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The first snow came early that year, and Law found himself glaring out at the snow as usual. He hated snow. Nothing good ever happened when the nasty cold white stuff was around.
He’d lost Lami and his parents amidst ash that fell like snow. It had been snowing when he and Cora and the Riku family had escaped Doflamingo’s hoard, but even that memory was tainted with terror and guilt.
It had been snowing when Cora left their home, when he left Law behind with his newly founded coven, taking the Riku family to another city so that it would be harder for Doflamingo to find them or Law.
Snow made the wolves go moon-drunk earlier than usual, too, and it was only a few days out from the full moon.
The only benefit to snow was that no one had ever tried to invite him out in it more than once. He was grumpy in his rejections, and no one wanted a grouch to spoil their enjoyment.
So when Law woke up in the early afternoon and went upstairs to the kitchen to find the whole coven gathered around the windows to watch the fat snowflakes falling, Law just turned around and headed back to the basement.
He would have Bepo put a notice up on the clinic’s website saying they were closed for the snow, and he could hide and work on inventorying his dried potion ingredients, or maybe whip up some nice warming spice blends for the coven to put in their drinks when they came back in with their noses red and their fingers half frozen.
Law tried to focus on his self-imposed tasks and not the reason for them as he gathered the ingredients for warming charms. His coven was bound to use up the current stock quickly, so he could start on a new batch without worrying about space to store them.
“Hey, Captain! You have a visitor!” Bepo bounced in place in the doorway. Law set down the ingredients and frowned at him, but Bepo kept bouncing, unusually unaffected by Law’s sour mood.
“Who?”
“You’ll see! Better get dressed quick and come upstairs,” Bepo chirped. Law considered refusing, but decided it would be easier to just go along with it, since it was Bepo who came to get him and all. Bepo rarely led him astray.
Ten minutes later, Law returned to the kitchen to find the so-called visitor. Luffy sat at the table, chatting away with Law’s coven. Sunny sat at Luffy’s feet, and Bepo was in his enormous, fluffy wolf form and disguised with his leonberger illusion as usual, complete with a leash.
Law saw where this was going immediately. Apparently this was one of those rare times when Bepo would actually try to lead him astray.
“No,” Law snapped. He shot disapproving looks at his coven members, all of whom seemed to hesitate for a minute. Luffy spoke up before they could, though.
“You don’t have to come. Bear - I mean Snowball - wants to go out in it. I can take him and Sunny out to play.”
“Really? You just came to offer your dog walking services to my werewolf second in command?” Law wasn’t sure he believed it. Luffy making the effort to use the name on Bepo’s glamour collar felt…pointed, somehow.
“Yep. I don’t usually let other people tag along on walks, either.” Luffy was smiling innocently, and the coven members looked disappointed. Law didn’t know why; he knew full well that whatever nonsense Luffy was about to spout would probably delight Law’s idiot coven members. “Of course, I could make an exception for my boyfriend.”
“An exception,” Law repeated flatly. Luffy nodded, that perfect innocent smile still plastered across his face.
“Exactly. I know Torao has bad memories with snow.” Luffy was one of the few people who hadn’t been there who did actually know about the details behind Law’s distaste for snow. “But I also know fluffy wolves like Bear love the snow. If you decided to come with us, that would be awesome, but you don’t have to.” Law started to reject the idea out of principle, but…in the months since he’d found out about Luffy’s draconic nature, Luffy had helped him be more at ease with a lot of things that Law hadn’t been able to face before.
“Did Bepo put you up to this?” Law demanded. Luffy laughed and got up, crossing the room to catch Law’s hand and squeeze it gently in his own.
“Nope. I just thought maybe you’d like to make a few nice memories in the snow with me.” Luffy looked up at him with so much warmth and understanding that Law had to look away before his expression gave away how much that look affected him.
“Fine. I’ll get my coat.” Law shot a warning glare at his assembled coven members, who wisely kept their glee restrained to silent smirks and knowing looks instead of saying anything out loud that would make Law want to boil them.
Law did get his coat. He also got heavy gloves, a fluffy scarf, and a fluffy hat that he’d had for ages. He tucked warning charms into his pockets, just in case. After a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed a couple of his transformation charms, too. Even if he didn’t plan to use them, they still made him feel safer. Only then, armed as much as possible against the cold and the memories it might bring to the forefront, did Law join Luffy, Sunny, and Bepo at the front door. Luffy handed him Bepo’s leash, and Law grumbled as he accepted it.
A moment later they were out in the falling snow, wading through the first six inches or so of snow that already covered the ground.
Law shivered, the cold seeping in despite the layers of warm clothing, and wondered just how long Luffy would want to stay outside.
Then Luffy hooked his free arm through Law’s and tugged him forward.
“Hey-“
“Come on! Let’s let them run,” Luffy suggested. Before Law could protest, Luffy unclipped the leashes from Sunny and Bepo. He laughed as the two canines bolted forward, charging straight for where the snow had started to accumulate in miniature drifts. Bepo, normally at least slightly more composed in his wolf form than the average dog, bayed like a hound and belly flopped onto the largest drift he could see. Sunny plunged through the drift in a circle around him, barking and trying to eat the snow that was still falling. “That looks fun!” Luffy decided.
“Which part? Being freezing?” Law grumbled as he was pulled forward. Before he knew it, Luffy had yanked him off balance and dumped Law unceremoniously on his ass in the snowbank next to Bepo’s. Law yelped as the cold started to penetrate his coat more quickly, but then Luffy belly flopped onto Law’s snowbank the same way Bepo had, laughing and rolling sideways until he was laying on his back with his side pressed against Law’s thigh.
“See? Fun!”
“This is not what fun feels like. This is what the first stage of hypothermia feels like,” Law said, ignoring the smile that wanted to curl his lips upwards at Luffy’s antics.
“Hypnosis can be fun!” Luffy insisted.
“Hypothermia,” Law corrected. “And it’s not-“ His explanation was cut off by Bepo bulldozing nose-first through the snowbank on Law’s other side, Sunny barking excitedly as she pranced around in Bepo’s wake. “Nevermind.” Luffy laughed and sat up, tilting his head back as a breeze swept a handful of snowflakes from a neighboring roof and dropped them to settle over Law and Luffy. Luffy craned his neck, mouth agape, trying to catch the wind blown flakes on his tongue.
“I’m really glad you agreed to do this with me,” Luffy mused as he flopped sideways against Law’s shoulder, giving up on eating the falling snowflakes.
“Let's see if you still think that when we both lose our fingers from frostbite,” Law grumbled. He didn’t push Luffy away, though. For a while they sat there in the snowbank, watching Bepo and Sunny play.
Law eventually began to shiver, and Luffy noticed right away.
“We should move; it’ll warm you up,” Luffy announced. Law agreed and whistled to Bepo and Sunny. They walked back to Law’s home, since Sunny’s coat wasn’t really made for snow, even if her body temperature as a hellhound kept her running a lot warmer than a normal dog.
The rest of Law’s coven was gone when they got there, but they had left a note on the table.
“Where did everybody go?” Luffy pouted. Law chuckled and held up the note.
“They went to one of the nearby parks. Apparently your hoard challenged my coven to a snowball fight.” Law smiled to himself at the thought; he knew his coven loved the snow, and he was glad they were enjoying it and getting along with Luffy’s hoard members. “They’ll probably be back soon; I should start a batch of warming charms and maybe some hot chocolate.”
“Cocoa sounds amazing,” Luffy admitted. “But…” Law looked up in surprise; Luffy hardly ever prioritized anything over food. Law caught sight of the smirk spreading across Luffy’s face and felt an answering one tug at the corners of his own mouth.
“Are you suggesting we ambush our friends?” Law asked. Luffy cackled and nodded. Law considered for a moment. He’d enjoyed his mostly-quiet walk despite the snow. Maybe Luffy was right. Maybe there were more good memories to make. “Let’s get Sunny settled in an infirmary kennel, and I’ll grab a few of my charms. Then, if they’re still not back, we can go surprise them. What do you think, Bepo?” Bepo’s tail thumped against the floor as he wuffled his approval. “Perfect.”
Penguin couldn’t believe that his fellow coven members were losing a snowball fight to Luffy’s hoard. That was Usopp over there, who had good aim and a green thumb but also lied about his accomplishments so often that Penguin had naturally assumed his good aim was a fluke the last few times he’d demonstrated it. And now he was perched in a tree, raining frozen hell down on Penguin and his friends. Jinbei was over there, too, a distinguished sea dragon that Shachi had insisted would never engage in a snowball fight. Shachi was wrong. Now that he thought about it, Penguin wondered if sea dragons counted as dragons in Law’s mind, considering they swam instead of flying and shot water jets out of their mouths instead of fire. Then there was Robin, who was throwing snowballs so fast that Penguin wondered if she was using her extra arms from her true demonic form.
Even Sanji was apparently good at this, which was horrifying because Sanji was a chef, and Penguin was pretty sure he was human. So why was he so freakishly strong? Those slush balls of his were freezing, and they leaked through the layers of warm clothes that were supposed to be keeping Penguin warm.
And then there was Zoro, who should have been the least helpful member of Luffy’s hoard, because he couldn’t seem to remember which direction he was supposed to throw the snowballs in. But Nami the weather witch kept supplying him with ammunition and then pointing him in the direction of Penguin’s group, which was not ideal. Sanji’s slush balls were awful, but Zoro might as well be throwing hail. Even worse, Nami kept using Zoro as a shield, and Zoro was deflecting or blocking all the snowballs that were clearly intended for Nami. Penguin wondered how hard it would be to take out Nami. She seemed to be the mastermind of their strategy, so maybe it would turn things around if Penguin could take her out. It would be tough with Zoro there, but maybe if he repositioned…
A bright baying howl rang out, and Penguin grinned. A moment later, Bepo’s enormous fluffy wolf form - disguised as a leonberger by one of Nami’s illusion collars, of course - plunged directly through the wall of snow that Luffy’s friends were using as their main fortification. The impenetrable snow fort was reduced to a moderately useful snowbank in seconds.
Bepo plunged straight through the battlefield and jumped neatly over Penguin’s own snow bank defense setup.
“Hey, buddy. Where’s our captain?” Penguin asked, ruffling Bepo’s fur between his ears in greeting. Bepo just wuffled in his amused wolfy way. Penguin shook his head and turned his attention back to the snowball fight just in time to see Usopp fall out of his sniper perch in the tree, with snow and slush caked to his face.
Nami went down next, slush in her face and hair as she screeched her displeasure.
Penguin looked around, trying to figure out how anyone had gotten an angle on her with Zoro in the way, but before he could think about it too much, a new enemy appeared on the battlefield.
Luffy.
He flounced into the fray with a huge armful of snowballs, which he threw directly at Clione - who was, unfortunately, the closest to Luffy - in one huge assault. Clione yelped and scrambled to get away, only to end up buried under roughly three dozen snowballs. Penguin hurriedly started restocking his own ammunition, trying to figure out how to handle this.
Luffy scooped up an armful of snow. Not snowballs. Not even slush balls or ice balls. Just. Snow. And then he locked eyes with Penguin.
“Shishishishi, Penny’s next!” Luffy announced, starting towards him. Penguin wondered if he could maybe hide behind Bepo. Or maybe he should run for it?
But then a miracle happened.
A slushy, frosty, beautiful miracle of a snowball landed directly on Luffy’s face.
A second one landed against his neck, where it immediately started melting and dripping down into his coat. Luffy blinked, confused, and took a third snowball attack of the headshot variety.
“Luffy! Are you okay? That must be freezing!” Chopper called from his snow fort, positioned between Zoro and Nami’s outpost and Sanji’s flanking position.
“Huh? It’s not…” Luffy trailed off, suddenly shivering. “That’s so cold!” he wailed. “Torao, why?”
And suddenly, all of Penguin’s questions were answered, only to be immediately replaced with bigger more confusing questions.
“Holy shit, Captain is actually playing in the snow?” Clione blurted out, sticking his head out of the heap of snowballs he was buried under. A new snowball promptly hit him squarely in the head, knocking him back down into the snow.
“Damn. Guess you’ve got him wrapped around your finger, Luffy,” Zoro chuckled. “That asshole never budges on snow, not even for-“
Zoro disappeared under a rapid fire barrage of snowballs, and Penguin finally located Law’s hideout. He was in a tree, with one of his spelled bags in hand, which he seemed to be pulling the snowballs out of. How long had he taken to watch Penguin and the others suffer while he loaded his magic bag with snow ammunition?
Penguin opened his mouth to scold Law for leaving them high and dry - or pummeled and damp, as the case may be - and found himself unable to actually yell at him.
Law had a gleeful smirk stretching across his face as he launched another barrage of snow at Luffy and his friends. As Usopp and Sanji finally pinpointed Law’s perch and started a counter attack, Penguin saw Law pull a charm from his pocket, and then disappear.
A new wave of snow came at Usopp and Sanji from a completely different direction, drawing screeches of surprise from Usopp and dismayed shouts from Sanji.
Penguin laughed.
He couldn’t believe it. He’d known Law for over a decade, and this playful, petty side of him was one that had taken years for Penguin and Shachi to be allowed to see. Law had softened, let down his guard more after forming their coven, but he had always been on edge around strangers, rival groups, and things that reminded him of his past, like the snow.
Seeing him like this, open and enjoying himself, filled Penguin with a warmth and pride that caught him off guard.
“Hey, let’s take advantage of this!” Shachi urged beside him, snapping Penguin out of his thoughts. Shachi had restocked both of their ammunition piles. Penguin shook off his introspection and refocused on the snowball fight at hand.
“Yeah, let’s do this,” Penguin agreed, re-arming himself.
“It’s not just you,” Shachi murmured just before they set out to launch their next attack. “We all see how far he’s come.”
“Shut up and throw more snowballs,” Penguin muttered back, embarrassed. He charged for Luffy’s hoard, Shachi and several other coven members at his back. Bepo caught wind and galloped along with them, ready to belly flop onto their defenses once more.
This time, with Law picking off their enemies from the trees, Penguin thought they had a real chance of winning.
They didn’t win. Bepo heard the others grumbling good-naturedly about it, and smiled to himself. Their coven might not have won, but Law certainly did. He was the only one who hadn’t been plastered in slush by the time everyone went back to the coven’s house, and he was so smug about it that he’d even invited Luffy’s hoard back to the house.
With how damp the hoard members were, Law’s coven had offered to let them borrow a change of clothes. Bepo was personally very proud of having found a hoodie for Zoro, who was too broad for most of the coven members’ clothes. Bepo thought his fellow werewolf was adorable pouting in his neon yellow kitten hoodie. The yellow clashed horribly with Zoro’s hair, but the grumpy kitten on the front matched Zoro’s expression perfectly.
Nami and Robin were lounging in the living room in some of Ikkaku’s spare clothes, while Sanji and Usopp were giving dubious looks to the matching T shirts and patterned sweats Shachi and Penguin had lent them. Chopper was drowning in Hakugan’s clothes, despite Hakugan being the smallest coven member. Franky was wearing Jean Bart’s clothes, because even Bepo’s shirts couldn’t fit around Franky’s massive shoulders.
Jinbei had apparently brought a change of clothes for himself, having anticipated this outcome and decided to prepare a spare outfit in his usual style rather than take his chances with borrowing.
“Brook, I don’t think there’s anything large enough for someone your height that wouldn’t fall off of you,” Law announced as he returned from wherever he’d disappeared to with Luffy for the last ten minutes. “Here.” Law handed Brook a jar of a softly glowing, yellow-orange powder. “It’s a warming and drying spell. Just open the bottle and pour the powder over yourself.”
“You’re far too kind, Dr. Trafalgar,” Brook chuckled as he followed the instructions. The powder settled over his hair and clothes, drying them instantly, and Brook’s toothy grin grew wider. He was left with a faint dusting of yellow-orange on his curls and shoulders, but most of the powder was consumed by the spell.
“Hey, wait, how come you didn’t give all of us powders?” Zoro protested.
“I didn’t have enough for everyone,” Law replied with a smirk. “You’ll be fine; I’ll put some enchanted spices in your cocoa or you can make one of our warming teas.”
“Speaking of which, would it be alright to use your kitchen?” Sanji spoke up. “I think everyone could use a warm snack to go with hot drinks, and maybe I could make some soup if that’s okay?”
“I’m sure that’s fine. Clione does a lot of cooking.” Law turned his attention to Clione. “Would you help Sanji find everything and advise him on the dietary needs of our coven?”
“Sure, Captain!” Clione grinned. “I’ll get the spelled spices out, too, and make sure he doesn’t curse anyone.”
“Hey! I know how to cook without making anyone sick!” Sanji protested as he and Clione headed into the kitchen.
“Sure, but do you know how to cook with the boss’s enchanted stuff? Have you ever cooked a spell before? Do you even know the difference between a spiced warming tea and a spicy cooling tea?” Clione countered. Law shook his head, and Bepo hid a smile as he saw Luffy enter the room.
“I heard Sanji talking about food!” Luffy exclaimed. He had Sunny with him, but that wasn’t the part that caught Bepo’s attention. Luffy was wearing mostly his own magically dry clothes, but he had clearly grabbed one of Law’s hoodies as well, and it was hanging off him in an undeniably cute way. Bepo wondered if Law had allowed Luffy to take it, or if Luffy had stolen it.
“Sanji and Clione are going to make drinks and snacks, then dinner for everyone,” Law explained with a painfully fond eye roll at Luffy’s enthusiasm for food.
“Does that mean we can stay longer?” Luffy asked, his eyes wide and hopeful. Bepo watched Law have a brief but vigorous internal debate before answering.
“If everyone wants to stay. But there are rules!” Law added hastily as Luffy whooped in celebration. Bepo just smiled to himself.
Later, once everyone had eaten their fill and Bepo had put up a notice closing the clinic for the night, once Luffy’s hoard and Law’s coven were sprawled in heaps of blankets, cushions, and each other in varying levels of consciousness from dozing to completely passed out, once Zoro had settled down in his wolf form, stretched out in the near-full moonlight coming in through the window, once Luffy had passed out cradled between Zoro’s flank and Law’s side, when it was just Law awake and watching over the two groups, Bepo would talk quietly to Law before taking his own wolf form to curl around his coven leader.
And he would tell Law he was proud of him, for letting Luffy in, for letting himself face his past. He would tell Law how much it meant to the whole coven that he seemed happy and secure.
But that would come later.
For now, Bepo just watched as Law alternated between teasing his coven members, being mock exasperated with the joint shenanigans of the coven and hoard, and stealing quiet, soft looks at Luffy.
For now, Bepo just soaked in the moment, feeling the warmth of family after the relaxing chill of the snow.
For now, the only thing Bepo had to worry about was convincing Clione and Sanji that even though he was a wolf, he could definitely have hot chocolate.