Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Luffy) Chapter 24 - Messages

Luffy grinned brightly and cheered as Zoro and Sanji finished their showy dance. He'd been worried for Zoro this afternoon, when he'd lost his memory on the island, but Sanji had managed to fix him, and now his friends were officially dating. They looked so happy, he couldn't help but be happy for them.

Then on top of that, the Hearts had made it in for the celebration, if only just. Law looked a little worse for wear, with a fading but still nasty-looking black eye that Luffy found himself wanting revenge for, but he was safe and alive and here and that was the important thing. He watched Law clap politely as Zoro pulled Sanji out of the dramatic dip, and finally made his way over to him.

"Finally finished eating, Mugiwara-ya?" Law asked, a good-natured smirk on his face that told Luffy he was having a genuinely good time.

Luffy gave his cheekiest grin as he wrapped himself around the other. "For now, anyways." He let the smile drop a little as he let go. "How are you doing, after your little... run-in with the Marines?"

Law grimaced. "I'd have been fine if I hadn't had to protect the ship for the two days before that. I had to use a particular drug, similar to one of Chopper's Rumble Balls, to keep my strength up, but it basically knocks me out for a while afterwards. It hasn't been a fun week."

"... I wanted to come help you, y'know."

"I know. Penguin told me about your conversation. But he was right. Your presence there... wouldn't have been a good thing. " All merriment was gone from Law's face now and he steered Luffy to a more private part of the deck with a gentle hand on his arm. "Which reminds me, I have a message for you. From a Marine Captain named Koby, who says he's your friend?"

Luffy's grin bounced back onto his face. "You ran into Koby? How is he? Is he super-strong now? Is he the reason you had so much trouble?"

"So he wasn't lying." Law commented blithely, putting a cool hand on Luffy's shoulder, presumably to calm him down.

"Nope! He really is my friend! Though, kinda unofficially. He helped me find and rescue Zoro!" Okay, well, Koby's part in 'rescuing' Zoro might have been overplayed, but he had at least been there, trying.

"He was the one who got us out of there, so I figured he had to be telling the truth, but wanted to be sure. He seemed to be doing okay. But he wanted me to tell you that he said, 'Even the Future King of the Pirates should lie low for a bit.' Apparently the Navy and the World Government are both not happy with your recent actions. He said there was a storm brewing and he was afraid you'd be in the middle of it. He also gave us a letter for you, but I'm afraid it got ruined in our escape."

Luffy found himself grimacing. "Koby's always afraid of something. I'll be fine!" But for once, he wasn't sure he believed it. Not if Koby was worried enough to let a pirate like Torao go for the sake of getting the message to him. To go against his responsibilities as a naval officer and all he believed in, for Luffy's sake. Things had to be really bad for that. He wished he'd gotten to read the letter. Maybe it would've given more information. "But thanks for delivering his message!"

Law just nodded, shifting his hat. "I'm going to go see if there's any food left. We can catch up more in a little bit, alright?"

"Shishishishi. Make sure to try the sandwiches~!" Luffy teased as Law walked away. The other stopped just long enough to glare and flip him the bird, looking a little green at the thought, then continued making his way to the table.

Luffy watched him walk away. Well, it was more of a saunter, really - those lanky limbs moving with a comfortable confidence that almost looked... graceful. Law gave a pat to Bepo's shoulder as he passed the bear, an almost-smirk to Nami as she collected from yet another bet-maker. And still Luffy found his eyes following the other man; tracing the visible tattoos while idly wondering what others Law may have. The thought made his heart skip a beat.