shachi clings to Bepo with a tense expression. "What's your soulmate doing...?"

He ran towards the mermaid fish tank until a Tenryuubito shot the fish-man. Law isn't sure, but he can't look away from Luffy.

Suddenly he is no longer that childish boy he met in the cell of a smuggling ship. Luffy is a beast, his eyes are filled with fire and if he had Conqueror's Haki or had woken it up right now, he would have the entire room on their knees before him.

It is the aura of a King .

He unconsciously holds his breath as the straw hat boy takes slow but steady steps towards the Tenryuubito.

"Mugiwara-ya", he blurts out with a gasp.

Luffy takes one last step in front of the World Noble, a hard stomp. He draws his arm back and drives his fist into the man's face with unassailable anger.

The young captain puts his hand to the back of his neck to put on his straw hat and apologizes to his friends. Law doesn't look away from him but he knows that Bepo, Shachi and Penguin are looking from Mugiwara to himself with their mouths agape.

And like an idiot, he can only say: "Shit, that was hot."

His friends' jaws are on the ground, yes, but that's not important now.

Suddenly, everything happens very fast. Law remains seated but the boy doesn't pay him the slightest attention. Not that it bothers him, he's really distracted seeing how the Mugiwara crew seem to create more chaos with their mere presence and the addition of the missing three.

"I still don't get what the hell that skeleton is", Shachi mutters to himself.

He finally found his chance to make himself known when the boy mentioned the navy.

"The marines are already here, Mugiwara-ya."

Luffy looks at him absentmindedly as he gets rid of the guards attacking him.

"It's Torao!", he gives him a quick smile. "Hello, Torao, we have met again!"

Shachi lets out a laugh. "Torao?", he laughs again. "You already have pet names!"

Eustass Kid also laughs when he realizes that Trafalgar Law is this 'Torao'.

"It's a cute name", he says. "Should be on your reward poster. Surgeon of Death, Torao."

Penguin gets very offended. "Hey! Only the captain's soulmate can call him like that!"

Kid's laughter dies down. "And who is that?"

The Heart pirates' eyes settle on the small straw-hatted figure, completely oblivious to everything around him.

For a moment, Kid chokes. You can see a bit of envy in his eyes. Then he scoffs. "Well, he doesn't seem to pay much attention to you."

"I don't need anyone's attention", Law growls.

"Fufufu", the two crews turn to see Nico Robin, who snaps the necks of his opponents without even looking at them. "Don't be offended by that, Torao-san", she says with a smile. "Our captain is happy to have you as his soulmate, he just hasn't had a chance to show it."

Law wants to complain. First, because he doesn't really need Mugiwara's attention and second, because that name is stupid. His plans are thwarted once again by the appearance of the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh. Then the marines show up.

"We'll finish off the people at the entrance so you two lovebirds have some alone time", Kid dismisses with a sneer.

Luffy's head shoots through the door. Law also stands up.

Throughout the fight, the only thing Law can think about is his soulmate's Akuma no Mi.

Ruber. Ruber. Ruber.

He doesn't even notice when the boy leaves without saying goodbye.

At this point, being surprised at every little thing Mugiwara does becomes repetitive. In his defence, it's not his fault. The latest news on the crew was that they are missing. No one watching the Marineford War would expect to see a navy ship fall from the sky with a handful of runaway prisoners being led by Mugiwara Luffy.

"What the hell is wrong with your fucking soulmate?", Ikkaku asks freaking out.

"A few days ago you were very excited about some kind of alliance with them", he reminds her.

"And we're still excited!", Penguin says.

"No way!", Shachi complains. "He's crazy, Pen, who knows what kind of disaster he's dragging us into if we ally with him."

"Cap likes adrenaline", Penguin smiles. "Right, Law?"

Law snorts, ignoring his friends again, like every time Luffy comes up in the conversation.

"Let's go to Marineford", is all he says.

Jean Bart, his new crew member, nods. He is grateful to Luffy and Law alike, they have given him freedom. He is more than satisfied that they are both soulmates. Shachi, on the other hand, puts on a horrified expression as he watches his captain make his way to the sub.

"Shit, the madness has already set in."

Law still doesn't believe in soulmates.

If soulmates didn't exist, Luffy would have ended up getting his attention anyway. It's dumb, obtuse and missing a couple of screws. But he's also cute, funny and brave. Seeing him almost lifeless on his operating table is like a bad nightmare and he is sure that this image will haunt his dreams for a long time.

He shouldn't feel pain for his soulmate. He’s known Luffy for a little over a week, the only thing he liked about the boy when she first met him is that big, goofy smile.

But even he knows it's a lie. As he holds Luffy's heart in his hands, trying to revive it, Law feels as if it is his own.

And it is terribly painful.

"Stay still, I'll set you free."

Luffy never cared about soul mates before. In fact, it wasn't until he met Sabo at age seven that he learned what his words meant.

Written vertically from his hips down, in neat, clean handwriting, its read: "Stay still, I'll set you free ." Sabo found it quite romantic while Ace mocked Luffy calling him a 'princess in distress'.

His brothers' words were more interesting. Sabo had an unusually long letter necklace around his neck. "Are you Sabo-kun? Dragon-san told me you'd show me the base" , which honestly horrified Garp when he happened to see it on one of his visits. He made the boy promise that if he met a certain Dragon he would run away.

Meanwhile, Ace's words were... well, specific. Like a ring on his right thigh, his words read, " Heh, so my soulmate is the brat who wants to kill Oyaji, yoi ."

"What kind of idiot says 'yoi' at the end of his sentence?", Ace asked embarrassed and furious. "I will kill him and that father of his!"

That was the only time they talked about soulmates. For Luffy, his bond with his brothers was the only thing that mattered. They must be his soulmates.

This Surgeon of Death, as Nami called him, or Torao, as he prefers to call him, seemed like a nice guy. Luffy liked it. He had good taste in choosing his nakama (a bear!) and his tattoos were great.

He didn't pay much attention to it when he released him from his cell, he was starving and, well, priorities first. Then he didn't see him again and he didn't care. He told his nakama how great his soulmate was and Robin told him a bit more about Torao.

When they met again, Luffy was too busy to talk to him. Robin had told him that Torao was strong because he had a high reward so his idea was to fight him when they met, to have a date like Zoro and Sanji. However, with Caimie and the marines, Luffy didn't give him a second glance.

Then Ace died and his world was shattered.

Law saved his life after the war, which pissed off Luffy a lot. What was the point of living if Ace wasn't with him? Jinbe made him see reason. Luffy had his nakama and his soulmate, he was not alone.

By the time he thought of thanking Law for saving him and apologizing for his behaviour, the submarine had already left.

The next time Luffy sees Trafalgar Law at Punk Hazard, he gasps.

Even if it's not very noticeable, the first change Luffy notices is the hat. Before he wore a white hat with brown spots while now, although the design is the same, he wears a soft and furry cap. His body is completely covered by a long, dark coat with his crew's Jolly Roger drawn at the knees.

However, it is his face that he cannot look away from. His dark complexion contrasts brutally with the snowflakes that fall around him. His lips are red from the cold and his goatee is neatly trimmed. His amber eyes shine as brightly as the gold hoops that dangle from his ears. Even in the frigid cold of Punk Hazard, Luffy's face heats up when Law's gaze falls on him and his expression turns peaceful as if relieved to see him.

Luffy has never been so aware of his own body before until Law studies it with a look of concentration.

It's ridiculous to feel self-conscious, Law has literally had his hands on his gut. Not that much skin can be seen through his red and white striped coat, either.

"Torao!", he waves when he gets in front of him as if he hasn't been staring at him for five minutes. "I didn't expect to find you here", he smiles brightly. "Thank you very much for helping me that time."

"You don't have to thank me for that. It doesn't matter that we're soulmates, we're pirates. Don't forget that."

Has his voice always been that deep? Shit.

Luffy blinks when he realizes he was watching Law too much again and giggles. "Yes, we are all enemies when it comes to One Piece. But I am indebted to many people who helped me two years ago", his smile widens. "First I saw Jinbe and now you, I'm so lucky! Once more, thank you very much!"

Law lowers his hat and looks away, and Luffy's heart makes a strange jump.

Torao is embarrassed!

He's not sure what the hell is wrong with him but Law must have done something to him. The entire time they're at Punk Hazard, Luffy can't take his eyes off his soulmate. Just like two years ago he wouldn't give him a glance, now he just can't ignore his presence.

When he accepts an alliance with him, her nakama gasp. Later, Robin explains to him.

"When two captains from different crews are soulmates and get allied, it is called a marriage alliance. It is not written anywhere but after accepting the alliance it is implied that the two captains want to make their relationship public to the world."

Luffy cocks his head and Robin laughs. "Don't worry, captain, I highly doubt Torao-san expects anything from you other than following Dressrosa's plan."

Luffy knocks on the door, a bit uneasy. Law is staying in the captain's room of the Thousand Sunny, a room that the rest didn't even know existed because Luffy has never been interested in sleeping alone.

"Go ahead."

Law is sitting up in bed, looking at the paper again; the news that rocked the world since this morning. Doflamingo 's resignation, as agreed in the plan, and alliances between dangerous rookies. While the alliance of Kid, Apoo and Hawkins was striking, the marriage alliance between Trafalgar Law and Monkey D. Luffy monopolizes the cover of the paper.

"Mugiwara-ya", Law puts the newspaper aside and looks at the intruder with a frown. "Are you here to tell me that dinner is ready?"

The youngest rolls his eyes. If dinner was ready, it's obvious that Luffy wouldn't be there.

"I wanted to talk to you about", he gestures vaguely at the abandoned newspaper. "That."

"Hm?", the Shichibukai looks confused. "So?"

"Torao, what are we?", he asks directly.

Law coughs as if he hadn't expected the question at all. "What are you talking about?"

"Mm...Robin told me what a wedding alliance means. Now the world knows we have a wedding alliance, does that mean to the world we're together?"

The other captain's eyes widen and Luffy laughs at the overreactions he's getting from Law. From his point of view, this only makes him seem cuter.

"No... We... Look, when I proposed an alliance to you I didn't plan to do it as soulmates. I did it because we are both supernovas and you are strong, I think we can achieve our goals together."

"Robin said something like that, too", he nods. "But Torao, I think I want something else, you know?"

"Eh?"

"I don't understand it very well. Two years ago I liked you but I didn't like you as much as I do now", Luffy makes a thoughtful face. "I don't know how to explain it but since we met again strange things have been happening to my heart and stomach. That's because I like you, right?"

And then the most unexpected happens, Law's cheeks turn a nice bright red. Luffy smiles at the image because it makes it even cuter and walks over to sit next to Law.

"See? It tickles my stomach to see you like this, I like you."

Law is mortally embarrassed by the frankness of the minor. Still blushing, he puts a hand on Luffy's cheek and tugs at it to taunt the boy.

"Really?", he says keeping his voice low. "I thought you weren't interested in soulmates, after all before this we had only spoken a couple of times even knowing it."

Luffy laughs, but a strange sound comes out because Law still has his cheek caught. "That's what I'm telling you Torao! You're slow... Before I didn't like you like now but since I saw you the other day I feel like I like you a lot."

Law lets go of his cheek with a snap and his hand gently caresses the abused spot. The hand automatically trails to the little captain's messy tangle of black hair and unconsciously moves a little closer.

"Am I slow?", he asks looking directly into the coal eyes. "I wasn't sure if you really got that we were soulmates the first time we met."

"Of course! I'm not an idiot!", Luffy pouts, offended.

The older one laughs. "Well", he turns his face away from Luffy's and a smile forms on his mouth. "Then that's fine, I'd like to be boyfriends too."

Luffy is listening but the words bounce around in his head echoing and he doesn't really pay attention. Instead, his eyes land on Law's rosy lips, the first real smile he's seen from him.

Without warning, he leans forward, closes his eyes, and presses his lips against Law's chastely.

He opens his eyes to see that Law's golds are wide open and he laughs. With a small blush, he says: "So we're dating, Torao."

Law doesn't respond. The hand that was stroking Luffy's hair wraps around his neck and his new boyfriend closes the distance. The older one catches his lips in a long sweet kiss, licking his lower lip. Despite his clear inexperience, Luffy responds enthusiastically and leans up further to deepen the kiss.

Luffy feels his cheeks warm. His hand has landed on Law's chest and he can feel his heart pumping rapidly. He gives his boyfriend a nice smile when he sees that he is just as happy as he is.

"I like this too", he says honestly before he catches the scent of dinner and runs off.

They do not kiss again for the rest of the trip. It's not that Law doesn't pay attention to it, it just hasn't come up. The rest of the crew knows about the kiss because obviously, Luffy can't stop bragging. He has noticed the warning looks that Zoro and Sanji give Torao. Robin forced Luffy to sit down with Chopper to explain what he should keep in mind in a relationship, in terms of intimacy.

Luffy, for once in his life, listened with interest.

Everything is going well until Law starts to behave strangely just before arriving at Dressrosa.

He spends a lot of time alone on deck, staring at nothing. He also looks at Luffy thoughtfully, often frowning or looking sad.

"Luffy-ya", Luffy's heart jumps at how nice his own name sounds on his boyfriend's lips.

He turns and tilts his head. "Torao?"

"I'd like to talk to you about something... It's about Doflamingo."

Luffy nods pleased that his boyfriend has finally decided to tell him what's bothering him. He follows him into the room and flops down on the bed, looking at Law with interest.

"We really shouldn't have made this alliance."

The younger captain frowns. Calmly, he crawls over to where Law is sitting and traces the tattoos on his arm.

"Why do you say that?"

"Doflamingo is... I have a history with him", he says. "He's very dangerous. When I planned this, I knew I might not make it. With you it's different, I don't want you or your crew to suffer because of me."

Charcoal eyes connect with amber ones. "Do you think you're going to die?"

He sighs. "Doflamingo is very intelligent and manipulative, Luffy-ya. He also has no reservations in his actions, he even killed his little brother."

"But you can't die", he complains. "I wouldn't let you die."

"Luffy-ya, that's not for you to decide..."

The younger shakes his head and sits on Law's lap. "Torao, look at me," he says grabbing the Shichibukai's face with both of his hands. "We have an alliance. I wouldn't let you do this alone, you've already involved me, there's no going back.

As Law is about to retort, Luffy assaults his mouth. It's a clumsy copy of their previous kiss but this time, instead of sweet, it's furious. Law laughs.

"You kiss like you're fighting."

"That's because you piss me off", Luffy murmurs into his lips.

"You're an idiot", Law rubs the minor's back through the vest, refusing to continue arguing with him. Suddenly he jumps as if an idea has occurred to him. "Luffy-ya", he caresses her cheek. "Show me your words?"

Luffy jumps off the other captain's lap with his own smile plastered on his face. "Yes look!"

Without a hint of embarrassment, Luffy takes off his pants and tugs on the elastic of his underwear. The action is so unexpected that Law chokes.

"Look", he points to a descending phrase that starts from his right hip. "My older brother always thought that was a very romantic phrase", he laughs but stops when he sees that Law isn't paying attention. "Torao!", he pouts.

Law blushes a little but doesn't take his eyes off the little that Luffy reveals inside his boxers. When he realizes how perverted he looks, he covers his face with the palm of his hand.

"Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions before you act?", he asks, his voice muffled by his hand.

Luffy releases the elastic of his boxers with a snap and walks over to his boyfriend. "What's wrong, Torao?", he asks removing his hand from his face.

Law pulls Luffy back onto his lap and kisses him. In Luffy's opinion, this kiss is different. It is sweet and angry in equal measure, also a bit needy. He makes a small sound of surprise as Law's tongue slides into his mouth.

His own hands move instinctively. One ends up caressing Law's hair, the other back to his chest as Law's hands end up on his hips.

Luffy is the first to run out of air but it is Law who separates his face from the other. He lets out a frustrated moan when, instead of kissing him again, his mouth moves to his ear and bites down. Luffy's fingers thread through the older man's hair as the kisses and bites reach his neck.

"Torao..."

Suddenly, the man drops Luffy like he's on fire. Luffy looks curiously at Law's embarrassed face.

“¿Torao?”

“We can’t… I don't want to do this yet.”

Luffy giggles and jumps to hug an increasingly flushed Law.

“It's okay! We have plenty of time, Torao. That means we will have to defeat Mingo first.”

Without waiting for an answer, Luffy plants a kiss on his boyfriend's head, breaks the hug and runs out of the room…

…in underpants…

Law doesn't know how he got into this situation. Luffy was literally snoring like five minutes ago. Now he is naked, leaning his forehead against the only tree in the field of sunflowers, his legs trembling from the cold and demanding his boyfriend.

Of course, Law is not complaining. He is very grateful that everyone was asleep, or at least pretending to be asleep, when Luffy jumped on top of him, under the pretense of rewarding Law for the great victory against the evil Mingo.

God, he loves this boy so much.

Luffy squirms impatiently at the boy’s slowness. 

"Put it in faster, Torao!”, the younger groans in frustration. "It's so cold, I can't feel my legs anymore!"

Law freezes midway. He looks at his soulmate with wide eyes and lets out an incredulous laugh at his choice of words.

"Torao!", Luffy looks back with a flushed face and a pout. "You are an asshole!"

The night passes like this, between moans, laughter and a silent thanks to fate for giving him such a wonderful soulmate.