~

Luffy checked his phone for any texts from Law, there were none so he put the device aside and resumed watching TV. The older was complying to Luffy's terms of care, as much as he could, so the younger had to keep his end of the bargain, and since Law was reaching the end of his compilation, he had asked Luffy if he could work for two days straight to get everything done. Luffy wasn't too happy about it but relented when Law promised he would eat his meals on video calls so the younger could be at ease that the doctor did eat.

The first day, Luffy was ok, being alone in his house didn't bother him one bit, he had cat sat for some of the old ladies and walked a few others' dogs, napped with Zoro on the Sunny, had Sanji make him food and deliver some to Torao, played with Usopp and Chopper, the first day went really well and Luffy thought his brothers were being silly with their worries after all.

Th second day, Luffy didn't have anything to do, all his friends were busy and he couldn't call Law or go to him because it was sort of the last complete day the doctor had set aside for work and Luffy didn't want to be in his boyfriend's way. Sitting in one place on the couch, even with the television on, Luffy felt a familiar feeling rising in his chest.

Apart from the TV, there was quiet. Luffy felt lonely because there was no background chatter from his brothers and since the two of them were gone, he had nobody to talk to whenever he felt like it. The young man tried his best to control his thoughts and will the bad ones away thinking this was all temporary and that he brothers were fine and alive and would be back in another week. Luffy thought he was doing ok but with the sun going down, his calm went down too.

The house seemed too big. The walls seemed too thick and intimidating. The lights were too bright. The quiet too consuming. The ticking of the clock was too loud in his ears, his own breathing was too audible and it all unnerved Luffy, reminding him of his miserable time when he was at Swallow Island. Trying his best to keep his breathing even, Luffy thought of what he should do.

Contacting Law was out of the question for the younger because he had promised to give the doctor his time to work and didn't want to disturb him but he also didn't want to face Law's anger or disappointment if he had a panic attack and the older found out that he wasn't contacted. In the end, Luffy decided to not call his boyfriend because he wasn't even sure he would have an attack, the most he felt right then was unease and discomfort. But he still needed company, so Luffy found his phone and dialed Nami.

"Luffy?"

"Nami, can you come over?" Luffy got straight to the point.

"Is everything ok?" Nami asked raising her eyebrow and her tone along with it, grabbing her coat and keys. She was going to sleep and was already in her pajamas but Luffy rarely called like that and his voice seemed down so Nami was worried.

"I-" The younger took a deep breath to control the hitch that was forming. "I don't think I can be alone right now."

Nami's first thought was, where the hell is Law.

Nami's second thought was, surely this is a prank.

Nami's third thought was, Luffy has never been alone like this in all the time they've known each other so it was an entirely genuine problem.

"I'll be there in ten."

"Thanks Nami." Luffy smiled behind the mic.

"You got it captain." Nami hung up and slid on her coat. Thin cotton pajamas and a t-shirt was not the best attire to drive a motorcycle in but her friend needed her, so Nami was ditching fashion and common sense in his favor.

Luffy was waiting by the door, with the door open by the time Nami parked her bike on the side with other vehicles. It struck the orange haired woman odd that Luffy was feeling so disturbed that he couldn't stay in the house at all.

"Do you want to go out for ice cream?" Nami asked before mounting off her bike, just in case the younger was in the mood, she thought it might be better to take the young man out for some distractions before tackling the problem at hand.

"Ok! Imma be right back!" Luffy grinned and went inside the house to probably get his coat, Nami prayed it was for a coat because that's what common sense demanded at the time. Luffy was back in a few minutes, with a coat much to Nami's relief. The woman adjusted her passenger helmet on Luffy's head and the two went to get ice cream.

With her bike parked on a side, the two were enjoying their icy treats on a bench at the beach, Nami figured the ocean would calm her friend down and by the looks of it, she was right, Luffy did seem calmer to her than when she had arrived at his house.

"Ok, so, you want to talk about it?" Nami asked pulling her coat tighter around herself, the ocean breeze and the ice cream made sudden chills run down her spine.

"I told you, I didn't think I could be alone." Luffy said handing the older his empty cup so she could throw it in the trashcan on her side of the bench.

"Why not, Luffy? Did something happen?"

The young man exhaled deeply and brought his legs on the bench, hugging his knees, eyes downcast, face buried. "Nobody but Torao know about this, so don't tell anyone, especially my brothers."

"Got it."

"I have panic attacks. I'm used to dealing with it alone and Torao helps all the time when he's here but today I was all alone and I didn't think I could stay alone for a second more- and I didn't wanna go into panic, it always hurts after- so I called you."

"Oh Luffy..." Nami breathed a sad sigh and hugged the younger as close to her as possible. It broke Nami's heart that her always sunny friend suffered like that, and in silence too. "While I'm glad you told me and counted on me, I have to ask, where is Law?"

Luffy brought his legs back down and rested his head on his Nami's shoulder.

"I didn't wanna bother Torao today."

"Bother? Did Law make you feel like you were bothering him?"

"No, but I... if I call him, he'll come right away and then his work would be delayed, again and then we won't be able to hang out because he would still have work to do and I'm not sure I'd even go into panic." Luffy tried explaining.

"Oh. I get it. So what do you usually do when you have an attack?" Nami asked trying to get all possible information in case Luffy had an attack.

"Usually Torao is with me so he grounds me. It goes away on its own in five minutes or so, most of the time. We have a song that helps." Luffy said showing Nami the song in case she would have to play it for him. "But sometimes it doesn't work so-shit I don't know, Torao always does this so I don't know." He breathed deeply to calm himself. "I always just stay in a corner till it goes away."

"It's ok Luffy." Nami rubbed the younger's back, her heart hurt from what she was hearing.

"Listen, if I do go into panic and it starts looking really bad, like I can't breathe and if it lasts more than five minutes-"

"I'll call Law, I got you Luffy."

"Thanks." Luffy smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, he was going to be ok, it was his turn to rely on his friends.

The older woman kept rubbing Luffy's back to keep him calm, she didn't like seeing a sad Luffy. They were enveloped in comfortable silence until Nami remembered something.

"When I came to get you in Law's hotel room, did you have an attack then too?" Nami inquired, remembering that if Luffy did, she did not want the boy to have more panic attacks, he looked so dead and tired back then.

"I did. Zoro and Sanji were just looking out for me when I introduced Torao but it got overwhelming and I thought that they were trying to break us up so I left but I couldn't think myself out of the anger and then I had an attack. That one was one of the worst I've had.

"Who helped you out?"

"Torao's friends found me and called him. He had to give me oxygen from an inhaler thingy and the song, and I was out of it but Torao said it lasted at least fifty minutes."

"Fifty?!"

"Yeah, that was a really bad one."

"So Law is good for you." Nami elbowed the younger, who grinned wide.

"Nishishi, he is."

"You're both so cute."

When Nami dropped Luffy off at his house, she had the feeling that even though Luffy said he was ok, she still shouldn't leave him alone. "So I assume I'm staying the night?" The woman asked.

"Yeah..." Luffy looked apologetic.

"Don't worry about it, we can have so much fun and Law would be so sad he was working that he missed it."

"Torao regret not having fun?" Luffy laughed and took Nami's coat and his own, hanging them on the rack Sabo always hung his coat and hat on.

"So this is what Law meant when he said you were getting smart." Nami shook her head and scanned the walls for the light switch. "Why're all the lights off?"

"Keep them off." Luffy said quickly and turned his phone flash on for navigating through the house and to the living room. "They felt too bright and I thought they even started blinking at one point, and it was all making things worse so I turned them off."

"Alright."

"Man I still don't feel tired enough to sleep."

"Let's build a pillow fort then!" Nami suggested.

The two friends made a big pillow fort using up all the pillows and sheets in the house, they played a little, watched a few movies, prank called Zoro, ate fish as a late night snack, played some more till Luffy fell asleep in the fort and Nami kept an eye on him as much as she could before following suit.

It was still nighttime when Nami was roused from her sleep, a voice very close to her ear. The woman remembered why she was at Luffy's house in the first place and immediately sat up to check on the younger. Luffy was talking incoherently in his sleep and looked distraught. Nami wanted to shake him awake but she knew it was best to let the nightmares pass on their own and that waking a person up mid-terror could cause trauma, so as much as it pained her, Nami only prayed that whatever her friend was seeing behind closed eyes, would spare him and leave.

But it didn't. Luffy woke up with a start, hand on his throat as if he couldn't breathe. Nami quickly started talking to the young man to try and distract him, she patted his back and rubbed his arms to bring him to the present, but his breathing was too raggedy and when the woman felt for his pulse, it was all over the place. Nami didn't want to risk anything so she put the headphones on Luffy's head and played his song and while that was doing little than anticipated, Nami dialed Law.

"Pick up." Nami prayed and watched her friend with worry, Luffy did not look OK at all. The lady in the phone let Nami know that the number she had dialed was busy on another call. "Dammit Law." The woman cursed and started redialing but stopped when Luffy's phone lit up for a phone call and it was none other than the doctor she was calling. "Law, where are you?"

"Nami?" Law sounded confused.

"Come at Luffy's as soon as you can. He's having a really bad panic attack-"

"Fuck. Ok, I'm close," Law answered already making his way over. "Put the phone near his ear." Nami did so after removing the headphones. "Luffy, can you listen to me? If you can, I'm counting really slowly so try matching your breathing to every number like we practiced, ok?" Nami heard.

"It's working Law." The woman let her brother know, Luffy looked a little in control after talking to Law, his heaving was getting lighter. No later than five minutes, Nami heard the door open and peeked to see who it was. She saw Law taking his shoes off in a hurry and rushing past the two of them in the living room and up the stairs. "Hey where are you going?!" Nami called.

"In a minute!" Law shouted back and made a beeline for Luffy's room to get the inhaler and spacer he had put in his boyfriend's nightstand for such emergencies. Law quickly went back and sat down beside Luffy, adjusted the spacer on his face and gave careful puffs of the inhaler. "This should work." Law said putting a hand on Luffy's chest to tell him when to inhale and exhale.

Nami looked at Law, he seemed calm and collected, to any other person he would look like that, but to her experienced eyes, the woman could see the panic that was going through the doctor himself as he guided his boyfriend through his attack. Nami felt a new heartache at the sight of the two in front of her, Law looking like he was hurting because Luffy was hurting. Nami smiled a sad smile, the boys really did have a connection.

"You're ok, it's ok." Law kept whispering, wiping the tears off Luffy's face and rubbing his back till he was calm.

"Is he awake?" Nami asked waving her hand in front of Luffy's eyes, wondering if he was asleep with his eyes open.

"Not after such a thing." Law answered and rested the passed out Luffy against his legs for the time being while he took off his hoodie.

"Why're you stripping?" Nami screeched quietly.

"It's not what you're thinking." Law answered simply and took off his hoodie, pulling his shirt down with one hand. "See, I'm wearing layers." The doctor pulled the hoodie on Luffy and made himself comfortable in the pillow fort, wrapping Luffy and himself in a blanket, sitting with his back resting against the side of the sofa. Luffy's head was resting against Law's shoulders and his breathing was now completely even, the youngest was back asleep.

"That was not creepy at all."

"Tell me how it's my fault that your friend has a fetish for my hoodies." Law joked and got comfortable, pulling Luffy completely in his lap so the boy was laying down properly. Nami sat beside him. "What happened? And what even were you doing here, this late, in your pajamas?"

Nami smirked. "What, are you jealous?"

Law scoffed. "As if. His junior doesn't get up even at the sight of Boa Hancock, what makes you think I'd buy the thought that he's cheating with you?"

"Too much information Neko." Nami said then sighed, stroking a lock out of Luffy's eyes. "He called me, said he couldn't be alone and that everything was overwhelming him. Then he told me about his panic attacks and gave me all the information he had on calming himself down and told me if it lasted for more than five minutes, I should call you. What were you doing out this late?"

"Taking a break from work. Coffee run. Or tea. Whichever."

"And why were you calling Luffy?"

"I don't have to answer that." Law said and stroked Luffy's back. They stayed quiet for a few minutes. "Did he say why he didn't just call me in the first place?"

"Something about you having work to do and if you didn't finish it because of him then it'd affect your together-time later."

Law sighed. "I swear..."

"That song though..." Nami started. "It's the same song Rosi-san used to sing to bring you down, isn't it?"

"It is." Law exhaled. "Back when Luffy's panic attacks really started, I didn't know what else to do but the things Cora-san did for me so the song stuck."

"Do you still have your attacks?" Nami asked after a few moments.

"Sometimes. Not much now. Maybe I've come to terms with the fact that Cora-san won't be there to help me out of it so that's probably why my attacks have lessened..."

"Your grandfather said he's alive Law. Rosi-san told him to tell Bellemere-san y'know."

"I know. I heard the whole thing. Still doesn't change the fact that it's taking him this long to come back. Maybe he slipped on the wrong path and really died this time." Law shrugged casually but the pain in his voice wasn't so.

"Don't say that." Nami scolded sadly.

"I can't stay stuck because of hope either."

"You're stuck without it too."

Before Law could take a moment to think about it or respond, Luffy stirred. The younger's first instinct was to wrap himself around the very warm surface his body was slumped against.

"Mmm, smells like Torao." Luffy mumbled in his sleep with a smile, snuggling impossibly close. Law was red in the face.

"I think I'll go now. The sun's up too." Nami said getting up and hiding her giggles.

"Can I make an effort and stop you?" Law asked trying his best to not stutter.

"No I'd like to leave before he starts kissing you in his sleep." Nami teased and left at Law's speechless form.

Once Nami had left, Law made himself more comfortable on his side on the cushy floor but kept Luffy close. It wasn't long before the sunlight started bothering the boy and he stirred awake. He still looked tired.

"Hey." Law greeted.

"Torao...?"

"Yes."

"Mmmm" Luffy mumbled then sat upright in a quick motion, hitting Law's jaw in the process. "Where's Nami?"

"You were starting to be really affectionate with me in your sleep so she left. Didn't want to scar herself like that." Law rubbed his chin to lessen the ache.

"Oh." Then something struck. "When did you get here?"

"When your dumb ass was having the worst attack in a while."

"...oh." Luffy sunk back and buried his face in Law's chest. Luffy realized he was wearing more layers than he slept in and that it was Law's hoodie. "So this was why I was having good dreams..."

"Hmm." Law just hummed in response and silence fell.

"Torao, are you angry I didn't call you?" Luffy asked after a while.

"No."

Luffy pushed himself up, resting his forearms against the blankets. "You seem angry."

"Trust me I'm not. It's just, I know we agreed to not crowd each other's space but when we live separately and you're going through something you shouldn't go through alone but you don't tell me, how would I know you need help... I would have brought my work here or something and you might have had some peace of mind like that... I get what you thought that led you to calling Nami instead of me but you can't keep doing this, if you need me, just tell me or I'm not sure where it will take us."

"I made you a promise to not bother you..." Luffy countered in a small voice.

"I've told you it's not bothering. And promises or not, as long as we are together, you call me ok? We'd find a win-win situation. So don't suffer alone."

"Awh, you were worried."

"You can say that. You're lucky I had already dialed your number and Nami picked it or I don't know what might have happened." Law rolled his eyes.

"Why were you calling me anyway?" Luffy asked, confused.

"I was out for a break so I thought I'd see if you were up for our late night cafe date."

"Awh man I missed that." Luffy pouted.

"Well the sun's just gotten up, and today's a Sunday so most people will be sleeping. Wanna go to the beach?"

"Really?"

"Yeah but then you're staying with me while I work so I can keep an eye on you." Law tried negotiating, letting the younger get up.

"Now that's a win-win."

"And I want my hoodie back. It's cold out."

"Nuh uh. I'm keeping it. Until it needs washing." Luffy stuck his tongue out.

"Hoarder."

"You can have my hoodie."

"Have you seen yourself? It won't fit." Law felt stupid at having to even point that out.

"No, I have some that I got three sizes bigger."

"Why the fuck?"

"No idea, but Nami said it was fashionable."

"I accept your offer." The way Luffy's eyes lit up at the prospect of Law wearing his hoodie, wearing something Luffy owned and had worn himself, Law couldn't help the fond smile spreading on his own face.

"Ok wait here, I'll go get it."

When Luffy got back, Law raised an eyebrow at the hoodie in his arms. It was yellow, his own colour. Luffy grinned at Law's surprise.

"What do you know, it's a perfect fit." Law commented after putting the hoodie on, stretching and waving his arms to get all angles. "I'm keeping it."

"Hey!"

"Until it needs washing." Law grinned at the pout on his boyfriend's face, clearly not liking the obvious way Law turned the tables on him. "Come on, let's go. Grab anything else you might need because we're not coming back till later."

"Got my stuff." Luffy said without a second's delay.

"Don't you need pajamas for the night? And your toothbrush? And fresh clothes for tomorrow?" Law raised an eyebrow listing things on his fingers. When Luffy had decided to give Law some time to finish his work, he had taken everything to his own home, including his clothes and toiletries, so even if he went to Law's, he wouldn't stay over.

"All of that, I can have yours." Luffy said batting his eyes.

"Yeah. No. I have your clean clothes back home-"

"How? I took them back."

"Except the ones already in the washing hamper and I was not about to let neglected laundry trigger my anxiety every waking minute so I put yours with mine."

"It's like we are married and live together." Luffy jumped in excitement.

"I sure hope it's not like that if we do live together permanently at some point. I'd probably murder you, bring you back and murder you again for piling dirty clothes and not cleaning up after yourself."

"I can be responsible Torao." Luffy pouted again.

"I'll believe that when Kuroashi-ya makes bad food."

"Sanji never makes bad food."

"Exactly." Law smiled at the confused look on the younger's face, clearly the humor went over his head.

The two left the house, they wanted to go to the beach but Luffy was apparently more tired than he realised so they grabbed breakfast and went to the lake where Luffy dipped his feet from the deep edges because 'it's proof that we actually went.' The boyfriends then headed to Law's house where Law first cleaned their feet outside the house with a hose he kept for that purposes because no way anybody was bringing sandy or muddy shoes and feet inside the house, not even inside the door.

Law went in the kitchen and made himself and Luffy a cup of tea and sat down for work. Luffy was quiet all the while he was busy with tea and biscuits but then he was in Law's space, looking over his shoulder while the doctor worked on his reports.

"That's a cut up leg Torao." Luffy said in wonder.

"It is." Law replied but Luffy didn't say anything beyond it, just kept looking.

Until, "why do you have pictures of cut up legs?"

"This is my research. I take dead limbs and attach them to living bodies." Law decided to tell the younger about his research, it was almost over, there was no harm in letting Luffy know.

"Does it work?"

"Most of the time. It's still a work in progress but I'm stopping at this milestone. And all my clients are completely aware of the risks of the procedure before you ask."

"They should just get a robotic leg. Franky can fit them up for it too."

"While that may work for some people, I know I would like my real arm, attached back and mobile than a machine."

"You're weird."

Law looked at Luffy incredulously. "I'm not going to grace you with an argument."

"Ok, I'm going to sleep anyway."

"I am almost done for this chapter, so don't fucking hoard the blankets and the space. I will push you down the bed if necessary." Law said pulling Luffy closer by pushing the back of his head and kissed his forehead. "Alright, go."

"Nishishi Torao's weird." Luffy sang and went off.

When Law was done, he put his things away and went to bed. Luffy was laying 'starfish style', on the sheets.

"Luffy, take a side." Law sighed.

"Nu." The younger grinned like a brat.

"Brace yourself then." Law said and without warning dropped himself on the bed, head colliding directly with Luffy's stomach.

"Oof!"

"Warned you." Law didn't move and ended up cuddling just like that. The doctor put his phone on silent and asked his boyfriend to do the same so they could actually sleep. Law sighed, it was about time for him to head back to Flevance and move things alone. Law hugged the younger closer and breathed in the comfort Luffy brought just by being near, he would miss this, he would miss Luffy so much.

~