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Straw Hat Luffy had many scars. Small cuts and burns, some old and some fresh, most of them caused by fighting and training.
But, none of them was as big or as impactful as the one on his chest.
Whenever Law saw it, it reminded him of the war three years ago, the war that shook not only the final area of Paradise where it took place, but also the entire world—and he was sure it reminded Luffy of that time as well.
Law wasn’t there when he got the scar. He wasn’t there when Luffy lost his brother… But he did see what it led to. He saw Luffy at the brink of death, one breadth away from complete destruction—both physical and mental—and he saw the blind destruction the pain caused. Hell, the Tang herself got a few scars as a result and Luffy should be glad Law didn’t demand he pay for all the expensive equipment he had destroyed.
Law was sure Nami would murder her captain if he presented her with the bill.
But… it honestly never even occurred to Law to ask for money. For one, he knew why Luffy had done it, he understood why he went on a rampage, and he only regretted that he didn’t know how to help. He was grateful Jinbe was there to do it for him, to remind Luffy that he still had his crew—people he loved, people who loved him.
And two, it was Law’s own decision, his own call to go to the war to save him in the first place.
To this day, Law wasn’t entirely sure what had compelled him to go.
Was it really just because of the D. in his name? Because the way he punched St Charlos in the face without a second thought was funny? Because Law enjoyed fighting with him?
Or was it because, unconsciously, Law knew Luffy was the only one who could break the chain Doflamingo had on him and with it, the chain-shaped soulmark on his arm?
Law didn’t know.
And he was glad his crew never really dug into his reasoning. He loved them and all but he would rather kill them all than admit that maybe, just maybe… he simply couldn’t bear letting the kid die.
The knowing look Ikkaku kept giving him during the two weeks of Straw Hat’s treatment was bad enough.
A soft knock on the door to the Captain’s cabin made Law look up, snapping back to reality.
“Come in,” he called out quietly as to not disturb the person sleeping soundly next to him.
A second later, the door slowly opened and Ikkaku came to view, her eyes glued to the papers in her hands. “Captain, we did an inventory check in the engine room and such and we’ve—” she paused suddenly as she looked up, blinking a few times as she took in the sight in front of her.
Law already felt a headache coming before she even said anything.
“You two are so cute,” she said then, biting on her bottom lip and obviously struggling very hard not to start laughing.
Law sighed deeply. He knew she would say that; she always did whenever she stumbled on Law and Luffy spending time together—be it Straw Hat bothering the shit out of Law while he tried to study, Law doing experiments with Straw Hat’s insane metabolism, or right now, when Luffy was sleeping sprawled over Law’s bad like it belonged to him, completely ignoring Law’s personal space and having his limbs thrown all over the place, including Law’s own body.
At least Ikkaku wasn’t as obnoxious about it as Penguin and Shachi always were, although Law had no idea what was so ‘cute’ about this. If anything, Straw Hat needed to wipe the fucking drool off his face because that was disgusting.
“What did you say about the inventory check?” Law asked instead of gracing her comment with a reply.
“Oh right. We’ve got to restock soon, we’re running low on gas and components and some equipment is getting really old and basically useless. I have a list here if you want to check.” She gestured with the papers in her hands in Law’s direction.
Shaking his head, Law declined, “It’s fine. You’re the head mechanic, I trust you did the job right.”
“You just know you wouldn’t know what anything on the list is either way,” Ikkaku said cheekily.
“Straw Hat-ya’s crew’s a terrible influence on you guys,” Law groaned before narrowing his eyes at her. “I’m going to demote you for insubordination.”
“Sure you will.” Ikkaku rolled her eyes, her gaze jumping between Law and Straw Hat, who was still snoring away, blissfully unaware of the exchange going on. “Also aren’t we pretty much the same crew at this point?” she finished with a raised eyebrow.
Law wanted to refute her, to tell her she was being ridiculous… but to be perfectly honest, he couldn’t in good conscience disagree with her. They had been spending an unhealthy amount of time with the Straw Hats, considering the alliance officially ended months ago.
“But you know…” Ikkaku said then, her voice much more serious and quiet. “Every time Straw Hat’s here, it reminds me of the war. It’s a miracle he’s so healthy now. Watching him, it’s as if nothing happened.”
Law huffed, his own eyes turning down to look at Luffy’s peaceful expression. For sure, at first glance it seemed that way; but the scar on his chest was there to remind them all… as were the nightmares Law knew Luffy still suffered once in a while. Luffy never talked about them, never even said anything about having them in the first place, and Law didn’t pry—even if he did, he knew Luffy still wouldn’t say anything, claiming it was ‘all in the past anyway’—but he knew the ghosts were there, always lurking in the back of Luffy’s mind to haunt him, to remind him of what he had lost.
And that was okay. It was all a part of the process, the bumps on the road to healing.
At least, that was how Law thought of his own nightmares of Flevance and Minion Island.
“Captain?” Ikkaku asked uncertainly when Law didn’t say anything for a long while.
The corners of Law’s mouth twitched. Yeah, having a good crew, good friends, certainly helped smoothing out the road. He was lucky in that regard—just as Straw Hat was.
“I’m fine,” he said, turning back to look at his head mechanic. “I’ll talk to Bepo about where we can stop to get those supplies.”
A grin spread on Ikkaku’s lips in response before she turned around to leave. “Thanks! I’ll let you two be adorable in peace now.”
“Fucking—” Law growled, taking a deep breath… but before he could snap at her to shut up, she was gone, the door closed carefully behind her.
Rubbing at his temples, Law thought to himself; he did love his crew to death but sometimes… Sometimes, he wanted nothing more than to maim them.