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Many times in his life, Law wished for Cora-san to be alive; for various reasons, and sometimes for no reason at all. It was both a passing thought in the back of his head and a constant longing in his heart - or else, as even without the heart itself, the hurt never went away.
However, not a single time, not a single second, had he wanted Cora-san to be back just because of his abilities. Such an idea had never entertained his mind. And how could it, when Cora-san was so much more than just his devil fruit.
Only he would have thought like this, so evil as the Devil itself.
But—
Desperate times call for desperate measures. And how universally good would it have been to silence the Straw Hats crew, even for the briefest of moments.
Law shook his head. Then the explosion came somewhere on the ship - the sixth one during the hour he started the count, - and Law furrowed his brows even more. Was it that bad to wish just for a bit of peace, especially prior to the madhouse they were about to enter?
To his defeat, the Straw Hats hadn't yet known about it. And even if they did, Law suspected it wouldn't have changed a thing.
Another boom.
In his boredom, and a bit of curiosity if he's being completely honest, Law tried to deduce the source of the wreckage. Broadly, it could have been anyone on the ship; except him, of course. However, such an approach was, in Law’s opinion, wrong.
The Straw Hats were indeed destructive, but each in their own unique way. They beat, cut, burn, electrocute, abuse you physically, abuse you mentally - and the list could have gone on and on. Actually, Law hadn’t seen a crew so different yet so alike in a very long time since he started sailing the high seas.
Was he sailing though, as his ship doesn’t even have said sails?..
But going back to the issue at hand, the booms, Law had a pretty strong list of candidates. The most prominent and obvious ones were the long-nosed guy and the cyborg, as both of them seemed to be quite fond of explosions and various kinds of weapons that caused them. At the same time, the safe bet would have been the captain himself. After all, Law was proved not once, and not even twice, how actually lawless Luffy was.
And, for being lawless, Luffy was quite interested in finding Law - and trying to engage him in activities, some of which could have caused the booms. Unfortunately for Law, Luffy was convinced that they were the greatest of friends.
Unfortunately for Luffy, Law was convinced to hide on this ship until it was time to dock in Dressrosa.
Thankfully, no one seemed to wander around the place he claimed to be his safe spot. For one, it was almost at the back of the ship; however, conveniently enough, it was near the Straw Hats’ navigator’s grove as well.
And the latter was more important than the former.
Back in Punk Hazard, it took Law exactly ten minutes to understand how things worked among the crew, and with it being full of blazingly strong individuals, they were amusingly terrified of that small, feisty woman.
A great example came from this morning, when Nami singlehandedly kicked Roronoa Zoro out of the kitchen and forbade him from attending breakfast until he showered. It took the woman only a couple of minutes of verbal brawl and one quick pointing gesture to the kitchen door, which the swordsman ultimately followed.
And Law was grateful, don’t get him wrong. Roronoa reeked of sweat after his morning training. At the same time, he expected… Something else? Zoro looked like a guy who didn’t like to be ordered around, and yet he hadn’t sworn at Nami even once. But what surprised Law more was that there was almost no reaction from the rest of the crew. Everyone else was not only silent but even fully ignorant of the whole scene, simply continuing with their meals and respectful conversations.
Only the cook laughed and threw a fancy curse at Zoro before the wooden kitchen door was slammed shut.
That, and a couple of other situations convinced Law that Nami was not to be messed around with. And he was gladly benefiting from this knowledge, staying close enough to her space so others wouldn't bother him, and far enough from the woman herself.
His peace didn’t last for long, though.
"Let’s spar."
In the corner of his view, Roronoa was now standing, with his hand grasping the hilt of one of his swords. Seemingly, he appeared out of thin air, and for someone so him, the man knew how to be stealthy when he wanted to be.
Law replied without tearing his gaze away from the grove, "What makes you think I’m going to agree?"
"That big-ass sword right next to you," Zoro said smugly.
As it wasn’t technically a question, and Law wasn’t obliged to keep up with the conversation, he stayed silent.
Zoro, always bad at following clues and directions, didn’t.
"Aren’t you bored?" he asked, sitting down next to Trafalgar and folding his hands on his bare, thankfully not sweaty chest. "I mean, you sit here all day—"
Law sighed.
"Only for an hour," that could have lasted longer, he finished to himself. Cora-san’s ability would have been so useful against the whole Straw Hat crew.
Zoro proceeded without a second pause, "Yeah, right. You sit here all alone and don’t even want to practice with me." Now, there was a delay, but it strangely tingled Law’s senses. He hadn’t managed to say a word when Roronoa suddenly laughed and blurted out, "Oh, wait, are you interested in the witch?"
This time, Law answered with his whole upper body facing the swordsman, finally turning away from the unsuspecting Nami.
"What?"
"I mean, you’re sitting here and staring at her for, like, the whole day," before Law could have even tried to explain himself, the man effortlessly continued, "She is pretty, I guess. But trust me, you don’t want that woman."
And while Zoro’s statement was completely insane for various reasons, there was something else that caught Law’s attention. It was Zoro’s voice, not half-laughing as a minute before, but with the smallest, barely noticeable hint of… Seriousness?
Or, not exactly that.
Law might have been relatively young, but he’d already lived a life, and not just one. Of course, he knew such a tone. He heard it from different people, and he himself used to sound like this; a very long time ago.
Protective.
Gods, Roronoa, that buff and seemingly ignorant man, was actually being protective of Nami. In his own weird way, but still. With this new information, that scene in the kitchen appeared in an entirely new light.
Law smiled. "Don’t worry, I’m not interested in your navigator." And, on an unexpected whim, decided to play along, "But I can see why people fall for her."
Zoro made a face at his words, and Trafalgar noticed how his posture quickly changed.
"What do you mean?" he asked in an even more serious tone.
Oh, it might be fun to mess with him.
"She has good looks," Zoro’s shoulders tensed, and Law hadn’t felt so good in a long time. He continued, "and right morals."
At this, Roronoa puffed a grumble. "Oh, she does?"
"She was right about throwing you out earlier." And Law wasn’t lying. Then, remembering how Sanji was fanning around Nami in the kitchen, he decided to raise the stakes. "That being said, I’m sure when the time comes, she will have her pick. Who knows, maybe she’ll even answer to your cook’s affections."
However, that last remark didn’t land how Law expected it to. Instead of becoming even more serious or, on the contrary, bursting in laugh and curses towards the cook, Zoro only snickered. He then threw his back on the bench, and smirked.
"Oh, you don’t even know." Following his evilish smile, a mischievous glint lightened Zoro’s eye. "Wanna see?"
And Law, strangely, did want to.
***
As always before the storm, everything was fine. The mikan she was gathering were ripe and smelled like home. The sea was calm and beautifully blue. Zoro finally bathed and smelled of fresh clothing.
Then Luffy started walking on his hands, and his back muscles tensed in action - no red shirt in sight.
Nami cursed under her breath. Everything was so not fine.
It all started when they reunited. Two whole years passed, and everyone grew up and changed in both appearance and strength. And it was so great to see at the Fishman Island how much better they’ve all become! Then, out of the blue, Nami’s heart skipped a beat - right when Luffy used his Conqueror’s Haki to take down all those fishmen. It was an impressive show of power, and Luffy looked quite formidable as well.
At that time, she thought it was just her reaction to his haki, as Nami heard how a particularly strong one can even make you faint.
But her heart continued skipping beat by beat, and by the time they made it out of the Punk Hazard, Nami had already entered a denial stage. Which was fine.
She wasn’t blind, and countless various ports’ girls weren’t either. Luffy was pretty, that’s all. Combined with a kind personality that could be seen with the naked eye, what else would one wish for? Nami concluded that it was nothing bad if she fanned a bit after her own captain. She just had to get used to his new looks and body that was no longer hidden under that rubber skin, that’s all. Once it’s done, everything would go back to normal.
It didn’t, despite Nami’s honest tries.
Though now she definitely wasn’t trying at all, simply staring at Luffy as if hypnotized.
Then her captain got back on his feet and went with a palm through his slightly moist hair, which now looked even darker. Naturally, his biceps flexed.
Naturally, Nami loudly gulped.
Which, apparently, caught Luffy’s attention.
She felt her neck and cheeks quickly getting hot and red, when Luffy snapped his head and looked right at her. Not with his familiar shiny bright gaze, but with something deeper. Like he knew a secret. Something he definitely should not have known.
But what if he knew? Luffy was good at reading people.
No, she lightly shook her head, there was no way he did. Nami was always very cautious with her emotions. Perhaps it wasn’t even her, and he saw something in the trees? A beetle? A mikan he wanted to eat? Lately, he started asking for them quite frequently.
However, when Luffy started walking her way, his gaze wasn’t searching the grove. It was locked on her.
In panic, Nami looked around in an attempt to find someone who could make this whole situation easier. More public, more safe. But the deck was empty, even Trafalgar Law disappeared; and where were all the people when needed?
Without any choice, she returned her eyes to Luffy again, and watched as he came right next to her. He now stood near the ladder, and the top of his head was at her waist’s level. The height difference made his gaze look even darker, and then he suddenly gripped the ladder with his right hand.
And smiled smugly. And intentionally flexed his biceps.
What the actual fu—
"Like what you see?"
Nami stared at Luffy with eyes big and round while her hands, holding the bucket full of mikan, got covered in goosebumps. She only clenched the metal tighter - and slowly nodded once. Nami did like it; she liked the color of his eyes, and his toned body, and that one specific strand of hair that always curled prettily when got wet.
And his voice. It was so calm, so smooth. A little breathy and, in earnest, so not-Luffy-like.
That last thought hit her almost as if a fruit had fallen from the tree right on top of her head; suddenly and particularly unexpectedly.
Because the voice wasn’t Luffy’s. It simply wasn’t. But she knew it nonetheless.
Nami blinked once, and a second time. A small crease formed between her brows. Then, somewhere on her right, Luffy - real Luffy - shouted, "Wow, I’m Zoro now! Zoro, come look!"
Honestly, she never took a liking to Trafalgar Law, regardless of what Luffy thought of him. But Nami was always loyal to her captain's decisions, and as a navigator, her job was to get people - and Law - where they needed to be.
It was never stated that they should be well and alive when reaching the destination.
And maybe, she would have started her execution of Trafalgar Law, along with Zoro, right on the spot. If only the ladder beneath her heels was a bit more stable, and didn’t decide to fold after one traitorous shake of her knees.
Before she knew, Nami fell.
It was supposed to be a quite fast fly, but she never reached the wooden desk.
Instead, after a moment of silence and a second of her closed eyes, Nami found herself in Zoro-Luffy’s hands, rubber skin hot and sweaty. They quickly tightened up around her bare waist and shoulders, and for a sweet, short moment, Nami felt really nice.
Then the basket hit the deck with a thud, and that moment disappeared as the setting sun; quickly but indefinitely longed for.
"Zoro, you’re so dead," Nami muttered angrily, her words accompanied by the sound of mikan scattering around as beads of a broken necklace.
However, when she tried to claw her way out of his hands, they only strengthened their grip. Nami snapped her eyes up and, surprisingly, was faced with a shiny smile from the man holding her.
Instantly, her heart skipped a beat; it knew that smile so well.
"Zoro?" Luffy asked. "That’s me, Nami, don’t worry. You know I won’t drop you."
At his last replica, Nami’s heart skipped a whole orchestra of beats, providing enough fuel to paint her skin even brighter red.
Then she heard Zoro chuckle somewhere from behind them.
***
"Just what made you do it?" Usopp whispered, coming to stand next to him near the railing.
The collar of his light-colored shirt had multiple black, uneven spots, and Law took notice of a powder smell surrounding the sniper. Then the lightning struck once again, this time closer, and they heard Zoro shouting curses.
Usopp somewhat comically shuddered with his whole body, and Law quickly returned to his previous task of scanning the ship for things he could use to switch himself with.
"So, why?"
Law shrugged and turned his head towards the sea. The shores of Dressrosa have already shown themselves.
"I was bored."