Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Luffy) Chapter 18 - Tension

A/N: I'm sorry to make everyone so sad with the last chapter. I promise it'll get better eventually! Just... not just yet.

The atmosphere on the Sunny had never been so tense. Zoro and Sanji seemed to have had some sort of fight, but neither of them would say what it was about. Zoro had even spent the last two days 'helping' on the Polar Tang. Sanji wandered the ship when not cooking, looking lost somehow, like Zoro's lack of directional ability had rubbed off on him.

And Luffy found himself watching and worrying about them.

It was, after all, so much easier to dwell on their issue than Luffy's own. The Heart Pirates were planning to unlink tomorrow morning and get back on their own way, and Law was acting more... unbothered than Luffy wanted. Which was very confusing, because he would not have said that he wanted Law to be bothered by his rejection. But the fact that Law was acting as if the conversation in the aquarium hadn't happened was bothering Luffy.

Because Luffy couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.

It happened. It was big and monumental and so damn unexpected. And if Luffy let himself calm down enough to use his observation haki he could feel the heartache from Law, and yet... Law acted fine. Completely unbothered. No one without haki would suspect a damn thing. In fact, he might've even been acting happier than usual.

No. Not happier. But more relaxed, maybe.

Luffy took some comfort in the fact that at least Law hadn't started acting like Hancock had after she 'fell in love' with him. The meals had been nice, but the swooning declarations of love and marriage had been... uncomfortable. And she kept trying to get his attention while he was training. The thought of straight-laced Torao acting like that did make him laugh, though.

Luffy knew he needed to talk to him. He knew how hard it was to keep smiling when you were in that much pain, and he wanted to tell him that he didn't have to pretend like that. But he was also the cause of Law's pain. Would trying to get close, trying to be friendly, hurt Law worse than he already was? He slumped against the wall, putting his face in his arms.

Emotions sucked. He could never figure them out well. With a sigh, he made his way to the galley, where dinner was being served. He slid down next to Law at the table. "What... what do I need to do to make this easier for you?" He found himself asking quietly, barely loud enough to be heard by the man next to him over the ruckus of two crews at dinner.

"Hm?" Law asked around a mouthful of some chicken dish.

"I mean, like, do you need us to not meet for a while? No hugs going forward? No calls? Or just keep acting like everything's the same?" Luffy busied himself with filling his plate full of the delicious food, trying to look nonchalant. Trying not to look at his friend's face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Luffy saw Law nod and swallow. "Just be you, Mugiwara-ya. You don't need to change a thing."

"So I can still greet you with a hug?"

Law nodded again. "My only request is that you don't let my feelings for you steal your smile. Smile like you always do, and I'll handle the rest, okay?"

Luffy finally chanced a look at the taller man's face. "You sure? I'm not trying to...." He didn't have the words. He didn't need them, though.

"I know, and I'm sure," Law said, his voice almost bizarrely gentle. "I'm fine, Luffy-ya. Don't worry."

It probably would be wrong of Luffy to say that he preferred Law calling him 'Luffy-ya' to 'Mugiwara-ya', wouldn't it? It might sound flirtatious. Was this how it was going to be? Was he going to always have to wonder if he was unintentionally flirting with his friend, leading him on? Why did people have to fall in love, instead of just being friends and having a good time?

The Heart Pirates probably didn't notice the tensions at the table, but the rest of the Strawhats did. Throughout the meal, Luffy could feel the worry that Nami, Usopp, and Chopper felt as they glanced between the members of the so-called 'Monster Trio'. He tried to give them a reassuring smile when he caught their eye, tried to eat like normal, but his heart wasn't in it, and he knew at least some of his crew could tell. If Zoro and Sanji weren't having their little spat, he might've gotten away with it, but for all three of them to be quiet and tense....

Luffy did something he never did. He reached for the nearest stein of booze, not caring whose it was, and downed it quickly, grimacing at the taste. Then he refilled it. His crew needed him to be fun and confident and uninhibited by worry. Alcohol may not have been the best way to get there when he wasn't feeling it, but it would do the job.

"A toast!" He shouted, jumping on the table and lifting his mug. "To friendship and fun!" Mugs chinked around him as the two crews echoed his toast, mostly happily. He chugged the new mugful loudly before he flopped back in his seat, chowing down on food like he was starving. The burn of the alcohol in his throat and stomach made it harder to eat, but he stuffed his face anyway for the crews' sake.

He woke up on a warm, moving surface, unsure of when he fell asleep. It was only when he realized that it was wiry arms that were supporting his legs that it occurred to him that he was being piggy-backed. It felt nice. He nuzzled into the person carrying him, smelling cinnamon and musk and disinfectant among the traces of alcohol and dinner. No cigarette smell, so it wasn't Sanji, and only faint traces of steel, so not Zoro, either.

He'd worry about it later, he decided, closing his barely-opened eyes again. Whoever was carrying him was warm and comfortable and smelled nice. He was almost sad when gentle hands shifted him off the warm back and onto a familiar bed. Then he was sad as a soft voice, Torao's voice, began to speak.

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't made you uncomfortable, you wouldn't have drank so much tonight. Though I had no idea you were that much of a lightweight.... I hope you can escape a hangover tomorrow." A blanket was pulled up over him. "... Maybe we should try to leave before you wake up...."

Without opening his eyes, Luffy made himself speak, his voice croaky from overuse and sleep. "Don't... you dare.... No leaving without... saying bye."

Law was silent for a minute, then a gentle hand brushed the hair back from Luffy's forehead. "Alright. Sleep well, Mugiwara-ya."

"Name's... Luffy, Torao." Luffy muttered, not even sure if he was properly awake or not.

He couldn't see it, but he thought for some reason that Torao was giving that too-soft smile again as the door to the dorm swung shut.