Work Text:
Throughout Law’s recent years, he’d been drawing.
With a colorful and wide array of scenery works, Trafalgar D. Law’s life is not as vibrant as his art.
He’d been included in an accident.
It really was an accident.
The artist had accidentally hit a cyclist and damaged his car’s brakes, causing him to crash.
When investigating the incident, the officers told him the guy who died had been left mutilated by the car’s wheels.
No longer was the man recognizable.
Of course, Law wouldn’t get off scot-free from that incident. He had gone to court, lawyers were involved, and people from the victim’s family had argued.
He can’t remember their faces.
He doesn’t know them.
The court session had gone by a blur. His Uncle had paid the judge to end the session with him being scot-free.
It didn’t help though. It felt wrong to not get punishment after killing an innocent man.
Even if it was an accident, it still left a dark pit in his stomach, something that slowly, and painfully ate him.
Perhaps… maybe that was the reason why his paintings all felt so off and lonely.
With every stroke of the brush, he felt like he was grasping something but he couldn’t pinpoint it.
Vibrant colors of red and yellow were the colors he’d used often. The occasional blue would pop out too, but every time it did, it would always start eating up the painting.
He doesn’t understand why, and it left him frustratingly throwing away the canvas like firewood.
Rosinante, his uncle, often visited him.
Do not mistake this one for the one who paid the judge to get Law out of jail.
“You’re drawing him again.” Rosinante’s voice echoed through Law’s studio.
The man had walked into the place, carefully not bumping or tipping over any of Law’s supplies and canvases (It was a miracle since the man had fallen over numerous times in 30 minutes).
“You always never finish your pieces when he’s involved,” Rosinante says, digging his hands in his pockets.
Standing in front of an unfinished work, the man looked over to his nephew who seemed unbothered by the comment.
“I can’t finish it. I don’t know how to.” Law replies truthfully to his uncle.
The drawings that involved a young man were always unfinished. But, even if he did finish it, in those pieces his face was obscured by something, barely was the man even recognizable to anyone that wasn't Law.
But despite the obscured or unfinished upper half, for some reason, always did the man seem happy in Law’s eyes. The character.. The man, Law fell in love with– figuratively.
It was hypnotizing how the character would take the spotlight in every unfinished piece he drew of him.
He was a mystery to Law..
“I’m sure you’ll be able to remember how,” Rosinante says supportively as he ruffles his nephew’s hair. “You’re Trafalgar D. Water Law, you have a natural talent for drawing.”
Those words felt off to Law. But he didn’t think much of it.
“Here I brought you onigiri,” Rosinante says as he brings out a bag full of it.
It was a little mushed, but Law didn’t mind it.
“You shouldn’t stress yourself too much, Law.” His uncle’s voice echoed in Law’s mind as they sat on the couch in his studio.
“I know you can’t throw some of these unfinished works away, but I think it would help if you learned how to let go of them instead of holding onto them and leaving them unfinished,” Rosinante says as a line of smoke emits through his cigarette.
Law stops chewing on his onigiri for a moment to think about his uncle’s words.
His eyes land on a painting of a man, his face was nothing but a sketch, but his body was already colored and beautifully shaded to accommodate the night sky behind him.
“I’ll pass up on that..” Law says before continuing to eat.
There was a brief silence for a moment as Rosinante flips his phone open and looks through a text.
“Doffy is texting me again.” Rosinante sighs as Law looks at his uncle.
“Why’s he texting you?” he asked, finishing up the food Rosinante brought.
“He accidentally set a washing machine on fire.” The man says as if this was a common occurrence.. and frankly, it probably was.
“Oh. I hope his house burns down,” Law replies back without any hesitance. Rosinante only chuckles at this.
Law and Doflamingo had always had this rivaling energy. Ever since the man had visited Law when he was an infant, he’d always give an angry cry every time Doflamingo would just give him a glance.
“I’ll tell him you said that.” Rosinante smiles as he says that as if looking excited to tell his brother what words of encouragement Law has to offer him.
Rosinante almost trips while walking out of the studio, but before that—
“Tell him to wear his coat properly too!” Law adds as Rosinante waves goodbye before leaving him alone.
“It’s a miracle that man’s coat hasn’t gone bald while dragging it everywhere..” Law mutters to himself as he was now alone.
Sitting alone on his couch finished eating, Law slowly dazed off. A break from a break always helped him eventually get back to focus.
Patting his hands together as he was too lazy to walk all the way to the bathroom and wash his hands, Law wiped on his pants without care.
He’d eventually change his clothes at some point when he goes to sleep, so he doesn’t mind.
He stares at the piles of blank canvases and at his finished work. Then to the unfinished ones.
Law had learned through trial and error that he hated drawing people. It might’ve just been because of his style, but he always had trouble drawing the faces of human beings, so it always ended up being obscured or hidden.
But something inside him said something else. Something he couldn’t understand and let out..
Instead of completing any of the unfinished drawings, Law sighed and picked up a new canvas, and his heart ached for a moment as he sat the canvas down on the easel.
It was something blank and empty. It was just like that part of his brain.. He didn’t understand it, but it felt like a melancholic emptiness hugging him gently.
Shaking his head a little, Law dragged his hand heavily onto his face, stretching his tired skin.
“I hate being an artist,” he murmurs while pulling a stool to sit on. Raising a leg on the stool, Law reached out for a pencil and halted for a moment..
What was he gonna draw next?
“What am I gonna draw next..” The man slumped a little as he rested his head on his knee.
Law hated being an artist, but he loved expressing the emotions he couldn’t bear to speak out on.
Staring at the empty canvas, Law lazily rested his head on his knee, waiting for a spark of motivation to occur.
His hand wanted to move, it itched to draw and create something that felt uncompleted within him.
Law’s brain felt like static. He felt like he was turning into dust, but he was both aware and unaware of it. Like a marble statue whose body was slowly crumbling, Law stared off into space. Every single detail of the blank canvas suddenly became visible to Law as he stared sleepily.
When the man blinked, a memory flashed to his mind, a man smiling at him. With the sun behind, Law suddenly realized what he wanted to draw.
Lifting up his pencil, Law tried to recreate what appeared in his impaired brain. A memory of the past and a feeling of nostalgia hit him.
In the middle of his sketch, Law realized, he was drawing that man again..?
The memory that sparked his motivation suddenly became nothing but a fire from a matchstick as it crumbled away. The man sighed.
He hated these sparks of motivation.
Leaning back from his stool, Law panicked as he almost fell. He forgot that he was sitting on a stool, and not a chair.
“Goddammit,” Law manages out as he held his chest and as well as part of the easel.
The sound of his pencil dropping was silent to his ears, but he did notice it rolling away.
Instead of grabbing another pencil from the pencil holder beside him, Law decided to stand up and grab it.
Without much of a problem, Law picked up the pencil and paused to see where it rolled to.
The unfinished paintings and drawings lay on the ground, scattered roughly and messily at a certain spot.
Law always told himself that he'd finish those 'projects,' but never did he end up finishing them for some reason or another. He told himself he'd regain the motivation to continue drawing it at some point, but never did he do what he promised to do.
Lifting up the pencil, Law had the urge to finish one of the drawings... But he couldn't pick which one.
Each unfinished piece of art stared at him like an animal so eager to be held and taken in by him. But Law couldn't choose. He couldn't choose which one to finish, because he liked them all.
Despite some being a sketch, and some already being dry of their paint, Law couldn't pinpoint which one would be worth the closure of completing.
So with a small glance back, Law turned and eventually returned to his easel and canvas.
Already marked with a sketch, the canvas stood bare for Law to continue and finish. But before he could even place his pencil down on its paper, Law had forgotten what the topic of the painting was—a stupid realization as he groaned in annoyance.
A string of swears and vulgar words cussed at him in his head as he tried to remember what he was gonna draw.
"Oh right, right, the guy.." Memory returning long enough for Law to take in, the man calmed himself down, regaining his composure to draw again.
In Law's studio, he sat and painted until night dawned, and rain started to pour.
As he painted that man wearing a straw hat again, Law was determined to complete this one this time.
The temperature dropping from the rain's downpour didn't affect Law al that much... But due to the fact that he'd been cooped up in his studio for hours on end, occasionally going to the bathroom or getting a drink of water, the painter had found himself getting drowsy, and the cold temperature added to his groggy state already.
Holding the paintbrush gently, Law let his muscle memory color and attempt to paint the eyes of the man in the photo... the man—Law halted for a moment as he realized it. Had he finally drawn the face of the straw-hatted man..? Sure the face wasn't complete.. but was he actually gonna complete this rendition of the man that visited him in his intangible thoughts?
Leaving a stroke of paint, Law let his hand rest on the area he stopped at, and admired the eyes.
'I actually drew that?' he thought to himself, a small smile on his face.
But soon enough, Law's face suddenly turns to a one of confusion and shock when he sees the painting blink at him-
'W-what the?!'
The artist suddenly stood up from his stood and took a step back. He blinks and looks back at the painting.
Law closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his head.
"...I can't have hallucinated that.."
Silence followed his words, the rain pouring outside letting Law snap back to reality.
The unfinished painting that he thought blinked only stares back. Just as still as he painted it.
The straw-hatted man stared idly, the sun being as beautiful as the colors that made up his unfinished face and body.
He hadn't finished drawing the mouth.
Law squints at the unfinished painting, waiting to see if it would blink and reveal itself to him...
But it didn't do anything..
"What am I even supposed to do?" Law asks himself, looking around, but not wanting to look at the painting again.
'The painting had blinked at me!? What the fuck..?' he thought as he rubbed his eyes through his closed eyelids.
The image was sort of scary for him. He was just alone in his studio and suddenly, his painting blinks. He didn't expect it. The fact that it had fully functioning eyelids freaked Law out.
The man approaches the canvas and lightly taps at the surface of it with the wooden end of his brush.
He waits for a response...
...And he gets none.
"...Maybe I need a break, anyways," Law murmurs to himself.
Shaking his head, Law tries to fish out his phone from his pockets, but he finds it missing. But fortunately, he hears a notification sound from his phone and sees it laying randomly on his couch.
He turns around - taking a quick glance at the canvas before promptly walking and snatching up his phone.
Law takes a few deep breaths and tries to distract himself for a few moments after what just happened. Maybe even try to forget about it.
'I knew deciding not to take Doxepin was a terrible idea..' Law bashed himself as he opens his phone, and takes a look at what message he received.
Hi Law!
- his house burned down
Law couldn't help but let out a mean chuckle.
i think i wont be able to come by tomorrow bcuz i'll be helping out my brother try and salvage some stuff and help him with other stuff
Reading that Law sighed. He was a bit disappointed Rosinante couldn't come by, but his excuse was understandable.
Law could handle being by himself, but it was always nice to get a visit from his uncle telling him to eat and take a few breaks every now and then..
Thats ok Law simply replied as he stared at the rain outside through the window.
If it continues on until tomorrow, then Rosinante really wouldn't be able to come by.
Letting his phone slip onto the couch, Law slowly stepped back to the canvas that 'blinked' at him.
The canvas of the unfinished man stares at him idly.
The straw hat on his head exactly as Law had painted it…Tiny bits of straws poked out from the top, and the hat itself gave the man shade from the light behind him.
It felt real. Despite the fact that it wasn't perfect, it felt real to Law..
Though if were not for the fact he hadn’t finished drawing his mouth..
Law reaches out, his hand lightly trembling. He grabs the paintbrush, then takes a deep breath.
Slowly, he slid the brush across the canvas. Painting every part of the man's face.
His jittering hand tried its best to replicate the man from his incomplete memories.
A small scar under his left eye.. Messy hair that turned brown against the light... and a smiling mouth. The law struggles a little in painting the man's lips, but he eventually succeeds to the point where he would consider it 'Good enough'.
"There."
There, he whispers to himself, bringing his slightly trembling hand to himself to calm it down.
He stares at the now-completed painting, feeling a sense of fulfillment.
He had finally drawn this man's face! well.. A good enough display of it.
The man smiles at him softly. The aura of the painting gives a soft warm vibe as he smiles.. Alas, Law had finally finished this painting.. His painting.
Though, Law backs away from the painting. His feeling of satisfaction quickly turned into a feeling of unease. He doesn't know if it's the sleep causing his paranoia and anxiety to suddenly heighten, but Law felt off about the painting. His eyes slightly widen at the warmth the painting gives off, and his throat feels slightly dry.
"That's... not normal.." Law mutters under his breath as he swallows the lump in his throat.
Law tries to calm himself down, convincing him that he's the one being unusual at that moment as the stock-still painting smiles at him like a real person.
If the man in the painting had a voice, Law was sure it would be thanking him for drawing him.
He looks at the painting again. With one final breath, he speaks out loud.
"...Thanks for letting me draw you,” he says as he takes a step away from the painting, then looks at another painting he finished back then.
Paintings of cities, forests, and indoor locations, All those paintings were painted by Law with a hint of familiarity to him. Like a memory so distant and blurry, It felt like it was begging for him to unlock… It probably was. But Law couldn't decipher it. So try as he might, trying to understand it with jumbled and incomplete memories would be a nightmare and a headache.
Law takes a deep breath, trying to make sense of what's going on to himself. He tries not to delve into the blurry memory of himself and that incident and tries to focus on his surroundings now.
The sight of his completed works.. oddly comforted him. Each painting is an achievement with meanings he didn't understand.
A small feeling of comfort and warmth overcomes Law. He takes a step back forth to the just finished artwork, a tiny bit spooked, but he decides to sit on the stool, pulling it to the side to sit next to his painting.
"Strange..." Law turns his head at the window, seeing the tears of the rain drop down outside.
Looking back to the canvas, seeing it now dry enough to touch, Law lightly runs his fingers over the canvas, feeling the rough yet flat texture of paint that colored the straw-hatted man's picture.
There was an inkling of cognizance that fuzzily showed itself in Law's thoughts. Though he registered it as admiration for his own work.
He'd finally drawn him.. But who was he, exactly?
There was a bit of silence in the studio.
As Law let out a sigh and closes his eyes, he hears a voice,
"Thanks for drawing me!”
Instantly, Law jolted his head up, wide-eyed. His eyes dart around the studio, looking for the voice.
"H-Hello..?!"
He calls out, gripping the handle of the paintbrush he instinctively grabbed.
"Is someone there?!"
Law waited for a reply.
“I’m here! I’m here, behind you,”
Hearing the voice talking from behind,
Law quickly realizes that.. the voice was coming from the painting of the man..?
Slowly he turned around, his heart beating at an alarming pace.
"What..?" he said as his mind raced with possibilities
'How is this possible?...' He thinks as he stared at the smiling straw-hatted man. 'I- I'm hallucinating.. voices?'
The painting was still for a moment before it started blinking a few times. Much to Law's horrified expression.
The man in the painting soon moved all suddenly. Its movements animated like he drew each frame with every detail..
“Wew! You finally drew my mouth.. I would’ve gone insane if I couldn’t speak!” The man says as he brings his hands to his lips to touch it all so thankfully.
The blood rushes out of Law's face. His mouth drops open, He stares in shock, horrified by the fact that the person in the painting is moving and talking to him.
"You.. You're real. .?"
He says and points with his voice shaky.
“Huh— Of course I am! You drew me!” The man exclaims as he taps the canvas from the other side, looking curious about a way out the other side.
"But.. You're from a painting.."
Law tries to reason through the situation.
"Yeah, and so?"
'Does this mean I can bring anything in a painting to life?' Law thinks as he bites his lip.
"Wait, do you know anything about what's happening here?!" Law formulated out with a flabbergasted expression on his face.
“Er.. Not really,” The straw-hatted man said as he crossed his arms and shook his head animatedly.
“I don't know anything, but when you painted my eyes earlier, I saw you!” The man smiled.
Law was silent for a moment.
"So you just.. Woke up in the painting? Just gained sentience.. Just like that?.."
He says, still wondering how this is even possible.
"How long were you.. alive?"
Law asked, a bit afraid of the answer.
"I dunno, how long have you been painting this place?”
The man says as he adjusts his straw hat and looks around his painting. Surveying his surroundings, not Law's.
"This isn't that old. I.. started your piece just this day.."
Law states, slowly calming his nerves down.
It was still unnerving to see his own painting move though.
"So.. Did you suddenly just... come to life the moment I sketched you earlier..?"
The artist asks, still trying to understand everything about his unique situation.
"Ne? I'm not sure.." The man trailed off for a moment. "That's hard to answer.. Because all I really know was seeing you first.. I already told you that!" the man exclaims, a bit curious of his own existence too.
"I see.. "
Law murmurs. Looks closer at the man, and studies his face, now that he's alive.
"Well, since you're here, I have a question for you. Do you have a name...?" Law raises a brow as he watches the painting's body move eerily like a person's... He was breathing.
“My name? Well, it’s Luffy!” The man says as he chuckles with a wide grin.
That name oddly felt familiar to Law.
"Luffy..?"
Law repeats, blinking in surprise. Suddenly, he gets a tingle of recognition in his brain.
'That name sounds a lot like a real person.. But surely that'd be crazy..'
I think, looking at him with an unsure look.
'Had I known him before to have him appear in my memories..?' He thought, momentarily dozing off in place, trying to see if he could at least remember someone named Luffy, before the incident.
"Hey, hey, hey. Are you still there?" Luffy's voice pulls him back to reality.
"O-oh, yeah, I'm here." Law quickly replies back, shaking his tired body a little.
"Great! You're here, uh.. What was I gonna say..?" Luffy's brows furrow as he stares at Law quite intensely "Oh yeah! Your paintings!" Luffy smushes his face on the canvas' surface, surprising Law.
"What about my paintings?" The artist rose a brow at his painting.
"You draw a lot... You draw a lot of me!" Luffy points behind Law and to his pile of unfinished works. The artist glances behind him and sees the unfinished works of Luffy.
“You never always finish your pieces when he’s involved.” Rosinante's words from earlier echoed in Law's head. "uhm, yeah. I guess?..?" He replies to Luffy a little unsure.
"I do draw you a little too much..." Law mutters as he looks at the piles of work-in-progress artworks. "What made you suddenly point that out?" He turns back to Luffy in the canvas.
“Mm, I dunno, I just saw your stuff over there, right now while you were in thought.” Luffy says a little quietly. “they’re collecting dust..” he murmurs under his breath as he frowns for a moment.
“Do you always start a new project before you could even finish your last painting? That’s just dumb.” Luffy follows up, almost comedically as looks at Law with a bit of a judgmental look.
"W- Hey?! You're not an artist, you don't know what it's like to draw," Law quickly retorts back, a little offended by Luffy's words.
"You didn't need to point it out." He adds, feeling a bit demotivated by Luffy's words, as it really did hit him like a truck.
Luffy lets his tongue out in a bit of a childish way as Law huffs, "Yeah. I start a project before finishing the old one. But I do it only sometimes." Law says as he crosses his arms.
"The amount of 'projects' you haven't finished don't look like a 'sometimes' only thing you do." Luffy probes as he tries to see what other unfinished works Law had yet to finish.
"Your studio is pretty messy, are all artists like this?" The straw-hatted man curiously tried to look over Law's shoulder, acting like the man who created him was nothing but a brick wall.
"My studio isn't messy, It's organized for myself," Law exclaims as he tries to stop Luffy from looking at other stuff.
"You're making it hard to look around, I'll look at your place through other angles," Luffy huffs out as he starts walking out of the canvas' view, leaving Law taken aback.
Looking around, Law expected to see Luffy out of the canvas - he did, but not in the way he thought. Instead of actually walking out of the canvas, Luffy appeared in another painting.
"Woah, nice colors," Law heard Luffy's voice come from a painting of a field with a sun rising.
"What are you doing there!? - How did you even get in there??" Law quickly ran up to that painting and held the sides of the canvas.
"I just walked here, it's not that far y'know." Luffy pursed his lips outward. Law noticed that Luffy's appearance and colors had quickly become accustomed to the vibe of the painting. Becoming hues of yellow, orange, and green.
Law stood there dumbfounded as he stared at Luffy. 'At least he said the colors were nice?' He thought as he watched Luffy walk through the field as if it were real, and not painted.
"You... You can travel through paintings.." Law mutters confused at the bizarre information he found out.. "Hey, Luffy, can you walk out of the canvas?" He calls out to the straw-hatted man, who quickly runs up to the canvas' surface.
"Err.. I don't think so." Luffy says, banging on the invisible barrier between him and Law. (Law expecting a banging sound, but he didn't hear a single sound)
"I guess I can just travel through stuff you make because if I look over there, I think I can walk to that indoor place you drew.." Luffy says, looking off to the side where Law couldn't see in the canvas' other side.
Law couldn't help but frown a little, "So... You're trapped in my paintings..?" He felt a little bad. The thought of being stuck alone in someone's works felt kind of. scary.
“I guess so,” Luffy shrugged as he bent down in the painting, disappearing for a moment before coming back up with a bunch of grass he tore from the ground.
For a moment, Law remains silent, then a thought crosses his mind.
"What else can you do, other than move through my paintings?"
He asks, staring at Luffy. "Is there anything else you can do?"
“I can interact with it!!” Luffy says as he throws the grass in the direction of the sunrise, letting Law watch it actually get thrown far away as if it was a 3D space.
Law watches, fascinated...
' Oh, wow..'
"That's kinda cool."
Law couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"It feels like you're a real person.."
He says, tilting his head a bit.
“Really? You’re slow at remembering,” Luffy says oddly as he looks at Law blankly for a moment before looking over to a blank canvas behind him.
"Huh?" Law tries to look at the canvas like a window, but Luffy's voice calls out to him from behind,
"Over here!"
Law turns his head to look at the blank canvas and spots Luffy. He couldn't lie, it was kind of amazing to see his living creation travel through his stuff.
Despite his frowning and negative earlier, Law couldn't help but find Luffy amusing.
"Hey, can you do anything in these paintings..?" Law moves to the blank canvas where Luffy stood out.
"Like, move objects, change colors, talk to other stuff in my drawings..?"
“I think so!” Luffy jumps a little.
“Uhm.. Draw something to make me interact with,” Luffy says as he runs all the way to the back of the canvas, appearing small. Leaving a lot of space for Law to draw stuff in.
Law raises an eyebrow at his request, before smiling.
"Okay. What do you want me to draw?"
Law asks, before picking up a pencil.
“Hmm..” Luffy’s mini body squishes in the canvas as he ponders.
“I know! How about some food? You can draw any food, I’ll try and eat it!” Luffy says with a playful smirk, making Law snicker.
"Hm.. Alright. Sounds good."
Law nods, before getting to work.
The artist quickly doodled a bunch of different food items from a grocery store: bananas, pizza, a cake, apples, and all different kinds of stuff.
"Here, what do you think of this?"
He asks, smiling.
"Ah! They're really big, I don't think I can grab them!!” Luffy says as he gawks at the stuff Law drew.
Running a little closer in the perspective of the canvas Luffy tries to become a good size to grab and eat the food,
“Ah, here we go!” Luffy gets near enough to an appropriate size, and grabs the apple, completely moving it out of the place Law drew it on.
Law gets startled by the movement of the food. It looked so.. Real... It fascinated him.
"How.. Are you eating that.." Law asks, seeing as the apple and Luffy was drawn in completely different styles.
Luffy takes a bite of the apple, before answering “Mmm, I’m just eating it, it’s simple.” Luffy puffs out his cheeks like a squirrel.
Law shakes his head in disbelief. "Well. Alright, I can't argue with that." He chuckles, then smiles.
"Hey, do you want me to draw you something else? You know, if you wanna try out anything specific." The artist asks, a bit excited. Seeing as he was essentially, able to draw anything for Luffy.
"Well... I do have a few requests..."
Drawing all night for his friend, Law felt happy.
Ignoring how the rain slowly stopped as the day slowly peeked through the horizon, the artist and his own work had stayed up all night without any sleep.
Having Luffy come to life, was the best thing that ever happened to Law.
The living painting was always there. There to be for him as he drew.
Normally, Law didn't like drawing when people would watch, even if those people were Rosinante himself.
But when it came to Luffy, he didn't mind the man's presence in his canvasses.
The two of them had become close, gaining nicknames for each other and often fooling around while Law drew and painted.
"You're missing a spot here," Luffy points at an unshaded spot in his canvas, making Law nod as he quickly got to work.
"Thanks." Law smiled, proud of their teamwork in finishing his current painting.
Ever since Luffy had started helping Law out with his hobby, the artist had been finishing stuff he normally couldn't.
Through their talks, Law found himself feeling as if he'd relived this before. Tiredly did his eyes always follow Luffy's movements as the living painting loved to talk and ramble to him about bugs and food, It was really endearing.
Like a creator addicted to their own hobby, Law had spent all his time with Luffy in his studio.
No one else but Law had seen Luffy. The straw-hatted man had told him that he'd only move and talk when it was only with Law.
The artist didn't find it strange, seeing as Luffy was his.
A selfish part of him didn't want to share him with anyone. So always did he draw to please Luffy, ignoring his own needs in favor for Luffy's. For every smile he earned from the man, he felt his stomach flutter with a strange sensation.
It was something he couldn't grasp, but it felt comforting to him.
Drawing with Luffy by his side, the actions he made felt so dearly intimate.
"There we go, a car for you." Law sat back as he crossed his arms and admired his latest work.
Luffy cheered, happy for him as he ran to the car, and got inside. "Look at me, I'm drivin' " Luffy said playfully.
Though the car didn't move, the straw-hatted man didn't it as he laughed alongside Law.
"It's a shame you can't actually start up its engine," Law says as he draws a glass of water for Luffy to drink. The drawing thanks Law as he finishes it without a moment's notice and litters it on the ground in the painting.
"Oi, don't litter on my paintings," Law says as he taps the canvas, to get Luffy's attention.
"Oh? What are you gonna do to make me pick it up?" Luffy quips out as he steps out of the car and leans on it, lightly kicking the glass on the ground.
Luffy was right about it, Law could technically do nothing to make Luffy pick it up.. Technically he could try and erase it.. But Law wasn't sure erasers don't work on the paint. "Just leave it on the ground then, It adds personality to the painting." Law sighs as he pats his shorts and puts away the paintbrush.
Walking off to another canvas, Luffy knew Law was far from finished when it comes to drawing. This was the first finished piece of the day! the artist was surprisingly fast at drawing when it came to having someone to conversate with through the process.
"What's next on your mind? Finishing one of those unfinished stuff, or starting a new project?" Luffy says as Law picks up the blank canvas he was in, and places it on an easel.
"Well, while I am in the mood for doing either of those, I'll have to ask you, do have anything in mind that you want me to paint..?" Law asked, leaning to the canvas to look at Luffy's tiny form.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you." Law answers, "Do you have any art requests..?"
Luffy paused, thinking about Law's words "Hmm.. mmm..." he hums out for a moment, trying to think of something.
"I know! I know! Get your paintbrush!" Luffy waves his arms as he runs around the canvas.
"Alright, alright.." Law snorts as he takes his pencil from his pencil holder. "What do you want me to draw, Strawhat-ya?"
Luffy smiled, making Law feel excited and determined to draw what he has planned.
"Well, Traffy..." That nickname made Law's insides feel giddy, a sense of familiarity in that name makes the artist feel something..
"...I want you to a sketch a bike, right here..."
.
"Law! Guess who's here!" Knocking and calling out for his nephew, Rosinante peeked through the door of Law's studio and was awarded the sight of a bunch of drawings that made the man take a double look.
"Ah, Rosi, you're here?" Law suddenly asked as he turns his head to the doorway of his studio, not expecting the man to suddenly come to his house.
"Mhm, I sent you a text, I thought you would've seen it.. eh, Sorry about taking so long to visit, You know Doffy, he's a dramatic man." Rosinante chuckles as he steps into the studio.
"Ah... It's alright, it's alright, I didn't mind the lack of a visit." Law replies as he completely gets off his stool and walks off to the man in a tired but relaxed manner.
Looking around the studio, Rosinante seemed in awe at the various drawings.
"You surely draw a lot.." The blond says, a little surprised at te sudden surge of finished drawings in his nephew's studio. "..But I shouldn't be surprised, It's you." The man says as he looks down at the shorter man.
"Sorry, I was really busy, I couldn't see your messages." Law bowed his head down a little, an earnest apology for his uncle.
"It's okay, You can think of this visit as a surprise from me if you want to," Rosinante says with a silly face, putting a hand on Law's hair to give him a pat.
"I brought you some lunch, I think you'll need it considering you're always cooped up in here." The man says as he reaches out to his backpack and pats it.
Though instead of looking happy, Law looked a little unsure. Rosinante noticed, but he didn't point it out at the moment.
"Erm.. Let's get you some sunlight." Rosinante says as he takes a step back and almost falls back due to a single pencil Law forgot to put away.
For a moment, Law hesitated. He looked back at a painting that was unfinished and looked back at Rosinante.
"Law? What's wrong?" The man looked at his nephew a little concerned. The sudden silence was different than the usual comforting silence Law always had.
"Nothing.. It's nothing." The man soon says as he shakes his head and regains his bearings. "So, what did you bring me today?" Law looks back to Rosinant as he walks to the doorway.
"Oh, It's not much really, A good friend of mine, Bellamere decided to- actually– You've met her before right?" Rosinante starts rambling as he and Law walk out of the studio, deciding to eat outside.
"I think so, You told me you and her were buddies when you two served the military for a while."
.
When Rosinante had walked out and strolled down the streets with his nephew, the young man was thinking a lot more than usual. Rosinante didn't really mind it at first, but Law had been quiet. Really quiet.
Law was stuck thinking in his thoughts while Rosinante spoke or ate with him. It worried Rosinante a bit... He knew his nephew had grown up quiet. Ever since he lost his parents and his sister, Rosinante had stepped up to be Law's legal guardian, but by then Law had known how to take care of himself.
But even if Law seemed annoyed and angry at his affectionate gestures, like making him lunch and trying to support him in his hobbies, the boy still appreciated Rosinante's efforts in some way.
Rosinante has watched Law mature and grow up into a fine young man. When he'd seen him with a lover, he was thrilled and supportive of Law's relationship.
Ah... Law's lover.
Luffy was a kind young man. When Rosinante had met him, the two of them hit off positively. The Straw hatted man was a ball of sunshine that had Law orbiting around like the moon.
Their dynamic was day and night, but Rosinante had understood it was more than that.
Luffy gave Law's life meaning, someone else to cherish and grow to love, and someone to help him paint his feelings out. Rosinante had found it amusing how Law was lovestruck with the other man.
Luffy loved Law's affectionate advances, accepting them with all his heart, and always returned that affection tenfold.
Rosinante remembers meeting Luffy's family members, his brothers were a little passive-aggressive at first, but they warmed up pretty quickly. He recalls Ace, Luffy's eldest brother calling Law an absolute nerd in love with Luffy.
It was something that Ace tease Law about when the two were together, and Law absolutely hated it. But both of them knew it was only a joke.
Luffy had a lot of friends, they were unique, eccentric, and quite colorful. But out of all of them, Luffy fell for Law. And Law fell for him harder.
And Rosinante found it cute. He wanted to tell everyone in the family about it, proud of his nephew's achievement and how he'll defend them with all his might..!
But then, the accident happened.
Rocinante had gotten home from his work that time, He received a phone call from one of Law's friends, Bepo.
"R-Rosinante? Sir?" The panicked voice spoke, and Rosinante tried to calm him down.
"Ah, Bepo? What's wrong- And no need to call me sir."
"Sorry, sorry.. But uhm, I-I have to tell you, Law was brought to the hospital,"
When Rosinante heard it, his heart dropped. The man panicked, asking Bepo which hospital was Law admitted to, and what happened.
"He-.. He accidentally hit him. Luffy.. he was driving and he accidentally hit Luffy and crashed.. Luffy is dead... But Law survived..!!"
The news was heartbreaking to hear. On one side, Rosinante was happy to hear Law survived, on the other he was horrified for Luffy.
The poor man was killed by the man he loved.
Rosinante was sure that Law would've cried his heart out when he'd heard the news... But he didn't.
When Law woke up, he was diagnosed with amnesia. He couldn't remember events prior to the incident.
Rosinante wanted to tell him, but his brother, Doflamingo stopped him. His brother told him it would be worse for Law to know that the one he killed was his partner, the love of his life.
Rosinante had watched his nephew go to court, charged with vehicular manslaughter, Luffy's family was torn with hatred and grief when they heard that Law had accidentally killed Luffy.
Rosinante understands it was an accident. He didn't blame Law. He couldn't.
But the tears and grief shed by Luffy's friends and family were a terrible sight for the people who sided with Law, and for everyone else.
Including Law himself.
The man didn't understand how hard it hit everyone-- everyone who knew what gone on between him and Luffy.
Luffy's brothers were angry, they were anguished.
The man they trusted to be with their younger brother, had taken him away, and the man didn't even remember it.
All Law could say to them was an apology. An apology that he couldn't fully complete, due to the fact he only registered Luffy as someone he killed. A stranger.
In Rosinante's opinion, when Doflamingo had paid the judge to end the case with no charges, it made Luffy's friends and family's opinion of Law become worse.
To their eyes, Law had paid his way out. Escaping from his punishment as he left them with Luffy's mangled corpse without justice.
Law had cooped himself away, obviously feeling guilt for what he'd done, but not fully understanding the weight of all of it.
Doflamingo suggested letting Law move away - and he did. Law packed his stuff and moved away.
But Rosinante knew it wouldn't be that easy. Law still knew he killed someone and escaped scott-free. It would haunt him throughout his life.
So Rosinante often visited him. Talking to Law and giving his nephew comfort and support.
When Law had picked up art as a hobby, Rosinante was delighted that Law had an outlet.
But recently... It's been strange.
When Rosinante visited that day when Law's studio became colorful, Law looked more relaxed, but he was tired. Incredibly tired.
His nephew often dozed off while conversating, thinking of something else that Rosinante didn't know.
When Rosinante visited again, Law had a canvas covered.
He said it was an unfinished work.
And so Rosinante didn't touch it. It wasn't his.
By every visit, Law looked more tired than before, and with every knock on his studio, Law had slowly but surely started to keep him out for a reason Rosinante himself didn’t understand.
Rosinante had barely gotten a glimpse of Law’s studio when his nephew had barged out of the place and greeted him with tired and bagged eyes. Rosinante was sure Law would’ve collapsed the moment his body would leaned onto something soft enough to call a bed— - He did, Law passed out from exhaustion when eating with him.
Rosinante wasn’t mad when he heard that Law wasn’t responding anymore, he was relieved that he was resting, snoring softly in his sudden sleep.
The man had carried Law to his home, laying Law in his bed and tucking him in. Rosinante had seen how Law’s room had started to accumulate dust, the place smelling old and untouched.
‘Had he been staying in that studio for so long..?’ Rosinante asked himself as he glanced at Law hugging a pillow terribly.
With much curiosity, the older man wanted to see what Law was hiding in that studio. Technically he wasn't touching the place... Just taking a look.
His choice was justified, Law was rotting himself in that place after all, he needed to see what was wrong.
Rosinante felt a sense of unease when he held the knob of the studio's door.
And when he entered the place, he was greeted with a painting as beautiful as before.
But something was wrong. He was sure he'd seen or heard of these places before... 'Was Law slowly gaining his memories?' Rosinante thought as he checked out some of the vibrantly painted sceneries. It was so different than Law's older paintings.
Rosinante managed to not trip in the studio this time as he walked over to the paints covered with clothing. It felt like Law was hiding something under it, and he wanted to see what it was.
He recognized some of the paintings, one being an aquarium displaying a glass tank of fishes.
Law had told him about that day when Law went out with Luffy and drew fish for Luffy to keep and treasure.
Another one was a field, Rosinante distinguished the place as where Law sat on the passenger seat of Luffy's bike. Rosinante was there to pick them both up because they were carrying too much at that time.
Moving his gaze through the paintings, Rosinante's eyes spot one peculiar painting... "Ah... Luffy..?" He said, approaching the painting that stood out from the rest.
The painting of Luffy looked clean in Rosinante's eyes, but he was just biased and always proud of Law's works.
The painting had Luffy smiling, the straw hat on his head giving his face a shade from the sun setting behind him.
The painting felt warm and kind. It was like Luffy was there, sitting still.
"Rocinante..!" Law's voice had called out to him, snapping him back to reality as he looked over to his nephew looking quite disheveled.
"O-Oh Law!, Sorry about intruding on your studio... " Rosinante glanced his eyes around a little before looking back at Law, "I just got a little curious that's all." The atmosphere suddenly felt tense. It made Rosinante queasy.
Law marched his way to Rosinante, a little nervous. Like a child who had been found out, the artist looked tired despite getting sleep just not long after.
"Law...." Rosinante's voice cuts Law off before he could speak. "Do you... mind explaining why you painted a picture of Luffy..?" The man's serious voice spoke. To Rosinante, there was no way Law would have been able to paint Luffy in such detail if his memory was fuzzy.
Law stumbled with his words for a moment, How did he know his name?! Law thought, a little taken aback.
"I...simply.. painted him..?" Law replied, feeling an incoming headache occur.
Rosinante paused for a moment and frowned, "Law. That's a real person.."
'He is a real person, he moves and he eats.' Law thought, but he held back on replying to his uncle with that. It sounded crazy, but Law would say otherwise.
"No, no, Law, that is a real person, you know him," Rosinante says. If Law could slowly remember his old memories come back, then he can help him see the truth of what happened with a clear view. He knew it would break him, but he'll have to realize it at some point. And Rosinante doesn't want Law to grasp it on his own.
"What do you mean I know him?" Law asked as he walked over to the painting of Luffy, glancing at him before looking back at Rosinante.
"Do you remember the court case?" Rosinante tried to approach the topic carefully, his voice being soft.
"Yeah, I do. Doflamingo bailed me out of it." And I still feel guilty about it. Law said and thought.
"Do you... Know exactly what happened?-- the accident, do you remember what happened in the accident?" Rosinante leaned down a little, holding Law's shoulder.
The artist felt like he was a child again.
"Not really. It's been a long time now. They told me I accidentally hit someone and crashed." Law said, seemingly undeterred at the fact that the incident was eating him out like retribution for the deceased man he took the life of.
"Law, that man... The man you ran over, you know him."
Law was fully aware he lost some part of his memories. The missing gaps of his past were unaware to him.
So when Rosinante revealed this, Law felt a mix of emotions. "What..?" He could only reply with.
"I'm not sure how it happened as well... But you hit him. Luffy was his name... and.." Rosinante wanted to add the fact that Law loved Luffy, but his heart ached for his nephew's feelings.
Law looked over to the painting of Luffy. The man he killed, and painted.
"I.. " Law didn't know how to reply as Luffy smiled in the portrait.
"Law, you need to listen to m--" Rosinante was cut off when he felt Law move his hand off his shoulder, "...Give me time.." Law requested as he put his head down.
The faint muscle memory of driving a car and starting it up spread through Law's arms as he caresses the gentle hand that he uses to draw with Luffy.
There was a tense silence. "..can you leave.." Law says, sounding off.
“Law.. You can’t do this alone, I’ll stay here with you–”
“Stop, stop . Get out .” Law says a little harshly,
but he quickly tried to correct himself.
"You.. You can come back tomorrow." Law says, clarifying to Rosinante that he needed time to himself to process the tidbits of information he received.
Rosinante took a step back, and with a heavy heart, he nodded, understanding Law's request.
Sitting alone in his studio, Law was in deep thought.
'Was Luffy really a real person..? These fuzzy memories with him, was it because I really knew him..?' Law said, sitting next to Luffy's portrait, waiting for it to move.
Law looked around his studio, seeing the paintings he hung up for Luffy.
His eyes landed on one he covered.. Ah.. Luffy's request.
"Strawhat-ya..." Law slipped out, "..Luffy-ya." His eyes furrowed tiredly for a moment as he looked at Luffy's painting.
"Speak to me." He was sure Luffy had heard the conversation between him and Rosinante. Luffy would know what he was about to ask.
But instead of replying, the painting didn't respond.
"Luffy." Law repeated.
He'd seen his face before. With the reveal of the information, pieces of his mind began to connect.
"Luffy-ya, This isn't funny. Speak to me," Law said, like a child requesting for something that's impossible-- 'It isn't impossible! He spoke to me before. I know he's alive. He knows it too.'
The man takes a step to the canvas and grips its frames, "Why aren't you moving?!" Law says he shakes the canvas a little, forgetting how light the object is.
With heavy eyes, and a tired yet scared feeling, Law needed Luffy's thoughts on the matter, he needed him to confirm it, "Speak to me?! I know you're alive. You're fucking alive!!!" Law yelled.
A memory flashed in his mind, and his voice– His voice rang out.
“Torao! Sit on my bike’s passenger seat! I’ll take us to the road”
“Do you even have enough energy to wheel us all the way there?” Law asked with a playful smile.
“Of course I do! Say the words, and I’ll keep going until we get there nishishi~” The man with a straw hat exclaimed happily, giving Law a wink.
Law chuckled as he sat on the seat, “I love you.”
“I love you too!”
‘I love you too!’
I. Love. you.
Law felt his eyes water up as he looks at the painting of Luffy. Those three words echoed in his mind.
He was an artist who had fallen for his artwork. He watched it move and talk to him.
“L-Luffy-ya.. Please answer me..” The man said as he placed his artwork on the easel. He needed to hear that voice again.
“ Please ..”
He begged, slumping his shoulders as he let his head down, pleading for Luffy to talk and speak to him.
His artwork was alive, and it loved him before he even realized it.
The growing feelings he felt, he thought of them was something new. But he’d already felt them before. He’d experienced them already because he had been falling in love with the same man he fell for back then.
Getting no response, Law was just talking to himself.
With no one there to calm down, Law took a step back..
Was… Luffy really the man who he killed..
He was a murderer. He already knew that, but..
“I killed him..” Law felt his breath hitched.
“I love you too!” Luffy’s voice echoed in his thoughts.
Law ran his hand through his hair and gripped it.
He fucked up. He was a murderer, he killed him. He loved him and he killed him.
His legs trembled as he took a step back. His back hit a canvas, a painting of a city— Law remembers, it was the one he and Luffy met at.
His head ached, a pulsating pain overcoming his emotional state, tears trickled down his face as he panted,
“I love you!” His voice kept echoing. It felt like a constant reminder of his actions.
With a pained yell, Law brought up his fist and threw it at the painting.
It hurt. It hurt him.
Law wanted it to stop. The other paintings, he looked at after tearing the first canvas to shreds.
Memories flooded through his mind, it flooded like the tears pouring out his eyes.
The artist couldn’t take it.
With an exhausted and emotional state, Law swung his fist.
Again,
And again.
And Again.
He tore through the hard work. The paintings he worked tirelessly on, the paintings he made to please Luffy.
He was only pleasing himself. His memories.
The sound of paper tearing was terrible. It scratched Law’s ears in a way that sounded like bones crushing between the road and a car’s wheels.
The artist sobbed as he broke the pieces, it caused him so much pain, yet it broke his heart even more.
He wanted it to stop, to fucking stop already.
At the end of it, Law had made an even worse mess in his studio.
The man came face to face with the painting of Luffy.
A grown man crying like a child. It made Law feel even worse.
Luffy’s portrait only watched. Sitting still, unmoving from the prison of a canvas.
Despite how Luffy smiled at him, it felt like he was frowning at him.
“What do I do..”
Law asked him self, acting like the man in the painting was alive— ’ He is! He is alive’ Law reasoned with himself.
Looking down at the floor, Law saw how his tears stained the painting.
“Stop… looking at me like that..” I don’t deserve your smile.
His request. A drawing of a bike.
Law can remember most of it now.
His memories with him, hurt.
It hurt how he couldn’t go back to them now. Because of his own mistake, Law was alone.
He crumpled pathetically to the ground, his legs tired, his body and mind exhausted.
“I’m sorry..” Law whimpered, remembering how he apologized to Luffy’s family with a half-hearted apology.
He couldn’t say sorry now. Years had already passed.. And it’s been too long. So long, that an apology wouldn’t even be worth the life he took away.
“I’m sorry, I’m so .. Sorry.” Law cried on the ground, surrounded by his own work.
Amidst his tears and grieving, Law heard his voice, this time, it sounded soft.
“I forgive you.”
Law looked up, and saw the painting.
Luffy watched him tear apart everything in the room but him. A scary display of regret and mourning.
Yet, the painting changed. Luffy was facing the front. Instead of the smile he’d drawn, Luffy looked on, with a bittersweet smile, looking older than Law had drawn him.
As silence followed the scene, Law could only cry harder.