~
Luffy was lazily fishing on the Sunny's railing, it was one of those days where even though the weather was fine, nobody still had any motivation to do anything productive or even relax properly. Nami was talking with Sanji in the distance and it was something the blond said that made the woman walk to where Luffy was.
"Luffy, you still haven't cleaned out your locker?" Nami asked, hands on her hips.
"I'll go do it now." The captain eagerly threw the fishing rod and ran off to the men's quarters, he had needed something worthwhile to do and jumped on the first opportunity. Everyone was supposed to clean out their lockers, make a pile of things they didn't want anymore so Nami could pawn them off for some extra cash.
Everyone else was doing their own thing so Luffy took out all of his things and sprawled in on the floor. His stuff mostly consisted of weird tokens and trinkets he had found on various islands, preserved beetles, that one very interesting acorn, some gifts from Torao, some more gifts from Torao, some of Torao's clothes, and a few miscellaneous items. The rubber boy was going through everything, putting it all in the 'not to throw' pile when he spotted something that made his heart stop. He pulled at the corner of the paper that was protruding from beneath most of his things, the entire thing was soon in his hands.
Luffy stared at the wanted poster for his brother, Ace. He didn't know how it got into his stuff, Luffy didn't even remember ever having seen one of these but here it was, in his hands, probably the only reminder to him that Ace existed, apart from his memory. The longer Luffy stared at the poster, at his brother's face, the more his brain threw unsolicited thoughts at him and the captain was grateful for Sanji's call for lunch since it was able to break Luffy out from his trance. Luffy quickly put all the stuff back and buried Ace's poster in it, he knew he would never be able to throw it away now that he knew of its existence.
~
Law was zoning in and out, sitting by his desk, many medical journals open in front of him. He couldn't focus on one single thing. He was worried about Luffy, taking repeated glances at the den den mushi as if it would ring any moment, and it might since earlier in the day, Luffy had called Law and told him the younger had found Ace's wanted poster among his own things and went on and on about how it could have gotten there.
Luffy never really talked about Ace or what happened at Marineford, he wouldn't acknowledge Ace's passing openly but he knew that deep down. Law was no stranger to loss and trauma so he guessed immediately the direction the situation would take and made preparations beforehand. That was the reason the den den mushi was so close, within an arm's reach literally, so if Luffy called, Law would be able to help immediately.
Not wanting to miss the call if it came, Law took the snail with him to the kitchen, in want of something to eat. He had foregone dinner in favour of catching up on his reading. The captain doubted somebody would be awake and roaming like he was, so he considered it safe to not hide the small phone. There was onigiri in the fridge for him. Law munched on the rice and put the plate away when he done, ready to head back to his quarters.
"Oooh! Cap waiting for a boyfriend call?" Shachi teased, spotting Law in the hallway, pointing at the den den mushi in his hands. Law scowled, he knew Penguin would follow suit and the captain was in no mood for their jokes, he was on edge, worried about his boyfriend.
"Long distance jerking off?" Penguin joined nonetheless, unaware of the ROOM that was already surrounding both the idiots. With a flick of his wrist, Law detached a part of both the men and went on his way.
"LAW WHAT THE HELL MAN!" The captain stopped on the corner to listen to the distressed cries of his friends at the emptiness between their legs.
"Give us our dicks back!" Penguin yelled.
"Get it yourself." Law said with a smirk and pointed towards the metal ceiling.
"Which one's mine?" Shachi's voice carried over the distance.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Law left the two idiots alone and closed the door of his quarters, just in time too because the snail rang. The older didn't waste any time answering it, sitting down on his bed and leaning in the many pillows on it.
"Torao." Luffy's voice came out teary and weak. Law cursed.
"Do as I say." The Hearts captain said and heard a muffled nod from the other end. "Go out on deck, grab a blanket on your way."
"Ok." Luffy said and Law heard his footsteps.
"Now sit down, wrap yourself, put the den den mushi on the grass, close." When Law heard the right sounds and Luffy's heavy sigh, Law began. "Now talk to me."
"My chest hurts, the scar."
"It's psychological. What did you dream about?"
"Ace..." Luffy sniffled and continued. "Ace was there... then he wasn't..." Law listened patiently but his heartbeat sped when he saw the snail mimicking thick tears, the sounds following soon after. "I miss him Torao... I want Ace back..."
Law was at a loss, he would have hugged Luffy in person but he wasn't there, as much as he hated it, there was nothing he could do from this far. But he had to do something. "Luffy, don't go there."
"He died because of me, because I was weak... and stupid... I killed my brother..."
Law sucked in a deep breath. "Tell me about when you guys were younger, what was Ace-ya like?"
Luffy sniffled some more, wiped at his eyes and nose and took a few shaky breaths. "Ace didn't want to be my friend in the beginning you know... I followed him everywhere..."
Law listened as Luffy recalled every tiny detail from when he was seven till fourteen, fights over meals, sparring matches, fighting wild animals in the forest, pissing off people in the high-end areas of the town, losing Sabo once to his father, losing Sabo again, getting kidnapped by Blue Jam pirates, Ace learning to be kind, Ace being a big brother, Ace leaving, meeting Ace again at Alabasta, Ace leaving, again.
Law listened quietly, he let Luffy talk as much as the younger wanted.
"Ace wanted me to join Shirohige no ossan." Luffy laughed a little, wetly.
"You don't strike as the type to work under somebody."
"Yeah..." Luffy took a breath. "You said the same thing at Punk Hazard."
"I did."
Luffy took another deep breath, feeling a little better, remembering Ace in good ways, but there was something weighing on his mind and he had to ask Law, no better person out there than his boyfriend for this particular question. "Torao... does it get any easier?"
Law closed his eyes and felt his heart clench. "It doesn't." Luffy hummed in response. "Sometimes," Law started again. "Visiting the grave helps, I have heard people say it."
"People? You haven't tried that?" Luffy asked innocently.
"There are no graves for anybody I have lost."
"Oh..."
"Fushicho-ya can guide you to Ace-ya's grave though, he mentioned it some time in Wano."
"I'll go when I'm pirate king."
"You do that."
"Hey!" Luffy exclaimed, hyper all of a sudden, startling Law. "The dead bird hat fleet admiral guy must know where Cora-san's buried!"
Law sat up in an instant. He hadn't thought about that at all. "I... he really would know..."
"Let's go visit him and Ace then after we have achieved our goals!"
"Let's do that."
~
