~

Law tightened his arms around Luffy's waist, pulling the younger closer to himself, kissing the bare shoulder his lips found. The two were in bed, a week after Luffy's adventure with the bicycle, most of the bruising bandages had come off but the scrapes still needed time. Luffy's mind needed time too, the younger had been going in and out of panic attacks frequently the entire week, so much so that Law used his good status as a punctual doctor to take the days off so he could stay in with his boyfriend and help him through the damage Law had inflicted himself. It was highly unprofessional to be absent from the hospital but it was consistent with his previous lie of being sick that Law was taking an advantage of. The Strawhats were first angry that Law was hogging their captain but then they were concerned when there was silence from Luffy's end as well. The same went for the brothers, except, Ace and Sabo had showed up at Law's bedroom window to try and find out what was actually going on. Then Luffy had to answer the several hundred texts and put everyone at east.

"Were you able to sleep?" Law whispered, not wanting to disturb the strange peace there was in the bedroom.

"Not much..." Came Luffy's hoarse reply, indicative of the state of the younger's mind. "More than yesterday though..."

"That's progress."

"Hmm..." Luffy sighed. "You can go to work, you know."

"I'm not leaving you alone when your brain is attacking you." Law said and sat up when Luffy did.

"You already stayed for a whole week Torao... it will get better when it will."

Law traced the numerous scars on Luffy's skin and sighed. "I know about that, but I don't want you to be dealing with it alone."

"You got me Godfather for this specific reason, I won't be alone." Luffy said hugging his dog who took that moment to jump on the bed.

"Still..."

"If something happens to me in your absence, that would not be your fault."

Law stared at the younger, once again baffled by the pinpoint accuracy of his words. The doctor knew Luffy's nightmares wouldn't just up and leave one day and never come back, he knew he couldn't skip going to the hospital all the time, he knew the two couldn't avoid everyone for eternity, Law knew all of that but he still didn't want to leave Luffy alone. At first it had felt like Luffy was pushing him away but then Law started understanding that Luffy was sparing him.

"Fine, I will tell Qar and Den that I can rejoin from Monday." Law gave in and picked his phone to send the said messages.

Luffy hummed a response, or maybe he didn't, he couldn't remember. The young man continued to hug his dog, his eyes closed, Law's fingers gliding on his bare skin, until the older let out an alarmed 'oh shit.'

"What happened?" Luffy straightened his back and looked at Law, his eyes tired from the lack of sleep.

"I have to go." Law quickly got off the bed. "Not for long though, I will be back soon." The doctor explained briefly, putting a clean shirt on, fixing his pants, and grabbing his other stuff.

"Go where?" Luffy asked, unmoving from the bed, turning his head here and there, following Law's movements.

"Smoker's group ran into trouble, they need medical assistance."

"And you're their doctor."

"That I am." Law said and stopped for a second to kiss Luffy on the forehead before heading for the door and leaving for the marine facility.

"I hope Kemurin's ok." Luffy said to Godfather, who wagged his tail and rested his head on his human's lap.

A minute passed, another, then another. Luffy sighed and wiped his eyes clear of the tears that were suddenly there. It had been like that for him for a whole week, Luffy didn't like being like that at all. With Law not in bed, coddling him over every tiny flinch, Luffy got the strength to take a deep breath and clear his mind on command.

Going through constant nightmares, the younger's brain kept getting bombarded with bad memories, there was something on Luffy's mind that he needed answered, something that was bothering him a lot about a particular man and to see if he was in any way connected. Godfather barked in Luffy's ear, loud, to bring the young man back to reality.

"I'm ok, thank you." Luffy scratched the dog behind his ears then looked around at the empty room. "Guess... we will go out too." The young man decided, he wanted those answers, and to do that, he had to ask the questions. Luffy picked his phone and dialed Robin.

After setting the time and place for meeting, Luffy washed his face, put on whatever he could find, made sure he didn't look as concern-causing as he felt, then he left with Godfather to meet Robin at her house.

Luffy didn't even have to ring the bell, Robin was waiting at the door, quick to lead the young man inside and hug him hard, she hadn't seen him for a week after all. Robin took care of not mentioning how awful Luffy looked and got him seated and put food out for him.

"There's no one here, as promised." Robin said sitting in front of the younger, her own cup of tea in her hands.

"Thanks." Luffy said, his voice carrying the tiredness he was feeling.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" The woman got to the point.

"I want some information but it has to stay between us."

Robin raised her eyebrows, her surprise apparent on her face. "Did something happen?"

"A long time ago." Luffy said without revealing a lot.

"So, who or what do you want to find out about?" Robin asked, consenting silently to keep the words shared between them, secret.

Luffy took a deep breath and looked at his friend. "I want to know as much as there is to know about Corao."

~

"Who the hell even did you run into?" Law questioned Smoker, patching up injuries on the marines on priority basis. The white-haired officer was waiting for his turn, an abundance of gauze pressed on his forehead.

"Can't say." Smoker replied.

"Can't or won't?"

"Both." Hina answered for Smoker, holding her injured arm with the other.

"Alright then, keep your secrets." Law rolled his eyes and took off his bloodied gloves to put on new ones for the next man he had to patch up. The doctor stopped himself for the few seconds it took to shake the image of Frodo Baggins out of his head, then he restarted treating injuries until it was first Hina's arm that needed bandaging and then Smoker's forehead that needed stitches.

"We heard you had called in sick the entire week, didn't know you would show up here." Smoker said when Law was pulling the final stitch.

"I got better in the morning." The doctor shrugged. "Also, your entire facility is benched from duty until further inspection, which I will carry out after a week."

"What?" Hina asked.

"Yes. Benched."

"Law, you can't do this." Smoker argued.

"I can." Law grinned. "You can work from behind a desk, but no going out. Head wounds can get real nasty real fast, so call me if you start getting nausea or confusion."

"I would get nauseous and throw up if I have to stay behind a desk for a whole week."

"He would!" Hina agreed, laughing at Smoker.

"Then stay home, and rest." Law suggested writing up a medical recommendation for bed rest for the entire facility.

"You don't actually mean that." Smoker challenged.

"I do." The doctor handed the slip to the officer. "Don't be stupid, and rest like you're told, and call me if anything feels off."

"There's no changing your mind huh." Hina sighed.

"No."

"Fine then." Smoker gave in. "You seem to be in a hurry."

"I left the stove on." Law said and did some final checks on everyone, noted their symptoms and lack thereof, then he was off to home. The doctor stopped on his way back and bought lots of barbeque meat for Luffy, hoping it would help the younger move towards getting better.

Law twisted his key in the knob and entered his home. When the doctor was putting his shoes away, he noticed that Luffy's shoes had also been moved and that there was a freshness in the air inside the house that wasn't there when Law had left to treat the marines. Walking further inside, Law found Luffy sprawled on the living room floor with Godfather resting his head on the young man's chest.

Law walked around Luffy to put the food on the kitchen counter then came back and stared at the sight. "What are you doing?"

Luffy moved his head in the direction of the older's voice but kept his eyes closed. "Stimming."

"Did you go out?" Law sat beside the younger.

"Hmm. For a walk." Luffy said. "Kemurin ok?"

"He had a head wound, the stitches would leave a scar but he's ok."

"Head stitches are the worst. They're so itchy!"

"Of course, you'd know." Law joked then his smile faltered when he looked at Luffy, the younger's eyes still closed, stimming as he had put it. "Need any help?"

"Hug me?" Luffy said opening his eyes, sitting up.

"Come here." The older brought his arms around his boyfriend and hugged him to the best of his ability, careful of not pushing on the scrapes.

"Tighter, Torao."

"Your wounds are still sensitive."

"I don't care, it's like my soul is getting out of my body, so I need you to hug me tight enough to force it back in. Got it?" Luffy said.

"Got it." But Law was still reluctant to use all his strength.

Luffy groaned then said something he knew would get Law mad, but it might get the older to hug him really hard. "Pretend I'm dead or dying and it's the last time you can hold me."

"Don't even joke about it asshole." Law said but found that Luffy's words did the trick, the younger wasn't complaining anymore. The older didn't want to think of a world without Luffy but he knew he couldn't protect the younger from everything, death is always inevitable, so once that thought settled in his brain, Law found it hard to let Luffy go.

"Perrrrrrfect."

"I got you barbeque meat, but you're being an ass with all this 'pretend I'm dead,' so I'm going to eat all that myself."

"No! I want meat!" Luffy got up when Law let him go and got up before him.

"Dead people don't need to eat." Law teased and went to the kitchen to serve the meat out on plates.

"I do! Since I'm not dead yet."

"It's good that you are feeling well." The older started, serious, facing his boyfriend so Luffy had no choice but to look back. "But... if you're dead, I'm dead."

Luffy didn't say anything in response, just stare at the older, a vacuum forming in his chest. The younger didn't want to say anything, he couldn't, he knew he had no right to ask Law to live when he himself would be dying or dead. It still felt extremely intimate having been confided with such a simple string of words.

Law smiled at the silent acceptance, he felt heard. "But since we are both alive right now, we can have this meat."

~

A new week brought a new motivation for the boyfriends to rejoin civilization, as Law had put it. The older went to the hospital after his long break, so Luffy also decided to get his shit together and went for work, in hopes that a distraction would prove fruitful in helping him forget about his nightmares. The younger also decided to actively help Robin with the wedding, to work in Law's stead too since the older couldn't spare time from the hospital. Franky and Robin didn't really want to wait too long to get married so they chose a date that was in two weeks, all the very special guests had already been informed so they could make it to the day on time.

"Gluten-free right?" Luffy confirmed taking a mouthful of the cake Sanji had sampled out. Luffy, Sanji and Robin were at the Baratie one night, sampling cakes for the wedding.

"Who do you think you're asking that?" The blond chef sighed, exasperated. "Of course, everything is gluten-free."

"Just confirming." The younger stuck his tongue out. "Sometimes... Torao forgets."

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean he forgets? It's hard to imagine a man like him being careless about his allergies."

"Not careless," Luffy started, then shook his head. "He just forgets when he's with us, I dunno how to explain that."

"Is it that he feels comfortable and safe around us enough to let his guard down? That Law-kun trusts us to not poison him?" Robin tried.

"That! Exactly that!"

"Heeeee." Sanji mused.

"Though Torao doesn't like bread anyway, so I don't know if he likes cake. Cake is bread, right?" Luffy asked.

"It is, yes."

"But Torao does eat pizza... Pizza is bread too, right?"

"It is." Robin answered this time.

"What else does he not like?" Sanji asked, bringing his notepad out.

"Pickled plums, bread, meat that's done rare, me when I don't pick up after myself, also doesn't like it when Godfather licks his face, oh and dust, Torao doesn't like dust either, open-toed shoes for outdoors-"

"Luffy, I was asking about food preferences." The cook sighed. Robin laughed.

"Well, Torao'll be here in an hour anyway, you can ask him too." Luffy said and took another bite of the cake.

"I hope he still likes fruit." Sanji said. "We managed to fatten up his skinny ass a bit, but he still needs to eat a lot and healthily at that to have proper muscle mass."

"Don't say that to him." The youngest pointed. "Torao would snap and say, 'I know, I'm a doctor.'"

"He would, he totally would."

The three conversed among themselves, enjoying cake, Sanji swooning over and agreeing to everything Robin wanted, Luffy sneaking into the kitchen to steal some of the food he knew Sanji was keeping from him, the blond always did. It all continued until Law arrived and slumped in the stool.

"Sometimes I want to murder people for being so stupid." Law mumbled in the counter.

"Sometimes?" Robin said.

"Ok, correction, most of the time."

"What happened? Did a kid get a bulb stuck in their throat again?" Luffy asked and Sanji raised an eyebrow at the highly specific example.

"A grownass man! A grownass man had a bulb stuck in his throat!" Law rubbed his temples.

"What was he even doing with a bulb in his mouth that it went in his throat?" Sanji asked putting a bowl of fruit in front of the doctor.

"I don't know! He wouldn't say!"

"Bet it was a sex thing." Luffy pointed.

"Could be. Fucking want to punch him so hard that the bulb would break in his throat." Law complained and took a spoonful of the assortment of fruit in front of him.

"I have a lot of questions about that, but more importantly, how and why do you know about 'sex things'?" Sanji asked Luffy.

"I watched stuff to understand what the hype was." Luffy shrugged. "Couldn't figure out why people used those things though, normal is ok enough for me."

"What is this? It's not a regular fruit bowl. Why is it spicy? It's good though." Law said, brain too tired to have heard what Luffy just confessed.

"It's a..." Sanji trailed, his captain's words ringing in his head. "Fruit chaat. It's supposed to have spices." The blond chef looked at Luffy next. "What do you mean ok enough for you?"

"Hmm?" Luffy tilted his head in confused, then it struck him, and he smacked his hands on his mouth. "Wasn't supposed to say anything!" The younger's face turned red when Robin patted his head.

"Really good." Law mumbled around another mouthful, unaware of the beans his boyfriend was spilling just beside him.

"Better than fruit juices." Sanji commented, unable to take his eyes off Law now, images of activities stuck in his head.

"I know, I'm a doctor."

That was the catalyst that broke the spell and the three Strawhats present, laughed at the words Law said, something Luffy had predicted an hour ago.

~

A chapter is here >.>sorry :c

Anyway!

Oh right, Fruit ChaatIt's really an assortment of soft fruits, chopped up in similar sizes, mixed together with sugar and chaat masala (a mix of different spices). It's something unique to Pakistan and India, originating in the Mughal era. It's sweet and spicy and crunch and soft all at the same time.

Short recipe?Apples, bananas, guava, grapes, oranges/tangerines (seasonal), sapodilla when it's available. Sugar (according to taste) and chaat masala (according to your personal spice level)You can also put yoghurt in it and chickpeas and boiled potatoes (I know they aren't fruits, I get super pissed when I spot chickpeas and potatoes in my fruit chaat)

I think Shan's Chaat Masala is now available in the USA, or most countries where there is a high number Pakistani immigrants.

Do try if you can!

Things have been weird, there's comiccons, university, work, my parents being assholes

*sigh*

what must a woman do to achieve peace?

Oh also, I bought a sewing machine! Yay!!I suck at it though XD

but that's all from me!

How is the new year treating everyone? <3