Law sat on the bathroom floor, his back to the locked door. The room was filled with darkness but Law had no intentions of turning the lights on.

His knees were drawn up under his chin and he was holding his face in his hands. Shaking uncontrollably he couldn't stop the tears that were forming two continuous streams down his face. He scrunched up his eyes, trying to stop those images flashing through his memory.

An hour or so before, Law had awoken from a dream. A dream so vivid and terrifying that Law was sweating and panting even before the moment his eyes snapped open and he was returned to reality. Law had been so terrified that the only solution he could think of was locking himself in the bathroom to try and stop these thoughts that continued to plague his mind.

He pulled on his hair, hard. His teeth were gritted in anger at himself for being so weak... He told himself that he was better than all this. Better than someone who couldn't even handle a stupid night terror: he wasn't a little kid after all.

No matter how hard he tried though, Law still violently shook and nothing seemed to be calming him.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. Loud enough so that Law could hear it yet softer than Law would expect from the person who's voice came after it.

"Traffy? You in there?"

It was Luffy. Law didn't respond, however, not really in the mood for company in his current situation.

Luffy had actually heard Law getting up in the bedroom before. He had heard Law's quick breathing and quiet cries and had realised straight away what had happened. Once he had left the room, Luffy had tried to go back to sleep, knowing that Law was the type to want his space in these kind of situations. But he was far too worried... It wasn't like Law to be scared after all.

Upon not hearing a response, Luffy pressed his ear to the crack between the door and its frame. Sure enough, he heard Law crying quietly but still audibly inside. He was filled with worry and wanted more than anything to take Law's sadness away.

"That's OK. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," Luffy reassured in a quiet voice.

He slid his back down the door so that he came to a sitting position on the floor. Putting his hands behind his head, he looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, willing to wait until Law was ready to talk.

A short while later, there came a noise from inside the bathroom.

"Straw Hatter... Are you still there?" Law asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Do you want me to leave?" Luffy asked, opening his eyes and looking at the closed door.

"No," Law answered almost immediately. "No... Please stay just a little bit longer,"

Luffy stayed put, obeying Law's command.

On the other side of the door, Law had turned around so that he was now kneeling before the door. He leaned himself against the door, knowing Luffy was on the other side. Running his fingers along the indentations of the door he was comforted by the fact that the only thing separating him from Luffy was a piece of wood.

If he listened carefully, he could hear Luffy's breathing and he swore he could feel his warmth radiating through the door. The light in the hallway was on and Law could see Luffy's shadow blocking the light at the bottom of the door. His heart rate slowed as his breathing began to settle...

"Oh, hey, Traffy! Did I ever tell you about our trip to Skypiea?" Luffy suddenly questioned.

"No... You didn't,"

"Really? OK, well, when we first arrived there were, like, clouds that you could walk on! And there were these weird fruits that were rock hard so I dropped one on Usopp's head..."

Law smiled as Luffy continued to detail the events of his adventures on the Sky Island. Luffy was stupid, that much was true, and it was a common occurrence for him to suddenly start rambling about anything and everything. But somehow, his stupidity seemed comforting at that moment... Normal people would be bombarding Law with questions which would have made the situation even worse. But Luffy's ramblings provided a distraction for Law, something that he could listen to without being reminded of those dreadful dreams.

Besides... Luffy was cute when he got excited. His voice would always speed up and his eyes would sparkle madly. He would emphasise random words with no particular pattern and flail his arms in the air. Law could tell he was doing that now, despite not being able to see him.

Once Luffy had finished his story, Law had calmed down a considerable amount.

"You doing alright, Traffy? Are you ready to come out?" Luffy asked.

Instead of answering, Law brought himself to his feet slowly and shakily. He reached for the door and unlocked it before opening it.

Luffy, who had not been ready for the sudden removal of the thing he had been leaning on, fell backwards into Law's legs, yelling out in fright all the while. Law fell onto the floor with a bang and growled slightly in anger, his head now throbbing dully.

"You're such an-"

Law was interrupted by Luffy scrambling to his feet and leaping on him. He wrapped his arms tightly around Law's neck and buried his face in his mess of black hair. His legs wound themselves around Law's middle and Law nearly fell back again with the sudden force of the young boy.

"Straw Hatter, listen..."

"Sh." Luffy silenced right in his ear. "I don't want to hear anything about what happened. I don't want you to apologise for hiding away. I don't want to hear your thanks for me staying at the door. I don't want to hear anything. All I care about is if you're OK or not,"

Luffy tightened his grip on Law and whenever he spoke, Law could feel his warm breath on his neck.

Feeling like a child again, Law easily wrapped both of his arms around Luffy's small body. He was fighting back the tears as he squeezed Luffy tightly, hiding his face in Luffy's shoulder.

"I'm here," Luffy whispered, sensing Law's instability.

The two stayed like that for a while, so still and silent that they almost blended into the shadows surrounding them. The soft glow from the hall was the only source of light and mixed perfectly with the weak shine of the crescent moon shining through the window. It may have been dark, but the two intertwining figures were highlighted in the formulation of artificial and natural light so that any passing person would be able to see their silhouettes in the dimness.

Luffy allowed Law to pull away first, giving him as much time as he needed to recover. Once they were apart, Luffy looked into Law's face and gave his trademark smile.

"Do you feel better?" Luffy asked.

Law nodded.

"Come on, Traffy~ If you're better, then smile!"

"I don't want to,"

Luffy smirked before pinning Law to the floor. Holding down Law's arms with one hand, Luffy's other hand began to tickle Law relentlessly.

"N-no!! Straw Hatter, don't do that!!" Law gasped, but his protests were soon drowned by his involuntary spurt of laughter.

"Is that a smile I see?" Luffy teased.

Law wriggled furiously to try and rid himself of Luffy's grip, but to no avail. Luffy was much too strong and determined.

Luffy became mesmerized by Law's laughter. His voice was naturally low to begin with, but his laughter was a slightly higher tone. The older captain hardly ever smiled, so seeing it was a special experience. Although not as wide as Luffy's, Law's smile was sincere and contained just as much happiness as Luffy's. The lines under his eyes practically disappeared when he laughed and his face became child-like and smooth.

Luffy finally stopped his attack and Law's face returned to normal.

"You're a jerk," Law muttered, but there was still a small smirk on his face.

"I got you smiling at least!" Luffy retaliated, sticking his tongue out a little.

Luffy stood up then, walking back outside before coming back in again, holding a blanket.

"I brought this for you in case you were cold sitting in here all by yourself," he said, wrapping the blanket around Law clumsily.

Law adjusted it and buried his face in the soft fabric, grateful for its warmth against the cold floor of the bathroom. All of a sudden, Law felt something land on the top of his head. Raising his eyes upwards, he saw the brim of a straw hat.

Luffy hopped back into his frame of view, smiling and laughing.

"Now you're warm and protected! Nothing can hurt you now!" he said with childish simplicity.

Law's face flushed... Luffy's hat was his most prized possession. He didn't just give it to people on a whim, in fact, he was often beyond annoyed if anyone tried to wear his hat without his permission. He pulled down on the sides of it to hide his blushing cheeks and listened to the soft noise it made when it bent.

Grabbing his vest and pulling him back down onto the floor, Law wrapped his arms around Luffy, subsequently wrapping the blanket around him as well. He pulled the latter onto his knee and buried his face into the back of his locks.

"Thank you... Luffy," Law murmured sincerely.

Upon hearing his actual name spoke by Law, Luffy screamed internally. His face exploded with heat and he turned red, unable to stop his heart racing. He looked back over his shoulder at Law's face timidly, only to find Law already staring at him.

"Law... You don't need to thank me," Luffy replied.

Leaning forward, Law kissed Luffy on the lips. A soft, meaningful kiss that expressed more sincerity and gratitude than any string of words could.