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Law's heart began to pound.
“Will you marry me?”
These were the words Luffy uttered as he knelt before her. In his hand, he held a small red velvet box, cradling a beautiful silver ring that shimmered with a soft, inviting light. At its center, an inlaid opal representing a tiny sun was complemented by a moon that outlined the ring's shape.
Luffy was facing her.
His breathing was uneven, but a gentle, soft smile graced his face. His eyes held a special sparkle as they gazed intently at Law, reflecting a mixture of love, adoration, and nervousness.
Yet, upon hearing those words, Law's large—albeit sharp—eyes blinked a couple of times as she processed what she had just heard. Despite the inner turmoil, her lips remained pressed into a thin line, and her eyebrows barely arched.
She maintained a rigid posture, and although her hands trembled slightly, she tried to conceal the tension she felt. Luffy could sense it in the air.
He hadn't expected an immediate answer; he had thought Law would accept as soon as she saw the ring. But now, anxiety began to gnaw at his mind, filling him with doubts, and a knot formed in his stomach as he considered the worst.
Had he proposed too soon?
Luffy couldn't help but feel nervous, a weight settling in his chest. That morning, he had woken up with complete certainty that it was the perfect day: Valentine's Day, a special date for any couple. Despite how cliché proposing on such a day might be, Nami and Sanji had tried to dissuade him from postponing it, but in the end, Uta was right: the most unthinkable thing was that Luffy would have prepared such an elaborate plan for Valentine's Day. Therefore, this was the perfect date to propose to his girlfriend, with whom he had been in a relationship for four years already.
Even despite the complaints and opposition from his brothers—who kept telling him: “You're too young to get married, Luffy. You're barely turning 23”—he was determined to go through with his plan, and wouldn't let anyone make him give up.
Luffy knew he wanted Law as his life partner. The straw hat boy was absolutely certain that she was the one. He deeply loved the woman he had met at New World Hospital, when Law was doing her emergency room internship.
The night they met was chaotic.
It was a complicated situation for the firefighters who rescued him, for his brothers, for his friends, and even for the ambulance medics who arrived after a call about an injured person, a consequence of a fire at the Monkey family's youngest branch residence.
Luffy was well-known for the disasters he seemed to cause and, in just as strange a way, resolve.
If you asked him how he almost caused a fire that nearly consumed over 40% of the property, the straw hat boy wouldn't know what to answer. And even less if you asked him how he could fall asleep, standing up, in the middle of the kitchen fire. He simply remembers that, from one moment to the next, he was surrounded by flames, felt an intense heat, and was finally evacuated from his apartment with the help of firefighters.
But what Luffy does remember were those golden eyes that looked at him with concern but, at the same time, judged him for his idiocy.
The first time he met Law, his breath hitched in his throat, with a strange sensation he didn't recognize. When he first spoke to the woman, she was cold and distant with him, being quite professional in her treatment of him.
Law helped him with his injuries, bandaging his hands, feeling a jolt when their skin brushed. She helped him eat, know what time to take his medication, even listened to him when it seemed like she wasn't.
Soon, what began as medical assistance transformed into something more personal. Law stopped giving monosyllabic answers and began giving more complex responses until they finally had real conversations, even though it was always Luffy who talked more.
But neither of them minded it that way.
Until then, for Luffy, all he knew was friendship, camaraderie, but he felt that with Law there was something different. Something he didn't quite understand. When he saw Law smile, with those smiles so rare to see but becoming more common between them with each passing day, Luffy's eyes seemed to shine with a new light every time he looked at her.
There was something in the air, an electricity that made every little gesture, every shared laugh, more meaningful.
He didn't understand what was happening.
Why did he suddenly notice his heart racing whenever she was near? Why did his thoughts keep returning to that smile, to those eyes that seemed to see him in a different way?
It was like that electricity you feel before a storm, but instead of being scary, it made everything seem brighter, more... important. When Law laughed, the sound seemed to fill the whole room and the taste of the meat they shared tasted richer than usual. Luffy didn't understand what was happening. It was as if suddenly the world had new colors, only when Law was near.
His heart went DOKUN! DOKUN! every time she spoke to him or smiled at him, and then, for hours, his head filled with that smile and those bright eyes that seemed to understand him even when he didn't understand himself.
When Luffy asked Uta what that feeling he had was, his childhood friend looked at him with a soft smile on her lips.
“Luffy,” she began, her voice gentle but direct, “think about Tora… You know, Trafalgar… How would you feel if suddenly… I don’t know… she wanted to spend more time with someone other than you? If she said she preferred to be with… mmm… Sanji, for example?”
Luffy blinked, a bit confused at first. He scratched his cheek under his straw hat, lost in thought. He closed his eyes, picturing Law laughing and eating meat with Sanji, leaving him alone, eating bland rice.
“Ugh!” Luffy grunted, opening his eyes wide and frowning. “That would be… horrible!”
Uta raised an eyebrow, observing her friend's reaction.
“Horrible, huh? Why?”
Luffy gestured vaguely with his hand, as if the answer was obvious.
“Well, because… because we always eat together! And Tora always explains weird things from her comics and from… from… everything! And it's fun when she complains about Kid! If she went off with Sanji… who would tell me weird things? Who would complain about Kid with me?” Luffy pouted. “It would be… really boring to be alone.”
Uta smiled slightly, as if she were watching something interesting unfold.
“I understand… But think about this… Would you just be lonely because you wouldn’t have Tora to tell you things and complain about Kid with anymore, or… would there be another reason why you’d feel ‘horrible’?”
“Because…”
Luffy fell silent for a longer moment this time, chewing on his lower lip.
He closed his eyes again, and this time the image of Law with Sanji became clearer in his mind. He saw them laughing loudly, slapping each other on the back, sharing a giant piece of meat… And suddenly, a strange sensation tightened his chest. It wasn’t hunger, or physical pain… it was… uncomfortable.
“I don’t know…” Luffy murmured, opening his eyes slowly, his brow still furrowed but now with a touch of confusion. “It’s… it’s weird. It’s like… like someone took away my favorite meat, but I’m not hungry! It’s like… like suddenly everything is… colorless.”
Uta moved a little closer, her voice now softer and almost a whisper.
“What if it wasn’t just for a little while, Luffy? What if Tora decided she preferred to be with Sanji… forever? That Sanji is… her ‘forever’ person, and she doesn’t have time for you… ever again.”
Luffy’s eyes widened. For the first time, the idea really hit him. Forever. Without Tora. Never again. The sensation in his chest intensified, now spreading to his stomach, making him feel… empty. Not like when he’s hungry, but an empty… sad feeling. Like when Grandpa Garp left after a visit, leaving him alone on the mountain.
“No…!” Luffy exclaimed, his voice now a little louder, almost a moan. “That… that hurts! It hurts a lot! I don’t want Tora to go away forever! I want her to stay with me! I want… I want… to be with her!”
Uta smiled sweetly, a gentle and understanding smile.
“That, Luffy,” she said, with a comforting calm, “that feeling you have… that’s being in love.”
Luffy looked at her, still frowning, but now his eyes slowly widened with a mixture of surprise and… understanding? The word “in love” resonated in his mind, like a bell that finally revealed the melody of a song he had been listening to in silence all along. In love. So that was it? That strange, confusing, sometimes even annoying feeling, but at the same time… warm when he thought of Tora?
But even with the label ‘in love’ floating in his mind, Luffy still felt like he was trying to decipher a completely new language.
Love… yes, the word resonated, but how did it fit with everything else?
The love for his brothers, for example, was a warm and safe fire, a home he could always return to. Wanting to be with them was as natural as breathing. But with Law… it was different. It wasn’t just wanting her company, it was nothing like the brotherly affection he felt for Uta, whom he considered his sister at heart. It was something… more. Something that left him restless and yet strangely… expectant.
That same day, Luffy burst into Sabo's house like a whirlwind, without any warning. Sabo, about to enjoy his morning cup of coffee, turned around at the characteristic crash of Luffy entering without knocking.
"Hey, Sabo," Luffy blurted out bluntly, planting himself in front of him with an unusually serious look for what their casual interactions usually were. "Why did you start dating Koala?"
Sabo's coffee cup trembled in his hand, almost spilling. He blinked, surprised.
Luffy asking him… about relationships? It was such an unexpected question, so out of place in their usual dynamic, that Sabo was speechless for a moment. Normally, conversations with Luffy revolved around food, adventures, and fights, not about… this.
Sabo cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure and assuming that Luffy, in his peculiar way, was trying to connect on a more personal level. Knowing Luffy, this was probably his clumsy way of trying to strengthen their brotherly bonds.
"Well… because I liked Koala, Luffy. It's… simple," Sabo replied, trying to downplay it and keep it in terms Luffy could understand. A simple explanation for a simple mind, Sabo thought, mistakenly.
Luffy frowned, as if the word "simple" was the most confusing part of the whole sentence.
"What do you mean 'simple'?" Luffy insisted, with an intensity that belied the supposed simplicity of the matter. His gaze fixed on Sabo was direct, almost inquisitive, demanding a more elaborate answer.
Sabo felt a slight bewilderment at Luffy's persistence. Was Luffy really that curious about relationships? Well, if it was a way to get closer…
"Well… you see, Luffy," Sabo began, adopting a more didactic tone, as if explaining something fundamental, "it's something… natural. When you really like being with someone, when you enjoy their company in a… special way, it's natural that you want to spend more time with them. That you invite them out, to do things together…"
"How did you know you 'liked' her in that 'special' way?" Luffy interrupted, the question cutting off Sabo's attempt at explanation with knife-like precision. His gaze didn't leave Sabo's, seeking a concrete and palpable answer to something that remained a nebulous mystery to Luffy.
Sabo sighed slightly, feeling himself venturing into increasingly swampy territory. How to explain something as… abstract as feelings to Luffy? For him, it was as obvious as the taste of meat or the excitement of a good fight. But Luffy… Luffy needed something more tangible.
"Mmm… let’s see…" Sabo said, trying to find a concrete example that Luffy could process. "Remember when we're all together and we eat? Well, I like eating with everyone, with you, with Ace, with Koala, with all our friends. But… when I'm with Koala… it's different. It's like… the food tastes a little better, even if it's the same meat. Like the laughs are a little louder and the day a little… brighter. You get it? It’s like everything is… more when I'm with her."
Luffy blinked, thoughtfully processing Sabo's comparison with food, something he did understand very well.
"So… it’s like Koala is… better quality meat?" Luffy asked, with a serious expression, seeking the logic in Sabo's analogy.
Sabo suppressed a smile, a little amused and a little exasperated. Only Luffy could reduce love to a matter of meat quality.
"No, it's not exactly that, Luffy," Sabo replied, trying to steer the conversation back before it ended up comparing Koala to a cut of beef. "It's… it's more than that. It’s like… really enjoying someone's company, feeling very comfortable and happy being by their side, wanting to share things with that person… important things, fun things… everything."
Luffy continued to stare at him, showing no clear signs of understanding, but no rejection either. Sabo, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his younger brother's inquisitive gaze and noticing that the conversation was straying dangerously from his comfort zone, decided it was time to change the subject.
"But anyway, hey… what about you? What brings you here so early, besides interrogating your older brother about his love life?" Sabo asked, trying to adopt a lighter and more casual tone, giving Luffy a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Are you hungry? Want me to fix us something to eat? I have meat, the normal kind, huh, not ‘Koala quality’!"
Sabo joked, hoping Luffy would catch the hint and end the awkward conversation. Luffy blinked a couple more times, as if coming out of a trance, and then, as if the previous question had never existed, his face lit up with his usual carefree smile.
"Yeah! I’m hungry! Meat sounds great!" Luffy exclaimed, returning to his natural state as if nothing strange had happened, leaving Sabo with a mixture of relief and a growing sense of confusion about his younger brother's mind.
But even as he ate with his brother that time, Sabo's words resonated strongly in Luffy's mind. Had he ever felt anything remotely like that?
He was sure he hadn't.
He had never felt so restless around anyone, a nervousness that paradoxically mixed with a deep desire to be by her side, to feel her presence even in the distance. When he was with Law, a kind of tingling danced in his stomach, but it was a sensation vastly different from the familiar rumble of hunger. With her, euphoria was palpable, yes, but also a sharp anxiety. His thoughts constantly drifted towards her, to the anecdotes he longed to share with her, the restaurants he imagined visiting together, the plans he wove for tomorrow, for next month, for the coming year.
Could it be… that this was being in love? Was this whirlwind of sensations what they called romantic love?
Luffy sighed, a breath of air that failed to calm the internal storm, though it did provide a fleeting glimpse of clarity.
Yes, he told himself with growing conviction, with Law everything felt like this, just as Sabo had described it. An irrepressible urge to stay by her side, to intertwine his days with hers, consumed him.
But then, a shadow of doubt loomed over his nascent certainty.
Did Law feel the same? Why was her silence absolute? Why was her face barely immutable when he had held out the pizza with the fateful question and knelt before her, extending the ring that Nami and Usopp had helped him get? Had his proposal been clumsy, even ridiculous? Had he rushed things, as Ace often warned him, jumping ahead to a future that was yet unwritten, too young for such transcendental decisions?
A shiver ran down his legs, which were now trembling like dry leaves whipped by an invisible gale, and a dull, oppressive ache began to nest in his chest.
What if all this, everything he felt, was unrequited? What if for Law, he meant nothing of the sort?
"H-hey, you know…" Luffy began, his voice breaking into an unusual stammer, revealing the magnitude of his nervousness. "I-it was a joke… this… yes, it was just a joke."
He hurried to add, in a desperate attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere he himself had created. He forced a shaky smile, struggling to minimize the transcendence of a moment that, despite his efforts, felt irrevocably transcendent.
The tempting aroma of pepperoni pizza, emanating from the box that read in wavering letters “Will you marry me?”, now seemed almost nauseating to him. Dressrosa's sunflower field, chosen with such care to be the setting where he had asked Law to be his girlfriend, now seemed like a cruel reminder of his possible failure.
Faced with Law's silence, with her lack of reaction, Luffy reached out to take back the box, to erase the trace of his boldness in one fell swoop. But Law reacted with unexpected force, clinging to the pizza as if it contained a volatile treasure.
“A-are you… are you serious?” Law asked in a strained whisper, not lifting her gaze. Her face remained hidden, shadowed by the brim of her hat, but the rigidity of her knuckles, clenched tight on the pizza box, spoke volumes.
“Yeah, i-it was a joke, I said… a silly joke for… H-Happy Valentine’s!” Luffy replied with a hollow, nervous laugh that died in the air.
But instantly, his breath hitched in his throat as he saw Law's eyes welling up with silent tears.
“H-hey… don’t cry, Law. Look at me,” Luffy pleaded, the demand fading into a barely audible murmur.
Had he made her cry? How had he managed to hurt her like that? Was it pure rejection of his proposal? Had she just been tolerating him all this time, enduring a charade that was repulsive to her?
An icy terror gripped Luffy's heart at the possibility that, indeed, for Law everything he represented was deeply… unpleasant.
“Don’t cry anymore. Look at me.”
Panic tightening his chest, Luffy awkwardly reached out a hand, trying to wipe away the tears that streamed down Law's cheeks. His fingers brushed her skin with an unusual gentleness for him, an instinctive and genuine gesture of comfort, though completely lacking the sophistication the situation seemed to demand.
“Uh… Law? Don’t be sad,” Luffy murmured, his brain struggling to find the right words, a battle lost before it began. “I… uh… the marrying thing… it was… well… it was serious, but if you don’t want to, it’s okay! It was a serious joke! Or… a joke that was serious! Whatever you want!” he corrected himself in a rush, getting tangled in his own contradictions, but with a palpable honesty in his confusion.
Law finally raised her gaze, her eyes still wet but now fixed on Luffy, analytical even amidst the turmoil. “Luffy…” she began, her voice trembling, yet firm. “Are you sure about what you’re saying? Do you understand what getting married is? I don’t think… I’m not sure you really understand what it means. It’s… forever, Luffy. It’s… complicated.”
Luffy looked at her with his characteristic frankness, without looking away, absorbing every word, every doubt in Law's expression. Then, with disarming simplicity, he replied:
“Yeah, I understand,” Luffy affirmed, with an unexpected certainty in his voice. “Getting married is… being together forever, right? Like with my brothers, but… different. I want to be with you forever, Law. Eat together, fight together, laugh together, even when you get mad and make that weird face… I want to be by your side always. That’s getting married, right? Being together… forever.”
Law watched him in silence for a long moment, scrutinizing the sincerity in his dark eyes, perhaps searching for some crack, some doubt that matched her own. But she only found an unwavering certainty, a simple and profound truth that resonated powerfully.
The sunflower field stretched endlessly under the Dressrosa sun, creating a luminous and dreamlike landscape. Each flower radiated warmth, while a soft breeze carried the sweet scent of pollen. The silence was only broken by the buzzing of bees, creating a natural symphony that enveloped the moment in a bubble of intimacy.
Law took a deep breath, and then, in a voice laden with a vulnerability she rarely allowed to show, she began to list:
“Luffy… I’m… difficult…” She took another deep breath. “I’m distrustful, reserved, impatient, sarcastic… I have trouble expressing what I feel, I prefer solitude… I’m impulsive, demanding of myself to the point of cruelty, I’m proud… I have many… imperfections, Luffy. Many. Do you really want… all of this?”
Luffy listened to her attentively, without interrupting, nodding his head at each “imperfection” Law confessed, as if each one wasn't a flaw, but just another quality that defined her, that made her… Trafalgar Law. When she finished her faltering litany, Luffy simply smiled, his wide and radiant smile illuminating the sunflower field, dispelling any shadow of doubt.
“Yes,” Luffy replied, without hesitating for an instant. “I want all of that, Law. Because all of that… is you. And I want to be with you… forever.”
A last tear slipped down Law's cheek, but this time, it wasn't from sadness, but from a complex, overwhelming emotion and… yes, she could finally admit it, from happiness. A small, tremulous smile began to form on her lips, rising to illuminate her face as well, joining Luffy's radiant smile in a shared horizon.
“…Then…” Law murmured, her voice still broken, but now with a hint of hope and acceptance. “…Then… yes. Yes, Luffy. I will marry you.”