Work Text:
Sailing the dangerous waters of the New World, most of the time below the water's surface, isn't the best for keeping track of something as trivial as the date. Which can easily come to bite you in the ass when you wake up one morning to realize that you almost missed your ship's captain's birthday.
That is why one surprisingly cold morning found Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo huddled together in a corner of the engine room on the Polar Tang. They had arrived at an autumn island early that morning and the slight chill was crawling through the submarine which was usually hot with stuffy air; however, they weren’t crouching so close to each other to leech off of the polar bear’s warmth, no. They were hiding from the rest of the crew and, most importantly, from their captain, while they frantically tried to make last minute plans.
“Okay but where do we get a medical book this late, especially one he doesn’t have, yet?” Shachi asked in a whisper, waving his hands around in frustration.
Penguin groaned. “I don’t know but it’s probably gonna be easier than finding a fancy collectors’ coin,” he mumbled, his words barely understandable from where his face was buried in his hands.
“I’m sorry, I should have kept better track of the date,” Bepo said, sounding incredibly dejected.
Shachi shook his head, sounding thoroughly defeated while he waved him off, “Don’t. This is on all of us.”
“Yeah, neither of us remembered until way too late,” Penguin sighed. He was now officially disappointed in all three of them. “But anyway. Can we at least throw a last minute party?”
“Depends. Can you cook fast enough and do we have enough booze?” Shachi asked, already knowing the answer. It was a definite ‘no’ on both accounts.
Bepo raised a paw before Penguin could reply, making them both look at him. “I don’t think a last minute party without a plan would be a good idea. And captain doesn’t like making a big deal out of his birthday, either…”
“Bullshit,” Penguin hissed, a smirk on his face. “He’s just embarrassed.”
Shachi hummed, however, as he thought about what Bepo said, opening his mouth to speak slowly after a moment, “No, wait, he’s right. I mean, yeah, he’s just embarrassed but I don’t think he’d be happy if the rest of the crew found out now and panicked, because we all know they would. Plus, you know how he threatened to cut all of our heads off and stick us to the mast last year when we suggested making a party with the others?”
“Damn,” Penguin muttered to himself while Bepo nodded quickly a few times in agreement. “So what do we do?” he asked with a hint of despair, looking at his friends and crewmates with wide eyes.
“Let’s just—” Shachi paused, wrecking his brain for anything they could do at this point— “Let’s just run to the town here and scout out all the shops for anything that could pass for a gift.”
Bepo let go of a deep breath as he shrugged. “Sounds like the only option we have now.”
Quickly counting all of their collective money, they decided that if they were to sacrifice all of it, they could get a decent gift. The only problem was finding one.
They left Jean Bart to keep watch of the Tang and the three of them headed out of the bay where the submarine was docked and towards the closest port town. To save time and resources, Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo had decided to split up—Shachi was in charge of the port market, Penguin of the town centre, and Bepo was to scout out the smaller streets to see if there were any hidden gems around. They were to meet up after three hours by the town’s inn and discuss their options then.
Although, at this point, they were pretty sure only a miracle would save them.
Luffy paused in his eating when something outside of the inn drew his attention. He knew that giant, white, fluffy bear. And the two guys he was talking to were wearing the same weird uniform, only in a different colour; they had to be a part of Torao’s crew, too.
“Hey,” he said, pointing towards the three outside who were apparently talking about something super interesting if the way they waved their hands and paws around was anything to go by. “Aren’t they your friends? They look like they’re having fun.”
Law looked up from where he was sitting next to Luffy to see what he was pointing at, only to shrug and turn back to his own plate. “Probably just freaking out,” he muttered then and it made Luffy frown.
Why was Law so calm about it? Sure, Law knew his crew best and he didn’t really want Law to leave either; after all, they had finally managed to see each other after ages. Law had called him on the Den Den Mushi a few days ago and since Luffy had missed his boyfriend, he agreed to the date immediately—even though Law would never admit to this being a date—and asked Nami to follow his Vivre Card. They had met up earlier today after they had both ditched their crews, taking a walk around town and catching up after not seeing each other for weeks, until Luffy decided he was hungry and Law took him for lunch. It was a lot of fun and he loved hanging out with Law but… Luffy didn’t think hogging his boyfriend all to himself while his friends were out there in a panic was right. Law might not have looked concerned at all but he was Law. He never looked concerned, even while he was on the verge of dying at Mingo’s hands. Maybe he was actually worried but didn’t want Luffy to know or get himself involved.
“Maybe we should go check, what if it’s something serious?” Luffy wondered without looking away from the bear, even when he grabbed for the piece of bread Law had handed to him from his own plate. Luffy still didn’t know what was so terrible about bread but if Law didn’t want it, who was he to refuse food?
“It’s not. They’ve been running around like I’ve already cut off their heads since morning. Probably just forgot to prepare something for me.” Even though Law was explaining it to him, it was only making Luffy more confused. Prepare? For Torao?
Humming around the food in his mouth, Luffy finally tore his eyes away to look at his boyfriend instead. “Is there like an anniversary coming up or something?”
Law chuckled, giving Luffy that smirk that he both loved and hated, before he elaborated, “Kind of. It’s my birthday today.”
“Oh, okay.” Luffy nodded in understanding and, satisfied, turned his attention back to his lunch. It all made sense now, after all. Law’s friends were shopping for a birthday gift for… Torao… “It’s your what?!” Luffy shouted suddenly, slamming both his hands on the table as he stood up, staring at Law with an open mouth and wide eyes when he finally realized what Law had just said.
How did he not know about this? He wasn’t prepared! He didn’t have anything for Law and he almost didn’t even make it to this island in time for today because of that sea king herd they had run into! Seriously, this asshole…
Law sighed, rubbing at his forehead while he tried to calm Luffy down. “Don’t make a big deal out of this. It doesn’t matter anyway—”
“Doesn’t matter? Torao, this is important! It’s your birthday, it matters! ” Luffy stressed every word he said. He couldn’t believe Law had kept this from him and worse, that he didn’t think it was worth mentioning. Luffy wanted to ask—or more like demand, really—who it was that told his boyfriend his birthday didn’t matter. If it was Mingo, he was fully prepared to break into Impel Down again just to kick his ass again.
Groaning, Law rubbed at his face, looking like he was absolutely exhausted from this discussion already. But— Luffy paused, the fight and frustration he felt over Law’s absolute lack of enthusiasm leaving him. Was that a blush that Law was hiding behind his hands?
Yes, definitely a blush. That was it. They were celebrating this whether Law consented to it or not.
His mind made up, Luffy put his straw hat on and made his way out of the inn. When he passed him, he gently brushed his fingers through Law’s hair and he felt his boyfriend freeze at the contact. He didn’t pull away, however, so Luffy took it as his victory. “Torao, wait here. I’ll be right beck,” he muttered before finally leaving his bemused and no doubt embarrassed boyfriend behind.
“So you guys didn’t find anything either?” Penguin asked his friends with despair, to which Shachi only shook his head and Bepo apologized.
They were so fucked.
“So what now, do we just—” he paused gesturing with his hands as if he could magically summon an idea or, better yet, an actual gift— “I don’t know, wish him a happy birthday really heartfelt like?”
Bepo cocked his head to the side, looking so adorable in his confusion that Penguin almost suggested they give their captain the polar bear as a gift. After all, who didn’t like warm, fluffy, adorable animals? But then Bepo spoke up and Penguin quickly chased the thought away, “What does that even mean?”
Shachi laughed and it sounded almost hysterical. “It means we cry and apologize over and over for not getting him anything.”
Penguin wanted to hit him but… Shachi was right; that was basically what he meant.
“Guys,” Bepo gasped then, pointing towards the inn a little ways away. “Is that Straw Hat Luffy?”
Penguin blinked in surprise, turning around to look where Bepo was pointing. That figure quickly approaching them certainly looked like Straw Hat but what would he be doing here? And more than that, why would he charge at them as if he was about to punch them in the face? Penguin didn’t think he’d ever done anything to the Supernova but even if he did, he sure wasn’t ready to die for it.
“Is this a miracle?” Shachi whispered in wonder from next to him just when Penguin was getting ready to bolt.
Penguin frowned, wondering how their thought processes could be so completely different. Was Shachi so depressed over their failure that he welcomed their untimely death? However, the only thing he could get out in this situation was a blank, “What?”
“Think about it.” Shachi was talking fast, probably to get his point across before Straw Hat made it to them. “Captain’s totally in love with him, though he denies it. That’s our gift right there.”
Penguin and Bepo exchanged a look. There was a beat of silence until…
“Grab him, Bepo!” Penguin shouted and Bepo shot forward.
Penguin and Shachi went into a fighting stance as well, ready to back the mink up and do their best to restrain the rubber man. There were three of them, maybe they had a chance here—
Or not.
Penguin and Shachi watched helplessly as Straw Hat simply jumped out of the way, easily avoiding Bepo’s kick and landing on his feet right in front of the two of them. Well, there went their miraculous salvation.
“Hey, guys,” Straw Hat said with a huge grin on his face as if getting jumped on sight was a regular thing for him. Actually, yeah, being a wanted pirate did that, but still . “You’re Torao’s friends, right?”
No matter how many times he had heard it, Penguin would never get over the fact that Straw Hat called their captain ‘Torao’ and he would also never get over the fact that the captain actually liked it . The man could never hide his smile from Penguin whenever Straw Hat called him that on the Den Den Mushi, and Penguin would never let him live it down either.
“Uhm, yeah, I guess,” Shachi said, making Penguin snap out of his thoughts.
If at all possible, Straw Hat smiled even brighter and Penguin wondered whether one could get blinded by a smile. The Supernova nodded to himself, taking off his hat to feel around the red band until he triumphantly pulled out a piece of paper.
Bepo appeared behind Straw Hat right then, peeking at the paper in his hand before he asked, “Is that a Den Den Mushi number?”
Straw Hat nodded again, handing the paper over to Penguin. “Nami’s number. Call her about Torao’s birthday and my crew will help figure something out.”
Shachi was right. This really was a miracle and Penguin could cry right there and then. What did the captain say about how they got away from Dressrosa? Something about a Straw Hat Fleet? Penguin wondered where he could sign up for that because Straw Hat really seemed like a God in that moment.
“Thank you!” Penguin said in a trembling voice, taking the paper from Straw Hat as if he was being handed the One Piece. It certainly felt that way.
Both Shachi and Bepo thanked Straw Hat profusely, making Straw Hat laugh and wave them off, simply telling them, “It’s okay, it’s okay! I’m actually angry Torao didn’t tell me earlier so we aren’t ready at all.” There was a pout on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest and suddenly, Penguin could see why the captain kept calling Straw Hat an adorable idiot, as cheesy and lovestruck as it sounded.
“Are you going to help us?” Bepo asked, looking like he was ready to run off at any second now to throw stuff together with their somehow miraculously present allies. Seriously, what were they even doing here? Oh well, Penguin wasn’t one to look a gift Straw Hat in the mouth.
Straw Hat shook his head, pointing with his thumb back the way he came. “Nah, I need to go back to keep Torao company. It wouldn’t do to ditch him on his birthday. Good luck! Call my Den Den Mushi when everything is done!” As soon as he finished speaking, he was gone, running back to the inn, no doubt to join the Heart captain.
Penguin had thought Straw Hat was there by pure coincidence but now he wasn’t so sure. He mulled over how casually the allied Supernova talked about meeting up with their captain, almost as if he had ran out in the middle of a date . “Do you think—” he paused, turning his head around to stare at Shachi and Bepo— “Do you think the captain called him here so they could hang out on his birthday?”
The other two stared back, equally dumbfounded. “Sure seems like it,” Shachi said in monotone.
“At least they’re making progress,” Bepo said slowly, almost like he couldn’t believe his own words.
Penguin could understand the sentiment; they had all thought they would be doomed to watch their captain pine over the rubber idiot forever but maybe the situation wasn’t so hopeless. Although, if the captain had hid something important from them, his oldest and closest crewmates and friends, there would be hell for him to pay, birthday boy or not.
Luffy didn’t let Law pay for their food at the inn. It wasn’t like Luffy wasn’t the one who ate the most of it anyway, but more than that, Law had to be spoiled rotten today. Looking at the sad remains of the allowance Nami had given him, however, he regretted not holding back for once. He would have liked to buy a gift for Law but now that was pretty unlikely.
Maybe he could turn himself over to the marines to collect the bounty on himself and then break out? Would that work? Nah, that plan would mean leaving Law alone for a while and that wouldn’t be worth it. He would have to make it work without money somehow.
“You know, you didn’t have to rush that food down, you’re gonna get sick,” Law noted after they had left the inn, squinting a little at the brightness of the sun outside.
Luffy grinned at him, easily replying, “I don’t get sick, I’m strong.” He could tell Law was about to give him some smartass, doctor-y remark, so he quickly continued, not letting Law distract him until he could say what he wanted to. “Besides, it’s your day and we need to do a ton of stuff you like, not just eat.”
He made sure to sound as decisive as he could to give Law no room for arguments and it looked like he succeeded. Law was looking at him with this annoyed expression on his face but he didn’t say anything to oppose him and the way he pushed his hat down a second later was telling enough, and Luffy smiled wider. Torao was really too cute.
Grabbing Law's hand to drag him towards the seaside walkway, Luffy delighted in the way Law laced their fingers together, squeezing his hand gently as well. As opposed to him, Law usually wasn't much for public displays of affection, smacking Luffy or pushing him away whenever he hugged him in public, only to later turn into the biggest cuddle monster once they were alone. Luffy thought it was adorable and never pushed it, but it made him even happier that today, Law didn't seem to mind. It was a special day, after all. Law better receive anything and everything Luffy throws at him today.
"What do you wanna do?" Luffy asked, looking over his shoulder at Law. "Oh, wanna go play in the water?"
Law looked at him blankly for a moment before he chuckled quietly. "Straw Hat-ya, do you want to kill us both?" he questioned, that damn smirk back on his face.
Luffy pouted, about to demand to know why Law was teasing him, but then he remembered they were alone and that might actually not be the best idea. "Oh, right. No one to fish us out." He hummed, looking up at the sky while rubbing his chin as he thought. "Then just a walk around the shore?” he suggested, glancing at his boyfriend for approval.
“I think I see enough of the sea every day,” Law muttered, pulling on Luffy’s hand to stop him in his march so that he could look around, as if searching for something. “Isn’t this an autumn island?” he wondered out loud after a moment.
Luffy nodded, unsure what his boyfriend was getting at. He didn’t ask, however, only waited patiently for Law to elaborate once he decided on whatever it was that he was thinking about. Instead, Luffy took the time to admire the way Law’s brows frowned slightly while his eyes scanned the horizon beyond the town carefully and how one corner lips quirked the slightest bit. Luffy was certain Law didn’t even realize he was doing it and he was even more certain that Law would cut his head off on the spot if he mentioned how cute it was.
Seriously, Luffy would never understand where Law’s evil reputation came from. Sure, he supposed the way he chopped people up and cut out their organs was weird, maybe even scary at first, but he could personally attest to the fact that getting a limb or three cut off didn’t even hurt and you could have a lot of fun with it. Plus, Law himself was absolutely adorable behind that mean scowl. Yes, Chopper and Law’s polar bear navigator were cuter but still .
He did have to admit ‘Surgeon of Death’ was an incredibly cool nickname though.
A second later, Law looked back at Luffy with a small, soft smile on his lips, and it were possible, Luffy would fall in love with him all over again at the sight. "Will you come with me to the forest over there?" he requested trying to sound like it didn't really matter to him either way.
But Luffy knew his boyfriend better than that and even though he didn't understand, he immediately nodded, then stood up on his tiptoes to give Law a quick kiss on the cheek. "Of course, stupid Torao," he laughed before he turned around to lead the way to the outside of the town.
Mere fifteen minutes after they had met up with the Straw Hats, Penguin could safely say the entire crew was an absolute, miraculous trainwreck. They were so incredibly chaotic but somehow, they had managed to already make a basic plan, assign roles, and call the three Hearts 'cowardly idiots' for not wanting to face the consequences of their actions, ordering them—yes, ordering —to herd up the rest of their crew because there was going to be 'the party of the era', whatever that meant.
Penguin was convinced they had no clue how scary the Heart captain could be. That, or they didn't fear any God or Devil. Probably both. But Penguin could see where they were coming from; Penguin himself knew the captain would be secretly happy to have everyone there, as much as he was going to gripe about it and possibly punish the ones who leaked his secret. Namely Penguin, Bepo, and Shachi. Or maybe not Bepo because Bepo could get away with anything but even so.
Still, he was grateful to them. He was also grateful for the fact that the Straw Hats' redhead navigator was so scary and full of authority. Despite the chaos of the two crews running around, the Straw Hats looking like they were more playing than making actual preparations, and the Hearts panicking because of the incredibly short notice, she was somehow managing to keep order and not let things get too off track. As Penguin looked around the formerly picturesque, currently messy and crowded little bay where the Polar Tang and now also the Thousand Sunny were docked, he could feel a smile pulling at his lips.
Even if they didn't succeed in setting everything up perfectly in time, he was sure they would have a lot of fun tonight at the very least. He only hoped the birthday boy would agree.
When they made it to the quiet, airy forest, Luffy couldn't keep the awed gasp in. The red and yellow leaves were so beautiful it was incredible. He suddenly understood why they were selling so many charms and talismans in the shape of leaves in the town.
Letting go of Law's hand, Luffy ran forward, laughing while the leaves crunched under his feet. "Torao, this is so cool!" he called to his boyfriend who was left a few paces behind, continuing at his slow, boring speed.
"Glad you like it," Law replied with laughter in his voice and Luffy smiled. He was so happy Law was enjoying himself.
“Uh-huh,” he confirmed, spinning on his heel to peer back at Law through a low hanging branch. “You look really pretty with these leaves around you,” he declared, making Law scowl at him.
“I’m not pretty ,” he scoffed.
Luffy stuck out his tongue at Law, repeating his statement in a tone that allowed no room for argument, satisfied when Law’s only response this time was a glare. He snickered, kicking up some of the fallen leaves as he walked back to Law’s side, the two of them leisurely walking together in a comfortable silence once more. Luffy glanced at Law’s profile after a moment, taking in the relaxed expression on his face while he admired the view around them and Luffy felt warmth spreading from his chest all the way to his fingertips. Law was positively beautiful in that moment, the content, small smile on his lips making Luffy want to protect him and never let anything bad happen to him ever again.
Not that Law wanted or needed his protection at all, Luffy knew the man could take care of himself, but he still wanted to keep him safe. Wanted to make sure he could keep smiling like this.
“What is it, Straw Hat-ya?” Law asked, looking at Luffy with his brow raised.
Luffy shook his head, knowing better than to voice his thoughts. Law would probably scold him for thinking of him as weak or worse, precious. “Sorry, Torao. It’s nothing,” he said with an easy laugh, finally tearing his eyes away from Law’s face to look back at the colourful trees. “Is this why you wanted to come here? The autumn leaves?” he asked curiously.
Law hummed as if he didn’t even think about it until Luffy mentioned it, then looked around the forest and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. The colours are nice.”
“They are!” Luffy said happily. It really was nice; quiet, crisp, relaxing, and kind of nostalgic. Made him want to have picnic with Sanji’s pirate bentos and warm cocoa, only chatting with his friends and playing with the leaves.
Law chuckled then, making Luffy look at him questioningly because of how… tired it sounded. Noticing Luffy’s stare, he explained after a moment. “Sorry, I just—” he paused, searching for the right words— “I thought of how much nicer it is when there are colours around you. Where I grew up, the entire city was white everywhere and even during autumn, the amber lead overwhelmed everything.”
Luffy listened quietly, letting Law speak without interruption and only stepping a little bit closer to him in a silent show of support. It was rare for his boyfriend to speak about his childhood or the island where he was born and Luffy understood why; that’s why it was all the more precious to him when he opened up about it and Luffy wanted him to know he would be there for him whenever he needed it.
“I mean, sure, the White City was beautiful, at least before it all went to shit, obviously. But sometimes, I thought the scenery was really repetitive,” he finished with another shrug, putting his hands in the pockets of his hoodie as if he was trying to protect himself from something—possibly from the stares at the discoloured patches that he tried to at least partly cover with tattoos—and he looked so tense and vulnerable in that moment; Luffy wanted to hug him and tell him it was alright. That he was alright.
But, knowing better than just jump at his boyfriend at a moment like this, he only nodded seriously. “Definitely had to be. Where is the fun in having everything look the same? That place always sounds so boring.” He was certain he was right. He had never been there and Law’s island might have been rich and pretty until the mystery disease Law had told him about broke out, but Luffy would still pick Mt. Colubo and the Gray Terminal any day.
“It really was,” Law agreed with a laugh and Luffy loved the sound of it. Law’s laugh was the best sound in the world and he was glad Law was slowly relaxing again.
Just when he thought about what he could do to brighten Law’s mood even more, some vibrant yellow leaves caught his attention and he picked one up before turning back to Law. “Look, Torao, it’s the same colour as your hoodie!” he smiled proudly.
Law blinked, seemingly taken aback by Luffy’s sudden change of topic. Glancing down to where Luffy was holding the leaf up against his sweatshirt, he huffed in amusement, then reached up and plucked one of the red leaves from the branch above his head. “Same colour as you vest,” he noted with a smile, twirling the leaf between his fingers in front of Luffy’s face.
“We’re matching,” Luffy announced happily, moving forward to finally snake his arms around Law’s waist. He grabbed tightly at the back of his hoodie and leaned his chin against Law’s chest, grinning up at his boyfriend triumphantly when Law’s arms wrapped around him in return.
He didn’t realize how chilly it was until now but with Law so close, he could feel his warmth seeping into his body and it was so comfortable; he never wanted to leave. Wanted to keep Law at his side, always.
But he knew that was impossible. Law had his own crew, his own adventures, and no matter how much he missed him all the time, he couldn’t— wouldn’t— restrain him in any way. Just like he wouldn’t let Torao restrain him . They became pirates so that they could be free, after all, both him and Law. But it would still be nice to at least have something to remind them of each other while they were apart, to remember they were connected and had each other’s backs at all times.
As if sensing his thoughts, Law’s hold on him tightened before he leaned down a bit and Luffy automatically let his head fall back as their lips connected. The kiss was so soft and sweet, just like this moment was, and Luffy hoped Law felt the same way. He wanted this day to be the best day in Law’s life so far, a day that would tell him how grateful and happy they all were that Law was here with them. That he had survived through all the shit life had thrown at him and that he was important to all of them.
That he was important to Luffy.
But Luffy knew he wasn’t good with words. He didn’t know how to properly convey these feelings that were swirling inside his chest and making him feel warm and full and happy , and so he only kissed the man back, pouring everything he had into the contact and hoping that Law would understand.
They made it. Penguin still couldn’t believe it but they made it and, better yet, the captain liked it. It was a complete victory.
Is what he wanted to say but there had been too many casualties already to call it a complete victory. When they had planned the party and Nico Robin suggested making it a murder-mystery theme, none of them were counting on the simple game of ‘find the murderer among us’ to deteriorate into the captain and Nico Robin herself teaming up and making it their mission to come up with the most gruesome ways for people to die or get tortured. And worst part was, whichever one of them was the murderer, they did it so well that there was no proof and no leads.
They were stuck in this game until all of them were dead at the hands of one or both of these creepy madmen.
This combined effort of theirs resulted in three people throwing up—though there might have been a little bit of alcohol to take into account here—and about seven people, led by the Straw Hats’ tanuki-reindeer-doctor person, running away from them in fear, all of them pointedly ignoring everyone still involved in the game for the rest of the night. The list of real-life ‘casualties’ finished with Jean Bart and Roronoa Zoro, who got bored of the game after a while and left to go drinking instead, and Straw Hat Luffy, who never even attempted to pay attention in favour of stuffing his face with impossible amounts of food.
But even so, as terrifying as the night had become with Nico Robin describing the newest corpse—who was Ikkaku, may her soul rest in peace—which she had ‘found’ in excruciating detail, Penguin had to admit he was having a great time.
The food was incredible, the women were beautiful, if scary, each in her own way, the booze was aplenty, and the captain was having more fun that Penguin remembered him ever having. The Straw Hats had really saved their asses here and he had to remember to thank them properly later.
He was brought back from his musings by loud gasps and cries of “No way!” as the murderous game came to a close. Penguin looked around in confusion but it was only when his eyes fell on Bepo, who was apologizing to everyone, that he understood what was so shocking. Bepo, their meek, innocent, adorable Bepo… was a murderer.
A genuis, cold-blooded murderer who went around behind all of their backs, somehow outsmarted and outdid the creepy murder duo, and killed every single one of them without anyone suspecting a thing.
Penguin felt betrayed on the most basic level, and he was sure all of the Hearts shared the sentiment.
Luffy slowly approached the hunched figure of his boyfriend, joining him silently where he was leaning over the railing on the deck of the Polar Tang, overlooking the bay area where the body of the party was still very much alive. It was quiet on the deck, the cold, salty air refreshing compared to the smell of alcohol and food down there. He could see why Law would disappear here.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly after a moment of the two of them standing in silence.
“Yeah, just needed a break,” Law replied in an equally quiet voice and Luffy hummed in response.
He didn’t really understand his boyfriend’s need for space but he could respect it and was glad that Law was okay with him keeping him company since it meant Law trusted him and liked him enough to let him inside his bubble. And so, Luffy only smiled, leaning against Law’s side and resting his head against his shoulder.
Law let him, pressing a brief kiss to his temple as they shared this moment, simply watching their crews laughing and shoving at each other and having fun. Luffy counted five of the Hearts passed out on the floor by the table where Nami was drinking; poor guys probably thought they could beat his navigator in a drinking contest. Luffy wondered whether he would ever bear witness to Nami passing out drunk. It would definitely be a sight to behold and for once, he would be the one having blackmail material on her.
Hey, one could dream, right?
“You know, I have something for you,” Luffy said after a long time of them just standing together in their serene silence.
He felt Law move slightly. The other pirate was probably looking at him now but Luffy didn’t look up, instead fishing in his pants pocket for his gift. He was almost embarrassed to show Law but it was important to him, it felt important to him, and he was pretty sure it was the same way for Law. And either way, Luffy wasn’t one to give in to something stupid like embarrassment anyway.
And so, he let the two charms dangle from his fingers in front of Law’s face, giving his boyfriend a moment to take them in before he went to explain, “I asked Franky to make these earlier. You can keep yours on your sword or, I don’t know, in a drawer in your room or something.”
Luffy was pretty sure was rambling. He wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say, nor did he know why he was so nervous, but he hoped Law would understand. Or would pretend to understand, whichever was fine with him.
It took a moment for Law to reach out an grab the charms with his hand to take a closer look, and an agonizingly long moment more for him to speak. “Are these the leaves from earlier?” he asked, sounding confused and… something else that Luffy couldn’t quite place.
“Yeah,” Luffy confirmed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “I really liked how they matched us and I thought it would be nice to have something that reminded us of each other. And it’s like a reminder that there are colours everywhere around you now or something?” He voiced it as a question, still unsure of what those words even meant. Franky had given him this knowing look when he talked to him earlier, though, so it couldn’t have been that complicated but Luffy still didn’t really understand feelings in general.
Law was his first in lots of things, after all, all of this entirely new to Luffy, and he was mostly following his instincts the entire time; he really didn’t have the brain, nor did he care enough, to think about these things more in depth. If it felt right, he just went for it.
But now his instincts were telling him to blush and for once, he would really like to at least understand why because Luffy, the man who would become the Pirate King, did not blush. As far as he was concerned, people could think whatever they wanted about him and he wouldn’t care in the least. But his Torao was apparently different, like he was in most things, and yeah, this was getting really awkward and he hoped Torao would say something fast.
As if on cue, Law laughed. It was just a short, quiet chuckle, but Luffy could tell it was real. Law was laughing, something akin to relief or sudden lightness behind it, and Luffy could feel a weight lifting off his shoulders as well when Law finally spoke up, his voice low and so incredibly soft, “I love them. Thank you.”
Law’s fingers curled carefully around the red leaf which was now forever preserved in its clear, protective shell, before handing its yellow counterpart back to Luffy and the rubber man felt a wide, overwhelmingly happy grin pull on his lips. Torao liked them. He felt the same way as he did and it was almost impossible for Luffy to keep his excitement inside. Honestly, he wanted to cry out in victory and jump up high towards the night sky but he knew that would only earn him a smack over the head and a scolding for ‘ruining the moment,’ whatever that meant.
And so, he only jumped on Torao, hugging him tight while the other stumbled at the sudden weight he had to support. Luffy giggled quietly the entire time while Law cursed at him for his randomness, fumbling to support Luffy without them both falling over and snapping their necks.
Finally, Law managed to sit Luffy on the cold, hard railing of the Tang, possibly getting rid of the weight but certainly not of Luffy’s affections because the rubber man was dead set on not letting Law go anytime soon. Even after he made himself comfortable on his new seat, he kept his arms wrapped around Law’s neck with his legs only pulling Law closer to him from where they were hooked behind the other man’s back.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” Law sighed, his voice full of annoyance but his eyes laughing.
Luffy only grinned in response, basking in the way Law’s arms were basically caging him against the ship’s metal railing, the Surgeon of Death not even pretending to fight Luffy’s hug.
“I love you, too,” Luffy said cheekily, into against Law’s neck. “Happy birthday.”
It was already late at night and Penguin was thoroughly buzzed when he noticed the captain was missing. He had wanted to wish him a happy birthday for the last time before he went to sleep but that was damn hard since the man was nowhere to be found. Grumbling to himself, Penguin took off from where the party was still going, looking around all the quiet areas that he thought the captain would like but finding nothing but sand, water, and a few nice seashells that he wasn’t looking for, but kept anyway.
He was almost giving up when some kind of movement on the Polar Tang’s deck caught his eyes. He couldn’t really see much in the darkness but if he squinted, he could barely make out a shadow over there. He mentally berated himself for not thinking of that possibility. Of course he would retreat to somewhere familiar. He shook his head at his own stupidity but decided to blame the alcohol.
Finally making his way onto the submarine, he headed directly to the area where he had assumed the captain was. He almost called out to him to ask if he was there but then he heard a gasp, followed by two quick steps, some cursing and giggling, and then—
“I love you, too. Happy birthday.”
Oh.
Fuck.
That was definitely Straw Hat’s voice.
And that silhouette was definitely the captain.
Oh, this asshole, keeping things form him and Shachi and Bepo. He was seriously asking for it. But… tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow sounded good. Certainly a lot better than right now, when Penguin literally just walked in on them at what seemed like a really, really private moment and Penguin was sure that if they found him now, he was dead.
He took a slow, careful step back. Then another and another.
And then, his leg hit something and there was a very loud, very painful, and very fear-inducing sound of a heavy wooden stick falling and rolling across the deck until it fell down into the ocean. It went down with a beautiful splashing noise as the last, glorious nail in Penguin’s coffin.
He only hoped Shachi wouldn’t steal his favourite pillow because no, no one was allowed to touch it even after his demise. He was taking it with him to his dark and miserable grave.
“What did you do?”
Those flabbergasted words were the first thing that Penguin’s consciousness registered. He tried to think back to figure out what that meant but the last thing he remembered was the angry call of ‘Room,’ followed by a ‘Torao, wait—’ Then there was only darkness and now he was staring up at Clione’s mildly curious expression.
It was weird though. He could feel his body but he was unnaturally cold, like something had been stealing his body heat for hours, and he could only really move the fingers of his right hand. Not even his head was turning and now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure he was only seeing with his left eye. Weird.
“I managed to put together one of your arms and the others are having fun doing jigsaw puzzles with the rest of your body over there, by the way. Can’t guarantee the results though,” Clione said indifferently, pointing behind himself with something that… looked suspiciously like a human arm.
Wait.
That was Penguin’s arm. Oh god, the captain totally chopped him up to tiny pieces last night and scattered him into the wind, didn’t he?
Thinking about it, Penguin couldn’t say he didn’t expect it—or deserve it, really. But looking at his detached arm in Clione’s hands and spying what he suspected was his foot stuck high up on the main mast, Penguin had to say this really seemed kind of really over the top. Penguin wasn’t the one keeping scandalous relationships secret form his best friends after all. Oh the revenge would be sweet.
But only once there were enough witnesses and substantial back up, of course.