~

Luffy walked back home from school, his shoulders unusually slumped. The moment the boy was through the door of the apartment the brothers shared, he let out a huge exhale and sat down near the shoe rack, burying his head in his arms and knees.

"I thought I heard the door open- wha-? Luffy! What happened?" Sabo questioned, crouching down to his brother and putting a hand on his back. Luffy raised his head and it looked like he was about to cry. Sabo panicked. "Are you ok? Are you hungry? Food's going to be up in a few I promise!"

"I miss Torao." Luffy sunk further in his place. Sabo didn't know how to react, he hadn't met Torao but both him and Ace decided amongst themselves that when they do meet Torao, they won't kill him, at least not immediately.

"Um... do you guys not talk on the phone?" Sabo tried.

"Torao's busy these days," Luffy started, taking a breath before continuing, "and I wanna be able to touch Torao, this call and text thing is boring!"

"T-t-touch?" Alarms went off in Sabo's head, he wondered what kind of touching the two got up to and how many fingers he would have to chop from Torao's hands if the touching was inappropriate.

"Torao's hugs are the best." Sabo sighed in relief that it was just hugging. "He's big and thin but that's nice."

"Big and thin?" Sabo couldn't help the reiteration. TORAO WHAT KIND OF TOUCHING ARE YOU INVOLVED IN WITH MY BROTHER?!

"Torao forgets to eat most of the times so he's really thin but Sabo he's so tall, it's so cool! I don't know where he gets the strength but his hugs are the best!"

Oh Luffy meant height and build, not... that. Sabo sighed in relief a second time. "Did you both talk about the implications of being in a long-distance relationship before getting into it?"

"I don't wanna stop Torao's adventures."

"So since he lives far from you, this particular thing will keep happening Lu."

"I don't like it." Luffy pouted. "He said he would be able to meet when his patient is gone-"

"I think you mean discharged."

"Yeah that but then that patient got bad then he got other patients, this sucks! I haven't seen Torao in two months! Why are people getting sick all the time!"

Something softened in Sabo. Sure he didn't particularly like the fact that Luffy was growing up and getting into relationships but seeing his brother like this, sad and deflated, his natural protective instinct woke up. Sabo put aside the general animosity he had towards Torao for being Luffy's boyfriend and decided to help. "When are we actually meeting him though? Call him and tell him to pick a date sometime next week."

"You're not saying this so you can lure him to kill him?" Luffy furrowed his brows.

"No Luffy, that would make you sad, won't it?" When Luffy nodded, Sabo added, "so call him over for dinner and tell him it might exceed from a dinner to like a week of hangout so come prepared."

"OK!" Luffy lit up and jumped to his feet. "Oh and I am hungry!"

After Luffy left, Sabo opened multiple chats, all family and told them to keep their schedules open for the next two weeks.

~

"The liver transplant is a success." Law informed the attendants who arrived with his current patient. "The recovery is at least three months and make sure she has proper nutrition, exercise and rest. And please avoid contact with idiots infected with something. I have written everything down just in case you forget-" Law stopped when the attendants started crying in relief. "Since you are too inattentive to listen right now."

"Oh thank you so much doctor." The woman said and dropped to her knees in relief, crying so ugly and free that something inside Law churned.

Law's current patient was a fifteen year old girl whose parents could not afford to be on the waiting list for a liver and transplant in their home country so they sought out other methods because the child was running out of time and the state was nonchalant about it. It wasn't only a problem about time with them but money as well, which Law found out later. He didn't know why he agreed to do a transplant that was obviously putting a deficit in his accounts. He was not going to get paid and he realized he just helped someone for free, without demanding anything in return. The only thing he received was genuine gratitude and that... made him feel so good. For probably the first time in his life, Law felt truly elated at having saved a life.

The patients were residents of South Blue so Law had went there for the transplant and treatment, making sure he wasn't being followed by Akagami or Doflamingo's men. After tying up any and every loose ends, Law sent the patient and the parents, home and went to a place he had been meaning to visit ever since a certain conversation with Luffy.

It had been two months since he had met Luffy, Law felt guilty about that but that's how his world worked. After being able to pick up a scalpel with his shoulder and abdomen not spasming at every little thing, Law restarted taking clients but this time, he had no real motive. He knew where Doflamingo was and he knew how he needed to approach the matter but... he didn't want to anymore. Law realized this amidst a surgery, his patient's guts cut open in front of him, and Law was thinking why he was doing this anymore if not to gain more information about his goals. He realized that he didn't want to put Luffy in the spotlight of that kind of a monster again, even if that meant abandoning his own plans. But Law felt awfully angry with himself that he was willing to throw away years of work just because he had a boyfriend now.

All in all, Trafalgar Law was confused about his future. Again.

He had patients in his research facility in Flevance, patients who took three months sometimes, to heal and recover. He had clients all over the world. He couldn't just abandon everything to go to Goa to meet Luffy – the younger had insisted that a month ago. Law knew what all of this implied and he knew it was wrong that he was unable to make time for his boyfriend but that's what life with someone like him was, one of the reasons he didn't want to be in a relationship to begin with.

Law took a cab to near his destination and walked creepily in the alleys behind it to jump over the walls discretely. He wanted to observe if what was being made here was actually according to what it all said on paper. Law picked locks easy enough and snooped around the entire factory till he was satisfied that Eustass Kidd was not making any weapons or harmful things from the material he got from Luffy. The moment Law exited the factory and Eustass' general vicinity, he noticed his phone had been vibrating in his coat.

It was of course, Luffy.

"Hello." Law greeted.

"Did all your patients get released yet?" Luffy asked right off the bat.

"Discharged." Law corrected. "And I have one patient who is supposed to be discharged in a few days."

"Can we meet then?"

"If nothing else turns up." Law regretted the word choice the moment he said it. "I mean, I can try to push it off for after we meet."

"Great! Cuz Sabo's invited you to dinner next week!" Luffy sounded excited.

"He's what now?"

"Dinner. Food. He said he won't kill you and that this isn't a trap and that he wanna meet you, Ace too."

"Oh no, I have tons of patients lined up." Law joked. "I can't make it next week."

"Fine then I will come to Flevance!" The humour went over Luffy's head.

"I'm kidding, I will be there. And you are not allowed to leave Goa for me until you graduate."

"That's not fair Torao!"

"I will refuse to meet you and I can be very petty about that." Law warned again.

"Fine."

~

Law had expected a calm flight to Goa from Red Line International. He had expected to hopefully drown himself in music enough to mix the long hours together into passing quickly.

Law had not expected the chaos he was soon going to get.

The first thing that happened was when Law found his seat and was immediately disturbed by a boy, not older than ten maybe.

"Mister, can I have your seat? I like to sit by the window." The kid said and looked at Law with big, expectant eyes.

Law stared at the boy for a while before uttering a resolute, "no." Window seats were Law's only peace in airplanes, he didn't like closed, boxed spaces and the window was the only way of making himself feel safe.

"Excuse me," the parent started next, "my son would like the window seat, can you please move to the other seat?"

Law looked at the woman and rolled his eyes exaggeratingly on purpose. "No."

"Why? He's a child, he likes window seats." The woman insisted.

"I like window seats too."

"Oh please." The woman stomped her foot and the kid grinned like he was about to have his way. "You're a grown-up, act like one, it's not like you'll lose something if you don't have the window for one flight."

"You're a grown-up too, you should have scheduled better so you could have the window seat your son loves so much."

"You're such an asshole!"

"Is there a problem here, ma'am?" The flight attendant asked, stepping in when the woman's voice had escalated. The woman in question didn't say anything so the flight attendant looked at Law. "Sir?"

"Actually yes." Law said and pulled on his best 'I have trauma and everyone keeps making it worse' face. "This woman said I should watch my back because she's going to sell my body to the black market like she would do to that poor boy when this plane lands." Law finished and breathed in fake panic. "She kept harassing me and I was just about to get up to find the air marshal and thank god you're here."

"This is not what happened!" The woman yelled. "He's lying!"

"Ma'am please step this way." The flight attendant forcibly pushed the woman to the back of the plane and Law showed the kid and his mother a proud middle finger when they turned to sneer at him.

Law put his headphones on the moment he got seated in peace and the plane took off and it was safe to ignore the instructions of the peppy flight attendants. He was relatively calm considering he was going to Goa to meet Luffy's brothers – brothers he knew would react to him worse than Zoro did. Law was calm and ok, enjoying music with his eyes closed.

Until there was a kick at the back of his seat.

Law ignored it. It was probably an accidental thing, he decided he wouldn't get angry over it. But there it was again. And a third time. Law opened his eyes and took off his headphones to turn around to see who the fuck needed to get yelled at now.

It was another fucking kid!

"Don't do that again." Law said as the only warning and turned back around. But kids never learn. This time, Law decided to be scary and rude. "If you do that again I will pull your fucking brain out of your nose and carve you from your mouth to your asshole."

The kid started crying. The adult sitting beside her decided to speak then. "Hey now, this isn't nice."

"What're you, her mom?" Law nearly snarled, he was getting irritated, great.

"Her cousin, actually." The man said.

"Then teach her a fucking lesson on not to bother other people for her own entertainment or I certainly will." Law sat back in his seat with an angry huff but turned around to say one final thing. "And I will throw you both out of this fucking plane if you bother me again."

Law was not bothered again. Not by the bratty children or even brattier parents or caretakers. The third time was a loud wail from a woman in the back. Law's eyes twitched, his hands shook from wanting to murder the few someones disturbing his peace.

"Honey! I think-! I think the babies are coming!" The woman who had screamed before yelled.

"Can't you hold it until the plane lands?!" The 'honey' panicked.

"They're not coming through a bladder you dumb man!"

Law sniggered at the exchange, men who didn't know shit about anatomy were indeed dumb as fuck to him. Law's fun was shortlived when the woman's pain got more vocal and frequent.

"Is there a doctor on board?!" The flight attendant hollered across cabins. Law hunched his shoulders and sunk in his seat, he was not at all going to put himself in such a situation. No thanks. "Is there a doctor-"

"I'm a doctor!" A man yelled and Law sighed in relief, he was safe.

"Can you help her?"

"Oh I'm not that kind of a doctor-"

"You can fucking shove your Ph.D. up your ass you damned ingrate." Law spat and left his seat to go to the flight attendant. "I'm a doctor." Law turned to the Ph.D. man then added, "of medicine, like you had so obviously asked for."

"Hey you look like a kid, are you sure you're a doctor?" The Ph.D. man asked.

"You'd look like minced meat if you don't shut the fuck up." Before the man had anything more to say, Law turned back to the flight attendant. "Where are the idiots who decided to fly very near their due date?"

"This way."

Law was led to a couple in the back, the woman had the hugest pregnant belly Law had ever seen and she was obviously having trouble breathing sitting like the way she was. Her spouse was not helping her situation at all, hovering and panicking. One look and Law knew the babies were coming coming.

"Hello ma'am, I'm a doctor." Law introduced, as politely as possible, pulling on his gloves. "I am going to have to check a few things to determine your situation, is that ok?" The woman nodded, barely able to speak between breaths. The doctor sat down on his knees to get as best an angle as possible to check how much time the woman had before the entire flight knew someone was going into labour on board. A few minutes of poking and prodding and Law faced the woman. "The good news is, this is going to be fast." Law checked his phone for the time. "The bad news is, you're going to be pushing in about half an hour and this is no place to for that, hygienically, not ethically."

"What do you suggest we do then?" The spouse asked.

Law turned to the flight attendant. "Are there seats empty in the first class, the ones with beds? I am going to need two."

"Let me ask."

"Also ask if anyone is willing to spare theirs in case there are no empty beds." The woman went to the other cabins to obtain the information. Meanwhile, Law went and got his bag from the overhead compartments, there was some medical equipment he carried around on his license he got from Sengoku. Law went back to the couple just in time for the flight attendant to arrive.

"There is one bed that's empty and a nice man is willing to spare his for the second."

"Best. Put clean sheets on both beds." Law turned to the man. "Pick her up and get her to the bed." While the two were busy following his directions, Law turned to the other passengers. "I'm going to need some help, is there anyone with medical knowledge or experience? Even a little would count."

At first there was no response but a few seconds later, a hand was weakly raised, following which, Law found a young woman. "I have cleared my medicine exams but no hands-on experience yet." She said shyly.

"Do you know how to take a pulse and give CPR in case that's needed? Shots and IVs?"

"Yes."

"Good. Come on, you're assisting." Law beckoned and had the young woman follow him to the first class. He met the flight attendant on his way and stopped her. "Get me two grandmas, not the Karen types." Before there were any questions, Law went to his patient. The woman was in agony. "Ma'am what's your blood type?"

"XF. We share the same blood." The spouse answered, he was crouched by his wife, holding her hand. Law looked at him before making a decision.

"I'll call for you if we need blood but you're useless right now and only occupying space unnecessarily, wait somewhere else." The man sputtered but followed the order. The first class beds had privacy so Law didn't have to worry about spectators. He began taking readings on blood pressure and temperature and pulse, noted the pain levels, dietary history etc. He noticed the woman was in extreme pain so he decided to make a little conversation to ease her mind before the grandmas arrived and helped her. "I have to ask, why the fuck are you travelling like this?"

"Our country's gone!" The woman breathed. "We had to evacuate- I have family in Goa so- all of us who survived- we fled."

"What happened?" The young woman Law was with, asked.

"And where are you coming from?" Law asked.

"The region close to Spider Miles- is it time yet? It feels like it's time!" The woman screamed.

"How long ago did you receive care for your pregnancy?" Law inquired picking his notepad, pushing the detail about Spider Miles aside.

"A month maybe-"

"You said there were babies, how many do you know about?"

"Triplets."

"Alright." Law noted and stepped aside to get his sterilized equipment and make room for the grandmas too. By the looks of the situation, Law was confident he could pull this off, well, he had no choice. The woman's situation felt awfully familiar to his own situation once in the past and against his better judgment, Law was empathizing, especially after the knowledge that she was fleeing from close to Spider Miles. He frankly did not want to do this but his brain kept bringing up Luffy's face, always telling anyone who would listen, about how proud he was of Law and that Law was 'such an amazing doctor.'

The two grandmas helped calm the woman down while the young woman helped ease her into a comfortable position. The space wasn't much or ideal for birthing three babies but they would all have to make do with what they had.

"Keep monitoring her pulse." Law told the young woman and checked the dilation once more. "Ok ma'am, start pushing."

Law cringed at the screams so near his ears but the woman was having the worst of it, with nothing to dull her pain or reduce it in the slightest. Law with his illegal researches had studied about muscles a lot and this woman's muscles were very efficient and made the violent labour go fast. Once baby number one was out, there was only a minute's gap before the two other followed. Law cleaned the babies, cut the cords and wrapped them in his sterilized towels, made sure the babies' pulse and breathing was fine and unobstructed before putting the three in the baby-carrier by the bed the plane had.

Law was cleaning the bleeding site when there was a spray of blood and endometrial debris, he managed to avoid his face but his clothes got hit. The doctor didn't have the luxury to make faces on the incident because he felt like the woman's muscles were still pushing.

"Uh, are you sure it was only three?" Law asked peeking at the woman huffing to catch her breath.

"Wha-?" The woman barely had time before she was consciously pushing this time. "There's a fourth?!"

"Looks like it." Law commented getting down to business again.

"Pulse is dropping." The young woman informed Law.

"Fuck." The baby had started crowning but Law took his eyes off there for a few seconds to instruct the flight attendant waiting nearby. "Get the husband. We need blood."

Once the last baby was out, Law made absolutely sure that there were no more surprises, then he quickly stitched the woman and cleaned her, getting help from the spouse to shift her to the other, clean bed. He watched as the young woman put the needles in for a direct transfusion and went back to his bag for adrenaline he knew he kept for emergency purposes, it would help with the dropping pulse and improve the woman's chances of not coding or flatlining till the plane landed.

Once all medical aspects of the situation were clear, Law allowed the grandmas to introduce the babies to the couple, made sure everything was clean before that happened. The woman was better with epinephrine in her system but she could only stay awake long enough to interact a little with the children.

"Good job." Law told the young woman who looked like she was about to cry, the surgeon wondered what was up with that. Breathing a sigh of relief and getting clapped at by the habitants of the entire plane, Law walked to the bathroom to clean himself, or at least try. The blood was not going to wash off with minimal resources, he knew that. It was sad to have to say goodbye to that particular shirt but it felt like a badge of honour and before Law knew it, his own eyes were leaking. This was not his first time delivering babies, he had assisted his parents while he was running the hospital with them in Flevance, but it was the first time, Law had taken independent, willing charge of such a situation and everything turned out ok. This was what it meant to be a doctor.

Law was tired but he set multiple alarms on his phone for checking on the couple and the babies at regular intervals till the plane landed and airport medical staff took the matter off Law's hands. The young woman was also staying beside the parents, as were the grandmas, rocking the babies when they were irritable.

"Thank you so much." The woman had repeated and kept repeating when the flight was nearing its end and Law had gone for a final checkup. Her gratitude was genuine.

"Just give yourself and them a good life." Law said, feeling never-before-felt compassion.

Once the plane had landed, Law heard the flight attendants informing someone about the situation through a transmission device and when it was Law's turn to get off the plane, the flight attendant stopped him. "I've told the immigration and security about the situation so they don't stop you because of..." She pointed at the horrible way the blood was staining Law's shirt.

"So they don't think I'm a raging psychopath?"

~

Luffy was waiting for Law at the airport, very close to the gates, so much so that the security had to keep an eye on him all the time so he wouldn't accidentally, or uh, purposely slip past the gates. The plane had landed an hour ago but people were still coming through the gates. Luffy saw a woman and four babies get wheeled past him, he wanted to squish and nom-nom the babies' cheeks, they looked so fresh and new.

Luffy's attention was off the babies when he heard a chorus of clapping from behind the gates and a single person walking past it all, form hunched, looking embarrassed. Even with such a contorted way of walking and posture, Luffy recognized Law.

"Torao!!" Luffy waved and Law looked over, hurrying his steps a little. It wasn't until Law was ten feet away that Luffy noticed the blood on his boyfriend. "What happened?! Did you get shot again?!"

"Don't yell that out loud!" Law slapped his forehead and quickly covered the rest of the way to Luffy, pulling him in a hug before Luffy himself had the chance to do so.

"Torao?" Luffy felt something was off with the way Law's arms were shaking ever so slightly and how tight the hug was. "You're ok?"

"I might be, after a bath." Law said and allowed Luffy to hold his hand in public, leading him to the taxi.

~

Law took off his shirt and undershirt first thing when he closed the door of his hotel room. Luffy wheeled the bags out of the way and put his hat aside.

"Borderline searing hot bath?" Luffy asked. "Tub?" He tried using only a few words because Law looked like he wouldn't be able to process any more.

"Yeah." Law answered with a few seconds' delay.

"Okay! I'll get it ready." Luffy said and left quickly while Law went through his bags and got clean clothes out. "Torao bath's ready!"

"Ok..." Law lazily walked to the bathroom, then remembered something before he closed the door. "I might drown." He told Luffy who he noticed was taking his clothes off. "What the fuck are you stripping for?"

"I'm joining you of course." Luffy kicked aside all his clothes and walked past Law to dip his toes in the water to check the temperature. "Yapp, temp's fine! Come on."

"Ok I guess." Law fucked it all to hell, silenced all the alarms going off in his head and took off his clothes. "I'm washing up first before getting in there."

"I'll do it."

Law stared at Luffy, trying to see if there was a catch or he was after something but found nothing. "If you get shampoo in my eyes, I will kick you in the nuts."

"Nyahahahhaha!! I won't! I bathe all the ladies' dogs too back in the building, don't worry!"

"I'm not a dog!"

"I know, now sit." Luffy said and smacked Law in the backside to get him to move. The doctor was too shocked to react so he followed. Luffy thoroughly scrubbed Law's entire skin and massaged shampoo in his hair. Law didn't know having someone else wash his scalp would feel so good. "Your hair's longer."

"Hmm. Haven't had the time to cut them properly." Law said and felt Luffy spray the shower to get the shampoo out.

Luffy knew something happened on that airplane, something that made Law very tired, more than he was when he got shot so the younger wanted to do everything he could to help his boyfriend. Sanji was already sending food for after the bath and Luffy made sure the bath itself was nice for Law. After the scrubbing and shampooing were done, Luffy followed Law in the tub, sitting in front of the older. Luffy's eyes went all over Law's body but they didn't linger, Law found a strange sense of relief in that.

Law sighed a deep one when the hot water soaked his skin and provided relief to his sore muscles. His head was cleared after Luffy so lovingly massaged his scalp and he was ready to talk.

"The flight was bad, little fucking humans kept bothering me." Law said and closed his eyes. "Then a woman decided to have her babies mid-flight and there were no other doctors."

"Four babies?" Luffy remembered the woman from the airport.

"Yeah."

"No wonder those looked so fresh."

Law chuckled at the word choice. "Fresh." He reiterated because it sounded really funny. "You're going Jonathan Swift here."

"Dunno who that is, but you said there were no other doctors, so you helped?" Luffy asked, excited.

"Didn't want to, but had to." Law scowled.

"Torao you're kind nishishi." Luffy grinned.

"It was your stupid face that I remembered that made me do it." Law splashed water on the said face. Law sighed. "This could have been my life."

Luffy didn't remark on that, Torao sounded awfully sad when he said that, like he was mourning the death of something that was never born. Luffy wasn't an idiot, he could see it on Law's face how much he loved helping others, the older was smiling wide enough for it anyway.

"I forgot I don't have other clothes." Luffy said and Law twitched, wanting to slap his forehead for the second time that day.

"Use mine." The doctor shook his head in defeat.

After the bath and food, Luffy had to actually drag Law to bed, the older was much too tired to move on his own. Luffy folded the ends of Law's pajamas he was wearing so he wouldn't trip on his own feet and got in bed, pulling Law to him as well. The older was asleep within minutes. Luffy wanted to talk more with Torao, maybe go out too but he couldn't bring himself to even say anything about it when he saw Law walk through the immigration gates. Torao was safe and in his arms again, that was all Luffy needed at the moment.

~