Chapter Text
Law had to remind himself that he had joined this gym to keep himself fit. To give himself an outlet after his shifts. Not to develop a crush on a guy that was just as crazy as he was to be working out at this hour.
The hospital had him on odd hours, he preferred it honestly. It gave him an excuse to back out of social events and the odd family dinner his parents tried to force him to join. He was never in the mood for any of their lectures.
He had found the gym, The Iron Beetle, on his daily walks from the hospital back to his apartment while his motorcycle was still in the shop. Despite the dark streets and low lamp lights, the gym had been warmly lit and had one occupant inside on the treadmill as well as a bored looking receptionist flipping through a magazine.
The soft blue sign blinking 'Open 24/7' had caught his eye and he had stepped inside without thinking twice.
The red head at the counter had perked up when the door dinged behind him, he could have sworn he had seen beri signs in her eyes when he signed up for a life-time membership. His sister would probably say that it wasn't worth the price, but he had gotten his own locker and there weren't many gyms in Dawn City that were open at this hour, even in his area.
He didn't get in a workout that night, only got a tour and subtle glances at the other occupant blasting music from his earbuds as he benched nearly 200 pounds without breaking a sweat. He tried not to glance at the budging biceps more than once. From that night on, he kept pair of gym clothes with him on his shifts and went to the gym nearly every night.
The oddest people seemed to float in and out of the place; a blonde smoking a cigarette and constantly flirting with the receptionist, Nami he later learned after she introduced herself to try and sell a drink membership to him. He would take it to his grave the fact that his wallet had been a hundred beri lighter that day.
There was an eccentric couple, a woman that had the eyes of someone that knew too much and bored into your very soul and a man that Law thought he had seen in his mechanic's shop. They never stayed for long but the man always seemed to come to fix something when they did come through the door.
There was a green haired man that carried three swords at his hip and would beeline for the man with earbuds to challenge him to a bench off.
The man with the earbuds was there every day, it didn't matter what time Law came in, he was already there working out in some capacity. He had only learned his name because everyone that came in seemed to know him and would shout for him as soon as they walked in; Luffy.
Law wasn't quite sure what to make of him. He seemed to be a walking contradiction. He knew the man was strong, had stamina beyond what a normal human should have, and he had scars that he couldn't place the origin of. But he had a sunny smile and a laugh that made him feel like the sun had risen even in the middle of the night, he could hold a cheerful conversation with ease even with his earbuds firmly in both of his ears.
Despite how loud he was when any of his friends came in, Law knew he had a quiet side to him as well. It happened when they were the only ones in the gym, Nami having taken the night off or left as soon as Law stepped inside, no one else showed up after him. He hated to admit it, but he craved those nights the most.
They didn't talk, it was the only times that Law had seen Luffy not talking, but he somehow felt that he needed it. Needed someone to just be there and not try to fill the silence. Law was happy to comply. At the end of a long evening shift at the hospital, after dealing with patients, nurses, and supervisors, Law had run out of words by the time he was walking into the Iron Beetle.
One night changed all of that.
Law scrubs a hand down his face as he walks into the night air, the hospital doors closing softly behind him as he takes a step into the brightly lit overhang. There's a sound of an ambulance in the distance and a gang of nurses huddled in the smoking zone, even from where he's standing he can smell the cigarette smoke mixed with the odd flavors of vape.
He turns down the sidewalk before any of them can spot him and try to wave him closer, he was ticked off by more than one of them already.
He pulls his phone of out of his pocket when it buzzes, only to shove it back in at the sight of his sister's message on the screen.
Lami: Mom and Dad have been worried, are you sure you should be working today?
Law scoffs to himself, flexing his hand around the strap of his backpack, typical of them to only show concern on today of all days and to use his sister as a carrier pigeon instead of asking themselves. He'll have to apologize to her tomorrow for ignoring her but he wasn't in the mood to play their games tonight.
He tries not to let the memories of that day creep into the forefront of his mind. It was ten years ago to the day, he should be over it by now. But he supposed no one forgot the first patient they lost on the operating table. The image of that little boy with his face half blown off would haunt him for the rest of his life. He wondered if either of his successful surgeon parents could say the same.
There's a new face at the counter when Law steps inside, a freckled faced man that's frowning at Luffy sitting on the counter, also an unusual sight. The man blinks in surprise as Law approaches the counter and scans his I.D. on the keypad.
"I didn't realize anyone came this late," the man mutters, stopping Law in his tracks before he can head to the locker rooms. "You can't be staying open for one person, Luffy."
Luffy glares at the man, sliding off the counter, his gaze softening as he looks at Law's questioning gaze, "Don't mind him, Ace is just being an asshole to day."
"Luffy," Ace says in a warning tone only to sigh in defeat when Luffy ignores him and heads into the gym without another word; the music in his earbuds getting audibly louder. Ace throws his hands in the air, "Well I tried, Nami left a note that said when you came in I could leave if I wanted to. Said that you weren't going to steal from the fridge or murder my little brother, can I trust that?"
Law raises his eyebrow at him, pulling his medical badge out of his pocket to show him, "I don't wear these scrubs as a fashion statement, I'm an ER Doctor at Rosinante Hospital and Nami-ya already knows that I pay enough to take what I want from the fridge."
Ace snorts up a short laugh, his face only flickering out of his serious expression, "What doctor comes at two in the morning for a workout after his shift?"
"This one," Law says shortly, shoving his badge back into his pocket and heading straight to the locker room without another word. When he steps out in his yellow sweats and white tank-top, Ace is no longer at the counter and Luffy has already begun his boxing routine.
Law sighs in relief and heads for the mats across the room, taking note of Luffy's stiff back and sloppy form. He wonders if the young man's thoughts are on his brother and whatever the two were arguing about, he tells himself firmly that he shouldn't get himself involved. It wasn't his place, he wouldn't exactly call himself friends with Luffy.
But he can't help himself from glancing more than a few times at Luffy beating away at the punching bag as he goes through his stretches. He keeps telling himself to leave it alone but then he spots it as the white bag spins slightly. Blood.
Law is on his feet before he can think, vaulting over the small wall dividing the spaces of the gym and skidding over to Luffy's side to snatch his wrists into his hands.
"You are supposed to wear fucking wraps for a reason!" Law barks, holding fast when Luffy jerks in surprise and stares at him with wide eyes. He bites his tongue to hold back his fiery temper as he looks at the state of Luffy's knuckles, blood already close to dripping on the floor as it mixes with his sweat.
Not wanting to have the blood drip across the entire gym, Law yanks his tank off and tears it in two to wrap Luffy's hands. He doesn't hear the audible gulp that Luffy's gives as he takes his wrist once more and starts pulling him towards the locker rooms, "Come on, I've got spare medical supplies in my bag. You better hope that you don't need stitches because I do not want to be going back to work after just leaving it."
Law pretends he doesn't hear the protests that Luffy starts muttering as he makes him sit down on the locker room bench and pulls his backpack out, he unzips it and starts grabbing the supplies he needs and setting them down on the bench. He's actually quite pleased with himself for all that he's pack-ratted over the years, everything that he would need to patch Luffy up is right there inside.
He straddles the bench and pulls Luffy's hands to him once more, sighing softly at the sight of blood seeping through the tank top material before he peels it away to get a better look.
"Stop complaining and let me work," Law mutters, picking up a pair of tweezers and the bag of cotton balls to clean up the blood and start applying some antiseptic. "What were you even thinking?"
"I wasn't," Luffy mutters, his shoulders slumping when Law shoots him a look, his hands going slack in Law's.
"Clearly," Law states, setting the soiled cotton balls on top of the ruined tank tatters and picking up the bandages to start wrapping his hands. "You're lucky, you won't need stitches, but if I hadn't stopped you when I did, you would have."
Luffy grunts, spreading his fingers so Law can weave the bandage through them, "Ace isn't going to be happy when he hears about this."
Law hums in agreement, setting the one hand aside so he can work on the other one, "I've never seen him around before, unless he comes during the day."
Luffy nods slowly, jerking his head to the side then huffing in irritation when Law stops him from moving his bandaged hand.
"What are you doing?" Law asks in confusion, blinking at the puffed and red cheeks.
"I can't get my earbuds out," Luffy grumbles, shaking his head to the side again but more violently. "I want to talk to you without the background noise."
Law chuckles softly, reaching over and gently tugging the earbuds out of Luffy's ears, letting them fall into his lap, the music now silent. "Better?"
Luffy blinks then grins, "Yes, thank you, Torao."
Law blinks at the nickname but shakes his head as he turns back to bandaging Luffy's hand, "So, your brother? New addition or old?"
Luffy snorts, his shoulders shaking as he tries to hold in his laughter and keep his hand still, "Ace likes to come very early in the morning, usually when Torao has already left. He helped me get this place started."
"That was nice of him," Law murmurs, threading the bandage around Luffy's ring finger. "What made him come so late today?"
Luffy deflates at once, his hand twitching in Law's gentle fingers, "Today… today is not a good day… it holds a lot of bad memories for us."
Law nods, giving his wrist a brief squeeze before returning to his wrapping, "I understand, today isn't a good day for me either."
Luffy's eyes shine with sympathy, "Did Torao loose someone too?"
Law's hands freeze for a moment before he finishes the wrapping and looks into Luffy's warm brown eyes, he nods slowly, swallowing harshly. "I did, a patient. It was the first time I had someone… pass on my table. I'll never forget him or forgive myself for not being able to save him."
"Why do you blame yourself?" Luffy asks, his hand staying in Law's even when he's done working, maybe he can't bring himself to break the connection either.
Law sighs, "That's more complicated to explain. In reality, there's nothing more I could have done, I did everything that I could. But I can't stop myself from thinking of the what ifs. If I had been more skilled as a doctor. If I had been faster in stopping the bleeding. If… If… If… The loop, it never ends."
Luffy nods, "I know what you mean, I can't help but think if I had stopped him that day, or said the right thing to his father, then he wouldn't have left and he's still be… well… Ace says I need to listen to the therapist about this stuff. Says after ten years I should… let it go."
Law shakes his head, giving Luffy's wrist a gentle squeeze, "Grief doesn't work that way, your brother should understand that. Everyone grieves differently and there's no set timeline for it. The patient I lost was also ten years ago, so I understand holding that grief for longer than most people are comfortable with."
Luffy blinks slowly, tilting his head to the side as something flicker in his eyes, he places his other bandaged hand on top of Law's, holding his gaze when he scrunches his brow at him. "What was the name of the patient you lost, Torao?"
Law bites his lip, "I didn't hear his last name but… his name was Sabo. He was ten years old."
Luffy swallows, his eyes becoming misty, "His name was Monkey D. Sabo and he was my brother."