Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Law) Chapter 1 - Insanity

Trafalgar Law didn't fully understand why he was taking action now. So what if the Strawhat kid had moxie and an interesting personality? He got himself in the middle of this war. Literally walked right into an insanely dangerous situation. Anyone else who had done that, Law would've said they deserved whatever they got, be it death or injury. So why the hell had he given his crew the order to cast off for Marineford and a war he wanted no part in?

The only logical answer was that he'd lost his mind. But he tried to tell himself that it was curiosity. That he just didn't want to lose one of the most interesting competitors he'd yet to meet on the Grand Line. One of the few truly brave enough to announce that they were after the One Piece. Everyone, Law included, was at least low-key after the mysterious treasure and the mythical last island, for myriads of reasons, but very few pirates were quick to announce it like the younger captain had been.

Or maybe it was because Luffy was fighting to save a sibling. It'd been a long time since Law had lost Lami, but sometimes, on the rare occasions he slept these days, he still dreamed that he'd been able to save her from her fate. That they'd gotten out together and that he'd been able to heal her like he'd slowly healed himself. He had to admit to having a soft spot for sibling rescues.

So he barked orders at his crew to set sail and to prepare his surgery room and to streamline the Polar Tang to make better use of the currents. And the Heart Pirates obeyed perfectly, a well-oiled machine, until they surfaced at Marineford and got the child-like captain and his helpers successfully on board.

He did the needed surgeries in near silence, only occasionally asking his assistants for a different tool or to wipe his brow so he didn't contaminate anything. He listened quietly as Ivankov and Jimbei explained what had happened. How Ace had jumped in front of a blow meant for his brother, only to die in Luffy's arms. The state of exhausted shock that Luffy was in when he was brought aboard was testament to the mental damage that that had caused. It was only as he finished doing what he could for the younger boy and his former Warlord ally that he spoke softly to his unconscious patient.

"I've done as much as I could. The rest you'll have to do, Mugiwara-ya. And you should. I'm sorry you couldn't save him. I know it hurts like hell right now, in more than one way. But as a big brother who couldn't protect his younger sibling, I don't think Ace regrets his choice. He probably hopes you'll live on, for his sake, too. And that's the harder job, so it shows that your brother believed in you. So I hope you'll fight a little more."

He left Luffy in the care of Rayleigh, Jimbei, and Boa Hancock soon after, with only the vaguest spoken hope that the younger boy would survive the physical and emotional traumas he'd endured. Only Bepo heard the soft whisper the Heart Captain muttered into the breeze before he went below deck: "Bounce back, rubber-man. Let's meet again in the New World."

When he met him again at Punk Hazard two years later, Law found himself very nearly smiling as he realized the younger captain had managed to keep his boundless enthusiasm for life and adventure. There was a faint undertone of somberness that Luffy showed when he thought no one was paying attention, but for the most part, he was the same kid that Law had met in Sabaody.

No, that wasn't quite right, and maybe that was the difference. Strawhat no longer seemed like a kid, at least not to Law. He seemed like an adult who still put on a childish persona, but it was a little bit more of an act than it had been before.

"... marked by betrayals," the dark-haired woman on Strawhat's crew — Nico Robin, if Law remembered correctly — was saying, after he'd offered an alliance.

"Are you going to betray me?" Strawhat asked him, eyes a little wary but face carefree and trusting.

"No," Law answered, too simply to appease the rest of the Strawhat crew. But he meant it, whole-heartedly. He'd already decided that he didn't care about the One Piece anymore, except to make sure that it and the title that would be attached to it fell into the hands of someone decent. Whoever got that title would have a strong influence on the course the world took, after all. It should only fall to someone who would guide it in a beneficial direction.

That was the second, less-obvious reason he'd agreed to become a Warlord, with the first being the one he'd given them: access to information. He'd been watching the moves the various powers had made over the last two years, and realized that Strawhat was one of the few who he'd be okay giving the title to. One of the few kind enough and strong enough to deserve it. Which had been a little concerning for a while, up until the Strawhat crew had reappeared, reunited and causing mayhem in Sabaody.

Luffy must have seen the sincerity in Law's eyes, because he grinned proudly at his doubting crewmates. And it was that overconfident grin that made Law begin to, once again, question his own sanity.