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There was a lot going on, and so Trafalgar Law didn't notice things immediately. With the Dark King showing up in the auction house, to the army outside, or the Pacifistas, or the admiral showing up...
Until he and his crew were in relative safety did he notice it, or well, Bepo did.
"...Hey Captain, your arm."
The bear was fussing over something and Law opened a lazy eye to look at what his navigator was fretting about.
"Probably just another injury. That damn admiral shot out beams of light after all."
"But it’s not swollen or bleeding - hey you didn't get another tattoo did you?"
Law groaned and manoeuvred himself to take a better look at the 'mark' Bepo was concerning himself with.
Honestly, it looked like dots. Just three consecutive dots.
He certainly didn't remember that this morning.
He sighed and took a closer look at them. No, it wasn't some strangely precise burn or bruise, there was no pain at all. And they did look oddly familiar to his tattoos.
"I have no idea where that came from." He admitted honestly. "It certainly wasn't there earlier."
Bepo was always loud whenever he fretted and his entire crew was surrounding them now. Damn idiots, couldn't they see he was trying to take a nap here?
(But then again he was the most likely to brush off his injuries as nothing and he couldn't blame his crew for worrying.)
"Oh that? I saw it on you when we were getting away from Kizaru, I thought he got you or something."
"Nah! He had it earlier. The Pacifista got him."
And now his crew was bickering on just when they noticed the strange dots on his arm.
Oi, it wasn't an injury you dolts.
"Are you guys blind or something? He got it in the fight outside the Auction House!"
Law sighed and adjusted his hat, getting up and dragged Bepo elsewhere. He really needed to get some rest.
"...Hey Captain, you sure you're fine?"
Thankfully Bepo was quiet for once.
"Yeah, it doesn't hurt, I'm just tired."
“I’m sorry.”
With that said, he pushed Bepo to sit down again before closing his eyes, passing out almost immediately.
.×××.
The first clue should have been Marineford. Of course, such a thought had never even graced his mind at the time.
So that's him?
It was such a generic phrase tattooed onto the rubber-man's arm Law almost felt bad for the kid. Just how was one supposed to find their soul mate when their soul mate thought something everybody would think upon meeting a person as infamous as he was?
(Even he thought something along those lines.)
Law didn't give it, or the tattoo much thought though after that and the only reason he noticed it was that his arm was burned and injured right around that area.
Idly he wondered what would happen if that tattoo got injured or scarred. He couldn't recall hearing anything about that. Would the tattoo heal back? Would it be forever mutilated? What about dismemberment? Would the tattoo manifest on the other arm or another place if arms weren't available?
... He should be concentrating on the surgery, not this stupid bullshit about soul mates.
That person would like their soul mate back he supposed, so he better fix their Mugiwara-ya back up.
You better appreciate this, So-that's-him?-person, whoever you are. Gods you're so boring. Who the hell thinks that about their soul mate?
.×××.
"Ne, captain, you sure Kizaru didn't get you? The mark's not going away."
Law looked at the mark. Tsk, Bepo was still going on about that? It had been a week or two since they left Amazon Lily, and Mugiwara-ya to the devices of an Ex-Warlord and the Dark King.
And a week more since he got black dots on his arm.
"Maybe you should get matching dots on the other side." Penguin snickered.
Law sighed again. "For the last time, I didn't get an injury or a new tattoo you idiots!"
"Then where the hell did it come from? Marks don't just magically appear like that so perfectly round and equal distance from one another."
He heard some whispering before a few people snickered. What the fuck were they coming up with now?
"Guys, what if- what if our captain met somebody who was so speechless they couldn't even think around our captain!"
"No way! You mean?" And there was more laughter.
"Oh look it, Mr. Hotshot, rendering a poor girl out of her mind!"
...Wait were they implying.... Law looked at the mark incredulously.
There was no fucking way he met his soul mate. And who the hell heard of dots being the thought somebody had?
"That, or Captain's soul mate doesn't have a brain."
...His crew was not going to let up, were they?
"I'm sorry, I’m sure the marks will go away soon Captain."
At least Bepo wasn't joining in on their laughter.
.×××.
The marks never did go away. Months went by. A year even. And the dots stayed as they were. It was a never ending joke in his crew now, that their captain's soul mate was either a dumbass or an awestruck fan. Thankfully the frequency of the jokes lessened over time. (And thanks to some non-idle threats.)
And Law wouldn't admit that he gave their claims thought. That maybe it might be true. Certainly he had met some... idiots that day, and maybe some fanatics too.
But... who? He cringed at some of the options: like Kidd or Apoo. Or the subordinates of the other supernova crews. The Strawhats were filled with idiots too.
...Why did everybody have to be an idiot? It only made narrowing down a person that much harder.
(He was reminded of Mugiwara-ya's similar plight. Apparently they had boring soul mates.)
.×××.
The whole soul mate ordeal faded from his mind as his crew braced the new world. As he finally found a way to achieve his revenge. As he became a warlord and spent his time on Punk Hazard away from his crew. He had gotten so accustomed to the marks that he just regarded it as an extension of his current tattoos. (Maybe he should take up Penguin's suggestion and mirror it.)
Caesar and Monet didn't comment on them either, although whether it was because they never saw them due to the cold climate or they just regarded it as nothing unusual, he didn't know. (Or care)
It was a thing of the past after all. And, Law wasn't expecting to get out alive after he put things into motion. He was far too tied up to.
Soul mates didn't always end up together after all. Maybe in a different life they'd be lucky. And maybe not such a damn idiot.
(If that was even the case here)
So Law thought nothing of it. In fact, he all but forgot about it. That is, until a young face beamed up at him.
"Torao!"
Mugiwara-ya huh?
At least he was doing well, he noted.
.×××.
It didn't take him long.
Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots!
Zoro-ya was an idiot. Black Leg-ya was an idiot. Even Tanyuki-ya at times.
But the biggest one of all was their captain. Did the guy even think?!
...
...
...
Law looked at his arm and just balked.
There was no fucking way...
"Ne, Robin, whad'ya think?"
"Well, we haven't found anybody else who calls Luffy that."
...Now what were those idiots saying?
Whatever, he saw Mugiwara-ya's mark, and it wasn't word for word what he thought anyway. So despite his little start, no. Luffy didn't think dots when he saw him.
.×××.
Upon observing the Strawhats more, Law only became more convinced that, while they were idiots, they actually used their heads. Zoro would be the kind of guy to think about competition or trust when it came to somebody. And the cook? Yeah definitely not him.
Although why were they constantly looking at him like that?
It took one look at a shirtless Luffy to figure that out.
Because, where that burn mark was all those years ago on his arm read: Mugiwara-ya no Luffy huh?
.×××.
It was Usopp who finally confronted him.
"So what does it say? What does it say?"
"Tch." Feigning innocence, Law continued to change. It wasn't as if Usopp was going to notice three fucking periods.
(Seriously. Nothing. Nothing. That's what Luffy thought when he saw him? He would have preferred 'speechlessness' at least then it had some semblance of romance.)
And now that idiot was inspecting his arms and his body looking for clues.
"Don't tell me it’s 'Death.'" Usopp said and grabbed his hand, touching the 'D' there.
Law tore his hand away.
"That’s just fucking ominous."
"What the hell are you talking about?" He said and bent over to grab a shirt.
"Oh come on! You're the only one who calls Luffy that."
Law just decided to ignore him.
"It's really death? I mean I'd expect that from you, but not him!"
Law just sighed. "Death is part of my moniker, nothing more."
"Well that's a relief eh! The last thing anybody would want is for their soul mate to think death when they first saw them."
"Tch."
Death was still better than nothing. At least in his opinion.
(Since when the fuck did he care? He was probably going to die tomorrow anyway.)
.×××.
Perhaps he should be touched that Mugiwara-ya was fighting so hard for him. Perhaps he should be happy.
The guy was his supposed soul mate after all.
(Did Mugiwara-ya know? Did he realise? Did his crew tell him? Or did that fucking idiot just not think like usual and did whatever the fuck he wanted?)
Law didn't know what to think anymore.
He didn't know what to feel.
.×××.
"Mugiwara-ya..."
Law watched the unconscious captain. Why? Why was the boy doing this? Why was he risking his life over this? Why didn't he leave when he told him to?
And why in the world was he paired up with this fucking idiot?
They were complete opposites.
Well, at the very least, I suppose I can thank myself for saving you.
.×××.
While they travelled to Zou, the younger captain seemed very... fascinated with his arm.
Heaven forbid, was the kid actually thinking?
"Oi, Mugiwara-ya, what's it to ya?" He grumbled.
"Your arm." A rubbery finger poked one of his tattoos. "I just... it looks familiar. Like I've seen it before."
"Considering we've spent the last few days together I'm very certain you've seen them before Mugiwara-ya." He said with some irritation.
Law could see the black haired boy shake his head. "Mmmnn, no, not like that. Like... d-d... that thing where people feel like they did it before but don't remember?"
Law sighed. "Deja vu you mean?"
A smile beamed up at him. "Yeah! That!"
Law glanced down to see what was fascinating Luffy so much and he flinched.
The dots.
Luffy was never going to make sense to him, was he?
"I just... it gives me this weird feeling ya know? My head feels fuzzy. Like... like when we met and beat up all those Marines!"
...The fuck? How did Luffy associate dots with when they met?
"It's fuzzy like your cap."
Then Luffy was laughing. And he took off his hat and just... brought it down to his arms. "The dots kinda look like the ones on your hat too!"
...No shit.
Wait. Wait. Were the dots actually...
For fuck sakes!
They were spots. Luffy saw his hat and thought spots.
"And here I was thinking you were just an idiot Luffy-ya."
"Oi! What was that for Torao!"
But Law could only laugh. Luffy wasn't the idiot here, he was.
"Just shut up for a moment." He said before pulling the younger captain into a kiss.
(Okay, maybe they both were.)