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“Where’d you get your tattoos done?”
Law craned his neck to find Luffy standing over him with the question.
“Ikkaku did them,” he said. “I didn’t want to go to a stranger, and being cooped up in a submarine meant she had a lot of time to practice.”
“Do you think she’d do one on me?”
“Sure, if you ask her nicely.” Law closed the book he had been reading with a mental note to return it to Robin later. “What do you want to get?”
“Maybe like… a flame or a sun or something.”
Law understood immediately. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
Luffy was quiet for a moment, then: “You can’t do it?”
“Tattoo you?” Law raised his eyebrows. “I mean I experimented with her tattoo gun a couple times, but the furthest I ever got on live skin was this.” He kicked out his bare ankle to show Luffy the tiny question mark on there. He paused for a second, wondering what Luffy was so apprehensive about when he usually threw himself into new situations with the vigor of a toddler. “I’ll get one with you, though,” he offered.
“Deal,” Luffy said and offered a hand to pull him up.
The rest of Law’s crew had been getting more and more comfortable in coming over and spending time on the Thousand Sunny, but Ikkaku was currently on the Polar Tang mopping their tiny excuse for a deck.
“Hey, can you let Bepo finish that?” Law asked as they approached.
She looked up with a shrug, not particularly invested in her task. “Sure, what’s up?”
“You still got your tattoo gun, right?” It had been a while since Law had gotten a new tattoo, no opportunity in the last two years and quite literally no time in the last few weeks.
They were already in one of the examination rooms of the Polar Tang when Luffy turned to Law, wide-eyed. “Wait, can I even be tattooed? Because of the Devil Fruit?”
“I’ve used needles on you before for IVs, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Law hesitated for a moment before narrowing his eyes. “You know how tattoos work, right?”
Luffy rolled his eyes. “I was there for Nami’s cover-up, of course I know.”
Ikkaku, from the other side of the room where she was preparing her work station, also rolled her eyes at Law. Great, now they were ganging up against him.
Thankfully Luffy seemed appeased and clambered up on the table quickly to chat with Ikkaku about the design of his tattoo, which he himself seemed to only have realized about five minutes ago.
“Spades, like on the playing cards, but on fire,” he said, gesturing a little, “on my shoulder here.”
Ikkaku hummed thoughtfully. “You want colour?”
“That would be cool.”
They took ten minutes or so to hash out the sketch until Luffy was happy. Between the three of them, Law was the best artist. Years of anatomy sketches had given him a technical advantage. So Law was the one to etch the stencil on Luffy himself – he could give him that much – and then stood over him, hands on his collarbones with Luffy’s free hand wrapped around his wrist tightly, as Ikkaku put the needle to work.
“Oh,” he made and Law tightened his hands a little, before: “That tickles.”
Ikkaku met Law’s eyes over Luffy’s head with a look of incredulous amusement before continuing. Of course Luffy would have an insane pain tolerance. Law only hoped this wouldn’t lead to every inch of Luffy’s body being covered in tattoos. Somehow that was hard to imagine.
“Can you move? You’re kind of in my way.” Ikkaku nudged Law with her elbow.
Law didn’t remind her of his captaincy and slid over to the side of the table instead, only letting go of Luffy for a moment to pull up a chair before Luffy’s hand was in his again.
He could tell by Luffy's face when he got a little lost in the sting of the tattoo needle, Law himself finding the buzzing almost meditative.
It took two hours for Ikkaku to finish the tattoo, but only because of the shading and colouring for the flames, and because Luffy needed to take a snack break halfway through.
"How do you like it?" Ikkaku asked, holding a mirror for Luffy.
"I love it," he exclaimed a little too enthusiastically. Law figured that Ikkaku couldn't tell the difference, she was one of the crew members who had warmed up to Luffy the slowest, but he sure could.
"You okay?" he asked once Ikkaku had wrapped up his arm and left the room for a while to get herself something to eat.
"Yeah I'm fine," Luffy said, smile diminished now, "I just didn't know it would feel like this."
"Pain?" Law asked, his hand hovering Luffy's shoulder.
Luffy shook his head a little. "It doesn’t hurt here." He gestured at his arm. "It feels tight here." A hand to his chest.
And Law knew that feeling all too well. He wrapped an arm around Luffy's non-sore shoulder, fingers once again brushing at his collarbone. "It'll pass," he told him. "It always does. But it's also a reminder they're still with us." He lightly flicked Luffy's temple. "Up here."
“You’re right,” Luffy said after a moment. “And once it’s healed, I can always look at the tattoo to remember.”
“Exactly.”
A memorial, of sorts.
When Ikkaku returned, it was Law’s turn. He had several options, but felt oddly exposed with Luffy there, so he went for the safest one: The Polar Tang, slightly angled up on his calf. The submarine had been with them for long enough now that Law, not necessarily sentimental by nature, had grown fond of her and wanted to keep her close.
“Oh, maybe I should get the Merry next.” Luffy said excitedly, Law confused for a moment before his memory provided him with the full name of the Strawhats’ first ship.
“Wait until that first one heals,” Ikkaku instructed without looking up. “See how you like it. Maybe then we can talk.”
“Fine,” Luffy said in his distinctive pout and Law almost had to laugh.
He didn’t need his hand held, the sting of the needle familiar to him, but Luffy did it anyway. And who was Law to complain…
He had foregone colour to match the rest of his tattoos, but his tattoo took almost longer than Luffy’s, Ikkaku very focused on intricate details and shading. She wanted to do the Polar Tang justice.
“There you go,” she finally said. “One submarine for eternity.”
“May we sink before her,” Law added automatically. The words had become somewhat of a saying between his crew.
Luffy looked between them with wide eyes for a moment before grasping Law’s arm. “Can we go now? I’m hungry again.”
Law rolled his eyes fondly. “I’m sure dinner is almost ready.”
(After – once night had fallen and dinner had been eaten – Law pulled Ikkaku aside again. Being in the examination room alone with her felt strangely cold, but he didn't want Luffy here for this.)
(Ikkaku was careful and precise as she inked a small sunflower on the inside of his upper arm, so close to his armpit that almost no one would ever see it, and Law knew she would never tell a soul.)