Work Text:
Law has a cold
“Hey, aren't you feeling well, Law?", Robin's voice echoed across the deck, making Luffy jump around in panic. His gaze found the surgeon's slender figure, who at that moment merely grumbled and waved him off. But Luffy appraised him briefly. What had Robin meant? Was Law like... SICK!!!!!!!
That couldn't be. The surgeon was always fastidious about not catching a cold. He preached to Luffy often enough because he himself would never walk around appropriate for the weather. But the rubber boy didn't have to worry about that. He never got sick.
However, he remembered very well how badly Nami had been when she had gotten sick back then, on their way to Alabasta. That was when they had met Chopper, who had joined the crew at the end of the adventure. Law, on the other hand, was a doctor himself. If he were actually sick, surely he could treat himself, right?
Luffy watched him for a moment longer, until the surgeon turned his head in his direction and looked at him briefly but urgently, then turned away.
No, it didn't seem like anything was wrong. Robin had been wrong, perhaps. Or maybe he had misunderstood her after all. After all, he was sitting on the Sunny's head while the other two were almost at the other end of the grass-covered deck. Surely he had misheard. For sure.
Luffy suppressed the thought and devoted himself again to his favorite pastime. He was eagerly awaiting their next adventure. He could hardly wait to see what they would experience next!
The Grandline was so big and there was still so much they hadn't seen! There could be something new lurking around every corner. And he couldn't wait to discover it all. And when Sanji called across the deck that he had prepared an afternoon snack, the hint of concern for Law's health finally disappeared from Luffy's thoughts.
The next morning, however, they were back.
For after their night together, Law almost didn't want to wake up in the morning. He seemed more tired than usual, downright weak, and only grumbled in response to Luffy's request that he get up because he was hungry.
"Torao, are you okay?" he asked much more quietly, biting his lower lip uncertainly. Sweat stood on the doctor's forehead, he pulled the blanket up to his chin and although it was warm in the room, he was visibly shivering.
And when he didn't answer, Luffy jumped to his feet in a panic, slipped into his shorts and jeans, and ran out of the room. Loudly, the door to the Captains Room slammed into the lock behind him as he ran screaming across the deck until he ripped open the nearest door, throwing the hitherto still sleeping crew from their bunks in the men's dormitory.
"CHOPPER, HELP! TORAO IS DYING!!!!"
Instantly, panic spread through the room, mixed with morning grumbles just from Zoro and also Franky, who looked like he had just gone to bed.
The reindeer immediately jumped out of his bunk, blinked the sleep out of his eyes and ran towards Luffy.
"What happened?" he asked without any morning greeting, tugging at Luffy's jeans and pulling him out of the room so that at least the others might still have a chance to continue sleeping.
However, none of them would sleep on if it was unclear whether anything bad had really happened to the friendly captain, and to their captain's partner at that.
In no time at all, Luffy told him how he had found Law in the morning. Understanding, the young doctor nodded and immediately headed for his treatment room. Luffy followed him at every turn.
He did not take his eyes off him, the concern for his boyfriend was written large and clearly in his huge eyes. He kept chewing nervously on his lower lip, watching Chopper and jittering restlessly from one foot to the other.
"Chopper, must he die now?" he asked in a panic, his voice almost rolling over.
His heart pounded hard in his chest at the idea, stinging painfully. Under no circumstances did he want to lose Torao! Now that they had finally found each other! For far too long, they hadn't dared to tell each other how they felt about each other, and Luffy certainly didn't want their time together to end - certainly not because of some stupid illness!
"Now let me look at him first, and stop panicking so much, hear ya? If Law is sick, what he needs most of all is REST."
"Then hurry up!!!!," the young captain urged, literally shoving Chopper in the direction of his room.
"I'll get it, I'll get it," the shook his head and took another deep breath before quietly opening the door to the Captains Room and Luffy pushed him inside.
"Wait here!" the reindeer instructed him, and horror etched itself on Luffy's face.
"Why?"
"Because I need to examine him in peace first. You may rejoin him when I know he's well enough to do so. So stay here."
And with that, Chopper closed the door in Luffy's face.
This did nothing to calm him down. On the contrary, his heart throbbed much more excitedly, his worries growing into new dimensions. With Nami, he had been with her almost all the time. He wanted to be with Torao. But Chopper was a super doctor. When he said something, it was always for a reason. But he wanted to be with Torao. Chopper's word was law. But he wanted to be with Torao!
Everything in him was fighting about how long he could stand standing out here not knowing how Law was doing or if he should just go back inside. But then Chopper would surely get mad at him. And he didn't want that.
So he started pacing impatiently in front of the door, wincing at every little sound. Especially when the crew slowly started to gather on deck and the background noise got louder. Sanji came up to him and Nami and Robin, who had been awakened by Luffy's loud voice, also found themselves with him within a few minutes. Zoro also came on deck, but he waited on the other side at the railing and only nodded to him from there.
Luffy's chest warmed up when he saw that not only he was worried but also his nakama were worried about Law. He had the best friends in the world and when Nami took him in her arms and hugged him tightly, he fought tears for a moment.
"Don't worry about it, Luffy. Chopper will fix him. Chopper can handle anything. And you'll want to take care of him, won't you? So you have to be strong now," she stroked his back. He wasn't used to so much gentleness from her, and yet he knew she was the only one on board who would say such a thing to him.
Robin agreed with her.
"I'm sure it's nothing bad."
"You already asked him yesterday!", Luffy remembered then and his head snapped around.
"That's right," the archaeologist nodded gently, "He seemed a little off yesterday, and then when I heard him sneeze a few times, I asked him if everything was okay. He just waved it off."
"Then why is he feeling so bad today?" asked Luffy in a panic, and Nami squeezed him a little tighter as he began to shake noticeably.
"Well, I'm not a doctor. But if he didn't get much sleep last night, he might be worse today because of it. With a cold, you need a lot of rest and not to exert yourself...", Robin reasoned aloud, putting a finger to her chin.
She fell silent as Luffy froze in Nami's arms and suddenly everyone was staring at him - he turned bright red in the face.
"Don't... strain...?" he stammered suddenly, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"You didn't let him sleep last night, did you?" asked Sanji tepidly, his visible eye fixed on him accusingly.
"Really? Can't you give it a night's rest, Captain?", Franky now interfered and Brook laughed softly beside him.
"That youth, I'd like to have that again with a pretty girl - even though I'm already dead!"
"But Captain, you're really going to have to pull yourself together a bit if he's going to be this bad now!"
Jimbei shook his head slowly, smirking as he did so.
Luffy's cheeks glowed.
He hadn't known that after all!
Yes, Law had told him he was tired, but he hadn't thought so much of it. Generally, he thought rather less when he was so close to Law and he could finally feel him so intensely. How could he even think about whether the surgeon was trying too hard!
And he had not had the impression that Law had not enjoyed it. Well, he had fallen asleep faster than usual afterwards, but... that could happen!
He hardly heard the further words of his crew, caught up in his self-reproaches.
Had he really made it worse with that? Was it his fault that Torao was now in such a bad way? And if so, how could he ever make it up to him? Wouldn't he hate him afterwards? Mixed in with his worry was a hint of fear for an interminable heartbeat, until the moment was shattered by the opening of the door behind him.
Immediately, silence reigned on deck as Chopper stepped out, silent and quietly pulling the door shut behind him, taking a few steps out onto the deck before looking up at Luffy, who immediately broke free of Nami's embrace and rushed to him.
Hot and cold shivers ran down his spine as he returned his ship's doctor's gaze, waiting with anticipation for him to say something.
"So," he continued, and Luffy swallowed hard, holding his breath.
"Torao clearly has a cold. He's got a fever, his lungs don't sound so good, and he's got all the symptoms."
Luffy gasped in panic, shivering again.
"I'll put together some medicine for him, and with a few days of absolute rest and good food," the reindeer squinted briefly over at Sanji, who nodded immediately, "he'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about, Luffy."
Luffy opened his mouth, searched for words, closed it again, swallowed, took a shaky breath, then tried again. The whole crew was silent until he managed to turn his thoughts into words, finally bringing meaningful words past his quivering lips.
"So he's going to be all right?" he finally asked, trying to calm the hard rumbling in his chest with that as much as the raging thoughts in his head, all of which were jumping around and making it almost impossible for him to interpret Chopper's gentle smile as a good sign.
"He will. Firmly promised. Don't worry about it. Give him a few days and he'll be back to his old self."
A general sigh of relief echoed across the deck and Sanji immediately took his leave of the group.
"I'll put on some fortifying broth. It'll do him good," he grinned and Chopper nodded in agreement.
"That's a good idea. And I'll get on the medicine."
"Can I give you a hand, doctor?" offered Robin, and the reindeer beamed at her.
"Gladly!"
The circle around Luffy dissolved within a few heartbeats. The good news from the young doctor immediately made everyone's initial tension fall away and everyone went about their morning routine. Chopper and Robin had almost reached the door to the Sunny's treatment room when Luffy finally managed to break free from a stupor and finally said something again.
"And when do I get to see him again?" his voice rang out far too loudly and frantically across the deck, and all the crew members turned to look at him.
Robin smiled knowingly, while Chopper blinked several times first.
Luffy's cheeks were still quite warm, his fingers had clenched into fists, his whole posture seemed tense, and the throbbing in his chest was still painfully hard.
The reindeer jumped a few steps toward him once again.
"If you're quiet, you may go right back to him. Let some fresh air into the room but make sure he's well covered and doesn't cool down. I'll bring you another bowl of cold water in a minute. Then you can take care of him. But please don't wake him up. All right?"
And with lips pressed tightly together, Luffy nodded, pausing in place for a moment until he managed to take a deep breath.
Then he turned on his heel and walked hastily toward the door to the Captains Room, reaching for it with trembling fingers and slowly pushing down the handle.
Inside the room it was dim. Chopper had drawn the curtains again. And it was stuffy.
Indecisive, Luffy pulled the door shut behind him and stood there a little lost. Law was lying on his back in bed, asleep. At least he had his eyes closed and was breathing quietly. He watched the beloved surgeon for a moment, still trying to calm his racing heartbeat somewhat, until he had himself under control enough to walk slowly across the room on his way to the window. He winced as he pushed the window handle to the side, the resulting sound ringing in his ears. Panicked, he glanced over his shoulder at the bed - but Law didn't even flinch. Cautiously, Luffy breathed a sigh of relief and opened the window, but pulled the curtain closed again so the light wouldn't shine in too harshly. On silent soles he crept over to Torao and paused uncertainly beside the bed, looking down at him.
Beads of sweat shone on his forehead, the shadows under his eyes seemed even darker and deeper than usual today. A quiet shudder went through his body under the covers and Luffy winced, completely overwhelmed as to what to do. He had never had to take care of anyone sick before. As far back as he could remember, he'd never been sick, and the one time Ace had been sick when they'd still been at Dadan's, the rowdy mountain bandit had taken care of Ace herself, shooing Luffy out of the house all day. Seeing Torao like this now, feverish, absent, overwhelmed him. How could he possibly help him?
Most of all he would like to just lie down with him and take him in his arms. But Chopper had strictly forbidden him to wake Law, and Luffy feared it might wake him up. So he didn't dare even let himself sink to the edge of the bed, but paused beside it, unable to move and just chewing on his lower lip.
If only Law would open his eyes! Surely he could tell him what was right and what was wrong.
On the other hand, a part of Luffy feared that Torao would wake up. What if he really blamed Luffy for his bad condition? What if he didn't want to see him at all?
So maybe it was good if the surgeon slept on?
Minutes passed. Minutes that stretched into hours in Luffy's mind, and he just did nothing. Just stood there, looking down at Law. Every single beat of his heart echoed loud and h hard through his muscles. Until, once again, it was the sound of the door that made him wince and stumble back into the here and now.
"Is he still asleep?" asked Chopper quietly as he entered the room. In his hooves he held a bowl of water with a small cloth in it, which he carefully carried over to Luffy and placed on the small table next to the bed.
"Now, you can use this to gently cool Law's forehead and wash the sweat off his face. That will help the fever go down. The medicine is almost ready. When he wakes up, he'll get something to eat," the reindeer explained quietly, pointing to the bowl. Luffy carefully reached for the cloth and winced in fright. The water was surprisingly cold.
"That's cold," he muttered, pulling his fingers back.
"It won't help otherwise. Wring the cloth out and fold it up, put it on Law's forehead, and when the cloth gets warm, wash it out. Try it, I'll watch you."
Luffy nodded in understanding. That sounded easy enough. So he did as Chopper had told him and put the cold cloth on Torao's forehead. The sleeping man shuddered visibly, and instinctively Luffy wanted to pull the cloth away again, but Chopper shook his head.
"That's okay like that. Will you stay with him?"
"If I may?" the captain asked, surprisingly unsure.
"You may. Let me know if he wakes up," the doctor nodded, smiling at him encouragingly.
"He'll be all right. Don't worry, Luffy."
Cautiously, he nodded. If only it were that simple. In his mind, the thought that he was to blame for Torao's poor health nestled deeper and deeper, gnawing at him. He didn't want Law to dislike him anymore. He liked him much too much for that.
Only peripherally did he catch Chopper pulling the chair from his desk and then leaving the room. Luffy couldn't take his eyes off Law's face.
Slowly he sank down onto the chair, his feet scuffing restlessly across the floor, but thankfully so quietly that Law didn't wake up as a result.
Again and again he took the damp cloth from Law's forehead, washed it out in the cool water and put it back on his forehead. Now and then he dared to stroke a few strands of sweaty hair from his face, but beyond that he did not dare to touch Torao.
He didn't know how much time passed before Chopper returned, and he didn't know how late it was when Sanji quietly slipped in and inquired if Law was awake so he could eat something. No, Luffy didn't even feel his own stomach growling anymore. Instead, at some point he pulled his feet up onto the seat of the chair and wrapped his arms around his calves, burying his face against his knees and squinting over them at Law. He didn't get hungry, he didn't get tired. He just stayed sitting here looking at him, feeling more powerless and useless than he had in a long time in his life.
There had to be more he could do than just sit here and keep a stupid cloth cool and cool Law's face with it.
When Chopper brought the medicine, he sent him out of the room again and Sanji arrived barely two minutes later, invited in by Chopper. Restless, Luffy paused outside the door again, trying to be distracted by his nakama. In vain.
Nothing they could tell him managed to really grab his attention or not make him immediately jump around when he thought he saw movement in the corner of his eye.
Not even when Nami told him that they would probably reach the next island in a few days. Luffy didn't want to explore a new island if Law wasn't doing well. He didn't want to see anything of the Grandline if he couldn't share it with him! If he couldn't tell him about it, or best yet show him directly.
"That smells very tasty, do I get some of that?", Chopper's voice wafted to Luffy's ears and he spun around instantly, ignoring Usopp who was in mid-sentence telling him something about a new invention for the cannons.
The doctor sniffed in the direction of the bowl the cook held in his right hand with a grin.
"Sure thing, I've cooked more than enough. Just come with me to the kitchen. Hoi, Luffy, aren't you going to eat something too? You skipped breakfast and didn't touch a bite at lunch either...!"
Sanji's eyebrow went up a bit as he met Luffy's gaze - and he shook his head.
"Did Torao eat anything?" he asked instead, his gaze darting briefly to Chopper.
"He dutifully drank the whole bowl. You should eat something too, Captain. Really," the blond tried again.
"You can go back to him if you want. He's still awake and probably about to go back to sleep," Chopper explained when Luffy made no move to respond to Sanji's statement, "However, it would be quite important for you to eat something. Otherwise, you'll collapse on me, and then you won't be able to take care of Law."
"He's... awake?" repeated Luffy, swallowing briefly, "Then... I'll eat something before I go back to him..." he gave a brief forced smile and immediately headed for the galley.
If Sanji gave him a confused look before hurrying after him, Luffy didn't sense it, or skillfully ignored it.
It was hard for Luffy to be really enthusiastic about eating, but this way he could pass some time until Torao would have fallen asleep again. And when he went back to the Captains Room after his late lunch, he peeked through a crack before re-entering the room to make sure that Torao had really fallen asleep again.
Only then did he walk back toward the bed and sink into the chair next to it. The bowl of cool water was gone, so he pulled his legs back up and just sat there, watching Torao sleep.
Hour after hour passed, Luffy's joints eventually felt stiff from sitting for so long and he felt himself getting thirsty. But something kept him there in his seat. So he waited and waited, jumping up only when Chopper shooed him out of the room or when he thought Torao might wake up, which happened only once that day. And then he excused himself to himself by saying that he urgently needed to drink something because his throat was quite dry. And he did not return until half an hour later.
That night, for the first time since he and Law were officially a couple, Luffy slept not in the Captains Room but in his bunk in the men's dormitory.
Chopper had told him that he could continue to stay with Law, but Luffy noticed that the surgeon had become more restless and Robin had told him that he would probably wake up.
Sanji had put some food on the small table for Law and Chopper had put medicine down for him again. Both assured Luffy that Law could take care of himself if he woke up, and so he had very quickly decided to sleep in his bunk.
Restless, he tossed and turned for hours, trying to force himself to fall asleep. Unsuccessfully. Until finally he got up again and walked across the deck in the middle of the night. Above them was only cloudless sky and the glow of the stars. The moon had shrunk to a narrow crescent and gave hardly any light. Nevertheless, Luffy knew his way around and found his way. And he took his place on Sunny's head, staring out into the night until he could see the first gray of the new morning. His cold limbs felt stiff and his thoughts were sluggish when he finally fell back into his bunk.
Completely overtired, he was startled out of sleep when Chopper quietly called his name. Drowsy, he sat up and took a few seconds to realize where he was and where Chopper's voice was coming from. When he met his gaze, however, he was instantly wide awake.
"How's Torao?" he asked immediately, rubbing his eyes briefly as he slid out of the bunk and slipped into his straw sandals.
"He still has a little fever, but it's considerably better than yesterday. Are you taking care of him again? Take care of him?"
Determined, Luffy nodded.
"But eat something first, please. I just brought Law his medicine again and a bowl of broth. So you can have your breakfast in peace, too."
Luffy's next nod wavered for a tiny moment, the smile on his lips twitching for a few heartbeats, then he was back in control. And so he scurried to join Sanji in the galley, poking at his omelet a bit listlessly before gulping it down and thanking Sanji for the meal, saying goodbye to the table and making his way to Torao.
He didn't see the look that the cook, their navigator, and Zoro exchanged as he left the room.
The day went almost exactly like the previous one. Luffy spent half the day cooling Law's forehead until the afternoon when Chopper and Sanji sent him outside and he didn't return until he was sure Law was asleep.
In Luffy was still this discord. Most of all, he didn't want to leave Torao's side. He wanted to snuggle up to him and help him. On the other hand, he was afraid that the surgeon would blame him for his condition and wouldn't want to know anything more about him. So he avoided him when he was awake as long as he could somehow.
On the third day, things got more difficult. Chopper woke him up after an almost sleepless night with a big smile and the statement that Law was feeling much better. And as much as Luffy was happy, part of his thoughts fueled the panic inside him.
"He's having breakfast right now. And he's been asking about you. Do you want to go see him after dinner? I told him you'd probably want to eat first..."
"Thanks, Chopper, I will," he nodded a little uncertainly, taking a little more time to get ready. He was tired, his head was pounding and his stomach was rumbling loudly. But even today he could hardly get anything down when he finally sat with his crew, who were already almost done with breakfast.
Chopper said goodbye to the table to check on his patient and the round slowly dissolved.
As Luffy still stared at his nearly empty plate, the delicious ham on top of it tucked under, only Sanji, Zoro, and Nami were left with him.
"Luffy, I think we should have a talk," the cook began, his head jerking upward in panic. He hadn't even realized the others had left!
"Why?" he asked as cluelessly as he could.
"You know why," Nami grumbled, but he could clearly see in her eyes that she wasn't as mad at him as her voice made it seem.
"Captain, what happened?" asked Zoro straightforwardly now, and Luffy winced.
"Nothing...at all!" he replied hastily, lowering his gaze so as not to have to look at any of his nakama.
Luffy's heart was already beating harder again.
"Law wants to see you. Why are you still sitting here?", Nami wanted to know.
"And why don't you like my food anymore, anyway?" now Sanji grumbled, sucking on his cigarette.
"And when was the last time you slept properly?" added Zoro, raising his eyebrows.
"Eh..." was all Luffy could bring himself to say as he abruptly grew hot and his face lost all color.
The stares of his friends stared him down and he felt like he was shrinking under the insistent gazes.
"YAAAAAAAAAAA?" all three asked at once, leaning in his direction, and Luffy sat stock-still for a moment, then jumped up in panic and fled the room.
"It's NOTHING!" was all he yelled, throwing the door into the lock behind him.
He couldn't tell them that he was afraid Torao wouldn't like him anymore! They wouldn't take him seriously! Nami would only exacerbate his fears, while Sanji would laugh at him and Zoro would dismiss them as exaggerated. No, he loved his nakama, but they couldn't help him here. None of the three of them could.
So he would just stay out of Torao's way. Exactly. And once he was fully recovered, maybe he'd forget it was Luffy's fault and all would be well again. Maybe. For sure. Because then he would be healthy and it wouldn't matter anymore. He'd be all right. Exactly. Chopper had said he should be completely healthy again in a few days, he would manage that for sure.
Surprisingly, the three of them left him alone during the day. He had secretly expected them to besiege him, but neither Sanji nor Zoro nor Nami came at him again for that.
And so Luffy stayed on the deck of the Sunny for most of the day. Only when Chopper told him Law had fallen asleep again did he sneak over to him and watch him sleep. As long as the surgeon slept, he could tell himself that Law might not be angry with him after all. That he might still like him once he was well again. Deeper and deeper Luffy thought himself into this panic spiral in his head, from which no one could save him, because he opened up to no one. Not even when he ran into Robin in the evening and she asked him with a friendly smile to drink a cup of tea with her.
Silently he nodded and followed her to the upper deck. He stared into the cup as if it were the most exciting thing he had ever seen.
"Luffy, do I have to worry about you?" asked Robin suddenly, searching his gaze as he raised his head in surprise. Instinctively, he shook his head.
"Nonsense," he grinned a little unhappily.
"You're quieter than usual. Is something bothering you?" she carefully probed further, but again the captain just shook his head.
"It's all good. Honestly. I'm fine."
"You know you're... not good at lying?" she smiled, sipping her tea.
"I'm not lying, though!" the younger man puffed out his cheeks and placed his cup noisily on the small white table.
"All's well, then," she nodded at him, and Luffy snorted, nodded as well, stood up, and jumped down from the upper deck -.
And landed right in front of Law, who came out of the Captains Room at that very moment. He had a blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders, coughed, and pulled the blanket a little tighter as Luffy landed in front of him, and they both just stared at each other for a few heartbeats.
"Mugi," the surgeon put in, breaking off and coughing again, turning slightly away from Luffy.
Panic rushed through Luffy's veins, panic and relief to see Torao on his feet. Even if he looked pale under his natural complexion, even if the shadows under his eyes were dark and deep, even if he pulled his cap low on his face and shivered visibly in the actually pleasantly warm air.
"Mugiwara-ya," Torao's voice sounded hoarse as he managed to speak again after his coughing fit and turned back to Luffy.
Everything in Luffy was screaming at him to run away. Even if he never ran away!
"T-T-Torao!" he replied, forcing a smile, "Are you feeling better?"
"Only because you took such good care of me..." the taller one smiled, and Luffy's heart melted at those words. All thoughts of escape died and there was a sudden emptiness in his head.
"What?" he breathlessly breathed.
Law reached for the door to the Captains Room and nodded inside.
"Come with me," he murmured softly and backed away slowly, but gave Luffy another prompting look over his shoulder.
Swallowing, he gave himself a jolt and followed his beloved. At least Law didn't seem mad at him. Maybe.... Maybe...
Luffy gasped and hurried to comply, darting through the open door and closing it behind him, dipping into the dim light in the room and taking a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the change in lighting.
Law was sitting on the edge of the bed, the blanket still wrapped around his body, looking at him and beckoning him to join him. On the small table was a plate with leftovers of Law's food. And a glass of water. Next to it was a small paper bag, presumably containing the rest of his medication.
A little unsteadily, he closed in on Law and stopped in front of him. A nervous smile twitched the corners of his mouth.
"Tony-ya told me you were with me almost the whole time I was asleep," Law told him quietly with a small smile on his lips. They looked quite dry when Luffy was so close to him. I wonder if they would feel the same way.
Luffy wanted to wave it off, shaking his head slowly, but Torao just kept talking.
"He also told me that you've hardly eaten anything since... stupid."
A fresh cough shook Law's body, and instinctively Luffy overcame the last distance. He sank to the floor, patting the taller man gently on the back.
When Law had calmed down again, he wanted to jump up and put more distance between them again, but the surgeon grabbed him in a flash and held him down. He held his wrists tightly, the blanket slipping off his shoulders as he did so, and he captured Luffy's gaze with his golden eyes.
Without blinking, he lifted Luffy's hand to his lips and tenderly kissed the palm.
"Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for being there, Mugiwara-ya."
And at that moment, tears welled up in Luffy's eyes, and he jumped back, shaking off Law's hand easily, and sobbing overwhelmingly.
"Not at all! You're only so sick because of me!" the words burst out of him as the tears overflowed and he stopped trembling, clenching his fingers into fists and hastily closing his eyes so Law wouldn't see the bitter tears.
Perplexed, there was absolute silence between them for a few moments.
"What?" asked Law then, far less intelligently than Luffy was used to from him, and he swallowed hard until he got himself halfway back under control enough to answer.
"Only because... only because... I wanted... so badly... did you get so sick! And... surely... you hate me now!"
"What are you talking about, Luffy-ya!" interrupted Law, shaking his head.
The rubber boy froze.
"Why should it be all your fault? I caught a cold, yes. But it's not your fault...", Law raised his eyebrows in confusion and looked at him questioningly.
"But...", Luffy swallowed the next tears, "Chopper said... he said... it's only that bad... because... because I... didn't... let you rest..."
Law stared at him, blinked a few times - and then chuckled softly.
Now it was up to Luffy to be completely perplexed, even the tears dried up. All that was left was this boundless confusion.
"You really are a fool, Luffy-ya," the older captain chuckled, extending his right hand toward him, which Luffy very tentatively grasped and moved closer again, "Do you really think I'd let you talk me into sex if I couldn't assess whether I could take it? If I blamed you for it, if I overextended myself and became more exhausted as a result? A thought like that can only be in your head..."
And he pulled Luffy even closer, pulling him down until the smaller man sank to the ground and he could kiss him gently on the forehead.
"You're not to blame for this. I don't regret a second with you, and I hope we'll sleep together many more times. So don't make up such nonsense, but rather come to bed and warm me. Because I'm still cold... And since I'm no longer contagious, you can lie down with me."
Luffy didn't know what feeling just made his chest almost explode.
Relief because Law was feeling better?
Joy because he was allowed to lie down with him again?
Excitement because he wasn't mad at him?
Or even all of it at once?
Or even more than that? He didn't know, he couldn't put a name to the strong burning, warm and fulfilling feeling that made him snuggle up to Law, happy and relieved and just beaming, and urge him into bed. That allowed him to push the surgeon into bed and lie with him and pull the big blanket over them both.
And that allowed him to enjoy the soft kiss Law planted on him with a big smile and free of any guilty conscience.
And when they broke away from each other again, his stomach loudly spoke up.
"Not only did you barely sleep, but you didn't eat much either, huh?" laughed Law softly, pulling him closer to his chest for another moment.
Luffy nodded with red cheeks and looked away for a moment.
"Come on, then, I guess it's time I took care of you now, my wonderful, beloved, radiant fool."
And with an infinite brightness in his eyes, Luffy nodded enthusiastically to his boyfriend.