Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Law) Chapter 70 - Plans Pt. 2

"I'll come back, I'll find my way back to you, so just wait. Wait for me, okay? I love-" Law tried not to panic more as the light overtook him completely and a power that was not his own shifted him... somewhere. Somewhere away from Luffy. "-you."

It took a few seconds for his eyes to clear, but... well, he seemed to still be on the Sunny, on the deck now, but something was different, more than just the stars in the sky that weren't supposed to be out yet. The colors of the Sunny's paint weren't as bright. Scuff marks that hadn't been there earlier today were there and faded, like they'd been there for years.

He felt a presence behind him, and had a Room up and ready to dismember someone before he could even breathe — or remember that he didn't have Kikoku with him. "Who are you and where am I?" He demanded before he could take in the features of the person he faced.

"Torao! Good, it worked. We don't have much time." A somewhat-older man with shoulder-length wavy blond hair stood there, looking totally at ease despite the threat Law made sure was radiating from him. A second glance at the man caught a familiar curly eyebrow underneath the fringe of hair, and, after a quick scan and use of observation haki, Law relaxed a fraction, everything confirming that this was who it seemed... just... older.

"...Blackleg-ya? What happened? I was with Luffy, and then... here." He winced a little even as the epithet came from his mouth. He'd been working on it, really, but... well, he was stressed, and old habits tended to come forward when he got stressed.

Sanji laughed, and held out a thick envelope with neat numbers written on the front. "It's been a long time since you called me that. Sorry to scare you, but it will only be for a few minutes. Let me explain. You're in your future, or at least a possible future for you. Our Law needed to see Luffy again, that gentleman there," he pointed to a young man sitting cross-legged on the deck a few feet away, "has the power to make it happen by switching him with his geographically nearest past self, a.k.a. you. Don't worry, he's being well-compensated and you'll be back to where you were soon. You should be from just before your wedding, right?"

Law felt his heart freeze slowly, felt dread replace the fading fear, as he processed the words, still not completely removing the Room nor taking the envelope from the blond. "...Why wouldn't 'your' me be able to see Luffy again here, Blackleg-ya?"

"Luffy's gone. Almost a year now."

The heartbreak in Sanji's matter-of-fact words told him more than the words themselves did. Law's knees gave out under him in the same second that his Room finally closed. This Sanji couldn't have been much past his mid-thirties, so... what? Twelve to fifteen years, give or take? That was too soon to lose Luffy. Never mind that; a hundred years would still be too soon to lose Luffy.

"That's why we wrote that letter," a new, deeper voice came. When Law looked up, the older version of Zoro was there, unabashedly sliding his hand into Sanji's. Law finally took the letter from Sanji's hand, shakily.

"Don't open it yet," Sanji warned. "Not until the date on the front. Several of us worked together to find a time where you'd have enough time to change things without changing too many of the good things. We laid out in it what happens in our timeline and what we think will change it enough to avoid... that outcome."

Law managed to get back to his feet. "... Does the other me know about this?"

"No. In fact, he expressly forbade us to tell you any of this," Zoro laughed lightly.

"Why?"

The question answered itself before Zoro could, as the door to below-decks opened quietly. "Uncle Sanji? I can't sleep again. Could I have some of that sleepy tea from last time?"