Archive of Our Own

Open heart (surgery)

When the King of the Pirates wants a party, he gets one.

And this time, a headache-inducing misfortune later, the Heart Pirates are involved.

Law knows it is his own crew's doings - those bastards conspiring behind his back.

For some reason, they are all convinced this is good for him. It is truly not, for he feels his sanity slip every time he even hears about the Straw Hats in passing. Not to even think about when forced to fraternize with them.

If you ask Law, the alliance is long over.

If you ask Straw Hat… Well, he wholeheartedly disagrees with the notion that an alliance even has an end date. That, and he thinks the authority to end one belongs only to him. That bastard…

But his crew loves to inconvenience him and book unsolicited breaks into their schedule. Preferably and more often than not, with questionable company, it seems.

So when their submarine docks at an uninhabited, tropical summer island and a familiar lion-headed figurehead appears on the horizon, Law gives his crew a death stare.

They all claim innocence, of course. Pretending they have no idea how they ended up docked on the same island as the Straw Hats. It is such a funny coincidence, indeed, that on this wide and vast sea their courses collided like this.

Traitors, liars, and backstabbers, all of them, masquerading as guileless angels.

All except Bepo, fidgeting and apologizing even before Law can berate them for their crimes. He would never pressure the mink into spilling and taking the blame. If something, Bepo is always the least guilty of the lot. Even if the crew cannot make their nautical course align with the other ship without the assistance of the navigator... Bepo is and will always be free of blame. (Others might call it preferential treatment, but Law is hellbent on keeping his stance on this one.)

But Law loves all of them, begrudgingly and, oh so, dearly. So he resigns to his faith and welcomes the chaos of a Straw Hat-party with… not completely closed off arms.

It's not a completely unpleasant affair. Of course it's not. Law would give anything to see his crew happy, relaxed, and safe. In the light of a bonfire, with more-than-great food and drinks flowing, dancing to world-famous tunes, his crew flourishes.

And ever so reluctantly, Law can admit there are a few members of the Straw Hats he enjoys and looks forward to exchanging tidbits about this and that. It is crucial for a captain to stay on top of things, to enhance useful information, when presented with the opportunity to do so. If the conversations pivot to less relevant topics, that ain't anyone's business, now is it?

The whole ordeal with the Straw Hats is a careful balancing act of avoiding the mess the rowdier members cause. This time, it seems like the world is slightly less against Law, and the evening passes in relative ease.

Law still feels the dread (and honestly, a tension headache) building on his temples, leaving his neck and scalp tight and tense. It's suspicious how little the other captain has bothered him. Besides the over-excited, obtrusive, and way too handsy greeting, Luffy has not even once slotted himself into Law's personal space.

It's a good thing. To be left in peace. Straw Hat's presence is only an interlude to something extremely hazardous with little to no payoff.

It is just… unusual. For the other captain to leave him be for such a long time. Everything is off the script, and Law hates not knowing when the shit will hit the fan. There's nothing more to it - just the stress of unpredictability.

Law pretends he doesn't notice Nico Robin chuckling at him. Her hand elegantly poised in front of her mouth as she sees him casting glances towards the unmistakable racket of rubbery arms snapping in place, followed by a cackle of laughter. For being so observant, the woman doesn't know shit. Thank you very much.

When the night turns deeper, Law is among the first ones to excuse himself from the party.

Shachi and Penguin give him shit for it, slanted against each other in such a drunken tilt it is a miracle they stay upwards. Law knows better and ignores the two. He is more than content with taking his revenge in the morning when they no doubt beg him to help with their headaches and nausea. Seriously, they should someday learn they cannot drink and party like young men anymore.

About half of each crew remains to keep the party alight when Law closes the door to his quarters and sets to settle for the night. Even if the Straw Hats are a turbulent force to deal with, at least Law can trust his crew to be safe among them.

Sleep never comes easily to him. Law spends what might be hours listening to the faint murmur of the sea and the occasionally crescendoing hollers from the party.

At last, when he is on the verge of being taken by sleep, his door is pushed open. A sliver of light from the hallway and the tell-tale slaps of sandals against the floor pull his mind fully conscious.

Awake, alert, and annoyed, he lifts his head from the pillows. As expected, Law is met with the brightest grin as Luffy stands, proudly so, in his doorway. Hands to his hips, as if doing a victory pose, backlit by the hallway light, yet still beaming bright enough for Law to see his gratingly happy expression.

"Hi, Traffy! Robin said you went to bed already!" Straw Hat exclaims, strolling into the room, imprudent and absolutely uninvited.

"I don't think that was an invitation for you to come here", Law says, eyes squinted to slits, partly to shield them from the light, partly to make his annoyance clear.

Straw Hat ignores all that and plops down onto Law's mattress, landing to lie crosswise over Law's legs. His own legs hang over the edge, sandals kicking the air.

"But we didn't get to talk at all!" he whines, giving Law an offended pout laced with blame.

"And whose fault is that?" Law huffs at the audacity. It certainly wasn't him who was too busy running around the island to talk to the other, now was he?

"Ah."

This is the first time Straw Hat has put even some thought into this, isn't it? A sheepish smile spreads across his face as he scrunches his eyes shut.

"But I'm here now!" he says, reaching to pat Law's knee, "So it's okay! The island was bigger than your bear told us it would be! There were crabs - like, really, really big ones all around! Did you eat any? We caught so many!"

Law swats at Luffy's hand to get it off his leg. It only prompts Straw Hat to perform a visualizer of how big the crabs were. The rubbery limbs stretch unnaturally, giving an impressively accurate estimation of the size of the crustaceans.

Law isn't paying attention to that, though. He is more hung up on the notion that Luffy thought he was disappointed about the lack of harassment.

"Get off my legs, get out, and close the door", he swats at the Pirate King again, willing the other man to leave him to sleep. He knows he'll be waiting for sleep for hours after being rudely awakened like this, so he might as well try to get to it sooner rather than later.

Luffy, like the little shit he is, ignores the most crucial part of the tasks: he stretches his hand, pulling the door shut, and with the knock-back from the limb, bounces upward and flings himself next to Law. With the gall of a man who is free to do whatever he wants, he lies there, snugly to Law's side.

"What happened to get out?"

"But I closed the door!"

"What does that have to do with anything? Open it and close yourself out of here!"

"Nuh'uh! Don't wanna. I'm gonna stay — gimme some of the blanket! You're hogging all of it!"

"It's my blanket!"

Law would be mortified if anyone saw him like this. But for now, he is too busy tussling like a child over the rightful ownership of his own blanket.

It's a half-assed fight; Luffy flails his limbs around more than he actually tries to land any sort of useful move. Law doesn't have to try all that hard, considering Luffy is his own biggest enemy, lying on top of the blanket and somehow failing to find the edge to grab onto.

Eventually, Straw Hat gives up enough for Law to grab a hold of his head and chest, pushing the other man to the mattress. He knows it is an illusion of a victory; Luffy can, and will, thrash and flail free whenever he feels like it. But for now, he lets Law hold him down.

"Go to your own room! I won't give you the blanket", Law sighs with a vexed breath.

Luffy whines, petulantly making a face at Law.

In revenge, Law presses his hand against Luffy's throat as a threat. He doesn't lay any weight on it yet, but lets his grip turn firm. The rubbery neck gives weirdly under his hand, but doesn't yield completely.

Straw Hat seems unbothered by the threat. He slants his head into an inquisitive tilt, as if not even realizing the perilous position he is in. What a cocky bastard…

“You should be more careful”, Law says, flexing his fingers tighter around Luffy’s trachea, “You could get killed. Being careless like this...”

Luffy’s eyes close, scrunching shut in amusement. He has the audacity to laugh. A close-mouthed snicker that jostles his body beneath Law’s hand.

“Nah, don’t think so”, he says once his laughter dies down, dragging his voice and words, “No one can beat me.”

Law scoffs at that, lip twitching in disdain.

Frustratingly, Luffy sits on a throne only an undefeatable man can obtain. He is crowned with a hat woven from straw - and he holds the world in his palm. Yet he whines, childishly so, like he needs to beg for things. Like his liquid grin is not the most powerful thing in this lifetime.

Law isn’t sure the man beside him is a human at all anymore - if he ever was one to begin with.

Even back then, at times, he thought he saw a glimpse of a god: forging miracles and doing deeds no man should be able to do.

Yet still, he cannot say for sure whether Straw Hat willed it all into existence with pure stubbornness. Or whether it was always something divine meant to be. A manmade miracle - or something a fool would call destiny.

Underneath his hand, he can feel warm skin, texture never quite right, but there nevertheless, and a strong beat of a pulse. Even in the darkness, you can tell how Luffy's skin tone leans warmer, an inviting olive brown. If Law moves his hand down, lays it down onto Luffy’s chest, he would be able to feel the scarred flesh.

A whim, back then. Nothing more. Sown together by his own hands.

He doesn’t move; he knows how the scar feels.

He can feel the pulse from the carotid artery. He doesn’t need to reach out for the heart; it beats loudly, stubborn and strong. Raucous in the quiet of the night, almost drowning out the calming hum of the submarine.

Whether it's a trick of the mind or if Luffy's heart is truly so noisy right now, Law isn't quite sure.

Luffy looks and feels like a man; beaten and scarred, rough from the years on the sea, yet warm and alive. He opens his eyes, mouth twisting into a bright grin.

"You know it's true!" he gloats, voice lilting playfully. His eyes sparkle with mirth as he takes in Law's annoyed expression.

"I could kill you."

Straw Hat makes a humming noise and tilts his head. He considers it for a moment before shaking his head, clearly bemused.

"No, you couldn't", he states and bores his unwavering eyes into Law's. In the dark, his brown eyes seem like voids, staring straight through Law and stripping him naked to his core.

The back of his neck prickles as Luffy’s grin grows unnatural, the white of his teeth gleaming. A heartbeat is deafening, thrumming in Law's ears and drowning out all the other noises.

He huffs, annoyed and disrespected.

He shoves Luffy against the pillows, purposefully pressing on his windpipe and relishing the choked squawk it causes. He ruffles Luffy’s hair roughly for good measure, making sure to wipe away the other's smugness before plopping down to lie on his back.

To be haughty, he builds a bit of distance between them. If it weren't so useless, he would stuff a pillow or a blanket between them (it would be flung to the floor).

All that, but he is too lenient to throw the other captain out — and Law doesn't want to think about that. Not now, not ever.

Straw Hat doesn't mind and bounces back undeterred. Wiggling closer, he snuggles back against Law's side, bringing his body heat with him. Law still makes sure the other doesn't get a chance to snatch the blanket.

When settled down, with an annoyed huff, Law tugs his hand into Luffy’s hair. He pulls and presses enough to get the other to lie comfortably against him.

Straw Hat has an annoying habit of turning his head up, eyes fixed on Law’s face, unabashedly gawking. Truly, the younger man has a staring problem. So to negate that, Law leaves his hand there, against Luffy’s scalp, long fingers resting still in the black, shaggy hair.

Neither of them moves for a while, comfortably sinking against the soft mattress and pillows. The hum of the submarine blends into their breathing. Even the party seems to have died down outside. Law cannot hear any hollering or faint music anymore, not even if he strains his ears. Everything calms down, turns serene.

Law would deny it, vehemently, if asked, but for now, in private, he combs fingers through Luffy's hair. He scratches along the scalp, all the way down to Luffy's nape.

Here, he can pretend the motion is absent-minded, half accidental, like he ever would manage to be so blissfully incognizant. Like one could, seriously, claim to be so used to petting along the coarse fur of a polar bear that they just do it to any mob of hair when given the chance. (Not that Law would be keen to admit to that either. Bepo might get embarrassed; he's still thought to be just a pet at times…)

It's been like this, between them, for a while.

Law, decidedly, does not want to ask what this is about. He values his peace - mental and physical - too much for that. And he suspects, with great disdain, that Luffy would not be helpful with answers.

So this, as much as everything else, stays a whim - a capricious occurrence between them.

The ship and the sea hum, crooning a soothing melody. Once again, in this quiet little space, they just are. But the silence is too good to last.

“How’d you kill me?” Luffy asks after a while.

Taken aback, Law's fingers twitch against Luffy's scalp. He resists the urge to curl them deeper into the hair and yank as to force the other to look him in the eyes.

Law knows it's futile - Luffy always stares blankly, his face never giving away anything. It's unnerving, especially when Law has been, time and time again, proven that Luffy holds, in his own, simple and backwards way, infinite wisdom. It is just indecipherable until Straw Hat decides to condense it into the simplest form of being.

He knows he made the right call when Luffy stays quiet. He reaches to fiddle with Law's fingers. He snares the hand not resting on his hair, bending the digits around, and wrapping his much warmer ones around them.

No doubt to kill time while he waits, as patiently as a man like him can.

So this is a serious question…

It's not asked lightly - Luffy wants a real answer and is willing to wait for one.

Law pulls a deep breath and thinks for a bit.

There are a million what-ifs, and as many ways to go about it. Options more and more grand, so ridiculously ambitious, Law almost physically rolls his eyes at them. There are frivolous ones that, in a twisted way, stay almost friendly in their comedy.

And then… the weighty ones. The ones painfully true to reality; the ones where he - they both - might lose loved ones. A clash of titans of their era. An all-out war - the kind that the news would write about (and get everything wrong).

If nothing else, Law knows none of those are an option - not to him, not to his crew. He would not risk their lives with this.

This would be between him and Straw Hat.

It would need to be a neatly contained ordeal - one that ends swiftly and surgically. Cruelly. An ugly betrayal, a dirty wrongdoing of a coward.

There would be neither valor nor honor in a fight between them. Not if Law wants to keep his life - but in truth, in all outcomes, Law would be spared and forced to live with all of it (again, as always).

Luffy can be cruel like that.

Law sees only one viable option. So he speaks, slowly and measuredly, letting the thought bleed into his words:

“I’d abuse the fact you trust me; ask for you to hand over your heart and then...”

Law tilts his head, curling his lip, leaving the rest of the sentence only as an implication. Striking the heart... It would be on-brand, after all.

Straw Hat seems to think this over for a bit.

“Do you want it?” the younger man asks, the rough pads of his fingers rubbing against Law's wrist and palm, massaging the tendons. He moves with no real skill or intent, only instinctively following the curve of muscle.

“Want what?”

“My heart”, Luffy says, casually, like this is something trivial, “I’ll let you hold it.”

He tilts his head and barely blinks, his brown eyes intently fixed on Law. Unafraid, just curious.

It’s some sort of sick power play.

It has to be.

A reminder that Law could not win this fight. Not even if the victory was, quite literally, handed to him.

It speaks of the arrogant, yet, begrudgingly, Law has to admit, deserved and imminent trust Luffy places on his crew. About how the King of the Pirates knows no one can risk the ire of the rest of his men. Not to mention the rest of the world, full of people who would rise to arms if Luffy called for them. Who would, blindly and fiercely, fight for him, and put their faith in him.

(Law hates how intimately he knows how that feels. How easy it is to abandon all common sense and devote yourself to the cause. How disgustingly easy it is to lay all your hope on Luffy and truly believe in him.)

Even more, he hates how that blind faith is never proven wrong.

It would be an empty victory - one that would turn to endless endurance of the wrath of people who love and cherish Luffy.

He would end up hounded for the rest of his days, and there wouldn't be any solace or peace.

And it would be deserved.

Law grits his teeth and has to resist the urge to physically leave the conversation. It's his room, his own damn bed. He'll not stand the humiliation of yielding and giving up the space to someone else. No matter how mockingly Straw Hat tilts his head and waits for the answer.

It's a sick power play.

It has to be - one asking if a meaningless victory would be worth a lifetime of war —

"You could do that, right?" Luffy speaks, tone light and jubilant - curious, "With your devil fruit. You can do the thing where you move parts around!"

He bends Law's wrist, swishing it around in a poorly executed attempt of mimicking moves Law needs for drawing up a room. It's astonishing how Luffy is not even remotely close to getting the motion right despite seeing it hundreds of times at this point.

Despite that, Luffy grins at him proudly, tilting his head up to make eye contact.

"It's kinda cool that you can do that. I like my powers better - you're not that cool - but you're all right", Luffy continues to chat, "And! You like weird stuff like that! Seeing the int- intentes- the inside stuff! You get all nerdy-like when talking about med-stuff."

Luffy makes sure to gag out his tongue so Law knows exactly how boring he finds that notion.

But Law is still stuck on the first sentence. He's speechless enough to let Luffy blabber on.

"So since you like that kind of stuff, you'd definitely like to see it. My heart, if you forgot - you're kinda making a dumb face. I'll let you hold it, even. That'd be cool - you'd like that. Right?"

Luffy snickers, eagerly staring up at Law and waiting eyes ablaze for his excitement to catch on. His joy rings out like a gunshot, and Law feels his own heart squeeze painfully. His ears ring, and his throat constricts with the realization that the reckless trust Luffy puts in people includes, wholeheartedly and tenderly, him.

It's not a show of power - it never was, it never will be. Not in a way this world understands, anyway.

It's stronger than that: an innocent show of trust (and love - it's always about love, isn't it, in a way or another).

He should remind Straw Hat how easily he could kill him. Reminds him that this is an unnecessary risk. An absolutely lunatic offer.

He should try to talk some sense into him - what a funny notion that one…

Law wants to argue that the trust - all of it - is critically misplaced.

But all contentions die on his tongue when Luffy smiles at him, brightly and with too much teeth.

And selfishly, there's a grand part of him that wants to see it: the beating heart of the Pirate King.

A heart of a god - maybe, maybe not - held on his very own palm.

So instead of saying something, anything, Law makes a room, filling the bedroom with its faint blue glow and buzz. Everything enclosed inside the sphere becomes part of his cosmos; every single object a blip in his consciousness, ready to be manipulated and twisted to his will.

Blue light bathes them in a sepulchral gleam. It gives everything a sickly hue and turns the already clinically neat room into an eerily cold stage.

Straw Hat follows the sphere's edges with his eyes, head slanting like this is the first time he sees it. There's no worry or hesitation in him; his whole being at complete ease.

Giving Luffy a final look of are you sure, Law presses the tip of his index finger against the other's chest, a bit left of his sternum. The muscle is soft and warm, giving under the slight pressure when he presses firmer.

Straw Hat doesn't say anything - he just stares intently at Law's finger, almost giddy in excitement. As if this is going to be some party trick, a moment of light-hearted fun. Truly nothing to worry about.

Law can only marvel at the foolish recklessness the Pirate King lives by.

When it becomes clear Luffy won't back down, Law uses his fingers as a scalpel to draw out the lines of the heart. A prefect square, glowing blue against the warm brown skin. It highlights the serrated edge of the old scar, still discolored and contracted, even after all these years.

With an unnecessary hard whack to Straw Hat's back, the heart stumbles out into Law's waiting hand, safely encapsulated in a cube.

And just like that, easily so, Luffy hands out his heart. It's full of love and trust.

It's a brave, reckless thing. But not fragile - never that.

Like hope, it's made from brash grit and will. Beating crudely, undefeated, and boisterous. A beat that cannot be smothered or silenced. Free and full of joy.

Unfaltering in the silence.

Law lets go of the breath he was holding.

He tilts his palm, measuredly examining the heart entrusted to him.

Straw Hat's heart looks surprisingly normal, all things considered. The weight of it's normal. Same for the shape. Law counts the beats, builds the fluttering rhythm into an imaginary cardiac monitor.

The beat is off, but not by a lot. It's too loud. Encompassing and demanding, like the man it belongs to.

For one, mad moment, he thinks about pulling out his own heart as to compare the two. But no. He is not that demented yet, so he leaves his own organs be.

Holding this one —

"It looks kinda gross… All meaty - but not really in an appetizing way", Luffy cuts in.

The train of thought Law had escapes him with the pure ridiculousness that leaves Straw Hat's mouth. He opens and closes his mouth, and with an exasperated sigh, turns his attention towards the other man.

But when Law lifts his eyes from the heart, he almost fumbles and drops it. Luffy is leaning inappropriately close, nose almost grazing Law's. This close, his eyes are huge, wide with wonder as he marvels at his own heart.

"Watch it! You'll make me drop it!" Law hisses, having to move to cage his fingers around the heart when it jostles with the motion.

Luffy has the audacity to huh? at him.

Law makes a face and pulls away, putting some distance between them. He makes a shooing motion with his hand when Luffy tries to lean after him. The man will clearly never learn the meaning of personal space.

"I would be mildly alarmed if you found this appetizing", Law speaks dryly, rolling his eyes and re-steadying the heart to lie on his palm.

Luffy takes it in earnest; his brows draw into a concentrated frown while he nods, contemplating this like it's a serious matter. After a short moment, he shrugs and leans back onto his hands, lips still pursed in thought.

A gaping hole in his chest and no qualms about that.

"Don't worry, I think it would need to be cooked first. Sanji can make even gross stuff good. But like this… Dunno, maybe let's not eat it. "

Law contemplates whether it is worth it to explain to the King of the Pirates that eating your own heart shouldn't be up to dunno, maybe not. Or that doing that would, without a doubt, kill a person.

It would not be worth the headache, wouldn't it?

But a little demonstration…

Law squeezes his hand, fingers coiling tighter around the organ - not harshly, so as not to be too cruel.

Luffy squawks and gags, dramatically going to grab at his chest where his heart should be. He whines, giving Law the most betrayed, wet-cornered stare when the fingers loosen.

Still, notably, Luffy doesn't reach for his heart - doesn't try to take it from Law. He stares, hands crossed and face twisted into a comical pout.

Law grins, putting all his cattiness into the expression and huffing out a laugh at Luffy's indignant offense. With an eyeroll, he turns his eyes back towards the heart. It rests almost calmly, beat even but still too loud to be normal.

"You should be more careful”, Law echoes his earlier words, but now, holding the heart in his palm, he doesn't bring up the rest of the sentiment. He could - say it, do it… He does neither.

Luffy doesn't say anything to that.

The silence stretches, weightily so.

In his peripheral, Law can feel eyes poring into his side profile. The gaze prickles at his neck, but obstinately, Law refuses to turn his head. He tries to focus on the organ, watching the atriums contract in a strong rhythm.

It's no use. If one thing, Straw Hat won't stand being ignored.

There's a warm hand, demanding in the way it boldly grabs a hold of Law's wrist.

"What?" Law asks, voice clipped, letting the uncomfortable silence power his annoyance.

It's a weak cover, one that instantly wanes when he turns to meet Luffy's eyes. They're warm and earnest in a way only large, brown doe-eyes can be.

"I will be careful - I won't die", Luffy says, with such conviction that it sounds like a fact. (Not a flimsy promise - not an echo of I won't leave you alone.)

Law frowns, shoulders drawing tense. He has to mentally stop himself from squeezing his hand again.

Luffy just smiles like the sun - too bright and blinding.

He tugs at Law's wrist, gently asking him to turn so they'll be face-to-face. Law goes with only marginal resistance. He follows along when Luffy grabs his other wrist, bringing them together so all their hands are cupped around the heart.

He is almost reverent in the way he strokes along the back of Law's hands. His hands are hot, and his skin rough. The grip is firm and graceless, as always, but surprisingly gentle when it needs to be.

"See? I knew you'd hold it nicely", Luffy says, and his voice is devastatingly soft. The kind of calm, almost raspy whisper that leaves no doubts about the sincerity of it all. It's spoken from the heart, tenderly so, with no traces of mockery.

To be spiteful, Law contemplates wringing his hands around the heart and squeezing the ever-loving-shit out of Luffy.

But the heart beats, unafraid and adoring.

Everything so cruelly tender.

So instead, Law guides their joined hands, lifting them against Luffy's chest. He doesn't look the other man in the eyes when he pushes the heart into its rightful place. It slots perfectly, the cube seamlessly blending back into the flesh. The blue glow dissipates and then disappears completely when he closes the room, enshrouding them in dimness again.

His hand stays resting against the warm chest, still feeling the heartbeat.

Luffy snickers.

"You don't gotta worry about me", he says, and Law can hear the smile in his voice - can see the carefree, but all too fond expression, even without looking.

Law huffs.

"Who says I'm worried about you?" he asks, snidely using his thumbs to dig against the hollow next to Luffy's deltoid, pressing down on the tendon.

Luffy squawks and rears back, overly dramatically for the amount of pain Law is capable of causing him. He escapes the doctor's bony fingers, protectively clutching his hands over his chest, fingers stuffed into his armpits. For good measure, he lifts his leg, ready to kick Law in the face if a pursuit ensues. A worn-out sandal tangles loosely from his toe —

"Are you wearing shoes to my bed?!"