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Law had never been a particularly religious man.
Even in his childhood, led weekly into the pristine white walls of the Flevance Cathedral, he found the repetitive clicking of the rosary more soothing than the idea of an omnipresent being watching his every move.
Still as an adult his fingers often reached for the wooden beads around his neck, having restrung it more times than he bothered to keep track of. Unsure who he was praying to when he closed his eyes and asked for forgiveness; Corazon, his parents, or maybe an amalgamation of the ghosts that haunted his every move, it didnt stop him from kneeling in the dark corner of his bedroom and begging.
His lips were moving before his brain could catch up, fingers gripping the crucifix into the palm of his hand. It broke the skin but he didn't seem to notice.
His golden eyes were fixated on the figure taking up the entire night sky. It was Luffy, his Luffy.
But at the same time, he was so much more.
His body had grown to stretch across as far as he could see, hair and eyes glowing a bright white.
Law felt a pang in his chest at the remembrance of the pristine cathedral, stumbling backwards into the brick wall behind him. Sliding down, he felt his knees hit the rocky ground below him, unable to tear his eyes away from what he was witnessing.
The light in his eyes faded and once again he could see the violet he assumed would bathe the skies of heaven.
“Joyboy,” he whispered, either stating the obvious of what was in front of him, or beginning his prayer, he wasnt sure. “Nika. Luffy.”
His heart rocked against his ribcage in a desperate plea to escape, unable to bear the weight of the Sun God's full gaze.
“Is this the end?” Law's voice was shaking, tears beginning to drip down bruised and battered cheeks. Having struggled enough with the idea of being worthy of even living, let alone allowing Luffy to love him, he wished for a brief moment that death would take him so that he didn't have to face the feeling of being unworthy of loving a God.
Both hands clasped around his crucifix, he found himself doubled over in the rubble of Onigashima, sobs shaking his thin frame. “Don't take another love away from me.”
A few moments passed and Law couldn't find the ability to breathe, forehead pressed painfully into the rocky ground.
A sudden wave of calm and his eyes opened slowly, as if they didn't believe they would still see earth around him. Lifting his head until he was able to see Luffy's face in the night sky once again, he realized the man was staring right at him.
Round, violet eyes and a bright grin, he nodded down to the man below, both hands holding his stomach as he erupted in laughter. Grabbing at his straw hat, he threw his arm back dramatically in an exaggerated pitch before sending his hand across the length of the battlefield, landing atop Law's white hair with a surprisingly gentle shove.
Law could hear his bright laughter in his head, quickly reaching up to hold onto both sides of the precious treasure.
“Traffy will keep it safe.”
Using every ounce of control he still had, Law pulled in a deep breath, nodding up to him.
The fear was not gone. He still wanted to throw up, needed to scream and evoke the spirit of Roscinante to protect him like he did before, but something greater was washing over that.
Love.
Luffy loved him. Unconditionally, loudly, sacredly. Despite his hatred of himself, or his constant attempts at suicidal missions, Luffy refused to back down. Even now, even in the state of a God, he found the man on his knees in the rubble of a war, blood dripping from the cross in his palm and told him you are loved.
Loved, even by a God.