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It was a universally known fact that the way to Luffy’s heart was through his stomach. Law could have literally slapped any meat on a plate and called it a day, but instead he went all out. He even asked Sanji for advice, which meant an hour of being bullied in the kitchen, and another hour of having to endure Luffy’s friends teasing him, because of course Sanji wasn’t going to keep that to himself. But it was going to be worth it. Hopefully.
He had settled on a relatively simple steak with potatoes dish.
(“I’m sure he’d eat the steak raw if we let him, but I can guarantee he wouldn’t like it. Go for medium-rare, that’s your safest option,” Sanji had said.)
So Law did his best. Sanji had pressed his meat thermometer in his hand and made him promise to use it, but he got overwhelmed the minute he started. Even with exact instructions written down.
He was pretty sure he had sauce on his face and his hair had escaped all the product he had put into it less than an hour ago when his doorbell rang, signaling Luffy’s arrival. Law buzzed him into the building and then used the next minute to frantically clean up some of his chaos in the kitchen. Damned be open living spaces, he wasn’t even going to be able to keep Luffy from seeing it.
But Luffy entered like the whirlwind he was, nose already scrunching up following the smell. “Wow, something smells good.” Then he looked at Law, really taking him in, and laughed. “You look like you were in a very unsuccessful fight.”
“Sure feels like it,” Law said. “Sorry about the mess.”
Luffy frowned. “Who are we, boomers? You know what my place looks like, you don’t have to clean for me.” Then he did actually look at the kitchen area, and instead of laughing again he made a little surprised noise. “You cooked for me?” He looked from the stove to Law, wide-eyed. “You never cook!”
Law shrugged. “Yeah, well…” Any excuse he could give for doing this died on his lips because he didn’t want to be dishonest. “Uh, take a seat, it’s almost done. You want some beer?”
Luffy smiled widely. “Sure.”
Law got him a beer – and some juice to sip inbetween, because he knew Luffy well enough for that – and then returned to the stove to finish cooking. It was almost done, Luffy had timed his arrival well for once.
“Can I help?”
“Absolutely not.”
(That this refusal was less about Luffy’s skills in the kitchen and more about Law wanting to do something for him could stay a secret.)
When he was finally finished, Law tried to plate the food as quickly as he could without sacrificing the pretty presentation Sanji had shown him. One side of his own steak was a little charred – he had gone for well-done, bloody meat freaked him out – but Luffy’s had turned out pretty good. The sauce looked and smelled great too.
Law walked over to his perfectly set table, the only thing he was actually confident in, and carefully placed the plates on the placemats.
“Ooohhhh,” Luffy made, already grabbing for his utensils, “that looks so good.”
Law held up a finger. “Give me just one second,” he said. “Don’t start without me.” He really needed to do something about his hair. And take three deep breaths while staring at himself in the mirror.
(He did both those things and washed the sauce off his face. And if he put a little bit of mascara on, too, no one had to know.)
He returned from the bathroom to find that Luffy had actually waited for him – surprise number one, nothing ever came between Luffy and his food, least of all his self-control – and to him looking up at Law with a particularly soft expression – surprise number two.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” he said.
“Just shut up and eat,” Law said, flushing, and sat down across from him.
Luffy grinned and finally put his knife to use, but he also bumped his socked feet against Law’s under the table.
“Shit, this is really good,” Luffy said with his mouth full and Law kept himself from chiding him for it. Because who were they? Boomers?
“Thanks,” he said instead, ducking his head.
“You really need to learn how to take a compliment.”
“Oh so you’re complimenting me now?”
“I compliment you all the time,” Luffy said easily, and Law gave up trying to argue because at some point his blush would become obvious to Luffy.
Instead he ate his own steak. It really had turned out okay, and his hunger finally won out against his anxiety so for a while they were quiet, only the clink of glasses and the scraping of utensils filling the silence. He did notice that Luffy was actually taking care to not greedily gobble up his food and instead took measured bites. It felt almost appreciative. He even finished all his vegetables.
By the time Law was halfway through his steak and Luffy was almost done, Law finally found the courage to speak again. “There was this guy at work yesterday who reminded me of you.”
Luffy laughed. “Yeah? What did he do? Get into a bar fight?”
“Saved some kids from a fire actually,” Law said. “He’s just their neighbor, didn’t even know them that well. But he still did it.” He popped another piece of carrot into his mouth.
Now it was Luffy’s turn to duck his head for a moment. “I’m sure anyone would have done that.”
“You’d be surprised how many people only think about themselves in a situation like that.” They looked at each other for a moment before Law grinned a little. “Take the compliment.”
Luffy rolled his eyes. “Wow.”
Law cajoled him with another few stories from work – his ER rotation always yielded the best – until they finished their meal, and even then they stayed seated, their feet tangled beneath the table. It was comfortable.
Until finally they both finished their drinks and Law pulled his feet back with a sigh. “Do you want another?” He motioned at Luffy’s glass.
“Nah,” Luffy said, stretching slightly, stiff from sitting for so long. “Wouldn’t say no to some Cola though.”
Law laughed. “Franky got you again, huh?” Every couple months, Luffy went through a phase of drinking a lot of soft drinks thanks to his favorite mechanic.
He gathered the plates and cutlery, took out a cola and another beer from himself from the fridge and then returned to the table.
“Should I help you with the dishes?” Luffy asked and Law shook his head.
“I’ll just let the pan and pot soak overnight,” he said. “And the dishwasher can take care of the rest.”
“Hooray for modern technology.”
“Word.”
They moved to the couch with their drinks eventually, even though the TV was off. Luffy threw his legs over Law’s, lounging sideways on the couch, and Law wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Thank you for dinner, really.”
“You deserve it.” You deserve the world.
Luffy took a breath. Then: “Maybe I can take you to that museum sometime? The one that Robin mentioned and thought you should check out?”
“Yeah.” Law felt his heart flutter against his ribs. “I think I’d like that.”