Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Law) Chapter 3 - Promises

Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

Law rolled over as he heard the snail going off and pulled his pillow over his head. He'd been sleeping peacefully for the first time this week, damn it. If he ignored the ring, maybe Bepo or Shachi would get it, and he'd get some more sleep. For once.

His hope was dashed when a knock sounded on his door. "Captain? It's Mugiwara," Bepo announced quietly.

Law was at the door like a shot, grabbing the snail from his first mate's paws. Mugiwara-ya never called, hadn't asked for help in any way since they'd separated. And for it to be in the middle of the night, it must be serious.

"Law speaking."

"... Torao, it's Luffy." Was he crying? Law felt his heart wrench at the pain in the younger captain's tone.

"Yeah, Bepo told me. What's wrong, Mugiwara-ya?"

"Do you know anything about a flower that feeds on love? And kills people?"

It took a minute, but part of an old text came to mind. "Do you mean hanahaki? White flower with a strong scent, grows in the lungs?"

"Sounds like it, but I'm not sure. I should've asked Chopper."

Law sighed and rubbed at tired eyes, still not really sure what Luffy needed. "I know a little bit. What about it?"

"Can you cure it?"

Law's brain put the pieces together then, and his heart froze. "Is someone on your crew affected, Luffy-ya?" Please don't let it be him, he begged the universe. He'd been fighting for the other man's dream, he couldn't bear to see it stopped here. At least, he told himself that was the reason for the paralyzing fear in his heart.

"... Zoro. He says he's probably dying. And it seems like Chopper can't help him. So I wondered if you could." There was a brokenness to Luffy's voice, but Law still felt his heart resume its normal rhythm with the revelation that it wasn't Luffy who was affected.

Still, he couldn't lie to the other. "I don't claim to be an expert on it, but the little I know... doesn't allow for much optimism. The only reliable cure I've heard of is returned love. I assume, since you're calling me, that's... not likely?"

Luffy hummed a sad 'no' sound, but didn't say much else.

"Give me a couple days," Law got out around a sudden yawn, "and let me see if I can dig up anything else about it. I'll let you know if I find anything promising, alright?" He wanted to give the brunette on the other end more hope than that, but, from what he knew, hanahaki disease was brutal.

"I can't lose anyone else, Torao." The desperate words had been spoken softly, but they clanged through Law painfully. "I can't stand by, unable to save the people I care about. Not again."

"... I promise to do everything I can, Mugiwara-ya. I wish I had better answers, but you know I won't give you false hope."

"...I know."

Law sighed, wondering what Cora-san would've said to Luffy about the matter. Law wasn't good with sadness. He turned most of his own into anger, and shoved the rest into the tiniest mental box he could. "Try not to cry about it tonight. Zoro-ya is strong, and with Tanuki-ya and I both trying, maybe we can do something about it. He's not dead yet, so don't start mourning him."

"I'm not crying! It's just... with Ace, I could punch the source of the problem. I could at least try to help. Try to save him. Even though I failed in the end, I did everything I could."

Law could hear a special sort of deadness in those words. A deadness wrought by endless repetition. He knew those words too well. How many times had Mugiwara had to tell himself those words to get a measure of peace? To get back to sleep at night? Law remembered his own times of repeating that phrase. His family. 'I did everything I could.' Corazon. 'I did everything I could.' Rusla, the only crew member he'd lost. 'I did everything I could.' But despite his familiarity with the words and the emotions behind it, when he heard it from Luffy, he almost wanted to pull out his own heart to stop it from doing that strange wrenching motion.

"... but I can't do anything against a disease except rely on you and Chopper!"

"Isn't that fine?" Law asked quietly. "That's why we have crews, why we form alliances and friendships; to help us do things we can't do alone, right?"

Silence rang from the other end for long enough that Law wondered if he'd said something wrong or if the connection had been broken. Then Luffy spoke again. "Yeah. You're right. I'm glad you're my friend, Torao."

Law gave a tiny smirk. "Well, I didn't say that, Luffy-ya." Friends were dangerous, in Law's mind, which is why he resisted the label. It had almost become an inside joke between him and Luffy, for Luffy to try to get him to admit to being friends and Law to refuse. "But we're allies, so I'll do what I can to help. Now, it's late and you need to go get some rest. At least lay down if you still can't sleep, alright? Doctor's orders."

"I'll try. Thanks for answering my call."

The snail 'clicked' to sleep before Law could answer, but he said it anyway, softly into the silence of his room. "What are allies for?" He dragged himself to the galley, intent on a cup of coffee before he started his research.