Chapter Text
"Oops, I'm late again... Dadan is going to kill me! Shishishi" Luffy notices when he glimpsed at his phone. He's not too worried, though, since it's not out of the ordinary. It's a foggy autumn day and the sun is already setting. Luffy starts jogging down the street towards home. When he reaches the cemetery, he stops, hesitating. Taking the route through it would be a decent shortcut, but most of the time, Luffy prefers to take the long walk around it. It's not that he's scared walking through the dark cemetery all alone. No, not at all! He checks the time on his phone again. It's getting really late.
"Okay, you can do this." Luffy says to himself. He takes a deep breath and reluctantly start moving towards the big, ornate cast-iron gate. His hand shakes a little as he reaches for the door handle. It's just the cold, he's not scared! Ace always says only babies are scared. And he's definitely not a baby anymore! And ghosts are not real after all, right? Right.
He slowly presses down the handle and pushes the gate open. The creaking noise of the hinges sends shivers down his spine. So creepy... Wait no, not creepy! It's just really chilly today, that's all. He should have listened to Dadan and worn his scarf. Even though just thinking of the itchy material makes his skin crawl. Luffy shakes off the gross feeling and enters the graveyard, closing the creaking gate behind him. With a big gulp, he starts walking right through the cemetery, his hands deep in his pockets, clenched to fists.
Halfway through, he spots a boy approximately his age sitting on a gravestone.
"Hi!" Luffy calls out excitedly. The boy's eyes widen in shock as he stares at Luffy.
Law doesn't know how much time passed since he died. Every night feels the same to him anyway, nothing ever happens. At first he spent the nights exploring the graveyard but he got bored of that a while ago. Now he just resorts to sitting on his gravestone, dangling his feet and waiting for the time to pass. He's dead after all. There aren't even any other ghosts around. It's really strange, he often wonders why he's the only one roaming the cemetery by night. Maybe this is his punishment for not being able to save anyone he loved.
Just as his mind threatened to drift further into a downward spiral, he gets pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden "Hi!". Huh?! He snaps his head in the direction and gawks at a perky boy, who seems to be at a similar age like Law was when he was still alive. Law is completely shocked: What is a boy doing at the cemetery this late? Why didn't he hear him coming? And most importantly, did he really just talk to Law?!
"Uhh, everything alright? Helloo?" The boy steps closer, waving his hands in front of Law's face as he still stares at him, mouth agape.
"Y-you can see me?" Law whispers hoarsely, his voice not being used to talking anymore.
"Oh, so you can talk!" The stranger beams at Law, who blushes and scowls at him.
"Of course I can talk!"
"Shishishi... Sorry, you looked really out of it. Are you okay? Why are you sitting around on the graveyard so late?"
"Why shouldn't I? It's none of your business anyway." Law crosses his arms defensively. "And you're one to talk, what are you doing here?"
"Heh, you're right. I'm just taking a shortcut on my way home because I'm late." The boy scratches the back of his head while shifting his weight back and forth and grinning.
"You're late and yet you stop to talk to a stranger?" Law supresses the urge to laugh at how ridiculous this boy is, his lips twitching in amusement.
"Oh... Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of sense. I didn't even realize! Shishi, you're pretty smart, huh?"
"I-" Law doesn't really know ehat to say to such an unexpected compliment, his cheeks heating up. But it doesn't matter anyway, since the boy just continues talking.
"Don't you need to get home too? We could walk to the exit together!" Without a warning, he grabs Law's hand and drags him along, heading for the gate.
"Uhh... Sure..." Law mutters, overwhelmed by the strange situation while he staggers after the strange boy.
"Oh, my name's Luffy by the way, what's yours?"
"I'm Trafalgar Law."
"Tarf- Trao-" Luffy struggles trying to pronounce his name. "Torao! Nice to meet you!"
"That's not-" Law tries to correct him but one look into the beaming face of Luffy stops him mid-sentence, the sheer enthusiasm catching him off guard. So he just sighs and tags along.
Suddenly, Luffy gasps and sprints forward, causing Law to stumble forward, as Luffy still holds his hand tightly.
"Whoa, look at that cool moth over there!" Luffy points towards the lamp-post. As Law's gaze follows the direction, he spots a pretty big moth.
"Ah, yes, that's a Hyphantria cunea, I see them all the time around here."
Luffy turns to Law with an amazed expression. He takes his hand in both of his and comes close - too close for Law's liking, their noses almost touching. If he'd still have a heartbeat, it would probably beat right out of his chest right now. "Wow, you are really smart, I knew it! I think moths and other bugs are really cool, but I can never remember their names. They're all so complicated. Do you like bugs, Torao?"
Does this boy ever shut up? Law shrugs stiffly, his whole body tense from the uncomfortable proximity. "I guess, they're neat... I like frogs more though."
Luffy gets even more excited. "Oohh, we should definitely meet again and catch some, then!"
He wants to come here again? Hope starts to bloom inside of Law. Could it be that the countless hours of agonizing boredom and loneliness are finally coming to an end? Law snorts, he has to admit, Luffy's enthusiasm is kinda contagious. "Sounds fun. Any plans on what to do with them afterwards?"
"Hmm..." Luffy's eyebrows scrunch up while he's deep in thought, his finger tapping his chin. "Oh! I know! We could show them to Dadan to spook her! Shishishishi! She's scared of frogs. I don't get why, though..."
"Yeah, me neither...Is there anything you are afraid of? You seem like someone who has no fears at all." Law asks, his tone betraying a hint of envy.
Luffy's face turns thoughtful. "Hmm that's not true..."
"Oh? Then what does scare you?"
Luffy hesitates only for a moment. "Okay I'll tell you. But don't tell my brother! Promise?"
"I don't even know who's your brother." Law sputters. What a ridiculous request!
"Right... But still! Promise me!"
Law sighs. "Alright, I promise. Now tell me already."
"Okay... Don't laugh though... So... I'm a bit scared of ghosts..." Luffy confesses quietly.
Law stiffens, trying really hard not to react suspiciously. Luffy apparently doesn't notice that Law is a real ghost. And given how nice it feels to finally have someone to talk to again, he really hopes it stays that way. Why must he be afraid of ghosts of all things, dammit?
"... Torao? You didn't say anything... Are you maybe also afraid of ghosts?" Luffy asks carefully. He really seems to be self-conscious about his fear of ghosts.
"No, I'm not." Law answers curtly.
"Then, what is your biggest fear? You have to tell me, it's only fair since I told you mine!"
"... People..." Law mutters with a sigh, looking down and balling his fists at his sides.
"People?! That's an odd fear." Does this guy always just say what's on his mind without any filter? Law clenches his jaw and narrows his eyes at him wordlessly. He didn't see what Law had to see. The dark side of humankind.
"So... If you're scared of people... Are you scared of me too...?" Strange, the perky boy sounds so insecure and sad all of a sudden.
"Uh, no... I guess not?" Law mumbles awkwardly. It's true, while the overbearing, energetic personality of Luffy is really overwhelming, Law feels strangely drawn to him, his usual distrust wavering. Is this some kind of aftereffect from all this loneliness?
Luffy exhales in relief and his big smile is back in place, although a bit softer than before. "Oh good, I was worried there."
They almost reached the gate, when suddenly a phone starts ringing. Luffy scrambles to get his phone out of the pocket and his face loses all color as he sees the name of the caller on his display. "Uh-oh, it's Dadan... Damn, I completely forgot the time! Now she won't let me hear the end of it... I really should hurry home now." Luffy's eyes flick between the gate and Law, as if he doesn't really want to leave.
"Yeah, you should. We can talk again another time." Law offers, even though the thought of Luffy leaving makes his chest feel hollow.
"Okay. It was nice meeting you, Torao! See you soon!" And with that, Luffy already hurries through the gate and waves enthusiastically at Law for a last time before sprinting off.
Law continues to stare at the spot where Luffy left his field of vision fow who knows how long before he sighs. "Please visit me again soon..." Law whispers to himself wistfully. Now that the other boy is gone again, the graveyard seems even emptier and darker than usual.