Archive of Our Own

It was Valentine's Day, the first one Law decided to try and take action with. He isn't really a romantic person, but neither was the guy he was trying to confess to, and he knew he was the one who needed to take the first step.
Not having any prior experience though, Law decided to try and go to his safe place, where he knew he would be more confident- his house.

A long, irritated sigh left Law's mouth as he opened the door to his house, Luffy standing next to him, and instead of seeing a quiet empty living room as he had hoped, he could see his sister and father were in there each doing their own thing on a couch and in the kitchen respectively. Law rolled his eyes at this, his house was supposed to be empty today, but of course, fate wouldn't let him have some time alone with Luffy.

The taller ravenet turned to Luffy, thinking maybe he should suggest going to the other boy's house, but it was too late as the oblivious ravenet entered the house while waving over to Lammy who was on the couch and playing on her phone.
Luffy called "Hey, Lammy!" with a wave of his hand as he approached her.

Smiling up at him and ignoring her brother's growing scowl on his face, Lammy put her phone away and waved back to Luffy. "Hey, Luffy! Nice to see you."

Law quickly came closer and tugged softly at Luffy's arm, muttering "Yeah, hello Lammy-ya." to dismiss her and urge Luffy to go over to his room without further distractions.

Luffy, remaining oblivious, nodded in Law's direction while facing Lammy, starting some small talk with "Smells nice here. Did you make something?" As he was obviously thinking with his nose.

"Luffy-ya, we should go upstairs," Law said before Lammy could answer, his tone irritated as it often was when his sister would talk to his friends on the rare occasions they came over.

The ravenet turned to look at Law this time, pouting a bit. "But it smells nice..." He mumbled, yet he let Law drag him off in the direction of his room.

"Yeah, 'course it smells nice," Lammy said, her voice loud so her brother and his friend who were walking away could hear her, "Cora-san is cooking." She chuckled.

Both heads snapped around to look at her after her words before they both hurried off to the kitchen; Luffy because there's food, of course, and Law because he knew that a clumsy man like his father shouldn't be allowed in a kitchen unsupervised.

Just a few seconds later, both boys were at the kitchen, watching as Rosinante was moving some rice and seafood around in a pan, making a pitful attempt at paella; pitiful as at least half the ingredients were put in wrong or spilled around in the mess that was their kitchen at that moment.

Hearing footsteps, Rosinante looked over at the ravenets who entered his kitchen and smiled, exclaiming "Oh, good afternoon boys! Would you like some food?" He offered, moving over the pan so they could look at it, almost dropping it in the process before Law caught it by the handle and gave his father a stern look.

"Why are you in the kitchen? You know you can't cook," Law said, sighing irritatedly and carefully getting the pan back on the stove.

"Shishishishishi," Luffy looked between the two and gave a small chuckle before moving to Law's side and looking over at the food with his mouth starting to water, despite how bad the meal looked.
The boy slowly inched closer and closer, as if planning to stick his hands in the pan and grab some food, making Law increasingly anxious... Although, the worry might be from the increase in closeness and intrusion of personal space more than the shorter boy burning himself from the pan.

Luffy eventually did reach to take a small shrimp out of the pan, only to have his wrist grabbed by Law. He scoffed at Luffy, saying "Luffy-ya, you can't grab food from the hot pan," while Rosinante just awkwardly stared at his son scolding his friend.

"Why not?" Luffy whined "It looks so goodddd" He pouted.

"It's still cooking," Law explained, his voice growing more patient "You'll burn yourself."

"But it looks so good! And I can handle a little heat" Luffy said, dismissing the seriousness.

"It's not just 'a little heat', you could get seriously burnt." Law insisted.

"I can handle that for your food, Shishishishishi"

"You'll still get burnt," Law sighed, continuing to swirl the food in the pan as it cooked "And unfortunately, that would be my problem as well."

"You're a doctor, if I get burnt you could just heal me" Luffy tried again.

"Luffy-ya, I'm not a doctor, I just study medicine," Law reminded the boy and sighed "And, even if I did, the food still isn't ready."

Luffy crossed his arms, continuing to insist with "I'll eat it when it isn't ready, then"

"You can't. The rice will be too hard to chew and the meat will be raw." Law said and flashed Luffy another glance before looking at the paella again as it cooked. He couldn't help but look at the shorter boy from the corner of his eye every few seconds, at how beautiful his hair was, at that straw hat neatly resting on his head and highlighting his eyes...

Luffy deflated at that and groaned loudly. "Fineeee...." He mumbled in a childish way as he did, his gaze permanently fixed on the food as he leaned his head on the taller ravenet's shoulder, his straw hat bumping with Law's own hat.

As soon as Luffy's head made contact with Law's shoulder, Law stiffened up and could feel some heat rush to his face in an obvious pink blush. His heartbeat quickened and he didn't know what to do, so he just kept standing there with him like that, feeling like an idiot. He glanced down at Luffy, not being able to stop thinking about how cute he looked with that pout on his face.

He slowly calmed down a bit though- it wasn't so bad to be next to Luffy like that, and his head slowly started swaying towards Luffy's own before it leaned on it gently. Luffy glanced up at the boy and gave him a warm smile before he got a smaller, softer one in return from the taller ravenet.

That would have been a nice, perfect scene for the two, maybe one that Law could look back on as romantic even, if not for Rosinante not being able to hold it in and say "Awww, you two are so cute..." with his hands together and a wide smile like the embarrassing father he was.

At the comment, Law stiffened up once more and took a step away from Luffy, blushing even more. He scoffed but didn't say anything other than that, letting the uncomfortable silence which was only broken by Lammy's laughter over from the living room sink in.

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After the not-so-successful attempt of the year prior, Law decided to try again, this time inviting Luffy to go take a walk in a park. Luffy though, couldn't drive, and so had to rely on his best friend Zoro for help in driving him to meet Law.

Law sighed in irritation, glancing down at his phone. It's been an hour since the meetup time he and Luffy had agreed on, and he still hadn't arrived. Knowing Zoro was Zoro, there was an obvious expectation of him and Luffy being late, but Law was sick of seeing all the couples together sharing chocolates and flowers, while he was waiting for his crush to come meet up with him.

He contemplated leaving the park they'd agreed to meet in and just bailing on the boy, however he decided against it, knowing it would probably upset Luffy more than being denied food.

The ravenet looked down at his phone again, the text messages open, waiting for one of the boys to text something.

It really felt like years as he was waiting, and a thought passed him that the sky might even get dark before the two would arrive, yet he kept waiting nonetheless. Why? He wasn't sure, but he was starting to get worried, and all the shops around selling flowers and gifts to remind him of Luffy weren't helping.

Zoro wasn't exactly known for the best driving skills... Did they crash? Did something happen to the two? Law couldn't help but wonder- Are they safe, are they well? That moss head better not have crashed that car- if they died he would kill them.

The boy's anxiousness only grew and grew. He got up from the bench he was sitting on and started pacing around, his face still fixed on his phone, hoping for another message telling him that the two were alright or at least safe. The thoughts started running wild in his head, his breaths quickening yet he felt like he was getting less air, and he felt like he was going to cry...

"Torao?"

Law stiffened, hearing his name being called and feeling a hand being placed on his shoulder from behind him.

He quickly turned around to see Luffy there, a concerned look on his face with Zoro looking bored standing a few steps behind him. “Torao, are you okay?" Luffy asked, his hand still lingering on the taller ravenet's shoulder.

Law let out a sigh of relief, the stress leaving with it as he offered Luffy a small smile. He took another deep breath, taking a few moments to compose himself which Luffy happily granted. It still felt a bit overwhelming how fast he got worried and just felt Luffy suddenly arrive and touch him, though he quickly calmed down.
After a bit, he responded with "Yes, I'm fine. What took you so long though?"

Luffy simply shrugged, removing his hand from Law's shoulder, making a shiver go down the taller boy's spine, and using said hand to point back at Zoro with his thumb, saying "He got us lost, Shishishishishi" to which Zoro just nonchalantly shrugged in agreement.

Law frowned and rolled his eyes, his heartbeat calming down again. Of course Zoro got lost, and of course he got worked up on it for no reason. "How did he get lost on the way here? This is a public park everyone knows," He asked in an irritated tone, hiding the relief he was feeling and now looking at Zoro.

Zoro shrugged casually, saying "I dunno, the roads are confusing"

"So is your brain," Law sighed and rubbed his temples. This day started off bad, like the last one, but he can bottle up his feelings a bit and move on. He sighed. To stop himself from lashing out at Zoro, he turned to Luffy, and grunted out "Alright, should we go for that walk now?"

Luffy nodded eagerly, an enthusiastic smile taking over his features almost instantly. The boy turned over to Zoro, saying “Yes, let’s take a walk. Zoro, you coming?”

Law’s heart practically stopped for a moment. He had planned to take a nice, romantic walk with Luffy, yet the other boy thought to invite Zoro to third wheel it… is it even third wheeling, at this point? He should’ve brought flowers or a little trinket, something to show Luffy this was supposed to be romantic…

Law had to hold back a groan when Zoro nonchalantly nodded, walking over to them with a lazy “Aight” and just like that, the date he planned became a friendly meet-up…  Just on Valentine’s Day.

“Alright,” Law grunted softly, deciding to try his best to make the most of the situation regardless “Let’s go take that walk." He said before he started walking in a random direction of a street filled with walk-by stores, gesturing for the two to follow him.

Luffy nodded eagerly, quickly catching up with Law and getting to his side. Zoro, however, started walking in the wrong direction.

“Oi, Zoro-ya, where are you going?” Law stopped, turning his head to face the man.

Zoro snapped over to look at Law and Luffy, quickly getting to their side, making Law regret calling him out for taking the wrong path.
As Zoro got to the two, he said “I’m walking after you,” as if he wasn’t going the opposite way just a second prior.

Law sighed in irritation, already getting fed up with the boy. “You were going the wrong way,” he said, turning back to the path they were taking and continuing to walk.

"Shishishishishi... Zoro always gets lost," Luffy chuckled, continuing to walk next to the two with a happy grin, oblivious to Law's growing irritation. He then added "That's why you should lead the way, Torao"

Law could feel his heart skip a beat from Luffy's innocent smile, making him turn his head away to avoid blushing. That's what got him to look at Zoro who was walking in a carefree manner with his hands behind his head and eyes closed. That confused Law, and he thought aloud "Is he... Sleeping?"

Luffy leaned over to look at Zoro, once again invading Law's personal space, and he nodded. With a light laugh, Luffy called "Oi, Zoro! You'll crash into something if you keep your eyes closed"

The only response Luffy received other than Law's breath hitching at the sudden closeness was a small nod and a huff from Zoro, who then proceeded to keep walking like he did before, his eyes still closed and head in the clouds.

As the uncomfortable silence sunk in, Law tried to find another topic for conversation. Him being himself and not having the best social skills, he started gazing around the street and the stores aligning it, all of the couples sitting together or displays full of hearts and gifts... He wanted to buy something for Luffy, to fix the mistake of not bringing him flowers as he thinks he should have, but still not wanting to make it too obvious when next to Zoro.

He continued to look around for a little bit before his eyes landed on a small Pop-Up store with not too many people around it, and behind the few people that were blocking most of it from his view he saw a small necklace with a black cat on it, behind the cat was a speech bubble that said 'You're a catch!'. It was cheesy, sure, and it was cringe, sure, but it looked pretty cute in his eyes. And he knew Luffy likes cats, and puns, at least when he could understand them... So maybe he'd like this?

Law stopped walking forward and turned left towards the small Pop-Up store, Luffy stopping as well and calling "Torao?" While Zoro kept walking forward a bit more before he crashed face-first into a pole.

"Oh, hum, I'll be right back," Law reassured the boys with a gesture with his hand, waving it dismissively in Luffy and Zoro's vague direction as he walked over to the shop where the small neckless was. Luffy though went over to follow Law, standing behind him as he watched the ravenet buy the small neckless.
Meanwhile, Zoro continued to stand next to the pole he had crashed into, rubbing at his forehead with a light grunt.

Law, unaware of Luffy walking up behind him, went on to buy the necklace with the cat charm, Luffy watching as the boy interacted with the cashier and paid for it with his own money.

Holding it in his hand, Law turned around only to see the ravenet in the straw hat standing inches away from him with a curious expression. Before he could explain, his hand was grabbed by Luffy who held it gently before taking the necklace with the cat and inspecting it.
"Wow, this is really pretty!" The shorter ravenet said, his smile growing wider as he returned the necklace to Law, adding "And the cat pun is funny... Shishishishishi..."

Law nodded, a slight smile on his face now, but he was surprised Luffy then gave the necklace back instead of keeping it. He should have clarified it was for him, but before he could, Luffy asked "Who's it for?" making Law feel like an idiot.

The boy decided to give his best try to be smooth and he took the necklace, moving behind Luffy to put it on him as he said "It's for you." His breath was warm and comfortable for Luffy, making him lean back into it just a bit. Zoro looked at the two and raised an eyebrow, seeing their moment which looked almost... Romantic.

"It is?" Luffy asked, his face lighting up like a child who has just been rewarded. This melted Law's heart, as he quickly finished putting the necklace on around Luffy's neck with the little cat charm dropping down on his collarbone.

To that, Law simply nodded, smiling softly back.

Luffy smiled brightly and leaned in to hug Law, exclaiming "Thank you! This is so cool!" with a light laugh.

Law could feel the heat rushing up to his cheeks but he hugged the shorter boy back, even if a little embarrassed.

There it was; their perfect moment. Or that would have been, if not for Zoro's loud cackle at seeing the two hug, making Law scoff and blush more as he pushed himself away from Luffy in embarrassment. The shorter ravenet looked a bit confused but brushed it off before running off to his best friend, showing Zoro the necklace, leaving Law to stand there with his heart racing and cheeks flushed trying to calm down from his flustered state.

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Two Valentine's Days have gone by in which Law tried to express to Luffy how he felt, but all failed due to his own poor planning and other people not letting them get some time alone.
This time he was determined not to ruin it like he did the other times and not repeat the same mistakes, coming prepared this time. He was going to do this right, he had to.

Law sighed in anticipation, a bit of worry too. He was standing in front of Luffy's house, flowers in his hand, feeling like an idiot. He made plans with Luffy that he would come to his house and they'll walk to a small cafe, have lunch, and spend the day together. It sounded like a perfect plan to him... So why couldn't he just knock already? What made him feel so anxious?

Law sighed again after taking another deep breath, trying to calm down his heartbeat. Why was he like this? He just wanted to knock, but it's like something was forcefully stopping him, his mind starting to get flooded with 'what if's and worried thoughts, making him almost back away from the door and head home.

Nevertheless, he raised his hand up to the door and forced his knuckles to collide with the wood three times, knocking on it. He was clutching at his flowers with the other hand, taking deep breaths. He couldn't back away now, not after he was this close to getting his perfect Valentine's Day date. Not when he is this close to finally having his day with Luffy, just the two of them having a romantic lunch at a nice cafe, enjoying each other's company, no one to bother them.

Law was so caught up in his thoughts he nearly forgot where and who he was as the door in front of him opened as a familiar redhead stood in front of him, asking “What?” In a rough voice.

Seeing the redhead in front of him instead of Luffy, Law blinked in surprise, calling out "Eustass-ya?"

"Nahhh, it's a different red-haired dude with a missing armm," Kid rolled his eyes sarcastically. "What do you want?"

"Where's Luffy-ya?" Law asked instead, taking a step inside the house which earned him a scoff from Kid.

The redhead shrugged "In his kitchen with Killer" He said and pointed in the general direction of the kitchen behind him with his thumb, his eyes suddenly catching a glimpse of a petal, and si he looked down at Law's hand, thinking aloud "Flowers...?"

Ignoring Kid's mumble, Law slid past the taller boy and took a few steps towards the kitchen, calling "Oi, Luffy-ya!"

Just a few seconds later the straw-hatted boy showed up, a taller guy in a mask walking towards them as well yet with less enthusiasm than the excited ravenet. Luffy's face brightened up at the sound of Law's voice and even more at seeing him, as he exclaimed "Torao! You're here!" And ran over to him, stopping short from embracing the taller boy.

Law, gathering all the courage he had, held forward the bouquet with both hands and muttered out "Y-Yes, Luffy-ya. These are for you." He smiled sheepishly.

Luffy looked at the flowers in awe before a big fond smile took over his expression and he took the bouquet. "These are so cool! Shishishishishi," He laughed lightheartedly as he plucked one of the flowers from the bouquet. "Thank you, Torao!" He chuckled, taking the flower and tucking it neatly behind Law's ear "But I think you'd look better with one of them"

"Y-You're welcome!" Law quickly said, his cheeks dusted in a light pink blush and voice louder, almost high pitched. But before he could say anything else he saw the flowers being taken from Luffy by Kid.

"Flowers? Really?" Kid cackled "You're so basic, get a brain next time ya give someone a present" He snickered before waving the flowers over at Killer, joking "Oi, Killer, want to make some tea out of these?" clearly not having the slightest bit of knowledge regarding plants or flowers.

Law, still surprised, was about to protest but stopped as Killer took the bouquet from Kid, instead deciding to watch as the blonde took a flower out from the bouquet before he handed the rest back to Luffy and gave a not-so-gentle punch to the top of Kid's head. "Oi, that isn't yours. Don't take it." He scolded the redhead.

Law's eyes followed the flowers as they were returned to Luffy, and he noticed a small necklace on the shorter boy's neck that had a small black cat on it with a cheesy speech bubble... The same necklace he bought for him the prior Valentine's Day just the year before. He remembered to put the necklace on, and he seemed to like it... Just the thought of that made Law's heart skip a beat, even more so at the sweet smile he got from Luffy.

Killer sighed at Law apologetically, saying "Sorry about him, he is just upset no one has bought him flowers." To which Kid scoffed at but didn't deny, whether that be because it was true or because Killer gave him the small flower he took from the bouquet which Kid then proceeded to snatch away.

Law sighed. This day started off pretty bad once again, but he'll manage. He is going to have his perfect Valentine's Day with Luffy, no matter what. He turned to Luffy again, asking "Why are Eustass-ya and Killer-ya even here in the first place? Since we already made plans for today a few days back."

Luffy shrugged simply, saying "Jaggy just burst in a few hours ago with no heads up, Killer came with to try and take him back but he wouldn't budge. He's very stubborn, Shishishishishi"

"Of course they did," Law grunted softly. He then took a step closer to Luffy, doing his best to sound confident as he asked "Anyways, should we go to the Café now?"

"Sure!" Luffy nodded enthusiastically before turning to Kid and Killer, asking with the most innocent smile "Are you two coming with us?"

"No-"

"Yes," Kid cut Killer off with a smug smirk. "Trafalgar's paying, right? Then sure" He snickered out.

Law glared at Kid. Of course Kid realized his intentions to ask Luffy out by now, and of course the redhead was going to do his best to make Law's time hell. Nevertheless, Law sighed out "Yes, I am."

Killer, whose expression was hidden behind his mask, shook his head at Kid. He sighed, asking "How will we be getting there?" Instead of arguing with the stubborn redhead.

"I was planning for us to walk," Law said. Yes, he planned for him and Luffy to walk, have a nice chat while holding hands and walking to the Café.

Kid’s smirk only smuggened at that, going to do his best to ruin Law's plans of a perfect date out of pure assholeness. “Oh come on, walk allll the way to the mall?” He mocked, by ‘all the way’ he meant the less than one kilometer between Luffy’s house and the mall. “Law, that’s really poor planning. Your weak little legs will get sore,” he snickered “We should go by car. Killer’ll drive, right?”

Law looked over at Killer whose expression was hidden but gave a sigh of defeat. The ravenet just nodded, knowing Kid would ruin this anyways. At least he and Luffy could sit at the back together and talk…

“Yes, let’s go in a car!” Luffy cheered “Dibs on the front seat, Shishishishishi” he chuckled, proceeding to unknowingly ruin Law’s backup plan.

Law helplessly looked between Luffy, Kid, and Killer before giving out a disappointed “…Yeah, let’s.”

Killer nodded, starting to head towards the door and gesturing for the group to follow him, grunting out an “Alright,”

Luffy quickly came with Law following right behind him, Kid walking behind in a carefree and slow manner as if to only annoy Law more.

The uncomfortable silence stayed as the group went over to the Killer's car, the blonde getting in the driver’s seat with Luffy sitting down in the passenger’s one. Law and Kid exchanged glares as they each sat down on the opposite sides of the back seats.

Killer sighed at the uncomfortable silence that sunk in, deciding to turn on the car radio.
Some pop song started playing, and Killer was about to change it when Luffy, in his ever-oblivious nature, said "Hey, I know this song!" Before correcting himself with "Well, not the song, but I know that voice..." He put his hand under his chin with a mock thinking expression.

"You do?" Law asked, listening to the music and nodding. "I think I do too... It sounds familiar. I think I remember this song, Bepo listens to it sometimes." He added, looking lost in thought.

Kid shrugged "I dunno it, prolly some dumb kid using a tonna audio tune" He snickered, attempting to annoy the boys once again, though he felt the look Killer gave him through the rearview mirror.

Keeping most of his focus on the road, Killer slowly tapped around in the radio until how found the song details. He then said "The singer is called Uta."

"Oh, it's Uta!" Luffy laughed "Shishishishishi, she's Shanks's daughter. We're good friends" He added casually while Law's and Kid's eyes widened, and so did Killer's yet they stayed covered by his mask.

"You're friends with that famous pop singer?" Law asked, his tone surprised yet impressed. Did Luffy like her music? Maybe next time she has a concert instead of going with Bepo he could invite Luffy...

Kid, though, asked "She's Shank's daughter?" In even more disbelief, though no one was sure why.

Luffy nodded with a shrug "Yeah, I am, and she is. Shishishishishi, she's like sort of a cousin to me, or something like that," He said.

Law was still very surprised at this, but his expression changed to a small smile. "You know quite a lot of people, it's amusing to be frank. Do you listen to her music often?" He asked. He almost didn't notice how it suddenly felt like it was only the two of them in the car as they did. He had missed their easy and fun conversations, before their friends would always come by not leave them alone, before things had to be so complicated because of this whole crush thing. It felt nice.

Nonetheless, before Luffy could answer Killer spoke up, saying "We've arrived." as he parked the car.

Kid, who while Law and Luffy were talking had been looking out the car window with a scowl on his face, perked up and smirked again. He leaned closer to nudge Law with his elbow, saying "We're here, Law, at your perfect little cafe date" he teased.

"I hate you..." Law grumbled, though he was slightly panicking as Kid used the word 'date', not wanting Luffy to get the wrong -or right- idea.

Kid simply snickered as a response before getting out of the car and moving to stand next to where Killer was after he too had gotten out of the car. The two watched as Luffy got out the passenger's seat and opened the door for Law, saying "Let's go, Torao" with his usual friendly grin.

A small smile spread on Law's face once again, he loved how kind-hearted Luffy could be at moments like this. He got out of the car and closed the door behind him, until he noticed the bouquet of flowers he got for Luffy was still in the shorter boy's hand. "Why are you still carrying those, Luffy-ya? You can put them down in the car." He commented.

Luffy shook his head quickly, his expression turning rather serious, and without skipping a beat said "No, they're a gift from you, I need to keep them with me. They're precious."

The way Luffy said that immediately, so coincidentally as if there was no way it could be wrong, his sudden assertive expression, and the word he used. Precious. Law rarely hears Luffy use such words, he would usually say 'important' or 'special'.. But precious?
Damn, Law had a hard time admitting it but... That was hot.

Quickly snapping back to reality, Law's gaze drifted to the necklace still on Luffy's neck. He reached his hand to move the charm a bit with his index finger before he looked at the ravenet's face again and asked "Is that why you're wearing this today?"

The shorter boy nodded, his tone going back to lighthearted. "Yes, Shishishishishi. It reminds me of you" he chuckled, not realizing how much of an impact his words had on Law.

Law couldn't put into words how much he wanted to kiss the boy at that moment, he was just acting so adorable and it was making his heart melt... And he wanted to tell him that, it felt like a perfect moment to say so.

And he was about to, when he heard Kid's snicker on the side and he immediately blushed, stepping away from Luffy and crossing his arms. "I.. Whatever," He mumbled, feeling embarrassed to be having a moment he considered intimate and vulnerable around Kid who was just laughing at him.

Killer noticed Law's reaction and he scoffed at Kid, saying "Shut it, Kid." with a cross of his own arms to which Kid rolled his eyes too.

Staying oblivious, Luffy just chuckled and shrugged before asking "Are we gonna go to the cafe now?" Before his happy tone turned into a whine of "I'm hungry..." due to thinking about food.

"Yes, we should go now," Law said quickly, taking the quick save to get away from Kid's teasing and he started walking in the direction of a small coffee shop nearby, his pace by no means slow or considerate for Kid and Killer who were trying to catch up being him.

"Good... I'm hungry..." Luffy complained again, frowning and clutching at his stomach with one hand as he walked by Law's side.

Kid rolled his eyes at the ravenet, saying "Please, you're always hungry. I bet you weigh like a truck" Before he snickered.

”Kid, that's fat shaming." Killer scoffed, giving the redhead another light punch on the top of his head.

Law quickly took the chance and added "He eats a lot because he's strong, unlike you who eats a lot because you're weak" with a smirk of his own.

Killer shook his head in disappointment and sighed "You aren't helping…” And Law could swear the blonde was glaring at him from under his mask.

The taller ravenet looked back at Luffy, only to see he was now sprinting towards the coffee shop, seeing it lined with pastries and sweets. Running after him, he called "Oi, Luffy-ya, wait!"

"Luffy! Law! Where are you two going?" Kid yelled after them, about to run forward and catch up to them when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

He looked back at Killer, who still had his mask on, but Kid knew the blonde well enough to get what he was trying to imply. Kid sighed and rolled his eyes, scoffing out a "Fine," and the two turned back to walk towards Killer's car, leaving Luffy and Law alone to go to the cafe.

Law, finally catching up to Luffy, now inside the coffee shop, panted softly and looked around in it. "L...Luffy-ya," He said, his breathing steadying slowly "What d...did you run so fast for?"

Luffy flashed the taller boy a sheepish smile and chuckled "Sorry... I'm just really hungry. But it did get Jaggy and Killer away," He pointed back to Killer's car which the redhead and the blonde were getting into.

Law looked back at Kid and Killer who were getting into the car, and they didn’t even spare him a glance as they did. This shocked the ravenet, the two were… leaving them? Why? It would be understandable for Killer to do so… but Kid?

Snapping out of his thoughts, Law nodded. “Oh.” He said, not being sure what to say at this point without making the conversation awkward. He tried again, saying “Well, if you are as hungry as you’ve said, would you like me to get you something?” As he gestured to inside the cafe, waving his hand over the pastries displayed on the counter, decorating it to make the shop more appealing.

Luffy was quick to agree, immediately turning over to the counter and forgetting all about Kid and Killer. He looked over the pastries and sweets as he nodded eagerly, saying “Yes, thank you! This looks so good…”

Law chuckled silently, the big smile on Luffy’s face was something he found very endearing, and if his own soft smile proved anything it was that Luffy’s own was contagious. Walking over to stand next to the shorter ravenet, Law asked “Alright, which would you like?” Already pulling out his wallet.

Luffy took a couple moments to look at the food with his mouth watering before his gaze settled on a particular sweet, a pretty large cupcake, and he pointed at it while announcing “This one! It looks so good!”

“Alright then,” The ravenet smiled at the shorter boy “I’ll get it for you.”

Law then paid for the cupcake and ordered a drink for each of them as Luffy watched eagerly, the shorter boy not listening when Law asked him what he wanted to drink and just nodded. Law figured to just get the boy chocolate milk, while he got himself a cup of tea.

As Law got the drinks and cupcake, starting to walk away while carefully carrying them, Luffy exclaimed “I’ll go get us a table!” As he ran over to a free table with two chairs, sitting down in one.

“Thank you, I hope you enjoy your food. ” Law said as he sat down in front of Luffy, looking down at him with a smile as he handed the other ravenet the cupcake and cup of chocolate milk he got for him.

“No, no, Shishishishishi, don’t thank me. Thank you, Law!” Luffy chuckled, wasting no time in taking the cupcake and taking a big bite before sipping on the drink in his cup.

Law blushed a bit as Luffy thanked him, he knew it didn’t necessarily mean anything but it still made his chest flutter in a way only Luffy could make it. “N-no problem.” Law cleared his throat, looking away for a moment before he added “I… well, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something,”

Luffy tilted his head to the side, his own tone surprisingly getting more serious as he asked “About what?” While taking another bite of his pastry.

Law took a deep breath, uncomfortably shifting in his chair. He wanted to say this, to explain this, whatever this is, yet he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. Nevertheless, he had to try. “I… there’s…. Valentines Day. In case you’ve, uhm, noticed, I’ve been around you during the past uh, three.”

“Yeah, I know” Luffy simply said as he took another deep sip from his cup, wondering why Law wasn’t doing the same with his own one. “What about it?”

Fidgeting nervously with his own cup, Law sighed out “There’s, uhm, a reason… for that,” he muttered.

“What is it then?” The shorter boy tilted his head to the side.

Law inhaled deeply. Now or never. “I…I-I like you,” He muttered out, his heart beating faster. He said it, he did. He was sure he was going to get rejected or laughed at, and that was making him even more nervous.

“Yeah, I like you too” Luffy simply said, giving Law a warm smile.

Thinking Luffy didn’t get the message, Law mumbled “It’s… I like you m-more then… platonically…”

“Yep, I love you too, Shishishishishi” Luffy said. He said it so simply, too… and his smile, it was all making Law blush more.

“Y-you do?” Law mumbled, he was unsure whether to be surprised or happy, making his expression a mix of nervousness and a big smile.

“Yes, Shishishishishi. I wasn’t sure you did too, so I’m happy you said you did” Luffy chuckled, he was still so casual about this… but in Law’s eyes it only made him cuter.

Law felt so happy; it was hard to put into words. He wanted to explain to Luffy how much he loved him and how much he appreciated him saying he did too, but for Luffy, all he needed was to see Law’s smile and he already knew all of that.

“Well, I love you too,” Law smiled and took Luffy’s hand “D-Does this, uh, mean we are…” he trailed off.

Luffy nodded his head enthusiastically, his fingers intertwining with Law’s own. “Yes, Shishishishishi, be my boyfriend! My partner! My everything!”

Law chuckled softly and nodded.

“I’d love to be yours… Lu.”

After two failed attempts, finally, the two were together and all alone. Now, everything was right.

Guess the third time really is the charm.