movement from the soul

by grapeapp1esoda

Summary:

Law knew from an emic perspective that the dance world could be utterly ruthless and brutal, but it can also be so beautiful and full of love.

Both of the creative directors at D.B.C (Dressrosa Ballet Company) showed both ends of the spectrum-- Doflamingo yielding no mercy in his strictness, and Rosinante displaying unmatched passion. Both had raised Law into the beautiful dancer he was now, but neither could give him the most crucial part that a dancer requires in order to truly flourish -- the ability to bare their soul to the audience.

When he reaches his breaking point, both in his career and mentally, a little ray of sunshine barrels his way straight into his life-- Monkey D. Luffy.

Can the ever free-spirited Luffy find a way to help Law rediscover his deep love for the sport, or will Law crumble under the pressure and threat of failure?

Chapter 1: bask in the rays of the rising sun

Summary:

“You were seriously in the Corps de Ballet for a year and you don't know who this guy is?” Sanji chides, shaking his head with a slight scoff.

“Well, we didn’t get to say our names before he plowed me yesterday...” Luffy huffs, a slight pout puffing out. The words were innocent, they truly were, but the phrasing was absolutely atrocious. The silence that lingered afterwards was even more painful than Luffy’s words.

Reiju, Monet, and Robin exchanged a curious expression to each other, Viola offered a huff of laughter, continuing on with breaking her new pointe shoes in, all while Sanji and Ace had stared slack-jawed at Luffy. Almost all of the company’s principal dancers at the country’s best ballet company were now staring holes into Law’s skin.

“Into me.” Law manages out, voice tight and brittle.

“Huh?”

“The saying is ‘plowed into me’ when somebody knocks you over.”

“Oh.” Luffy offers, blinking up at Law before letting another loud laugh loose.

Notes:

just as a note for those who are familiar with gendered ballet roles, classes, and technique-- i'm having this universe be interchangeable!!! so anyone can wear pointe shoes and anyone can take any previously gendered roles-- most actually do so as a way to balance out and improve their dancing capabilities! <3

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SOPA FOR BETA READING THIS!! it's been an absolute joy to bounce my hyperfixation off of someone just as eager about this au as me hehehe <3

spiel aside, i hope you enjoy!

The wind curving its way through the branches of shedding trees signaled the end of summer in Dressrosa. The change of season in the country not only brought the beginning of Fall, but the beginning of a new dance season at Dressrosa Ballet Company— one of the most prestigious dance companies in the entire country. Only dancers that have dedicated themselves fully to the sport get to experience all it has to offer.

Delicate piano key notes, floating through an open window of one of the countless humid studios, suddenly halted as the signal was given. The absence of music left only the heavy breathing of a tall, raven-haired ballet dancer in the center of the floor. 

Law’s chest heaved with effort, the once sculpted pose he’d been in the middle of moving through collapsing at the sudden silence.

Not again.

“What.. what was it this time?” Law managed in-between breaths, not even bothering to fully look over at his wheelchair-bound blonde mentor as his tattooed hands met either side of his hips. 

Rosinante looks up to Law from his wheelchair with a pensive face, one that made it clear he was struggling to voice his thoughts. 

“I’m just not feelin’ it, Law. It doesn’t feel like I’m watching you dance. It’s all..” he trails off, gesturing unspoken words into the air as he tries, and fails, to find the correct mixture to explain himself.

Law looks back incredulously, his furrowed brows creating an exasperated expression. This was the third time today that Cora had given him that damned correction. It was stupid, pointless even. What was he supposed to do with the information?

“That’s not a correction, Cora-san, that’s an opinion.” Law retorts, tone coming out a bit more snippy than he’d intended. It wasn’t like he was angry with Cora, he rarely ever was, but he was incredibly frustrated with himself and the lack of elaboration. 

“It’s both!” Cora argues, “It looks mechanical… soulless. I need you to dance it, not just do it . ”

“I don’t understand. I am dancing, aren’t I? I’ve built my entire career on that.” Law shot back.

“I mean, yes, in the technical sense, but you aren’t at the same time… something’s missing.” Cora elaborates, wheeling himself nearer to the center of the worn marley floor, closer to Law. 

“Something’s missing like choreography or timing? You’ve got to be specific about what you need me to do.” 

“Your technique is flawless, body positioning is beautiful and exactly where it should be, but the sense of expression just isn’t there,” He pauses, tilting his head up to a confused, frustrated Law, “So try this once more. Just express yourself and the rest will come naturally.” He finishes, illustrating his words with movements of his own. 

When Cora began to show his choreography once more to Law, he desperately held onto every moment, completely enraptured by the attention that Cora’s stage presence demanded.

His arms immediately lifted to third position , body stretched tall as one arm delicately curved high over his head and the other stretched wide. The blonde’s spine contracted gracefully, every muscle working to make the action look as effortless as possible. His wrists followed the contraction, one resting itself over the other to offer a downtrodden visage. Even without his face being visible and no music to move to, the pure energy the man was able to exude spoke louder than words or music ever could. He stills for only a moment, barely allowing the new shape to settle before his body shifts again, reverting back to third position . If Law had been younger, he might’ve even believed that the man had wings with how fluid he moved, but he knew better now. Cora still danced so beautifully despite the disabilities that plagued him, and that thought alone was enough to get Law’s head back into focus, even to just give it one more try.

Law steps back center, assuming his croisé , tendu devont position– body facing the corner with his foot curved to a strong point in order to replicate the movement. He completes the choreography in ways Corazon couldn’t, his leg lifting high off the ground to a beautiful extension while his arms stay in the same third position . Law stretches his upper body tall, before contracting, his wrists meeting as his leg bends into an attitude, and he finally stretches back, head lifting ever so slightly. Though, this time even he could feel something was off, so he tried again, being met with another fail. 

Failure after self-perceived failure had worn his willingness down into the ground. It was difficult to ignore the way his own internal voice berating himself had begun to sound too close to Doflamingo’s.

The grating register of it shook him quickly out of his own thoughts, bringing him back to an even more disappointing reality. He huffed, hands immediately going to scrub at his face as if to rid himself of the shame. He was getting into his own head now, and that’d make continuing damn near impossible.

Sensing the frustration, Cora offered an empathetic smile. “You know what, why don’t we pause here for the day. You’ve had classes all day, and I’m sure your brain is fried.” The blonde offers, wheeling his way back to the piano in the corner of the room. 

“Yeah, that’s probably best.” Law says tightly, mouth pulling taunt in an attempt to save face. He knew how much this piece meant to him, and it would kill the deepest part of himself if he couldn’t execute it. 

There was no time to concentrate on that now though, not with Doflamingo’s practice bright and early at 5:30 am tomorrow. 

The urge to sit on his bed and melt into a motionless puddle motivates him enough to pull the metal doors to exit the studio open and nearly tramples someone who had been standing directly in his path. 

“Shit-”

“Woah!” 

Narrowly missing a total collision, Law now found himself half tangled on the ground with another student. By the time he had gathered his bearings enough to look at whatever idiot hadn’t seen the large metal door swinging open, he had found himself in quite a compromising position; he’d had one tattooed arm against the wall while the other lay on the ground, next to the guy’s head, and both of their legs completely intertwined.

His own frantic golden eyes met big, dark brown ones that stared up at him in shock. Their faces were too close and their breath began to intermingle as neither of them moved, either too stunned or too entranced to move. 

The first thing he noticed on the smaller was a scar that curved under his left eye, and the way his messy hair splayed against the floor. He was breathtakingly pretty this close-up, though it’s not like he’d ever seen him anywhere else before. 

After taking in the tiny details, enough time had passed for the air to thicken and become tense, almost tangible before Law’s brain finally managed to conjure up words.

“What the hell are you doing? ” Law sputters out, pushing himself away from the floor and away from the younger student. 

“Sorry! I was waitin’ for Cora and I couldn’t help but to watch. Your legs were so long n’ pretty and your envelopé was so high!” The younger student admits, a warm laugh accompanying his adulation as he pushes himself to sit up. 

“That was a private rehearsal.” Law deflects, turning his head before his cheeks tinted pink at the sound of Luffy’s laughter reverberating deep within his gut.

“Didn’t look like it.” Luffy responds, tone just as casual and relaxed as it had been from the start– infuriatingly so. 

Law wasn’t able to get another retort in before the same metal door he’d pushed open mere minutes ago creaks again. This time, a head of wavy blonde hair breeches the doorway as the man wheels himself through it. Cora moves to turn the corner before seeing the two still sitting, unmoving on the floor. 

Deciding against commenting on it, the instructor focuses on the younger student instead, “Ah, Luffy! Just the kid I was lookin’ for. Why don’t you follow me to my office so we can talk?” Rosinante beams, that signature smile of his slipping onto his features. The prettily painted grin was met with one of the kid’s own, both being bright enough to rival the sun. 

Luffy? That name sounded familiar somehow. He must’ve heard it back at home from either Doffy or Cora, which could be either good or concerning, depending on who had talked about him. Though, with how pleased Cora looked, it must’ve been a good thing.

“Cora!” Luffy exclaims, hopping up from the floor and grabbing his dance bag that had slid against the wood floor.

The two must be well acquainted, though that wasn’t shocking since Cora was better liked as the Ballet Department Head, the only other option being Doflamingo. 

Law continued to observe, not realizing he had been staring at Luffy while the two talked, now turning to head towards the office at the end of the hall. While he may not have realized how long his focused gaze lingered, a certain blonde did and smiled to himself. 

“Sorry again, tattoo guy!” Luffy calls out, waving a hand over his head due to distance, that stupidly bright smile still settled onto his face. The direct call to him grabbed his attention, making him readjust the grip on his own bag. 

Instead of responding, Law instead let his brows fall flat as he rolled his eyes. He had more important things to worry about than some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed kid who probably just joined the company after the most recent auditions. Tomorrow brought a new day, and one that unfortunately started with his one-on-one rehearsal with Doflamingo. 

~~

The night hadn’t lasted long enough, the rays of sun starting to poke through the gaps of curtains in the already-humid studio. The sound of pointe shoes stretching and popping against different parts of the floor accompanied the sound of Doflamingo counting. Law sautéd and pranced through the variation he was working on, muscles nearly quaking with the overexertion. 

Coppelia had been a double-edged sword to perform. On one hand, Law had enjoyed Swanhilda’s variations; he had beautiful long legs that could manage all of the jumps and elongate his extensions well, but it was exhausting in a way that Franz’ part hadn’t been. There was more acting to do, and acting that Law was struggling to fake. 

Each small sway of Law’s arms had his muscles rippling down his back, his neck lengthened and shoulders pressed as he moved with an unfamiliar feminine grace. 

“Four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six...” Doflamingo trails as Law finally hits his finishing pose— head turned away from Doflamingo as he silently panted. 

A few moments passed as he allowed the final note on the piano to linger before he let his arms drop and relax. 

“That was passable, at best.” Doflamingo offers, arms crossed as he looks down to Law’s exhausted figure. 

“Passable?” Law reiterates, brow quirked in disbelief and irritation. He’d been doing this same tiny section for the last thirty minutes– how was it passable?

“Your upper body’s sloppy, and your arabesque extension looks the lowest it’s been in weeks,” The blonde begins to fire off, only pausing to let that irritating grin of his spread across his face, “perhaps those late night rehearsals with Corazon are ruining all that technique we’ve pushed so hard for, hm?” 

Shit . They weren’t necessarily intended to be hidden from his eyes, but it would have been for the best if Doflamingo hadn’t known. 

“That’s not it and you know it.” Law immediately bites back, brows furrowed in anger. 

“You’re both fools, thinking I wouldn’t find out.” He starts, his shoes clicking against the dense marley flooring as he walks towards Law. Each step spiked his heart rate, the pulse unsteady as the older man’s presence loomed over him. 

“It wasn’t a secret.” 

“Wasn’t it? Waiting until I leave to start them, ending before other classes are done so students don’t see you leave? I know everything that happens in this company.” Doflamingo pushes, a cruel laugh slipping as Law bristled. 

“I’m always watching Law. Always.” The words near whispered above him had made an involuntary shiver crawl down his spine, stomach flipping at the implications. 

“Unless you’re having me run this from the top with music, I’m leaving. I have a class I need to be at in 20 minutes.” Law finally manages out, ignoring the way his throat felt tight and slightly painful. 

“Fine. From the top, and if you screw this one up, I’m pulling you from the show and replacing you.” 

Silence was all the principal dancer could respond with, anger filling every part of his body. It wasn’t an uncommon threat, but it was one that never missed its target. If Law was kicked he would have failed not only Doflamingo and his fellow students, but also himself, and failure wasn’t an option. 

Rage fresh in his mind, he pushes through the routine without a second thought. Acting that was supposed to have care put into it didn’t, but it wasn’t like Doflamingo actually cared about that in the moment anyways– he just wanted to see Law riled up. Disgusting.

 The second that the final note rings out, Doflamingo’s voice chases it across the room, “Much better.” What he was sure was supposed to be praise hadn’t even felt like approval. 

Suddenly, he couldn’t stomach the waves of nausea brought on by the overwhelming urge to wipe that stupid grin off of Doflamingo’s face and barely waited until the last syllable sounded before he snatched his bag off the floor and stormed out of the studio. 

It was ridiculous, outrageous even, that he allowed that feathered freak to get to him so badly, but he couldn’t help it– the man always knew the right buttons to press to get under his skin. 

The walk to the other side of the building and up to the third floor had felt nonexistent, his mind too preoccupied as he almost missed the slightly propped open metal door coming into view. After realizing, he backtracked and his heart had almost stopped as he heard a familiar laugh filling his intended destination. 

There was no way he was here, he wasn’t a principal dancer.

Lo and behold, sitting next to the center barre in a straddle stretch with a long silicone stretch band looped around each foot, was Luffy. There was no mistaking his messy raven hair, or those brown, stupidly doe-like eyes, and the scar under his left eye. To his right was a tall, dark-haired woman, Robin, who had a leg resting on the top barre and was bent over it, and to his left was a blonde who had been the victim of the joke– Sanji.

This was the principal dancer's only technique class, right?

“Ah, Trafalgar.” Robin speaks up, looking over her shoulder at him. Law walks in, silently dropping his bag on the floor while staring at the new student who was now looking back at him.

“Oh! Tattoo guy!!” Luffy chimes in, picking his head up off the floor to watch the older student take off the pointe shoes he’d been wearing. 

“Tattoo guy?” Monet sounds, tone far too amused for it to only be 7 a.m. 

Law only scowls at the tacky nickname. 

“You were seriously in the Corps de Ballet for a year and you don't know who this guy is?” Sanji chides, shaking his head with a slight scoff. 

“Well, we didn’t get to say our names before he plowed me yesterday...” Luffy huffs, a slight pout puffing out. The words were innocent, they truly were, but the phrasing was absolutely atrocious. The silence that lingered afterwards was more painful than Luffy’s words had been. 

Reiju, Monet, and Robin exchanged a curious, pursed lipped and raised brow expression to each other, Viola offered a huff of laughter, continuing on with breaking her new pointe shoes in, all while Sanji and Ace had stared slack-jawed at Luffy. Almost all of the principal dancers at the country’s best ballet company were now staring holes into Law’s front. 

“Into me.” Law manages out, voice tight and strained.

“Huh?”

“The saying is ‘plowed into me’ when somebody knocks you over.” 

“Oh.” Luffy offers, blinking up at Law before letting another loud laugh loose. 

Unable to sit in physical discomfort any longer, Law broke the ice, “My name’s Trafalgar Law, not tattoo guy.” 

“That’s a long name- how ‘bout Torao?” Luffy offers, bending over to put his elbows on the floor while he rocked into his straddle stretch.

Kill him now, he couldn’t do this.

“No.” Law responds, only sparing a moment to rub his battered feet while switching shoes. 

Conversation seemingly over, mostly because Law refused to entertain any more of Luffy’s ramblings, the rest of the room settled their own soft conversation once more. It had been a bit of a routine, most of the girls stretching near each other, and he and Ace had occasionally done the same. 

Minutes flew by as they stretched and warmed up in the ways they individually needed, before Corazon had finally wheeled himself into the studio room. As usual, the coffee cup nestled in between his legs had split coffee as he pushed himself into the room, and Law was quick to wipe up any spills. 

“Good morning, everyone!” Cora greets them all happily, any ounce of tiredness nowhere to be found on his features. 

A chorus of personal morning s were heard from the group as they stood to find their places at barre. Routine had been tossed to the wind as the storm that was Monkey D. Luffy found his spot to be directly behind Law’s. 

“Now, before we get started, I wanted to make an official announcement that Monkey D. Luffy has recently been promoted to principal dancer status. He’ll be joining most of your classes from here on out, so make him feel welcome.” Cora announces cheerfully, a wide grin on his features as he gestures to Luffy.

The younger dancer only beams back, offering a wave and a laugh. A few dancers gave warm smiles, but most, including Law, just nodded their heads in welcome. 

“Alright, now- why don’t we warm up with some fondus ?” Cora starts, beginning to give his warm-up combination. 

Cora’s classes were a nice start to the morning since he usually focused on more basic technique, really ensuring that his dancer’s foundation was strong so that they could build confidently off of it. Usually, Law breezed through the classes, relishing all the time with Cora he could, but that had been hard today. 

It was difficult to focus on his technique when he could feel the way Luffy’s eyes snuck glances at him any chance he got. Once they had switched sides, his focus on his turnout vanished at the sight of Luffy’s back directly in front of him, his muscles flexing and shifting beautifully under the tight white t-shirt he had been wearing. It was near impossible to truly put effort into executing the technique in the combinations given as he watched Luffy effortlessly execute them all. Sure, he messed up combinations occasionally, whether it was the wrong step or the wrong timing, but those mistakes were never repeated after he’d made them– he was a quick learner, apparently. He was nothing short of incredible, if not slightly forgetful, in his movements. 

Before he even realized, they were already finished with warm-ups and were heading out onto the floor for an adage . 

It felt like a repetitive thought, but it was infuriating to Law how beautifully he danced. There was something about the quality of movement that he couldn’t put his finger on; it wasn’t his ridiculously flexible legs that extended up to his head or his incredible height during any sautés or jumps he did– it had to be something special about the way he moved. 

Law’s first class of the day became a blur, each combination bleeding into the other like watercolor paints. The worst part was that Law knew the source, but he found himself unable to detach himself from it as enamored brown eyes watched him dance through the large, spotless mirrors. 

~~

Two hours later, the loud trills of upbeat piano music filled the room as the class’s final allegro combination was given. It was a grand allegro, so the large jumps choreographed took up most of the space in the room. The small space of Corazon’s classroom had forced the class to split into two groups, and with Luffy and Law in opposite groups, he now happened to have a reason to watch Luffy without hindrance. 

The preamble notes alerted the dancers that the combination was beginning before they all sprung into action. Luffy may have happened to be one of the two in the front row, but that wasn’t what drew Law’s eye in. It was the attention his presence demanded on the floor. Each sauté almost made Law feel like he was soaring along with Luffy, his body flying effortlessly through the space– it was incredible. 

The final step of the combination had struck a deep chord within Law at Luffy’s execution of it. It was a grand jeté , a large leap, with the head and arms thrown back; the image Luffy had looked like something out of a storybook. He had a soft smile on his face, eyes closed as he lost himself to the music. His legs extended out to a beautiful split in the air, and he threw his head back. Law’s heart leapt into his throat as the vision of a soaring Luffy filled his vision. He’d never seen someone look so joyful doing Cora’s excruciating allegro combinations before.. Yet, Luffy looked like he was having the time of his life.

Was this what Cora meant by his ‘just dance’ correction?

Minutes later, his mind was still stuck in the image of the final grand jeté that Luffy had done and the feeling it gave him. He was lucky that his muscle memory took over enough to make him roll out his hamstrings on his foam roller before the next class. 

Almost as if on cue, an all-too familiar, enthusiastic voice diverted his attention. 

“Hey Torao! You have the pas de deux class next too, right?” Luffy asks, his lithe form towering over him as he looks down towards him.

The sunlight had begun to poke through the gaps of the curtains and it cast a divine image. Luffy had a soft glow highlighting his figure as the rays of sun backlit him. He wouldn’t have thought what he was seeing was real unless Luffy hadn’t reached his hand forward, bringing his face back into focus. 

“Let’s walk together!”

Notes:

it begins!!!!!! i cannot tell y'all how excited i am to finally be writing and posting this! It's been in my brain for the last couple of months

also just know that through any movement i've described in this chapter, i was actively standing up from my desk to recreate it, then writing for a second, and then doing it all over again in a loop LMAO. the joy of writing about dance, huh?

Chapter 2: the fate of the partnering chart

Summary:

“How was that?” Luffy asks, looking between them both as he breaks the silence.
Cora only stares at the both of them for another moment or two before he shakes his head to clear his mind.

“That was exactly what I was looking for!” Cora starts out, tone slow and controlled, before quickly catching steam and reaching its typical excited levels once more.

“Luffy, that was absolutely stunning– have you danced Juliet before?” He asks, to which Luffy just shakes his head no before looking over to Law, remnants of that blissful smile still lingering.

“Well, you should audition, if the opportunity arises. You’d do beautifully in that part.” Cora compliments, a deep, definitely unfair, part of Law gets jealous. Luffy always seemed to draw the clumsy blonde into his presence, and Law wished he could do the same.

“And Law…” Cora pauses, amber eyes meeting Law’s own, “...that’s the best time I’ve ever seen you perform Romeo– that is the kind of performance I want to start seeing from you. You’re finally catching on.” He finishes, a proud grin settling onto painted lips.

Notes:

the ballet adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is mentioned in this chapter, and for reference, I wanted to send it here for those unfamiliar with the routine!-- so here's the link (note: for the specific part later on that Cora focuses on with Law and Luffy, you'll want to skip through the video to about 3:05)

even if you don't watch the video, i highly recommend listening to this while reading

without further ado, enjoy~

“Let’s walk together!” 

With an embarrassing lack of hesitation, Law agrees. It had been proven time and time again now that his self-control had slipped his iron grip so easily around the younger. 

“Fine.” He agrees, feigning reluctance. There was no way that he’d give Luffy any inkling to assume any fondness in him. 

“Great!” The younger grins, tugging Law up with far too much ease. 

He couldn’t peel his eyes away from the younger who was so full of energy. Luffy beams up at him, beginning to say something about one of his friends, but Law couldn’t make out the words— too focused on the warm, slightly sweaty fingers that are entangling themselves on his own.

His heart damn near leaps into his throat.

By the time he managed to calm his heart rate enough to think straight, he realized that they’d passed through the metal doors of the classroom they were in and were already nearing the end of the hallway. The stairs were already in view and Luffy hadn’t let go of his hand. 

This was getting out of control, and quickly. Law needs to put a stop to it before his heart gave out. 

“Oi.” Law interrupts, trying to flex his fingers out of the vice grip. 

“… and then Nami was all pissed because she lost her last friend from that class since Sanji ‘n’ I both aren’t in there anymore- but I told her we still have-“ Luffy explains, beginning to tug him out the door as he continued his single-sided conversation.

“Luffy-ya.” 

“-the partnering class and then the heels class she teaches on the weekends at my old studio— don’t tell anyone about that since it’s against the rules ‘n’ stuff— but she wouldn’t listen.” 

“Luffy!” 

Finally realizing that Law had been trying to get his attention, and now that he had finished his train of thought, he answers. 

“What?” 

“My hand.” 

Luffy’s brows scrunch together, focusing on where their hands are joined while they walk. 

“What about it?” Luffy asks, slowing his walk due to the serious expression on Law’s face.

“You’re still holding it.” Law adds, bright yellow eyes flicking down to where Law’s much larger hand nearly engulfed Luffy’s own. 

“Uh huh.” Luffy answers dumbly, as if the reason was obvious. 

Fine. He’ll bite.

“Why?” Law grits out, unamused that he had to even ask. 

“Shishishi— it’s ‘cuz’ I wanna!” Luffy responds, a warm laugh bubbling out and damn near stealing Law’s heart out of his chest. Though, the determined look that Luffy gives him for the split second before turning to walk again, hands still linked, makes a confusing flicker of heat flash through him. 

As if he was stunned into silence, he continues to allow Luffy’s clammy hand to grip his own and drag him all the way to the extended studio a five minute walk away. The younger continues to talk and Law continues his silence, forcing every ounce of his attention away from their connection. 

It felt stupid, he felt stupid for focusing on it, but it was hard not to. Usually, he wouldn’t let someone who he didn’t know, a man who he’d quite literally known for less than 24 hours, touch him so familiarly, but there was some part of him that relished in the warmth that Luffy offered. Sure, he’d been touched over the last few years on occasion by a handful of men, but none had ever held his hand so assuredly. It was something so stupid and small, but it made a flurry of something childish and giddy flutter in his heart. 

Upon entering the much larger studio, hand-in-hand, Law quickly leads them to the back corner of the studio–eager to avoid the glances being sent their way and the whispers that followed them. Finally, with enough wiggling, and now that they were settling in their own spot in the room, Luffy acquiesces and drops the older’s hand.

As Luffy continues to prattle on, he pulls out his black canvas ballet shoes. He tries to ignore the emptiness that remains the second that the younger’s small, clammy hand leaves his grip. The younger didn’t seem to mind his lack of attention and Law only noticed Luffy went quiet until when his shoes were on and he was pushing both legs into a straddle to stretch again. 

Now he had to act as if he weren’t fighting the urge to silently scoop the other’s free hand into his own once more, just to test out a theory– just to see if it would spark the same response it had the first time.

Luffy blinks at him for a moment, clearly waiting for some kind of response while he pushes back his bangs that had begun sticking to his forehead with a worn, sunflower patterned bandana.

Huh. Fitting.

“What’d you ask?” Law prompts again, sliding into a straddle split with elbows on the ground and hands supporting his chin.

“I asked what you were doing after class-” He starts before an unfamiliar, higher pitched voice sounds from behind him. The younger immediately perks up and forgets about the one-sided conversation he’d been having. 

“Luffy!” Nami calls out, her face lighting up at the sight of a familiar face. 

The boy lifts off his feet and bolts in Nami’s direction, eager to talk to what looks to be a good friend. 

Despite being pleased to have the peace and quiet to stretch without interruption, the emptiness that Law now found himself in was a startling change. He hadn’t noticed how quiet things had been until the smaller student had filled the silence with his presence. 

The 10 minute window passes by quickly as Law loses himself in thought while he stretches by his lonesome. Once everyone had gotten into the room and was stretched and warm, the official start time had come and gone with no sign of Cora. 

He had eventually shown up, though about 15 minutes late, due to a self proclaimed accident with a small fire starting in his office. 

Typical.

“Now, since we’ve got such a large number of students in this class that are from multiple different groups, I’ve decided on making a partnering chart,” He pauses, stuffing the paper between his legs before wheeling himself closer to the mirror in order to stick a piece of paper to it. 

A partnering chart? 

It was rare for Cora to ever put this much effort into pairing people. He usually lets people pick their own partners. 

Law stayed in the back, not wanting to push his way through the crowd that had gathered at the mirror. He hadn’t needed to go up to the mirror anyways, since his answer was delivered to him via Luffy calling for him. 

“Torao! Torao!! We’re partners now! We’re together!” The younger calls out happily, shoving his way back through the crowd in order to reach the corner of the room Law stood in. 

There was no way that this was a coincidence.  

Luffy immediately flashes a grin up to Law with a radiance that he tried desperately to not let entrance him. All he could do was blink down to the younger and try to think of what he’d done to warrant such luck. 

It wasn’t that Luffy was a bad dancer by any means, in fact Law thought quite the opposite, but to be paired with the single guy that has ever given him heart palpitations from his dancing alone was some kind of cruelty from whatever was out there pulling the strings. 

The first few partnering classes of a season with Corazon always started with some practice combinations, as well as foundation work– and this one was no different. A few balance practices, some pirouettes and whip turns , both different spins that created different images and provoked different intensities. 

After everyone had warmed up, Corazon had gathered everyone in the center of the room to listen to him speak on how to perform pas de deux variations successfully.

“The thing that I find most dancers struggle with during pas de deux variations is focusing too much on the technique and not enough on the connection to each other and with the audience. There usually tends to be a lack of trust which then leads to one, or both, dancers relying too much on themselves instead of each other, and it takes away from the performance quality. If you allow yourself to truly become the character you’re portraying, to take on their story, the rest should come naturally– given that you connect with your partner.” Cora explains, using his hands to convey his passion while he spoke. 

It had been one of his favorite things to perform, despite how clumsy he typically was during practices. The human connection, the love that took place in most pas de deux variations was something of a fascination of his– which is why he loved teaching this class so much. 

Cora’s words had made Law think a little. Everytime he’d partnered with someone in the past, whether it be for a performance or just classes, it had always felt purely business. In a way, it was exactly that– surface level. They’d practice, either Doflamingo would complain that his technique looked like shit or Cora would tell him that he needed to deepen his connection with his partner, make it look believable. 

He’d always thought he’d acted it out as best as he could, but how could he act something out that he wasn’t familiar with?

– 

After the initial shock of it all, Law eventually eased into his dance partnership with the younger– dance specific he had to keep reminding him outside of class, and the almost ritualistic walk that they took in order to get to the large studio. 

The routine settled on them quickly, especially due to having a repeat schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Law had his private lesson with Doflamingo at 5:30, Cora’s class with Luffy at 7:00, then at 9:03 on the dot— of course it had to be an odd number— Luffy would tug him off the floor and drag them both towards their partnering class. 

Sometimes, Law would be quiet, all too focused on the steadfast grip Luffy’s hand always had on Law’s, and other days he would indulge the other in conversation. 

It was on their 3rd partnering class that Law had decided to ask the burning question in his mind. 

“How’d you even get promoted anyways, if you’ve barely been here longer than a year?” Law asks, not putting care into beating around the bush– he didn’t have to with Luffy. 

“Oh! That was ‘cause of Cora and Shanks!”

“Cora and… Shanks? The red-haired department head, right?”

“Yup! Shanks has known me ever since I was young and still at the studio in Goa.” Luffy answers happily, seeming to have a skip in his step as he talks about the red-head. 

Law had known all of the department heads, naturally, due to his familial relations with both Directors, but he’d never spent too long in conversation with any of them. 

There was Luffy’s mentor, Shanks, Mihawk, Boa Hancock, Bon Clay, and Brook. They were all… interesting, to say the least, in their own ways. The rest of the principal dancers had their own thoughts about them all, but nothing was as poor as the universal negative thoughts about Doflamingo— much to Law’s pleasure. 

A small laugh escaped him at the thought and how it amused it.

“Huh? Did I say something funny, Torao??” Luffy asks, tilting his head back as he looks up to Law. 

The older simply looked down to Luffy and offered a squeeze to the smaller hand. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“ ‘kay…” Luffy answers indifferently, shrugging his shoulders as he practically marches forward, “- oh! Like I was saying..” He continues, allowing Law’s mind to go pleasantly blank once more. 

His mind had stayed blank throughout the entirety of the partnering class. Luffy had a funny way of taking stress off of his shoulders while he danced. When a grating voice that belonged to a certain feathered director began to fill his head, the younger dancer’s endless chatter began to drown it out, filling it with nonsense enough to bring him back to the presence to chide him. 

Their chemistry was unmatched and even other students had picked up on how easily they’d found a rhythm together. It was expected that most people who partnered up for the first time would wobble, maybe miss a few steps as they learned each other's moves. While Law and Luffy did have the occasional wobble in their first class, it had stopped entirely after that, no matter who was in the more supportive role, manning the lifts and stabilizing the other. They moved in orbit around each other as if they’d been doing so for a lifetime. 

Cora had even pointed it out one night as they headed towards Law’s car so that they two could head home.

“You and Luffy seem to be getting along well.” Cora comments vaguely, eyes flicking up to Law, barely containing the smile that threatened to stretch across his features.

Law shot him a quirked brow look, unsure of where his mentor had planned on going with the conversation. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The tall blonde merely hummed in response, clearly not believing Law in the slightest. 

A huff of breath slipped through Law’s lips as they reached the car, clearly not pleased with Cora’s passive, vague reactions. 

“I feel like there’s more you want to say.” He adds, helping Cora partially stand in order to shift into the passenger seat.

“I just feel like you two have connected a little closer than most partners I’ve seen you with.” Cora attempts again, most likely trying to sound cooler about the topic than he knew he was. 

“You’re reading into things.” Law rolled his eyes while he collapsed the wheelchair down carefully and gently placed it in the back of the car. 

The rest of the packing up and driving home was spent with Cora giving Law knowing looks and Law denying every single one. 

Yet, that night when Law laid down on his bed, staring into the ceiling as his thoughts overtook him, he couldn’t deny the implications. 

Luffy had been a different kind of connection than the rest. It was something that was on a deeper level than Law usually liked to go, more than he usually allowed— yet, he never found himself wanting to deny his or Monkey D. Luffy’s desires. Whether that was switching roles for a class if he was feeling sore, letting him hold his hand as they walked, or even indulging in conversation that he usually wouldn’t entertain. 

There was no way he liked Luffy…… right?

——

Two weeks  full of foundation strengthening and technique later, Cora had decided that the duos were ready for something bigger. For once, Law had agreed. 

“Now now, everyone! I know we’re all excited because rehearsals for the upcoming show are really starting, but we have to focus on the class ahead of us today, especially since I have an announcement to make.” The blonde teacher mused, laughing softly as he spoke. 

The chatter in the room increased for a split second before hushing quickly after as curiosity quickly washed over the room. 

“Since we have some fresh faces in here I really wanted to make sure we were ready, but I’m confident now. So, we’re going to start learning a variation to work and focus on and then perform with your partner in a couple of weeks!” Cora announces, some dancers having surprised reactions to, while others seemed more familiar with the concept– Law being one of the indifferent dancers. 

The way that Cora usually ran his advanced partnering class was by choosing a single variation to learn in the large classroom over a couple of weeks and then perform it duos in front of the entire class. They’d just finished Giselle a couple of weeks ago, through the summer workshop weeks, and had done Sleeping Beauty. 

It wasn’t a surprise in the slightest, but with how his brain had been thinking lately, the specific ballet that Cora had chosen almost seemed to be purposeful. 

“So, I’ve decided that we’ll be doing the Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet!”

No way…

“Oh! That’s one of Sabo’s favorites! My brothers and I have seen that ballet so many times now with all the shows he drags us to it.” Luffy explains with a bit of a softer voice, leaning up and into Law in order to grab his attention. 

Law remained silent, cursing the odds that he would have to do such an intimate variation with Luffy so early on. It wasn’t going to help the growing fascination that was starting to take root in his head.

“Does anyone have questions before we begin?” The blonde asks, looking up and around the large group of students that were spread across the floor. 

Everyone either seemed to shake their head or just remain silent. So, with the lack of any hands raised, he clasps his hands together and begins teaching. 

Every bit of him lights up with the excitement of teaching one of his favorite variations. 

Cora spun words that crafted poetic words as he recalled the story. Two star-crossed lovers who are restricted from their relationship by family names. He opts to skip more towards the scene that they’ll be practicing choreography from. He explains the emotions that pour from each character, unadulterated attraction and desire as Juliet unknowingly professes her love for Romeo, who is hiding below her balcony. After Romeo reveals himself, the rest of the scene unfolds. A mixture of secrecy, anticipation for their plans to marry, fear, and overwhelming love for each other. 

After he delights the class with the brief retelling, he tells everyone to spread out with their partner and he’ll begin teaching the combination.

It was difficult not to catch the contagious joy that radiated out of Corazon’s every pore. Every bit of him lights up with the excitement of talking about teaching one of his favorite variations. The expressive way that his arms and upper body reached and stretched in his wheelchair had made the ballet piece truly come to life in his presence. 

Law was mesmerized, as always, eyes unable to tear away from his blonde mentor as he talked and moved, showing off the choreography as best he could.

Luffy noticed the transfixed expression on Law’s face and found himself unable to stop the comment that formed on his lips. “Cora’s a good dancer, huh?” 

The moment he hears Luffy’s voice, he almost sees double. His mind conjures up an image of Luffy next to the older man, both stretching tall and pushing their energy through their limbs as if they were trying to reach an audience a sea away. 

“Yeah.” Law says simply, unable to face the truth of the matter. “Really good.”

If Law looked out of the corner of his eye, he would’ve caught an unvoiced reaction from Luffy. Big brown eyes took in the shape of the taller ballet dancer with pin-point accuracy, tracing him from head to foot as Law clung to every flex of muscle Cora made. If he hadn’t known better, it looked like Law was expecting their teacher to disappear right before his eyes. 

The tattooed dancer couldn’t help his tunnel vision focus, as that’s exactly what he was worried about. He was scared, to put it plainly, that Cora’s disability would worsen before Law had gotten the chance to perform Cora’s piece for him in a way that made him proud. That would be far more devastating to him than the threat of losing some part for a performance, or even disappointing his fellow co-workers. 

Despite being lost in his thoughts, Law hadn’t missed a single one of his mentor’s movements, catching every breath and burning it into his memory. After Cora finished explaining, Law’s gaze seemed sharpened, his focus whittled to a fine point as he moved to look at an expectant Luffy. His lopsided smile had transformed into something of a determined expression. 

Had he missed something while watching Cora?

“Are you ready to try the first part, Luffy-ya?” Law asked, deciding not to dig too deeply about it. 

“Mhm.” Luffy hummed in response, nodding as he offered a hand to Law, the first step of the section that they were working on. 

For better or worse, Law took it, and tried to lose himself in choreographed steps and the ringing of piano keys. 

—-

Over the next week of classes, it became increasingly clearer that there was something inexplicably different about dancing with Luffy. He was strong, reliable– even when near falls or slips happened, he was always prioritizing Law’s safety. 

It wasn’t just his physical dancing that was different, but it felt somewhat…. lighter. He lacked an air of opinion about Law over himself. With others, there was always a look in their eyes and a shift in their body language that people held while dancing with him that he wasn’t fond of. He couldn’t blame them, especially seeing how differently he was treated than other dancers, but it still bothered him. 

He was one of the few favorites of Doflamingo which meant that, naturally, he got a lot more opportunities than other dancers. Opportunities weren’t always good ones as there were more times than not that Law would rather tear his hair out than be in another 2 hour rehearsal with the tall, feathered man, but he never got a say in the matter. 

Instead of having to spend additional effort to push past the awkwardness that usually built up, Law could actually focus on improving himself. He forgot that with Luffy, things were always easy– he never had to waste energy on frivolous social things, they were just straight forward.

The directness was unlike what Cora was trying to explain to Law now, again really nailing home the importance of acting in the scene. 

In the final 20 minutes of class, they had all spread out, getting occasional tips and pointers from Corazon as he wheeled himself through the room. At the moment, he was stopped by Law and Luffy, pointing out a specific point of interpersonal connection between the characters. 

“Ah, right there, the moment he lifts you and you bring your hand down to brush his face is one of passion . ” Cora points out, making Law’s chest almost seize up on the spot. 

Law immediately clamps up, finding it unfair about how quickly his thoughts drift to Luffy at the comment. 

“Remember, your characters are desperately in love with each other. Destined to love one another but never be able to express it publicly. This is the only moment you two will both get privately that you know of– so act like it!” Cora explicates, voice raising slightly in volume as he grows excited. 

For those in the classroom that don’t know Cora, they’d simply think that he’s excited about the characters, as their ambitions always seemed to come so quickly to him– but to Law, he knew that the older man had treasured this specific ballet. It was the last full show he’d ever gotten to perform before his disabilities had worn him down during his final semester. It was important to him in more ways than one.

“Try it again, Law. I want to see the real delicacy in your hand, and I want to see the energy connect and push out all the way down through your fingers.” Cora critiques again, before gesturing for Law to put his arm out

“Let’s go from the…ah, actually– Luffy?” Cora calls out, pausing in the middle of his statement in order to grab the younger dancer’s attention. 

The younger immediately tilts his head, taking a moment to process the unvoiced demand before he moves. 

“You want me to try it?” Luffy asks, his hands slotting his hips. 

Cora nods, before adding a second request to the original, “Actually. Do you know Juliet’s role? Maybe a full physical demonstration would help Law understand what I mean.” He asks.

Luffy hums for a moment in thought, running through what he knew as quickly in his head as he could. 

“I at least know a small section. I learned it a while ago so I might need to walk through it really fast.” The younger finally says, shrugging his shoulders in indifference. 

The blonde teacher begins counting them off without missing a beat, leading the two to walk through the opposing parts together. The boy misses a couple of counts, but picks them up quickly after Law points them out. He ended up learning more than he needed to, but it made the pick-up transition a little easier on both of them. 

“Alright, I think I got it.” Luffy nods affirmatively, feeling confident in what he had learned. 

They had agreed to do a very small section, and both assumed their positions. Law was kneeling while Luffy stood above him, feet in a b-plus position, a pointed foot crossed behind the other, in preparation and looked to Cora.

A nod of agreement between him and Law later, Cora counted them in before playing the music off of his phone for the two. 

Both dancers picked up the music easily, allowing Law to gently pull Luffy into a beautiful arabesque , one foot stabilizing him on the ground while the other lifted behind him. Luffy’s eyes looked directly into his own, attention entirely focused on him. Such intense focus had almost made Law lose the choreography that came next, but he managed to hold it together enough to keep a steady support for Luffy to dance from. The balance led to him being spun to flip the younger man around before Luffy arched back, allowing his arms to float back with him as he rolled through his spine. The moment was brief before he was flipped again to look back to Law. 

This time, the interaction was more intimate, and far more intimate than Law had been expecting.With a single foot in a coup de pied , one pointed toe curved around the back of the other foot, Luffy put his weight into Law’s hands and allowed himself to be lowered. A fondness shone through in Luffy’s large eyes, and a sense of something else that Law didn’t allow himself to look deeper into. 

He lowered Luffy towards him slowly, following choreography, but also finding himself drawn to the younger regardless. Body control was a skill, and it was a skill that Law was lucky he still had power over. Their faces a mere breath apart as Luffy’s arms came down to trail near the length of Law’s features. The touch feather light and almost hesitant, just how it should’ve been played out; lovers who are touching the other truly and wholly for the first time.

The second time he brings Luffy toward him, the younger is still arched back, melting into the movement as if the character and the music had possessed him. He hadn’t needed to look to know the closed-eye, blissed out expression on the other’s face as he danced– he could feel it in his movements. 

A hand accidentally brushing through his hair had Law’s own breath catching in his throat and eyes fluttering for a moment. He swore he heard Luffy give a huff of content at the sight, lingering his lean into the older for a moment longer than he should’ve before stretching back into the arabesque one final time. 

Luffy stretched his back leg up high, arching and engaging his back to make the movement effortless and smooth.  After slowly bringing the extended leg down to meet the other, their small role reversal had come to an abrupt end.

The sudden pause of music had reminded Law that they were in a room full of other classmates, and they were also in front of Law’s mentor. 

Oh, god… Cora was watching that whole thing.

Law very slowly and subtly shifts his focus to try and read whatever expression he had on. A single look at the man tells Law his exact thoughts. That stupid wide eyed, nearly slack-jaw expression that Cora slips into was one where he had realized something. Usually stupid things.

Whatever it was, he didn’t want to know. He didn’t need to.

“How was that?” Luffy asks, looking between them both as he breaks the silence. 

Cora only stares at the both of them for another moment or two before he shakes his head to clear his mind. 

“That was exactly what I was looking for!” Cora starts out, tone slow and controlled, before quickly catching steam and reaching its typical excited levels once more. 

“Luffy, that was absolutely stunning– have you danced Juliet before?” He asks, to which Luffy just shakes his head no before looking over to Law, remnants of that blissful smile still lingering.

“Well, you should audition, if the opportunity arises. You’d do beautifully in that part.” Cora compliments, a deep, definitely unfair, part of Law gets jealous. Luffy always seemed to draw the clumsy blonde into his presence, and Law wished he could do the same. 

“And Law…” Cora pauses, amber eyes meeting Law’s own, “...that’s the best time I’ve ever seen you perform Romeo– that is the kind of performance I want to start seeing from you. You’re finally catching on.” He finishes, a proud grin settling onto painted lips. 

The tips of Law’s ears turn a bright, feverish red at such a direct compliment and he can barely hear Luffy immediately react in protest over the sound of blood rushing in his ears.

“What?! You’ve performed this with someone else before? No fair!” Luffy calls out, though his voice muddled while Law internalizes the praise he’s been given. Cora only shakes his head at the two’s antics and moves onto the next pair in the room.

“Of course I have, Luffy-ya. Just how long do you think I’ve been performing? Of course I’ve performed variations without you.” Law finally responds, shaking his head down at Luffy whose lips were puffing out into a pout. 

Despite Luffy’s displeasure, this might’ve been the best day of his life . He was finally making improvements in the direction he was supposed to be. 

Maybe Luffy was the ticket to unlocking Cora’s constant correction of dancing, not just doing.

“Alright, enough complaining,” Law starts, barely containing the upturn of his lips at what he was beginning to take as possessiveness from the younger, “... If you wanna perform this with me, you’ve got to practice it with me first, hm?” 

Luffy’s pout vanishes and his spine straightens. The slightly teasing words seemed to have done the trick, encouraging Luffy to redirect his focus back on practice. The younger scrambled down to his knees, head tilting back slightly, and hand outstretched. Law had briefly shaken his head, huffing out a laugh as he took a few steps back, preparing himself for the beginning of the section the two needed to work on. This time, as he did the choreographed circle around Luffy, he found something equally endearing as it was frightening. 

It was beginning to get easier and easier to take Luffy’s outstretched hand that was always offered so brazenly to him, and Law was starting to like its embrace.

Notes:

i can't believe i forgot to thank the wonderful Sopa for beta-ing chapter 1-- so this time i'm going to give the biggest biggest BIGGEST thank you EVER to both my wonderful beta readers Sopa and Fall ! you both continue to motivate me to write and share this au. it simply WOULD NOT be possible without the love and support i receive on this!!! thank you bunches!!! <3

Notes:

as always~ i hope you enjoyed reading as much as i enjoyed writing! if you wanna see more of my delusional ramblings, check out my strawpage and come find me on your favorite platform!