Work Text:
Everything he does is out of malicious intent.
He knows everyone sees him for what he is but he doesn’t care. He tries to act cute and cuddly. His happy-go-lucky, childlike charm freaks Law out. In those unexpected encounters at night, he is Death himself, looming over him with a twisted smile and big, heartless eyes, pale blonde hair acting like a curtain to conceal his true intentions.
“Get back here!” Blondie tried kicking but Law narrowly missed his leg. “You can’t run away from me forever!”
“Stay the fuck away from me!”
“We’re getting married,” he said smoothly. “Come to me, my husband!”
Law hissed so violently it sounded more like a snarl. “Go away!”
Law started jogging. To keep up, Blondie simply walked faster, not at all affected, maintaining a steady distance between them. It was an artifice, Law realised. A game of suspension. A game Blondie designed to win.
Law quickly turned the corner of an alleyway and threw a trash can behind him.
Blondie jumped over it easily. “Stop running!”
Law debated whether to turn left or right. A split second too long, because Blondie grabbed the back of his hoodie and slammed him to the brick wall. Despite being a mere half an inch shorter, Blondie pinned Law with his right arm.
“You’ve given me quite the chase, I’m impressed,” Blondie said, panting. “I liked it.”
“Leave me alone! What the hell do you want!”
Blondie laughed, brightly and impersonally. “I’d like your hand in marriage.”
“You should’ve asked me that before!”
“Well, I’m asking you that now!” Blondie was merely annoyed. “Does the order of these things really matter?”
It didn’t but… Law pinched the space in between his eyebrows. Jesus.
“Threaten me all you want but I refuse to marry you.”
“Fine.” Blondie let go with an eerily calm smile. “But just so you know-”
God, how long is this conversation going to take?
“I loved you first,” he said. “Before I even met you, I just knew I’d fall madly in love with you.”
Law woke up after punching Blondie in the nose.
—
Sleepless, Law kept thinking of these odd dreams where he’s with this prince whose only defining trait was that he’s blonde and has a smooth, deep voice with a playful lilt to it.
It’s not the sort he had in his youth where he shipped himself with his favourite characters. It felt real for some reason, like he’s reliving memories.
“What would you like today?”
Law barely acknowledged the barista. “The usual. No sugar. A muffin too. Don’t heat it up.”
A kind laugh. “Of course. Which one?”
“I don’t care. Any will do.”
Law noticed the barista gave him the blueberry muffin. That’s nice, Law was secretly thankful. He liked blueberries more than bananas because it’s slightly sour. Plus, they’re the closest thing to blue in the food world.
Law scowled when his card didn’t immediately work.
“Bad day?” the barista asked in a chuckle. Law saw that his name was Sabo written in blue glitter marker on his name tag. “You look grumpier than usual.”
“I can’t sleep,” Law said, not thinking much of the small talk. “I keep having weird dreams.”
“Of what sort?”
“I’d rather not say,” Law sighed. He took one good look at the barista’s face, boyish with finely sculpted cheekbones and nice double eyelids. His blonde hair shone in the sun. Law frowned. “I’m sorry, have we met before?”
The barista barked a laugh. “I make your coffee every day! Of course, we have!”
Law got red with embarrassment. His card finally worked. “I’m sorry. Thank you.”
As handsome as it was, Law couldn’t help but feel a bit unnerved by his smile. It felt a little too warm, a touch too affectionate to be forgiving for a mere social slip-up.
—
Law remembered the first time this prince figure confessed to him. It was during a ball. The prince was running late.
Law woke up from that dream thinking that was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and swore he must’ve seen it elsewhere. He couldn’t trust his imagination to think of stuff like that.
Despite that, Law retained his signature snarky attitude. Beautiful or otherwise, the prince was still annoying.
“Where the hell have you been, Blondie?”
The prince laughed. “You’re so vulgar.”
Law held his hand out and led the prince down the spiral stairs. The prince kept giving him sly, meaningful looks.
“I know you think I’m gorgeous,” the prince said. “Come now, tell me that I am.”
Law rolled his eyes. “Stop fishing for compliments like you’re a desperate girl.”
The prince laughed and pulled Law by the hip to the centre of the room, where a dance suddenly began. People were mingling to the sound of an orchestra earlier. Now, it’s slow jazz played on a piano. Hand still on Law’s hip, the prince held Law class in a dance.
“If you’re too smart in life, suppress it, because the world loves stupid,” the prince chuckled. “I assure you, very few people will forgive your rudeness.”
“Are you saying I’m stupid, your highness?” Law stopped caring about being called rude a long time ago.
The prince glanced over, grinned widely, grabbed Law’s face and kissed him stupid in front of everyone.
“No but I love how smart you are,” the prince said, kissing Law again. “I love that you know you’re not supposed to be here, my angel.”
Law didn’t say anything. This was also the first time that Law actively realised he was lucid dreaming. He had his wits about him. These scenarios no longer had the haze of a misplaced memory or something dredged up from the subconscious. It was as real as dreams could get no matter how absurd.
The prince took joy in his confusion. His smile softened with sympathy. “But I truly wish you were meant to be here with me.” Some disappointment flashed on his smile. “I love you.”
—
As per routine, Law woke up at the same time and ordered the same thing.
“Wake up, my angel.” Law blinked absentmindedly and saw Sabo waving at him. He laughed when Law finally woke up. “Rise and shining, would you like anything else with your order?”
“Oh.” Law stopped Sabo from finishing typing at the cashier. “I’m eating it here.”
“You’re not running late?”
Law rolled his eyes at Sabo’s teasing smile. “I’m on leave. I’m going to sit by that window and relax.”
Sabo laughed. “I used to do that when I was studying,” he said.
“You’re younger than me?” Law observed. “What did you study?”
“Architecture.” Then, Sabo’s face fell as he tore the receipt off. “I dropped out. Clearly.”
Law nodded, not wanting to pry and press the wound further. Sabo went back to make Law’s usual coffee order. He told Law to sit at his window seat, and he’ll find the guy eventually after finishing everyone else’s orders, people who were running late.
Law crossed his legs by the couch. Sabo rolled his sleeves up whenever he had to focus and brew cup after cup of coffee for exhausted, burnt-out salary men, not unlike himself.
Law didn’t realise the scarring on the left side of his face extended down to his arms until now. It looked like bold flashes of lightning from the old school Sora animations, albeit of a different colour. Even Sabo himself kind of looked like the actor from a bootleg live adaptation some years ago.
He tied his apron quickly, like he did countless times before. Green looked good on him. Law continued reading the book by the shelf, pretending to be interested in… Fitzgerald, whoever that was. He’d glance up and be relieved that Sabo’s busy making coffee orders.
“Is something wrong?” Sabo said, rolling up his shirt sleeve as he came over. His apron had damp spots from the hot water. “Here’s your muffin and coffee. Sorry for the wait.”
Law smiles sheepishly. “Thank you.”
—
Law frowned. His clothes were still on. He yelled when something curled up close to him. There he was, the prince, snuggling next to him, grinning widely.
“You want a child, my angel?” The prince said with evident awe. He sighed, “I haven’t laid an egg in over forty years. Even then, the thing that hatched out was horrible.”
“What are you?”
“Your husband.”
“No,” Law shook his head. “What are you, as in are you human?”
“Forty per cent. To be specific, I’m sixty per cent bear, starfish, sand, potbelly pig, cactus and a spool of copper wire, alongside some wood chips. This is what I understand.”
“Regardless, you’re insane.”
“I am anonymous, and I mimic our Lord the ominous.” The prince laughed. Law thought the maliciousness in his laugh charming. “My angel, you know that I love you, right?”
“I suppose I do.”
“My angel, will you marry me?”
“How many times have you asked this?”
“A thousand.” The prince turned to the side and pouted. “I’ll ask you a thousand and one times more again.”
“If you’re so powerful, why don’t you force me?”
“Because I know you won’t like it.” Blondie’s pout deepened. “And I want you to like being married to me. I don’t have much to offer beyond making you laugh in memories of dreams you won’t even remember.”
Law shrugged. Since he gave up hopes of being married in real life then maybe a dream marriage with a guy who seemed vaguely familiar but whose face he cannot see wouldn’t be so bad. The prince hugged him tight and Law felt warm when he woke up.
—
“Hello!” Sabo said. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”
“No, go ahead.”
Sabo did and he put on his best smile. “Do you remember how we first met?”
“Does it matter?”
“I hope the question doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”
Law shook his head to say he’s fine. Unfortunately for Sabo, though, Law couldn’t give a clear answer.
“You showed up as a barista one day,” Law said. “You made my coffee as I tell you and you do it well. I thought you were the artsy type with his head in the clouds, but you’re alright.”
“Oh.” Law knew that wasn’t the answer he had hoped for. Still, he kept a straight face and even managed a friendly smile. “I’ll content myself with being ‘alright’.”
“I’m not very descriptive but I don’t want to describe you as ‘nice’, either. I have a feeling you’re more than that.”
Sabo chuckled. “Is that so?”
They drank coffee. Sabo held his mug with his right hand while sticking his pinky out. It had a plain silver ring with a small, but beautiful gem that had red, blue and yellow flecks. Law noticed his hand had a slight tremor.
Sabo smiled weakly. “I have carpal tunnel. My wrist hurts from time to time.”
“Does this have to do with our first meeting?”
“Not directly, but I appreciate that you’re trying.”
“Why is it so important to you?”
Sabo winked and shook his hand, finger over his lips a large smile.
Law was confused. “Why are you acting like it’s a secret now?”
“Secrets are what the voices in my head say never to tell.” Then, Sabo grinned with a unique blend of off-putting and handsome. “Until I’m sure no one can stop me.”
“For a cute and plushy guy, you sure are annoying.”
“Am I?” Sabo grinned. “Then why are you smiling?”
“I’m not dead inside.” Upon realising what he said, Law put his cup down and shook his head, unable to hide his smile. “Such as the price of being sentient.”
Sabo laughed, a pretty little laugh. “May I clear that for you, my angel?”
“You put too much sugar in my pumpkin spice moccachino.”
“It’s supposed to be sweet!” Sabo then laughed like he’s a villain. He stood up and cleared Law’s plate and cup. He said his lunch break was over and that he had to get back to work.
Oddly enough, as antisocial as he was, Law felt a little regretful about not remembering the first meeting Sabo cared about so much. He tried and tried, but he wasn’t a very sentimental person and so gave up quickly.
—
Even if Law doesn’t remember how he met Sabo, he at least remembers how he met the Prince.
They were by a snowy mountain. Law was alone, strolling along, thinking the scenery reminded him of his childhood.
Ruining this scene of endless snowy tranquillity was a party. In this dreamlike reality, Law had half the mind to go there and give these motherfuckers a piece of their mind.
“Hey! You!” The centre of it all turned back with a blank look. “Yeah! You! You’re too loud!”
“Gasp! You’re beautiful!”
And with that, the first sign of disaster. The tip of the snowy mountain broke off.
Law grimaces. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The fiend seemed to smile, pleased that Law heard. It danced over. Once it got close, it extended its arms and pulled Law into a tight hug. That's when Law started to call it blondie. He was greeted with blonde hair that shone in the sunlight.
He heard another bit of mountain break.
Law kicked, punched and screamed, but nothing worked. That bastard insisted on being in his personal space.
“Go away!”
“Please!” The bastard said. Law decided it must be a man, or at least masculine. Its voice was too deep to be otherwise. “Please feel free to bask in my glow!”
“I hate you!”
“They say love and hatred are cut from the same cloth.” The bastard clapped his hands. “So that means… you love me!”
“That’s the opposite of what I meant!”
As if the gods were enraged, yet another block of ice fell down and nearly came for them. The bastard elegantly held Law by his hip and moved him away, essentially saving his life.
“I didn’t need you to do that!”
“It’s nothing personal.” A flourish of the hand. “It’s just that I’m better than you.”
“You are not! We just met!”
The prince smiled dumbly, as if he didn't hear Law. Then, Law looked up. A part of the snowy mountain seemed to slip away further away than usual. Then another; then a big chunk.
It dawned on him. There’s an avalanche, and he’s right in their path, and there’s a stupid blonde man trying to kiss him. Law kicked the blonde man before seeing black.
Law woke up that morning with a strange taste in his mouth. Damn it, did that bastard win?
—
Busy mornings don’t happen often but it’s annoying when they do. Everyone was packed into this cramped space, and the two baristas on duty were overworked. That’s fine, but why wasn’t anything going to the growing line of patrons but rather the section for “Deliveries”?
Sabo ran to the cashier and apologised rapidly as he finally started taking orders. A girl yelled at him to come back and help her. He counts the change, hands it back and runs over.
How many scorpions is too many to have in one sitting? Law asks. One scorpion, two scorpions…
“Hi, angel!” Sabo said when it's finally his turn. He smiles sheepishly. “I'm sorry, we will take a while with you. I’ll get to it soon! I’m sorry!”
And Sabo is off again, no longer paying attention to him. Law frowns. Three scorpions, a hundred and fifty-two scorpions. A thousand and twenty-nine scorpions.
“Hi!” Sabo greets a young man. “Sorry for the wait. Here’s your cookie!”
Eight million, seven hundred and fifty-nine thousand and two scorpions. One billion! I’ve had it! Law thinks to himself. I need my coffee now or I’ll really commit a war crime.
“Listen here, pretty boy!” Law shouts. “I’m a wanted fugitive on the run and I don’t have time for this!”
“M-my angel-”
“Give me my fucking coffee now!”
Sabo stands at attention. “Yes, my love!”
And Sabo begs his fellow barista for forgiveness as he ditches the delivery line to prepare Law's coffee. He takes the cash Law prepares and prints a receipt after that.
“Thank you-”
“You forgot something,” Law said.
Sabo blinked. He frowned, scrunching his eyebrows. “Oh! Shoot!”
He pushed past the other barista washing dishes, took the metal claw and unceremoniously dumped a blueberry muffin inside, crumbly bits spilling everywhere in the bag. He wrote ‘Law’ on the bag with a Sharpie in shaky handwriting.
“I’m sorry, my love,” Sabo said as he typed into the cash register with shaky hands. “We have a lot of deliveries today.”
Law chuckled. “Thank you for remembering.” He waved and slung his bag further up his shoulder. “Take care.”
Sabo rolled up his sleeves as he waved. His face was red and sweaty. Yet, his smile was still brilliant and beautiful. “Thank you, come again!”
—
The wedding ceremony was everything Law imagined it to be. Small, intimate, in the church he used to go to as a kid before his home burned down. His parents waved at him. Lami was still there, as the ring-bearer.
He turned to the side and saw his godfather walking next to him. Law heard his deep voice congratulating him, and he nearly said, “Thank you, Corázon.” How those words felt so foreign. He hadn’t uttered them in years.
The prince stood in front of a window, his face and finer details hidden by the shadows, but Law could tell he wore a white suit and a collection of sparkling rings. When Law approached him by the altar, a large veil covered his face, but Law could tell he was smiling.
In proper Law fashion, the vows weren’t very long. Law spoke first, being the type to get things over and done with, “I do. I take his highness to be my husband.”
When Law lifted the veil, he swore he saw those eyes before, big and round like a bug. Then there’s his smile, too. It’s familiarly warm and affectionate. If it was inappropriate for a mere social pleasantry, it fit the situation here perfectly, as if he were truly happy to be married.
“I’m happy,” the man said. Then to Law in a sotto voice, “I’ll protect you, my angel.”
Law woke up in a cold sweat. Yeah, he definitely heard that voice before.
—
Law rapidly tapped on the counter. Sabo smiles warmly as a greeting.
“Do you have a moment?” Law said. “I’d like to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead. No one asks about me unless I’m under investigation.”
“Have we met before?”
“I asked you that already.” Sabo made a face. “But sure, carry on.”
“I see you in my dreams,” Law said. “You are a prince who keeps proposing. I keep refusing. Night after night the scenarios got increasingly absurd. I feel like I’m going insane because even in my dreams, I agreed to marry you.”
“Is this what this is about? You married me in your head?”
“I know you think I’m insane.” Law sighed. He shook his head and said, “But I’m just so fucking tired. I’m sorry, it’s none of your business, but-”
“It is, actually.”
Stunned, Law utters, “Why?”
Sabo looked conflicted, surprised at himself for blurting that out. He took a small bottle out of his bag. It had a pink liquid swishing about.
“I put this in your coffee every day for the past three months, well except the time we were busy,” Sabo said. “Naturally I’d assume you wouldn’t notice, our house espresso is so unnervingly strong and you never dilute it. One drop each time. Do you feel any different?”
Law shook his head. “No, life goes on as usual, apart from my dreams of you.”
“Yes, this love potion will make you dream of the one who gave it to you.”
“Are you implying I am in love with you?”
“I hope you are,” Sabo confessed. “The bottle says you’ll dream of me in a way you ‘find appealing’. Anything beyond that isn’t guaranteed. I don’t know what your dreams look like.”
“Why are you only telling me this now?” Sabo smiled sheepishly. He never wanted to tell Law. Law feels angry. “You’re fucked in the head.”
Sabo chuckled, that familiar insanity flashing across his eyes. “A little, yes, but I won’t kill you. Never, not after falling in love with you.”
“Yeah, well, fuck you,” Law said, standing up. “I’m not coming back.”
“Oh, but you will,” Sabo said with the same cloyingly sweet tone the prince uses in his dreams sometimes. “And I know why too.”
“Yeah? And why is that?”
“Because I make your coffee for you every day just the way you like it with an unheated blueberry muffin stuffed in a paper bag.” Sabo cackled insidiously as Law stomped out. “And you know you’ll never find another like me!”
—
Stupid man. Stupid blonde man with his pretty hands and good memory.
Coffee from the other cafes nearby didn’t hit the same. The blueberry muffins weren’t as good either, making Law crave a fruit he’s only neutral with at best.
Darn it. Law clenched his jaw and walked into the cafe that’s so intrinsic to his routine it felt horrible skipping over it for four days.
When Law opened the door, he saw Sabo wiping some coffee mugs while mumbling, “Am I okay? Can I be reduced to two letters? Society programs us robots-” He glanced up and smiled radiantly. “Good morning, my angel! You’re back!”
“You’re a delusion created from my depression,” Law says while rubbing his eyes.
“No, I’m alive! I’m standing right here!”
Law rolled his eyes as he walked over to the cashier. He straightened up a little. “Same as usual. No weird love potions, got it?”
Sabo sulked. “How long are you going to be mad at me for that?”
“A while,” Law said idly. “You could’ve poisoned me.”
“Fine… I guess I should be thankful you even came back.”
“Did you miss me?”
“What do you think, smartass? I heavily implied that I loved you.”
Turning back, Sabo refilled the coffee machine with a bag of freshly coffee beans with amazing dexterity. He made Law’s coffee quicky and frowned when he handed the cup over. He looked like a kicked puppy.
“I should’ve known better. The coffee tastes strange without it.”
“Are you being sentimental?”
“Maybe.” Law glanced up. “But at any rate, why did you do it?”
“I like you,” Sabo said, like it’s the easiest thing ever. “And I want you to like me back.”
“Why won’t you just tell me up front?”
“And you’d take me seriously if I tried?”
Law winces. “I take you seriously. That’s why I’m bothering to talk about it now. You didn’t have to go that far. I would have liked you as you are. You’re not so bad, really.”
Law liked how easily Sabo got flustered. A friendly and handsome young man with a peachy-pink blush across his face. Law folded the top of the paper bag and slid it into his bag. Sabo looked anxious, like a skittish little rat.
“Do you mean that?” Sabo starts. “Do you really think you can like a college dropout who works at a coffee shop without any prospects or purpose in life?”
Law petted Sabo’s cheek, hand warm from holding his coffee for a few seconds. “Yeah.”
Hearing that, Sabo scoffed and then started laughing. He wiped sleep from his eyes. He waved when Law turned to leave.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Sabo asked hopefully.
For the first time, Law turned around to wave back, deciding Sabo’s pretty face was better in person than in his head.
Sabo just couldn’t see himself as an architect.
There wasn’t much else left to be built. Besides, even if he did get on a project, there’s no guarantee his name will be put on anything, let alone anything big and meaningful. He knew this would be his life’s path, and he dreaded it every day.
Plus, there’s Ace’s accident. Ace could work and Luffy… No, Sabo couldn’t ask their younger brother to step up. Working while studying was exhausting but he made it work, even if his usual As dropped to Cs and Ds.
He failed his final year project. Here were his options now: either repeat the year and redo it or drop out. Unable to bear with the crossroads, Sabo spent the day crying at the dumpster behind the cafe he’d eventually work at full-time on a rainy day.
He used to like splashing in puddles when he was a child and filming them in his first year of university. He thought of Ace, of how he’d break the news to him when Ace was barely alive enough to eat his own cereal, let alone make it.
Would Luffy even be home? He’s probably with grandpa right now, or with some good friends. That’s for the best, he can’t face both brothers at once.
How was he supposed to tell them that they shouldn’t have believed in him? That he wasn’t all that smart? That he let them both and himself down?
As Sabo leaned against the steel dumpster, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. Then, his eyes felt warm and his lower eyelid twitched. He felt tears welling up but they never dripped down. He huddled his knees closer.
Stupid him.
Then, suddenly, the rain stopped, and he felt something faintly warm.
When Sabo looked up, he saw that the sky was still grey, and raindrops refracted the streetlights in a way that he found hypnotic. The warm thing was a paper bag with a clear opening. A blueberry muffin with crumbles. A yellow umbrella sheltered him.
“I told the guy not to heat it up,” the man said. “My tongue is sensitive so you can have it.”
The man had black hair and tattoos on his hands. Gold earrings hung off his earlobes, twinkling slightly like coins. Sabo ate the muffin. It was warm, slightly tangy with a rich buttery crumb. Sabo didn’t even realise he was hungry until he ate everything in five bites.
The man smiled knowingly. “It’s good, right? It’s the only thing I can eat from there.”
“Why?”
“They do mainly bread stuff. I can’t eat bread. I just don’t like it.”
“I see.”
The man bent down and gave Sabo the yellow umbrella. He wore worn-out white sneakers with polar bear charms on the shoelaces. He stood up soon after and stretched his arms, rain drops forming on his hoodie.
“Do you not need this?” Sabo said, trying to hand the umbrella back. “You’ll get drenched.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” The man smirked, flipping his hood over.
“At least let me feel bad! Who even are you?”
“I prefer to remain anonymous,” the man said. “Call me your guardian angel.”
“What kind of guardian angel has tattoos and piercings like a gangster?”
The man smiled crookedly. “Well, apparently, your’s does. Deal with it.”
Sabo rolled his eyes and tried to chase after him to thank him, but the pins and needles in his feet made it hard to walk. At least the umbrella made him feel dignified when he finally stood up. He realises he hadn’t thanked the man yet and feels guilty.
The warmth from the muffin lingered in his stomach still, even as his tongue burned from the blueberry filling inside. Luffy texted him to see if he’s coming over to visit Ace in the hospital. Sabo replied that he will in an hour.
Just before Sabo threw the paper packaging away at a nearby rubbish bin, he noticed something written in black permanent marker. Happy birthday, Law! Our favourite customer!