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“Does he have a grave?” Luffy asked
They were sitting on the lion's head at the prow of the Sunny together, a rather tight fit but not impossible, Luffy's backside nestled against Law's front and their legs sprawled out in front of them.
“Hm?” Law made.
“Corazón,” Luffy said. “Does he have a grave?”
Law blinked. “I don't know,” he said and silently wondered about how long he hadn't thought about this, not even when he had met Sengoku. “I assume Sengoku will have had him buried somewhere on a marine cemetery. Honorably. With a cross and all.”
Luffy hummed slightly. “That sounds nice,” he said, tracing the tattoos on the back of Law's hands. “Ace has one. Together with Whitebeard. I don't know exactly where it is, but I'll ask Marco… or Shanks. And then, one day, I'd like to go.”
A beat of silence passed between them, then Law said, “Me too.”
“To Corazón's or to Ace's?” Luffy asked, a slight chuckle in his voice.
Law tightened his arms around Luffy's waist. “Both. I'd like to visit both, with you.”
“Good,” Luffy said and Law couldn't see it but he could hear the smile on his face in that single word. “Let's go together then. Once I'm the pirate king, we'll honour them.”
Law didn't say that the pirate king showing up at a deceased marine commander's grave would spark controversy. Luffy would do it anyway and he would laugh as he did it, defying rules as he went and not caring in the slightest. And Law loved him for it.
They watched the sunset from their perch. Law had his chin hooked over Luffy's shoulder and Luffy pointed out all the different colours the clouds and sea turned before the sun disappeared behind the horizon and into the water. Then they moved to the grassy deck of the ship.
Law hadn't expected Luffy to be someone who liked looking at the stars because the stars were so much older and so much more unmovable than him. But he did.
“How much do you remember of him?” Luffy asked after a while of looking into the clear, dark sky and Law sighed.
“Not as much as I would like to,” he admitted. “I was barely a teenager when we met and extremely sick for most of the time we traveled together. But I remember his smile...” He brought their joint hands to his chest, having to smile a little himself. “I carry it with me.”
“We're lucky,” Luffy said. “The last thing they did was smile at us.”
That gave Law pause. “I hadn't thought of it that way.”
“I didn't either for a while after he died,” Luffy said. “He had so much to live for, you know. I didn't understand it. I just wanted him back. But now I know that he was happy, at least in some way.”
Law frowned for a while, trying to make sense of Luffy's words.
“I'm trying to say that they're glad we got to live,” Luffy said, interpreting his silence right. “In their last moments they were, I mean.”
“I don't know,” Law mumbled. “I don't know if there was anything but pain...”
Luffy shook his head, his hair brushing against Law's shoulder, and turned onto his side to look at him. “No, believe me,” he said. “They died protecting us. They were happy, in their own way, in that moment.”
Law looked into his eyes and saw only honesty. He sighed. “Do I have another choice than to believe you?”
“No,” Luffy said, grinning slightly.
Another moment of silence lapsed between them before Law spoke up again. “I remember his height, too. Because he was just as huge as Doflamingo, but so much more gentle, in a way. I mean, it was probably because I was a child, but despite all his clumsiness and his training and his undercover ploy he was always kind to me.”
Luffy smiled at him and Law automatically raised a hand to brush an errand lock of hair out of Luffy's eyes. He'd need another haircut soon.
“Ace hated me when we first met,” Luffy said, still smiling. “But he hated everyone, you know? I think you guys were kind of similar.”
“Are you serious?” Law asked. “I mean I didn't know him but he didn't strike me as the kind of person who was angry at the entire world.”
Luffy shrugged. “I think he was just angry at himself and at his dad and he didn't know what to do with it, you know? And the way people treated him was shitty so he turned that anger towards them...”
“Yeah,” Law made, “I know that feeling.”
“See,” Luffy said, “that's why you remind me of him. But not in a creepy way. It's just… kind of familiar, you know? I know how to deal with it.”
Law frowned a little, confused. “I'm not sure I understand what you mean.”
Luffy made a low humming noise, contemplating his next words. “I don't want you to think I'm comparing you to my brother a lot,” he explained after a moment. “I'm just saying that sometimes you do things and like, I'm not sure why, but I know where they're coming from like… emotionally.” A slight crease had appeared above his noise, evidence of how hard he was thinking about his words and Law had to smile, almost instinctively reaching out to smooth it over.
“I think I get it now,” he said.
“Good.” Luffy smiled and turned completely, resting his entire body against Law and laying his head on his chest. Law put his arms around him automatically.
“You're kind of like Cora-san too,” Law said after a moment, coming to the realization belatedly. “You smile a lot and you're like a light. And impulsive, by god...”
Luffy chuckled. “It's good we found each other then. We can make each other better.”
Law pressed a kiss to the top of his head, despite the awkward angle. He was glad they had found each other, yes.
They both didn't say anything for a while, just feeling warm and secure together under a blanket of stars, until Law felt his curiosity rise again.
“What was he like otherwise?,” he asked. “Aside from the anger.”
“Fiercely loyal,” Luffy said. “Fire.” They both laughed. “He was warm already before he got the Mera Mera no Mi and he was still the same afterwards, though. He always had a flame burning in him, I think.” He hesitated a second. “He was protective, too. And oh… oh I forgot about this. He learned to be kind and polite for me.”
“How and why did he do that?”
“He wanted to thank Shanks for saving me, right? So he asked Makino to teach him how to be polite and everything so he could do it right. I think it was one of the kindest things he ever did.” Law could feel Luffy laughing slightly against his chest. “I'm so lucky he's… was my brother.”
“I think Cora-san was the only person who was ever kind to me after I got sick for a long long time,” Law said. “No one else wanted anything to do with me and well, you saw how the Donquixote Family is. But not him...”
“You deserve all the kindness in the world.”
They stayed like that for half the night, sharing stories and memories and for the first time in a long time Law felt almost at peace.
Like some of the things he had done weren't so despicable after all and like he was allowed to move on, despite the memory and the acts he had committed in Corazón's name.