"Breathe out..."
"So I can breathe you in."
Tags/Warnings: slow burn, modern/college au, fluff, friends to lovers, mutual pining, swearing, smoking, cannabis usage, alcohol usage, stoner!Law, no use of y/n, roommate!nami, implied namivivi, reader is a stem major
Summary: Trafalgar Law was quiet, unreadable, and annoyingly good at chemistry. The problem with quiet and unreadable things is that you rarely notice them until they've already taken up space in your life.
Your vision drifted in and out of focus as you stared absently at the ceiling above. Cool night air diffused through the screened bedroom window, a stark contrast to warm numbness ebbing and flowing through your body. Beside you, Law lifted the joint up to his lips, smoke curling lazily into the dim room and filling the air with its earthy scent. Foo Fighters played quietly from a speaker on one of his shelves, the bass humming low enough to make the wood vibrate lightly. The sweetness of the gummy you took earlier still lingered on your tongue.
Law’s chest fell as he exhaled and tipped his head back against the mattress, dark hair ruffled from your fingers combing through it earlier. You turned your head toward him. Even half-lidded and relaxed, he was still unfairly good-looking. Sharp, amber eyes hidden beneath haphazardly cut bangs, tanned skin turning a warm shade by the bedside lamp, lips rosy and parted from smoking.
Your first memory of him seemed jarring against the version beside you now. You initially only knew him as the guy who looked constantly irritated. Every Wednesday and Friday, he’d slip into the stool beside yours and nudge your notebook away from his side of the bench, smelling faintly of fabric softener.
You remembered thinking he seemed out of place in the lab. Not because he wasn’t smart–he never made a show of receiving his scores, but you always got a glimpse of his perfect marks–but because of how indifferent he seemed to everything. Most students fell into extremes. They either obsessed over every assignment or would complain about being there at all. Law did neither.
He never spoke about the subject with any passion, never volunteered answers unless directly asked, but he always worked with certainty, exceeding everyone else. In the first few weeks, you and Law barely spoke beyond the bare minimum required to get work done. Even then, that wasn’t much, as he would do most of it himself.
“Aluminum alloy capsule.” He’d outstretch a gloved hand without even looking at you.
You’d pass the capsule. “Right, you’re welcome.” You paused. “Are you always this friendly in the morning?”
That finally got him to glance over. “What?”
You shook your head. “Nothing. For someone who always acts so tired of people, you make powering through this lab look pretty easy.”
And that was about as deep as your first conversations got. Short exchanges between measurements, dry banter beneath the fume hood. You learned after some time that he wasn’t exactly unfriendly; he was just difficult to read. He would answer when spoken to, but rarely made any opening.
Eventually, you noticed he’d gotten used to your presence. He’d slide his much neater data tables to you to copy from, or drop a pair of gloves your size on the table before you asked for them.
“Not that one.” He caught your wrist lightly before you could pour the chemical.
“Yeah. We’re not trying to make the precipitate yet.” He paused for a moment, “Let me do this. I stopped trusting you around chemicals a few weeks ago.”
“You somehow turned our analyte red the last time we were doing titrations. Can you blame me?” He didn’t let go of your wrist immediately. He noticed where your gaze settled, fingers loosening a second later as he stepped back towards the bench.
“Just... read the labels properly before you grab stuff.”
“Okay, mom.” You scoffed.
“I regret helping you.” There was a light twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Your exchanges began to trail outside of the lab. You noticed that he’d begun to pack his belongings more slowly while you talked, without really noticing you were hanging behind yourself. Eventually, one of you would end up holding the door for the other without discussing it, the banter continuing as you stepped into the hallway. Outside, he walked a step ahead of you without actually leaving you behind. The class would stop being the point of the conversation, topics shifting without either of you acknowledging it.
“You’re slower today,” you remarked after catching up to him.
He glanced at you and replied, “Because you’re talking more.”
As the two of you continued the walk, he turned into the convenience store–the only place on campus open at that hour–and you followed unconsciously, picking out your respective snacks separately and ending up at the register at the same time. Back outside, the air felt cooler on your skin as the two of you walked to a large T-intersection on campus. He always adjusted his bag strap, gave a soft wave, then started walking forward. You went to your apartment in the other direction. That was the unspoken routine you developed with him.
Until one night, when he stepped out as you were finishing your thought, and broke the exchange cleanly for the first time.
“I have somewhere to be, actually.”
You paused, then nodded. “Then, I’ll catch you next week”
He gave you the same soft wave before walking in the other direction, not looking back when he left.
Nami had already been half-dressed when you got back to your apartment, talking about Luffy’s place like you were absolutely going.
Dressed in the standard PPE–sneakers, your college sweatshirt, a pair of wrinkled jeans–you studied the lineup of Grey Goose, yuzu flavored soju, and pink lemonade on the counter before quirking an eyebrow.
“Alright, slow down. What’s going on at Luffy’s place? Why are you dressed like you’re ready to ruin someone’s life? And why is our alcohol posted up on the counter?”
She grinned, “We're going to Luffy’s party tonight, I heard Vivi was gonna be there…” she gestured to her outfit, “And I refuse to pregame alone.”
You narrowed your eyes, “And who is we?”
“You and me, honey. Go change, I’ll pour you a shot.” She opened the cabinet and picked up a glass without waiting for you to respond.
You placed a hand on your head exasperatedly and began to walk back to your room. “Look, Nami, I love you, but I just got back from a lab and I’m dead tired. I’ll go with you next time.”
“Okay, but when else are we gonna be able to do this? The semester’s almost over, and I haven’t gone out with you once!”
You froze and turned around, staring at her blankly. “It’s Luffy. Doesn’t he have a party every other night? And when he doesn’t, he’s planning the next one.”
She shrugged, glancing to the side almost defeatedly. “Okay, granted…” She perked up again, “But I’m talking about you. You’re always busy, and I think you could use the break.” She smiled sweetly, fingers inching towards the bottle of vodka.
She wasn’t wrong. You haven’t had much time outside of class to spend time with friends, much less go to parties, since the semester started.
“You’re on thin ice.” You finally sighed.
“...One hour. Go pour the shot.”
You initially had some back-and-forth with your roommate about the amount she gave you. She called it a “Nami Shot,” and you called it “way too much.” You forgave her as soon as you stepped into the biting air, the buzz in your system serving as a perfect distraction.
After walking a few blocks, you finally reached the house: 10 Sunny Lane. Some people stood idly outside, and a man with blond wavy hair leaned at the door. You opened your wallet, ready to pay the entry fee, before Nami took your hand away.
“No need. I’ll handle it.” She turned back to you and gave a reassuring grin. “I’ve known Luffy for a while, he told me I can enter for free.”
Approaching the door, she gave the man a friendly wave. “Hey, stranger.”
He looked up and smiled easily. “Look who finally decided to show up. I was starting to think you got lost.”
Nami placed a hand against her chest, feigning hurt. “Oh please, I’m not Zoro.”
Laughing softly, he shook his head before flicking his eyes to you. “Is this your plus one?”
“Mhm.” She gestured toward you. You introduced yourself, and he gave you a warm smile in return.
He stepped aside to let you both in, “Go ahead. Luffy’s probably somewhere inside causing property damage.”
“It’s good to know that nothing’s changed,” she chuckled, waving him goodbye and taking your hand by the index and middle fingers to guide you in. “...And that was Luffy’s big brother, Sabo.”
You glanced back towards the door. Unlike Luffy’s loud recklessness that you were somewhat familiar with, Sabo seemed composed, laid-back, and rather charming. It was hard to picture them being raised in the same household.
Several people were sprawled out across the couch, engaging in sluggish chatter. Plastic cups stacked in a nearby bin and spilled out the sides. 2000’s EDM blared through a speaker in a nearby corner, and you walked through the house with Nami as she searched for familiar faces, finally making it to the kitchen, which was somehow louder than the living room.
Every inch of counter space was occupied by open chip bags, unattended bottles, and dispensers filled with suspicious beverages. People squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder around the island, shouting over one another, and Nami moved through it all like it was second nature, tugging the hem of your sleeve occasionally so you wouldn’t get lost.
“God, usually they’d be playing better music by now,” she shouted over the bass, opening a cooler to find some drinks. “And who the hell actually enjoys Cutwater?” She pushed a lime margarita can to the side.
Placing a cherry limeade Beatbox in your hand, she finally stood. “Take this. I wouldn’t put too much faith into the jungle–”
She stopped mid sentence.
You followed her gaze across the kitchen, finding a girl with long blue hair standing near the counter with a hand curled around her drink, laughing with a small group of people.
“Oh my god,” Nami whispered before straightening her hair, “It’s Vivi.”
Before you could respond, Vivi glanced over and lit up when she spotted your roommate.
“Nami!” She said a quick goodbye to her friends and made her way over towards the two of you.
“Hi,” Nami said coolly, as if she wasn’t short circuiting moments prior, “Didn’t know you were coming.”
“Luffy pestered me until I finally caved.” Vivi’s eyes shifted to you. “Oh, hey. You must be…”
“This is my roommate,” Nami said before quickly turning back to Vivi, who smiled and offered you her hand.
“I’ve heard a bit about you, actually.”
You shot Nami a look. “Oh?”
She groaned, “Okay, don’t make it weird.”
“I’m not making it weird,” Vivi chuckled, “She and Luffy talk about you a lot.”
“I do not! And Luffy talks about everyone the same.” Nami dragged her hands down her face exhaustedly, making you stifle a laugh.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m Vivi.”
You gave yourself a proper introduction and she repeated your name with an easy smile before glancing back towards Nami.
“You look cute, by the way.”
You watched panic flick across Nami’s eyes before she made a quick recovery, running a hand through her hair, “Really?”
You looked between the two of them for a moment, noticing how Vivi seemed equally flustered behind the confident smile she tried to maintain. Around you, the kitchen grew warmer as more people crowded in. Someone yelled for aux, another person tripped on someone’s spilled drink.
Leaning in a little closer to Nami to be heard over the music, Vivi asked, “Do you wanna go somewhere quieter? I can barely hear you here.”
For a second, You would’ve thought Nami was about to combust. Her eyes darted to you. You knew that look. It was the same one she gave you when she was short on cash (she never really was), and when she tried to convince you to come to this party in the first place. She grabbed your wrist.
“Can you handle yourself for a little bit?”
You snorted. “I’ll survive.”
“You already do. This is negligible.” You gestured to Vivi, who was already a few paces away, “Go for it.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll catch you soon.” She flashed you a grin before straightening up and turning back around. And she was gone, slipping through the crowd towards Vivi, who tucked herself against Nami’s side.
The kitchen noise quickly turned from lively to overwhelming after your roommate left. The bass felt louder without anything to shout over it, voices grew sharper, the bodies bumping into your shoulder a little too chaotic. The air felt too warm and too sticky. The alcohol you barely started on turned unpleasantly in your stomach. You glanced towards the hallway, then the back door, making the decision to step out before the noise becomes too much.
Outside, the air was quieter in a way that was almost disorienting after the bustling inside. The party was still audible, but it was muffled pleasantly like an afterthought. You barely got a second to adjust before you noticed a strangely familiar silhouette leaning against the side of the house.
You slowed without meaning to. You told yourself it could be anyone–It should be anyone. Someone smoking, someone waiting for a friend, someone like you who was trying to escape the noise.
And maybe it was. The shape shifted under the patio’s lamp, the shadows of moths flitting across the dim light it casted. The figure didn’t look up immediately.
“I wasn’t sure how long you’d last inside.” Law finally said, as if he’d been thinking about it for some time.
“I didn’t take you for the type to attend parties.”
“I’m not attending it,” He replied, “I’m just tolerating it.”
You raised an eyebrow, “And for what?”
He went silent for a while. “Nothing important.”
Bringing a tattooed hand to his lips, he took a steady inhale, before puffing out a plume of pale vapor. His fingers grazed over the cart’s button. Not anticipating going back inside, you made yourself comfortable crouched on the ground next to him, drink still sitting relatively untouched in your hand.
“What gave it away?” He ran his eyes over you.
Your gaze lingered on the smoke between you for a moment longer than necessary. Law noticed, as always.
“You look miserable,” he said.
You glanced down at the sweating carton in your hand before taking a swig. “This drink sucks.”
“Then why are you still carrying it?”
“Because I can’t enjoy this party sober.” Your thumb toyed with the bottlecap.
Law glanced toward the house. “Did you get dragged here by someone?”
You nodded. “My roommate. She wanted to go out together for the first time in…forever. But right now, she’s busy trying to win over this girl she likes.”
Shrugging,you added, “And it’s probably working.”
You blinked. “You saw that?”
“It’s kind of hard not to.” His response came quickly.
It felt strange seeing him here. Not because he looked out of place, if anything, the dim light under the awning and tired posture suited him better than the fluorescent laboratory buzz. You unconsciously took a gulp of the drink, its bitter and artificial flavor painting your tastebuds. A displeased sound left your mouth without realizing.
“You don’t have to finish it, you know.” His voice came quieter this time. The pen adjusted between his fingers again, small and repetitive like he just needed something to do with his hands more than anything else. It slowed halfway through, like he’d forgotten what he was doing.
Before you could answer, the back door slammed open, laughter spilling out. You both looked towards it at the same time. When it closed again, the quiet felt much sharper.
You finally huffed, “Is that you being nice or you being tired of hearing me complain?”
“Maybe it’s both.” That got you to glance at him, eyes unexpectedly meeting his.
You took another sip anyway. It was warm from how long it spent sitting in your hands, but you didn’t adjust your grip. Neither of you moved for a while after that. Law stayed against the wall, the pen resting loosely between his fingers, its light blinking occasionally.
He stayed where he was for a second longer, then let himself sink down into a crouch, as if standing had stopped being necessary.
“You always sit like that?” He broke the silence.
“Like you’re gonna fall asleep.” He paused, “You’re like this in chem lab, too.”
You shifted your weight slightly. “I’m just conserving energy.”
“And I’m the one who always seems tired?” A quiet exhale left him, one that was barely a laugh.
You rolled your eyes, “You’re worse in the lab”
His sleeve brushed against yours. It didn’t move away. “How am I worse?”
“No offense. You just look like you’d rather be anywhere else.”
“That’s because I usually would be.”
You nodded, “fair enough.”
“But you’re still there.” You turned your head towards him.
That landed heavier than either of you seemed willing to admit. Law didn’t look back at you right away. When he finally did, it wasn’t immediate eye contact. It was almost as if his stare drifted to yours on accident and he was unsure whether to stay or look away.
That should’ve ended it, and the exchange should’ve dissolved back into the muffled noise inside the house. But the conversation didn’t settle. Law’s pen stopped clicking absentmindedly entirely at some point before he shoved it into his pocket. You weren’t sure when the drink in your hand started to taste flat, nor when it grew lighter and easier to hold.
At some point, the angle of your body shifted without you noticing. The ground didn’t feel cold as you fully sat down against the wall, resting your free hand in your lap. Law was still close, but his presence became something you weren’t consciously aware of. You didn’t notice when you stopped looking at the time, your promise to stay for one hour long forgotten.
Law leaned back against the wall beside you. Instead of creating space, though, his shoulder rested loosely against yours. You could feel his warmth through the fabric of your shirt. Crickets chirped beneath the low pulse of music that permeated the walls. His head tipped back against the siding, eyes half lidded as his warm breath puffed and disappeared into the cool night air.
Despite the faint crease between his brows when he was thinking and the way exhaustion was woven into his features, he didn’t look like he wanted to leave.
“Are you still just tolerating this party?”
His expression was unreadable. “It got less unbearable.”
You let out a quiet laugh. “Is that so?”
Before he could respond, your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pulled it out, the bright screen casting a cool glow on your features.
You sighed before answering. “Hey, what’s up?”
“You disappeared!” Nami said immediately, words slurred beneath the noise in the background. “Where you at?”
“I’m outside right now.” You furrowed your eyebrows and tried to force back a smile, “How drunk are you?”
“I’m not THAT drunk,” she defended, followed by muffled laughter that almost definitely belonged to Vivi.
“Right…” You pinched the bridge of your nose. “Okay, make sure you’ve got your stuff and stay where you are, I’ll find you.”
“Wait, I’m not ready to go home yet!” Her voice stretched in the silence of the backyard.
You closed your eyes briefly, “Yeah, I’ll see you soon.” Your thumb made contact with the red hang up button.
Law let out a quiet breath beside you that sounded suspiciously close to a laugh. Glancing towards him, you spoke, “I have to–”
“Yeah,” he interrupted, “I figured.”
Pushing yourself to your feet, your legs were stiff and you stumbled forward slightly. Law’s arms twitched, hands freezing in place as you found your footing again. Maybe that Beatbox did more to you than you anticipated. The drink was abandoned beside the wall. Law stood a second after you did, hands slipping into the pockets of his hoodie.
You looked at him. “You gonna stay?”
“Probably not for long.”
You nodded in response. Neither of you reached for the door immediately. Up close, you could still feel traces of his warmth lingering. Law glanced toward the house at the sound of another round of shouting coming from inside before looking back at you.
Finally placing a hand on the handle, you tightened your grip. “See you in lab?”
“Yeah,” Law replied quietly. “See you there.”
The non-manga panel art in the banner is mine btw!! my other blog is @phu0nglan :)
SOO i do not know much at all about what other college majors do 😭 i'm a stem major, so reader ended up doing stem coursework with Law because it’s what i could write about best without it feeling unnatural. thankfully the whole medical/premed route works with his character. I'm very very sorry if this wasn’t what some of you were expecting!!
I'm gonna be drinking some weed juice in a few days so i can continue the next chapter too LMAOAO we'll see how that goes..
I was not planning to write this much, i was expecting to do just a quick one-shot but i got too many ideas that i realized were gonna need A Lot of words to lay out.
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