IX
" is it okay if I stay this close to you? "
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WITH WEIGHTLESS, QUICK STEPS and sparkles of anticipation carrying his heart, Luffy ran over the soft ground of the forest, heading for the treeless spot near the cliff.
The sun had already set and the first stars appeared on the dark canvas above him, the sight making him slow down a little to admire it.
While he was mesmerized by the stars, the soft grass and soil beneath his bare feet made him feel more connected with the earth and he enjoyed Rayleigh's advice to walk barefoot as often as possible more and more.
The old pirate had told him that connecting with nature would be a help to increase the connection with himself and his instincts, which in return would help him to control his Haki.
But the training of his powers was pushed to a further corner of his brain when he headed down the cliff towards the water, hissed a little when his toes hit sharp stones and eventually pulled himself towards the deck of the Polar Tang.
Upon landing on the wooden planks, he lost his balance a little and stumbled to the side, before he fell on his behind and let out a groan.
He still wasn't back in shape and every time he used his powers, it was a strain for his body, something that bothered him way more than he'd like to admit.
“Need some help?”
When he looked up, he saw Shachi standing above him and he grinned at the Heart pirate, who held out one hand for him, while the other one held a cigarette.
“Ah, thanks, it still is a little bit too much for my body to use my regular attacks.” Luffy responded and allowed him to pull him to his feet.
“How do you feel? Was your sleep better last night?”
Luffy's smile weakened a little when he heard Shachi's question and he nervously kneaded his fingers.
“I actually don't know how I feel. I'm sorry for what happened two nights ago and I'm really trying to stop these thoughts but... it's pretty hard.”
He wasn't sure which reaction he had expected, but relief washed through him when Shachi rose a hand and tousled his black hair.
“Take the time you need. And don't worry about it, if you sleep walk again or have a meltdown, we are there. And if you need a punching bag, we'll sacrifice ourselves for that as well.”
With a smile, Luffy looked up at him.
“Thanks. Seriously, y'all are so nice to me and I'm not even sure if I deserve it.”
Shachi grinned and took a deep breath from his cigarette.
“We are helping you because we like you, every single one of us. And even though it was surprising for all of us, Law seems to be the one who likes you most. I have never seen him so dedicated to help someone.”
Luffy wasn't sure why, but he felt his heart skip a beat. For a weird reason, it made him happy to know that Law really cared about him and wasn't just doing his job.
Deep in his thoughts, he barely noticed how Shachi threw his cigarette over the railing and then showed him to follow him inside.
Only when Shachi started walking over the planks, he got out of his trance and moved his legs.
The hallway of the submarine was enlightened by the light bulbs on the ceiling and Luffy felt a little jump in his step when Shachi led him past the group room and kitchen, where the Heart pirates ate in most cases.
They walked deeper into the ship, the opposite direction of the room Luffy had slept in and headed right towards the door at the end of the hallway.
Shachi stopped in front of it and knocked twice against the thick metal, waiting for a muffled “Yeah?” from behind before he pushed down the handle.
As the door opened, the room was revealed and with him Law, who sat only a few feet away at his desk, a book opened in front of him and a pen in his hand.
“Oh, hey. Thanks for bringing him over, Shachi.”
The other pirate grinned.
“No problem, I'll leave you to it.”
He turned his body to the side and allowed Luffy to step into the room.
“Hope you'll have a better sleep tonight, Luffy.”
Luffy smiled at him and nodded, then he turned his gaze back towards the room, not even looking at Law. To see a new area of the submarine was more interesting to him at the moment and he couldn't help but let his eyes wander around the books stacked everywhere.
Law's cabin wasn't very special or heavily decorated. Instead, it was very clean and organized.
And curious as he was, Luffy immediately started looking around.
“Woooah, this is your room? I would never be able to keep my bedroom so organized. Sanji and Usopp always complain that my hoodies and shirts are lying around.”
“Doesn't surprise me.” he heard Law mumble and Luffy's smile grew a little as he strolled through the room, looked at books standing in shelves, let his gaze trail over the desk and eventually stopped in front of the bullseye.
Since the polar tang was a submarine, it was obvious that the windows were beneath the water surface and it wasn't the first time Luffy saw something like that.
But he was so fascinated by the dark sea staring back at him through the thick glass that he barely noticed Law stepping behind him.
“Do you want to go to bed? I'm pretty tired and I think it would be good to create a healthy sleeping cycle for you.”
With a smile, Luffy nodded and turned towards him, following his gaze when he pointed at the bed a few feet next to them.
“I brought in extra pillows and another blanket. I'm not a big fan of sleeping with someone in the same bed, but in your case, I'll make an exception.”
Luffy smiled widely and looked at the bed and the amount of pillows on it. It wasn't the largest, but beared enough space for two people.
It was so different from the rooms they had on the sunny and he couldn't resist to make a few quick steps towards the bed and eventually throw himself onto the mattress.
“It's so soft! I have never been on such a perfect bed!”
With an excited expression, he rose to his knees and started bouncing on the mattress, sparkling eyes raising their gaze towards Law.
The surgeon watched him for a second, then, he walked towards his dresser and took off his hoodie.
“I designed it to be as comfortable as possible for the spine. I take enough damage during fights, I don't want to be bothered with back problems as well.”
Luffy observed how he put his hoodie on a hook inside the wardrobe and wrapped his arms around one of the pillows.
He nuzzled his nose in the soft cushion and inhaled a part of Law's scent that hung in it.
“Full on doctor mode, huh?” he mumbled, before he allowed his eyes to trail over the tattoos on said doctor's back.
The ink forming the Heart Pirates' jolly roger spread on Law's back muscles and Luffy watched those muscles tense when the surgeon put on a large T-shirt.
“There are two sleeping pills on the nightstand, if you take them, it gets easier to fall asleep. And if you need something else, you can simply wake me. I have a light sleep.”
Law's voice broke Luffy's train of thoughts and when he turned around to walk towards the bed, the teen looked towards the nightstand, clutching the pillow harder between his arms.
When Law sat down, the mattress sunk beneath his weight, making Luffy look at him again.
He held out a hand for him and Luffy noticed the shirt he held between his fingers.
“You can wear this tonight.”
For a moment, Luffy only stared at the textile between the other man's fingers and the thought to wear Law's shirt for the entire night made his stomach buzz.
Eventually, he took the T-Shirt and got out of his own shirt and shorts, while Law picked up a bottle of water from next to the bed and the pills from the nightstand.
Luffy swallowed both of them and gushed them down with the sparkling water, before he moved further towards the left side of the bed.
The sheets and blankets were soft and comfortable, making it easy for him to snuggle inside completely and he observed Law as he got beneath his own blanket.
As soon as both were comfortable, their eyes met right inside the silence between them and Luffy felt a little shiver in his stomach as he realized how tensed this situation was.
Law seemed to feel it too and he cleared his throat before he closed both his eyes, snuggling deeper into the pillow beneath his head.
“As I said, just wake me when something is wrong.”
Luffy nodded, even though he knew Law couldn't see it.
After another episode of silence, he let out a low “Good night, Torao.” and didn't even expect to hear something in return.
But after a few seconds had passed, he heard a mumbled “I hope you sleep well, Mugiwara-ya,” and he hid his smile by turning on his stomach and burying his face in the soft textile of the pillow.
The slight sounds of the sea outside helped him to get comfortable and after a few minutes, he noticed how calm Law's breathing got.
The sound gave him comfort and when he closed his eyes, it reminded him of sleeping on the Sunny with the others.
A smile appeared on his lips when he recalled Zoro's low snoring, Usopp's little mumbles, the sound of someone turning in one of the hanging beds, Sanji mumbling nonsense about Nami and Robin or Chopper letting out cute sounds while he was sleeping.
The feeling of not being alone comforted him enough to make it possible to endure the darkness behind his eyelids and within a few minutes, he managed to fall asleep.
Yet the thoughts of his friends weren't strong enough to keep away the darkness in his mind and soon enough, he was dragged down into a spiral of his dreams.
Once more, he was running through Marineford, past corpses, blood, surrounded by darkness and hopelessness.
And then he saw it once more, Akainu's arm, coated in magma, piercing through Ace' back, blood and fire pouring to the ground, the smell of burned flesh pestering the air around.
Luffy heard himself screaming, over and over, yet no matter how fast he ran, no matter how much he stretched his arm to reach out, Ace was too far away from him.
Yet still, he saw the painful expression on his brother's face, the tears in his eyes, the blood pouring from his mouth.
And he heard his words loud and clear as he asked “Why? Luffy... why?”
Luffy screamed until his vocal chords dared to burst, the lines between reality and dream blurring as he thrashed around in the bed inside Law's room.
He wavered between sleep and waking and couldn't get out of this space, until he felt a hand on his shoulder and was shook to real life.
Gasping for air and sitting up in the bed, a scream of Ace' name still on his lips. the world turned around him for a moment. He wasn't sure where he was, what time it was or if this was another dream.
The only thing he saw when he looked up was Law's face, calm, golden eyes filled with concern.
And those eyes were the only anchor he had at that moment.
“It's okay, it was just a dream. You're safe.”
Breathing hard and feeling tears and sweat on his skin, Luffy hurled his body forward, running his fingers through his hair as tears burned in his eyes.
The comfort he had felt upon falling asleep had vanished completely, had been swallowed by darkness and terror.
“It always feels so real. I can hear and smell everything.” he said with a broken voice, feeling Law's hand gently rub his bandaged shoulders.
His insides shivered along with his skin and he tried to get a hold of it, tried to calm the storm of panic that took his air to breathe.
“Is there something that helps you sleep after a nightmare?”
Law's voice was like medicine for his feelings and still gasping for air, Luffy looked up at him through blurry eyes. He wiped his face and tried to swallow the tears when he cleared his throat to answer.
“When someone has a nightmare, Chopper often notices and asks to cuddle. Even though in most cases, it's him who had a nightmare and wants to cuddle.” he sniffed and felt a smile tug at his lips as he remembered his friends.
But as he recalled dozens of memories, the short joy in his heart was swallowed by pain and he let out another sob.
“I miss them so much.” he said and buried his face in his shaking hands.
In the depths of his breakdown, he didn't notice how Law debated with himself for a moment, tried to decide what to do in this situation.
Eventually, he stretched an arm and rested his hand on the strawhat's head, gently tousling his black hair.
“Do you want a hug?”
He was sure that he had never asked such a question and when Luffy looked at him, he saw a trace of surprise on his tear stained face.
“Yes, I can be an empathetic person if I want to, no need to be so surprised.” he thought to himself in a sarcastic tone, but didn't let it slip past his lips.
Yet the silence around them didn't help him to feel any less ridiculous.
“So, now you want to cuddle?” Luffy asked and immediately made Law shake his head.
“No! I mean- I just want to help you calm do-”
He had barely stopped talking when Luffy rose his body and wrapped his arms around him, still sniffing and pressing his lips together to hold back his tears.
Law was a little overwhelmed by the sudden contact of their bodies and with a slow movement, he wrapped his arms around him as well, just holding him and allowing him to catch his breath as he leaned against him.
“You smell so nice.” he heard the teen mumble into the textile of his shirt and probably without thinking much more about it, he pressed his face harder against Law's chest, making the surgeon stare at him as he tried to ignore the heat that spread in his cheeks.
After a few moments, he managed to relax and allowed his hand to run over the teen's back, trying to soothe him a little.
“Can we stay like this for a while?”
Luffys voice was low and hesitant, but Law didn't mind. He nodded, holding the younger man a little tighter in his arms.
It had been a while since Law had been arm in arm with somebody. When he slept with someone, he never spent the night, never dared to create any emotional bond.
But even though he'd never admit it, it felt nice to feel the warmth of another person, to feel Luffy's heartbeat against his own chest and the teen's hair between his fingers as he caressed his scalp.
“Is it a little better?” he asked after moments of comfortable silence had spread between them, his fingers still trailing through Luffy's hair.
“You're so warm.” the younger pirate mumbled, making a smile tug at Law's lips.
“Told you the warmth of someone else helps.” he whispered and the more he caressed his scalp, the stronger got the urge to push a kiss against Luffy's forehead.
Yet before he could turn that insane thought into action, he heard a sniff from the strawhat and only a second later, felt how he pulled back from his body.
“It's better now, thanks.”
Luffy smiled, even though his eyes were still full of tears and Law wanted to pull him back into his arms, wanted to give him all the comfort an emotional wrack like him had to spare.
The younger pirate got back beneath his blanket and Law wasn't sure what else to do, so he did the same.
“Is it okay if I stay this close to you? I don't want to bother you too much.”
Upon hearing Luffy's low voice, Law looked down at him and his heart fluttered when he found those dark eyes surrounded by long lashes looking straight at him.
And he wasn't sure why he did it, but before Law was able to hold himself back, he rose a hand to ruffle Luffy's black, messy hair once more.
“Sure, I don't mind.” he said as he pulled his hand back beneath the blanket, immediately missing the soft strands beneath his fingertips.
Actually, he did mind. At least usually. But in this case, Luffy could have wrapped his arms around him the entire time and it wouldn't have been a problem for him.
So they both stayed as they were, rather close together, so close that they could've taken each other's hand, could've caressed each other's cheek.
To ban the thought of actually doing that from his mind, Law quickly closed his eyes and tried to doze back off to sleep.
Yet even though both of his eyes were closed again, he still felt the other pirate looking at him, as if he was debating with himself if he wanted to ask another thing.
Then, he eventually felt him shuffling around in the sheets to get into a comfortable position and it got silent again, until three very quiet words left Luffy's lips.
“Thank you, Torao.”
Once more, Law's heart fluttered at the ridiculous nickname and his cheeks felt disgustingly warm.
“Not for this.” he simply answered and pushed his face into his pillow, trying to doze off as fast as possible to get rid of that weird feeling.
Silence spread between them again and thankfully, Law seemed to get closer and closer to sleep with each minute that passed.
His breath slowed down and his chest rose and sunk with a calm rhythm, while he listened to Luffy's breathing getting in a similar pace.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but somewhen, he felt Luffy moving. At first, the thought he just wanted to turn around, but instead, he felt the strawhat getting closer towards him.
And before he knew what was happening, Luffy's hand suddenly rested on his, almost making him flinch.
Law felt his heart start to race, but he kept quiet and still, the shock making it impossible to move.
Luffy's fingers lightly trailed over the back of his hand, probably testing if he would wake up. When he was sure Law was asleep, he moved even closer and then gently took his hand, their warm fingers intertwining.
Inside Law's head, chaos erupted, his thoughts running wild when he felt Luffy's thumb caressing the back of his hand.
While his messy feelings almost made him scream and made it hard for him to keep a rational thought, Luffy fell asleep right next to him and after a few minutes of listening to the younger pirate's calm breathing, Law opened one of his eyes to look at his face.
Peacefully closed eyes, lightly parted lips and calm breathing. He hoped that this time, he would be able to sleep without nightmares.
With a smile tugging at his lips, Law gently caressed Luffy's indexfinger with his thumb, squeezing his hand a little, like he had done it so often during the strawhat's unconsciousness in his infirmary room.
He couldn't control himself when he moved a little bit closer towards him, calm, golden eyes resting on the peaceful face as he leaned his nose against the large pillow beneath Luffy's head, his sweet smell bewitching him and accompanying him as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
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a/n: i'm so sorry for putting that gif but i just love the artstyle in 3D2Y