queen of dumplings

They’re about to go into turn 9, one of the riskier turns and definitely not somewhere he wants to attempt an overtake, but he sees that Luffy isn’t braking, his speed significantly higher than it should be at a turn like that.

What the fuck is he doing? 

It happens in slow motion, at least when Law sees it; Luffy flies straight into the barrier, the collision at a g-force that hardly any human can survive, regardless of the technology and safety measures that have been added to the cars in the last decade. An enormous ball of fire engulfs the car, and Law feels his heart stop.

“No,” he chokes out. “No no no!” 

The red flag is waved and JB is shouting over the radio, but Law doesn’t hear him over the ringing in his ears.

He swerves out of the way of the cars behind him, pulling onto the gravel until he’s far enough away from the track to get out of the car. He unbuckles the belt and almost throws himself out of the cockpit, running towards the scene with wide eyes and breath caught in his throat.

“Luffy!” He yells, and he lifts his visor but barely sees the marshals running towards the car with fire extinguishers, his eyes only focused on the fiery crash, the flames licking at the barrier and only growing stronger.

He almost reaches the car when he’s intercepted by a marshal who tries to hold him back. 

“Get back!” The man shouts. “Get back in your car!”

“Fuck off!” Law barks, pushing the man’s hands away from him. “Luffy!”

There’s several marshals spraying the car with the extinguishers, and the blaring sirens of the medical car and ambulances arriving sound like they’re underwater; muted and barely there. He can only hear the gut-wrenching sounds of the twisted metal of the barrier creaking and groaning as the smell of burning rubber permeates the air. 

“Luffy!” He screams again, scrambling to get closer but another marshal grabs him around the waist and suddenly there’s three of them holding him back.

“Fucking let go!” Law squirms and kicks at the staff, desperate to get to Luffy. He tries headbutting the one behind him, but they’re both wearing helmets so all it does is disorient them.

“You’re not helping anyone, you idiot! Let us do our jobs!”

The seconds pass by and it’s excruciating, and Law feels himself go limp before the marshals finally release him and he falls to his knees on the gravel, staring blankly ahead at the stubborn flames that engulf the cockpit.

Surviving something like this? Not even Luffy was capable of that.

His eyesight becomes blurry with tears as he realizes that the last thing he said to Luffy was how much he hated him. How he wished he’d never met him.

I lied, he wants to scream. I lied! I don’t hate you–

–I love you.