Archive of Our Own

To call it a whim would be a lie, bold faced and unconvincing. As a matter of fact, Law had given so much thought to it that it plagued his every moment, kept him up at night imagining the what ifs. What if he did it and it worked?

What if he’s granted something he never thought he’d want but now wants more than anything? What would it be like to have that joy, that feeling of bringing life into the world? Ah, but isn’t that the trigger, the one pulled and set off this desire.

The world before was dreadful, dangerous and corrupt. Children were born and raised in poverty, haunted by death and cruelty at every turn. Only the rich and powerful thrived.

But that isn’t the case now.

The world is still imperfect, but now with the destruction of the world government, the upheaval of the corrupt empire they built, the world is at peace, moreso than it’s ever been. Good, kindhearted people rule the lands and serve their people.

And it’s thanks to a certain man. He and all his friends, the thousands of pirates loyal and willing to die for him. The one now dubbed the pirate king.

It’s ironic, Law thinks, that Luffy is responsible for this change in the world as well as in his heart. 

And it’s Luffy’s he wants.

Because while Law aches for a baby now, he will have no one’s but Luffy’s.

And that is why he finds himself landing on an island far outside his original destination. He took the detour because he heard whispers of the strawhat pirates being there and that they are celebrating something.

He can’t say he’s surprised they’re partying because when are they not? There isn’t much fighting left to do anymore, outside the weirdos still loyal to the old government.

Still, he hopes they don’t mind him stopping in.

He tells his crew he has business with the pirate king and to go mingle. But try not to cause any trouble. He’s positive the other pirates will welcome them to the party. They’ve stayed on good terms since the Final Battle.

But he worries. There’s always a chance Luffy will suddenly remember they’re supposed to be enemies, even now sometimes they compete over stupid shit. So steeling himself, Law waits for the crew to disappear into town, heading towards the noise and the lights.

He exhales roughly and flicks his wrist.

Using a series of rooms, he shambles himself to the outskirts of the party. It’s loud and bright, sparkling lights and thrumming music, people dancing and laughing, lost in the rhythm thick in the air. It’s much larger than he was led to believe, spreading throughout the town.

There are so many people, a surprising amount of familiar faces. He wonders if the whole grand fleet was invited, if every old friend and ally is present, and if he missed his invite or was purposefully left out. He swallows the bitter taste of rejection and reminds himself this is why it has to be done this way.

Luffy doesn’t even want him at his parties, so why would he give Law a child? Ridiculous.

…maybe they aren’t on as good of terms as he thought.

Well, too bad for him, Law rolls his eyes, because he’s here anyways.

Searching through the crowds of people, bodies all tangled and smushed together, some writhing more than dancing, Law feels out for Luffy’s presence. It doesn’t take long for him to find it, the intense haki is like hitting a wall.

Making a disgusted face at the mass of bodies, Law instead opens another room and pops himself right beside Luffy where he sits at the front of a large table.

Luffy only tilts his head in Law’s direction, mouth full, and his eyes light up.

“Hey, Strawhat,” Law greets in a dry manner, “hope you don’t mind us dropping in. We were close by. Thought the crew could use some social interaction.”

Luffy swallows his frankly terrifying mouthful of food and smiles brightly at Law, sauce on his chin and the corners of his mouth. Law knows he’s hopeless when he isn’t even disgusted by the mess.

“Torao!! You’re here!” He shouts joyfully, and a few people nearby turn to stare.

Law ignores them and nods at Luffy. The pirate king laughs and with inhuman speed leaps from his chair. Rubbery arms wrap themselves round and around Law until he’s pressed flat against Luffy’s broad chest.

It’s been five years since the liberation from the world government, and in that time, Luffy has grown significantly thanks to those Monkey genes. Law feels faint at the thought of what Luffy could do to him now. He tossed him around when they were younger, good lord.

Luffy’s still laughing into Law’s hair. The older man forces himself to relax in the hold.

Releasing Law only a smidgen, Luffy grins down at him, “I didn’t know you were in the area or I would have told you to come!” A large hand mindlessly runs down Law’s spine, and he suppresses a shudder. “But I’m glad you made it anyway.”

Biting his tongue, Law mentally files the words “told you to come” away for later. Told to come and those large hands. Law’s mind is wandering into dangerous territory. So he exhales deeply and calms his heart.

“I don’t plan to stay very long.”

Luffy’s face drops a minuscule amount, only noticeable to anyone who knows him well, “that’s fine. I’m just happy to see you. It’s been a while.” Law nods slowly, “it has. You seem you’ve been doing well.”

He nudges his head in the direction of the huge bonfire at the center of the party, “what’re you celebrating?”

Luffy shifts that wandering hand lower, resting it fully on Law’s lower back. And he flushes brightly when Luffy uses it to push him even closer. More of their bodies aligning. And Law wonders if Luffy’s been drinking despite not liking the taste. He’s never been so bold, so handsy with Law.

It’s sending the wrong sort of message, and Law doesn’t like it. Last thing he needs is Luffy getting his hopes up only for him to end up brokenhearted. 

So he weakly pushes at Luffy’s chest, but the pirate king understands. Reluctantly, he loosens his hold on Law.

Rubbery arms snapping back to normal length, he crosses them as if it’s the only way to keep his hands to himself. “It’s the five year anniversary of the end of the Final Battle.” Luffy answers belatedly, and of course that’s the reason. Law feels stupid for asking, but being around Luffy does that to him sometimes.

“Perfect reason to throw a party, doncha think?” Luffy grins wide enough to split his face.

“I suppose,” Law lazily agrees, “that explains why there are so many people I recognize here.”

“Mhmm,” Luffy nods, “most of the fleet was able to make it and lots of other crews, old friends you know.”

“They must have come from every corner of the world,” Law mutters, poorly hiding the bitterness in his voice.

“Yep, pretty much!” Luffy confirms. And did he not just imply that Law wasn’t invited because he didn’t know he was close by? Bastard, ugh. He’s still a horrible liar. Law huffs, annoyed with Luffy, with himself for not being as angry as he should be.

“Right, well,” Law says while stepping away from Luffy, “it’s been nice catching up. I’m going to let my crew stay and have some fun, but I’ll be scarce. It was good seeing you again, pirate king.” He gives Luffy a small grin and opens a room before the other can respond.

With a flick of the wrist, he disappears from Luffy’s sight.

And he stays that way for the remainder of the party. Only now and then will he show himself to others, sitting in the shadows, always with alcohol in one hand, always watching the dancers, long legs stretched out before him, inviting.

But rarely talking to anyone and even more rarely touching anyone. He only does enough to keep up the ruse. He needs it to be believable.

It’s necessary for the plan.

And on the fourth night of straight partying, he’s nearly ready to give up, even his own crew is starting to complain about being exhausted and hung over and when are we leaving, captain? He tells them soon. He’s been keeping a distant eye on Luffy, and it’s become obvious he’s winding down finally.

That night Luffy conks out at the table. Nearly falling face first into a stack of empty plates. Law shakes his head at the display, but despite the state he’s in, Luffy’s smiling in his sleep. It’s weirdly cute.

When Zoro sighs and says something about having to carry his captain to bed, Law offers his assistance instead.

He easily drops Luffy onto his cot on the Sunny with a quick room and shambles. An old tank top lays on the chair Luffy once occupied, and Law waits until no one is looking to move it to his captain’s quarters.

The party goers have mostly dispersed by this point, but those who remain are either passed out somewhere or slowly stumbling to their beds.

Law makes a show of teleporting himself away and saying nothing to anyone.

He knows with the aid of his haki that no one else has made it to the men’s quarters on the Sunny yet. Only Luffy is in the room, so it’s his one chance.

Law lands himself beside Luffy’s cot, removing a little glass vial from his pocket. He moves fast, urgency pushing him to finish the deed before anyone else even comes aboard.

He’s thankful that over the years he’s learned and grown more with his fruit. Before where he had to switch items, now if he tries, he can move something without leaving anything in its wake. It works wonders for stealing or hiding objects from crewmates because it’s funny.

And now it works well for extracting cum from Luffy as he sleeps. With a small room, he’s able to fill the little vial so full it drips down the side. Law flushes as it reaches his fingers, still warm from being inside Luffy.

He corks it shut and flicks his eyes to the shut door. With timid licks, he cleans the vial and his fingers, relishing in the taste. His lashes flutter as he imagines a world where he could take his time making a mess of Luffy, tasting him, taking him into his mouth, making him cum so much Law chokes on it.

Law’s eyes shoot open as he senses someone really strong approaching the ship. Maybe Zoro or Sanji or hell any of them. He decides not to stick around and find out. In the flash of a second, Law is gone with his prize in his hand.

Back in his room on the Solar Tang, Law lays on his bed. The vial rolling in his hand, deft fingers toying with it as he decides if he truly wants to do this. He was so sure before, but now that it’s in his reach, he feels…scared. Because while some of his what ifs are exciting, others are troubling.

What if it works, but the child falls ill? What if he missed something in himself and passes it onto them? It seems cruel to bring a child into the world knowing there’s a chance they’ll die young.

So what if they get sick?

He’ll just have to cut it from them the same way he did himself. 

But better this time. He’s much more refined with his fruit. He won’t let it hurt them. 

And he really, really wants this. He comforts himself with knowing his soon-to-be baby’s father would tell him it’s okay to be selfish. And with a sense of finality, he makes one more room. Scanning himself for the perfect place to plant it, Law determinedly buries the cum inside himself.

The little vial is empty, wiped clean of every drop, ensuring a higher likelihood that it’ll take, and Law feels uncharacteristically optimistic.

Every day after, Law scans himself, desperate for proof it worked, and the day he finds what he’s looking for, he turns down coffee at breakfast. With the way the crew reacts, anyone would think it’s the end of the world, again.

He has to yell over them to tell them to calm down and shut up. It’s not that big of a deal. He’s just pregnant.

Somehow that only made things worse.

Dozens of questions and exclamations of “no, I’m the godfather!” later, and Law has managed to convince them he doesn’t know who the father is. That he was drunk and had a one night stand at that big party. 

He feels sick lying to them, but it’s much more preferred to the truth.

Or maybe that’s morning sickness.

Life continues as usual for the crew. They hop island to island, exploring, learning new things, new cultures. But when the fourth month of pregnancy rolls around, Law finds it increasingly difficult to hide his growing bump. And while the world has calmed, pirates are still pirates.

And Law is one of the most well known ones on the sea. It doesn’t take long for the press to catch sight of his growing stomach. 

Public knowledge of Law’s body is limited, but the pieces fall into place, and before he knows it, Law is on the front of the News Coo with the headline “Surgeon of Death to become Father of Death?” with a candid shot of him resting a hand over his bump, obviously tired and not feeling well.

It’s awful, not just the fact that the whole world knows now, but also, that headline and picture suck.

Deciding to lay low for a while, Law finds an island with only a handful of natives, generous and welcoming. They spend their days enjoying the peace and quiet, until a week later.

The newspaper finds its way to the island, and Law hopes he’s become old news by now.

But unfortunately, it seems he’s still a hot topic. Only now they’ve moved onto trying to discover who the other father is. Law skims the article with disdain. Seriously? Kid? No way in hell. He’s got better taste than that. Even when shitfaced. 

They seem to be trying to justify it by listing all the times the two have been seen together as if that means anything. There’s no solid proof, so the article is all stupid theory. With a scoff, Law crumples the paper and throws it over the deck rail and into the sea.

He tries to forget about all the bullshit back in civilization, but when the next paper comes a week later, there’s an interesting center page article. Apparently, a skirmish between the pirate king Luffy and pirate emperor Kid broke out.

The fight lasted for two full days only to end in a draw. It seems no one knows for sure what caused it, but from what they gathered, it sounds as though the pirate king was accusing Kid of something. It’s unclear what, but of course the other denied it but happily took the chance to fight.

The only reason it was deemed a draw is because the battle ended when Luffy was presented with evidence that Kid wasn’t guilty of whatever he was accused. So the pirate king laughed and said never mind. To Kid’s rage.

He refuses to call it a draw, saying Luffy ran, but Luffy counters that with “you didn’t win though” and an infuriating shrug.

The article is actually quite humorous. Those two are such idiots, and for a moment, Law feels nostalgic.

With the next paper, there comes new speculation. This time they’re pinning the blame on Cavendish, of all people. Although, Law admits he’s better looking than Kid at least. 

There could be worse people, and it’s not like the speculation is hurting anyone. Law relaxes in his chair by the ocean, content. Flipping through the paper, he sighs. Let them guess all they want. He’ll be damned surprised if they get it right.

The next paper comes nearly two weeks later. Law’s walking a path on the island, enjoying the gentle breeze and stunning scenery. His peaceful thoughts of having the baby on such a lovely island are interrupted as the News Coo plops onto the ground in front of his feet.

He stops and stares down at it. An enraged Luffy stares back, and sighing tiredly, he slowly squats down to pick it up, wondering what that man has done now. Another battle it seems, and this time with one of his own.

Cavendish has been a loyal member of Luffy’s grand fleet since the very beginning, despite his supposed hate for the man, jealous of his fame. But for some reason, Luffy went out of his way to attack Cavendish. 

The two came to blows, but thankfully, it was nowhere near as dramatic as the fight with Kid. Cavendish was quick to calm Luffy’s anger, telling him what he wanted to hear most likely. And like that, it was over.

Blinking at the paper, Law sits on a downed log, resting his tired bones. It’s odd that Luffy struck out against Cavendish. What in the world was that about?

He closes the paper and looks out into the trees, the lush green foliage, the songs of trilling birds, life and peace around him and thinks. Should he give up having the baby on this perfect island to find Luffy? Would it make sense for him to?

Luffy’s only ever considered him a friend, an ally. He’s not close enough to him for that sort of thing. Appearing out of the blue to ask what’s wrong with him, that isn’t something expected from Trafalgar Law. As much as he wishes it were. As much as Law’s heart aches to mean something to Luffy, to be special to him.

So he remains rooted to the island, growing anxious as he awaits the next paper. His mind races with who Luffy might attack next, if it’ll break a bond that can’t be mended, if there were something he could have done to prevent it.

The paper doesn’t find him this time. Instead, he sees it in Ikkaku’s hands, a hard look on her face, amber eyes boring into the paper. It fills him with dread, and Law doesn’t want to ask about it. He grabs an apple from a bowl bolted onto the table. The Solar Tang still their home despite being docked on this island for so long.

She speaks without prompting, “this time it’s Smoker. Can you believe that?”

“He attacked Smoker?” Shit, he knows they have long sorted history but—

“What? No,” she shakes her head, “they’re saying he’s your baby daddy now.” Law cringes at her wording, “don’t say it like that.”

“Well, it’s true. Whoever he is isn’t much else if he’s not in your or the kid’s life.” She says as she shoves the paper into his chest lightly, “he needs to come clean. Because I got a theory, and if I’m right, he could save a lot of people a shit ton of grief.”

Law takes the paper into his free hand, absentmindedly tossing his apple in the other, “and what is this theory of yours? Everyone seems to have one.”

Ikkaku smirks at him, smugly, “I’ll tell you when the next paper comes.” With a cheeky wave, she exits the kitchen. Law squints his eyes at her retreating back and bites into his apple.

The next week passes in a slow drag. Law tries to fill it with preparing for the baby, making lists of items he’ll need, learning everything he needs to know about childbirth, about having a newborn. He tries to be productive, but his eyes constantly drift to the sky, searching for that white bird. And when he finally spots it, he’s grown so impatient he doesn’t even wait for it to land. With a swift shambles, he’s swapped beri for a paper.

As expected of late, there’s Luffy again on the front page. Law holds his breath as he reads the headline “Pirate King Reignites Feud with Old Enemy.”

Smoker, long retired from fighting after the Final Battle, who betrayed the world government once the truth came to light, who hates that he respects Luffy, that he fought alongside him, was surprised with a visit from the pirate king.

“Goddamit, Luffy,” Law hisses.

He pivots on the spot. His toes digging into the damp sand, water lapping just below his swelling ankles. He’s only able to go so far before he starts to feel tired, and to hell with that moron, Law was enjoying himself. The warm water is like a massage on his hurting feet.

He angrily marches back onto dry land, looking as intimidating as a heavily pregnant pirate can. 

A few of his crew have joined him at the beach, some relaxing, others playing. Law makes a beeline for where Ikkaku lounges on a beach towel beneath a large umbrella. The sunglasses over her eyes make it hard to tell if she’s awake, but as Law approaches, he sees her quirk an eyebrow. Good, he won’t have to wake her up.

Looming over his crewmate, Law pointedly stands to cast an ominous shadow over her. Ikkaku starts to remove her glasses but doesn’t get to ask anything as Law holds out the newspaper above her. He drops it. The paper scatters a bit as it falls onto Ikkaku, but she’s able to mostly keep it together. What’s important is that she sees the article on the front page.

Placing her sunglasses on her head, Ikkaku reads the front headline. She makes an “ooooh” sound, and all Law says is, “okay, let’s hear this theory of yours.”

Ikkaku sits up straight and pats the new space on her beach towel, “alright, but you might wanna sit for this.”

Law makes an annoyed face and crosses his arms above his bump, “I’m perfectly fine to—“

“Sit, captain.” Her expression is stony, dead serious, and Law realizes she’s not going to take no as an answer. So he sighs and carefully squats down. Ikkaku offers up her hands to help him sit on the towel in front of her.

Law cringes at the sand that makes it onto the towel. It’s bad enough that it’s stuck to his feet. Now there’ll be sand in his shorts, too.

Ikkaku sits crossed legged, waiting for him to get situated. She tugs on the hem of her swim shorts. The elastic snapping back reminds Law of the subject of their conversation, and he mimics her pose, crossing his legs beneath him.

“There’s a pattern,” Ikkaku wastes no time explaining, and the claim immediately grabs Law’s attention, “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed, but maybe that’s because you’re at the center of it.”

“Me?” Law interrupts, “how?” It isn’t like he asked Luffy to attack these people.

Ikkaku patiently answers him, “if my theory is correct, then Strawhat is going after people rumored to have sired your baby.”

“Why the hell would he do that?” It doesn’t make sense. Why would he—

“I don’t know the true reason, obviously, but I suspect he has some kinda vendetta against the baby’s other father.” Ikkaku continues to explain, “maybe he’s…jealous?”

“Ikkaku,” Law stops her, “that can’t be it. But now that you’ve pointed it out, I see the pattern.” He drops his eyes to the towel, fingertips idly rolling over the grains of sand scattered on it like stars. “The paper has a new rumor, Luffy confronts that person, paper has a new new rumor, Luffy confronts them, too. But why? It can’t be because of me.” Luffy wouldn’t care about that. About me like that.

“Maybe he’s taking it as some kind of challenge. Or maybe…maybe someone he knows does like me, and he’s angry on their behalf.”

Ikkaku shrugs, “those are possibilities, I guess.” She doesn’t sound convinced, however.

But Law ignores her doubt in favor of his tumultuous thoughts. “Or maybe I did something wrong,” he frets, failing to hold his composure. He starts picking up the bits of sand between two fingertips and tossing them from the towel back to be lost in the shore, “and this is his way of getting back at me. But no, that can’t be right. I don’t think I’ve done anything to piss him off.” Unless he knows. But then he would also know they’re all innocent in the matter.

“The last time I talked to him was at that party, and he seemed happy then.” Law scowls at the remaining grains of sand, “there are entirely too many possibilities, and all we can do is guess.”

“Exactly,” Ikkaku agrees. She brushes her hand over the towel, swiping away the sand completely, temporarily at least. Law looks up at her, and knowing she has his full attention, Ikkaku says, “that’s why you’ll have to ask him.”

“Ask him. Like it’s that simple.”

“Yeah! We’ll never know the truth unless you ask him, and without that, how would you be able to stop him?”

Law thinks it over. She’s right, of course she is, but it’s so much more complicated than that. For one, he’s getting increasingly closer to popping, and if he leaves, he’ll likely end up having the baby on whatever island Luffy leads them to. And there goes his birth preparedness and complications readiness plan.

And what if Luffy doesn’t even want to talk to him? It’d ruin his plans and be a waste of time.

Not to mention, there’s a very good chance he’ll have to come clean about the real father of the baby, and he can’t begin to guess how Luffy would react to that. If he gets angry and attacks Law right now…a hand, with bits of sand, comes up to rest on his bump.

“I doubt he’d try to fight you right now. Strawhat’s kind of a dick sometimes, but he’s not that terrible.” Ikkaku says, as if reading his mind or just knowing her captain that well.

“And if you’re worried about having the baby while we’re out there, does it matter where she is born as long as she’s healthy?”

Law frowns deeper, “get the hell outta my head.”

“Sorry,” she laughs, not sounding sorry at all, “but we’ve all seen you preparing to have baby girl here. We know that’s what you want. And I understand if you’re afraid of facing him, but—”

“I’m not afraid,” Law interrupts.

“Right, right, then concerned.”

Law sighs and closes his eyes briefly. He knows if they continue to sit here he’ll just overthink himself to hell. It’s obvious what they need to do. If Luffy is allowed to keep up this rampage, then a lot of innocent people will get hurt— Law shudders, remembering the days he didn’t care about strangers. It was so much simpler then—

Back on subject, he notes the destruction isn’t the only pressing concern. Who knows who the paper will name next? What if it’s someone really close to Luffy? What if it’s another strawhat?

What if it’s Sabo?

Another strawhat could easily convince him of their innocence, but if Sabo doesn’t get the chance…Law will not be what comes between the two brothers, if he is the cause. It would destroy Luffy to fight Sabo, even if it’s his own stupid doing.

“Okay,” Law says decisively, “what do you propose we do?”

“We wait,” Ikkaku answers, “when the next paper gets here, we’ll see if there’s a new rumor. If there is, we find that person, hopefully before Strawhat does. It’d be best if we’re able to intercept the Sunny before they reach the island, but if worse comes to worst, you might end up confronting him in a fight.”

“That’s fine. As long as we get to that island, I’ll find a way to talk to him,” Law declares. It’s a simple plan, but it’s all they can do. Wait and then rush to whatever island, God willing the article mentions a location or that they know the person’s residence. And stop Luffy from fucking something, or someone, up.

“I know you will, captain, but for now,” Ikkaku says, knocking her sunglasses back over her eyes, “we better enjoy our last days here.”

Law looks past her, past the umbrella, over the edge of the beach, sand shifting into trees and grass, the greenery of the jungle bright and unreal. He’s going to miss this place. A tropical paradise, no fighting, no noise, perfect.

With a short growl, Law stands clumsily, refusing help this time. “Let the crew know we leave in about a week.”

Goddamit, Luffy, you bastard.

He storms off into the jungle, claiming to need a walk and leave him alone. He spits and swears at Luffy’s name under his breath. Every curse he knows he hurls at him. If Luffy wasn’t throwing some kind of temper tantrum like a child, Law wouldn’t have to leave this place.

How does that man manage to fuck up Law’s plans when he isn’t even around?

The next week flies by, to everyone’s sorrow. The days were long when they believed they’d be there for months more. But unfortunately, the day comes when Law sees the dreaded white bird in the sky.

He’s mingling with the natives, trading beri for necessities and supplies. The jungle provides enough food for them to last a while, so he at least doesn’t have to worry about taking that from them. They have limited interactions with anyone outside their island, yet still ask for beri. Law finds that odd but doesn’t question it.

When the bird flies into sight, he’s quick to swap a paper for beri, much like the last time. The natives ooo and awww. Devil fruits are rare for them to see, so they’re easily impressed, Law has learned over time.

He ignores his surroundings and whoever he was previously talking to in order to scan the paper.

Directly in the center front is an article. The headline “Former Marine to Have Fathered a Pirate’s Child?” They already did Smoker so wh—

“Oh my fucking God,” Law groans, long and full of frustration, “those idiots.”

It isn’t even possible for Koby to get anyone pregnant! Even I know we’re both afab, and I’ve barely spoken to the guy!

“Bepo!” Law shouts over everyone’s voices. His first mate looks up from where he was playing a game with a local’s child. The smile still on his face. And Law feels awful doing this but, “tell everyone to pack up. We’re leaving.”

He rips his eyes away quickly so as to not see the mink’s face drop.

Luffy better have a damn good explanation. 

Leaving is difficult, but within the hour the heart pirates have disappeared into the ocean. It’s lucky the paper mentions where Koby is currently located because if not for that, Law wouldn’t even have a clue where to look. Turns out, the trip will take an estimated three days, even at full speed, and there’s the unknown factor of how far the strawhats are from the island. Law worries they’ll arrive too late.

And when they emerge, water cascading from the sub much like the rushing of Law’s thoughts, he learns he was right to worry. He grabs Kikoku and waddles as quickly as he can to exit the Tang, saving what little energy he has in the chance he’ll need any rooms. He immediately sees the Thousand Sunny already docked at the island, and shouts and destruction can be heard even out to sea.

“Shit,” Law utters.

He turns to his crew filing out onto the deck. The lights of fire and dust of ruined buildings halo around him, “alright, here’s what we’re gonna do. I want Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo to come with me and back me up in case anyone gets any ideas. The rest of you stay with the Tang. If the strawhats attack you, defend yourselves. Otherwise, we are not here to start anything.”

“Start docking procedures, cautiously. There’s bound to be someone still on the Sunny.”

There’s a chorus of “ayes,” and everyone scatters to their places. Most head back under, while the three called out stand behind their captain. The Tang slowly pulls up to the dock, blackened with soot that Law’s sure wasn’t there before, and the four anxiously watch the deck of the Sunny as the sub comes to a stop across the wooden planks.

Law tightens his hold on Kikoku when a figure approaches the railing of the other ship.

“Oh my,” a woman’s voice calls, sounding amused, “it took you longer to catch up than I thought it would.”

Hand relaxing, Law almost feels grateful. “Nico Robin. Why does it sound like you aren’t surprised to see me?”

She laughs, a pretty lilting thing and leans heavily on the rail, “he’s somewhere near the center of town. I’d say follow the noise, but Zoro, Sanji, and Franky are making quite a bit themselves.”

“Just those three are with him?” He’s not going to ask if it’s that obvious he’s here for Luffy. She clearly knows something he doesn’t, and he’ll figure it out himself. But he would like to know who they’re up against if push comes to shove.

Robin nods, “the rest of us chose to stand back. They’re capable of handling things themselves.” She brushes a strand of dark hair out of her face. Her sight drifting to the burning town, “no, they’re doing enough damage already.”

“Sounds like you don’t agree with this,” Law knows he’s losing time. That he needs to go, but, “why haven’t any of you tried to stop him? Surely, you see it’s hurting people.”

“Luffy gave strict orders not to kill anyone, if it makes you feel any better,” she placates, but Law does not in fact feel better, “just destroy anything or knock out anyone who gets in his way. He is a man on a mission, after all. Not even any of us can stop him, as if we ever could.”

“Unfortunately,” she continues, turning her attention back to him, “the boys are using these chances to get some frustrations out. I hear they claim it feels rather therapeutic to let loose and blow some things up.”

Law’s briefly reminded of the way pleasure, satisfaction floods him any time he gets to use his powers to fuck something up, “I think I understand the feeling.”

Robin smiles at him, “you better get going. I’m sure captain's found Koby by now.”

“Does he seriously not know?”

Her eyes squint shut with the force of her laugh, and Robin admits, “he didn’t know about you, either. You should have seen his face when he heard you’re pregnant.”

He’s so stupid.

I bet it was a cute face.

“By the way,” the woman says. Her eyes soft and expression fond, “congratulations. I hope you’re both doing well.”

Law fights off an embarrassed flush, unprepared for the kind words. “Yeah,” he manages, “thanks. We’re both strong and healthy so far.”

“I’m glad to hear it, and I’m sure Luffy will be, too,” ugh she always sounds like she just knows, “if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my book. Good luck out there, Torao.” She pushes away from the rail and walks out of sight before Law can even mutter a thanks. 

Near the center of town…Law turns to the crewmates behind him, “alright, you three, you heard her. Watch out for the cook, swordsman, and robot. Don’t fight if you can help it. Got it?”

“Aye, aye, captain!”

“You got it.”

“Like I’d ever wanna fight those three anyways. Sounds like an easy way to die.”

Rolling his eyes at Shachi’s dramatics, Law opens a room, only big enough to move himself down to the dock. The others can unboard much easier than him. God, he misses just being able to jump off the sub. Especially since right now even just a tiny room like that leaves him dizzy, all thanks to the little monster growing inside him.

Law doesn't wait for the others. His steps are brisk, but he keeps a hand on his sword and the other on his belly. He’s slowed significantly by his bump, and sore feet, and aching back. Fuck.

The trek through town is difficult with debris and fires to avoid. Law struggles not to let the smoke choke him and forces his mind to stay on task. He concentrates on putting foot after foot, repeat, rinse, repeat. If he ever stumbles, Bepo is by his side to catch him.

They’re passing the rumble that was once a shop when Law realizes the gunfire is getting closer. Before he can react, Franky blocks his path by falling seemingly from the sky. The strawhat is laughing at something, and a huge explosion erupts from the direction he’s facing.

“Whew, that was a big one, damn.”

“Are you enjoying yourself,” Law deadpans from his left. Franky makes a confused face and looks down at him.

“Well, hey, when did you get here?” He asks, uncovering his eyes from his sunglasses.

“A handful of minutes ago. I’ve just spoken to your wife. She said your captain is near the center of town. Is that still true?” He cuts to the chase, eager to end this insanity.

“Sure,” Franky confirms, “just follow that trail of busted up shops. It should lead you right to him.” He drops his sunglasses back down over his eyes and adds, “but watch out for Zoro and Sanji. They’re keeping count on how many buildings they destroy. You know, to see who does more.”

Law furrows his brows. While he can’t be surprised those two have turned this into a competition— they’ll turn anything into a competition— it’s pretty fucked up to find that sort of entertainment in destroying peoples’ homes and businesses. Their livelihoods literally are up in flames.

With a harsh bite, Law asks, “and what about you? Are you in on this competition of theirs?”

Franky grins at him, “nah, I’m just here to have fun.”

An infuriating answer, and Law wonders when he ever started caring so much. He’s done more than his fair share of wrecking shit in the past, and he’ll likely do more in the future. It would be hypocritical of him to chastise the strawhats for such behavior.

“Relax,” Franky tells him, “these buildings are empty. The last of the citizens ran outta here just a minute ago. You probably heard them screaming their scared little heads off. But they’re safe. And buildings can be rebuilt.”

He holds up his hands, preparing to fire, and says, “it’s about to get super loud over here. You might wanna move.”

Law takes the warning and with a nod to Franky beckons his friends to keep going. They pick their way down the road of ruin, until Law feels the boding, overwhelming presence of the pirate king. It’s strong enough to nearly knock him on his ass. Luffy is clearly extremely pissed off. But thankfully, Koby’s still alive because Law can feel his presence as well. It’s got a strength of its own, but compared to Luffy’s, it might as well roll over and play dead.

The two seem to be in an opening at the center of a bunch of roads and alleyways. The very epicenter of the town. It was probably beautiful once, a large sparkling fountain in the center, vibrant flowers in hand turned vases, but now all Law can see from his place behind a crumbling building is a warzone.

“You guys should stay back,” he orders, “I’ll go in alone.”

The three share a look, and Law is sure they all want to object. Concern and uncertainty on their faces, but no one speaks. He’s about to demand if he was clear, but Penguin slowly asks, “Are you sure, captain?” The closest they’ll get to questioning him.

“I’m sure,” Law answers confidently, “neither of them will hurt me,” unless Luffy is angry with me for some reason.

He points a thumb at a nearby broken wall, still tall enough for hiding behind. “Stay there. I’ll come back for you once this is settled.” He cuts his eyes in the direction of a yell, sounding an awful lot like an angry Luffy. Law makes eye contact with each of his friends consecutively. Voice calm and monotone, “and in the off chance something goes wrong, I’ll be sure to scream.”

“...is that a joke or are you serious?” Shachi questions.

Law shrugs it off and starts to leave the safety of the shadows. A hand adjusting his hat to secure it to his head anxiously. He tugs on the bottom of his tank top. It barely covers any of his large bump, and when he tries to pull it down, it proves pointless because the thing just slips right back up above his stomach, leaving it exposed between the tank top and loose sweats.

As he reaches the opening of an alleyway, Law doesn’t see either Luffy or Koby. The coast appears clear, so he hesitantly sets Kikoku against the side of one of the buildings that forms the alley. He’d prefer not to need her, but if he has to, he will open a room and bring her to him.

With a last look at his sword, Law leans on a wall and quietly as he can, slips out of the alley. The town center is bright in the afternoon sun, but he’s able to lurk in the shade provided from the shredded remains of canopies over crushed market stalls. 

He rakes his eyes over the massive space, but he feels them before he sees them. A terrifying wave of conqueror’s haki comes flooding from an alley to his right. It’s a short dip between buildings, short enough that he can see the bolts of red and black flying through the air. Sparking and flashing, creating a dangerous dance like lightning. The flicker and glow draw Law’s sight to the alley, the bolts waving him in, wanting him to see. 

He gasps softly when he does. His eyes land on Luffy’s back. The sight of him pushing Koby into the stone wall at the back of the alley has him scurrying forwards.

The former marine’s grown quite a bit, but Luffy’s form blocks him almost completely from Law’s sight. Over the din of explosions, he hears Luffy growl out at his old friend, “tell me the truth! Just fucking tell m—”

“I did!” Koby yells back desperately. He’s held against the wall by one large hand, horribly close to crushing his throat. With the twitch of his hand, Luffy could easily break Koby’s neck or strangle him. The pink haired man is already battered and bruised. His hands scramble, attempting to wrench Luffy off of him. “I told you it wasn’t me! What’s gotten into you, Luffy?!”

The pirate king opens his mouth to retort, but Law’s seen enough.

“Room,” blue engulfs the whole half of the town center, “and shambles.”

In a flash, Koby is roughly dropped onto the cobblestone ground outside the alley. He blinks in confusion, looking around.

Luffy’s open mouth stutters shut. A look of terror over takes his face when he realizes he’s now holding Law’s throat. The other is glowering at him. A foreboding rage burning in his eyes, Law speaks, “that’s what I’d like to know.”

“Fuck, Torao!” Luffy yelps and drops his hold so fast Law stumbles, losing his room. The pirate king is quick to lift a hand, but Law stubbornly refuses it, finding his balance by leaning back against the wall. Extinguished like a flame are the sparks of haki as Luffy sputters, “what’re you— when—”

“I’ve been here long enough,” Law interrupts him. “And how did you not sense me? I didn’t even try to hide my presence.”

Luffy frowns, petulantly, “nuh uh.”

“The fuck do you mean ‘nuh uh,’” Law snaps.

Koby stands from his place on the ground, brushing dust off his pants, “it’s true, Luffy. I knew he was here the second he hit land.”

Luffy turns behind himself and glares at Koby, “why didn’t you tell me then?!” And the other stares back incredulously.

“Because I’m pretty sure you were trying to kill me for something I didn’t do!” Koby shouts, exhausted and pained. “If you had listened to me, instead of immediately throwing punches, then maybe I could have said something!”

Law feels a sense of validation that Koby is as over Luffy’s shit as he is.

“Well,” Luffy struggles to argue, “maybe you shouldn’t have been accused of it in the first place then!”

“That doesn’t even make any sense…” Koby grits out. “It isn’t my fault,” he smacks a hand to his chest for emphasis, “that some wannabe reporter wouldn’t know research if it struck them in the face.”

He goes on to add, “if they did, they’d know there’s no way I could be the baby’s father.”

Luffy only looks more confused. His brows furrowing and mouth frowning, “why—”

Koby’s face goes blank, and Law knows that expression. It’s the face of a man defeated, of facing an opponent too stupid to handle, “I don’t have a dick, Luffy.” He explains, voice flat. He gestures his hands over his crotch, “I can not physically get anyone pregnant.”

Law takes note that Ikkaku was correct that Luffy was definitely targeting people rumored to be his baby’s father, but searching the side of Luffy’s face, Law dismays that he still doesn’t know why.

Luffy turns back to Law, looking as if he needs a second opinion. So Law confirms, “after we all became such important figures before and during the Final Battle, a lot of our life histories and medical records became public. It’s public knowledge that both him,” he points at Koby over Luffy’s shoulder, “and I,” twisting his wrist to point at himself now, “were assigned female at birth.”

At the lost look he receives, Law sighs and simplifies, “it’s true. We both have pussies. He isn’t the father.”

Understanding dawns on Luffy’s face, and Law questions his own sanity, finding it cute. The pirate king laughs brightly. His face alight with humor, as if he didn’t just beat an old friend over nothing, “ooooh, I get it! Like Yams! Oops, sorry, Koby. That was my bad.”

Koby makes eye contact with Law before addressing Luffy, “yeah, sure, no biggie.”

He clasps a hand over his left shoulder and fails to hide a flinch. The movement from before agitated something, probably making an injury worse than it was initially.

And Law feels the cinders of his anger reignite.

“Koby, get lost,” he orders, “Luffy and I need to talk.”

The man looks surprised, only to nod knowingly. His voice serious, “yeah, you do. Alright, I’ll go then.”

Luffy shouts at him as he turns away, “hey, stop by the Sunny! You should let Chopper patch you up.” Koby shakes his head, “like I have a choice. You and your crew scared everyone else away.”

Humming, Luffy looks thoughtfully, “good point…if you see Zoro, Sanji, and Franky on your way, tell them I said they can stop now. We’re done.” He grins, like he accomplished some grand goal, and Law grinds his teeth.

“Sure,” Koby automatically agrees. He mutters as he exits the town center, “all you strawhats are insane…but we’ve known that for years, I guess.”

Luffy snickers at the other’s retreating back. The smile on his face is wide and unbelievably excited. A light in his eyes flickers happily, as he turns around to Law again. Only to be met with a furious glare. The smile on Luffy’s face dims, and dare Law say, he looks a little nervous.

“You owe me an explanation,” Law demands. Both arms coming forward to wrap around his belly. The action draws Luffy’s eyes to the bump, and his expression drops all humor. It’s almost frightening how quickly his emotions can change.

“Between the two of us, I could have sworn you strawhats were the kinder of the crews, but no,” Law starts, angry and distressed and so, so frustrated, “you have been going around attacking people— not just any people! Friends, allies.” He waves a hand around, “and even more innocent people are suffering for it. What the hell is wrong with you?”

His lips wobble dangerously, and he damns his hormones for these awful mood swings, “is it really my fault?”

“What?” Luffy breathes, shocked, “no, it’s not— it isn’t your fault, Torao.” He begins to reach for Law but stops when the other curls in protectively over his stomach. It’s not that he’s scared of Luffy, but the vulnerability their conversation is causing in him, that is what scares him.

Luffy looks heartbroken but explains, “I— okay, this is gonna be hard, but I’ll try.”

“When I found out you were pregnant, it hurt. A lot.” He admits, “the first article said the other father was— is— unknown, and that made me mad.” He crosses his arms, face upset and voice low, “how could they do that? How could anyone treat you like that? They just…abandoned you and your baby. It’s fucked up, and it made me so…so angry. I thought if it were me, I’d never let either of you go.”

The words are spoken so easily, so sincere they cause Law’s heart to leap.

“Then, I decided,” Luffy continues, “I’d figure out who the other father is and kick their ass until they agree to treat you better.”

Tears well up in Law’s eyes, and he desperately blinks them away. He can’t even tell what sort of tears they are for the multitude of things he’s feeling. Grateful for the thoughtfulness, hopeful for knowing Luffy’s imagined himself in that place, but pain for knowing he only wanted the other person to take responsibility. The taste of rejection paralyzes Law’s tongue, so he can only listen as Luffy shreds his heart.

“So when the newspaper said the father was Kid, I kicked his ass. Turns out it wasn’t him because he was in Wano during the time you would have gotten pregnant.”

“But then, the paper said it was Cabbage, so I went to beat him up. I got a few good hits in before he told me he ‘wouldn’t stick his dick in crazy.’ Which is stupid. He fucks Roosterhead, and he’s way crazy.”

Law nods shallowly, only half listening in his broken hearted state. Luffy went through all this trouble on his behalf. All because he wanted, needed to see Law respected and loved…but not by him.

“Then, I decked him really good for calling you crazy,” and oh Law hates how much he loves that, “and left.”

“When they said it was Smokey, honestly? I didn’t really believe it,” Luffy says, his gaze dropping to the ground, “Smokey’s a good guy. Even if he didn’t love you, I’m sure he would wanna be a dad to his kid.”

Law is compelled to agree. Smoker has always been a bit harsh, uptight, but he’s kindhearted. He’d at least take responsibility for knocking someone up.

“But I had to visit him, just to be sure.” Luffy says, “we didn’t really fight. But he was pretty mad that I knocked a huge hole into his wall. So we had a little disagreement. But he convinced me that I was right. He would never treat someone like that. That he would take responsibility. So I agreed it wasn’t him and left.”

Luffy stops to breathe. His dark eyes drifting back to Law’s stomach. “Koby was believable I thought, but that was obviously wrong.”

“Obviously,” is all Law mutters. 

“I just…I’m sorry if I made you feel like you’re responsible for all this,” Luffy apologizes, as his eyes travel up to catch Law’s watery ones, “I only want you to be treated the way you deserve.”

Then do it yourself, Law wants to scream. Instead, he sighs through his nose, “I understand, but Luffy you’ve done so much damage in my name…”

“Oh!” Luffy perks up, “don’t worry about that! No one really got hurt that badly, and we always make sure to rebuild whatever we break— and better than before!  We’ll do the same for this town before we leave, too. A lot of times the locals actually end up thanking us for the free demo and renovations.” He laughs, raspy and delighted, “but Smokey sure didn’t!”

So the strawhats haven’t just decided to go completely apeshit…somehow knowing that makes Law feel better. “I didn’t know that.”

“A lotta people don’t,” Luffy says, his expression is indifferent, but he sounds annoyed, “the paper really likes to leave that part out.”

“Of course, they do.” Law can’t say he’s surprised.

There’s a lull in the conversation, but Law can tell there’s something the other wants to ask. He can guess what it is, but he’s preoccupied with not toppling over. His body must have just realized how much energy those rooms took because he feels dizzy and lightheaded.

“Torao? Are you okay?” He hears Luffy ask, and odd, he doesn’t remember closing his eyes. He blinks them open to Luffy’s worried face. “Yeah, ‘m just tired. Using rooms takes too much outta me right now. So I get,” he wobbles on his feet, and Luffy doesn’t let him stop him this time. He grabs hold of Law’s arms, keeping him steady.

“Whoa whoa,” he looks scared, like he’s afraid Law’s going to pass out or something, “maybe you should sit down.”

“I’m fine,” Law refuses. The prideful part of him wants to bat Luffy’s hands away, but the part desperate for his touch is stronger. “I just get a little dizzy. I’m already over it.”

Luffy doesn’t look convinced, but he knows not to push it. He knows a lot about Law. They’ve known each other a long time by now. Oh God, not again. Law feels his eyes grow watery.

“If you’re fine, why are you crying?” Luffy frowns. 

Because all this time, all these years, I’ve loved you. “Hormones. It means nothing.” It’s only half a lie.

Luffy watches him silently for a moment, letting Law pull himself together. It only mostly works. He can tell it would be easy to make him cry again, so he hopes Luffy will be easy on his already broken heart.

“Torao,” Luffy says his name so prettily. His voice deepens, smooth and calming as the ocean’s waves, “tell me.” A shiver runs up Law’s spine, Luffy looks serious. His eyes sharp and searching, all his usual joy missing from the lines in his face, “who’s the father?”

And Law knew that question was coming, knew Luffy would want to know, but he still feels unprepared. The hands grasping his arms slide down until they fall away, and Law misses the touch already.

Luffy’s face drops, hurt dimming his eyes, and Law wonders why the pirate king would care so much. Luffy unknowingly answers, “I wanna know so I can kick their ass still.”

“I’d prefer if you stop,” Law says, “I don’t want you to hurt anyone else. Besides, what if he doesn’t want to be in our lives? What if you can’t convince him—”

“Then I’ll kick his ass even harder and take his spot,” Luffy says it with such certainty, an unwavering declaration.

“Not necessary,” Law diverts his eyes from Luffy’s intense stare. “You don’t need to do that. Unless you plan on kicking your own ass.”

“Huh?” Oh fuck me, he looks like a confused puppy. Those beautiful chocolate eyes so wide and full of emotion, red lips parted slightly, he even tilts his head. Law fears his heart won’t survive this.

He steels himself, body tense, and forces his eyes to catch Luffy’s, “you’re the other father.”

Luffy purses his lips, eyes dropping to Law’s bump. He makes a humming sound, like he’s considering the possibility but, “I don’t drink enough to get blackout drunk, so I’m pretty sure I’d remember fucking you. And that’s kinda important.”

“…not if you have a devil fruit with the ability to steal someone’s semen and plant it in yourself.” Law mutters, awkwardly, nervously, terrified that Luffy will respond negatively.

“You stole my…” Luffy says slowly, struggling to process, “why?”

Law shrugs, his eyes now look anywhere but Luffy’s face, searching for ways to escape if he needs to run, not that he can go very fast, “I’m getting older, already past 30, so I’m running out of time biologically to have children, and one day, I realized I hated that. That a large part of me would mourn never bringing life into the world. But,” he flushes, red burning in his cheeks, shame or embarrassment, who can say, “it had to be yours.”

He wraps his arms tighter around his belly, protective and loving, “no one else’s.”

“…why?” Luffy repeats, softly, disbelieving.

“Because I love you,” Law whispers, curling in as if telling a secret to his growing baby, “I’ve loved you since I saw you punch that celestial dragon.”

Luffy’s quiet for a long minute, and Law worries he’s about to start crying again. He feels so stupid. Perhaps admitting Luffy is the father was inevitable, but he didn’t have to tell him that. He’s not mentally prepared for that level of rejection.

A warm hand brushes up the side of Law’s neck. He barely gasps at the contact before Luffy takes hold of his chin, tilting his head to make Law look at him. 

Luffy doesn’t look angry, but he also doesn’t look happy, “I wish you had said something, but I guess I’m not one to talk.” He’s rubbing his thumb sweetly up and down Law’s jaw, ruffling his facial hair, “I never told you how much I love you, so I’m kinda to blame for this, too.”

Law’s mind blanks at the words “I love you.” They repeat in his head, an endless teasing loop. “Huh?” He asks, stupidly. Eyes wide in shock staring up at Luffy.

The other laughs, not mocking or mean, but genuinely happy. His free arm wraps around Law’s back, using it to bring him closer. He presses Law close enough that his baby bump meets strong abs.

Still somewhat dazed, Law only grips Luffy by the shoulders to maintain balance, not that Luffy would ever let him fall. The action of being held and pulled in does manage to bring him back to reality, at least. Just in time for Luffy’s answer.

“Yeah, I’ve loved you for a long time, too, Torao!” He tilts Law’s head further, and Law can feel him nudge his hat out of the way. Exhaling roughly, Law lets himself melt into the embrace and moves his head with the direction of Luffy’s hand.

The pirate king laughs and hot air rushes across Law’s face. He brings his lips to hover just above the other’s and murmurs, lightly brushing those tempting lips as he speaks, “you know, you really should have asked.”

Eyes shutting, half a mutter, half air, Law repeats, “I really should have as—”

Impatient lips find his, and he swallows his words, as Luffy presses his lips hard against Law’s. The kiss is kind of awkward, considering Law’s hat keeps getting in the way, but to him it’s perfect. Electrifying but soothing. A burn followed by a cool breeze. It only lasts a moment, though. And Law tries not to show his disappointment as Luffy breaks away.

He doesn’t go far, however. Just far enough back to ensure he has Law’s full attention. Once he’s sure he has it, his lips quirk in a playful smirk that sends shivers down Law’s spine and warms his insides. The devilish grin looks good on his pretty face, but it could mean trouble. Law raises an eyebrow in question, and Luffy announces.

“The next one we’re doing it the fun way.”

Law blushes down to his shoulders but nods. He thinks he can live with that.