One Piece One Shots

Life and Death [Law x Reader]

Notes:
-Requested by @Kittenlover634
-Major spoilers; recommended to get up to at least timeskip.

<<>>

You thought things couldn't get worse when you got separated from your crew in Sabaody. The crew that you had grown to love and trust, the crew your brother had brought together.

You thought things couldn't get worse when you found out your other brother was about to be executed. You were already so far away, you were afraid you weren't going to make it to him in time.

You thought things couldn't be worse when a hole was punched into said brother, his Vivre card turning into ash as you could only watch.

But no, Life had to break you down, further and further, Death ready to take all your brothers away from you—Sabo, Ace, Luffy.

<•>

Law took off his plastic gloves and lowered his mask, letting out a deep sigh. His patients were treated and the submarine was far and away from Marineford.

Jinbe was easy; he had relatively minor injuries. You and Luffy, however, was a different story.

He looked over the Straw Hat captain's wounded body. He was okay physically for now, but mentally, Law doubted he'd recover easily. You were also in a... state. He had heard your voice a couple of times but couldn't make out what you were saying. He couldn't tell if you were talking to someone or yourself, either. He hadn't seen you since he'd attempted to treat you—you had insisted that he focused on Luffy first.

He lifted his mask back over his nose, grabbing another pair of gloves. Time to work on you now, then.

"Penguin, Shachi," Law called. The two appeared almost immediately, despite how busy it had been the past few hours. "Where's [Y/N]?"

They glanced at each other briefly before directing him to one of the extra rooms in the submarine.

"They've been in there for a while now," Shachi said. "We've tried giving them some food and water but they didn't want it."

Law nodded with a frustrated sigh, then knocked on the door despite it being his own submarine. When he didn't get an answer, he opened the door regardless.

"[Y/N]-ya." He spotted you curled up on the bed, staring at the wall. Your head immediately snapped to him when you heard him. He looked over body, taking note of the wounds you were ignoring and your darkened eyes.

"Just bring the supplies over," Law said shortly to Penguin. He waved them off, deciding your wounds weren't too severe and some bandages would be enough. Plus, you probably wouldn't want too many people coming in here, if at all, unless there were good news about Luffy's condition. Which, he kind of did have.

"How is Luffy?" you asked, as he expected.

"He's still unconscious, but he's stable for now." Law grabbed the first-aid kit from Penguin, who left just as quickly as he'd returned. "Do you want to see him?"

Your eyes seemed to light up for a second before your turned your head away from him, biting your lower lip.

"No?" Law huffed, bringing a chair up next to you. Upon closer inspection, he spotted some burns and bruises, most likely from magma or accidental friendly-fire, literally, and bludgeoning attacks. He used his powers to swap some bandaids with some ointment and swabs.

"I don't want to see my brother die," you forced out.

"He's not going to die," Law retorted, offended by your words. "Who do you think I am?"

You said nothing, which bothered him even more. Regardless, you were his patient, a Straw Hat, and apparently the Straw Hat captain's sibling, so he donned the gloves and treated you.

You quietly sat up and let him apply the different ointment to your burns and bruises, barely wincing as you stared off into nothing. Law worked quickly, wrapping bandages over them after that and making sure you still had circulation. Lastly, he repacked the materials into the kit and threw out the swabs, barely a glance towards you directly.

Just as he stood from his chair and discarded his gloves and mask, you finally spoke up. "Thanks. Sorry."

Law grunted in acknowledgment. Thanks for the treatment, sorry for the doubt. He knew you still needed some time to mentally recover. He didn't hold anything against you. In fact, he could see you struggling to hold back tears. He didn't need to make it worse.

"I'll fix him," Law reassured. Sighing, he sat back down. "Just focus on yourself. You won't lose your brother."

"Not just my brother," you murmured. "My last brother. First it was Sabo, now Ace, and almost Luffy. Life just hates me, huh? Or life loves me, and death loves them. Who the fuck knows."

You were rambling now, and Law could barely make out what you were saying, much less understand it, but he listened. It was a nice break from his work.

"How long have you been together?" Law asked, more to pass time by making your mumbling more coherent than actual curiosity.

"A... long time now. Since we were 10?" You stared off into the distance again. "I looked up to all of them, as stupid as they are... were."

Law frowned at you, your eyes unblinking, as if trying hard not to cry. He ran his fingers through his hair, not sure what to say. Readjusting his hat, he sighed again. "It's okay to cry, you know. It's better for you, anyway."

And just like that, you let a tear drop. You hid your face in your arms, shaking a bit. "I'm just... I'm scared that death will take everyone I love away. And their deaths will be all my fault. I should've been earlier. I should've saved Ace. I should've helped Luffy. I...."

You fell again into incoherent mumbling, choking on sobs.

Law felt a strange pull in his chest, reminded of himself and when Rosinante died. He'd cried and cried, and in the end the pain was still there, but at least the tears helped wash away some of that pain.

"It's not your fault," he murmured. "And again, Luffy will not die."

You were scared, he knew. Who wouldn't be? He slowly touched your arm, an awkward attempt to comfort you.

He wasn't the best at consoling people, but at least it seemed like he helped at least a little as you raised your head to look at him with teary eyes.

"Thank you," you murmured, still not moving, but at least you stopped trembling a little.

"I'm the Surgeon the Death," he continued. He gave you a reassuring smile. He won't be helping the Straw Hat Captain just for his own plans, but for you now. "And I promise you, Death will not take him. In a way, I control life and death."