Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Law) Chapter 7 - Predictions

A/N: Thanks for the love. Special shout outs to @Raven_Kitsune and @weeb4life_shipit for the votes and comments! Hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

The Polar Tang was operating as per usual, but her captain's mind was elsewhere. Strawhat had called him, almost as a matter of course, the day Zoro had split from them for the final time. Law wasn't really sure why, either. It wasn't like there was anything he could do to help further, and he wasn't particularly great at 'comfort', though he wasn't as bad as he had been, once. Maybe it was just because Law already knew the predicament. Zoro, it seemed, still didn't want it told to the rest of the crew.

Nonetheless, Law had determined through Luffy's rough sobs that today was the day that Luffy would be telling his crew the real reason for their first mate's 'disappearance'. He wished he could be there to take that burden from the younger captain. It was never easy to lose a crewmate, and with the tempers and spontaneity of that particular crew, there could be some backlash to Luffy having so carefully honored Zoro's wishes. Backlash that Law would gladly have dealt with instead.

Which just went to prove that he'd been driven insane by the younger brunette. Absolutely, stark raving mad.

But somehow, he was okay with this weird form of madness, even if it did make him want to see and protect his young friend. And think about him way too often, usually at the most inopportune times. And want to see said captain's smile. That was normal for friendship, right? He was always a little bit happier when Bepo smiled, too, after all. And when he was alone on Punk Hazard, he'd wanted to see his crew almost as much as he now wanted to see Luffy.

Except he'd been on Punk Hazard for months without contact from his crew before he started missing them. He had heard from Luffy three days ago and already missed him enough to consider calling again. And Bepo's smile, as cute as it invariably was, didn't warm him up inside like the memory of Luffy's wide grin.

But though a different word for the feelings Luffy brought up hovered in the back of his mind, he refused to acknowledge it. They were friends. That was all the concession Law could afford to offer. Friendship was dangerous enough in this world. Anything more left him vulnerable.

"Captain?" Bepo asked, interrupting his musings. "You've been staring at that map for nearly twenty minutes. You're making the rest of the crew nervous." Bepo was somehow the only one who could differentiate between Law's 'resting bitch face' and his 'actually-angry face'. Everyone else on board still got a little nervous if he focused too hard on anything for too long. Even Shachi and Penguin, who had also been founding members of the Heart Pirates.

"Sorry, Bepo." Law made the conscious effort to pull his eyebrows up into a more neutral expression.

"Did you decide which one we're going to? We'll need to lay in a course soon."

Law nodded and pointed to a place on the map. "This one. But we won't go full speed, for now. I get the feeling that the Strawhats will need us soon."

"What makes you say that, Captain?"

Law let himself smirk up at the bear. "Just a hunch."

Bepo lowered his voice so the others in the room couldn't hear. "Is this hunch based on the frequent calls you've been getting from Mugiwara? What's going on? You haven't told me anything."

"Those calls have just been Mugiwara-ya asking for advice on something going on on their ship, but yes, the hunch is connected to them. We don't need to take action at this time, so don't worry so much, Bepo."

"Aye, Captain." Bepo turned and started giving the orders that would set the Tang on track for the indicated island.

Once arriving, Law found himself wandering aimlessly through the local market. For the first time in two weeks, he had no specific mission, nothing specific he needed to do. For so long his mission had been to help Luffy help Zoro, that now, even with Zoro gone, he found himself thinking about the Strawhat captain as he walked. What would be the plan, with the second most powerful member gone? How would it affect his own plans to try to take down the Emperors? The balance of power had shifted. Should he review other potential allies again?