~

Law got off the phone informing his friends that he would be staying a few days extra because he was meeting Luffy.

"Ooooooo! A dateeeeee!!" Penguin, Musta and Clione all had sang and Law slapped his forehead. "Bring him back before you guys get together."

"No promises." Law had said and cancelled the call. The reception in Drum was really bad but the closer Law got to a town, the more bars he received. When he was close enough, Law checked his phone to see the address Luffy had sent him. The hotel was in the same town Law was standing at the edge of so he didn't have to walk much to get to Luffy's hotel.

Law got to the room number mentioned in the address and knocked. He knocked twice more before trying the knob. It moved. The door was open. Law let himself in and found Luffy snoring on the couch.

This idiot.

"Oi, Mugiwara-ya." Law called the younger but Luffy didn't wake up. "Mugiwara-ya wake up." This time Law resorted to violent shaking but it was still ineffective. Law sighed. "Oh no, there's so much meat, how could I possibly finish it alone."

"MEAT?!" Luffy shot up and looked around for the said meat, then his eyes landed on Law. "Wha... it's only you." He fell back asleep.

"Don't look so disappointed!!"

"Toraoo!!" Luffy sat up again when his senses kicked in, stars in his eyes. "When did you get here? How did you get here? Did you pick the lock?"

"Your dumb ass left the door unlocked." Law sighed. "And wasn't the couch uncomfortable for you to sleep on?"

"Man I was so tired." Luffy rubbed his face. "Alright let's go get food!" The teenager jumped from the couch and Law was barely able to move out of the way when Luffy started running around putting on clothes.

"Wear proper pants and shoes." Law suggested pointing to Luffy's jorts and flip flops.

"Nah I'm ok! Let's go!!" Luffy took Law's arm and dragged him behind, running through the halls.

"What the f- slow down!" Law dug his heels in the carpet and stopped both of them. "Stop running."

"Oh yeah you must be tired from your black market thing."

"Don't saying that so casually."

"Hey your coat is fluffy!!" Luffy hugged Law and ran his hands all over the coat, letting out content sighs. The people passing by them were giving them odd looks. Law was beyond embarrassed.

"Stop it." Law smacked Luffy's head to get the younger to stop but he just hugged Law tight and rested his chin on the doctor's chest, looking up with watery eyes.

"Torao that hurt, take responsibility."

"How do your brothers put up with you? Are you like this every morning?" Law sighed forcibly detaching Luffy from himself and shaking his head.

"No, only with people I like." Luffy said and ran off to the lobby.

Like?!

Law followed Luffy out of the hotel, still red in the face. The younger was leading the way confidentally but one look back, he saw that Law was following slowly so Luffy grabbed Law's arm again and kept pace.

"I can follow you just fine, you don't need to grab my arm. People are going to get the wrong idea." Law explained, trying his best to pull his arm back but Luffy only tightened his hold.

"Let them. I don't care."

I do!! Law's brain was screaming at him but his heart was not protesting at the touch. It was liking it in fact. Heart! You have betrayed me!

"Let's go there! That looks like a good place to eat!" And Law was being dragged again. They ordered their food and chatted about what they both had been doing the past days, mainly Luffy blabbering about anything and everything until the food arrived and he got busy with that.

"You didn't have trouble booking an operational flight?" Law asked putting aside his plate for chicken rice and going for his tea. Way to warm up the system.

"Nope! How did you arrive here?"

"I brought the sub." Luffy had stars in his eyes. "Speaking of, the crew that's present at the moment wanted to meet you."

"Let's go then!"

"Let me drink my tea in peace first."

"You're slow." Law ignored that comment and enjoyed his tea, he would have to step out into the cold so of course he needed to warm his insides. "Torao hurry up!"

"They're not going anywhere." The older said, annoyed but drank the rest of his tea and they were both on their way. The Polar Tang was quite some walk away from the town, towards the secluded area where the river met the forest. Law led the way and when they descended the almost-steep path, Luffy could make out the submarine in the distance.

"It's as yellow as I remember!!" The younger exclaimed in joy and ran towards the sub, laughter ringing behind him.

"Oi Mugiwara-ya! Slow down!" Law cursed that he had to run behind Luffy in inches thick snow. Law did not like the cold weather that much and having to run was something he despised as well, the combination of running in the cold weather put him in a foul mood.

"Hurry up Torao!!" Luffy called turning back and stopping for a second. Law was very annoyed at the moment that he picked up some snow, shaped it into a ball and threw it at Luffy, smirking smugly when the snow met it's mark.

"I said slow down! Not all of us like to run!" Law shouted from the distance.

"Oh now you're on." Luffy grinned and Law instinctively took a step back.

"Do not-" Law was about to warn but was quieted by the snow that hit his face. Luffy laughed at the glare as the snow slid down Law's face.

"Nyahahahhahahahahaha!!"

"I will fucking obliterate you." Law walked to where Luffy had decided to stop and wait for him and once they had started walking again, Law stopped Luffy with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait Mugiwara-ya."

"Hm?" When Luffy was caught off-guard like this with Law's face all serious, the older took advantage of it and pulled the back of Luffy's coat and slid snow in it and ran to the sub, chuckling like a maniac. "Uhiyaaaa!!! It's cold! Torao! That's cheating!!" Luffy screamed, dancing in his place so the snow would either melt or fall to the ground. When the wetness had stopped bothering him, Luffy scooped up a lot of snow and ran after Law.

Law finally arrived at the sub and stopped to catch his breath, cursing himself for being so unatheletic. He could fight and perform days long surgeries but when it came to running, it never ended well for the surgeon.

"Oh Law you're back. Did you bring Luffy?" Penguin asked. "What's wrong?"

Law held up a finger to indicate he needed a minute to catch his breath and when he looked back, he saw Luffy laughing and running with arms full of snow that he would definitely not hesitate to dump on Law.

"Oh god he's a madman." Law dreaded and spotted Jean Bart, moving efficiently to hide behind him the same time Luffy neared enough to start throwing snow. "Jean Bart! Shield!" Law yelled as if the other was a Pokémon.

"Oooohhh!!! You're bigggg!!!" Luffy wondered coming to a stop and all the snow fell from his arms. Law considered himself safe and stepped from behind the giant. "He wasn't with you before."

"Jean Bart is relatively new." Law answered as a way of introduction.

"Ohh! Luffy!!" Penguin ran to the younger.

"Funny guy!!"

While Penguin and Luffy were laughing and talking and hugging, Law sat aside to relax. Clione and Musta also came out with Ikkaku in tow when they heard Luffy's familiar laughter.

"Is Law treating you well?" Law's ears perked at the question from Penguin.

"No he dumped snow in my coat and ran! Torao's mean!" Luffy complained and Law relaxed further in his seat, closing his eyes.

"Law that's not nice." The said man showed his friend the middle finger.

"Hey I know! Let's make snowmen!" Luffy chirped. "I've always wanted to make one!!"

"Okay let's do it!" All Law heard after that was laughter and whatever sounds snow made when it was being used to craft snowmen. "Pfft-hahahahaha!! That looks like Law!" Penguin laughed and caught Law's attention.

"It is Torao!" Law finally opened his eyes and looked at Luffy moving the snowman's twigs-for-arms and voicing behind. "I am Torao. I have very unfun way of doing things."

"I am going to decapitate you along with this monstrosity." Law said walking to where Luffy was, bringing Kikoku with him.

"Torao! Don't hurt Torao!" Luffy stood in front of the snowman, arms extended to the sides to protect it.

"Hey Law!" Law turned at Penguin's call and received a snowball to his chest. "Pick on someone your own size!" Law's eye twitched and he placed Kikoku by the snowman's side, picking up snow and turning it into a ball.

"Peng, we will pray for you." Ikkaku and Clione said diving to the side, betraying and leaving Penguin to deal with Law alone.

"It's a snowball fight!!" Luffy announced and immediately started throwing snowballs at Penguin. "Torao you're with me!" Luffy said pulling Law by the back of his coat and hiding behind a tree.

"That means I get Jean Bart!"

"No fair!" Luffy called.

"The bigger the target, the easier to hit, Mugiwara-ya." Law pointed. "But Penguin is mine."

"Nishishi! You're finally having fun!" The younger grinned and Law brought his hat down to cover his eyes.

"I am just taking revenge."

"Whatever you want to call it Torao." Luffy stood up from his position with a hand on Law's shoulder and made a run for Jean Bart, a direct attack. He managed to hit the giant man but got hit in return by Penguin. While Peng was distracted by Luffy, Law barraged him with half a dozen snowballs. Then Luffy started throwing some and it all got out of hand, everyone throwing snowballs at everyone else. It was Musta's call for food that stopped the men.

"If I get sick, I am killing both of you." Law huffed, shaking snow out of his hat and coat, glaring at Luffy and Penguin, both of them were sprawled on the cold snow catching their breaths, tried but happy.

"Man this was fun! But food now!" Luffy jumped up and went in the sub, followed by Peng and Law.

They all ate protecting their food from Luffy and being nostalgic about it. Law had saved himself a plate and went to take a bath first, not wanting to get sick and not liking the wetness from the melting snow on his skin.

Law got back to the others with his plate, towel around his shoulders, hair dripping wet. He sat beside Penguin and noticed Luffy eating slowly, a sign he was nearing the end of his meal. Law shook his head so some droplets would hit Peng on purpose.

"Still a brat." Penguin mumbled getting the hint and grabbed Law's towel, drying his hair for him. Law began eating but he was being too slow and his friend noticed. "Warm bath?"

"Yeah." Law ate in as much peace as one could eat with Luffy around.

"It was fun seeing you guys again!" Luffy stood up and took his plate to the kitchen and came back. "I'll see you guys tomorrow maybe."

"Just stay the night idiot. The sun's already down." Law mumbled and hit Penguin, threw his fork at Clione for the grins he received.

"I can't. I didn't bring my phone and I have to inform my brothers about my whereabouts or they get worried."

"No reception here too." Ikkaku waved her phone in front of Luffy to let him see the zero bars.

"Ok I'm gonna go!" Law felt unsettled letting Luffy go back alone in the snowy weather when there was hardly any sky light to guide him. "I will see you tomorrow Torao!"

"Wait." Law stood up and handed the extra satellite phone to Luffy. "This phone has reception even in a storm so just press this button to call us if something goes wrong." Law explained pointing to the emergency call button that was homed in to the submarine.

"Got it." Luffy said but the look on his face had Law worried if he actually understood anything. The older sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"Two of you, go with him." Law ordered and took the phone back.

"Awh are you worried Torao?" Luffy asked, unabashed. There were choking sounds and those of spitting liquids behind Law and he closed his eyes, praying for patience.

"I will not grace you with an answer. Take two of them with you. See you tomorrow." Law turned to leave and glared at all four of his friends, daring them to say anything.

"Oh you're just shy." Luffy wondered out loud and Law wrapped the younger's head with the towel he had brought from his bath.

"I will smother you!"

"Nyahahahhahahahahahaa!!" Luffy laughed and Law eased up on murdering him. "See ya tomorrow Torao." Luffy grinned, engulfing the older in a sudden hug, leaving with Penguin and Musta.

"Do not fill his head with unnecessary nonsense." Law warned his friends before they left.

"Whatever do you mean captain?" Musta said, feigning innocence.

"Ok ok we are leaving!!" Penguin hurried when Law grabbed a butter knife.

~

It was late at night, everyone was asleep, Jean Bart was on night watch. Law was in his room, studying the medical journals he had bought from the town during the day when he was with Luffy. His room lights were off but the desk lamp was enough to provide him with reading light. Law found it strange that after playing in the snow all day, he oddly wasn't tired but more energized and so he took advantage of that to study.

Jean Bart was on the upper deck, keeping an eye towards the sea and the land. Everything was calm, the breeze was close and there was a prediction for a blizzard the next day so nobody in their right minds was out. Nobody but the idiot that jumped on the Tang's deck and caught the giant's attention.

"Who's there?" Jean Bart flashed the light in the direction he heard the sound from and spotted a familiar face. "Oh it's you. What're you doing here this late?"

"I wanna see Torao." Luffy mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eye and walking past Jean Bart who let him enter the sub, too dumbfounded by the situation to stop him.

Luffy easily navigated himself to Law's room and first thought about knocking on the door to announce his arrival but he was too tired so he just tried the door knob and when it gave way easily, the door being unlocked, Luffy made his way inside, discarded his coat, put his strawhat aside and got in the bed, wrapping the blanket around himself, thinking he would be able to sleep now. A few hours passed but Luffy still couldn't sleep, he tossed and turned but nothing worked. Luffy turned towards Law and wondered when he would notice the younger was there.

Law's study table was adjusted by the wall so his back was to his bed. He was very immersed in the interesting new medical practices of Drum, introduced after Wapol was literally overthrown and the Isshi Twenty were allowed to spread medical knowledge and experiment on new things. The study light from the lamp always blinded Law's periphery so even if something was happening behind him, he would never know. He thought he heard some noise behind him but dismissed it as the cold wind crashing against the sub's metal and producing sounds.

It was hours later that Law's concentration started to wane and his eyes began to hurt from all the reading, he had foregone his glasses and was now regretting it. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned lightly but his movement went stiff and his ears perked when he heard the shuffling noise behind him, again and because he was not focusing on the text in front of him, he was more aware of the noise as being actually there instead of being a product of nature.

Law closed the journal in front of him and slowly turned around, hand going towards the scalpel he hid in his desk. His eyes scanned the room starting from the door, nothing was out of place. Moving further, Law's eyes landed on a pair of another eyes staring directly at him and he nearly screamed and threw his scalpel at the intruder but controlled his violence when his brain recognized the eyes.

"What the actual fuck!" Law cursed putting his weapon aside and rubbing his eyes, glaring at Luffy.

"I had a nightmare, couldn't sleep back." Luffy spoke, voice low and scratchy, half his face hidden in the blanket. He sounded out of energy and the solemnity in his voice was very out of character.

"And a panic attack by how tired you sound." Law observed and shifted his chair so he was directly facing the younger. Luffy didn't answer and shifted his gaze to elsewhere. Law found that strange. "Did you walk all the way here? In this weather? At night?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda cold." Luffy brought the blankets around him tighter.

"Let me check." Law sighed and got up from his chair, bringing his palm on Luffy's forehead to check if he had a fever temperature. "No fever, you're ok." The doctor spoke and pulled his coat on. "Wait here." He said and left for the kitchen to make some soup.

Law knew he had no obligations to Luffy but he always found himself making sure the younger was always safe, comfortable and well fed. He was confused by his own behavior but shook his head to get the thoughts out before they started making his head ache.

Law first went on the upper deck and handed a big bowl of soup to Jean Bart then descended and returned to his room to give a bowl to Luffy. "It will warm you up." Law went back to sit on his chair.

Luffy lazily got up, sniffling all the while and gingerly took the bowl from Law's hands, taking small bites and sips, allowing the soup to warm him up properly. He hummed in content when he was finished, putting the bowl in Law's extended hand. The older put the bowl on his study desk, not even risking Luffy's stray arm breaking the bowl by putting it on the nightstand.

Law faced Luffy who had curled up in the blanket again. "So what's this really about?"

"I told you."

"And?"

"I needed to see you." He was avoiding eye contact again.

"You need to stop doing this. Call your brothers or friends or something."

"But I like you."

Law rolled his eyes. "You like everyone."

Luffy stayed quiet and kept his thoughts to himself. He was going to tell Law that he wasn't exactly right and that Law was different somehow but decided to keep it to himself until he knew how Law was different and found all the answers he needed to even begin talking to Law about it.

"Help me sleep?" Luffy asked, sniffling, finally looking at Law and the older was thrown back to the time when Luffy was eleven and would have a nightmare or panic attack in the night and would ask Law this very same question.

This is getting out of hand. Law thought to himself but seeing Luffy wipe his eyes and how tired he looked from probably crying, Law sighed. "Fine."

Law got in bed and propped his head on his elbow, his other hand going to pat Luffy on his chest. Luffy shifted closer to Law with the blanket and older continued the patting until Luffy fell asleep, smiling to himself at the recollection of how he used to do that for him when he was young too, the rhythmic light pats soothing him into slumber.

"You're such a handful." Law mumbled pushing luffy's hair out of his eyes and got up to get another blanket for himself, going to sleep beside Luffy, careful of not waking him up. "Well, I don't blame you for today." Law whispered and closed his eyes.

The cold weather outside with snow and an incoming blizzard already making the winds harsh, must have reminded Luffy of his time on Swallow Island so it was a given if he had nightmares and panic attacks. This was one of the reasons Law had suggested Luffy just stay at the Tang, so he won't be alone. Law wasn't much better himself and had Luffy not distracted the older with caring for him, Law would have been in much the same boat.

Law was the one that woke up first, he barely got any sleep and his eyes were still aching. Sighing and realizing he won't be able to sleep anyway, he carefully got out of bed. He turned his head to check on Luffy and saw the younger curled up into a ball with the blanket.

Must be cold.

Law spread his own blanket on Luffy and when he was close enough, he noticed fresh tear stains on his cheeks, eyelashes still wet. Law sighed and adjusted the cover of the porthole to make sure no light came in. He wanted to let Luffy sleep in as much as possible since he looked awfully out of energy yesterday. Law wondered how bad Luffy's panic attacks were now to render him like that. They weren't too bad in the past but maybe something changed.

"Morning cap." Clione greeted when Law went in the kitchen for some tea. He washed his face and rinsed his mouth, and sat down with his mug. Law grunted a response and closed his eyes, trying to rest them as much as possible.

"Breakfast cap?" Musta asked and Law shook his head. The annoying bad feeling from his instincts was back and he doubted he could stomach anything.

"Hey guys! Check what I found out when I was in town to get the newspaper!" Penguin announced coming in the kitchen and sitting down excitedly. "Morning Law, man you look dead."

"What did you find out?" Law asked to divert the attention from him before Penguin got the idea that Law himself was being a victim of nightmares and panic attacks.

"Ok so you know the previous tyrant in this country was Wapol right?"

"Yeah, what about him?" Ikkaku asked from Law's right. Law took small sips of his tea, willing his eyes to stop aching.

"And you know he was overthrown right?"

"Yeah get to the point!" Clione said.

"But do you know who had a hand in it?"

"No, who?"

"Mugiwara no Luffy!" Law had taken a big sip this time and the revelation made him spit it all out in the mug.

"What the fuck?!" Everyone laughed at Law's expense. Law got a rag and cleaned the table where he managed to get the tea drops. "How the hell did that even happen?" Law was genuinely curious now.

"Ok so the story goes," Penguin started. "Luffy was here to get treatment for one of his friend and then he made more friends and Wapol hurt those friends so he fought him out of the country."

"What a menace!" Clione laughed.

"He dethroned a tyrant because he hurt his friends. Wow what a guy." Ikkaku whistled, impressed.

"Yeah the same happened with that Arlong story, you know. The news never mentioned where it happened but I asked Luffy about it and he said the fishman had been terrorizing the small village of Cocoyashi and one of his friends got hurt so he 'kicked his ass.'"

"Cocoyashi? Did he say Cocoyashi?" Law found himself asking before thinking about it, his relaxed posture now stiff.

"Yeah. Anyway so..." Penguin continued the story but Law zoned out as he got more unsettled by hearing the village's name. His bad feeling was getting worse and he did not want to find out why that was.

~