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“There you are, Torao!”
Law pulled the bottle of sake he’d swiped from the festivities from his lips and looked down from the balcony he was perched on to see Luffy standing on the ground below. He was mildly surprised to see the other captain had torn himself away from the festivities that had been going on since late afternoon. Food and drinks had been flowing for hours while music—that was becoming more and more out of tune as the night went on—echoed alongside off-key singing and laughter throughout the streets of the Flower Capital.
Law had spent some time in the fray alongside his crew early in the evening, grudgingly accepting several toasts in his and the Heart Pirates’ honor, before retreating to the wing of rooms set aside for the pirates in the palace for the night. Though the remainder of his bandages had come off the previous day, he still had a few lingering bruises, and his stamina wasn’t fully recovered yet. Best to take the rest where he could get it.
After returning to the palace, he settled on the balcony, his back resting against the palace wall and one knee drawn up toward himself, with his pilfered booze and the thoughts he’d been doing his best to ignore since he found himself alive on the other side of Dressrosa to keep him company.
He’d spent thirteen years plotting Doflamingo’s downfall with little thought for what came after; he’d accepted early on the likelihood of his death in the process. But then, thanks to Luffy, Doflamingo was rotting in Impel Down and Law was still alive. He'd been further shaken by his discussion with Sengoku, turning over the former Fleet Admiral’s words obsessively after leaving Dressrosa. Once he’d reunited with his crew, Law had thrown himself entirely into the task of taking on an Emperor with the excuse that they were all likely to die during this coup attempt, so there was no point in looking toward the future. But, in truth, he just hadn’t been ready to think about it.
He wasn’t sure he was ready even now, but he didn’t have much choice. The Heart Pirates, along with the Straw Hat and Kid Pirates, would be leaving Wano the next day, going their separate ways. Law had concluded after his discussion with Robin and what he’d seen alongside her beneath Wano that while Cora-san might not have saved him because of the D. in his name, he owed it both to his savior and, more importantly, himself to find out what that initial meant.
Law wasn’t like Luffy—he had no interest in becoming the Pirate King—but he knew the answers he was looking for would be on the same path Luffy was following. That meant they would be rivals once more. So, with their alliance having run its natural course, Law had every intention of making a clean break between their crews the next day.
(Deep down, as he watched Luffy reach back and stretch his arms up to Law’s third-floor balcony and pull himself up and over the railing with a cackle, Law knew—but would never admit upon pain of death—that he was in this thing for the long haul, even if their crews would be taking separate paths from Wano.)
Luffy landed in front of Law with the slap of his sandals on the tile. “That’s better,” he said with a grin, sliding down to the ground across from Law, his back resting against the balcony railing.
Law raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here, Straw Hat-ya?” He gestured toward the Flower Capital with his sake bottle. “You’re missing the festivities.”
“Nah,” Luffy said. “It’s fine.” He reached out and waggled his fingers at the sake.
Law huffed in amusement but handed the bottle over. Luffy took it and, doing his best Zoro impression, tipped it back for a huge swig. He sputtered and sake sprayed all over. Law grimaced as some splattered on his outstretched leg but didn’t bother pulling it back.
“Dunno how Zoro does that,” Luffy muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Law held his hand out, and Luffy handed the bottle back. “Most people don’t try to drown themselves with their alcohol,” he said drily, examining the bottle before taking a—much smaller—swig of his own. “Zoro-ya is just a demon.”
Luffy chuckled a soft shishishi before gesturing for the sake again. They passed the bottle back and forth between them until they reached the bottom and set it aside. Law felt the warmth settling in his chest with each draught, and by the time they’d finished the bottle, he was pleasantly buzzed.
“You never answered my question,” Law said after a while.
Luffy tilted his head at Law. “Hm?”
“Why are you here rather than down there with your nakama?”
“Oh. I was looking for Torao,” Luffy replied as if the answer were obvious. And, for him, it probably was, but Law wasn’t used to people seeking out his company besides Bepo, Shachi, or Penguin. Law rolled his eyes but let the answer be. If Luffy wanted to share in his shitty company, Law wasn’t going to stop him.
They were quiet for a few moments before a loud boom cracked through the air followed by another. Both captains looked up to see brightly colored fireworks lighting up the sky above the Flower Capital. They were, admittedly, beautiful, but Law felt a twinge behind his breast as he remembered Lami’s excitement to watch the fireworks on festival days, though the noise made her nervous. Law had ended up putting his hands over her ears to block out some of it, and she had flashed him a wide smile before turning back to the show. He felt a lump in his throat; he’d completely forgotten about that until now.
Something must have shown on his face because Luffy was suddenly frowning at him. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Law said automatically. At Luffy’s skeptical look, Law shook his head and leaned back against the palace wall to look back up at the fireworks. “Just remembering. Something from another life.”
They fell into silence once more, the only sounds between them the booms and fizzles of the fireworks and the oohing and aahing of the crowds in the streets beyond the palace walls. Law wasn’t sure if the quiet was companionable, but it wasn’t uncomfortable either. It just was.
And that, he supposed, was enough.
Eventually, though, Luffy broke the silence. “Hey, Torao.”
Law hummed in response, not bothering to look away from the sky. A yellow explosion took the shape of a bird, and Law’s breath caught for a moment as he was reminded of little birds and birdcages, pink feathers and treasure chests.
But he pulled himself from his spiraling thoughts when he realized Luffy hadn’t said anything else. He tilted his head down to look at the other captain and was surprised to see a determined look on Luffy’s face that he usually wore before a fight. It was… disconcerting to be on the other end of that look.
When Luffy was certain Law was looking at him, he said, “Take my heart.”
“What?” Law asked dumbly. There was no way he’d heard that correctly.
“Take my heart,” Luffy repeated, leaning forward. Though they were still a few feet apart on the balcony, Law suddenly felt like Luffy was looming over him. “And I’ll take yours.”
“What? No,” Law said, shaking his head. “What the fuck, Straw Hat-ya?”
“I know we’re not allies anymore,” Luffy said, “but you’re still nakama, Torao. And I want to know that you’re okay even when we’re apart.”
“And you need my heart to do that?” Law asked, incredulous. “Nami-ya has our Den Den number. You could just call.” The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake as Luffy’s eyes lit up at the prospect of calling Law whenever he wanted, but even that didn’t stop his insane idea.
“S’not the same,” Luffy said, crossing his arms.
“Straw Hat-ya—” Law tried to protest, though a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that once Luffy had set his mind on something, no amount of protesting would stop him. He’d learned that lesson the hard way.
“We’re going to split up tomorrow, but I still want to protect you, Torao.”
“I don’t need protection,” Law gritted out, though he fully knew that was a lie. He’d never forget the sight of Luffy’s foot stopping Doflamingo’s above his face as he lay helpless on the ground, completely spent and an utter failure at his decade-long revenge mission.
“Torao is strong,” Luffy agreed. “But we all need protection sometimes,” he added quietly, and Law was reminded of the boy in front of him on his operating table two years earlier. Luffy had been nothing short of an avenging angel falling from the skies at Marineford, but he’d still needed Law to save him then, just as Law had needed Luffy in Dressrosa.
“I want Torao to protect me, too,” Luffy added, lips twitching up into a smile once more. “We’ll protect each other, no matter where we are.”
“What about what I want?” Law demanded, a flash of irritation rushing through his veins. As always, Luffy was so fucking selfish, thinking only about what he wanted.
“Torao wants dumb stuff sometimes,” Luffy replied, giving Law an unimpressed look. “Like to die in Dressrosa.”
Law flinched before he could catch himself. “I didn’t want to die in Dressrosa,” he argued faintly.
But Luffy ignored him. “If you die with my heart in your chest, will I die, too?” he asked.
Law frowned, trying to catch up with the strain of conversation; the alcohol in his system wasn’t helping him follow Luffy Logic. “Yes,” he said once he’d parsed what Luffy was asking. “But—”
“Then if you have my heart, you’ll want to live,” Luffy said triumphantly.
Fucking hell.
When Luffy snickered, Law realized he’d said that out loud, and his face warmed. This was ridiculous. Law was ridiculous for even letting this conversation get this far. He’d like to blame the sake, but he wasn’t drunk. This was just… Luffy. A force of nature in the shape of a man.
“You shouldn’t give your heart to an enemy,” Law said, crossing his arms. “Which is what we’ll be after tonight.”
“Shishishi, we can be enemies and friends at the same time.”
“That… doesn’t make any sense,” Law said weakly.
“I want this, Torao,” Luffy said, scooting closer to Law until he was practically in Law’s lap. Law would have backed away, but the wall behind him kept him trapped in place. “What do you want?”
Law swallowed, the earnest look on Luffy’s face getting under his skin. “Don’t try to find a reason for someone’s love,” Sengoku had told him. “And you live your life as you like. That’s what he would say.”
Is this what I want with my life? Law thought as he stared at Luffy, who watched him calmly in return, waiting for his response. Law had spent so long living for someone else’s memory that he didn’t know what he wanted.
There were approximately a million reasons this was a terrible idea, and Law’s brain was helpfully sorting through, alphabetizing, and collating them. Yet…
And yet, sitting on this balcony across from the other captain, Law felt something settle into place in his chest, something that had been ajar for so long Law hadn’t even noticed it was off until it slid into place.
“You can’t keep it forever,” Law finally said, finally coming to the inevitable conclusion of the conversation. A firework exploded overhead in, Law couldn’t help but notice, the shape of a heart. A bit on the nose, he thought wryly.
Luffy’s eyes lit up, and he grinned. “I’ll give it back when I’m King of the Pirates.”
Law snorted and held out a hand, a blue dome forming from his hand to cover the two of them. “It’s a promise.”