Chapter 16:
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A loud cheer erupted from the room as everyone around them was filled with joy. Hawkins slid the ring onto Luffy's finger and began to cheer with the rest of the people in the room. Sanji ran over to Luffy, picked him up, and swung the shorter man around like a rag doll. Luffy was beaming with joy as Sanji placed him down, still laughing and smiling, his heart filled with the love and happiness of those around him.
"I'm so happy for you!" Sanji exclaimed.
Luffy's smile shrank into a forced smile as he spoke to his longtime friend. "Thanks..."
They stayed at the restaurant for a few more hours until everyone got drunk and was forced to go home. Everyone left the Baratie drunk and euphoric, all except Luffy. Luffy couldn't explain why he wasn't feeling overly excited; he's the one who was now engaged. In a way, he didn't want to get married; he felt as though he wanted to wait for a few more years, maybe 4. "Hawkins isn't the problem," he kept telling himself. But Luffy wasn't sure why he was hesitating to accept this new chapter in his life.
When the newly engaged couple arrived home, one fell asleep on the couch while the other stood in the kitchen holding a wine glass and a bottle of wine and contemplating their new situation . Just as he poured the alcoholic drink into the glass, a thought crossed his mind. The thought included him spending time with his ex at the abandoned apartment, which his ex brought him to on their first date. He suddenly realized why he was hesitating—it wasn't only about his new commitment to marriage but also his commitment to closure from his previous relationship.
The thought of him escaping the engagement to be in the arms of his previous lover made Luffy feel dirty . Of course he loved Hawkins, but he couldn't cope with the fact that he only wanted to have sex when they got married; it drove Luffy almost insane. Even though it's been a year since their relationship started, he still can't get used to the sexless relationship. It was this thought that caused Luffy to become desperate for some kind of physical connection, something he felt he wasn't getting from Hawkins, which is why he had sex with Law. Luffy knew it was wrong and that he should have never cheated on Hawkins, but he was unable to resist the temptation of physical contact.
Luffy pushed those thoughts away and got himself drunk with the wine. He didn't know what to do at that time besides to drink and stare at his new ring. He eventually fell asleep on the kitchen floor and spilled wine all over himself. He lay there in a state of drunken stupor until dawn, pondering what his future held.
In the morning, he woke with a tremendous hangover and felt an intense sense of regret as he lay in bed, watching the light from the unshut curtain radiate in. But it wasn't the sunlight that woke him up; it was the annoying doorbell ringing. He slowly got out of bed and dragged himself to the front door to give a piece of his mind to the person at the door.He opened the door and presented himself to the person at the door. It was ace and sabo.
"Luffy, it's been a while," Ace and Sabo exclaimed with a wide grin on their faces as they hugged Luffy tightly. Luffy smiled widely and hugged them back tightly.
Luffy tried to respond, but his brothers seemed to be excited about something so much so that they gave him no time to speak.
"Luffy, we're meeting at the old man's mansion. Hurry up and get dressed!" Sabo said excitedly. Luffy looked at his two brothers with confusion, but he knew there was no time to ask questions.
They then pushed Luffy into the house and started dressing their brother in nice clothing. Once Luffy was fully dressed, they took him into Sabo's car, and he drove them to Garp's mansion. The place Luffy left many years ago due to the pressure his family put on him As Luffy stepped out of the car, a wave of emotions overwhelmed him: sadness, nostalgia, and regret.
When they entered the mansion, maids and butlers escorted them to the dining room, where Garp was waiting for them with an unexpected guest. Luffy had to take a deep breath to compose himself before entering the dining room. His family had changed; there were some new faces and some familiar ones, but the atmosphere was much different than he remembered.
Already there besides Garp were Koala, Yamato, Rayleigh and his girlfriend, and Luffy's dad. Luffy rarely spoke to his dad, Dragon, due to his early life with him.
Dragon starred as Luffy sat down across from Rayleigh. He couldn't believe Luffy had grown up so soon. It seemed like just yesterday that Luffy was in his arms a few hours after being delivered. Dragon was filled with pride and joy for his son, yet a sadness lingered in his heart as he looked at Luffy due to the lack of time they spent together.
Once everyone was settled and they started eating, Luffy decided to lay the news about his engagement on the table. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Me and Hawkins are getting married..." he blurted out.
Everyone in the room went completely silent. The recent sounds of forks and knives against the plates stopped, and everyone's attention turned towards Luffy's. Ace almost choked when the news came forth. Everyone stared in disbelief; some mouths opened in surprise; others were wide-eyed in shock.
Sabo struggled to speak for a moment, but his words eventually were let out,"Really!? I'm so happy for you..." he lied. He didn't like Hawkins, but it was too late to do anything about it. His brother made his choice. Even though his brother's choice didn't align with what he wanted, he tried to show support and hide his true feelings.
Ace was glad to hear that Luffy's relationship with Hawkins was going well. "Yeah, I really did think you were going to end up marrying law. If it came to that, I'd have to dirty my hands," he said almost jokingly.
"Ace...Law isn't a bad guy..." Luffy said softly.
Luffy's hard headed brother was unconvinced that Luffy's ex was nothing short of a murderer who had killed Luffy once. "Then why'd he break up with you?" Ace muttered.
"Things weren't in our favor, and you know that." luffy had felt as though telling Ace what a good guy Law could be once you get to know him was a waste of time. Ace never really liked law, and when he finally warmed up to law the other man left to dressrosa. Luffy had done his best to convince Ace that Law was worth getting to know, but it seemed like it was all for nothing.
Shakky giggled and said, "I found him to be very entertaining."
"Yes. "I thought we established that at the bar a year ago." Rayleigh said as he rolled his eyes, unamused by his girlfriend's attempt at making him jealous.
"This conversation has nothing to do with his ex; instead, let's focus on the marriage ahead and forget Luffy's slutty past," Garp proposed.
Dragon sat leaning back in his chair as he spoke: "You could have worded that last part differently, but yes, let's forget the past."
The rest of the people in the room agreed and began thinking about the future. Their conversation included the marriage, a baby shower, a baby's name, and so on and so forth. a very uncomfortable conversation for Luffy, who was still processing his marriage.
Eventually, life took over and people had to leave for work, including Luffy. On his way home to start working on stocking up on supplies he received countless messages from all his friends congratulating him on his engagement. When Luffy got home, he started working, and for the next 5 hours, that's what he would do.
Five hours later, Luffy decided to take a break. He went to the living room and looked through a book Hawkins was reading to see what was so interesting about it. Luffy found nothing about that book to be entertaining.
When a knock came at the door, Luffy was relieved; he had something else to do. He went to the door and opened it. His guest was law.
"Hey, I was—"
Luffy cut Law off and excitedly said, "Perfect! Let's go for a walk at the park." He grabbed Law's hand and pushed him into the car.
Law drove them to the park without asking Luffy any questions regarding why he wanted to go there. He parked, and they started walking side by side. They walked in companionable silence, enjoying the fresh air and marveling at the beauty of nature.
"Torao...Can I tell you something?" Luffy asked Torao, his face lit with worry.
Law nodded as he continued walking next to his ex. "Of course," he said.
Luffy stopped and yanked Law back. "I'm getting married."
Law was taken aback for a moment before he smiled and said, "Uh,...congratulations"
"Thank you..."Luffy said with a forced smile. Luffy's voice trailed off, and the silence that descended between them was palpable.
A few more seconds went by, and Law felt his whole world shatter before him. He didn't know why he felt anything about Luffy's engagement. He wasn't there to feel anything for Luffy; he was there to kill him , but somehow law felt horrible. He couldn't bring himself to be around Luffy; he just wanted to leave. "I have to go..." He muttered under his breath as he stood and took a few steps away from Luffy.
Luffy held onto Law's hand. "No!" Luffy shouted, his eyes wide and almost desperate. "Don't leave me alone..." he said softly.
"I don't think it's a good idea for us to be around eachother..." Law said as he tried to step away from Luffy. Luffy tightened his grip on Law's hand, refusing to let go.
Luffy grasped Law's hand tighter, trying to stop him from leaving. "Just because I'm getting married that doesn't mean we can't be friends." Law looked away, unsure of how to respond.
Law couldn't believe what he was hearing; he just got friend zoned. But he found this to be an advantage. He could use this as an opportunity to kill Luffy and finish the job. He slowly rose to his feet and stepped closer towards Luffy, his eyes narrowing in determination.
"I know that," Law said to Luffy. He knew he had been dealt an advantage, and was determined to use it to fulfill his mission .
From that day on, they hung out a lot and they became close friends. Despite the fact that Law wanted to kill Luffy, he found that their friendship became an advantage. The only reason Luffy was still walking on the earth was because Law couldn't bring himself to kill him, but he already said that he'd kill him, so he planned to kill him that Friday night.
They met at the hotel that Law was staying at, and they were both just talking. Law had a knife stored under the coffee table as well as a pocket knife in the pocket of his pants. Luffy didn't notice any of this, but Law did, as he could feel the weight in his pocket.
As Law prepared to pull a knife on his ex-boyfriend, Luffy rested his head on Law's lap.
"Torao...i have a question..." Luffy asked.
"Yeah,what is it?"Law said as he slowly withdrew a knife from his pocket.
Luffy scooted closer to law and said, "Is it too late to change how I want my life to go on?" Law looked away from Luffy, seemingly considering his words carefully.
"No...why?"
"I..don't want to marry Hawkins," Luffy slowly said.